Can They Save America?

Plus: What I’m Reading This Week

In Today’s BRIGHT

Can They Save America?
What I’m Reading This Week
Countdown to the Next Port Negotiation Begins
FEMA’s Failure on Hurricane Helene
More Weekend Reads
A Case of the Mondays

Can They Save America?

As promised, former President Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, following the assassination attempt with the line, “As I was saying…” You can watch the whole speech (with lots of riffing!) here.

The second line of the day came from Elon Musk, who wore a black stitching on black MAGA hat, and quipped, “As you can see I am not just MAGA — I am Dark MAGA.”

In his speech, Musk described the 2024 presidential election as crucial, saying it could be the “last election” if Trump doesn’t win. Musk criticized Democrats for threatening free speech and gun rights and condemned a California proposal to ban voter ID requirements. The AP reported that this appearance marks the deepening of Musk and Trump’s alliance. Musk concluded his remarks with, “Fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote!”

RELATED: Musk energizes Trump supporters at Butler rally, 3 months after assassination attempt on former president (Fox News)

What I’m Reading This Week

If you’ve ever watched Catfish or 90 Day Fiancé and wondered how those people were sucked into a phony online relationship, then There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish will have you hooked. From the description:

In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie?  Ethan wasn't after money — he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy. After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could've ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for “Ethan” to ever stop.