It’s Wednesday, May 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: Why Trump is his own worst enemy. The J6ers who want millions of dollars of your money. Ben Sasse’s daughter on his parenting rules. Arthur Brooks on the pope’s AI advice. And much more.
But first: The next chapter of The Free Press.
By any standard, we live in the most connected age in human history—AI for everything, social media everywhere, and a device that holds all of human knowledge always in our pockets. And yet, we’ve never been lonelier.
That’s why we’ve launched a new community initiative to bring Free Pressers together, online and in real life, without bots or social media getting in the way. Thousands of paid subscribers have already found their way around our new Forum, where they’re getting job offers and marriage advice, and debating the war in Iran. Introduce yourself and join the conversation.
And that’s just the start. Free Pressers are also signing up for good food and great conversation with other subscribers in cities across three countries. In the first four hours, we had more than 500 reserved seats—and tables will sell out soon. Sign up for a Free Press Supper Club now, or request that we add your city here. Read Bari’s full announcement about what this means, and upgrade your subscription to join the fun:
Now, on to the news.
MAGA vs. GOP
Ken Paxton’s victory in yesterday’s Republican Senate primary in Texas was, of course, a victory for President Donald Trump as well. A week ago, Trump flexed his political muscles by endorsing the scandal-ridden state attorney general over sitting senator John Cornyn, pretty much guaranteeing Paxton’s victory.
Yet, as our politics editor Mene Ukueberuwa points out in our lead story, promoting Paxton over Cornyn is of a piece with other moves Trump has made since reclaiming the presidency—moves that may satisfy him personally, but are harming the GOP’s chances as the midterms approach. Paxton’s baggage will give his Democratic opponent James Talarico a far better chance of winning than if he had to face Cornyn.
It’s part of a bigger trend: Trump doing things that suit him, but harm his party. Take the funding for his White House ballroom, or his $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Does Trump care that his actions could cost the Republicans their majority in the House, and perhaps even the Senate? And how high a price will his party pay? Those are the questions at the heart of Mene’s piece today:
Speaking of that $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, Tanner Nau asked some of the January 6 rioters whether they were planning to apply for the fund—and how much they thought they deserved. One man who pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police, and was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison, told Tanner that he didn’t want any more than his “fair share” of the money. He said $3 million would do it. I know, shocker. Read Tanner’s piece for a window into the mindset of the people the president is prioritizing over the wavering voters he needs come November.
—Joe Nocera
A Teenage Girl Wanted to Die. Her Parents Said Yes.
Across the West, legalized assisted dying is surging. In Canada, 5 percent of all deaths in 2024 were voluntary, as part of the country’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. The Free Press’s Rupa Subramanya has covered this important, controversial and, to many, disturbing story from the start. In her latest piece, she reports on one of the most morally complex aspects of the issue: How should a parent react when their son or daughter tells them they want to die? That was the gut-wrenching question faced by the parents of Iris Dekker, a 19-year-old Dutch woman. They talk to Rupa about how loving parents could willingly accede to a child’s right to die, and she investigates the system that is putting more and more parents in that position. Read her report:
And for more on this story—and Rupa’s other reporting on assisted dying—listen to the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman. Rupa and Coleman Hughes are both supporters of the right to die for the terminally ill, but they both have major concerns about the way this issue is being handled in countries across the West.
Avital Balwit, Anthropic’s chief of staff, recently wrote that AI developers jokingly refer to their work as “building God.” Pope Leo XIV is not laughing. His first encyclical is over 42,000 words and starts with an ancient biblical lesson: Technology adopted without moral purpose will ruin us, but with principled intent, it can bring us closer to God. Free Press columnist Arthur Brooks wrote the foreword to the English version of the encyclical. Read his reflection on why the pope’s prescription is useful not just for Catholics but for all of us.
Today at 8:00 p.m. ET, Arthur will speak with Father Mike Schmitz about artificial intelligence, human dignity, meaning, and the future of humanity. You can tune in here.
Ever since Ben Sasse was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, he’s been reflecting—very publicly—on civic responsibility, faith, and family, while showing us how to face death with grace. Today we bring you another perspective: his daughter’s. “My parents are glorious and fallible goofballs like everyone else,” writes Alex Sasse. “But there is something a bit different about the conversations at my dinner table—and something even magical and rare about the people leading them.” Read Alex on the tenets of her father’s approach to parenting.
Ahead of America’s 250th birthday, the real meaning of the Declaration of Independence is up for debate. In the latest episode of Breaking History, writer and foreign policy strategist Michael Anton joins Eli Lake to take up the ideas of someone who offers profound answers to some of the most important questions about America: Henry Jaffa. The Brooklyn-born philosopher spent his career picking fights with Supreme Court justices and anyone else who dismissed the Declaration’s moral truths. Listen to their conversation about why Jaffa’s arguments matter, and how both liberals and conservatives today have managed to get America’s origin story wrong in their own way.
Claude, the AI for problem solvers
AI helps most with the hardest work, not the simplest. Anthropic analyzed 2 million conversations and found Claude’s biggest impact is on complex, college-level tasks. The Economic Index tracks adoption across every state and occupation.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that a peace deal with Iran may take “a few more days.” Following his comments on Monday that the U.S. would “deal with it another way” if a satisfactory agreement isn’t reached, Rubio added that President Trump is “either going to make a good deal or no deal.”
After losing the Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger last week, Rep. Thomas Massie filed paperwork on Monday to run for office again in 2028. “This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” he wrote on X. He said he hadn’t decided which office to run for—if any.
Legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins has died at 95. Known for his soaring improvisations and constant experimentation, he was the last musician living from the famous 1958 Esquire photograph, A Great Day in Harlem, that gathered 57 of the greatest jazz artists in one of the most iconic images from jazz’s Golden Age.
American journalist Thomas Pauken II, who was arrested by the FBI in February, was charged with acting as an unregistered agent for China. Pauken, who has lived in China for over a decade, allegedly prepared confidential reports his Chinese handler said were sent to Chinese president Xi Jinping. He also allegedly equipped a U.S.-based associate seeking a Trump administration job with a cell phone and laptop, and connected that person with his handler—believing the associate would pass classified information to China.
Vice President J.D. Vance and his anti-fraud task force held a roundtable meeting yesterday, with 15 Republican state attorneys general in attendance. Twenty-four Democratic attorneys general declined a last-minute invitation to attend. During the meeting, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller claimed that “we could balance the federal budget” if fraud were eliminated.
Landlords who own the most distressed rent-controlled apartments in New York City will be spared from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze, he announced. Eligible owners will be able to charge a onetime rent increase on certain vacant units, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Hoping to crack down on leaks to the media, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would require all current and future federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements. The Office of Personnel Management filed a notice in the Federal Register, citing “several recent instances” of leaks, including planned immigration enforcement action and details on the U.S. raid in Venezuela.
Claude, the AI for problem solvers
AI helps most with the hardest work, not the simplest. Anthropic analyzed 2 million conversations and found Claude’s biggest impact is on complex, college-level tasks. The Economic Index tracks adoption across every state and occupation.
I didn’t know much about Ben Sasse other than he had been the junior senator from Nebraska. As a Republican he wasn’t enamoured of Trump. Just prior to receiving his devastating diagnosis he was interviewed & I learned that he was a remarkable individual. He’s extremely intelligent, talented & knowledgeable. He was in the process of turning the University of Florida into an elite institution. I can appreciate his leaving the Senate because in comparison with Sasse too many Senators are buffoons.
“ The President Is His Own Worst Enemy.” is this really news? He’s been his own worst enemy since he discovered at age 5 it gets him a lot of attention.