Hakeem Jefferson
@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social
Assistant professor of political science at Stanford. Forthcoming book, Respectability Politics, with University of Chicago Press. Not Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority Leader.
I have little to add to the chat, but I will say this: Those of us who spend a lot of time talking about politics overestimate how much other people care about, or are even familiar with, the labels we use to describe, denigrate, or celebrate candidates. Sometimes we’re high on our own supply.
I have little to add to the chat, but I will say this: Those of us who spend a lot of time talking about politics overestimate how much other people care about, or are even familiar with, the labels we use to describe, denigrate, or celebrate candidates. Sometimes we’re high on our own supply.
And now I’m on my way back home on the train. Civic duty accomplished by showing up, checking in, and being dismissed a little more than an hour later, before even getting inside a courtroom. No complaints from me!
Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · yesterdayEarly train to jury duty. Unlikely I’ll make a jury, both for scheduling reasons & obvi reasons. A few observations: Fun seeing the cross-section of potential jurors. Like the DMV, we are all inconvenienced. A great equalizer. But hardship exemptions mean juries still underrepresent the poor.
Early train to jury duty. Unlikely I’ll make a jury, both for scheduling reasons & obvi reasons. A few observations: Fun seeing the cross-section of potential jurors. Like the DMV, we are all inconvenienced. A great equalizer. But hardship exemptions mean juries still underrepresent the poor.
Re Nolan Wells: One of the tragedies of race is that this country’s history teaches us to fear the worst when much remains unknown. That’s what reasoning looks like under a longstanding regime of racial violence & w/a keen awareness of the fragility of interracial trust. That is part of the tragedy.
Re Nolan Wells: One of the tragedies of race is that this country’s history teaches us to fear the worst when much remains unknown. That’s what reasoning looks like under a longstanding regime of racial violence & w/a keen awareness of the fragility of interracial trust. That is part of the tragedy.
Could not be more proud to say that Josh Dawsey was my pal and editor during my stint as a columnist for The Daily Gamecock at the University of South Carolina. That he’s become one of the most important journalists holding this president to account surprises none of us who saw his work then.
Craig R. Brittain@craigbrittain.com · 2w agoTrump: "Josh Dawsey, he's been killing me for years. He kills me. He writes more stories than any human beings. He's hit the big time. Yet he's almost unhireable. CNN is also here and I'm disappointed they didn't bring Fake Tapper. Steven Cheung is one of the toughest humans I've ever met."
Despite the whining about “ historical accuracy,” the racist backlash to the casting in Nolan’s Odyssey is about the right wanting to justify racial hierarchy by projecting it into a past where it did not actually exist. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Interesting use of my work in a new paper. Authors use well-established finding that ideology is weaker predictor of party id among Black Ams than among White Ams as benchmark for sample quality. Representative samples recover that pattern. Less rep. samples do not. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The University of Chicago Press held its launch meeting for my book today. Respectability Politics will be out Summer 2027, with a cover featuring original letterpress work by the artist Amos Kennedy, Jr. whose work I greatly admire! So excited to share this book with y’all. I’m really proud of it.
I am a new passionate enjoyer of the sport. I see why the people love it.
He lies. He doesn't follow laws. Or court orders. He violates the Constitution and his oath of office multiple times every day. There is only one response to this in a normal, functioning democracy: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 3w agoThe president is a liar. He lies constantly & without hesitation. His lies about American elections are among his most dangerous b/c they are meant to convince a susceptible public that democratic outcomes cannot be trusted. They are antidemocratic lies in service of holding onto power. He’s a liar!
Perhaps one of the best things these media outfits have done in a while. Do not allow a lying president with the power of his office to demand that you give him a platform to tell his lies.
Republicans Against Trumpism@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 3w agoJUST IN: NBC, ABC and CNN will not air Trump’s primetime address live
The president is a liar. He lies constantly & without hesitation. His lies about American elections are among his most dangerous b/c they are meant to convince a susceptible public that democratic outcomes cannot be trusted. They are antidemocratic lies in service of holding onto power. He’s a liar!
An incredible euphemism here for “the government is doing illegal discrimination”
📢 JOB ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 Our department is hiring an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Political Science. We seek a scholar in AP, CP, PE, or IR who applies frontier methods of statistics and data science to substantive questions in their area of expertise. apply.interfolio.com/189477
Perceived electability—which so often accrues to whiteness and white maleness—is a hell of a drug.
Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 3mo agoAs I’ve said before, Platner is a good example of how perceived electability advantage, often afforded to white men like him, can weaken Democrats’ fidelity to their values and make them more willing to engage in Trump-like excuse making for inexcusable behavior. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/o...
The bot armies are working overtime attacking any mention of that Reuter photo of patriot front on the metro. Usually these things indicate where the regime thinks they’re vulnerable. Something about that photo has made them cagey.
World Cup has made me such a globalist. Made schnitzel for our hosting snack (neighbors came over to watch). Mixed a pandan tequila cocktail this afternoon for my love and me. Next thing you know I’ll be out here stumping for NATO and trying to save the Paris Agreement.
Pisses me off to no end that they’ll consume our art while denigrating our humanity. You should be trapped in the digital hell of the politics you choose.
Craig R. Brittain@craigbrittain.com · last mo.Peak irony: Playing "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince (his estate has been asking Trump not to use his music for about a decade now) without considering what any of the lyrics mean at all.
Usually writing is hard bc you have to index against cringe, otherwise it reads inauthentic. Braveheart doesn’t work before a day game on a 12 day road stretch in July. The moment can’t bear it But the 250th? You could dial up huge cliches and get away with it. should have been an easy bucket
Hakeem Jefferson@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · last mo.This is a very bad speech for a speech that should have been a very easy speech to make a very good speech. #America250
This is a very bad speech for a speech that should have been a very easy speech to make a very good speech. #America250
Trump sounds like he’s speaking at a county fair.
Clicked on the tv. Cspan caller just now giving advice to young people struggling in today’s economy: ”You’ve gotta be kind to other people, you gotta have some skin in the game. And you know what? You just gotta go out and get laid.” What is going on here? America 250, I guess.
The only thing the Taylor wedding has done for me is remind me that I want to spend a few weeks in New York this summer. If you want to do an apartment swap, come enjoy beautiful Palo Alto (an easy train ride from SF with great amenities) while I stay at your place in New York…let me know. 🙂
Of course, you, too, listen to MLK speeches while getting your Friday cardio. “The Other America” had me sweating.
Those allegations did tremendous damage — to our reputations, to grant funding for work in our field, to the broader discourse about what "free speech" means and whose speech is protected. The team who did this work at Stanford was dissolved. Our funding took a big hit. But our work at UW continues.
