The Friday Brief: October 17, 2025

Forgiving Nazis? I think not.

OK, folks.

Another short one this week, as my November 1st deadline is headed to me like a freight train and I’ve still got a fair bit of writing and a ton of editing to complete before then.

Inside:
J.D. Vance Hugs The YR Nazis
The Future of the GOP
On Bolton
Hurray for Peace In Gaza…Oh…Wait
Weaponization of the IRS Will End Badly
SECDRUNK Hegseth’s Media Loyalty Oath Flops
Why Stephen Miller’s Next Attack Is On Judges
The Economy: Uh oh
This Will Make RFK Jr’s Brain Implode
Why Podcast? Fish Where The Fish Are

The Big Picture

J.D. Vance Hugs The YR Nazis

How do you know J.D. Vance is running for President in 2028? He’s following Steve Bannon’s rule: “I have no enemies to my right.”

Here’s what JD Vance (if that’s his real name) just told the country: if you’re a Republican staffer or climber who spends your off-hours in a Telegram chat praising Hitler, cracking rape jokes, and spit-polishing your racism like it’s a family heirloom, don’t sweat it; “Kids do stupid things.”

That’s the Vice President of the United States (God help us) speaking about adult Young Republican officials, ages 24 to nearly 40, whose leaked messages read like a greatest-hits reel of the worst depths of the sewers of 4chan on National Hitler Day.

Vance’s impulse to defend them wasn’t disgust; it was an indicator of his utter moral collapse.

It was an indulgence of a strain of evil he knows exists in the GOP, but for which he can’t win without.