ArcaMax

It’s what everyone is asking today: Having had their clocks cleaned in November 2024 – and with the country facing an existential threat to our democracy – can Democrats ever get back on top? And if so, how?

First, two important points. One: No doubt, the Democratic Party will bounce back, as it always has before. As bad as November 2024 ...Read more

We remember the good old days: when we had the strongest and best economy in the world. America was firing on all cylinders. Wages, consumer spending and corporate profits were up. Unemployment was at a record low. The stock markets were at a record high. The labor market added 7.9 million new jobs. And inflation, which popped up for a few ...Read more

News outlets scrambled to find the right words to describe Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress this week. CNN: “unapologetic.” Politico: “raucous.” New York Times: “rowdy.” The Hill: “campaign rally-like.”

All of which are true. But I think The Bulwark summed it up better: “childish, silly, and unimpressive...Read more

No wonder the American people are confused. At first, it’s hard to know who’s actually running the country these days, the elected President Donald Trump or the unelected, unconfirmed “Shadow” President Elon Musk.

But take a closer look and there’s no doubt about it. Who stood alongside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office last week ...Read more

As bad as it is, there are parts of the country where the damage already done by Donald Trump has not yet sunk in. But, as I discovered, Washington, D.C., is not one of them.

On Presidents’ Day, walking down the Capitol Mall, I came across a huge crowd, out in freezing weather, protesting the firing of federal employees. On the Metro a couple...Read more

Call me a contrarian, but today I’m going to do something unpopular: I’m going to stand up for federal employees – and, while I’m at it, for city, county and state employees, too. You know, all those people Elon Musk and Donald Trump snidely dismiss as “bureaucrats.”

Unlike most presidents, who take office promising to create new ...Read more

You can’t say he didn’t warn us. In three weeks, Donald Trump has taken a wrecking ball to our democratic institutions, trying to deliver on every wild campaign promise he made.

The scope of his lawless actions even stunned some of his supporters. Oh, he won’t pardon all January criminals, they assured us, just those who’d not engaged ...Read more

We’ve survived two turbulent weeks of Trump Two. And, amid all the chaos, there’s no doubt who’s in charge. He’s the man of the hour. He’s everywhere: giving orders, making demands, blasting what he doesn’t like, and seizing the role of spokesman for the United States around the world. And, of course, I’m talking about – not ...Read more

One thing Donald Trump can never be accused of: getting off to a slow start. After the most divisive inaugural address in history – delivered on the “scene of the crime” – he hurried to sign 26 executive orders, 12 memos and four proclamations which, among other abuses of power, revoked 78 of former President Biden’s executive actions ...Read more

One of the great joys of living in Washington is access to the great Smithsonian museums, all free to the public. But no matter where you go in Washington, you can’t escape politics. As I realized again this week, visiting one of the greatest art exhibitions I’ve ever seen, “The Impressionist Moment,” at the National Gallery.

Over five ...Read more

Here’s how I’d sum up this week in Washington: I wouldn’t walk across the street to say hello to Donald Trump. But I waited in line for two and a half hours, most of it outside in 29-degree cold and snow, to say goodbye to Jimmy Carter.

And I was hardly alone. Washington’s dignitaries celebrated Carter’s life on Tuesday afternoon. But...Read more

If nothing else, 2024 was a year filled with mind-blowing, first-of-its-kind events: for the first time ever, a former president appeared in a courtroom charged with crimes; a sitting president suddenly dropped out of the race for re- election and endorsed his vice president; a former president was convicted on 34 counts and yet easily re- ...Read more

If boasts are to be believed, “Day One” of the second coming of Donald J. Trump promises an apoplectic unraveling of the federal government.

The department of education will crumble, and career civil servants will resign in droves. Legions of immigrant parents will line up to board awaiting buses and planes or simply self-deport, bidding ...Read more