Philip Bump
@pbump.com
MSNOW contributor
Former Washington Post columnist
Book: "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America"
Newsletter: https://howtoreadthisch.art
Email: hello@pbump.com
Signal: pbump.11
Former Washington Post columnist
Book: "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America"
Newsletter: https://howtoreadthisch.art
Email: hello@pbump.com
Signal: pbump.11
Pinned
Philip Bump
@pbump.com
· 2d
May your love be plotted logarithmically
Today, Feb. 14, commemorates the day St. Valentine drove the incels from Italy or something. It is to love what Oct. 31 is to fear, which makes it a bit nicer in theory but – in practice? Turns out ea...
www.howtoreadthisch.art
The newsletter is out! It’s about love and also the opposite of love as it pertains to politics.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
come for brendan carr. stay for matt murray.
February 17, 2026 at 3:50 AM
come for brendan carr. stay for matt murray.
Reposted by Philip Bump
The Trump economy. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
February 16, 2026 at 7:45 PM
The Trump economy. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
In 2015, a nerdy Muslim kid was arrested for bringing pieces of a clock to school in Texas and Captain Thesaurus here suggested that I should have joined in on assuming the kid was a terrorist.
Noah Rothman on the Epstein files: "It is a witch hunt. It‘s a moral panic."
February 17, 2026 at 12:02 AM
In 2015, a nerdy Muslim kid was arrested for bringing pieces of a clock to school in Texas and Captain Thesaurus here suggested that I should have joined in on assuming the kid was a terrorist.
The Trump economy. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
February 16, 2026 at 7:45 PM
The Trump economy. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Bold take for the sixth year of President Donald Trump. bsky.app/profile/medi...
Stephen A. Smith Dismisses Idea Racism Could Tank Potential Presidential Run: Americans ‘Don’t Give a Damn’
Stephen A. Smith Dismisses Idea Racism Could Tank Potential Presidential Run: Americans ‘Don’t Give a Damn’
ESPN star Stephen A. Smith said he is not worried about racism hurting his chances of becoming president, if he decides to run, during a new interview with CBS
The post Stephen A. Smith Dismisses Idea Racism Could Tank Potential Presidential Run: Americans ‘Don’t Give a Damn’ first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
February 16, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Bold take for the sixth year of President Donald Trump. bsky.app/profile/medi...
Perhaps the most important element of job growth during the first year of Trump’s second term? The baby boom. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Opinion | The story of the Trump economy? Old people.
Philip Bump: All of the job growth since Trump returned to the White House has been in the private sector — mostly in health care and social assistance.
www.ms.now
February 16, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Perhaps the most important element of job growth during the first year of Trump’s second term? The baby boom. www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Reposted by Philip Bump
"most of this line of argument is so old that @pbump.com was still at WaPo debunking it in an earlier iteration"
Tom Homan’s statement on Face the Nation that “masks right now are for officer safety reasons” was an admission of the fundamental moral failing at the base of the Trump administration’s lawless actions.
If you knew what the administration is doing, it would not be sustainable.
If you knew what the administration is doing, it would not be sustainable.
The Trump admin argument that masks "are for officer safety reasons" is actually an admission
Tom Homan highlights how secrecy aims to block accountability, the immoral lawlessness at the core of the Trump administration. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.
www.lawdork.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:33 AM
"most of this line of argument is so old that @pbump.com was still at WaPo debunking it in an earlier iteration"
A thing that annoys me about the Axios newsletter is that the tone is consistently “I am one of the top experts on this thing I learned about five minutes ago.” Also that they have 280 sources in the White House but their only source on the left is Rep. Capitulate Middle (D).
February 16, 2026 at 1:13 PM
A thing that annoys me about the Axios newsletter is that the tone is consistently “I am one of the top experts on this thing I learned about five minutes ago.” Also that they have 280 sources in the White House but their only source on the left is Rep. Capitulate Middle (D).
Probably by April Trump will have spent the equivalent of an entire year of his two terms playing golf. www.pbump.net/o/an-officia...
February 16, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Probably by April Trump will have spent the equivalent of an entire year of his two terms playing golf. www.pbump.net/o/an-officia...
Reposted by Philip Bump
A chart from this week’s newsletter: Guess who’s footing the bill for the tariffs!
www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
February 15, 2026 at 3:41 PM
A chart from this week’s newsletter: Guess who’s footing the bill for the tariffs!
www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
Reposted by Philip Bump
The newsletter is out! It’s about love and also the opposite of love as it pertains to politics.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
May your love be plotted logarithmically
Today, Feb. 14, commemorates the day St. Valentine drove the incels from Italy or something. It is to love what Oct. 31 is to fear, which makes it a bit nicer in theory but – in practice? Turns out ea...
www.howtoreadthisch.art
February 14, 2026 at 3:03 PM
The newsletter is out! It’s about love and also the opposite of love as it pertains to politics.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
Lazy McCarthyism
Chaya Raichik is trying to get an elementary-school teacher fired for reposting a single viral video with zero additional commentary
February 15, 2026 at 6:58 PM
Lazy McCarthyism
The administration fired thousands of federal employees, most of them probationary (in part because they made firing these employees easier). But one category of employee increased substantially from Dec 2024 to Dec 2025: political appointees. www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
February 15, 2026 at 5:24 PM
The administration fired thousands of federal employees, most of them probationary (in part because they made firing these employees easier). But one category of employee increased substantially from Dec 2024 to Dec 2025: political appointees. www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
I guess definitionally the henchmen to the sloppy autocrat will not be particularly sharp but it is still grating.
