Opinion: Trump’s “both sides” blame game

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 16, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( The guest writer of today’s newsletter is Ian Prasad Philbrick, an editorial assistant at The Times. On the news. President Trump’s return to blaming “[both sides]( presented a counterfactual account of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., and echoed old arguments equating white supremacy with identity politics, [argues]( Slate’s Jamelle Bouie. “The difference is that he is delivering them with the authority of the presidency,” he writes. Trump’s false equivalence is also an indictment of every aide, apologist and analyst who thought John Kelly, the new White House chief of staff, would constrain the president’s impulses, [writes]( Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post. “It is morally reprehensible to serve in this White House, supporting a president so utterly unfit to lead,” she argues. The president’s manufacturing council is [bleeding C.E.O.s]( in part because business leaders feel emboldened to take public stances on political issues, [explains]( The Atlantic’s Annie Lowrey. “Some of the companies and business leaders remaining on Trump’s business advisory councils now find themselves trying to navigate toward two increasingly distant shoals: repudiating racism and working with the Trump administration,” she writes. In The Times. Trump’s threats to cancel Obamacare’s insurer payments and [send health premiums skyward]( are “consistent with the new administration’s overall approach to the A.C.A.: continually badmouthing it and taking small steps to undermine it without unleashing a full-force assault,” [argues]( Steven Rattner. And in case you missed it, three University of Virginia students shared their experiences of watching white supremacists march on Charlottesville in a Facebook Live video with Natalie Shutler, an editor at The Times. “Young people are increasingly being infected by these ideologies, and I think that speaks to the work that needs to be done,” said Weston Gobar, a rising fourth-year student. You can view their conversation [here](. The full Opinion report from The Times follows, including [Karen Cox]( on Confederate statues and [Nathan Englander]( on Charlottesville’s anti-Semitism. David Leonhardt, the regular author of this newsletter, will return Aug. 28. Editorial [Mr. Trump Makes a Spectacle of Himself]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Given one more chance to condemn white supremacists, the president takes up their talking points instead. Op-Ed Columnist [Can’t Eclipse the American Spirit]( By FRANK BRUNI What’s happening in the heavens is a bonanza on earth. Op-Ed Columnist [Our House Divided]( By ROSS DOUTHAT Is there a path from the Trump era to civil war? Op-Ed Columnist [Charlottesville, ISIS and Us]( By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Pluralism is America’s strength, both at home and abroad. ADVERTISEMENT Op-Ed Contributor [What Jewish Children Learned From Charlottesville]( By NATHAN ENGLANDER I thought this generation was free of the anti-Semitism I knew. On Saturday, that changed. Op-Ed Contributor [The Merck C.E.O. Is No Hero]( By ZOE GREENBERG The executives who resigned from Trump’s business advisory council did the right thing. But moral leaders? Not quite. Sam’s Myth; Photo by Edu Bayer for The New York Times [Op-Ed Contributor]( [Why Confederate Monuments Must Fall]( By KAREN L. COX They aren’t about heritage or history. They are tools of white supremacy. Editorial [Let Prisoners Learn While They Serve]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Inmates who participate in prison education programs are far more likely to stay out of prison once they leave. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Why Are American Liberals So Afraid of Russia?]( By IVAN KRASTEV Because it reminds them of the United States. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [How Donald Trump Is Driving Up Health Insurance Premiums]( By STEVEN RATTNER Insurance rates are projected to rise significantly next year because of uncertainty created by the president. Op-Ed Contributor [Gandhi Won’t Leave India]( By GOPALKRISHNA GANDHI Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy faces the challenge of neglect, obfuscation and co-option in contemporary India. Op-Ed Contributor [Why Do Bangladeshis Seem Indifferent to Partition?]( By K. ANIS AHMED To my Muslim Bengali grandparents, East Pakistan in 1948 was not a land of exile, but a land of opportunity. Disability [10 Things My Chronic Illness Taught My Children]( By PAULA M. FITZGIBBONS I worried that my rheumatoid arthritis would harm them. Instead, it has helped them grow. Op-Ed Contributor [Can Anyone Stop Iran From Taking Over Iraq?]( By ZAID AL-ALI Armed militias, backed by Tehran, look set to dominate and intimidate Iraqi politics for years to come. Op-Ed Contributor [Conversions From Islam in Europe and Beyond]( By FAISAL DEVJI Conversions from Islam tend not to follow the theological model of transformation inherited from Christianity. Op-Docs [A Conversation With Native Americans on Race]( By MICHÈLE STEPHENSON AND BRIAN YOUNG Native Americans challenge their invisibility in society. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:opinionnewsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Letters [How to Respond to White Supremacists]( Readers discuss President Trump’s late condemnation and urge the opposition to either stay away or avoid confrontation. Letters [When C.E.O.s Stand Up to Trump, or Don’t]( Readers discuss the executives who quit a presidential panel because of President Trump’s initial tepid response to white supremacists. SIGN UP FOR THE VIETNAM ’67 NEWSLETTER Examining America’s long war in Southeast Asia [through the course]( of a single year. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018