Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted

also, muh precious norms

In 1968, as the President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for another term. He explained that decision in a live 40-minute address to the nation, putting his choice in its full context:

In 2024, the President of the United States took off to his beach house after a trip to Vegas, vanished from the public eye for what will soon be a full week, and dropped his decision to withdraw from the campaign for a second term by posting it on Twitter — a few days after a speech in which he angrily reiterated his intent to keep running and to win a second term. On Monday, with a new work week beginning, he remains in seclusion at the beach. YOLO, bitches, Joe ain’t feel like comin’ to work no more. He’ll probably punch Oney right in the damn face on his way out of the White House, if he ever bothers to go back.

A foreign head of government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, landed in D.C. today for a scheduled meeting with the President of the United States — with the POTUS (and also the VPOTUS and the Secretary of State) MIA for the arrival of a foreign counterpart. The Tuesday meeting has apparently been dropped like a bad second date, although the dueling headlines on Monday evening suggest that no one is actually sure what’s going to happen.

Meet with yourself, Jack, we’re none too sure who’s doing the “president” thing right now. It’s 50/50 that Joe Biden is out in the garage rewatching the second season of the Rockford Files on his VCR, so maybe he will and maybe he won’t.

Politico reports what’s supposed be a flattering account of Nancy Pelosi’s role in the defenestration, relaying the information that she took a firm stance and let the President of the United States know that he was done: “Nancy made clear that they could do this the easy way or the hard way.” This is good, Mother Jones concludes, and Pelosi “saved her legacy.”

A former Speaker of the House has the sole authority to override 14 million or so of the Democratic Party’s primary voters, deciding who’s allowed to be on the presidential ballot. To Save Our Democracy™! I feel like we’re at the moment where our painters and filmmakers need to break off into a new and psychologically ruptured expressionism. Also, cabarets. We’re gonna need some decadent cabarets.

The strangeness and the “what did you just say” feeling of the last few days can’t be exaggerated, and I omit a bunch of the bizarre particulars on the assumption that everybody is hitting “refresh” on Twitter every ten seconds and doesn’t need me to recite all the misfit pieces. We’re living through an indescribably strange and ruleless moment, and it doesn’t seem like it’s about to trend in the direction of relatively normal.

We’ve heard and heard and heard that Donald Trump is a threat to America’s cherished political norms, but I have to ask:

What norms are those?

We may make it back to the beach at some point, but don’t doubt for a moment that we’re far out to sea.

Also, if anyone has near-direct access to Joe Biden, please try to teach him tap code. It could be handy in the weeks ahead.