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The Best & The Brightest

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Tara Palmeri Tara Palmeri

Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, I’m Tara
Palmeri
. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Day and are easing back into real life—which is coming at us fast. Tomorrow at noon, the House will vote on whether to keep Speaker Mike Johnson or go into another tailspin à la January 2023. Hang on. 

 

In tonight’s edition, my conversation with presidential historian Douglas Brinkley
on Joe Biden’s uncertain legacy, the plans Trump may have to undo some of that legacy in his first 100 days, and whether Biden should have handed Kamala the keys to the White House right after that disastrous debate. We also ponder whether some distance and another Trump term might give his reputation a boost…

 

But first, here’s Abby Livingston with a preview of
tomorrow’s nail-biter vote for House speaker...

Abby Livingston Abby Livingston
 

Chip Shot

On the eve of tomorrow’s House speaker vote, all eyes are on Texas Rep. Chip
Roy
, an inveterate budget hawk and occasional iconoclast, as the canary in the coalmine for any effort to...

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Biden & His Discontents

Biden & His Discontents

A hard and honest conversation with presidential historian Douglas
Brinkley about the strange end of the Biden era, how his legacy will be measured against his successor’s, and whether history will redeem him.

Tara Palmeri Tara Palmeri

In Washington, emotions are still raw over outgoing President
Joe Biden: Democrats are angry that he opted to run for reelection after implying he’d be a “bridge” president; frustrated he took so long to drop out after the debate; rageful over down-ballot losses they attribute to his ego; and disillusioned by his decision to pardon Hunter after insisting he wouldn’t. This was the guy who promised to defend democracy from Donald Trump, and yet he shares no small part of the blame for Trump’s return to the
White House. 

 

Biden, who was elected in part because voters were sick of chaos and wanted to think less about politics, is...

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    PREVIEW VERSION Start a free 14-day trial to unlock unlimited access to Puck.   Tara Palmeri Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, I’m Tara Palmeri. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Day and are easing back into real life—which is coming at us fast. Tomorrow at noon, the House […]
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    PREVIEW VERSION Start a free 14-day trial to unlock unlimited access to Puck.   Tara Palmeri Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, I’m Tara Palmeri. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Day and are easing back into real life—which is coming at us fast. Tomorrow at noon, the House […]
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    PREVIEW VERSION Start a free 14-day trial to unlock unlimited access to Puck.   Tara Palmeri Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, I’m Tara Palmeri. I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Day and are easing back into real life—which is coming at us fast. Tomorrow at noon, the House […]


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