The 1600: A Free Idea for Democrats in 2028
The Insider's Track
Good morning,
If I ever run for president, I would do it on a promise to triple the number of three-day weekends in America. Think about how much more you got done over Memorial Day compared to a typical weekend... the extra time with friends and family, the extra day of leisure, the extra time to knock things off your to-do list. Who would be against just adding, like, 10 more of these to the calendar? They don't even have to be real holidays, we can do it like the Brits and create a bunch of "bank holidays" on random Mondays in the spring and summer where no one is expected to go to work.
I'm not even really joking about this. The Democrats—or the third party we deserve but will never get—needs to borrow from the Trump playbook more. Say what you will about how he governs, but he's got a bunch of easy-to-understand policy ideas, like "No tax on tips" and "Build the wall." The Dems will answer that with a slogan like, "Student loan forgiveness...but only for Pell Grant recipients who start a business that operates for three years in disadvantaged communities" (this was a real Kamala campaign pledge once upon a time.) How about instead, "Triple the three-day weekends!" Who's voting against that?
I suppose we should talk about the actual news from the weekend, the headline of which is that President Trump appears to have finally gotten the message that everyone else has known for a long time: Vladimir Putin does not have any interest in ending the war in Ukraine. Days after Trump and Putin held an "excellent" two-hour call about a ceasefire, Russia unleashed its biggest offensive yet against Ukrainian cities, hitting mostly civilian targets like residential neighborhoods and college dorms. Trump responded, seemingly in shock, saying "I don't know what the hell happened to Putin" and following that up with a post saying the Russian lead "has gone absolutely CRAZY."
To bastardize the great Chris Rock joke... Putin didn't go crazy. Putin went Putin!
So we at least seem to be all on the same page now about Putin and Zelensky. One of them is a warmongering tyrant hellbent on expanding his borders. The other is a guy just trying to defend his country, who, let's remember, could have been on a chopper out of Kyiv three years ago but opted to stay and fight. I don't think Zelensky has always played his hand right vis a vis Trump, but don't mistake who is who in this war.
So then where do we fit in? Putin is making a clear bet that by escalating the offensive on the ground, he will frustrate and anger Trump enough that the Americans will eventually cut bait entirely. Not just give up on a ceasefire, but give up on supporting the Ukrainians at all. No more money or weapons, make it the Europeans' problem. That's the play from Moscow. People around Trump, including the real isolationists like Vance, are going to push for this. It's not our circus, we can't afford it, we're not the world's police anymore, etc. Russia and China are both counting on this outcome.
My one hope left is that Trump's got this minerals deal in hand now, which puts a little skin in the game for him. He's not going to want to see that deal fall apart by walking away, right?
The Rundown
President Donald Trump's pledge to end the war in Ukraine through swift negotiations has shaped the GOP's foreign policy since his return to office in January. But now, the president appears to be losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After Russia launched one of its deadliest attacks in years—killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more—Trump turned sharply on Putin, saying he's "not happy with what Putin is doing," and accusing him of "killing a lot of people." Read the story.
Also happening:
Trump-Harvard: The Trump Administration is canceling all federal contracts with Harvard amid its escalating dispute with the elite college, according to a New York Times report. The General Services Administration is due to deliver a letter to federal agencies on Tuesday with the instruction, the report said; the contracts are worth around $100 million. Read more.
The Trump Administration is canceling all federal contracts with Harvard amid its escalating dispute with the elite college, according to a New York Times report. The General Services Administration is due to deliver a letter to federal agencies on Tuesday with the instruction, the report said; the contracts are worth around $100 million. Read more. Trump gains with young voters: More than 100 days into President Donald Trump's second term, a surprising trend is emerging: growing support from young adults. Experts told Newsweek that this is driven less by enthusiasm for Trump's agenda than by deep frustration with the economy, political institutions, and the direction of the country. Read the story.
