I can't be the only person who thinks of Hansel every time Trump says we have the "hottest" country. That US is so hot right now.
NPR White House correspondent. Tariff explainer. Masculinity politics expert. Native Iowan. Girlboss. Pianist, writer, real piece of work. daniellekurtzleben.substack.com
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I can't be the only person who thinks of Hansel every time Trump says we have the "hottest" country. That US is so hot right now.
It's been a real dumb last few days.
I go on vacation for a week and you all lose your damn minds friends are we all ok
This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Bro we need to catch up I need to know how this is going and also everything else!
(I didn’t want to presume but I kinda figured/hoped.)
A friend asked me to name top 5 movie crushes of all time and ok is there a straight woman over 35 who doesn’t immediately name Benny the Jet Rodriguez?
“This election” = 2026 I mean. But also this year’s off-year elections too I guess.
Now that DOES mean he could be Dems’ best friend in this election. Just won’t be a lasting friend if they win.
Ok so like Rogan just likes to argue with whoever is in power, right? Whatever position he’s come around to…has he come around, or is he just continuing to thumb his nose at whoever’s in charge because that’s his whole schtick?
Sir.
THE DREAM: being Woodward and Bernstein, meeting deep throat in a parking garage while drinking martinis and arguing with a tough-but-fair editor about how you’re gonna BREAK THIS WIDE OPEN THE REALITY: weeping a lil with frustration after reading the harmonized tariff schedule for two hours
Yes this is niche. And also guys I have so much whiplash not to mention insane knowledge about the teensiest little things.
…part of an existing investigation into lumber. So furniture is a derivative of lumber. Have asked if that means non-wood furniture won’t be tariffed. Will report back.
Today in confusing tariff policy: Trump posted that he was going to investigate furniture tariffs. A WH official told me “the Commerce Department has initiated a Section 232 investigation into furniture imports.” But WH has clarified to me that it’s in fact not a new investigation but… 1/
Just flipping wow.
I mean the composition has changed.
The goal of that? I don’t know. More relevance. More panel events. Something something intra party strife.
Ain’t no chance this ends up changing politicians’ language. The goal in sharing and publicizing, I imagine, is to make a Conversation happen.
Sigh.
Trump says that DC having a week with no homicides was something that happened "for the first time in memory." The last time that happened was March, where there was a 16-day streak without a homicide.
Look I often think times criticism (specifically of headline choices) is overblown but dude this is just bazonkers.
I just keep wanting to list all the insane plot choices and then I realize that would be more effort than this silly, enjoyable (or maybe consumable?) show is worth.
Is this performance art
Lol gotcha. ❤️
Wait Moira are you Christian?
The homeless are painful to look at because they remind us of how unfair our world is, of how much suffering it contains, of how arbitrary and undeserved and precarious our own comforts and health are, of how we have failed to be sufficiently generous and merciful to others.
Ok I’m watching Smoke and this is just the dumbest crime drama ever which is to say my brain has gone smooth and it’s exactly what I need rn.
It's simple, we turn off the Internet.
Yes, nothing is like the 145% tariffs Trump proposed for China. But that was *astronomical*. But what we have now? STILL HIGH.
A thing I really need people to keep in mind: 15% tariffs are high, historically speaking. 10% tariffs are high. The average effective tariff rate before this term was just over 2%. Anything double-digits is high!
(To be clear I fully appreciate your support and tooting my horn. But it's MASCULINITY ALL THE WAY DOWN!)
Oh but sir -- this is one of my main points in life: The White House beat and the gender beat have ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME!
Arm-wrestling for the presidency. Measuring dicks for Sec of Defense. Ultimate-fighting for Speaker of the House.
I could never have dreamed of something so on-the-nose as all the dude politicians just having a public pull-up contest.
This all makes sense, and is so congruent with how misogyny functions in politics.
This is the best product listing copy I’ve ever read
Just finished this and welp I’m emotionally ruined. Even more than usual.
NEW—Earlier this evening agents from ICE/other fed agencies were outside Rhode Island Ave metro in DC asking people exiting the station for their IDs, per someone who experienced it. When the person presented their Real ID license, an agent said that wasn't sufficient. Luckily they had secondary ID.
I was just thinking I want this to happen to me. Not because I want a bribe but because I think I’d laugh so hard I’d vomit.
I really make a point of not having takes about electoral politics but here's one: If you are not literally paid to think about this specific thing, and you are spending real amounts of time caring about potential 2028 presidential candidates, I strongly disagree with your priorities.
How dare you
"National Guard is not trained in policing actions" "it actually negatively impacts military readiness" "young soldiers and airmen are political props" "This, in contrast, is where we should not have military on our streets, in our American cities. It is absolutely the way that dictatorships run"
what is going ON over there at #txlege
Get some 10-letter slots in those puzzles and immortalize “KURTZLEBEN.”
End of a dang era. What a loss. Ari is a TREASURE.
Absolutely
It is our most modestly priced receptacle.
Ahhhh so this is what I’ve been doing wrong.
SCOOP — Members of DC National Guard are preparing to carry M17 pistols, multiple sources confirm to me. This follows earlier reports that the guard reversed course and would soon be arming members in DC. Now we know they’re making sure they meet requirements if/when the order to arm them comes.
Your finest post
DINGDINGDINGDINGDING
ANYWAY this is more of an answer than you asked for but this whole topic is my jam. For more on this whole gender attitude thing, dig into this story -- specifically, the part about "hostile sexism." www.npr.org/2024/06/15/n...
(Dems are yes very much trying to aim at dudes but let's set that aside.) Both men and women on the GOP side are relatively united in their beliefs about how the genders Should Be. That group of people is more men than women. And vice versa on the Dem side.
I'm trying to be clear that this is not BAD. It's more that this type of presentation is the main thing that's seen as GOOD and NORMAL (and femininity is not). And yes this is definitely not just about winning guys. The big thing that separates the party is not gender but attitudes about gender...
OK i have a guess and i'll be honest i kind of want to know more
OK I'm done anyway I think I know what my next newsletter is.
(I'm not saying this candidate's masculinity is about that, again to be clear.)
I've been trying to articulate this for a while: Democrats do have a tough needle to thread. How do you appeal to guys without glorifying guy-ness to such a degree that you alienate women? Because a certain type of masculinity is all about dominating women.
The point is not that dudeness is bad. It's that it's the default -- the more dudeness, the better. And any deviation from it (painting nails in an ad) is seen as anomalous.
And in fact, this will be celebrated. Democrats, tired of being seen as the girly party, lose their damn minds every time they have a dude candidate who can fix a car or throw a football.
Consider a woman painting her nails in a Senate ad. Consider this guy doing kettlebell swings. Painted nails and kettlebell swings both are equally relevant to being a senator (which is to say: jackshit). But you're only going to see one of these in an ad this year.
To be clear (as always): This isn't about whether this dude is a bad candidate or whether this is a bad ad. Everyone is sharing it -- seems to be working. RATHER, this is about what gender expressions are considered valuable in politics.
Chopping wood. Fishing. Dropping an f-bomb. Kettlebell swings for the love of God. Beard. “I’m very angry.” My political ad guy-meter just broke.
I deeply fear that someday I will wake up with this affliction.
Ok but that would lowkey rule
It is truly remarkable to me that some of those hats say Trump 2028.
Could be the first reporter ever to wear a rainbow dinosaur dress in the Oval Office. (Seriously I want that dress.)
The Independent has identified Eric Lendrum as the DHS PR officer responsible for a relentless flood of social media posts on DHS pages using Nazis memes, slogans and images. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Like….Microsoft hasn’t been involved in this for years. You could have just dropped that part! Do a new name! NBC max? Hmmm no ok News max? Oh oof ok no A portmanteau of “news” and “now”? “Nows?” Ok actually I’m out of ideas.
Ok ladies where are we buying work-appropriate dresses with pockets? (NOT Boden pls I have already purchased all of theirs.)
OK actually this makes me angry all over again.
Similarly, "decimated." There is NO REASON this word needs to retain its original meaning (reduced by one-tenth), but also I cannot use it with its common meaning (wrecked) without knowing i'm technically WRONG.
I notice this ALL THE TIME and don't get me wrong i don't say anything (i'm not a monster) but i now have a little burr in my brain that pokes at me every so often.
A dear friend told me years ago how it makes her so mad that people confuse "nauseous" and "nauseated" and I rolled my eyes at the time but also now I cannot forgive her for making me a pedant about it.
A guy wore a Nazi shirt to a baseball game in DC.
The 1939 sign stands out.
Crowd of pro Ukraine demonstrators outside WH grounds today ahead of the big meeting >>>
It has this energy >>>
I found it on YouTube: youtu.be/qMIP4RIoCHc?... Either way of course worth sharing but seems to be out there.
What
Hello how do I buy one this is gorgeous
Thinking about the DC takeover in light of Jan. 6. How will the next legally required transition of power go?
Well we’ve hit it…the “toddler asking about genitals” phase.
Documents with sensitive details about the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin were left behind on a public hotel printer.
I promise they are recommending you for sainthood.
Caption this
Wait duh food. Comfort food. Casseroles and brownies.
I dimly remember it but cannot think of any items that would have “helped.”
Foreign reporter dispatch: "Elements of the federal regime's security service have established checkpoints throughout the the capitol region as international observers express increasingly grave concerns..."
Genuinely can’t think of a better way to cut loose after a … a real week. Live @magictavern.bsky.social show hell yeah baybee.
Nice round up of the law as of February here: www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Walking
This is fantastic.
This kind of wordsmithing is what I expect — nay — demand from Linda Holmes.
It’s like a plastic surgeon going on the news and telling the world “that lady’s boobs? I did those.” Why would you do this???
In general though that still doesn’t make perfect sense. A protest is humiliated if it is revealed to be “fake.” So why would you ever go out and promote that you do fake protests? Wouldn’t discretion be central to the job?