He has often remained silent when asked to take sides. Running for Senate in Georgia, that might not be possible.Illustration by Nigel BuchananIn the spring of 1980, in this little, isolated place in rural, middle Georgia, Black people clamored for equality and white people beat them with fists and sticks and chains. Bigots called Black protesters soulless animals and cannibals, brandished Confederate battle flags and sent shotgun blasts into Black families’ homes. Pastors and activists registered voters, and sued the sheriff and other local lawmen, and they marched. “Fired up!” hundreds...…He has often remained silent when asked to take sides. Running for Senate in Georgia, that might not be possible.Illustration by Nigel BuchananIn the spring of 1980, in this little, isolated place in rural, middle Georgia, Black people clamored for equality and white people beat them with fists and sticks and chains. Bigots called Black protesters soulless animals and cannibals, brandished Confederate battle flags and sent shotgun blasts into Black families’ homes. Pastors and activists registered voters, and sued the sheriff and other local lawmen, and they marched. “Fired up!” hundreds...WW…

The much-criticized and combative Florida governor has survived the Covid pandemic and Donald Trump. And that makes him unique in the GOP.Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times/ReduxHe was right.Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has been saying as much for weeks — in partisan speeches, on conservative cable, at often out-of-the-way vaccine sites around the state in quick-hit appearances as spartan as they are scripted. One recent breezy, sunny afternoon in rural central Florida, for instance, an extension cord stretched from the back of a small building here at the local community...…The much-criticized and combative Florida governor has survived the Covid pandemic and Donald Trump. And that makes him unique in the GOP.Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times/ReduxHe was right.Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has been saying as much for weeks — in partisan speeches, on conservative cable, at often out-of-the-way vaccine sites around the state in quick-hit appearances as spartan as they are scripted. One recent breezy, sunny afternoon in rural central Florida, for instance, an extension cord stretched from the back of a small building here at the local community...WW…

All Marjorie Taylor Greene ever wanted was someone to pay attention to her.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesALPHARETTA, Ga.—Marjorie Taylor Greene smacked her gum as she pretended to listen to a man in a dress read a book about a unicorn.It was late April of 2019. She sat in the rear of a room at the public library here near her home in this suburb north of Atlanta. Greene at the time as a mother, a business owner, a fitness trainer, a “supporter of the 2nd amendment,” “a patriot” and a “conservative blogger on social media,” and she had come to mount what she described as an “undercover” protest...…All Marjorie Taylor Greene ever wanted was someone to pay attention to her.Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesALPHARETTA, Ga.—Marjorie Taylor Greene smacked her gum as she pretended to listen to a man in a dress read a book about a unicorn.It was late April of 2019. She sat in the rear of a room at the public library here near her home in this suburb north of Atlanta. Greene at the time as a mother, a business owner, a fitness trainer, a “supporter of the 2nd amendment,” “a patriot” and a “conservative blogger on social media,” and she had come to mount what she described as an “undercover” protest...WW…

Getting the boot from the White House is an undeniable ego blow for a man who has never admitted defeat.AP Photo/Evan VucciDonald Trump has never had a week like the week he just had. On the heels of the Supreme Court’s and the Electoral College’s , some of his most reliable supporters—, , —acknowledged and affirmed the actual fact of the matter. Trump is a .Consequently, he is plainly out of sorts, say former close associates, longtime Trump watchers and mental health experts.It’s not just his odd behavior—the testy, session with the press, the stilted Medal of Freedom that ended with his...…Getting the boot from the White House is an undeniable ego blow for a man who has never admitted defeat.AP Photo/Evan VucciDonald Trump has never had a week like the week he just had. On the heels of the Supreme Court’s and the Electoral College’s , some of his most reliable supporters—, , —acknowledged and affirmed the actual fact of the matter. Trump is a .Consequently, he is plainly out of sorts, say former close associates, longtime Trump watchers and mental health experts.It’s not just his odd behavior—the testy, session with the press, the stilted Medal of Freedom that ended with his...WW…

