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Georgia Republicans drop 2028 redistricting push
The decision marked a major setback for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R)
Fox News and Donald Trump's Divorce
For a decade, the network and the president have fueled each other’s rise. As the midterms approach, both are learning who really owns the Republican base.
Republicans actually do have a healthcare plan, and it’s a good one
Republicans have an opportunity to tell a different story than the one Americans have believed about them.
Four GOP US Senate candidates face off at Casper’s Politics in the Park
CASPER, Wyo. — Four Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis met in Casper on Wednesday for the second Politics
Four GOP US Senate candidates face off at Casper’s Politics in the Park
CASPER, Wyo. — Four Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis met in Casper on Wednesday for the second Politics
Senate Republicans grow increasingly frustrated with Trump blindsiding them
Trump has used his clout to knock out senators in primaries, issue unachievable demands and force them into politically fraught positions. Some say it’s harming his own agenda.
Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor's call for 2028 redistricting
Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session, citing concerns about moving too quickly after a U.S. Supreme Court decision weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.
Georgia GOP drops redistricting plan that would hurt Black representation
Gov. Brian Kemp had called a special session so Republicans could secure one or more additional House seats in the 2028 elections. But lawmakers pulled the plug.
Why Trump’s Iran agreement could be a tough sell for Republicans: From the Politics Desk
Plus, the major Trump-related cases remaining at the Supreme Court.
Georgia Republicans choose Collins for Senate and Jackson for governor, a mixed result for Trump
Georgia Republicans delivered a split decision for Donald Trump in Tuesday runoffs, opting for the president’s preferred U.S. Senate candidate but rejecting his choice for governor in favor of a billionaire first-time candidate who spent freely from his personal fortune to win the nomination.
The price tag of overcoming a Trump endorsement, and other takeaways from Tuesday's primaries
Rick Jackson's campaign spent more than $100 million, largely out of his own pocket, to defeat Trump-endorsed Burt Jones in the Republican runoff for Georgia governor.
Pastors for Trump founder withdraws from US House race after texting scandal
Pastors for Trump founder Jackson Lahmeyer on Wednesday announced he was ending his bid for Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District, one day after he was projected to advance to a runoff for the Republican nomination in the wake of a texting scandal.
Fox News Poll: Most rate the economy negatively, including half of Republicans
Fox News poll finds only 12% of voters say they are getting ahead financially, with 59% feeling pessimistic about the economy ahead of midterms.
Georgia House Republicans reject call for new political maps at special session
Georgia House Republicans rejected a proposal to redraw political maps before the start of a special session Wednesday
Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor’s call for 2028 redistricting
Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday rejected Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session, citing concerns about moving too quickly after a US Supreme Court decision weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.
Georgia Republicans backtrack on redistricting plans
After Gov. Brian Kemp called them into a special session, state lawmakers said they didn’t have enough time to draw new maps that would have taken effect for the 2028 elections.
Rep. Kevin Hern wins Oklahoma GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, governor's race heads to runoff
The primary had Republicans picking their preferred successor to outgoing Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and a nominee for the Senate seat once held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Georgia Republican leaders nix redistricting plans amid pushback
Republican leaders feared the issue would give Democrats an effective issue to campaign on during the midterms.
Anxious Republicans await details of Iran deal as Trump keeps them guessing
Republicans are awaiting full details of the president’s new agreement with Iran but early reports have exacerbated longstanding tensions over the war.
D.C. voters face a new political era without Eleanor Holmes Norton, after her 18 terms in Congress
Norton chose not to run for reelection after mounting concerns that, at 89 years old, she was no longer capable of forcefully combating a Republican-led Congress and presidential administration constantly overriding the heavily Democratic city's leadership.
Trump-backed candidate wins primary to face Jon Ossoff in Georgia midterms
Republican primary runoff voters chose US representative Mike Collins to face Ossoff in November
In Georgia’s Capitol, Republicans' redistricting session to begin without maps
Georgia is the next Southern state where Republicans are convening to redraw political districts in ways that could diminish the political power of Black and other nonwhite voters
Trump beats a longtime adversary with a late Georgia endorsement, and other election takeaways
President Donald Trump finally got the best of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in one Georgia Republican race on Tuesday — but voters rejected both of them in another.
Collins defeats Dooley for GOP U.S. Senate nomination in Georgia
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins will face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November after winning the Republican runoff in Georgia's Senate contest.
