US Politics

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares109 Views

      in US Politics

      David Brock on Clarence Thomas and supreme court hijack: ‘The original sin’

      by

      Thirty years ago, David Brock made his name as a reporter with The Real Anita Hill, a book attacking the woman who accused Clarence Thomas, George HW Bush’s second supreme court nominee, of sexual harassment. After tempestuous hearings, Thomas was confirmed. Brock – who memorably characterized Hill, a law professor, in sexist terms as “a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty” – was launched as a rightwing media star.Thirty years on, Thomas still sits on the court, the longest-serving hardliner on a bench tilted 6-3 to the right by three confirmations under Donald Trump. But Brock switched sides long ago, disillusioned by rightwing lies. He apologized for smearing Hill and eventually became a prominent Democratic operative, close to Bill and Hillary Clinton.He founded watchdogs and Super Pacs and kept on writing books. He dealt with his political conversion 20 years ago in Blinded by the Right: the Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. Now, with Stench: The Making of the Thomas Court and the Unmaking of America, he has returned to what he calls “the original sin” of the modern supreme court: “Thomas’s perjury to get on the court” and his allegedly untruthful answers to questions about his treatment of Hill and other women.“That’s my starting point,” Brock says. “And then I show over time that other justices misled the public in their Senate confirmation hearings based on their denial of the fact that they were opposed to Roe all along – which sort of came out in the wash with the Dobbs decision.”Dobbs v Jackson, which overturned Roe v Wade, removing the federal right to abortion, came in June 2022. The way it went down helped give Brock his subtitle. John Roberts, the conservative chief justice, sought to uphold Roe but Dobbs was decided 5-4 anyway, Roberts unable to sway any other rightwinger. As Brock sees it, Thomas now owns the court.View image in fullscreen“That was a tipping point,” Brock says, pointing to major rulings on guns, affirmative action, environmental regulation, corporate bribery, presidential immunity and more, all rightwing wins. “But the other thing about about Roberts is he’s let these ethical issues just sit there. They cast their own ethics code about a year ago – and it has no enforcement mechanism. He’s been a weak leader, I think.”If 2022 was the year of Dobbs, 2023 and 2024 have been the years of gifts and grift: a parade of reports, Pulitzer prize-winning in ProPublica’s case, about how Thomas did not declare lavish gifts from mega-donors with business before the court, prominent among them Harlan Crow, a billionaire with a penchant for Nazi collectibles.For Brock, “all the revelations about Clarence Thomas and the gifts put another layer on top of the book I was writing about the crisis of legitimacy at the court, as a result of the fact Dobbs was so unpopular. You had that ethical crisis as well.”Thomas denies wrongdoing. So do Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, other hardliners with reported ties to rightwing money. Roberts refuses to testify on the issue in Congress. The result, as Brock says, is “a situation where polls show the supreme court is held in very low regard”.Brock holds Thomas in low regard too. On the page, he calls the justice “a scrapper and a battler”, a “supreme court justice turned showman”, and a “Bork without the brains” – a stinging reference to Robert Bork, the hardliner whose nomination failed in 1987, fueling rightwing determination to dominate at all costs.Brock says: “We went for a number of years when Thomas didn’t really speak from the bench at all [but] he’s been much more active in these last few years, and I think he’s a bit emboldened by the fact that he has now at least four colleagues who on many of these cases are going to agree with him.”Another driver of the court’s sharp rightward turn is Leonard Leo, the dark money impresario Thomas once called “the number three most powerful person in the world”. Brock could have used “the Leo Court” for a subtitle too, given Leo was “clearly was responsible for the three Trump justices”, via “an unprecedented move by Trump during the 2016 campaign, to provide lists to the Federal Society [which Leo co-chairs] of who he would nominate, as a way of bolstering his credibility with the evangelical right, which was skeptical of his personal behavior”.Leo also provided ballast for Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, as he ruthlessly blocked Barack Obama’s last pick for the court, Merrick Garland, “and so Trump was able to campaign on there being an open seat, and so … the McConnell strategy and the Leo strategy came together, and that is basically how Trump got elected”.In such terms, Brock has written a broad history of the court’s rightward shift from Nixon to Trump and after. But he has also written an old-fashioned broadside, a 300-page call for political action. Regarding Thomas, Brock wants impeachment.Identifying “eight specific areas of wrongdoing that require further investigation by Congress”, Brock says Thomas should first face scrutiny for his “bald-faced lie” in his confirmation hearings, when he categorically denied “any sexual discussion within the workplace”, a statement challenged by numerous witnesses.Brock’s other counts are linked to Ginni Thomas, the justice’s wife and a prominent far-right activist, and include failure to recuse in cases connected to her lobbying work and involvement in Trump’s election subversion; failure to disclose her earnings from the rightwing Heritage Foundation; and failure to disclose his own gifts from Crow, Leo and others.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionView image in fullscreenBrock is not the first to call for Thomas to be impeached. In July, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launched her own attempt in Congress. Like the New York Democrat, Brock is a realist: he knows that even should Democrats retake the House and impeach Thomas, a closely divided Senate would be extremely unlikely to convict and remove. But that is no reason not to try.“Sometimes I play this thought experiment with myself about how the Republicans would exploit an opportunity to take advantage of their opponents’ vulnerabilities. I have no doubt that if the shoe were on the other foot and you had a Democratic Clarence Thomas, you’d have hearing after hearing, and I think you probably would have an impeachment inquiry.“And so what I argue is that even if you only get an impeachment hearing or investigation in the House, it would still shine light on all of this, and it’s still worth doing, even though we know we wouldn’t have the votes required to remove him. I think it would be a good experience for the public to air all this out.”Brock also says impeachment “would help make the case for supreme court reform”, yearned for by the left, in the face of staunch rightwing opposition.Another good idea for Democrats in election season, Brock says, is to keep a spotlight on Ginni Thomas. That spotlight may soon grow brighter. Citing two anonymous sources, Brock reports that Liz Cheney, the anti-Trump Republican, was responsible for blocking serious scrutiny of the Thomases by the January 6 committee, even as it uncovered evidence of close involvement in Trump’s 2020 election subversion.It’s an explosive claim – particularly as Cheney recently endorsed Kamala Harris for president. To Brock, it’s simply indicative of the damage the Thomases have done.“I think increasingly people are becoming aware that there’s something rotten at the core of the fact that Thomas refuses to recuse himself from these cases where his wife is actively involved 100% … she’s been a longtime, but very behind the scenes, influential operative.”So of course has Brock. Once, he was on the same side as Clarence Thomas’s most prominent supporters, among them Mark Paoletta, a lawyer and former Trump administration official Brock says “knew the truth of the Anita Hill accusations” but worked to instal Thomas on the court regardless.Strikingly, Brock also once moved in the same circles as Brett Kavanaugh, then a Republican aide and attack dog, now another member of the far-right bloc that dominates the supreme court, his own controversial confirmation, also beset by allegations of sexual misconduct, also part of American history.Such close connections to his subject help make Brock’s book a fascinating read. Asked how he will respond to attacks from former comrades, whether they read the book or not, he says: “Those will come with the territory.”

