On Friday, a quantum fluctuation ripped a hole in the fabric of spacetime, allowing a parallel multiverse to intrude into our local universe for several hours. During that brief period, the political polarity in Washington reversed, resulting in

(a) An Oval Office lovefest between NY Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and Trump,

(b) The resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on grounds that she “refuse[d] to be a battered wife” beholden to the “soon-to-be impeached” Donald Trump,

© A motion by the DOJ to unseal the Epstein grand jury records on the grounds that the Epstein Files Transparency Act supersedes the secrecy rules of grand jury proceedings, and

(d) A statement by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that Trump should “wipe the slate clean” by canceling all tariffs.

I would like to provide a rational explanation for what happened in D.C. on Friday, but I can’t. So, I am sticking with the “hole in the fabric of spacetime” theory, which suggests the events are temporary anomalies.

Kidding aside, while none of these developments portend permanent changes in the behavior of Trump, MTG, the DOJ, or Lutnick, there is one explanation for the events:

Democrats are on a winning streak with the electorate. When the people speak in overwhelming numbers, they are unstoppable.

Trump understands that he is losing his grip on his populist base and respects Zohran Mamdani for running an impressive campaign that spoke to young people (including young men), the working poor, the middle class, and voters concerned about Trump’s assault on the rule of law.

He also understands that the focus of Mikie Sherrill, Abigail Spanberger, and Zohran Mamdani on “affordability” was a winning message for Democrats on November 4, 2025.

Trump also recognizes that 88% of the electorate supports the disclosure of the Epstein files and that his resistance has significantly damaged his favorability ratings. (That could explain why the DOJ is seeking the release of the Epstein grand jury materials.)

Finally, Trump understands that voters blame tariffs for the affordability crisis.

While Trump was able to control himself for a few hours on Friday, he is fundamentally undisciplined. He will be back to his misanthropic cruelty by Saturday evening.

Still, the events of Friday were extraordinary and are worth a brief review heading into the weekend. Sadly, as usual, there are other stories that highlight the damage Trump is inflicting on the US on the global stage.

Trump’s lovefest with NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani

Defying everyone’s expectations, the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Zohran Mamdani at the White House turned out to be a cordial, friendly meeting between two politicians who appeared to respect one another. See The Guardian, ‘I’ll stick up for you’: key moments from the cordial Trump-Mamdani meeting.

Although Trump had invited a gaggle of right-wing journalists to the Oval Office to attack Mamdani, Trump ran interference for Mamdani when the hostile questions came, telling him it was “okay, just say yes” to the question of whether Mamdani thinks Trump is a fascist. See NYTimes, ‘Fascist’? ‘Communist’? For an Afternoon, Trump and Mamdani Were Just 2 Guys From Queens.

The entertainers at Fox “News” were completely baffled. See Daily Beast, Fox News Anchor Gobsmacked by Trump’s Mamdani Meeting. (“Trump continued to take much of the air out of Republicans’ attacks on the democratic socialist by saying he would feel comfortable living in New York under Mamdani’s administration and that “some of his ideas are really the same ideas that I have.”)

The most rational explanation for the friendly reception is that Trump respects Mamdani’s impressive campaign, coalition-building skills, and political charisma.

You must watch the video to believe it: YouTube, Trump, Mamdani have friendly Oval Office meeting.

Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from the House, effective January 5, 2026.

Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her resignation from the House of Representatives, effective January 5, 2026. She made the announcement in a video statement that is worth watching, if you can stand the sight and sound of a speech by Greene. YouTube Video, Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces She Is Resigning From Congress.

Greene said, in part,

I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election, while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.

And in turn, be expected to defend the President against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.

It’s all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a “battered wife” hoping it all goes away and gets better.

If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well.

Greene did not provide advance notice to Republican leadership in the House.

The meaning and repercussions of Greene’s resignation remain to be seen. But there is no happy interpretation for Trump and MAGA. She was one of MAGA’s true believers and an early supporter of Trump in 2015.

Any way you look at her resignation, it is a troubling sign for Trump at the end of one of the worst weeks in Trump’s second term.

DOJ seeking to obtain the release of Epstein grand jury materials.

In July, the DOJ sought release of the Epstein grand jury materials as part of a rushed effort to quell the furor over Trump’s concealment of the Epstein files. The DOJ’s efforts were rebuffed by federal judges because of the secrecy requirements surrounding grand jury proceedings.

On Friday, the DOJ renewed its motion to release those materials on the ground that the Epstein Files Transparency Act supersedes grand jury secrecy requirements. See Government’s Expedited Motion to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts.

