Patrick Gaspard
19.2K posts
@patrickgaspard
@amprog. Forever @OpenSociety Former Amb South Africa. Obama alum. UNION! Owner of views. “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” - Whitman
And that’s the end of that. Primaries matter. We need them to be wide open and definitional - not merely oppositional to Trump. No Dem Party coronations. If we had robust primaries with multiple viable candidates leading up to 2016 and 2024 we would not be in this deep hole
Janet Mills, the choice of the Democratic establishment, suspends her Senate campaign in Maine, saying she no longer has the financial resources to compete against Graham Platner, a progressive political newcomer. @llerer @katieglueck @reidepstein nytimes.com/2026/04/30/us/…
Questions from Rep. Crow on Hegseth’s very close relationship with Tim Parlatore
NEW: When I asked if Vice President Kamala Harris should run for president again, Rep. Troy Carter — a staunch supporter of Harris in 2024 — told me: “I can’t support anybody right now … It’s way too early. We’ve got to see what the field offers.” Another House Democrat told me: “I would have been most enthusiastic had she looked at the [California’s] governor’s race …. I don’t think I’m alone in this view, that I would have real concerns about her being the nominee.” A third told me: “Anybody who has 100% name ID and high favorables with the Dem primary electorate nationally should be weighing it … But is that a good thing for the party and the country [if she’s] the nominee? No.” More with @igorbobic @kadiagoba: notus.org/campaigns/kama…
EXCLUSIVE: J. D. Vance has privately questioned the Pentagon’s depiction of the Iran war and raised concerns that the Defense Department has understated the depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles, @missy_ryan, Vivian Salama, @michaelscherer, and @nancyayoussef report. theatln.tc/ZwUL7FZm 📸: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
This week on Texas Take, Jeremy Wallace asks James Talarico whether Jasmine Crockett is still part of the equation after their hard-fought primary. Talarico discusses whether the two can still work together and what that relationship could mean moving forward. Watch more for Texas politics, James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett and 2026 election coverage. 🔗bit.ly/4tvkMcj
Caputo’s Bakery on Court Street, a.k.a. “the bread store,” has unexpectedly closed after 124 YEARS! They were a fifth-generation, family-run bakery for all that time. We’re all gonna need some time (and a seeded twist) to mourn this one.
Blanche says evidence recovery is "not an exact science" and that when weapons are fired [inside a hotel], "sometimes you find the bullet, and sometimes it just disappears." 🤔
USA Today’s top 25 greatest basketball players of all-time: 1) Michael Jordan 2) LeBron James 3) Kobe Bryant 4) Stephen Curry 5) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6) Magic Johnson 7) Larry Bird 8) Bill Russell 9) Wilt Chamberlain 10) Shaquille O’Neal 11) Tim Duncan 12) Kevin Durant 13) Allen Iverson 14) Oscar Robertson 15) Elgin Baylor 16) Jerry West 17) Julius Erving 18) Moses Malone 19) Kevin Garnett 20) Charles Barkley 21) Karl Malone 22) David Robinson 23) Isiah Thomas 24) John Havlicek 25) George Mikan
NEW: A top White House official tells me that Kash Patel is likely the next Cabinet-level official to go. “It’s only a matter of time,” the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, told me. There are several reasons, the official said, but top among them is the number of negative stories centered on Patel is “not a good look for a Cabinet secretary,” and Trump is fed up with the level of distraction. More in @playbookdc
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool meme Donald Trump just posted is nonsense without context. That “Obama vs. Trump” comparison? The major reconstruction of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool happened from 2010 to 2012 under Barack Obama—because the thing was literally failing. It was leaking, sinking, and turning into a swamp. The project rebuilt the foundation, added modern filtration, and fixed decades-old structural issues. So yeah, it looks better after being rebuilt. That’s what happens when you repair infrastructure. And calling him “Hussein Obama” isn’t some clever jab—it’s a tired move meant to frame him as foreign or “other.” It’s not about the reflecting pool. It’s not about policy. It’s just cheap signaling. This is what passes for presidential communication now: a misleading meme about a public works project from 15 years ago.
Council Member Chi Ossé was just arrested while defending his constituent, Carmella Charrington, from eviction. This is the result of deed theft and the ongoing displacement of Black homeowners in Bed-Stuy. Our office is closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates as this develops.
Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19): NYT: 5 of 58 WashPost: 1 of 43 WSJ: 0 of 40 AP: 0 of 26 CNN Wire: 0 of 18 NY Post: 0 of 17 Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4 LA Times: 0 of 4 Boston Globe: 0 of 2