      Stench is published in the US by Knopf More

    • 200 Shares179 Views

      in US Politics

      The American dream is dead for many. Social democracy can bring it back | Bhaskar Sunkara

      by

      I love the United States. My parents came here from Trinidad and Tobago the year before I was born, and they and my four siblings eventually became citizens. My parents struggled for many years to get established here, but it has offered us everything – security, belonging, opportunity.Yet for many Americans, particularly those who have been in this country for generations building the foundations of American prosperity, the American dream is not alive and well.This point can’t be debated with measures of the United States’ relative affluence; it’s what American workers are telling us, both through how they respond to polls directly on the question and through the political views they increasingly hold. The question isn’t if the American dream is dead, it’s how we go about reviving it.By the time the writer James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase “American dream” in the 1930s, it had already existed as an ethos for generations. Despite the country’s brutality towards Black and Native people, there is a reason why masses of workers saw the United States as a place without the leftovers of feudalism and aristocratic privilege holding people back. Even Karl Marx himself looked to the world’s “most progressive nation” to lead a “new era of ascendancy” for the working classes after the triumph of Union forces in the civil war.Today, however, few at home or abroad hold such hopes for our country.Since it’s just a broad idea, we can’t measure the American dream in empirical terms. If it’s alive, it would be found in the minds of ordinary citizens who feel like they’re part of a project that is rooted in both their individual advancement and national advancement as a whole. And simply, the American dream is dead because ordinary Americans say it’s dead.Only 27% of people polled this year said “the American dream holds true.” Just 13 years ago, it was double that number. This doesn’t just reflect increasing cynicism in general: a majority of Americans say “the American dream once held true but doesn’t any more.” What’s happened to change so many of our minds?That polling isn’t uniform and correlates closely to both income and education, both proxies for social class. Among Americans who don’t have four-year college degrees only 22% say that American dream still holds true, half the mark of those with postgraduate degrees. Our national crisis of confidence is mostly a working-class problem.Americans as a whole, critics retort, are wealthier than ever. But, rather than argue with them, if we want to figure out why people don’t feel like they’re staying above water, we need to examine issues of income disparity and social wealth.The widening life expectancy gap between poor and rich Americans, which now averages more than 10 years, is perhaps the most dramatic example of a basic point that most of us take for granted: a kid growing up in a wealthy area is likely to have a wildly better life outcome compared to one growing up in a poor one.By most measures, the US has among the lowest rates of social mobility of any rich country. And our income disparity is even more stark when considering not just pre-tax wages, but the more expansive “social wage” provided in other countries. The Harvard economist Raj Chetty has shown the depth of the problem. By his measure, US absolute mobility – the chance a child will earn more than their parents – has fallen from 90% for children born in 1940 to 50% for children born in the 1980s. The problem isn’t just that growth rates have declined. Chetty and his co-authors note that an economy that maintains our current income disparity but restores growth to booming 1940s and 50s levels would only increase absolute mobility to 62%.This problem of social mobility is compounded by issues of social welfare owing from our poorly designed entitlements, which are unable to deliver results as well as universal welfare states in Europe that offer things like childcare for new families, guaranteed national healthcare, and free vocation and trade schools.Another key difference between the US and northern Europe? The role of trade unions and other forms of working-class representation. In 1983, over 20% of Americans belonged to a union. That number is 10% now, compared with almost 70% in countries like Denmark and Sweden.The loss of good union jobs, particularly in manufacturing, persistent poverty and hopelessness have fueled social ills in communities across the country.To name just a few of their consequences: we face a serious problem with drug use and overdoses, with 107,543 people dying last year alone. Alcohol abuse has gone up dramatically, as have alcohol-related deaths. Between mass shootings and ordinary crime, people don’t feel safe, and our politicians seem to accept as natural fact that we’re destined to be a country with eight times the murder rate of Germany or where children need to pay attention during “active shooter” drills.Taken together, it’s obvious that you’d have a better chance of living the American dream in Europe than you would in America.Of course, some of the pessimism that people feel is inflamed by ideological actors. From parts of the left, earnest attempts to right historical wrongs might have fueled an excess of negativity about the progress we’ve made in recent decades. On the right, a much more dangerous tendency is built around the idea that immigration – a key component of the American dream and our economic progress – is a social ill that needs to be combated.Thankfully, the United States has a rich, dynamic economy. That’s a good thing and it allows us to support well-designed universal programs to improve the social mobility and material wellbeing of our poor and working classes. We can pursue taxation policies that better redistribute wealth and create greater state support for health care, childcare, housing and job training. We can shift the funding of K-12 education away from unequal property taxes and to a more equal base of federal support. We can also support worker unionization and expand policies to revitalize domestic manufacturing.As for concerns over immigration, a key part of Donald Trump’s appeal, we can support native-born workers feeling pressure in the job market from immigrants without elevating their situation to a zero-sum, existential battle in which either new Americans or established Americans will survive.We also, however, need to rally behind a vision of politics to go with these social-democratic policies. A vision of politics in which we assert the moral worth of every American and strive together to build a healthier and more optimistic society.We can’t pretend like things are going great in our country. But we also must reject the pessimism that says things must stay like this.

