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Brendan Nyhan

@brendannyhan.bsky.social

100K followers 4.2K following 8.8K posts

Dartmouth political scientist and Bright Line Watch co-director. Previously Upshot NYT / CJR contributor, Spinsanity co-founder, All the President's Spin co-author. https://sites.dartmouth.edu/nyhan/ http://brightlinewatch.org .. more

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Brendan Nyhan is an American political scientist and professor at Dartmouth College. He is also a liberal to moderate political blogger, author, and political columnist. He was born in Mountain View, California and now lives in Hanover, New Hampshire. .. more

Political science 39%

Sociology 22%

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 5d

My new op-ed with @lkfazio.bsky.social:

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.
Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 54m

People continue to underappreciate how much their ideas are not challenged or tested (and the costs of not doing so) when they never hear arguments related to X because X sounds like something that disfavored figures or groups say.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1h

Both can be true:
1. Many bad faith actors are trying to impose conservative viewpoints on academia and should be resisted as threats to academic freedom
2. Viewpoint diversity (broadly defined) is good for free inquiry scatter.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/t... eternallyradicalidea.com/p/is-higher-...

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 1h

1) I once again take this opportunity to remind you: to keep its basic functioning, society has to discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities

2) is...is it happening?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Michael D. McDonald , and 1 more Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Michael D. McDonald, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

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Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 1 more Jan W. Mueller, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Ted McCormick @tedmccormick.bsky.social · 1h

Shared courtesy of my Penn History colleague, Ben Nathans

Image: A variation on Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” engraving, originally published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Each segment of the snake has the name of a university sent Trump’s “compact”: Texas, AZ, Vanderbilt, USC, Dartmouth, UVA, Brown, Penn, MIT.

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Melanie C. Green, Scott A. Imberman

Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 1h

I’ve seen posts claiming this “truth” is evidence of dementia, but IMO that’s not the right frame. This is strategy. Since 2021, the right has been rewriting history, bending timelines, to connect their grievances (Covid) and conspiracy theories (Jan 6, censorship, etc) to the Biden administration.

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 5h

That’s a nice trick, since Biden wasn’t the president on Jan 6.

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Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Brendan Nyhan, Gernot Wagner , and 7 more Jan W. Mueller, Brendan Nyhan, Gernot Wagner, John Foot, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Steven Fielding, Nils Zurawski, Aviel Roshwald, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1h

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

Going quickly from your first win to national office and having greater alignment between constituencies like GWB minimizes these issues. (Obama overcame them, but required a ton of skill and a vulnerable favorite.)

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

I argue in some of the posts that a key factor is not having to change your positions/appeal due to over-time change and constituency change. Romney was not a skilled performer, but MA -> national GOP made it worse. Same for HRC going from 90s First Lady to NY Sen to Dem national.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

Yup. The politician that journalists covered as if he were the most authentic is George W. Bush, who was from CT and went to prep school but had a TX accent, wore a cowboy hat, and had a ranch (~only while a candidate for national office). Basically de facto it means performs their persona the best

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 2h

Relatedly, and also at National Review, from columnist Ed Whelan: "based on the facts as I understand them, I believe that Lindsey Halligan has not been validly appointed as United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia." That would imply that the Comey indictment is invalid. /2, end

Re: Was Lindsey Halligan Validly Appointed as United States Attorney? | National Review

Some further reinforcing comments on my post last Friday in which I explained why, based on the facts as I understand them, I believe that Lindsey Halligan has not been validly appointed as United …

www.nationalreview.com

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

This is an obsession of mine - a huge pathology of the press is coverage suggesting that politicians who are less skilled performers are somehow less "authentic"

Me on Romney coverage in CJR: www.cjr.org/united_state...

Me on Hillary Clinton coverage in The Upshot:
www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/u...

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Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

"Look at the picture... One of these is a member of a private militia that supports the President and was involved in a violent effort to overturn the election, the other is an agent of the state. Can you tell the difference?" donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

see this though

eric gonzalez juenke @egojunk.bsky.social · 19h

The DoD is allowed to transfer this money per statute apparently (though this is outside of my area). The CR in March upped it to 8 billion.

Of course it has. It always does. Sec 8005 of DOD Appropriations, for starters…

That one provision now allows for $8b in transfers, per March’s full year CR:

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

Some of the most insane up-is-down, 2+2=5 nonsense yet. Joe Biden took office on *January 20, 2021*. That is 14 days after *January 6, 2021*.

