memeorandum: None of the conventional explanations for Trump's victory stand up to scrutiny (Ben Davis/The Guardian)

8:30 PM ET, November 9, 2024

Top Items:

Lulu Garcia-Navarro / New York Times:

Nancy Pelosi Insists the Election Was Not a Rebuke of the Democrats — Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times — Perhaps no Democratic politician has been a greater antagonist to Donald Trump than Nancy Pelosi. As the House minority leader and then speaker of the House during Trump's first term …

Discussion: HotAir, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Independent, Washington Examiner and New York Post

Ben Davis / The Guardian:

None of the conventional explanations for Trump's victory stand up to scrutiny — This election has blown a hole in the worldviews of both leftists and centrists. The pandemic may be a more important factor — Donald Trump has won, and most shockingly, he won the popular vote.

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, The Dispatch, New York Focus and Digby's Hullabaloo

The New York Review of Books:

All Bets Are Off — In Joseph O'Neill's first essay in our pages, he warned readers that “the Republican Party enjoyed a mystifying presumption of legitimacy,” contrasted with “the curious timidity of Democrats.” In that instance, he was describing the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida …

Oliver Hall / The Guardian:

I spent hours trying to persuade US voters to choose Harris not Trump. I know why she lost — As a phone bank volunteer, I hoped to counter the Republican attacks and half-truths, but people really believed them — It has been an extraordinary week for US politics …

Zachary B. Wolf / CNN:

Trump's win was real but not a landslide. Here's where it ranks — A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. — ► It's a comeback for the ages for a president to go from a pariah after trying to overturn one election to president-elect after the next.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Dispatch, Lawyers, Guns & Money, KGW-TV, Alpha News, USA Today and The Colorado Sun

Greg Sargent / New Republic:

Why Did Trump Win? These Dems Have Discovered a Very Disturbing Answer … There are 1,000 convoluted theories floating around on social media that purport to explain why Donald Trump won the presidential race. But some Democrats and people on Kamala Harris's campaign have concluded …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

YouGov:
The aftermath of Donald Trump's presidential election victory: November 6 - 7, 2024 Economist/YouGov Poll

Discussion: Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and The Hill

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democrats' election reckoning pits liberals against centrists

Discussion: New York Times and NBC News

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
November 8, 2024 — Social media has been flooded today with stories of Trump voters …

Discussion: The Mahablog, El País and Breitbart

Thomas Frank / New York Times:
The Elites Had It Coming — Everyone has a moment when they first realized that Donald Trump might well return, and here is mine.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Politico: Election autopsy: 5 POLITICO reporters weigh in on what mattered

Sarah Varney / NPR:
They split the ticket. Meet the abortion rights voters who also went for Trump

Discussion: Slate

Alexandra Hutzler / ABC News:
Trump's political comeback is complete. What it says about American voters

Discussion: USA Today

Josephine Harvey / HuffPost:
‘Normalized A Sociopath’: George Conway Tells ‘Sad Story’ That Led To Trump's Win

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Advisers Ramp Up Work on Mass Deportation Push — People close to the president-elect are starting to think of ways to pay for it — WASHINGTON—Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump are drawing up plans to carry out his mass deportation pledge, including discussing how to pay …

Discussion: Fox News and RedState

Fola Akinnibi / Bloomberg:
Arizona Elections Signal Robust Immigration Enforcement Under Trump

Discussion: KASW-TV and NBC News

New York Times:
Elon Musk Uses X to Promote Trump's Incoming Administration

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, Bloomberg, PolitiFact and The Wrap

Ken Bensinger / New York Times:

Trump Holds Up Transition Process Over Ethics Code — President-elect Donald J. Trump has not submitted a required ethics plan stating he will avoid conflicts of interest. — President-elect Donald J. Trump has not yet submitted a legally required ethics pledge stating that he will avoid conflicts …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, NPR and Semafor

Politico:
Playbook: The ‘deep state’ prepares to get Trumped

Discussion: New York Times and The Independent

Politico:

Conservatives weigh potential show of opposition against Johnson — House Republicans are holding their leadership elections next week, where Mike Johnson is largely expected to earn the speakership nomination. — Even as Republicans are increasingly optimistic that they'll keep control of the House …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Justice Dept. to focus on ‘most egregious’ Jan. 6 cases until Trump is inaugurated — President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “absolutely” consider pardoning every Capitol rioter and has called them political prisoners and “hostages.” — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department plans …

Discussion: Law & Crime, RedState, Axios, Washington Times, Forbes, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, NPR and ABC News

Politico:

How blue states are plotting to thwart Trump — They're prepping lawsuits and legislation to stymie the incoming administration. — Donald Trump pledged in one of his final campaign speeches to work with Democratic mayors and governors if reelected. But just hours after the former president …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, NewsNation, New Jersey Online and Axios

Rebecca Solnit / The Guardian:

Authoritarians like Trump love fear, defeatism, surrender. Do not give them what they want — We must lay up our supplies - of love, care, trust, community and resolve - so we may resist the storm — Here we are in a crisis in which almost everything we love is going to be under siege …

Brian Bennett / Time:

Trump, Who Was Charged with Mishandling Secrets, Will Get Classified Briefings Again — Two years ago, the FBI raided Donald Trump's home to retrieve government records he had refused to return, including hundreds containing classified information. The indictment that followed alleged …

Discussion: RedState

Politico:

Oakland mayor and progressive DA ousted amid crime complaints — The double defeat is the latest signal of voters' swing toward tough-on-crime policies. — OAKLAND, California — Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price are both leaving office …

Discussion: SFist, The Oaklandside and Bolts

New York Times:

Smile, Flatter and Barter: How the World Is Prepping for Trump Part II — Foreign leaders have rushed to ingratiate themselves with Donald J. Trump in recent days, nervously recalling the clashes, insults and feuds of his first presidency. — When Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Donald J …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Trump has shaped the Supreme Court, but it could still hinder his agenda — Although the court has three Trump appointees as part of its 6-3 conservative majority, it has not always ruled for him and could push back on expansive uses of executive power. — WASHINGTON — President-elect …

Discussion: Raw Story, Los Angeles Times and Townhall

Associated Press:

Democratic US Sen. Jacky Rosen is reelected in Nevada, securing battleground seat — Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen won reelection, beating Republican Sam Brown in a tight but unusually quiet race for the battleground state. Rosen, a first-term senator, campaigned on abortion rights …