“It Was Either That Or Die,” by the Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien, was the hit of the French literary season. Now it has been pulled from the shortlist for a prestigious prize.

© Nasuna Stuart-Ulin for The New York Times

By Donald Trump’s telling, we’re in a US ‘golden age’. Americans may feel differently. Plus: Anger at the elite and a gunfluencer runs in Texas

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One of Donald Trump’s greatest talents – deployed during his time as a real estate tycoon, source and subject of tabloid gossip, reality TV protagonist, and president of the United States – is his ability to tell stories. With six weeks until the US midterm elections, he is likely to lean on this instinct more than ever.

Rarely does the US president appear more comfortable than when behind a microphone, speaking without interruption, sometimes for multiple hours. Long before entering the White House, he wholeheartedly embraced social media as a means of crafting his narrative, going so far as to launch his own social network when booted off others.

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© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP