Good morning. President Trump announced a new class of Navy warships that would be named for himself. CBS is in turmoil after its top editor, Bari Weiss, pulled a “60 Minutes” segment. And Jim Beam is shutting down its main distillery for all of next year, as the whiskey market is struggling. Before we get to that, though, I’d like to turn your attention to wind farms and what they say about the Trump administration.
Without evidencePresident Trump doesn’t like wind farms. Never has. He thinks they’re ugly. He calls them inefficient and expensive. Years ago, he failed to stop the construction of one that’s visible from one of his golf courses in Scotland. He was apoplectic about it. He told a Scottish politician on Twitter in 2014 that “the windmill hovering over hole 14 is disgusting & inappropriate.” On his first day in office this year, Trump stopped new wind projects on public lands and waters. A judge called that order “arbitrary” and said it violated federal law. Still, Trump persevered. Yesterday his administration said it would halt leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, virtually gutting the offshore wind industry in the United States. The projects were “expected to power more than 2.5 million homes and businesses,” my colleagues Maxine Joselow and Lisa Friedman report. Perhaps in order not to appear arbitrary, Doug Burgum, the secretary of the interior, said that the decision “addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers.” Based on what evidence? The Pentagon has produced classified reports, Burgum said, and the Energy Department has found that wind farms could interfere with radar systems. Is this true? Military studies have indeed shown that offshore wind turbines could disrupt radar, Lisa told me. But they concluded that the risk could be offset with planning. A spokesman for one of the wind farms said it had worked “in close coordination with the military.” He pointed out that his project’s two pilot turbines had been operating for five years with no impact on national security. It is not the first time the administration has justified a new policy — one it wanted to impose quickly without fretting over legal and regulatory procedures — with a broad claim. It just asserts there’s a problem. A fixation
Trump has given many reasons to dislike wind farms, but so far none are backed by agreed-upon facts. Here’s a look at his views:
(Maybe, but the administration has also weakened habitat protections, ended automatic protections for threatened species and said economic factors should take priority in decisions about endangered species.) The rationalesIn explaining a range of new policies, the president has pointed to grounds that don’t draw from evidence, or at least not evidence the public can see. Wind farms: These need to be stopped because of radar “clutter.” See above. Illegal immigrants: Some have been selected for deportation because the government has said they belong to a gang — without proving it. Boat strikes: The administration says the nearly 100 boats destroyed off South America were running drugs to the United States. It hasn’t released any evidence for that claim. National Guard deployments: Trump says protesters in a number of Democratic-led cities have threatened the safety of immigration agents and government facilities. Judges have chastised officials for not providing evidence for these assertions. Alien Enemies Act: The administration says the presence of Venezuelan gang members in the United States constitutes an “invasion” by a “hybrid criminal state” that allows him to invoke this wartime law, reminds my colleague Mattathias Schwartz, who covers legal affairs. But U.S. intelligence agencies have said Venezuela is not directing gang activity. Refugees: Trump has shut down most refugee admissions but is letting in white Afrikaners based on a claim of genocide against them that is not backed by evidence, says my colleague Zolan Kanno-Youngs, who covers the White House. Liberal nonprofits: Vice President JD Vance and others say these groups support political violence — again without providing evidence. It all adds up to what you might call a governance of assertion. That is: Trust, but don’t verify. Now, let’s see what else is going on in the world.
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During the Biden administration, most deportations happened at the border: Migrants who had crossed into the U.S. were quickly sent away. In the Trump era, though, the border has gotten much quieter. So the administration has set out to arrest and deport far more people from the interior of the country. The map above shows what that new deportation system looks like, as people are transferred between immigrant detention facilities across the U.S. and then sent out of the country from a handful of hubs in the South. Read the story.
Christians are frustrated with the media’s simplistic depictions of them, Molly Worthen writes. Here is a column by Thomas Edsall on how Trump’s policies could kill his own supporters. The Times Sale starts now: Our best rate for readers of The Morning. Save now with our best offer on unlimited news and analysis as part of the complete Times experience: $1/week for your first year.
A new face at the manger: In Naples, Nativity scenes sometimes include miniature statues of celebrities and politicians. This year, Trump is a popular addition. Ghosting ChatGPT: The woman behind the MyBoyfriendIsAI online community isn’t dating (or sexting) her A.I. boyfriend anymore. She found something more fulfilling. Street art: Two new murals attributed to Banksy have appeared in central London. Your pick: The Morning’s most-clicked link yesterday was about the U.S. military’s pursuit of a tanker linked to Venezuela. A singer-songwriter: Chris Rea, a British rocker whose hits included the ballad “Driving Home for Christmas,” died at 74.
5-millionths— That’s how much of a second the atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo. — some of the most accurate in the world — fell out of sync last week because of a power outage.
N.F.L.: The Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars are headed to the playoffs after the Indianapolis Colts lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Hockey: Players in one of the top minor hockey leagues in North America could go on strike Friday. They have been playing without a collective bargaining agreement since the start of the season.
This was my father’s recipe until it became mine, and I hope it’ll become yours and then someone else’s: < |
