Jill Lawrence
@jilldlawrence.bsky.social
Opinion writer. Pvs: Editor at USA Today Opinion and National Journal, campaign reporter at USA Today and AP. Author, "The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock." My work: https://jilllawrence.com
Pinned
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
www.thebulwark.com
Looking for a few hours of diversion from US politics? Here's my account of a 💯 fail on that front, thanks to "The Diplomat" and "The Black Wolf." They were less an escape than funhouse mirrors of reality as we know it. My latest at @thebulwark.com ➡️
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
January 4, 2026 at 5:04 AM
It would be so cool if the United States Congress still existed.
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Trump's unauthorized Venezuela invasion is reckless and absurd. And it won’t do a damn thing to help regular Americans now facing skyrocketing health-insurance premiums and high food prices.
My column on a small man thinking he’s acting big:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a small man thinking he’s acting big:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Trump's unauthorized Venezuela attack won't help Americans | Opinion
President Donald Trump didn't ask anyone's permission to take military action against Venezuela. He just did it, and it helps nobody.
www.usatoday.com
January 4, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Trump's unauthorized Venezuela invasion is reckless and absurd. And it won’t do a damn thing to help regular Americans now facing skyrocketing health-insurance premiums and high food prices.
My column on a small man thinking he’s acting big:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a small man thinking he’s acting big:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Folks we need to really zero in on this statement for it appears the Maduro regime is still in power and running the country. If Trump was confused about that this morning and delusionally believed he was in charge he must step down.
"We're going to run the country" - a moment that will live in infamy......
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
Trump on Venezuela: "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition"
January 3, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Folks we need to really zero in on this statement for it appears the Maduro regime is still in power and running the country. If Trump was confused about that this morning and delusionally believed he was in charge he must step down.
"Doesn't this mean we join the league of ordinary nations?” @stevevladeck.bsky.social quotes President Bartlet (yes, the fictional one on "The West Wing") re Trump, Venezuela, and the thuggery of it all.
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation
Friday night's U.S. military operation in Venezuela was a textbook violation of international law. It's also entirely unauthorized by U.S. law, which ought to (but probably won't) matter.
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 10:03 PM
"Doesn't this mean we join the league of ordinary nations?” @stevevladeck.bsky.social quotes President Bartlet (yes, the fictional one on "The West Wing") re Trump, Venezuela, and the thuggery of it all.
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
200. Five Questions About the Maduro Arrest Operation open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
Russia scolds the US in the most hypocritical way possible. (“Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own future without destructive external interference, particularly of a military nature.”) China, too. @radiofreetom.bsky.social zeroes in on the absurdities, and also the dangers.
The United States has now given Russia, China, and anyone else who wants to give it a try an even clearer road map for invading countries that displease them.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Maybe Russia and China Should Sit This One Out
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are just shocked—shocked!—by the American attack on Venezuela.
www.theatlantic.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Russia scolds the US in the most hypocritical way possible. (“Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own future without destructive external interference, particularly of a military nature.”) China, too. @radiofreetom.bsky.social zeroes in on the absurdities, and also the dangers.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY:
January 3, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY:
Pelosi ticks every box: “flagrant disregard” for Congress and its war powers, no urgent threat to US security, hypocrisy on drug trafficking.
January 3, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Pelosi ticks every box: “flagrant disregard” for Congress and its war powers, no urgent threat to US security, hypocrisy on drug trafficking.
Regime change is complicated, as we should have learned in 2002-03. @markhertling.bsky.social's cautionary essay at @thebulwark.com was published just hours before Trump & Co. showed they were not, it seems safe to say, students of history, law or chess. #Venezuela www.thebulwark.com/p/what-regim...
What ‘Regime Change’ in Venezuela Would Really Mean
It’s not clear the administration has settled on a goal, much less considered the consequences.
www.thebulwark.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Regime change is complicated, as we should have learned in 2002-03. @markhertling.bsky.social's cautionary essay at @thebulwark.com was published just hours before Trump & Co. showed they were not, it seems safe to say, students of history, law or chess. #Venezuela www.thebulwark.com/p/what-regim...
Gifting this for all who need it as a distraction from the state of our nation today. It's a delightful tale about a rainstorm, a Ford employee's flash of genius, and the arrow that tells you which side of your car should face the pump at the gas station.🎁 www.wsj.com/business/aut...
The Genius Whose Simple Invention Saved Us From Shame at the Gas Station
On a rainy day in Detroit, a Ford engineer got confused, then soaked—and inspired. It took decades before he got any credit.
www.wsj.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Gifting this for all who need it as a distraction from the state of our nation today. It's a delightful tale about a rainstorm, a Ford employee's flash of genius, and the arrow that tells you which side of your car should face the pump at the gas station.🎁 www.wsj.com/business/aut...
Hard to keep up with Trump’s regime-change schedule these days. 😞
Happy New Year. The president just threatened Operation Iranian Freedom.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump’s ‘Operation Iranian Freedom’
How many foreign wars does the “America First” president intend to start?
www.theatlantic.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Hard to keep up with Trump’s regime-change schedule these days. 😞
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim on capture of Maduro: "Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress"
January 3, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim on capture of Maduro: "Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress"
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
RFK Jr. ordered the CDC to terminate their flu vaccination ad campaign immediately after taking office. Just in case anyone was curious about his silence in the face of what is emerging as an unusually severe flu season and why he’s not out encouraging vaccines. www.bmj.com/content/388/...
Robert F Kennedy cancels flu vaccination ad campaign and key vaccine policy meeting
The new US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to halt its publicity campaign encouraging uptake of this year’s seasonal flu vaccine...
www.bmj.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:48 PM
RFK Jr. ordered the CDC to terminate their flu vaccination ad campaign immediately after taking office. Just in case anyone was curious about his silence in the face of what is emerging as an unusually severe flu season and why he’s not out encouraging vaccines. www.bmj.com/content/388/...
