Another week, another Trump flirtation with fascism

Welcome back to the Stakes, our weekly US politics newsletter. I cover democracy issues, and I’m filling in for Adam Gabbatt this week as Donald Trump flirted with a third term in office (yes, that’s illegal) and posted a video promising a “unified reich” (yes, that’s Nazi-adjacent language). Weird how these anti-democratic “gaffes” keep happening! We’ll get into why that might be, after a look at what else is happening in US politics.

Trump rests, but doesn’t get any rest

On the 20th day of the hush money trial in New York, Trump declined to take the stand and the defense rested. Trump had falsely claimed he wasn’t allowed to take the stand: he was, and he chose not to. Outside the courtroom, he said although the defense would rest quickly, he himself would not be resting. “I don’t rest. I’d like to rest sometimes, but I don’t get to rest.”

Biden’s Israel problem

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor applied for arrest warrants for leaders of both Israel and Hamas, and Joe Biden is not pleased. He called the warrant application “outrageous” and said: “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.” His strong backing of Israel here comes as the progressive left continues to pressure him to end US support for the Israel-Gaza war.

That’s not the way the flag goes

An upside-down US flag – a symbol of those who believed the 2020 election was stolen – flew outside the home of supreme court justice Samuel Alito’s home shortly after the January 6 insurrection in 2021. Alito blamed his wife, saying she did it as part of a dispute with a neighbor, but many observers saw it as the latest example of the politicization of the high court.

Another week, another few instances of Trump flirting with