How Russiagate Made Trump
Let's come at the problem a different way. Our industry has become stupid, organized around talking points, not inquiry. Symbolic was the rise in the Trump era of the accusation 'whataboutism.' This necessitated the idiotic but useful trope now heard everywhere: 'Two things can be true.' Of course, infinite things can be true but the phrase serves to remind tribalists that a set of facts can be uncomfortable for them as well as their enemies.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'He's trying to rig the election.' Newsom bashes Trump as redistricting campaign kicks off
Moments after California lawmakers passed a plan designed to undercut attempts by the president and fellow Republicans to keep control of Congress, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state's proposed partisan redistricting that favors Democrats is a necessary counterweight to President Trump's threat to American democracy. Trump's assault on vote by mail and decision to send the military into U.S. cities are evidence of his authoritarian policies, and California must do its part to keep him in check, Newsom said. By deploying federal immigration agents in roving street raids and activating thousands of members of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Newsom said, Trump is amassing "a private army for Donald Trump." "He's trying to rig the election, he's trying to set up the conditions where he can claim that the elections were not won fair and square," Newsom said. "Open your eyes to what is going on in the United States of America in 2025." The argument is a preview of the messaging for the ballot measure campaign that Newsom and his Democratic Party allies will be running over the next 74 days. On Thursday, California lawmakers signed off on a Nov. 4 special election that will put partisan redistricting in front of California voters. The ballot measure, called Proposition 50, will ask voters to discard the congressional boundaries drawn by the state's independent redistricting commission in 2021 in favor of partisan districts that could boot as many as five California Republicans out of Congress. "When all things are equal, and we're all playing by the same set of rules," Newsom said, "there's no question that the Republican Party will be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year." California is "responding to what occurred in Texas, we're neutralizing what occurred, and we're giving the American people a fair chance," Newsom said. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina accused Newsom of trying to "rig" the system to advance his own political career. "Instead of fixing the homelessness, crime, drug, and cost crises crushing the Golden State, Gavin Newsom is tearing up California's Constitution to advance his presidential ambitions," Hudson said in a statement. California's new lines would neutralize efforts in Texas to redraw their congressional district maps to help elect five more GOP candidates in 2026. The Texas Legislature is expected to approve new district lines this week. The other option, Newsom said, is for California and Democrats to "roll over and do nothing." "I think people all across the country are going to campaign here in California for this," Newsom said. "They recognize what's at stake. It's not just about the state of California. It's about the United States of America. It's about rigging the election. It's about completely gutting the rules." Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
San Francisco Chronicle
22 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
South Korea's Lee must navigate the ‘Trump risk' at key summits in Japan and US
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung faces a pivotal foreign policy test barely two months after taking office, with back-to-back summits in Tokyo and Washington that reflect the wider struggle of U.S. allies to navigate Donald Trump's unilateral push to redefine postwar orders on trade, security and alliances. The meetings come after Seoul and Tokyo reached trade deals with Washington that spared them from the Trump administration's highest tariffs, but only after pledging hundreds of billions of dollars in new U.S. investments. Trump's transactional approach with long-standing allies extends beyond trade to security and has fueled fears in South Korea that he will demand higher payments to support the U.S. troop presence in the country, even as he possibly seeks to scale back America's military footprint there to focus on China. The looming concerns about a U.S. retreat in leadership and security commitments come as South Korea and Japan confront growing cooperation between their nuclear-armed adversaries, North Korea and Russia, partners in the war in Ukraine and in efforts to break isolation and evade sanctions. Here is what is at stake for the Asian allies of the U.S. as they deal with an America-first president who's more unyielding than his predecessors: Asian allies pulled closer by Trump A day after confirming his Aug. 25 summit with Trump, Lee's office announced he will visit Japan on Aug. 23-24 to meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a rare diplomatic setup that underscores how Trump is drawing closer two often-feuding neighbors with deep-rooted historical grievances. The meeting on Saturday in Tokyo of Lee and Ishiba — who last met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in June — is largely about projecting leverage as the countries seek to coordinate their response to Trump, said Choi Eunmi, an analyst at South Korea's Asan Institute for Policy Studies. 'There is now the Trump risk,' Choi said. 'There's especially a lot of uncertainty in the business sector, so they might discuss ways to ease that uncertainty … not necessarily in joint efforts to confront Trump, but within the framework of trilateral cooperation.' Yukiko Fukagawa, a professor at Japan's Waseda University, said Lee's visit to Tokyo will also be seen positively in Washington, long frustrated by its Asian allies' persistent disputes over Japan's colonial rule of Korea before the end of World War II, and the way these tensions hindered three-way security collaborations. 