Chris Edelson
@chrisedelson.bsky.social
Assistant professor of government at American University. Area of focus: US presidential power and authoritarian threats to democracy. Writing a book on emergency presidential power in context of Trump. https://www.american.edu/spa/faculty/edelson.cfm
Pinned
Chris Edelson
@chrisedelson.bsky.social
· Feb 28
trump's breathtaking, revolutionary unilateral action could not be justified even in an emergency (and none existed when trump took office). He is claiming unilateral power that goes beyond what Lincoln claimed at start of civil war--& Lincoln crucially gained retroactive approval from Congress 1/2
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
The reality, of course, is that Miller and a significant portion of Trump’s base are the ones who failed to assimilate to America’s post-WWII culture of multi-racial democracy & religious pluralism…and they are now using their power to destroy that once dominant (and still popular) American culture.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 1:23 PM
The reality, of course, is that Miller and a significant portion of Trump’s base are the ones who failed to assimilate to America’s post-WWII culture of multi-racial democracy & religious pluralism…and they are now using their power to destroy that once dominant (and still popular) American culture.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
There has been no breathless roadblock coverage of this shooting on cable channels or in major newspapers, afaik. wgme.com/news/local/i...
ICE agent who shot woman in Chicago drove Border Patrol vehicle back to Maine
An unnamed ICE agent, who shot and injured a woman in Chicago, is now back in Maine after driving the Border Patrol vehicle he was in 1,100 miles.
wgme.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:09 PM
There has been no breathless roadblock coverage of this shooting on cable channels or in major newspapers, afaik. wgme.com/news/local/i...
Reposted by Chris Edelson
It's got racism. It's offensive to people with intellectual disabilities. It's Islamophobic. Happy Thanksgiving from the president
November 28, 2025 at 4:56 AM
It's got racism. It's offensive to people with intellectual disabilities. It's Islamophobic. Happy Thanksgiving from the president
Reposted by Chris Edelson
The US is also what rampant populist authoritarianism looks like
If you fear state retribution for criticising the state, you are not in a free democracy.
If you fear state retribution for criticising the state, you are not in a free democracy.
November 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The US is also what rampant populist authoritarianism looks like
If you fear state retribution for criticising the state, you are not in a free democracy.
If you fear state retribution for criticising the state, you are not in a free democracy.
This is bigotry, plain, simple, and ugly. miller, trump, and others in the administration are narrowminded, hateful, fearmongering bigots. Those who support or enable them are supporting or enabling bigotry, prejudice, and hatred that we rightly associate with undemocratic regimes.
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
This is bigotry, plain, simple, and ugly. miller, trump, and others in the administration are narrowminded, hateful, fearmongering bigots. Those who support or enable them are supporting or enabling bigotry, prejudice, and hatred that we rightly associate with undemocratic regimes.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
this is just gutter racism
Stephen Miller is now arguing that assimilation is fundamentally impossible and that certain cultures are not compatible with Western civilization
November 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM
this is just gutter racism
Reposted by Chris Edelson
At what point will someone or something make this stop? And by “this,” I mean the whole damn thing. It’s unbearable, unsustainable, unAmerican.
“You’re a stupid person” — Trump lashes out at a reporter who presses him on the fact that the suspected DC shooter was actually thoroughly vetted before he was let in the US from Afghanistan
November 28, 2025 at 3:02 AM
At what point will someone or something make this stop? And by “this,” I mean the whole damn thing. It’s unbearable, unsustainable, unAmerican.
It is quite instructive that no one ever talks about punishing all white native born Americans when one of the group commits a ghastly crime e.g. after a white man killed MN legislators and their spouses earlier this year (*not* saying anyone should, just pointing out trump's ugly bigotry)
One refugee who HE approved commits a crime (under still-murky circumstances) and Trump talks of stripping legal immigrants, who had nothing to do with it, of their citizenship.
November 28, 2025 at 2:57 PM
It is quite instructive that no one ever talks about punishing all white native born Americans when one of the group commits a ghastly crime e.g. after a white man killed MN legislators and their spouses earlier this year (*not* saying anyone should, just pointing out trump's ugly bigotry)
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Never let a good Reichstag fire go to waste.
Trump: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries … denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.“
November 28, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Never let a good Reichstag fire go to waste.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Gillian Tett: Trump went to war with Brazil's Lula, and in the end, Lula got everything he wanted, while Trump gained nothing whatsoever. This is not a unique case. Trump's trade wars are going spectacularly badly for the United States.
Brazil offers lesson in winning the ‘Taco’ trade
Global politicians need to understand that White House policy is driven by melodrama and instinct
www.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Gillian Tett: Trump went to war with Brazil's Lula, and in the end, Lula got everything he wanted, while Trump gained nothing whatsoever. This is not a unique case. Trump's trade wars are going spectacularly badly for the United States.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Paying the sitting President's wife $40 million for a self-produced "documentary" about herself is ... a bribe, pure and simple.
November 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Paying the sitting President's wife $40 million for a self-produced "documentary" about herself is ... a bribe, pure and simple.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
🇺🇸, a mere 35 years ago, under a GOP president, led a UN-backed coalition to uphold the principle of territorial sovereignty, the bedrock of the post-WWII int'l system. Like threatening to take territory from our allies (🇨🇦 & 🇩🇰/🇬🇱), working to allow 🇷🇺 to violate this should have ended this presidency.
