The WSWS called the event a spectacle with Mamdani "playing host and prop to the fascist president" and said the DSA had formed a political alliance with Trump. It listed what Mamdani did not raise, from Trump's Iran threats to the firing of Haitian city workers who lost protected status.
Camp by camp · Updated October 18, 2026
The presidency & national symbols
How 9 of the ten camps framed it, in their own words, then everyone on the record beneath that — March 28, 2026 to October 18, 2026. Each camp section is that camp's own outlets writing. The people below are grouped by who spoke, not by camp: an outlet can quote anyone, so the outlet it ran in tells you who carried the words, never whose politics they are.
9/10 camps on the record
the record here 198 camp reads 245 quotes 83 people 12 checkable claims 1 running story
Communist / Far-Left 4 reads · 2 outlets
Democratic Socialist 12 reads · 5 outlets
Liberal Mainstream 40 reads · 15 outlets
Center / Nonpartisan 36 reads · 5 outlets
Establishment / Center-Right 21 reads · 6 outlets
Libertarian 6 reads · 4 outlets
MAGA / Populist Right 40 reads · 13 outlets
Religious Right 6 reads · 4 outlets
Identity 33 reads · 11 outlets
Tech / AI nothing on the record
Communist / Far-Left
"Subordinate American cultural life to the personal vanity and political interests of a fascist administration" is how the WSWS described the board's aim. It is the only camp that traced the full arc from the 2025 board purge to canceled Pride events and argued the administration's own actions caused the deficit it now cites. It also reported the displacement of the National Symphony Orchestra.
"Canada is on the frontlines of the changing global order, a flashpoint for an attempted American oligarchic takeover that sees allies as competitors" is the far left's frame, and it is the only camp that put numbers on the consumer side of the rupture, reporting tourist travel to the U.S. down over 25% since April 2025 and American liquor pulled from eight of ten Canadian provinces.
CounterPunch Aug 28 that day's brief ›
"Democratic Camelot." WSWS refuses the nostalgia. Obama expanded drone warfare, bailed out Wall Street without prosecuting bankers, and deported more people than any president before him. The star-studded dedication is read as myth-making that serves the Democratic Party's institutional interests.
Democratic Socialist
"She literally lasted half of a Scaramucci," Kyle Kulinski said, calling her exit a firing dressed as kindness. He used it as evidence that "the whole regime is just total fucking amateur hour."
Hasan Piker argued that Trump's second term staffs people "hired not on the basis of competence, but instead on the basis of loyalty, total loyalty to Donald Trump," and read the firing as a sign of chaos inside the administration. Kyle Kulinski called it "amateur hour" on Secular Talk.
YouTube: HasanAbi Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited YouTube: Secular Talk
"Because she's in above her head. She's not qualified for this," Ana Kasparian said, playing clips of the stumbles in her first briefing. The segment treated the bar question as one more sign of a hire based on Fox News appearances.
Truthout wrote that "the fact that Zacharia has possibly misled others about her personal history raises the question of whether she can be forthright or honest in her new role." It spent as much space on her years advising an anti-abortion group as on the bar question. Hasan Piker read the hire as loyalty politics: "You have to be a devoted cult member to get elevated in Trump world."
Truthout Oct 15 that day's brief ›
also cited YouTube: HasanAbi
Truthout wrote flatly that "the administration has been openly defying court orders in the case." It led with the placard photograph and a legal team member's sworn account of a forklift hitting the building's pillars.
Truthout Sep 18 that day's brief ›
"All he actually cares about are the vanity projects" is Kyle Kulinski's read, and he argued the board's fiscal-collapse claim was a crisis of Trump's own making.
"A massive distraction. Something that's nothing but theater or show." The socialist left's loudest voice filed the renaming alongside the Yosemite land talks and the prediction-market story as one pattern of misdirection, and urged institutions and mapmakers to simply refuse the new name.
"A massive distraction. Something that's nothing but theater or show." The socialist left's loudest voice filed the order alongside the Yosemite land talks and the Iran war as a single pattern of misdirection, and urged institutions and mapmakers to simply refuse, arguing nobody should have accepted "Gulf of America" either.
4 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Liberal Mainstream
"Zacharia was ousted for the wrong reason," MSNBC's column argued, pointing to deleted conspiracy posts rather than the bar claim. Another MSNBC piece said she "plays one on TV," Kimmel's line led the Guardian, and NPR's Elving tied her to "poorly prepared personnel." The camp's nine pieces and Reich's panel largely treated her as a symptom of Trump's TV-driven hiring.