The government wrote as follows:

The Act requires the Department of Justice to publish the grand jury transcripts associated with the above-referenced grand jury investigations, unless one of the permitted bases for withholding applies. Accordingly, subject to appropriate redactions allowed by the Act, the Department of Justice again moves the Court to unseal the grand jury transcripts associated with the grand jury investigations.

As we attempt to understand the DOJ’s intentions in releasing the Epstein files, this step suggests an effort to comply with the disclosure requirements of the Act, at least in part. It is possible the DOJ is looking for damaging material on Democrats, but that remains to be seen. It is, at least, an interesting development.

Commerce Secretary says Trump will “start with clean slate” for tariffs.

In a story that is receiving virtually no coverage in mainstream media, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says that Trump will “start with a clean slate” on tariffs before Christmas. See Raw Story, “Trump about to ‘wipe the slate clean’ on tariffs as he suffers ‘disastrous’ month: report.

The famously loose-lipped and impetuous Lutnick may be speaking out of school. But a plan to roll back tariffs is consistent with Trump’s panicked pivot to “affordability.”

Trump releases a “Ukraine Peace Plan” that appears to have been drafted by Russia.

Trump released a “peace plan” to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. The 28-point plan calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, reduce the size of its armed forces, and agree not to join NATO. See CNN, Trump is giving Russia almost everything it wants with his Ukraine peace plan.

In a truly bizarre provision, the US plan, negotiated by Steven Witkoff, says that frozen Russian assets will be invested with the US to rebuild Ukraine, and the US will receive 50% of the “profits” from the rebuilding of Ukraine. European officials said that the proposal was “crazy.” See Politico, ‘Witkoff needs a psychiatrist’: Europeans fume at Trump’s plan to profit from frozen Russian assets.

Justice Alito issues an “administrative stay” of the decision invalidating Texas’s gerrymandered congressional districts

Texas has appealed the three-judge panel’s decision that the new Texas districts are invalid. Justice Alito issued an administrative stay so that the full Supreme Court could consider the appeal. See NYTimes, Supreme Court, For Now, Keeps in Place Texas Republican-Friendly Congressional Map.

Per the Times,

Justice Alito requested that the civil rights groups that had challenged the map respond to the attorney general’s request by Monday at 5 p.m., signaling the court would likely consider the issue speedily.

Rep. Maggie Goodlander is part of a group that posted a video urging military members to refuse to follow unlawful orders.

Yesterday, I wrote about the group of six congressional Democrats who posted a video urging members of the military to refuse to follow unlawful orders. I linked to the video and to an article, both of which listed the six Democrats, including NH Rep. Maggie Goodlander.

My summary of the video and article omitted Maggie Goodlander’s name. I received dozens of corrections from readers, ranging from “You omitted Maggie Goodlander” to lengthy defenses of New Hampshire and Maggie Goodlander. No offense was intended to Rep. Goodlander or New Hampshire. It was a mistake of omission. My apologies.

Concluding Thoughts

I will host my regular Saturday morning Substack livestream at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / Noon Eastern on November 22. Instructions for joining the livestream can be found here.

Lost in the drama of this week is the story of Trump insulting a female journalist from Bloomberg during an Air Force One press gaggle. After the reporter pushed Trump for his position on the release of the Epstein files, Trump said to the reporter, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.”

Trump’s presidency began with scandals relating to self-admitted sexual abuse, payoffs of adult entertainers to cover up infidelity to Melania, followed by civil suits for defamation arising out of the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll.

Trump’s misogyny is a permanent feature of his presidency. Sadly, that fact has numbed the media and politicians to the anti-female animus that motivates many of the administration’s policies—including attacks on reproductive rights, contraception, equal pay, and equality under law (a.k.a. The Equal Rights Amendment).

My wife’s blog does not usually address political topics. But she devoted her last post to Trump’s attack on the Bloomberg reporter. She effectively conveys the emotional impact that Trump’s insulting attack has on other women. Frankly, it should have the same impact on men. As human beings and as people who know, are related to, work with, and love the women in our lives, Trump’s attack demeans and degrades us all. You can watch Jill’s video post here: Every Day with Jill, Quiet, Piggy.

I will talk with you tomorrow!

Pro-democracy protest photos

Daily Dose of Perspective

The Bubble Nebula is a glowing cloud of gas and dust, shaped by the fierce stellar winds of a massive young star. It is 7 light-years across and is located 7,100–11,000 light-years from Earth.

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