The FBI finally figured out how to catch spies in a globalized, tech-driven world. Then Kash Patel came along. A longread and must-read:

Running against Tommy Tuberville may not seem like a major challenge, but it is in the deep-red South. If someone can pull it off, however, it's probably Doug Jones. ICYMI, @lauren-egan.bsky.social interviews him in the latest edition of The Opposition: lnk.thebulwark.com/3ME0Bsp

Rob Reiner was one of the best and most versatile directors of his era. Or, really, ever. ICYMI @sonnybunch.bsky.social remembers him: lnk.thebulwark.com/45gAApd

"America chose this. This is our revealed preference."

"Right now, I think it's 41 percent Americans trust AI. It's got a very low approval rating. It's not as low as Donald Trump's, yet, but it's close." The opportunities could be amazing too. We need trust. @captmarkkelly.bsky.social joins @johnavlon.bsky.social on How To Fix It:

From @citizencohn.bsky.social, how a semi-fix for the expiring enhanced Obamacare subsidies might play out in the new year: lnk.thebulwark.com/49frPOy

Ro Khanna: "There are 1,200 survivors. I've met dozens of them. There's not a single person who I met who I don't believe went through extraordinary abuse and trauma."

Kristol: "Do you think we'll see the victim statements and the original 60 count indictment?" Khanna: "We will see it. The question is, are we gonna see it in this term, in this presidential administration? I do think we will see far more...because the response of the MAGA base…at Pam Bondi."

Ro Khanna: "If I met with Pam Bondi, I would ask her two questions: Who are you protecting? And why?…I understand they'd wanna protect Trump, but why are they trying to protect all these other people around him?"

Ro Khanna: "They look weak. They look duplicitous. They look like they're concealing things. And they look incompetent…It's horrible for government. The biggest issue in this country is a lack of trust in government…This is the kind of thing that erodes that trust."

Ro Khanna: "This is not a document case. It's a simple case of people wanna know who were the other rich and powerful men who abused underaged girls and covered up for it."

Bill Kristol: " What does it say that they thought they could get away with not releasing these?" Ro Khanna: "It just increases the sense that someone is being protected — rich and powerful people that were on the Epstein rape island."

Ro Khanna: "This morning, Massie and I went on Face the Nation and said we're gonna hold Pam Bondi in contempt and we've got Republicans ready to do that as well…And suddenly you see the Justice Department has been scrambling all day."

"For most people, the idea of political violence committed by one’s own side is so psychologically uncomfortable that many would prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist." Trump invents it where it doesn't exist.

"The people who did this to America will never pay a price. And if we defeat them, our success will be used as an argument against us."

JD Vance: "If you miss Charlie Kirk…do you promise to take the country back from the people who took his life?"

JD Vance: "The Democrats are already talking about 2028 and it looks like they're going to nominate a California liberal…They're just trying to settle on whether it's going to be Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris."

Vance: "Do you want more prosecutions?" TPUSA Crowd: "Yes!" Vance: "Great! So do we! Donald Trump and I have a list of better judges and prosectors to enact swifter justice. So join us in the fight against the stupid Senate rules that stand in their way."

JD Vance: "I didn't bring a list of conservatives to denounce or de-platform. And I don't really care if some people out there — I'm sure we'll have the fake news media — denounce me after this speech…We have far more important work to do than cancelling each other."

JD Vance: "When I say that I'm going to fight alongside of you, I mean all of you — each and every one. President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests."

JD Vance: "Mogadishu — wait, I mean Minneapolis. Little Freudian slip there."

JD Vance: "Jasmine Crockett, the record speaks for itself. She wants to be a senator, though her street girl persona is about as real as her nails."

Donald Trump Jr.: "The real enemy? It's not Steve Bannon, or Tucker Carlson, or Ben Shapiro. It's the radical Left that murdered Charlie and celebrated it on a daily basis."

Speaker Mike Johnson: "We're going to work on that [Charlie Kirk] statue in the Capitol."