MSNBC Oct 18 that day's brief ›
also cited MSNBCMSNBCMSNBCThe GuardianNPR
"She went out like a firework on a soggy night," the Guardian wrote, and it turned the firing into a case study of a manager "whose chief criteria are looks and loyalty." CBS centered "a heavily criticized performance in the White House briefing room," MSNBC wrote that "Three days later, she did what few thought possible by breaking that record," and NPR's Emily Feng told listeners "It is just not possible for foreigners to take the bar there or even practice law." Eleven of the camp's receipts led with the resume and the record.
The Guardian Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited The GuardianCBS NewsMSNBCNPRCNN
How often she will brief the press is "unknown at this time," the Guardian quoted Zacharia, making the press secretary's availability the lead before her credentials. CBS and USA Today built their pieces on law professors who said "lawyer" and "attorney" mean the same thing, and NBC reported a senior official's argument that she could technically be a lawyer but not an attorney.
The Guardian Oct 16 that day's brief ›
The Guardian's sketch said she debuted "with all the warmth, wisdom and political dexterity of an AI avatar." The AP piece carried by ABC was drier but pointed: "Nowhere did she mention the task of disseminating accurate information to Americans." MSNBC called it a "train wreck of a briefing" and printed legal ethicists on the difference between a J.D. and a license.
The Guardian Oct 15 that day's brief ›
also cited ABC NewsMSNBCYouTube: Pod Save AmericaYouTube: David Pakman
CBS put "loyal" in its headline and fact-checked her gym op-ed, noting "although the First Amendment protects against government censorship of speech, not private businesses." The Guardian wrote that Trump picked a "devoted fan" to be "to be his most prominent spokesperson," and Brian Tyler Cohen on Pod Save America said she was rewarded for fealty.
CBS News Oct 10 that day's brief ›
also cited The GuardianMSNBCNBC NewsUSA TodayYouTube: Pod Save America
"treating millions of Californians as expendable" is how USA Today summed up the condemnation from California officials, and it listed the cities' military bases and trade hubs. CBS ran the line beside rebukes from Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass and Mayor Todd Gloria, while MSNBC framed the night around fuel, opening that "President Donald Trump knows he has a problem with gas prices." Brian Tyler Cohen told viewers it was "the president of the United States, saying that it is okay to bomb American cities because they're too democratic, too blue."
USA Today Oct 6 that day's brief ›
also cited CBS NewsMSNBCYouTube: Brian Tyler Cohen
"took a sundown fight with Sen. Tom Cotton public" is MSNBC's opening line, and it closed on Rep. Chip Roy saying Cotton "should not have been doxxed." CNN added Rep. Joaquin Castro's warning that the post put Cotton "at risk of harm" from foreign hackers, and the Guardian's headline called the move a "ploy." Four of the six outlets in the camp reported dialing the number themselves.
MSNBC Oct 4 that day's brief ›
also cited CBS NewsCNNNBC NewsThe GuardianUSA Today
"does not promote a specific government policy and instead discusses defeating political adversaries," USA Today wrote, answering the White House comparison to past public service announcements. NPR gave former ethics czar Norm Eisen the floor to call the ads illegal. Brian Tyler Cohen and MeidasTouch mocked the spots as a campaign pitch on the public dime.
USA Today Sep 29 that day's brief ›
also cited NPRNBC NewsYouTube: Brian Tyler CohenYouTube: MeidasTouch
32 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Center / Nonpartisan
"spent the days following playing defence," the BBC wrote, laying out the briefing, the bar answer and the Hannity interview in sequence. It printed Hakeem Jeffries's reaction and Scaramucci's post without adding its own verdict; PBS ran a short news-wrap item.
BBC News Oct 18 that day's brief ›
also cited PBS NewsHour
"a short and rocky tenure that was defined by questions about her professional background and lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists," the AP copy on PBS read. It reported Trump's "reconsider" remarks in sequence and let the Friday panel argue over the White House chief of staff's role.
PBS NewsHour Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited PBS NewsHourPBS NewsHour
"The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump's decision to hire Zacharia," the AP wrote, reconstructing her resume line by line. Bloomberg's headline said she "Downplays Result," and the PBS news wrap reported the 15-minute debut.
