Republicans

Subterms

    More stories

    • 150 Shares143 Views

      in US Politics

      The rise of Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s hardline immigration policy

      by

      With Los Angeles convulsed by confrontation between pro-migrant protesters and military units dispatched by Donald Trump, no figure apart from the president has loomed larger than Stephen Miller.As the man in the Oval Office, it is Trump who has absorbed the accusations of authoritarianism for usurping the powers of California’s government after deploying 4,000 national guard troops and 700 active marines on to the streets of a city that is home to more undocumented immigrants than any other in the US.Behind the scenes, however, this has been the apogee of Miller’s power – and an episode that illuminated his power in a White House where his influence far outstrips his misleadingly modest title of deputy chief of staff.Miller, 39, may have been the true catalyst for the volatile scenes that played out over several days in the city of his birth.As the long-term architect of Trump’s years-long effort to reinvent US immigration policy, he has pressed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to intensify efforts to arrest migrants as deportation figures fell far short of pre-election promises.At a meeting at Ice’s Washington headquarters last month, Miller ordered them to skip the usual practice of compiling lists of suspected illegal migrants and instead target Home Depot, where day laborers gather for short-term hire, and 7-Eleven stores, to carry out mass arrests, the Wall Street Journal reported.Ice would aim for a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day, he told Fox News – a figure exceeding previous estimates, based on assumptions that those with criminal records would be prioritised. It also seemed to raise the risk of mistakes and wrongful arrests.Accordingly, Ice has drastically stepped up its arrest rate – and broadened the profile of those targeted.The results have been plain to see. As demonstrators took to the streets, Miller promptly raised the stakes by accusing them of an “insurrection”.Amid the hullabaloo and expressions of outrage, Miller may allowed himself a quiet smile of satisfaction over sticking it to the city of his birth – in many ways emblematic of the progressive cultural trends despised by Trump’s “Make America great again” (Maga) followers but a place where his own hardline anti-immigrant views had long provoked derision.The son of affluent Jewish parents, Miller’s evolution into a race-baiting provocateur took shape in the upscale suburb of Santa Monica, where he gained notoriety as an incendiary agitator at the eponymous local high school.Video footage purportedly from the period and circulated on social media shows a bearded Miller stridently voicing his disdainful view of school janitorial staff“Am I the only one who is sick and tired of being told to pick up my trash when we have plenty of janitors who are paid to do this,” he shouts into a microphone.The gross statement seems to have been representative of a broader canvas of toxic ideas, with racism at its core.In Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda, to date the only biography published on Miller, author Jean Guerrero recounts one episode from the future political operative’s adolescence, when he suddenly ditched a close friend, Jason Islas, on the grounds of his ethnicity.“The conversation was remarkably calm,” Islas, a Mexican American, is quoted saying. “He expressed hatred for me in a calm, cool, matter-of-fact way.”An article he wrote as a 16-year-old for a local website expresses contempt for fellow students of Hispanic origin.“When I entered Santa Monica High School in ninth grade, I noticed a number of students lacked basic English skills,” Miller wrote on the Surfsantamonica site. “There are usually very few, if any, Hispanic students in my honors classes, despite the large number of Hispanic students that attend our school.”The school, he added, was one where “Osama bin Laden would feel very welcome” – a view reflecting the then recentness of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaida and also Miller’s increasing focus on Muslims.Miller’s indulgence in far-right ideas continued during his college years at Duke University in North Carolina, where he associated with white nationalist thinkers and groups.According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he worked with the David Horowitz Freedom Center, which it defined as a “an anti-Muslim hate group”, and also with Richard Spencer, a white nationalist leader who popularized the term “alt-right” to describe groups that defined themselves through a white racial identity.View image in fullscreenAfter graduating, Miller moved to Washington to work in Congress, serving first as a press secretary to Michele Bachmann, then a Republican representative for Minnesota, before moving to work for Jeff Sessions, at the time a rightwing Alabama senator who later became Trump’s first attorney general.It was in the latter role that his reputation as an avatar of extreme anti-immigrant agitprop became established. In 2013, helped by Miller, Sessions torpedoed a bipartisan piece of legislation that was intended to pave the way for immigration for undocumented migrants.To help sink the bill, Miller used Breitbart News, a rightwing website then headed by Steve Bannon. It would prove to be a fateful connection.The Breitbart connection also shone further light on Miller’s views on race and immigration, as revealed in emails he sent to editors and reporters.They showed a preoccupation with the 1924 Immigration Act, signed by President Calvin Coolidge, which severely restricted immigration to the US from certain parts of the world on what observers say were racial and eugenics grounds. Hitler subsequently praised the legislation as a model for Germany in Mein Kampf.After Trump launched his presidential campaign in 2015 – creating scandalizing headlines by demonizing Mexican immigrants as “drug dealers, criminals and rapists”, Miller took a leave of absence from Sessions’ Senate office to work for him.On the recommendation of Bannon, by then Trump’s campaign chief, he was installed as a speech writer, chiefly because of his focus on immigration, which had become the candidate’s own signature issue.It enabled Miller to showcase his ability to channel Trump’s inner self. The pair have politically inseparable ever since.Miller wrote Trump’s dystopian “American carnage” speech for his first inauguration in January 2017. As a senior policy adviser in the first Trump administration, it was Miller who was behind some of its most notorious policy initiatives. These included the so-called “Muslim ban” on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries and the practice of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border.His growing notoriety as an anti-immigration extremist drew criticism from his own relatives. In 2018, his maternal uncle, David Glosser, branded him a “hypocrite” for ignoring the memory of his ancestors, who fled antisemitic pogroms in tsarist Russia.“I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, an educated man who is well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country,” Glosser, a retired neuropsychologist, wrote in Politico.Miller cared little for such sentimentality.After Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Miller stuck with the former president – even while his political future initially looked doomed in the aftermath of the 6 January 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.Consequently, he grew ever more powerful in Trump’s inner circle. He may have earned extra kudos by declining to exploit their relationship to win lucrative consulting contracts, instead setting up a non-profit, the America First Legal foundation.Meanwhile, he immersed himself in studying how to overcome the hurdles that stymied Trump’s agenda during his first presidency.The outcome has been apparent in the blizzard of executive orders during the restored president’s first months back in the White House. Miller purposely sought to “flood the zone” in a manner that would overwhelm the capacity of the courts – or the media – to respond.No order was more quintessentially Miller’s than that issued on the day of Trump’s second inauguration on 20 January, which attempted to cancel birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants. The order was challenged in the courts and is now with the supreme court after the administration challenged the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions supporting a right that is guaranteed in the US constitution.Miller’s anti-immigrant zeal has at times exceeded even that of Trump. According to the New York Times, the president told a campaign meeting last year that if it was up to Miller, there would only be 100 million people living in the US – and all of them would look like Miller.The bond between the two men has grown to such an extent that Miller has been dubbed “the president’s id” in some circles.“He has been for a while. It’s just now he has the leverage and power to fully effectuate it,” an unnamed former Trump adviser told NBC. Others have called him “the most consequential” White House official since Dick Cheney, who exercised vast influence as vice-president under George W Bush.Critics cast Miller as the root of all evil in Trump’s White House. “Stephen Miller is responsible for all the bad things happening in the United States,” NBC quoted Ben Ray Luján, a Democratic senator for New Mexico, as saying.Miller’s exalted place at Trump’s side was illustrated during the recent Signalgate episode – as revealed by the Atlantic, whose editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently invited into a government chat group to discuss airstrikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, whose missile attacks on Israel threatened Suez canal shipping routes.When JD Vance questioned the strikes – asking whether Trump “is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe” – Miller unambiguously slapped the vice-president down.“As I heard it, the president was clear: green light,” Miller said, according to the transcript.The clearest testimony to Miller’s status has come from Trump himself. Asked by Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, about speculation that Miller might become national security adviser, a usually influential White House post currently filled, albeit temporarily, by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, after the previous incumbent, Mike Waltz, was fired.“Stephen is much higher on the totem pole than that,” Trump replied.The result is that Miller’s presence is detectable in all policy areas, including at the state department, where he succeeded in having his ally, Christopher Landau, installed as Rubio’s deputy.The goal is to control the flow of foreigners entering the United States, insiders have told the Guardian.At the state department, Landau has become an important liaison to officials in the consular affairs section, which has been put under the leadership of a conservative coterie of diplomats and reoriented toward policing migration.Officials from the state department have joined FBI agents on recent Ice raids aimed at tracking down unregistered migrants.Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, laments that Miller’s rising star means he can “use the powers of the federal government to unleash his fascist worldview”.“[That view] has now been transformed into the main political policy and aim of Donald Trump’s presidency,” said Setmayer, who now heads the Seneca Project, a women-led political action committee.“The demagoguery of immigration has long been at the centre of Donald Trump’s political rise, and Stephen Miller’s desire to make America whiter and less diverse, married with the power of the presidency without guardrails, is incredibly dangerous and should concern every American who believes in the rule of law.”Andrew Roth and David Smith contributed reporting More

