John Heilemann
A bestselling author and former staff writer for New York, The New Yorker, and The Economist, a national affairs analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and the creator and host of the Emmy-nominated docuseries The Circus, John offers indispensable political reporting and analysis in the Sunday edition of Puck’s The Best & The Brightest.
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Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Julia Ioffe, Marianna Sotomayor, John Heilemann, & Abby Livingston
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Sunday through Thursday
Puck’s daily political newsletter from Washington—featuring Leigh Ann Caldwell, Peter Hamby, Marianna Sotomayor, Julia Ioffe, John Heilemann, and Abby Livingston—on what’s really happening in this town, from the White House to the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, K Street, the campaign trail, and beyond.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
John Heilemann
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October 21, 2024
Kamala Before the Storm
As pre-election Democratic bedwetting reaches clinical levels, Harris senior advisor David Plouffe joins John Heilemann to provide a full-spectrum data corrective: how the campaign is microtargeting in battleground states, why McLaughlin is wrong about Harris’s ceiling, and when to ignore Nate Silver.
John Heilemann
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October 17, 2024
The End of the G.O.P. As We Know It?
Pre-gaming the nerve-wracking, existentially terrifying, down-to-the-wire Trump vs. Harris showdown on November 5 with The New York Times’s Peter Baker and The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser.
John Heilemann
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October 14, 2024
Keep Kamala & Carry On
A mid-October assessment of the latest outbreak of Democratic bedwetting: Which fears are reasonable, which are not, and is Harris really not doing enough? Or is her campaign simply focused on a category of voter largely invisible to elites—and the elite media, in particular?
John Heilemann
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October 9, 2024
Mark Cuban on the Trump-Elon Alliance
The opinionated dotcom billionaire offers his candid thoughts on the closing scenes of the presidential race: Kamala in “founder mode,” fears of another January 6, and Musk’s unholy union with Trump.
John Heilemann
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October 7, 2024
The Hunt for the October Surprise
The final month of the Trump-Harris dogfight is shaping up to be less shocking, in many respects, than the history-shaping summer that preceded it. But the media hunger surrounding Washington’s favorite political ritual has a momentum of its own.
John Heilemann & Peter Hamby
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October 3, 2024
Vance Sanewashing, Walz Nerves & The January 6 Knockout
In a special post-debate collab, John, Peter, and Dylan review a deceptively non-pyrotechnic undercard: Walz’s uncertain start, the chameleonic J.D. Vance, the January 6 soundbites, and snap-poll aftermath.
John Heilemann
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September 30, 2024
Nate Silver Solves 2024
The world’s most celebrated—and vilified—election forecaster says this year’s contest is the closest he’s ever seen. In a wide-ranging conversation, Silver explains why Kamala Harris has an edge over Donald Trump, but one so slight that no sane Democrat should take much comfort from it.
John Heilemann
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September 22, 2024
Pistol Pete
No next-generation Democratic rising star is burning more brightly these days than Pete Buttigieg—or doing more, in public and behind the scenes, to help elect Kamala Harris. In a candid conversation, Buttigieg explains why Harris is winning, Trump is losing (his mind, in particular), and J.D. Vance is even worse than he seems.
John Heilemann
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September 18, 2024
Kamala’s First Gentleman
A candid conversation with Doug Emhoff about how he’s preparing for the final sprint of the campaign, Trump’s unfitness for office, how he’s handling Laura Loomer’s meshuga attacks, and where he was when Kurt Cobain died.
John Heilemann
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September 16, 2024
Slaughterhouse 45
The totality of Donald Trump’s debate decimation by Kamala Harris was as staggering as it was indisputable. But even more stunning—and possibly more consequential—is the post-debate meltdown now consuming Trumpworld, from Mar-a-Lago to the farthest reaches of the MAGA-sphere.