THE BIG STORY

Democratic Senators see Trump’s threat to overturn the election as a tantrum, not a threat

Since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential race last Saturday, politicians and the media alike have struggled to figure out how to frame Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the results.

On one hand, there is the dramatic spectacle of a sitting US president alleging widespread voter fraud and vowing to reverse the results of the election. On the other, Trump’s legal efforts so far pose no realistic threat of that happening.

So how should Trump’s response to the election be treated? Democrats are largely treating Trump’s legal challenges as a farce, rather than a threat. Several senators compared it to a temper tantrum. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called it “a fantasy in his head.” Sen. Cory Booker said Trump wasn’t living up to the behavior expected of little league baseball teams.

This is not to say Democrats have no worries at all — several told us that they are concerned about what Trump will do over the two-month lame-duck period, and how his actions will erode people’s faith in future elections.

Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Chicago’s mayor wants people to cancel Thanksgiving and stop having people over — including family

It feels like every morning, I have to write the sentence “coronavirus cases are rising across the US” all over again, but: Coronavirus cases are rising across the US, with Thursday setting another record — 150,000 new cases nationwide in one day.

In the midst of the surge, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an advisory, strongly urging residents to “stay at home unless for essential reasons” and to cancel any plans for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with lots of guests.

On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 12,702 new COVID-19 cases in the state, including 43 additional deaths.

SNAPSHOTS

Multiple people have tested positive for COVID-19 on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The SeaDream cruise in Barbados marks the first voyage in the region since the pandemic shut down the cruise industry. The company said all crew members have since tested negative and that it was currently retesting all passengers.

As election misinformation spreads on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg told employees that Biden won the election. Facebook’s CEO also said Steve Bannon’s comments about beheading government officials did not warrant his complete removal from the platform.

The president tweeted something false again. Trump lied about Dominion, a company that provides hardware and software for ballot counting. His tweet was driven by false reporting from the far-right news organization One America News Network.

Cardi B said she “should’ve done research” after she was accused of “mocking” Hindu culture to promote her new sneakers. An image apparently meant to depict the Hindu goddess Durga sparked criticism across social media, with people accusing Cardi of “mocking” the culture and religion.

HEAD OVER HEELS FOR REELS

Instagram’s redesign is pushing its TikTok clone

In July, Facebook quietly killed its previous TikTok clone, Lasso, which explains why this sentence is the first time you’re hearing of Lasso.

A few weeks later, Instagram — which is owned by Facebook — launched Reels as a TikTok competitor. This is, of course, not the first time Facebook tried to clone the opponent — Instagram famously copied the Stories feature that was (is?) central to Snapchat.

Facebook is keeping a close eye on TikTok. The app presents a real threat: explosive growth among young users, with memes and stars that keep people engaged with the app for hours.

And so the new Instagram redesign puts Reels up front and center — literally — in an attempt to have Reels take off. So far, Reels hasn’t really caught on in a real way. When you look for Reels content, you see a lot of TikTok watermarks.

Instagram

TIME TO UNWIND

Shake the week off with some weekend longreads

What happens when Trump gets out of our brains? It’s been five years of Trump reacting and us reacting to Trump. Katherine Miller wrote about how the end of Trump’s presidency might transform us: “Years from now, this might be difficult to explain: the way entire days got yoked to one person’s rants, reactions, cruelties, refusals, jokes, tangents, and to just thinking so often about the president.”

The surreal experience of watching The Crown. The hit show has returned for another season, and the timeline inches closer to current day. David Mack wrote about taking in the new episodes: “Bingeing this season of The Crown felt uniquely bizarre. It’s very unsettling to watch a period piece slowly but surely catch up to the modern era.”

Mel Gibson’s Fatman is a great argument for cancel culture. Perhaps your jaw dropped when you saw the trailer for the movie. Scaachi Koul eviscerates the film and its existence, with some spoilers (if you care, which you should not): “What is the purpose of Fatman anyway? It’s neither funny nor compelling, the action is hardly engrossing, and the plot is completely charmless.”

I hope the courage you need comes easy today,

Elamin