Lindsey Graham's Katana
Life During Trumptime 7/6/26 - 7/12/26
Lindsey Graham died this week and I’m meditating on the outsized role that South Carolinian Senators have had on national politics. The state was once the center of “slave power” — a political entity that dominated American political life until the Civil War. It was the heart of a “vast southern empire” that believed the world’s hunger for cotton would make it a global hegemony.
Like all empires, it didn’t last, but the influence of the Senators who stood it up remains.
John C. Calhoun — a South Carolina Senator who was at various times Vice President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of War — shaped the country in various ways. A staunch advocate of state’s rights and limiting federal power, he also shaped the creation of a strong federal Navy to protect America’s shipping lanes.
Benjamin Tillman served as Senator from 1895 to 1918 and was one of the primary architects of the Jim Crow south. He was a terrorist who led a paramilitary proto-KKK called the Red Shirts and defended lynching on the floor of of the Senate. He was on a path to the presidency in 1896 but lost out on the nomination by giving a boring speech, wanting to speak too long, and losing the closing slot at the Democratic National Convention to William Jennings Bryan.
Strom Thurmond, who had the seat just before Graham, was a Senator for almost 50 years. Like Tillman, he fought for segregation and the suppression of Black political power in America. He was instrumental in moving southern Democrats to the Republican party. There’s a statue of Thurmond on the grounds of the State House in Columbia, South Carolina. It’s just a short walk from the African American History Monument.
Graham succeeded Thurmond and cast his eye away from the country and towards foreign shores. Along with John McCain and Joe Lieberman, he was one of the Three Amigos — a trio of legislators interested in flexing America’s power abroad.. He ran for President in 2016 but lost in the brutal and humiliating primary to Donald Trump.
This small south-eastern state and its politicians have exerted a tidal pull on the country for more than 250 years. I wonder who will be the next Graham or Thurmond or Calhoun and what proclivities they have that will shape the future of America.
7/6/26
One of Graham Platner’s exes accused him of sexual assault and finally ended the Maine Senate challengers political ambitions. The story appeared in Politico and detailed Jenny Racicot’s unwanted sexual encounter with Platner five years ago.
“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she said. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”
Platner denied the allegations.
“These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said in a statement.
The Platner story was always bizarre to me. When I first heard about the Totenkopf tattoo I was ready to believe a drunk Marine had made a bad choice when he was on deployment in Eastern Europe. Then I learned how long he’d had the tattoo. Then I read his Reddit posts. Then I listened when he talked. A friend from Maine who still has family there told me he felt like he was taking crazy pills, that the candidate’s rise didn’t make sense.
As Mike Nelson put it: Perhaps the Nazi Tattoo Was a Clue.
How did this happen? Part of the blame falls to progressive strategist and Platner vizier Dan Moraff, who spoke to The Wall Street Journal in June.
“If what the voters wanted were people who were grown in vats and had never done or said anything that they might have regretted their entire lives, we’d have a very different country,” told the Journal.
The full interview is bizarre. Moraff seems like a theater kid attempting to explain internet memes to a normal person. It’s off putting. In the aftermath of Platner’s fall, sleuths unearthed a moment from 2014 when a younger Moraff attempted to “prank” an NBC reporter by telling them an incoming hurricane wasn’t real.
“I’m not super proud of it … and I’d be happier if my name wasn’t on it but I understand if there’s nothing that can be done,” he told The Atlantic in 2014. He could well have been talking about his attempts to put Platner in the Senate.
7/7/26
Trump unleashed freedom from the tyranny of high gas prices on the American public. “The FIRST Freedom Fuel Network gas station has LANDED in Philadelphia, lowering the price at the pump to $3.47 for our 47th President. President Trump is leading the charge to lower gas prices this summer - putting more money in your pocket,” the White House said in a post on X.
The gas is being supplied by a private company called The Freedom Fuel Network which opened 25 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
An ICE officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo while he was on his way to work in Houston, Texas. The ICE officers shot Salgado Araujo in the abdomen during a traffic stop. The FBI said it found a “white crystal substance” in Salgado Araujo’s van, implying he had drugs in his vehicle. It was salt. ICE was not looking for Salgado Araujo but said he matched the description of Guatemalans they were looking for. They also said he used his vehicle as a weapon against them, but the Department of Homeland Security has a recent history of lying when its officers kill people.
The New York Times published an investigation into AI-generated videos of American soldiers popping up on social media.
One coordinated network of accounts on TikTok has digital traces to China, according to researchers affiliated with the University of Southern California who discovered it, though the exact purpose is not clear.
All of them exploit the support that most Americans share for military service, even when the wars themselves are unpopular, as is the one the United States and Israel started with Iran in February. Many draw thousands of likes and comments.