PBS NewsHour Oct 16 that day's brief ›
also cited PBS NewsHourBloomberg
"The White House is defending its new press secretary," the BBC began, giving the communications director's defense before reconstructing her record from the Wall Street Journal, which reported she took the California bar and did not pass. PBS ran the AP account and separately led its Guilfoyle segment with the news she broke.
BBC News Oct 15 that day's brief ›
also cited PBS NewsHourPBS NewsHour
"Lawmakers from both parties, as well as religious leaders, have criticised the plan," the BBC wrote, leading with the officers' letter and naming signers such as former NASA chief Charles Bolden. It noted the signers accept the execution itself.
BBC News Oct 15 that day's brief ›
The BBC wrote that "she has long been a ferocious defender of President Trump" and gave a political scientist the line that Trump values loyalty first.
BBC News Oct 10 that day's brief ›
also cited PBS NewsHour
"drew criticism and questions over their legality" is the BBC's summary of why the ads became news. It quoted Republicans Thune and Sen. John Kennedy alongside a legal ethics expert and the White House defense that the ads were "educational."
BBC News Oct 6 that day's brief ›
"a remarkable escalation on Trump's part of a longstanding fixation" is how the AP copy on PBS described the post. It set the fight against the calendar, writing that it came weeks before the midterms, "when Republicans would prefer that the president focus on talking about affordability issues and the party's achievements." It also ran the 2025 AP-NORC finding that only 12% of adults favor the current clock-change system.
28 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Establishment / Center-Right
"Being dishonest without seeming to is a big part of the job!" Andrew Egger wrote, arguing that the White House cared about her clumsiness in explaining the bar question, not the question itself. The Examiner moved straight to the succession list.
The Bulwark Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited The BulwarkWashington Examiner
The Bulwark read the briefing as "the transformation of the White House press room into a simulacrum of the Korean Central News Agency," walking through each friendly questioner and suggesting the Guilfoyle question was planted. Its newsletter called her "a Trump One figure, somehow transported here to bless us in 2026." Its video segment detailed the reported corruption behind Guilfoyle's exit.
The Bulwark Oct 15 that day's brief ›
also cited The BulwarkYouTube: The Bulwark
The Examiner called it "a choice that caught current and former DHS officials who had worked with Zacharia off guard," tying her short DHS stint to the exits of Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski.
"taxpayer-funded political ads" is the Examiner's own label, reported "in the wake of bipartisan backlash." It led with Trump's post and quoted it at length.
"the golf-industry interests behind it" is where the Bulwark pointed, framing the post as Trump attacking "one of his own loyal allies" with Republicans "already staring down a brutal midterm environment." The only Bulwark receipt is a paywalled show summary, so the read rests on its framing lines, not reporting.
The Bulwark's weekend show described the administration "re-escalating against Iran with an additional 10,000 troops on their way to the region," folding the deployment into a broader question about Trump's health.
"Your tax dollars are funding his TV ads." Will Saletan's piece said "The images echo those of fascist regimes in the early twentieth century," and Bill Kristol's podcast title called the administration thieves. The Dispatch took up the ads on its roundtable and in a newsletter, making four Bulwark and Dispatch items on the story.
The Bulwark Sep 29 that day's brief ›
The Examiner wrote that Trump "renewed his affable overtures toward New York City’s first socialist mayor," in a brief, uncritical account.
13 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Libertarian
The Free Press interviewed Trump's 11-day communications director and noted "Scaramucci didn’t join the dogpile criticizing Katie Zacharia." It treated her tenure as a question of survival rather than credentials.
The Free Press Oct 15 that day's brief ›
"the distinction between public service announcements and campaign ads blurs," Reason wrote. It traced the ban on publicity and propaganda in appropriations law back to 1951 and quoted a Cato fellow comparing the tactic to one used by Hungary's Viktor Orbán.
"He is threatening to puncture, flatten, and shred a ball that does not even belong to him," Reason wrote, tracing Trump's reversal from quitting the project to threatening to raze it. It noted the center netted a $6 million surplus in 2023 before Trump's takeover.
"This system hurries us into war on one man's whim, then puts every constitutional barrier intended to prevent reckless action in the path of undoing the damage." Reason's frame is procedural and skeptical of all sides: Trump launched a war without congressional authorization, the Senate has now failed twice to invoke war powers, and the same memorandum of understanding hailed as peace is also legally meaningless because Congress can torpedo any sanctions relief inside it.