      Bhaskar Sunkara is the president of the Nation, founding editor of Jacobin and author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequalities More

    • 175 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      Should we take Elon Musk’s and Taylor Swift’s political endorsements seriously? | Siva Vaidhyanathan

      by

      What should we make of the fact that the richest person in the world has joined forces with Donald Trump and promises now to serve the United States as some sort of czar of government “efficiency”? And what should we make of the world’s biggest pop star endorsing Kamala Harris for president?Why should it matter that these mega-celebrities tell us what they want from politics and government?The morning after Taylor Swift endorsed Harris for president, Elon Musk defended his new buddy, Trump, in the most disturbing and bizarre fashion, referring to the Republican obsession with women who have chosen not to have children and have cats. “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” Musk, who has impregnated at least one of his employees and has reportedly propositioned others, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.Swift, in contrast, has declared over the past four years that she cares deeply about women’s issues and has motivated her followers around the world to register to vote and get active in politics. Her engagement has been serious and sincere. Swift, more than any other celebrity, has the opportunity to assume the role of the champion of democracy in America. She writes and sings about the personal yet connects the personal to the political through the descriptions of power and mistreatment in relationships. To many, the connections between power imbalances and mistreatment in personal relationships and those in society at large are strong yet implicit. Swift has moved in recent years to make them explicit.So Swift’s endorsement is not so much about swaying undecided voters through her charisma. That’s a myth. Rather her endorsement is about harnessing all the activist energy she has been building over the years and focusing it on getting young people registered to vote and willing to volunteer for a cause. She is expanding the electorate and infusing it with optimism and purpose. That’s a blessing to anyone who cares about the fate of democracy in the United States.In stark contrast, the other billionaire in this spat has done everything he can to undermine belief in government by the people and for the people. His long hostility to safety and securities regulation makes sense, given his role as a corporate leader. His deep-seated racism and sexism have become even more vocal since he found common cause with Trump and other Republicans. Musk wants a smaller set of political actors in the world. They should be his buddies, all men, and all who assume they know what’s best for the world. It does not help that he is neither smart nor serious about policy nor politics.Yet the nominee of one of the two major American political parties has declared he wants Musk to assume a powerful role in the next government. We could approach this question by examining Musk’s record as a corporate leader, which is spotty at best. We could address Musk’s habits of exaggeration and prevarication, which are significant. We could wonder how a person who is supposed to be running five companies already might have the time to also head up a major government initiative.Or we could just conclude that neither Musk nor Trump are serious people with any idea how to execute policy, let alone devote time, energy and thought to the process. That’s not a reason to suspend concern about this partnership. Musk’s threats to the United States go far beyond any potential office he might hold in the future.Policy is not for amateurs. We learned this the hard way during the first Trump administration, when the few veteran policymakers who were willing to keep the government operating were one by one pushed out of power by Trump or his cronies.To change the way any federal government office operates, one must generate a feasible proposal and seek affirmation and criticism from stakeholders. Those stakeholders might include corporations and their lobbyists, unions and their lobbyists, and public interest groups that range from the National Rifle Association to the Sierra Club. They also include elements of the executive branch who might have to implement that policy. And, of course, plenty of lawyers and economists must weigh in. Often, if generated by an office of the executive branch, the public must be invited to submit comments on a draft of a policy statement.And, once all of that happens, policy changes are subject to court scrutiny if an interested party decides to sue over it. In other words, it takes a long time and a lot of effort to change even small things that the government does. It takes skill, knowledge, diligence and a whole lot of patience to enact policy.It’s not work appropriate for the flippant, unserious or easily distracted.Now, that’s how it’s done in normal times. We can assume that normal times would come to a permanent end in the United States if 78-year-old Donald Trump takes the oath of office again on 20 January 2025. He has promised radical change in the basic workings of government, down to promising to ignore or “terminate” the constitution if he does not get his way.How he would do this is unclear. We can assume that he would have some elements willing to use force to wrest control of the government away from processes and the limits of law. And we know that Trump has managed to turn the federal courts into instruments of his own interests. All of that would take work, of course. The only thing that saved the government from complete breakdown during Trump’s term in office was his inability to focus and follow through on his indignation and ambition. The friction of bureaucracy turned out to be one of the last bastions holding up the fragile republic.The best Trump can hope to accomplish is chaos and breakdown along with massive corruption that would flow as the failsafes of oversight and accountability collapse.That’s what makes the whole Musk partnership so absurd. Assume for a moment that Musk were a serious, committed, competent leader and manager. Under the Trump style of administration, what possibility would there be for him to discipline a sprawling federal agency such as the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Defense?It would not matter. Again, it’s folly to take this effort seriously as an effort to do what Trump or Musk say it would do. Musk, like Trump, is only interested in how any effort could smooth the way for his own benefit. Over the past decade or more, Musk has found his various companies, especially Tesla, entangled with regulators over issues ranging from safety to securities violations.His leadership of SpaceX and its subsidiary Starlink, which provides satellite internet access to many millions of people around the world including essential elements of the military and government of Ukraine, has come under scrutiny as Musk has grown closer to the Russian view of the invasion of Ukraine. SpaceX is a major defense contractor. The United States government already depends on SpaceX way too much, and SpaceX depends on the United States government for much of its revenue.Having Musk involved at the highest levels of a government that is supposed to be curbing his excesses and protecting the public interest from the worst externalities of his companies is beyond a conflict of interest. It’s naked corruption. And that is the point. It’s positively Putinesque.Musk is, of course, unlikely to even assume such an office or hold a meeting if he did. He does not have the ability to focus these days. His incessant tweeting at all hours is increasingly unhinged from reality. His drug use, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, has reached a concerning level at which investors in Tesla are worried about his ability to protect their interests. He seems not to be putting in the time to do his current jobs well, even the one at Tesla that supplies him with most of his wealth.Musk’s closeness to Trump is itself a cause for concern. Even without Musk in office, Trump would probably order his cronies to suspend regulatory scrutiny of SpaceX and Tesla. Musk depends on the goodwill of the Xi regime in China to keep parts flowing for Tesla and to keep China open as a market for the cars. Musk needs the new extremely rightwing government of Argentina to remain friendly to the United States to maintain access to new lithium mines for Tesla batteries. And Musk infamously owes the Saudi royal family for funding his disastrous purchase of Twitter.This level of entanglement with troublesome and oppressive foreign governments makes Musk a security risk to the United States whether inside or outside government, whether Trump or Harris runs the government.The choice for America’s future could not be starker, especially when we contrast the roles, goals and personalities of the two highest-profile celebrities active this fall. Swift offers a serious and sincere opportunity for engagement. Musk offers snark and selfishness. Yet for some reason, too many people consider Musk, with his wealth, worthy of pontification on matters of public policy. Maybe it’s time we took Swift and her followers more seriously. The future is theirs.