    • 88 Shares143 Views

      in US Politics

      In California, Trump finds his perfect antagonist

      by

      :root .content–interactive,:root .content–interactive-grid,:root .furniture-wrapper,:root #article-header >div,:root #feature-header >div,:root #article-header >h1,:root #feature-header >h1{opacity:0}:root.interactive-loaded .content–interactive,:root.interactive-loaded .content–interactive-grid,:root.interactive-loaded .furniture-wrapper,:root.interactive-loaded #article-header >div,:root.interactive-loaded #feature-header >div,:root.interactive-loaded #article-header >h1,:root.interactive-loaded #feature-header >h1{opacity:1;transition:opacity .3s ease}@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://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-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-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://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-column-gap:0px;grid-template-columns:100%;grid-template-areas:”media” “title” “headline” “standfirst” “lines” “meta” “body”}@media (min-width: 30em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption{padding:0 20px;max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:100%;grid-column-gap:10px;grid-template-areas:”title” “headline” “standfirst” “media” “lines” “meta” “body”}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent{padding-right:80px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:620px 300px;grid-template-areas:”title right-column” “headline right-column” “standfirst right-column” “media right-column” “lines right-column” “meta right-column” “body right-column” “. right-column”}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid #maincontent,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid #maincontent{padding-right:unset}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:140px 1px 620px 300px;grid-template-areas:”title border headline right-column” “. border standfirst right-column” “. border media right-column” “. border body right-column” “. border . right-column”}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid .content__standfirst{padding-bottom:0}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid figure.element–immersive figcaption{padding:4px 0 0}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{grid-area:2/1/5/2}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines]{height:-moz-max-content;height:max-content;margin-top:5px}#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#comment-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta],#feature-body .content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{margin-top:18px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){#article-body >div .content–interactive-grid,.content–interactive >div .content–interactive-grid,#comment-body .content–interactive-grid,[data-gu-name=body] .content–interactive-grid,#feature-body .content–interactive-grid{grid-template-columns:219px 1px 620px 80px 300px}}body.ios .article__header .standfirst__inner p,body.android .article__header .standfirst__inner p{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:500}body.ios .article__header .article-kicker__section,body.android .article__header .article-kicker__section{display:block}body.ios .article__header .article-kicker__section:first-letter,body.android .article__header .article-kicker__section:first-letter{text-transform:uppercase}body.ios .article__header .keyline-4,body.android .article__header .keyline-4{padding-top:12px!important}body.ios .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author,body.android .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:700}body.ios .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author a,body.android .article__header .meta__misc .byline__author a{font-weight:700}body.ios .article figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android .article figure.element-image .figure__inner{height:auto!important}body.ios .article figure.element-atom+p,body.android .article figure.element-atom+p{margin-top: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://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/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,.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}@media (min-width: 61.25em){figure[data-spacefinder-role=inline].element{max-width:620px}}:root{–dateline: #606060;–headerBorder: #dcdcdc;–captionText: #999;–captionBackground: hsla(0, 0%, 7%, .72);–feature: #c70000;–new-pillar-colour: var(–primary-pillar, var(–feature))}.content__main-column–interactive .element.element-atom,.element.element-atom{padding:0}#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#article-body >div hr+p,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive >div hr+p,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#comment-body hr+p,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] hr+p,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#feature-body hr+p{padding-top:14px}#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body >div hr+p:first-letter,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,.content–interactive >div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,.content–interactive >div hr+p:first-letter,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#comment-body hr+p:first-letter,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,[data-gu-name=body] hr+p:first-letter,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#feature-body hr+p:first-letter{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:111px;line-height:92px;float:left;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:8px;vertical-align:text-top;color:var(–drop-cap, var(–new-pillar-colour))}#article-body >div hr+p,.content–interactive >div hr+p,#comment-body hr+p,[data-gu-name=body] hr+p,#feature-body hr+p{padding-top:0}#maincontent .element.element–showcase.element-showcase figcaption,#feature-article-container .element.element–showcase.element-showcase figcaption,#standard-article-container .element.element–showcase.element-showcase figcaption,#comment-article-container .element.element–showcase.element-showcase figcaption{position:static!important;width:100%;max-width:620px}.element.element–immersive.element-immersive{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px))}@media (max-width: 71.24em){.element.element–immersive.element-immersive{max-width:978px}.element.element–immersive.element-immersive figcaption{padding-inline:10px}}@media (max-width: 71.24em) and (min-width: 30em){.element.element–immersive.element-immersive figcaption{padding-inline:20px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em) and (max-width: 61.24em){.element.element–immersive.element-immersive{max-width:738px}}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.element.element–immersive.element-immersive{margin-left:-10px!important;margin-right:0!important;left:0}}@media (max-width: 46.24em) and (min-width: 30em){.element.element–immersive.element-immersive{margin-left:-20px!important}.element.element–immersive.element-immersive figcaption{padding-inline:20px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper{display:grid;grid-column-gap:20px;grid-row-gap:0px;grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end meta-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(5,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start] .75fr [standfirst-end meta-start] auto [meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #headline >div:first-child,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] >div:first-child,.furniture-wrapper .headline >div:first-child{border-top:1px solid var(–headerBorder)}.furniture-wrapper #meta,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]{position:relative;padding-top:2px;margin-right:0}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst .content__standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst .content__standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] .content__standfirst{margin-bottom:4px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst ul li,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst ul li,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] ul li{font-size:20px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst li a,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst li a,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] li a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] a{border-bottom:none;background-image:none!important;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:6px;text-decoration-color:var(–headerBorder, #dcdcdc)}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst a:hover,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst a:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] a:hover{text-decoration-color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p:first-of-type{border-top:1px solid var(–headerBorder);padding-bottom:0}}@media (min-width: 61.25em) and (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p:first-of-type{border-top:unset}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper figure{margin:0 0 0 -10px}.furniture-wrapper figure[data-spacefinder-role=inline].element{max-width:630px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper{grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start] repeat(2,1fr) [meta-end standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(7,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] 80px [title-end headline-start] auto [headline-end standfirst-start meta-start] auto [standfirst-end meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #meta:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]:before{content:””;width:540px;position:absolute;top:0;background-color:var(–headerBorder);height:1px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p{border-top:unset}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]:before{content:””;width:1px;background-color:var(–headerBorder);height:100%;position:absolute;top:0;left:.5px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.furniture-wrapper{grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start] repeat(3,1fr) [meta-end standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(8,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start meta-start] .75fr [standfirst-end meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #meta:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]:before{width:620px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]:before{left:-.5px}}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div{padding-top:2px}.furniture-wrapper #headline h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1{font-weight:600;max-width:620px;font-size:32px}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper #headline h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1{max-width:540px;font-size:50px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper .keyline-4,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines]{margin-right:0}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper .keyline-4,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines]{display:none}}.furniture-wrapper .keyline-4 svg,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] svg{stroke:var(–headerBorder)}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper #meta,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]{margin-right:0}}.furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social,.furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social ul li a span,.furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__comment,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social ul li a span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__comment{border-color:var(–headerBorder)}.furniture-wrapper #meta .content__meta-container_dcr >div >gu-island,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .content__meta-container_dcr >div >gu-island{display:none}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{margin-left:-10px;padding-left:10px;position:relative}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:2px}}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p{font-weight:400;font-size:20px;padding-bottom:14px}.furniture-wrapper figure{position:relative;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:2px;grid-area:portrait}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper figure{margin-bottom:0}}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.furniture-wrapper figure{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:-10px}}@media (max-width: 46.24em) and (min-width: 30em){.furniture-wrapper figure{margin-left:-20px}}.furniture-wrapper figcaption{position:absolute;bottom:0;padding:4px 10px 12px;background-color:var(–captionBackground);color:var(–captionText);max-width:unset;width:100%;margin-bottom:0;min-height:46px}.furniture-wrapper figcaption span{color:var(–headerBorder)}.furniture-wrapper figcaption span svg{fill:var(–headerBorder)}.furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(1){display:none}.furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(2){display:block;max-width:90%}@media (min-width: 30em){.furniture-wrapper figcaption{padding:4px 20px 12px}}.furniture-wrapper figcaption.hidden{opacity:0}.furniture-wrapper #caption-button{display:block;position:absolute;bottom:10px;right:8px;z-index:100;background-color:var(–captionBackground);border:none;border-radius:50%;padding:6px 5px 5px}.furniture-wrapper #caption-button svg{transform:scale(.85)}@media (min-width: 30em){.furniture-wrapper #caption-button{right:10px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{top:-12px!important;height:calc(100% + 24px)!important}}.content__main-column–interactive h2{max-width:620px}:root:has(.ios,.android){–darkBackground: #1a1a1a;–feature: #c70000;–darkmodeFeature: #ff5943;–new-pillar-colour: var(–primary-pillar, var(–feature))}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){:root:has(.ios,.android){–new-pillar-colour: var(–darkmode-pillar, var(–darkmodeFeature))}}body.ios #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter{color:var(–secondary-pillar, #000)}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__header,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__header,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__header,body.android #feature-article-container .article__header,body.android #standard-article-container .article__header,body.android #comment-article-container .article__header{height:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper{padding:4px 10px 0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels{font-weight:700;font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;color:var(–new-pillar-colour);text-transform:capitalize}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline{font-size:32px;font-weight:700;padding-bottom:12px;color:#121212!