My latest: No other modern-day autocrat has tried to destroy democracy as quickly as Trump. But there’s a good reason for that: It’s stupid.

The combination of Trump’s recklessness and the strength of US civil society will eventually lead to a showdown, one he’s going to lose.🧵 Trump's breakneck bid for authoritarianism has shocked even experts on the subject. He has seized congressional authority, defied the judiciary, and weaponized the state against everything and everyone. Now, he's unleashed the army against protesters.

My latest:

As bad as things are now, we have not begun to see what Trump’s authoritarian regime is capable of. That’s because the traditional checks on presidential power have vanished. Before we consider how to get out of this, we must first understand how we got here. 🧵 Last time, we examined the evidence that the U.S. has transitioned to a competitive authoritarian regime. Authoritarianism is not a threat on the horizon; it is already here. This changes everything in terms of how Trump can be stopped.

Aaron Maté wants you to know he’s *very* concerned about journalists who work for state-funded outlets…

Unless, of course, that someone is his own editor, who gets paid by Iran.

In fact, Maté and his ilk are far more compromised than those they attack. Let’s take a look. 🧵

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1903519328810701027

First of all, credit to @ItsArtoir for publishing the emails above.

Lost amidst the interminable calls for “peace” is that an agreement to end the war is likely impossible. Neither the fervent wishcasting of Western pundits nor even, if they were so inclined, the very parties involved, can make it happen. In my latest, I explain why. 🧵 As always, you can find the link at the end of the thread or in my bio.

Want to see a progressive sound off about “spheres of influence” like they’re Otto von Bismarck? Beseech the great powers to divide up smaller nations over cigars and brandy? Parrot the inane rationales of a genocidal empire? It’s easy! Just bring up Ukraine.

My latest 🧵 Russia’s war on Ukraine has all the ingredients to turn a certain gullible progressive bad. It prompted global condemnation. The perpetrator’s a longtime enemy of the U.S. and a victim an ally. So it’s practically tailor-made to arouse the skepticism of contrarian leftists.

A lot of scholars are seemingly hellbent on damaging their reputations with ruinous advice on Ukraine and Russia. The past week alone has seen three open letters from this sorry genre, all of which, if carried out, would put real people’s lives in danger. Let’s take a look.🧵 As always, you can find the link at the end of this thread or in my bio.

“The sooner peace is negotiated the more lives will be saved…”

Anyone who says this—and it is stunning how many do—immediately discredits themselves. What on earth do these people think will happen to the millions of Ukrainians trapped under permanent Russian occupation??? 🧵

https://twitter.com/battleforeurope/status/1810949512778662293

The vast majority of Ukrainians reject a territorial partition with Russia, and there is a very, very good reason for that. Far from having their lives saved, they will experience mass killing, filtration camps, deportations, arbitrary arrest, torture, and sexual violence.

Humanity nowadays seems to be divided into two groups: Those accusing others of antisemitism, and those denying the people so accused are antisemitic. Only it’s a complete train wreck, as no one’s defining what they mean by the term. Fret not, for I am here to help.

My latest:🧵 As always, you can find the link to the piece at the end of this thread or in my bio.

Russia has waged many wars since 1991. Only this one is genocidal. Thus arises the obvious question: Why? What makes Ukraine different?

In my latest for The Detox, I offer an answer. 🧵 Before I start, here is where you can find the piece:

Russia’s war on Ukraine is notable in that there’s really no moral ambiguity involved. At all. So if your goal is to introduce any moral complexity into it, the only way to do it is by making up a bunch of shit that never happened.🧵

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1778477565910429824

For starters, the Euromaidan was not a coup.

https://x.com/neil_abrams/status/1573307576959512576

Here's the problem with b.s. like this. Even if you buy the claims of Assad apologists that a few of the alleged attacks were false flags, you're still left with literally hundreds of documented chemical attacks which none of these people have ever so much as questioned. 🧵

https://twitter.com/DavidSacks/status/1777058582909100529

An NGO called GPPi has compiled the most comprehensive dataset I've managed to find on chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian civil war. The methodology is extremely rigorous.

