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The ‘Panama Playlists' leak claims to expose Spotify accounts of JD Vance, Pam Bondi and a slew of other pols and CEOs

The ‘Panama Playlists' leak claims to expose Spotify accounts of JD Vance, Pam Bondi and a slew of other pols and CEOs

New York Post4 days ago
Vice President JD Vance is a big fan of the Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gets pumped up with Beyonce's 'Run the World (Girls)' — and there's one very prominent politician who loves Nelly's 'Hot In Herre.'
That's all according to the Panama Playlists — a site that quietly went live Wednesday and claims to reveal the private music tastes of a slew of public figures.
'I found the real Spotify accounts of celebrities, politicians, and journalists. Many use their real names. With a little sleuthing, I could say with near-certainty: yep, this is them,' the anonymous eavesdropper wrote.
6 The Panama Playlists claims to expose the music taste and habits of some of the world elite and has no
affiliation with the popular music app.
REUTERS
'We've been scraping their accounts since summer 2024. Playlists, live listening feed, everything. I know what songs they played, when, and how many times,' they wrote, also stating the project has not affiliation with company 'Spotify.'
The anonymous researcher told The Post that they became convinced in the authenticity of each account as the months of monitoring went on.
'I gained confidence in each person by looking at lots of signals. An example is Pam Bondi. Her longtime partner is John Wakefield, and her profile has an old playlist called 'john' and an old shared playlist with a user named 'John Wakefield,' so that gives me a lot of confidence it is her account.'
'Karoline Leavitt's profile has a playlist called 'Baby Shower,' and she had a baby a month after the playlist was made,' the owner of the website told The Post, emphasizing they only collected publicly available information.
It all seems to be a bit of summer fun, that reveals the questionable, ironic and sometimes too-on-the-nose music choices of America's rich and powerful.
'Heard of the Panama Papers? That exposed offshore bank accounts. This is about onshore vibes,' the site says.
Here is a sample of what 'Panama Playlists' found.
JD Vance
6 The Panama Playlists included graphics of each person in a mock-up of Spotify's 'This Is…' playlist catrgory.
Vice President JD Vance is a fan of the songs 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys and 'One Time' by Justin Bieber, both of which appear on his oft-listened to 'Making Dinner' playlist.
The millennial veep also appears to be a fan of pop-punk, with several songs from the early aughts favorite Death Cab for Cutie appearing on his playlist 'Gold On The Ceiling.'
6 Vice President JD Vance, the first millenial to hold executive office, is a fan of the band 'Death Cab for Cutie.'
AP
Sam Bankman-Freid
FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried has three public playlists — 'rap' 'soft' and 'loud' — which feature plenty of Eminem, also Death Cab for Cutie, and song 'Young Dumb, Broke' from Khalid.
Karoline Leavitt
Leavitt had the songs 'Run the World (Girls)' by Beyonce and 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' from Cyndi Lauper on her 'Baby Shower' playlist.
6 Journo Taylor Lorenz has ears for early aughts classics and break-up tracks, according to her profile.
WireImage
Mike Johnson
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's liked tracks on his Pandora account include 'Parachutes' from the movie 'Air Force One' and the 'Finding Nemo/Nemo Egg' theme performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. He's also into 'One Night Love Affair' by Bryan Adams and 'May It Be' by Enya.
Taylor Lorenz
Social media gadfly Taylor Lorenz's public playlists include 'Older Millenial College Rager TBT' and 'Breakup Songs' —- but her 'Favs' include tracks 'Romeo and Juliet' from Dire Straits and 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' from reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.
6 US Attorney General Pam Bondi opts for up-tempo songs on her playlist 'Pam.'
AFP via Getty Images
Pam Bondi
Bondi prefers the more upbeat tracks on her playlist named 'Pam' — including Nelly's immortal jam 'Hot In Herre,' 'Hands to Myself' by Selena Gomez, and 'Fix My Eyes' from band For King & Country.'
Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's 'My Shazam Tracks' — meaning songs he likely looked up — include the well-known 'Get Ur Freak On' by Missy Elliot, 'Make Me Feel Your Love,' by Adele, and 'Vivir Mi Vida' from Marc Anthony.
Rashida Tlaib
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) included the song 'I'm a Mess' from Ed Sheeran on her 'In love' playlist on the account that bears her name.
Brian Armstrong
Coinsbase CEO Brian Armstrong has a playlist called 'Repeat' that is the song 'Long Way Home' by Gareth Emery saved 60 times.
6 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has a 'hands off my classics' taste in rock and roll music.
AP
Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a major classic rock fan with his only public playlist featuring iconic songs 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash, 'Southern Nights' from the rhinestone cowboy Glen Campbell, and The Charlie Daniels Band's 'The Devil Went Down To Georgia.'
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Trump Administration Live Updates: Hassett Defends Firing of Top Labor Official Over Weak Jobs Numbers
Trump Administration Live Updates: Hassett Defends Firing of Top Labor Official Over Weak Jobs Numbers

