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McKay Coppins Profile picture
@mckaycoppins
Aug 28, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
Americans who tuned into the Republican National Convention were treated to a slickly produced, four-day dispatch from Donald Trump's alternate reality.

My story on the carnival of propaganda: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Former Trump spox: “The speeches are reminiscent of the speeches one hears at a memorial service where…everyone stretches the truth to say nice things. And we’re all in the audience muttering, ‘Well that's not true, but I get it—what else can you say?’” theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
An exchange I had with a former Trump adviser about the president's coronavirus record: theatlantic.com/politics/archi… Image
A small sampling of the rhetoric at the RNC this week: theatlantic.com/politics/archi… Image
Watching the convention this week, I kept trying to figure out what it reminded me of. Then I realized: It was like a glossier, made-for-TV version of the MAGA Facebook feed I created for myself last fall. This is the info universe many Trump fans inhabit: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

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More from @mckaycoppins

McKay Coppins Profile picture
Jun 3
I spent this spring reporting in Europe, where elected leaders and diplomats are watching the U.S. election with a sense of dread bordering on panic about the prospect of Trump’s return. One word came up repeatedly in my interviews: existential.

My story: theatlantic.com/international/…
Inside the German Foreign Ministry, sources told me, contingency plans are being drawn up for Trump's return. They're also planning for a scenario in which the outcome of the election is uncertain and widespread political violence breaks out in the U.S. theatlantic.com/international/…
The Biden Administration has tried to reassure European allies about America's longterm commitment to NATO, but some officials in Washington acknowledge the effort is futile at this point. theatlantic.com/international/…
Image
Read 4 tweets
McKay Coppins Profile picture
Jan 4
Incredible: 64% of Republicans say Donald Trump is a "person of faith." Only 34% say Mitt Romney is. deseret.com/2024/1/3/23982…
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In case you're curious, here's a piece I wrote in 2020 about how Donald Trump talks about faith in private: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
And here's an excerpt from my book, about how Mitt Romney was shaped by this 30-month Latter-day Saint mission: deseret.com/2023/10/19/239…
Read 4 tweets
McKay Coppins Profile picture
Mar 21, 2023
I sat in on a series of focus groups to see what Republican primary voters think of Mike Pence. It was absolutely brutal. My story: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Some quotes I jotted down when Mike Pence came up in the focus groups:

“He’s only gonna get the vote from his family, and I’m not even sure if they like him”

“He has alienated every Republican…It’s over. It’s retirement time"

“He just needs to go away”
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Of the 34 Republicans who participated across four focus groups, I only heard four people say they’d consider Pence for president—and two of them immediately started talking themselves out of it after indicating interest. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 9 tweets
McKay Coppins Profile picture
Mar 20, 2023
Brutal. The alt-weekly in Colorado Springs—which recently combined with several sister publications—discovered $300K in "unaccounted-for debt" and had to lay off about half its staff. They started a GoFundMe to raise $250K 3 days ago. They've raised $540. gofundme.com/f/save-sixty35…
This gets at one of the most discouraging things I heard from local reporters while writing this piece in 2021. People in their markets still read and relied on their work, but few were interested in rallying to save the local paper from extinction. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
One of the reasons for public ambivalence/apathy is that local newspapers rarely generate the same uncomplicated warmth that, say, a beloved local bakery does. Good journalism, by definition, often annoys people! That doesn't make it less essential.
Read 6 tweets
McKay Coppins Profile picture
Mar 16, 2023
A fascinating (and kind of hilarious) finding in this Pew survey: Mormons are among the least popular religious groups in America. They are also the only group that expresses a net favorable opinion of *every other group,* including Muslims and atheists. pewresearch.org/religion/2023/… Image
Mormons: You probably don't like us, but we like you!
I do think it's notable that Mormons have a *far* more favorable opinion of Muslims than any other group does. I once talked to an imam who served in Utah about how local Mormons interacted with his mosque. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… Image
Read 4 tweets
McKay Coppins Profile picture
Mar 13, 2023
My theory is that a large and growing number of prominent conservatives (politicians, media personalities, etc.) are incapable of even feigning fluency in fiscal policy because they've been talking about culture war stuff nonstop for like eight years.
The culture war stuff was always there, obviously. But the biggest voices on the right in 2009-2012 also had their talking points down on regulation, the financial sector, spending, deficits, jobs, etc. Now the instinct is to pivot immediately to... dunking on DEI?
(I have a related theory that political reporters who came of age in the Trump era are, on average, less fluent in fiscal policy—and possibly just policy in general—than those who did in the Obama/Tea Party/recession years. For obvious reasons!)
Read 4 tweets

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