After the Reckoning: Reversion to Pre–Floyd Baselines

Plus: Trump’s Rococo obsession, Texas tackles “America’s greatest shame” & what the conservative Christian right has in common with Wiccans.

May 27, 2025

Five years after the Black Lives Matter movement and the chaos that unfolded in the summer of 2020, does America still harbor ill will toward the police? According to recent studies from Gallup and Pew, the public has returned to almost exact levels of pre-Summer-of-George-Floyd attitude toward the police. Additionally, 72% of Americans say the protests have not improved Black lives—an unsurprising sentiment, given how few concrete reforms were enacted and how unlikely it was that the protesters’ demands, many of which called for sweeping systemic change, would ever gain broad support or lead to wholesale overhaul.

54% of U.S. adults say things are about the same as before Floyd was killed. A third say things are now worse, 11% say things are better.
Black Americans' perceptions of their local police have improved modestly, but their views remain less positive than the national average and especially those of White Americans.
67% of Black Americans believe local police treat people like them fairly—up nine points since 2022—but still lower than the 85% average for all Americans and 90% for White Americans.

Of course, this is not an actual assessment of policing. These results are all based on opinions and perceptions. It could be that the viral sharing of police violence videos in 2020 and beyond held officers more accountable (63% of Americans thought so in 2023), or it could be that it led to more pessimism and an inflated sense that the police were acting badly.

Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, interesting things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.

Here’s what’s on my mind:

💠 Trump’s Louis XIV meets suburban Orlando MegaMcMansion aesthetic.

🥊 Nothing to see here: The battle royale happening in the Department of Defense.

💩 Penguin poop: The secret to solving global warming.

🤝 What the conservative Christian right has in common with Wiccans.

⏰ Texas takes a brave stand against “America’s greatest shame”: Daylight Saving Time.

The Gist List

All Hail Our Rococo President! (NYT)

Before we get into this, what exactly is "classy"? Is it something that's simply expensive and therefore sophisticated, or is it something with that certain je ne sais quoi that no one can quite define?

Which brings us to the latest interior design choices at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where President Trump has gone full Louis XIV meets suburban Orlando MegaMcMansion (different from the actual mansion). The New York Times, predictably clutching their understated pearls, sees it as "dictator chic" (a term coined by Peter York). But for many Americans, this is exactly what prosperity looks like—the more gold leaf, the better. Your average American would likely see his aesthetic as fancy—one might even say FANCY-SCHMANCY.

Ultimately, the essay argues that all this gilding is surface-level—a fair, if tautological point. Rococo embodies how what was once the décor of pre-Revolutionary French kings has become accessible to anyone with a high enough credit limit and a modern symbol of prosperity.

Within Pete Hegseth’s divided inner circle, a ‘cold war’ endures (Washington Post)

Pete Hegseth is struggling to maintain a united front at the Pentagon, particularly with anonymous media leaks spilling out the side. Despite purging a couple of disgruntled appointees in April and telling us there is nothing to see here, deep personality rifts and staff dysfunction remain, now with Eric Geressy v. Ricky Buria: The epic clash unfolding at the Department of Defense.

In one corner stands Eric Geressy, a decorated retired Army Sergeant Major, for whom Hegseth was “once a young lieutenant under Geressy's mentorship,” according to a DOD release. Geressy views Buria as ambitious and manipulative, seeking to sideline others for personal advancement. Geressy was excluded from meetings, resulting in a standoff during a trip.

In the other corner, Ricky Buria is a former Marine Corps pilot who, supported by Hegseth’s wife, quickly rose to power, advancing from a junior aide to acting chief of staff. Despite having Hegseth’s full support, Trump isn’t too sure if he still wants to confirm the guy as he allegedly badmouthed Trump and Vance.

Penguin Poop Helps Antarctica Stay Cool (404 Media)

Turns out the fate of the melting ice caps might just hinge on penguin poop—known by its more technical term, guano. Basically, these classy, tuxedoed birds emit ammonia from their guano, which effectively causes cloud seeding. The resulting gases go airborne, sparking the formation of clouds that cool the region. Unfortunately, as with many animal species, as their colonies shrink, penguins are scared shitless, i.e. not pooping as much as we need to put a dent in the disappearing ice caps. When it comes to fighting global warming, we need every butt, beak and bowel movement we can get.

A near Wiccan speaking spells (World News Group)

In recent years, it seems like the conservative Christian right has gotten itself into a bit of a brand identity problem. While in the era of Harry Potter, people were protesting witchcraft being portrayed in a positive light. But with the nomination of Casey “Woo-Woo” Means, some on the right appear to be embracing similarly mystical ideas—albeit with a wellness veneer. Not so fast, says conservative radio host Erick Erickson, who uses this essay to argue that Means’ New Age spirituality is fundamentally incompatible with true Christian faith as he sees it.

In the piece, Erickson recounts a story about his Swedish grandmother taking his father and uncle to be healed by Oral Roberts. While the family lore on the outcome varies, Erickson saw the experience as something that distracted from traditional Christian faith—and, in his view, mirrors what Means is promoting: A bunch of “new age” philosophy dressed up as spirituality with scientific-sounding language. Obviously, for people who are vulnerable and frustrated with the answers they are getting (or not getting) from doctors, Means looks like a messiah coming with a message of hope, but perhaps at the cost of some cognitive harmony.

Texas Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent, pending federal action (Houston Public Media)

The changes between daylight saving and standard time have been described as “the worst,” “living hell,” and as “America's greatest shame,” even going so far as to be compared to a vehicle for fascism. However, the Texas Senate, the mavericks that they are, has passed a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent in Texas and eliminate the biannual clock change. And I say “mavericks” because federal law currently prohibits states from adopting DST year-round.

This is an issue that is somehow more angst-inducing than some of the traditional wedge issues. Supporters argue that longer daylight in the evenings better suits modern lifestyles, while critics cite the failed experiment with permanent Daylight Saving Time in 1974, which proved incredibly unpopular due to its long, dark winter mornings. Currently, public opinion is mixed: 40% of Americans prefer permanent standard time, 31% support year-round DST, and 28% are masochists who want to keep changing clocks twice a year.

On the show: A New Vision for Palestinian Advocacy

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, founder of Realign for Palestine and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, joins to discuss his effort to reframe Palestinian advocacy around coexistence and accountability. He critiques both Hamas and Israel, pushes for reform within the diaspora, and draws a sharp ideological comparison between Hamas and ISIS. Plus, a defense of the “beneficent billionaires,” spotlighting Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg for their underappreciated life-saving philanthropy, including tens of thousands of lives saved from drowning.

There’s more where that came from. Listen to The Gist, and upgrade to Pesca Plus for the ad-free version.

Subscribe to The Gist

Have a story you want us to talk about or an opinion you want to share? Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com or share your thoughts in the comments. We might give you a shoutout in our next newsletter or on the air.