Behind the Tweets

Stories and thoughts beyond 280 characters

Photo by Olivier Douliery via Getty Images

Sometimes it seems my brain is wired to produce thoughts in exactly 280 characters. That’s what compulsive, daily tweeting will get you. But there’s often a whole lot of other thinking that never gets included in those blasts, typically served up in a string of declarative sentences.

This occasional feature will give a behind-the-scenes look at some of the thoughts and questions that motivated the tweet. Let me know if you find it interesting.

Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

The FBI’s Wray called the 1/6 insurrection “domestic terrorism.” What does that make the man who incited this domestic terrorism?

The deadly, insurrectionist attack on our Capitol and democratic system of government took place less than two months ago. There’s still so much we don’t know about what happened, including all the sources of funding, the extent and coordination of the planning, what the White House occupant promised these violent extremists, and so much more. But even as we struggle to make sense of this, the country and the media hasn’t fully decided what to call this heinous crime. That’s why FBI director Christopher Wray calling this domestic terrorism is so important.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

With dread, I’ll listen and watch Trump at CPAC, but I won’t upload video clips and will not amplify his “message.” I treat it as a duty, to see how he intends to continue to spread poison — and how his cultists remain excited to do his bidding.

In the early days after Trump was elected, I often commented on his maddening outbursts, retweeting what he said. I came to realize that, even if I was condemning his words, I was also amplifying them. So I stopped that practice, paraphrasing what he said rather than inadvertently spreading the lying and the degrading attacks. Even now, especially after his eviction, I ask myself whether what he does is sufficiently newsworthy that it justifies watching, listening and sharing my observations. As for Sunday’s repetitive blabber—arguably newsworthy for his criminal need to continue perpetuating the Big Lie, his support of states pursuing voter suppression laws and his cultists’ fervor to stick with him—I gave up on the tired display before it ended.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

Trump lost. He helped the Democrats take two Senate seats in Georgia and the majority. He incited a deadly insurrection. He will likely be charged with tax fraud and other crimes that carry long prison sentences. But sure, CPAC/GOP cultists: He’s your man to die for.

Sometimes I feel like I tweet what everyone knows already, but I still think the reality needs to be stated factually. My hope: the contrast between the actual facts and the failure to face them might someday trickle into the minds of his followers to rethink their choice. Until we see the mass psychosis fading, I admit this is a combination of unrealistic hopefulness and the need to get off my chest what seems clearly deranged.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

Never forget that Donald J. Trump covered up and condoned the vicious murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

When the Biden Administration made public the CIA’s findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the murder of the Washington Post journalist and Saudi native, this simply confirmed what many of us believed soon after we learned of his brutal execution by bone saw on October 2, 2018 in Istanbul. This horror was made more intolerable then by Trump’s utter disrespect for human life by focusing on the economic priorities. “Saudi Arabia is a big buyer of [American] product,” he said, adding: “Take their money.” I’m still angry. I’ll never get over this.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

We should expect more from the Biden Administration to hold MBS accountable for his role in the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. That includes cutting off meetings with the Saudi prince.

After the last four years of desecration and violation of the rule of law, democracy and human decency, the Biden Administration’s early missteps seem tepid in comparison. But the Khashoggi murder deserves a stronger response, even if it undermines the Saudi-US relationship. It’s interesting how many people complained about my criticizing Joe Biden.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

For the record, the same people who voted for a $2 trillion+ tax cut bill aiding the richest Americans opposed a $1.9 trillion relief bill to buoy everyone struggling to stay afloat.

In brief: Never underestimate the hypocrisy of the Republicans, especially when it comes to serving their financial interests over all other values.

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Steven Beschloss @StevenBeschloss

Pausing for a moment to express gratitude to the 81.3 million Americans who elected President Biden, ensuring we’d have a government that would take coronavirus seriously and put in place a national strategy and vaccination plan.

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

2.4M vaccine shots given out today! We're recovering from the blizzard slump. https://t.co/KPobllgiRB

It’s been a long, heartbreaking year. We have lost way too many of our fellow Americans. But I am grateful that we have an empathic President now who understands and believes in governance and is focused on saving lives. It gives me hope and confidence we will get through this—and it’s why I’m determined to keep noting the difference between our current reality and what we would be facing if Trump had four more years to wreak havoc.