Quote of the day

It’s another example of how we are in this weird and uncanny political moment in which Trump’s politics have broken free of the constraints of public opinion. (It’s reminiscent of a mob bust-out where you rapidly strip a business of its value with no concern for the future because you’re just going to burn it down and collect the insurance pay out.) Presidents often pursue some policies in which they are on the wrong side of public opinion. That’s in the nature of politics. What we’re seeing today is in a different category, a president acting as though there are no limits on his power even as those limits gather round him. While people really do use AI, AI data centers rate in popularity terms down with child molesters. And yes, perhaps that’s an indicator when it comes to Trump. What we’re seeing here and elsewhere is a presidency in YOLO mode, freed even from medium-term strategies and warnings and focused on cashing in, both politically and financially, in the short term.

~Josh Marshall