Isaac Dovere

The conventional wisdom in DC is that it will take “a crisis” to end the shutdown—but it’s a question of what counts as “a crisis”: something like major flight delays b/c of controller shortages or something like the millions who won’t be able to buy groceries w/o government assistance.

Democratic socialists see their moment in Zohran Mamdani’s rise | CNN Politics Mamdani’s emergence is the biggest electoral achievement the DSA has ever had, well beyond the scattered state legislature and city council seats flipped their way in recent years.

NEW from me: a rising DSA sees major inspiration from Mamdani.

Meetings are full. Other offices are being won. They’re dominating conversations.

But actual ranks are still small. The NYC chapter has doubled since Mamdani’s primary win…to now about 11k. www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/p...

Sen. Chris Murphy, first politician to speak at the DC No Kings rally:

“There aren’t establishment Republicans riding to our rescue. The mainstream media isn’t riding to our rescue. There are no oligarchs riding to our rescue. It is up to us to save us.”

Takeaways from the first general election debate in the NYC mayoral race | CNN Politics Zohran Mamdani was pushed to provide specifics about his plans if he’s elected mayor of New York City in the campaign’s first fall debate, hammered by his two older rivals who painted him as unprepare...

Missed the first NYC mayoral general election debate but want to know what happened and who struggled where in the Mamdani-Sliwa-Cuomo face-off? Takeaways from Gloria Pazmino and me: www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/p...

Ahead of NYC mayor’s race debate, Cuomo hopes for a chance while Mamdani hopes for a mandate | CNN Politics Andrew Cuomo is now running a campaign of attrition, hoping to get enough voters to come to him as the choice they’re least unhappy with. Zohran Mamdani wants to win by a margin big enough that he can...

the first NYC mayoral debate is about to begin -- catch up on what's going on with the race and how tonight factors in with my story from today here: www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/p...

Ahead of NYC mayor’s race debate, Cuomo hopes for a chance while Mamdani hopes for a mandate | CNN Politics Andrew Cuomo is now running a campaign of attrition, hoping to get enough voters to come to him as the choice they’re least unhappy with. Zohran Mamdani wants to win by a margin big enough that he can...

NEW from me - ahead of the first NYC mayoral debate, the state of the wacky race with under three weeks to go: Cuomo hopes for a chance, Mamdani hopes for a mandate:

If there’s such energy for Mamdani, Cuomo insisted,

“Then why isn’t he at 50%? Boom!” www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/p...

here are the proposed designs Trump was showing off to rich donors for the massive arch he wants to build in Washington, per images captured by a pool camera:

Rep. Seth Moulton invokes age in launching Democratic primary challenge against Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts | CNN Politics Invoking the specter of Joe Biden and decrying Democrats whom he says have “clung to the status quo, insisted on using the same old playbook – and isn’t fighting hard enough,” Rep. Seth Moulton launch...

NEW - 46 year old Seth Moulton launches primary challenge to 79 year old Senator Ed Markey in Massachusetts:

“The next generation will keep paying the cost if we don’t change course. This isn’t a fight we can put off for another six years.” www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...

At raucous rally, Mamdani argues he’s leading a movement beyond the NYC mayor’s race | CNN Politics Declaring that he is leading a “movement that won the battle over the soul of the Democratic Party,” Zohran Mamdani used a raucous rally with over 3,000 supporters in Manhattan’s Washington Heights on...

NEW from me - NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declared last night to a rally of over 3,000 supporters that he is leading a “movement that won the battle over the soul of the Democratic Party,” that is much bigger than his bid for City Hall. www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/p...

Obama rips concessions that businesses and others have made to Trump | CNN Politics Barack Obama ripped into the law firms, universities and businesses that have worked out settlements or other deals with President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that “We all have this capacit...

Obama said he particularly enjoyed a Maron bit when the comedian jokes that progressives annoyed the average American into fascism.

“I think this was a fault of some progressive language, was almost asserting a holier-than-thou superiority" www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/p...

Obama rips concessions that businesses and others have made to Trump | CNN Politics Barack Obama ripped into the law firms, universities and businesses that have worked out settlements or other deals with President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that “We all have this capacit...

Obama on James Talarico, the Texas state rep running for Senate:

a “terrific, a really talented young man,” whose podcast appearances show “a certain confidence in your actual convictions to debate and have a conversation w/somebody who disagrees w/you.” www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/p...

Obama rips concessions that businesses and others have made to Trump | CNN Politics Barack Obama ripped into the law firms, universities and businesses that have worked out settlements or other deals with President Donald Trump’s administration, arguing that “We all have this capacit...

NEW - Obama is @marcmaron's final @WTFpod guest.

Lots in there, including ripping into firms, universities & businesses that have made concessions to Trump:
“We’re not going to be bullied ... based on some criteria that’s been cooked up by Steve Miller" www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/p...

Kamala Harris issues sharp words about political climate | CNN Politics Speaking at the “Day of Unreasonable Conversation” summit, an invitation-only event for writers in Los Angeles, former vice president Kamala Harris had some harsh words on the current political moment...

Kamala Harris: "There's so much about this moment that is trying to make people feel like they've lost their minds - when in fact, these motherfuckers are crazy." www.cnn.com/2025/10/08/p...

