Mona Charen
@monacharen.bsky.social
Policy Editor, The Bulwark
Syndicated columnist
Opponent of all forms of illiberalism
Author of four books
Syndicated columnist
Opponent of all forms of illiberalism
Author of four books
This is the most fun I've had writing in weeks.
"Equipped with emergency powers, Mayor Mamdani should use eminent domain to seize the Trump Organization. Its revenues would help fund free buses and free child care." Goose, gander.
Today's Morning Shots, featuring @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @monacharen.bsky.social:
Today's Morning Shots, featuring @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @monacharen.bsky.social:
‘I’m Not Giving It Up.’
Reading Trump’s mind on staying in power, and some free advice for Zohran Mamdani.
www.thebulwark.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This is the most fun I've had writing in weeks.
Shutdown is in rear view mirror. Time to prepare to secure free and fair vote in 2026. It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security www.thebulwark.com/p/its-time-t...
It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security
Don’t underestimate how Trump and his allies will attempt to control the outcome of the midterms.
www.thebulwark.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Shutdown is in rear view mirror. Time to prepare to secure free and fair vote in 2026. It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security www.thebulwark.com/p/its-time-t...
Going through old photos. Here's one I snapped of the Rose Garden when I worked in the Reagan White House. And here's what Trump has done to it.
November 9, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Going through old photos. Here's one I snapped of the Rose Garden when I worked in the Reagan White House. And here's what Trump has done to it.
Even non-MAGA people are agreeing that one reason the 2025 elections went so badly for Rs was because Trump wasn't on the ballot. Has everyone forgotten that he was on the ballot in 2020?
November 7, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Even non-MAGA people are agreeing that one reason the 2025 elections went so badly for Rs was because Trump wasn't on the ballot. Has everyone forgotten that he was on the ballot in 2020?
Recalling what some conservatives said about Biden's power grab. Which Conservative Justices Will Fall for Trump’s Tariff Power Grab? www.thebulwark.com/p/which-cons...
Which Conservative Justices Will Fall for Trump’s Tariff Power Grab?
Emergency powers “tend to kindle emergencies,” as a great justice of yore once observed.
www.thebulwark.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Recalling what some conservatives said about Biden's power grab. Which Conservative Justices Will Fall for Trump’s Tariff Power Grab? www.thebulwark.com/p/which-cons...
This is the longest obit I've ever read. But it was a way to relive an era that seems eons ago. Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...
Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:57 PM
This is the longest obit I've ever read. But it was a way to relive an era that seems eons ago. Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...
Trump’s Targeting of ‘Narcoterrorists’ Is a Crime in Itself
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
Trump’s Targeting of ‘Narcoterrorists’ Is a Crime in Itself
Shoot first, ask questions when?
www.thebulwark.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Trump’s Targeting of ‘Narcoterrorists’ Is a Crime in Itself
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...
Jay dissects the new 'useful idiots' of the right with characteristic verve. ‘You Don’t Want Peace?’ www.jaynordlinger.com/p/you-dont-w...
‘You Don’t Want Peace?’
A reply to Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R., Fla.)
www.jaynordlinger.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Jay dissects the new 'useful idiots' of the right with characteristic verve. ‘You Don’t Want Peace?’ www.jaynordlinger.com/p/you-dont-w...
The right is making a big mistake. Toxic Femininity www.thebulwark.com/p/toxic-femi...
Toxic Femininity
Helen Andrews’s simplistic and reductionist views of gender.
www.thebulwark.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
The right is making a big mistake. Toxic Femininity www.thebulwark.com/p/toxic-femi...
I wrote about this back in August, when few noticed what Trump was up with the East Wing (where I once worked). It holds up well I think. Trump’s White House Renovation Is Awful—and Fitting www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-whit...
Trump’s White House Renovation Is Awful—and Fitting
The president doesn’t respect what the executive mansion stands for, so why would he respect its architecture?
www.thebulwark.com
October 26, 2025 at 11:35 PM
I wrote about this back in August, when few noticed what Trump was up with the East Wing (where I once worked). It holds up well I think. Trump’s White House Renovation Is Awful—and Fitting www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-whit...
Is anyone better read than Jay Nordlinger? Also, those photos at the end look like they were snapped by a professional! ‘Who Are We?’ &c. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/who-are-we...