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He worked on the campaigns of a few left-wing New York politicians before running on his own in 2020. Helped by an endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America, he defeated an incumbent in the primary for a Queens state house district and then easily won the general election. Mamdani of course isn't the only 30-something progressive rising in New York politics. But U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who has not endorsed Mamdani but is very critical of Cuomo, isn't in an executive role in a massive city. If elected, Mamdani will need to work with police chiefs, chief executives of major companies and other power brokers who aren't likely to show much deference to a 33-year-old. Cuomo, who has been the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban development, New York's attorney general and governor, has the requisite experience. But four years ago, it was hard to imagine him holding office again. The report from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James detailing Cuomo allegedly touching women without their consent and making inappropriate comments seemed (and should have been) permanently disqualifying, particularly for a party that prides itself on women's rights and autonomy. Cuomo denies the allegations, but resigned under the threat of impeachment. Also, in 2021, it seemed the Democratic Party had moved decidedly left and would no longer tolerate the centrist Cuomo, who for years had collaborated with Republicans in the New York State Senate to reduce the power of progressives in Albany. But the ethics scandals and unpopularity of current mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat, created a huge void. Numerous candidates — moderates, progressive and those trying to position themselves in between — are all running, including city Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. (She is not related to the incumbent mayor.) It's a very complicated election. The Democratic primary will be decided by ranked-choice voting, meaning that New Yorkers actually select up to five candidates, putting them in order of their preferences. Eric Adams, fearing he would lose the primary, is running as an independent. Mamdani or Cuomo, who are affiliated with minor parties in New York, could run in the general election even if they lose the primary. So it's possible New York has a four-way race in the fall: the Democratic primary winner; the runner-up; Adams; and the Republican candidate. What's less complicated is how voters and activists have aligned themselves so far. New York is one of the nation's most distinct cities, but its mayoral race is playing out similarly to other recent Democratic primaries across the country. Cuomo is getting support from veteran politicians, church leaders and labor unions who backed his past campaigns and in some cases his father's. (Mario Cuomo was New York's governor from 1983-1994). That establishment support is helping him with voters more likely to be connected with those institutions, particularly voters older than 50 and African Americans. His voting base resembles the ones that helped former secretary of state Hillary Clinton defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) in the 2016 Democratic primary and former president Joe Biden beat Sanders in 2020. The kind of voters who were drawn to Sanders nationally are behind Mamdani in New York: White college graduates, people younger than 50 and those who identify themselves as very liberal in particular. Like Sanders, Mamdani is courting voters by proposing progressive ideas, such as a rent freeze and free city buses. He's also appealing to them with clever, personable ads and videos. I hope Mamdani wins. My policy views are closer to his than Cuomo's. And while Cuomo says he did nothing wrong, James's report depicts someone who should never again be given a powerful job. That said, even if Mamdani became mayor, I would be concerned about how he got there and what it portends for the broader American left. It's entirely logical that there are some fissures in the Democratic Party, which is made up of millions of people. What's so troubling is how big and perhaps intractable those divides are. Biden entered the presidency facing deep skepticism from progressives and younger Democrats because so few of them backed him during the primary. He never really gained their trust. Similarly, President Sanders likely would have received little grace or loyalty from moderate or older Democratic voters, who opposed him en masse. In New York, Mamdani would triumph despite strong resistance from older moderates in the party; a Cuomo win would be a defeat for young progressives. The party desperately needs to break this old/moderate/non-college vs. young/progressive/college-educated divide. But that's not easy. Progressives like me view the old guard as stuck in the past, conservative and uncreative. Moderate Democrats view progressives as elitist and impractical. Having such negative views of people you are supposed to be in coalition with is not ideal. Progressives think the party's left wing should be in charge. (The moderates' leadership has led us to a country where Trump dominates politics.) The moderates would rightly point that Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden didn't win presidential elections by calling themselves socialists. Mamdani is a charismatic, inspirational politician. He has a much better chance of moving people in the other camp to his than Cuomo, who is disliked even by people who agree with him on policy. But the New York race has made me even more nervous about 2027 and 2028. Will Democrats, instead of focusing on Trump, engage in a super-divisive, toxic presidential primary? If progressives and moderates remain divided by age, education, ideology and race, then the answer to that question seems, obviously, yes.
