Kurt Andersen

Exciting: @randomhouse officially released the cover of my forthcoming novel. Feel free to pre-order the book here: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/594494/t…

“Decimated,” according to Trump and Hegseth. Iran still has 70% of the missiles it had before the war. Plus 90% of its launch sites along the Strait of Hormuz and underground missile launch & storage facilities nationwide. And 70% of its mobile launchers. nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/…

Childishness is rampant among the rich, especially tech guys. For instance, who records their intimate thoughts but *insist* they’re keeping not a girly “diary” but a manly “journal”? 12-year-old boys….and Open AI president Greg Brockman.

Democrats and other anti-MAGAns distraught and depressed by last week’s judicial decisions at SCOTUS and in Virginia on House redistricting — this newsletter by @natesilver is detailed, thorough, clear-eyed and actually encouraging. @natesilver/note/c-257338354?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=w1oh" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@natesilver/no…

@FogCityBlues The Greatest.

@KBAndersen I believe someone once called him "the ultimate self-parodist" 😇

With new Oval Office shots like this one from 2 weeks ago appearing frequently, how bizarre and baffling to post this cartoon, as he did this morning.

@AMA34043076 @grahamformaine @jonstewart You don’t mean inconsistent, you mean non-stereotypical.

@KBAndersen @grahamformaine @jonstewart He shows inconsistencies even in that interview. Is he more center because he is former Marine and uses a firearm, or is he more extreme left because he says that No Liberalism should not exists. Period. ?

Highly recommend people curious (or dubious) about @grahamformaine listen to @jonstewart’s great interview with him. An impressively intelligent, cogent, well-read New Deal economic progressive and anti-authoritarian. As well as a plainspoken oyster farmer vet & local organizer.

@pschmidtdc Chris nailed it almost every time.

@KBAndersen Asked once by Brian Lamb on C-SPAN what he thought of Trump, Christopher Hitchens joked, ‘Oh please… Well, he’s managed to cover 90% of his head with 30% of his hair…

The extent and complexity of the multidimensional, multidirectional combover is more remarkable than ever. The cantilevered front is familiar—but not that essentially bald back. Where and on how small an area is hair now growing? A metaphor for his shrinking political base.

@TheNashvillian The hard-core base of 25% of voters — only half the people who voted for him — will never leave him, true, and everyone understands that.

@KBAndersen His base isn’t shrinking. They will never leave him. Never. And I fear Democrats and the media will never understand this.

@MGScott9 Yes! Enact a federal law requiring contiguous, coherent House district borders, outlawing purely partisan gerrymandering, AND create more districts, as we did continuously until 1912 when there were 210K people per district, vs 766K now. So double or triple them now to catch up.

@KBAndersen Let's all agree that gerrymandering of any kind should go?

Fascinating, surprising history of how Democrats’ 1992 gerrymander of Southern House districts to increase black members—aided by the Republican right—paved the way for the gerrymanders now cutting Democrats’ national power. Hoist on our petard. Gift link: nytimes.com/2026/05/09/us/…

The Greatest Self-Parodist of All Time has such remarkably self-parodying minions. A reminder of what happens in Exodus 32 after corrupt morons build and worship a giant golden statue of a beast, and party.

💯 Gift link: nytimes.com/2026/05/08/opi…

@MichaelMcGough3 Don’t recall seeing it.

@KBAndersen Does he ever not smile?

Kevin Hassett’s face is for me the ultimate Backpfeifengesicht.

Another excellent, well-argued, thoughtful and thought-provoking column by the @nytimes’s superb @DavidAFrench. The gust below, but I urge you to read the whole piece. Gift link: nytimes.com/2026/05/07/opi…

We are announcing today that The American Revolution will stream for free in its entirety on all PBS platforms from May 25th through July 12. Hope you have a chance to watch, ideally with friends and family, as you think about our 250th anniversary this July 4th. pbs.org/kenburns/the-a…

He is unable to make differentiations among human beings the way normal people can. Everything around him is just a prop or an audience member.