Joe Biden joined in the unanimous Senate vote authorizing the invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks. During the early period of the occupation, he was aggressive about the role of the United States in reshaping Afghan society and clear about using military force as a tool for statecraft. On a 2002 fact-finding mission to Kabul, Biden called for a long-term international security force to be deployed to the country in order to prevent a return to civil war. “I’m not talking about international peacekeepers. I’m not talking about U.N. blue helmets. I’m talking about people who shoot and kill people,” Biden said. “I’m talking about people who are a bunch of badasses who will come in here with guns and understand that they don’t have to check with anybody before they return fire.”
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
Latest Stories
The Intercept Briefing
The Most Expensive Democratic Senate Primary Has a Winner
Intercept reporters break down progressives’ wins and losses in Michigan and Missouri.
Voices
There’s No Time for Centrists to Be Doomers About El-Sayed’s Victory
The public health official faced down AIPAC — and the entire Democratic Party establishment — to beat Haley Stevens. That’s well worth celebrating.
Targeting Iran
When a President Promises a Massacre
Harkening back to colonial massacres, Trump abandons the premise of proportionality for butchery in Iran and beyond.