What Trump’s Return Reveals About America

Jelani Cobb, George Saunders, Jane Mayer, and others reflect. Plus: the Democratic Party gets a wake-up call; a new film that transcends the holiday-movie genre; and celebrating Charles Ives’s 150th birthday. View in browser | Update your preferences Friday, November 8, 2024 Critical reporting at a critical moment. Subscribe to The New Yorker for just $1 a week for one year. In today’s newsletter, reflections on Donald Trump’s reëlection, and then: • The Democratic Party gets a wake-up call • A new film that transcends the holiday-movie genre • Celebrating Charles Ives’s hundred-and-fiftieth birthday Donald Trump, Reprised What his return to the Presidency reveals about America. Photograph by Win McNamee / Getty It became clear quite quickly on Tuesday night that the American electorate had shifted since 2020. There had been reason to imagine that Donald Trump’s Presidency would be just a hard-to-remove stain on the fabric of American history and politics—something of the past. But “America has now twice elected him as its President,” Susan B. Glasser wrote on Wednesday morning, and “it is a disastrous revelation about what the United States really is, as opposed to the country that so many hoped that it could be.” Over the past few days, The New Yorker has been collecting reflections from reporters, novelists, historians, and others about what the election results mean for the nation and the world. Together these dispatches create a deeply resonant portrait, in some ways familiar and in others frighteningly new, of a country on the edge. This is an ongoing series, with more to come. Explore the hub » The latest dispatches: • Jia Tolentino on America’s gender war • Kelefa Sanneh on Trump and race • Jelani Cobb on the missing guardrails • George Saunders on the deeper rot • Lorrie Moore on Trump’s enduring appeal • Adam Gopnik on common ground • Timothy Snyder on fascism • Jane Mayer on the Supreme Court Jay Caspian Kang Illustration by Till Lauer “Someone needs to catch some blame here, but, when you lose this big, it’s hard to find the obvious culprit,” Jay Caspian Kang writes in his latest column. Donald Trump’s win did not come out of nowhere, and the Democrats seem to have a lot of work ahead of them. Kang advises that a winning coalition will only arise when the Party moves beyond scorn and disbelief to become genuinely curious and more focussed on non-white, non-college-educated voters. Read the column » Our journalism relies on your support. If you believe in a media that is fearless in the face of power, please subscribe today. Subscribe now Culture Dept. The Current Cinema “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” Transcends the Holiday-Movie Genre Tyler Thomas Taormina’s comedy drama about a Long Island family boasts some of the year’s sharpest characterizations and a strikingly original narrative form. By Richard Brody Musical Events Charles Ives, Connoisseur of Chaos Celebrating the composer’s hundred-and-fiftieth birthday, at a festival in Bloomington, Indiana. By Alex Ross Under Review The Amazing, Disappearing Johnny Carson Carson pioneered a new style of late-night hosting—relaxed, improvisatory, risk-averse, and inscrutable. By Isaac Butler If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was it forwarded to you? Sign up. Fun & Games Dept. Mini Crossword A Bite-size Puzzle Mushroom’s reproductive cell: five letters. By Andy Kravis Daily Cartoon Friday, November 8th By Adam Douglas Thompson Shouts & Murmurs Post-Election Faces Are these the usual blank stares—or something heavier? By Liana Finck P.S. It’s a good time to start embracing hygge, a Danish term that has no direct translation in English but essentially means to embody a sense of coziness and conviviality, especially in the winter months. “It’s wholesome and nourishing,” Anna Altman writes, “like porridge.” 🥣 Today’s newsletter was written by Erin Neil. What did you think of today’s newsletter? Let us know. If you like the daily newsletter, browse more New Yorker newsletters. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the daily newsletter from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.