Gail Collins: Hey Brett, I know you're a Trump critic most of the time, and not a big fan of Elon Musk, but you're also a fan of lower taxes and spending cuts. Tell me one thing they are doing. Or at least like it.
Bret Stephens: Many things. Control the southern border. Armed Mexico eventually surrendered the top cartel gangs to justice in the United States. Ultimately, take the Houthi threat to global trade seriously. Be strong against Iran. Abolish the counterproductive DEI program in military and other federal agencies. Provide a good excuse for the Columbia administration to take the school’s anti-Semitism issue seriously. Promote the extension of tax cuts in 2017. Passing a spending bill that avoids the cost of shutting down the government (with the courageous assistance of Chuck Schumer).
I would have been almost glad if it weren't for mentioning all of this like praising a great meal that Hannibal Lecter had prepared for me. I'm gathering and you're mainly focused on the introduction.
Gael: Yes, I see an out-of-control government committed to crushing current foreign and domestic programs that have successfully helped the poor, treated the sick and protected the dangerous.
Brett: OK, there That.
Gael: By the way, the government seems to frequently cut costs through the helpless young Elon Musk slaves.
Brett: That's too.
Gael: By the way, about Chuck Schumer. I think we agree that he does the right thing when he votes with the Trump people to keep the government running. I always like Schumer and what he represents. But should he continue to serve as Senate Minority Leader? If so, he must call up information about serious reforms from Democrats. I'm not talking about tax cuts.
Brett: Schumer did something really brave: He brought a bullet for his party. The government's shutdown will be blamed on the Democrats, which has led to Trump's conversational view that the absence of the government is a result of Democrats caring more about ideology than the state. This would have allowed President Carte Blanche to decide on what places and parts of the government he thinks are more accommodating.
Gael: Absolute agreement.
Brett: The bigger question you asked is whether Schumer was the right messenger of reform. I guess my answer is whether the next Democratic leader will be one of the guys in Elizabeth Warren's progressive molds or a centrist like Michael Bennet of Colorado. If the former, I would say Chuck: Stick to nails.
So…Who do you want to be a reformer? What is your reform information?
Gael: Tough questions, Democrats in Congress are far from answering. I would love to see the core meeting admit that cutting some money for a plan that hasn't been pruned for a while isn't a bad thing. After a new plan to achieve the original goal was proposed.
Tell the world: “We are frugal, but we are not comfortable.”
Brett: Or, “We are lame, but not crazy.”
Gael: They need to reduce their image – frustrating. A friend of mine recently suggested that the community organize the “Canadian Love” incident to show support to the troubled neighbors in the north. I believe he mentioned the Leonard Cohen Poetry Festival and the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddie Movie Revival. to this end?
Brett: It's for Leonard Cohen. The theme song of the event may be directly from his last masterpiece, “You want it to be darker.” Key lyrics: “You want it to be darker/We kill the flames.” (Or, wait, maybe that’s President Trump’s motto?)
Speaking of darkness, your thoughts on Trump’s attack on the legal system, including his ridicule of Chief Justice Roberts?
Gael: I wonder how long Roberts has realized sooner or later, the government must take a break. After all, the purpose of having the Supreme Court is to have an institution that can prevent the president from violating the law.
Brett: Or Congress.
Gael: This is undoubtedly a government that reminds us why the makers decided to separate power. Trump doesn't care about such things. I do worry that since this is his last term in office, he will do something crazy for eternity…forever. Am I too paranoid?
Brett: I'm more worried that the JD Vance-Don Jr. administration might be in office within four years, rather than my abandonment of the 22nd Amendment to Trump. The real crisis will happen when Trump decides to publicly violate an adverse ruling la Andrew Jackson and John Marshall in Worcester v Georgia v Georgia, or, Abraham Lincoln and Roger Taney in former Parte Merryman.
Damn: I almost forgot about the old Shinzo Abe because of the habeas warrant’s nose. The right call, bad precedent.
Gael: These days, we do need every happy man.
Brett: Another legal story that caught my eye, Gail is Brad Karp, the head of the giant law firm Paul Weiss, whose company has a history of supporting the Democratic Party, and the president has announced an outrageous executive order that prohibits its lawyers from denying and denying their security permits from federal buildings. Instead of fighting a certainly illegal order now, Kalp agreed to provide $40 million in unpaid work to a Trump-backed cause in exchange for orders. It's a politically shaky, pure and simple, and a shame for Karp.
Gael: Not long ago, I was still living in a happy place where everyone expected Trump’s critics and opponents to point out his second semester in the wrongs and disasters of his administration. But it seems that belief in the future is not enough to avoid surrender.
Maybe – I think of Canada again – we should sponsor a show of an old Nelson Eddie movie, who and his companion Mounted Police vowed to “like packs of angry wolf…”
OK, maybe I was taken away…
Brett: That is my cultural reference beyond me.
Gael: Well, we do assign our expertise. You quote European intellectuals, I quote the forgotten musicals of the 1930s.
Brett: But since we are Trump’s shaky topics, I have to admit that there is one of them I don’t think is bad at all. I mean, the government reached an agreement with Columbia University to start restoring $400 million in federal funding in exchange for schools’ agreement to ban masks from masks in order to violate school policies, hire internal security to stop subversive protests and to review the East, South Asia and Africa research sectors. I know I'm going to take some readers on the corner, but I think the president will help colleges. Now, they can blame the evil Donald for making them do what they should have done a year ago.
Gael: Sorry, I just don't like the idea of trying to decide on college courses by threatening to withdraw federal funds, more than half of which are used in medical and scientific research.
Brett: I would have more sympathy for Colombia if they showed that they could and were willing to clean their house.
Gael: Turning to a completely different track – Any thoughts on the New York City Mayoral Competition?
Brett: Are there any other options besides Andrew Cuomo? The city is in poor condition. I know a lot of people hate him, and he made a lot of mistakes as governor. Again, the Moynihan Train Hall and the new Laguardia Airport terminal are the main achievements in making the city better. And I definitely haven't seen a more capable or tough option.
Gael: Well, in addition to the ridiculous choice of re-issue of the disastrous Eric Adams, the possibilities include City Auditor General, Brad Lander and Board Speaker Adrienne Adams. Neither of them have extensive experience in Cuomo management, but are not involved in a major sexual harassment scandal.
We have to wait and see how everyone performs in the campaign, which isn't a big year for a high-profile election given 2025. I'm looking forward to it.
Bret, this is where you often pay tribute to great people (or more obscure people). Today, I want to recall the great Max Frankel, former executive editor of Times, who died Sunday and brought readers to Robert McFadden's beautiful obsession, covering Frankel's extraordinary life and career, from which we learn that Frankel once wrote 35,000 words from eight of three Chinese cities.
Brett: Amazing. May his memory be a blessing.
And, before we go, I hope readers won't miss out on the action of Katharine Seelye, the first lady of Massachusetts. Dukakis suffered for years due to depression and drug abuse, and then responded to her challenges with a certain degree of courage and openness, which made her an inspiration. I don't know she is also an extraordinary humanitarian. A piece of itu sued grabbed my throat:
She worked with the Lutheran Services Association to bring children out of refugee camps and foster families in the United States. In the early 1980s, she went to a refugee camp on the Thai-Fort border to find a missing orphan whose sister lives near Boston. When the Thai colonel refused to let her into the camp, she knelt down and begged. He surrendered. She found the boy and reunited with her sister. He later received all scholarships from Brandeis University.
Condolences to the Dukakis family. May her memories be blessed too.
