It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.
Fri 21 Aug 2026 23.00 AEST
Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
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It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a scathing critique of the AUKUS security pact, arguing anyone who believes the US will hand over its nuclear-powered submarines is living in a “political fantasy land”.
As the mid-term primaries continue and democratic socialists win some surprising victories, the race to 2028 heats up. The MAGAverse, meanwhile, is busy having an unhinged meltdown over some well-aimed comments by Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff. And the weight of everything gets heavier.
This week:
In last week’s column, I shared some thoughts about AOC’s potential run for the presidency. She continues to document her egg freezing journey, the MAGAverse continues to be extremely weird about it.
For a much better take, you’ll be very surprised to know I absolutely loved Tressie McMillan Cottom’s NYT piece. The headline makes it seem like it will be another depressing (but accurate) analysis of how hard it is for women to make it in politics and how radically different the standards are for women of colour and Black women in particular. But it’s not (just) that. The genuinely quite uplifting takeaway, for me, was:
“Ocasio-Cortez is made for this moment. It’s not because she has tempered her progressiveness (as some democratic socialists worry). It’s because she has the greatest chance of sidestepping the likability trap that has foiled so many female presidential candidates who came before her. Whether she wins or loses, if she runs as she governs, an Ocasio-Cortez campaign could model a new way for women to lead.”
Quality research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts you can trust.
Meanwhile, men keep being men (I warned you this would be a running theme). The other potential Democratic presidential contender in the spotlight this week is Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia – though it’s not him I’m being contemptuous of. Ossoff is running for re-election, and this week demonstrated a remarkable ability to capture and dominate the news cycle. At a campaign event on the weekend, Ossoff said: “…the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenceless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Hard to argue with any of that. And boy, did it cause a White House meltdown. The response, according to one piece of analysis in the Guardian, has been “unhinged”. That’s not an exaggeration. To take just one example, Trump administration director of communications Steven Cheung posted on X: “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics. Instead of denigrating hard working people serving their country, Jon should look deep into his soul and ask himself why he’s a miserable person who hates this country. It’s because he’s a radical, extremist Dumocrat.”
Defensive, much? And why are all these men so obsessed with being cucks? Though it’s a few months old, boy does this essay in Liberal Currents, by Cameron Cummins-Smith, have an answer. It’s the “Interracial Cuck Porn Theory of Everything”. Be warned: it gets weird. But I think its central argument, that “Pornography is the unseen dark matter molding and shaping how the online right speaks and thinks about politics, on anything from immigration to transgender people to higher education,” is right. Eurgh.
Meanwhile, back at home, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong issued a strongly-worded statement on the Israeli Government’s (unsurprising) decision to not pursue charges for the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues. Wong expressed “outrage” — a pretty big rhetorical step up from the usual “concern”. The Israeli Ambassador was hauled in, some more words were said. All very “difficult”.
It all brought to mind this outstanding interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on Hasan Minhaj’s podcast. Coates talks about his time in Gaza, and about the “weight” of America on the world. It’s a reminder, as our own government shields itself with language, of the power of principle.
And just because everything is terrible, here’s The Band to see you out. x
Dr Emma Shortis is the director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs program, and the host of podcast After America.
