David Rothkopf

Did you see the newest South Park? Tune in as @normornstein.bsky.social and @djrothkopf.bsky.social discussed how South Park is doing a better job than the Democratic party at laying bare the horrors of this administration. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

youtu.be/CpXREkR6MKE

Hello Dems. More like this please.

I asked a retired Oxford historian about the most catastrophic historical event in his lifetime; he said Munich. He then added that the election of Donald Trump in 2024 will be even worse.

Better response.

meh.

Response of DC leadership to federal moves to take over the police was too passive. There are plenty of areas for pushback (notably this absurd assertion of an emergency) and I'd prefer to see the city's leaders call them out.

Patel Accidentally Tells Truth to Trump about Crime in D.C. Trump’s latest takeover plan prompted protests outside the White House on Monday.

FBI director Kash Patel admits that the murder rate in America is on track to be the lowest in U.S. history, undercutting Trump’s depiction of major cities as crime-riddled hellscapes.

Shockeroonie.

I could not possibly agree more.

Surprise! Trump's tacky White House remodel might be illegal President Donald Trump's rush to build a hideously ostentatious ballroom at the White House could run afoul of federal law, as he has yet to seek approval for the project that he claims will begin…

The White House might soon double in size — but don’t worry, Trump hasn’t even asked the planning commission for permission. Federal law? Pfft, that’s just a suggestion, right?

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

The biggest single violent criminal event in DC history was masterminded by and on behalf of Trump who is himself, of course, a convicted felon. The police he today said he would protect and empower were the primary victims of the mass attack he incited.

Moving backwards.

Just to be clear: Donald Trump just threatened force against people who spit on police officers in DC. Also, in January, Trump pardoned January 6 insurrectionists who had violently assaulted DC police officers. So it feels like this is a bit more about his power than about looking out for officers.

Trump is placing Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and is deploying the National Guard in the city.

He said this would be “Liberation Day” for D.C.

Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

in any other country, this would trigger mass protests and violence, but since this is the US it won't (for many reasons)

Reminder that Defense Secretary Hegseth, responsible for implementing Nat Guard mobilization, wrote in a book pub’d in’24 that blue cities are “enemy” territory that he compared to his experience fighting in Iraq:

Trump: "I get along with Zelenskyy, but I disagree w/ what he's done. Severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened...I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying, 'I have to get constitutional approval.' I mean, he's got approval to go into war & kill everybody"

So far not a single reporter has mentioned that crime is actually down in DC and that there is no emergency here.

Trump: "If we need to, we're gonna do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a mayor there who is totally incompetent and we have an incompetent governor there ... hopefully LA is watching."

It's critical that mainstream media adds facts and context to headlines, social posts and news stories about Trump's militarization of DC. This from @nbcnews.com is a fail: There's no mention at all that Trump's claims are not supported by evidence. Crime is down in DC. He is lying. Say that.

Never has a better case been made for DC statehood.

Breakthrough the noise:

This step in DC is a pilot project for militarizing other American streets.

President Trump just said so.⬇️

Even when DC violent crime is down 26 percent.

Reminder of August leaked memo (via @gregsargent.bsky.social): newrepublic.com/article/1987...

Pirro making the case to prosecute kids.

Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington DC President demands unhoused residents leave US capital or face eviction and vowed to use officers to make arrests

"Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington" - @robertmackey.bsky.social

"On any given night there are about 800 unsheltered persons sleeping outdoors in the city of about 700,000 people"

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I've lived in and around DC for most of the past 30 years. What Trump is describing bears no resemblance to the city in which I work and have lived.

Trump Administration Live Updates: President Orders National Guard to Washington and Says He’s Taking Control of D.C. Police

Trump "painted a dark picture of a capital — including 'bloodthirsty criminals' and “roving mobs of wild youth” — that many people who live in it are unlikely to recognize. Officials announced in January that violent crime in the city was at a 30-year low." www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Bondi: "Our secret weapon here in DC is US Attorney Jeanine Pirro"

The United States government has declared war on people of color in this country. Make no mistake about what is happening.

As deeply disturbing as Trump's use of an avalanche of lies and racist dog whistles to justify a federal take over of DC policing is...most disturbing is that this is a test-flight of declaring "emergencies" where none exist to take military-police control of multiple American cities.

None of this is about crime. It's about control.

It's a power grab, plain and simple.