1. The Bu

I don’t have any deep thoughts about the search of Mar-a-Lago. We’ll see what happens. In general, the FBI is the most professional law enforcement organization in America, but they don’t bat 1.000.

I do have some observations about the politics of the moment, though.

(1) No one is asking if this will be the thing that finally prises Republicans away from Trump. For seven years we had a series of episodes—mocking John McCain, “grab ‘em by the pussy,” Charlottesville, the Ukraine blackmail, January 6—at which point non-believers honestly thought that the latest outrage would be a bridge too far and that some Trump supporters would turn on him.

Well, we seem to have finally touched bottom on reality. No one anywhere in America believes that the potential criminal prosecution of Donald Trump could move a single one of his followers, either at the popular or elite levels.

That’s progress, of a sort. It means that supporters of democracy finally understand the realities of what they are facing.

(2) The potential for more political violence is real.