April Aviv

[Hunter Biden @HunterBiden]

Dear Joe,
I wish I could sit down with you face to face and explain why so many of us were offended by the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House.
For me, it had nothing to do with the UFC or who showed up for the fights. The brand you and Dana have built is a bona fide American success story. More power to you. As for the fighters, in my book, anyone brave enough to put it all on the line in the arena is remarkable to witness. Their dedication and discipline inspire me. I don’t understand anyone who can’t admire that.
And as for the people who attended, I, for one, love Shane Gillis. I think he’s hilarious and brilliant. It was a show. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to witness it firsthand.
My problem is that I believe some of our public spaces are sacred. And unlike many of the great powers that came before us, these American monuments belong to all of us. Not to whoever happens to hold power at the moment.
The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any President. It belongs to the people. To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.
This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants. The White House is the People’s House. This “celebration” could have happened in any stadium within a stone’s throw of the South Lawn. No one would have had an issue with it.
But that was obviously Donald Trump’s whole point. By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is:
“This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze. I’ll tear down the East Wing. I’ll pave over the Rose Garden. I’ll cover everything in gold and marble. I’ll erase the names of all the men who came before me.”
The fights were an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.
The White House is not Buckingham Palace. It is not the Palace of Versailles. It is not the Forbidden City of Beijing. It does not belong to an emperor, or a king, or a commissar.
The White House belongs to us. All of us. The person who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is nothing more than an honored guest. A temporary caretaker.
The President is our servant. Not our Caesar.
Respectfully, Hunter

P.S. Cage match between me and Don Jr.? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.

[Simon Schama @simon_schama]

pretty much the way Mussolini spoke about Adolf coming to Rome in 1938 though

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

I'm just back from Deep Roots ATX Salon, Cedar Park. Read my review here. https://t.co/1f2AJ6eTe6 #

[ian bremmer @ianbremmer]

this makes me very happy

[Simon Schama @simon_schama]

Unlike the pandemic - this crash is entirely self-inflicted - by the grotesque stupidity and economic illiteracy of Trump, his idiotic belief that tariffs shape the "soul" of America, and by the craven servility of his administration and the Congressional GOP. Great job, MAGA (Make America Grim Again)

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@TheRichFromCali Trump is 💩♾️

[Mike Pence @Mike_Pence]

Mr. President, Ukraine did not “start” this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.🇺🇸🇺🇦

“Russia Invades Ukraine in Largest European Attack Since WWII” @FoxNews (February 24, 2022) https://t.co/ra8R9PI9oj

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@simonmontefiore @simon_schama I had hope they would come home. Hope. Now my heart physically hurts and I wonder if there a place for hope.

[Peter Kay (🦋@theonlypeterkay.bsky.social) @theonlypeterkay]

Richard Gere on the spreading infection of authoritarianism: “I come from America, which is in a very dark place, where a bully and a thug is the president, but it doesn't just happen in the United States - it’s happening everywhere "

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@simon_schama 100% accurate

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@simon_schama I am sick to my stomach and speechless.

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@HenMazzig @simon_schama May his memory be a blessing. And may our broken hearts heal.

[Lakota Man @LakotaMan1]

Absolutely

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@aziz0nomics @simon_schama Accurate

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

On the anniversary of January 6, I will say what Donald Trump won’t.

Political violence is never EVER acceptable in the United States.

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

Trump lost:
—The popular vote by 7 million
—60 court cases
—In GOP-controlled states
—Before judges he appointed
—At the Supreme Court
—Recount after recount, in state after state

Yet he still doesn’t understand the basic truth: you can’t love your country ONLY when you win.

[Simon Schama @simon_schama]

Are Jews now supposed to be fine with weekly public calls for their annihilation " from the river to the sea"? Because they are not.

[April Aviv @AvivApril]

@simon_schama May his memory be for a blessing.

[Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר @AnshelPfeffer]

24 hours after Hamas’ devastating attack on southern Israel. A few thoughts. Everyone is comparing this, with good reason to the strategic surprise Egypt and Syria sprang on Israel 50 years ago in the Yom Kippur War. Israel’s failure then was due to “the concept”>