Latest / Systemic Error Podcast
Trump fixated on 'deeply weird' 80th birthday present to himself: insiders
A Birthday Party Isn’t the Story. The Power Grab Is.The SetupDonald Trump is reportedly floating the idea of making his birthday a federal holiday, while Republicans on Capitol Hill appear willing to entertain the nonsense. The immediate hook is spectacle: an 80th birthday, a UFC bout at the White House, and a party inflated to national scale. That is the garnish. The real story is who is normalizing this and why.Power, Not PageantryThe relevant fact is not that Trump likes attention. The relevant fact is that a sitting president with a deeply weak approval rating is still able to pull…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.