      Siva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia and the author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy More

    • 238 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      The Stakes: how JD Vance’s home town has won millions in climate investment that he calls a ‘green scam’

      by

      .Svg-clip-paths-container.svelte-1yf4410{width:0;height:0}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{grid-area:header;width:100vw;overflow:clip;position:relative;height:230vh;background-color:#121212;margin-left:-10px;padding:0}@media (min-width: 30em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:-20px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:210vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;top:0;right:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060;z-index:11}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:300vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{position:sticky;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;z-index:0;opacity:.65;overflow:hidden}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:100vw;background-position:center;background-size:cover;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;overflow:hidden}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:2;clip-path:url(#rip-left)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:4;left:-1px;clip-path:url(#rip-right)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;background-color:transparent;z-index:1;padding:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 800px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{margin:0 auto}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:200vh}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{background-color:transparent;width:100vw;height:70vh;display:flex;align-items:center}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24:has(h1){height:90vh;align-items:self-start;padding-top:20%}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh;width:740px;align-items:center;padding-top:unset}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:640px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:24px;margin:0 10px;font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;color:#fff;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7);opacity:.5;transition:opacity .5s ease;text-wrap:balance}@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{opacity:1}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:40px;position:relative}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:32px}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:48px}}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span{display:block}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;bottom:-20px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/08/21/LINE-53.png);width:275px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{width:320px}}.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.animate-in,.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-headline.animate-in{opacity:1}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:0}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:140vh}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:160px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:240px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:620px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:100%}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{margin-left:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:860px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1100px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width));position:relative;left:50%;right:50%;margin-left:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width))!important;margin-right:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width))!important}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(-20px);width:calc(100% + 60px)}}@media (max-width: 71.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{margin-left:0;margin-right:0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(0);width:auto}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1260px}}.content__main-column–interactive p{color:#121212;max-width:620px}.content__main-column–interactive ul{max-width:620px}.content__main-column–interactive:before{position:absolute;top:0;height:calc(100% + 15px);min-height:100px;content:””}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;z-index:-1;left:-10px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;left:-11px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:12px;padding-top:12px}.content__main-column–interactive p+.element-atom{padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:12px}.content__main-column–interactive .element-inline{max-width:620px}nav+section{display:none}nav+aside{display:none}aside+section{display:none}#maincontent{margin-top:0}.content–interactive-grid{position:relative;grid-template-areas:”title” “header” “media” “media” “lines” “meta” “body”;grid-template-rows:[title-start header-start media-start] auto [title-end header-end lines-start media-end] auto [lines-end meta-start] auto [meta-end standfirst-start] auto [body-start] auto [body-end]}.content–interactive-grid #headline,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=headline],.content–interactive-grid .headline,.content–interactive-grid .standfirst,.content–interactive-grid #standfirst,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=standfirst]{display:none}.content–interactive-grid .article-header,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title],.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{z-index:10;height:-moz-fit-content;height:fit-content}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a{position:relative}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:hover,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:hover{text-decoration:none}}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:after,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;top:22px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/05/red-scribble-2_(1).png”);width:90px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:after,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:after{top:25px;width:110px}}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a,.content–interactive-grid .article-header span,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] span{color:#fff;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7)}.content–interactive-grid .article-header .content__labels span a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels span a{display:none}.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{align-self:flex-end;margin-inline:-10px;padding-inline:10px;width:100vw}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:6px;margin-inline:-10px;padding-inline:10px;background-color:#121212b8}@media (min-width: 23.4375em){.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{margin-inline:-20px;padding-inline:20px}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{margin-inline:-20px;padding-inline:20px}}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption span,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption span{color:#999}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption span svg,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption span svg{fill:#999}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{width:unset;display:flex;justify-content:flex-end}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{width:-moz-fit-content;width:fit-content}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid{grid-template-areas:”title . .” “header header header” “. . media” “. . media” “. border lines” “. border meta” ” body body body” “. . .”}.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{position:absolute;left:-160px;max-width:140px}.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines]{top:14px}.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{top:27px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{left:-240px;max-width:220px}}.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links{padding-top:25px}.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links ul >li >a{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-size:1.25rem;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:115%}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links{padding-top:7px}}.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+#sign-in-gate+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+#sign-in-gate+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:7rem;line-height:5.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top}.content–interactive-grid .element-atom{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.content–interactive-grid .element-atom+figure.element-inline{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .italic-p:has(em){margin-top:8px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .italic-p:has(em){margin-top:10px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .no-italic-p{margin-top:5px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid figure.element-showcase{margin-left:-170px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid figure.element-showcase{margin-left:-250px}}#maincontent h2,#feature-article-container h2,#standard-article-container h2,#comment-article-container h2{position:relative;margin-top:48px;max-width:620px}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2,#feature-article-container h2,#standard-article-container h2,#comment-article-container h2{margin-top:56px}}#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{content:””;width:calc(100vw – 1px);left:-10px;height:60px;display:block;position:absolute;top:-30px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-mob.png);background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat}@media (min-width: 30em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{left:-20px}}@media (min-width: 41.