The Conversation -- February 24, 2025
Some people are not taking the reign of King Donald seriously. One of those unserious people would be RAS, who thought it important to share these obviously mocked-up Time covers. Look, Donald is king and he does not have a regent. He is a manly man, and he has many an heir of his own. If there be a prince, it be Donald II, not Elon. If we're to have a proper monarchy, it must be hereditary. And, as with the Spanish Hapsburgs, we should expect to see strong signs of inbreeding. Many have already speculated about the heritage of Donald II, what with his evident shortcomings.
~~~ Okay, he's more terrible and more delusional than the last king we had (who was fairly terrible and definitely delusional) ~~~
Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: “In his first month in office..., Donald Trump has upended the nation’s nearly century-old approach to global affairs.The speed and energy with which the president has moved to remake Washington’s role in the world has been most visible in his approach to the war between Russia and Ukraine. He has embraced Russia’s strength and blasted the smaller country, falsely accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky of starting a conflict that began with a Russian invasion. He has insulted U.S. allies in Europe, who for decades have relied on the United States to check Russian power. The result, diplomats and analysts say, has been to cede influence to Moscow. But that might just be the beginning. At worst, Trump’s strategy could embolden other global powers, notably China, to adopt more bellicose policies toward their neighbors, they say — the opposite of what some of his allies say needs to be the focus of U.S. foreign policy.” ~~~
~~~ Paul Sonne of the New York Times writes a similar assessment, emphasizing the "new possibilities" Trump has afforded Putin. See also remarks, linked below, by Friedrich Merz, who is about to become Germany's new chancellor, as well as Western leaders' support for Ukraine, also linked below.
Plus, Our King Is Preternaturally Corrupt. Natalie Allison, et al., of the Washington Post: “In back-to-back events last week..., Donald Trump held court with Saudi government officials and investors who do business with his family’s firms. On Wednesday, he made a special trip to Miami to appear at a beachfront conference hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which has invested $2 billion in a business run by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and is the main backer of LIV Golf, the upstart golf league that has held five tournaments at Trump’s courses since it launched in 2022, with a sixth scheduled for April at Trump National Doral in Miami. Trump has not disclosed his profits from the events. Kushner, Trump’s ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk, and other family business associates of Trump and his Middle East envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, also attended. Less than 24 hours later, Trump hosted Yasir Al-Rumayyan — who runs the Saudi fund and oversees LIV Golf — for a meeting at the White House. On the agenda: a potential reunification of the golf world. The meetings demonstrated how Trump has blended the roles of president and business mogul. But 'it’s hard to see how any of those meetings have anything to do with our interests as American taxpayers,' said Don Fox, former general counsel for the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Great. You've got your greedy king. You've got your upper-crusty sport. You've got your foreign billions. You've got your nepo baby. You've got your oligarchs. So to hell with us peasants.
Adam Goldman & Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “Dan Bongino, a former New York City police officer and Secret Service agent turned right-wing pundit and podcaster, will be the next deputy director of the F.B.I...., [Donald] Trump said on Sunday night. Mr. Trump, making the announcement on his social media site, said the newly installed F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, had named Mr. Bongino to the No. 2 post at the country’s most powerful law enforcement agency. The role of deputy director does not require Senate confirmation, meaning two steadfast Trump loyalists will effectively be installed at the uppermost reaches of an agency known for its tradition of independence.... In the past, F.B.I. directors have selected senior agents with extensive experience to essentially run the bureau’s operations, a complex and grueling job that requires working closely with foreign partners and navigating sensitive investigations.
“The choice of Mr. Bongino is a radical and abrupt departure from that practice and raises startling questions about how two people who have never served as F.B.I. agents will oversee the vast surveillance and investigative powers of an agency of 38,000 people and a budget of about $11 billion. The combination of Mr. Patel and Mr. Bongino will represent the least experienced leadership pair in the history of a bureau typically insulated from White House interference. It will also ensure that the bureau will be run by men who have freely peddled misinformation and embraced partisan politics.” The AP's report is here.
