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Rob Shum

@robshum.bsky.social

2.8K followers 1.1K following 4.1K posts

Public policy ( #climate / energy policy, more specifically ) & IR prof (but also ex-🇨🇦 trade diplomat). PoliSciSky 🗺️, EnergySky 🔌💡, & GreenSky 🌱. Cf. same handles on birdsite & mastodon.social/@robshum

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · Oct 28

How many “Republics” have the USA had? As many as France?

1 possible way to count:

1. Articles of Confederation
2. Current (unamended) Constitution
3. Post-Civil-War
4. Post-Civil-Rights

And we’re currently witnessing an Algerian-type crisis, and waiting for a Fifth Republic.

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Oct 28

You don't have to ask <if> or <when> 🇺🇸 democracy will backslide. It it hadn't already, we would not be speculating about where the loyalty of the generals lies & whether that might matter in a matter of days/weeks.

Tom Pepinsky @tompepinsky.com · Oct 28

I think it is safe to say that after this week, Trump does not have the loyalty of the generals. That means something

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Reposted by Rob Shum

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 18h

Impeachable acts every day

tony romm @tonyromm.bsky.social · 23h

NEW: The Trump administration has blocked or slowed almost $28 billion in federal aid since the shutdown began, largely harming Democratic-led cities, congressional districts and states, underscoring how the president has weaponized a fiscal stalemate

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

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Reposted by Rob Shum

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 18h

JD Vance doth protest too much about group chats where Republican staffers are “just joking” about putting people they don’t like in gas chambers.

“How do you do, fellow kids” meme, except it’s JD Vance saying “how do you do, fellow internet Nazis.”

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 18h

#CompetitiveAuthoritarianism 🗺️

Ellen L. Weintraub @ellenlweintraub.bsky.social · 1d

The Federal Election Commission's death by decapitation is part of this Administration's broader attack on fair elections and checks against corruption. My piece in The Guardian:

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I chaired the US Federal Election Commission. Now there’s no cop on the beat | Ellen L Weintraub

Democracy is under attack – and the watchdog agency has no quorum. It must be restored

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Rob Shum

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 21h

X post today from Homeland Security @DHSgov that says "Remigrate."
3:06 PM · Oct 14, 2025

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 18h

Pritzker/Walz 2028
Make the Khanate of the upper Great Lakes again!
(12/n)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

Tim Walz: "The biggest myth is that this guy understands business. He's an absolute abject failure at business ... the irony is calling Democrats socialists when I am begging for free markets here to allow capitalism to work. Donald Trump is the one with government interference."

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Reposted by Rob Shum

Matt Lewis @neuroclef.bsky.social · 1d

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Reposted by Rob Shum

Josh Zingher @zingherpolisci.bsky.social · 1d

Immigration is good and we need to say so. It is in our best interest when people want to come to this country to make a better life for themselves. My family story is the shtelt to the American dream in three generations. Other people should have this opportunity, too.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump on immigrants: "They send up their worst people. They send up people that are criminals. They send up people from jails. And the best ones they send are people that don't work very hard and that are on a social form of welfare."

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Reposted by Rob Shum

スコット @y2skot.bsky.social · 20h

Trump has placed higher tariffs on softwood imports from Canada than his tariffs on softwood imports from Russia.

Little wonder Canadians are fed up with America.

Winnipeg Free Press @winnipegfreepress.com · 20h

British Columbia’s softwood industry is facing an “existential threat” from increasing U.S. tariffs that needs to be treated with the same urgency by the federal government as threats to Canadian steel and auto jobs, B.C. Premier David Eby says.

'Razor’s edge of survival': Eby calls for attention on softwood amid tariff hike

www.winnipegfreepress.com

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Reposted by Rob Shum

John Schwartz @jswatz.bsky.social · 21h

This is an important story about not giving in to bullies. It's also @erikwemple.bsky.social in the @nytimes.com instead of his longtime home at the @washingtonpost.com. Great for the Times and its readers, but it's sad to see the hollowing out of the Post. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/b...

Several News Outlets Reject Pentagon’s Reporting Restrictions

www.nytimes.com

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 20h

Please turn the channel.

This rerun of the Moscow & Berlin Olympics is boring.

Or, anyway, let me know when liberal democracies start their boycotts.

Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 21h

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/o...

Trump threatens removal of World Cup games from Boston, Olympics from LA

Blaming Boston street takeovers and LA wildfires, the US president said both global sporting events could be moved for supposed safety reasons

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Rob Shum

Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 21h

ICE Detains Citizen After Saying She Doesn’t “Look Like” Her Last Name newrepublic.com/post/201745/... via @newrepublic.com

ICE Detains Citizen After Saying She Doesn’t “Look Like” Her Last Name

She even had her U.S. passport on her.

newrepublic.com

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 20h

I can suggest a definition of fascism shorter than Robert Paxton’s.

It’s “the cruelty is the point”.

