Trump campaigned all over the country last year with a foldout table of groceries, featuring their prices before & after Biden. It was brilliant visual politics. But he seems to have forgotten why it worked, & is now throwing lavish Gatsby-themed parties while egg prices rise. 🧵

I’m deeply concerned for the welfare of 3 Tunisian political prisoners—Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi & Rached Ghannouchi—who are hunger striking now. This is a cross-ideological & pro-democracy group of leaders who oppose Saied’s authoritarianism. They are 56, 67 & 84 yrs old. 1/4 🧵🇹🇳

Saied is tightening the belt of authoritarian repression in Tunisia even more. Today, the Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) was forced to suspend assistance to torture victims in 🇹🇳 & cease its work. I’ve known its director many years. They did great work 💔

The splits within 🔻🪂 on Mamdani’s win are fascinating. His calling 10-7 a “horrific war crime,” “discouraging” globalize & working w “liberal Zionist” Brad Lander seem to be seen as either: 1. shameful but necessary tactical feints 2. bad omen compromises 3. disqualifying sins

What a metaphor for potential change that Cheney died on the same day Mamdani will be elected NYC mayor. Cheney was chief architect of the War on Terrorism. He created a less accountable presidency in 🇺🇸 & empowered Trump’s rise by reducing establishment credibility. 1/

There’s no bigger supporter of Ben Ali, or critic of the center-right Ennahda Party, in Tunisia’s post-2011 politics than Abir Moussi. Yet the elections board, ISIE—which Saied made into his creature—keeps inventing reasons to jail her along w/ Ennahda members she loathes 🧵

Trump’s approval numbers have tanked, even on his winningest issues (the economy & immigration). Most presidents face sinking approval in their 2nd term. But Trump fell farther, faster. Today, he’s only above water in a handful of states on the right (eg: WY, WV, ID, KY).

Egypt’s most famous jester is back on Egyptian airwaves, but in a tamed way that doesn’t require the powers that be to take a joke. “No barbs at the mukhabarat, no digs at the country’s rulers. Instead, he laments that his American taxes helped fund Israel’s war in Gaza.”

In Sudan, @anneapplebaum reports, the post-American world has already arrived. A brutal civil war has left a vacuum—and no international organizations, no diplomats, and certainly no Americans are coming to fill it. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

“[Arab states] are now less concerned about confronting Iran—and less convinced that the road to Washington leads through Tel Aviv… nobody in the Middle East wants Israeli leadership, and all states now increasingly fear its unchecked might.” abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/israel-cant-...

There’s a genuinely funny side of Vance, like when he laughs at himself as we wish more politicians could do. But the side of him that cheers on cruelties—that socks a petty punch when his victim is immobilised—is stronger. His sense of humour makes him more dangerous for Dems.

Samia Suluhu Hassan’s tenure as Tanzania’s president is a case study in the shallowness of symbolic representation. Her substantive record brought more authoritarianism. She’s banned the opposition, disappeared critics & prohibited pregnant girls from school—all while naming women ministers. 1/4 🧵

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As my classes come to the 2010s and the Arab Uprisings, the outcomes become even more painful to think back on.

President Kais Saied is making Tunisia an ever more repressive authoritarian regime. He’s placed suspensions on FTDES (leftist economic think tank), ATFD (feminist NGO) & Nawaat (leftist media outlet). All 3 groups, ironically, had many members who cheered his coup in 2021. 🧵 1/6

An estimated 1,500-2,000 killed in El-Fasher in 3 days. “Among those killed, according to the World Health Organization, are more than 460 people systematically slaughtered at el-Fasher’s Saudi Maternity Hospital.” www.commondreams.org/news/sudan-a...

The latest travesty in #Tunisia president Kais Saied’s kangaroo courts: Prosecuting a growing # of lawyers—yes, lawyers—as “terrorists” because they dared to defend President Kais Saied’s political opponents. Lawyer & ex-judge Ahmed Souab is not even allowed to attend his own trial ⬇️🧵

Last week, Trump announced that an anonymous friend’s $130 million donation would pay the army while the government is closed. It’s just the latest in a flurry of highly disturbing developments re: the future of democratic control of the armed forces in the US. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

“I think this is the worst place on Earth now,” said Jan Egeland @sg-nrc.bsky.social “It’s the biggest humanitarian emergency on Earth and it happens in the dark, really - there has been far too little attention to what's happening in Sudan."

Anyone who cares about Tunisia—once the Arab world’s first & only democracy (2011-21)—should watch this citizen’s viral testimony. His account of the struggle to afford life struck a chord w/ Tunisians. Saied’s scapegoating robbed 🇹🇳 of free expression & worsened economic woes x.com/businessnews...

To give an example of what I mean, here's a paragraph from the Grokipedia "article" on ICE. The three citations are to The Heritage Foundation, testimony from the Executive Director of FAIR, and a report from the Center for Immigration Studies. No dissenting voices allowed on Grokipedia.

Daniel Byman is a reliable, nonpartisan scholar of terrorism, as his quotes here indicate. This piece could falsely comfort ppl w/ left-wing priors, imho. It reveals bias up top by rightly asserting Kirk’s killer wasn’t affiliated w/ a left-wing org, while ignoring his left-wing grievances. 1/2

I’m midway through Adam Shatz’s award-winning 2024 bio of Frantz Fanon. And damn, is it one *hell* of a great book. Gripping writing. Well-structured clarity. Nuanced analysis galore. And juicy details that African philosophy courses & an adulthood studying North African politics hadn’t taught me.

Jealous of anyone who can go hear this talk in London tomorrow!

