1. Dave Weigel/WaPo (who at least identifies these folks as rally goers, interesting but don’t count as representative of country or all Trump voters:
Trump supporters see a successful president — and are frustrated with critics who don’t
Many of President Trump’s most dedicated supporters — the sort who waited for hours in the Florida sun this weekend for his first post-inauguration campaign rally — say their lives changed on election night. Suddenly they felt like their views were actually respected and in the majority.
But less than one month into Trump’s term, many of his supporters say they once again feel under attack — perhaps even more so than before.
2. Washingtonian (before Milo Yiannopoulos resigned):
Breitbart Employees Threaten Walk-Out Over Milo
A senior editor at the right-wing publication tells Washingtonian that “at least a half-dozen” employees are prepared to leave the company if Milo Yiannopoulos is not promptly fired. A second Breitbart source confirms this estimate
We care about different things than social conservatives. Jonathan Haidt has written much about it, and to see the power of the concept, look at Milo and sanctity.
Having (white) kids in the conservative movement explains why this, and not misogyny, racism, trans-trash talk, etc was a red line. But the point is, there are red lines for conservatives. Find what they are. Once crossed the glamour, maybe, will be broken.
Ben Howe/Atlantic:
Milo Yiannopoulos and the Church of Winning
By excusing Donald Trump’s behavior, some evangelical leaders enabled the internet provocateur’s ascent.
If Yiannopoulos is a cultural leader for what remains of the conservative movement, then conservatism does not represent millions of people who once claimed it as their philosophical home. But it remains to be seen how the throngs of Trump-supporting Milo fans react to what will undoubtedly be referred to as a silencing of free speech. And already they are making a concerted effort to paint the dissent that led to his downfall as the work of the same group of #NeverTrump conservatives that Trump fans believe symbolizes the “death throes of the Establishment.”
They’re right. That’s precisely who threw a wrench in CPAC’s plans to ride the coverage of controversy that a Milo speech would bring.
But what’s more notable is who did not intervene: evangelical leaders.
Milo’s ascent over the last year was, to a tragic extent, enabled by the willingness of some evangelical leaders to offer their endorsement for the very behavior on display today.
Jeremy Peters/NY Times:
Conservatives reacted with near unanimous disgust at the comments. Some expressed bewilderment that conference organizers would extend an invitation to Mr. Yiannopoulos in the first place, given his history of statements that have been offensive to blacks and Muslims, and have generally pushed the bounds of decency. Twitter has banned him.
“Colossal misjudgment,” Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, wrote on Twitter. “Now CPAC has put itself in the role of ‘censor.’ And for what? Some clicks and headlines?”
Consider that Milo’s appeal (and Trump’s) is that power works, and if we have it we can do anything. well, Milo lost a speaking tour, a book offer from Simon and Schuster, Breidbart job and mojo. Might doesn’t make right. Overall, a good day.
Seth Masket/blog:
Trump’s Supporters Still Support Trump—So What?
Of what value is it to just retain one’s base?
The fact remains that Trump entered office with a lower approval rating than any other modern president has, and it’s been dropping ever since. He’s losing support. Even if he maintains the support of Republicans, he has the lowest approval ratings among independents and adherents to the other party ever recorded at this point in a presidency. He has demonstrated bizarre behavior and pressed anti-democratic messages with each new day, and it’s hurting him.
Even the worst leader will have an approval rating above zero, and it will always be possible for a reporter to find some voters who still enthusiastically support him and resent the media’s tone. But what is the use of such a story? Whom does it educate? Are we to presume that the people “in the countryside,” to use Lord’s words, are privy to some knowledge about politics that the rest of us lack? That their perspective is so virtuous that it should outweigh that of the majority of their fellow citizens?
If a president demonstrates himself to be unfit for office, unaware of how to do the job, or hostile to the very concept of democracy, that’s a far more relevant story than “his supporters still support him.”
Thank you.
Ishaan Tharoor/WaPo:
The Trump presidency exists in a bubble
Some American conservatives mock their counterparts on the left, particularly student activists at the country's liberal colleges, for clinging to their "safe spaces" — that is, avoiding conflicting opinions and refusing to tolerate the views of those who don't share their outlook.
But Trump is now the one groping for a safe space. His incessant derision of journalists and his apparent desire to hide behind campaign theatrics are both symptoms of his divisive brand of ultra-nationalist populism. They are also possibly a coping mechanism for a president already buffeted by intrigue, scandal and allegations of incompetence just a month into his tenure.
As a result, Carl Bernstein, the veteran Washington Post reporter who helped break the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration, sees the nation facing an unprecedented crisis.
"Trump's attacks on the American press as 'enemies of the American people' are more treacherous than Richard Nixon's attacks on the press," he told CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday. That's because the polarization of the present finds no real equivalent in Nixon's America.
And thank you.