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Aidan McLaughlin

@aidanmcl.bsky.social
667 followers 61 following 48 posts

Washington Correspondent, Vanity Fair

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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
American tourism is in crisis. Trump’s solution? Send in the Aussie-born influencer once known as “Nick Adams, Alpha Male.” I tailed the tourism envoy on a sprint through Europe, where he made the case that the US is still open to foreigners. Results were mixed: www.vanityfair.com/story/nick-a...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
It's Trump's 80th birthday next week, which means one thing: UFC cage fight at the White House. But as his approval sinks to new lows and he injects partisanship into every facet of American life, celebrities have grown wary of Washington. Will they show up? www.vanityfair.com/story/ufc-25...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
NEW: Trump is losing his grip on evangelicals, one of his most loyal voting blocs. A recent poll saw his disapproval surge nine points. “That is a massive drop-off,” says CNN's data guru Harry Enten. I dug into why, and spoke with some of Trump's "spiritual advisors," for @vanityfair.com
vanityfair.com
Trump’s Iron Grip on Evangelicals Is Slipping. Bring In the Golden Calf.
Crypto hawkers have erected a giant gilded statue of President Trump at Doral, his members club outside Miami. The golfers may not mind, and neither do his mega-pastor advisers, but his support among ...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
The far right is attacking Kylian Mbappé, the star captain of France's World Cup team, over his comments in a @vanityfair.com cover story explaining why he speaks out about politics. “You can be a player, you can be an international star, but above all that, you are a citizen,” he told me.
vanityfair.com
Kylian Mbappé Is Scoring All the Goals—and Taking All the Heat
He was crowned football’s future king when he was just a teenager, but for Kylian Mbappé, these are now more turbulent times. The captain of France has weathered attacks on his identity while serving ...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Oz Pearlman was about to reveal the name of Karoline Leavitt’s unborn baby when he heard commotion in the ballroom. “I thought a bomb was about to go off.” He dropped to the floor and came face-to-face with Trump, who looked remarkably composed. He wondered if the president had been shot.
vanityfair.com
DC’s Strange, Late Night: The Surreal Scene at WHCD Parties After the Shooting
Oz Pearlman was mentalizing President Trump when the commotion started, and soon the main event was cancelled. Then a different kind of wild time began across Washington hotspots from Cafe Milano to t...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Much of the blame for Tony Dokoupil's troubles has been placed on Bari Weiss, a television neophyte who has pursued aggressive changes to realign CBS News with her own politics www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
New details from behind the scenes of Tony Dokoupil's chaotic start in the Evening News anchor chair www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
My profile of Tony Dokoupil, the face of the Bari Weiss revolution at CBS News
vanityfair.com
Tony Dokoupil Is the Face of the Bari Weiss Revolution at CBS News. Will He Survive It?
With tumbling ratings and savage reviews, the hospital-drama-handsome anchor has hit a rough patch after a meteoric rise at CBS. Insiders are questioning whether he’s up for the job—and panicking at t...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
SCOOP: Trump has spent his second term in office working to leave his mark on Washington and the country. Now, his Treasury Department plans to add his signature to all denominations of U.S. dollar bills. It will be the first time in history a sitting president's signature appears on dollar bills
vanityfair.com
Breaking: Donald Trump Plans to Add His Signature to US Currency
As Vanity Fair can exclusively report, Trump’s Treasury Department plans to add his signature to all denominations of US dollar bills.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
NEW @vanityfair.com: A pint with Piers Morgan, a scoop on how Bari Weiss blew up a CBS interview with Zohran Mamdani, an intense call with Spencer Pratt & a survey of the secret Trump voters of Hollywood New Party Animals out now: link.vanityfair.com/view/5df1007...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Why does Trump keep launching military operations from Mar-a-Lago, his gilded Florida resort? According to club members, close friends, Palm Beach socialites, and officials I spoke with, Mar-a-Lago offers Trump something he doesn't get in Washington: adulation www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Some news: I'm writing a weekly column at @vanityfair.com on politics, power, and society in Washington. It drops Thursday afternoons starting this week. Subscribe now:
vanityfair.com
Party Animals by Aidan McLaughlin
A letter from the back rooms, barstools, and bacchanals of Washington, DC—with exclusive reporting, interviews, and analysis.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
“Beyond disaster,” one close Trump ally texted as the backlash mounted Friday morning. “It’s the worst post I’ve seen in a very long time.”
vanityfair.com
If Trump Didn't Post that Racist Video of the Obamas, Who Did?
