Husband. Father. Happy Grandparent. covered politics for a long time for @washingtonpost. Infrequent tweeter.
Washington, DC
Joined July 2009
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Congrats, Katie! Smart judges.
Very pleased to have been selected as one of @PressAwardsuk 30 under 30 winners!
The judges very kindly praised my investigations into the Royal family’s finances, the Epstein files and fraud on Meta platforms
Congrats to all the winners: tinyurl.com/2s4ykdxt
Patrick! Congratulations. Love the bust of Lord Salisbury. A keeper.
Honoured to have won Political Journalist of the Year — and my very own bust of Lord Salisbury — at the London Press Club Awards today. Congrats too to victorious colleagues @Gabriel_Pogrund and @larisamlbrown
We all learned a lot from Mark. RIP?
Dan Balz retweeted
A special moment last night at the @HarvardIOP
“To give you some idea of what the IOP means to our family, my uncle Teddy, who was not even the chair, did not miss one meeting in 47 years, and he took attendance of the rest of us,” [Caroline] Kennedy said. “He didn’t do it because he wanted control. He did it because he cared.”
Kennedy also praised her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., who she said “was ahead of his time in recognizing that politics, popular culture, and energy were converging.” She noted that the IOP was “the first of its kind” and has inspired more than 50 similar institutes in the U.S. and abroad.
“Today, this is still a living memorial for President Kennedy, the one he probably would have most enjoyed,” she said.
thecrimson.com/article/2026/…
Hurray! Such good news. A great hire for the NYT.
Some personal news: I’m incredibly excited to have joined The New York Times in London. I am still pinching myself a little. nytco.com/press/a-new-hire-j…
Dan Balz retweeted
Blockbuster @washingtonpost reporting by @DavidNakamura and @mradamtaylor -- washingtonpost.com/politics/…
Dan Balz retweeted
Sad. Roger Simon was one of a rare kind, a great columnist, better man, terrific friend and Chicago through and through. Read what his many friends and admirers have to say and think good thought about his wife Marcia. chicagotribune.com/2026/09/1…
The Post asked me to write about Roger. Here is my appreciation, an extended version of this morning’s posting. I hope the link works.
wapo.st/3TjxcqW
I am so sad to report that Roger Simon died early this morning. He had been ill for some months but went peacefully at the end. He was a brilliant journalist, a gifted columnist, the author of many books about presidential campaigns and other things. He was also wickedly funny. He was courageous in the face of adversity that befell him more than a dozen years ago. So much to be admired. He was Chicago born and worked there and in Baltimore before closing out his remarkable career in Washington, lastly at Politico. He and I met as college journalists and he and his wife Marcia became the dearest of friends with my wife Nancy and me for 60 years. I mourn his loss and know so many others will too. RIP, Friend.
W navigated this issue well in 1999, holding off formal campaigning until early summer but putting the machinery in place—including fundraising ops—well ahead. Nothing coy about intentions or preparations. Of course, he had advantages, including support from most fellow govs, that these D govs don’t have.
New: Top aides for DeSantis' failed 2024 campaign have a warning for Dem governors eyeing a 2028 run: Don't wait too long after midterms to jump into the race.
My look at how Shapiro, Moore, Pritzker,& Beshear are navigating the DeSantis leg session trap.
axios.com/2026/09/06/democra…
Agree that this song is one of her best, and while this rendition is beautifully done, I like the upbeat tempo from her original on the album of the same name.
My nominee for most underappreciated Dolly Parton song: Light of a Clear Blue Morning.
Here's the @thewailinjennys beautiful cover. Goosebumps every time.
youtube.com/watch?v=F1nSW7Jd…
Des Moines County (not city of Des Moines in Polk) swung 25 points. It had voted Democratic in the 10 previous. Mower County in southern Minnesota swung by 30 points. It had voted Democratic in the 13 previous elections. Democrats’ problems in rural America now seem baked in.
Where do Democrats go wrong in rural America? And why is the brand in such bad shape? I think about places like Howard County, Iowa. Obama carried that. And Trump just comes in and rolls in that kind of a place. North, central Iowa, rural parts of Iowa. Why is the Democratic brand in such bad shape in those kinds of places?
