New European

“When Kim talks about the ‘video that changed my life,’ she is not talking about her sex tape,” writes Jonathan Van Meter in his book Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future. The book’s subject, Kim Kardashian, has become so ubiquitous in the 19 years since the appearance of her 2007 sex tape with then-boyfriend Ray J Norwood, Kim Kardashian: Superstar, and the subsequent premiere of her E! reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, that one could almost forget that’s how she shot to f

For those fortunate enough not to know Laura Loomer, allow us to introduce you: she is a far right activist, a conspiracy theorist, a self-described “proud Islamophobe” and one of Donald Trump’s most devoted court jesters.  Her greatest hits include declaring Islam a “cancer on humanity”, calling 9/11 an inside job, having her press access revoked due to harassment and seeming to suffer from the most severe case of Mar-a-Lago face (the plastic surgification of Trump’s female acolytes) known to

Deep in midterms mourning, GB News hired little-known US political commentator Lee Cohen (no, us neither) to write a piece about the real scandal behind Donald Trump’s humiliation. “I just witnessed an American victory speech delivered in Arabic – what’s coming for Britain sent a chill down my spine” was the headline on Cohen’s rambling article, in which he professed his shock at Abdul El-Sayed’s remarks after winning Michigan’s Senate seat. “This outcome might cause Britons to reflect whether

We are a far cry from the beginning of Donald Trump’s first presidency. The dire midterm results have been catastrophic for the Republicans, and have brought me to consider, once again, the future of the women who have tied themselves to the party. Nicki Minaj is one. The other is Melania – what next for her?  When Trump’s reign began, I remember the memes that proliferated, unfavourably comparing Melania Trump to Michelle Obama. Melania was shown in a revealing dress – or even nude – and it us

“Downfall of the swaggering sex predator fawned over by the left” screamed the Daily Mail’s front page on Friday, November 6, putting the right wing paper’s own spin on guilty verdicts against the vile Russell Brand. In the accompanying article, crime editor Rebecca Camber noted, “His conviction was set to cause major embarrassment for figures on the Left, including Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband, who previously courted Brand. “Labour recruited him to the cause during its doomed 2015 election

What ancient British right fires you up most? Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215, and establishing for the first time that the monarch was subject to the law rather than above it? Habeas Corpus, passed by the English Parliament in 1679 and strengthening the right against unlawful imprisonment by requiring detained individuals to be brought before a judge? Or the ancient right of every red-blooded Brit to squeeze an extremely small amount of tomato sauce out of a tiny plastic sachet, quite

With the Telegraph losing many of its more hardline Brexiteer writers in a purge of staff by new owner Axel Springer, readers have been melting down in fear that the right wing paper is heading in a more liberal direction. As Rats in a Sack reported earlier this week, Talk presenter and Reform adviser Alex Philips declared the departure of columnist Allison Pearson to be indicative of “the long slow Communist takeover of Europe”. But even less insane readers have been vocal in their concerns th

“Shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up… never in my LIFE,” the words suddenly cut through the noise at the Williamson County Democrats watch party in Round Rock, Texas. A group in the corner were watching the Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott, who had just appeared on a muted TV screen behind the bar.  He was, the scrolling text announced, conceding defeat to Gina Hinojosa, the long-shot Democratic candidate. Minutes later, the Texas senate race was called for the Democrat candidate James Tala

Pity the poor Republicans who fancy a stab at the 2028 nomination to run for US president. This was a midterms loss on a crushing scale. The Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats and 26 seats in the House of Representatives, giving the Republicans a very rocky ride into the next election. The MAGA coalition is beset by infighting and most of Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidates tanked at the polls on Tuesday. The voter enthusiasm that propelled Trump to electoral success nearly two yea

My duty as a philosopher is to spoil the ecstatic relief after the US midterm elections. At first glance, we have all triumphed: not only has Trump lost but he even accepted his loss and promised collaboration with the Democratic majority – no emergency state, no cancelled elections… In an interview published in 2016, I declared that I would have voted for Trump in that year’s presidential election. I said his victory, despite Trump being absolutely “disgusting”, would trigger a “big awakening”

