Will be too high-brow for the Cheato Cultists to read... but you already knew that.
https://www.theatlantic.com/unthinkable/
50 Moments That Define an Improbable Presidency
Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in chief of The Atlantic
In an October 2016 editorial, The Atlantic wrote of Donald Trump: “He is a demagogue, a xenophobe, a sexist, a know-nothing, and a liar.” We argued that Trump “expresses admiration for authoritarian rulers, and evinces authoritarian tendencies himself.” Trump, we also noted, “is easily goaded, a poor quality for someone seeking control of America’s nuclear arsenal. He is an enemy of fact-based discourse; he is ignorant of, and indifferent to, the Constitution; he appears not to read.”
In retrospect, we may be guilty of understatement.
There was a hope, in the bewildering days following the 2016 election, that the office would temper the man—that Trump, in short, would change.
He has not changed.
This week marks the midway point of Trump’s term. Like many Americans, we sometimes find the velocity of chaos unmanageable. We find it hard to believe, for example, that we are engaged in a serious debate about whether the president of the United States is a Russian-intelligence asset. So we decided to pause for a moment and analyze 50 of the most improbable, norm-bending, and destructive incidents of this presidency to date.
Our 2016 editorial was a repudiation of Donald Trump’s character as much as it was an endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president. It was not meant to be partisan. The Atlantic’s founders promised their readers that we would be “of no party or clique.” This remains a core governing principle of the magazine today. What follows is a catalog of incidents, ranked—highly subjectively!—according to both their outlandishness and their importance. In most any previous presidency, Democratic or Republican, each moment on this list would have been unthinkable.
50– 41
40– 31
30– 21
20– 11
10– 01
Donald Trump touches the magic orb
By James Parker
49.
A Cabinet officer likes private planes too much
By Elaina Plott
48.
The president praises the congressman who body-slammed a reporter
By David French
47.
An overcompensating press secretary lies about crowd size
By Megan Garber
46.
Trump tells the Boy Scouts about a hot New York party
By Yoni Appelbaum
45.
A name-calling feud ends with the secretary of state’s ouster by tweet
By Yara Bayoumy
44.
The WikiLeaks president goes silent
By George Packer
43.
The nation loses its consoler in chief
By James Fallows
42.
The first president to complain about an election he won
By David Graham
41.
Trump waits 19 months to pick his science adviser
By Ed Yong
The president’s most trusted adviser is his own gut
By Sarah Zhang
39.
A White House economist creates facts for the president
By Tom Nichols
38.
Trump holds a top secret confab on the Mar-a-Lago dining terrace
By Ian Bogost
37.
The president just wants to go home
By Vauhini Vara
36.
Trump threatens to strip security clearances from his critics
By David Frum
35.
Mueller’s “witch hunt” is good at finding witches
By Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
34.
Trump leads the country to the longest government shutdown in American history
By Saahil Desai
33.
The chief justice of the United States corrects the president
By Scott Stossel
32.
Trump disseminates Soviet propaganda
By Kori Schake
31.
The White House punishes a CNN reporter for asking questions
By Emily Bell
The buck stops over there
By Kathy Gilsinan
29.
The president tries to kick transgender service members out of the military
By Matt Thompson
28.
Trump tweets the wisdom of Mussolini
By Krishnadev Calamur
27.
Turkish agents assault protesters near the White House
By Don Peck
26.
Trump helps the Saudis cover up a murder
By Lyse Doucet
25.
“We’re gonna have the cleanest air”
By Robinson Meyer
24.
The president can’t stop talking about carnage
By Rebecca J. Rosen
23.
America gets a first daughter
By Caitlin Flanagan
22.
The UN General Assembly laughs at the president
By Rachel Donadio
21.
Rain stops Trump from honoring the dead
By Eliot A. Cohen
The president learns about separation of powers
By Russell Berman
19.
The president learns about the Justice Department
By Natasha Bertrand
18.
The president lies constantly
By Angie Drobnic Holan
17.
Trump threatens to press his “nuclear button”
By Uri Friedman
16.
Public humiliation comes for everyone in the White House
By Alex Wagner
15.
The CIA dead become a TV prop
By Vernon Loeb
14.
You know you’re in a constitutional crisis when...
By Quinta Jurecic
13.
Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford to a cheering crowd
By McKay Coppins
12.
A new term enters the presidential lexicon: “shithole countries”
By Ibram X. Kendi
11.
Trump throws paper towels at Puerto Ricans
By Vann R. Newkirk II
“I have the absolute right to pardon myself”
By Garrett Epps
9.
Covfefe
By Adrienne LaFrance
8.
The president calls his porn-star ex-paramour “horseface”
By Sophie Gilbert
7.
Trump picks the wrong countries for his travel ban
By Hannah Giorgis
6.
Trump declares war on black athletes
By Jemele Hill
5.
James Comey is fired
By Benjamin Wittes
4.
Putin and Trump talk without chaperones
By Franklin Foer
3.
The president still hasn’t released his tax returns
By Annie Lowrey
2.
“Very fine people on both sides”
By Adam Serwer
1.
