E.J. Dionne

Opinion | Trump Has a Religion. What Do Democrats Have?

Mike Johnson referred to No Kings as the Hate America rally, implying that if you oppose his party or the president, you hate America. One party, one leader, one country is not an American idea.
From my @nytimes.com
chat with David Brooks & Robert Siegel:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...

Opinion | Mamdani Is a ‘Sewer Socialist.’ That’s a Good Thing.

Mamdani is persuading center-left doubters by making clear his goal is to deliver services to New Yorkers under stress, not to build some left-wing utopia. Welcome to the old American tradition of Sewer Socialism.
My @nytimes.com column:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...

Opinion | Mamdani Is a ‘Sewer Socialist.’ That’s a Good Thing.

Mamdani is persuading center-left doubters by making clear his goal is to deliver services to New Yorkers under stress, not to build some left-wing utopia. Welcome to the old American tradition of Sewer Socialism.
My @nytimes.com column:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...

Opinion | Who Can Stop a President Deploying Troops?

While there is a move toward peace in Gaza, Trump is escalating political war at home.
I joined Michelle Cottle & @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social in a @nytimes.com Opinion discussion of the president using the state against his political foes & this radical disconnect.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/o...

Opinion | Who Can Stop a President Deploying Troops?

While there is a move toward peace in Gaza, Trump is escalating political war at home.
I joined Michelle Cottle & @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social in a @nytimes.com Opinion discussion of the president using the state against his political foes & this radical disconnect.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/o...

Opinion | When Authoritarianism Looms, Old Friends Reunite

Good morning! I reunited with David Brooks and Robert Siegel, who hosted us for many years on @npr.org, to discuss Trump, authoritarianism and the next phase of American politics. Happy to say it’s my inaugural contribution as a @nytimes.com opinion writer.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...

Here’s a Shocking Idea: Democrats Don’t All Have to Sound Alike Four candidates in wildly different races show the value of being yourself.

“Here’s a Shocking Idea: Democrats Don’t All Have to Sound Alike.
“Four candidates in wildly different races show the value of being yourself.”

A v-important piece by @jilldlawrence.bsky.social. In a diverse country & party, forget about cookie-cutter candidates.

www.thebulwark.com/p/shocking-i...

Dem Governors should make clear they “cherish our public health system as a pillar of American greatness and see vaccines as a miraculous human achievement” — unlike their foes who indulge “in juvenile conspiracy theories disparaging ‘deep state’ medical professionals.”
Good @gregsargent.bsky.social

I Visit Israel Every Summer. I’ve Never Seen Hopelessness Like This. The slaughter of Palestinians continues. Most Israelis hate the war and their government. But a tiny right-wing faction controls all.

An extraordinary and moving account by @jo-ann.bsky.social of how progressive Israelis feel and think about the activities of a government they revile. A rare, penetrating look at liberal Israeli civil society from the inside as it struggles to end to the war.

newrepublic.com/article/1995...

“There is no electoral risk to hammering away on Trump’s dictatorial tendencies—and a huge risk to the nation in ignoring them.”

Important @perrybaconjr.bsky.social. Connecting the dots about how Trump is aggrandizing his power is deeply important & does not preclude discussions of economic issues.

The GOP States With Guards Deployed to D.C. Have Urban Murder Rates Way Higher Than D.C.’s Today on TAP: New Orleans? Memphis? Baton Rouge? Jackson, Mississippi? Why aren’t their states’ Guards on patrol there?

“The GOP States With Guards Deployed to D.C. Have Urban Murder Rates Way Higher Than D.C.’s.”

“New Orleans? Memphis? Baton Rouge? Jackson, Mississippi? Why aren’t their states’ Guards on patrol there?”

Great from Harold Meyerson @prospect.org

prospect.org/blogs-and-ne...

Texas Republicans: It’s About Power, Yes—but Also Their Radical Agenda Of course this gerrymandering plan is about keeping power. But it’s about keeping power to a specific end: to pass laws people hate and block ones they want.

“The Texas gerrymandering scheme combines…personalist, autocratic leadership and a pattern of gaining and wielding power with little regard for the views of the broader public.”

Excellent by @perrybaconjr: Why the GOP’s maneuvers go beyond the usual politics.

newrepublic.com/article/1988...

Opinion | The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away

“[I]f behavior that this administration has exhibited in just its first six months continues and is amplified for its full four years, the America you know will be gone. And I don’t know how we will get it back.”

Remarkable essay by @thomaslfriedman.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/o...

THE VALUE OF NATIONAL STATISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES PEOPLE in the United States and other countries rely on data and statistics to live their lives, often without realizing it. They may check weather, traffic, or air quality reports and other readily a...

