Despite polls that consistently showed Donald Trump running a competitive race in 2016‚ his winning the presidency came as a shock to most of official Washington‚ the media‚ and other “sense-making” institutions in this country. The sight of such a norm-breaking figure taking the highest office in the land seemed to unscrew the loosest screws. Trump’s behavior — whether throwing a Starburst candy at Angela Merkel (“Don’t say I never give you anything”) or tweeting about how his nuclear “button...

Donald Trump is leading President Biden in six of the seven most competitive states in the 2024 election‚ propelled by broad voter dissatisfaction with the national economy and deep doubts about Biden’s capabilities and job performance‚ a new Wall Street Journal poll finds. The poll of the election’s main battlegrounds shows Trump holding leads of between 2 and 8 percentage points in six states—Pennsylvania‚ Michigan‚ Arizona‚ Georgia‚ Nevada and North Carolina—on a test ballot that includes...

Liberals lately have been imagining‚ with some trepidation‚ what a second Donald Trump administration might look like. The Atlantic devoted its January/February issue to the subject. The New York Times editorial board warned in January that“Re-electing Mr. Trump would present serious dangers to our Republic and to the world.” In this magazine‚ Alexander Nazaryan took a lighter approach‚ inviting readers to chuckle at the possibility of Michael Flynn as defense secretary‚ Kid Rock as interior...

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and former President Trump brought in a combined $65.6 million in March and ended the month with over $93.1 million cash on hand‚ the groups said Wednesday. Why it matters: The cash on hand total is more than double what Trump and the RNC ended February with ($44.8 million)‚ as they seek to close the fundraising gap with President Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The Biden campaign and DNC ended February with $97.5 million on hand...

In the worst conditions you can imagine — after hurricanes‚ earthquakes‚ bombs and gunfire — the best of humanity shows up. Not once or twice but always. The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity. They are not faceless or nameless. They are not generic aid workers or collateral damage in war. Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha‚ John Chapman‚ Jacob Flickinger‚ Zomi Frankcom‚ James Henderson‚ James Kirby and Damian Sobol risked...

Shortly after an airstrike widely attributed to Israel destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Syria‚ the United States had an urgent message for Iran: We had nothing to do with it. But that may not be enough for the U.S. to avoid retaliation targeting its forces in the region. A top U.S. commander warned on Wednesday of danger to American troops. And if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent broadening of targeted strikes on adversaries around the region to include Iranian...

The White House on Wednesday pushed back on a proposal to move the U.S.-led group coordinating weapons delivery for Ukraine under the leadership of NATO. John Kirby‚ White House national security communications adviser‚ raised doubts about having the U.S. step aside from leading the Ramstein Group‚ a once-a-month meeting of 50-plus nations coordinating weapons deliveries for Ukraine. “It is bigger than NATO‚ it’s 50 some-odd nations all around the world‚ including in the Indo-Pacific —...

American workers who changed jobs in March saw their salaries shoot up‚ a sign of how much companies are putting in extra effort to attract employees at a time when the labor market is offering millions of jobs for whoever is looking for a job. Last month‚ employees who moved into new roles saw their earnings jump 10 percent‚ the second straight increase. In February‚ pay for these workers went up by nearly 8 percent. Meanwhile‚ for workers who stayed in their current positions‚ wage gains...

Even with hot artificial intelligence startups scoring hefty investment rounds at massive valuations‚ the broader venture funding environment remains ice cold. Deal volume for U.S. venture investments in the first quarter sank to its lowest level since 2017‚ according to data published this week by PitchBook. The story was similar across the globe‚ with worldwide volume reaching its lowest since 2016 and total deal value falling to a level not seen since 2019. The dearth of dealmaking...

Democrats are sounding the alarm on Nebraska as Republicans‚ including Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and former President Donald Trump‚ push an effort to award all of the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the statewide vote. On Tuesday‚ Pillen formally joined the conservative-led effort to change the way Nebraska awards electoral votes. Currently‚ the state deviates from the winner-take-all method and awards votes based on the congressional district. In other...