
MADE IN TRUMP'S AMERICA
Donald Trump Jr. Helped Fund a MAGA Marketplace. Liberals Are Using It as a Tool—and a Warning
The e-tail site PublicSquare touts itself as an alternative to Amazon for Trump lovers, moving toward building a so-called parallel economy. A close look at the business reveals a working model of a red-pilled economic fantasy.
By Kase Wickman
Politics
Resisting Trump’s Authoritarian Creep
As the administration pushes its “invasion” fantasy, the courts are providing a real-world check on presidential power.
By Molly Jong-Fast
Media
“It’s About Keeping C-SPAN Alive”: Behind the Network’s Beef With Google
Despite fans across the aisle—including Trump—the cable network’s financial path is “not sustainable,” per CEO Sam Feist, as platforms like YouTube TV and Hulu aren’t carrying it. The situation, says one senator, is “disappointing and frankly embarrassing.”
By Paul Farhi
The Dark History of How China Captured Apple
In his new book, Apple in China, Patrick McGee examines how Tim Cook unwittingly led Apple right into the heart of Trump’s trade war.
By Issie Lapowsky
Trump's Luxury Jet From Qatar Is "a Very Dangerous Situation,” Says Former Bush Ethics Czar
“Think of what would’ve happened in World War II if the [German and Italian governments] were able to give lavish gifts to American politicians.”
By Eric Lutz
RFK Jr. Took His Grandkids for a Dip in a Sewage-Contaminated Creek For Mother’s Day
The National Park Service bans swimming in Rock Creek due to “high levels of bacteria.”
By Issie Lapowsky
Media
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld on Trump, the Manosphere, and Hosting the “Strangest Game Show Ever”
The cohost of The Five and star of Gutfeld! talks to VF about his off-the-wall new game show, What Did I Miss?, in which contestants held in monthslong isolation are challenged to distinguish between real and fake news.
By Natalie Korach
War and Peace
New Pope Calls For Peace and Aid in Gaza As Trump Sets Off To Middle East
“I, too, turn to the world’s leaders with an ever timely appeal: never again war!” the pontiff told the crowd in his first Sunday address in Vatican City.
By Katie Herchenroeder
LEGAL RIGHTS
Trump Administration Is “Actively Looking” To Deprive Migrants of Habeas Corpus
Top White House advisor Stephen Miller said that Trump’s decision “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
By Katie Herchenroeder
surgeon general
“She Was Tearful About It”: The Nuances of Casey Means’s Medical Exit and Antiestablishment Origins
Donald Trump’s new nominee to be the next surgeon general has said she walked away from a promising career in the medical establishment. Some fellow residents and a former department chairman say the situation was more complicated.
By Katherine Eban
Abigail Spanberger Says She Can Take on Trump Without Bashing Him
The no-nonsense Democrat, who is running for Virginia governor, tells VF that her party should “just take a second and listen to people” before committing to a strategy for reclaiming the White House.
By Chris Smith
OK, LOOMER
Laura Loomer Is on an Anti-MAHA Social Media Rampage, Showing More Cracks in Trump’s Influencer Sphere
The career right-wing provocateur is coming for Jessica Reed Kraus along with Trump’s new surgeon general nominee, Casey Means.
By Kase Wickman
Bob's Your Pope
Even Cubs Fans Are Excited About Da Pope, a Sox Fan and Chicago’s Hometown Hero
Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago as Robert Prevost, could give the papacy a “unique perspective,” one academic says. One vestment is already on its way: “A pinstripes White Sox jersey with his name on it and a hat already are on the way to Rome,” the team said.
By Eric Lutz
Joe Biden Still Thinks He Could Have Won in 2024
“I beat him,” the former president said of Trump on The View, part of a media blitz aimed at repairing his legacy. The problem is, during the latest round…he didn't.
By Eric Lutz
Q&A
Trump Thinks His Interiors Mirror Versailles. This Expert Says They’re Giving Robber Baron With a Dash of Dictator.
Trump’s Oval Office makeover and “let them eat cake” mentality are drawing comparisons to the court of Versailles, but art historian Robert Wellington sees a more complicated connection.
By Keziah Weir
The Golden City
Daniel Lurie’s San Francisco Playbook Could Be What Democrats Need
The mild-mannered mayor is well-liked and well-heeled, but some worry his inexperience bodes poorly for pulling the Golden City out of its political dysfunction. “Lurie genuinely did not understand the machine he was getting into,” says one local writer.
By Zoë Bernard
From The Magazine
Molly Jong-Fast Reflects on Her Mother’s Dementia and the Fleeting Nature of Fame
In a moving excerpt from How to Lose Your Mother, Jong-Fast writes about being raised by larger-than-life feminist icon Erica Jong, and witnessing her heartbreaking decline.
By Molly Jong-Fast
Media
“People Feel Like They Are Friends With Us”: How The Bulwark Is Thriving in a New Trump Era
The Never Trumpers on Substack are nearing 1 million subscriptions while beefing up original reporting and churning out YouTube clips. Business is good, but Tim Miller says he’d “gladly not be hitting this milestone” if it meant covering a Kamala Harris presidency.
By Natalie Korach
Q&A
Colorado’s Jena Griswold Got Over 1,800 Death and Harm Threats Last Year for Defying Trump: “It Pisses Me Off So Much”
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the youngest secretary of state ever elected talks about her run for Colorado attorney general, her fight against MAGA’s assault on women, and what it’s like to receive a death threat while in the hospital to give birth.
By Katie Herchenroeder
Marjorie Taylor Greene For Senate? It Sounds So Awful, Even Republicans Are Freaking Out
Many in the GOP are worried that the MAGA firebrand could jeopardize the party’s chances in Georgia’s Senate race. But the prospect of an MTG run should be disconcerting to everyone.
By Eric Lutz
“There’s a Lot of Tension”: Democrats Are Locked In a Generational Fight
An impending vacancy atop the Oversight Committee could open the door for younger reps like Jasmine Crockett or Maxwell Frost to take over—though the old guard may not be ready to pass the torch. “They have nostalgia,” says Summer Lee. But “we are in times that take different tactics.”
By Eric Lutz