Edward Wong of the New York Times: “Trump administration appointees in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development sent employees an email on Sunday afternoon saying that they were firing 2,000 workers and putting up to thousands of foreign service officers and other direct hires around the world on paid leave starting that night. The only exceptions to the leave would be people working on 'mission-critical programs,' as well as 'core leadership' and employees supporting 'specially designated programs,' according to a copy of the email obtained by The New York Times. The email said appointees running U.S.A.I.D. were firing 2,000 employees based in the United States using a mechanism called 'reduction in force.' The mass firings are part of a series of layoffs of agency employees by the Trump administration during a broad effort to halt almost all U.S. foreign aid using a blanket freeze. The moves came after a judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration could proceed with plans to lay off or put on paid leave many agency employees and close down operations overseas, which means forcing employees based abroad to come back to the United States. Some of those employees say they expect to be fired once they return home.” Politico's report is here.
Irie Sentner of Politico: “Elon Musk’s weekend threat to federal workers triggered panic and confusion Sunday as administration officials rushed to issue sometimes conflicting guidance, setting in motion a power struggle between Musk and agency heads appointed by ... Donald Trump to lead the federal government. The guidance varied by agency, with some leaders telling their employees to wait before complying with Musk’s demand that they justify their jobs in writing and others either staying silent or offering vague advice on how to handle the Musk missive. It’s the latest episode of Musk’s 'move fast and break things' philosophy clashing with the layers of rules and laws that fortify the bureaucracy he hopes to hobble. And it’s the first sign that even staunch Trump loyalists are beginning to flex their political muscle against Musk, an unelected 'special government employee,' whose power stems primarily from his proximity to the president.” Federal employment law experts have pointed out that Musk's or-else demand is illegal for several reasons. A related AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Lauren Irwin of the Hill: “Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) slammed Elon Musk over an 'absurd weekend email' sent to federal employees requiring they send the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) a list of what they accomplished in the past week. 'Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform,' Murkowski wrote on the social platform X. 'The absurd weekend email to justify their existence wasn’t it.'... 'If Elon Musk truly wants to understand what federal workers accomplished over the past week, he should get to know each department and agency, and learn about the jobs he’s trying to cut,' Murkowski said.” ~~~
~~~ “He’s Just a Dick.” Paige Skinner of the Huffington Post: “Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) called out Elon Musk for his new requirement that all federal employees defend their jobs or else get fired. 'This is the ultimate dick boss move from Musk - except he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a dick,' Smith wrote Saturday in a post on X, which included a screenshot of Musk’s original post explaining the new requirement.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh gosh, I just figured out that this is all Rachel Maddow's fault. Follow me here: ~~~
~~~ Will Neal of the Daily Beast (Feb. 22), republished by Yahoo! News: “Maddow called ... Donald Trump’s leadership 'decorative' on the Friday night broadcast of The Rachel Maddow Show, suggesting that 'First Buddy' and DOGE director Elon Musk is truly holding the power and the public’s attention.... She alleged that Trump has been made to look 'weak' and 'sort of beside the point' as Musk continues to 'regularly upstage' and even 'talk over him' in interviews and conferences held at the White House.... Trump appeared to address her comments on Saturday morning as he launched a series of rage posts targeting the network. 'MSNBC, COMMONLY KNOWN AS MSDNC, IS A THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY,' wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform. 'SUCH LYING AND MISREPRESENTATION. BAD PEOPLE AT THE TOP!' As if in further defiance of Maddow’s comments, Trump also called for Musk to 'GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.'” ~~~
~~~ Now, if you take a look at the top of yesterday's Reality Chex page, you'll see that shortly after Trump urged Musk to "be more aggressive," Musk ordered federal employees to list their accomplishments or else: So now we learn that the sequence of events is
(1) He [Trump] appears to be sort of decorative at this point.... The person who’s really working double-time to make the government actually do things appears to be his top campaign donor, who is getting all the attention, and all the credit. -- Rachel Maddow, Friday night MSNBC show
(2) Elon is doing a great job, but I would like to see him be more aggressive. -- Donald Trump, rage-post on his failing social media site, as a riposte to Maddow's biting assertions
(3) All federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week... Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. -- Elon Musk, post of his failing social media site
(4) What Did You Do Last Week? -- Office of Personnel Management, email to civil servants, subject line
Patrick Wingrove, et al., of Reuters (Feb. 22), republished by Yahoo! News: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking some of its recently fired scientists if they will come back to their jobs, including some employees reviewing Elon Musk's brain implant company, Neuralink, multiple sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The FDA plans to rehire around 300 people in total, according to four sources with secondhand knowledge of the situation, following ... Donald Trump's rush last week to fire employees at the agency responsible for reviewing drugs, food safety, medical devices and tobacco.... It is not known who ordered the firings and now the rehirings, according to sources familiar with the situation, including several employees caught up in the turmoil. At least 11 employees working at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health -- which oversees medical device reviews -- have received calls since Friday saying they could return to work on Monday...."
