And So It Begins, Part I: The West Wing Reality Distortion Field Is Already Operating at Full Strength

Donald Trump has been erratic for years and years, including the entirety of his first presidential term. Now, add in several new/semi-new developments: (1) cognitive decline (possibly serious), (2) a sense of invulnerability triggered by defeating his court cases/being declared a king by the Supreme Court/winning the popular vote, and (3) no further need to appeal to voters beyond the base. Under these circumstances, it's very difficult to know what exactly to make of his pronouncements.

Case in point: Trump's declaration, now repeated several times, that on his second first day in office, he is going to slap 25% tariffs on everything coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico unless they do something about immigration and fentanyl smuggling. On one hand, he made this a central plank of his presidential campaign this year. On the other hand, such a move would have very obvious deleterious effects on the economy, and he would own those effects. Even the powerful right-wing propaganda machine would be unable to convince voters, excepting the True Believers, that the sequence (1) Trump slaps huge tariffs on North American imports, and (2) goods from Mexico and Canada go way up in price, necessarily means (3) "Damn you, Joe Biden."

It might be useful, at this point, to talk a little bit about the core plank of Trump's 2016 presidential run, namely that there would be a wall built along the U.S. border, and that Mexico would pay for it. That did not happen, of course. Trump couldn't even get the wall built with a Republican trifecta, and the potential for Congress to agree to cut the necessary check. So, he redirected some funds allocated for the military, built a few miles of wall, posed for some photos, and called it a victory.

When we wrote about the tariffs a couple of days ago, we proposed that he might take the same tack here, claiming a "win" without any particular basis for doing so. That said, we thought that it would take some time—a year or two—which was about the same timeline for declaring a "win" on the wall. It would seem that our timeline might have been in error this time, by a lot, because Trump is already declaring victory on the tariffs.

As soon as Trump made his 25% proclamation, he got phone calls from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Let us pause to note that, as with the wall, the real target here is Mexico. We very seriously doubt that even the True Believers care about Canada, first since that nation is not actually sending fentanyl or undocumented immigrants to the U.S. in any meaningful numbers, and second because most Canadians are white (i.e., not from a "sh**hole country"). Trump only included Canada on the list because of NAFTA v2.0. Mexico, by contrast, actually does send undocumented immigrants and fentanyl to the U.S. in meaningful numbers (albeit, not in the manner that Trump claims). Further, most Mexicans are brown, while their leader is both a woman and a Jew (and if you doubt that MAGA nation has noticed those latter two facts, just check the right-wing social media platforms sometime).

You can presumably see where this is headed. Trump hasn't said a word about his call with Trudeau, but he's already claimed victory vis-à-vis Mexico. After talking to Sheinbaum, he hopped onto his highly questionable social media platform and posted this:

Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border. We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!

Presumably, he tossed the "Pardo" in there, which is not usually used, to remind everyone that Sheinbaum is also a Latina. In any event, Trump's proclamation was greeted with a round of "Huzzahs" among his right-wing supporters.

There is only one small problem, and you probably already know what it is: It's not true. Sheinbaum does not particularly want a trade war with the U.S., but she's also not going to allow the first act of Trump and Sheinbaum to be "Donald walks all over Claudia." She probably also suspects, probably rightly, that, at least in the short term, the U.S. will be hurt more by the tariffs than Mexico will be. In any event, after Trump took his victory lap, she very quickly released a statement, in Spanish, in which she said that she made no such promises, and that "We reiterate that Mexico's position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples."

So, where does this leave us? Who knows? And we don't feel too badly that our crystal ball is murky; even Maggie Haberman (a.k.a. "The Trump Whisperer") has no idea what to make of it. Her exact words: "I have no idea what that actually means."

We do know a couple of things, however. First, as we wrote yesterday, quite a few Republican politicians (and voters) are excited about a trade war. They might not be too happy if Trump decides to back down without firing a shot. We also know that there will still be plenty of undocumented immigrants (asylum-seekers or not) coming into the country, and plenty of fentanyl, and people will notice.

