My best birthday present ever happened on a Wednesday in Cleveland m.youtube.com/watch?v=HOp8...

More critiques of Trump's rhetoric! I'm looking at his UN speech and, in particular, his public diplomacy toward India. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

"Appeasement" feels like it's in the air tonight, as it were, and so I thought a brief rhetorical history of appeasement, bullies, Hitler, Trump, and more might be useful. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

In which I think about Trump, Nixon, and his little dog Checkers, or How did we get to Resentment Politics? substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Fascism is one way to explain Trump but he’s also embraced the Republican, authoritarian agenda that stretches back to Jim Crow. open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

Some thoughts on the debate about the Texas flood open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

Some thoughts on Daaaa new pope’s early public speeches. I’m encouraged: open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

This week, I critique the argument fallacies filling the Tapper and Thompson book attacking Joe Biden. Spoiler alert: Hasty generalization is bad. open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

I had no idea that Joe's Biden's retirement package include a condo in Trump's head. Livin' large and rent-free forever, it appears.

Surrendering on tariffs is a nice way to celebrate the 160th anniversary of Appomattox. Trump's side lost there, too.

Cory Booker's a little tired now because he spent 25 hours speaking on the Senate floor and the 25 hours after that sending me emails.

I wrote a bit about Cory Booker. With some historical 1957 trivia as well. oratoricalanimal.substack.com/p/quick-thou...

If you want to measure Chuck Schumer's failure, it's in the disappearance of the budget. Rather than banner headlines about Trump/Musk's attacks on beloved programs, the headlines concern Russian progress in Ukraine, Trump's economic rhetoric, and the deportation of alleged terrorists.

A rhetorical analysis of #Illini AD Josh Whitman’s congressional testimony substack.com/inbox/post/1...

No need for any more cloture. They’ll stuff every possible horrible thing into a reconciliation and that’s it. The Democratic leader cleared the way. This was the only place to stop them.

Schumer and his sniveling colleagues have made it possible for Musk and Trump to claim the firings, the unconstitutional destruction of agencies, etc. is bipartisan. That is the rhetoric they will use. And Schumer, Durbin, etc have undercut any response. Idiots.

Time for @amyklobuchar.com to challenge Schumer for Minority Leader

That's a Paul Wellstone line. And, yes, I miss Paul Wellstone all of the time. It was a terrible thing to lose him.

Some thoughts on Trump, the state of the union, presidential genres, and democracy. They are not happy thoughts. #teamrhetoric substack.com/home/post/p-...

Tracking the performance of the S&P 500 through 100 days of an administration because I don't want to grade.

Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) gave a great State of the State address that received wide applause and boosted his presidential prospects. Here, I try to explain why, beyond his provocative denunciation of home-grown Nazis. substack.com/home/post/p-...

So, Musk, who's srsly not in charge of anything, so don't ask him for financial records, has demanded federal employees report to him. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. I hope some CIA operative responds with the classic movie line, "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

In which I try to show just how JD Vance’s speech in Europe gaslights the world. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

The @nytimes.com seems finally to have figured out that this Donald Trump fellow just might be bad for the country. How COULD we have known? It’s a mystery.

Trump and Putin should hold their “peace conference “ at Munich. Be more honest about what they’re doing to Ukraine.

A few days ago, Senator Angus King of Maine gave a powerfully decent speech defending the Constitution. It nicely uses conservative arguments for a liberal goal: the rule of law. Here's how: substack.com/home/post/p-...

@nytimes.com The headline and lead are factually wrong. Not a different interpretation. Plain wrong. Canada and Mexico did nothing more than what they had already committed. You did this in the Columbia case too. Stop it.

When Bishop Mariann Budde confronted Trump at the National Prayer Service, most of us ended up listening to his subsequent tweet and not her sermon. It’s a really great sermon and I try to explain why. substack.com/home/post/p-...

When asked if he was going to visit the crash site he said, ‘what site? The water? You want me to go swimming?’ This is one of the last pics of the young skaters who died. He’s a sociopath. Anyone who voted for this monster should be ashamed at best.

➡️ January 20: FAA director fired ➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen ➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded ➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees ➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years Making America Great Again!

Thinking about how Trump uses rhetoric to make a precarious world: open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

I study, teach, and research rhetoric and the US presidency. Here's my quick critique of Trump's Second Inaugural Address: substack.com/home/post/p-...

First run of the year. A bit chilly but much lower temps to come

This is a great essay. It explains why I sometimes feel under siege. libertiesjournal.com/online-artic...

A few thoughts on Jimmy Carter as an orator and a brief critique of one of his best speeches. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Here I go again. The rhetoric of Biden pardoning Biden open.substack.com/pub/oratoric...

The last time a pardon had any discernible political effect was 1974. Stop with the pearl clutching and the vapors. Happy Joe and his family can go on with their lives.

My take on post election takes. Spoiler alert? Keep calm and carry on. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Been a minute since I posted here. Plan to be more active. As a start, here’s Sassy

Happy to be here