Home > Articles | 🏛️🇺🇸📖 Heather Cox Richardson

🇷🇺🇺🇸👹🗳️💸 Letters from an American - August 18, 2025

🤖 AI Summary

• 📱 Social Media Posts: Trump used his social media account to post 🖼️ AI-generated images of himself with a lion, memes claiming he is the “best president,” and material from QAnon-related accounts. 😈 The posts pushed the QAnon belief that the Democratic Party is “the party of hate, evil, and Satan.”
• 🗳️ Mail-in Voting and Elections: His social media post claimed that the president would lead a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines. 🤥 The post lied that the U.S. is the only country that uses mail-in voting and claimed that states are merely an “agent” for the federal government in counting and tabulating votes.
• ⚖️ Defamation Lawsuits: 📺 Newsmax will pay 💲67 million to Dominion Voting Systems for spreading false claims about the 2020 presidential election. 🤑 This is in addition to the 💲787 million Fox News paid for similar lies.
• 🗺️ Redistricting: 🏛️ In Texas, Trump pressured Governor Greg Abbott to change the state’s district maps to gain five more Republican seats in Congress. 🏃 Texas Democrats tried to stop the redistricting by leaving the state to prevent a quorum, but returned after it was clear Abbott would continue to call special sessions.
• 💰 Economic Issues: 📈 The Producer Price Index, which tracks wholesale costs, jumped 0.9% in July, the largest jump since June 2022. 🥬 The wholesale price of vegetables rose 38.9% in July. ⚡️ Electricity prices have also jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Medicare and Medicaid Cuts: 💵 A new budget reconciliation bill adds 💲3.4 trillion to the federal deficit, which will trigger cuts of up to 💲491 billion in Medicare and nearly a trillion dollars to Medicaid. 🏥 In Ohio, the Medicaid cuts will take insurance from 310,000 people, and the end of the enhanced premium tax credit will dramatically raise premiums for over 530,000 people.
• 🌍 Foreign Policy and Leadership: 🤝 Trump met with several foreign leaders after a disastrous meeting with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. 🗣️ During the meeting, Trump repeated Russian talking points, complained about his treatment, and suggested he would cancel the 2028 elections. 😕 He also appeared unable to recognize the Finnish president. 📞 Later, he paused negotiations to call Vladimir Putin for 40 minutes.

🤔 Evaluation

The provided text offers a specific perspective on recent political and economic events, drawing a narrative of chaos and instability. ⚖️ Other sources, such as the Congressional Budget Office and the IMF, provide data that confirms some of the article’s claims, but often with different interpretations or context. For example, the CBO report confirms that tariffs increase inflation and reduce GDP, but also notes that tariff revenue will reduce the national deficit. 🌍 The IMF forecasts global growth but also points to persistent uncertainty and geopolitical risks, aligning with the article’s tone.

To achieve a more balanced understanding, it would be useful to explore different perspectives on the following topics:

• The Constitution and Election Law: The article states that the Constitution is clear that a president cannot dictate election rules. 📜 Further research into constitutional law and Federalist Papers could provide deeper context on the powers delegated to the states versus the federal government regarding elections, and how these powers have been interpreted throughout history.
• Economic Impact of Tariffs: While the article highlights the inflationary effect of tariffs on consumers, other economic analyses might present alternative views. 📊 Some may argue that tariffs are a necessary tool to protect domestic industries and jobs, or that the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term inflationary pressures.
• Foreign Policy and Diplomacy: The article characterizes Trump’s foreign policy meetings as a display of his inability to manage the presidency. 🗣️ Diplomatic analysts may offer contrasting perspectives, for example, viewing his approach as a deliberate strategy to disrupt traditional alliances or to re-establish a different kind of global order.

📚 Book Recommendations

• On Disinformation by Lee McIntyre: This book provides a practical guide on how to combat disinformation campaigns. 💡 It is relevant because the text discusses how the president and his allies are pushing false claims about election fraud.
• The Constitutional Presidency edited by Joseph M. Bessette and Jeffrey K. Tulis: This collection of essays explores the constitutional powers of the presidency. 📖 It is relevant as the article questions the president’s authority to dictate election rules.
• Politics of Disinformation edited by Guillermo Lopez-Garcia et al.: A comprehensive exploration of the theoretical concepts of disinformation and its impact on the political arena. 🗳️ It is relevant to the article’s discussion of election fraud claims and media lawsuits.
• The World According to Putin by Steve LeVine: A book that explores the psychology and political motivations of the Russian leader. 🇷🇺 It provides a contrasting view of the foreign policy issues mentioned in the article, focusing on the perspective of Putin rather than the American presidency.
• The Shallows by Nicholas Carr: This book examines the effects of the internet and social media on our brains and society. 🧠 It is creatively related to the article’s discussion of the president’s use of social media and the spread of disinformation.