The speaker of the House suggesting a major shift might be coming after saying he just read a headline on the topic:

Mamdani's statement as a mayoral candidate on the two-year anniversary of Oct. 7 calling it a "horrific war crime" & criticizing Israel and America in the aftermath vs Mamdani's statement from two years ago (on the day after) referring to "ongoing violence" & criticizing Israel:

Live updates: National Guard deployment latest and state and cities’ lawsuits | CNN The Trump administration’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Democrat-led cities have prompted a legal showdown. Follow here for the latest.

yesterday, Stephen Miller claimed "ICE officers have to street battle against Antifa, hand-to-hand combat every night to come and go from their building" in Portland.

here's what Shimon Prokupecz saw in Portland of what those interactions look like: www.cnn.com/us/live-news...

Pritzker also speaking out against the NGA over National Guard:

actions “that sidestep, eliminate or otherwise reduce Governors’ authority within their states and territories undermine longstanding partnerships, precedence, military readiness and operational efficacy.”

Newsom says he’s on the verge of quitting the National Govs Association: “should not be difficult … regardless of partisan affiliation, to agree that politicizing our states’ Natl Guard and deploying… over the objections of the home-state Governor,harms the interests of states”

At event in DC, Sen. Chris Van Hollen keeps it going with Hakeem
Jeffries over not endorsing @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social: if you can’t back the kind of campaign he ran, “don’t ask those young people to show up for other Democrats across the country — that’s the message that will be sent.”

Jeffries, who has been getting more confrontational with Trump, on last night’s video from the President mocking him: “say it to my face”

Kamala Harris is figuring out what’s next as her new book draws criticism from many corners | CNN Politics On what otherwise would have been her 247th day in the White House, Kamala Harris was in New York to finish the first stops of the tour for her book about the 107 days of the campaign that didn’t get ...

Massive sales show how Harris’s book is landing differently than in the insider political world, which has largely responded by saying they hate the book and she should go away.

More on that, and her take on it from our interview, from my story here: www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/p...

Kamala Harris is figuring out what’s next as her new book draws criticism from many corners | CNN Politics On what otherwise would have been her 247th day in the White House, Kamala Harris was in New York to finish the first stops of the tour for her book about the 107 days of the campaign that didn’t get ...

Harris’s 1st draft was sent back to her to add more interesting material.

Then the book was on its 5th printing by the day after its release.

“It’s very nice to have something up there with a romantasy novel,” the Barnes & Noble CEO told me re sales.
www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/p...

Kamala Harris is trying to figure out what’s next | CNN Politics On what otherwise would have been her 247th day in the White House, Kamala Harris was in New York to finish the first stops of the tour for her book about the 107 days of the campaign that didn’t get ...

“I don’t think this is about nostalgia,” Harris told me. “I wrote the book with the intention that this would be about remembering where we were, only for the purposes of contextualizing this moment, and then thinking about where we have to go.” www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/p...

A police officer’s death tested what Zohran Mamdani truly believes | CNN Politics As Zohran Mamdani was asleep on another continent, his top campaign aides wrangled over how he should sound in his statement about the off-duty police officer who had just been shot and killed in Midt...

NEW from me: what does Mamdani actually believe about police, beyond his platform now?

His campaign declined to answer specifics including re new video we found when he calls for “abolition” & police union “power is built on the murder of Black people” www.cnn.com/2025/09/28/p...

Kamala Harris tells CNN she’s outraged by the indictment of James Comey | CNN Politics Even as she reflects on last year’s campaign in touring for her new book, Kamala Harris has been weaving in critiques of President Donald Trump’s second term that came out of her loss – and FBI Direct...

NEW - Kamala Harris to me this afternoon:

“It’s painful to see. I mean what’s happening with Comey: Are you fucking kidding me? The United States Department of Justice?”

www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/p...

As happened at an Obama event last week, Harris tonight in New York was interrupted by protesters screaming about Gaza. As Obama did, she responded in part that she doesn’t have any foreign policy power right now.

Protesters like these have not been at any Trump or Vance events.

At first book event in NY, Harris is interrupted by screaming pro-Palestinian protestors. When another woman screamed back, Harris says,

“Let’s bring the temperature down—unlike the current president.”

Then:
“What’s happening right now in Gaza is outrageous and breaks my heart”

Mamdani and Harris talk by phone days after she endorsed him in NYC mayor’s race | CNN Politics Kamala Harris is in New York for the start of her book tour, but she also took care of a little political business while in town: fielding a call on Wednesday afternoon from Zohran Mamdani, the Democr...

Mamdani called Kamala Harris this afternoon to thank her for her support, two people familiar with the call tell me. Harris told her New York needs to be successful and that means he needs to be successful. www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/p...

Obama’s advice, socialists’ demands, meetings with skeptics: Inside Mamdani’s prep to run New York City | CNN Politics The Democratic nominee for New York City mayor has reached beyond his small circle of advisers and democratic socialist allies as he’s thinking about how he will make his big campaign promises happen....

Mamdani orbit to those who question whether he can govern as mayor, via top adviser Morris Katz:

Their campaign was “dismissed by every pundit to a historic victory & it will be that same culture of excellence that delivers the change this city deserves.” www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/p...

Obama’s advice, socialists’ demands, meetings with skeptics: Inside Mamdani’s prep to run New York City | CNN Politics The Democratic nominee for New York City mayor has reached beyond his small circle of advisers and democratic socialist allies as he’s thinking about how he will make his big campaign promises happen....

NEW from me:
Obama pivoted from praise to a warning.

You’ve got the inspiration part down, the former president told Zohran Mamdani, but there’s a lot riding on governing.

...inside the success & struggles as Mamdani starts to think about running NYC www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/p...