Ronald Brownstein

Why Republicans Still Don’t Care About Climate Change

Extreme-weather events represent an irresistible force for action. But an immovable object is in the way.

• Ronald Brownstein
• September 17, 2020

Democrats Won’t Cede the Streets This Time

The party learned a lesson from the 2000 recount fight: “We won’t have litigation on the left and thuggery and election disruption on the right.”

• Ronald Brownstein
• September 10, 2020

The Huge Snag in Trump’s Reelection Pitch

The president’s own volatility complicates his effort to convince Americans that he can stabilize their lives.

• Ronald Brownstein
• September 3, 2020

The Flight 93 Convention

The GOP’s apocalyptic rhetoric echoes a conservative call to arms during the 2016 election.

• Ronald Brownstein
• August 27, 2020

The Missing Piece in Biden’s Convention Speech

The Democratic Party took a gamble by not delivering a more targeted economic message to working- and middle-class families.

• Ronald Brownstein
• August 21, 2020

The Democratic Convention Is a Reality Check for Trump

Blue America is only growing.

• Ronald Brownstein
• August 19, 2020

Just How Far Will Trump Go?

The president has dramatically accelerated the pace of his efforts to weaponize the federal government to his advantage.

• Ronald Brownstein
• August 14, 2020

Kamala Harris’s Nomination Is a Turning Point for Democrats

It’s difficult to imagine the party nominating two white men for president and vice president ever again.

• Ronald Brownstein
• August 12, 2020

The Pandemic Is Damaging the GOP Brand Everywhere

The 2020 election undoubtedly offers Democrats their best chance yet to reclaim state legislative chambers across the country.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 31, 2020

America’s Cities Are Staggeringly Unequal

New data show how in every major metropolitan area, massive gaps still separate white people and people of color.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 23, 2020

Trump Is Determined to Split the Country in Two

He’s trying to rally red America by portraying blue cities as a threat, and then positioning himself as the human wall against them.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 22, 2020

The End of the Filibuster—No, Really

Many activists will not tolerate a Democratic-controlled Senate that allows Republicans to block civil-rights legislation next year.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 20, 2020

Real Reform Comes From Civic Stamina

For these social-justice groups, Americans’ protests against systemic racism represent the arrival of the cavalry.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 16, 2020

Trump’s America Is Slipping Away

He’s trying to assemble a winning coalition with a dwindling number of sympathetic white voters.

• Ronald Brownstein
• July 9, 2020

The Sun Belt Spikes Could Be a Disaster for Trump

Democrats were already gaining ground in the region before the pandemic hit.

• Ronald Brownstein
• June 25, 2020

The Rage Unifying Boomers and Gen Z

Enormous differences separate today’s protest movements from those of the 1960s. But they may ultimately prove united by the magnitude of the change they impose.

• Ronald Brownstein
• June 18, 2020

Why Republicans Still Can’t Quit Trump

The 2024 GOP presidential nominee is highly likely to be an acolyte of the president’s.

• Ronald Brownstein
• June 11, 2020

The Real Threats to America’s Cities

Both persistent inequality and President Trump’s hostility put extraordinary pressure on them.

• Ronald Brownstein
• June 4, 2020

The Advantage of a Biden Shadow Cabinet

If the former vice president names his future appointees now, it will cast him as the convener of a generational transition in national leadership.

• Ronald Brownstein
• May 28, 2020

The Pandemic Hasn’t Changed Voters’ Minds About Trump

Education remains the most important dividing line in America.

• Ronald Brownstein
• May 21, 2020