Politics

Ross Douthat revisits his assumptions about Trump and the GOP:

As with any other time Trump makes a public appearance, scores of protesters, media and gawkers - including a bagpiper - gathered outside the Republican National Committee on Thursday morning hoping to catch a glimpse of Donald Trump, some protesting, some adoring, and some just curious. As the Hill puts it simply: a "wild scene."

Following today's eagerly anticipated summit between Paul Ryan and Donald Trump, don’t expect a joint press conference or photo op. As the Hill notes, Ryan is showing no signs that he’s prepared to swiftly endorse Trump when they emerge from their huddle at Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters on Thursday morning.

In a vote whose outcome was largely expected, moments ago the Brazilian Senate concluded a marathon 21 hour session with a 55 to 22 vote to suspend President Dilma Rousseff from office to face an impeachment trial, ushering in a new government to take command of Latin America’s largest economy. Rousseff will be tried on allegations she illegally doctored fiscal accounts to mask the size of the budget deficit.

Although it violates the first canon of literary criticism, let me judge Buyer’s Remorse by its cover, or at least take note of a couple of its features. On the back, Senator Bernie Sanders artfully praises the book without criticizing its subject—the outgoing president. On the spine, there is the logo for the publisher Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster. Other recent Threshold authors include Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Mark Levin.