The Week Magazine August 26, 2022

Veteran journalist Mark Leibovich asked Sen. Lindsey Graham a few years ago why he went from calling candidate Donald Trump “a complete idiot” and a “race-baiting xenophobic bigot” to fawning over the newly elected president on frequent dates on the golf course. “If you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this,” Graham responded without a trace of shame. It was his nature, the senator explained, “to try to be relevant.” This affliction—the need to be relevant, important, on the inside—explains why so many Republicans have feigned admiration for Trump no matter what he says or does. Going to work in the august chambers of Congress has always been heady stuff; the prestige, status, and deference from others that comes with the gig is so intoxicating that…

What happened The Department of Justice triggered new political shock waves this week by confirming it was conducting an “ongoing criminal investigation” into Donald Trump’s efforts to conceal “highly classified documents” at his Mar-a-Lago estate. In a filing to a federal court, the DOJ argued against releasing the full affidavit that led to a search warrant for the 11 sets of classified and top-secret documents seized from Trump’s home, saying details of what it sought would “compromise future investigative steps” and “likely chill” efforts to get witnesses to cooperate. Some of the seized documents related to nuclear weapons, according to a Washington Post report; a Trump associate said some others were connected to federal investigations of contacts between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. An unsealed warrant said Trump was under…

What happened Liz Cheney, the most prominent Republican lawmaker to stand against Donald Trump, lost her primary in a landslide this week to a Trump-endorsed opponent. Lawyer Harriet Hageman, who ran on the argument that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, trounced the three-term congresswoman 66 percent to 29 percent to become the Republican candidate for Wyoming’s sole congressional district. Cheney, who is vice chair of the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, trailed badly in the polls despite a $15 million fundraising haul, but she did not campaign in person because of mounting death threats. In her concession speech, she denounced Trump’s “ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic,” saying that while parroting his lies would have won her the…

Pitcher Kaiden Shelton was devastated when he accidentally struck a batter in the helmet during the Little League’s Southwest Regional Playoff last week. The batter, Isaiah Jarvis, brushed off the bruise and walked on to first base. But when he noticed Kaiden breaking down on the mound, shaken by his mistake, Isaiah gently approached Kaiden and wrapped his arms around him, telling him, “Hey, you’re doing great. Let’s go.” Kaiden’s teammates and coach joined Isaiah to embrace and comfort him, as the crowd erupted in applause. Lifeguard Natalie Lucas’ late July shift at a Colorado YMCA took a jarring turn when a woman suddenly collapsed on the pool deck. The 18-year-old rushed over and discovered that the woman, Tessa Rider, was going into labor. As Rider’s husband helped her push,…

In Cincinnati, a gunman armed with an assault-style rifle tried to shoot his way into an FBI field office and was later killed by law enforcement. The federal judge who issued a search warrant for President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate faced an online onslaught of anti-Semitic attacks. The names of FBI agents were outed online, and the bureau picked up a threat to explode a radioactive “dirty bomb” at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. Trump supporters and even Republican politicians are calling to defund the FBI and are preparing for “armed rebellion” and civil war. “This is what the Party of Trump has wrought,” said The Boston Globe editorial board. In response to the FBI’s seizure of classified and top-secret documents hidden in Trump’s basement, the party that once stood for…

Good week for: Identifying the enemy, after scientists in Spain began naming heat waves to encourage the public to view them as seriously as they do storms and hurricanes. “Zoe,” the first named heat wave, recently broiled Seville with temperatures of 112 degrees. Accidental empires, after officials made an error that awarded a new homebuyer in Sparks, Nev., the title to 87 additional properties. Officials will ask the buyer to transfer the title back, but the buyer responded with a “no comment” and a smiley-face emoji. Abby, a 13-year-old poodle-hound mix that disappeared two months ago, after she was found alive, emaciated, and very hungry inside a cave in Missouri. “It’s amazing how she’s springing back already,” said her owner, Jeff Bohnert. Bad week for: Alec Baldwin, after an FBI…