Illustration: Zohar Lazar One afternoon this year, a Washington Republican wove through packs of tourists on the Mall and considered, as he often did, the collapse of America. How would all of this appear from a distance? He looked at the monuments, lucent in the sun, and pictured them disfigured by centuries of neglect and carnage. “Do you ever think about how, 2,000 years from now, people are going to do what we’re doing right now how they do it in the Forum in Rome?” he said.
He figured the era of Trump’s dominance of his party would be over in November 2016 when Hillary Clinton won the election, as most polling and most so-called experts suggested she would. That wasn’t so far away, and he was “too pragmatic” to leave a big job that he had worked hard to get, and that he liked having, over something that was only temporary. “You could just tough it out for a few months,” he said, recalling his thinking then.
Although Trump used to call New York tabloids under false names to plant positive stories about himself, he has often claimed that anonymous sources don’t exist. “I think writers make it up,” he told me as he sat behind the Resolute desk. “Generally, generally. Not in all cases, but generally.” And why wouldn’t he sow such doubts? Blind-quote giving is older than Trump, but the dysfunctional dynamics that give rise to the practice have flourished during his administration.
Republicans approve of Donald Trump’s performance as president by a wide margin — some-where in the range of 87 percent, though Trump would have you believe that number is a shockingly consistent 96 percent. In public and on the record, Republicans in Washington are, with rare exceptions, an official part of this majority.
Most days, in the crack of separation between his own aims and the aims of the president, the Republican can find a way to live with himself. Most days, feeling no connection to the White House, he can do his job and achieve a state of blissful denial, thinking little about whom his actions are really in service of. “Most days, he doesn’t factor into it,” he said, explaining the cognitive dissonance. “Trump’s pretty disengaged day to day.
Olivianuzzi
Olivianuzzi Huh. “Some-times.”
Olivianuzzi frankly i don't give a flying fuck
Olivianuzzi Very meta way to let people who don’t deserve the attention or humanizing get exactly that
Olivianuzzi Here we go .... more hate for you to cast aside as more lunatics on a hate rant So old it’s Boring Zzzzzz realDonaldTrump nytimes dbongino
Olivianuzzi Sweet article. 'stopping him from doing the really crazy stuff' makes him seem like he wouldn't or won't do crazy stuff. He would and he will. Anyone who excuses themselves with that bullshit causes more damage than he does.
Olivianuzzi Hard pass.
Olivianuzzi Sorry but unless it's in a court transcript or a deposition the last thing I want to read is the story of how someone aided and abetted Trump.
Olivianuzzi Nobody cares. Those are big-govt Republicans trying to get rich the same way Biden do--selling access. They are a small part of the much bigger problem of big govt Dem0crats. Govt is too big, too controlling and as soon as Trump cut it back some, the economy & wages took off
Olivianuzzi Oh now.
Olivianuzzi “He’s a permanent scar on the face of the country.” I couldn’t agree more, and the sick thing is, his supporters feel the same way about Barack Obama.
Olivianuzzi can I please record a progressive rock concept record called, The Fuzzy Vails of Attribution?
Olivianuzzi A lot of people are raving about this piece, but I found it nauseating. Never once did the reporter note that the Senate could have convicted Trump when he was impeached. This story just revels in the utter lack of moral fiber Republicans have displayed.
Olivianuzzi “It’s going to be so bad. The party will be finished. But maybe we deserve it?” And it seems as if the smell of death at the front of the herd has triggered in some, survival instincts for the long winter ahead.
Olivianuzzi “The press provides the alibi as it prosecutes the case.” Great line, Olivia.
Olivianuzzi Despicable
Olivianuzzi One of your worst pieces, now your trying to hard.
Olivianuzzi This is gross!
Olivianuzzi They are worse than Trumo. At least he's has being a sociopath as an excuse.
Olivianuzzi More fiction.
Olivianuzzi '[M]ore like Glenn Beck than Barry Goldwater' is an absolute gem of wordsmanship.
Olivianuzzi TonyBobulinski
Olivianuzzi In the end they’ve lost their reputation.
Olivianuzzi Fake news
Olivianuzzi This truly angers me. This person finds it fun that the enemy is nancy pelosi & the congressional Democrats. The Covid deaths & collapsing economy r inconvenient. Nowhere does he/she say what might be good for the people of the country. All about power😡
Olivianuzzi Not a mofo bit of sympathy for the cowards. I hope &pray the actions of the R party under I-45 totally destroyed it. Time will tell, and it won’t take 100 years, I believe within the next 2 years the damage will reveal itself. They will deserve all the rage of the American ppl
Olivianuzzi So revealing. It’s all about games and power for Republicans. What happened to service and leadership?! They need to find a new profession. Maybe something in garbage disposal. 🙄
jaynaproctor Olivianuzzi People like this don't deserve to lead.
Olivianuzzi Why can they not see, with the claims of righteousness and patriotism, that the history will be written with references to 1930s Germany and people will say, as we do now, “How could they be so blind to what was happening?” They weren’t and neither are these fools
Olivianuzzi “This is a man who is so completely alien to what this country — the best principles of what this country is about....people will look back and say, ‘How the fuck did they think this was normal?,’ it makes me sad for the country. He’s a permanent scar on the face of our country.”
InactionNever Olivianuzzi Denial. It's not a river in Egypt.
Olivianuzzi One of the major takeaways I got from the article is the Republicans are unethical assholes. To be so damned craven, spineless, and immoral... no wonder the GOP is dying. They've done nothing to save it themselves.
Olivianuzzi The Good-for-nothing Old Pricks party.
Olivianuzzi Born on the coast. Tim Scott, North Charleston and Marco rubio Miami. Just a cursory search
Olivianuzzi I'm just going to presume any Republican that didn't stand up to him in public needs to go and send money and time accordingly.
Stace_RNresists Olivianuzzi No more anonymity. Don't allow them to ease their conscience as they promote the destruction of democracy.
Olivianuzzi 👀“... though every time I choose the anonymous truth, I make it easier for this system of secrecy to continue.”
Olivianuzzi Tragic.
Olivianuzzi Unbelievable.
Olivianuzzi
Olivianuzzi Fucking nauseating. Doesn’t Mr Anonymous have a conscience?
Olivianuzzi Who wants to put money on this being LindseyGrahamSC?
Olivianuzzi “This is a man who is so completely alien to what this country; the best principles of what this country is about. When I think about the fact that a 100 yrs from now, people will look back and say, ‘How the fuck did they think this was normal?,’ it makes me sad for the country.”
Olivianuzzi The gop must go!!’
Olivianuzzi My guess is LeningradLindsey
Olivianuzzi Fun article. Place it in 1930s Germany, and substitute “Nazi” for “Republican” and not much changes. Interesting, no?
Olivianuzzi The president Republicans elected and protected:
Olivianuzzi Trump is a useful id...t who has allowed them to get things done which eould have never bern acceptable under a typucal republican. They are almost done with him and will throw him to the wolves the leaks post election will all come from republican doors
Olivianuzzi Power and greed are deadly combinations.
Olivianuzzi Superb article that, while being in line with what I thought was happening, showcased the magnitude of the soft compliance today's Republicans have with this President Very good explanation of the journalist's role in this too Enjoyed that very much
Olivianuzzi “Earned”
Olivianuzzi There is no justification. These folks are actually worse than trump, pretending somehow to be better than trump. They are not. They are all Pussygrabbers. They are all Racists. That is who the GOP is marcorubio BenSasse LindseyGrahamSC
Olivianuzzi What’s the point of this? We learned nothing new and spent many paragraphs rehashing the same shit. He’s a coward, has no principles and makes jokes while Rome burns. This source is a straight white man who suffers little while the work he does inflicts it twentyfold on others.
Olivianuzzi This is someone whose love of power and money transcends basic human principles of decency and the value of a life. This person is a sociopath. Olivianuzzi
Olivianuzzi There is nothing surprising about this. The only thing the public can do is vote people out of office based on their public views, and not give them credit for any post election maneuvering.
Olivianuzzi The sheer length of this rambling article is a perfect illustration of the Republicans' false sense of self-aggrandizement. Jail them all. No mercy.
Olivianuzzi I'm just so tired of these gutless people justifying their own existence. What happened to 'good of the country'? it's just embarrassing. They all belong in jail. VoteHimOutandLockHimUp
Olivianuzzi “Tortured” means tortured. The sub-head should be “ tortuous”, which means twisted. Words have meanings. The US tortures children.
Olivianuzzi RIPGOP VoteThemAllOut
Olivianuzzi When he said somewhat gleefully that they were most together and had the most fun when working against a common enemy which included Pelosi, Congressional Democrats, and the resistance, I was flabbergasted.
Olivianuzzi Just too much!
Olivianuzzi Party over country may serve power-hungry duplicitists like MittRomney, but where does that leave their duped constituents who get rhetoric on healthcare, guns, and immigrants and crumbs from plutocrat-serving policies. Very disturbing. VoteBlue2020 GOP
Olivianuzzi This doesn’t make me feel any better about our future.
Olivianuzzi They’re disgusting cowards. They hate him as much as we do but, power and money. GOP are just revolting traitors, all of them Traitor GOPHypocrisy GOPBetrayedAmerica
Olivianuzzi Yes. I think hitler had helpers also. They paid the price just like the GOP.
Olivianuzzi Lies!! They’re all complicit!
Olivianuzzi Oh I don't think they care about life. They are just consoling the base. It is all about the power.
Olivianuzzi Interesting that the motivation was always to hold on to power. Now, after 4 long years, they are in the process of losing it all. Was it really worth it - this lust for power - and what is this power junkie going to do now? 🤷🏾♀️
Olivianuzzi Bye Lindsey!
Olivianuzzi Principles are things you stand for regardless of the cost to you personally. All too often it is the ppl who most publicly proclaim their virtue that are ult revealed to be nothing more than opportunistic hacks who lack the courage of their convictions. i.e. todays Repub party
Olivianuzzi This Enabler actually feels that contempt for himself—his need to justify his behavior creates increasing havoc for the rest of us. Thank you, Journalism!
Olivianuzzi To this anonymous, genuine Republican: I hope Karma has reserved something special for you—something far greater than that even for DT, because it's you and every other underbelly like you that have enabled all that Trump is and all he's destroyed, from campaign to current.
Olivianuzzi DanCrenshawTX DanPatrick SenTedCruz JohnCornyn GovAbbott Its very sad and unfortunate. Power trumps, everything. We the people have no meaning after they are elected
Olivianuzzi They all believe they will get away with it. No consequences. No payback. No remorse. Empty souls. I’ll wait and see.
Olivianuzzi And he could be a she.
Olivianuzzi DanCrenshawTX SenTedCruz JohnCornyn GovAbbott DanPatrick we all had a sneaky suspicion that all the blatant acts of conspiracies,, lies,, cheating and misinformation was always there but just like the racist and white supremacist, they never had an enabler like Trump.
Olivianuzzi You were right about one thing in this article. By allowing these people to remain anonymous, you remain part of the problem. What good do these quotes do if we don’t know who to hold accountable. You’re profiting off this disaster just like anonymous is.
Olivianuzzi How can any self-respecting person with any sense of morality do this? What a pile of delusional crap.
Olivianuzzi This 'Republican' isn't defined by his principles. He is defined by his lack of principles. Whatever happens after the election, four more years of being a collaborator or being tossed into political obscurity, he will have earned it.
Olivianuzzi Scary story, but so well done. I appreciated that Olivianuzzi noted the media is a primary enabler. I choose anonymous truth over random bullshit too, horrific though the choice may be. Bravo, Olivia.
Olivianuzzi GoddessofGrain good stuff here about anonymous sources
Olivianuzzi I read it....To think this person can go on living with themselves blows my mind.......
Olivianuzzi ReturnBallotsNow VoteThemOut
Olivianuzzi There is nothing surprising here. We know the Republicans have been compromised. It IS sickening reading this and have it in your face.
Olivianuzzi How does someone like this reconcile some of those actions with their God? There is so much blood on their hands...
Olivianuzzi No souls to sell....
Olivianuzzi “Trump’s pretty disengaged day to day. He has subcontracted most of what his administration actually does to actual Republicans who work on traditional Republican issues. ' Like killing off Americans in great numbers while subverting their democracy
Olivianuzzi Whomever this coward is he's a disgrace to humanity
Olivianuzzi Sickening and also incredible. The GOP are just mercenaries. That’s all they are now. Sad.
Olivianuzzi Who would have known when Trump used the slogan drain the swamp he meant kill the Republican Party. Oh well they deserve it for enabling him. They choose party over country so now they face this onslaught of criticism. Backlash from real Americans.
Olivianuzzi Completely toxic. This guy would be great company for Rush.
Olivianuzzi How Good German of him
Olivianuzzi Here’s the thing: The GOP has been destroying this country for much longer than trump has been around. Craven and cynical Mitch McConnell is exhibit A. The Tea Party exhibit B.
Olivianuzzi In other words: person has no scruples.
Olivianuzzi This is the GOP. Vote them out!
Olivianuzzi Traitors by any other name
Olivianuzzi This article is one of the saddest things I have read in a long time. Trump hated but enabled by amoral, greedy opportunists who care only about themselves.
Olivianuzzi Here is the result of a 40 years long distillation of Reaganomics, sexism, misogyny, racism, self interest and greed. W/o any preference to the order of the cancers.
Olivianuzzi Phenomenal story! I wonder where this poisonous sellout will be this time next year
Olivianuzzi Just read it, powerful piece and somewhat nauseating. 'I'm playing with live bullets now'
Olivianuzzi among all the horrors explored in Olivianuzzi's piece, this is the one I find the most disturbing. Too many Germans told themselves 'it would be alright' instead of standing up to Hitler.
Olivianuzzi Sociopathic
Olivianuzzi Thanks for selling out America GOP !
Olivianuzzi NOT INTERESTED
Olivianuzzi Great article but the person still doesn’t have the balls to stand up for what’s right in public. He/she can kiss my ass
Olivianuzzi Guys like this are reason we can’t have nice things. If I knew who he was I’d trip him walking down stairs.
Olivianuzzi I have a twisted respect for Republicans like this. Just hearing a Republican admit, even anonymously, that their leader is a depraved lazy moron is cathartic for me.
Olivianuzzi Sharks are unlovable. The bottom feeders that attach to them are despicable and pathetic.
Bencjacobs Olivianuzzi ₚᵣₑₛₛ ⒻⒷⒾ αnd ⒹⓄⒿ Ӏied lɪke հell abσut ᴰᵉᵐᵒᶜʳᵃᵗˢ foɾ tʜe las𝘵 30 years. ₜᵣᵤₘₚ i𝘴 t𝘩eir dad∂y, theվ whimper because ʜe raᴘes 𝘵hem bմt theվ loѵe ʜim αnd wou𝘭d ki𝘭l uѕ 𝘢ll foɾ ʜim because ₜᵣᵤₘₚ i𝘴 𝘸hat 𝕹𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖘 cravᴇ
Bencjacobs Olivianuzzi F--k them all to HELL. ''If you don’t like Trump, but you like money, and you’re willing to be vocal about how we need to reelect him, there’s a lot of money to be made this year.' Politics is a business ...'
Olivianuzzi I almost don’t want to know who this soulless source is. How does he sleep at night or look in the mirror? Everything about this article disgusts me, just like the entire GOP disgusts me.
Olivianuzzi Made about halfway through before the nausea set in. As someone said above - I respect the hard-core MAGAs more than these lickspittles with no actual belief system.
Olivianuzzi I think I like the people who actually like Trump better than these craven monsters. They believe they're smarter, that it won't touch them, somehow. God, I hope it crushes them!
Olivianuzzi 🤮No time for this crap! What cares what they think? Maybe talk to some Democrats for a change.? Why amplify the GOP rationalizations? They do not deserve anyone’s attention! Not for a second!
Olivianuzzi sociopathic
Olivianuzzi I still wNt to know the identity of the ultimate coward, I.e., the so-called “adult in the room.”
Olivianuzzi Stop enabling spineless cowards by publishing these pieces. Republicans need to put their names on their claims.
Olivianuzzi They never earned it , that's for sure.
Olivianuzzi Awful.
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