The Odd Couple

News & Notes, Nov 23

Welcome back to the American Times.

Two weeks ago, on November 9, I said Donald Trump was entering the lame duck stage of his presidency, a take that many have subsequently shared. Since then, the President has told a reporter to “Quiet, Piggy,” his approval ratings have continued to decline, and once Trump-aligned comedians like Shane Gillis have wondered whether the President was suffering from the early stages of “Biden brains.”

A lot has happened in two weeks. The government shutdown ended after Democrats politely folded their hand, MBS and the Saudis received a royal welcome at the White House, the AI bubble grew larger, Ukraine faced a possible over the barrel moment after some backroom US-Russia dealings, and oh, I had a son! Desmond is doing great and catching up on the news, too.

One story that is dominating the headlines at week’s end is the budding relationship between President Trump and Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani. On Friday, Mamdani visited the White House—a meeting he requested—and after a private conversation, the two held a joint media session in the Oval Office, from behind the Resolute Desk. Immediately, the two flashed a rapport and genuine fascination with one another that the President rarely shares with anyone (including his own Vice President), let alone a Democrat.

Throughout the press conference, Trump defended Mamdani from leading press questions. After a reporter asked Mamdani if he still believed that Trump was a “fascist,” the President butted in to say, “That’s okay. You can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it, I don’t mind,” as both men flashed wide grins. When another reporter asked Trump whether he agreed with Elise Stefanik, a Republican who is running for Governor of New York and has called Mamdani a “Jihadist,” Trump said he disagreed with Stefanik and instead said Mamdani was “a man who’s a very rational person and a man who wants to see New York be great again.”

Again, when another gotcha reporter asked Mamdani why he had flown to D.C. (“Aren’t trains greener?”) Trump butted in again: “It’s a lot quicker, too. He’s working very hard. That’s a very long drive. I’ll stick up for you!”

Here was the President of the United States jawing and backslapping with a man he had called a Communist and doing it before Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had so much as shaken Mamdani’s hand in public. It was an incredible scene—the left’s bogeyman and the right’s bogeyman standing next to each other in virtual embrace—but not an altogether surprising one.

Zohran Mamdani is perhaps the sharpest student of political theater in the post-2016 era. While maybe two others on the left—AOC and Gavin Newsom—have flashed some competency, nobody has done it like Mamdani. Trump respects that, and above all he respects winners. Policy is filler for Trump, always has been, while the flash and grandeur is the killer. Now time will tell whether this odd couple bromance continues or breaks apart.

However, one story looms larger than even the Oval Office meet-cute: Jeffrey Epstein and his supposed trove of “files.”

Earlier this year—in July—I wrote about why the Epstein story is so powerful, beyond the obvious salacious headlines and connections with at least two Presidents. The answer is in the two-tiered system of everyday life. As I wrote then, “the American people have come to expect that we will never learn the answers to these questions and that there is nothing being done to meaningfully pursue a base level of justice against those who committed the worst crimes imaginable. Much like the bankers who helped cause the financial crisis, the politicians who lied America into war in Iraq, and the billionaires who have grown richer at every single turn, even amid recessions and a global pandemic that killed millions, it seems only everyday people have faced responsibility. For those with money and power, it seems to many that there have been no consequences. Through the turbulent events of the last two decades—as life has become harder for so many and easier for a select few—the American people have come to expect that there is a certain class of people to whom the rules don’t apply.”

But now, we’re being told, the answers are forthcoming after the House and Senate both resoundingly passed the “Epstein Files Transparency Act.” I wouldn’t hold my breath. A week ago, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced an investigation into Democrats in Epstein’s bubble, namely Larry Summers and Bill Clinton. Predictably this will allow Trump and Republicans to force Democrats to own Epstein as one of their own, not someone who the President was repeatedly photographed with over the course of decades. But more than just “flooding the zone” is happening. This is a real investigation, directed by the Attorney General of the United States. Bondi even named Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, to lead it. Of course, real outcomes aren’t the first goal: this was a convenient ploy to block future Epstein files from redactions linked to an “ongoing investigation.” You can hear Bondi now, stern and frowning at the podium, “I can’t comment on…” blah blah blah.

