Zeteo

Zeteo

Home
Mehdi Unfiltered
We’re Not Kidding
Shows
Columns
Documentaries
Chat
Watch
Ask The Editor
Book Club
Shop
Donate To Zeteo
About

When a MAGA Manufactured Outrage Campaign Came After Me

Here’s my personal experience with Trumpist weaponization.

John Harwood's avatar
John Harwood
May 21, 2026
∙ Paid
Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One on May 20, 2026. Photo by Kent Nishimura / AFP via Getty Images.

A social media post from libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie caught my eye recently. He was crowd-sourcing ideas. “I’m interviewing Neil Gorsuch later today,” Gillespie wrote. “What should I ask him?”

The Reason magazine editor-at-large was doing what diligent journalists do, soliciting ideas for topics he might have overlooked in earlier preparation. His post also alerted his 118,500 followers on Twitter of special content heading their way.

That reminded me of a lesson I learned 10 years ago: Even such basic research can be made to look sinister in the hands of bad-faith political actors. And by bad-faith political actors, I mean Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Russian intelligence agents helping him, and the right-wing media flunkies on their side.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Zeteo to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2026 Zeteo · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture