Paul Waldman
@paulwaldman.bsky.social
Columnist for MSNBC and The Daily Beast. Formerly: Washington Post, The Week, American Prospect. Host of The Cross Section podcast and author of The Cross Section newsletter: paulwaldman.substack.com
Reposted by Paul Waldman
an underrated part of this turducken of garbage is Elon posting an image of the Odyssey while discussing the Iliad, but it's all so terribly, terribly pathetic
*maximum alpha at 1.25x speed* continuously lives on in my head, unfortunately.
November 11, 2025 at 1:48 AM
an underrated part of this turducken of garbage is Elon posting an image of the Odyssey while discussing the Iliad, but it's all so terribly, terribly pathetic
Let a single person feed their family with food stamps when they don't "deserve" the benefit and Republicans will be filled with such rage that they'll take away those benefits from millions of others.
Meanwhile the administration is doing this:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
Meanwhile the administration is doing this:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Let a single person feed their family with food stamps when they don't "deserve" the benefit and Republicans will be filled with such rage that they'll take away those benefits from millions of others.
Meanwhile the administration is doing this:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
Meanwhile the administration is doing this:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...
Reposted by Paul Waldman
The Republican Senate majority is built on minority rule, enabled by unequal representation & the two-party system.
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
November 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The Republican Senate majority is built on minority rule, enabled by unequal representation & the two-party system.
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Also I wouldn't be surprised if they were genuinely freaked out about the prospect of a nationwide Thanksgiving airport meltdown and worried they'd be blamed.
Not saying that was right, but it could have played a role
Not saying that was right, but it could have played a role
not enough chatter about how frequently members fly and how attacking airport capacity directly affects them in a way that cutting SNAP does not
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Also I wouldn't be surprised if they were genuinely freaked out about the prospect of a nationwide Thanksgiving airport meltdown and worried they'd be blamed.
Not saying that was right, but it could have played a role
Not saying that was right, but it could have played a role
Just thinking about how pissed off Republicans were at their own party and its leadership in 2010
That year they got a net gain of 6 seats in the Senate and 63, that's right, 63 seats in the House.
Anger is powerful.
That year they got a net gain of 6 seats in the Senate and 63, that's right, 63 seats in the House.
Anger is powerful.
November 10, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Just thinking about how pissed off Republicans were at their own party and its leadership in 2010
That year they got a net gain of 6 seats in the Senate and 63, that's right, 63 seats in the House.
Anger is powerful.
That year they got a net gain of 6 seats in the Senate and 63, that's right, 63 seats in the House.
Anger is powerful.
Gotta say, counting "We got them to agree that a law passed in 2019 is still the law" as a victory is some real learned helplessness
My statement on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care:
November 10, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Gotta say, counting "We got them to agree that a law passed in 2019 is still the law" as a victory is some real learned helplessness
Reposted by Paul Waldman
theres a whole category of newstertainment thats gotta go. and its "ask a really rich freak who is also evil and directly stealing from you what hes seen on the computer lately that has made him feel bad." the only -- ONLY -- story about this guy worth exploring is: he is getting rich spying on you
November 9, 2025 at 6:44 PM
theres a whole category of newstertainment thats gotta go. and its "ask a really rich freak who is also evil and directly stealing from you what hes seen on the computer lately that has made him feel bad." the only -- ONLY -- story about this guy worth exploring is: he is getting rich spying on you
Just discovered that Batya Ungar-Sargon has a show on News Nation called "BATYA!" and yes that's in all caps with an exclamation point
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Just discovered that Batya Ungar-Sargon has a show on News Nation called "BATYA!" and yes that's in all caps with an exclamation point
Also I think Trump genuinely believes that if you "have" Obamacare it means you have to go to the Obamacare Doctor when you get sick, except Obamacare Doctors suck and they give you awful care
Rick Scott is right, government funding for health insurance is such a scam.
Google “Rick Scott Medicare fraud” to learn more about this important issue
Google “Rick Scott Medicare fraud” to learn more about this important issue
November 9, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Also I think Trump genuinely believes that if you "have" Obamacare it means you have to go to the Obamacare Doctor when you get sick, except Obamacare Doctors suck and they give you awful care
Another notable thing about Zohran Mamdani: those billionaires surely spent millions on opposition research to find dirt on him, and all they could come up with was that dumb Columbia application story and the fact that he made some kinda silly rap videos.
