Donald Trump claimed high-profile campaign trail gaffes, in which he seemed to think Barack Obama was still president and mistook Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi, were deliberate, the result of his being “sarcastic” in the first instance and choosing to “interpose” names in the second. “When I say ‘Barack Hussein Obama is the president of the United States’, \[I am\] meaning there’s a lot of control there because the one guy can’t put two sentences together,” the former president [told](https://www.mediaite.com/news/trump-rants-at-rally-about-getting-hit-over-gaffes-he-definitely-did-on-purpose/) supporters in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday. “So I say ‘Barack Hussein Obama’.” “The one guy” to whom Trump referred was [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden), once Obama’s vice-president, who soundly beat Trump in the 2020 presidential election but whose fitness for office and a possible second term is now the subject of fierce speculation, given his age, 81, and allegations about his memory and performance. Trump, who is 77, is also the subject of fierce speculation over his mental state and fitness for office. Regardless – and despite his facing 91 criminal charges, attempts to remove him from the ballot for inciting an insurrection and civil suits including one in which he was [adjudicated](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/07/donald-trump-rape-language-e-jean-carroll) a rapist – the former president dominates the Republican primaries. Having won in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Trump enjoys huge polling leads over Haley in South Carolina, the former governor and UN ambassador’s home state which will be the next to vote. In North Charleston, Trump repeated his racist and Islamophobic dog whistle about Obama’s middle name, itself an echo of the “[birther](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/sep/16/donald-trump-barack-obama-birther-theory-video)” conspiracy theory Trump helped spread (and which he recently sought to [direct at Haley](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/10/trump-nikki-haley-birther-conspiracy)), which contended that Obama was not qualified to be president because he was supposedly not born in the US. “Remember Rush?” Trump asked, referring to Rush Limbaugh, the divisive rightwing talk radio host the comedian and senator Al Franken famously called a “[big fat idiot](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/rushlimb.htm)” but whom Trump honoured with the [Presidential Medal of Freedom](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/feb/04/rush-limbaugh-presidential-medal-of-freedom-trump) in 2020, not long before Limbaugh [died of cancer](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/feb/17/rush-limbaugh-obituary). Impersonating Limbaugh’s habit of stressing Obama’s middle name, Trump said: “He used to go, ‘Barack Hussein Obama’. ‘He’d go ‘Barack Hussein Obama’. But he did that, Rush. Do we miss Rush? Yes. “But when I say that Obama is the president of our country, bah bah bah, they go, ‘He doesn’t know that it’s Biden. He doesn’t know.’ So it’s very hard to be sarcastic. “When I interpose, because I’m not a Nikki fan and I’m not a Pelosi fan, and when I purposely interposed names, they said, ‘He didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki, from Tricky Nikki. Tricky Dicky. He didn’t know.” [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/15/trump-haley-pelosi-mix-up-tactic#EmailSignup-skip-link-13) Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion In remarks in New Hampshire last month, Trump appeared to think Haley had been responsible for security at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. In fact, Pelosi was speaker of the House on the day Trump sent supporters to “fight like hell” to block certification of his defeat by Biden, a riot now linked to nine deaths, more than 1,200 arrests and an attempt to remove Trump from the ballot which reached the US supreme court last week. “I interpose and they make a big deal out of it,” Trump continued. “I said, ‘No, no, I think they both stink, they have something in common. They both stink.’” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “[interpose](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interpose#:~:text=%3A%20to%20put%20(oneself)%20between,of%20a%20conversation%20or%20argument)” means “to place in an intervening position, or to put (oneself) between”. Trump possibly meant to say he “[interpolated](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interpolate)” Pelosi’s name for Haley’s – in the sense of “to alter or corrupt … by inserting new or foreign matter”.

Not long after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside from the presidential race Sunday, pro-Trump social media influencers had settled on one line of attack: that Democrats [had carried out a coup](https://www.mediaite.com/politics/its-a-coup-maga-world-melts-down-over-biden-dropping-out-of-race/) against their own president. Biden “has now been deposed in a coup,” Trump-backing venture capitalist [David Sacks wrote](https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/1815168526602387674). “Undermining Democracy should never be condoned,” [Trump ally](https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1815090797668347944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1815090797668347944%7Ctwgr%5E13a36bbb3a548a03601a0d1dfabfab597f4072e8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fpolitics%2Fits-a-coup-maga-world-melts-down-over-biden-dropping-out-of-race%2F) Richard Grenell posted. “The coup is complete,” [wrote](https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/1815086422199767408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1815086422199767408%7Ctwgr%5E13a36bbb3a548a03601a0d1dfabfab597f4072e8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fpolitics%2Fits-a-coup-maga-world-melts-down-over-biden-dropping-out-of-race%2F) Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). “What you just witnessed is proof positive that when the most powerful Democrat institutions and oligarchs unite to topple an American regime, they expect to succeed,” conservative activist [Charlie Kirk wrote](https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1815091854351946189). From people who support Donald Trump, the man who tried to steal the 2020 election, this is obviously a ridiculous and absurd thing to say. Yet it echoes a self-interested argument made by Biden himself just two weeks ago, when he argued that him dropping out would be tantamount to ignoring democracy. “The voters — and the voters alone — decide the nominee of the Democratic Party,” Biden [wrote in a July 8 letter](https://www.vox.com/politics/359362/biden-dropout-2024-undemocratic-primaries-voters). “Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any selected group of individuals, no matter how well intentioned.” What’s unfolded in the two weeks since has been a steadily intensifying pressure campaign from various members of the press, pundits, donors, and current and former elected officials aimed at making Biden quit. Some of these entreaties were made [in private](https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-biden-conversation/index.html) — and, when Biden didn’t appear to be listening, [more](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/opinion/joe-biden-democratic-nominee.html) spilled [out](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/schumer-privately-urged-biden-step-aside-2024-election/story?id=112046011) into [public](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/18/us/politics/jamie-raskin-biden-letter.html) view. They argued that he couldn’t win and, eventually, he listened. There may arguably be something a bit uncomfortable about the role of Democratic power brokers and [donors](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/18/us/politics/biden-fundraising.html) in pushing Biden aside after his primary win. But while they’re doing this without voters’ explicit say, they’re doing so in an attempt to (belatedly) respond to voters’ beliefs that Biden is too old to