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:659px;top:-17px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-wide.png)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:739px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:979px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{top:-48px;left:-181px;width:1139px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{left:-260px;width:1299px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2:after,#feature-article-container h2:after,#standard-article-container h2:after,#comment-article-container h2:after{content:””;width:3px;height:44px;position:absolute;top:-30px;left:-11px;background-color:#fff}}#maincontent h2:nth-child(odd):before,#feature-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before,#standard-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before,#comment-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before{transform:scaleX(-1)}#maincontent h2:nth-child(odd):after,#feature-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after,#standard-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after,#comment-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after{height:33px;top:-19px}.ios #standard-article-container,.ios #feature-article-container,.android #standard-article-container,.android #feature-article-container{overflow:clip}.ios h2,.android h2{position:relative;margin-top:48px;max-width:620px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.15;font-weight:500;font-style:normal;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:2px}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios h2:before,.android h2:before{background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-mob-dark.png)}}.ios .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper h2:before,.android .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper h2:before{display:none!important}.ios .article-kicker,.android .article-kicker{padding:0}.ios .article-kicker__section,.android .article-kicker__section{display:none}.ios .article-kicker__highlight,.android .article-kicker__highlight{display:unset;position:absolute;top:4px;left:10px;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7);color:#fff;z-index:20}.ios .article-kicker__highlight:after,.android .article-kicker__highlight:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;top:22px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/05/red-scribble-2_(1).png”);width:90px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}.ios #article-header #headline,.ios #article-header [data-gu-name=headline],.ios #article-header .headline,.ios #article-header .standfirst,.ios #article-header #standfirst,.ios #article-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.ios #feature-header #headline,.ios #feature-header [data-gu-name=headline],.ios #feature-header .headline,.ios #feature-header .standfirst,.ios #feature-header #standfirst,.ios #feature-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.android #article-header #headline,.android #article-header [data-gu-name=headline],.android #article-header .headline,.android #article-header .standfirst,.android #article-header #standfirst,.android #article-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.android #feature-header #headline,.android #feature-header [data-gu-name=headline],.android #feature-header .headline,.android #feature-header .standfirst,.android #feature-header #standfirst,.android #feature-header [data-gu-name=standfirst]{display:none}.ios #article-header #main-media,.ios #feature-header #main-media,.android #article-header #main-media,.android #feature-header #main-media{height:0}.ios #article-header #main-media figcaption,.ios #feature-header #main-media figcaption,.android #article-header #main-media figcaption,.android #feature-header #main-media figcaption{display:none}.ios #article-body .element-atom,.ios #feature-body .element-atom,.android #article-body .element-atom,.android #feature-body .element-atom{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner{height:0!important}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption{display:none}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:11.85rem;line-height:8.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top;margin-top:8px}.ios #article-body .standfirst-links li:before,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links li:before,.android #article-body .standfirst-links li:before,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links li:before{display:none}.ios #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:115%;color:#c70000}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a{color:#ff4e36}}.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a{color:#c70000;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:#dcdcdc;background-image:none}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a{color:#ff4e36}}.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:11.25rem!important;line-height:8rem!important;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top;margin-top:16px!important}
      @font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Titlepiece”;src:url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{grid-area:header;width:100vw;overflow:clip;position:relative;height:230vh;background-color:#121212;margin-left:-10px;margin-left:-10px;padding:0}@media(min-width: 30em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:-20px}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:210vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;top:0;right:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060;z-index:11}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:300vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{position:sticky;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;z-index:0;opacity:0.65;overflow:hidden}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:100vw;background-position:center;background-size:cover;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;overflow:hidden}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:2;clip-path:url(#rip-left)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:4;left:-1px;clip-path:url(#rip-right)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;background-color:transparent;z-index:1;padding:0}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 800px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{margin:0 auto}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:200vh}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{background-color:transparent;width:100vw;height:70vh;display:flex;align-items:center}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24:has(h1){height:90vh;align-items:self-start;padding-top:20%}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh;width:740px;align-items:center;padding-top:unset}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:640px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:24px;margin:0 10px;font-family:”Guardian Headline”, “Guardian Headline Full”, “Guardian Egyptian Web”, Georgia, serif;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;color:white;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7);opacity:0.5;transition:opacity 0.5s ease;text-wrap:balance}@media(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{opacity:1}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:40px;position:relative}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:32px}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:48px}}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span{display:block}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;bottom:-20px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/08/21/LINE-53.png”);width:275px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{width:320px}}.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.animate-in,
      .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-headline.animate-in{opacity:1}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:0}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:140vh}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh}
      .Svg-clip-paths-container.svelte-1yf4410{width:0;height:0}
      This is the first part of the standfirst This is the second part of the standfirst Headline what’s at stake?
