The Four Ideas That Explain America’s Democratic Crisis
These concepts provide a framework for understanding how ignorance, hierarchy, and anti-democratic politics converged in the Trump era.
Brynn Tannehill
contributor
Brynn Tannehill is a Naval Academy graduate, former naval aviator, author, and senior defense analyst. She currently lives in Northern Virginia with her wife and three children.
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Trump’s Foreign Policy Has a Model: The Barbary Pirates
Trump’s foreign policy treats global alliances as protection rackets reminiscent of historical tribute systems: pay up, submit, or face threats.
America’s Polycrisis Has Arrived
Democracies do not fall from a single blow, but from cascading failures that overwhelm public attention. The U.S. is now in the midst of deliberate, converging assaults on American life and political structure to the benefit of no one but Trump.
Trump Really Wants to Rule the Western Hemisphere
Trump's rants about taking over Greenland and Canada isn’t just idle talk, and neither is military action in Mexico. Here’s what to expect.
It’s OK to Opt Out of Holiday Time With Your MAGA Family
LGBTQ people — especially trans people — shouldn't feel guilty for choosing not to spend the holidays with the people who support the regime that wants to eradicate them.
Trump Fakes It Til He Breaks It
The blustering, pro-wrestling-loving Trump administration is dedicated to the appearance of being strong and effective in the eyes of a credulous MAGA base, all while grifting from and destroying the nation right before our eyes.
The Case for Transgender Asylum From Trump’s America
The Trump administration is following the Nazi playbook to a T, as they attempt to destroy the trans community and erase them out of existence. We must call it what it is.
Lying Is What Dictators Do
Straight from the authoritarian playbook, Trump has turned the RNC into a hereditary dictatorship in his quest to swap out the entire GOP—and reality itself—with a murderous Christofascist fantasy.
President Trump 2.0 Is Gunning for a Massacre
It’s not hyperbole to say the re-election of the former president—twice indicted, with 91 felony counts against him—will threaten the safety of the nation and the world. His failed insurrection is merely a blueprint of what he can, and likely will accomplish if given another four years.
When Can I Stop Caring What Others Think of Me?
For cis and trans women, living life out loud and expressing joy on social media has become an act of resistance in the face of unrelenting online misogyny.