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WASHINGTON

Ron DeSantis has a schedule packed with intimate events, instead of the back-to-back town halls that he so desperately needs to reach thousands of voters inexpensively.

The DeSantis Donor Class’s Wandering Eye

As the candidate’s dearth of natural talent becomes clear, and his campaign endures a meaningful shake up, the Anyone-But-Trump donor class is, as Shakespeare once wrote, examining other beauties.
Tara Palmeri • July 27, 2023
Tina Nguyen • July 26, 2023
DeSantis Blame Games & Witch Hunt Mania
Ron DeSantis’s boosters have frequently invoked McCain’s come-from-behind, early-primary-state-targeting, momentum-slingshotting strategy as their new lodestar after his national polling faltered.
News and notes on the political erogenous zones of the modern right: Is Jeff Roe or Generra Peck to blame for the DeSantis slump? And Is Kevin McCarthy really going after the president?
Julia Ioffe • July 25, 2023
Where the Wild Things Are
At this year’s Aspen Security Forum, Xie Feng essentially offered the same message as his predecessor (that the deterioration of U.S.-China relations was all America’s fault), but in different words.
The unofficial notes from official Washington’s summer journey to the Aspen Security conference: the disappearance of Qin Gang, the specter of Prigozhin, Putinology, Theo Baker, and what happens when you try to fuck with Andrea Mitchell.
Chris Christie has nothing to lose with Republicans, but plenty to gain from Democrats.
Peter Hamby • July 24, 2023
Is Chris Christie Entering the Democratic Petting Zoo?
News and notes on the ecstasies and anxieties of the political class: Chris Christie’s ambitions and Elon Musk’s sub-hype victory.
At the outset of his campaign, Ron DeSantis made a conscious decision to bring as much of his political apparatus in-house as possible, avoiding vendors and other third parties.
Tina Nguyen • July 20, 2023
The DeSantis Surveillance State, Revisited
Amid the recent reckoning over expenses and cutbacks, some close to DeSantis wonder if he and Casey can get past their paranoia and let the political pros do their jobs—so that the candidate can do his.
Julia Ioffe • July 19, 2023
Ukraine’s Summer War of Attrition
The much hyped “spring offensive,” now well into July, hasn’t been the blitz that was hoped for in the West, but rather a low morale, high casualty battle for every muddy inch.
Scott is running on optimism, on the American dream, and his Christian faith, reprising many of the same themes that once made Ronald Reagan so popular.
Peter Hamby • July 17, 2023
The Great Tim Scott Fantasy
Scott’s donors are betting on his optimism, his Christian faith, and the American dream. But, of course, they’ve never met real Republican voters.
Capitol Hill has been consumed by the internecine drama surrounding the status of MAGA darling Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Tina Nguyen • July 13, 2023
Fried Greene Tomatoes
M.T.G.’s ouster from the House Freedom Caucus over the Boebert spat, among other things, has become a telling reflection of the G.O.P. (and the MAGAplex) during the Trump interregnum.
The recently retired head of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, in 2013.
Julia Ioffe • July 11, 2023
History Boys
An off-the-books, citizen’s backchannel to Russia exposes the ego and inanity of Washington “formers” freelancing as peacemakers without any consideration for Ukraine.
Biden has a lot of work to do to stir up enthusiasm and remind voters of the choice on the ballot once the election rolls around.
Peter Hamby • July 10, 2023
Biden’s “Double-Hater”-itis
There’s one simple rule of presidential politics: If you lose independents in swing states, you lose the election. And Biden is increasingly vulnerable.
Baratunde Thurston • July 9, 2023
The End of Affirmative Action & The Attempt to Erase Race
A candid conversation with Anurima Bhargava, a top civil rights litigator and education advisor, about a Supreme Court earthquake.
Kevin McCarthy presides over a paper-thin G.O.P. majority, which is continually under threat of falling apart.
Tina Nguyen • July 6, 2023
Impeachment Agita in the D.C. Snake Pit
Notes on McCarthy’s dilemma as the Capitol returns from recess: Freedom Caucus infighting, a new shutdown showdown, the Greene-Boebert spat, the impeachment vote count, and the swing members to watch.
The expectation in Putin’s court is that any purge would go after those close to Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Julia Ioffe • July 5, 2023
Putin’s Post-Prigozhin Clean Up
Despite Western media assertions that the half-coup heard round the world was a sign of instability, my sources around Moscow and the Kremlin tell me that Putin is once again in full control. But questions linger about a future purge and missed warning signs.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Tina Nguyen • June 29, 2023
The Biden Witch Hunt Brews
House Republicans are coming to the realization that in order to appease the base, heads will have to roll on the floor. And while a Biden impeachment is ludicrously far-fetched for members, Garland has become a real sweet spot.
After a deafening 48-hour silence, Putin can’t seem to stop speaking.
Julia Ioffe • June 27, 2023
Putin vs. Prigozhin: The Post-Coup Report
In the wake of Prigozhin’s attempted coup, there’s been a lot of full-throated certainty in the Western media that Putin has been mortally wounded and that his regime is weaker than ever. Look as I might, I just don’t see it.
By last week’s end, the Hunter news cycle had reached a new crescendo.
Peter Hamby • June 26, 2023
Hunter Splatter Analysis
The president’s sad, delusional, haunted son is no longer a mere fixation for Republican house members and MAGA podcasters. Hunter Biden’s scandal has gone mainstream. Is it a legit ’24 problem?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign has arrived at a perfect moment of deteriorating social trust.
Baratunde Thurston • June 25, 2023
R.F.K. Jr. & The Latest Kennedy Tragedy
Why would someone with so much, and who has previously done so much good, give it up to become a conspiracy-hawking Connor Roy?
Tina Nguyen • June 22, 2023
More Bitchgate & Tucker’s Muscle
Dueling claims to a quarter-baked impeachment push, quickly shunted off into committees, spotlights an escalating MAGA food fight. Plus notes on Tucker Carlson’s legal battle with Fox News.