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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
Julia Ioffe
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July 24, 2024
The Treaty of Harris
In the wake of Biden’s departure from the race, the foreign policy crowd is experiencing all the feels—jubilation, resentment, excitement, agony, and the sense that “the chessboard is empty” with Harris atop the ticket. Plus, the view from the Kremlin on the new Democratic nominee (and, for what it’s worth, J.D. Vance).
Julia Ioffe
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July 17, 2024
Biden Group Therapy
Fresh reporting on the collective private mourning of top Democrats after the tragic “events”—as they are known in Washington-speak—of the weekend. Nevertheless, some cling to hope. “He also said he would drop if he saw data saying he can’t win,” said a campaign source. “He’s about to see a lot of it.”
Julia Ioffe
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July 9, 2024
NATO’s Five Stages of Biden Grief
After the debate, Europeans are starting to come to the conclusion that Biden is done for and that a second Trump presidency is inevitable. And they insist they’re not freaking out about it. “We can’t control who wins,” a European defense official told me, “but we’ll work with what we have.”
Julia Ioffe
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July 3, 2024
Biden: Lost in Translation
Overseas political observers are asking how the world’s greatest democracy ended up with the choice of Biden versus Trump: “We see the same videos—and debates.”
Julia Ioffe
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June 19, 2024
Russiagate, Revisited
Eight years on from 2016, much of the Russian influence operation is now run out of the Kremlin, from Putin’s presidential administration. The good news: a lot of it is bafflingly bad and some of it is hilariously awful.
Julia Ioffe
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June 12, 2024
Vladimir Putin, Swing Voter
Unlike in 2016, and despite Trump’s affinity for strongmen, there’s no consensus inside the Kremlin over which of the two U.S. presidential candidates—the predictable antagonist or the geopolitical wild card—would be better for Putin’s Russia.
Julia Ioffe
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June 5, 2024
Mission Impossible
Biden’s national security team has been unusually loyal, with all the key players sticking around and working through one grueling cataclysmic geopolitical challenge after another—Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, etcetera. Why aren’t they turning over or cashing out? “There’s a sense that we’re standing at the precipice right now,” said one senior administration official.
Julia Ioffe
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May 29, 2024
Everybody’s Mad at Biden
Pissing off most of the people most of the time is just another day for a U.S. president. Will the Israel-Gaza war be different?
Julia Ioffe
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May 22, 2024
The Biden Antisemitism Paradox
In a new poll, voters say Trump, the former antisemite-in-chief, would be better at fighting antisemitism than Biden.
Julia Ioffe
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May 15, 2024
Putin’s Kharkiv Head Fake & Cabinet Kremlinology
Notes on Putin’s game theory for pressuring Kharkiv and the real reasons behind his wartime cabinet reshuffle.