Andrew Exum

Review | In her new book, Biden’s former press secretary lets Democrats have it Karine Jean-Pierre’s memoir offers a critique of Biden and the Democrats that is outdated, impractical and driven more by personal grievance than policy.

One of the best book reviews I have read in a long time. www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...

Like, I bet there are a lot of people in Miami who want to talk about the fact that the commander of SOUTHCOM has elected to retire early. If I’m the NYT or WSJ, I would put some of the team you had covering the Pentagon into your Miami bureau.

We have an MLB subscription. You can’t wait the playoffs games live on the app (annoying) but you can watch the replays.

My friendly advice for any news outlet struggling to now cover the Pentagon would be to adopt a COCOM-based strategy for coverage. Send reporters down to Tampa and Miami and Colorado Springs and have them develop sources there. The COCOMs were often “leakier” than the Building anyway.

I’m obviously rooting against the Dodgers in the playoffs, but I still woke my sons up early today to watch the Ohtani performance over breakfast before they play baseball later this morning. Greatest individual performance in a game ever, no question.

This week has confirmed my suspicion that Biden’s Middle East policies will look worse, and will be even more embarrassing for Democrats, with the passage of time.

‘Bow to the Emperor’: We Asked 50 Legal Experts About the Trump Presidency

A survey of the Washington legal establishment, evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats, captured almost universal fear and anguish over the transformation of the Justice Department into a tool of the White House. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/m...

There is a bottomless pit of money out there for journalists willing to speak untruths to power. If you’re willing to soothe billionaires by telling them everything they want to hear, and telling them all of the criticism they face is misguided, the world is your oyster.

I know a lot of conservatives will say, “well, if they’re not on the Trump Train, good riddance” but I don’t think these people understand how labor markets work and dramatically overestimate how easy it will be to expeditiously attract competent legal talent to take the places of those leaving.

I don’t think people outside Washington, DC appreciate how bad the brain drain from the Department of Justice is. It’s in no one’s interests — neither the people’s, nor the Trump Administration — yet I do not know of a single lawyer at DOJ who hasn’t either left already or isn’t weighing leaving.

I hear it’s gotten bougie! Walthamstow Village was always like that, a little, but now apparently it’s all fancy? I moved away in 2008 and don’t think I would recognize it now!

I make the same mistake each Saturday, starting with Life & Arts and then reading the hard news. By Sunday I’ve calmed down enough to read House & Home. But in seriousness, and from a former E17er myself, keep up the great work. Love your reporting and analysis.

Scariest, most depressing thing I have read today.

Me too. I filed a claim.

Great command of the language on display here

big part of this is because they sent the health reporters, not the political reporters

You don’t need credentials to cover the military. There are four Starbucks within walking distance of the Pentagon.

Congrats to the hosts of the All-In Podcasts, you are the biggest marks on the whole planet.

You almost certainly aren’t going to get out of the war crimes tribunal by producing a letter that you solicited because you were aware that the legality of your orders was questionable.

This is how you drive talented people out of the force.

How the Sauna Became the Hottest Place to Network Sweating in elite new supersize saunas like Othership and Bathhouse—with anywhere from one to 90 other people—produces a unique sort of connection.

Great to see the WSJ challenging the NYT on the Fake Trends beat. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...

My guy’s entire schtick for at least a decade has been all about how we have to make hard choices to confront the threat from China — it’s been his response to Ukraine, the Middle East, everything. And now … this. It’s perfectly fine to not invite this guy to your think tank panels or whatever.

Pentagon plan prioritizes homeland over China threat This marks a major departure from the first Trump administration, which emphasized deterring Beijing.

This is yet another reminder that Elbridge Colby believes in nothing so much as he believes in Elbridge Colby’s career, and it’s been okay to not take him seriously since January 6, 2021. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

not being talked about enough: the biggest financial success for the president’s family since the inauguration

There is a bottomless pool of capital available to those willing to entertain and promote the idea that the views of the wealthiest, most privileged people in America are, in fact, unfairly underrepresented in the discourse. Our guy is dropping $200m on an “investment” with no real expected returns.

I have been teaching my three oldest the principles of both marksmanship and firearms safety with a Tikka T1x in .22LR. It’s honestly not any different than how I was trained by my father. Great little rimfire rifle.

I grew up in Tennessee and remember guns both omnipresent yet not fetishized. It was not uncommon for a shotgun or rifle to be propped up in a corner, i.e. not in a safe. The proliferation and fetishization of AR-15s and handguns since makes teaching firearms safety an urgent and necessary task.

My controversial position is that since we have made the decision as a nation to arm ourselves to the hilt, almost without restrictions, we need to teach our children basic firearms safety. My three oldest kids all know what to do if they come across a firearm and the fundamentals of gun safety.

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