serve another term. So it may be undemocratic in practice, but in a sense it’s democratic in intention. Because the party isn’t avoiding an election, they’re trying to win one, by picking a nominee who (they hope) can win more people’s votes. Democratic Party elites didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree after the debate. Up until that disaster, they’d been fully behind Biden, and their support of him was one major reason Democratic voters were presented with no credible alternatives in this year’s primaries. Because in reality, Biden won the primaries well before the people got to vote. Back in 2022 and 2023, some polls [showed](https://apnews.com/article/ap-norc-poll-biden-2024-presidential-prospects-c843c5af6775b4c8a0cff8e2b1db03f6) a majority of Democratic voters saying he shouldn’t run again. The president never seems to have seriously considered bowing out, though. He ran again and (as is normal for an incumbent) solidly locked down support from Democratic elites. As a result, Democratic rising stars were deterred from challenging Biden, believing they likely would have lost, and then been blamed if Trump won in the general. So, yes, 15 million people did indeed end up voting in those primaries. But how democratic was that process? Biden won the primaries because he won the inside game. It was party elites who determined the (few) options available to voters. Polls showed the voters would in theory have preferred someone else, but they weren’t offered a realistic opposing candidate. Furthermore, asserting that the primary result is all that matters, and that taking anything else into account is “undemocratic,” is a very limited and blinkered definition of democracy. After all, those 15 million people are a paltry sum compared to the 150 million people who may vote in the general election — people who, according to polls, [overwhelmingly think](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/us/politics/biden-age-democrats.html) Biden is too old to serve another term. Many of those people wanted another candidate — shouldn’t their views matter? Another issue is that primary voters did not have the information that Biden would perform so poorly in the debate when they cast their votes. And though what key Democratic Party figures just did to Biden is in some ways unprecedented, in other ways it’s very familiar. That is: it’s the standard playbook for how to force out a suddenly scandal-plagued elected official who is believed to be hurting the party. This playbook involves a ratcheting up of pressure and condemnations as co-partisans gradually condemn or abandon that official, making sure they know that the battering will continue unless they quit — basically what we’ve seen over the past few weeks. New York Democrats successfully employed it against [Gov. Andrew Cuomo](https://www.vox.com/2021/8/5/22607971/cuomo-impeachment-resignation-scandal) in 2021, Attorney General [Eric Schneiderman](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse) in 2018, and Gov. [Eliot Spitzer](https://www.npr.org/2008/03/12/88134976/spitzer-resigns-after-sex-scandal-pressure) in 2008. Senate Democrats did it against [Sen. Al Franken](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/07/franken-resigns-285957) (D-MN) in 2017. (Though it doesn’t always work, as shown in the cases of Virginia Gov. [Ralph Northam](https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/2/15/18224864/ralph-northam-virginia-blackface-apology-protests), and 2016 GOP presidential nominee [Donald Trump](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/10/08/donald-trump-debate-mike-crapo-mike-lee-barbara-comstock/91784714/).) Your mileage may vary in how much you view Biden’s bad debate performance as a full-on scandal. But it was certainly new information that wasn’t clear during the primaries. Back then, Biden refused to participate in any debates and skipped some high-profile interview opportunities, leaving it ambiguous how he might perform in a high-stakes setting. But the truth is that party elites didn’t just casually abandon the choice of the voters right after they made that choice. They defected later, because of new information — information that those primary voters did not have. Finally, it is also worth noting that party elites didn’t push Biden off the ticket in an effort to steal the power of the presidency from him. They abandoned him because they fear he is hurting the party’s electoral chances — that is, because he’s lost support from voters. Party loyalty is a two-way street — it is not, or at least should not be, a blood oath or a cult of personality. Leading Democrats backed Biden when they thought he could win, and they ditched him when they thought he couldn’t. Now, they’re trying to substitute a nominee they hope the American public will like a lot better. And there’s something very democratic about that. They are (finally, belatedly) trying to listen to the voters, who, according to polls at least, keep saying they don’t want to support Biden again. So maybe it would have been nice if Democrats had had an actual presidential primary process rather than this mess. But that didn’t happen — and, considering the options, party officials abandoning Biden to try and nudge him aside in favor of someone who can win was a reasonable response. You’ve read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we believe in helping everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help to shape it. Our mission is to create clear, accessible journalism to empower understanding and action. If you share our vision, please consider supporting our work by becoming a _Vox Member_. Your support ensures Vox a stable, independent source of funding to underpin our journalism. If you are not ready to become a Member, even small contributions are meaningful in supporting a sustainable model for journalism. Thank you for being part of our community.  Swati Sharma Vox Editor-in-Chief [Join for $5/month](https://vox.memberful.com/checkout?plan=99543&itm_campaign=swati-launch-banner&itm_medium=site&itm_source=footer) We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via [](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VSP4PYJX98SHL)

[Minnesota](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/minnesota) [Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats) were thrilled to see one of their own win the most public veepstakes in recent memory, after the state’s Democratic governor, [Tim Walz](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/tim-walz), branded [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) and his allies as “weird” and sold the story of how Democrats govern, based on what he has done in Minnesota. Terryann Nash, an American Sign Language teacher at a local school who lives across the street from Walz’s residence, was excited to see a fellow teacher on the ticket. “Even as a governor, he’s always come back to the schools. He’s always been in touch with the teachers. I feel like we’ve got a well-represented voice and a very good heart,” she said. Ken Martin, the chair of the [Minnesota](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/minnesota) Democratic-Farmer-Labor party and a longtime friend of Walz, said it was “bittersweet” that his longtime friend could be leaving the state, but that was a selfish thought. “I’m proud to be able to share him with the rest of the country, and to be able to have him take a little bit of this Minnesota nice and Minnesota magic that we have and export it out to the rest of the country and help do some of the things we did here around the nation,” Martin said. On Tuesday, television cameras lined the street outside Walz’s residence in St Paul, Minnesota, and journalists explained to viewers how their governor had, in a surprising and fast rise, been tapped as the Democratic vice-presidential pick. At midday, people on their walks and bike rides slowed down, trying to figure out what was happening that required so many cameras. Some took photos of the house, with grins on their faces. A car drove by, honking excitedly at the people gathered. In Minnesota, Walz is obviously fairly well-known: he is the