“No Exit.” Federico Rios of the New York Times: “On floor after floor of Panama City’s soaring Decapolis Hotel, people huddled around the windows of rooms they could not leave. They were among roughly 300 migrants from all around the world, deported by the United States to Panama. There, they were barred from leaving the hotel or meeting lawyers.... In furtive messages, sent through handmade signs, hidden phones and gestures behind glass, some of the migrants expressed a sense of constant, overwhelming fear.... We learned that the 10 Iranian migrants had converted to Christianity, which according to Iran’s Shariah law, is a crime punishable by death. They had illegally entered the United States in the last month, and were detained in San Diego before being deported to Panama.... Migrants who did not agree to be deported would be taken to a detention camp on the outskirts of the jungle known as the Darién Gap, Panama’s security minister said. He described the decision to hold the migrants as part of an accord with the United States.” A related Washington Post story, published Feb. 21, is here.
Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: “The military transported about 15 immigration detainees from Texas to the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Sunday, bringing in new migrants who have been designated for deportation days after it cleared the base of its first group of deportees.”
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: “Sharp cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development are likely to upend housing markets, make homes less affordable and roil mortgage transactions, according to current and former employees, contractors and housing experts. The changes come amid a national housing crisis, with not enough homes and ever-rising costs. Current and former staffers ... said it was increasingly difficult to answer how and whether HUD can carry out its core functions as the federal government’s top housing agency. Those concerns have grown, they said, since officials from the U.S. DOGE Service, billionaire Elon Musk’s effort to slash federal spending and regulations, appeared at the department’s headquarters. HUD’s entire workforce is projected to drop by about half — from about 8,300 employees to just over 4,000 — with deep cuts in field offices nationwide, according to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post.... Staffers also emphasized that these cuts appear to contrast with ... Donald Trump’s campaign promises to make housing more affordable.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Of course Trump doesn't care about making housing more affordable for most people, but to the extent that he wants to do something splashy to lower housing costs, he would want to do that splashy thing for middle-class white people, not the more needy people HUD assists. So there's no "contrast with Trump's campaign promises."
In case you know somebody who still is of the impression that Musk's indiscriminate cuts to the federal workforce are about reducing waste, fraud and abuse, there's this: ~~~
~~~ Frederick Gibbs and six other former IRS Commissioners under Republican and Democratic administrations, in a New York Times op-ed: “Last week, the Trump administration started laying off about 6,700 I.R.S. employees, many if not most of whom are directly involved in collecting unpaid taxes.... Aggressive reductions in the I.R.S.’s resources will only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed. It will shift the burden of funding the government from people who shirk their taxes to the honest people who pay them, and it will impede efforts by the I.R.S. to modernize customer service and simplify the tax filing process for everyone.”