Cuomo’s a laughingstock. Check out his “criminals” for Mamdani. Each is a stupidly racist caricature. The Black “shoplifter” is also wearing a keffeya: extra cheap shot at Palestinians. Cuomo & his backers will forever be tagged w this utterly desperate & pathetic finish to a farcical campaign.

Wait: This isn’t a parody ad mocking Cuomo’s ads? I honestly thought it was. This level of desperation is just pathetic. Cuomo is making himself a complete laughingstock.

The Cuomo campaign’s anti-Zohran adverts today brought a dynamic common in Middle Eastern politics into the New York mayoral race: The so-called “anti-Islamist” leader (Cuomo) bills himself as a closer ally of anti-vice conservative Muslim grandpas than the allegedly “Islamist” candidate 😂 1/

Cuomo just posted this ad on X. Someone should tell Cuomo that he can have it 1 of 2 ways. He can wrongly smear Zohran as either (1) a jihadism-supporting Islamist extremist, or (2) a self-proclaimed Hindu. But calling him a Hindu jihad-loving fake Muslim is one of the goofiest bits I’ve heard 😂🧵

Will elites catch up with their constituents on this issue? I am not holding my breath.

Why more Democrats don’t go on “manosphere” podcasts escapes me. People like Joe Rogan & Andrew Schulz have differentiated views. They voted Trump but love Bernie. Zohran Mamdani just *killed it* on Shulz’s Flagrant podcast. Why? Bc he’s authentic, articulate & confident enough to talk w/ anyone! 🧵

Excellent analysis by Jack Khoury for Haaretz. “This is what a policy that prefers managing crises to solving them looks like… 2025 is almost over and Gaza still has no 'day after' or even a plan for one." www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

In case anybody is wondering, yes, Turkey is still jailing journalists for reporting the news at an alarming rate.

“Bibisitting.” @yair-rosenberg.bsky.social has coined precisely the right word to describe what the Trump administration is doing by sending out multiple people on a rolling basis to Israel to ensure that Netanyahu doesn’t explode his side of the ceasefire agreement.

Outstanding, granular reporting on the Trump administration vs. Chicago ⬇️

My report from Chicago on the Trump administration's war on immigrants and how people are pushing back, protecting their neighbors through newly-formed community safety networks, spontaneously confronting ICE agents in the streets & more — at @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/reportage/ch...

$40 billion is barely the beginning of the Trump bailout plans for Argentina. It may be three times that amount before he's done. Including another $20 billion Trump is rounding up from US banks. www.wsj.com/finance/arge...

Good. Preserving the spirit of free debate is incompatible with celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I’m glad George Abaraonye was not expelled from Oxford. And I’m glad that the Oxford Union just voted him out as its incoming president. Hopefully he’ll accept the results.

Horrifying story. This deserves international coverage, as does Israel releasing an 18 year-old Palestinian with autism today. Israel has banned released Palestinians from talking w/ media. It’s also stopped Palestinians from celebrating released prisoners in the West Bank. 1/2

That this would be the outcome was clear from mid-October 2023, since Israel went into Gaza blinded by fury & with no “day after” plan. This blessed day should have come much sooner, with more hostages like Goldberg-Polin & tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians still alive.

Every heart should soar to see Israeli captives home w/ their families. Oct. 7, 2023 was an atrocity. *And* we must recall that, of the ~2000 Palestinians released in exchange, many were innocent captives of Israel, which prohibits them from speaking to media once released @johnlyndon.bsky.social

This, today & every day. Overjoyed for the hostages coming home—both the Israelis abducted from their homes in horrific circumstances on Oct 7 & the many innocent Palestinian civilians captured by Israel after Oct. 7 to be used as bargaining chips in an exchange like today’s. @amidar.bsky.social

Never met a trip to South Africa that I didn’t love. Murals in Maboneng, Johannesburg today ❤️

Anyone in Johannesburg, South Africa should see this play immediately at Theatre On the Square. 🎭🇿🇦 Sarajevo, written by & starring Aimee Mica Komorowsky, is better than virtually every acclaimed play I’ve seen in NYC & London. It’s the single bravest thing I’ve seen on stage, period.

Victims of Oct. 7, including Israeli hostages’ families, have been at the heart of ceasefire advocacy. They have key insights about why this didn’t end sooner & why Trump forced a ceasefire when he did. Here’s some excellent analysis from Oct. 7 survivors Yehuda Cohen & Amir Tibon (links below) 🧵⬇️

This is very comparable to how autocratizers have taken over media landscapes in other countries whose democracy scores have plummeted over the past 15 years (acc to all reliable indices like Polity, V-Dem, & Freedom House), including Turkey.

Quoted here: themedialine.org/top-stories/...

Even a pause in the killing and displacement would be good and I share the cautious optimism that this could end this phase of the catastrophe. But it is wild that people are treating this as if it’s the negotiated end of the Russo-Japanese War, or even Camp David 1978.

This is a person who is still taken seriously and published in left-wing spaces. To be clear: No, most Israeli Jews are not descended from Polish Jews. And even for the minority who are, it would obviously not be safe for them all to go there now, given the Polish government.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced tomorrow from Oslo at 10am GMT. Trump, despite ostentatiously gunning for it & even trying to pressure the fiercely independent committee, will not receive it. A few thoughts on why & what this says about the 🇮🇱🇵🇸 “peace” deal: 🧵

“Finally, we will be able to close this dark chapter & move on to the next chapter of Israeli-Palestinian peace.” Exactly the right attitude. Celebrate this reprieve & the lives it will save. But make this *a first step toward actual peace,* which requires ending the occupation. 1/