Reminder: This man has the nuclear codes.

Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 2h

Trump knows he was president on Jan. 6. He’s simply lying to rewrite the history of his attempted coup.

Just like Trump knew he lost the 2020 election and lied to fraudulently subvert the results.

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Reposted by David R. Miller, David Darmofal

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2h

Trump has expropriated TikTok U.S. (banned under the law) and is now on the verge of forcing its sale at a below-market price to cronies of his choosing. What could go wrong? www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan

Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 2h

Trump knows he was president on Jan. 6. He’s simply lying to rewrite the history of his attempted coup.

Just like Trump knew he lost the 2020 election and lied to fraudulently subvert the results.

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Reposted by Michael D. Robinson, Brendan Nyhan, Robert C. Richards , and 3 more Michael D. Robinson, Brendan Nyhan, Robert C. Richards, Mary L. Dudziak, Greg Linden, David Darmofal

Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis) @avishaybsg.bsky.social · 3h

🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

1/
#CivMilSky #PolTheory

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 2 more Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Diane Ravitch, James Goodwin

Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 15h

The RIFs that began Friday will reportedly cut 65% of CISA’s 2,540 employees, one of the dumbest and most dangerous moves imaginable. CISA defends the nation’s cyber and critical infrastructure. Destroying it now only makes sense if you’re afraid of election integrity.

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 15h

“If you have to say that a second coup attempt probably won’t work, you are implicitly granting that (a) a second coup attempt is possible and that (b) it could conceivably succeed.” www.thebulwark.com/p/legal-orde...

“Legal Orders” and Trump’s Military

Authoritarians don’t take power by openly flouting the law. They look for pretexts and legal theories.

www.thebulwark.com

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Dean Baker, Jonathan M. Metzl

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan , and 4 more Nandita Sharma, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Joseph Schafer, David R. Miller

Ari Cohn @aricohn.com · 17h

Some weirdo on Twitter has been absolutely melting down for like 36 straight hours because I posted:

When this is over, do not forget what ICE did, and what ICE is. And do not make room for them in society. Make sure they know that they are, and will continue to be, reviled and beneath contempt.

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Reposted by Mark Rice, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 17h

Yikes?

Reporters: I hope you are digging into this hard.

I can imagine this meaning they are trying to rebuild trust among Republicans (which would be great!). I can also imagine much more worrisome possibilities.

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 18h

So dominion voting got sold, look at this fascinating statement from their new owner (not to doom but this is, uh, suboptimal). www.dominionvoting.com

(Dominion voting website now redirecting to libertyvote.com with the following statement:)

Our Promise.
-
My Fellow Americans,
Today, I am proud to announce Liberty Vote - a 100% American-owned election technology company dedicated to restoring trust in our elections. Our mission is clear: every vote must be secure, fair, and verifiable.
I have spent my life working to strengthen America's elections. That commitment began years ago, in the aftermath of the 2000 election, when I worked for the Missouri Secretary of State. Later, as Election Director in St. Louis, I led the effort to modernize outdated systems and rebuild public trust. Eventually, I founded an election technology company that today serves nearly one in four voters nationwide.
With Liberty Vote, we are building on that legacy. We are turning the page and beginning the vital work of restoring faith in American elections. While these changes will not happen overnight, Liberty Vote's mission is rooted in American values and committed to transparency, independent audits, and verifiable paper records.
Our purpose is simple: to ensure that America's elections are secure, fair, and honest.
Scott Leiendecker
Founder and Chairman, Liberty Vote

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 17h

@jamellebouie.net

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 17h

You know it's going badly for democracy when the authoritarians are like "Can you believe the shit we're getting away with?"

Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 18h

Every single paragraph in this article is shocking. I had been quite pessimistic all along, but could not have imagined the speed and depth of the collapse.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 17h

cc @mcopelov.bsky.social @kjephd.bsky.social

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Brian Jm Quinn

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 18h

So dominion voting got sold, look at this fascinating statement from their new owner (not to doom but this is, uh, suboptimal). www.dominionvoting.com

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Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Gernot Wagner, Aaron Sojourner

Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 18h

Every single paragraph in this article is shocking. I had been quite pessimistic all along, but could not have imagined the speed and depth of the collapse.

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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 18h

Evan Sora 2-generated Nixon can't believe the s*** that Republicans are letting Trump get away with

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