US Politics

The book I am currently readingThe End of Everything by Katie Mack. The theoretical physicist explains the five most likely endings for our expanding universe, hopefully an unimaginably long time from now. It’s witty, clear and upbeat. A good companion to Brian Greene’s Until the End of Time. I’m also reading Minds Wide Shut by Gary Saul Morson and Morton O Schapiro, a sweeping study of the rise of rigid certainty in politics, economics and literature, and the threat it presents to democracy, which requires open-mindedness and compromise.The book that changed my lifeThe Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. It made me rethink the roots of our deepest fears and insecurities, and why we often disappoint ourselves in how we manifest them.The book I wish I’d writtenOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I still believe it’s the greatest novel written since William Faulkner died.Read John Grisham’s Sooley, you’ll want to cry tooThe book that had the greatest influence on my writingI always wanted to be a writer, but doubted my ability to do it. From my senior year in college to my first year in law school, I read five books that made me think it was worth a try: North Toward Home by Willie Morris; The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron; You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe; The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin; and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.The book that changed my mindThat’s a great question. I think Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste and Adam Grant’s Think Again forced me to rethink how deeply embedded our unexamined preconceptions are, not just in relation to race, gender, class and religion, but to any number of categories that lead us to see others as inferior, less worthy of being seen and heard. I like Nelson Mandela’s way of restorative reconciliation and inclusion better.The last book that made me crySooley by John Grisham. Read it, you’ll want to cry too.The last book that made me laughJanet Evanovich’s latest book. Stephanie Plum always makes me laugh.The book I’m ashamed not to have readUlysses. I love Irish poetry, prose and nonfiction. I love Joyce. But I always give out and give up before I get through it. I’ll keep trying.The books I give as giftsMeditations by Marcus Aurelius; The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney; and The Social Conquest of Earth by EO Wilson. In different ways, each is full of wisdom.The book I’d most like to be remembered forSo far My Life, for the reasons Larry McMurtry stated in his review: it’s a story of my life and times; an account of what it’s like to be president when so much is happening at once, with fuller explanations of events such as Black Hawk Down that you won’t see anywhere else; and a testament of what I believe and why.My comfort readI find comfort in thrillers with interesting characters and good stories. I really liked Stacey Abrams’s While Justice Sleeps, and all of Louise Penny’s Gamache books, Sara Paretsky’s VI Warshawski books, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins books, James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series, and Michael Connelly’s Bosch books. I love Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon, and David Baldacci and Lee Child are still getting better. And I love my co-author James Patterson’s books, especially those with Michael Bennett and Alex Cross. I hope our new book, The President’s Daughter, makes other people’s lists. I like the characters and the story.The book I think is most underratedProbably Ron Chernow’s Grant. He makes an irrefutable case not just for Grant’s genius as a military leader, but for his courage and determination to ensure that the American civil war was not fought in vain. With the latest efforts to discredit the 2020 election, pass voter suppression measures, and kill the January 6 commission, and the changing composition of the supreme court, we are reminded of what Grant knew: the risks of making our union more perfect includes the possibility that the inevitable reaction can rob us of our democracy altogether. More

As an investigation and lawsuit hang over the former New York mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump, Jonathan Freedland finds out about the man from biographer Andrew Kirtzman

How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

In April, the apartment of Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was searched as part of an investigation into his dealings with Ukraine. He’s also facing a lawsuit over claims of pushing baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, but denies any wrongdoing in either case.The Giuliani name is rarely out of the spotlight. Now his son Andrew has announced he will run for governor of New York, the state where his father was once hailed as ‘America’s mayor’ in New York City after handling the tragedy of 9/11.Jonathan Freedland speaks to biographer Andrew Kirtzman, who is currently writing his second book on Giuliani, about his eventful career and life to find out where he goes from here. Send us your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to gu.com/supportpodcasts More

