'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'Everyone hates this election'
Alex Shephard in The New Republic
The high stakes of the first election clash between Joe Biden and Donald Trump fueled record vote totals in 2020, and their rematch this year will again have "existential significance," says Alex Shephard. "Trump is openly campaigning on an authoritarian platform." Biden has "handled Ukraine well" but "divided the Democratic coalition" by continuing to back Israel's far-right government. But voters are meeting the campaign with a "collective yawn," because they crave change and are "sick of both candidates."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Biden considers ridiculous "climate emergency" declaration'
Andrew Follett at National Review
The Biden White House is "considering declaring a 'national climate emergency'" in yet another attempt to appease its "extremist environmentalist donor base," says Andrew Follett. "The goal would be to suspend offshore drilling and oil exports to reduce carbon dioxide emissions." Biden surely knows this wouldn't really help the environment. But he might think it would help "his reelection prospects," and this wouldn't be the first time he "sacrificed America's energy interests" to do that.
'Patients are losing trust in doctors. Medicine suffers.'
Daniela J. Lamas in The New York Times
"After a pandemic that twisted science for political gain, it is not surprising that confidence in medicine is eroding," says Daniela J. Lamas. Distrust contributes to doctor "burnout." In patients, it fuels "increasing rates of measles among unvaccinated children, failure to follow recommended cancer screening and refusal to take lifesaving preventive medications." Reversing the trend won't be easy. "But if we do not find ways to restore and strengthen trust with our patients, more lives will be lost."
'Fast-food businesses hiking prices because of higher minimum wage sound like Gordon Gekko'
Larry Strauss in USA Today
Conservative economists always warn about the "dangers of raising the minimum wage," says Larry Strauss. Predictably, large fast-food chains are "raising prices — or threatening to" — and planning to use more kiosks to replace counter workers in California now that it has raised their workers' minimum wage to $20 an hour, from $16. It is "outrageous that multibillion dollar corporations begrudge their workers a living wage and are willing to take it out on their own disadvantaged customers."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mount
IN THE SPOTLIGHT For his first sit-down with an unpredictable frenemy, the Canadian prime minister elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment tried for an awkward detente
-
'You might be surprised by how much you find yourself cheering for them'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
How does the Alien Enemies Act work?
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Baby bonus: Can Trump boost the birth rate?
Feature The Trump administration is encouraging Americans to have more babies while also cutting funding for maternal and postpartum care
-
'Beyond this damage lies something more insidious'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'