On this day in 2017, Donald Trump issued his first pardon.
asserted
Trump → issue → pardon
It went to Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, found guilty of criminal contempt of court for refusing to stop racially profiling suspected undocumented immigrants.
asserted
It → go → immigrants
Nine years on, the Supreme Court says such profiling is fine and Trump hands out pardons like Tic Tacs.
asserted
Trump → say → Tacs
Martin here, having undertaken the altogether unenviable task of watching Abdul El-Sayed go on Fox to be shouted at by Jesse Watters, the better to distill the result for your reading pleasure.
asserted
Sayed → undertake → pleasure
The short version, to put it in the language of an English soccer manager, is the boy done good, all in all.
asserted
version → put → all
There was a deal of nonsensical stuff about progressive positions El-Sayed has taken in past years and which Republicans think mean society is about to crash down around their ears, but then there was always going to be and if El-Sayed sometimes dodged the question, that often had to be inferred
asserted
that → be → question
because his host wouldn’t shut up.
asserted
host → shut → ?
When El-Sayed did drag the interview his way, and offered more substantive points, he seized a share of the spoils.
asserted
he → drag → spoils
Elsewhere, it was another wholly ludicrous day in Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced new sanctions for Iran but shrank from actually confronting countries like China and Russia that continue to trade with Tehran.
asserted
that → announce → Tehran
Let’s read on.
asserted
’s → let → ?
‘You Got to Give Credit to Abdul’
Abdul El-Sayed sat for an interview with Fox carnival barker Jesse Watters in primetime and did quite well.
asserted
Sayed → got → primetime
So much of the 26-minute exchange was taken up with Watters talking over his guest that the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan might’ve wondered why he bothered.
uncertain
he → take → Michigan
But the hits El-Sayed landed, when he managed to shut Watters up, outweighed some awkward moments.
asserted
he → land → moments
El-Sayed made Watters laugh, repeatedly, by calling Republican opponent Mike Rogers a “beta,” for avoiding campaign confrontation and not appearing on Watters’s show.
asserted
Watters → make → show
Whether any Democrat should be joshing with the sort of host who opened with a seven-minute rant about communists and pointedly, repeatedly called his guest “Abdul in Michigan” might be debated.
uncertain
who → josh → Michigan
So might the chances of El-Sayed’s tax policy ever being given a fair hearing on Fox.
uncertain
policy → give → Fox
But consider four minutes that closed out the interview.
asserted
that → consider → interview
Watters said: “Black people in Michigan voted for this white lady you ran against” – Rep. Haley Stevens – “by like eight points over you.
asserted
you → say → you
What happened there?”
asserted
What → happen → ?
El-Sayed said: “Well, Jesse, I mean you said it yourself, right?
asserted
you → say → it
You got to give credit to Abdul.
asserted
You → get → Abdul
He ran against the machine.
asserted
He → run → machine
I got outspent 11-1.”
asserted
I → outspent → ?
He didn’t mention AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that backed Stevens heavily.
asserted
that → mention → Stevens
Curiously, Watters didn’t bring up Israel either.
asserted
Watters → bring → Israel
El-Sayed mentioned Hasan Piker, the livestreamer Republicans want to tie to him to, presently at the heart of yet another confected “scandal” about so-called antisemitism.
asserted
Republicans → mention → antisemitism
That might yet count as an unforced error, but Watters didn’t pounce.
uncertain
Watters → count → error
An exchange on “sharia law” might’ve had Fox-watching bigots salivating, but it went best for El-Sayed, who pointed out that it’s just the same as “canon law,” a concept familiar to Christians like Watters and his viewers, only for Muslims, free to practice their faith like all others.
uncertain
it → have → others
Ultimately, El-Sayed succeeded in bringing Watters back to his core campaign message: Forget the culture war hoo-hah, let’s talk about healthcare, inequality, and the cost of living.
asserted
’s → succeed → living
The Aporia