Joan Greve of the Guardian: “Attendees of a center-right political conference in Washington DC were forced to evacuate on Sunday, after someone claiming to be Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was convicted and then pardoned for his role in the January 6 insurrection, allegedly emailed in a bomb threat against the event. Tarrio denied any involvement in the incident. Organizers of the Principles First summit, which is considered a center-right alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), confirmed the bomb threat after they abruptly asked attendees to clear the room hosting the conference.... Jim Acosta, the former CNN host, posted a copy of the threatening message on social media. The message claimed that four pipe bombs had been deployed against political enemies of 'Emperor Trump' who 'all deserve to die', including attendees at the conference, Michael Fanone, a former US Capitol police officer, Fanone’s mother and John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser.” ~~~
~~~ Joan Greve of the Guardian: “Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was convicted and then pardoned for his role in the January 6 insurrection, confronted a group of police officers who defended the Capitol during the attack, accusing one of them of being a 'coward'. A video shared by Tarrio on social media on Saturday showed him following the officers, Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn, Daniel Hodges and Aquilino Gonell, through the lobby of a Washington hotel that was hosting the Principles First summit, a conference where one of the officers received a 'profile in courage' award. In the video, an unidentified woman with the officers tells Tarrio: 'You guys are traitors, just back off.' 'You were brave on Twitter,' Tarrio said to one of the officers as he continued to follow them. 'You guys were brave at my sentencing when you sat there and laughed when I got 22 fucking years. Now you don’t want to look in my eyes, you fucking cowards.'”
~~~~~~~~~~
Idaho. Kate Thornbrugh of the Coeur d'Alene Press: “A legislative town hall organized by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee devolved into chaos Saturday when unidentified, plainclothes security personnel dragged a Post Falls woman from the Coeur d’Alene High School auditorium for heckling legislators.... Footage from the event showed [Kootenai County Sheriff Bob] Norris take [attendee Teresa] Borrenpohl’s arm with both hands and make multiple attempts to pull her from her seat. Borrenpohl said that after she declined to leave, Norris turned to the unidentified men and said, 'Guys, get her.' On video, Borrenpohl can be seen repeatedly asking the men to identify themselves. They did not. She asked Norris if the men were his deputies, and he gave no answer.... [Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee] White said it’s not appropriate for law enforcement to forcefully remove a person from a town hall for speaking out of turn or shouting.... Coeur d’Alene city code requires security agents to wear uniforms 'clearly marked' with the word 'security.'... The security personnel at Saturday’s town hall were in plainclothes, with no visible sign they were security.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Republicans don't stop holding townhall meetings, we're going to keep reading stories like this. ~~~
~~~ Fer Instance. Pennsylvania. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch believes that Tesla owner Elon Musk's attempts to slash and burn the federal government have awakened voters who are now engaging in what he describes as an 'American uprising.' In his latest column, Bunch focuses on the protests that are targeting the showrooms at Tesla car dealerships to protest against Musk's illegal efforts to shut down entire government departments without any congressional input or authorization.... Added to this are the town halls in which Republican lawmakers are facing increasingly hostile constituents, as well as 'large protests over the last week by laid-off federal workers, by LGBTQ activists in New York City furious over the scrubbing of transgender references from the Stonewall National Monument, and here in Philadelphia and elsewhere for last Monday’s Not My President Day.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Germany. Christopher Schuetze & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: “Germany is getting a new chancellor. Its current leader is heading out of power, but his party probably will stick around in a diminished capacity. And the Trump administration’s efforts to influence the vote don’t seem to have done much.... By early Monday morning, the results [of Sunday's elections] seemed clear enough to indicate that the center-right Christian Democrats would be able to lead Germany with only one coalition partner, returning the country to the more durable two-party form of government that has led it for most of this century. Here are five takeaways from the returns.” ~~~
~~~ Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: “Germans voted for a change of leadership on Sunday, handing the most votes in a parliamentary election to centrist conservatives, with the far right in second, and rebuking the nation’s left-leaning government for its handling of the economy and immigration. The results almost certainly mean the country’s next chancellor will be Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats. Returns posted early Monday morning indicated that he had a path to governing Germany with only one coalition partner, the relatively stable scenario that his party had hoped for.” ~~~
~~~ Deutsche Welle's main story is here. DW has a bunch of election graphics here. ~~~
⭐~~~ Tschüss. Tim Ross & Nette Nöstlinger of Politico: “The Trump administration does not care about Europe and is aligning with Russia, said [Friedrich] Merz, who is on course to become Germany's new leader. The continent, he warned, must urgently strengthen its defenses and potentially even find a replacement for NATO — within months. Merz's comments mark a historic watershed: They reveal how deeply Trump has shaken the political foundations of Europe, which has depended on American security guarantees since 1945.... 'My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,' Germany's chancellor-in-waiting said. “... after Donald Trump's statements last week at the latest, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.'... Merz, a staunch Atlanticist[,] has spent much of his professional career as a lawyer working with and for American firms....”