governor. He’s also the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, a position that has put him in some national circles to boost [Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats) in office. But until the 2023 legislative session, in which Minnesota Democrats used their trifecta to pass a wave of liberal policies and captured attention far beyond the state, his national profile was low-key. It wasn’t until recently that clips of him on TV went viral, as did old photos and videos that people dug up to show he could [cuddle pigs](https://x.com/PopulismUpdates/status/1820187022323225046) at the state fair and [sign legislation](https://x.com/ErickFernandez/status/1820693595076075719) to help schoolchildren. Until those TV clips, his internet fame was mild. He came out of nowhere in the veepstakes, surprising many as he was chosen on Tuesday. As one former local reporter [put it on X](https://x.com/sambrodey/status/1820815012165816477), when he started covering Congress in 2015, “Amy Klobuchar was on all the VP/2020 lists, Al Franken was on the rise, Keith Ellison was a national leader of the left, and Tim Walz was just the nice guy who beat them at the annual Hotdish Competition.” (His hot dish recipe, the “turkey trot tater tot hot dish”, won him the 2014 Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hotdish Off, the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes in its [publication of the recipe](https://www.startribune.com/want-to-know-more-about-tim-walz-try-making-his-hot-dish-recipe/600680906). “If you’re new to Walz, or hot dish, give it a try,” the paper wrote. “We promise, it doesn’t taste ‘weird.’”) His experience as a teacher could help bring together different factions to work on issues rather than give in to division, Nash said. His branding of “weird” shows he’s in touch with younger people, but his passion for teaching shows he has the ability to connect, she said. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/tim-walz-minnesota-reaction#img-2) Tim Walz prepares to depart from his temporary governor’s residence for a campaign rally in Philadelphia. Photograph: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images “He’s been a teacher, so he’s like the dad of everybody,” Nash said. “I’m a teacher, so you got to be diplomatic. You got to recognize where some people are, and you got to kind of meet them where they’re at.” There’s arguably no state in the country that’s done more legislatively than Minnesota in the past few years, said Martin, who has known the governor since Walz started volunteering on John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004, when he was a teacher in Mankato, Minnesota. That record helped sell Walz to Harris, alongside his personal story as a teacher and veteran from small-town America, he said. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/tim-walz-minnesota-reaction#EmailSignup-skip-link-16) Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion “He didn’t enter politics until his mid-40s. This is not a guy who spent most of his life growing up hoping to be vice-president of the United States, or even governor or congressman here,” Martin said. Martin recalled how, when Democrats won both chambers of the legislature with just a one-seat majority in the state senate, Walz said they should not bank power for some later date, but use the power they won to make the biggest difference possible while they have it. Sheletta Brundidge, a children’s book author and activist, was at the Walz house to send him off on Tuesday morning. She had a copy of [an op-ed she recently wrote](https://www.startribune.com/as-a-black-woman-i-can-vouch-for-a-white-male-vp-prospect-from-minnesota-tim-walz/600683165) in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she shared how Walz would be an ally of Black women and have the humility to be the second name on the ticket. In the op-ed, she detailed how she was hesitant to get the Covid-19 vaccine, but changed her mind, only to be met with threats from anti-vaxxers. Walz helped her get extra security and was there [as she got the shot](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=577631889912884). It showed her he knew how to support Black women. “Now the Black woman is on top. She is the presidential candidate,” Brundidge said. “So it’s going to take a special kind of humility that white men have not traditionally had to support her. She is Gladys Knight. He got to be a Pip.” Brundidge has four kids, three of whom have autism. She moved in Minnesota to access services that had long waitlists in Texas, and she has seen her children respond positively, attributing it to the state’s emphasis on early education. “I moved so that I could have a better quality of life for my children. More than anything, I’m grateful to him for that,” she said. Brundidge said her phone had been blowing up thanks to people who know her connection with Walz. She’s proud and excited to see him elevated to the national stage. “People have been texting me like I got nominated for vice-president – congratulations, we’re so excited for you – because they understand and know what this means,” she said. “It puts the spotlight on our state and all the wonderful and amazing things that we have going on here.”

Earlier this year, at [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump)’s hush-money [trial](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donald-trump-trials), adult film star Stormy Daniels told jurors how at age 27, she met a 60-year-old Trump, whose wife had only recently given birth to their son, for what she thought was dinner. She arrived to find him in satin pyjamas and, during an encounter that included very “brief” sex, the business magnate told Daniels that she reminded him of his daughter, Ivanka. I’m not dragging all this up again to put you off your dinner. I’m bringing it up to remind you that, while all these sordid details made headlines and generated jokes on late-night talkshows, they didn’t [move the needle](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/11/trump-voters-stormy-daniels-testimony-republican-democrat) with Trump’s voters at all. His base, which includes evangelical Christians, simply didn’t care. Nor were they bothered about Trump’s association with [Mark Robinson](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/20/mark-robinson-north-carolina-governor-race), the disgraced Republican candidate running to be North Carolina’s next governor [who was allegedly once active](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/19/mark-robinson-north-carolina) on a porn forum called Nude Africa where he boasted about being a “perv”. The [2024 US elections](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-elections-2024) may have provided a constant stream of revelations ranging from the mildly salacious to the downright disturbing. It’s not just Trump: there’s the [recent reports](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-nymag) of New York magazine star reporter Olivia Nuzzi having a personal relationship with [Robert F Kennedy Jr](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/robert-f-kennedy-jr) during his presidential run and sitting representative [Matt Gaetz](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/14/matt-gaetz-scandal-joel-greenberg-sex-trafficking) being [investigated](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/18/matt-gaetz-ethics-misconduct) for human trafficking and paying for sex with minors. Yet despite the many lurid and often unpleasant details, political sex scandals just don’t seem to have much bite anymore. “We have lost our shame muscle in the United States,” says Dr Alison Dagnes, professor of the political science department at Shippensburg University. She argues that because politicians aren’t shamed into retiring from public life, details of these scandals remain mostly rumors and fade from the public memory. “Certain politicians are realizing that if you don’t apologize for something, then nobody can use it against you again. For those who are shameless, that is a very effective way to get through life.” It hasn’t always been like this. Being embroiled in a