Matt Lewis

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesWith the first presidential debate of 2024 now just days away, Donald Trump is doing what he does best: whining, complaining, and casting aspersions.This infantile behavior is bookmarked in Trump’s playbook. When he lost the 2016 Iowa caucuses, it was because Ted Cruz “stole it.” The 2020 presidential election was likewise pilfered by Joe Biden. And, of course, the New York hush money trial was a huge sham.Per his method, Trump seeds the ground early. Even before the outcome is known, Trump sets the table by telling us the only way he could possibly lose is if it (the election, debate, or trial) is “rigged.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesAs we hurtle toward the first 2024 presidential debate on Thursday, it’s worth asking: What the hell happened to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.?Back in April, an Emerson College poll had him at 21 percent, and a Fox News poll from around the same time had him at 19 percent. At that moment, it was easy to believe that he might build on that foundation, surpassing the 19 percent Ross Perot garnered in the 1992 presidential election. But since then, Kennedy’s campaign has stalled.Most recently, Kennedy failed to qualify for the CNN debate, a development that could prove devastating and dispositive.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastThanks to a new law, Louisiana classrooms are slated to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state. As a father who sends his children to Christian schools, you might not be surprised to learn that I endorse this message.To be sure, there are reasonable concerns about blurring the separation of church and state, and there will no doubt be court challenges. Likewise, I have no doubt that the same people applauding this decision would be up in arms if, say, a Dearborn, Michigan, school district decided to post some comparable verse from the Koran.But it’s hard to see how posting this text (which has both a moral and historical component) constitutes some major affront to the sensibilities of Louisiana families, much less the Constitution. And if it does, then we should acknowledge that this revelation is a relatively new development, and that our past leaders (including liberal Democrats) would be shocked by this secular interpretation.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesBased on his tears, Alex Jones—the notorious conspiracy theorist and right-wing nutjob—may finally feel some regret for his actions.Jones has begun liquidating personal assets to cover the $1.5 billion he has been ordered to pay to the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre—families who spent years enduring the added trauma caused by the lies he told.Regardless, the penalty is not enough. To be honest, it’s difficult to imagine an amount large enough to compensate for the pain these grieving parents have endured, thanks to Jones.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / GettyDonald Trump’s license to carry a gun is about to be revoked by the New York City Police Department (his concealed carry permit was suspended back in April 2023, after his first indictment was handed down).This is to say, the man who could very well be in charge of the U.S. nuclear arsenal won’t be able to carry a handgun in his home state.On one hand, this is emblematic of the often ridiculous, sometimes amusing, contradictions of America’s federalist system. On the other hand, this is very much a story about Trump, and the unique problems and contradictions his very existence conjures and exposes.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters/GettyThe kickoff of jury selection in Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial might be hurtful and embarrassing for Joe Biden’s family, but it is also a timely refutation of Donald Trump’s central campaign premise: the notion that Biden has weaponized the justice system.In the wake of Trump’s criminal conviction in the New York hush money case last week, Trump declared that, “This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent.”Never mind that Biden doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the Manhattan District Attorney’s office—and never mind that 12 jurors unanimously voted to convict him on 34 felony counts—Trump constantly repeats this canard.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesDonald Trump’s response to his guilty verdict was mind-numbingly predictable. During a Friday morning press conference, Trump advanced yet another canard, saying, “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”It was merely the latest example of his attempt to cast himself as a victim, pretend he’s your savior, and undermine confidence in our criminal justice system. Of course, he brought all of this on himself.This is his modus operandi: Trump commits egregious, unprecedented acts, and then he dares you to do something about it. Your choice is to either a) let him get away with it (thereby incentivizing future aggressions), or b) try to hold him accountable (which he will then cast as an act of aggression).Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesA lie travels halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on. And that was before Twitter (X) came along—which explains why the canard that there was an “assassination attempt” on Donald Trump—spread like wildfire.It all started when self-described conspiracy theorist Julie Kelly flagged a newly unsealed FBI document authorizing officers to use “deadly force” when searching Mar-a-Lago. And then, a lie that started in the fever swamps quickly made its way into mainstream conservative media, as well as the social media platforms of prominent Republicans.Attorney General “Merrick Garland basically issued a kill order for President Trump,” tweeted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. For his part, Trump claimed that “Joe Biden was locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty ImagesDonald Trump poses an existential threat to liberal democracy; therefore, a reasonable reaction to his possible return to power has been to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him.This ranged from supporting his impeachment and removal, to voting for his adversaries (including Nikki Haley), to charging him with 88 criminal offenses in four criminal cases.But a new theory has emerged that suggests the latter example of this confrontational approach was unwise and counterproductive. And it is coming from the unlikeliest of sources: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).Read more at The Daily Beast.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesJoe Biden is in the process of alienating his allies for the sake of adversaries he can neither win over, nor appease. This, as they say, is a rookie mistake.I’m speaking, of course, about Biden’s threat that the U.S. will not supply weapons for Israel to invade Rafah, a city that the Associated Press describes as “the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza.”In so doing, Biden is being less than a loyal friend to Israel, an ally who rightly views Hamas as an existential threat. But he’s also alienating his political allies right here in America. And while we can debate the ethics of urban warfare in Gaza, what seems less debatable is the notion that this is a shrewd political move. Indeed, it strikes me as quite stupid.Read more at The Daily Beast.