      View image in fullscreenA hulking steel plant in Middletown, Ohio, is the city’s economic heartbeat as well as a keystone origin story of JD Vance, the hometown senator now running to be Donald Trump’s vice-president.Its future, however, may hinge upon $500m in funding from landmark climate legislation that Vance has called a “scam” and is a Trump target for demolition.In March, Joe Biden’s administration announced the US’s largest ever grant to produce greener steel, enabling the Cleveland-Cliffs facility in Middletown to build one of the largest hydrogen fuel furnaces in the world, cutting emissions by a million tons a year by ditching the coal that accelerates the climate crisis and befouls the air for nearby locals.View image in fullscreenIn a blue-collar urban area north of Cincinnati that has long pinned its fortunes upon the vicissitudes of the US steel industry, the investment’s promise of a revitalized plant with 170 new jobs and 1,200 temporary construction positions was met with jubilation among residents and unions.“It felt like a miracle, an answered prayer that we weren’t going to be left to die on the vine,” said Michael Bailey, who is now a pastor in Middletown but worked at the plant, then owned by Armco, for 30 years.“It hit the news and you could almost hear everybody screaming, ‘Yay yay yay!’,” said Heather Gibson, owner of the Triple Moon cafe in central Middletown. “It showed commitment for the long term. It was just so exciting.”This funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the $370bn bill to turbocharge clean energy signed by Biden after narrowly passing Congress via Democratic votes in 2022, has been far less thrilling to Vance, however, despite his deep personal ties to the Cleveland-Cliffs plant.View image in fullscreenThe steel mill, dating back to 1899 and now employing about 2,500 people, is foundational to Middletown, helping churn out the first generations of cars and then wartime tanks. Vance’s late grandfather, who he called Papaw, was a union worker at the plant, making it the family’s “economic savior – the engine that brought them from the hills of Kentucky into America’s middle class”, Vance wrote in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.But although it grew into a prosperous All-American city built on steel and paper production, Middletown became a place “hemorrhaging jobs and hope” as industries decamped offshore in the 1980s, Vance wrote. He sees little salvation in the IRA even as, by one estimate, it has already spurred $10bn in investment and nearly 14,000 new jobs in Ohio.When campaigning for the Senate in 2022, Vance said Biden’s sweeping climate bill is “dumb, does nothing for the environment and will make us all poorer”, and more recently as vice-presidential candidate called the IRA a “green energy scam that’s actually shipped a lot more manufacturing jobs to China”.America needs “a leader who rejects Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s green new scam and fights to bring back our great American factories”, Vance said at the Republican convention in July. “We need President Donald J Trump.”Republicans in Congress have repeatedly attempted to gut the IRA, with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint authored by many former Trump officials, demanding its repeal should Republicans regain the White House.Such plans have major implications for Vance’s home town. The Middletown plant’s $500m grant from the Department of Energy, still not formally handed over, could be halted if Trump prevails in November. The former president recently vowed to “terminate Kamala Harris’s green new scam and rescind all of the unspent funds”.Some longtime Middletown residents are bemused by such opposition. “How can you think that saving the lives of people is the wrong thing to do?” said Adrienne Shearer, a small business adviser who spent several decades helping the reinvigoration of Middletown’s downtown area, which was hollowed out by economic malaise, offshored jobs and out-of-town malls.“People thought the plant was in danger of leaving or closing, which would totally destroy the town,” she said. “And now people think it’s not going anywhere.”Shearer, a political independent, said she didn’t like Vance’s book because it “trashed our community” and that he had shown no alternative vision for his home town. “Maybe people who serve with him in Washington know him, but we don’t here in Middletown,” she said.View image in fullscreenClimate campaigners are even more scathing of Vance. “It’s no surprise that he’s now threatening to gut a $500m investment in US manufacturing in his own home town,” said Pete Jones, rapid response director at Climate Power. “Vance wrote a book about economic hardship in his home town, and now he has 900 new pages from Trump’s dangerous Project 2025 agenda to make the problem worse so that big oil can profit.”Local Republicans are more complimentary, even if they differ somewhat on the IRA. Mark Messer, Republican mayor of the neighboring town of Lebanon, used the vast bill’s clean energy tax credits to offset the cost of an upcoming solar array that will help slash energy costs for residents. Still, Vance is a strong running mate for Trump and has “done good for Ohio”, according to Messer.“My focus is my constituents and doing what’s best for them – how else will this empty floodplain produce $1m for people in our town?” Messer said. “Nothing is going do that but solar. I’m happy to use the IRA, but if I had a national role my view might be different. I mean printing money and giving it away to people won’t solve inflation, it will make it worse.”Some Middletown voters are proud of Vance’s ascension, too. “You have to give him credit, he went to [Yale] Law School, he built his own business up in the financial industry – he’s self-made, he did it all on his own,” said Doug Pergram, a local business owner who blames Democrats for high inflation and is planning to vote for Trump and Vance, even though he thinks the steel plant investment is welcome.This illustrates a problem for Democrats, who have struggled to translate a surge of new clean energy projects and a glut of resulting jobs into voting strength, with polls showing most Americans don’t know much about the IRA or don’t credit Biden or Harris for its benefits.Ohio was once a swing state but voted for Trump – with his promises of Rust belt renewal that’s only now materializing under Biden – in the last two elections and is set to do the same again in November. Harris, meanwhile, has only fleetingly mentioned climate change and barely attempted to sell the IRA, a groundbreaking but deeply unsexy volume of rebates and tax credits, on the campaign trail.View image in fullscreen“Democrats have not done well in patting themselves on the back, they need to be out there screaming from the rooftops, ‘This is what we’ve done,’” said Gibson, a political independent who suffers directly from the status quo by living next to the Middletown facility that processes coke coal, a particularly dirty type of coal used in steel production that will become obsolete in the mill’s new era.“The air pollution is horrendous, so the idea of eliminating the need for coke, well, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” said Gibson. The site, called SunCoke, heats half a million short tons of coal a year to make coke that’s funneled to the steel plant, a process that causes a strong odor and spews debris across the neighborhood. Gibson rarely opens her windows because of this pollution.“Last year it snowed in July, all this white stuff was falling from the sky,” Gibson said. “The soot covers everything, covers the car, I have to Clorox my windows. The smell is so bad I’ve had to end get-togethers early from my house because people get so sick. It gives you an instant headache. It burns your throat, it burns your nose. It’s just awful.”The prospect of a cleaner, more secure future for Middletown is something the Biden administration tried to stress in March, when Jennifer Granholm, the US energy secretary, appeared at the steel mill with the Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive, union leaders and workers to extol the new hydrogen furnace. The grant helps solve a knotty problem where industry is reluctant to invest in cleaner-burning hydrogen because there aren’t enough extant examples of such technology.View image in fullscreen“Mills like this aren’t just employers, they are anchors embedded deeply in the community. We want your kids and grandkids to produce steel here in America too,” Granholm said. “Consumers are demanding cleaner, greener products all over the world. We don’t want to just make the best products in the world, we want to make sure we make the best and cleanest products in the world.”Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive of Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, followed Granholm to boast that a low-emissions furnace of this size was a world first, with the technology set to be expanded to 15 other company plants in the US.Republicans elsewhere in the US have jumped onboard similar ribbon-cutting events, despite voting against the funding that enables them, but notably absent among the dignitaries seated in front of two enormous American flags hanging in the Middletown warehouse that day was Vance, the Ohio senator who went to high school just 4 miles from this place. His office did not respond to questions about the plant or his plans for the future of the IRA.Bailey, a 71-year-old who retired from the steel plant in 2002, said that as a pastor he did speak several times to Vance about ways to aid Middletown but then became alarmed by the senator’s rightwards shift in comments about women, as well as his lack of support for the new steel mill funding.“JD Vance has never mentioned anything about helping Middletown rebound,” said Bailey, who witnessed a “brutal” 2006 management lockout of workers during a union dispute after which drug addiction and homelessness soared in Middletown. “He’s used Middletown for, in my view, his own personal gain.“Somewhere in there, JD changed,” he added. “He’s allowed outsiders to pimp him. This guy is embarrassing us. That’s not who we are.” More