sex scandal used to swing an election or destroy a candidate. In 1987, Gary Hart was the presumed Democratic presidential candidate – until reports of “womanizing” and being caught in an affair derailed his campaign. In 2008, North Carolina senator John Edwards, a star in the Democratic party, was on a path to the presidency until he was caught covering up an extramarital affair that resulted in a child. His career imploded and he [vanished](https://theweek.com/articles/493379/john-edwards-disappearing-act) from public life. In 2014, the Washington Post analysed 38 sex scandals [going back to 1974](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/04/10/why-vance-mcallister-is-unlikely-to-survive-smoochgate/) and found that “just 39 percent of officeholders won reelection after coming under scrutiny for sexual harassment, affairs or prostitution, while the rest chose not to run, resigned or lost”. While Bill Clinton may have survived his affair (if you can call the most powerful man in the world preying on an intern an “affair”) with Monica Lewinsky in the 1990s, he seems to have made the US a little less tolerant of impropriety. “The survival rate \[for sex scandals\] has plummeted since Bill Clinton’s presidency. In 15 scandals since 2000, just three officeholders (or 20 percent) facing personal scandals have won reelection,” the Post noted. It added: “It’s unclear why personal scandals that were once shrugged off … are more consequential today.” Clearly, things have changed again since then. Partly this is due to the fact that America’s trust in media has fallen to [historic lows](https://www.axios.com/2023/10/24/americans-trust-in-media-plummets-to-historic-low-poll) in recent years – a phenomenon that is linked to growing polarization. Jay Van Bavel, a professor of neural science at New York University and an expert in “the partisan brain”, notes that “people don’t trust institutions and media sources that aren’t aligned with them ideologically”. Many of Trump’s supporters simply don’t believe his accusers, and don’t believe the media sources reporting on his actions. Even if people do believe allegations about a politician, says Van Bavel, “they’re willing to excuse bad behaviour and continue voting for a person or party member because they don’t want the other party to take power”. A 2020 study that he worked on, alongside 14 other prominent researchers, looked at survey data since the 1970s and found that, for the first time, contempt for the other political party is greater than affection for one’s own. Voting behaviour is now essentially driven by who you hate the most. Trump, of course, is well aware of this. In 2016, [the former president joked](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/23/464129029/donald-trump-i-could-shoot-somebody-and-i-wouldnt-lose-any-voters) that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and he still wouldn’t lose any voters. But Trump is a unique case. There may have been a loosening of America’s moral compass but there are still lines that most politicians can’t cross. Some of these lines are dictated by a cultural moment. See, for example, Democratic senator Al Franken, who [resigned in 2017](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/07/al-franken-resigns-senate-sexual-misconduct-allegations) because of sexual misconduct allegations. Were it not for the fact that it was the start of [#MeToo](https://www.theguardian.com/world/metoo-movement) and Franken was a Democrat, he could probably have weathered the accusations, suggests Jodi Dean, a professor in the political science department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. But “it seems like a Democratic base want purity”. And “Franken had a sense of shame”, so he stepped down. Mixing sex and taxpayer money also makes a scandal more difficult to weather. “If it is an issue that’s a private matter, the American public is more likely to let it go,” Dagnes notes. “But if there’s some sort of official corruption involved, then they’re less likely to.” Dagnes references the recent case of [Republican Anthony D’Esposito](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/24/anthony-desposito-affair-payroll-jobs) who, according to a New York Times investigation, put his fiancee’s daughter and a woman with whom he was having an affair on his payroll. “I would expect D’Esposito to really take a big polling hit,” says Dagnes. “This isn’t just: ‘My fiancee and I were going through a really difficult time’ – it’s a case of: ‘I feel so emboldened that I’m going to put my mistress and my fiancee’s daughter on my payroll,’ which is paid by the American taxpayer. That makes voters feel duped.” Gender also plays a part in how sex scandals are received, with women routinely being held to far higher standards than men. Dagnes notes, for example, that the right has been trying very hard to [manufacture a scandal](https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-check-kamala-harrisandwillie-brownhad-a-relationshipover-adecadeafte-idUSKBN26Y2RJ/) out of the fact that [Kamala Harris](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/kamala-harris), who was single at the time, [had a relationship with](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/29/donald-trump-kamala-harris-sexist-post) San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, who was also single at the time, in the 1990s. Somehow they think this makes her “a slut”. There is, for example, a lot of [merchandise](https://trumpstorepa.com/product/joe-and-the-hoe-gotta-go/) for sale with the phrase “Joe and the Hoe Gotta Go”. This isn’t to say that women, particularly attractive young white women, are _always_ held to higher standards than men. While Nuzzi has been put on leave by New York magazine following news of her [previously undisclosed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-nymag) relationship with RFK Jr, she has also been cut a surprising amount of slack for what is clearly professional misconduct. “Reporters have all sorts of compromising relationships with sources,” shrugged [Ben Smith from Semafor](https://www.semafor.com/newsletter/09/22/2024/getting-out-there). “The most compromising of all, and the most common, is a reporter’s fealty to someone who gives them information. That’s the real coin of this realm. Sex barely rates.” That said, Nuzzi is certainly getting dragged through the mud for the affair more than RFK Jr, who is well-known for what he has called “[wild impulses](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-detailed-his-struggle-with-sex-demons-in-diaries)” and “lust [demons](https://archive.is/ushoy)”. Previous [reports](https://archive.is/o/p9svL/https:/nypost.com/2013/09/08/rfk-jr-s-sex-diary-of-adultery/) about Kennedy’s private life suggest he detailed extramarital encounters with 37 women in a 2001 diary. That didn’t stop him from trying to run for president, of course. But neither did allegations he once assaulted a babysitter – to which he responded by stating: “[I am not a church boy](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/13/rfk-jr-campaign-presidential-bid).” Kennedy also hasn’t let [brain worms or dead bears](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/23/rfk-jr-wildest-campaign-moments) get in the way of his political ambitions. The fact that sex scandals no longer seem to register with voters seems to be linked to a wider acceptance of outrageous political behaviour. “Politicians can now go out and say that they’re in favor of [nuking Gaza](https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-lindsey-graham-suggests-nuking-gaza-calls-hiroshima-the-right-decision) \[as Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Greg Murphy have hinted towards\],” Dean observes. “Politicians are openly bloodthirsty and genocidal. That’s permissible speech right now. Ours is now a time where genocide is not a major scandal, where [climate change](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) is not a major scandal. We really might be over the age of where an individual’s act is going to gather the same amount of tension as it once did. We’re seeing a sense of right and wrong totally breaking down.”

