
Mark Carney and the backlash against backlash politics
CNN
Trump’s return was widely seen as a harbinger of a second populist wave that would oust establishment figures all over the west. But a backlash against “America First” mayhem has lifted leaders seeking to operate in the political middle, like Canada’s Mark Carney.
Mark Carney has never been a politician. Yet now he’s sworn in as Canada’s new Prime Minister on Friday, he will face two of the most complex political challenges of any rookie world leader in years. First, he must win a general election that he’s expected to call almost immediately to try to capitalize on his Liberal Party’s revival after months in predecessor Justin Trudeau-inflicted doldrums. If he wins, his prize will be a dubious one — dealing with US President Donald Trump. Just ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was mauled in the Oval Office bear-pit, just how much fun that can be. Carney’s elevation is a classic confluence of a man and a moment. But for Trump’s election victory and unprecedented threats to make Canada the 51st state, Carney would probably still be a private citizen and the Liberals would be heading for oblivion. But Trudeau’s resignation and a wave of patriotism swept up by Trump’s attacks left Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who was cruising towards the prime minister’s office himself, flailing.

Whether it’s conservatives who have traditionally opposed birth control for religious reasons or left-leaning women who are questioning medical orthodoxies, skepticism over hormonal birth control is becoming a shared talking point among some women, especially in online forums focused on health and wellness.

Former election clerk Tina Peters’ prison sentence has long been a rallying cry for President Donald Trump and other 2020 election deniers. Now, her lawyers are heading back to court to appeal her conviction as Colorado’s Democratic governor has signaled a new openness to letting her out of prison early.

The Trump administration’s sweeping legal effort to obtain Americans’ sensitive data from states’ voter rolls is now almost entirely reliant upon a Jim Crow-era civil rights law passed to protect Black voters from disenfranchisement – a notable shift in how the administration is pressing its demands.

White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter told CNN.









