line 2 (to detail)
Moments after the government detailed the most devestating … (in English we can use “detail” as a verb. It means to give the details of something. It is used transitively but does not take a person as its object, i.e. you can detail a situation but you cannot detail a person)
line 4 (to reject s.t/s.o. flat out)
They flat out rejected the idea. (completely rejected)
line 8 (never have we)
Never have we ever not held an election. (never in first position requires inversion, i.e. the noun is placed in front of the subject in a statement. This statement is actually a double-negative but it is one of the situations where English can use a double-negative)
line 15 (to walk something back)
The President walked back the idea. (he changed his mind, he reduced his support for)
line 20 (aghast)
The Republicans are aghast. (very afraid/very shocked)
line 22 (to throw in the towel)
He is already throwing in the towel. (a metaphore from boxing which means to quit before you lose)
line 42 (to outdo s.o.)
The President outdid himelf. (to do more than/better than expected)
line 43 (incindiary)
His remarks were incidiary. (designed to provoke)
line 45 – The National Review is a very important conservative magazine.
line 46 (to seek)
They sought to destroy (wanted to/tried to)
line 52 (to shape)
The Presidency has not shaped him. (has not changed him, has not formed him)
line 60/61 (a fastball)
a baseball metaphore…in this case it is something that someone cannot easily defend against)
line 65 (to paint oneself into a corner)
He has painted himself into a corner. (He has put himself in a position that he cannot get out of)
line 71 (mail-in ballot)
…but mail-in ballot fraud, and we`ll just say it again, is incredibly, incredibly rare,
(a mail-in ballot is when you vote by mail, fraud is when you try to lie to or trick someone)
line 80 (absentee balloting)
You know it as absentee balloting (an absentee ballot is a mail-in ballot)