A nationwide series of protests, some of them violent, is convulsing France. The proximate cause is pension reform, and the French are having a splendid time: In news photos, the protesters are positively beaming, and a recent BBC report described the mood, amid the arson and destruction of property, as … Read More

A nationwide series of protests, some of them violent, is convulsing France. The proximate cause is pension reform, and the French are having a splendid time: In news photos, the protesters are positively beaming, and a recent BBC report described the mood, amid the arson and destruction of property, as … Read More

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention in Manchester, September 7, 2019. (Gretchen Ertl/Reuters) In a Quinnipiac poll out this afternoon, businessman Andrew Yang came in sixth place with 4-percent support, allowing him to qualify for the upcoming Democratic debate. To make it on stage in Los Angeles, presidential-primary candidates

Former FBI director James Comey speaks about his book during an onstage interview with Axios Executive Editor Mike Allen at George Washington University. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Making the click-through worthwhile: The Horowitz report isn’t quite the vindication of the FBI that James Comey wants you to think it is, the president is on the verge of

The logo of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in the lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia March 3, 2005. (Jason Reed/Reuters) The CIA considered the now infamous dossier from former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to be nothing more than an “internet rumor,” according to the Justice Department inspector general. According to the

Senator Elizabeth Warren in Chicago on October 22, 2019 (Joshua Lott/Reuters) Elizabeth Warren finds out that her Medicare for All plan cannot withstand financial scrutiny. Maybe it pays presidential candidates to be vague. In 1996 Bill Clinton promised to build a bridge to the 21st century. Clinton won reelection. Years later, Representative Don Young (R.)

N.C. G.O.P. Regional Field Director Tricia O’Toole calls to survey constituents at the Republican Victory Center in Charlotte, North Carolina May 29, 2012 (John Adkisson/Reuters) Late last week, four-term representative George Holding became the 20th Republican House member to announce he was retiring from Congress this cycle. Holding said he would not seek reelection for

Eight months ago, pundits from across the political spectrum were putting their money on Kamala Harris. “If she was a stock right now, I’d buy her,” Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on April 11. “A combination . . . of Harris for president and Beto … Read More

Sen. Kamala Harris speaks during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Fla., June 27, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren fell for the fool’s gold of socialized medicine. Pundits have a ready explanation when one of their favorites loses or ends a campaign: The voters just didn’t

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg speaks about his gun policy agenda in Aurora, Colorado, U.S. December 5, 2019. (Rick Wilking/Reuters) Everyone will have their least favorite figure in the Democratic presidential primary. Mine might be Michael Bloomberg, for sheer self-regard, narcissism, condescension, and arrogance. Bloomberg did his first televised interview as a presidential candidate

Voters cast their ballots to vote in state and local elections at Robious Elementary School in Midlothian, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, U.S. November 5, 2019. (Ryan M. Kelly/Reuters) Representative George Holding (R., N.C.) announced Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 after a North Carolina district reconfiguration put his seat in danger.

Joe Biden responds to a question during a forum held by the Giffords group and March For Our Lives in Las Vegas, Nev., October 2, 2019. (Steve Marcus/Reuters) Former Vice President Joe Biden is accusing the media of “bad judgment” in their coverage of progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, saying reporters and commentators have exaggerated her

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks during the Rome MED Mediterranean Dialogues forum in Rome, Italy. December 2, 2016. (Remo Casilli/Reuters) Former secretary of state John Kerry endorsed Joe Biden for President on Thursday, citing Biden’s performance serving as vice president in the Obama administration as proof that he has what it takes to

South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg holds a town hall event in Creston, Iowa, November 25, 2019. (Scott Morgan/Reuters) South Bend, Ind., city councilman-elect Henry Davis Jr. said on Thursday that it “is not an excuse at this point” for mayor Pete Buttigieg to claim he was “slow to realize” desegregation in city schools had not

Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and running mate Senator Tim Kaine, addresses her staff and supporters at a hotel in New York, November 9, 2016. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) My friend Maureen Callahan (who, like me, is a longtime fan of Howard Stern’s celebrity interviews, which elicit more frankness than

Then-Republican candidate for Governor Ron DeSantis holds a rally in Orlando, Fla., November 5, 2018. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) A new St. Leo’s poll in Florida shows Governor Ron DeSantis sporting an approval rating of 68 percent (with a disapproval of 20 percent). What’s most impressive about these numbers is that in every demographic that matters, DeSantis

(Gary Cameron/Reuters) The big theme of today’s Morning Jolt is that Democrats have good reasons to be grinding their teeth over the fact that Kamala Harris is out of the race — and Cory Booker and Julian Castro are on a path to follow her — while billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, two guys

Hillary Clinton addresses staff and supporters about the results of the presidential election in New York City, November 9, 2016. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) Eight people, including major Hillary Clinton donors and a witness in the Mueller investigation, have been charged in a massive campaign-finance scheme, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday. The individuals conspired to “make

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis talks to the media during a news conference as Hurricane Dorian approaches at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., August 29, 2019. (Marco Bello/Reuters) A new statewide poll of Florida conducted by Saint Leo University shows across-the-board support for Republican governor Ron DeSantis, including consistently high approval ratings among minority

Now that Kamala Harris has suspended her campaign, lots of folks who predicted she would win the Democratic party’s nomination are being mocked on Twitter. This happens all the time. The only people worse than pundits at making predictions are economists and sports writers. I’ve never really understood why pundits feel the need to be

Joe Biden speaks during a stop on his “No Malarkey!” campaign bus tour in Storm Lake, Iowa, U.S., December 1, 2019. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) “You keep worrying he’s going to hit a wall, but he’s moving forward,” an astonished David Axelrod said of Joe Biden after the most recent Democratic debate. One reason for Biden’s durable

Michael Bloomberg speaks during a news conference at City Hall in New York, September 18, 2013. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) The Trump campaign released a statement Monday announcing that it will no longer honor credential requests from Bloomberg News reporters, after the outlet revealed last week that it would not conduct investigations of Michael Bloomberg and other

Then-Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in 2010. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Montana governor Steve Bullock and former congressman and retired admiral Joe Sestak ended their bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in the past two days. In other surprising news, Steve Bullock and Joe Sestak were running for president. This is where

Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard greets supporters at the State House in Concord, N.H., November 5, 2019. (Mike Segar/Reuters) Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii) continued to lash out at Hillary Clinton on Tuesday following the former presidential candidate’s insinuation that Gabbard’s presidential policy platform was based on advancing Russian interests. “I think they’ve got their

Michael Bloomberg listens as he is introduced to speak in Manchester, N.H, January 29, 2019. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) What is the worst-case scenario for Democrats in their upcoming primary? Is it a contested primary all the way to the convention, where no candidate gets enough delegates to secure the nomination on the first ballot? Maybe. But

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg holds a town hall event in Creston, Iowa, U.S. November 25, 2019. (Scott Morgan/Reuters) South Bend, Ind. mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign is returning donations to two lawyers who represented Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, the campaign announced Wednesday. Kavanaugh faced a brutal confirmation hearing

U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) listens during a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 21, 2019. (Andrew Harrer/Reuters) Yahoo News suggests that Elise Stefanik, the 35-year-old GOP congresswoman who made waves during the impeachment hearings, could lose in 2020: “[H]er decision to go all in for Trump also carries risk

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) waves on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) raised more funds for her reelection campaign than all other Democrats in the House, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to federal elections commission data. Ocasio-Cortez raked in $1.42 million between July 1 and September

Participants hold signs as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a news conference to introduce the “Medicare for All Act of 2019” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2019. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters) Democrats are growing increasingly skittish about Medicare for All, the $30 to $40 trillion proposal that would abolish private insurance and

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business forum in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday during an Arizona campaign stop that the U.S. needs “an awful lot more immigrants rather than less” and promised to increase legal immigration as president. “We