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image{position:relative;margin:14px 0 0 -10px;width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a{background-color:transparent;width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst{padding-top:4px;padding-bottom:24px;margin-right:-10px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)!important;background-image:none!important;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:6px;text-decoration-color:var(–headerBorder, #dcdcdc);border-bottom:none}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a:hover{text-decoration-color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta{margin:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__byline span{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc{padding:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg{stroke:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .element–showcase #caption-button{display:flex;padding:5px;justify-content:center;align-items:center;width:28px;height:28px;right:14px}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body{padding:0 12px}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive),body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive),body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive),body.android #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive),body.android #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive),body.android #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive){margin:0;width:calc(100vw – 24px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image:not(.element–thumbnail):not(.element–immersive) figcaption{padding:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body figure.element-image.element-immersive{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px))}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted:before{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body .prose a,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body .prose a,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body .prose a,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body .prose a,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body .prose a,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body .prose a{color:var(–primary-pillar);background-image:none;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:6px;text-decoration-color:var(–headerBorder)}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body .prose a:hover{text-decoration-color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper{background-color:#1a1a1a}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline{background-color:unset;color:var(–headerBorder)!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p{color:var(–headerBorder)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .byline__author,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta span.byline__author a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__misc svg{stroke:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image.element–showcase figcaption{color:var(–dateline)}body.ios #feature-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted,body.ios #standard-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted,body.ios #comment-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted,body.android #feature-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted,body.android #standard-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted,body.android #comment-article-container .article__body .prose blockquote.quoted{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}body.ios #feature-article-container #article-body >div,body.ios #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.ios #feature-article-container #feature-body,body.ios #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.ios #feature-article-container #comment-body,body.ios #standard-article-container #article-body >div,body.ios #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.ios #standard-article-container #feature-body,body.ios #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.ios #standard-article-container #comment-body,body.ios #comment-article-container #article-body >div,body.ios #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.ios #comment-article-container #feature-body,body.ios #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.ios #comment-article-container #comment-body,body.android #feature-article-container #article-body >div,body.android #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.android #feature-article-container #feature-body,body.android #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.android #feature-article-container #comment-body,body.android #standard-article-container #article-body >div,body.android #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.android #standard-article-container #feature-body,body.android #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.android #standard-article-container #comment-body,body.android #comment-article-container #article-body >div,body.android #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div,body.android #comment-article-container #feature-body,body.android #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body],body.android #comment-article-container #comment-body{background-color:var(–darkBackground)!important}body.ios #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.ios #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #standard-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #article-body >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container .content–interactive >div .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #feature-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-letter,body.android #comment-article-container #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-letter{color:var(–new-pillar-colour, #ffffff)}}body.ios.garnett–type-comment #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android.garnett–type-comment #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst{padding-top:24px;margin-top:0}.prose h2{font-size:24px}body.ios #feature-article-container #caption-button,body.ios #standard-article-container #caption-button,body.ios #comment-article-container #caption-button{padding:6px 5px 0}body.android #feature-article-container #caption-button,body.android #standard-article-container #caption-button,body.android #comment-article-container #caption-button{padding:4px 4px 0}.furniture-wrapper.has-guardian-org-logo #meta gu-island[name=Branding],.furniture-wrapper.has-guardian-org-logo [data-gu-name=meta] gu-island[name=Branding]{display:block!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,.furniture-wrapper #headline h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst div p,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst div p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] div p{font-weight:500}:root body{–weekend-essay-bg: #fff4f2;background:var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2);–article-section-background: var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2);–sub-meta-background: var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2)}[data-gu-name=lines]{display:none}.furniture-wrapper{position:relative}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.furniture-wrapper{grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start meta-start] .3fr [standfirst-end meta-end portrait-end]}}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels{height:100%}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div{position:relative;justify-content:space-between;flex-flow:row nowrap;height:100%}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div .gif-container,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div .gif-container{height:-moz-min-content;height:min-content;align-self:flex-end}}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div .gif-container img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div .gif-container img{width:70px;height:70px}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div .gif-container img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div .gif-container img{width:110px;height:110px}}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div .gif-container img.book-gif-white,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div .gif-container img.book-gif-white{display:none}.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div:after,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div:after{content:””;display:block;width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:1px;background-color:#dcdcdc;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:-10px}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div:after,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div:after{left:-20px;width:738px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels >div:after,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels >div:after{display:none}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper #headline,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline],.furniture-wrapper .headline{margin-top:-2px}}.furniture-wrapper #headline h1,.furniture-wrapper #headline a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] a,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline a{font-weight:500;max-width:unset;font-size:36px;line-height:115%}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper #headline h1,.furniture-wrapper #headline a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] a,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1,.furniture-wrapper .headline a{max-width:unset;font-size:50px}}.furniture-wrapper #headline h1:hover,.furniture-wrapper #headline a:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] a:hover,.furniture-wrapper .headline h1:hover,.furniture-wrapper .headline a:hover{text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-underline-offset:6px}.furniture-wrapper #headline .byline span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .byline span,.furniture-wrapper .headline .byline span{font-size:36px;font-weight:500;line-height:115%}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper #headline .byline span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] .byline span,.furniture-wrapper .headline .byline span{font-size:50px}}.furniture-wrapper #headline >div >div,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] >div >div,.furniture-wrapper .headline >div >div{padding-bottom:0}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:4px;position:relative}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst div p,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst div a,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst li,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst div p,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst div a,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst li,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] div p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] div a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] li{font-weight:500;line-height:115%}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]{padding-top:2px}}.furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper{height:100%;position:relative;overflow:hidden;padding-bottom:24px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media]{position:relative}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media]{grid-area:portrait}}.furniture-wrapper #main-media div+span,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] div+span{display:block}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure{height:100%;margin-left:0}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img{width:calc(100vw – 40px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto;margin-left:20px;padding:10px 0}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{content:””;display:block;width:calc(100vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));background-image:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2025/04/2025-weekend-essay-test/assets/v/1749484255/frame.png);background-size:contain;background-position:center;background-repeat:no-repeat;position:absolute;top:0;left:10px;height:inherit}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img{width:670px;height:auto;margin-left:5px;padding:15px 10px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{width:700px;left:-10px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure{margin-left:10px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{width:470px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img{width:450px;margin-left:0;padding:10px 0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{width:550px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img{width:520px;margin-left:5px;padding:10px 5px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before{width:630px}.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure picture img{width:600px;padding:15px 0}}.