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Syndicated columnist George Will read two books that have helped to inform his thinking about the upcoming commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.
The first was Jon Grinspan’s “The Age of Acrimony,” published in 2021. The book examines the political atmosphere following the Civil War, which was disconcertingly similar to our own. In a column two years ago, on the occasion of “this less-than-happy national birthday,” Will wrote, “Jon Grinspan has a strangely reassuring message: Normal is abnormal.”
In other words, politics in the U.S. have always been tumultuous.
But in centuries past, we the people have had a much better attitude, as detailed in “Centennial‚” by historian Fergus Bordewich. That book describes the general sunniness and optimism of Americans at the time of the world’s fair that marked the country’s 100th birthday celebration, despite the fact that the Civil War had concluded less than a dozen years earlier. “They were focused on the future, and in a more cheerful way than we are today,” Will told me recently.
Will is no fan of President Donald Trump, recently writing, “The nation has experienced more than a few failing presidencies, but this flailing presidency is as uniquely unsightly as it is terminal.”
His criticism of the president often concerns Trump’s effect on the culture writ large, and he told me that without the two Trump presidencies, we’d still have political acrimony, but that the tone of our civic life has changed because of “the vulgarity, the swearing, the coarseness, the constant lying, the fact that he still, like probing a sore tooth with his tongue, can’t let go of the fact that he lost the 2020 election … this is a difference, not just in quality and intensity, but a difference in kind. We’ve never had anything quite like this.”
For those and other reasons, when I asked Will if this Fourth of July would be a happy birthday for America, he said no. But he said that in a way that was strangely optimistic.
“America has had worse. And the antidote to fear and gloom is to read a few books about the 1850s. Things were much worse then,” he said.
Bordewich, however, offered a competing answer to the question, saying, “Every birthday of America is a happy birthday. Every single one. Because we’re still here as a nation, our institutions are still intact.”
According to new polling from the Associated Press, just 4 in 10 Americans say they are proud of their country’s milestone anniversary and just 3 in 10 say they are excited about it.
Checking in on the Trump phone
Last week, Trump touted a deal between Apple and Intel that would lessen U.S. reliance on other countries in the making of iPhones.
Though that may be good news, the announcement did nothing to shut down the mockery of the Trump phone.
For months, Trump-averse podcasters have found a wellspring of content in the signature phone marketed by Trump Mobile, a company started by the president’s sons. Called the “T1,” the gold-colored phone is marketed as having “top-tier performance, sleek design, and powerful features, all without the inflated price tag.”
To say that it’s not gone over particularly well is an understatement.
Even the official website is confusing. On the page that displays an array of products, the price of the “proudly American” T1 is shown as $100. But click through to the ordering page, and the price becomes $499.
It turns out the $100 is just the deposit on the phone.
Independent journalist Judd Legum has been on the case of Trump Mobile since the venture was announced last spring. Among other things, Legum questions the “proudly American” label, writing, “There is only one phone that is currently assembled in the United States, the Liberty Phone.” That phone, Legum says, costs $2,000 and would have been impressive a decade ago.
The bigger problem for people who ordered the T1 has been how long it took them to ship. There are multiple reports of people who put down a deposit last year and had not received the phone by May. And that’s only one aspect of the online derision.
A YouTuber with more than 18 million subscribers has said that he called the information line and pretended to have ordered a phone when he had not, and was told that they had his information, located his account and he would be getting the phone soon.
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Another YouTuber, who is based in Utah and reviews new technology for consumers, did order the phone, received it and recently made an “unboxing” video that, let’s just say, probably won’t compel anyone to order the phone.
All that said, the Trump Mobile account on X has 35,000 followers, despite only having posted 17 times in a year. They can’t all be haters, although it’s hard to tell, since the ability to comment has been turned off.
The saga is reminiscent of the controversy over Trump watches, which are still on sale, with one design celebrating America 250 offered for preorder at $1,299, with an estimated delivery date of July 2026.
As I wrote about the watches in 2024, let the buyer beware. But if you’ve had a great experience with either the Trump watch or the Trump phone, let me know and I’m happy to share it.
Recommended Reading
Talk-show host Bill Maher recently said that America should “get used to” candidates like Graham Platner because “as long as we live in a representative democracy, we are always electing our reflection in the mirror.” Naomi Schaefer Riley took issue with that.
“It is not that Americans demand a politician who is perfect. And maybe our standards for behavior (as well as education and general nuttiness) have declined in recent years. But many of us haven’t given up hope that it is still possible to elect decent human beings to political office.”
Graham Platner is not representative of America
Valerie Hudson has been critical of the Trump administration’s approach to tech companies and AI, but she’s more optimistic given recent headlines.
“Act Two of the American AI saga is a fascinating one, for it has been easy to assume that the inordinate riches of the AI companies, plus their significant contribution to the GDP and to national security, would see the government bend the knee to their wishes.”
Act 2 opened on AI. Is the government finally getting it right this time?
Emily Blackhurst takes a look at some of the data surrounding the impact of having a father in the home and pushes back against the popular idea that “forged families” and other arrangements are always just as good.
“Those raised without this kind of stable, loving influence of a father can still find strong mentorship and fatherly support in other places. And none of this is to suggest those wounds can’t ever heal. But the impact of a father’s absence or aggression is real — and needs to be taken seriously.”
It does take a village. But it also takes a father
End Notes
Finally, last week’s Right to the Point poll shows that despite all the hype about the FIFA World Cup, the National Football League probably shouldn’t despair of losing its audience to soccer. Most of us aren’t paying much attention, with nearly two-thirds saying they haven’t watched even 15 minutes of a game. (Although, to be fair, this was before Argentina’s Lionel Messi broke the all-time scoring record.)
A special shoutout to all who said “What’s the World Cup?” as that likely means they’re just really enjoying their summer.
There’s a lot to be said for taking a hiatus from social media and ramping up the barbecue and family time in June, July and August.
I’ve joined normie America in completely checking out of the news cycle and only focusing on soccer and bbqs and gardening and summer and honestly — this is the way.
— Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) June 22, 2026
Meanwhile, sorry to mention it, but the days are getting shorter again. Enjoy them while you can — it’s just 130 days until daylight saving time ends.
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