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Ask Political Wire: Why Are Republicans Resisting Trump?

July 12, 2026 · 11:31 am ET · Leave a Comment

Andrew asks:

Trump is having a bear of a time trying to get Senate Republicans agree to the SAVE Act, which does genuinely seem to be a voter suppression bill that will benefit Republicans.

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Graham Platner Drags Out His Exit

July 10, 2026 · 11:37 am ET · Leave a Comment

Graham Platner appears determined to make his exit from politics as self-indulgent as his entrance.

The scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate announced Wednesday night that he would end his campaign after reports that he allegedly sexually assaulted a former girlfriend.

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Why Democrats Struggle with Nationalized Politics

July 9, 2026 · 9:10 am ET · Leave a Comment

Tip O’Neill famously said: “All politics is local.”

That has not really been true for a long time.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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Democrats Are Still Searching

July 8, 2026 · 8:38 am ET · Leave a Comment

After their drubbing in the 2024 elections, Democrats began the inevitable round of soul-searching.

They are still searching.

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Democrats Still Don’t Get Working-Class Voters

July 7, 2026 · 7:33 pm ET · Leave a Comment

If Democrats take anything away from the Graham Platner fiasco, it should be that the party still has not figured out how to connect with working-class voters.

The consultants who recruited Platner — and then did an astonishingly poor job vetting him — apparently saw the outline of a character they believed working-class voters would find appealing.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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Member feature

Happy Birthday America!

July 4, 2026 · 5:00 am ET · Leave a Comment

Two hundred and fifty years is no small achievement. History is filled with nations and empires that rose quickly, seemed permanent for a time and then disappeared.

America has endured for two and a half centuries—not because it has been free of conflict, but because it has repeatedly found ways to adapt and move forward.

The last decade has tested plenty of assumptions about the strength of our institutions and the health of our democracy. There is no shortage of turmoil and Political Wire readers certainly know better than most how much is at stake in the fights ahead.

Still, I remain optimistic about the country’s future.

I came to politics in the first place because I am deeply patriotic. I love this country—its energy, its contradictions, its capacity for reinvention and its belief that tomorrow can be better than today. Few people enjoy traveling the world as much as me — but there is nowhere else I would rather call home.

I hope you have a fun, safe and restful holiday! 

Administrative, Members, Talking Points

Member feature

Building a Better Political Wire

July 3, 2026 · 12:33 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Over the last few months, we’ve been making a number of improvements to Political Wire—some visible to everyone, and others designed especially for members.

The goal is simple: Make the site more useful, more enjoyable to visit, and even better at helping you stay on top of politics without wasting your time.

Here are a few of the recent additions:

Reader Wire gives you a place to share interesting political stories, links and discoveries with one another. It’s a simple idea, but the community has already surfaced a ton of items worth reading.

On This Day in Political History lets you see notable moments from past political campaigns, presidencies and elections. Politics has a way of repeating itself, and this feature makes those echoes a little easier to spot.

We’ve also made significant improvements to both the Political Calendar and the Daily Archives (the calendar on the right side of the site), making it easier to see what is coming up and to explore stories from previous days.

And, after many reader requests, Political Wire now has Dark Mode. 

There have also been dozens of changes behind the scenes. Most readers will never notice them directly, but they help me bring you the most important political news more quickly and reliably throughout the day.

Most of these additions are available to Political Wire members, because membership makes this kind of ongoing development possible. Membership is not just a way to remove ads and get bonus features; it helps support a site that is continually being improved for readers.

And there is more on the way. We’re currently working on major improvements to the Trending News page, which should make it even more useful.

I’m also taking a close look at the comments section. That will be more complicated, and likely involve some real tradeoffs between ease of use, moderation, community, and the overall reading experience. Before making any big changes, I’ll ask readers to weigh in.

Thank you for being part of Political Wire—and please keep the feedback coming. What features have you found most useful? What would make the site better for you?

Administrative, Members, Talking Points

Member feature

Was Nina Totenberg’s Alito Story a Broken Embargo?

June 30, 2026 · 4:33 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Nina Totenberg’s erroneous report that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring was an embarrassing mistake for NPR.

But it may not have been entirely random.

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Democrats Have a Real Divide — But Not a Civil War

June 27, 2026 · 1:15 pm ET · Leave a Comment

The buzzword in Democratic politics this week is “civil war.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani helped fuel it by taking a real political risk: He endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander in competitive House primaries, backing insurgent progressives against two incumbents and a candidate favored by the party establishment.

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The Democratic Establishment Gets Walloped

June 23, 2026 · 10:07 pm ET · Leave a Comment

New York City gave Washington its two most powerful Democrats: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Tonight, New York City Democrats delivered a rather different message.

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How AI Will Change Politics in 2028 and Beyond

June 22, 2026 · 12:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Every communications revolution has produced a different kind of politician. Radio rewarded the voice. Television rewarded the image. The internet rewarded attention.

Now, artificial intelligence will reward personalization at scale.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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The Internet Made Donald Trump Possible

June 22, 2026 · 9:41 am ET · Leave a Comment

Every communications revolution has produced a different kind of politician.

Newspapers created the party politician. In the early days of the republic, newspapers were not neutral observers of politics. They were partisan organs, often closely tied to local machines, party leaders and patronage networks.

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A Perfect Reflection of Trump’s Washington

June 19, 2026 · 7:38 am ET · Leave a Comment

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become an almost too-perfect metaphor for Donald Trump’s presidency.

He promised a quick, cheap fix.

Instead, taxpayers got a no-bid project that ballooned to more than $14 million, delivered a freshly painted pool in “American Flag Blue,” and then promptly watched it turn green with algae as the new coating began to peel just days after it was supposedly finished.

That is Trumpism in miniature: a grand declaration, a flashy cosmetic overhaul, a politically connected contractor, and an immediate failure blamed on someone else.

Washington was supposed to be made beautiful again.

Instead, the Reflecting Pool now looks like a murky swamp — a fitting reflection of a capital overwhelmed by corruption and chaos.

As one reader recently commented: “Reflecting indeed.”

Members, Talking Points, White House

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Trump’s Iran Deal Is the Opposite of Obama’s

June 18, 2026 · 2:33 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Nothing seems to irritate President Trump quite like having his newly-signed Iran deal compared to Barack Obama’s.

Which is strange, because the comparison is unavoidable.

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Divided Field Gives Republicans Lifeline in Montana

June 18, 2026 · 8:15 am ET · Leave a Comment

A new Public Opinion Strategies poll shows Kurt Alme (R) with a commanding lead in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, taking 44% of the vote.

That’s not a majority. But in a three-way race, it may be more than enough.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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2026 Campaign, Members, Talking Points

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Where’s Marco Rubio?

June 16, 2026 · 9:34 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Vice President JD Vance has emerged as President Trump’s chief salesman for the new U.S.-Iran deal.

Just as notable is who hasn’t joined him: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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2028 Campaign, Members, Talking Points

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Even Lindsey Graham Isn’t Sold on Trump’s ‘Iran Deal’

June 16, 2026 · 7:00 am ET · Leave a Comment

Senate Republicans are not exactly rushing to embrace the Iran “memorandum of understanding” Donald Trump unveiled with great fanfare.

For one thing, no one has actually seen it.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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What Surrender Looks Like

June 15, 2026 · 1:04 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Once Iran proved it could shut the Strait of Hormuz despite American military pressure, the outcome of the Iran war became much easier to see.

Trump could keep talking tough. The Pentagon could keep moving assets into the region.

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Talking Points is my analysis of the political landscape, written only for Political Wire members.

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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