I guess at the end of the day what I would say is there are a lot of folks out there that actually don’t vote on party. Howard County, you picked it — single biggest swing county in America, 40-point swing. And I know this, this is my neck of the woods. I grew up in Winneshiek, one county over, so these are my people, and I actually think that many of them voted for Obama twice and for Trump for the same reason, not because these people changed, but because those two guys are the same in a way. They’re true to themselves, and they don’t feel or act like ordinary politicians. Look at who the Democrats nominated for three presidential cycles in a row: insiders.
When Democrats tend to nominate insiders, they lose presidentials. When they nominate people who can run as change agents, as outsiders, they tend to win, right?
I think that’s reasonable.
youtube.com/watch?v=MIp9HRxM…
What is striking is how rural counties that had often supported Democratic nominees swung dramatically and most are not swinging back. Howard County swung big from 2012 to 2016, but it had voted for the Democratic nominee in 7 consecutive elections before Trump won it. Jackson County, Iowa, had a 36-point swing. It too had voted Democratic in the 7 previous elections.
Where do Democrats go wrong in rural America? And why is the brand in such bad shape? I think about places like Howard County, Iowa. Obama carried that. And Trump just comes in and rolls in that kind of a place. North, central Iowa, rural parts of Iowa. Why is the Democratic brand in such bad shape in those kinds of places?
I guess at the end of the day what I would say is there are a lot of folks out there that actually don’t vote on party. Howard County, you picked it — single biggest swing county in America, 40-point swing. And I know this, this is my neck of the woods. I grew up in Winneshiek, one county over, so these are my people, and I actually think that many of them voted for Obama twice and for Trump for the same reason, not because these people changed, but because those two guys are the same in a way. They’re true to themselves, and they don’t feel or act like ordinary politicians. Look at who the Democrats nominated for three presidential cycles in a row: insiders.
When Democrats tend to nominate insiders, they lose presidentials. When they nominate people who can run as change agents, as outsiders, they tend to win, right?
I think that’s reasonable.
youtube.com/watch?v=MIp9HRxM…
Dan Balz retweeted
We're pleased to introduce our IOP Fall 2026 Resident Fellows: Ambassador Kelly Craft, Governor Doug Ducey, Ambassador Chris Lu, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Ambassador Nathalie Rayes, and Chris Whipple!
Learn more: iop.harvard.edu/fellows
Dan Balz retweeted
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 14, 2026 – National Press Club President @MarkSchoeff Jr. released the following statement today:
Dan Balz retweeted
The Washington Post’s newsroom was diminished this year. How could it not be, with the loss of so many great reporters?
But there are still so many terrific journalists at The Post — tough, fair, smart and sourced — breaking big stories. @DanLamothe and this team among them.
EXCLUSIVE: Contradicting public statements, Trump took secret flight from Turkey amid Iranian threat
washingtonpost.com/national-…
Dan Balz retweeted
Why/how did Trump's secret flight from Turkey leak? @DanLamothe to @kaitlancollins: "This came to the Post in part because individuals thought that there was a hole in public understanding here that needed to be clarified."
Dan Balz retweeted
I’ve traveled overseas with multiple presidents and recognize that subterfuge is sometimes a necessary safeguard. But misleading reporters in the moment and, worse yet, continuing to lie to the American people weeks later is never acceptable. As far as I know, it’s unique to this White House.
Dan Balz retweeted
My favorite part: This Turkish catering truck nonchalantly moving from Air Force One to the other plane
Scoop: Trump flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft unbeknownst to journalists and some White House staff members who believed they were on the same plane as the president, The Post has learned. w/ @DanLamothe @abtran & @joyceslee washingtonpost.com/national-…
Dan Balz retweeted
With huge hat-tip to WaPo for a massive scoop, and matching some of their reporting, @EricSchmittNYT and me on the Trump admin ruse to fly him out of Turkey with AF1 and the reporters on board as unwitting decoys nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/po…
