Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

such cope

Screenshot of a Donald Trump Truth Social post, dated 19 Nov 2025. You can find the full text at this link: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115579394833948106 . It's too long for this "alt" field, but here is how it begins:

Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged by the Trump Justice Department in 2019 (Not the Democrats!), was a lifelong Democrat, donated Thousands of Dollars to Democrat Politicians, and was deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures, such as Bill Clinton (who traveled on his plane 26 times), Larry Summers (who just resigned from many Boards, including Harvard), Sleazebag Political Activist Reid Hoffman, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (who asked Epstein to donate to his Campaign AFTER Epstein was charged), Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more. Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES! As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him. Democrats have used the “Epstein” issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories, including THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL TAX CUT BILL, Strong Borders, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, lowering Prices, Biggest Tax and Regulation Cuts in History, ending EIGHT Wars, rebuilding our Military, knocking out Iran’s Nuclear capability, getting Trillions of Dollars INVE…

November 20, 2025 at 1:56 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

This gave me an excuse to reread one of my favorite articles I ever edited: Andy Ferguson writing in 2017 on E.B. White and his home. (This piece includes White's hilariously crushing response when a young Ferguson tried to invite himself over for a visit.)
web.archive.org/web/20181215...

Screenshot of the first of three spreads of a Weekly Standard article about E.B. White which you can read online for free here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065818/https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-ferguson/writers-seat

Screenshot of the second of three spreads of a Weekly Standard article about E.B. White which you can read online for free here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065818/https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-ferguson/writers-seat

Screenshot of the third of three spreads of a Weekly Standard article about E.B. White which you can read online for free here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20181215065818/https://www.weeklystandard.com/andrew-ferguson/writers-seat

November 17, 2025 at 4:19 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

MAGA is more divided than at any point since the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6th.

Tonight, Trump opined on BOTH the issues dividing his movement:

1—He now says the House GOP should vote to release the Epstein files.

2—And he has no problem w/ Tucker Carlson interviewing the likes of Nick Fuentes.

Screenshot of a Truth Social post from Trump dated 16 Nov 2025, 9:15 p.m. EST https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115562626931599548 reading as follows:

As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat “Shutdown.” The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy, “Affordability” (where we are winning BIG!), our Victory on reducing Inflation from the highest level in History to practically nothing, bringing down prices for the American People, delivering Historic Tax Cuts, gaining Trillions of Dollars of Investment into America (A RECORD!), the rebuilding of our Military, securing our Border, deporting Criminal Illegal Aliens, ending Men in Women’s Sports, stopping Transgender for Everyone, and so much more! Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory. Some “members” of the Republican Party are being “used,” and we can’t let that happen. Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein “TRAP,” which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Screenshot of Trump standing on the tarmac near Air Force One on 16 November 2025, with superimposed an exchange from a Q&A with reporters:

Q: Tucker Carlson recently had a friendly
interview with antisemite Nick Fuentes. . . .
What role do you think Tucker Carlson
should play in the Republican party, the
conservative movement going forward?

Trump: Well, I found him to be good. I mean,
he said good things about me over the years.
I think he’s good. We’ve had some good
interviews. I did an interview with him where
we had 300 million hits. You know that. Uh,
look, I can’t tell him. . . . We’ve had some
great interviews with Tucker Carlson, but you
can’t tell him who to interview. I mean, if he
wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know
much about him, but if he wants to do it, get
the word out. Let ’em, you know—people
have to decide. Ultimately, people have
to decide. . . .

November 17, 2025 at 3:30 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

lol

Screenshot of a tweet (dated 16 Nov 2025) in which Eli Lake of the Free Press quote-tweets a video clip (see below this skeet) from CNN showing Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she regrets her role in "toxic" politics. Lake writes: "How many weeks till @mtgreenee is a columnist for @BulwarkOnline"

A tweet from Tim Miller of The Bulwark (@Timodc) dated 16 Nov 2025 quote-tweeting the aforementioned Eli Lake tweet. Miller writes: "No lies from MTG detected in this clip. Intriguing that someone would think it’s a hit to point out that people who speak truth about Trump head to
@BulwarkOnline. If MTG wants to write about a random professor using the word Latinx in class I’m sure she can go to @TheFP instead!"