Guy seems pretty clean!
Guy seems pretty clean!
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Another notable thing about Zohran Mamdani: those billionaires surely spent millions on opposition research to find dirt on him, and all they could come up with was that dumb Columbia application story and the fact that he made some kinda silly rap videos.
Guy seems pretty clean!
Guy seems pretty clean!
Reposted by Paul Waldman
Today we're trying to get to the bottom of a deceptively simply question: How many mayors of New York City have gone on to hold any other kind of elected office?
The answer may surprise you!
The answer may surprise you!
Exploring the Past Precedents of the Political Futures of New York Mayors
It’s been a few days now since the historic victory of Zohran Mamdani in the NYC mayoral election, defeating Andrew Cuomo for the second time and winning over a million votes in a mayoral ele…
nathangoldwag.wordpress.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Today we're trying to get to the bottom of a deceptively simply question: How many mayors of New York City have gone on to hold any other kind of elected office?
The answer may surprise you!
The answer may surprise you!
The sense of entitlement Rich Business Guys have is just mind-boggling
Canadian multimillionaire and Shark Tank guy Kevin O'Leary went on TV to say he's upset Zohran won't talk to him: "I and others who invest in real estate have tried to get a meeting to figure out what's rhetoric and what's policy. So far for me it's been crickets."
November 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
The sense of entitlement Rich Business Guys have is just mind-boggling
This conversation between ChatGPT and the young man it encouraged to commit suicide is just...my god
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
This conversation between ChatGPT and the young man it encouraged to commit suicide is just...my god
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
Even Trump knows he has to talk about affordability now. But here’s why the issue belongs to Democrats, at least through 2028:
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-afford...
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-afford...
The Affordability Issue Belongs to Democrats
Trump has the same problem Joe Biden did in 2023, but he's even less persuasive.
paulwaldman.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Even Trump knows he has to talk about affordability now. But here’s why the issue belongs to Democrats, at least through 2028:
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-afford...
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-afford...
Bill Clinton was the Zohran Mamdani of 1992.
Young, charismatic newcomer who campaigned relentlessly on people's economic struggles and ousted the out-of-touch member of a dynastic political family who couldn't connect with regular people.
Young, charismatic newcomer who campaigned relentlessly on people's economic struggles and ousted the out-of-touch member of a dynastic political family who couldn't connect with regular people.
November 6, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Bill Clinton was the Zohran Mamdani of 1992.
Young, charismatic newcomer who campaigned relentlessly on people's economic struggles and ousted the out-of-touch member of a dynastic political family who couldn't connect with regular people.
Young, charismatic newcomer who campaigned relentlessly on people's economic struggles and ousted the out-of-touch member of a dynastic political family who couldn't connect with regular people.
The Anti-Defamation League has launched a "Mamdani Monitor" to track the new NY mayor.
Sure, the president is a naked antisemite and his administration is brimming with neo-Nazis. But every time Mamdani calls someone "habibi" we're going to track it, because that's what really imperils Jews.
Sure, the president is a naked antisemite and his administration is brimming with neo-Nazis. But every time Mamdani calls someone "habibi" we're going to track it, because that's what really imperils Jews.
November 6, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The Anti-Defamation League has launched a "Mamdani Monitor" to track the new NY mayor.
Sure, the president is a naked antisemite and his administration is brimming with neo-Nazis. But every time Mamdani calls someone "habibi" we're going to track it, because that's what really imperils Jews.
Sure, the president is a naked antisemite and his administration is brimming with neo-Nazis. But every time Mamdani calls someone "habibi" we're going to track it, because that's what really imperils Jews.
Reposted by Paul Waldman
I wonder how much Meta is protected (or thinks it is) by the number of people who have its stock in balanced portfolios.
You'd destroy a lot of wealth by doing what needs to be done (shooting the entire company into the cold depths of space)
You'd destroy a lot of wealth by doing what needs to be done (shooting the entire company into the cold depths of space)
Someone ought to run for president on a platform of outlawing Meta and sending Mark Zuckerberg to a supermax prison for his crimes against humanity
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
November 6, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I wonder how much Meta is protected (or thinks it is) by the number of people who have its stock in balanced portfolios.
