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Yascha Mounk Profile picture
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11 Nov, 4 tweets, 2 min read
I've been off Twitter all day and only now saw this video. Honestly, it makes me livid about how people have reported his remarks.

Pompeo is clearly joking in the first sentence.

Is the joke appropriate? No.

Is he actually doing Trump's bidding here? On the contrary.
Those who reported this (highly inappropriate!) joke as straight news should ask themselves what they're doing.

If your goal is to portray the other side in the worst possible light, congrats!

If your goal is not to give Trump's attacks on democracy oxygen, you failed. Badly.
I have no sympathy for Pompeo, who has been a terrible Secretary of State.

There is no doubt he's being highly irresponsible. And perhaps, as some are saying, he wasn't joking.

But to report this, as the NYT, as a straight prediction of future events is wrong and *helps* Trump.
Have to practice what I preach every now and then...

Hope y'all have a nice evening, and that we'll see the 46th President of the United States safely take residence in the White House before long!

google.com/amp/s/amp.thea…

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More from @Yascha_Mounk

Yascha Mounk Profile picture
8 Nov
"We need healing, yes, but not just from Trump and his direct actions. We must heal from what he has brought out in all of us."

What does Trump's defeat tell us about America? Read answers by some of the country's leading thinkers @JoinPersuasion.

Thread.persuasion.community/p/what-bidens-…
"To cultivate a more perfect union, let’s dispense with proving our perfection and humbly focus on building our union.

I’ll contribute by teaching young Americans a brave new leadership skill—public listening. I’d love to hear how you’ll help to build the union."

@IrshadManji
"The real lesson is that progressive elites have become increasingly out of touch with the sensibilities of working-class Americans of all backgrounds.

This blindspot opened a vacuum for an authoritarian populist with no regard for the norms of liberal democracy."

@coldxman
Read 9 tweets
Yascha Mounk Profile picture
7 Nov
Donald Trump’s defeat suggests that the first draft of history—written by pundits, politicians, and political scientists over the past four years—was unduly pessimistic.

My case for optimism about America's future.

[Thread]

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Over the past years, many Americans—including not only the president's supporters, but perhaps especially his opponents—concluded that he has revealed the "true" face of the United States.

But that is far too simple.
Trump caused staggering suffering and subjected the country’s democratic institutions to a frightening test.

But today, America accomplished a rare feat: to defeat an authoritarian populist at the polls.

This is a testament to the strength of the country's people institutions.
Read 8 tweets
Yascha Mounk Profile picture
6 Nov
Ted Cruz is now on Fox News claiming that election officials in Philadelphia are "lawless," trying to conceal what's going on in order to potentially steal the election.

Utterly irresponsible.
"I'm frustrated that every time they close the doors and shut off the lights, they miraculously find more Democratic votes."

Cruz is angry, ranty, shouty.

Nearly like he's auditioning to replace Trump.
The contrast between highly responsible news anchors like Chris Wallace and completely irresponsible pundits like Tucker and Hannity is really astounding.

Right now, the divide between the reality-based community and Trump's fantasy world runs straight through Fox News.
Read 5 tweets
Yascha Mounk Profile picture
5 Nov
Enough of the doom and gloom.

Incumbent presidents nearly always win reelection. Authoritarian populists nearly always win reelection.

Neither seems to be happening right now.

I'm starting to feel pretty damn good about America today.
Is this the grand univocal rejection of Trumpism many of us hoped for? No.

But the United States is doing better than Poland, Hungary, Turkey, India and so many other countries that were in a similar predicament.

It's time to take yes for an answer!
Why am I so much more optimistic today? Because of my baseline.

I've been arguing for years that populists have broad support and are a grave threat to democracy around the world. The fight will go on after today. That shouldn't be surprising.

But we just won a giant battle.
Read 4 tweets
Yascha Mounk Profile picture
3 Nov
Woke up to a beautiful sunrise today.

Joe Biden is likely to win. The nightmare of the Trump years could be about to end. I’m feeling optimistic.

But it would be a mistake to count Trump out. So what might the electoral map look like if he wins? Here’s two scenarios.

[Thread]
Every poll makes assumptions about turnout and demographics. And each year, different pollsters tend to make similar assumptions.

A few of these have me especially worried.
1)
Polls show a big shift towards Biden among white and older voters.

Perhaps they are overstating the shift? Or perhaps turnout among the white working-class once again shatters expectations?

Either way, Trump could win the Midwest, and the map would look similar to 2016. Image
Read 6 tweets
Yascha Mounk Profile picture
2 Nov
Four years ago, I was more pessimistic than most: I never assumed the institutions would contain Trump.

Now, I'm more optimistic than many: If Biden wins, we are likely to have a relatively peaceful transition of power.

My latest @JoinPersuasion.

THREAD persuasion.community/p/yascha-mounk…
It’s now difficult to remember how outlandish the position that "established" democracies could come under threat once was.

When Roberto Foa and I first showed a famous mentor our paper on deconsolidation, he strongly disagreed with the idea that democracy might be in danger.
But now, pessimism has become fashionable:

Pundits routinely warn of an impending civil war or worry that Donald Trump will carry out a putsch.

Here’s why that’s unlikely.
Read 12 tweets

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