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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward members of the media prior ... WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 29: U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward members of the media prior to answering questions before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump will travel to Michigan for a 100th Day in Office rally. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS Send comments and tips to talk at talkingpointsmemo dot com. To share confidential information by secure channels contact me on Signal at joshtpm dot 99 or via encrypted mail at joshtpm (at) protonmail dot com. I wanted to take a moment today to highlight something that to me, at least, is behind a certain uncanny quality to the summer of 2025. Two things, which point in two entirely different directions, are happening at the same time. Every day you can find in the news a new example of the president cutting funding (either by legal or extra-legal means) or asserting direct control over funding in order to entrench his direct personal power. This might be defunding universities, ending funding of public broadcasting, or anything in between. Hes now opened criminal probes into numerous public officials. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to expand its war not only against the undocumented and legal residents but also against self-government in major American (blue) cities. I could mention dozens of other examples but the simplest overview is that the president continues to expand and entrench his authoritarian vision of rule, in which the whole machinery of government exists to impose his will and battle his enemies, with courts that are mostly but not always compliant.
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