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The passage of the Ukraine aid package in the House of Representatives last weekend was an extraordinary show of political courage. But for Donald Trump’s party, this democratic victory may soon look like a mirage.
(For more on Mike Johnson’s talk and what this weekend’s win means for him, we recommend Elaina Plott Calabro’s profile, “The Accidental Speaker,” published today. atlantic. )
First, we’d like to introduce three new stories. atlantic:
political mirage
The mirage known as Fata Morgana, named after the Arthurian character Morgan le Fay, is an extraordinary sight. If the atmospheric conditions are right, the light rays will bend, causing ships, islands, mountains, and coastlines to change before the viewer’s eyes. However, despite their beauty, these mirages quickly disappear. That reminds me of a remarkable scene in Congress this weekend.
On Saturday, Republican Chairman Mike Johnson delivered a major bipartisan victory for Democratic forces, confronting the threat from the party’s Trumpist isolationist faction. The $61 billion Ukraine aid package passed by more than 300 votes (final total 311-112), including 101 Republican votes and support from all House Democrats. The bill, which is expected to be swiftly approved by the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden, will protect the beleaguered Ukrainian people at what appears to be a decisive moment in the war against President Vladimir Putin and his invading forces. will provide important support to the
This vote was a scathing rebuke to the MAGA world and its leaders. “Ukraine has won,” wrote David Frum. atlantic this weekend. “Trump lost.”
We also got a rare glimpse of political courage. Prime Minister Boris Johnson vacillated for months over the Ukraine aid bill, whose delays contributed to the merciless loss of Ukrainian lives as Russia rained death on Ukrainian cities. His conversion was both surprising and welcomed. Although his ideological change has been described as an evolution, it felt more like a Road to Damascus moment. Johnson, who had been playing the role of Neville Chamberlain for months, suddenly sounded like Churchill.
“History will judge our actions,” he said last week. “This is a very important time. I could make a selfish decision and do something different. But I’m doing what I believe is right here. .”
Unlike the party’s top leaders, Mr. Johnson paid attention to foreign policy experts, listened to the pleas of America’s allies, and trusted the intelligence services rather than President Putin. “I really believe this information,” Johnson said. “If allowed, President Vladimir Putin will continue to march through Europe. I think he might go to the Baltics next. He might face off against either Poland or a NATO ally. think.”
Mr. Johnson knew that this decision could cost him his speaking position. In an era of Republican political meanness, his position felt very countercultural.
It was also a rare example of House bipartisanship. The House Republican leadership (with the exception of New York Rep. and Vice Presidential candidate Elise Stefanik) joined with Democrats in supporting Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
After years of dominating public discourse, the Republican Party’s most radical activists found themselves isolated and losing votes. Marjorie Taylor Greene suffered humiliation after humiliation. Her amendments (which included funding for “space laser technology” on the southern border) were widely ridiculed and then overwhelmingly defeated. Even her own Fox News seems to have turned on her, with a scathing editorial calling her a “fool” who is “trying to destroy the Republican Party” with her “overblown, self-serving showmanship and drama queen energy.” was published.
Isolationists had no choice but to vent their anger at displays of support for Ukraine, such as waving Ukrainian flags on the floor of the House of Representatives. “What a shameful and disgusting show from America’s last politicians!” Representative Posted by Lauren Boebert from Colorado. “You love Ukraine so much, sit back there and let the people who love this country rule America!”
However, for several hours Congressional Republicans appeared to be a largely functional and rational governing party, one that saw the United States as a defender of democracy against authoritarian aggression. It was a party that even Ronald Reagan would have approved of. But temper your excitement, because what we witnessed was probably nothing more than a political Fata Morgana.
After all, this is still Donald Trump’s party.
Days before his defeat in Congress, Trump tried to soften his message a bit, posting on Truth Social that he was also in favor of aiding Ukraine. “As everyone agrees, the survival and strength of the Ukrainian people should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us!” he wrote.
In a recent article, Frum wrote that President Trump’s comments were “an after-the-fact face-saving move to jump to the winning side after his opponent was on the verge of losing.” (Perhaps the strangest spin came from Trump supporter Lindsey Graham, who claimed on Fox News that “this wouldn’t be possible without Donald Trump.”)