 As a comedy nerd who has watched _Saturday Night Live_ since I stumbled on a rerun of the debut episode back in the mid-1970s, I’m convinced SNL has had a profound impact on how America views politics. But the show has seemingly struggled in recent years, as the absurdity of modern politics has caught up to satire. Former president Donald Trump’s references to myths about Haitian immigrants eating pets, his running mate JD Vance’s comments about women without children, Vice President Kamala Harris having to defend stories about working at McDonald’s as a youth – it all seems like stuff which would have been in sketches years ago, instead of real life. As a historic election looms, and the show begins its landmark 50th season this week, SNL faces an ongoing challenge: to make America laugh – and think differently – about a political world which has gotten stranger than anyone could have predicted when the show debuted back in 1975. Already, the show’s been on summer hiatus for the year’s three most seismic political events: President Joe Biden’s terrible debate performance against former president Donald Trump, Biden’s eventual decision to step aside for Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ domineering debate performance against Trump. So they’ll need to hit the ground running Saturday, when comic actor Jean Smart hosts the show. ### A political impact from the beginning I decided to bounce some of my harebrained theories about SNL’s impact over time off Al Franken, who wrote some of the show’s earliest political skits and worked there for many years as a writer and performer, before serving nearly ten years as a U.S. senator from Minnesota. (Franken [resigned from the Senate in 2018](https://www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568909860/sen-al-franken-to-make-announcement-amid-calls-for-him-to-resign) amid allegations of misconduct from several women who accused him of touching or kissing them in inappropriate ways. He has denied some allegations, said he remembers others differently, apologized for making some women feel uncomfortable and [said he regrets resigning the office](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/29/the-case-of-al-franken).) When it came to political satire, Franken says he and his fellow SNL writers had a pretty simple goal: Craft stuff that would be funny for people who knew both a little – and a lot – about politics. “We didn’t try to be liberal or conservative,” says Franken, who worked on the show in various stints from 1975, during its very first season, to 1995, helping write classic sketches featuring Dan Aykroyd as President Richard Nixon during his last days in office and Dana Carvey as both George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot in a debate. Quoting another legendary SNL writer, Jim Downey, he adds, “We just tried to do stuff…that would reward people for knowing stuff, but not punish them for not…Sketches that would be funny to everyone, but we were also trying to put in things that, really, really, smart people could go, ‘Oh I see. They put that in there for me.’” ### SNL shapes our view of politicians through impressions When _Saturday Night Live_ nails an impression of a politician, it manages a unique alchemy – elevating the thing about that person that is so funny it can pretty much define them in the public’s mind. Often, it is something people already suspected about the politician, crystallizing how the public feels about their policies or candidacies. When John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, Tina Fey produced a devastating take on the vice-presidential candidate as a superficial dimwit given to folksy-sounding word salads in speeches and interviews. Some people even assumed the politician actually said “I can see Russia from my house” – one of the jokes Fey’s Palin [announces during a speech](https://youtu.be/vSOLz1YBFG0?si=jK0B9pC7fyrcsdl0&t=77) that the real Palin never said. Think Gerald Ford was a clumsy dolt? That might be because that’s how Chevy Chase [played him](https://youtu.be/nEIpAIqzbTg?si=RV7AOhoy6NgmFPK3) in the show’s first season, even though Ford was a former champion athlete. Aykroyd handled Nixon and Jimmy Carter – nailing Nixon’s shifty villany and Carter’s wide smile and youth appeal, despite wearing a mustache neither politician had. Dana Carvey’s take on George H.W. Bush as a stiff patrician given to flailing his arms widely also led people to confuse Carvey’s jokes with things the real-life president said and did. And there was Darrell Hammond’s take on Al Gore [during a debate sketch in 2000](https://youtu.be/zDgRRVpemLo?si=iIyoHhDGB1cuRmKF&t=119), playing Gore as an oblivious technocrat obsessed with the word “lockbox” to a crushing effect. “I think \[that sketch\] elected Bush,” says Franken, recalling how Gore’s team reportedly used the sketch to coach the vice president on future debate performances. ### But sometimes impressions aren’t enough Because so much of the show’s political insight comes from impressions, it creates problems when SNL can’t find the right approach. The show never really found a great caricature of Joe Biden, despite having everyone from Jason Sudeikis to Woody Harrelson and Jim Carrey play him. When I say they had similar problems with Barack Obama, Franken agrees. “\[It\] was like trying to climb a smooth, vertical wall,” he says of lampooning Obama. “He had nothing to really grab onto. You could do an impression of his voice … but there \[weren’t\] really a lot of footholds there.” The problem with Donald Trump may be the opposite: too many footholds. Alec Baldwin nailed Trump’s scowling self-obsession, while James Austin Johnson captures the former president’s [stream of consciousness patter](https://youtu.be/R3N6Iqp8QIk?si=SbMxBNUjiMuCthQo), though finding things funnier or more absurd than what he’s actually done in real life remains a challenge. This weekend, though Maya Rudolph seems ready to nail Harris’ coolly efficient power, the question remains: who will play crucial figures like Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and his GOP opposite JD Vance – and what will those impressions say about our politics writ large? (My money’s on a “cold open” Saturday focused on Walz and Vance prepping for the vice presidential debate.) ### Helping the audience process political ideas beyond impressions There have been impactful SNL sketches which speak to political ideas beyond lampooning politicians, often in the name of helping the audience process potent ideas. One of my favorites is [a bit from 2016](https://youtu.be/SHG0ezLiVGc?si=mHr25EE2sCeopeSj&t=158), where Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock are sitting in an election watch party surrounded by white people. As Trump’s election is confirmed, the white folks are shocked that America elected a candidate with such obvious race and sexism issues, while Rock and Chappelle – as Black men familiar with America’s hypocrisies – are not. ### When politicians appear as themselves Particularly before the rise of social media, the best way a politician could try to get ahead of how SNL portrayed them was to appear as themselves in the show’s sketches. Obama, Palin, Hillary Clinton, and even Nikki Haley used this tactic, popping up to look like good sports while pushing back subtly against the most insulting parts of the parodies. McCain, who called _Saturday Night Live_ creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels [a friend](https://x.com/senjohnmccain/status/402184925756928000), delivered one of the most notable cameos. He kicked off the SNL episode right before the presidential election in November 2008 [with an appearance](https://youtu.be/pix6pJUW5-s?si=P1V3MCCJ7xgALbqp) where the senator – flanked by Fey as Palin and his actual wife, Cindy – hawked fake merchandise on the QVC home shopping channel, deftly presaging when Trump would [do it for real](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-watches-bibles-coins-1960247) with his own Bibles and luxury watches. But one of the most infamous political cameos is also the show’s earliest, when Ron Nessen, then press secretary for Ford, hosted the show in 1976 and got his boss to pre-tape saying the show’s legendary opening phrase, “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night.” Franken says he impulsively asked Nessen to host the show at an event for Ford – later, he says, Michaels reminded him that handing out host invites was not his job – but they didn’t really ease up on the president for the episode. “We had way too much fun with them and the Ford family was not appreciative,” Franken adds. “And I think right after that he lost in South Carolina to Reagan…They hated it.”

