Polarization

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett mocked her state’s governor during a weekend appearance, referring to Greg Abbott — who uses a wheelchair — as “Gov. Hot Wheels” while speaking at a banquet in Los Angeles.

“You all know we got Gov. Hot Wheels down there. Come on, now,” Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, said about Abbott, a Republican, while addressing the Human Rights Campaign event. “And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot-ass mess, honey.”

Donald Trump’s first two months in office already feel like they have contained more action than Joe Biden’s entire four years. But a great deal of that presidential vigour is being diffused and delayed by district court judges around the country.

Injunctions are a normal part of a court’s business, but the recent explosion in local judges issuing nationwide injunctions adds an unprecedented layer of sclerosis to the federal government — which wasn’t exactly good at moving quickly in the first place.

Cybertrucks set ablaze. Bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms.

Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk’s electric-car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.

Far-right political pundit Nick Fuentes’ surprising characterization of President Trump as a “demagogue” in a podcast update has The New Abnormal co-hosts Daniel Moodie and Andy Levy scratching their heads.

If you have little talent and few prospects, the quickest way to turn things around these days is to go on social media and accuse the Jews of starting the Vietnam War or blame them for replacing beef tallow with seed oil. Call yourself a “historian” or “researcher,” and wait. You’ll be a guest on Tucker Carlson’s podcast in no time.

Indeed, in the past couple of weeks, two of the most unhinged antisemitic “influencers” have been guests on two of the most popular podcasts in the country.

President Donald Trump on Friday walked into the Department of Justice and labeled his courtroom opponents “scum,” judges “corrupt” and the prosecutors who investigated him “deranged.”

With the DOJ logo directly behind him, Trump called his political opponents lawbreakers and said others should be sent to prison.

Donald Trump’s campaign was shaped in large part by the stories and narratives of the online right. So you’d think that after years spent doggedly proclaiming their heterodoxy and warring against the supposed tyranny of the woke mob, some of our most prominent right-leaning alt-media pundits—like Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and Bari Weiss—would be feeling pretty satisfied. After all, they finally have a president who promises to combat the deep state and fight against the liberal elite. What’s not to love?

Americans are feeling increasingly stressed about politics amid assassination attempts, a late-breaking candidate change, debate drama, and legal battles. In APA’s 2024 Stress in America survey, 77% of U.S. adults said the future of our nation was a significant source of stress in their lives (Stress in America 2024, APA).

The United States Constitution offers Americans “a way to address common problems across lines of difference,” said Yuval Levin, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

“It gives us different mechanisms and institutions for dealing with each other when we disagree, and therefore for turning difference and disagreement into something constructive,” added Levin, a former George W. Bush administration official.