More than 12 hours after President Donald Trump shared a grotesque video of Barack and Michelle Obama on Truth Social, the video was deleted. Then the blame game began.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
I spoke with former Washington Post editor Marty Baron about the devastating cuts to the paper and Jeff Bezos's "sickening efforts to curry favor with President Trump"
vanityfair.com
Marty Baron Warns That Jeff Bezos Is Shredding ‘The Washington Post’ to “Ingratiate Himself With Donald Trump”
The former editor of the paper tells Vanity Fair that the “tremendous” newsroom brings in readers, but Trump has driven the owner and his publisher, Will Lewis, to decisions that have sent those reade...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
The bizarro split screen at the Kennedy Center Thursday night, where Trump hosted a decadent celebration of MELANIA, the new documentary the first lady made about herself: www.vanityfair.com/news/story/m...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
From my new profile of Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel: A former senior FBI agent called the protective detail afforded to Alexis Wilkins "outrageous" "There’s no justification whatsoever to provide federal resources to protect her.” www.vanityfair.com/news/story/a...
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Reposted by Aidan McLaughlin
Vanity Fair @vanityfair.com · 22/01/2026
Alexis Wilkins, the 27-year-old girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel, has a security detail and a boyfriend who zips to her concerts on a government jet. But life as the first lady of the FBI isn’t always so easy, she tells Vanity Fair’s @aidanmcl.bsky.social
vanityfair.com
Meet Alexis Wilkins, The Zoomer First Lady of the FBI
The aspiring country star has her own security detail, and boyfriend Kash Patel can zip to her any time on a government jet. But MAGA life isn’t always so easy, she tells Vanity Fair.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A somewhat incensed former NSC official on Trump linking his escalating threats against Greenland to the Nobel peace prize: www.vanityfair.com/news/story/d...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Just 28% of Americans think the ICE agent’s shooting of Renee Good was justified
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Helluva response to Elon Musk from this French government account
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
“We are doomed to have another January 6 if we’re not honest with ourselves," says @ericswalwell.bsky.social, "about why it happened, who was responsible, and what we can do to make sure it never happens again.” House Democrats are fighting Trump to preserve the truth of what happened in Jan. 6.
vanityfair.com
Five Years On, Democrats May Be Losing the Fight Over January 6
House Democrats are fighting efforts from the Trump White House to rewrite the history of the riot at the US Capitol. “It’s almost like trying to recreate 9/11 or Pearl Harbor with a positive spin,” o...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Good lord: Trump in his Mar-a-Lago presser said Maduro was the head of a "the vicious cartel known as Cartel de los Soles, which flooded our nation with lethal poison." Now, his DOJ is admitting no such cartel exists — it's a slang term for officials corrupted by drug money:
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
MTG tells the Times that when she threatened to expose the men who abused Epstein’s victims, Trump called to scream at her. “My friends will get hurt,” he said.
nytimes.com
Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Break With Trump and MAGA
How the Georgia congresswoman went from the president’s loudest cheerleader to his loudest Republican critic.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Before she got dragged into the fight between Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, Bari Weiss spent weeks lobbying Kelly to participate in a town hall on feminism with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper
vanityfair.com
Bari Weiss’s 60 Minutes Stumble Follows Private Rejection From Megyn Kelly
Before she stoked outrage by spiking a ‘60 Minutes’ segment about a notorious El Salvador prison, Weiss spent weeks lobbying Megyn Kelly to participate in a debate on feminism with ‘Call Her Daddy’ host Alex Cooper, to no avail.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
“Dismal,” “confused,” “demoralized,” “super fucked.” That, as one reporter tells Vanity Fair, is the mood inside CBS after editor Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment that was critical of the Trump administration.