Ron DeSantis rode a Trump tweet to victory in Florida. Can he keep the pandemic at bay long enough to return the favor?Illustration by Zach MeyerTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis wanted names.We were in his office here in Florida’s Covid-shuttered Capitol, three reporters wearing masks spread out across from a non-masked DeSantis—stocky, suited and seated behind his desk stacked with thick binders and folders filled with county-by-county coronavirus data. He was flanked by two also maskless staffers and surrounded by carefully curated images and totems—snapshots of him in his Navy whites...…Ron DeSantis rode a Trump tweet to victory in Florida. Can he keep the pandemic at bay long enough to return the favor?Illustration by Zach MeyerTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ron DeSantis wanted names.We were in his office here in Florida’s Covid-shuttered Capitol, three reporters wearing masks spread out across from a non-masked DeSantis—stocky, suited and seated behind his desk stacked with thick binders and folders filled with county-by-county coronavirus data. He was flanked by two also maskless staffers and surrounded by carefully curated images and totems—snapshots of him in his Navy whites...WW…

The Department of Justice can appoint a special counsel. It will help keep politics out of holding Trump accountable.POLITICO illustration; Getty/iStockOn January 20, 2021, Donald Trump will no longer be the President of the United States. Later that year, he may become the first former president to face a criminal indictment. Trump is worried about being arrested, and he should be.President-elect Joe Biden also has something to worry about: how to handle the misconduct of the 45th president.This was always going to be a dilemma for Trump’s successor. After an openly self-dealing president...…The Department of Justice can appoint a special counsel. It will help keep politics out of holding Trump accountable.POLITICO illustration; Getty/iStockOn January 20, 2021, Donald Trump will no longer be the President of the United States. Later that year, he may become the first former president to face a criminal indictment. Trump is worried about being arrested, and he should be.President-elect Joe Biden also has something to worry about: how to handle the misconduct of the 45th president.This was always going to be a dilemma for Trump’s successor. After an openly self-dealing president...WW…

After five years, we have learned who he really is.Ever since he rode down , Donald Trump has been the most paid-attention-to person on Earth. Perhaps no other political figure in American history has generated such reams of coverage trying to decipher patterns of behavior.It has been well-documented that the 45th president operates with evident disregard for norms and rules. But over the past 5 ½ years of reporting I have determined that he abides by a firm code of conduct as predictable as it is confounding. In more than 60 stories in the that came to be known as “,” I documented how his...…After five years, we have learned who he really is.Ever since he rode down , Donald Trump has been the most paid-attention-to person on Earth. Perhaps no other political figure in American history has generated such reams of coverage trying to decipher patterns of behavior.It has been well-documented that the 45th president operates with evident disregard for norms and rules. But over the past 5 ½ years of reporting I have determined that he abides by a firm code of conduct as predictable as it is confounding. In more than 60 stories in the that came to be known as “,” I documented how his...WW…

Jeh Johnson, the former Homeland Security chief, was asked by school officials to deliver a message their students “need to hear.”Photo by Titus PettmanFriday morning at , the Christian school that Jerry Falwell Jr. ran until forced him out, the more than 100,000 students enrolled at the conservative bastion in Lynchburg, Virginia, will listen to a convocation address about the importance in leadership of “character, integrity and morality”—delivered by a trusted lieutenant of Barack Obama., the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the last three years of the preceding...…Jeh Johnson, the former Homeland Security chief, was asked by school officials to deliver a message their students “need to hear.”Photo by Titus PettmanFriday morning at , the Christian school that Jerry Falwell Jr. ran until forced him out, the more than 100,000 students enrolled at the conservative bastion in Lynchburg, Virginia, will listen to a convocation address about the importance in leadership of “character, integrity and morality”—delivered by a trusted lieutenant of Barack Obama., the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for the last three years of the preceding...WW…

A pandemic like this could paralyze the government just when we need it most.Members of Congress fill a small room to get a briefing from administration officials on the coronavirus response in February. | Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesAs congressional leaders sniped their way through the coronavirus crisis this week—wrestling with how to act and avert a massive economic shock amid a quickly evolving tsunami of national closures, collapsing stock prices and a worsening pandemic—an even more ominous thought hung in the background of Capitol Hill: A pandemic, particularly one whose primary victims...…A pandemic like this could paralyze the government just when we need it most.Members of Congress fill a small room to get a briefing from administration officials on the coronavirus response in February. | Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesAs congressional leaders sniped their way through the coronavirus crisis this week—wrestling with how to act and avert a massive economic shock amid a quickly evolving tsunami of national closures, collapsing stock prices and a worsening pandemic—an even more ominous thought hung in the background of Capitol Hill: A pandemic, particularly one whose primary victims...WW…