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Minnesota just launched our statewide paid leave program.
Starting today new parents, small business owners, and people recovering from illness or injury will have the security to take needed time off work without risking their paycheck.
Starting today new parents, small business owners, and people recovering from illness or injury will have the security to take needed time off work without risking their paycheck.
January 2, 2026 at 12:52 AM
Minnesota just launched our statewide paid leave program.
Starting today new parents, small business owners, and people recovering from illness or injury will have the security to take needed time off work without risking their paycheck.
Starting today new parents, small business owners, and people recovering from illness or injury will have the security to take needed time off work without risking their paycheck.
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
If you are a resident of California, the state now has a portal where you can demand deletion of your personal data from 500+ registered data brokers with a single request form, for free.
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Despite what we are often told, this line from Mamdani’s inauguration speech is what true pragmatism actually looks like:
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
January 1, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Despite what we are often told, this line from Mamdani’s inauguration speech is what true pragmatism actually looks like:
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
The Trump era in one sentence. And it's only day 2 of 2026.
Trump posts that we’re “locked and loaded” to go into Iran, then goes marble shopping in Florida before golf.
January 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM
The Trump era in one sentence. And it's only day 2 of 2026.
Strikingly relevant obit for a museum director whose life's work was telling the story of "the Lost Cause, the romanticized view of the South that took hold in the years after the Civil War." How does fiction become truth? How do you explode the lies? There's wisdom here. Gift link 🎁
wapo.st/49k4ha6
wapo.st/49k4ha6
He exposed myth of the South’s ‘Lost Cause.’ His death shook Richmond.
William “Bill” Martin, 71, died Sunday, Dec. 28, a day after being struck by a car near the Valentine local history museum where he had served as director more than 30 years.
wapo.st
January 2, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Strikingly relevant obit for a museum director whose life's work was telling the story of "the Lost Cause, the romanticized view of the South that took hold in the years after the Civil War." How does fiction become truth? How do you explode the lies? There's wisdom here. Gift link 🎁
wapo.st/49k4ha6
wapo.st/49k4ha6
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
You can no longer count on a political thriller to be an escape from our own world
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:00 PM
You can no longer count on a political thriller to be an escape from our own world
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
⚡️Ukraine enters EU's single mobile roaming zone.
Ukraine formally joined the European Union's single roaming zone on Jan. 1, allowing Ukrainian citizens to use their mobile phone service across the European bloc without incurring additional charges.
Ukraine formally joined the European Union's single roaming zone on Jan. 1, allowing Ukrainian citizens to use their mobile phone service across the European bloc without incurring additional charges.
Ukraine enters EU's single mobile roaming zone
Ukraine formally joined the European Union's single roaming zone on Jan. 1, allowing Ukrainian citizens to use their mobile phone service across the European bloc without incurring additional charges.
kyivindependent.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:54 PM
⚡️Ukraine enters EU's single mobile roaming zone.
Ukraine formally joined the European Union's single roaming zone on Jan. 1, allowing Ukrainian citizens to use their mobile phone service across the European bloc without incurring additional charges.
Ukraine formally joined the European Union's single roaming zone on Jan. 1, allowing Ukrainian citizens to use their mobile phone service across the European bloc without incurring additional charges.
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
In a year of "flood-the-zone, can’t-absorb-it-all insanities," @jilldlawrence.bsky.social found herself pursuing not escapism on the screen and on the page but 'reverse escapism':
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
www.thebulwark.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:59 PM
In a year of "flood-the-zone, can’t-absorb-it-all insanities," @jilldlawrence.bsky.social found herself pursuing not escapism on the screen and on the page but 'reverse escapism':
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
When a zany political thriller is no longer escapism but a funhouse-mirror version of actual American life
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 1, 2026 at 1:00 AM
When a zany political thriller is no longer escapism but a funhouse-mirror version of actual American life
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
Brilliant essay by @jilldlawrence.bsky.social Thank you! 🙏
Yup, there are certain things I can't watch or read right now. They'll have to wait.
Yup, there are certain things I can't watch or read right now. They'll have to wait.
Looking for a few hours of diversion from US politics? Here's my account of a 💯 fail on that front, thanks to "The Diplomat" and "The Black Wolf." They were less an escape than funhouse mirrors of reality as we know it. My latest at @thebulwark.com ➡️
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
www.thebulwark.com
January 1, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Brilliant essay by @jilldlawrence.bsky.social Thank you! 🙏
Yup, there are certain things I can't watch or read right now. They'll have to wait.
Yup, there are certain things I can't watch or read right now. They'll have to wait.
Let's consider this a preview of the legal and political defeats to come in 2026. 🍻https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/31/donald-trump-national-guard-deployment-00708714
Trump ends National Guard deployment in 3 cities after Supreme Court loss
The president said troops will no longer be in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.
www.politico.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Let's consider this a preview of the legal and political defeats to come in 2026. 🍻https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/31/donald-trump-national-guard-deployment-00708714
Reposted by Jill Lawrence
NEW: "That is how I discovered reverse escapism—when you plunge into imagined worlds, yearning for oblivion, only to find super-exaggerated versions of the worst people and ideas that are plaguing you in real life."
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
How I Failed Escapism 101
‘The Diplomat’ and ‘The Black Wolf’ are too close to reality for comfort.
www.thebulwark.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:42 PM
NEW: "That is how I discovered reverse escapism—when you plunge into imagined worlds, yearning for oblivion, only to find super-exaggerated versions of the worst people and ideas that are plaguing you in real life."
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...
www.thebulwark.com/p/how-i-fail...