‘Who Are We?’ &c.
On Trump’s court; singers and their voices; the colorful fall; and more
www.jaynordlinger.com
October 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Is anyone better read than Jay Nordlinger? Also, those photos at the end look like they were snapped by a professional! ‘Who Are We?’ &c. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/who-are-we...
Great conversation with two great thinkers: Frank Fukuyama and Yascha Mounk. www.persuasion.community/p/the-good-f...
The Good Fight Club: Trump’s New Ballroom, a Looming Attack on Venezuela, and Why Social Media Explains the Rise of Populism
Francis Fukuyama, Mona Charen, and Yascha Mounk dissect this week’s news.
www.persuasion.community
October 25, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Great conversation with two great thinkers: Frank Fukuyama and Yascha Mounk. www.persuasion.community/p/the-good-f...
A profile in cowardice.
It’s official @monacharen.bsky.social the Reagan library defends MAGA as one of its own. No difference between Ronnie & Donnie
October 25, 2025 at 6:22 PM
A profile in cowardice.
Killer line: "You’d think it would be possible for Democrats to find a normal person who is not a one-man Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact." www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
What Progressives Keep Getting Wrong
Graham Platner is the perfect embodiment of the left’s strategy for returning to power. This is a problem.
www.theatlantic.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Killer line: "You’d think it would be possible for Democrats to find a normal person who is not a one-man Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact." www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
A bitter lament. Trump’s Mar-a-White House www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-mar-...
Trump’s Mar-a-White House
The president is desecrating a symbol of liberal democracy and replacing it with a tacky, bloated eyesore.
www.thebulwark.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:48 PM
A bitter lament. Trump’s Mar-a-White House www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-mar-...
East Wing, not East Room.
This is definitely one of those things that people would’ve called you hysterical for predicting a year ago.
Trump is going to destroy the East Room of the White House without even asking Congress and build a ballroom with funds from private companies that are seeking favors? Settle down, lib.
Trump is going to destroy the East Room of the White House without even asking Congress and build a ballroom with funds from private companies that are seeking favors? Settle down, lib.
Scoop: Trump has started demolishing the White House's East Wing facade to build his ballroom. The president had claimed construction of the $250 million building wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure. /W @ddiamond.bsky.social wapo.st/4hqBNiU
October 21, 2025 at 2:03 PM
East Wing, not East Room.
All these "hate America" rally attendees.
October 18, 2025 at 7:14 PM
All these "hate America" rally attendees.
Pocket Constitutions, flags, Founders costumes, humor. And
October 18, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Pocket Constitutions, flags, Founders costumes, humor. And
From DC No Kings rally today.
October 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
From DC No Kings rally today.
Amazing crowd in DC No Kings today. What is that feeling? Oh yeah, tiny bit of optimism.
October 18, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Amazing crowd in DC No Kings today. What is that feeling? Oh yeah, tiny bit of optimism.
This is my favorite from the DC No Kings rally.
October 18, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This is my favorite from the DC No Kings rally.
A ceasefire is good, but it is not peace. The Long Road to Peace and Trump’s Short Attention Span www.thebulwark.com/p/long-road-...
The Long Road to Peace and Trump’s Short Attention Span
The Israel–Hamas ceasefire is a welcome achievement—but the next steps are vague and the president lacks the temperament to get more.
www.thebulwark.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:20 AM
A ceasefire is good, but it is not peace. The Long Road to Peace and Trump’s Short Attention Span www.thebulwark.com/p/long-road-...
Another brilliant exposition by Cathy Young. Bari Weiss, CBS News, and the Triumph of Faux Balance www.thebulwark.com/p/bari-weiss...
Bari Weiss, CBS News, and the Triumph of Faux Balance
The record of the Free Press shows her journey from independent to MAGA fellow traveler.
www.thebulwark.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Another brilliant exposition by Cathy Young. Bari Weiss, CBS News, and the Triumph of Faux Balance www.thebulwark.com/p/bari-weiss...
Just wondering what the odds are that tariffs on Norway will spike if the Nobel committee awards the peace prize to anyone but the big orange appetite in the White House?
October 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Just wondering what the odds are that tariffs on Norway will spike if the Nobel committee awards the peace prize to anyone but the big orange appetite in the White House?