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Alex Jones claims he's in regular contact with Trump

The Alex Jones Show / YouTube

Der Spiegel visited Alex Jones' Infowars studio in Austin and had a chat with the (at times, shirtless) man they branded "Donald Trump's propagandist." (Jones is known for calling gay marriage a global conspiracy "to get rid of God," being a 9/11 truther, suggesting fluoridation is government poisoning of the water supply and claiming the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting were child actors.) A look behind the curtain…

  • Jones refers to Infowars HQ as the "Central Texas Command Center and Heart of the Resistance." The water cooler is labeled "Liberal Tears." But it also contains four high-tech broadcast studios to send his message to 3 million people a day, per Jones' claims.
  • He's talked with Trump "several times since the election." The topics? "Freedom and our common goal to destroy our enemies." He adds, "We are two saints of the same zeitgeist."
  • On immigration: "Please forget the Statue of Liberty. It's a symbol of propaganda. We should stop worshipping it and bending down to every Third World population that shows up with TB and leprosy."
  • It's easy to dismiss until you realize that Infowars gets 8 million web visitors each month and Jones has 2 million subscribers on YouTube and more than a million followers on Facebook. His next plan: open a 10-person bureau in Washington with full White House coverage.

Go deeper

Stef W. Kight, Kadia Goba
59 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Schumer's m(aj)ority checklist

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Capitalizing on the Georgia runoffs, achieving a 50-50 Senate and launching an impeachment trial are weighty to-dos for getting Joe Biden's administration up and running on Day One.

What to watch: A blend of ceremonies, hearings and legal timelines will come into play on Tuesday and Wednesday so Chuck Schumer can actually claim the Senate majority and propel the new president's agenda.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Kadia Goba
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The dark new reality in Congress

National Guard troops keep watch at security fencing. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

This is how bad things are for elected officials and others working in a post-insurrection Congress:

  • Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said she had a panic attack while grocery shopping back home.
  • Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said police may also have to be at his constituent meetings.
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told a podcaster he brought a gun to his office on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 because he anticipated trouble with the proceedings that day.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Zachary Basu
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 3: Descent into madness ... Trump: "Sometimes you need a little crazy"

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios series takes you inside the collapse of a president.

Episode 3: The conspiracy goes too far. Trump's outside lawyers plot to seize voting machines and spin theories about communists, spies and computer software.

President Trump was sitting in the Oval Office one day in late November when a call came in from lawyer Sidney Powell. "Ugh, Sidney," he told the staff in the room before he picked up. "She's getting a little crazy, isn't she? She's really gotta tone it down. No one believes this stuff. It's just too much."

Go deeper (6 min. read)Arrow