Reason Jun 27 that day's brief ›
also cited Reason.com
A first-person account from a journalist who happened to bicycle past the Reflecting Pool. Notes the National Guard presence is unprecedented (more militarized than the Strait of Hormuz), the Park Service workers actively scooping algae after Trump claimed the pool was repaired, and a former whitewater canoeist's arrest for "merely touch[ing] a chunk of blue paint." Frames the whole apparatus as a political performance designed to manufacture the "vandal" Trump needs.
Reason Jun 25 that day's brief ›
also cited Mises Institute
"A cultural mirror of the political moment" -- Reason acknowledges UFC's mainstream rise and treats the event as a genuine reflection of where American culture actually is, rather than where critics think it should be. Neither celebration nor condemnation; a cultural diagnostic.
Reason.com Jun 14 that day's brief ›
MAGA / Populist Right
"a halting debut at the podium," the Daily Wire wrote, but it led with her praise of Trump as kind and hardworking. It reported her dinner with Vance's family the same night and printed Trump's account that she was treated unfairly by the news.
The Daily Wire Oct 18 that day's brief ›
OAN called Trump's Friday comments "an unmistakable vote of no confidence after less than a single week in the post." Fox catalogued "several verbal stumbles," the Blaze noted "a particularly rough interview with Sean Hannity," and the Daily Wire cited "a rocky first briefing and intense media scrutiny over her legal background." Breitbart closed on a source telling Matthew Boyle that Trump "is still a huge fan of Zacharia." Five of five MAGA receipts carried Trump's line that the press treated her unfairly.
"if you are a Republican woman, you don't count," Brandon Tatum said, defending her against Jimmy Kimmel's mockery of her looks. He argued her years in media made her qualified. No MAGA print outlet among today's articles covered the briefing or the bar question.
OAN said Trump moved to "fill a crucial vacancy" before the midterms. Breitbart and the Daily Wire printed Trump's post and her "honor of a lifetime" statement in full, and the Blaze noted "She will be the 7th female in a row" in the role.
One America News Network Oct 10 that day's brief ›
also cited Breitbart NewsBreitbart NewsThe Daily WireThe Blaze
"Jake Tapper doesn't understand his business at all," Benny Johnson told viewers, turning the story into a fight with CNN over ad money. He played the ad in full and said of its critics, "They're losing their minds."
"another setback for Trump" is how Fox described the bill's failure to pass despite bipartisan support. Breitbart ran two pieces, one straight report and one giving Cotton the floor to explain his opposition. OAN reprinted the PGA Tour CEO's letter at length, including a golf-industry estimate of "23 million additional rounds per year," and the Daily Wire laid out medical research on both sides. None of the five outlets called the post doxxing.
Fox News Oct 4 that day's brief ›
also cited Breitbart NewsBreitbart NewsOne America News NetworkThe Daily Wire
"living public officials should not have buildings named after them," Fox led, making Kennedy's naming rule the story and giving the ad itself one sentence. It spent most of the piece on Trump's attempts to put his name on the Kennedy Center and other buildings. Breitbart ran the CBS transcript under the same building-naming headline.
Fox News Sep 28 that day's brief ›
also cited Breitbart News
The Daily Wire framed the press as the antagonist, reporting that reporters "peppered" Mamdani over cooperating with Trump, and credited the mayor with "a politically savvy move" in inviting Trump to a house he loves. OAN noted Trump had called Mamdani a "Communist lunatic" before, and Fox previewed the visit around immigration clashes. All three MAGA receipts carried Trump's praise without criticism of it.
The Daily Wire Sep 22 that day's brief ›
also cited One America News NetworkFox News
32 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Religious Right
"widely panned," TAC wrote of her debut, noting that White House officials joined the criticism. In four sentences it called hers "the shortest tenure of any press secretary in American history."
The Christian Post ran a straight report built on Trump's original Truth Social announcement and her Hannity interview, with no commentary of its own.
"Additional developments unfolded in the ongoing litigation" is the evangelical outlet's only line on the fight, inside a weekly roundup that led with Trump's outreach to faith voters.
The evangelical outlet listed the story in a weekly roundup, noting "Additional developments unfolded in the ongoing litigation." It paired the closure with Trump's outreach to faith voters and offered no judgment.
The evangelical broadcaster filed the shortest account of any camp and framed it entirely around motherhood, opening on her two young children and closing on the unanswered succession question. It quoted her "bittersweet" line and added no political reading of the tenure at all.
