The Slatest for Aug. 14: The Only Republican Candidate More Trumpy Than Trump

Vivek Ramaswamy does not seem like a particularly serious politician. He sort of has things he is running on (upping the voting age, for example), but mostly, he is running on a platform of pardoning Trump. This incredibly meager lesson seems to be resonating with Republican voters—which should tell us something about the grip the former president still has on the party, Alexander Sammon writes. Oh, and it should be a warning sign for Ron DeSantis. Which, speaking of …

Speaking of candidates going up against Donald Trump, it is not going very well for the formerly assumed favorite, Ron DeSantis. Ben Mathis-Lilley called up a few political operatives to get their advice on what they’d do in Meatball Ron’s shoes. Most of them had scathing words for the Florida governor, his campaign, his viability as an opponent, and perhaps most cruelly, his overall charisma levels.

You can read our great advice columns every day here at Slate, but this week, we’re doing something a little different. In Help! Wanted, our spectacular advice columnists are tackling your oldest, most common questions, and even switching roles to get some new perspective.

Some special editions:

• Learn how to craft a perfect advice letter yourself.

• Listen to the newest episode of Dear Prudence, where Prudie aka Jenée Desmond-Harris is joined by Slow Burn host (and husband!) Joel Anderson to answer letters. It’s ad-free on Amazon Music.

• And—start poking around our advice week swaps, with Care and Feeding columnist Allison Price taking over Pay Dirt. How many friends do parents get to invite to their kids’ weddings, anyway?

Sam Bankman-Fried “was an extremely poor financial executive and steward of his customers’ money,” Alex Kirshner writes. “He has been equally ineffective so far as a criminal defendant.” Kirshner explains why the previously “just under house arrest” criminal defendant is headed to jail early.

After seeing that Don Jr. had started publishing a magazine, Rebecca Onion had to ask. “What does it mean when the magazine declares that hunting has gone ‘too woke’?” She ordered six copies to find out.

Former J.Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons has joined the cast of Real Housewives of New York. Her presence is already shaking things up—dare we say there’s a little bit of taste sprinkled about now?

Much like one of the most exciting Dungeons & Dragons Grand Masters does when he plays.

Thanks so much for reading, and we’ll see you tomorrow.