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Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
Garrett M. Graff
@vermontgmg.bsky.social
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Here is my third weekly dispatch, imagining how the US media *should* be covering the Musk coup if it was clear-eyed about the threat to our democracy. https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-trump-establish-new-era-of-kleptocracy-in-america
@vermontgmg.bsky.social
Follow
Here is my third weekly dispatch, imagining how the US media *should* be covering the Musk coup if it was clear-eyed about the threat to our democracy. https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/musk-trump-establish-new-era-of-kleptocracy-in-america
Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
A third dispatch comparing how the US media would cover this moment if it was happening overseas
Author
Garrett Graff
February 15, 2025 • Reading Time: 13 minutes
American institutions, from the media to civil society to Congress and state capitals, continue to underreact to the unraveling of our democracy. If, say, this was all happening in the East African country of Ishmaelia, our media would not hesitate to call the events we’re living through a full-blown autocratic coup.
And yet, three weeks into an all-out assault on the foundations and stability of our federal government, most journalists continue to treat the daily headlines as “normal.” The front-page of the New York Times has yet to resort to any blaring large fonts, and too many journalists in too many outlets continue to both-sides coverage as usual. Most TV news remains tepid. Not even Donald Trump’s clear First Amendment assault on the Associated Press over its continuing use of “Gulf of Mexico” could rouse the rest of the White House press corps. The White House Correspondents Association’s statement in opposition couldn’t even be described as “sternly worded,” which would appear the lowest bar it should clear.
As a counterpoint, for the last few Saturdays, I’ve offered an attempt to document how a more clear-eyed correspondent might have covered these events overseas. (If you’ve missed the start of this series, here’s the initial installment, “Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government,” and last week’s follow-up, “White Nationalist Forces Consolidate Power Alongside Musk’s Junta.”) Without further ado, here is this week’s third news roundup from our intrepid foreign correspondent:
NEWS ANALYSIS: Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
By William Boot
After seizing the capital in a fast-moving late January coup and with universal control of government ministries now seemingly assured by a quiescent parliament, South African oligarch Elon Musk spent his third week in power dismantling the legal constraints that would stop him — already the world’s wealthiest man — from turning the US government into his personal piggy bank.
{snip}
A third dispatch comparing how the US media would cover this moment if it was happening overseas
Author
Garrett Graff
February 15, 2025 • Reading Time: 13 minutes
American institutions, from the media to civil society to Congress and state capitals, continue to underreact to the unraveling of our democracy. If, say, this was all happening in the East African country of Ishmaelia, our media would not hesitate to call the events we’re living through a full-blown autocratic coup.
And yet, three weeks into an all-out assault on the foundations and stability of our federal government, most journalists continue to treat the daily headlines as “normal.” The front-page of the New York Times has yet to resort to any blaring large fonts, and too many journalists in too many outlets continue to both-sides coverage as usual. Most TV news remains tepid. Not even Donald Trump’s clear First Amendment assault on the Associated Press over its continuing use of “Gulf of Mexico” could rouse the rest of the White House press corps. The White House Correspondents Association’s statement in opposition couldn’t even be described as “sternly worded,” which would appear the lowest bar it should clear.
As a counterpoint, for the last few Saturdays, I’ve offered an attempt to document how a more clear-eyed correspondent might have covered these events overseas. (If you’ve missed the start of this series, here’s the initial installment, “Musk's Junta Establishes Him as Head of Government,” and last week’s follow-up, “White Nationalist Forces Consolidate Power Alongside Musk’s Junta.”) Without further ado, here is this week’s third news roundup from our intrepid foreign correspondent:
NEWS ANALYSIS: Musk, Trump Establish New Era of Kleptocracy in America
By William Boot
After seizing the capital in a fast-moving late January coup and with universal control of government ministries now seemingly assured by a quiescent parliament, South African oligarch Elon Musk spent his third week in power dismantling the legal constraints that would stop him — already the world’s wealthiest man — from turning the US government into his personal piggy bank.
{snip}