'Biden must be embarrassed he didn't think of this first'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'Union leaders are going to make the president grovel'
Ingrid Jacques in USA Today
Former President Donald Trump demonstrated his political instincts by scheduling a visit with striking autoworkers this week, said Ingrid Jacques in USA Today. President Biden, the "self-declared most pro-union president in history," had to scramble to beat Trump to Detroit to make it look like he thought of it first. The United Auto Workers have been on strike two weeks. "Biden must be embarrassed he didn’t think of this first," said Jacques. Why did it take Biden so long to show solidarity on the picket line? No wonder union leaders are making "the president grovel for their support."
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'Giving kids space often defies our parental instincts'
Lisa Jarvis in Bloomberg
Children face real dangers, in the real world and on social media, said Lisa Jarvis at Bloomberg. In this "uber-connected era," worried parents can track their kids' whereabouts using Find My Phone or their school performance on ClassDojo. But cocooning young people in a desperate attempt to protect them can "backfire." The snooping can cause anxiety, and deprive them of their sense of identity and independence. A little freedom lets them develop the skills and judgment to keep themselves safe.
'While an AI girlfriend may seem like a joke, it really isn't that funny'
Liberty Vittert in The Hill
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Artificial intelligence bots are undermining a generation of young men, said Liberty Vittert in The Hill. Millions of guys suffering in a "silent epidemic of loneliness" are using apps to create "virtual girlfriends" that talk to them, and "love" them. It sounds funny, but has "real consequences." These lonely guys are "choosing AI girlfriends over real women," meaning they don't get married and raise real babies, "which will have devastating effects on the U.S. economy."
'Trump wants his foes to stay weak'
E.J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post
Trump's lock on the Republican Party "is vastly exaggerated," said E.J. Dionne Jr. in The Washington Post. That is why he is skipping another GOP primary debate. Staying away reduces his rivals "to squabbling bit players trying to bring each other down" but afraid to attack him. Gradually, even Republican voters once open to backing someone else will conclude "if they're going to get Trumpism, they might as well go with the guy who invented it."
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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