Wisconsin Democratic leader Ben Wikler joined the race to lead the Democratic National Committee on Sunday, promising “to take on Trump, Republican extremists, and move our country forward”, as the party looks to rebuild from its losses in the November election. Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin, declared his candidacy to run the Democratic National Committee on Sunday in a YouTube video. In [a video](https://bsky.app/profile/benwikler.bsky.social/post/3lcas7syrik27) posted on social networks, Wikler, 43, touted his state party’s success in organizing to flip 14 state legislative seats and send Senator Tammy Baldwin back to Washington DC in November, and in previously campaigns to win control of the state supreme court and re-elect governor Tony Evers. Wikler, a former podcaster, Air America radio producer and headline writer for The Onion, also stressed his new media expertise. Wikler who has been involved in Democratic party politics since age 11, previously served as a producer on comedian-turned-politician Al Franken’s radio show and as Washington director for the progressive action group MoveOn, where he played a role in the successful battle to save the Affordable Care Act. “Our values – the core belief that our economy should work for working people, and that every person has inherent dignity and deserves freedom and respect – are American values,” Willer [wrote on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/benwikler.bsky.social/post/3lcas7wolys27). “But they’re not MAGA values. The richest and most powerful people want to divide us and enrich themselves.” “We’ve got to make sure that we are reaching people with the message that we are on their side and fighting for them,” Wikler told Reuters in a telephone interview. Wikler, who has served as chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin [since 2019](https://wisdems.org/our-party/meet-our-chair/), is among several candidates looking to replace Jaime Harrison, the current chair who is not seeking re-election when the party votes early next year. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, Minnesota Democratic chief Ken Martin and New York state senator James Skoufis also are vying to become the new Democratic chair. Democrats are trying to chart the way forward after losing the White House and control of the Senate, as well as failing to retake the House of Representatives. Wikler said the national party could learn from organizing efforts he has overseen in Wisconsin, even though Kamala Harris narrowly lost the state to Trump. Wikler said Democrats also need to focus on the president-elect’s economic agenda, which he claimed will favor wealthy Americans rather than working families. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/01/ben-wikler-wisconsin-democratic-national-committee-chair#EmailSignup-skip-link-11) Sign up to Fighting Back Big thinkers on what we can do to protect civil liberties and fundamental freedoms in a Trump presidency. From our opinion desk. **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion “For Democrats, this is a critical time to unite and fight back against Trump’s plans,” Wikler said. On Sunday afternoon, Wikler shared a series of endorsements from Democrats he’s worked with, including [a video message](https://bsky.app/profile/benwikler.bsky.social/post/3lcbk7rmsic2z) from newly re-elected Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin. Wikler’s entry into the race was also welcomed by the teachers union leader Randi Weingarten, who [wrote](https://bsky.app/profile/connieschultz.bsky.social/post/3lcb4oudrqk2i) that he “understands how to organize and communicate”, and journalist Connie Schultz, who knows Wikler from his time as spokesperson for her husband, Senator Sherrod Brown.

The faux-feminist man who is accused of being a secret predator is by now, after the revelations of the Me Too movement, a familiar figure. A few years ago, when Me Too was raging through Hollywood, former liberal darlings [Louis C.K.](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/9/16629400/louis-ck-allegations-masturbation) and [Joss Whedon](https://www.vox.com/culture/22277010/joss-whedon-charisma-carpenter-buffy-toxic-workplace-abuse-accusation) saw their whole legacies re-evaluated after being accused of sexual misconduct on C.K.’s part and bullying on Whedon’s. (Whedon [has denied all the allegations](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jan/18/im-one-of-the-nicer-showrunners-joss-whedon-denies-misconduct-allegations).) Now, two new famous feminist men have been accused of gendered misconduct — but these revelations come at a moment when our culture appears to be far less interested in performing a reckoning. The most serious of the new stories are the accusations against Neil Gaiman, a prolific and beloved figure in the fantasy and comic book world. Gaiman built his career on the idea that he was an ally to women, but last year, [a podcast from the UK-based Tortoise Media](https://www.tortoisemedia.com/listen/master-the-allegations-against-neil-gaiman) accused him of physical and emotional abuse and sexual assault. Now, those claims have been amplified by [a deeply reported and detailed feature in New York magazine](https://www.vulture.com/article/neil-gaiman-allegations-controversy-amanda-palmer-sandman-madoc.html) alleging that Gaiman abused multiple vulnerable young women over whom he was in a position of power. Gaiman, in a post on his website, [maintains that his relationships with these women were consensual](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2025/01/breaking-silence.html). Meanwhile, actor, director, and professional male feminist Justin Baldoni has been [accused by actress Blake Lively of sexually harassing her on set](https://www.vox.com/culture/392664/blake-lively-it-ends-with-us-lawsuit-smear-campaign) — walking into her trailer while she was naked, improvising kissing scenes, and discussing his history of porn addiction. According to [a lawsuit from Lively](https://www.vulture.com/article/justin-baldoni-blake-lively-lawsuits-update.html) and [an accompanying story in the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/business/media/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html), Baldoni feared that Lively would go public with her complaints, so he hired a PR firm that buried Lively under a wave of sexist criticism. Baldoni has said [through a lawyer that Lively’s allegations are “categorically false”](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-us-lawsuit-what-know-rcna185274) and disputed her characterization as “self-serving.” He is suing [the New York Times over its reporting](https://variety.com/2024/film/news/justin-baldoni-sues-new-york-times-blake-lively-allegations-story-1236263099/), [as well as Lively and her publicist](https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/16/justin-baldoni-wayfarer-studios-lawsuit-blake-lively-leslie-sloan-publicist/?adid=braze-browser-notification), alleging that it was Lively who mistreated him. The accusations against Gaiman are much more serious and violent than the accusations against Baldoni. Yet both men find themselves in the same familiar place we saw with other faux feminists. They built their public images on being “the good ones” in a misogynistic world: men who understood that other men were violent and untrustworthy, who seemed committed to doing the best they could not to fall into the same traps. Now, they stand accused of using those long-crafted images as public shields for their private misbehavior. The question that remains is: What will happen to the feminist men who lose their feminist cred in this time of [Me Too backlash](https://www.vox.com/culture/23581859/me-too-backlash-susan-faludi-weinstein-roe-dobbs-depp-heard)? What was all that feminist capital worth to begin with? The reputations Gaiman and Baldoni built as feminists go back years. Both of them were careful to be nuanced about their status as male feminists, to appear to make room for their own errors, and to commit to being better than their fellow men. “As far as I can see, being in society on this planet at this time makes you part of the patriarchy because that’s the world we’re in,” [wrote Gaiman on his popular Tumblr in 2021](https://www.tumblr.com/neil-gaiman/661255039355158528/dear-neil-do-you-consider-yourself-a-white). “You don’t get to leave it or not be part of it by announcing you’re leaving, any more than you leave a society by announcing that you don’t want to follow its laws. Instead, you do what you can, both personally and in society, to improve things, and you hope.” In his fiction, Gaiman appeared to be at least trying to walk the walk. He populated his books with powerful women who don’t suffer fools. He tackled subjects like sexual violence at a time when they felt taboo. Even Gaiman’s fans could acknowledge that for all his effort, [he wasn’t always all that good at writing women](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/20/15829662/american-gods-laura-moon-bryan-fuller-neil-gaiman) — he seemed reluctant to center them in most of his stories and was always writing detailed descriptions of their breasts. Still, most readers agreed that he was well-intentioned. “Neil strikes me as a representation of the saying ‘perfect is the enemy of good,’” [mused a commenter two years ago on the subreddit Men Writing Women](https://www.reddit.com/r/menwritingwomen/comments/xs0k3e/what_do_you_think_of_neil_gaiman/), where women gather to mock bad descriptions of women by male writers. “I personally love his writing and I don’t think he does anything egregious that should earn him a place here. … That said he has his shortcomings but I think a lot of people ignore those because the stories are so great (if you like his style).” Meanwhile, Baldoni built his name as the romantic lead of the much-acclaimed CW show [_Jane the Virgin_](https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/31/20744757/jane-the-virgin-series-finale-recap-season-five-episode-19-chapter-100), playing a hero who happily supported his girlfriend’s dreams. On the side, he became more or less a professional male feminist. He delivered [a viral TED talk in 2017](https://www.ted.com/talks/justin_baldoni_why_i_m_done_trying_to_be_man_enough) on the problem of toxic masculinity. The TED talk became [a limited-run talk show](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/justin-baldoni-man-talk-show-details-1049772/), _Man Enough_, the same year, and then a [podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-man-enough-podcast/id1571480224) and a book, also titled [_Man Enough_](https://www.amazon.com/Man-Enough-Undefining-My-Masculinity/dp/0063055597), in 2021. “I’ve had to take a real, honest look at the ways that I’ve unconsciously been hurting the women in my life, and it’s ugly,” Baldoni said in that viral TED talk. He went on to describe his great sin: His wife had told him that sometimes, without noticing it, he talked over her. “So here I am doing my part, trying to be a feminist, amplifying the voices of women around the world,” Baldoni went on, “and yet at home, I am using my louder voice to silence the woman I love the most. So I had to ask myself a tough question: Am I man enough to just shut the hell up and listen?” He went on to describe his great sin: His wife had told him that sometimes, without noticing it, he talked over her. Baldoni positioned himself as a man so enlightened that the worst thing he did was sometimes accidentally interrupt his wife. Gaiman positioned himself as a man enlightened enough that he knew that he, too, must be poisoned by the patriarchy, but who was nonetheless determined to do what he could to stand up against it. The new accusations against both Gaiman and Baldoni offer counternarratives to these stories. The New York magazine article describes Gaiman as allegedly performing deeply violent and degrading sexual acts on unwilling women, using his celebrity and wealth to exert emotional and financial pressure on them. Moreover, it includes allegations that on multiple occasions, Gaiman initiated sexual encounters with some of these women in the same room as his young son, and that he seemed amused when his son began to ape his language, referring to one of the women as a “slave” and demanding she address him as “master.” (Gaiman denies these claims.) He is using his male feminist persona not just as a shield but as bait. In this version of the story, Gaiman is no longer the male feminist trying his best and now and then falling short of perfection. No longer is he a man “doing what he can, both personally and in society, to improve things.” Instead, he is allegedly implicating his own son in acts of sexual violence. And he is using his male feminist persona not just as a shield but as bait. In the New York magazine investigation, two of Gaiman’s accusers use the same metaphor to describe how he used his own well-meaning public persona to draw in his alleged victims. “Two of the women, who have never spoken to each other, compared him to an anglerfish, the deep-sea predator that uses a bulb of bioluminescence to lure prey into its jaws,” writes New York magazine journalist Lila Shapiro. “‘Instead of a light,’ one says, ‘he would dangle a floppy-haired, soft-spoken British guy.’” Meanwhile, [Lively’s lawsuit](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/business/media/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html) and a preceding complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department alleges that Baldoni hired a public relations firm for the express purpose of preventing Lively from speaking out about his own bad behavior. Far from being the man wracked with guilt over his own anti-feminist microaggressions, Lively’s account suggests that Baldoni paid a crisis PR firm to orchestrate a smear campaign against her, taking advantage of the public’s own rampant misogyny to do so. Baldoni, for his part, has made his own allegations against Lively in his lawsuit against the Times, alleging that she [showed a “pattern of vindictiveness” on set](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/08/here-are-baldonis-key-allegations-against-lively-latest-he-claims-she-never-read-it-ends-with-us/) and took key events out of context to forward a favorable narrative. Baldoni seems ready to fight to preserve his old reputation, but [he’s been dropped by his talent agency](https://www.eonline.com/news/1411693/justin-baldonis-former-agency-denies-blake-lively-and-ryan-reynolds-pressured-them-to-drop-him) and his podcast co-host (and former Vox correspondent) [Liz Plank has left the show](https://people.com/justin-baldoni-man-enough-co-host-liz-plank-leaves-podcast-after-blake-lively-allegations-8766086). Gaiman, [who has denied that his relationships with his accusers were abusive](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2025/01/breaking-silence.html), has [reportedly hired](https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bestselling-author-of-the-sandman-neil-gaiman-denies-accusations-of-sexual-assault) the same crisis management team used by Prince Andrew and Danny Masterson. Meanwhile, [a number of productions based on his work have been halted or canceled](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/business/neil-gaiman-allegations.html). (Gaiman