vanityfair.com
Bari Weiss’s 60 Minutes Stumble Follows Private Rejection From Megyn Kelly
Before she stoked outrage by spiking a ‘60 Minutes’ segment about a notorious El Salvador prison, Weiss spent weeks lobbying Megyn Kelly to participate in a debate on feminism with ‘Call Her Daddy’ host Alex Cooper, to no avail.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
I spoke with Megyn Kelly at AmericaFest, where fissures in the MAGA movement erupted into a bitter feud. “They are making antisemites,” she said of Ben Shapiro and Bari Weiss. “Tucker is not making antisemites. They are.”
vanityfair.com
Megyn Kelly Talks Ben Shapiro’s “Betrayal” and the MAGA Reckoning at AmericaFest
As AmericaFest convened the likes of Erika Kirk, Tucker Carlson, Kelly, Shapiro, and other conservative stars, MAGA was anything but united.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Trump “has an alcoholic’s personality.” Vance’s conversion to MAGA was “political.” Elon is “an avowed ketamine [user].” Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles tells all in a series of extraordinary interviews with @vanityfair.com
vanityfair.com
Susie Wiles Talks About The First Year of Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2)
In the first half of ‘Vanity Fair’’s interview with Susie Wiles, the chief of staff discusses Elon Musk’s DOGE disaster, the FBI’s “incredible job” investigating January 6, and how Trump once berated her.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Christ. Trump says Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered “due to the anger he caused others” through his “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Trump: “We should take stakes in companies when people need something. I think we should take stakes in companies. Now, some people would say that doesn’t sound very American. Actually, I think it is very American.”
wsj.com
Exclusive | Trump Isn’t Certain His Economic Policies Will Translate to Midterm Wins
In an interview, he said his efforts to secure investments in the U.S. haven’t fully taken effect and “I cannot tell you how that’s going to equate to the voter.”
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
“Trump 2.0 appears at the nadir of its power,” @adamwren.bsky.social writes in Playbook
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
There's this strange tendency among Trump's backers where they hold his deputies to standards they would never hold him to. Of course Trump's FBI director posts own-the-libs memes on Twitter! This is what you voted for!
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Trump in his second term has sought more aggressively to undermine and destabilize America’s institutions, but he also craves their recognition. On Sunday night, he hosted the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors—and mused about renaming the place after himself.
vanityfair.com
At MAGA-fied Kennedy Center Honors, Trump Returns to Television Roots
At Trump’s first Kennedy Center Honors, the president played host—and hinted at renaming the venue—while business titans, right-wing media stars, and members of his embattled Cabinet guzzled Taittinge...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Fox News will applaud this but can you imagine their coverage if President Biden hatched a secret plan to take over Fox News and revamp its programming to be nicer to him
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Trump basked in two hours of adulation from his Cabinet secretaries in a televised meeting this week. Are they auditioning for 2028?
vanityfair.com
Trump, Between Apparent Snoozes, Says the GOP’s 2028 Candidate Could Be in His Cabinet
President Donald Trump has replaced his trademark campaign rallies with marathon Cabinet meetings, during which he fields praise from members of his Cabinet. Are they auditioning for 2028?
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
“I almost couldn't speak.” Top Trump allies were stunned by the president's remarkably amiable meeting with Zohran Mamdani on Friday. A look the wild scene at the White House:
vanityfair.com
Trump and Mamdani’s White House Lovefest Leaves Trump Allies “Shocked,” Says Source
According to one former Trump official, the president “sincerely wants NYC to succeed and that means Mamdani has to as well.”
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
"My suspicion and question is: Has stuff been destroyed? I just can’t help but ask that. And will the public ever really know?" I spoke with Marjorie Taylor Greene about Trump, Epstein, Israel, and 2028, as tensions between Trump and his most loyal disciple exploded into a bitter public feud
vanityfair.com
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Are at War. What’s Her Endgame?