Can data centers help *lower* utility rates? Possibly. @captmarkkelly.bsky.social talks that and much more with @johnavlon.bsky.social on How To Fix It:

The purpose of the Candace Owens-Erika Kirk "summit" was to have Candace Owens stop trying to commercialize Charlie Kirk's murder. And in that it failed. ICYMI @willsommer.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4oXPkQU

Speaker Mike Johnson: "We're going to work on that [Charlie Kirk] statue in the Capitol."

"It has become increasingly clear what unrestrained Trumpism means for the country: corruption and cruelty at home, incompetence and anarchy abroad." Turns out Americans don't love it. ICYMI Matt Johnson: lnk.thebulwark.com/48TqBqY

"I'll keep saying that Donald Trump should fire the secretary of defense. And when Donald Trump does stupid shit, which he does frequently, I'm gonna call him out on it. It's my job. I'm gonna continue to do my job." @captmarkkelly.bsky.social joins @johnavlon.bsky.social on How To Fix It:

"No one has ever introduced his household to new and exciting expletives after stepping on a book."

Why are Dem attack lines lagging behind public opinion?

Can the ad firm that helped propel Mamdani to the New York mayoralty help propel a billionaire to the governorship of California? ICYMI @lauren-egan.bsky.social interviews Tom Steyer: lnk.thebulwark.com/4anFLHu

Two kinds of people think it's impossible to advocate for a Palestinian state without killing Jews: antisemitic terrorists, and hardline right-wing Israel supporters. ICYMI @saletan.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4oYhjQo

He's the Speaker. But not of the House, really.

We should have learned by now that the simple fact of a foreign leader being a corrupt, brutal dictator doesn't mean launching a war against him will be good for America or for global stability

The same old tricks are visually amazing, but at this point they *are* the same old tricks. ICYMI @sonnybunch.bsky.social reviews "Avatar: Fire and Ash": lnk.thebulwark.com/4pRKvKg

Americans are going to experience increasing amounts of economic pain over the next 12 months. Stoves, as it turns out, can be quite hot.

"Is this a breakup episode?" @gtconway.bsky.social explains the legal news to @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social one last time.

"Even if he’s determined to stay in Caligula mode, Trump might want to pace himself. At the rate he’s going, he’s going to run out of satisfying things to rename long before he’s set to leave office." You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts!

"I know we shouldn't be surprised that he liked to move on this so fast, but it did just happen like 12 hours ago." JVL and Catherine Rampell discuss the re-naming of the Kennedy Center, as Donald Trump continues to put his name on anything he can—congressional approval or not.

"Is this a breakup episode?" George Conway explains the legal news to Sarah Longwell one last time.

"One of the big reasons why a lot of us grew up as conservatives is we were afraid that if you give too much power to the government, someone bad could come in and use it for their own personal gratification and empowerment," @gtconway.bsky.social says. "And here we are. This is exactly it."

Indiscriminate, mass deportation is not popular. ICYMI @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social:

"You just get so tired of medical professionals not willing to hear other options... just juggling medications, and just 'trust me, do what I tell you.'" @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social and @citizencohn.bsky.social discuss what is driving people toward the MAHA movement.

"Every Great Awakening in American history arose not because conditions were ideal, but because they were intolerable." A cause for hope!

"One of the big reasons why a lot of us grew up as conservatives is we were afraid that if you give too much power to the government, someone bad could come in and use it for their own personal gratification and empowerment," George Conway says. "And here we are. This is exactly it."

Politics is always full of strategy and calculation, but when do you hold out for a better deal, and when do you stop letting the perfect be the enemy of the good? ICYMI @samsteindc.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4qg5TZn

David Frum: "One of the things that people like you and me get often asked is, 'is there anything positive you can say about President Trump?' I realized after today, yes, there is. He really loves musical theater." Tim Miller: "He is a Broadway queen at heart."

"I like it that someone's finally speaking up and questioning it and it is a fight against Big Pharma that we're dealing with." @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social and @citizencohn.bsky.social discuss rising anti-vax sentiment in this week's Focus Group.

Trump is executing a cruel, indiscriminate policy that also endangers the economy. Why aren't we hearing more from one of the key industries being hurt? ICYMI @crampell.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4575EaU