Americans who survive a terrorist attack should get an automatic one-year deferment on their federal student loan payments, according to a bill introduced by Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida.“We should do everything in our power to help those who survive a terrorist attack to get their life back on track,” Rubio said in a statement. “Giving survivors some time to regroup by delaying their student loan payments is just commonsense.”The Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act would “provide a one-year pause for victims”, allowing them time to “get back on their feet”, or to apply for additional loan deferments, according to Rubio’s office.Rubio first introduced the legislation in 2016, and said the bill was inspired by his office’s work to help a survivor of Florida’s Pulse Nightclub shooting secure a temporary delay on his student loan payments.The attack on a gay bar in Orlando five years ago left 49 people dead and more than 50 injured.While the Pulse survivor’s injuries were serious and life-changing enough that he had considered asking for complete forgiveness of his student loans, Rubio said at the time, the young man changed his mind, and decided to only ask for a delay in his payments, a choice Rubio called “a testament to his resilience and determination”.Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how “terrorist attack” is defined in the legislation, and which mass shootings or other violent attacks would count as “terrorist attacks”.Some of the reactions to Rubio’s bill were strongly negative, with commenters suggesting the policy proposal was an insulting response to America’s sweeping student loan crisis.Congratulations to Marco Rubio for literally doing the least that he could possibly do to address the student loan crisis. https://t.co/c0SqWuY0sD— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) June 10, 2021
More than 40 million Americans have federal student loan debt. They owe an average of $39,406 each, according to EducationData.org.In recent years, the number of victims killed annually in US domestic terrorism attacks has ranged from 22 to 66 people, according to data assembled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.“This is nice, but if Senator Rubio were actually seriously interested in safety and giving relief to survivors, he would back commonsense gun legislation like HR 8,” Christopher Zoeller, 19, the Florida state director for March For Our Lives, a youth gun violence prevention group, said in a statement to the Guardian.“He didn’t do it after Pulse, he didn’t do it after Parkland, and he still hasn’t done it today. We can see right through this gimmick.” More

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, issued a rebuke of Ilhan Omar on Thursday, after the outspoken Minnesota congresswoman said she was a victim of “harassment and silencing” by fellow Democrats over a remark about the US, Israel, Afghanistan and Hamas.“Drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the US and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all,” Pelosi said, in a statement issued with the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, and other members of the party hierarchy.Omar made the initial comments on Monday, in a tweet accompanying video of a question she asked the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in a House hearing.“We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity,” Omar wrote. “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban. I asked Secretary Blinken where people are supposed to go for justice.”The tweet stoked controversy for seeming to equate the actions of the US and Israel with those of Hamas, an Iran-linked militant organisation in the Palestinian territories which the US lists as a terrorist group, and the Taliban, Islamic extremists US and coalition troops have fought in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years.In May, conflict between Israel and Hamas led to the deaths of 12 people in Israel and 248 in the Palestinian territories – and accusations of war crimes on both sides.As Republicans accused Omar of antisemitism and pushed for her to be expelled from the House foreign affairs committee, a group of Jewish House Democrats issued their own criticism.“Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” they wrote in a statement. “Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organisations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.“The United States and Israel are imperfect and, like all democracies, at times deserving of critique, but false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups. We urge Congresswoman Omar to clarify her words.”On Twitter, Omar responded: “It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for ‘clarification’ and not just call. The Islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment and silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable.“Citing an open case against Israel, US, Hamas & Taliban in the [International Criminal Court] isn’t comparison or from ‘deeply seated prejudice’. You might try to undermine these investigations or deny justice to their victims but history has thought us that the truth can’t be hidden or silenced forever.”She also retweeted comments by the MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who said: “Maybe these House Democrats should read beyond the Fox/Daily Mail headlines and faux outrage and not help incite more hate against Omar.”Omar reported receiving threats, including being called “a raghead N-word” and her staff “anti-American communist piece[s] of shit”.“This is the kind of incitement and hate that leads to real violence,” she said.Omar came to the US from Somalia as child and in 2018 was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. With the other, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, she is a member of the so-called “Squad” of Democratic women of colour whose progressive values and use of the media spotlight often put them at odds with party leaders.Among Democrats who came to Omar’s defence amid controversy over her remark about Hamas and the Taliban, the Missouri representative Cori Bush said: “I’m not surprised when Republicans attack Black women for standing up for human rights. But when it’s Democrats, it’s especially hurtful. We’re your colleagues. Talk to us directly. Enough with the anti-Blackness and Islamophobia.”On Thursday Omar did clarify her remarks, saying she was not making “a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the US and Israel” and was “in no way equating terrorist organisations with democratic countries”.Pelosi and Hoyer said: “We welcome the clarification by Congresswoman Omar that there is no moral equivalency between the US and Israel and Hamas and the Taliban.” More

