The New Trump Indictment and the Reckoning Ahead

David Remnick and Susan B. Glasser on the latest charges against the former President. Plus: memories of a Rastafari childhood, and honoring Paul Reubens. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, August 2, 2023 In today’s newsletter, Trump accused of “prolific lies,” and then: • Memories of a Rastafari childhood • Paul Reubens’s preposterous grace • The temptations of A.I. companionship The New Trump Indictment and the Reckoning Ahead With the former President still far ahead of the rest of the Republican field, American voters are likely headed for a crucial test. By David Remnick Photograph by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty To read the stark criminal indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, charging Donald Trump with conspiring to steal the 2020 Presidential election is to realize more deeply than before that the country is headed for a great reckoning—in the courts and at the ballot box. It suggests a question that cannot be escaped: Will the American electorate show itself capable of overlooking a conspiracy to undermine democratic rule and return the chief conspirator to power? The third and latest indictment against Trump sets out four charges and makes the case against him in the plainest terms. “Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power,” the introduction to the forty-five-page document reads—and where have you seen a more succinct summary of criminal intent? Keep reading Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » Susan B. Glasser Trump’s Offense Against Democracy Itself Photograph by Scott Olson / Getty “Here it was, at last, stark and sharply stated: what Trump did in the two months following the election that he lost to Joe Biden was a crime.” In her column from Washington, Susan B. Glasser examines the most recent indictment against the former President, and notes the many moments along the way that Trump “could have stopped this reckless game that he had unleashed.” Read more » Editor’s Pick Personal History Revisiting My Rastafari Childhood Babylon was everything forbidden, and looming all around us—and my father tried to protect us from it at all costs. By Safiya Sinclair Culture Dept. Postscript Paul Reubens’s Preposterous Grace Just as “Barbie” today appears to have reawakened a love of moviegoing, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” was a reminder in its day that TV could be worth watching. By Bruce Handy The Front Row Like a Political X-Ray, “Our Body” Exposes the Intrusions of Law in Medicine Claire Simon’s documentary about a Paris women’s hospital highlights the boundary between the regulations that govern people’s lives and the lives people actually lead. By Richard Brody London Postcard How Bryan Adams Shot the Queen (and His Other Celeb Pals) The singer inspects a gallery show of his portraits of Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, Amy Winehouse, and Her Royal Highness, who may or may not have listened to his music. By M. Z. Adnan Screening Room Screening Room The Temptations of A.I. Companionship in “Rachels Don’t Run” In this short film, a call-center operator inserts herself into the relationship between a client and his A.I. girlfriend. Film by Joanny Causse Text by Noreen Plabutong Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues? By Matt Jackson Daily Shouts Twitter Is Now X: Text Messages from Elon Musk to His Lead Engineer Elon: “X needs to have an AI feel with blockchain vibes. And it should always be tracking you.” By Benjamin Flores Crossword A Lightly Challenging Puzzle “Rodeo” composer Copland: five letters. By Wyna Liu P.S. James Baldwin would have turned ninety-nine today. On his birthday, consider reading or rereading his essential essay “Letter from a Region in My Mind,” published in The New Yorker, in 1962, in which he writes, “The Negro’s experience of the white world cannot possibly create in him any respect for the standards by which the white world claims to live.” Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2023. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.