Kristi Noem won't shut up about killing dogs.

But that's what happens when "triggering libs" is the only political strategy you understand.

An analysis.

salon.com/2024/05/07/kri… Why to read this article past headlines: Where else will you see Noem compared to G.G. Allin?

I wrote a book about trolling and have become well-versed in how it works and why it's such a hard — if not impossible — habit for Republicans to break.

salon.com/2024/05/07/kri…

One aspect of the MAGA-fication of Trump's defense team: They keep spinning out half-baked conspiracy theories painting Trump as a victim of the Stormy plot.

But what I've noticed: Even his base isn't biting. So I doubt the jury will. An analysis.

salon.com/2024/05/06/law… Why to read this past headlines: MAGA will gobble down seemingly any conspiracy theory. But they aren't really biting on the "Trump was innocent" claims about the hush money.

I explain why they're taking a pass on this one.

salon.com/2024/05/06/law…

Of course I was going to weigh in on the Kristi Noem puppy-killing story. Explicating MAGA sadism is my wheelhouse.

My analysis is about why she thought this would win over the base — and why it's backfiring. It's not just "everyone loves dogs."

salon.com/2024/04/30/kri… Why to read this article past headlines: This is about more than revealing the sadism that drives MAGA.

This incident reveals that, as gross as it is, there's an art to fascist demagoguery. Noem is just too dumb to get how it works.

salon.com/2024/04/30/kri…

Polls have shifted to suggest RFK is peeling off more Trump voters than Biden voters now.

Which isn't a surprise to those watching his campaign. He's targeting Trump voters in his appeals ways more.

My thoughts on why RFK might prefer MAGA.

salon.com/2024/04/29/rfk… Why to read past headlines: You, savvy, already know RFK is a crank with inherent appeal to conspiracy theory-soaked MAGA.

I flesh it out by analyzing why he's running and why marketing to MAGA is a smarter move for him than going for Biden voters.

salon.com/2024/04/29/rfk…

Because Trump wasn't included, the response to the new Arizona election indictments was surprisingly muted.

But make no mistake: This hurts Trump. It furthers his isolation, making sure his eroding support network deteriorates further.
salon.com/2024/04/26/iso… Why to read this short article past headlines: You, extremely online, can name all 18 indictees off your head.

What I offer is context: Trump is without his family or the MAGA mob. Now even his co-conspirators are having to keep their distance.
salon.com/2024/04/26/iso…

One big sign Trump knows this trial is not going well: He's getting shrill, begging his followers to mob the courthouse and...do something.

Here's why they are ignoring him. t's not just that Fox News told them entering New York results in instant murder
salon.com/2024/04/24/kee… Why to read this article past headlines: We know Trump's explanation for the missing MAGA mob is a joke.

But January 6 shows they can show. That they aren't tells us a lot about the relationship of Trump and his followers.

salon.com/2024/04/24/kee…

Having to hear mean tweets out loud is just the beginning of Trump's humiliation journey through this trial.

Thoughts on how he's been stripped of his faux-presidential pomp he loves. He's restored where he belongs: In the trashy world of the tabloids.
salon.com/2024/04/23/hum… Why to read past headlines: This isn't just about the tabloid trash.

My analysis focuses on how Trump has deluded himself into thinking he cuts an impressive, even regal figure.

And how this trial is a cold reminder that everyone else sees a clown.

salon.com/2024/04/23/hum…

Marjorie Taylor Greene's "space lasers" comment was dumb. But it was also about encouraging the murder of migrants in cold blood.

It was just one of many comments from Republicans last week normalizing political violence.

salon.com/2024/04/22/mar… Why to read past headlines: Yes, "space lasers" was dumb. But she says dumb things for attention.

What we need to pay attention to is what she is using that attention for (besides self-gratification): Violence.

salon.com/2024/04/22/mar…

Trump's court napping is the best thing he could do to win his case. (Not that there's much he can do, considering the evidence against him.)

But his base craves the tantrums. And they are paying his lawyers. Quite a dilemma!
salon.com/2024/04/17/sle… Why to read past headlines: Sleepy Don is just funny, of course.

But there's a reason we all instinctively knew this would hurt him if the word got to MAGA. MAGA mistakes his childish tantrums for "strength." This creates a conundrum.

salon.com/2024/04/17/sle…

Trump was already babbling and forgetting how to talk during his speeches.

Being in court with barely any sleep and raging all day is not going to be good for his already fragile mental state.

A piece on hope and optimism.

salon.com/2024/04/16/don… Why to read this article past headlines: You, savvy, already know Trump fell asleep yesterday.

But I flesh out the implications. Especially since I appear to be the only person who recognizes how much work it must take to do his hair and makeup.

salon.com/2024/04/16/don…

New Standing Room Only! Today's excerpt is about Marjorie Taylor Greene's bimbo grift — and how to respond.

Subscribe today!