CBN News Aug 13 that day's brief ›
"Dawn of the golden age of America." CP relayed the speech straight, foregrounding Trump's line that the Constitution is "the most righteous political document ever conceived" and the freedom-of-religion invocation. The paper largely omitted the partisan content, the SAVE Act stumping, the communism attacks, and the Patriot Front march happening the same morning got no mention.
Christian Post Jul 6 that day's brief ›
also cited The Christian Post
Identity
"Donald Trump wanted another fighter on television," Atlanta Black Star wrote, relaying Kaitlan Collins's report that Trump judged she had not defended him forcefully enough. It devoted space to online jokes comparing her looks to Karoline Leavitt's.
The Advocate described Zacharia "being offered a chance on Fox News to clarify what she had said on Fox News the night before," and covered the story across three pieces, from the "reconsider" remarks to the firing.
The Advocate Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited The AdvocateThe Advocate
"The firing capped a brutal debut for the former conservative TV commentator," Atlanta Black Star wrote, and it printed reader comments casting her hire as a double standard on merit. TheGrio wrote that her exit "marks the shortest tenure for a White House Press Secretary on record."
Atlanta Black Star Oct 17 that day's brief ›
also cited TheGrio
The Forward opened on the fact that she "managed to draw a rebuke from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum," reporting the museum's answer to her claim tying the abortion pill to Zyklon B. It was the only outlet that made her Holocaust comparisons the story.
The Forward Oct 17 that day's brief ›
Atlanta Black Star wrote that Hegseth was left to defend a proposal "that critics have compared to public executions carried out by terrorist groups and authoritarian regimes." It framed the story as a test of who holds authority in the administration.
Atlanta Black Star concluded that "she cannot legally refer to herself as an attorney or a lawyer," and it printed leaked texts in which a senior Trump official said she "could barely read." It also gathered social media jabs about her hiring.
The Advocate reported that "In a now-deleted X post, she blamed transgender people for multiple school shootings," tying her record to anti-LGBTQ+ attacks. It also noted her work for Richard Grenell's Fix California.
The Advocate Oct 16 that day's brief ›
"Even administration insiders were not happy with Zacharia’s Tuesday performance," Atlanta Black Star wrote, quoting anonymous officials and social media reaction. Al Jazeera said she "has drawn increasing criticism over claims about her professional background" and explained China's citizens-only bar exam, while the Advocate reported the bar question flatly.
Atlanta Black Star Oct 15 that day's brief ›
also cited Atlanta Black StarAl JazeeraThe Advocate
25 more reads from this camp, in the daily briefs.
Nothing on the record
One camp has published no framing we could verify on this issue. Absence is part of the record, so it is printed here rather than left out.
Tech / AIThe stories behind it
Claims on the books
Open Michelle Kuppersmith Oct 16
“Ms. Zacharia has represented herself as a lawyer repeatedly”
Open Trump Oct 6
“This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”
Open Tom Cotton Oct 4
“Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter”
Open Trump Sep 18
“Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down.”
Borne out Associated Press Sep 11
“Vice President JD Vance is expected at the observance at the National Sept. 11 Memorial in New York”
Contradicted The Guardian Sep 6
“The board voted earlier this month to inscribe "The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J Trump" on the facade by 8 September.”
Open Trump administration Aug 22
“The Trump administration says 65% of the work has already been completed on the planned 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom, where the East Wing stood before the president ordered its demolition.”
Disputed Trump Aug 22
“The Ballroom will be paid for with ZERO Dollars of Taxpayer Money. Great American Patriots and Companies are footing the entire bill.”
Open Jeanine Pirro Aug 1
“The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism”
Open Anthea M. Hartig Jul 26
“As we continue to fact check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum”
Contradicted Jeanine Pirro Jul 3
“This was a deliberate act to damage the reflecting pool at the National Mall that members of the National Park Service actually have worked hard to restore.”
Borne out Trump Jun 25
“The Reflecting Pool that you've heard so much about, which is so incredible, it's been gruesomely vandalized by thugs, bad people, but soon we'll be looking as beautiful as it looked just two weeks ago”
On the record
Grouped by who said it. The outlet named under each quote is who carried the words.
Donald Trump US President 38 on this issue
“"I said, 'Honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.' I said, 'You think about it, but I would reconsider.'"”
