Jake Werner
Historian, director for East Asia @quincyinst.bsky.social, cofounder Justice Is Global. Previously @gdp-center.bsky.social, University of Chicago. Writing on US–China relations and global capitalism.
- Reposted by Jake WernerMamdani: "I speak of Renee Good, whose final words to the man who murdered her were, 'I'm not mad at you.' I speak of Alex Pretti who died as he lived, caring for the stranger. ICE shot him bc he did something they could never fathom ... let us offer a new path: one of defiance through compassion."
- It’s far past time for a deep rethinking on foreign policy among Democrats. I’m very hopeful about how @aoc.bsky.social will contribute to that. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...
- Reposted by Jake WernerIan McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.
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- Reposted by Jake WernerJudge Reyes starts with a comparison: George Washington versus Kristi Noem.
- Haiti’s TPS continues for now!!!!! And zowie: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.…
- An outstanding inquiry into the nature of Trump’s foreign policy—how it represents both an intensification of previous practices and a decisive break with them, how it arises from and compounds domestic inequalities, the prospects for a form of domination actively opposed to hegemony.
- Trump is clearly not the isolationist many believed he was. From the wreckage of bipartisan imperialist consensus, Trump's creating a new MAGA model empire. New Dig episode analyzing MAGA Empire and the history that made it with Aslı Bâli and Greg Grandin www.thedigradio.com/podcast/maga...
- Reposted by Jake WernerChris Rufo: "Unfortunately the Caucasian sub-races are failing Trump too. Members of the Alpine race have appeared at protests. The Dinaric race. The Irano-Afghan race -- don't get me started. Those East Baltics? Pfft. And for fuck's sake, what are the members of the Mediterranean race doing?!"
- Chris Rufo is so upset about the Minneapolis protests that he is resorting to anti-Nordic racism christopherrufo.com/p/the-curse-...
- Reposted by Jake WernerBIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps. This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
- I have a short contribution to this RS roundtable on Trump’s supposed “spheres of influence” as applied to China. Broad agreement among the writers that the idea is baseless. It’s a testament to US pundits’ incapacity to conceptualize Trump foreign policy that we hear it so often.
- Reposted by Jake WernerA Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
- Reposted by Jake Werner"In 2023, the “Minnesota Miracle” secured one of the strongest social safety nets in the country...None of it would have been possible without years of organizing that built a multiracial constituency prepared to stand together" - @hahrie.bsky.social for @hammerandhope.bsky.social, 2024
- The beatings will continue until morale improves
- Reposted by Jake WernerICE's decision to just leave cars abandoned in the roads is one of those dystopian things that makes you recoil in shock when you encounter it.
- Reposted by Jake WernerFederal agents cornered Marimar Martinez, shot her several times, boasted about it, arrested her, lied about her to the public and in the police report, and falsely charged her with assaulting them. Now the government wants to keep evidence of their lies secret to protect these agents' "privacy."
- Reposted by Jake WernerAn extraordinary document. Read it. “Attached to this order is an appendix that identifies 96 court orders that ICE has violated in 74 cases. … ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
- BREAKING: Judge Patrick Schiltz cancels contempt hearing Friday where ICE chief Todd Lyons was to be forced to testify, but excoriates ICE for defying almost 100 court orders in last month. "ICE is not a law unto itself," Schiltz writes. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
- Reposted by Jake WernerThe amount of money the US government spent on troops in DC in 2025 ($223m) would have been enough to give the city's ~5,100 homeless residents each $43,000. Instead, federal troops destroyed their meager encampments.
- "Federal troop deployments to U.S. cities cost a total of $496 million in 2025, CBO estimates. Continuing current deployments will cost $93 million a month; 1,000 Guard personnel deployed to a city will cost at least $18 million a month." www.cbo.gov/publication/...
- Nice piece from Wenjing on China’s response to Trump’s expeditions. US commentators seem baffled China is not resisting as the US goes around attacking various countries, often concluding: “I guess China is weak”. That reflects more about them than China. responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-china-...
