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Tina Nguyen

Formerly a political correspondent at Politico and Vanity Fair, chronicling the egos and intrigues inside Trumpworld.

THE LATEST ARTICLES
NEWSLETTERS
Beyond the obvious jokes about whether Elon Musk fanboys are a meaningful Waterloo constituency, the DeSantis rollout fiasco does raise the question about the future of conservative media on Twitter.
SILICON VALLEY • May 25, 2023
Elon’s Murdochian DeSantasy
Ruminations on MAGA political-media tragedy.
For Tucker Carlson and ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight‘ refugees, Twitter was the best option immediately available.
MEDIA • May 10, 2023
Tucker & Elon: A Shotgun Media Marriage for Our Times
Carlson’s pivot to social video may be a paradigm-shifting blow to cable news and YouTube, alike. Or maybe he was simply out of better options.
Members and allies of the original Taliban 20 group were particularly energized that McCarthy had adopted anti-“woke and weaponized” budget cuts.
WASHINGTON • May 3, 2023
Kevin & The 20: A Love-ish Story
As the debt ceiling looms, sources around the so-called Taliban 20 are expressing something unprecedented: admiration and trust that McCarthy, once considered the ultimate RINO, can deliver for them.
WASHINGTON • April 27, 2023
Murmurs from the Tucker Bunker
Carlson’s post-Fox News viral jihad is merely step one in an evolving bow-tied rage campaign that is aimed at the hearts and minds and wallets of the 18-54 online-only MAGA demo.
Matt Gaetz, the unofficial spokesperson of the so-called Taliban 20.
WASHINGTON • April 12, 2023
The Taliban 20’s McCarthy To-Do List
“There’s no reason for the 20 to negotiate against what was already agreed to,” Gaetz told me, regarding the grab bag of promises they extracted in exchange for supporting Kevin McCarthy’s speakership in January. “We shouldn't have to pay twice for the same hostage.”
Donald Trump may have end-run his putative ’24 opponent, Ron DeSantis, by portraying himself as MAGA’s first full-blown political prisoner.
WASHINGTON • April 4, 2023
Trump’s Jan. 6 Revival & the DeSantis RINO Trap
An arraignment, an epic MAGA misread, and a potential RINO reveal: How Trump turned the Republican primary into a populist jihad and let DeSantis slip on a banana peel.
The DeSantis campaign’s informational clampdown hasn’t been as airtight outside of the Florida bubble.
WASHINGTON • March 29, 2023
The DeSantis Consultant Mind Trap
After stumbles and setbacks, Ron DeSantis’s growing pains are becoming more evident to G.O.P. operatives: his inability to manage media outside Florida, political missteps, organizational drama, and a ham-fisted approach to his chief opponent.
Ignoring Donald Trump has essentially been Ron DeSantis’s strategy over the past two years while angling for a ’24 presidential run—but a well-placed G.O.P. comms official fully disagreed the approach, calling it “consultant stuff that sends all the wrong signals.”
WASHINGTON • March 22, 2023
Is the Republican Primary Already Over?
With the Manhattan district attorney threatening to put Trump on trial, and DeSantis declining to stand in his way, G.O.P. operatives are coalescing around the notion that it’s now the ex-president’s race to lose.
DeSantis’s promise to ensure that no “blank checks” will be written to Ukraine placates the MAGA voter, and reassures the norms-based international order and moderate Republicans hoping for a less volatile president.
WASHINGTON • March 15, 2023
DeSantis’s ’24 Policy Gamble
News and notes on the subtle movements on the right: DeSantis’s domestic policy-based foreign affairs play, and the N.R.A.’s long shadow.
Has CPAC transformed from a big-tent activist spectacle into a polarizing MAGA-world sideshow?
WASHINGTON • March 8, 2023
CPACalypse Now
An insider’s analysis of how D.C.’s preeminent conservative political summit lost its clout.
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