You'd destroy a lot of wealth by doing what needs to be done (shooting the entire company into the cold depths of space)
You'd destroy a lot of wealth by doing what needs to be done (shooting the entire company into the cold depths of space)
Big internal conflict between the "We're gonna pretend we love Jews as a tool to promote hatred of Muslims" crowd and the "Wait does that mean we have to actually stop hating Jews because we're not down with that" crowd, no telling how this will get resolved
Heritage Foundation having a normal one
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
November 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Big internal conflict between the "We're gonna pretend we love Jews as a tool to promote hatred of Muslims" crowd and the "Wait does that mean we have to actually stop hating Jews because we're not down with that" crowd, no telling how this will get resolved
Someone ought to run for president on a platform of outlawing Meta and sending Mark Zuckerberg to a supermax prison for his crimes against humanity
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Someone ought to run for president on a platform of outlawing Meta and sending Mark Zuckerberg to a supermax prison for his crimes against humanity
When a party wins EVERYWHERE as Dems did, it doesn't mean they deployed a clever strategy. It means there's something fundamental at work.
Voters are mad, they were mad in 2024, and they'll be mad in 2026. Every election is a change election.
My latest at MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Voters are mad, they were mad in 2024, and they'll be mad in 2026. Every election is a change election.
My latest at MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | America’s voters are perpetually angry. Tuesday proved it again.
Speaker Mike Johnson was misguided Wednesday when he said of Tuesday's elections, “I don’t think the loss last night was any reflection about Republicans at all.”
www.msnbc.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
When a party wins EVERYWHERE as Dems did, it doesn't mean they deployed a clever strategy. It means there's something fundamental at work.
Voters are mad, they were mad in 2024, and they'll be mad in 2026. Every election is a change election.
My latest at MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Voters are mad, they were mad in 2024, and they'll be mad in 2026. Every election is a change election.
My latest at MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Reposted by Paul Waldman
I’ll keep pushing this line of analysis because I’m increasingly convinced the clearest path out of this mess is for Dems to adopt a relentless anti-corruption, anti-inequality, anti-oligarchy, pro-democracy platform. The Dem leadership hasn’t realized it yet, but they’re now a reform party.
November 6, 2025 at 12:06 AM
I’ll keep pushing this line of analysis because I’m increasingly convinced the clearest path out of this mess is for Dems to adopt a relentless anti-corruption, anti-inequality, anti-oligarchy, pro-democracy platform. The Dem leadership hasn’t realized it yet, but they’re now a reform party.
When the government reopens and we get the BLS jobs reports we've been missing, Trump is going to invade Venezuela, Nigeria, and maybe Denmark for good measure
ADP for Oct showed private sector hiring of 42k after a decline of 29k jobs in Sept, but the 3m avg is barely positive at 3k and it is increasingly clear smaller firms are bearing the brunt of policy chaos. Now add in federal layoffs not captured in ADP data and it is no surprise voters are unhappy
November 6, 2025 at 3:55 AM
When the government reopens and we get the BLS jobs reports we've been missing, Trump is going to invade Venezuela, Nigeria, and maybe Denmark for good measure
Let's hope Trump strong-arms GOP senators into killing the filibuster. It'll be the best thing for Democrats and the country in the long run.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-fili...
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-fili...
Trump wants Republicans to kill the filibuster. Great!
In the long run, it would be good for Democrats and democracy.
www.publicnotice.co
November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Let's hope Trump strong-arms GOP senators into killing the filibuster. It'll be the best thing for Democrats and the country in the long run.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-fili...
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-fili...
Tuned in to Fox News, the conclusions were:
1. Dems did OK, I guess
2. This is actually good for Republicans because they can run against these Democratic wackos
1. Dems did OK, I guess
2. This is actually good for Republicans because they can run against these Democratic wackos
November 5, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Tuned in to Fox News, the conclusions were:
1. Dems did OK, I guess
2. This is actually good for Republicans because they can run against these Democratic wackos
1. Dems did OK, I guess
2. This is actually good for Republicans because they can run against these Democratic wackos