On the other hand, we also know a couple of things that point in the other direction. First, Trump is very good at creating an alternate reality for his faithful followers. If he says "immigration crisis solved!" or "fentanyl crisis solved!" maybe they will accept that as fact. Second, it helps that the places that tend to be most anti-undocumented-immigrant also tend not to have many undocumented immigrants. So, the True Believers might not be exposed to much evidence that Trump is full of it (although those same places tend to have pretty bad fentanyl problems, and so that will still be on display).

The upshot is that, thus far, the features of Trump v2.0 are awfully similar to the features of Trump v1.0. That he's drawing from the same old, worn-out bag of tricks has not escaped the notice of the commentariat. Yesterday, social media was full of comments like this one, from Matthew Yglesias: "Trump creating a fake crisis with Mexico over fake tariff threats only to settle it in exchange for fake concessions all over a holiday week when he's not even in office yet is a reminder of how exhausting-yet-boring four full years of this will be." Yglesias also observed that there has been a decrease in border crossings, thanks to an agreement made by the Biden administration. So, to the extent that there IS a "victory" here, it's Trump claiming credit that rightly belongs to Joe Biden.

And that's not the only example of Trump stealing credit from Biden over this holiday weekend. Within 24 hours of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon/Hezbollah being announced, Trump and those in his circle were taking all the credit. The President-elect has humble-bragged in a couple of media hits, while NSA-designate Mike Waltz took to eX-Twitter to tweet this:

Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump.

His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won't be tolerated. I'm glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.

This one, we not only predicted, we pretty much hit the bullseye:

Will Donald Trump get any credit for this?: He really shouldn't, since he and his team didn't have anything to do with it (although they have been getting briefings). That said, the Republican spin machine is very powerful, and we can envision something along these lines: "Hezbollah knew they had to get while the gettin' was good, because in just a few weeks, there will be a new sheriff in town."

You should not be impressed, as this was about as easy as predicting that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. However, we do thank the many readers who brought this story to our attention, starting with B.C. in Walpole, ME, who wrote: "About 8:30 this morning, I read where you raised the question, 'Will Donald Trump get any credit for this?' You said he would, despite not deserving any. About two hours later, he may not have been getting credit, but he was already taking it."

There have been a few flare-ups of violence, incidentally, but thus far the ceasefire appears to be holding. The first week or so is the real test. Now, if it does NOT hold, what do you think the odds are that Trump, Waltz, etc. will accept responsibility? You surely don't need our help to be able to answer that question. (Z)

And So It Begins, Part II: For Trump (and Friends), the A**holery Is the Point

Let us now put forth four propositions:

• Before Donald Trump was first elected president, he was an a**hole.
• During his first presidential term, he was an a**hole.
• After he left office, he was an a**hole.
• During his second term, he will be an a**hole.

We are not going to pretend that any or all of these statements are false, in the name of some vague notion of "fairness" or "balance" or whatever. As Maya Angelou observed, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Trump has been showing EVERYONE who he is, over and over, for more than half a century. And note, being an a**hole does not inherently make a person a bad president. Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson and both Roosevelts were a**holes, too. It really depends on how a politician channels their a**holery.

The problem with Trump is that his a**holery is often directed at those who do not deserve it, and that it generally exists to serve his ego, as opposed to some larger purpose. And just in case anyone forgot, or hoped that maybe he'd mellow due to old age/not needing to win any future elections, Trump used the Thanksgiving holiday to remind everyone of his special brand of a**holery, using his curiously valuable social media platform to broadcast this to the nation he is about to re-assume leadership of:

Happy Thanksgiving to all, including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed, and will always fail, because their ideas and policies are so hopelessly bad that the great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Don't worry, our Country will soon be respected, productive, fair, and strong, and you will be, more than ever before, proud to be an American!

We always hold out hope that he can summon a little bit of class on days like Thanksgiving, and we're pretty much always disappointed. And in case you are wondering, incidentally, here is Joe Biden's Thanksgiving message:

Happy Thanksgiving, America.

May we use this moment to take time from our busy lives and focus on what matters most:

Our families, our friends, our neighbors, and the fact that we've been blessed to live in America, the greatest country on Earth.

