In a conference call to governors a few days ago, Trump, it is reported, said that he was prepared to be a backup to their efforts to mitigate the health care crisis. In the conversation that followed, Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, replied that they didn’t need a backup. What they needed, he said, is a Tom Brady. Last night Trump attacked Inslee as well as some other governors.

I was watching the docu-series of Hillary Clinton and couldn’t help but regret once again and in a way I couldn’t have anticipated before that she isn’t in the White House at this moment.

These White House briefings at the time when nightly news would broadcast is at once a vanity project, a steady stream of lies, an occasion to beat up on the media (which plays well with his base), and, above all, an attempt to dominate the news. I hope they reconsider their decision to cover these spectacles. Shut it down!

Trump and the Republicans are the party of death. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the battle over the stimulus bill. Boeing and corporations generally, not the health of the American people, was their chief concern. On the other hand, Democrats and their leaders fought for life and aid for tens of millions in need. Bravo to them for fighting the good fight and, as a result, making the bill significantly better.

Just finished Masha Gessen’s book on Putin’s rise to power and consolidation of autocratic, one man rule. It gave me a sense of what a second term for Trump might look like.