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Anne Applebaum

@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu
452K followers 562 following 2.1K posts

staff writer @theatlantic.com and senior fellow @snfagora.bsky.social. author of GULAG, IRON CURTAIN, RED FAMINE, TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY and AUTOCRACY INC linktr.ee/anneapplebaum

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Trump's foreign policy is not isolationist. On the contrary, his ideologues want to build an international empire run by far-right political movements who serve American crypto, mineral and tech companies, many with links to the president. Read more here: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 19h
State Department employees were falsely accused of "censoring" Americans. When do they get justice? thehill.com/opinion/nati...
thehill.com
We need accountability for federal employee purges made on false pretenses
I was grilling chicken on a sweltering summer night in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, when I peeked at my phone and saw that a senior official in the administration had just accused me of lying to C…
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Firing Line with Margaret Hoover @firinglineshow.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Architecture is not incidental or accidental. It reflects who we are." @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu argues President Trump's White House renovations are damaging the ideas behind America. "It's changing what it means to be an American president." Follow on Apple: shorturl.at/nQU2k
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today, Monday 9/28, on Thinking Live... I'll be speaking with @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu about the geopolitics of our moment. Join us at 10am ET via snyder.substack.com
snyder.substack.com
Thinking about... | Timothy Snyder | Substack
Opening the future by understanding the past. Click to read "Thinking about...", by Timothy Snyder, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 28/09/2026
www.dr.dk/nyheder/udla...
dr.dk
Amerikansk topanalytiker i interview med DR: USA's drømme om Grønland lever videre
Selv om Trump har indgået en aftale om Grønland, forsøger politiske kræfter og amerikanske pengemænd at øge deres indflydelse højt mod nord.
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Firing Line with Margaret Hoover @firinglineshow.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What should the next president do with Trump’s White House ballroom? “Knock it down” says @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu. She argues the ballroom is about more than architecture: “It’s Trump seeking to remake the institution itself.”
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 27/09/2026
An alliance of ideologues and grifters is remaking U.S. foreign policy, from Iran and Ukraine to Venezuela and Cuba. On @firinglineshow.bsky.social Watch here: youtu.be/4okBq3W_E-o
youtu.be
Anne Applebaum | Full Episode 9.25.26 | Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS
YouTube video by Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS
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DTwyman @dtwyman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This episode of firing line featuring @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu is really worth watching. Particularly for its conclusion dealing with the importance of architecture. 
youtu.be
Anne Applebaum | Full Episode 9.25.26 | Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS
YouTube video by Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | PBS
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 26/09/2026
Incredible: another Ukrainian famine is unfolding, this time in Russian-occupied Oleshky. The remaining inhabitants of what used to be a thriving small city, now down to about 6000 people, are blockaded by Russian forces and cut off from food and water. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Oleshky: Eating garden weeds to survive in Russian-occupied city cut off from food and water
The BBC has spoken to residents in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky who say they are being "constantly shelled".
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Firing Line with Margaret Hoover @firinglineshow.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“American foreign policy should be about benefiting all Americans,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning historian @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu. “When it’s designed to enrich a few people who have some kind of contact to the administration... it’s not good for America.” FULL EPISODE: bit.ly/4dYciVj
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 26/09/2026
Amazing detail in this @wsj article about Kimberly Guilfoyle, US ambassador to Greece: she told a Greek minister, in a conversation about the collapse of the Romanian government,“We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here." www.wsj.com/articles/kim...
wsj.com
The Mystery Man Shadowing Kimberly Guilfoyle as She Pushes Deals Across Europe
Christos Marafatsos works as an energy lobbyist while also closely advising the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 25/09/2026
"internal financial documents show that ticket sales steeply declined after Mr. Trump’s takeover of the institution, and plunged even further after his name was added to the building" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/a...
nytimes.com
Kennedy Center Shelved Repairs Now Cited for Closure, Whistle-Blowers Say (Gift Article)
In a letter to Congress, former employees say the center delayed a plan to address the leaks that its officials now cite as a serious safety risk.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 25/09/2026
The far-right ideologues and grifters running U.S. foreign policy are the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America but the world, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 24/09/2026
Interesting. The Phillipines pivoted to the US, away from China, and now, under Trump, are beginning to regret it www.worldpoliticsreview.com/philippines-...