    • 138 Shares159 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘Looks like karma to me’: Hillary Clinton on Trump’s hush-money conviction

      by

      Hillary Clinton admitted on Sunday that her eyes welled with tears when Donald Trump was convicted of criminally falsifying business records to keep an alleged extramarital affair from becoming public ahead of the 2016 presidential election that she lost to him.“The case … was election interference,” Clinton said in a lengthy interview on CBS News Sunday Morning. “Looks like karma to me,” she added, referring to how Trump taunted her throughout the contest with chants of “lock her up” only to become a convicted felon while seeking a return to the White House.Clinton appeared on the news program in large part to promote her memoir Something Lost, Something Gained, which is scheduled for release on Tuesday. CBS recorded and aired her remarks before officials said US secret service agents fired at a person who pointed a rifle’s muzzle into Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, during what was described as an apparent assassination attempt while the former president was playing a round there Sunday afternoon.In Clinton’s book and in her interview with correspondent Erin Moriarty, the ex-US secretary of state acknowledged how she has wished – but struggled – to “move on” from her electoral defeat to Trump in 2016, especially as her Republican rival again prepares to face a Democratic woman, Vice-President Kamala Harris, in November’s race for the White House.The former first lady singled out Trump’s conviction in New York – the state she used to represent as a US senator – as a particularly bittersweet moment in the aftermath of her ill-fated presidential run.She suggested it was gratifying to see a guilty verdict delivered against the man who insulted her as “Crooked Hillary” – and lustily chanted alongside his supporters to “lock her up” over her use of a private email server as secretary of state – because he had falsified business records to cover up payments to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels.But Clinton also said the case was a stark reminder over how close she was to becoming the first woman to become US president. That is because the covered-up payments were delivered to Daniels during the 2016 election after she claimed to have had extramarital sex with Trump about a decade earlier.“I got tears in my eyes then,” Clinton said. “The case which was mistakenly called a ‘hush-money’ case was an election interference case.“Why did he do what he did? He did it to try to keep the information from the American public so that they wouldn’t turn away from him and vote for me. So it’s a pretty clear case of election interference.”Trump is awaiting sentencing on 34 felony counts in that case while also dealing with other criminal charges in connection with his retention of classified government documents as well as his efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Moriarty asked Clinton whether at least a part of Clinton thought positively about the fact that Trump “is the person who’s actually facing time in jail”.“Looks like karma to me,” Clinton said.In other parts of her interview, Clinton said watching Harris debate Trump on 10 September reminded her how hard it was to keep one’s cool in verbal exchanges with him. She also described it as “difficult” yet “emotional” and rewarding to write and deliver a speech at the Democratic national convention in August supporting Harris as she pursued something voters denied Clinton.Clinton furthermore addressed other extramarital sexual encounters: those her husband, Bill Clinton, had during his political career, including amid his presidency. She laughed nervously as she said, “Oh, you know there was” a time when she was unsure whether her marriage would survive. But she said the couple went to counseling, and though “it was really hard”, they were now preparing to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary together.“One day, I’d wake up and say, ‘OK, no, I’m done.’ Another day, I’d wake up and I’d say, ‘… I gotta keep trying to see this through and figure out what is it I want?“Is it worth it? Is it something I want to invest in? And when I went through all of those questions, the answers were yes, yes and yes.”The FBI said authorities arrested a suspect after Sunday’s gunfire at Trump’s golf club.No injuries were reported in what was the second attempt on Trump’s life since 13 July, when a rifle-wielding attack who fired on a political rally struck the tip of the former president’s ear. The attacker also killed one spectator and wounded two more before a Secret Service sniper shot him dead.Prominent Democrats including Harris and US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer condemned violence Sunday. “The perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer said. More

