2016

Republicans on Donald Trump, Their Beloved Nominee

Alex Pareene · 05/05/16 12:42PM

Donald Trump has sewn up the Republican presidential nomination. This presents something of a dilemma for the many Republicans who have spent the last few months going on television and saying very unkind things about Donald Trump.

Why Is the Internet Obsessed With Photos of Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin?

J.K. Trotter · 04/12/16 01:05PM

For the past several days, including today, the most trafficked piece of content on Politico.com has been a slideshow of 17 wire pictures featuring Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton and her long-time aide Huma Abedin in various settings, including the 2008 campaign trail and several countries Clinton visited as Secretary of State. Its description refers to Abedin as Clinton’s “body woman”—an appellation borrowed, it seems, from a 2006 Observer article—and Abedin’s job as “assisting the former secretary of state’s move back into her private life.” Its title is, “How close are Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton?”

210 Days and a Wake Up

J.K. Trotter · 04/11/16 07:56AM

A “wake up,” for the unfamiliar, is a term used by soldiers and prisoners in the U.S. when discussing the remainder of their service or sentence. Or, per a user in this Yahoo! Answers thread: “It’s a way of counting how many more days there is left until something happens.”

Report: Hillary Clinton Used Static Noise Machine to Prevent Reporters from Hearing Fundraising Speech

J.K. Trotter · 04/08/16 06:50PM

On Thursday, Hillary Clinton delivered a fundraising speech at the private residence of Colorado’s governor, John Hickenlooper, in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. The venue, a tent pitched on Hickenlooper’s lawn, was positioned close to the nearest street, which would have (theoretically) enabled non-guests to listen in on Clinton’s remarks. According to an on-scene reporter, however, the Democratic frontrunner’s campaign used a “static noise machine”—i.e., a larger speaker blasting static interference—to prevent such eavesdropping:

It Couldn't Possibly Matter Less if Susan Sarandon Doesn't Vote For Hillary Clinton

Alex Pareene · 03/29/16 03:21PM

Table tennis semipro and cannabis enthusiast Susan Sarandon is among the most prominent celebrity endorsers of Bernie Sanders, which makes her public statements matters of great import to political commentators, columnists, and assigning editors. Today, everyone is mad because she said she’d support Trump if Hillary Clinton won the nomination.

People Have Been Talking About "The Thing" With Ted Cruz For Some Time Now

Gabrielle Bluestone · 03/25/16 01:36PM

This week, the National Enquirer published a story claiming Ted Cruz may have been involved in as many as five extramarital affairs. But the general allegations are nothing new. People have been talking publicly about, well, something involving Cruz for weeks.

Reporters Keep Insisting Jeb Bush Is “Human”

J.K. Trotter · 02/23/16 01:52PM

The wreckage of Jeb Bush’s foredoomed campaign has already inspired dozens of articles about the mistakes and miscalculations that led donors, consultants, and Bush himself to believe he had a shot at winning the 2016 race. This genre of journalism reliably offers revealing anecdotes and bitchy anonymous quotes about a campaign’s internal dysfunction. The journalists on Bush’s case, however, seem preoccupied not with behind-the-scenes drama, but with the question of Bush’s soul. Indeed, four reports published in the last four days have emphasized that Bush is “human.” That seems like a trend!

Trump Is Losing Now (According to One Poll)

Alex Pareene · 02/17/16 06:06PM

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Donald Trump in second place, at 26 percent, to first-place Ted Cruz, at 28 percent. This is, as Philip Bump notes, “the first major poll in which Trump hasn’t led the field nationally since October.” That is another way of saying this poll is an outlier.

Hillary Clinton Has a Henry Kissinger Problem

Alex Pareene · 02/05/16 11:46AM

At last night’s Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton invoked an unexpected figure: Henry Kissinger. “I was very flattered when Henry Kissinger said I ran the State Department better than anybody had run it in a long time,” she said, in an off-hand aside. It wasn’t an endorsement of Kissinger, or really much of anything. It was just a little brag that would have played well in a different room.

Marco Rubio Loses Iowa Caucuses, Wins Narrative Primary

Alex Pareene · 02/01/16 11:27PM

This morning, the smart money had it that Donald Trump would win Iowa, and Ted Cruz would come in second—but it was possible that Trump could under-perform and Cruz would win. Well, Ted Cruz has won Iowa. Donald Trump is in second, and Marco Rubio is in third. But according to “the narrative,” Donald Trump is tonight’s big loser, and Rubio the upset victor.

Allie Jones · 01/26/16 02:26PM

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who is currently polling at one percent in Iowa, has a message for those who think she has zero chance of winning the election. “Polls don’t win elections,” she said at a campaign event in Iowa City today.