Three bills are working their way through Congress that can provide significant help for small businesses. Do you know what they all have in common? Welcome signs of bipartisan support for small business.The first is the 504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2021. This bill, which passed the House in mid-April and is awaiting a Senate vote, is designed to make the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 504 Loan Program more accessible to manufacturers through certified development company (CDC) intermediaries. The manufacturers would be able to apply for the funding – which can be as much as $6.5m – if they can show that funds will be used for energy efficiency or aid in the revitalization of a disaster area. The bill increases the loan amount available for small manufacturers and relaxes some collateral requirements, as well requiring the SBA to provide training.Why is this bill important? Because it directs capital to manufacturers and leverages the underused CDCs. “Too many people are not as familiar with institutions like certified development companies,” says the Democratic representative Sharice Davids, a co-sponsor of the bill. “But they have a really great track record of servicing and helping small businesses who are either unbanked or underbanked.”Next is the Opportunity Zone Extension Act. Sponsored by the Republican representative Tim Burchett, this bill was introduced in the House in February and awaits a vote. It extends for two years the election and capital gain deferral periods for qualified opportunity zones (defined as an economically distressed community where private investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for capital gain tax incentives).The bill incentivizes investments in small companies located in areas that need it the most. “If people don’t invest, the property falls into disrepair,” says Burchett. “But if there’s investment then jobs can be created, there’ll be more encouragement for further investments. I just think it’s a winning opportunity for our rural America and our inner-city America.”Finally, there’s the Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021. Passed in the House in September 2020 and re-introduced this year, the bill establishes a 5% technical assistance grant for certain financing intermediaries, including intermediaries who make 25% of their loans to rural small businesses.“It just really helps ensure that the Small Business Administration (SBA) gives rural small businesses access to micro loans,” Burchett, who also sponsors the bill, says. “I just don’t feel like people should be overlooked because of their location or maybe the color of their skin or the region that they grew up.”The bill also requires the SBA to report certain metrics related to the disbursement of microloans to small businesses.Yes, these bills all help small businesses – particularly small manufacturers, businesses in low to moderate income areas and rural companies – get more funding from the federal government. But there’s a bigger thing that these bills have in common: they’re very, very bipartisan.For example, the 504 Modernization and Small Manufacturer Enhancement Act of 2021 is co-sponsored by five Republicans (including Burchett) and three Democrats. The Opportunity Zone Extension Act has nine Republicans and two Democrats signed on. The Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021 has three Republicans and two Democrats on board.Unfortunately, these bills don’t get much media attention because they’re not headline-worthy. But for many small business owners, their passage could mean the difference between growth and stagnation, survival or demise.So, yes, political infighting makes a juicy story. But behind the scenes, there are some issues that both parties can agree on and one of those issues is supporting small businesses. More

