First Draft: 🤮 Trump the Golden Calf
The decrepit child-president gets his own shiny statue. Elsewhere, a Biden State Department official tries to stop a populist in Nebraska while debate brews over AOC, MTG, and Israel's war in Gaza
On this day in 1997, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov conceded defeat by Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer. Having lost 2-1 with three draws, Kasparov said simply, “I lost my fighting spirit.” Nowadays, college professors flooded with essays written by ChatGPT might know how he felt.
Good morning, friends. Prem here. Wishing you a wonderful Monday and new week, wherever you are, and a happy belated Mother’s Day to all you magnificent moms across the world, doing your best to help us be our best. Thank you. 💜
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ a grotesque golden statue of Donald Trump is unveiled at one of his lavish resorts; an ex-Biden State Department official collects tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and figures including Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan as he tries to beat a populist for a US House seat in Nebraska; and debate flares regarding Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, MAGA exile Marjorie Taylor Greene, and their views on Israel and Palestine.
Idol Chatter
Late last week, a giant golden statue of a sadistic, narcissistic, psychopathic antagonist was unveiled – blasphemously, some said.
Oh, and we were also introduced to a gold statue of Homelander, a power-hungry, insecure villain from the Amazon superhero show ‘The Boys.’
In Florida on Thursday, a group of evangelical and Jewish clergy, led by South Carolina congressional candidate and presidential “spiritual adviser” Pastor Mark Burns, gathered to bless a 22-foot-tall, gold-colored statue of Donald Trump.
The statue, dubbed “Don Colossus” and actually bronze covered in gold leaf, stands proudly at the Trump National Doral golf club resort, depicting Trump raising his fist, as he did after surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
Trump addressed the launch event, and his cult followers, by phone. Thanking attendees for their support, particularly Pastor Burns, the president inevitably rambled off-topic.
After talking golf, because of the venue, Trump said: “Iran is not doing good because of us. They are not doing well at all. And good things are happening.”
He was speaking right after he was forced to pause his slapdash effort to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway closed because of his war, because key allies had not given permission.
In any case, it didn’t take much for many people to raise an eyebrow at the obsequious display, at the spectacle of religious leaders gathered beneath a garish statue. Did someone say idolatry? Does that stuff even matter anymore?
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