š¢ Teenage Mutant Nazi Turtles
Peter Rothpletz on the GOP's latest racist group chat scandal, Trump demolishing the White House, Fox comparing Portland to Gaza, and the latest in Sudan.
šŖ On this day in 1956, the late, great Carrie Fisher was born; she was an outlandish, outspoken critic of authoritarianism, whether it reared its ugly head here in America or in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Good morning! Peter Rothpletz here. I was up until 4 am drafting my first āFirst Draftā! Iām writing to you from the infamous antifa stronghold of Manhattan, New York. Iāve hunkered down here for nearly five years, and I still havenāt managed to track down a single, doggone rebel militia. WHERE ARE THEY??? Asking for a friendā¦
In todayās āFirst Draft,ā President Donald Trumpās nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel declares he has a āNazi streak,ā the White House receives one hell of a botched facelift, and Foxās Jesse Waters compares Portland toā¦ Gaza.
For now, anyone can read āFirst Draft,ā but it wonāt always be free or without a paywall. Subscribe today to ensure you always get āFirst Draftā in your inbox, unpaywalled, and if youāre already a subscriber, you can always support our journalism even further with a donation.
āI Do Have a Nazi Streakā
Forget turtles, itās fascists all the way down. Much to Vice President JD Vanceās chagrin, it wasnāt a āteenagerā who was responsible for the Republican Partyās most recent, racist group chat debacle. It was a 30-year-old man.
Late yesterday, Politico reported that President Donald Trumpās nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia, confessed to a cluster of fellow Republicans that he felt the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be ātossed into the seventh circle of hellā and said he has āa Nazi streak.ā
Unfortunately, thereās far, far more than that. Ingrassia used an Italian slur for Black people to declare, āNo moulignon holidays ā¦ From kwanza [sic] to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenthā¦ Every single one needs to be eviscerated.ā
Sweet Jesus. I need everybody to start getting #Woke again ASAP. Yes, I know it went a bit far the first timeā¦ But wowza.
BRING BACK WOKE!
In a statement provided to Politico, a lawyer for Ingrassia, Edward Andrew Paltzik, asserted that it ālooks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted. However, arguendo, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters āNazis.āā
Ummā¦ OK!
Putting thatā¦ somethingā¦ aside, it was merely a week ago that Politico reported how leaders of a Young Republican group chat referred to Black Americans as āwatermelon people,ā mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers, and joked about raping their enemies.
Clearly, we are in the bad place.
But hereās what depresses me most: we are some 10 years into Trumpism. Young āconservativesā have no conception of conservatism outside of the MAGA movement. To them, āReaganā and āBuckleyā are mythic figures akin to the goddess Athena and Spiderman. They are utterly untethered to reasonable discourse, and the vice president is eager to seize upon that horrible reality. He seeks to keep them in that state. He works to suspend them in a perpetual, hateful adolescence.
He wants them to be Teenage Mutant Nazi Turtles.
šļø What You Need to Know
Epstein details revealed: Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffreās posthumous book, Nobodyās Girl, has officially been released, revealing new details on the late sex offender and Prince Andrew.
Troops march on: A US appeals court allowed Trump to send the National Guard into Portland, Oregon.
Comey fights back: Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey filed motions to dismiss his indictment, calling it a āvindictive and selective prosecution.ā
Demolition derby: The White House has begun demolishing the East Wing to make room for Trumpās $250-million ballroom extension.
Mass layoffs: The US Department of the Interior plans āto abolish 2,050 positions,ā including major cuts to the Bureau of Land Management, according to a court-ordered disclosure.
š Schrƶdingerās Autocrat
The president of the United States ostensibly BOMBED the East Wing of the White House yesterday.
Over the weekend, the commander in chief posted multiple AI-generated videos with a crown atop his balding head.
Nevertheless, yesterday, the speaker of the House asserted Americans should never, ever DARE mock Donald Trump.
That is apparently verboten.
Back in January, I penned a piece for The Guardian arguing, āthere is no world in which Joe Biden and [Kamala] Harris attending the inauguration makes basic strategic sense. Such a move would only serve to undermine trust in a Democratic party brand thatās already on life support. Either Donald Trump is a fascist or he isnāt. There is no such thing as Schrƶdingerās autocrat.ā
I stand by those words. Biden and Harris made a grave mistake in participating in the pomp and circumstance around the inauguration.
Now, Trump is not only flouting constitutional precedent left and right, heās reveling in how easily he can circumvent Congress.
Both parties must reckon with the monster theyāve created.
š§ Pop Quiz!
Who was the last president to make a major structural change to the White House?
š Anywhere But America
šøš© Residents of the Sudanese city of al-Fashir sought safety in underground bunkers to protect themselves from increased attacks by the Rapid Support Forces.
šµšø š®š± US officials told the New York Times they are worried that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may derail the ceasefire agreement. Vice President JD Vance is in Israel with other Trump administration officials in an effort to shore up the deal. At least 87 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began, according to Gaza health authorities.
š²š¬ Madagascarās coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina has named Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo as the new prime minister, just days after the countryās President Andry Rajoelina was pushed out of office in a governmental overhaul.
šøš¦ First Qatar, now Saudi Arabia? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is reportedly trying to persuade Trump to give him and his kingdom the kind of deal that Qatar got last month when the Trump administration pledged to treat any attack on the Gulf state as a threat to US āpeace and security.ā
šØ Donāt Miss It!
Join Mehdi at 4 pm ET (1 pm PT / 9 pm BST) for a live Town Hall Q&A with Zack Polanski, the exciting new leftist, pro-Palestine, Jewish leader of the UK Green Party, as they take audience questions on immigration, Gaza, the far-right, and more.
This event is for paid subscribers only, but itās not too late to upgrade your access.
Click here to register.
š Poll of the Day
Thoughts and prayers for Trump and the Republicans. As we enter week three of the government shutdown, after the Senate failed to pass a stopgap funding bill for the 11th time, most Americans place the blame on them, according to the latest polling from YouGov.
š§ Trivia answer: Harry Truman in 1952
Fox Watch
āPortland looks like Gaza.ā Sorry, WTF? Jesse Watters should take a look at Foxās own reporting on what Gaza actually looks like.
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Great āFirst Draftā, Peter. You are joining a great team of journalists led by Mehdi. Iāve learned a lot and now keep up with political news via Zeteo. š
Fantastic writing. Looking forward to the next read.