In The Times, Dwight Garner noted how little a certain conservative cable network has been affected by the revelations of its bald fictions and blatant exaggerations: “Fox News, at this point, resembles a car whose windshield is thickly encrusted with traffic citations. Yet this car (surely a Hummer) manages to barrel out anew each day, plowing over six more mailboxes, five more crossing guards, four elderly scientists, three communal enterprises, two trans kids and a solar panel.” (Thanks to Steven R. Strahler of Oak Park, Ill., and Barbara Walker of Rapid City, S. D., among many others, for nominating this gem.)
Matt Flegenheimer traced the trajectory of Russell Brand: “With Jesus-length hair, multidenominational tattoos and promises of unspecified revolution, Brand, 48, had in recent years been reaching millions daily across a media and wellness empire, fusing the downward-facing dogmatism of a proper guru with the cold efficiency of the YouTube algorithm.” (Mika Cooper, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Peter Pruim, Easton, Penn., among many others)
Jamelle Bouie diagnosed the problem with the Florida governor’s presidential campaign: “Ron DeSantis cannot escape the fact that it makes no real sense to try to run as a more competent Donald Trump, for the simple reason that the entire question of competence is orthogonal to Trump’s appeal.” (Pat Marriott, Wilmington, N.C.)
Ross Douthat mulled Vivek Ramaswamy: “Underneath all the attention seeking, trolling and performative obnoxiousness, there’s a guy making some interesting points that no other Republican is making. Underneath the guy making some interesting points, alas, there’s an attention-seeking troll.” (Bob McNabb, St John, Virgin Islands, and Dan Stone, Centerport, N.Y., among others)
And Nicholas Kristof reported soulfully after a trip to the Middle East: “If you weep only for Israeli children, or only for Palestinian children, you have a problem that goes beyond tear ducts.” (Michael Rubin, Napa, Calif.)