President Donald Trump was in his happy place. Never mind that his Republican Party had the day before suffered one of its worst ever thumpings in the US midterm elections. The 80-year-old had decided it was time to show off his new ballroom. “Now envision chandeliers all over the ceiling,” Trump purred to journalists as he surveyed the construction site at the White House. “Envision marble floors. Ah it’s going to be beautiful.” It’s a crowded field, but it must surely have been one of the

Donald Trump and his inner circle are watching the midterm election results in his half-built ballroom. He is seated on a golden throne, legs elevated on a Home Depot workbench. On a giant temporary screen, the numbers begin to move.  “Looking tremendous!” he announces, before anyone can tell him what they mean.  “Sir, James Talarico has just defeated Ken Paxton, he’s the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat in 38 years” explains JD Vance, his little legs swinging from his vantage poin

There is a clue in the phrase “John Lewis Christmas advert”. It’s that fourth word that matters: It’s an advert.  It’s designed to remind viewers that the department store exists and stands ready to take their money in the rush towards Christmas. It is not art. It is not social commentary. It’s commerce sprinkled with glitter.  The ‘tradition’ of the John Lewis Christmas advert stretches all the way back to… 2007. But the great triumph of John Lewis and its advertising agencies has been to

The wine didn’t exactly flow at the start. I queued for a glass at quarter past seven, as people were only starting to come in, and was politely but coldly handed what amounted to one large sip, maybe two. It felt especially stingy given that tickets to the event had cost the equivalent of £50.  We were also in a private members’ club on the Upper East Side, the most affluent neighbourhood in New York City – couldn’t they afford to fill my plastic cup at least half to the brim? As it turned

Nigel Farage looked like a fool after claiming shortly before the midterm results came in, “I don’t go with that consensus that Donald Trump’s going to get absolutely smashed.” But the scale of his hero’s humiliation might just have let Reform off the hook.Trump’s shellacking in the Democratic bluenami means a number of damaging stories about Farage’s party have not got the coverage they might ordinarily have warranted, with British political hacks distracted by events stateside. One story whic

The Angel of Death strikes again. On Monday night, as Republicans at Mar-a-Lago would have been bracing for the so-called Blue Wave, they were met with an altogether more horrifying prospect: having to spend the evening with Liz Truss. The former prime minister, who has seemingly made it her life’s mission to turn everything she touches into a political (or literal) corpse, was on hand to witness yet another spectacular political demise. Suggested Reading

How did the US and British right react to the Republicans’ shellacking in the US midterm elections on Tuesday night? By the looks of things, they’re still only on the second stage of five of the grief model – denial and anger. The night began with Donald Trump taking to his own Truth Social to predict a big victory ahead on the basis of early results in, er, Guam, the Western Pacific territory with a similar population of Springfield, Missouri; a place most Americans could not find on a map.

There’s no wearier whinge than the whinge of the wounded artist. Take Taika Waititi, the latest wilter to indulge.  On an emoji-laden Instagram post, the director wailed about bad reviews for his latest film Klara and the Sun, writing: “I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years [Maybe he should’ve. He might have made better films]. But I do listen to the people. ” The message is accompanied by an image showing that the critically-panned Klara, which star

You know the routine by now. Be prepared to be shocked, annoyed, bored, and mystified. Maybe even impressed. Yes, it’s the Turner Prize 2026. The four finalists have been chosen and are on show at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) – a bold edifice in glass and steel whose very presence is an optimistic counter to the unrelenting bad news which overwhelmed the town after the recent killings of two policemen by “joyriders” driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway.  On the

Until last week, anyone with a crypto wallet could bet on whether any of seven Cornell fraternity brothers accused of rape would be charged with a felony. More than $450,000 changed hands before Polymarket, the site hosting the market, pulled it after a public outcry, explaining that it believed in the wisdom of crowds and had “heard them loud and clear”. Think of gambling in the US and your mind will likely be drawn to Vegas, all sequins and fountains; older readers may hark back to the romant