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button{right:15px;bottom:20px}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button{right:45px;bottom:30px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] #caption-button{right:15px;bottom:20px}}.furniture-wrapper #main-media .no-media-div,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] .no-media-div{display:flex;justify-content:center;align-items:center;width:100%}.furniture-wrapper #main-media .no-media-div p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] .no-media-div p{font-size:24px;font-weight:500;line-height:115%;color:var(–byline-anchor);font-weight:700;text-decoration:underline;display:block}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:0}.content__main-column–interactive:before{display:none}}.content__main-column–interactive p:first-of-type:first-letter{font-weight:300!important}.content__main-column–interactive hr+p:first-letter,.content__main-column–interactive p.drop-cap:first-letter{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:300;font-size:111px;line-height:92px;float:left;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:8px;vertical-align:text-top;color:var(–drop-cap, var(–new-pillar-colour))}.content__main-column–interactive h2{color:#8d2700;font-size:28px;font-style:normal;font-weight:300;line-height:normal;margin-bottom:8px}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive h2{font-size:32px}}.content__main-column–interactive h2:has(strong){font-weight:500!important}body.ios,body.android{background-color:#fff}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline{font-weight:500}@media (prefers-color-scheme: light){html:has(body.ios,body.android){background-color:var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2)}}html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.ios,html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.android{–opinion-primary: #c74600;–byline-anchor: var(–opinion-primary, #c74600);–primary-pillar: var(–opinion-primary, #c74600)}@media (prefers-color-scheme: light){html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.ios,html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.android{background-color:var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2)}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.ios,html:has(body.ios,body.android) body.android{–weekend-essay-bg: #1a1a1a;–opinion-primary: #ff7f0f}html:has(body.ios,body.android) .garnett–pillar-opinion:not(.garnett–type-media).ios .article__body,html:has(body.ios,body.android) .garnett–pillar-opinion:not(.garnett–type-media).ios .tags{background-color:unset}}body.ios #feature-article-container,body.ios #standard-article-container,body.ios #comment-article-container,body.android #feature-article-container,body.android #standard-article-container,body.android #comment-article-container{background-color:var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2)}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper{grid-column-gap:20px;grid-row-gap:0px;grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end meta-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(5,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start] 1.25fr [standfirst-end meta-start] auto [meta-end portrait-end]}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper{display:flex;flex-direction:row nowrap;justify-content:space-between;position:relative}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels{font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:115%}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .content__labels a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour, #c74600);text-transform:none!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img{width:70px;height:70px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white{display:none}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif{display:none}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container.book-gif-white,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper .gif-container img.book-gif-white{display:block}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after{content:””;display:block;width:100vw;height:1px;background-color:#dcdcdc;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:-10px}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper{grid-area:title}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after{width:50vw}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .title-and-gif-wrapper:after{background-color:#606060}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper{grid-area:headline}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a{font-size:36px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500;line-height:115%}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour, #c70000)}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour, #c74600)!important}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline .avatar{display:none!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper h1.headline{margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline{font-style:italic!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .byline .byline__author{font-style:normal!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media{height:auto;aspect-ratio:4/5;background-color:transparent}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element{height:100%!important;margin-left:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .figure__inner{position:relative;top:0;left:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner{background-color:transparent;overflow:visible;padding:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element img{width:calc(100vw – 40px);margin-left:20px;margin-top:25px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img{margin-top:13px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption{height:auto}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption p span,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element figcaption span{display:block;max-height:unset;position:relative;color:var(–captionText, #999)}@media (min-width: 46.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element{max-width:unset!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before{left:10px;width:calc(100vw – 20px)}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img{width:calc(100vw – 60px);margin-left:30px;margin-top:40px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before{width:calc(50vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px))}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img{width:calc(50vw – 40px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:18px;height:auto;padding:0;margin-top:10px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before{top:-4px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before{left:-20px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element .element__inner img{width:calc(50vw – 90px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:12px;height:auto;margin-top:-10px;padding-top:21px}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element:before{background-image:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2025/04/2025-weekend-essay-test/assets/v/1749484255/frame-white.png)}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before{width:calc(100vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));left:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img{width:calc(100vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:0;padding:10px}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img{width:calc(50vw – 30px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:5px;height:auto;padding-top:21px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image img{width:calc(50vw – 70px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));margin-left:5px;height:auto;margin-top:-10px;padding-top:21px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image{height:100%;max-width:620px!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before{width:calc(50vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));left:0;height:100%}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure.element.is-first-image:before{left:-20px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media #caption-button{bottom:45px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper #main-media{grid-area:portrait;max-width:620px!important;height:auto}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element{position:relative;margin-top:0}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner{position:absolute;top:15px;left:20px;width:calc(100vw – 40px);height:auto}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner img{width:100%;height:100%;-o-object-fit:cover;object-fit:cover}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button{right:24px;bottom:20px}@media (min-width: 46.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element .figure__inner{width:680px;height:auto;top:10px;left:10px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element #caption-button{bottom:25px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element{width:calc(50vw – 20px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px))}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst{margin-top:0!important;padding-top:8px!important;padding-right:10px!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before{display:none}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li{font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500;line-height:115%;padding-bottom:0}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst{grid-area:standfirst}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta{padding-top:0!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published{position:relative}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after{content:””;display:block;width:100vw;height:1px;background-color:#dcdcdc;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:-10px}@media (min-width: 61.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta{grid-area:meta;display:block}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after{width:50vw}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__misc{margin-left:0}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta .meta__published:after{background-color:#606060}}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .meta:before,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .keyline:before{display:none}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link{display:none}body.ios #feature-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container,body.ios #standard-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container,body.ios #comment-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container,body.android #feature-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container,body.android #standard-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container,body.android #comment-article-container #comment-header #cutout-container{display:none!important}body.ios #article-body,body.ios #feature-body,body.android #article-body,body.android #feature-body{background-color:var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2);margin-top:6px}body.ios #article-body hr,body.ios #feature-body hr,body.android #article-body hr,body.android #feature-body hr{height:1px;border:0;margin-bottom:3px;background-color:#dcdcdc;width:150px;margin-left:0;margin-top:48px}body.ios #article-body p:not(:has(span)):first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #article-body hr+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-body p:not(:has(span)):first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #feature-body hr+p:first-letter,body.android #article-body p:not(:has(span)):first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #article-body hr+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-body p:not(:has(span)):first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #feature-body hr+p:first-letter{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif;font-weight:300!important;font-size:111px;line-height:92px;float:left;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:8px;vertical-align:text-top;color:var(–drop-cap, var(–secondary-pillar))}body.ios #article-body h2:has(strong),body.ios #article-body .prose h2 strong,body.ios #article-body .prose h2 b,body.ios #feature-body h2:has(strong),body.ios #feature-body .prose h2 strong,body.ios #feature-body .prose h2 b,body.android #article-body h2:has(strong),body.android #article-body .prose h2 strong,body.android #article-body .prose h2 b,body.android #feature-body h2:has(strong),body.android #feature-body .prose h2 strong,body.android #feature-body .prose h2 b{font-weight:500!important}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios #article-body hr,body.ios #feature-body hr,body.android #article-body hr,body.android #feature-body hr{background-color:#606060}body.ios #article-body hr+p:first-letter,body.ios #feature-body hr+p:first-letter,body.android #article-body hr+p:first-letter,body.android #feature-body hr+p:first-letter{color:var(–new-pillar-colour, #ff5943)}body.ios #article-body p >a,body.ios #feature-body p >a,body.android #article-body p >a,body.android #feature-body p >a{text-decoration:none!important}}body.ios #article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #feature-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #article-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #feature-body >div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter{font-weight:500}body.ios #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.ios [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-body .element-atom+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-body .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android #comment-body .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,body.android [data-gu-name=body] .element-atom+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter{font-weight:300!important;padding-top:0}body.ios h2,body.android h2{color:#8d2700;font-size:28px;font-style:normal;font-weight:300;line-height:normal;margin:28px 0 8px}body.android #cutout-container{display:none}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){body.ios .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper:after,body.android .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper:after{background-image:repeating-linear-gradient(to bottom,#606060,#606060 .0625rem,transparent .0625rem,transparent .25rem)}body.ios #comment-body p:not(:first-of-type):first-letter,body.ios [data-gu-name=body] p:not(:first-of-type):first-letter,body.android #comment-body p:not(:first-of-type):first-letter,body.android [data-gu-name=body] p:not(:first-of-type):first-letter{color:#fff!important}body.ios #comment-body h2,body.ios [data-gu-name=body] h2,body.android #comment-body h2,body.android [data-gu-name=body] h2{color:var(–byline, #c74600)}}
      .gif-container.svelte-1gfvg19 {opacity:0;}.interactive-loaded .gif-container {opacity:1;transition:opacity 0.3s ease;} More