It is not hard to write a fundamentally decent, graceful, unifying message. We could have given you the Thanksgiving message of any president who served during the "Thanksgiving era" (basically, since the Civil War), and as long as the author wasn't Trump, it would look and sound very much like this.

Of course, just as vultures are drawn to carrion, a**holes tend to attract other a**holes like a magnet. And so it is that the two men who are arguably the biggest a**holes in America are now in orbit around one another. We speak, naturally, of Trump's new sidekick, Elon Musk, who has also been showing the world who he is this week. For example, now that he apparently has access to... everything, Musk doxxed four federal government employees he deems to be extraneous.

The four doxxed staffers have a few things in common. First, they are not public-facing, and so interact only with other federal employees. Second, they are all in jobs related to climate control. Third, and we seriously doubt this is a coincidence, they are all women. One suspects that Musk is learning that it's not going to be terribly easy to terminate people's employment, so he's going to try to make things so unpleasant that people quit. All four women have already been the targets of much online harassment since Musk used his personal social media flamethrower to villainize them.

That said, it's not only women. On Wednesday, Musk set his sights on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (ret.), who was a key figure in Trump's first impeachment, and whose brother, Eugene, was just elected to Congress, tweeting: "Vindman is on the payroll of Ukrainian oligarchs and has committed treason against the United States, for which he will pay the appropriate penalty." Needless to say, Musk offered no evidence in support of any of these defamatory claims. One has to assume that the reason he "bravely" went after Alexander, as opposed to Eugene, is that it is a felony to threaten a government official.

There are two things that are very disconcerting about all of this. The first is that neither of these men has any meaningful accountability. Trump, of course, is now King Louis XIV, courtesy of Chief Justice John I. Musk's new gig is governmental enough that he has access to people, information and resources, but not governmental enough that he's subject to federal laws governing his behavior. And, by virtue of his wealth, he's also effectively judgment-proof. A nine-figure judgment nearly broke Trump's back, but would be just a mosquito bite for Musk.

The second problem, and we've only pointed this out a million times before, is that all of this scapegoating, us vs. them, "traitor" talk puts ideas in the heads of people. This isn't just speculation; it's already happening. Over the past few days, five different members of the Connecticut congressional delegation received bomb threats. And, shortly before that, Reps. Lee Zeldin and Elise Stefanik (both R-NY) got the same treatment. In other words, once you open Pandora's Box, no politician or semi-politician is immune—not even a guy who has already been the target of at least two assassination attempts this year. You'd think someone might point that out to him. Though maybe they have, and he just can't control himself. (Z)

What I'm Thankful For: (Some) Happy Days Still Lie Ahead

Yesterday, we asked readers to send in some thoughts about what they're thankful for this year. We got more than enough to be able to share some of them:

• R.R. in Pasadena, CA: I'm thankful to have my wife and toddler daughter in my life, and am spending the day with them, making dinner, watching a movie, and playing games and reading with my daughter. It's a lot better to focus on that right now, to remember what's good about life and what's worth fighting for... soon enough I'll see what it's going to take to protect them from the oncoming turbulence and get through it to a hopefully better future.
  
  
• S.S. in Toronto, ON, Canada (but born and raised in Pennsylvania): Four things:
  
  
  1. All of the horrible things that have happened and are happening are very clearly demonstrating exactly what needs to be fixed. For example, the Supreme Court, various "guardrails," maybe the Constitution, gerrymandering, maybe the filibuster. Perhaps we needed to have all those things demonstrated very clearly before we could agree to take action.
     
     
  2. We still have a Constitution and lots of laws and procedures already in place that will make it difficult for the new government to make speedy changes.
     
     
  3. Most Americans are good people, and a slim majority voted for a candidate not named Trump. We have learned that education is needed, as well as the ability and willingness to really listen to what people think they need and what their fears are.
     