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 22h

“This heckin’ pupperino fucking hates La Migra,” to paraphrase from @weratedogs.com

Rate Dogs & • Follow
...
2h •
This is Chop. He was shot and killed by masked assailants in plain clothes who go by ICE. They showed up at his door "looking for migrants after receiving a tip." The son of the family asked if they could wait before entering the home while he put Chop away in the bathroom, as the dog can be aggressive with strangers.
According to the family, it is at this point that the son went to his pickup truck to retrieve his ID and a Border Patrol agent entered the home, opened the bathroom door, and shot Chop. None of the agents helped the family, who desperately tried to render aid to Chop, as he bled to death on the kitchen floor. Unsurprisingly, the agent who shot their dog then hid from them and refused to give his name. Even more unsurprising, they did not find any evidence of the migrants they were there to terrorize in the first place.
Do not open your door for these fucking losers. Rest easy Chop
14/10
CBP Office of Professional Responsibility:
202-344-1808
JointIntake@cbp.dhs.gov
El Paso Border Patrol Sector:
915-834-8400
fpfelpaso@cbp.dhs.gov
Rep. Veronica Escobar (El Paso):
915-541-1400
veronica.escobar@mail.house.gov
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/el-paso-family-claims-border-patrol-killed-their-dog-during-search-cbp-

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 20h

Not quite what you’d expect from what R. Zoellick calls a “responsible stakeholder”.

The Cold War Reboot, & its proxy wars require some mental adjustments, tho.

It’s still a bipolar world, only with 🇺🇸 & 🇨🇳 in the superpower starring roles.

North & South Vietnam have been recast, however, as 🇷🇺 & 🇺🇦.

Behind Russia’s battlefield drone surge in Ukraine? Chinese factories.

Chinese sales of fiber-optic cable and lithium-ion batteries to Russian drone makers surged over the summer, underscoring Beijing’s “no limits” ties with Moscow.

wapo.st

Reposted by Rob Shum

Karoli @karoli.bsky.social · 21h

I...I just can't even.

www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

Federal agents barrel into band at Portland ICE protest, arrest clarinetist, accuse her of assault

Oriana Korol, a 38-year-old child and family therapist, remains in Clark County Jail.

www.oregonlive.com

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 21h

“…Another way to put it is that a bet on the S&P 500 amounts to faith in the fruits of modern industry: AI and renewable energy, to name a couple. A bet on gold is a recognition that all empires eventually fall, and a return to something much more ancient.” (11/n)

This Gold Rush Is Ominous — The Atlantic

The king of precious metals is having a good run right now. That might be a problem.

apple.news

Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 23h

Everyone knows that the key to The Art of the Deal is to whine, make idle non-credible threats, and show weakness during bargaining negotiations. (5/n)

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

“We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution.”

Trump: I believe that China purposefully not buying our Soybeans, and causing difficulty for our Soybean Farmers, is an Economically Hostile Act. We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution. As an example, we can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don't need to purchase it from China.
173 ReTruths 753 Likes
10/14/25, 12:37 PM

Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 23h

‘…”China has stable, clear and determined objectives. The Trump administration changes from day to day, in its views and its policies.”

“The degree of uncertainty is huge,” he added, “and that has consequences for the global economy.”’ (12/n)

Patricia Cohen @patcohen.bsky.social · 1d

My latest on how Trump’s trade war with China catches the world in its crossfire www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/b...

Trump’s Trade War With China Catches the World in Its Crossfire

www.nytimes.com

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 23h

Every day that passes without the democracies imposing sanctions on the fascist regime in the USA is a day that allows authoritarianism to consolidate.

Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: I took a long look at the Proud Boys and found some of their most extreme chapters are sharing ICE recruiting materials on encrypted apps and even suggesting members have joined up. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/in-the-...

The first
Antifa
Counter Terrorism
Task Force
Trump already gave so many of us jobs with ICE. We may have to start recruiting soon to fill all these spots.

Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 1d

If there is no due process, this is inevitable. (13/n)

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

Just rounding people up. A US citizen who says he had his birth certificate with him (!) was still thrown in the back of a truck and detained.

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

Simply brazen corruption. (17/n)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump's conversation with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is caught on a hot mic. Hard to tell exactly what they are talking about, but Subianto asks Trump about meeting Eric Trump and Don Jr, who supposedly have nothing to do with government while they run the family business.

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

Muchly Article I of the US Constitution. (4/n)

Ira 'Bluebeard Homer' Goldman @kdbyproxy.bsky.social · 3d

Not that Trump/Vought/Hegseth gaf, but among other ways in which the law says this may NOT be done:
A) The part of 8005 I've underlined in green says money transferred to another account is "available… for the same time period" as that other account; that other acc't expired on Sept 30.

1/

Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

The death squads have already claimed one victim, and it’s just a matter of time before they claim another. (10/n)

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 2d

ICE/Border Patrol held a weapon on a guy who was demanding they show him their face in Rogers Park today

Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

Chag Sameach to all my fellow rootless culinary-cosmopolitans out there.

Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 3d

Did not know this about Old Bay

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

Ya gotta check in with your handler, once you’ve been kompromised. (5/n)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump on Ukraine: "They'd like to have Tomahawks. We talked about that. We'll see. I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don't think so."

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Rob Shum @robshum.bsky.social · 2d

"We do not want any other god than Germany itself. It is essential to have fanatical faith and hope and love in and for Germany." —Adolf Hitler

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 2d

President Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One that he doesn’t think he’s going to get into heaven.

“I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to get me into heaven.”

(I isolated Trump’s voice)

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