It’s Tuesday, January 27. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Simon Sebag Montefiore and Suzane Lentzsch mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Sebastian Junger on how the Democrats lost men. Why did Xi fire his top general—and could the leader himself be next? Arthur Brooks on Brooklyn Beckham and the dangers of family estrangement. All that and more.
But first: Trump’s tactical retreat.
In the first 24 hours after the killing of Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minneapolis, Trump administration officials were hyperbolic, inflammatory, and dishonest in their responses to the tragedy. On Monday, amid widespread outrage over the incident and the administration’s reaction, Trump struck a very different tone.
When White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Monday about the characterization of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” by Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and others, Leavitt said she hadn’t heard the president describe Pretti that way. Trump, meanwhile, said he had “very good” conversations with Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey—who not long ago he accused of “inciting insurrection.” “We actually seem to be on the same wavelength,” Trump said of Walz.
In other signs of a climbdown, border patrol chief Greg Bovino has reportedly been demoted and will leave Minneapolis today. Border czar Tom Homan is being dispatched to Minneapolis. He has favored a deportation strategy focused on people who are criminals and national security threats, rather than the blunt approach agents have taken in the city so far.
Minneapolis remains at a boiling point, but yesterday, at least, the president seemed not to want to raise the temperature further.
Driving this change in direction is criticism from some of the places you usually expect to have unwavering support for the administration’s approach to deportations. Gabe Kaminsky has that story today. Read it here:
Meanwhile, Jed Rubenfeld untangles the legal and political questions at the heart of the Pretti case—and the tactics used by the Department of Homeland Security more generally. Read his latest column here:
—The Editors
Marking Holocaust Memorial Day: Elie Wiesel’s Doctor, and Simon Sebag Montefiore on the Use and Abuse of History
The last witnesses to the Holocaust are dying. As British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore writes today, that makes the war over the meaning of the Holocaust more important than ever. And yet, at this crucial moment, “Holocaust denial, distortion, inversion, and perversion, combined with an eliminationist antisemitism, have made a spectacular comeback.” Read his full essay on how to fight back against these abuses of history.
In a personal reflection, Suzanne Lentzsch recounts her unlikely relationship with Elie Wiesel, whom she treated as a doctor in New York. Raised in Germany in the shadow of Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Lentzsch found herself caring for one of the most acclaimed chroniclers of the Nazis’ crimes. Read about their relationship:
How did the Democrats lose men? The answer, according to Sebastian Junger, is that the party stripped masculinity of honor, leaving young men ripe for the far right’s victimhood pitch. “Men almost never get access to public honor,” he writes, drawing on a harrowing moment he witnessed in Sierra Leone. Read Sebastian’s full essay on why a party decided to dismiss half the population, and what they need to do differently.
Xi Jinping’s top general was just purged. It was a stunning development that was followed by an equally stunning allegation: that he was leaking nuclear secrets to the United States. But how to make sense of this move at the top of China’s chain of command? Is this a cleanup operation, or the start of a deeper power struggle that could even put Xi at risk?
The schism in the Beckham family is a very public example of something that is all too common, writes Arthur Brooks in his latest column. More and more influencers and politicians are telling us to ditch our family members as an act of self-care. But family estrangement is a tragedy. Read Arthur’s column on the damage it can do.
The massive winter storm that dumped more than a foot or more of snow in at least 19 states was blamed for at least 22 deaths. Over 700,000 homes and businesses were without power on Monday, and travel chaos is expected to last through at least Tuesday.
At least six people were killed in the crash of a private Bombardier Challenger 600 jet during takeoff at Bangor International Airport in Maine on Sunday night, government officials said Monday. It wasn’t clear if the snowstorm was a factor in the crash.
European Union regulators launched an investigation of Elon Musk’s X, alleging that it failed to curb Grok-generated sexualized deepfakes, including of children. The investigation escalates the broader U.S.-Europe clash over online content regulation and free speech.
Israel said it recovered the remains of the last hostage still unaccounted for in Gaza, Master Sergeant Ran Gvili. He was killed while fighting Hamas militants. The recovery could allow ceasefire talks to move into their next phase.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric is surging among some Texas Republicans in statewide races, with candidates like Aaron Reitz making opposition to Islam a centerpiece of their campaigns. According to The Texas Tribune, Muslim civil-rights groups warn the messaging is more coordinated and extreme than in past campaigns, and could fuel real-world discrimination.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) bought a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize for antisemitic outbursts and other recent behavior, attributing it to an undiagnosed brain injury from his 2002 car crash and bipolar disorder.
An unpublicized black-tie White House screening of the new documentary Melania included monogrammed popcorn tubs and a military band playing movie tunes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The event was hosted by the First Lady and director Brett Ratner. The Amazon-funded film opens Friday.
If you haven’t noticed how Trump has enveloped himself in billionaires and pursued policies designed to enrich them (not least his family) at the expense of those living paycheck to paycheck (e.g., partially offsetting deficits piled up by tax cuts for the rich by slashing subsidies for health insurance for the poor, you must get all your news from Fox because it spins Trump and his con game for part of the masses the way you want it spun.
The inhabitants Omar town hall “attack” is cringe. Obviously staged. Jussie Smollet go into directing?