Senior political reporter at @CNN. Ex-@washingtonpost. Sign up for my newsletter! https://xitter.cf/t.co/Vc6k03lkp5
Washington, D.C.
Joined April 2010
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Aaron Blake retweeted
New: Trump officials are bracing for personnel shakeups across the admin if the midterms go poorly, spurring a wave of preemptive maneuvering and finger-pointing that aides and allies described as creating an increasingly toxic situation
w @KristenhCNN: cnn.com/2026/10/20/politics/…
50. Million. Dollars.
nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/po…
Aaron Blake retweeted
If you’re skeptical of public polls, what a lot of wise political observers do is watch what the politicians and political groups (with access to very expensive data) DO.
1) where are they sending their VIPs?
2) where are they putting their money?
3) who is acting desperate?
Who's to blame for Starshield being throttled in Ukraine?
Trump, his administration and Elon Musk have offered a bunch confusing and sometimes contradictory signals.
cnn.com/2026/10/20/politics/…
Aaron Blake retweeted
NEW: Following the release of an ad in which her mother, Donna Arthur, attacks her, court records obtained by @NRO confirm key parts of Amy Acton’s personal history, including that she was sexually abused by her stepfather while Arthur was married to him nationalreview.com/news/amy-…
Aaron Blake retweeted
Social media "clippers" are shaping what you see about the 2026 midterms. We spoke about the pros and cons with @atrupar, a leading clipper and Trump critic
Where we're at.
New from The Post:
A small group of U.S. national security officials has advised governors, election officials, and lawmakers on how to prepare for the possibility that the Trump administration will interfere in the November midterms.
washingtonpost.com/national-…
1) Vance literally campaigned with Orban just days before Orban faced an election in Hungary. This was 6 months ago.
But also:
2) It's very weird and unusual for a VP to so completely try to distance himself from what the president just announced.
From VP pool report (which included a readout of Vance interview with @MarkHalperin): "Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu and replied that he endorses American candidates and is not getting involved in Israeli elections"
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Vance said he endorses American candidates and is not getting involved in Israeli elections, but in April 2026 he spoke at a campaign rally for Viktor Orban in Hungary and urged voters to reelect him.
latimes.com/world-nation/s…
theguardian.com/world/2026/apr…
x.com/christopherhal…
Trump also "joked" about withholding disaster aid from NC if Dems won.
Couched as a joke, but Trump has a clear history of withholding $ from blue states. His admin admitted in court that grants were given "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state."
The Trump team’s disdain for judicial orders is blowing up in court. Accountability has been slow in coming
cnn.com/2026/10/19/politics/…
Aaron Blake retweeted
🚫 @katiezacharia is no longer following @seanhannity
Still followed by: @repluna, @cagop, @liz_cheney, @trumpwarroom, @jaredkushner & 89 more
Aaron Blake retweeted
Incredible booking
"I had three beers, okay!"
Piers Morgan grills Indiana Democratic candidate Jaime West on whether she had been drinking before her viral interview, where she claimed she would ‘fire all Republicans’.
📺 youtu.be/rcg4BzNXQxU
@piersmorgan
The Republicans who are campaigning with Trump tend to:
1) Come from very red states
2) Come from double-digit Trump states but be struggling, or
3) Come from swing or blue states and have little chance
cnn.com/2026/10/19/politics/…
The clear pattern of Trump's campaign rallies
cnn.com/2026/10/19/politics/…
Wall Street Journal editorial board:
"When the election is over there needs to be a bipartisan reckoning for Mr. Trump’s budding alliance with the Kremlin against Ukraine, Europe and American interests."
wsj.com/opinion/to-russia-wi…
Aaron Blake retweeted
Airman dies after rappelling accident at UTSA-Navy football game trib.al/PS63H17
Aaron Blake retweeted
At least 25 countries besides the United States lost military personnel in Afghanistan.
Hegseth on Afghanistan:
I was a captain in Afghanistan, and we would go to the headquarters in Kabul, and there would be 50 flags at the headquarters.
It was a beautiful thing to see 50 different countries contributing to the NATO alliance and the ISAF mission there.
Except there were like maybe five that contributed. It was actually closer to one or two that, by the end, were actually involved in kinetic operations.
In fact, the ISAF patch, we would joke that it meant "I Saw Americans Fighting."
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Over 1100 non-American soldiers from 31 US-allied countries were killed fighting in Afghanistan, approximately 1/3 of the total combat deaths.
t.co/x4tGhxJiFG