November 16, 2025 at 11:44 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Fetterman's spokesperson yesterday said he had a "ventricular fibrillation flareup."*

But "ventricular fibrillation" is often deadly.

We asked Fetterman's office whether the spokesperson meant "atrial fibrillation" (aka heart palpitations) but haven't heard back.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-conser...

November 14, 2025 at 4:48 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

The lyric is: "In our deep vaulted cell the charm we’ll prepare, / Too dreadful a practice for this open air."

In case you you can read music and want to follow along:

The first of three pages of the score of "In our deep vaulted cell," a song from the start of Act II of Henry Purcell's opera 'Dido and Aeneas.'

The second of three pages of the score of "In our deep vaulted cell," a song from the start of Act II of Henry Purcell's opera 'Dido and Aeneas.'

The third of three pages of the score of "In our deep vaulted cell," a song from the start of Act II of Henry Purcell's opera 'Dido and Aeneas.'

November 13, 2025 at 7:37 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

What stakes do you think they were playing for?

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg playing cards at the 70th birthday party for Kardashian materfamilias Kris Jenner.

November 12, 2025 at 3:42 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

A Bulwark scoop from this morning: Truth Social has an AI attached to it that it gives surprisingly accurate answers about the awfulness of Donald Trump.

We broke this news this morning—after having thrown a ton of questions at the AI yesterday. More at the link…
www.thebulwark.com/i/178598098/...

Q: “Did Donald Trump lie about the 2020 election being ‘rigged’ and ‘stolen?’”
Truth Search AI: “Yes. Courts, Trump’s own advisers, and official investigations found no evidence that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ or ‘stolen,’ despite his repeated claims.”

Q: “Did people storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020, because of Donald Trump?”
Truth Search AI: “Yes. Multiple official and contemporaneous records attribute the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach to a pro‑Trump crowd mobilized around his false election‑fraud claims and pressure campaign to stop certification.”

Q: “How many wars has Trump ended since taking office in 2025?”
Truth Search AI: “None. There is no verified instance of President Trump formally ending a war since taking office in January 2025.”

November 11, 2025 at 9:17 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

I like this comment one reader left:

After reading Cohn's description of Stevens, I thought, "Michigan should pick her."

After reading Cohn's description of El-Sayed, I thought, "Michigan should pick him."

After reading Cohn's description of McMorrow, I thought, "Michigan should pick her."

November 11, 2025 at 1:56 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Least surprising pardon news so far. Appalling.

Screenshot of a tweet from @kyledcheney dated late on 9 Nov 2025 reading "BREAKING: President rump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and dozens of false GOP electors and other key figures involved in his effort to overturn the 2020 election results, per pardon attorney Ed Martin". It quote-tweets @EagleEdMartin who has screenshots of a list of names.

https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1987745182062895565

November 10, 2025 at 5:29 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

No matter how hard I try, and no matter how long it goes on, I just can't get used to the president of the United States routinely promoting lies of the most imbecilic and easily disprovable nature (or in this case mistaking satire for reality).
truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

A screenshot of a Truth Social post from Donald Trump dated 9 November 2025 in which he wrote "WOW!" and quote-tweeted a meme saying "Breaking: DOGE halts yearly payment of $2.5 million to Barack Obama for 'royalties linked to Obamacare.' Obama has collected this payment since 2010, for a total of $40 million in taxpayer dollars."

November 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Alas, there is a typo on one of set's stickers here...

Screenshot from a YouTube video showing a sticker from the new USS Enterprise-D Lego set. The sticker misspells "boldly" as "boldy"

November 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Roger Stone, who became modestly notorious as a Nixonite and wildly notorious as a Trumpist, says he's launching a menswear line. Insert your own joke about orange jumpsuits and prison stripes.

Screenshot of a tweet from @RogerJStoneJr dated 7 Nov 2025, with a picture of Stone nattily dressed in a blue suit with a black and white striped tie. Text: "The classic style in which I dress is not for everyone, but over the years many men have urged me to introduce my own line of men's clothing. Stay tuned..."