     
  4. There are a few adults in the Republican party who may just do the right thing from time to time.
  
  
• B.C. in Phoenix, AZ: Even though this past election was ruled by misinformation, I think we can always be thankful that Abraham Lincoln has always been proven correct: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
  
  
• K.H. in the BioPark Botanic Garden, Albuquerque, NM: On this post-election Thanksgiving, we can still be thankful for the natural world. Despite continued environmental degradation, an ongoing sixth mass extinction, and the expectation of further insults from 45/47, we can find places of beauty and wonder. I am thankful that whether 1.5°C or 3°C, 280 ppm or 480 ppm CO2, life will find a way, with or without humankind. I am thankful that I can volunteer as a docent in my local botanical garden, where I can help visitors understand and appreciate the wonder of our natural world, where I can help them understand the need for saving it.
  
  
• R.P. in Kāneʻohe, HI: I am thankful that Donald Trump is not intellectually capable of achieving everything (or even most of) what he wants to do, and that he's not 20 (or even 10, or even 5) years younger. I am thankful that his ego is so fragile and his commitment to himself is so strong that he will not cultivate (or tolerate) a clear successor to the MAGA throne. I am thankful that the sycophant swamp that surrounds him is composed of people who are each committed to the notion that the needs of the one (i.e., themselves) outweigh the needs of the many—so that when Dear Leader shuffles off this mortal coil, there will be nothing but chaotic in-fighting among them to claim said throne (precisely the opposite of what happened when every single wannabe Democratic presidential contender fell on their sword immediately after Joe Biden withdrew and supported Kamala Harris). Speaking of mortal coils, I'm thankful that Donald Trump's eating habits and lifestyle are, shall we say, not conducive to longevity. I am thankful that the political party with which my personal philosophies currently most closely align continues to act like the grown-ups in the room, as I think that's the winning strategy for the long term (though I do wish they'd follow the advice of Jon Stewart).
  
  Most of all, I am thankful for my belief that the night is always darkest before the dawn. This belief is the life raft I cling to during this dark and gloomy storm we're currently in (which did not begin with the recent election, but started brewing back around the time Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House). As I slip into a food coma this evening after feasting with my like-minded family and friends, I will take some small comfort in knowing that, despite the terrible outcome of the recent election, this, too, shall pass.
  
  
• L.C. in Lake Spivey, GA: The U.S. House of Representatives can soon be modeled on the game of GO—basically, who can block who. For this gridlock, I am thankful.
  
  
• J.C. in Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương, Vietnam: I'm in Vietnam, where at least I know I'm free...
  
  
• A.M. in Toronto, ON, Canada: I live in Canada!
  
  
• A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD: Personally, I'm thankful that I live in a blue state.
  
  
• A.G. in Scranton, PA: For four walls and a roof, a few real friends, two dogs, a head still held high and my shoulders that still roll back, and (as a voter in a swing state, a swing Senate state, in a swing district) no more fu**ing wall-to-wall ads with scary, brown people raping my daughter and "genetic males wrestling with our girls" from three different, angry racist di**heads.
  
  For soup kitchen workers and ER room nurses.
  
  For PTSD counselors who grew up to find that patient who needed them from the moment she first knew of him, watching the news in September as a new 5th grade girl, doodling her name and her crush's name in initials in her notebook.
  
  For our own, Second Amendment options if they come for brown, gay, trans, or Jewish neighbors.
  
  That SCOTUS didn't steal this one, we lost it on our own by siding with people who take their balls and stay home with them rather than having balls and voting with them.
  
  For old trackmarks and no new ones.
  
  
• L.S. in Queens, NY:
  
  
  
  
• K.H. in Scotch Plains, NJ: To be honest, one of the things I'm most thankful for is Wikipedia. After seeing so many Internet sites start off well and useful and functioning and then slowly go down the drain, Wikipedia's continuing reliability is so reassuring especially in these days and times, particularly how bull**it is so often swiftly erased thanks to the many editors. The site certainly has flaws and I won't deny that, but it's without a doubt one of the crowning achievements of the Internet.
  
  On more personal notes, I'm also thankful for my iPod Classic, which I've had for 9 years, and Jeopardy!
  
  
• D.S. in Lakewood, OH: Knock out the obvious: I am thankful for (V) and (Z), who put together a quality site with educational posts almost every day. The value of their devotion to their readers is priceless. Thanks to everyone on the staff, doing all that work behind the scenes, even the mathematician and dachshunds. Thanks also to the many readers who have also become contributors and frequent commenters!
  