It’s my suspicion that, much like AI-generated anti-data center content, the AI soldiers are part of an engagement farm. The foreign actors churning out AI slop aren’t particularly interested in influencing America beyond generating likes, comments, and shares that earn them money on various social media platforms.
7/8/26
The ceasefire is off and America and Iran are once again at war.
The United States launched airstrikes against targets in Iran and Iran launched strikes against Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. Trump said this was in retaliation for Iranian strikes against ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz on June 7. He also said the ceasefire was over.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue “talks.” We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” He said in a post on Truth Social.
Platner officially suspended his Senate campaign.
7/9/26
Trump referred to Iran as the “Islamic Republic of Japan” during a press conference.
The US air strategy against Iran seems to be incorporating more civilian targets. The US Navy launched 90 air strikes over night, hitting targets CENTCOM said were crucial to Iran’s ability to wage war. Iranian sources said those targets included two bridges in northeastern Iran that see heavy civilian use.
7/10/26
Trump posted several blurry photos of what he said was the White House on Truth Social. “The Base of the Magnificent White House Face, around the Column area, at its front door — It hasn’t been fixed in decades, but you can see how beautiful it will soon be. This is representative of what we are doing in Washington, D.C. — Beautification — and NO CRIME! People are saying that the City hasn’t been, or felt, like this in 100 years!”
In another post, he swore he would not sign the wildly popular and bipartisan Housing Bill as a protest for no one wanting to pass his SAVE AMERICA ACT.
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats. The Act states, quite simply, that to Vote a person must show PHOTO VOTER I.D., PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, AND THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE CROOKED, CORRUPT, & DESTABILIZING MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPTIONS for Military, Disabled, Illness, and Travel!). THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it! If the Dumocrats, or any RINO (or worse!) working with them, do not allow a positive Vote on SAVE AMERICA, TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, and pass this, and every other Bill that true Republicans have ever dreamt of (In addition to the upcoming Budget BOMB and the 1929 catastrophic style DEBT CEILING BILL!). The Dumocrats will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, if and when they ever get the chance to do so, in their very first hour - And I will no longer be able to call them Dumocrats again! The title of DUMB will revert to the Republicans who allowed this horrible calamity to happen to our Party, and our Nation, itself!” He said in a post on Truth Social.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is still mad about bears in the military, according to a report from CNN. During recent visits to several Navy ships he noticed too much facial hair and began sending memos asking commanders to crack down.
“No more beardos,” Hegseth said in a speech last September outlining various changes to Pentagon policy. “The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
For years servicemembers with pseudofolliculitis barbae, a skin condition that causes painful inflammation after shaving, were exempt from strict military shaving standards. The condition overwhelmingly affects black men. The Navy will no longer allow that exemption and will let go of sailors who can’t shave after one year of medical treatment.
“The operational success of the U.S. Navy demands the readiness of all sailors. Mission accomplishment hinges on stringent compliance with standards and ensuring implementing policies are clear, unambiguous, and compliant with law and regulation. Grooming standards add to sailor and mission safety and ensure the safe and proper utilization of protective equipment in all naval environments and operational conditions,” read a recent Navy memo.
7/11/26
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law despite Trump never signing it. According to the Constitution, a bill becomes a law by default 10 days after it passes the House and Senate. During that period the President can either sign the bill to speed along the process or veto it outright.
Trump did neither.
7/12/26
Senator Lindsey Graham, successor to Strom Thurmond, died after serving 23 years in the US Senate. Graham grew up in the segregated American south working in a bar owned by his parents called the Sanitary Cafe. In his memoir, Graham described a childhood spent racking pool balls, chugging the dregs of customer’s Pabst Blue Ribbons, and smoking the last of their cigarettes. He said it was “a great way to grow up.”
He died of an aortic dissection, a tear in an artery in his heart. He had just returned from Ukraine and was set to appear on Meet the Press where he was a frequent favorite talking head.
I will remember Graham from two moments that occurred during the 2016 Republican primary. The first is a tweet, still up on his timeline. “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it,” he said.
The Republican primary was ugly that year. Trump descended a golden elevator and began to devour his opponents live on camera. He called Marco Rubio “little Marco,” implied that Ted Cruz’s father was the Zodiac killer, and gave out Graham’s personal phone number on TV. In response, Graham recorded a video for The Wall Street Journal where he smashed his phone with a wooden katana, lit it on fire, and shredded it in a blender.
Graham fought MAGA at first but became suborned to it. He wasn’t stupid. He cared about foreign policy, realized he would have to work with the President the American people had given him, and decided to play the long game. It was cowardice. It was politically savvy. Like so much about America it was two things at once.