New York Times

time2 hours ago

  • New York Times

Trump Administration Live Updates: Hassett Defends Firing of Top Labor Official Over Weak Jobs Numbers

The White House in June. President Trump unveiled plans for one of the largest renovations to the historic building in decades. Experts on historic preservation are raising concerns over the feasibility of President Trump's plans to complete large-scale renovations to the White House by the end of his term, and whether the project can be done while respecting the historic nature of the building. Mr. Trump unveiled plans on Thursday to construct a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot state ballroom off the East Wing to be completed 'long before' the end of his term in 2029. The project would be one of the largest renovations to the iconic building in decades. Image Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, shows photos of the proposed ballroom at a news briefing last week. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times Mr. Trump has been on a winning streak this summer, emerging victorious in a series of Supreme Court rulings, signing a massive bill to carry out his domestic policy agenda and winning concessions from some of America's top trading partners. Now, by checking off a long-sought item on his list of pet projects, Mr. Trump is showing that he apparently feels emboldened to continue flexing his presidential power. The White House, the Supreme Court building, the Capitol and all their 'related buildings and grounds' are exempt from the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires federal agencies to assess and mitigate adverse effects to historic properties and seek consultation through a formal review process. Instead, the White House has its own committee that provides advice on the 'preservation and the interpretation of the museum character' of the building. The Committee for the Preservation of the White House — chaired by the director of the National Park Service — is made up of several federal officials and a number of members appointed by the president. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, said on Thursday in a news release that the administration was 'fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserving the special history of the White House.' Still, the committee's recommendations are not binding, giving the president significant leeway to do as he wishes. 'In most cases, you're not going to have a lot of binding obligations to historic buildings,' said Michael Spencer, a professor of historic preservation at the University of Mary Washington. The sheer scale of the project — a giant ballroom attached to the East Wing — worries preservationists. 'It could do some harm to the property over all,' said Richard Longstreth, a former professor of American studies at George Washington University. 'There aren't any checks and balances here, unfortunately.' Mr. Spencer said his expectations on preservation were 'pretty low.' 'We're oftentimes viewed as getting in the way of progress, and I would say in this particular instance, you've got a lot of strong personalities and they're under no obligation to really follow best practices as preservation puts forth,' he said. Jonathan Jarvis, former director of the National Park Service, which is responsible for the upkeep of the White House and its grounds, said any additions made to the White House must follow the architectural design of the building. 'You couldn't put something on the side of the building that doesn't match it historically in terms of its architecture, coloration and style,' he said. He cast doubt on the timeline the Trump administration proposed, calling its plans to finish a project of this scale by the end of Mr. Trump's term 'optimistic.' 'You don't see one of those projects go that fast,' he said. 'It'll be a rush to get it done.' Mr. Jarvis, who was the director of the National Park Service from 2009 to 2017, said construction at the White House is a 'complicated process' because it is 'not just normal construction.' 'It's the White House — it has to survive a terrorist attack,' he said. He added that every step of the process would need to be evaluated to ensure that nothing 'is being compromised architecturally or from a security standpoint.' Image President Trump began paving over the White House Rose Garden in June. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times Stewart D. McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, said the White House has gone through numerous changes to its interior and exterior since the cornerstone was laid in 1792, and many of them faced resistance. He said many of those changes made the White House what it is today. 'The South Portico, the North Portico, the East Wing, the West Wing and the Truman Balcony all raised concerns at the time — but today, we can't imagine the White House without these iconic elements,' he said. Image President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks from the South Portico of the White House in 1940. Credit... George R. Skadding/Associated Press Image The second floor 'Truman Balcony' was constructed during White House renovations from 1948-1952. Credit... Charles Gorry/Associated Press It remains unclear whether the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, which works in tandem with the White House Historical Association, has provided recommendations or raised concerns about Mr. Trump's ballroom. A spokeswoman for the historical association, Jessica Fredericks, did not respond to questions about the committee's position on the project. In addition to the director of the National Park Service, the committee is composed of representatives from the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Art and a handful of presidential appointees. Mr. Trump has not nominated a park service director, a position that requires Senate confirmation, or announced the appointments of individuals to serve on the committee. The terms of 13 individuals that former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appointed to the committee in 2023 expired when Mr. Trump began his second term, according to a government database. Jessica Bowron, the comptroller of the National Park Service, is currently serving as its acting director. Image President Trump watches as the American Flag is raised on his new flagpole on the South Lawn of the White House in June. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times The president tapped McCrery Architects as the lead architect of the project. James McCrery, the company's founding principal architect, was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2019 to serve a four-year term on the Commission of Fine Arts. He called the ballroom a necessary addition to the White House, where presidents have 'faced challenges hosting major events.' Mr. McCrery said he would preserve 'the elegance of its classical design and historical importance' of the White House. Questions about who is funding the project are also still largely unanswered. White House officials said the president and 'other patriot donors' would pay for the renovations but declined to give details. When asked on Friday if he would block foreign donations, Mr. Trump said he had not thought about it: 'I'm not looking for that. You have very strong restrictions. And we go by the restrictions.' Still, Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in government ethics, called the lack of transparency 'completely outrageous.' She questioned whether the donors were seeking 'ways to get in good with Trump.' 'He feels emboldened,' she said. 'He feels like he can do anything.' Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting.