    • 238 Shares143 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘This moment was thrust upon him’: Gavin Newsom steps up to parry Trump’s ‘wrecking ball’ attacks on American democracy

      by

      When Donald Trump landed in Los Angeles to tour the ruins left by January’s devastating wildfires, just days after being sworn in for a second term, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, was waiting on the tarmac to greet him. The surprisingly warm exchange between two longtime political rivals seemed to reflect a new reality: with a vengeful Trump back in the White House, fire-ravaged California – and its Democratic governor – had a great deal at stake.In the weeks that followed, Newsom met with Trump at the White House to lobby for federal disaster relief, then approved funding to strengthen the state’s legal defenses against challenges from the Trump administration. He invited Maga-world fixtures on to his podcast, including Steve Bannon, and infuriated progressives, and even some allies, when he said that it was “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports – a wedge issue central to Trump’s conservative agenda. All the while, his state was suing the Trump administration – over executive actions on immigration, federal funding and tariffs – at a rate of more than one lawsuit a week.Their fragile detente, already showing cracks, shattered spectacularly last week, when the president mobilized thousands of national guard troops and 700 marines – over the governor’s objections – to quell protests in Los Angeles sparked by immigration raids across the region.Newsom accused Trump of deliberately injecting chaos into a situation that local authorities had under control. Trump’s actions, he declared, were “madness” and marked an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”. Trump, in turn, called Newsom, whom he refers to as “Newscum”, grossly incompetent and suggested the governor should be arrested. “Gavin likes the publicity,” the president mused, though he later played down the threat.With guards troops deployed in the streets of Los Angeles, the 57-year-old governor of the country’s most populous state delivered a formal, state-of-the-union-style address warning that the president was taking a “wrecking ball” to American democracy.“Look, this isn’t just about protests in LA,” Newsom said on Tuesday. “This is about all of us. This is about you.”“California may be first – but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next,” he said. “Democracy is next.”For months, Democrats, anti-Trump Republicans and a growing number of alarmed Americans had been clamoring for leaders who grasp what they say is the urgency of Trump’s assault on democratic norms and American institutions. When Trump activated California’s national guard troops, Newsom stepped into the ring – and hasn’t stopped swinging since.“This moment was thrust upon him,” said Mike Madrid, a sharp critic of Trump and former political director of the California Republican party, “and whether it was a battlefield conversion or a genuine moment, Gavin Newsom realized that the only way out of this was to fight.”View image in fullscreenIn the week since the national guard’s deployment to Los Angeles, Newsom has mounted an all-out offensive – battling Trump in the courts and in the court of public opinion. He has made himself ubiquitous: sitting for interviews with podcasters and YouTubers, national media and local media. On social media, he and his team are running a rapid response blitz – a stream of taunts, Star Wars memes and factchecks.Newsom sued to block the guard’s deployment without his consent. California later filed an emergency order asking a judge to bar the guard from assisting with immigration enforcement. On Thursday, a federal judge sided with the state, finding that Trump’s deployment of the guard was unlawful – though the victory was short-lived. Two hours later, the ninth US circuit court of appeals temporarily blocked the order.“He is not a king and he should stop acting like one,” Newsom said on Thursday, at a press conference before the ruling was paused.The White House has responded in kind, with Trump hurling insults back at Newsom. When asked what crime Newsom might be charged with, Trump sniped: “His primary crime is running for governor, because he’s done such a bad job.”Trump, thanking the appeals court on Friday, said: “If I didn’t send the military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now” – a claim Newsom, city officials and local law enforcement strongly dispute.Tensions escalated further on Thursday, when a senator from California, Alex Padilla, was forcibly removed and handcuffed after trying to ask a question at a press conference held by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, amid the ongoing protests in Los Angeles. Newsom called the episode “outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful”.“This is a moment that tests the mettle of leaders,” said Brian Brokaw, a longtime political adviser to Newsom. He noted that Newsom’s tenure was defined by crisis from the very start.The day after he was elected in 2018, a gunman killed 12 people at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks and as the Camp fire – the deadliest wildfire in state history – raged toward the town of Paradise. Since then, Newsom has faced a near-constant onslaught: more fires, more mass shootings, floods, mudslides, drought, a global pandemic, mass protests after the murder of George Floyd, and the wildfires that swept Los Angeles earlier this year.“Newsom has pretty good instincts,” Brokaw said. “He knows what a moment like this requires – and that’s what you’re seeing from him now.”The rapidly intensifying standoff between Trump and Newsom has rallied Democrats. Twenty-two Democratic governors signed a joint statement in support of California, calling Trump’s troop deployment “ineffective and dangerous”. The signatories spanned the ideological spectrum of the party and included several governors who are potential 2028 presidential contenders, such as JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.“He has shown he’s not going to be intimidated, and we’re all for that,” Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said earlier this week.Even some of his critics have been impressed. Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups behind Saturday’s “day of defiance” protests against Trump, said Newsom’s pugilistic response to the president’s “bullying” has been “spot on”.“I think he’s been one of the leading members of the ‘roll over and play dead’ faction, one of these dead-dog Democrats,” Levin said. “But maybe – maybe – he is shifting sides, and I think it is very important that we welcome people and leaders when they do that.”The White House believes its maximalist response to unrest in California plays to its political advantage. Trump, who campaigned on a promise of mass deportations, has framed California’s resistance as an obstruction to what he says is a popular mandate. Images of protesters waving Mexican flags near burning robotaxis feed the rightwing narrative of disorder in Democratic-run cities such as Los Angeles.“To be very cynical about this, you can argue that this benefits both principals,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution thinktank at Stanford University. “Donald Trump gets to swing at his favorite piñata, California, but Gavin Newsom doesn’t mind taking the whacks because it plays pretty well with the Democratic base.”According to a YouGov flash poll, 45% of Americans disapprove of the Los Angeles protests, while 36% approve. Similar shares disapprove of Trump’s deployment of the marines – 47% to 34% – and the national guard – 45% to 38%.View image in fullscreenSince Trump’s 2024 victory, many Democrats have taken pains to show support for law enforcement and border security.Some say Newsom’s approach offers a clear path forward. He has been unequivocal in condemning sporadic violence, vowing “zero tolerance” for bad actors. At the same time, he has offered a full-throated defense of the city’s immigrant communities, accusing Trump of tearing apart families and “disappearing” neighbors.“What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before,” Newsom said in his Tuesday address, accusing federal agents of indiscriminately targeting Latino neighborhoods. “Trump is pulling a military dragnet across LA, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals.”Conservatives say Newsom’s posture is precisely what helped Trump make inroads in some of the bluest corners of the country last year. Steve Hilton, a former top adviser to former UK prime minister David Cameron now running for governor of California, accused Newsom of trying to “gaslight us”.“Do your job,” he said on Fox News, “instead of pretending this is fine.”Newsom rose to prominence as the mayor of San Francisco, defying state law to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He served as the state’s lieutenant governor for eight years before being elected governor in the middle of Trump’s first term, riding a wave of progressive anger. He survived a 2021 recall attempt, fueled in part by backlash to his handling of the pandemic, and was easily re-elected in 2022. He campaigned aggressively for Biden in 2024, even as some in the party hoped he’d run himself. When Biden dropped out, Newsom quickly endorsed his fellow Californian, “fearless” Kamala Harris.Democrats’ staggering losses in November left the party leaderless and without power in Washington. As Democrats grasped for answers – how to oppose an emboldened president whom voters chose over them – Newsom launched a podcast. Some speculated Newsom’s moves – interviewing far-right figures on his podcast, cracking down on homeless encampments and moving to scale back health coverage for immigrants without legal status – were part of a calculated pivot toward the political center, in preparation for a 2028 presidential run.Asked recently at a press conference if he was trying to shed his liberal persona, Newsom said he had always been a “hard-headed pragmatist”. “I’m not an ideologue,” he added.California – the biggest blue state in the country – has long served as Trump’s favorite foil. From homelessness and crime to immigration and climate policy, Trump has painted the state as a cautionary tale – a failed experiment in liberal governance now a “symbol of our nation’s decline”.This week, amid his clash with Newsom, Trump signed into law a measure blocking California’s vehicle emissions rules and his administration announced plans to abolish two of the state’s newest national monuments.“If it’s a day ending in Y, it’s another day of Trump’s war on California,” the governor’s office tweeted.Steve Maviglio, a Democratic political consultant, said Newsom’s “guerrilla warfare” tactics may raise the governor’s national profile – but at a cost.“We know that the president doesn’t respond well to being attacked,” Maviglio said, adding: “It’s likely going to result in a lot less federal dollars coming our way – which is about the last thing we need right now with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.”Yet Newsom’s attempt at conciliation yielded little protection. Earlier this month, the Trump administration warned it may pull billions in funding from California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project. Trump has threatened to “maybe permanently” strip federal funding if the state continues to allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. And California is still waiting for the disaster aid Newsom sought after the fires.Newsom has argued in recent interviews that Trump can’t be placated. The governor suggested the state had leverage: it could withhold the billions in taxes its residents pay the federal government. (He has since tempered the idea, but said he urged his team to get “creative” on how the state might push back on Trump’s threats.)Newsom also suggested that growing public opposition to the immigration crackdown was working, after Trump conceded that his immigration tactics were hurting agriculture and hospitality. “Turns out, chasing hardworking people through ranches and snatching women and children off the streets is not good policy,” Newsom shot back.Though protests have calmed, the situation remains volatile. With the appeals court decision, Trump remains in command of the national guard through at least next week. On Friday, US marines temporarily detained a man outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles – the first known detention of a civilian by active-duty troops deployed there by Trump.Speaking in Los Angeles, Noem pledged to “liberate” Los Angeles and vowed that the Trump administration would continue its immigration operations across the region.Ahead of planned protests on Saturday, Newsom ordered the state to “pre-deploy” additional resources to support law enforcement throughout the state. Organized as a show of defiance against Trump’s military parade staged in the streets of Washington DC on Saturday to celebrate the US army’s 250th anniversary and the president’s 79th birthday, the events have multiplied since Trump deployed guard troops to Los Angeles.For Newsom, the stakes are bigger than California. He has framed this moment as a test of democratic resilience in the face of creeping authoritarianism. And for those who have long sounded the alarm, the governor is meeting it.“He’s become what Democrats nationally have been waiting for since the election,” Madrid said. “He’s the tip of the spear – the more strenuously he fights, the more aggressive he is, the more he uses Trump’s tactics against him, the more he’s going to be rewarded.”David Smith in Washington and Rachel Leingang contributed reporting More