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Philippines Chose to Align with the U.S. Now It Regrets It
Despite Manila’s efforts, it is increasingly evident that Washington cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 24/09/2026
The far-right ideologues and grifters running U.S. foreign policy are the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America but the world, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23/09/2026
Zelenskyy at the UN: "Ukrainians understand that this winter could be very harsh for us, but in response we will have no choice but to make it harsh for Russia too"
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 22/09/2026
President Trump berated a CNN reporter, days after barring the network from the White House. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” he said. Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s White House correspondent, responded, “The United Nations allowed us in, sir.”
washingtonpost.com
Trump berates CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after ban: ‘You shouldn’t be covering me’
The terse interaction came during the president’s visit to the United Nations.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 22/09/2026
In DC September 28? Come hear me talk about my @theatlantic.com cover story with Scott Stossel, who edited it. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 22/09/2026
In DC September 28? Come hear me talk about my @theatlantic.com cover story with Scott Stossel, who edited it. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
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Eating Beagles 🎱 @eatingbeagles.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Today’s read @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu Who needs zombie horror movies when reality is far, far worse.
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Casey Michel @cjcmichel.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I went on @npr.org's 1A alongside the great @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu to talk about how corruption has rotted American foreign policy, fueled imperialism from Greenland to Ukraine, and sold American policy—and even American national security—to the highest bidder.
the1a.org
If You Can Keep It: 'Empire of Grift'
The name of this country has been at the center of President Trump’s rhetoric.
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Casey Whitaker @alphacentauri53.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work,” Beattie once wrote on X. “Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.” An amazing article by @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu💙⭐️
Alberta is in the middle of Canada. If the province were to detach itself, eastern Canada could be physically cut off from western Canada, the country would lose a substantial portion of its oil and natural-gas production, and the provinces important contributions to the national budget would vanish.
Canada might cease to be a viable country, especially if other provinces started to question the union. That may be the point: In 1990, Pat Buchanan, the intellectual grandfather of the MAGA movement, declared that if Quebec ever broke off from Canada, America should "pick up the pieces." This now seems to be, if not the publicly stated U.S. policy toward Canada, then at least the predator clan's policy: pressure the economy, break up the federation, pick up the pieces. And no, it is not a joke.
THE IDEA THAT a dedicated group of Americans has a plan to dismantle Canada, or that businessmen with opaque links to the U.S. government might want to create political conditions for a U.S. takeover of Greenland, may surprise Americans. It shouldn't. Every single tactic used against Brazil, Canada, or Denmark has also been deployed elsewhere—not to support democracy, not to build American prosperity, but to spread the illiberal revolution and make money for the predators who support it. Here is a partial list.
The Atlantic
September 20, 2026
Anne Applebaum
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Sue Carr @scarr54.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
@nicollewallace.bsky.social what a treat to see @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu in person on your show with @esglaude.bsky.social & Judge Luttig.
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Harvey G. Cohen @cultrhack.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In the 1st 3 minutes of this new podcast from the Bulwark, historian/journalist @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu gives the best, simplest explanation for why Trump’s sudden mowing down of the White House East Wing is an “abomination” to not just D.C., but to America itself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z38...
youtube.com
Even Anne Applebaum Is Ready to Dynamite Trump’s Ballroom | Bulwark Daily
YouTube video by The Bulwark
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Jim Goldgeier @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
terrific piece by @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu for @theatlantic.com on those she rightly calls "the clan of predators currently in charge of the U.S. federal government." They are making a huge mess for us, while cleaning up for themselves. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 20/09/2026
“The No. 1 problem the Kennedy Center has had is President Trump.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/u...
nytimes.com
How President Trump Broke the Kennedy Center (Gift Article)
Internal emails and documents demonstrate the political capture of the institution, including how officials once pursued a plan to unload much of the art collection.
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 20/09/2026
Ukraine hits Moscow with ‘largest ever’ drone attack ft.trib.al/S08nvaW
ft.trib.al
Ukraine hits Moscow with ‘largest ever’ drone attack
Major oil refinery in Russian capital set ablaze as voting draws to a close in stage-managed parliamentary elections
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 20/09/2026
Greenland, Brazil, Ukraine, Jared and…the ballroom www.thebulwark.com/p/anne-apple...
thebulwark.com
Anne Applebaum: Putin Played Jared Kushner “Like a Fiddle”
In Greenland, the Trump administration has got tech bros and hedge fund guys running an influence operation there.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 19/09/2026
The Kennedy Center was financially stable until Trump took over: "In the fiscal year ending in 2024, when the center was led by President Deborah Rutter and a bipartisan board of trustees, it brought in about $40 million more than it spent" www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
theatlantic.com
What the Kennedy Center’s Tax Return Reveals
A previously unseen filing captures the state of the institution seven months after Donald Trump’s takeover.
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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 18/09/2026
@timmiller.bsky.social and @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu on the U.S.-controlled system for selling Venezuelan oil and assets: "Congress doesn’t have oversight...there’s just rogue bank accounts out there with Venezuelan money."
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 19/09/2026
From the information available, it seems this US-Denmark deal over Greenland changes almost nothing. US had bases there before; US continues to defendsl Greenland because it s in NATO. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/u...
nytimes.com
U.S. and Denmark Reach Security Deal on Greenland, Trump Says
The full contours of the deal were unclear, but Denmark and Greenland both indicated they expected an agreement to be signed soon.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 17/09/2026
The far-right ideologues and grifters running U.S. foreign policy are the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America but the world, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I wrote about who is actually making America “poorer and dirtier.” It’s not immigrants. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Who is responsible for this terrible state of affairs? The opposition party and immigrants, apparently. Vance went on to say, “The Democrat legacy of the last few years was that they bankrupted our country and left us poor. They left our country weaker. They left our border wide open and our communities less safe.”

But this account represents a preposterous inversion. Almost every problem Vance lists, the Trump administration has made worse.

The administration’s environmental policies have made American water and air dirtier. Its health-care, tariff, and tax policies have worsened inflation and increased the financial burden on most American households, even as incomes have grown. And its public-health policies have led to outbreaks of contagious disease.
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The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This morning on the show, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu unpacks how MAGA officials are realigning the world order and benefitting from it financially. wnyc.org/browse/shows...
wnyc.org
How MAGA Has Overtaken Foreign Policy for Personal Gain | WNYC
Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, historian and author of Autocracy Inc.
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Something weirdly not noted in a lot of the coverage of the extortionate threats to murder the Kennedy Center unless it’s reimagined as a shrine to Trump: There was no dire fiscal crisis until Trump’s goombahs started mucking with it. Its finances were fine. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/o...
projects.propublica.org
John F Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica
Since 2013, the IRS has released data culled from millions of nonprofit tax filings. Use this database to find organizations and see details like their executive compensation, revenue and expenses, as...
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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 18/09/2026
For too long, Canadians and Europeans been naive & complacent to entrust our democratic spaces to social networks controlled by American CEOs & Chinese corporations that have little stake in protecting democry. So glad to finally see a Canadian leader adressing #digitalimperialism.
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Nick Cohen @nickcohen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In defence of @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu’s grim argument that we are living in a new and corrupt world order. (You only have to look at Farage and Trump to know she’s right.) Plus, for subscribers, an appreciation of her work
nickcohen.substack.com
The corrupt world order
Anne Applebaum and an “empire of grift”
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
The Trump administration plans to spend $84,000 to shame the Smithsonian and harass the tourists who come to see the Star Spangled Banner that flew over Fort McHenry www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
theatlantic.com
The Next Change Trump Has Planned for the Smithsonian
A letter from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum revealed new details about warning signs the White House will install near the American-history museum.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 16/09/2026
Read Mikhal Zygar on Umar Kremlev, the oligarch who helped pay for Don Jr's wedding zygaro.substack.com/p/the-oligar...
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
The Kennedy Center was a beloved Washington institution, enjoyed by millions of people. It has been destroyed for no real reason. Just vanity, carelessness, indifference. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Trump’s Kennedy Center Shakedown
The only appropriate response is to refuse to accede to his demands.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 15/09/2026
Amazing. A Cuban dance instructor living in Russia recruits random people to carry out acts of arson and terror in Europe, on behalf of the Russian state www.dw.com/en/cuban-dan...
dw.com
Cuban dance teacher ordered EU sabotage attacks from Russia
In 2024, a Cuban man coordinated a series of arson attacks in four EU countries while operating on behalf of Russian intelligence services. DW Investigations tracked him back to a Latin dance studio i...
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 15/09/2026
The far-right ideologues and grifters running U.S. foreign policy are the vanguard of a movement that will alter not just America but the world, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 15/09/2026
Online grifters, private companies, and far-right ideologues have transformed traditional American diplomacy, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu writes. She explores how they’re wielding their newfound power: theatln.tc/NXFHONps
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Nicholas Thompson @nxthompson.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“These people do not talk about spreading democracy, and don’t want to build long-term relationships. They don’t care about America’s reputation. They are deploying the tools of American diplomacy and government for their own purposes." From @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu: buff.ly/NX3U6kW
theatlantic.com
MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Exceptional journalism from @newyorker.com on Jared Kushner's catastrophic diplomacy, conflicts of interest, arrogance. He represents "a new kind of Washington figure, for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Jared Kushner’s Dollar Diplomacy
Jared Kushner represents the kind of Washington figure for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children. He praises Stalin on social media www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🚨🚨 #MAGA is making the world safe for #corruption. Strong piece by @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu on how far-right ideologies have transformed #American #foreignpolicy into a tool of private gain and anti-democratic reaction. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Some details: Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 14/09/2026
Online grifters, private companies, and far-right ideologues have transformed traditional American diplomacy, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu writes. She explores how they’re wielding their newfound power:
bit.ly
Donald Trump’s Empire of Grift
Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.
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Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A clan of predators, supporting revolutionary allies from illiberal parties and nations, and getting rich in the process. A must-read @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu on this new, far worse United States.
administration's reckoning, he had two strikes against him: First, de Moraes's court was trying Bolsonaro; second, he had provoked the ire of Elon Musk, Trump's largest election donor. De Moraes "needs to leave," Musk said, comparing him to Voldemort, after de Moraes threatened to fine X and ordered it to block accounts accused of spreading disinformation.
The crisis was novel in other ways too. In normal times, the Brazilian government is reasonably well connected in Washington, regardless of who runs either country. The tenth-largest economy in the world, Brazil cooperates extensively with U.S. law enforcement and regional organizations. Yet at this crucial moment, with billions of dollars in the balance and Brazil's sovereign democracy under attack, Brazilian officials suddenly found that nobody in the Trump administration would speak to the formal representatives of their left-leaning president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil's ambassador to Washington found herself isolated. The foreign minister, a diplomat who had known U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for decades, could not get through to anyone. A junior official told me that even his graduate-school classmate at the U.S. Treasury would not answer his calls.A truce was finally arranged, multiple people told me, with the help of Joesley Batista, a billionaire whose meatpacking company does business in both the U.S. and Brazil, and whose American subsidiary had donated $5 million to Trump's inauguration (more than the contributions of Amazon, Meta, and Google combined). Batista had no official government role, but his money may have given him the clout to influence Trump's meetings with Lula at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, and at a summit in Kuala Lumpur, where the two elderly populists, each with grievances against their respective establishments, hit it off. The tariffs were reduced.
The détente was temporary. When I visited São Paulo and Brasilia this past spring, the State Department had just appointed a new senior adviser on Brazil policy. Before working for the administration, Darren Beattie founded Revolver News, a website that promoted the "Fedsurrection" conspiracy-the belief that federal agents were behind the riots on January 6, an obsession that would naturally appeal to Brazil's election deniers and displease the elected president. When Beattie asked to visit Brazil for a minerals conference, the Brazilian government refused to grant him a visa, in part because it suspected that his true purpose was to visit Jair Bolsonaro,Slowly, the Brazilians were learning the same lesson as other American allies around the
world: The United States of America is no longer the entity they knew. And American power is no longer deployed solely by trained diplomats and reliable officials, working through state channels. Informal envoys, private companies, online grifters, and hardened ideologues both inside and outside the government matter more.
Unlike their predecessors, these people do not talk about spreading democracy, and don't want to build long-term relationships.
They don't care about America's reputation.
They are deploying the tools of American diplomacy and government for their own purposes, to promote their own business interests or their own ideological goals, because, suddenly, they can.
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