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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
Peter Hamby
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February 26, 2025
Elon’s Icarus Moment
New focus groups of swing state voters found reserves of goodwill for Trump—perceived as a man of action compared to “feckless” Democrats—but deep distrust toward Musk, widely viewed as “weird,” “radical,” and “selfish.” Mostly, however, they just wanted to talk about the astounding price of eggs.
Peter Hamby
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February 19, 2025
Kamala ’28 Falls in the Forest
Revealing new poll numbers on the next (celebrity?) iteration of counter-Trump politics, and what Democrats want for Harris’s future.
Peter Hamby
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February 13, 2025
Caruso, Kamala, and the Battle for L.A.
With eyes on both the L.A. mayor’s office and the governor’s mansion, Rick Caruso is reinjecting himself into California politics at a frenetic pace—rebuilding the city, taking potshots at Karen Bass, and potentially squaring off against Kamala Harris as she considers her own next act.
Peter Hamby
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February 4, 2025
The Pritzker Prize
With Democrats leaderless, some in the party are looking to the states, where ambitious governors often find their “laboratories of democracy” make great soapboxes, too. Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, an all-but-certain presidential candidate in 2028, is one of them.
Peter Hamby
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January 28, 2025
Silence of the Dems
Democrats have been rendered speechless not just by the sweep of Trump’s victory, but also by the realization that his popularity has never been higher. A new Puck/Echelon poll illuminates his weaknesses—and how the likes of Whitmer and Pritzker could take advantage.
Peter Hamby
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January 21, 2025
Trump’s Billionaire Arbitrage
The president has always possessed a magical ability to convince voters that he’s still an Imus-style populist, even as he conducts his corporate favor trading practically in the open. But watching Trump at the inauguration, flanked by a platoon of billionaire supplicants, you have to wonder how long he can keep wearing the outsider mask.
Peter Hamby
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January 14, 2025
The Blood Is in the Water for Karen Bass
The feckless Los Angeles mayor is certain to lose her seat, if she isn’t recalled first. “If it is true that she left the country on a Saturday after the warning came out, that is a dereliction of duty,” Ari Emanuel, who donated to Bass’s campaign, told me.
Peter Hamby
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January 7, 2025
Trump’s Need for Speed
Republicans are racing against an 18-month deadline to jam through their agenda before a likely midterm shakeup, and Trump’s inevitable lame-duck status, make legislation impossible. Meanwhile, Democrats Adam Schiff and Ritchie Torres are preparing a playbook to capitalize on G.O.P. overreach.
Peter Hamby
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December 24, 2024
Democrats’ Post-MSNBC Playbook
Multiplatform content maven Brian Tyler Cohen reveals how the Democratic blob can finally move beyond its depressing greenroom biases and play a game that the Republicans started mastering a decade ago.
Peter Hamby
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December 17, 2024
Kamala’s No-Pity Party & America’s DOGE Skepticism
As Harris postures for her next political opportunity, exclusive data from Echelon Insights suggests a future angle for Democrats: Trump’s appointees don’t poll all that great, tariffs are unpopular, and Elon and Vivek have some explaining to do.