Oct 17 via PBS NewsHour
“I said to Katie, you don't have to do this if you don't want to,”
Oct 17 via The Christian Post
“Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,”
Oct 17 via Atlanta Black Star
Bill Kristol 28 on this issue
“"The new White House press secretary doesn’t have the one skill Trump’s top flack needs. She just can’t lie good."”
on the new White House press secretary's ability to defend Trump
Oct 17 on @BillKristol
“"In the disfigurement of the White House, I’m tempted to see a more general disfigurement: of the Republican Party, of the conservative movement—of America...The White House was a perfect republican mansion--handsome, stately, but not too show-offy."”
Oct 12 on @BillKristol
“On this week's 'It's Happening Here,' Tom Joscelyn and I discuss Stephen Miller’s anti-American world view, and how much it's driving key Trump administration policies across DHS, DOJ, and DOD.”
on Stephen Miller's influence over Trump administration policy at DHS, DOJ and DOD
Oct 11 on @BillKristol
Brian Tyler Cohen 13 on this issue
“What does Trump think? That when somebody draws negative attention to him, even when they've been incredibly loyal, he can just kick their asses to the curb and pretend like he doesn't know them.”
on Trump's treatment of Guilfoyle after her resignation
Oct 14 on Brian Tyler Cohen
“If you if you offer up undying fealty to Donald Trump, then eventually they bring you in the fold.”
on Trump's new press secretary
Oct 10 on Pod Save America
“The president of the United States places LA and San Diego into Iran's suggestion box of places they should consider bombing, and Fox News pretends that it never even happened.”
on Trump's Los Angeles remark and Fox News coverage of it
Oct 7 on Brian Tyler Cohen
Hunter Biden son of Joe Biden 10 on this issue
“The reflecting pool reflects something even worse than the narcissism and incompetence at the core of this administration,”
Jul 2 via CNN
“He chose me over his legacy. Because no matter what you say that’s going to be one of the first things that is written about him,”
Jun 29 via CNN
“It’s not just his vanity projects, tearing down the East Wing of the White House making room for his ballroom, putting his name on the Kennedy Center, building an arch in his own honor, even hiring his own pool guy to fix the reflecting pool. Woah! What a loser,”
Jun 28 via CNN
Doug Burgum Interior Secretary 9 on this issue
“The places and waters that border our nation and support our economy should reflect the greatness of the United States”
Aug 28 via BBC News
“I’m not sure why you and others in the media think that you want to keep trying to question whether or not … this is an industrial liner.”
Aug 3 via CNN
“The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool. Some of these acts were even caught on camera,”
Aug 3 via NBC News
Jeanine Pirro US Attorney for DC 7 on this issue
“A lot of people, when this first happened with the pool, didn’t believe the president that there was vandalism.”
on public skepticism of Trump's Reflecting Pool vandalism claims
Aug 3 via CNN
“When these anarchists come – and we have witnesses – they’re like, ‘oh, we didn’t do anything,’”
on alleged vandals denying responsibility for Reflecting Pool damage
Aug 3 via CNN
“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed”
on Reflecting Pool damage caused by rushed construction ahead of a July 4th deadline
Aug 1 via Al Jazeera
Mehdi Hasan 7 on this issue
“Impeach him on day one of a Democratic Congress”
Oct 6 on @mehdirhasan
“"‘De-Trumpification’: America’s Ruler Is ‘Consumed’ by Fear His Self-Tributes Will Be Erased" As Dems flirt with tearing it all down, Donald Trump is forcing administration officials to brainstorm novel legal arguments for institutionalizing his personality cult forever. @swin24 and @andrewperezdc report for Zeteo:”
Oct 6 on @mehdirhasan
“He didn't answer the question. He rambled about his name change. We are governed by a toddler and if you voted for him, you're one of the dumbest people in this country and I don't know you watch this and dont feel embarrassed for your vote.”
Sep 30 on @mehdirhasan
Karoline Leavitt outgoing White House press secretary 6 on this issue
“President Trump has asked me to continue serving as a top advisor to him on the outside, and I will always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party,”
on Leavitt stepping down as press secretary while staying an outside Trump advisor
Aug 13 via The Daily Wire
“During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One.”