  I am thankful the Republicans have control of all three branches of government. I want to see how their policies play out, in extremis. I am thankful for all the guardrails in our democracy, the people and the policies—we are about to test many of them to their breaking point.
  
  
• A.T., L.R. and R.R. in Union City, CA: Thank you, (V) and (Z), for remaining calm and insightful all year long. Thank you for sharing your sense of perspective and of history. Thank you for writing pieces the whole family can share and discuss. We appreciate you.
  
  
• A.R. in Los Angeles, CA: There is, indeed, so much to be thankful for. Besides family, friends, and good health, I'm grateful for a like-minded community that advocates for democracy and a functioning government that works for ordinary people. And for Electoral-Vote.com, Chris and Andy, who work tirelessly to keep us informed!
  
  And then there's this, from evolutionary biologist Herman Puntzer, that I found especially comforting at a time when finding common political ground is challenging:

  No other ape shares like we do. It's anomalous in the natural world. But we do it every day. And whenever there's a big moment to celebrate, we do it by sharing food. So Thanksgiving is, in my mind, the ultimate human-evolution holiday. You've got hunted meat. You've got gathered plant foods. You've got language happening. You've got tools. You share this bounty with your extended family and friends, your kin group. What other celebration puts human evolution on display like that? So, of course, we should be aware of the health aspects. But let's not lose sight of the fact that, in humans, food is a social bond, and especially on Thanksgiving. Maybe give yourself one day to focus on that aspect and not worry too much about the calories. It's okay, honestly, to just enjoy the pie.

  I hope everyone enjoyed the pie!

Thanks to everyone for their contributions—and we hope everyone enjoyed the pie, too! (Z)

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Everybody Loves Raymond Burr

Did you know that Perry Mason was, in fact, a 'Nade? And that show debuted 67 years ago. Never, ever doubt that the folks up north are playing the long game.

In any case, for last week's headline theme, we first gave the hint that "if a headline word appears to be misspelled on a Friday, it's probably deliberate." That would certainly apply to something like "The Weeknd." On Saturday, we added this: "you might need to put your thinking toque on." And now, courtesy of reader D.D. in Carversville, PA, here's the answer:

The headlines all contain the names of show people born in Canada (you might refer to it as the Great Blight North):

• Nominations News, Part I: Gaetz Comes Up Short—Martin Short (comedian)
• Nominations News, Part II: Is There Anyone Else Who Won't Make It through The Weeknd?—The Weeknd (musician)
• Election Results: Casey Turns the Page—Elliot Page (Actor)
• MSNBC Watch: Is Fox about to Secure a Total Victory?—Michael J. Fox
• I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Bad News Brown—Natalie Brown (actor)
• This Week in Schadenfreude: Lake Is No Cruz—Here's a double... Don Lake (actor) and Ted Cruz (show pony in the Senate and perennial turkey)
• This Week in Freudenfreude: She May Be Young, But She's Not Going to Be Silent—Stephen Young (actor)

You're laying it on Thicke. Keep Calm and Carrey On! Thanks for the Thanksgiving Candy!

Very good, though the Young we actually intended was Neil Young, eh.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

M.Z. in Sharon, MA J.N. in Zionsville, IN M.W. in Altea, Spain D.D. in Carversville R.D. in Cheshire, CT S.G. in Durham, NC S.K. in Ardmore, PA E.K. in Arlington, MA E.O. in Melbourne, VIC, Australia M.B. in Albany, NY D.D. in Highland Park, IL T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts P.C. in Austin, TX R.A. in Chesterfield, MO M.L. in Iowa City, IA L.D. in Bedford, MA E.B. in Avon, IN A.C. in Minneapolis, MN A.W. in Pittsburgh, PA R.H.O. in Portland, ME B.H. in Southborough, MA J.C. in Trenton, NJ E.B. in North Liberty, IA S.H. in Santa Barbara, CA R.M. in Concord, NH

