The Lede
Reporting and commentary on what you need to know today.
Did the Opioid Epidemic Fuel Donald Trump’s Return to the White House?
New research suggests that the Democrats’ struggles in communities battling fentanyl addiction had little to do with economic theory or messaging—it was, more simply, a failure of political attention.
The Fundamental Problem with R.F.K., Jr.,’s Nomination to H.H.S.
Kennedy has many bad ideas. Yet the irony of our political moment is that his more reasonable positions are the ones that could sink his candidacy.
The Rise of 4B in the Wake of Donald Trump’s Reëlection
Why the South Korean feminist movement, which calls for a boycott of men, is gaining traction among American women.
The Pain Creating a New Coalition for Trump
Despair permeates white, Black, and Latino working-class life. Democrats will have to find a new way to speak to it.
The Northeast Is Becoming Fire Country
Maps of recent fires across the region resemble California in August, with hundreds of red dots.
Donald Trump’s U.F.C. Victory Party
Dana White, the C.E.O. of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, helped Trump reach young male voters. Now White says he’s done with politics: “I want nothing to do with this shit.”
Understanding Latino Support for Donald Trump
Democrats have often described Latinos as decisive when they support liberal candidates and inconsequential when they don’t.
How Donald Trump Gave Democrats the Working-Class Blues
Kamala Harris spoke of creating an “opportunity economy,” a vague idea more likely to appeal to entrepreneurs than to struggling workers.
What Russia and Ukraine Want from a Second Trump Presidency
The Trump Administration will likely take the lead in any negotiations to end the war—a development that Vladimir Putin would welcome.
A New Rallying Cry for the Irony-Poisoned Right
It took less than twenty-four hours after Trump’s reëlection for young men to take up a slogan that could define the coming era of gendered regression: “Your body, my choice.”