Children are taken from their parents and incarcerated
By Ashley Fetters
https://www.theatlantic.com/unthinkable/
50 Moments That Define an Improbable Presidency
Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in chief of The Atlantic
In an October 2016 editorial, The Atlantic wrote of Donald Trump: “He is a demagogue, a xenophobe, a sexist, a know-nothing, and a liar.” We argued that Trump “expresses admiration for authoritarian rulers, and evinces authoritarian tendencies himself.” Trump, we also noted, “is easily goaded, a poor quality for someone seeking control of America’s nuclear arsenal. He is an enemy of fact-based discourse; he is ignorant of, and indifferent to, the Constitution; he appears not to read.”
In retrospect, we may be guilty of understatement.
There was a hope, in the bewildering days following the 2016 election, that the office would temper the man—that Trump, in short, would change.
He has not changed.
This week marks the midway point of Trump’s term. Like many Americans, we sometimes find the velocity of chaos unmanageable. We find it hard to believe, for example, that we are engaged in a serious debate about whether the president of the United States is a Russian-intelligence asset. So we decided to pause for a moment and analyze 50 of the most improbable, norm-bending, and destructive incidents of this presidency to date.
Our 2016 editorial was a repudiation of Donald Trump’s character as much as it was an endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president. It was not meant to be partisan. The Atlantic’s founders promised their readers that we would be “of no party or clique.” This remains a core governing principle of the magazine today. What follows is a catalog of incidents, ranked—highly subjectively!—according to both their outlandishness and their importance. In most any previous presidency, Democratic or Republican, each moment on this list would have been unthinkable.
50– 41
40– 31
30– 21
20– 11
10– 01
Donald Trump touches the magic orb
By James Parker
49.
A Cabinet officer likes private planes too much
By Elaina Plott
48.
The president praises the congressman who body-slammed a reporter
By David French
47.
An overcompensating press secretary lies about crowd size
By Megan Garber
46.
Trump tells the Boy Scouts about a hot New York party
By Yoni Appelbaum
45.
A name-calling feud ends with the secretary of state’s ouster by tweet
By Yara Bayoumy
44.
The WikiLeaks president goes silent
By George Packer
43.
The nation loses its consoler in chief
By James Fallows
42.
The first president to complain about an election he won
By David Graham
41.
Trump waits 19 months to pick his science adviser
By Ed Yong
The president’s most trusted adviser is his own gut
By Sarah Zhang
39.
A White House economist creates facts for the president
By Tom Nichols
38.
Trump holds a top secret confab on the Mar-a-Lago dining terrace
By Ian Bogost
37.
The president just wants to go home
By Vauhini Vara
36.
Trump threatens to strip security clearances from his critics
By David Frum
35.
Mueller’s “witch hunt” is good at finding witches
By Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
34.
Trump leads the country to the longest government shutdown in American history
By Saahil Desai
33.
The chief justice of the United States corrects the president
By Scott Stossel
32.
Trump disseminates Soviet propaganda
By Kori Schake
31.
The White House punishes a CNN reporter for asking questions
By Emily Bell
The buck stops over there
By Kathy Gilsinan
29.
The president tries to kick transgender service members out of the military
By Matt Thompson
28.
Trump tweets the wisdom of Mussolini
By Krishnadev Calamur
27.
Turkish agents assault protesters near the White House
By Don Peck
26.
Trump helps the Saudis cover up a murder
By Lyse Doucet
25.
“We’re gonna have the cleanest air”
By Robinson Meyer
24.
The president can’t stop talking about carnage
By Rebecca J. Rosen
23.
America gets a first daughter
By Caitlin Flanagan
22.
The UN General Assembly laughs at the president
By Rachel Donadio
21.
Rain stops Trump from honoring the dead
By Eliot A. Cohen
The president learns about separation of powers
By Russell Berman
19.
The president learns about the Justice Department
By Natasha Bertrand
18.
The president lies constantly
By Angie Drobnic Holan
17.
Trump threatens to press his “nuclear button”
By Uri Friedman
16.
Public humiliation comes for everyone in the White House
By Alex Wagner
15.
The CIA dead become a TV prop
By Vernon Loeb
14.
You know you’re in a constitutional crisis when...
By Quinta Jurecic
13.
Trump mocks Christine Blasey Ford to a cheering crowd
By McKay Coppins
12.
A new term enters the presidential lexicon: “shithole countries”
By Ibram X. Kendi
11.
Trump throws paper towels at Puerto Ricans
By Vann R. Newkirk II
“I have the absolute right to pardon myself”
By Garrett Epps
9.
Covfefe
By Adrienne LaFrance
8.
The president calls his porn-star ex-paramour “horseface”
By Sophie Gilbert
7.
Trump picks the wrong countries for his travel ban
By Hannah Giorgis
6.
Trump declares war on black athletes
By Jemele Hill
5.
James Comey is fired
By Benjamin Wittes
4.
Putin and Trump talk without chaperones
By Franklin Foer
3.
The president still hasn’t released his tax returns
By Annie Lowrey
2.
“Very fine people on both sides”
By Adam Serwer
1.
Children are taken from their parents and incarcerated
By Ashley Fetters
