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Walter Shapiro

Walter Shapiro is a staff writer at The New Republic and a lecturer in political science at Yale. He has been a columnist for USA Today and Esquire and has covered politics for Time, Newsweek, and The Washington Post. He has published two books, performed standup comedy in New York, and was a White House speechwriter for Jimmy Carter.

All Articles
May 23, 2023
We’re Being Terrorized Every Day—but Not How We Imagined
9/11 was supposed to usher in an era of catastrophic jihadist attacks. Instead, we’re living in fear of a different kind of mass violence.
May 19, 2023
Magazine
Tim Scott Is Sure to Rise—and Surer to Fade
The South Carolina senator’s presidential run will allow Republicans to demonstrate—briefly—that they aren’t racists.
May 15, 2023
Abolish Live TV Audiences in the 2024 Presidential Race
CNN’s shameful town hall was a gift to Trump. Enough is enough.
May 10, 2023
Democrats, Don’t Panic! Seriously, Don’t.
Problematic polls and New York Times op-eds are giving Biden supporters a heart attack. But the 2024 outlook isn’t nearly as gloomy as it seems right now.
April 27, 2023
Don’t Make Dianne Feinstein Resign. Just Get Her to the Senate by Any Means Necessary.
What the Democrats can learn from the fabled story of Clair Engle, the dying senator who saved civil rights 60 years ago—without saying a word
April 10, 2023
The Ex-President Who Cried Wolf
Trump’s complaints about his indictment don’t pack the same punch after he has spent his entire political career complaining about “witch hunts.”
April 3, 2023
Democrats (and Republicans) Have Challenged Their Party’s Incumbent President Before. It Never Ends Well.
History does not bode well for Biden if one of his own decides to seek the nomination in 2024.
March 31, 2023
What They’re Thinking Inside the White House About Trump’s Indictment
They’re probably elated. They’re probably freaking out. They probably—like the rest of us—have no idea of the consequences.
March 23, 2023
The Trump Indictment Is Bringing Out the Worst in People. Here’s a List of Them.
The circus is back in town.
March 17, 2023
Does Biden Suffer From Indispensable Man Syndrome?
Neither ill health nor old age has stopped past presidents from seeking reelection, but the most illuminating parallel to Biden’s expected reelection bid isn’t Reagan. It’s Eisenhower.
March 10, 2023
There’s No Need for Biden to Announce His Reelection Bid Yet
Delaying a declaration until later this year comes with a number of side benefits.
March 6, 2023
How Not to Predict the 2024 Election
A guide to common misconceptions you’ll read about the GOP primary.
February 17, 2023
The 2024 Democratic Primary Calendar Would Be a Nightmare If Biden Doesn’t Run
And even if the incumbent is on the ticket unopposed, there’s a world of unnecessary headaches looming.
February 14, 2023
Biden’s Ivy League Problem
For all the posturing as Amtrak Joe, the president has fallen into the same elite trap that has captured our political system.
February 9, 2023
Magazine
The Democrats Lost the House by Just 6,675 Votes. What Went Wrong?
At first glance, Democratic performance in last year’s House races was great. But a close look under the hood reveals that, with a few smarter moves and a little more luck, we’d have Speaker Jeffries.
February 6, 2023
The Best Thing Biden Could Do With His State of the Union Is Revive Support for Ukraine
Anything on domestic politics will be a dead end in the GOP House. But the president could use his prime-time audience to remind the country about the importance of defeating Russia.
January 30, 2023
The 2024 Presidential Race Is Off to a Blissfully Quiet Start
The permanent campaign might have actually taken a break for once.
December 26, 2022
Bravest Democrat of the Year: Elaine Luria
The Virginian represented one of the swingiest House seats in the country but still staked her reelection on defending democracy and investigating what actually happened on January 6.
December 2, 2022
Joe Biden’s Primary Calendar Is the Anti-Bernie Plan
By front-loading the 2024 presidential contests in Southern states, the president’s proposal would cement the Democrats as the center-left party and make it harder for future insurgents.
November 30, 2022
Keep New Hampshire on the Presidential Calendar
As the DNC meets this week to schedule 2024, it just needs to ditch Iowa instead of revamping everything.

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