C.W. in Hamilton, NY M.S. in Canton, NY L.J.D. in Orlando, FL D.O. in Brookline, MA J.S. in Pittsburgh, PA L.A.J. in Bourbonnais, IL D.M. in Oakland, CA R.S. in Milan, OH R.S. in Pittsgrove, NJ J.S. in Columbia, MO M.L. in West Hartford, CT A.C. in Kingston, MA P.W. in Tulalip, WA V.M. in Indianapolis, IN R.R. in Pasadena, CA A.R. in Arlington, VA M.M. in Leonardtown, MD D.S. in Layton, UT J.I. in San Francisco, CA J.H. in El Segundo, CA K.R. in Austin, TX P.C. in Santa Monica, CA L.B. in Cardiff, Wales M.T. in Simpsonville, SC D.M. in Austin, TX

R.H.O. in Portland adds: "Believe it or not, I struggled the most with "Cruz." Once I identified the theme (with Martin Short and The Weeknd I knew I had it...) I actually spent some time googling "Cruz" trying to find a Canadian actor, singer, or something similar. Then it finally dawned on me—and by "it", I mean why you have always been suspicious of Canadians. Given that Ted Cruz is the most powerful Canadian in the American government, I think your suspicion is justified. Sorry for ever doubting you."

Meanwhile, S.K. in Ardmore admits that their "paternal grandparents immigrated to Michigan (infiltrated?) from Ontario." If anyone from the FBI is reading, please reach out, and we'll be happy to provide identifying information.

As to this week's theme, it's definitely in the category Entertainment, and it relies on one word in some headlines, on multiple words in others. As to a hint, we'll just say outright that we tried desperately to find a way to work WKRP in Cincinnati into a headline, as that is far and away the best-known example, but it just wasn't doable. Anyhow, with God as your witness, you'll want to make sure your answer makes sense, given that hint. Again, WKRP in Cincinnati is far and away the best-known example.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject "November 29 Headlines." (Z)

Schadenfreude: Los Angeles Cheers as Soon-Shiong Gets Called Out

Patrick Soon-Shiong, billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, has not clothed himself in glory in the last month. First, he eighty-sixed the paper's endorsement of Kamala Harris, in the name of "fairness." Then, he doubled down on that, and said that in order to make the newspaper's editorial board more "representative," he planned to hire CNN's token right-winger, Scott Jennings.

These billionaires always think they are smarter than the rest of us. And, in their specific domains, maybe that's true. But in this domain, Soon-Shiong isn't fooling anyone. First, Jennings does not offer a "conservative" perspective. He is a mouthpiece for the MAGA Movement, and the things he says on CNN are misleading or downright dishonest, more often than not. Second, editorial boards work as democracies. If you take the five (current) members of the board, all of whom wanted to endorse Harris, and you add Jennings, then you get... a 5-1 vote for Harris, or for whatever other "left-wing" perspective the board has.

Soon-Shiong is not trying to be more "fair," and we also doubt that he's trying to get his own personal politics into the newspaper. No, this is all about kissing the rear end of exactly one person, a rear end that will soon be positioned right behind the Resolute desk. That's the only reason to scotch the endorsement and it's the only reason to hire the most famous non-Fox Trump mouthpiece. If all Soon-Shiong wanted was a right-wing perspective, there are plenty of people like that who have actual ties to California, like Lanhee Chen, or soon-to-be-former Rep. Michelle Steel (who just conceded yesterday).

Anyhow, in an effort to put his spin out there, Soon-Shiong agreed to sit for an interview with Oliver Darcy, who used to be CNN's media guy, but who now works for himself as an independent blogger. The good thing about not having a bunch of suits above you in the hierarchy is that you don't have to worry about whose toes you step on. And so, Darcy brought the thunder. It's probably best to let Darcy himself explain how things went down, after Soon-Shiong raved about how "respectful" and "thoughtful" Jennings is:

Whether or not you believe Jennings is respectful to his fellow panelists (and that is very debatable) is beside the point. The problem with Jennings is that his commentary is, at its core, dishonest. He may not outright blurt out lies, but he isn't being truthful, either. His entire career hinges on defending a politician who subjects the populace to an endless stream of lies and conspiracy theories. Honest people are not in the line of work of defending dishonest people—especially when they are in such important positions of power.