Barack Obama’s CNN interview with Anderson Cooper on Monday night covered a range of topics one could consider wide if they weren’t so predictable.The storming of the Capitol, race, Trump, political division, Black Lives Matter. At this point in his post-office years, Obama seems to pop up in more or less casual fashion as a kind of guiding moral compass during particularly harrowing national moments. Obama, trading in the suit for the still very-calculated understatement of a button-up with rolled sleeves, elicits an almost Pavlovian reaction. We miss you. Come back. This worked to more dramatic effect when Trump was still in office and Obama’s opinion, given far from the White House, seemed to come down from a heaven that was distinctly out of reach. But that allure is fading.Obama criticized the “Republican establishment” for their lack of action on Russian meddling during the 2016 election, and on Charlottesville. Political division might be one of Trump’s lasting legacies and Obama’s outrage that “nobody stood up” isn’t wrong, per se. But lukewarm critiques like these are low-hanging fruit – the kind we expect from liberal pundits on MSNBC. One would hope for more from a former president whose very existence threatened the right so dramatically.When race is mentioned, he talks about “terrible things” that happened in America’s history, but doesn’t mention slavery or Jim Crow by name. He speaks about the need for local media, but doesn’t take Google and Facebook to task for decimating newsrooms. He spends a lot of time talking about the need for better narratives, and better conversations, which can sound lofty and vague. We don’t hear much about more tangible, thorny questions, like the need to support unions, or the threat posed by the growing power of corporations.Obama spent much of the interview pontificating about unity, which is par for the course for him, whose optimism about America and its narrative as a place of goodness and opportunity is often couched by his own confusion at the country’s troubled state of affairs. “How do we start once again being able to tell a common story about where this country goes?” Obama asked, loftily. At one point, Cooper quotes a passage from Obama’s memoir A Promised Land: “We need to explain to each other who we are and where we are going.” Cooper asks: “I mean, as somebody who has dedicated myself to storytelling, that really resonates with me. But I wonder, are we as a country still willing to listen to each other’s stories?”That question alone is specious, as if every issue across the country could be distilled down to the essential quandary of “listening”. But this is CNN’s version of a big interview, a glorified press conference for Obama. His response, on the other hand, goes where one would expect. “I think that this is the biggest challenge we have. We don’t have the kinds of shared stories that we used to.”These shared stories are, of course, myths. Freedom, patriotism, grit and glory, these are staples of a utopian vision of America that nearly every president has tried to sell to the public. On that front, Obama isn’t special. What should separate him, even if it is no longer the galvanizing anecdote it once was, is his status as the first black person to hold the nation’s highest office. As history is continually rewritten, whether expanding to include the erased stories of indigenous genocide or the destruction of black communities, or contracting to focus on the achievements of a select few white men whose vision for America never included minorities to begin with, one would assume Obama’s heritage offers him a uniquely frank perspective. This also fails to be true.On the issue of racism, Obama offered this weak assessment: “It’s hard for the majority in this country of white Americans to recognize that, look, you can be proud of this country and its traditions and its history and our forefathers. And yet, it’s also true that this terrible stuff happened. And that, you know, the vestiges of that linger and continue.”Obama seems to be settling into the role of political commentator, except without any controversial opinionsIt may be asking too much of Obama to hope for anything more than left-of-center opinions. After all, one of the hallmarks of his two terms was the disappointing, but unsurprising, revelation that his radical outspoken proclamations were often transformed into watered-down, bureaucratic non-starters. Still, it’s frustrating to think that, even in the aftermath of Trump’s presidency, Obama hasn’t changed all that much.The nightmare that came after Obama’s last term exacerbated the stark difference between the two men, turning Obama into even more of a heroic figure than before. Where before the future was his campaign’s bread and butter, nostalgia became a crucial asset. Now, in the midst of his former vice-president’s term, Obama seems to be settling into the role of political commentator, except without any controversial opinions.On the topic of what lies ahead, Obama turned to the potential of his daughters’ generation: “They’re not just interested in making noise, they’re interested in what works.” Somehow cancel culture, one of the most loaded, overused, yet wildly imprecise terms floating around, used to describe everything from firing CEOs for discrimination to the vague destruction of American values, crept into the conversation. To Obama, this amounts to “condemning people all the time”, though he doesn’t get any more specific than that. What matters is that his daughters rise above it. “They’ll acknowledge that sometimes…”The expectation has never been perfection. It’s knowing that someone can and should be doing more. More