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Headshot of Perry Bacon
Perry Bacon

Perry Bacon is a staff writer at The New Republic and host of the TNR show Right Now With Perry Bacon. Prior to TNR, he was a weekly columnist at The Washington Post. Perry has also been a commentator at MSNBC, a fellow at New America and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, and a political writer at Time, TheGrio, NBC News, and FiveThirtyEight. He has covered six presidential campaigns and interviewed Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, and numerous other prominent politicians. He is a graduate of Yale University and lives in Louisville, his hometown.

All Articles
November 18, 2025
Perry Bacon
A Tea Party for Democrats? No. There’s A Much Better Strategy
In the wake of the Senate eight’s capitulation, some are calling for extreme measures. There are better models to follow that can still lead to the needed big changes.
November 11, 2025
Perry Bacon
Voters Hate Trump. Good. But Democrats Should Take No Solace in That.
It’s great that voters have turned against Trump. But they turned against Biden. They keep turning against presidents. Here’s how Democrats can deal with that.
November 5, 2025
Perry Bacon
Hey, Uh, Democrats, Can You Finally Please Stop Fighting Over 2024?
Last night showed that the party is far from doomed—and the country is simply not as conservative as it seemed in November 2024.
October 30, 2025
Perry Bacon
There’s a Good Identity Politics—and Then There’s Karine Jean-Pierre
Her book tour has been a train wreck. You can’t just brush off legit tough questions by asserting your identities. There’s a broader lesson here for Democrats.
October 28, 2025
Perry Bacon
Yes, Virginia! Democrats Actually Can Be Feisty and Cunning!
Democrats in the Old Dominion get it: On redistricting, they’re acting less like Barack Obama and more like Mitch McConnell.
October 21, 2025
Perry Bacon
Suddenly, Democratic Politicians Are Running Away From AIPAC
A long-overdue reckoning on Democrats and Israel is finally happening. Even centrists see which way the wind is blowing.
October 16, 2025
Perry Bacon
Not All Old Candidates Are Joe Biden, and Not All Young Ones Are Great
All things being equal, sure, Democrats ought to lean toward younger candidates. But there are many times when all things aren’t equal.
October 14, 2025
Perry Bacon
The Mainstream Media Is Moving Right. Here’s What We Can Do About It.
At The Washington Post, CBS, and maybe CNN, the trend line is terrible. But liberals do have the power to reverse these trends.
October 6, 2025
Perry Bacon
MAGA Lite: What “Bari Weiss Conservatism” Is, and Why It’s Dangerous
The new CBS executive isn’t exactly MAGA. But her polite Trumpism will still help destroy America as we know it.
October 2, 2025
Perry Bacon
Shutdown: Why I Worry That the Democrats Are Screwing It Up Again
At least they’re fighting. But for how long? And are they fighting about the right things?
September 29, 2025
Perry Bacon
With Portland, Trump’s Police State Is Getting Bigger and More Radical
If the National Guard and ICE can run wild, as Trump wants them to, then America is not a free country.
September 26, 2025
Perry Bacon
Zohran Mamdani Is Threading One of the Trickiest Needles in Politics
For the general election, Mamdani has managed to expand his base while staying basically true to his primary-season beliefs. There’s a lesson in there for all Democrats.
September 22, 2025
Perry Bacon
Jimmy Kimmel Is Back. Good. Free Speech Is Still in Deep Peril. Bad.
If you’re rich, white, and male with a huge following, the First Amendment still works for you—for now. But for the rest of us?
September 18, 2025
Perry Bacon
The Jimmy Kimmel Suspension: A Huge Step Down the Authoritarian Road
If you make jokes the leader doesn’t like, look out. Does that sound like America? We are in a new place.
September 15, 2025
Perry Bacon
Black Voices Are Vital to Democracy. The Media Must Stop Firing Them.
The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah is the latest prominent Black journalist to lose her job. The trend is a sign of retrenchment in both fighting racism and saving democracy.
September 13, 2025
Perry Bacon
Brazil Stopped Its Trump. It’s Pathetic That We Couldn’t Stop Ours.
Brazil barred Bolsonaro from running again and is sending him to jail. Other countries have done it too. Why is the United States a unique failure?
September 11, 2025
Perry Bacon
Donald Trump Is No Viktor Orbán—He’s Well on His Way to Being Worse
Democracy scholars say Trump is having way more success than expected in becoming America’s dictator. One reason: Too many Americans—including some Democrats in Congress—are far too complacent about it.
September 5, 2025
Perry Bacon
Trump’s War on Black America Isn’t an Accident—It’s a Strategy
Lisa Cook, Kamala Harris, Black mayors—the pattern is obvious. But the best way to attack Trump’s racism is to tie it to his other hatreds.
August 29, 2025
Perry Bacon
This Democrat Proves You Can Be Principled, Effective—and Popular
Zohran Mamdani has pointed to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu as a model. There are many good reasons why.
August 24, 2025
Perry Bacon
Stopping Trump’s Dictatorship Is a Vital Message—and a Winning One
There is no electoral risk to hammering away on Trump’s dictatorial tendencies—and a huge risk to the nation in ignoring them.

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