    • 150 Shares147 Views

      in US Politics

      Republican in South Carolina arrested over distribution of child sexual abuse material

      by

      A Republican member of South Carolina’s state house whom prosecutors say used the screen name “joebidennnn69” has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing sexual abuse material involving children.RJ May was arrested at his Lexington county home after a lengthy investigation and was ordered on Thursday by a federal judge to remain jailed until his trial.The three-term Republican is accused of using “joebidennnn69” to exchange 220 files of toddlers and young children involved in sex acts on the Kik social media network for about five days in spring 2024, according to court documents that graphically detailed the videos.During that timeframe, Joe Biden was in the final year of his presidency before May’s fellow Republican Donald Trump won the November 2024 election to return to the White House in January.Each charge against May carries a five-to-20-year prison sentence upon conviction. Prosecutors suggested May could spend more than a decade in prison if found guilty.The files at the center of the case were uploaded and downloaded using May’s home wifi network and his cellphone, prosecutors said. Some were hidden by the use of a private network, but others were directly linked to his internet addresses.At his arraignment, May’s lawyer suggested someone could have used the wifi password that was shown on a board behind a photo May’s wife may have posted online. Attorney Dayne Phillips also suggested investigators did not link each Kik message directly to May.Prosecutors asked that May, 38, not be given bail because he lives at home with his wife and young children, and some of the files he is accused of sharing feature children of about the same age as his.Prosecutors said they also investigated whether May had used a fake name to travel to Colombia three times after finding videos on his laptop of him allegedly having sex with three girls or women. An agent from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) testified the three appeared to be underage and were paid. Agents have not been able to locate the three.Prosecutors said May created a Facebook account with his fake name, and his internet history showed him switching between his real account and the fake one – and even searching his primary opponent from the fake login.Phillips, May’s lawyer, told the courtroom that no sexual images of toddlers or young children were found directly on his laptop or cellphone.After spending the night in jail, May appeared in court on Thursday in shorts and a T-shirt with his wrists and ankles in cuffs. After being ordered to stay in jail, he appeared to blow a kiss to his wife, who was at the hearing.After May’s election in 2020, he helped create the Freedom caucus, a group of the house’s most conservative members who say mainstream Republicans in the chamber are not the true conservative heart of their party. He also helped the campaigns of Republicans running against the party’s house incumbents.“We as legislators have an obligation to insure that our children have no harm done to them,” May said in January 2024 on the house floor during a debate on transgender care for minors.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHis son charmed the house in April 2021 when May brought him to visit for his third birthday, and the boy practiced his parade wave around the chamber.The Freedom caucus released a statement on Wednesday night saying they had kicked May out of their group after his arrest.Many of his one-time friends distanced themselves from May as rumors of the investigation spread through the South Carolina statehouse. During the current session, he could largely be seen at his corner desk in the back of the 124-seat chamber, mixing with very few colleagues.The house speaker suspended May from his seat after the indictment.May’s lawyer suggested he could have been framed and asked the DHS agent if she knew that May had a lot of political enemies.“There are a fair amount of people who don’t like me either, Mr Phillips,” agent Britton Lorenzen replied. More

    • 213 Shares123 Views

      in US Politics

      I was a Republican – the party I believed in no longer exists | Paolina Milana

      by

      I’m writing this not as a Democrat or an Independent, but as someone who, for most of her life, was a proud Republican.I voted for Ronald Reagan and admired his belief that “character counts”. I believed in personal responsibility, faith and country – and the Republican party seemed to reflect those values. I even rooted for George W Bush during the chaotic “hanging chads” recount in 2000, not because I thought he was perfect, but because I believed he would lead with decency and conviction.And for years, I found deep comfort in witnessing moments of unity between former and current presidents – particularly the warm, genuine respect between George W Bush and the Obamas. Different parties. Different ideologies. But a shared belief in democracy. In service. In “we the people”.That spirit is gone now.My allegiance to the Republican party ended when a conman made it into office – and worse, when the party I once revered stood by and let it happen. I watched in disbelief as Republican leaders abandoned principle for power, traded integrity for influence and embraced a man who incites violence, mocks the rule of law and behaves as if he’s above the constitution.Where is the Republican party of Abraham Lincoln? The one that once held the union together and stood for truth, duty and honor?I am the daughter of immigrants who fled Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime – a dictator who rose to power by promising to “make Italy great again”, silencing dissent, spreading propaganda and weaponizing fear. My family knew firsthand how democracies fall – not in an instant, but in small, complicit steps. What I’m witnessing in the US today is hauntingly familiar.I now live in Los Angeles, watching more terror being wielded by a king wannabe – a man who labels disagreement “fake”, who calls critics “un-American”, and who seeks not to govern, but to dominate. And far too many continue to enable him.How far will they go to hold onto control?
      How many oaths will they break?
      How many facts will they deny?
      How many felons will they pardon?Meanwhile, vital programs that support working families, veterans and children are being gutted – all while billionaires pocket tax breaks and corporations secure secret government contracts. These aren’t just policy disputes. They’re part of a coordinated effort to destabilize and divide.And as a Christian, I must name another betrayal: the blasphemous misuse of faith. Cruelty wrapped in scripture. The name of Jesus – who taught compassion, humility and care for the least among us – being used to justify greed, vengeance and lies. That’s not Christianity. That’s not moral. And that’s not the America I believe in.It is not brave to stay silent.
      It is not patriotic to enable abuse of power.
      And it is not conservative to abandon the constitution – or our collective conscience – in favor of cult-like loyalty.I didn’t leave the Republican party lightly. I left because it left me. It left behind the values I once believed in. It became unrecognizable – not because of changing platforms, but because of a complete collapse of principle.I’ve waited for more Republicans to speak out. To break ranks. To remember who they once were. But the silence has been deafening.This is not just a personal reckoning. It’s a call to conscience – to every citizen who knows, deep down, that something has gone terribly wrong.Because if we truly believe that character counts – if we believe in democracy more than demagogues – then we must speak up. Before we lose the right to speak at all.Even now – especially now – I still believe America can be saved. But not if we keep pretending this is normal.