Ukraine, et al. Justin Spike of the AP: “More than a dozen Western leaders attended events in Ukraine on Monday marking the third anniversary of the country’s war with Russia, many pledging more military aid in a conspicuous show of support for Kyiv as uncertainty deepened over the commitment of ... Donald Trump’s administration to helping it fend off Russia’s invasion.... Some of Ukraine’s most important backers, including European leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were among the stream of dignitaries arriving by train in Kyiv. Others spoke at a conference via video link.... World security is at stake in talks over how the war ends, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned.” ~~~
~~~ David Latona of Reuters, via AOL: "Spain will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday in Kyiv during an international meeting held on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. The package comes as part of a 10-year bilateral security and defence agreement signed in May 2024, according to a statement by Sanchez's office. Last year, Madrid already sent over 1 billion euros in aid for Ukraine's defence." ~~~
~~~ Constant Méheut & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: “President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on Sunday against demands from the Trump administration for billions in Ukrainian natural resources and for holding peace talks that exclude Ukraine, while announcing plans for a major summit of European leaders on Monday. The Ukrainian leader’s efforts to shore up European support while pressing ahead on negotiations with the United States came despite ominous messages from ... [Donald] Trump in recent days belittling Mr. Zelensky and issuing threats if Ukraine does not soon agree to a minerals deal. Mr. Zelensky suggested that in assailing Ukraine, Mr. Trump had chosen the wrong adversary.... 'If peace for Ukraine requires me to step down, I’m ready,' Mr. Zelensky said on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. 'Another scenario: I could trade my position for NATO membership, if that’s what it takes,' he added.... The Ukrainian leader said that more than 30 countries would participate in meetings on Monday, either in person in Kyiv or virtually, as a kind of coalition of support for Ukraine’s war effort.... On Saturday evening, Mr. Trump ramped up pressure on Ukraine to sign the minerals deal, which has now been under negotiation for more than 10 days.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I was glad to hear a few Democrats on the teevee Sunday expressing horror at Trump's attempts to extort an ally.
10 Comments
Reader Comments (10)
You’ll never guess who is really, I mean super really wicked CONCERNED about the goings on with Fat Hitler and president MuskRat.
Susan Collins (PoT-ME). I knew you’d be surprised.
She sez she just doesn’t know what’s going to happen. But she chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee in the Senate, so will she hold hearings, call these Nazis on the carpet, address some of their unconstitutional schemes blocking spending that Congress has already approved? Stand up for the legislative branch of the federal government?
“A lot of these issues are going to end up in court.”
So…nah.
This…this is the tip of the spear as far as pushback from the Party of Traitors goes to the existential crisis brought on by her party, it’s leaders, and the two crooks running the show. This is the best we can expect.
But she’s certainly concerned!
Jonathan Chait, in The Atlantic on
The Real Goal of the Trump Economy
"Trump has never believed in the invisible hand—in leaving people alone to pursue self-interest in a free market; in letting market forces allocate capital and arbitrate any given company’s success or failure. Nor does he even believe in traditional mercantilist protection. He believes, like Putin, in political control of the economy’s commanding heights—success for those executives and companies who please him, failure for those who don’t. And he seems to be seeking that control more actively than he did in 2016."
"Seems to be," Chait????
Maybe you see why I no longer want to read that columnist. Maybe some of you can read Charlie's column today in Esquire in which he says that checks and balances envisioned by the founders and before, no longer exist in the United States of America. Or the Ununited States of the Former America.