A webcam that's almost like a real camera
A webcam that's almost like a real camera

The Verge

time4 hours ago

  • The Verge

A webcam that's almost like a real camera

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 92, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, I've kept my phone case on all week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I am finally smashing my way through Donkey Kong Bananza, perusing the Panama Playlists, wishing I had a yard so I had an excuse to buy Ultra Skelly, clenching my stomach at JerryRigEverything's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 durability test, wondering if Apple will actually make a Pro iPhone in orange, thinking about where I could put Twelve South's PowerBug wall outlet magnetic phone charger, and listening to Wet Leg's 'Moisturizer' (while perusing the band's incredible Windows 95-inspired website). I also have for you: a new Elgato webcam, LG's next portable TV, a game about being a fly, and more. (As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What awesome tricks do you know that everyone else should? What app should everyone be using? Tell me everything: installer@ And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.) Today, I'm featuring Kallie Plagge, who joined The Verge from Polygon as a senior copy editor earlier this year. I am very glad she's with us — she consistently makes our work look and sound great, and she has an incredible wealth of knowledge on all things Pokémon, as you'll see. Here's Kallie's homescreen and her explanation of what's on it. The phone: An iPhone 14 Pro. The wallpaper: It's an official Pokémon wallpaper. There's one for each Eeveelution plus Eevee, so I've been swapping them out based on the season. It's Vaporeon's turn! The apps: I'm big on folders, but there are a few apps I need out and easy to access — mainly the Clock app, because I am very paranoid about accidentally not setting an alarm and missing work. I also always have the NYT Games app and Threes there, plus games on rotation based on what I'm playing lately. Right now that's mostly Umamusume, which literally means 'horse girls,' and it's all about — you guessed it — training horse girls to win races. It's based on the anime, which I haven't seen, but it's a good raising game! I also asked Kallie to share a few things she's into right now. Here's what she said: Here's what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you're into right now as well! Email installer@ with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we'll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on The Verge, this post on Threads, and this post on Bluesky. 'Watching Foundation and Smoke and liking them pretty well.' – Paul 'I've been absolutely housing the YouTube shorts of Master Builder Alec, the Lego master builder in Arizona. His series 'Masterbuilderizing Kid's LEGO Models' is such an education in creativity and execution.' – Alex 'Currently playing The Drifter on PC. It's a modern point-and-click adventure that's got time travel elements. Not for the faint of heart but very, very good.' – BaltMatrix 'I finally got to F1, sponsored by Expensify, Shark|Ninja and Brad Pitt's Abs. Cars go vrrrm. I was duly entertained.' – Iain 'I recently came across Folio, which bills itself as a replacement for the recently shut down Pocket. I've been using it for the last couple of weeks and it's a great alternative and available cross-platform, too. Importing my Pocket history was seamless and easy. It's still in startup mode, and there's a few key features like keyboard shortcuts missing, but it has a lot of potential.' – Gordon 'My friends and I came across a site run by two people called Reconnect, which is like Reddit or Hacker News just for gaming blogs. The two people running it have put hundreds of gaming blogs into one place, and they run a Substack newsletter every week that does a roundup, like Installer, of some of the best articles from that week. Makes finding good articles and new bloggers really easy.' – Christian 'I've been reading The Convenience Store by the Sea. It follows the popular Japanese literature 'a different chapter focusing on one person and their relationship with food' trend but if anyone has been to Japan and been charmed by the convenience stores it's worth checking out.' – ashleytwo 'Lately, I've been playing a lot of Descenders, an indie mountain biking game. Everything about it feels super satisfying, whether I'm flying down a hill at 40 MPH or hitting flips and tricks off a huge jump. There's a huge feeling of speed, but you still feel pretty vulnerable — hit a rock or land too hard, and you'll wipe out. I've never been mountain biking before, but this makes me want to hit the trails.' – Cr4shMyCar 'I just rewatched all of Entourage, all at night, all while holding a sleeping baby. The show is way better than I remembered for about two seasons, and WAY worse than I remembered after that. Still: no regrets.' – David (yes, that David!) Any fellow non-QWERTY typers that read Installer? I type using the Colemak layout. I switched to it years ago when I was dealing with some issues with my wrists and was looking for a more ergonomic layout. The first few weeks of learning it were tough, but now, it's just how I type — even though my wrists are mostly better now (which I attribute more to things like my ergonomic keyboard and my standing desk than Colemak). Now, if I try to go back to QWERTY on a computer keyboard, I really have to think about it, but oddly, I have no issues typing with QWERTY on my phone. Anyway, I wanted to do an informal poll of Installer readers: have you tried a non-QWERTY keyboard layout, why did you do so, and have you stuck with it? No need to share your typing speeds or anything. I just want to know a little more about how and why people type. I'll probably share some of the answers in a future issue. See you next week! Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jay Peters Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Installer Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech

Analysis: Republicans are (quietly) making 2028 moves
Analysis: Republicans are (quietly) making 2028 moves

CNN

time4 hours ago

  • CNN

Analysis: Republicans are (quietly) making 2028 moves

Donald Trump JD Vance US elections Primary electionsFacebookTweetLink Follow A version of this story appeared in CNN's What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. It seems too early, but it's not. Just as Democrats are plotting how to win the next presidential election, Republican candidates are too. But while Democrats will try to outdo themselves in their opposition to President Donald Trump, Republicans will have to navigate a party that Trump has rebuilt around his own political instincts. I talked to CNN's Eric Bradner about which Republicans are likely to run for president in 2028 and how they will balance making their own name with paying homage to their current leader, who likes to joke about not leaving office no matter what the Constitution says. Our conversation, conducted by phone and edited for length, is below. WOLF: Will Trump try to run for a third term despite what's in the Constitution? Because it's something that he's teased, right? BRADNER: There is no constitutional path for him to seek a third term. But that doesn't mean ambitious Republicans who want to be a successor can flout Trump. They can't be seen as at odds with him. They're trying to stand out in their own ways, but they can't be seen as going against Trump and suggesting that he is ineligible for a third term, even though the Constitution makes that crystal clear to be problematic. WOLF: He likes to joke about running, but has also said he will not run. So let's assume, for the moment, that he doesn't try to do something that would violate the Constitution. How do potential Republican candidates plot a campaign for voters while still staying in his good graces? BRADNER: You have to do it carefully. Part of it is, while Trump is still so popular with the Republican base, demonstrating that you are supportive of his agenda. That can look different depending on whether you are the vice president, in the Senate, in a governor's office. So far, we're seeing ambitious Republicans traveling to some of the early voting primary states and using their speeches to highlight their support for Trump's agenda and looking for ways to cast themselves as the successor to that agenda. It's made much more difficult by the fact that Vice President JD Vance is obviously positioned as Trump's understudy. But they're looking for ways to show that they are, at least in some ways, ideologically aligned with Trump and are taking substantive actions to support his agenda, while sort of pitching some of their own accomplishments and their own differences in terms of approach. But it's clear that most Republicans that are already hitting the 2028 travel circuit are looking for ways to align themselves. WOLF: The Democrats are trying to change the early primary map and de-emphasize Iowa and maybe even New Hampshire. Is the Republican calendar going to be what it has been in recent decades where we go: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada. Or is that going to change? BRADNER: It won't be official for a while, but Republicans appear to be on track to keep the same calendar. I talked to Jeff Kaufmann, the longtime Iowa Republican Party chairman, recently, and he said he had already made his case to the White House to keep Iowa's caucuses first, and said they were very receptive. Republicans didn't have the kind of disaster that Democrats had in Iowa in 2020 and have shown no real inclination to shake up their primary… WOLF: But Republicans did have a disaster in 2012 — just ask Rick Santorum. BRADNER: They did. But 2012 at this point will have been 16 years ago, and they have passed on opportunities to change the calendar since then, and there doesn't seem to be any momentum to do so now. WOLF: Who are the Republicans who are flirting with a campaign at the moment and are actively in those states? BRADNER: Even within the last couple of months, we've seen a number of Republicans visiting the early states. Look at Iowa alone. This month, Glenn Youngkin, the Virginia governor, visited Iowa to headline the state Republican Party's annual Clinton dinner. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was there for an event hosted by The Family Leader, a conservative Christian group led by Bob Vander Plaats, a well-known activist there. Recently, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was in Iowa, where he got a little bit of a chilly reception at times because he was making the case for changes to Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' And Florida Sen. Rick Scott was there also touting his support for further reductions in spending that the bill included. He also got a bit of a frosty reception from some of the attendees at the fundraiser that I talked to afterward who really wanted to hear more support for Trump's agenda from him and less about their defenses. WOLF: The most obvious heir to Trump would be Vance. What is the thinking among Republicans? Do they believe the nomination is his to lose, or will he really have to work for it? BRADNER: He clearly starts in the pole position. But I was a little surprised during a recent visit to Iowa how frequently the name of Secretary of State Marco Rubio came up, often in the same breath as JD Vance. Both of them, despite their own very public criticism of Trump in the past, now seem to be viewed as team players; as closely aligned with Trump and with his current administration, obviously, as leading members of it. There's interest in Rubio in part because he has run for president before, unlike Vance. A lot of people in the early voting states remember Rubio visiting them in 2016, when he finished third in Iowa in what were pretty competitive caucuses. So a lot of these early-state Republican voters have met Rubio before. They've already formed opinions of him. They like Vance, but they don't know him yet. They haven't had a chance to go through the usual process with him. He obviously starts with an advantage as Trump's legacy, but based on the conversations I've had, it doesn't appear to be a lock. I think a lot of Republican voters are going to want to at least meet and hear from a broader range of candidates. WOLF: That 2016 Iowa race you mentioned, Rubio came in third. Trump came in second. The winner was Sen. Ted Cruz. Is he going to run again? And would he do better this time? BRADNER: He certainly has never stopped acting like someone who wants to be president, right? He has obviously remained in the public eye and has been supportive of Trump, including in that contentious interview with Tucker Carlson, for which Cruz faced a bit of online backlash. He's built a fundraising network. He is someone who has clearly already been a runner-up in that 2016 primary, and probably would enter 2028 with vast name recognition. So he has a number of potential things going for him if he, if he does want to run. WOLF: The party has changed around Trump, who doesn't really have a political ideology so much as political instincts. Now Republican candidates will have to adjust to Trump's populism. Will a person like Sen. Josh Hawley, who sounds very populist, do better than a more traditional Republican like, say, Youngkin? BRADNER: It certainly seems like that lane could be open, although I would say as of right now, Vance probably starts in the pole position there. He has populist instincts that he displayed for quite some time before he became Trump's vice president. You're right about Trump having political instincts that these potential candidates are going to have to react to and adjust to on the fly. Being nimble in interviews and messaging is always important, but it's going to be especially important in a landscape where Trump is the dominant figure in the party. While he won't be on the ballot, he is very likely to have interest in steering things. WOLF: How do you group the potential field? There are senators, there are governors, there are people in the administration. BRADNER: I think that's the right starting point. People in the administration, which you can kind of divide into two groups, right? Vance and Rubio are by far the best known and are the ones that I have heard from Republican voters about the most clearly. There are some other folks, like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and potentially others who are former governors, are Trump allies and have their own ambitions, but don't carry the sorts of advantages that Vance and Rubio have. Then there's a group of governors, and to me, this is potentially the most interesting group, because they have their own agendas outside of Washington and are less tied to whatever's going on in the White House or on Capitol Hill on any given day. Youngkin, the Virginia governor, ran an impressive campaign in 2021, and because Virginia does not allow governors to run for second terms, he is just a few months away from leaving office, which means he will be a popular Republican elected in a Democratic-leaning state who now is out of a job and has all day to campaign. A couple other Republican governors who are in that basket would include Sanders, who obviously is forever aligned with Trump due to her time as his White House press secretary, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which gets him a way to build connections with donors all over the country. Kemp is among the Republicans who have had the biggest differences with Trump on the list of prospective 2028 candidates because he didn't support Trump's claims that Georgia was stolen from him in 2020. But the two of them seem to have played nice in more recent years and Kemp is conservative. He does have his own record in Georgia that he can talk about. Then finally there are the senators. Tim Scott is one who