      Paolina Milana is a first-generation Sicilian American with journalistic roots and the author of several books, including the memoirs The S Word and Committed, and most recently, The Caregiver Chronicles More

    • 150 Shares125 Views

      in US Politics

      As military is deployed to LA, rightwing media decry protesters as ‘invaders’

      by

      There were unsavory scenes in Los Angeles over the weekend, as police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” on thousands of people gathered to protest against the arrest of undocumented immigrants.The events playing out on rightwing TV channels and in the conservative podcasting realm were almost as miserable, as excitable media figures decried protesters as “invaders”, called for both the mass arrest of elected officials and the invocation of a two-century old laws and used the chaos to push racist conspiracy theories.It came as the Trump administration said the military will remain on the ground in LA for two months, after Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act. About 700 US marines deployed to the US’s second largest city on Tuesday, after LA’s police chief effectively said their presence would complicate law enforcement’s efforts.The clamor for arrests mainly focused on Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, as rightwing media followed the lead of the US president, who first made the suggestion over the weekend. Trump didn’t seem to know under what law Newsom should be arrested, and the conservative commentariat wasn’t sure either. Still, it didn’t stop them crying for the California governor to be placed in handcuffs.Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, claimed Newsom “should be arrested for obstructing US immigration law”, even as Tom Homan, the border czar, said Newsom hadn’t done anything to warrant detention. Wayne Root, a host on the rightwing channel Real America TV, suggested Newsom should be charged with “treason” and be detained at Guantánamo Bay while he awaits trial. “Be sure he showers with MS-13,” Root added, a take that, even for the rightwing media cesspool, was particularly macabre.But the right wasn’t just calling for the caging of Newsom. Some wanted Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, to be arrested too, including Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist adviser-turned-podcast host.“Right there, LAPD,” Bannon announced on Monday, apparently under the impression that the entire LA police force was listening to his War Room show.“The mayor is involved in this and having the stand down [sic]. She ought to be arrested today. Immediately.”Bannon went on to call for “hard actions,” whatever they are, adding: “Not even question we’re on the side of the righteous.”The bad takes were everywhere. Chris Plante, a host at rightwing TV channel Newsmax, said on air: “The Democrats are just – I mean, at what point are they declared to be a terrorist organization – with all of the affiliations and all the violence and the shootings and the fire-bombings and the targeting Jews and on and on?”Laura Ingraham, who often seems to be trying just a bit too hard to be offensive, went further. On her Fox News show she accused Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas, the former secretary of homeland security, of having “opened the border” and given “benefits to 10 million illegal aliens”.“The goal was to resettle America with new people in order to transform it completely in ways that you really can’t do at the ballot box, at least when you’re that radical,” Ingraham said.She was referring, not very subtly, to the concept of “great replacement”, a racist conspiracy theory that falsely claims there is an ongoing effort by liberals to replace white populations in current white-majority countries. It’s a concept that started on fringe websites before making its way to Fox News.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionOthers were upset by more prosaic matters, including the sight of people at the protests flying flags other than the stars and stripes. It really set off Charlie Kirk, with the influential rightwing declaring that the US has “a parasitic relationship with Mexico, and we have for quite some time”.He added: “If you loved the promise of America, you wouldn’t wave a Mexican flag when American police tried to remove criminals. This should be a wake-up call. If you did not realize it before, guess what? Pat Buchanan and President Trump were right. We are a conquered country that has been invaded by a force in certain areas.”Kirk is uniquely placed to comment on such matters. His Turning Point USA organization sent 80 busloads of people to Washington on the day that hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, and Kirk has celebrated Trump’s mass pardon of people who attacked police officers that day.When it came to the treatment of people protesting in LA, however, Kirk was of a different mind, as he called for US troops to be used in policing US civilians.“Los Angeles does not feel like a protest, what’s happening there. It’s an entire city that’s declaring open rebellion to American sovereignty and authority,” he said. “We must be unafraid to declare the Insurrection Act of 1807.” More

    • 200 Shares164 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump’s war on Harvard was decades in the making. This letter proves it | Bernard Harcourt

      by

      On the shelf in my library, I have an autographed copy of a book written by a former Republican congressman from New York, John LeBoutillier, titled Harvard Hates America: The Odyssey of a Born-Again American. It was published in 1978, two years before LeBoutillier was elected to Congress – and decades before the Trump administration’s assault on the institution. But its message is familiar in 2025.The book is a scathing criticism of Harvard University, in large part over its supposed left-leaning professors who allegedly indoctrinate their undergraduates. Its thrust is straightforward: Harvard is America’s problem.Today, the blueprint for Donald Trump’s attack on Harvard, Columbia and other liberal arts colleges and universities can be found in another text: Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, a guide to rightwing government reform published in April 2023 by the Heritage Foundation – over a year before any encampments went up on Columbia’s campus. But the Republican ambition to subjugate Harvard and Columbia traces further back, at least to the 1970s, when it became apparent that college-educated voters favored the Democratic party.My copy of Harvard Hates America is autographed and dedicated to two constituents. And I recently stumbled on something tucked into the fold: a letter that LeBoutillier enclosed to the recipients of his gift. On House of Representatives stationery, LeBoutillier wrote:
      Long after I had graduated from Harvard and was a freshman member of Congress, I realized just how terrible some of the people educating our young are; they are not only liberals, but they use their “power” over their students to preach an anti-American leftist point of view. And this is not confined to Harvard. Indeed, this is a disease spreading throughout the academic world.
      I believe that this politicalization of education threatens this country. And, coupled with a bias so obviously evident in the media, makes it difficult for we conservatives to get our message across.
      Well, I’m going to continue to fight for our point of view and our principles.
      Enjoy the book.
      LeBoutillier was not alone in these sentiments. In a taped conversation with Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig Jr in the Oval Office on 14 December 1972, President Richard Nixon attacked university professors, claiming they were the enemy. His rhetoric was characteristically colorful: “The professors are the enemy. Professors are the enemy. Write that on the blackboard 100 times and never forget it.”Conservatives like the journalist Irving Kristol, the philosopher Allan Bloom, and Ronald Reagan’s education secretary, William Bennett, would perpetuate the criticisms of supposedly left-leaning universities in the 1980s. And there is a straight line from those attacks in the 1970s and 80s to the Trump administration.View image in fullscreenIn a speech titled “The universities are the enemy” and delivered at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida, on 2 November 2021, JD Vance declared: “I think if any of us want to do the things that we want to do for our country and for the people who live in it, we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country.” Vance would then add, quoting Nixon: “There is a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40 to 50 years ago. He said, and I quote, ‘The professors are the enemy.’”The Heritage Foundation picked up the baton in a 43-page chapter on education in the Project 2025 text. Remarkably, the Trump administration’s continuing assault on Harvard, Columbia and other universities is unfolding line-by-line, chapter and verse, from that script.So, right after a federal judge in Boston blocked the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, announced that the administration intended to revoke the visas of Chinese students, especially those with ties to the Chinese Communist party. On page 355 of its Mandate for Leadership, Project 2025 calls for “Confronting the Chinese Communist Party’s Influence on Higher Education.”At a press conference in the Oval Office on 30 May 2025, Trump attacked Harvard and said he would redirect the school’s grants to vocational education. “I’d like to see the money go to trade schools,” Trump said. The remark, again, came straight out of the Project 2025 playbook, which states on pages 15-16 and 319 that the federal government should prioritize “trade schools” and “career schools” over the “woke-dominated system” of universities.The Trump administration demanded that Columbia’s Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies program be placed “under academic receivership”. Again, straight out of the playbook. Project 2025 calls on page 356 for “wind[ing] down so-called ‘area studies’ programs at universities”.Trump signed executive orders on inauguration day banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and “gender ideology” at institutions such as universities that receive federal funding. Again, textbook material. Project 2025 argued on page 322, regarding educational institutions, that “enforcement of civil rights should be based on a proper understanding of those laws, rejecting gender ideology and critical race theory”.In fact, the first line of the chapter on education in Project 2025 says it all: “The federal Department of Education should be eliminated.”Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist behind the attack on critical race theory and gender studies, has openly described the Republican attack on universities as a “counter-revolution” planned well before the campus protests. The Republican offensive traces back at least to the rise of the Black Lives Matter and abolition movements in the wake of the police killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, George Floyd and others. “It’s a revolution against revolution,” Rufo admitted, adding: “I think that actually we are a counter-radical force in American life that, paradoxically, has to use what many see as radical techniques.”And what the Trump administration has accomplished with its ongoing assault on Harvard and Columbia is the “prototype” of that wider counter-revolution. Rufo is explicit about this. “If you take Columbia University as really the first trial of this strategy, we’ve seen an enormous payoff,” he said. “I’d like to see that prototype industrialized and applied to all of the universities as a sector.”Given this history tracing back to the 1970s, it is puzzling why people continue to believe that the Republicans are trying to reform the universities to address antisemitism. It should be clear that their actions are instead part of a decades-long effort to humble universities for political reasons, namely to counter the trend that college-educated people tend to vote Democratic. Nixon was frank about this. That’s what made professors the enemy.On top of that, of course, there is profit and political economy. At the press conference last week, Trump admitted why he wants to shift education funding to trade schools.Encouraged by billionaire Elon Musk at his side, Trump said: “I’d like to see trade schools set up, because you could take $5bn plus hundreds of billions more, which is what is spent [on research universities], and you could have the greatest trade school system anywhere in the world. And that’s what we need to build his rockets and robots and things that he’s doing” – pointing to Musk.Trump could not have been more explicit. “We probably found our pot of gold,” Trump adds, “and that is what has been wasted at places like Harvard.”The Trump administration has seen some successes in its counter-revolution against higher education. So far, the lower federal courts have run interference. But there have been major casualties already, especially in the funding of sciences and medical research, academic integrity and autonomy, and area studies. Faculty governance at some universities has also been diminished, at some universities decimated.Anyone who is genuinely interested in understanding what the Trump administration is up to and to anticipate its next moves should return to books like Harvard Hates America and then read Project 2025’s chapter on education. It clearly explains the past four months and predicts the future – one in which the federal government will sacrifice liberal arts colleges and universities to the benefit of trade schools, faith-based institutions and military academies.The path ahead also includes, in all likelihood, eliminating the American Bar Association as an accrediting system (page 359), as well as the other actors in the “federal accreditation cartel” (pages 320 and 355); terminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (page 354), phasing out income-driven repayment plans (page 337), and privatizing student loans (page 340); allocating at least 40% of federal funding of education “to international business programs that teach about free markets and economics” (page 356); and a host of other radical proposals.It is time now to be honest about the decades-long history of the Republican assault on higher education. Too many of the university leaders who are negotiating with the Trump administration about campus protest are naive at best and fail to grasp the stakes of the ongoing counterrevolution – or complicit at worst. In the process, they are undermining their universities and violating their fiduciary duties to their constituents – students, alumni, faculty and staff. By capitulating based on a pretext, a feint in military terms, those leaders have sacrificed the integrity of the research enterprise and the autonomy of the academy.Liberal arts colleges and universities are a gem in the US, envied by people around the world. Their strength lies in fostering critical thought, creativity and inventiveness throughout the humanities, social sciences, and natural and applied sciences. A liberal arts education, at its best, cultivates critical thinking that challenges society’s strengths and weaknesses, and asks how to make the world more just with more freedom for everyone. Those are the true aims of higher education.