Exclusive: Surrendering land to Russia to end the war is off-limits, Zelensky’s chief negotiator tells Simon Shuster. “As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory.”
Ukraine Says It Won’t Give Up Land to Russia
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, in an exclusive interview, says conceding sovereign territory is off-limits in peace talks
bit.ly
November 27, 2025 at 8:51 PM
🇺🇸, a mere 35 years ago, under a GOP president, led a UN-backed coalition to uphold the principle of territorial sovereignty, the bedrock of the post-WWII int'l system. Like threatening to take territory from our allies (🇨🇦 & 🇩🇰/🇬🇱), working to allow 🇷🇺 to violate this should have ended this presidency.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Our tribal ID’s validity depends entirely on the person we’re presenting it to. My attempting to use it has failed many times because of the lack of knowledge people in government have about it. After this, I expect the feds to try to further delegitimize it.
November 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Our tribal ID’s validity depends entirely on the person we’re presenting it to. My attempting to use it has failed many times because of the lack of knowledge people in government have about it. After this, I expect the feds to try to further delegitimize it.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
the requirement is, of course, “be white” amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
Trump says Haiti no longer meets requirements for TPS. Haitians have to leave
The Department of Homeland Security said TPS for Haiti ends Feb. 3, 2026, affecting over half a million people who may face return to gang-controlled Port-au-Prince.
amp.miamiherald.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:43 PM
the requirement is, of course, “be white” amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
This is yet another Disney villain move by the trump admin--real life people who took a college student away from her family as she tried to join them for the holiday, shackled her wrists and ankles and sent her to a country she has not lived in since she came to the US at age 8.
19-year-old college student deported despite judge's order blocking her removal
A 19-year-old college student who was on her way to surprise her family for Thanksgiving break was detained at a Boston airport and later deported despite a federal judge's order.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...
A 19-year-old college student who was on her way to surprise her family for Thanksgiving break was detained at a Boston airport and later deported despite a federal judge's order.
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-c...
19-year-old college student deported despite judge's order blocking her removal: Lawyer
A 19-year-old college student who was on her way to surprise her family for Thanksgiving break was detained at a Boston airport and later deported.
abcnews.go.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:02 PM
This is yet another Disney villain move by the trump admin--real life people who took a college student away from her family as she tried to join them for the holiday, shackled her wrists and ankles and sent her to a country she has not lived in since she came to the US at age 8.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
ICE DETAINED MARILYN. Fuck these people. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
‘Northern Exposure’ actor gave ICE agents in Redmond her tribal ID. They called it ‘fake,’ she says
Indigenous actor Elaine Miles of "Northern Exposure" was detained by ICE at a Redmond bus stop. When she showed them her Tribal ID, they told her it was fake.
www.seattletimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM
ICE DETAINED MARILYN. Fuck these people. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Reposted by Chris Edelson
I've been saying this Saturday! bsky.app/profile/froo...
Pretty convincing evidence here that the Trump administration was planning to jailbreak and provide asylum for Bolsonaro -- and that Trump inadvertently revealed the plan.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
Trump appears to blurt out secret plan, not knowing it's already a bust
YouTube video by MS NOW
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I've been saying this Saturday! bsky.app/profile/froo...
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Our government is disappearing people and subjecting their families to unimaginable terror.
November 27, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Our government is disappearing people and subjecting their families to unimaginable terror.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
This interview with Any Lucia Belloza is heartbreaking but everyone should read it. These are the lives our country is destroying.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
![“I was so happy when I got there [to Babson],” Lopez Belloza said. “I was just living the college life — going to events, going everywhere ... everything there was really great. I really loved the school."
She and her father also had a special shared aspiration. With her business degree, Lopez Belloza was going to help her father open his own tailor shop, they hoped.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:u6ajzyiqzkzbppp2x2y7fpfu/bafkreib33kpkgmvas4z6avgq62styxbzrzuawjufqyddtoynqgbiwnhtzy@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
This interview with Any Lucia Belloza is heartbreaking but everyone should read it. These are the lives our country is destroying.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Bolsonaro to jail for 27 years. Trump completely free 🤡
Other, more serious countries, etc. etc.
Other, more serious countries, etc. etc.
Breaking News: The last pending criminal prosecution against President Trump was dismissed by a judge in Georgia, effectively ending efforts to hold Trump criminally responsible for attempts to overturn the 2020 election. trib.al/EnJu57H
November 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Bolsonaro to jail for 27 years. Trump completely free 🤡
Other, more serious countries, etc. etc.
Other, more serious countries, etc. etc.
Reposted by Chris Edelson
Antithetical to a republic on so many levels.
November 27, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Antithetical to a republic on so many levels.
not just to score political points: trump is using the military, including National Guard, as part of a broader effort to consolidate power without limits. These 2 National Guardsmen should have been celebrating the holiday with their families; I hope they recover soon.
These two things are true:
1) Shooting National Guard members is horrific and criminal.
2) So is putting National Guard members in harm’s way to score political points.
1) Shooting National Guard members is horrific and criminal.
2) So is putting National Guard members in harm’s way to score political points.
November 27, 2025 at 3:04 PM
not just to score political points: trump is using the military, including National Guard, as part of a broader effort to consolidate power without limits. These 2 National Guardsmen should have been celebrating the holiday with their families; I hope they recover soon.