Jul 22 via Associated Press
“The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President's travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,”
Jul 21 via CBS News
David Frum 5 on this issue
“I suppose we're all lucky that Trump cares more about musical theater than defending the Union, or else it would be the Lincoln Memorial rather than the Kennedy Center that would now face demolition”
on Trump's fondness for the Kennedy Center over historic memorials like the Lincoln Memorial
Sep 17 on @davidfrum
“Trump's Vice President sticking a dozen daggers in Trump's back in a story that might as well have Vance's byline on it is the real news here about state of play for/in the Trump administration.”
on Vance appearing to undercut Trump in a news story
Sep 11 on @davidfrum
“The Caesars and Napoleon won some wars before stamping their images on the coinage of their fallen republics.”
on historical rulers who stamped their images on coinage after conquest
Sep 4 on @davidfrum
Ian Bremmer 5 on this issue
“from this administration, public execution is more ufc than taliban. presumedly hegseth is planning an undercard.”
on the administration's public execution plans, with a jab at Hegseth
Oct 9 on @ianbremmer
“trump once again confusing antarctica with greenland (no penguins in greenland unless he’s shippin ‘em in)”
on Trump mixing up Antarctica and Greenland
Oct 6 on @ianbremmer
“george washington rejected efforts to put his face on a coin—that was what kings did, not the leader of newly created republic. a useful reminder as the united states celebrates its 250th.”
on Washington refusing his image on currency, as the US marks its 250th anniversary
Sep 4 on @ianbremmer
Jon Ossoff Democratic senator from Georgia 4 on this issue
“build his ballroom and travel with Natalie”
Aug 20 via The Guardian
“I don’t think anything illustrates the times more aptly than that the draft-dodging, crook president, who has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win, tried to imprison this man, who embodies American heroism”
on Ossoff attacking Trump after he called for Mark Kelly's arrest
Aug 19 via The Guardian
“He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the amir of Qatar.”
Aug 19 via The Guardian
Justin Amash 4 on this issue
“Donald Trump is the authoritarian socialist president that Republicans used to warn about.”
Oct 4 on @justinamash
“I would call this the bread and circuses presidency, but it’s mostly just circuses. Anything to distract from Operation Epic Failure and Trump’s other epic failures.”
Aug 28 on @justinamash
“A president who cares about nobody but himself…”
on Amash's characterization of the president as self-interested
Aug 16 on @justinamash
Katie Zacharia former White House press secretary 4 on this issue
“President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him.”
on her public statement after leaving the White House press secretary job
Oct 18 via The Daily Wire
“I’m being hired as White House press secretary and not White House counsel.”
on whether she should have told Trump she never passed the bar exam
Oct 17 via The Advocate
“I practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”
on the new White House press secretary's legal credentials being questioned
Oct 15 via BBC News the story file ›
Ben Shapiro Daily Wire host 3 on this issue
“There’s an op right now to pretend that the real reason for President Trump’s unpopularity is foreign policy, but that is not true, by the polling data, it is not true”
Sep 29 via The American Conservative
“Just when you think our politics couldn’t get much dumber, Democrats rename Trump Tower “Natalie Tower” and President Trump renames Lake Ontario “Lake America.” Yeah, all that will solve our $40T national debt!”
Aug 29 on @benshapiro
“This list is total crap. Put aside Trump at the top. Woodrow Wilson was one of the worst presidents in American history; FDR lengthened the Great Depression by eight years; Calvin Coolidge was awesome and Harding was fine; Grant oversaw reconstruction; and Ronald Reagan and”
on a ranking of US presidents that Shapiro calls wrong
Aug 29 on @benshapiro
Books on The presidency & national symbols
Read across the aisle
Paid links. If you buy a book through these links, Bookshop.org pays us a small commission and sends a share of the sale to independent bookstores.
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Argues from the left
The Imperial Presidency (opens Bookshop.org)
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. · 1973
Historian and Kennedy aide Arthur Schlesinger traces the growth of presidential war and secrecy powers from Washington to Nixon and argues Congress must reclaim its constitutional role.
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Background
Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents (opens Bookshop.org)
Richard E. Neustadt · 1990
Political scientist and White House adviser Richard Neustadt argues that presidential power is the power to persuade, and tests the claim on presidents from Roosevelt to Reagan.
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Background
Power Wars (opens Bookshop.org)
Charlie Savage · 2015
Pulitzer-winning New York Times reporter Charlie Savage documents how Obama's team kept and extended many Bush-era national security powers, drawing on legal memos and interviews.
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Argues from the right
The Unitary Executive (opens Bookshop.org)
Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo · 2008
Law professors Steven Calabresi and Christopher Yoo survey all 43 administrations to argue that presidents have always claimed full control over executive branch officials.
About this file
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