Further, there is trouble in the Epstein Files Transparency Act itself. As the Act states, “The Attorney General shall make publicly available…all unclassified records, documents,” et cetera. As Ken Klippenstein has reported, “The bill says that if the Attorney General ‘makes a determination that covered information may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security, the Attorney General shall release an unclassified summary for each of the redacted or withheld classified information.’ As in, the Attorney General would get to decide what to release and how to characterize it.” As Klippenstein continues, “The truth is that the rich and powerful (including the FBI) are ultimately going to be protected from those who are clamoring for change. They aren’t hiding behind national security. They are national security.”

“Ongoing investigation,” “in the interest of national security.” These are official Washington-speak excuses the American people have heard for decades. So, if you think this is the big moment everyone has been waiting for: don’t hold your breath.

Other News:

· As the Trump-Mamdani summit shows, like Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (pathetic, attention-grabbing) turn shows too, the lines of American politics are blurring. That’s also becoming clear on the Artificial Intelligence front. Yet Trump has cozied up to the Tech Barons, who want zero regulations. This won’t sit well with either side of the populist aisle going forward. As the FT explains, “A plan backed by Donald Trump to restrict US states from regulating AI companies has provoked a backlash from prominent Republicans and Maga supporters, and accusations that he has caved to Big Tech donors…[But] a survey carried out by YouGov in June for the Institute for Family Studies, which campaigns for tighter AI regulations, found that just 18 per cent of voters supported the effort to stop states regulating the tech.”

· Beyond the coming populist A.I. backlash (which will in part define global politics in the coming decades), the middle class is still suffering. As the WSJ reports, “After nearly five years of high prices, many middle-class earners thought life would be more affordable by now. Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year… The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed that 44% of middle-income respondents said their financial situation was worse than it was a year ago, while 23% said it was better, based on a three-month average ending in September. Those who feel worse off overwhelmingly said it was because of higher prices.”

· Thanksgiving is in a few days now. Many will be preparing, overpreparing, and failing to prepare all over the nation. Joan Didion was no different. As the NYT explains, “She typed up dozens of menus and guest lists, noting who declined, who arrived at what time, how many ate or did not, and how much food was left over. She drafted instructions for a few hired helpers — and herself — detailing the timing and placement of each course, which forks to use and which plates couldn’t go in the dishwasher.” Read more about her Thanksgiving process, revealed in recently published private papers, here.

Sports:

The next seven days represent arguably football’s biggest week.

Everyone from the Cowboys to your cousins will be picking up the pigskin. In the NFL, that starts today. The best games of the day include: the Steelers at the Bears (1PM), Colts at Chiefs (1PM), Eagles at Cowboys (4:25PM), and Buccaneers at Rams (8:20PM). As far as bets go, there’s a lot of crooked numbers out there, signaling lopsided games ahead, and not a lot to like. But I’ll take the Over (41.5) in Vikings/Packers and Cowboys +3.5 at home vs the Eagles.

But there’s more football to preview before next Sunday.

On Thanksgiving, there are three NFL games: Packers at Lions at 1PM, Chiefs at Cowboys at 4:30PM, and when everyone is asleep from too much turkey, Bengals at Ravens at 8:20PM. The lines on these games will move, but from what I can see now I’ll take the Over (48.5) in the Packers/Lions tilt and Chiefs -4 in the late afternoon game.

On Black Friday, there is one NFL game—Bears at Eagles at 3PM—and two college games I’ll note: #4 Georgia at #16 Georgia Tech at 3:30PM and #3 Texas A&M at #17 Texas at 7:30PM. To top of it all off on Saturday is #1 Ohio State at #18 Michigan at noon. Again, the lines on these games is also subject to change, but based on current outlooks, Texas is somehow favored (-4) against A&M. That’s a flashing red light for me. Take #3 A&M +4 and don’t look back. I also like Georgia to cover (-12.5) vs Tech and for Ohio State to finally beat Michigan and cover (-6.5). For the NFL game on Friday, I’m rooting for there still to be leftovers—and I’ll take the Bears +7.5.

Until next week—I wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving.