Hello and happy Friday! You’ve no doubt heard the news of Republican Senator Ted Cruz jetting off to sunny Cancún this week amid a catastrophic storm that has left millions of his constituents in Texas without power, heating, and, in some cases, even water.
If fleeing the scene amid a crisis weren’t damning enough, Cruz responded to the outpouring of criticism by claiming that his daughters made him do it. Thanks to some leaked group texts, however, we know that the real purpose of the hastily-planned trip was to escape the Cruz family’s “FREEZING” home. (Who leaked the texts, you might be wondering? That sounds like a job for Coleen Rooney 🕵️ )
While scandals are nothing new in Washington, there is something mildly refreshing about seeing politicians being called out for acting with impunity. As my colleague James Hamblin noted, it’s hard to imagine former President Donald Trump facing the same consequences.
In belated podcast news: I joined The Bunker last week to chat about Trump’s impeachment trial, vaccinations, and more. You can listen to the episode here or by finding the February 9th episode on your favorite podcast app.
What I’ve written
Back in November (when the outcome of the U.S. election was still uncertain), I wrote about how, regardless of whether Donald Trump wins or loses, his movement remains an attractive and durable force for millions of Americans.
Now that Trump is gone and his second impeachment trial is over, I wrote about what the next iteration of Trumpism could look like based on the trajectories of three of the world’s most durable populist movements: Berlusconism in Italy, Peronism in Argentina, and Fujimorismo in Peru. Though their political contexts and ideologies differ, these movements prove that personality-driven movements rarely fade once their leaders have left office. In the face of victimization, real or imagined, they often thrive. Keep reading here
What I’ve read
This important report by The New York Times’s Isabella Kwai and Elian Peltier on the impact the pandemic is having on the mental health of young people:
Last in line for vaccines and with schools and universities shuttered, young people have borne much of the burden of the sacrifices being made largely to protect older people, who are more at risk from severe infections. But the resilience of youth may be overestimated, mental health professionals say.
Faced with a restricted social life and added uncertainty at an already precarious moment in their lives, many young people are suffering from a gnawing sense that they are losing precious time in their prime years.
This piece from the Harvard Business Review on why we need to rethink how we address imposter syndrome:
The answer to overcoming imposter syndrome is not to fix individuals but to create an environment that fosters a variety of leadership styles and in which diverse racial, ethnic, and gender identities are seen as just as professional as the current model, which Opie describes as usually “Eurocentric, masculine, and heteronormative.”
This must-read profile of 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley by Politico correspondent (and soon-to-be Atlantic staff writer) Tim Alberta:
Since last fall, I’ve spent nearly six hours talking with Haley on-the-record. I’ve also spoken with nearly 70 people who know her: friends, associates, donors, staffers, former colleagues. From those conversations, two things are clear. First, Nikki Haley is going to run for president in 2024. Second, she doesn’t know which Nikki Haley will be on the ballot. Will it be the Haley who has proven so adaptive and so canny that she might accommodate herself to the dark realities of a Trump-dominated party? Will it be the Haley who is combative and confrontational and had a history of giving no quarter to xenophobes? Or will it be the Haley who refuses to choose between these characters, believing she can be everything to everyone?
Bonus: Read Nikki Haley’s latest op-ed, which can only be interpreted as an attempt at damage control. (Spoiler: It didn’t work.)
What I’m thinking about
We’ve officially reached the point of the year where, here in London at least, it’s still light out after 5pm! As a Californian who a) is no great fan of winter and b) desperately misses the sun, each extra minute of daylight is to be savored ☀️ Unless of course it’s Ramadan, in which case the sun can set as early as it likes.
Until next time,
Yasmeen
P.S. I have a piece out next week that spotlights one of the many ways in which Trump’s legacy won’t be so easily reversed. I’m really excited to share it with you all in our next correspondence, but keep an eye out for it in the meantime!