A woman dragged out of a repugnican gathering by unknown thugs in plainclothes? The Orange Maggot/Magat trying to grab rights to their own minerals from Ukraine? The same Maggot kissing the posterior of the murderer who rules Russia? Released thug Tarrio threatening four cops injured J6? Allies or "former allies" going it alone? A woman senator calling Muskrat a "dick?"
I'm going for a walk.
What FH's voters have gotten from him
Not a joke
Troll Warfare
"When the Trolls Come Marching In
by Robert Dobbs
That’s what lies try to do, and liars: drown out the truth so that it can’t be heard. Make a new echo chamber and hope that people get lost in it. Donald Trump is the god of lies, and he has many disciples.
We need to say the truth as much as possible, and keep saying it. Lies are the closest thing to magic that humans have achieved, and always has been. Lies can make a good man into an buffoon in the minds of the crowd, and make a bad man look like a savior."
If you want to add some really important backstory info to the story on Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, I highly recommend this deep dive into the accelerated slipping down the rightwing radicalization hole that's been going on in those parts for some time.
I've no doubt the "unmarked" security tugging out the poor lady were rightwing militia members; those guys deep in seditious conspiracy plots like Tarrio who should be sitting behind bars right now instead of harassing police officers. That Tarrio video harassing Jan. 6 officers is infuriating and should absolutely shame the entire Republican Party though we know their cold black hearts are incapable of producing such a feeling. Case in point: the Idaho Republican Party still calls up the same seditious militias to come abuse American's civil rights.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/north-idaho-college-far-right
Oh yeah, and another bright red light going off right now described by the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/24/neo-nazi-trump-fbi-chief
Neo-Nazi group "the Base" (inspired by Al-Qaeda I suppose) is looking forward to amassing more recruits now that Patel and Bongino will clearly not prioritize white nationalist groups that would othewise probably want them dead and outta the country for racial purity. Makes you look at Musk, Bannon, et al. throwing up the Hitler salute a little differently. They're all emboldened.
Another joke of the day:
Snow White, Superman and Pinocchio are walking down the sidewalk
in Manhattan when they pass a shop window with a sign reading
'Come in and find out if you're the prettiest girl in the world.' Snow
White goes in and sure 'nuff comes out with a tiara reading 'Prettiest
Girl in the World.'
They pass another window with a sign reading 'Come in and find out
if you're the strongest man in the world.' Superman goes in and
sure 'nuff, comes out with a trophy that reads 'Strongest Man in the
World.'
In another window is a sign reading 'Come in and find out if you're
the biggest liar in the world.'
Pinocchio says 'My nose is gonna grow so long I won't be able to
stand up.'
So he goes in and comes right back out and says 'Who the fuck is
Donald Trump?'
Kamala Harris speech at the NAACP about our moment.
Jane Fonda spoke out at the SAG awards about resistance.
@Jeanne: You're not accounting for the difference between a reporter (which Chait is not, at least in his usual capacity at the Atlantic) and an opinion columnist (which Chait is).
It's a reporter's job, usually, to document what she writes, so if she's reporting on, say, how Trump is now demanding certain things that in his first term he tried to wheedle, she will cite multiple examples from both periods. Then she can more-or-less confidently write, "... whereas in his second term, Trump is often commanding the Justice Department to punish his perceived enemies."
But as a columnist, Chait usually relies on other people's reporting to discern a particular pattern of behavior. Chait has not done the reporting himself, he has not verified the reporting, he can't stand by it, but he has no reason to doubt the accuracy of the reports on which he relies to draw his conclusions. So, based on information someone else claims to have obtained, Chait writes that Trump seems to be doing such-and-such.
This is similar to an on-air news personality who cites, say, a NYT report and then adds, "NBC has not verified this reporting." Then the news person will go right ahead and comment on the reporting, as if it is true.
These are caveats designed to protect the opinionators and the news media (Chait and the Atlantic, on-air personalities & NBC, in my examples) from libel suits (though Trump sues even when he doesn't have much of a case). It's possible Chait didn't even write "seems to be" in his original draft but that his editor or the Atlantic's legal department changed his wording from "is" to "seems to be."
In short, your complaint that Chait was not definitive enough in his condemnation of Trump is misplaced, IMO.