Sure, a different President might not have built a steel cage for bloodsport on the White House lawn. But the deep moral and ethical rot of the Republican Party would still be deeply entrenched in Washington, DC, just without the obvious lightning rods for dissent. But it’s not just Republicans, it’s the Democrats who continue to let them steer the discourse, and justify working across the aisle. https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-07-22/