    • 175 Shares109 Views

      in US Politics

      Violence and instability have become a feature, not a bug, of US political life

      by

      It has happened again. Another serene and sunny weekend. Another lone suspect wielding a rifle. Another apparent bid to assassinate Donald Trump. And a nation hurtling into uncharted territory 50 days from a presidential election.On Sunday, Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a man with a rifle near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican candidate was playing. The suspect fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.The FBI discovered in the bushes two backpacks, an AK-47-style firearm with a scope and a GoPro camera – suggesting a plan to kill Trump on his own golf course and film it for all the world to witness.The incident was the latest shocking moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval and fears of violence and civil unrest. It came nine weeks after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his ear and a supporter was killed. The former president’s bloodied, defiant response, urging supporters to “Fight!”, prompted headline writers to ask: Did Donald Trump just win the election?But a week later, Joe Biden withdrew from the race and was quickly replaced by Kamala Harris. The assassination attempt faded from a hectic news cycle and earned only a passing mention at Tuesday’s debate. Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump aide, complained at the recent Moms for Liberty conference: “We’re seven weeks away and it’s as if it never happened. It’s been memory-holed, more effectively than George Orwell could ever have imagined.”It is true that what happened that day in Pennsylvania should be remembered, not for partisan reasons, nor as evidence that Trump is protected by God, but because of what it resurfaced: a nation with a long history of political violence bracing for what has been dubbed “a tinderbox election”.Danger and instability have become a feature not a bug of US political life. A white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to the death of a civil rights activist. A mob of angry Trump supporters storming the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. A hammer attack on House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul in their home. Countless threats of violence to members of Congress and judges.A new documentary film, The Last Republican, features sinister voicemails left for congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Trump critic who sat on the House January 6 committee. One says: “You little cocksucker. Are you Liz Cheney’s fag-hag? You two cock-sucking little bitches. We’re gonna get ya. Coming to your house, son. Ha ha ha ha!”As the election draws near, the temperature only rises. False accusations that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbour’s cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, have led to bomb threats and school closures. Just as at Trump’s rally nine weeks ago, innocent people are the collateral damage of reckless propaganda.The normalisation of violence crosses partisan boundaries. In 2017 a man with anti-Republican views opened fire during a practice session for the annual congressional baseball game, injuring five people including House majority whip Steve Scalise. There is more support for violence against Trump (10% of American adults) than for violence in favour of Trump (6.9%), according to a survey conducted in late June by the University of Chicago.But only one of the two major parties is actively fanning the flames. Trump encouraged strongarm tactics against protesters at his rallies. He mocked Pelosi over the hammer attack. He called for shoplifters to be shot and disloyal generals to be executed for treason. He warned of a “bloodbath” if he is not elected and claimed that undocumented people in the US are “poisoning the blood of our country”.It is enough to fill any concerned citizen with foreboding about the coming election – and what comes next in a nation that has more guns than people. Trump, a convicted criminal with more cases looming over him, is in a desperate fight to stay out of prison. Having never acknowledged his 2020 loss, he has refused to commit to accepting the outcome in 2024, promising “long-term prison sentences” for anyone involved in “unscrupulous behavior”.With Republicans focused on “election integrity” efforts, poll workers could face intolerable levels of violence and intimidation. Opinion polls suggest that the election will be perilously close, giving plenty of scope to sow doubt, likely to be turbocharged by Elon Musk’s X social media platform.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAs the Axios website recently noted: “A perfect storm has been brewing for years now – fueled by extreme polarization, election denial, political violence, historic prosecutions and rampant disinformation. Mayhem is bound to rain down in November.”A Reuters/Ipsos poll in May found that more than two in three Americans say they are concerned about extremist violence after the election. Last month Patrick Gaspard, a former White House official, told reporters at a Bloomberg in Chicago that the US faces “multiple January 6th-like incidents” at state capitols if Harris ekes out a narrow electoral college victory.Biden and Harris rightly condemned both attempted assassinations and said they were glad Trump is safe. Even his harshest critics should not condone such actions. But it is inescapably also true that, like a one-man Chornobyl, Trump has polluted the political atmosphere and created a permission structure for violence.His response to Sunday’s close call? Emails and text messages declaring: “I will not stop fighting for you. I will Never Surrender!” – and asking his supporters for money. More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Son of suspect speaks after apparent Trump assassination attempt in Florida

      by

      The son of the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at his Florida golf course Sunday said his father had traveled to Ukraine and volunteered to provide what the son described as “humanitarian” aid to troops defending the country from Russian forces that invaded in 2022.A source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to the Guardian that the suspect in Sunday’s case is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh – though law enforcement has not officially named him and there was no immediate indication of a motive.His son, Oran Routh, repeatedly said he had not been able to immediately speak to his father or get information about the accusations against him, so he did not want to talk on his behalf.But he also described his father as passionate about the Ukraine cause.View image in fullscreen“My dad went over there and saw people fucking fighting and dying,” the younger Routh said during a brief telephone call when asked about his father. “He … tried to make sure shit was cool, and shit was not cool.”Referring to the former president, who days earlier at the presidential debate would not answer whether he wanted Ukraine to win its war against Russia, Oran Routh said: “Meanwhile, this guy’s sitting behind his fucking desk, not doing a goddamn thing.”A review of posts on Twitter/X associated with an account under Ryan Routh’s name also show Ukraine was an important cause to him. Two posts on that account from August 2023 addressed Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. One said Routh was in Kyiv and wanted to create a tent city for foreigners in a local park in hopes that would prompt more people from abroad to “raise great support and equipment”.The other suggested that Zelenskiy asked Congress to put all members of the American military on paid leave “so they can fight as civilians in Ukraine”.A third post from December also expressed concern for Haiti, which has been dealing with violent civil unrest.Trump invoked both Ukraine and Haiti in his recent debate with Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the 5 November White House race.With respect to the latter country, the Republican nominee would only say he wanted Ukraine’s war with Russia “to stop”. But he made it a point to avoid saying he wanted Ukraine to triumph, fueling concerns that a second Trump presidency could suspend US military support to those defending the country.Asked what he would tell his father if he could speak to him, Oran Routh said: “I know the discourse isn’t working, but we still need to stick to the discourse.”He then politely excused himself from the conversation to try to find out more information about his father’s arrest on Sunday.In a separate interview with CNN on Sunday, Oran Routh also called Ryan “a loving and caring father” and an “honest hardworking man”.“I don’t know what has happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent,” he said.Online records show a man with the same name and age as Ryan Routh is registered to vote in North Carolina and lists his party affiliation as Democrat. Those records show he last voted in North Carolina’s presidential primaries in March.However, many on X noted how the political views espoused by the account under Routh’s name were not exclusively pro-Democrat. The account described voting for Trump in 2016 and expressed support for a White House ticket combining the unsuccessful Republican presidential primary contenders Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley.The account’s most recent post was addressed to Harris, timed in between Trump’s failed 13 July assassination at a political rally in Pennsylvania and when she replaced Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket after the president opted to halt his re-election campaign. The post said the vice-president and Biden should visit two spectators wounded and attend the funeral of a rally-goer slain at the shooting before the attacker was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.“Show the world what compassion and humanity is all about,” the post said.Sunday’s suspect was reported to have put the muzzle of a rifle through a fence in a wooded area at Trump International golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon.Trump was golfing there at the time. An agent spotted the rifle and fired, prompting the suspect to flee before he was arrested in a neighboring county.

      Hugo Lowell contributed reporting More