But there is no question what Trump’s election would mean for Russia, Ukraine, or NATO. And there is precious little evidence that Republicans will continue to oppose it. president President Trump will stand with President Putin against our allies and our intelligence agencies.
The GOP direction arrows remain unchanged.: A majority of House Republicans voted against aid to Ukraine (the vote among Republicans was 101 in favor and 112 against). A majority of Senate Republicans are likely to vote no as well.
And the right-wing backlash is just beginning. That was the cue, and the flying monkeys of the MAGAverse quickly came out for the Johnson-Ukrainian package. After the vote, Mr. Green declared that Mr. Johnson was not just a “traitor to our conference” but in fact a “traitor to our country” and that Mr. Johnson’s presidency was “over.” She continues to threaten to file a motion to vacate her chair, which could plunge the Republican Party into chaos and dysfunction once again.
Sen. Mike Lee slammed what he called a “warmonger’s wish list” passed by the House. Accusations of “treason” and calls for Johnson’s removal flooded right-wing social media. Donald Trump Jr. launched a barrage of attacks on Johnson and the Ukraine bill, which Johnson called a “garbage bill,” while expressing support for Greene’s attempts to derail the bill.
Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, the rumpled coordinator of Republican anarchy, has escalated his attacks on Republicans who voted for the policy. “There’s a traitor in everyone,” the former White House aide wrote on his Gettr account. Mr. Bannon called Mr. Johnson a “sacred twerp” who “sold out his country to curry favor with the globalist elite.”
Charlie Kirk, a Trump ally, raged: “The D.C. Republican Party is not only tearing down our country with their anti-American acts, they are complicit in the demise of the constitutional order as we know it.”
If it were a rational political party, these would be voices from the margins. But Greene, Don Jr., Kirk, and Bannon still represent the Republican identity. Because they have Trump’s ear and are much closer to the heart of the MAGA base than internationalist Republicans like Nikki Haley, Liz Cheney, and Mike Pence. All of them defected from the Republican Party. In a recent Gallup poll, only 15% of Republican voters said the US is not doing enough to help Ukraine, while a majority, 57%, think the US is doing too much.
Despite the illusion of a rational foreign policy and last weekend’s flashes of courage and independence, Mr. Johnson and the rest of the Republican conference are almost certain to rally behind Trump. Even though he is on trial for multiple felonies, Republicans are lining up to pledge allegiance to the former president, regardless of whether he is convicted. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former Attorney General Bill Barr are just the latest Republicans to take a knee.
In just a few months, Trump’s re-coronation by the Republican Party will be held in my hometown of Milwaukee, reaffirming Trump’s absolute control over the heart and soul of his party. By then, what happened this weekend will seem like a distant mirage.
Related:
today’s news
- Lawyers in Mr. Trump’s hush money trial in New York gave opening statements today.
- The head of the Israeli military’s intelligence directorate has resigned, citing the department’s failure to predict the October 7 Hamas attack.
- Hundreds of Columbia University faculty members went on strike last week to protest the administration’s decision to call in police officers who arrested more than 100 students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
dispatch
- wonder leader: Being busy has become a status symbol, writes Isabel Fatale. What are we missing when we focus on being productive above all else?
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night reading
It’s really hard to rebuild a swamp
Written by Erica Giese
Water levels in California’s San Francisco Bay could rise more than 2 meters by 2100. For the region’s tidal wetlands and the animals that live there, such as the Ridgeway rail and the endangered salt marsh forager, this could be a death sentence…
By 2100, more than 545 million tons of soil will be needed to keep San Francisco Bay’s wetlands above water. But getting enough sediment is just one hurdle for restorationists looking to rebuild wetlands lost to development and enhance those that remain. The next challenge is figuring out how to provide that without choking the very ecosystems they are trying to protect.
Read the full article.
See more atlantic
culture break
longing. “Miniatures imitate life, but they have no clear practical purpose,” writes Gisela Salim-Payet. Here’s why small art deserves more attention.
read. Jose A. Rodriguez’s poem “Hinge”:
“The long side of the screen door prevents most flies from entering. / Fits smoothly and securely on classroom doors.”
Play the daily crossword.
Stephanie Bai contributed to this newsletter.
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