It was when I attempted to broach this topic with Soon-Shiong that our conversation grew combative. He told me it was merely my "opinion" that Trump lies more than other politicians. I pushed back, noting that the depths of his dishonesty have been well-documented by fact-based news organizations. Soon-Shiong didn't apparently appreciate that. He scolded me for making "a statement."

"If you want to talk about Donald Trump, that's not the conversation I started with," the billionaire said, clearly annoyed.

Trying to steady the ship, I explained to him that I was only mentioning Trump because he had invited one of the president-elect's staunchest defenders to be on his new editorial board. I wanted to ask him how he grapples with the fact that defending Trump at every turn requires a person to engage in a high level of deceit. And, to be clear, defending Trump is primarily what Jennings gets paid to do. But when I told Soon-Shiong this, he accused me of harboring "bias" and added, "This is really what I think is the matter with the country."

Not long thereafter, Soon-Shiong took his ball and went home. That is to say, he insulted Darcy a few times, and then slammed down the phone and ended the interview.

When Soon-Shiong acquired the paper a few years back, it was because it was in trouble. Daily circulation is down to 200,000, while the website has about 500,000 subscribers. The greater Los Angeles metro area has about 13 million people, so that's not a great clearance rate, especially since many of those website subscribers are not Angelenos. Needless to say, Soon-Shiong's phony posturing isn't going to help the paper or its reputation. It's also not going to help Soon-Shiong's reputation, as he is now on the Los Angeles villains list. He probably doesn't care about sacrificing his newspaper on the altar of his biotech interests, since the latter is where his real money comes from. However, he may discover that in L.A., once your reputation is in tatters, all of your business interests are affected. Put another way, the city has run more than one unpopular rich guy out of town. (Z)

Freudenfreude: Senator Helmy Displays Both Will and Grace

Do you know what state George Helmy represents in the U.S. Senate? Assuming you are not from that state, or maybe one of its neighbors, the odds are pretty good you don't. If so, you're to be forgiven. Heck, we've only mentioned him one time this year.

The state that Helmy represents is... New Jersey. See, he is the guy that Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) selected to replace Bob Menendez once it was official that Menendez is a crook. Because it's not uncommon for senators to die, or quit a little early, or... get convicted of felony-level crimes, there have been more than two dozen members who, like Helmy, served for 90 days or less. Normally, they take in the scenery, and make sure to get themselves some business cards, matchbooks, and pens engraved with their name and the U.S. Senate logo, that they can hand out as souvenirs for the rest of their days. They might also make sure to get their fill of U.S. Senate bean soup. Few of them actually try to do the job, though.

As you can probably guess, the "enjoy the ride" approach is not the one Helmy chose. He got a few months with some meaningful amount of power, and he was determined to use it. So, he has done a bunch of networking, including some reaching across the aisle. This has resulted in his sponsoring or co-sponsoring 30 pieces of legislation, most notably a bill that endeavors to protect children from the worst elements of social media. He also gave a well-received speech on the situation in Gaza. And he opened up three local offices back in New Jersey, and has been doing constituent services, something Menendez had largely lost interest in.

Helmy's time in office is almost up; he's expected to resign early, so that Sen.-elect Andy Kim (D-NJ) can get a leg up, seniority-wise. Still, it's an excellent example of carpe diem—seize the day. Helmy got his opportunity, and he made the very most of it. Plus, he's only 45, and he's gotten great reviews, so who knows, he might be back in Washington in his own right one of these days. (Z)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: Time for Some Holiday Cheers

For the last several years, we've spent December running politics-themed poetry. We're going to put that tradition in mothballs for a year or two, and do something a little different this season. Each week, leading to the holiday, will have a different... theme, for lack of a better term. To get some momentum going, we'll deploy something we've done a couple of times before. So, it's suggested Christmas presents for:

• Kamala Harris (December 2)
• Donald Trump (December 3)
• Joe Biden (December 4)
• J.D. Vance (December 5)
• Mike Johnson (December 6)

Visual aids are welcomed, and we hope folks can have some fun with it. (Z)

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---The Votemaster and Zenger