Over the course of a long sit-down interview in her office, the MAGA stalwart from Georgia sounds like she is on a mission to save Trump from himself, on issues from Gaza to the Epstein files to the q...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A lot of scathing quotes aimed at Pulte for the 50-year mortgage idea in this great piece, but seemingly no blame for Trump who fully bought into it after 10 minutes
politico.com
‘Sold POTUS a bill of goods’: White House furious with Pulte over 50-year mortgage
The White House was blindsided by the idea and is now dealing with a furious backlash from conservative allies, business leaders and lawmakers.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A data point on how much Mamdani's win in New York has resonated on the right: on Fox News, "affordability" has been mentioned 240 times since last Tuesday
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
“It’s like Vienna in 1914.” Wrote about the memorial for Washington power broker Bob Barnett, where Dr. Fauci backslapped Jesse Watters, Amy Klobuchar comforted nervous voters, and everyone wondered if they'd see a room like this again
vanityfair.com
“Like Vienna in 1914”: At Bob Barnett's Memorial, Washington's Power Class Peers Over the Brink
At a DC power broker’s memorial, politicos including James Carville, Jesse Watters, and Anthony Fauci gathered to eat focaccia sandwiches, swap memories, and place literal bets on the future of the co...
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
When he worked at Fox News, Pete Hegseth wrote “FAILING” in Sharpie on his copy of the New York Times every morning. As Secretary of Defense, he’s turned that performative press hatred into policy:
vanityfair.com
Inside Pete Hegseth’s “Soviet-Style” War on the Press
The secretary of defense is alienating key allies amid his war against the press.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New Press Club: Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on covering war, speaking out about the killing of Palestinian journalists, why Israel should allow foreign press into Gaza, and the criticism he's faced for reporting on the deaths of civilians
mediaite.com
Fox News Correspondent Trey Yingst on Covering War in Gaza
Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst has stood out for his brave and clear-eyed coverage of the war in Gaza. He speaks with Press Club about how he does his job.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
New Press Club: @praddenkeefe.bsky.social on his writing process, turning Say Nothing into an FX show, the future of magazine journalism, how to cover Trump 2.0, and whether access matters when you're dealing with pathological liars
mediaite.com
The New Yorker’s Patrick Radden Keefe on Covering Trump’s Second Term: ‘Access is Overrated’
Patrick Radden Keefe talks writing, his FX show Say Nothing, and how he plans on covering Trump's second term on this week's episode of Press Club.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
We obtained the full police report detailing a 2017 sexual assault allegation against Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host Trump wants to serve as the next Secretary of Defense
mediaite.com
Mediaite Obtains Full Police Report on Pete Hegseth Sexual Assault Allegation
Days after the revelation of a sexual assault allegation against Trump secretary of defense pick Pete Hegseth, Mediaite obtained a extensive police report on the 2017 encounter.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 12/10/2023
New episode of The Interview: @jaketapper.bsky.social discusses the Israel-Hamas war, media coverage of conflict, the collapse of Twitter under Musk, why John Kelly spoke out against Trump and new leadership at CNN
mediaite.com
Exclusive: Jake Tapper on the Israel-Hamas War, Elon Musk’s Destruction of Twitter, CNN and Trump
CNN anchor Jake Tapper spoke with Mediaite about the unfolding war between Israel and Hamas, the decline of Twitter, John Kelly's comments about Trump, and CNN.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 06/10/2023
Fox News is declining to comment on Greg Gutfeld’s declaration that elections no longer work and violent civil war is the only solution
mediaite.com
Fox News Silent on Top Host’s Screed Calling For Civil War
Picture this: a star anchor on a major news network declares that elections don’t matter and civil war is the only solution.
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Aidan McLaughlin @aidanmcl.bsky.social · 21/09/2023
Succession watch: Murdoch chose Lachlan to succeed him as head of Fox and News Corp. But when Rupert dies, the 4 kids - Lachlan, James, Prue, and Liz - will be left with equal votes. That makes a potential alliance between his more liberal siblings very dangerous for Lachlan (and Fox News)
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