Who is Trump more scared of: some newspapers, or Omarosa?
Three hundred papers led by the Boston Globe fronted up for press freedom
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All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Thursday
The return of Rand Paul
The Kentucky senator is able to bridge Trumpism and old-guard Republicanism while pointing both in a more libertarian direction
Only Aretha Franklin had the soul power to summon the spirit at will
Aretha Franklin, who died this morning at the age of 76, was called the Queen of Soul. But she did not inherit her crown, so much as create it. Nor, though she inspired plenty of oversold and over-souled pretenders, did she ever have a plausible heir. She wove that crown from the music of the
V.S. Naipaul’s gentle side
When I went to see V.S. Naipaul in hospital last week he was feeling marginally better. His wife Nadira had arranged for a violinist to play some Mozart to him, helping him relax. She did not allow too many visitors. This was not the first time he had been in hospital. His health had been
The plight of the returnee
If the 20th century popularised the figure of the émigré, the 21st has introduced that of the returnee, who, aided by a combination of Skype, social media and cheap air travel, doesn’t so much exchange countries as exist between them. ‘I was an émigré. I had left. Now I’d returned,’ announces Andrei Kaplan, somewhat incredulously,
Wednesday
The shattering honesty of V.S. Naipaul
V.S. Naipaul, who died on Saturday at the age of 85, was sustained most of all by self-belief. The society in which he launched himself as a writer was not created to support a man like him. It was designed to degrade him. His career was without precedent. When he arrived in England as a
A thousand victims. Hundreds of priests. How many cardinals knew?
A Pennsylvania grand jury report released last night has revealed that the Catholic Church in six dioceses systematically and sneakily covered up sexual abuse by priests on a horrifying scale. The American Church has now been plunged into the worst crisis in its history. The 884-report comes less than a month after the revelation that ex-Cardinal Theodore
Tuesday
Trump has breathed new life into the Omarosa saga with his tweets
The President has a consistent pattern of denigrating black people with special fervour.
Monday
What if the dreaded ‘pee tape’ is real?
A small-town Colorado newspaper may have stumbled on news of Trump’s kompromat.
Sunday
Could The New York Times’s abortion coverage be any more one-eyed?
Words are wonderful things — it’s sad to see how the Gray Lady twists them.
Friday
What does Omarosa reveal in her new book?
Sarah Huckabee Sanders depicted her as the classic aggrieved employee who is thirsting for revenge against her old boss.
Welcome to #TeamAvocado: the QAnon of the loony left
A journey to the nuttiest recesses of the #HashtagResistance
Thursday
Amazon and Facebook: the twin evils of our age
They used to say that the primary function of a boat was to be beautiful. I suppose that is why boats were feminine, as in ‘she’s a real beauty, that one’. Puritan is certainly a beauty and I’ve had a great time on board, especially when anchoring near some modern horror or other, bloated and
Why are modern men obsessed with self-improvement?
My friend recently met a man on a dating app and went out for dinner with him. When he arrived, the man announced that he didn’t drink. Nothing unusual about that: plenty of young men are abstemious these days. His next declaration was more surprising: he didn’t eat. Instead, he lived off something called ‘Huel’.
Amateur porn is not empowering
If ever you find yourself bored and with 15 minutes to spare, I recommend looking up Pornhub’s annual report, the closest thing you will get to a statistical breakdown of the planet’s libido. Here you will discover that the average visit to Pornhub lasts nine minutes 59 seconds; that the most popular time to watch
Wednesday
Should Robert Mueller take his ‘last chance’ to speak to Trump?
While his lawyers want to avoid a showdown, the inartful dodger may be eager for one.
No major upsets in Tuesday elections — but don’t expect a return to ‘normalcy’
Insurgents do not have to win every battle to win the war.
Monday
Will Rick Gates’ testimony bury his former bosses?
The Manafort trial has already dented Trump’s regular contention that Special Counsel is merely conducting a witch hunt.
The QAnon phenomenon shows Trump as the greatest conspiracy theorist of all
‘Darkness is good. Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power.’
How blockchain can beat state censorship
Information which might otherwise have been lost in the ether now lives on in an all-but indestructible form.
Think Trump’s midterm campaign is for the GOP? Think again: he’s stumping for re-election
The Donald is visiting all the key states he needs to win for a repeat Electoral College victory.
Sunday
Who cares if Donald Trump is ‘presidential’, as long as he’s successful?
He is a leader utterly unlike his predecessors — and we’re all better for it.
Friday
Could Ivanka and Don Jr. be any more different?
The eldest daughter distances herself from her father’s political views, while the eldest son wallows in them.
Admit it – Trump basically maintains the status quo
The Donald is clearly content for the system to remain roughly the same. He just wants to be the one who presides over it.
Thursday
Why America’s détente with Putin makes Belarus nervous
‘If we don’t survive these years, if we will fail, it means we will have to become part of some other state, or they will simply wipe their feet on us.’
Macron’s summer of discontent
‘It could be argued that getting out of the office to beat up some leftists is a good way to work up an appetite for lunch,’ one of France’s more cynical millionaires tells me, admiring Alexandre Benalla, 26, a recently fired security aide to President Emmanuel Macron. Benalla had rushed from his office at the
No apology is ever enough for the digital mob
Promoting physical fitness, the left has developed a bracing set of competitive callisthenics. Participants vie over who can complete a marathon crawl on the belly like a reptile, who can flop onto the floor in a pose of the greatest prostration, and who can bend over the farthest, pants down, while begging to have large
Wednesday
Trump, the Kochs, and a GOP crack-up
Charles Koch, a lifetime free-trader, seems really, really, really unhappy with the president’s tariffs, both real and threatened.
America, meet Tommy Robinson – if you must
The Cary Grant of the alt-right?
Tuesday
Bob Woodward’s book will give Trump a new chance to be outraged
A war is breaking out in the GOP between Trump and the more mainstream elements of the party.
Frenemies of the people: Why Trump and the press deserve each other
It’s getting harder and harder to choose between a president who can’t tell the truth, and a publisher who can’t admit it.
‘Has mom been tested for STDs?’ The Manaforts’ home life and why it matters
Hacked text messages containing several damaging stories about the former campaign manager can now be viewed by anyone with an internet connection
Monday
Thanks to Mueller and Manafort, Trump faces a battle on all fronts
The former campaign manager heads to trial tomorrow.
Sunday
Father Morris won’t be the last priest expelled from campus for having the ‘wrong’ beliefs
In her column in this week’s Spectator, Mary Wakefield writes about Father Mark Morris, who was fired from his post at Glasgow Caledonian University for having a prayer meeting in response to a recent gay pride march. Wakefield points out that there is more to this story than meets the eye. She’s not alone in