Music by Kings of Tomorrow. salon.com/newsletter
I think one reason a lot of liberals, especially on the coasts, don't see that Greene's bimbo act is a bit: They don't recognize that she is, first and foremost, a rich sorority girl.

Playing dumb to manipulate people is a skill those girls are taught from the cradle.

The hot new "masculinity influencer," Nick Adams, distills something I've long noticed about these "alpha male" leaders:

Their advice couldn't be better designed to make their sad, lonely followers even more alienated from others, especially women.

salon.com/2024/04/12/lat… Why to read past headlines: You know about these "masculinity influencers" that tie MAGA cheerleading and fake self-help.

The deets on this latest one are gross. But it illustrates how these guys borrow cult tactics to control their audiences.

salon.com/2024/04/12/lat…

Many in the media are downplaying Trump's upcoming criminal trial. But you know who seems to think he'll be convicted?

Donald J. Trump.

His Alex Jones-style antics to disrupt the trial could backfire, however. It will make the jury hate him.
salon.com/2024/04/03/don… Why to read this article past headlines: The Beltway wisdom is this case is NBD.

Well, I think it's a big deal. But you know who else clearly thinks it's a big deal? Trump.

But I don't think his Narcissism Theater will win over a jury.

salon.com/2024/04/03/don…

The GOP freakout over a "trans" Easter wasn't just their usual phony rube-running on Fox News shut-ins (thought it was also that).

The rhetoric here is about justifying Christian nationalism and the end of religious freedom, enforced with violence.

salon.com/2024/04/02/fak… Why to read this short article past headlines: Tied with Trump's Bible sales pitch, I outline how GOP rhetoric is increasingly geared around claiming they have no choice but to end religious freedom.

Fascists love their DARVO.

salon.com/2024/04/02/fak…

"Stand where he tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to do."

Quote from a pastor at one of Texas's biggest megachurches.

It's gross on its own. It also tells us why the GOP is doubling down on misogyny

salon.com/2024/04/01/sta… Why to read this article past headlines: Aren't you curious about the story behind a preacher telling women "stand where he tells you to stand"?

But also analysis on the increasing nastiness towards women in evangelical circles.

salon.com/2024/04/01/sta…

Taking a closer look at Erin Hawley, who argued against abortion pills at the Supreme Court.

She's not just another Republican woman building a career by stepping on other women.

Her lack of empathy for other women was so chilling I literally gasped.
salon.com/2024/03/27/of-… Why to read this article past headlines: I listened to the entire length of oral arguments.

I'm hard to shock with Republican depravity.

But Erin Hawley is so soulless and dishonest, she actually gave me the chills. I have the details.
salon.com/2024/03/27/of-…

If we took all the second chances Trump has been offered in his life, we could not only bail out half of the prison population, but every single one of them would make something better of themselves than Trump has.

salon.com/2024/03/26/lov… Why to read this short article past headlines: We all deserve an angry yalp over this total unfairness.

Every day people are evicted or imprisoned for doing stuff one-millionth as bad as Trump.

This is why there's so much cynicism towards courts.
salon.com/2024/03/26/lov…

Trump's campaign is mostly, if not solely about his various criminal cases and anger at being held accountable.

Weirdly, I do think there's a strategy in his "me me me" message. I don't think it's necessarily a good one, but his team has a theory.

salon.com/2024/03/22/cri… Why to read past headlines: You, extremely online, already know Trump has centered January 6 and other crimes in his campaign.

What I add is analysis of why his team thinks voters will be as mad as Trump that he has to lose golf courses and skyscrapers.

salon.com/2024/03/22/cri…

It's true: White evangelicals have embraced cheesecake and other sexy imagery they used to decry as "immodest."

Don't get it twisted, though. They hate sex as much as ever. They still want to punish women and LGBTQ people who choose to have sex.
salon.com/2024/03/20/eva… Headlines:
White evangelicals embrace raunchy photos — yet they hate sex as much as ever

Trumpian Christians love bikini pics now, but they still don't want women to enjoy sex

salon.com/2024/03/20/eva…

Trump's RNC purge is a reminder of his main Achilles heel: His fragile ego.

I guarantee that, despite being corrected by John Kelly, Trump still thinks Hitler had nothing but "loyalty" from people.

His narcissism can't allow him to see the truth.
salon.com/2024/03/13/rnc… Why to read past headlines: You, extremely online, already know Trump admires Hitler and purged the RNC.

I pull these two stories together to explain how his obsession with "loyalty" (which means flattery) comes at the expense of competence.

salon.com/2024/03/13/rnc…

In "White Rural Rage" @paulwaldman1 and @schaller67 finally wrote the book that stops treating rural white voters like children, instead of adults responsible for their choices.

As someone who grew up in rural Texas, I'm thrilled. My interview with them.
salon.com/2024/03/05/-th… "Nobody is more insulting to rural voters than the people who are giving them nothing and taking their votes.

"They frankly laugh behind the backs of their own voters to some degree, right?"

salon.com/2024/03/05/-th…