‘National dynamics will likely be the tipping point’

‘Virginia’s elections are our first government shutdown referendum’

Grace Segers at The New Republic

The “outcome of the looming statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey will be interpreted as a referendum on the newly elected president,” says Grace Segers. But “Virginia is especially well positioned to serve as an indication of voter views on the political and economic state of the union, as the commonwealth has been so deeply impacted by the second Trump administration’s actions.” Virginians “may once again be motivated by their antipathy to him and his policies.”

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‘Enjoy CarPlay while you still can’

Patrick George at The Atlantic

“Among all of Apple’s achievements, one of the most underrated has been making driving less miserable,” says Patrick George. CarPlay is “seamless, free and loved by millions of iPhone owners,” but “according to GM, the company can create an even better experience for drivers by dropping Apple and making its own software.” This “move says a lot about where the auto industry is headed.” Car companies are “moving beyond making money only when they sell you a car.”

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‘Don’t blame the left for US antisemitism’

Edward Luce at the Financial Times

A “constellation of figures — from JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man — are, wittingly or otherwise, making antisemitism respectable again,” says Edward Luce. America’s “anti-Jewish threat comes largely from the right.” Vance’s “efforts to keep the MAGA movement’s swelling ranks of antisemites onside without alienating traditional Republicans are destined to be clumsy.” But there is “no elegant way to triangulate Holocaust deniers with people who grasp basic history.”

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‘In defense of American hypocrisy’

Shadi Hamid at Time

Americans “hate hypocrisy,” but “what if hypocrisy isn’t only inevitable in politics but actually necessary?” says Shadi Hamid. What if the “very thing we think makes us weak is actually what keeps us human?” Hypocrisy is “an acknowledgment of our ideals.” Where the “gap is large, there are two options for closing it: either shift the rhetoric to align with policy or shift policy to align with the rhetoric.” But the “hypocrisy never goes away entirely.”

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