Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Brutal 'New Yorker' Cover Perfectly Sums Up How Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and William Barr Do Trump's Bidding

Brutal 'New Yorker' Cover Perfectly Sums Up How Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell and William Barr Do Trump's Bidding
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images // Mark Wilson/Getty Images // Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

A picture says so much.

The latest cover of The New Yorker—and others—assert the checks and balances set forth in the Constitution are breaking down under the administration of President Donald Trump. The New Yorker cover shows Senate GOP leadership as well as the head of the Justice Department going beyond being complicit with the President and moved into supplication.

The magazine shared the latest cover on social media where the image immediately drew attention. It was quickly shared by many.


The cover illustration by artist Barry Blitt, entitled "The Shining," depicts President Trump seated on a raised dais while three men kneel at his feet to shine his shoes. The men are Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham—Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Attorney General William Barr—head of the Justice Department and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, also a Republican.

People thought the cover captured actions and attitudes of the three perfectly.

But some thought it didn't go far enough.

Coming from a history of monarchy rule, the framers of the United States Constitution borrowed concepts of confederation government from the Haudenosaunee Confederated tribes and Powhatan Confederacy of North America to develop a new form of government.

Critical to avoiding a return to dictatorial rulers for life was the series of checks and balances between the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.

But President Trump speaks often of a necessity for loyalty to him, not the Constitution or laws of the United States. While the free press and some in the judicial and legislative branches continue to uphold their oath to defend and preserve the Constitution, Trump paints them as enemies of the state in his MAGA rallies and on Twitter for their lack of fealty.

But those who wish to remain in the executive branch either tow the line without question or find themselves ousted. The Trump executive branch has not been completely staffed since the inauguration and turnover is record setting.

But a compromised executive branch is only as effective as Congress and the judiciary's willingness to remain complicit in any unethical, immoral or illegal activities done by members of that branch.

And The New Yorker clearly called out three powerful components of the system of checks and balances that appear broken.

In addition to President Trump, GOP Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham are up for reelection in 2020.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshot of Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Dragged After Making Ridiculous Claim About Randomly Finding Billions On The 'Tariff Shelf'

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed to reporters this week that officials in his administration suddenly found $30 billion they "never knew existed"—located on what Trump referred to as the "tariff shelf."

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.

Keep ReadingShow less
food prep
Katie Smith on Unsplash

Professional Chefs Share The Top Mistakes Average Home Cooks Make

With the expansion of cable television and then streaming services, a number of competition shows featuring amateur home cooks. Shows like Master Chef and The Great British Bake Off garnered huge followings and spawned numerous global and domestic spin-offs.

The food produced by these amateurs is beyond the talents of even some professional chefs. But what about the average home cook? What can they learn from the professionals?

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

RFK Jr.'s HHS Blasted As CDC Panel Considers Dropping Life-Saving Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), met Thursday for the first of two days of discussions about childhood vaccine schedules and recommendations.

The panel focused on the hepatitis B vaccine and plans to vote on Friday whether to continue recommending it be given to all children at birth or to recommend something entirely different. The panel previously tabled making a decision on infant and early childhood hep-B vaccination in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @monicasanluiss's TikTok video
@monicasanluiss/TikTok

Bride's Friends Surprise Her With Montage Video Of All Her Exes At Bachelorette Party—And People Are Mortified

While Jenny Han's novel To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a major hit, and even became a great film success in 2018, not everyone's married to the idea of reconnecting with their exes after the relationships end.

It might be nice to imagine staying friends after the relationships, imagining our exes missing us or regretting losing us, or even giving us an apology for the things they did wrong. But most of us pine for this for a little while, realize it's all a fairy tale, and push past it to better things and new love.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @alexamcnee's TikTok video
@alexamcnee/TikTok

TikToker Sparks Debate After Calling Out Driver's Extremely Bright Headlights For Blinding Her

Whether we are drivers or passengers, we've all experienced that annoying, possibly painful moment of feeling like we're being blinded by a fellow driver whose headlights are far too bright for a standard car on a standard road.

But while most of us complain about it to ourselves and leave it at that, TikToker Alexa McNee stepped up for all of us and called it out.

Keep ReadingShow less