February 15, 2026 at 2:53 PM
I guess definitionally the henchmen to the sloppy autocrat will not be particularly sharp but it is still grating.
Reposted by Philip Bump
Our story @chicagotribune.com: Chicago teen Ofelia Torres, whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer, dies. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...
February 15, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Our story @chicagotribune.com: Chicago teen Ofelia Torres, whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer, dies. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...
Reposted by Philip Bump
🚨 President Trump’s Claim of an “Irrefutable” Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text in the Shadows of a Microfilm Copy of the U.S. Constitution electionlawblog.org?p=154326
President Trump's Claim of an "Irrefutable" Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text ...
Yesterday I noted the latest set of unhinged social media posts from President Trump in which he declared that voter id requirements and other election changes would be imposed in the midterms via exe...
electionlawblog.org
February 14, 2026 at 5:11 PM
🚨 President Trump’s Claim of an “Irrefutable” Argument Supporting His Right to Unilaterally Impose Voter ID and Election Rules May Be Based on Insane Claim that Marriott Hotel Manager Found Secret Text in the Shadows of a Microfilm Copy of the U.S. Constitution electionlawblog.org?p=154326
This week’s newsletter includes some good conversation fodder. www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
February 14, 2026 at 5:32 PM
This week’s newsletter includes some good conversation fodder. www.howtoreadthisch.art/may-your-lov...
Here’s an effective distillation of Year One of Term Two — metaphor aside.
www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
February 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Here’s an effective distillation of Year One of Term Two — metaphor aside.
www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
The newsletter is out! It’s about love and also the opposite of love as it pertains to politics.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
May your love be plotted logarithmically
Today, Feb. 14, commemorates the day St. Valentine drove the incels from Italy or something. It is to love what Oct. 31 is to fear, which makes it a bit nicer in theory but – in practice? Turns out ea...
www.howtoreadthisch.art
February 14, 2026 at 3:03 PM
The newsletter is out! It’s about love and also the opposite of love as it pertains to politics.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/3f9d0766?m...
The theme of Trump’s first year back in office: eliminate VA nurses in favor of immigration agents. www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
Opinion | Who got fired by the government in 2025 — and who got hired
Philip Bump: Data from the Office of Personnel Management lays out how the composition of the federal government shifted during Trump’s first year back in the White House.
www.ms.now
February 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
The theme of Trump’s first year back in office: eliminate VA nurses in favor of immigration agents. www.ms.now/opinion/fede...
Just realized that the satchel of money in Fargo is identical to the one in No Country For Old Men.
February 14, 2026 at 3:51 AM
Just realized that the satchel of money in Fargo is identical to the one in No Country For Old Men.
This week's newsletter comes out in just under 12 hours! This week's theme, as you might guess, is LOVE.
A person's love for their partner.
A nation's love for its leader, when such things exist.
A consumer's love for higher prices.
And much more! Sign up. It's free! Check out past issues now:
A person's love for their partner.
A nation's love for its leader, when such things exist.
A consumer's love for higher prices.
And much more! Sign up. It's free! Check out past issues now:
How To Read This Chart
37% data. 42% visualizations. 210% jokes.
howtoreadthisch.art
February 14, 2026 at 3:43 AM
This week's newsletter comes out in just under 12 hours! This week's theme, as you might guess, is LOVE.
A person's love for their partner.
A nation's love for its leader, when such things exist.
A consumer's love for higher prices.
And much more! Sign up. It's free! Check out past issues now:
A person's love for their partner.
A nation's love for its leader, when such things exist.
A consumer's love for higher prices.
And much more! Sign up. It's free! Check out past issues now:
We lost Vietnam because we were too P.C. with our Agent Orange, carpet-bombing Cambodia and at My Lai.
Trump: "We won World War 1. We won everything. World War 2. And everything before, during, and a little bit after except we fought a little bit differently. We fought to be politically correct. We were a politically correct force with the presidents. But now we have a real force."
February 13, 2026 at 6:51 PM
We lost Vietnam because we were too P.C. with our Agent Orange, carpet-bombing Cambodia and at My Lai.
Reposted by Philip Bump
For those of you keeping score at home, the actual cut to the Post newsroom was 45%, not the widely reported one third. Remaining journalists are a bit over 400, down from around 1100 four years ago and 580 when Bezos bought the place.
February 12, 2026 at 6:49 PM
For those of you keeping score at home, the actual cut to the Post newsroom was 45%, not the widely reported one third. Remaining journalists are a bit over 400, down from around 1100 four years ago and 580 when Bezos bought the place.