Staff writer at @TheAtlantic. Discussion and cat pics and bad music takes are at the other place: radiofreetom.bsky.social
Joined January 2012
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Jun 11
Today I tackle the question of why Pete Hegseth is so cringe-inducingly corny.
theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…
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I'm the guy in the USAF uniform watching "Godfather II" on Netflix
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I'd forgotten this observation I made of Seb Gorka back in the day when I was writing about Trump's manliness issue:
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Trashcan Man is going to arrive any moment
Lights from Trump‘s UFC event at the White House shining into the night sky
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Tom Nichols retweeted
I love how the people that won’t take a vaccine that’s been tried and tested for decades are the same people that’ll ingest pills they bought on the internet. 🙄
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I wrote that Hegseth is an unserious cornball, but remember, Trump is the least manly president ever to set foot in the Oval Office:
theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv…
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Shut up. Also, can you make me some mac'n'cheese and bring it upstairs
Grow up. You’ll feel fine tomorrow. Men are like babies when it comes to a little discomfort.
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Because I've never had polio, unlike other members of my family, and I didn't die in childhood from stuff kids are dying of again
Also, shingles is awful, and I'd rather not
Poison. Why would you put any vaccine in your body?
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Tom Nichols retweeted
Our Unaccountable Trillionaires
A conversation with Tom Nichols
CHARLIE SYKES
JUN 13
open.substack.com/pub/charli…
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As I said (and this story confirms) Trump is keeping the tarp up.
His spun-glass ego can't handle this. Meanwhile, we're losing a war, gas is still expensive, and some guys are gonna kick each other on the South Lawn. *golf clap*
nytimes.com/2026/06/13/us/po…
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Tom Nichols retweeted
Every intelligent person told you that Trump's painting the bottom wouldn't stop algae growing.
Trump filled it with drinking water, so of course it was "clear" for a few days before algae started growing.
Besides the well-known changes of repainting the bottom and stopping links, Trump is doing more to stop algae, such as increasing the amount of ozone used in the "nanobubbler" and continuous cleaning of the bottom of bird poop.
But still, algae is the natural state of the pool and you can't stop it without enormous resources and expense, more than Trump is spending.
President Trump fixes the reflecting pool and a week later it’s green again, loaded with algae… Sabotage… Vandalism? I believe it is. The left can’t stand Trump, American greatness and his quest to make DC beautiful again. What a shame!
Community note
The Interior Department stated the algae is a normal startup result caused by residual buildup in supply lines that were dormant during repairs. It is not sabotage. Similar algae growth occurred naturally after the pool's 2012 renovation. yahoo.com/news/politics/… newsfactsnetwork.com/news/algae-app… nbcnews.com/news/photo/dcs…
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Maybe RFK is on to something. That second shingles shot is wearing me out
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Tom Nichols retweeted
Knocking out some push ups w our Marine Security Guards that keep our Embassies in UK UAE & Gulf secure! SEMPER FI 🇺🇸
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"In his single-minded focus on mounting a cage fight on a single day, the president has missed significant opportunities."
Cullen Murphy explains that Trump isn't Roman-ing it up enough:
theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…
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Tom Nichols retweeted
Julius Caesar knife block.
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Tom Nichols retweeted
This is like how Trump called NAFTA “the worst Trade Deal ever made,” rebranded it as USMCA, and then called it “the best and most important trade deal ever made.”
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Tom Nichols retweeted
This is Donald Trump threatening to nuke Iran if the deal he's supposedly made does not work out "quickly, easily, and smoothly."
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Tom Nichols retweeted
10h
Trump’s team BS’d a judge last night in asking for time to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. It was a delay tactic so the scaffolding and tarp could be ready in the wee hours to block the public’s view of the removal. Once the tarp was up the name came down in minutes.
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