Trump’s messing with official stats is very bad for everyone.

“To be useful, information on a nation’s society & economy must be credible & trustworthy.” Users must know that the data gathering is “not affected by any political or ideological perspective…”

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573...

Opinion | The good news about murder Homicides are way down. What happened, what we can learn and how progressives became crime fighters.

The good news about murder:
Homicides are way down.

My essay on the need to acknowledge and understand why crime is declining — and how to build on success: What happened, what we can learn and how progressives became crime fighters.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | The good news about murder Homicides are way down. What happened, what we can learn and how progressives became crime fighters.

The good news about murder:
Homicides are way down.

My essay on the need to acknowledge and understand why crime is declining — and how to build on success: What happened, what we can learn and how progressives became crime fighters.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Analysis | Consumed by Epstein, Trump has lost ground on the economy and immigration When he was sworn in, Trump promised a new “Golden Age.” It’s clear that, six months into his presidency, the public isn’t buying all the hype.

Trump’ problems extend beyond a revolt in his base around Epstein.

“He has lost ground with the broader public on issues that once were among his strongest attributes,” writes Dan Balz
in a very good analysis.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Lots of middle-of-the road voices long for bi-partisanship. But the GOP in the Senate (except for Collins & Murkowski) just blew up any hope for bi-partisan budget accords. If the GOP makes a budget deal to get 60 votes & then blows it up when they only need 50 votes, good faith bargaining is dead.

The Epstein explosion “allows us to peer into the future of MAGA and see its potential crackup. After Trump is gone, this movement could tear itself apart. Its very existence is premised on a series of fantastical assertions about America and American government.”

@davidfrenchjag.bsky.social

Trump tariff threat piles pressure on Canada to expand trade with Asia Ottawa’s latest pivot to Asia comes three years after it released a much-vaunted Indo-Pacific Strategy

“Trump tariff threat piles pressure on Canada to expand trade with Asia.”

Headline in Canada’s national newspaper, the @theglobeandmail.com

Does Trump really think that pushing our closest ally & friend away from us is in our country’s interest?

www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Really excellent piece by @qjurecic.bsky.social on how the Supreme Court keeps rescuing Trump.

“The Trump administration…seems only too happy to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s help. And as far as the White House is concerned, the cost to the rule of law may be a bonus.”

“Be curious, not judgmental” – how Jim Ryan’s slogan is one that "all kinds of people from right to left should welcome" – and what's at stake in Trump vs. Harvard – @ejdionne.bsky.social on @thenation.com podcast bit.ly/4kh0fT

“As former president Joe Biden has often said, ‘Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.’ Today, American values point in one direction: expanding the immigration police state.”
Thanks @crampell.bsky.social for this important piece on the dangers of the huge ICE expansion.

Progressives prosper when they answer justified fury with aspiration & battle nostalgia with promise.
My essay: The Abundance idea needs work but has taken flight because it recognizes that defending rights, advancing social justice & protecting the planet all require a liberalism that builds.

“With this faith in the future, we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and rise from the fatigue of darkness to the buoyancy of hope, and we will be able to bring into being this new society and realize the American dream.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
#Happy4thofJuly

Opinion | ‘Abundance’ at the fore of Democrats’ new ideas sweepstakes How one book created both excitement and trepidation inside the Democratic Party.

The market for “big ideas” depends far more on demand than supply, and the Democrats’ craving for the next new thing is intense. Amidst the chaos created by Trump’s antidemocratic power grab, one idea has broken through.
My essay on why Abundance took off:

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

“In order to truly believe that the Freedom Caucus is going to tank the bill, they’re going to have to actually vote against it. Not hold out, not fold their arms and grumble. Actually vote against it. And we still haven’t seen that.”
@ddayen.bsky.social

americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?ac...

I don’t believe a word any House Republican (except for Massie) says about how awful they find the Senate-passed monstrosity. They always cave to Trump. If that’s what they plan to do again, they should just say nothing and stop embarrassing themselves. The only thing that counts is how they vote.

Here’s the deal: Sen. Murkowski knows this bill will hurt a lot of people. So she wanted amendments to minimize the impact on her state. But a carve-out like that was against Senate rules. So now she has to decide if she’ll vote for a bill that hurts the people of her state.

“Legislation speaks louder than words.”
Excellent analysis by @jacobhacker.bsky.social
& @patrick-sullivan.bsky.social
of the bill before the Senate today that is “the most regressive, least populist policy package in memory.” It’s terrible on tax equity, heath care & hunger.