Sunday — November 2

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading. 

What the right is doodling.

What the left is doodling.

Monday, October 27.

The East Wing demolition. Over the past week, construction crews have demolished the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom to host large events for world leaders and other guests. After initially saying the project would not impact existing infrastructure, President Donald Trump acknowledged on Wednesday, October 22, that the entire East Wing would be destroyed; by Thursday, October 23, it was completely razed. The Trump administration says a new East Wing will be built along with the ballroom. 

Our take: “I have a hard time caring about this in the context of other current issues. The White House could benefit from larger and modern hosting space. Trump’s new ballroom looks garish, and he’s bulldozing norms to build it, but this story just isn’t a big deal.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, October 28.

The Argentine election and U.S. bailout. On Sunday, October 26, Argentinian President Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances) party won approximately 41% of the national vote in the country’s midterms, outperforming polling expectations and more than doubling its representation in the next congress. The result gave Milei additional legislative support to uphold presidential vetoes and block impeachment efforts. It also served as a vote of confidence in his administration, which has prioritized spending cuts and other large-scale reforms. In the weeks before the election, the Trump administration also provided $40 billion in financial support to stabilize the country’s currency and markets. 

Our take: “The critiques of Milei fall flat when his policies have worked and his message keeps winning. Annoyingly, people in the U.S. can’t talk about Argentina without talking about ourselves. It might not exactly be ‘America first,’ but spending resources to stabilize Argentina sounds like a good idea.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, October 29.

The NBA betting scandals. On Thursday, October 23, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced it had made arrests in a pair of investigations into illegal gambling involving National Basketball Association (NBA) players and coaches. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is among those charged in the illegal sports betting case, while Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and several others are charged with participating in rigged poker games with ties to the mafia. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the bureau has arrested 34 people as a result of the multi-year investigations, which covered 11 states and involved tens of millions of dollars. Billups and Rozier have been placed on leaves from their teams, and the NBA announced a review of its gambling rules.

Our take: “Sports betting has become ubiquitous, and match fixing is just one of the problems that have followed. These cases actually highlight how legal betting makes illegal schemes harder to pull off. Sports gambling could still benefit from some reforms.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, October 30.

The Graham Platner controversies. In recent weeks, Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, has faced controversy for some prior statements and actions uncovered by news outlets. Platner is running against Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and several other candidates for the Democratic nomination; the winner is expected to face Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the general election. On October 16, CNN published comments Platner made on Reddit years prior. On October 17, The Washington Post published additional deleted Reddit posts from 2013, in which Platner appeared to downplay concerns about sexual assault in the military. Separately, recent reporting revealed that Platner had a skull symbol tattooed on his chest that is associated with Nazi police.

Our take: “Graham Platner seemed like a dream candidate for Democrats, and I get why they want to extend him grace. At the same time, enforcing a line in the sand gives the party some moral high ground. I think ‘extending grace’ and ‘taking the moral high ground’ are both defensible principles in Platner’s case.”

Reader Survey:

Friday, October 31.

In this week’s Friday edition, Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead offered a critique to Executive Editor Isaac Saul’s piece from last week critiquing the overreaches of the Trump administration. She wrote about why Isaac’s right that things are bad — but they became bad long before Donald Trump’s second term. You can read her piece here.

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What just happened.

Here are a few stories that have broken since our last newsletter on Thursday.

• On Thursday, the Trump administration published in a notice on the Federal Register that it will decrease the cap on refugees admitted to the United States from 125,000 to 7,500 for fiscal year 2026. The administration also said that Afrikaners, or white South Africans, will be given preference in admissions. (The announcement)
• On Thursday, a federal judge indicated that she would order the Trump administration to use emergency funds to partially pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November. Separately, on Friday, another federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must use the emergency funds to pay out SNAP benefits. (The decision)
• On Thursday, President Donald Trump called on Senate Republicans to end the filibuster — the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation — in order to pass a funding package to reopen the federal government. (The call)
• On Saturday, French authorities formally charged two individuals in connection with the jewel theft at the Louvre Museum earlier in October. French police also released three individuals who had been taken into custody on October 29. The stolen jewels have not been recovered. (The update)
• On Saturday, President Trump announced that he plans to stop the flow of aid and assistance to Nigeria and has ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in the country, citing claims that the Nigerian government has not protected Christians against persecution. (The threats)

Reader essay.

Amelia Morris recently came across two things that sparked some self reflection. The first was a book that argued the secular left is in despair because it lacks spiritualism, and the other was an interview in which Ezra Klein claimed progressives dislike themselves. Amelia isn’t religious, but she also doesn’t dislike herself — though she understands why the claim rings true. Looking for some deeper understanding of herself and her politics, Amelia explored these criticisms, and along the way found something akin to a spiritualism for herself.