Mike Pence’s 11th Commandment

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.

Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment was: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” This weekend, Mike Pence—like most of the GOP field—struggled mightily to criticize Donald Trump while barely mentioning Trump’s name.

First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic:

• Ibram X. Kendi: Working class does not equal white.
• Trump is acting like he’s cornered.
• The burden of proof is on the language police.

Scared to Say His Name

Let us remind ourselves to speak well of Mike Pence for one moment. Not only did he do his constitutional duty on January 6, 2021, thereby averting the collapse of the U.S. government and the bloodshed that likely would have followed, but lately he seems to be exerting visible caloric effort to criticize the man he served as vice president. And yet, like so many other leading Republicans, Pence seems