5 Things to Know About Derek Dooley, Republican Senate Candidate in Georgia
He is supported by outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, who has had a tumultuous relationship with President Trump. Mr. Trump backs Mr. Dooley’s runoff opponent.
Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Barry Moore battles ex-Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in GOP Senate runoff in Alabama
The Alabama race will be another test of Trump's endorsement powers, as his picks have largely prevailed in Republican primaries this year.
Where Colorado's Republican gubernatorial candidates stand on business issues
The Republican gubernatorial candidates largely agree on issues like housing and job creation but offer different implementation plans.
Live results: Georgia midterm Republican primary runoff
Georgia Republicans will finalize their picks in marquee races for U.S. Senate and governor in a state primary runoff election on Tuesday.
In Michigan visit, RFK Jr. hammers processed foods
Kennedy spoke at an event with U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Charlotte Republican who faces a reelection campaign expected to be competitive this fall.
Georgia Governor Primary Runoff Election 2026 Live Results
See live results from the 2026 Georgia Governor primary runoff election as Republican votes are counted by candidate and county.
Q&A: Term-limited Sioux Falls mayor reflects on Republican fractures, conflict with legislators
TenHaken became emotional Monday while reflecting on positive relationships with city leaders and his staff’s accomplishments.
Today’s Georgia Runoffs Could Shape Politics for Years
Republicans are selecting a challenger to rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff and a gubernatorial candidate who may oversee voting in 2028.
Why are American politics so volatile?
Both parties are divided. Older issues divide Republicans by education, while newer ones divide Democrats by race.
Oklahoma begins choosing a new US senator and governor in crowded primary
Race set to test Donald Trump’s iron grip on the Republican party
The case that Florida is ready to turn blue again
David Jolly, a former Republican member of Congress, is Democrats’ likely nominee. Here’s his case that he can win.
Top Republican, 84, Refuses to Come Clean on Health Crisis
Mitch McConnell is not saying why he was hospitalized over the weekend.
VIDEO: Former Vice President Mike Pence on His New Book, Party Politics, and Texas
Pence discussed his new book, the Republicans and Democrats of today, the Lone Star State, and more.
Americans agree that childcare is expensive. Democrats are running on it.
In a memo shared first with The 19th, three top Senate Democrats say Trump and Republicans have ‘taken a wrecking ball’ to childcare.
As political power erodes, Black gay men seek key roles in Congress
As Republicans carve up Black voting districts, a record number of Black gay men could serve in Congress. What should representation look like?
We’re about to find out how powerful Brian Kemp really is with Georgia Republicans
Tuesday will prove whether he has the juice to overcome a Trump endorsement in the Senate race and overcome a firehose of cash in the race to succeed him.
What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and Washington, DC
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp survived President Donald Trump’s bid to oust him in a Republican primary four years ago. Kemp’s hand-picked candidate in a Senate primary on Tuesday might not be as lucky.
Politics News: Latest on Trump Administration, Congress, Elections and More
Find the latest political news stories, photos, and videos on NBCNews.com. Read breaking headlines covering Congress, Democrats, Republicans, and more.
Oklahoma begins choosing a new US senator and governor in crowded primary
U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma is hoping to win the Republican nomination for the Senate seat once held by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
Can $100 million overcome a Trump endorsement? What to watch in Tuesday's elections
An endorsement from President Donald Trump is worth a lot in Republican primaries
Can $100 million overcome a Trump endorsement? What to watch in Tuesday's elections
An endorsement from President Donald Trump is worth a lot in Republican primaries.
Can $100 Million Overcome a Trump Endorsement? What to Watch in Tuesday's Elections
WASHINGTON (AP) — An endorsement from President Donald Trump is worth a lot in Republican primaries. But is it worth more than $100 million in Georgia? Can it propel a sitting congressman past an insurgent outsider in Alabama? Can it transform a candidate into a front-runner in Oklahoma? Trump has ...
Promoter of election conspiracy theories wins GOP primary for Nevada secretary of state
Former state lawmaker Jim Marchant has won the Republican nomination for Nevada secretary of state
Senate Republicans want a say on Trump’s Iran deal
Lawmakers said they are eager to delve into the fine print, though there is a high bar to overturning any final agreement.
Same-name candidate disqualified from key Senate race over alleged Dem scheme to confuse voters
Alaska election official disqualified a same-name Republican challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan, ruling the candidacy was designed to confuse voters.
Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration's dismantling of a $386 million ocean observatory project
Monday’s pushback against the Republican administration’s actions comes as scientists are set to remove instruments from the Pacific and as an El Niño event is predicted to arrive this summer.
Alaska boots second Dan Sullivan from Senate race
Republicans alleged he entered the competitive race to syphon votes away from the incumbent, Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Senate candidate with same name as incumbent Dan Sullivan ineligible for ballot, official rules
A top Alaska election official has ruled that a U.S. Senate candidate with the same name and party affiliation as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan is ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot in August.
Nearly half a billion dollars in ads projected in Maine election
Most of the spending will target the crucial U.S. Senate race between Democrat Graham Platner and Republican Susan Collins, according to AdImpact.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Trump's Justice Department is investigating him and his wife
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and longtime political rival of Republican President Donald Trump, said Monday the president ordered the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.
Voters to head to polls in Georgia, Alabama, California and DC on Tuesday
One of the most watched races is the Republican Senate primary in Georgia, the winner of which will face Sen. Jon Ossoff
Kemp, Trump flex their political muscles days ahead of Georgia’s runoffs
Donald Trump and Brian Kemp broke their silence in two of Georgia's most prominent Republican races.
Trump's endorsement of Mike Collins for US Senate creates ‘Georgia politics Jenga game’
Georgia Republicans are weighing in on President Donald Trump's 11th-hour endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate, current U.S. Rep. Mike Collins.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Georgia’s state primary runoff
Georgia Republicans return to the polls Tuesday to pick nominees for U.S. Senate and governor in a state primary runoff election
They’re Uninsured After Obamacare Became Too Costly. And They’re Far From Alone.
After congressional Republicans let expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans expire at the end of last year, some families have decided the price is too great of a financial burden and canceled their coverage.
Indiana takes on powerful hospitals by capping prices they charge employers
Tired of watching its employers struggle to afford the cost of healthcare, Republican-controlled Indiana is trying a traditionally liberal tactic to control costs: setting government price controls on hospitals.
Trump’s U.F.C. Event Comes as Backing of Young Men, Once a Strength, Wanes
Some Republicans see a political opening in Sunday’s fights at the White House. Democrats say they see a distraction from more pressing matters.
Trump marks 80th birthday with UFC fight at the White House
President Trump is celebrating his 80th birthday with a UFC fight on the White House lawn. A closer look a the political message behind the event and why some Republicans are uneasy.
Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hospitalized
A spokesman for former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Kentucky republican was admitted to a hospital on Sunday.
Sen. Mitch McConnell is hospitalized, but his office does not disclose why
The Kentucky Republican is receiving "excellent care," a McConnell spokesperson said in a statement that did not address his condition.
McConnell hospitalized and ‘receiving excellent care,’ spokesperson says
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was admitted to the hospital Sunday morning, according to his spokesperson.
Senate Republican on FISA holdup: ‘Stop playing the politics’
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) on Sunday slammed her fellow lawmakers after both chambers of Congress failed to pass bills to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FI…
Trump endorses Rep. Mike Collins ahead of GOP Senate runoff in Georgia
President Donald Trump on Sunday waded into the Georgia Republican primary for Senate, endorsing Rep. Mike Collins just days before the congressman faces off against Derek Dooley in a runoff election.
Trump endorses Collins in Georgia Senate runoff. It's his latest 'MAGA' pick in Republican primaries
Days before the U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia, President Donald Trump has made an endorsement
Trump endorses Mike Collins in runoff, shaking up Georgia’s U.S. Senate race
The decision is a blow to Derek Dooley, the Republican who is backed by Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump's decision will test GOP loyalties in the runoff in June.
Why I’m voting Democrat
It makes no sense to be a Republican in Colorado. Or a Democrat for that matter. On the day I turned 18, even before I bought my first legal 3.2 beer (remember 3.2 beer?), I went to the courthouse and registered to vote (remember registering to vote?). I joined the Republican Party. Even at 18, […]
Who stays home may threaten Republicans this year as much as who votes
Subtraction, not addition, is emerging as the central threat to Republicans in the 2026 election.
President Trump Endorses Mike Collins in Georgia Senate Runoff
Mr. Trump backed Mr. Collins over Derek Dooley, a former football coach who is supported by Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican whose relationship with the president is strained.
Tuberville faces renewed residency challenge in run for Alabama governor
Alabama Republican Party leaders will hold a hearing Sunday on whether U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville meets the residency requirement to run for governor
Tuberville faces renewed residency challenge in run for Alabama governor
Alabama Republican Party leaders will hold a hearing Sunday on whether U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville meets the residency requirement to run for governor.
