Elon Musk was using drugs on a much larger and more "serious" scale than previously thought during the 2024 campaign trail, according to an explosive report. read more
Zachary B. Wolf: Rather than set government straight, Musk is leaving Washington with the federal budget all cattywampus. read more
The Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" report misinterprets some studies and cites others that don't exist, according to the listed authors. read more
Longtime White House reporter Brian Karem is suggesting that, as disturbing as Donald Trump's mental decline has become more apparent during his second term, what is even more dangerous are the people who support him and defend despite evidence that he is giving signs that he is slipping. read more
The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week and the unemployment rate appeared to have picked up in May ...
TACO has the potential to hurt Trump.
(1) It's simple. Trump Always Chickens Out. You can put that phrase anywhere, apply it to anything, and everyone knows what it means.
(2) It's meme-able. You have the slogan. You have the word mark. And you have an universally recognizable image. Hell, there's even a pre-built emoji for it. You can put this thing anywhere and it will be a symbol of the democracy movement.
(3) It's universal. You can apply it to any situation. Trump pulls back on tariffs? TACO. Trump gives in to Putin? TACO. Trump increases the national debt? TACO.
(4) It's organic. No Democratic strategist came up with TACO. It's an observation that emerged from the finance world"from the very same bros who voted for Trump in the first place. You can feel the disdain of his own supporters dripping off of it.
(5) It hits at something deep inside Trump. It's about his soul. It's about his weakness.
(6) It's a provocation. Real talk: It's usually good that Trump chickens out. It's good that he didn't try to use the military to remain in office in January of 2021. It's good that he pulled the 150 percent tariffs back to 45 percent, or 30 percent, or whatever they're at this morning.
But in the current dynamic, that's how Trump wins. He says he's going to do some insane thing, his supporters give him credit for doing it"but then he pulls back in order to avoid the worst real-world consequences.
By hitting him with TACO over and over, you (a) reveal his pull-backs as weakness and (b) dare him to go through with the stuff that will screw up the real world"and, in theory, create pain for his movement.
www.thebulwark.com
Elon Musk's Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death
www.nytimes.com