      Bernard E Harcourt is a professor of law and political science at Columbia University in New York City and a directeur d’études at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He is the author most recently of “A Modern Counterrevolution” in The Ideas Letter More

    • 213 Shares97 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘The language of authoritarianism’: how Trump and allies cast LA as a lawless city needing military intervention

      by

      Donald Trump and his allies turned to a familiar script over the weekend, casting the sprawling city of Los Angeles in shades of fire and brimstone, a hub of dangerous lawlessness that required urgent military intervention in order to be contained.“Looking really bad in L.A.,” Trump posted on Truth Social in the very early hours of Monday morning. “BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!”But contrary to the Trump administration’s characterization of an entire city in tumult, the demonstrations were actually confined to very small areas and life generally went on as usual across much of the city.Protests began on Friday outside the federal building in downtown LA following reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents were conducting raids nearby. The protests later spread to the cities of Paramount and Compton in response to reported and rumored raids there too, and demonstrators faced off with local and state authorities armed with “less-lethal munitions” and tear gas.By Sunday, despite objections from local officials, Trump made the unusual move of asserting control over California’s national guard and deployed 300 soldiers to support Ice (nearly 2,000 troops were mobilized in total).As a pretext to this action, the Trump administration had characterized the protests as a broader threat to the nation. On X, White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, called LA “occupied territory”. “We’ve been saying for years this is a fight to save civilization. Anyone with eyes can see that now.”Trump posted on Truth Social: “A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations – But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.”FBI director, Kash Patel, wrote on X that LA was “under siege by marauding criminals”.Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and scholar on fascist and authoritarian movements, says the rhetoric coming from the Trump administration is “an authoritarian trick”.“You create a sense of existential fear that social anarchy is spreading, that criminal gangs are taking over. This is the language of authoritarianism all over the world,” said Ben-Ghiat.“What is the only recourse to violent mobs and agitators? Using all the force of the state. Thus we have the vision of the national guard, armed to the teeth. It’s like a war zone. That’s on purpose, it’s habituating Americans to see those armed forces as being in combat on the streets of American cities.”Ben-Ghiat pointed specifically to a post on X by defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.“The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil,” Hegseth wrote. “A dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK.”Ben-Ghiat said Hegseth employed “the classic authoritarian thing, of setting up an excuse, which is that the internal enemy, illegal criminal aliens, is working together with an external enemy, the cartels and foreign terrorists, and using that to go after a third party, of protesters, regular people, who came out to show solidarity”.In his post, Hegseth added that active duty marines at Camp Pendleton were on “high alert” and would also be mobilized “if violence continues. On Monday, the Pentagon said it had mobilized approximately 700 marines. CNN reported that the government was still ironing out “rules of engagement” for encountering protesters.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe protests turned violent when federal immigration authorities used flash bang grenades and tear gas against demonstrators, per reporting in the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times. Over the weekend, fiery and chaotic scenes played out in downtown LA, Compton and Paramount. Dozens of people were arrested for an array of crimes, including an alleged tossing of a molotov cocktail towards Iceofficers. Protesters shut down a freeway, several self-driving vehicles were torched and dumpsters were set alight, and there were scattered reports of looting.Still, as mayor Karen Bass noted on CNN on Monday, on “a few streets downtown, it looks horrible”, but there was “not citywide civil unrest”.Local officials said that the addition of troops, who were seen standing shoulder to shoulder on Sunday holding wooden bats, long guns and shields, to the already fraught situation only made things worse. Bass described the decision to involve the national guard as a “chaotic escalation”; Governor Gavin Newsom called it “inflammatory”.Newsom said on Monday that he will sue the Trump administration; attorney general Rob Bonta later previewed that lawsuit by telling the public that the Trump administration “trampled” on the states sovereignty by bypassing the governor.“This was not inevitable,” Bonta said of the demonstrations that built over the weekend following immigration raids across LA, adding: “There was no risk of rebellion, no threat of foreign invasion, no inability for the federal government to enforce federal laws.”The inclusion of the national guard functioned as a show of force against a powerful blue state that Trump – and his allies – have cast as an existential threat to the rest of America, in part on account of its “sanctuary status”, meaning local officials don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.“Simply put, the government of the State of California aided, abetted and conspired to facilitate the invasion of the United States,” Stephen Miller wrote on X.As Trump and his allies fomented chaos on the streets, Maga-world personalities and some Republican officials added to the mayhem by sharing misinformation online. Senator Ted Cruz and Infowars’s Alex Jones reshared a video, originally posted by conservative commentator James Woods, of a burning LAPD car during a protest in 2020, claiming it was from the current LA unrest.Prominent accounts also shared a video from last year of a flash mob attack on a convenience store clerk, claiming that violent protesters were currently assaulting a small business owner. An account called US Homeland Security News, which has almost 400,000 followers, posted an image of a stack of bricks with the caption: “Alert: Soros funded organizations have ordered hundreds of pallets of bricks to be placed near ICE facilities to be used by Democrat militants against ICE agents and staff!! It’s Civil War!!” The image, which was also used to spread false information about Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, was taken at a building supply company in Malaysia.Trump has also repeatedly suggested that some of the individuals involved in the protest were “paid”, invoking a popular rightwing conspiracy about dark money bankrolling liberal causes.This, too, is another tactic out of the authoritarian playbook, according to Ben-Ghiat.“If there are any protests against the autocrat, you have to discredit them by saying they are crisis actors, they are foreign infiltrators,” Ben-Ghiat said. “You have to discredit them in the public eye.”Officials in LA are bracing for further protests. The Los Angeles police department received backup from at least a dozen police forces in southern California, according to the Los Angeles Times. California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said on Monday that he thinks it’s “highly likely” that all 2,000 of the national guard soldiers who were mobilized will be deployed to LA.The weekend’s unrest also casts a potential shadow over Trump’s military parade slated for this Thursday in Washington DC. Opponents of that event are organizing protests across the US under the banner of “No Kings”. More