In today's edition of "libertarians are ridiculous people," we examine noted crank Ammon Bundy. After going on the run from police, Bellingcat geolocated him to (are you sitting down?) Utah.

I wouldn't normally comment, only the self-awareness issues on display are astounding🧵

For those unfamiliar with him, Bundy espouses an apocalyptic ideology which sees divine providence in, of all things, the rather famously-secular U.S. Constitution.

The commonality between Palestine and Ukraine isn’t war; it is occupation. The difference is that Palestinians mostly lack the ability to resist—hence the call for a ceasefire. Ukrainians still have it—hence the rejection of a ceasefire. The goal is to get the occupier out.🧵 “You can’t compare the two cases,” many say, “they’re different.” Yes, they obviously are. Still, in this one fundamental respect—a state trying to violently subjugate an unwilling population—they are the same.

Now that our old friend is back with a fresh "Maidan coup" take, it is worth reviewing just how dumb this argument is. It's not only that the general argument is dumb; in fact, every single permutation of its various strands is just mind-numbingly stupid. Let's take a look.🧵

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1761787987187097896

Let's start with the new NYT article. "Why," Maté asks, "was Ukraine's new spy chief already on such good terms with the CIA and MI6, literally on the night of" this supposed coup?

So after proudly leading the charge to oust Claudine Gay over alleged plagiarism, @BillAckman finds himself defending his academic wife against the same charges. Below, I’ve compiled a short thread of examples of Ackman invoking his natural right to hypocrisy. Enjoy! 🧵

https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1743491169508548921

First, some context. As you’ll see, Ackman’s wife is basically accused of the same type of sloppy citation as Gay; only his wife’s case, the conduct appears to be more extensive and considerably more egregious:

https://twitter.com/byklong/status/1743422082132869307

The glaring objection none of these peace-trollers—literally none—ever deal with is that any armistice will lead not to peace but to endless atrocities against Ukrainians trapped under Russian rule. That’s because to even acknowledge it would obliterate their entire argument.🧵

We know this because (a) it’s what Russia has always done after the end of armed hostilities and (b) it’s what Russia *says it is going to do.*

That’s leaving aside the impossibility of a deal even lasting due to Russia’s demonstrable bad faith.

Today, we conclude our Russiagate series. In it, we scrutinized the shameless gaslighting of two prominent collusion-deniers, @mtaibbi and @aaronjmate. We also covered a grave but little-noticed example of Trump-Russia collusion.

First, let’s summarize the main findings: 🧵 @mtaibbi @aaronjmate Link to the piece appears at the end of the thread.

I'd like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Aaron Maté.

A man of unimpeachable honesty and moral consistency.

A principled opponent of occupation wherever it exists, he'd never tacitly support it in some places but not others. No sir he would not.

Let us review 🧵

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1711407302480126019

"I've never argued that Ukraine should accept Russian occupation."

Okay bud. What exactly do you think your constant demands for "peace" would entail? Something *besides* occupation?

The problem, @stephenWalt, is not that people condemn you; it’s that you *do not listen* to them and just continue repeating the same lines.

You’ve already made your “moral case for pursuing peace.” What you haven’t made is your moral case for occupation.

Time to do it. 🧵

https://twitter.com/stephenwalt/status/1705271533898285214

You see, @stephenWalt, if you frame your argument in terms of what it would actually entail—occupation—it would force you to consider some realities to which I have yet to see you so much as allude.

Yesterday I made some comments about Croatia’s Operation Storm, in which it recaptured Krajina from pro-Serbian rebels in 1995. On reflection, many of my longstanding assumptions about it were wrong. What’s more, I was quite a prick about it, so some apologies are in order. 🧵 First, some background: Operation Storm was one part of a much broader set of brutally violent wars surrounding the collapse of Yugoslavia, a process which roughly spanned 1991-2001. Arguably, it all began in 1981 in Kosovo, a majority-Albanian province.

If you’re awful and widely disliked, it’s tempting to think you’re the victim of tyranny. It can be quite thrilling, in fact!

Truth is, you’re not “censored;” you’re just a terrible person, and society’s telling you so.

To wit: Max Blumenthal and The Grayzone

My latest: 🧵 Link to the piece is at the bottom of the thread.