Trump at 80 works to project strength as political woes mount
He is struggling to end an unpopular war with Iran, some fellow Republicans have begun to resist his ideas and polls show his support outside his devoted base is waning.
James Uthmeier backs Scott Singer in crowded CD 25 Republican primary
The Attorney General's nod hands Singer a statewide ally as he competes with a field of GOP rivals.
SBA moves to revise 8(a) rules while preserving tribal, ANC eligibility
Details By Brian Edwards Native Contracting June 13, 2026 The U.S. Small Business Administration has proposed changes to its 8(a) Business Development Program that would eliminate race-based presumptions of social disadvantage for individually owned businesses while leaving eligibility standards unchanged for tribally owned enterprises, Alaska Native corporations and other Native entity-owned participants. In both the title and summary of the proposed rule published in the Federal Register, SBA emphasized that the changes only apply to individually owned firms and “do not impact entity-owned firms,” including tribes, Alaska Native corporation, Native Hawaiian organizations and community development corporations. The proposed rule, announced June 11, would require all individual applicants seeking admission to the 8(a) program to submit evidence demonstrating social disadvantage. Membership in a racial or ethnic group alone would no longer establish eligibility, according to the SBA. For Indian Country, the agency said eligibility standards for businesses owned by federally recognized tribes, Alaska Native corporations, Native Hawaiian organizations and community development corporations would remain unchanged. The proposal comes after the Department of Defense reaffirmed that participation by tribes and Alaska Native corporations in the 8(a) program is based on their political status under federal law rather than diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In a May 28 letter to Alaska's Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael P. Duffey wrote that participation by federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native corporations in federal programs is “grounded in their political status as Native Americans, not DEI initiatives.” The SBA proposal follows a 2023 federal court ruling that found unconstitutional the program's rebuttable presumption that members of certain racial and ethnic groups were socially disadvantaged. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the proposed rule would establish a single standard for individually owned applicants by requiring evidence of social disadvantage. The 8(a) Business Development Program provides participating firms with business development assistance and access to federal set-aside and sole-source contracting opportunities. The program remains a major source of federal contracting revenue for tribal enterprises and Alaska Native corporations. Native-owned firms received $16.1 billion of the program's approximately $26 billion in federal contract awards during fiscal 2024, according to data previously reported by Tribal Business News. The proposal also arrives amid ongoing concerns from Native contractors about SBA administration of the program. In May, the Native American Contractors Association and 53 Native-owned businesses urged SBA to address delays in processing 8(a) applications, saying some reviews had stretched beyond regulatory deadlines and appeared to have stalled since August 2025. The proposed rule is open for public comment through July 13. The Federal Register notice does not reference tribal consultation or indicate whether SBA determined consultation was unnecessary because tribal eligibility standards are unchanged. The SBA has not announced when the proposed rule would take effect. The agency is expected to accept public comments before issuing a final rule.About The AuthorAuthor: Brian EdwardsBrian Edwards is associate publisher and associate editor of Tribal Business News and Native News Online. He is a longtime publisher, editor, business reporter and serial entrepreneur. Subscribe Today!Other Articles by this authorDefense Department reaffirms tribal, ANC eligibility in SBA 8(a) programTribal heritage projects eligible for up to $100K in federal funding through NPS programIHS launches tribal long-term care construction initiative with three projectsIḷisaġvik College acquires site for long-planned Utqiaġvik campus This article is available to paid digital subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
This week in politics: How Schuylkill County’s legislators voted
Both the PA House of Representatives and Senate were in session this week — the House passed 22 bills and the Senate passed 23. The U.S. House and Senate were also in session — the House passed 24 bills and the Senate passed 12. Let’s take …
Angst at the Supreme Court before a rush of decisions
Late spring means the Supreme Court is preparing to unleash decisions. Justices have already had a remarkable term. They invalidated much of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, but also gutted the Voting Rights Act and gave Republicans an advantage in the redistricting war Trump started.
Entertainment Extra: June 13, 2026
Click here to view this item from pressrepublican.com.
Will Trump Spend His $350 Million War Chest to Win Texas? Republicans Are Worried
By Nolan D. McCaskill WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - Republicans want President Donald Trump to put his money where his mouth is: behind his scandal-plagued ally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton ousted four-term Senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff last month on the heels of Trump's ...
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
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