November 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Drew Struzan, the artistic genius behind many of the greatest movie posters of the last half-century, has died.

Among his famous works are the original Star Wars movies and the prequels, and the Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future franchises. R.I.P.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/o...

A screenshot of dozens of boxes, each with a detail from a movie poster painted by Drew Struzan.

A screenshot of dozens of boxes, each with a detail from a movie poster painted by Drew Struzanv.

November 7, 2025 at 2:54 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

What in the name of Shelob?!
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...

November 6, 2025 at 9:53 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Hahaha, I forgot about this. This video was insane. What assholes those people are. (The video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpvt... )

Screenshot of a tweet from Inside Elections deputy editor @JacobRubashkin dated 6 November 2025, reading: "The White House made a whole video about arresting Sandwich Guy like he was El Chapo, and he was just acquitted of the only misdemeanor charges that stuck." Below it, he quote-tweets the White House video of the arrest.

November 6, 2025 at 8:53 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

[Corrected: When originally posted, I mistakenly described the fainter as "a drug-company exec."]

A little while ago, a man fainted in the Oval Office, and several people standing nearby—executives, WH staffers—came over to help. But look at Trump's reaction.
www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-...

November 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Do you think a human being wrote this Newsweek headline without having read the article beneath it, and so without understanding that the Supreme Court did *not* rule on Trump's tariffs today? Or do you think some AI wrote the headline and made the mistake?

Screenshot of a Newsweek headline dated 5 Nov 2025 reading "Supreme Court Rules on Donald Trump’s Tariffs: What To Know" Backed up here: https://archive.is/eGiSS

November 6, 2025 at 3:12 AM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Interesting: Right-wing impresario Chris Rufo has an article in City Journal in which he advises conservatives on how to understand what white nationalist Nick Fuentes is up to. Rufo draws on Baudrillard, a thinker long despised on the American right (alongside Derrida, Foucault, Lacan).

Screenshot of the opening paragraphs of a City Journal article by Christopher F. Rufo dated 4 November 2025, titled "What Everyone Misses About Nick Fuentes /
The racialist influencer represents a spectacle that demands cool analysis rather than emotional reaction." The text of the opening paragraphs:

The racialist influencer Nick Fuentes has caused an uproar with his appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast. Fuentes, a 27-year-old live-streamer, has built a reputation as the most controversial voice on the right. He’s embraced seemingly every taboo: praising Hitler, disputing the Holocaust’s death toll, calling himself a “white nationalist,” musing about domestic violence, and opposing interracial marriage.

Carlson’s invitation has divided conservatives. Some suggest that Fuentes’s appearance on the podcast represented an unacceptable mainstreaming of his views. Others, most notably Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, argue that Fuentes must be debated instead of “canceled.”

Both sides fail to understand the Nick Fuentes phenomenon. They take his statements seriously and engage with them in good faith. But Fuentes’s stated beliefs, while abhorrent, are not best parried by taking them at face value. Instead, the Right should consider him an actor in what postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard called “hyperreality”: a system in which the simulation of reality comes to replace reality itself.

Full article: https://www.city-journal.org/article/nick-fuentes-tucker-carlson-podcast

November 5, 2025 at 7:31 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

Hahahaha

Screenshot of a tweet from journalist @AdamCrafton dated 5 Nov 2025 reading "Has he actually created a prize for Trump" quote-tweeting a tweet from The Athletic with a picture of FIFA head Gianni Infantino, reading as follows: "Gianni Infantino will present the inaugural ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ at the draw for the 2026 World Cup, football’s world governing body has announced. The award is designed to acknowledge 'individuals who have helped to unite people all over the world in peace' with the winner to be crowned at the draw in Washington DC on December 5."

November 5, 2025 at 6:12 PM

Adam Keiper

@adamkeiper.com

*There are several ways to measure the productivity of a Congress; the number of bills passed is not the only relevant stat, esp. when Congress lumps bills together. Still: This ain't what a productive Congress looks like. Its record is worse even than the historically unproductive 112th and 113th: