Michael P. Breen

Michael P. Breen

@mpbreen21.bsky.social

Historian of early modern French law & society at Reed College. Prattles on about history, dogs, politics, soccer, & hoops. H-France Editor-in-Chief (www.h-france.net)

4.8K followers2.3K following16.7K posts

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

🎯

ryan cooper@ryanlcooper.com

before the election, doing dogpile coverage on Trump's heavily documented and extremely plausible rape allegations would be Political and therefore improper. after the election it's time to turn the page, let bygones be bygones, look forward not backward, bsky.app/profile/hoff...

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

The maxim “Every Republican Accusation is a Confession” remains undefeated

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Q: Is El-Sayed a jihadist like President Trump said yesterday? JD VANCE: Well look, he certainly has a lot of weird friends

Michael P. Breen reposted

Adam Rifkin 🐼
@ifindkarma.bsky.social

Replying to @ifindkarma.bsky.social

“This is the Epstein Administration because there are two types of people in it — people who are in the Epstein files and people who are covering up the Epstein files.” @sarahlongwell25.bsky.social “The Epstein Admin protects the Epstein Class, supported by the Epstein Court.” @dzaia40.bsky.social

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

Sarah Longwell: "This is the Epstein administration because there are two types of people in it — there are people who are in the Epstein files and there are people who are covering up the Epstein file."

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

Between Donald Trump’s ballroom & Zohran Mamdani’s pickup games, both sides have made some questionable decisions about using public property for their personal benefit

Chris Sommerfeldt@c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social

New: Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a group of his friends have been secretly using the NYPD Police Academy’s gymnasium in Queens to play pickup basketball — scrambling some operations at the facility. w/ @grahamrayman.bsky.social & Joe Anuta www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

politico.comMamdani is using NYPD gym to host pickup basketball games with friendsThe choice of location has scrambled NYPD training operations, angering a police union and a Republican lawmaker.
Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

Breathtaking historical ignorance truly is the glue that binds the entire MAGA movement together

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com

RFK: "There's five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the Fields Prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature."

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

If they wanted that kind of coverage they should have put the report in an email to Hillary Clinton or on a laptop that purportedly belongs to Hunter Biden

Andy Craig@andycraig.bsky.social

I know there's a lot going on but I feel it should probably be more of an above-the-fold story that members of Congress released a thoroughly documented report directly accusing the president of the United States of being a serial rapist.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

They should move Trump’s head to the South Side of Chicago, because Obama is already living rent-free inside it

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump is BIG MAD about Obama saying the White House now looks like Saddam opened a Cheesecake Factory: "He's not a smart guy. He's not smart at all ... for you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president"

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

If he sounds like an unrepentant domestic abuser & sexual predator, it’s because he’s an unrepentant domestic abuser & sexual predator

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump says if Republicans lose the election it is voters’ fault

Michael P. Breen reposted

Moira Donegan
@moiradonegan.bsky.social

These people don’t want to win; they don’t even want to persuade. They want a world where they are a pure and rarified elite, with none of the responsibilities of actual power, only the smug gratification of being right.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

I’m increasingly convinced that “Matthew Yglesias” is a long-running Andy Kaufman / Sacha Baron Cohen-type bit rather than a real person

brent 🌹🗽@therealbrent.bsky.social

Yes well it does require things like “empathy” and possessing a basic understanding that all of our lives are interconnected

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

You gotta love how FOX News personalities twist themselves into knots to spoon feed Trump answers that would be palatable to more moderate Republicans the GOP desperately needs to avoid a Dem landslide next week & he’s just like “YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT I ORDERED THE CODE RED, BWAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

KUDLOW: Will you end this campaign on an optimistic note? Freedom, free enterprise ... will you be an optimist at the end? TRUMP: Well, I think I'm the biggest

Michael P. Breen reposted

Simon Rosenberg
@simonwdc.bsky.social

Articles of Impeachment for Pete Hegseth need to be introduced on November 4th. Next Wednesday. bsky.app/profile/ronf...

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

From Zelenskyy. Patriot interceptors that could save innocent lives are sitting in European countries for weeks, which they paid for, unable to be transferred to Ukraine because Hegseth refuses to sign off.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social

NEWS --> Dems are planning novel ways to wield power of the purse against Trump's corrupt prosecutions of critics like Ilhan Omar if they win House. Reps Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin tell me a range of aggressive tactics will be deployed. Details in my new piece: newrepublic.com/article/2171...

newrepublic.comTrump’s Vile Prosecution of Ilhan Omar Is About to Run Into a WallIf they retake the House, Democrats will have plenty of ways to act against Trump’s corrupt prosecutions. Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin say they’re going to use them.

Michael P. Breen reposted

Anne Applebaum
@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu

In one day, two politicians - Bolsonaro in Brazil and Vucic in Serbia - with ties to Trump have lost surprise elections thanks to high turnout. The rise of the international far-right is not inevitable.

Michael P. Breen reposted

scarylawyerguy.bsky.social
@scarylawyerguy.bsky.social

Periodic reminder that the media loudly demanded DETAILED POLICY PLANS (TM) from Kamala Harris while gramps over here is just riffing on asses from behind the seal of the President of the United States. Just a daily embarrassment but this is gold for the media 🙄

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump says he examined Jon Husted’s ass to groans but then says Nikki Minaj has a nice ass to cheers

Michael P. Breen reposted

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li
@sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com

if voting didn't matter they wouldn't be working so hard to stop you

The Associated Press@apnews.com

The long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has conceded defeat in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.

bit.lySerbia’s strongman leader Vucic concedes defeat to student-led movement in seismic political shiftThe long-serving strongman leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has conceded defeat in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.
Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social
Rafa Sales Ross@rafiews.com

In his acceptance speech, Lula says he will work to regulate digital platforms in Brazil. “Digital crimes must be dealt with like real-life crimes.” This comes after Meta directly interfered with the Brazilian elections, favouring Flávio Bolsonaro.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

You love to see it…

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

Lula has taken the overall, countrywide lead back. With 62% of precincts counted, he is ahead 50.6% to 49.4%, which is an edge of roughly 900,000 votes. He is also getting the shift he needs (compared to the first round) in virtually every state that has reported most of the vote.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

It’s almost as if there is a lesson here or something 🤔

Adam Schwarz@adamjschwarz.bsky.social

The achievement of Serbian students overthrowing Aleksandar Vučić can't be overstated. In 2024, they began protesting. In 2025, they transformed a protest movement into civil dissidence. In 2026, they became a political party — and two months later, crushed a corrupt state-entrenched authoritarian.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social
G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com

In this piece… 1. Some data on what undecided and low-turnout-propensity voters care about, from our latest poll 2. Another EV update: Infrequent Democratic voters are turning out at a much higher rate www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-10-25...

gelliottmorris.comWho has already voted for the 2026 midterms? Who’s undecided? How might they vote?Why undecided voters probably won’t care about Trump’s closing message, and an early voting update. Your weekly political data roundup for October 25, 2026.
Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

The Miami Dolphins won a game of NFL Football. 😮 If you had any remaining doubts about the Dems retaking Congress, this should put them to rest

Greg Cote@gregcote.bsky.social

Dolphins win! Dolphins win! Sunday's 28-25 Miami win at the Jets was a feelgood story for a team, and a coach, that earned the feeling. substack.com/@thegregcote

Michael P. Breen reposted

MF Doomscrolling
@clups.bsky.social

These people trying to rile up some sort of controversy by treating their hatred & bigotry as activism are pathetic losers. They infiltrate an inclusive & joyful space to push their unwelcome agenda, then play the victim card when they are rightfully confronted for their bigoted rhetoric. #BAONPDX

Lesley Ryder@lesleyryder.bsky.social

Women’s sports face enough real problems. Don’t buy into this made up one villainizing the Trans community.

Michael P. Breen reposted

Single Female Lawyer
@singlefemalelawyer.bsky.social

Okay I did find what I was talking about here >> Republicans have no problem with bogus candidates on the ballot—so long as they stand to benefit!!

nbcmiami.com‘I needed the money': ‘Ghost candidate' says he was offered $50k to run for officeA ghost candidate who helped sway a Miami-area legislative race back in 2020 testified Friday that he was offered $50,000 to run for office.
Single Female Lawyer@singlefemalelawyer.bsky.social

Also, not to concede on the charge but didn’t Republicans do exactly what they J'Accuse...! in Florida recently-ish? (Iirc they funded an independent candidate with the same name as the Dem candidate or something like this—sometime in the past few cycles)

Michael P. Breen reposted

Johnathan Perkins
@johnathanperk.bsky.social

Tech bros have always been sexual harassers and abusers • Zuck invented “The Facebook” to rank and compare his female classmates at Harvard • Jawed Karim’s idea for YouTube stemmed from his difficulty finding online video of Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction” • Elon Musk…is…Elon Musk…

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

The reason why Republicans try to ban or belittle Gender Studies is because they know they can’t refute it

lastpositivist.bsky.social@lastpositivist.bsky.social

Brazil going the way of South Korea. Basically around the world women are desperately trying to keep power out of the hands of incredibly stupid fascistic grifters while men keep trying to hand it over. Men are an embarrassing cringe gender.

Michael P. Breen reposted

Andy Craig
@andycraig.bsky.social

Replying to @andycraig.bsky.social

History doesn't reset the day after Trump. It's not automatic back to normal, yay democracy won. We will still have a republic that is gravely wounded and bleeding out. Defeating the current assailant doesn't mean you've stopped the bleeding. The wounds are still there and still potentially fatal.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

He might freeze or glitch randomly in mid-sentence, but he does so with stamina and vigor

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

This was like his 3rd glitch during the speech where he just randomly stops mid-sentence and makes a weird noise or, in this case, just opens his mouth and freezes for 3 seconds while saying nothing, then continues. Pretty sad that TV networks refuse to cover this situation.

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

Hard to see the logic in keeping Bassett if this holds up #RCTID

Sam Svilar@sammich923.bsky.social

Eric Izoita does a lot of the little things so well. Smart off-ball movement, looks for the simple pass first, not afraid to attack and defend. Kind of the platonic ideal of what you want from a box-to-box midfielder #RCTID

Michael P. Breen
@mpbreen21.bsky.social

Construction is scheduled to begin on the same day that Trump releases his taxes, his health care plan, & the rest of the Epstein files

WH Press Pool Reports@whpresspool.bsky.social

POTUS announced a new Audi plant will open in investing $4.2 billion in Macon and will begin construction next month on a plant that will produce 200,000 cars per year. Motorcade rolling back to Robbins air base at 9:01 pm. Emily Goodin New York Post Sat. Oct. 24, 9:02 PM (2/2)