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- Reposted by Jake Wernerthe last year has left me with unending faith in the courage of ordinary people and bottomless contempt for the fecklessness of our ruling class
- Reposted by Jake WernerDHS is using explosives on people’s homes??? “Bovino has often used the phrase “turn and burn” to describe Border Patrol operations, a reference to actions like smashing windshields, using explosives to blow down the doors of homes and engaging in car chases.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...
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- Reposted by Jake WernerHORRIFIC: the Trump admin is reportedly planning to dump hundreds of parents and children arrested in the interior (including Minneapolis) into extraordinarily dangerous Mexican border towns, and make them run a gauntlet of kidnappers if they want kangaroo court hearings.
- Scoop: Trump admin plans to remove ~400 individuals, including children and families, to Mexico in first known restart of controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy during Trump’s 2nd term, sources tell me and Jake Traylor @ms.now They’re set to be removed as early as Tuesday from TX and AZ to Mexico
- Reposted by Jake WernerSince July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process. This is one that stands out: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
- Reposted by Jake WernerIt’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
- Reposted by Jake WernerOne day, if we are lucky, the erasure of American history will itself be remembered as a shameful chapter in American history
- Reposted by Jake WernerTomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
- Reposted by Jake Werner“The major demographic shifts of the last election have snapped back. In today’s poll, Mr. Trump’s approval rating by demographic group looks almost exactly as it did in Times/Siena polling in the run-up to his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.” Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
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- Reposted by Jake Werner🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
- Reposted by Jake WernerEvery Stephen Miller tantrum and DHS recruitment ad speaks in these existential terms about "defending your culture" to elide the fact that they need people with the courage to wear a mask while interrogating a sixth grader
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- Reposted by Jake WernerICE has kidnapped so many people from their cars that the city had to put out this statement. Let that sink in.
- Vehicles that are abandoned due to an ICE detention and towed to the City's impound lot will be released to their owners or a representative at no cost. Learn more: minneapolismn.gov/getting-around/park…
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- Reposted by Jake WernerThis YouGov poll on ICE is really eye-opening. Public opinion has really swung against DHS/ICE and their terror regime. d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...
- Might be a bad sign that ICE immediately incorporated “we murdered someone for what you’re doing right now” into their routine dialogue with civilians. www.rawstory.com/renee-good-2...
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- Reposted by Jake WernerI see this take around from time to time and totally disagree. ICE just murdered a woman standing up to them. No Kings is among the largest protests in history. The complacency is coming from elites in media, business, universities, and the Democratic leadership
- Reposted by Jake WernerA woman recording an ICE agent tells him "Shame on you." The agent responds, "Have you all not learned from the past couple of days?" "Learned what?" she asks Then he knocks her phone out of her hand
- Reposted by Jake WernerI can't describe how bad Minneapolis feels right now. My neighbors are pulling kids out of school. The public schools are offering remote learning until 2/12. We are having conversations in our alleys about how to protect ourselves. It feels like a military occupation with a blockade.
- Reposted by Jake WernerWSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to: * 8 people shot * 5 of which were U.S. citizens * 2 died * no victims drew a weapon The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
- Reposted by Jake Werner“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
- Reposted by Jake WernerAOC: That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.
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- A really excellent discussion of dynamics in the Trump administration that brought us the attack on Venezuela. @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social has had a lot of contact with admin officials in his reporting, and what he says accords with the other reporting out there on development of Venezuela policy.
- This post lays bare the key Trump–Biden difference. Trump admin: only weaklings and dupes provide public goods. Biden admin: no, providing public goods helps us dominate China. A question rarely asked: is weaponizing public goods into geopolitical conflict good for the public?
- US commentary said (falsely) for years that China wants a “might makes right” world; the US—champion of law and morality—must stop it. Now that the country acting on such a vision turns out to be the US, you’d look for self-reflection not evasion. Lol you fool. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/w...
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- Commentators may be underweighting the significance of the world’s most powerful country placing pillage at the center of its foreign policy.
- Reposted by Jake WernerGiven news that ICE shot and killed an observer in Minneapolis, here is a pattern we've seen before: *DHS say officers were under threat. This justifies to use deadly force. *Subsequent reporting shows such claims simply don't hold up. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/whos-threa...
- Reposted by Jake Wernerkind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
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- Reposted by Jake WernerQuixotic move