ran for president in 2024 and did appear to end that race with a closer relationship with Trump than when he started it, which was a really tricky thing to (do). The problem Scott faces is one that Trump laid out in 2024, which is that he's a better salesman for Trump and his agenda than he is for himself. There are other senators, Rand Paul (Kentucky), Rick Scott (Florida), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Tom Cotton (Arkansas), who I think everyone will be keeping an eye on. But it's going to take some lucky breaks for them to make a ton of headway in a potentially crowded field, especially when they'll be having to spend so much of their time participating in and reacting to what's happening in Washington. They don't have the kind of freedom that governors have at this stage. WOLF: There are also two governors that are closely aligned with Trump's policies in Texas and Florida, which are the two biggest red states in terms of electoral votes. What about Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Greg Abbott (Texas)? BRADNER: Both are clearly aligning themselves with Trump's most popular policies, which is strict immigration enforcement, border security and ramping up deportations. For DeSantis, building 'Alligator Alcatraz' was a clear example of political maneuvering to be seen publicly as having Trump's back. Both of them are absolutely on the 2028 landscape, and DeSantis, in particular, appears to have smoothed over the tensions that remain from his 2024 run. DeSantis is one to watch because he has already built a fundraising network. He has already traveled the early states and made those inroads, so launching a presidential campaign, perhaps earlier and perhaps without some of the mistakes that hampered his 2024 effort, would certainly be possible. WOLF: What about someone from Trump's new coalition? Robert F. Kennedy ran as a Democrat and an Independent in 2024; why not a Republican in 2028? BRADNER: If Kennedy runs in 2028, it'll be a fascinating test of how durable parts of Trump's winning 2024 coalition are once Trump is off the ballot. How big is the so-called MAHA movement that was merged into Trump's MAGA movement? Does party loyalty still matter at all in Republican primaries and caucuses? Or are figures who weren't even Republicans — like Kennedy and potentially former Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, who grabbed headlines recently with wild accusations that former President Barack Obama committed treason — received with open arms? Have cultural issues like abortion, where they've long staked out positions at odds with the GOP base, lost some sway? WOLF: Vance would run from within the administration. Rubio would have to leave the administration. Extricating yourself from Trump's orbit without drawing his ire would be kind of an incredible feat. What would be the timeline to do something like that? When should we start to expect to see would-be presidential candidates leave the Trump administration? BRADNER: The traditional answer would be shortly after the midterms, but it also depends on, obviously, the point you raised about Trump and a third term, and whether that sort of freezes the start of the 2028 primary and stops candidates from campaigning openly. It depends on what Vance does. I think people who are in the administration will have to react to the speed at which the field appears to be developing. I can tell you that in the early states, party leaders, activists, donors, party faithful are already eager to hear from these 2028 prospects and I doubt there will be much room to wait long past the midterms. So potentially late 2026, early 2027 is when anybody in the administration that wants to run for president would probably need to be in motion. WOLF: A lot of what happens will depend on how popular Trump remains with Republicans and how successful his second term is. Is there a lane for a Nikki Haley or somebody who has been critical of Trump, or should we assume that everybody who tries to run will just be swearing fealty to him? BRADNER: Only time will tell. Right now, none of these major Republican figures are publicly distancing themselves from Trump, but if Republicans are shellacked in the midterms, if they lose the House or — much, much longer shot — if they lose the Senate, that could change the landscape significantly. Primary voters want to win, and they're loyal to Trump, but if his popularity nosedives; if the party performs poorly in the midterms; if his tariffs wind up damaging the economy; if the roiling controversy over his administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files continues — all these sorts of things could wind up becoming political time bombs that could change the landscape and lead Republicans, even if they aren't publicly criticizing Trump, to do more to show their differences and to pitch themselves as their own person.

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