has not published a full-length solo-authored novel since 2013, but many of his books are currently or recently getting adapted for both stage and screen.) In the progressive science fiction circles where his work was revered, [he’s been denounced](https://bsky.app/profile/scalzi.com/post/3lfmnfocmls2e). Aside from the personal statement published on his website, W.W. Norton, which worked with Gaiman on one of his books, has said it will not publish him again. HarperCollins, his primary publisher in the US, has said only that [it has no new books by Gaiman scheduled](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/96857-how-neil-gaiman-s-publishers-have-responded-to-the-sexual-misconduct-allegations.html). As we prepare to enter the second Trump era, the future of these two men — and what it demonstrates about where we are in our cultural reckoning with sexual assault and sexual harassment — is yet to be seen. While the Me Too movement was first developed by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, it exploded into the mainstream in 2017 after producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual violence by multiple famous actresses. In large part, however, the movement was less about Weinstein than it was a reaction to the first election of Donald Trump, who at the time had been accused of sexual assault by multiple woman but had never faced legal investigation into his alleged crimes. As the movement burned hot and angry, [one powerful man](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/10/6/16432526/harvey-weinstein-allegations-whos-involved) [after](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/20/16682376/charlie-rose-accussed-sexual-harassment) [another](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/11/16762784/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct) was accused of sexual misdeeds. Many had their reputations destroyed. Some lost their jobs. A bare few faced trial, and even fewer than that faced jail time. Joss Whedon and Louis C.K. were both removed from high-profile projects, although C.K. [continues to tour in front of sold-out venues](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/louis-cks-sold-out-show-at-madison-square-garden-proves-theres-no-such-thing-as-cancel-culture/) after taking a year-long break. We are no longer in 2017. In 2025, we are squarely stuck [in the midst of Me Too backlash](https://www.vox.com/culture/23581859/me-too-backlash-susan-faludi-weinstein-roe-dobbs-depp-heard). Donald Trump has now been found [civilly liable for sexual abuse](https://www.vox.com/politics/23696250/e-jean-carroll-trump-trial-sexual-misconduct-rape-allegations), but he is about to take office as president for the second time. _Roe v. Wade_ is [no longer the law of the land](https://www.vox.com/2022/6/24/23181720/supreme-court-dobbs-jackson-womens-health-samuel-alito-roe-wade-abortion-marriage-contraception). Social media is teeming with reactionary influencers, with [tradwives](https://www.vox.com/23690126/mothers-parenting-momfluenced-sara-petersen-tiktok-instagram) and looksmaxxers and manosphere bros who teach teen boys to crow, “[Your body, my choice](https://www.vox.com/politics/384792/your-body-my-choice-maga-gender-election)” at their female classmates. Democratic leadership in Congress has concluded that [it’s not politically useful](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/inside-the-senate-battle-over-pete-hegseths-nomination.html) to complain about [the number of alleged sexual predators in Trump’s proposed Cabinet](https://www.vox.com/culture/387404/trump-cabinet-nominations-matt-gaetz-pete-hegseth-rfk-elon-musk-linda-mcmahon). And a number of the men whose alleged bad behavior was exposed by Me Too are, newly emboldened, beginning to creep back into the public eye. [Brett Ratner](https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/1/16590184/brett-ratner-sex-abuse-harassment-allegations), accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment in 2017, is directing the high-profile new [documentary on Melania Trump](https://apnews.com/article/melania-trump-documentary-amazon-ratner-bezos-fc36fc99e3eff0a18ef8b72335af88f6), in his first directorial credit since 2015 (Ratner denied all of the allegations at the time and was never charged). [Michael Fassbender](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/michael-fassbender-abuse-allegations-sunawin-leasi-andrews-1201927946/), who was accused of domestic violence in 2010 and stopped acting during the height of Me Too, [returned to Hollywood in 2023](https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniesoteriou/michael-fassbender-acting-return-abuse-allegations-1) (Fassbender has never commented on the allegations). Former Sen. [Al Franken](https://www.vox.com/2017/12/7/16746564/al-franken-sexual-misconduct-allegations), accused of nonconsensual groping and forcible kissing in 2017, had a stint as guest host of _The Daily Show_, also in 2023. ([Franken issued statements](https://abcnews.go.com/US/sen-al-frankens-accusers-accusations-made/story?id=51406862) apologizing in some instances and saying that he does not remember other alleged incidents.) Former New York Gov. [Andrew Cuomo](https://www.vox.com/22174452/andrew-cuomo-lindsey-boylan-sexual-harassment), accused of sexual harassment in 2020, is now leading the polls to become [New York’s next mayor](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/poll-eric-adams-is-losing-badly-to-andrew-cuomo.html). (Cuomo [denied all allegations](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/26/cuomo-sexual-harassment-doj-00138140) and the charges against him were all dropped or dismissed.) In this climate, what was the feminist capital Gaiman and Baldoni built even for? It continues to depreciate. Allegations of sexual misconduct are certainly no longer disqualifying for being a figure in public life. They can even be a sign of your anti-woke bona fides. Complaining about gendered violence means [that you are doing identity politics](https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/2/13718770/identity-politics), alienating young people ever further toward the right. Hollywood — and fantasy publishing, where Gaiman dominated — are more liberal environments than Trump’s Washington. Still, blockbusters are increasingly [abandoning liberal messaging on issues like feminism](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/business/media/hollywood-movies-red-state-audiences.html), and many of the world’s biggest tech platforms are run by billionaires who keep [swinging](https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/12/27/24011198/bezos-zuckerberg-musk-buff-mma-masculine) [right](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/nov/07/silicon-valley-tech-election-victories-musk-trump) along with the rest of the country. In this climate, what was the feminist capital Gaiman and Baldoni built even for? It continues to depreciate. We don’t know where they go from here, whether they will disappear for a few months or even years and then stage comebacks, either quietly or with fanfare. But whatever they do, their fates will tell us a lot about how deep the Me Too backlash has gone, and how strong Trump’s hold on the culture really is. You’ve read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country. Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change. We rely on readers like you — join us.  Swati Sharma Vox Editor-in-Chief See More: * [Books](https://www.vox.com/books) * [Celebrity Culture](https://www.vox.com/celebrities) * [Culture](https://www.vox.com/culture) * [Gender](https://www.vox.com/gender) * [Life](https://www.vox.com/life)