From the Editor: This Isn’t About Trump and Musk. It’s About Democracy.

The media loves a catfight. We care about what gets lost in the crossfire.

This week, the dominant headline in American politics isn’t a policy, a protest, or a piece of legislation. It’s a spat, a very public, very performative feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Social media is ablaze. Podcasts are lighting up. Even here, commentary has touched on it. I get it. The spectacle is magnetic. But as the editor of this publication, I want to be very clear: we are not here to amplify drama. We are here to report on impact.

This publication may host a range of voices, some of whom will engage with the personalities and the noise. That is their right. However, my focus— our focus—is, and will remain, on the stories that matter to people’s lives, not the egos at war, not the clickbait headlines, but the real policies, the real power dynamics, and the real consequences.

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And let’s be honest: there are consequences. Beneath this Twitter brawl and media frenzy, Trump’s administration has pushed through a sweeping bill that cuts healthcare, slashes climate-forward policies like EV subsidies, and weaponizes federal agencies against political enemies. Federal employees have had their lives upended, vital services are gutted, and real people are suffering. These are not footnotes. They are the story.

The circus may draw the eye, but it also tramples the ground beneath it. And when we obsess over the show, we miss the soil being eroded—institutions, public trust, and democratic norms.

While others may play in the mud (and I giggle and occasionally snark), we’ll be here with a pen, not a pitchfork, tracking what’s real and what’s lasting.

Because this isn't about two billionaires trading insults. It’s about how power is being exercised and at whose expense.

And that’s a story worth staying focused on.