Mona Charen

Why yes I have watched the video of my grandson's first smiles about nine times. Why do you ask?

A Manifesto for Liberal Trans Activism How to truly win hearts and minds.

This is sensible and humane. A Manifesto for Liberal Trans Activism www.persuasion.community/p/a-manifest...

This is the most fun I've had writing in weeks.

It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security Don’t underestimate how Trump and his allies will attempt to control the outcome of the midterms.

Shutdown is in rear view mirror. Time to prepare to secure free and fair vote in 2026. It’s Time to Pivot to 2026 Election Security www.thebulwark.com/p/its-time-t...

Going through old photos. Here's one I snapped of the Rose Garden when I worked in the Reagan White House. And here's what Trump has done to it.

Even non-MAGA people are agreeing that one reason the 2025 elections went so badly for Rs was because Trump wasn't on the ballot. Has everyone forgotten that he was on the ballot in 2020?

Which Conservative Justices Will Fall for Trump’s Tariff Power Grab? Emergency powers “tend to kindle emergencies,” as a great justice of yore once observed.

Recalling what some conservatives said about Biden's power grab. Which Conservative Justices Will Fall for Trump’s Tariff Power Grab? www.thebulwark.com/p/which-cons...

Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84

This is the longest obit I've ever read. But it was a way to relive an era that seems eons ago. Dick Cheney, Powerful Vice President and Washington Insider, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/u...

Trump’s Targeting of ‘Narcoterrorists’ Is a Crime in Itself Shoot first, ask questions when?

Trump’s Targeting of ‘Narcoterrorists’ Is a Crime in Itself
www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-targ...

‘You Don’t Want Peace?’ A reply to Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R., Fla.)

Jay dissects the new 'useful idiots' of the right with characteristic verve. ‘You Don’t Want Peace?’ www.jaynordlinger.com/p/you-dont-w...

Toxic Femininity Helen Andrews’s simplistic and reductionist views of gender.

The right is making a big mistake. Toxic Femininity www.thebulwark.com/p/toxic-femi...

Trump’s White House Renovation Is Awful—and Fitting The president doesn’t respect what the executive mansion stands for, so why would he respect its architecture?

I wrote about this back in August, when few noticed what Trump was up with the East Wing (where I once worked). It holds up well I think. Trump’s White House Renovation Is Awful—and Fitting www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-whit...

‘Who Are We?’ &c. On Trump’s court; singers and their voices; the colorful fall; and more

Is anyone better read than Jay Nordlinger? Also, those photos at the end look like they were snapped by a professional! ‘Who Are We?’ &c. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/who-are-we...

The Good Fight Club: Trump’s New Ballroom, a Looming Attack on Venezuela, and Why Social Media Explains the Rise of Populism Francis Fukuyama, Mona Charen, and Yascha Mounk dissect this week’s news.

Great conversation with two great thinkers: Frank Fukuyama and Yascha Mounk. www.persuasion.community/p/the-good-f...

A profile in cowardice.

What Progressives Keep Getting Wrong Graham Platner is the perfect embodiment of the left’s strategy for returning to power. This is a problem.

Killer line: "You’d think it would be possible for Democrats to find a normal person who is not a one-man Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact." www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Trump’s Mar-a-White House The president is desecrating a symbol of liberal democracy and replacing it with a tacky, bloated eyesore.

A bitter lament. Trump’s Mar-a-White House www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-mar-...

East Wing, not East Room.

All these "hate America" rally attendees.

Pocket Constitutions, flags, Founders costumes, humor. And

From DC No Kings rally today.

Amazing crowd in DC No Kings today. What is that feeling? Oh yeah, tiny bit of optimism.

This is my favorite from the DC No Kings rally.

The Long Road to Peace and Trump’s Short Attention Span The Israel–Hamas ceasefire is a welcome achievement—but the next steps are vague and the president lacks the temperament to get more.

A ceasefire is good, but it is not peace. The Long Road to Peace and Trump’s Short Attention Span www.thebulwark.com/p/long-road-...

Bari Weiss, CBS News, and the Triumph of Faux Balance The record of the Free Press shows her journey from independent to MAGA fellow traveler.

Another brilliant exposition by Cathy Young. Bari Weiss, CBS News, and the Triumph of Faux Balance www.thebulwark.com/p/bari-weiss...

Just wondering what the odds are that tariffs on Norway will spike if the Nobel committee awards the peace prize to anyone but the big orange appetite in the White House?

We Hate Each Other More than We Understand A great deal more than we understand each other.

There remains an opening for a unifying leader in the US. We Hate Each Other More than We Understand www.thebulwark.com/p/violence-h...

So looking forward to this event on Monday with the brilliant @hollybfletcher.bsky.social. Do join us!