Peter Ryan
The Trump era has been a bonanza for investigative journalism and Democratic fundraising. But it’s also inspired a host of opportunists who have capitalized on fears about Trump to hawk their own podcasts, premium Twitter accounts, and books (for children and adults). Here are a few leading lights:
Brian and Ed Krassenstein
Credentials: Twins, cryptocurrency speculators, and Florida men once raided by the feds as part of a possible fraud investigation
Known for: Inserting themselves into Trump’s Twitter replies
Profit center: A $19 donation to their Patreon account to fund their podcast, The KrassenCast, gets you a copy of their satirical children’s book, How the People Trumped Ronald Plump.
Seth Abramson
Credentials: Creative writing professor, poet
Known for: Extremely long Twitter threads about collusion. Wrote a 451-tweet thread in response to Mueller report.
Profit center: His New York Times bestseller Proof of Collusion. (A sequel, Proof of Conspiracy, is out this summer.)
Louise Mensch
Credentials: Former Tory MP and author of the novel Sparkles
Known for: First reporting that Trump aides had been snared in a FISA wiretap. (Whoa!) First reporting that Steve Bannon might face the death penalty for espionage. (D’oh!)
Profit center: A crowdfunded Russia blog called Patribotics
Eric Garland
Credentials: Futurist
Known for: Being the guy who kicked off a 120-tweet thread on Russian election meddling with “It’s time for some game theory.”
Profit center: Sold access to his “premium” Twitter account for $10 a month
Claude Taylor
Credentials: Clinton White House staffer, travel photographer
Known for: His Twitter account @TrueFactsStated, where he claimed that Trump was secretly indicted in 2017
Profit center: His Mad Dog PAC, which paid him $72,000 in 2018 for fundraising and social media consulting
John Schindler
Credentials: Former NSA staffer turned Naval War College professor (until he resigned after texting a dick pic to a Twitter follower)
Known for: Using his NatSec background to speculate about what Mueller really knows
Profit center: Charges $10 a month for his “premium” Twitter feed (SFW)
Image credits: Krassenstein: Youtube; Abramson: M. Scott Bauer/Simon & Schuster; Mensch: Andrew Parsons/i-Images/ZUMA; Garland: Eric Garland; Taylor: Twitter; Schindler: U.S. Naval War College