'Because they have to deal with increasingly challenging mutual counterparts, such as China and America, both Japan and South Korea are under pressure to set aside minor differences to cooperate on larger objectives,' Fukagawa said. Yoshimasa Hayash, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said Lee's visit will help promote the 'stable development' of bilateral ties as their countries work together on international challenges by utilizing the 'shuttle diplomacy" of regular summits. Lee and Ishiba could discuss restarting long-stalled free trade talks and South Korea's potential entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, a 12-member Asia-Pacific trade pact that Ishiba has pushed to expand amid tensions over U.S. tariffs. Ishiba, who has met Trump twice in person — at the White House in February and at the G7 in Canada — could also offer Lee tips ahead of his summit in Washington. Seoul and Tokyo clearly share many crucial interests in the face of Trump's efforts to reset global trade and U.S. security commitments. They are both under pressure from Washington to pay more for the tens of thousands of American troops stationed in their countries and also to increase their own defense spending. Their vital automobile and technology industries are vulnerable to Trump's tariff hikes. They navigate a tricky balance between the U.S. and its main rival, China, a growing regional threat that is also the largest trade partner for Seoul and Tokyo. They are alarmed by North Korea's accelerating nuclear program and its deepening alignment with Russia, which could complicate future diplomatic efforts after a long stalemate in U.S.-led denuclearization talks. It makes more sense for South Korea and Japan to work with the Trump administration under a trilateral framework rather than engage Washington separately, especially given how Trump mixes security and economic demands, said Ban Kil-joo, a professor at South Korea's National Diplomatic Academy. For example, the countries could propose a trilateral scheme to support Trump's push to expand natural gas and other energy production in Alaska, rather than negotiating potential investments bilaterally, he said. 'Beyond the drilling project itself, they would need to address security, including protecting maritime routes for the LNG shipments, and that responsibility could count toward defense cost-sharing or higher defense spending,' which Trump demands, Ban said. Modernizing the military alliance Lee's meeting with Trump could include talks to flesh out the details of South Korea's $350 million investment fund for U.S. industries, centered on cooperation in shipbuilding, a sector Trump has highlighted in relation to South Korea. A more crucial topic for the leaders could be the future of their decades-long military alliance, a legacy of the brutal 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S., which keeps about 30,000 troops in South Korea to deter North Korea, has long urged Seoul to accept greater flexibility to use them for missions beyond the Korean Peninsula – a demand that has intensified under Trump. Comments by senior U.S. government and military officials suggest that, in addition to pressing South Korea to pay more for hosting American forces, the Trump administration could seek to reshape U.S. Forces Korea as part of a broader military focus on ensuring capability to respond to a conflict with China over Taiwan. That shift would mean conventionally armed South Korea taking on more of the burden against the North, while the U.S. turns its focus to China. This could affect the size and role of U.S. Forces Korea, leaving Seoul with fewer benefits but higher costs and risks at a time when the North Korean nuclear threat is growing, experts say. South Korean lawmakers have also expressed fears that Washington could ask for Seoul's commitment to intervene if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, a tricky prospect given South Korea's reliance on China for trade and Beijing's role in dealing with North Korea. South Korea should enter the Trump summit with a clear stance on its role in regional security, Ban said, possibly supporting U.S. efforts to maintain Indo-Pacific stability and opposing changes to the status quo, but without explicitly naming China as an adversary. While potentially accepting a more flexible role for U.S. Forces Korea, South Korea should also seek U.S. commitments to ensure deterrence and readiness against North Korea aren't compromised. American troop deployments off the peninsula could be offset by increased airpower or the arrival of strategic assets like bombers, helping prevent any miscalculation by the North, Ban said. AP writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.
New York Times
23 minutes ago
- New York Times
Judge Orders That ‘Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Center Be Shut Down for Now
A federal judge on Thursday ordered that no more immigrant detainees be sent to a center in the Florida Everglades, and that much of the facility be dismantled. The ruling rebuked the state and federal governments for failing to consider potential environmental harms before building the facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz. The judge gave both branches of the government 60 days to move out existing detainees and begin to remove fencing, lighting, power generators and other materials. The order also prohibits any new construction at the site. The decision is a major legal setback for the detention center, the nation's first state-run facility for federal immigration detainees, which has faced several lawsuits and numerous complaints about poor conditions and other problems. The state is expected to appeal. Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Federal District Court in Miami found that the state and federal governments had violated a federal law that requires an environmental review before any major federal construction project. Judge Williams partly granted a preliminary injunction sought by environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe, whose members live in the area. The detention center is surrounded by protected lands that form part of the sensitive Everglades ecological system. The detention center presents risks to wetlands and to communities that depend on the Everglades for their water supply, including the Miccosukee, Judge Williams found. 'The project creates irreparable harm in the form of habitat loss and increased mortality to endangered species in the area,' she wrote. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
