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[YEAR IN REVIEW THREAD — will be adding to it over the next 24 hours. Watch this space.]
So, this year sucked. Started/ended it in freelance hell, with most of it spent stuck working from home during a pandemic.
The one bright spot? Helping to bring you news.
Some highlights:
So, this year sucked. Started/ended it in freelance hell, with most of it spent stuck working from home during a pandemic.
The one bright spot? Helping to bring you news.
Some highlights:
Remember impeachment? @PepperidgeFarm remembers.
@realDonaldTrump went on trial, and most Republicans bent over backwards to excuse his use of taxpayer funds to blackmail Ukraine's then-new president. Here's @LindseyGrahamSC dodging one of my questions about it.
@realDonaldTrump went on trial, and most Republicans bent over backwards to excuse his use of taxpayer funds to blackmail Ukraine's then-new president. Here's @LindseyGrahamSC dodging one of my questions about it.
But a Senate trial isn't the only one in @realDonaldTrump's future. Writer @ejeancarroll and her lawyers have been trying to pry a bit of DNA out of him since January, but future WH Chief of Staff @MarkMeadows didn't think finding out if POTUS is a rapist was a "serious question"
Meanwhile COVID was looming, and in February @realDonaldTrump put @VP Pence on the case. His contributed to a large HIV outbreak when he was Indiana's governor, so I asked him and @realDonaldTrump if they'd keep politics out of the COVID response.
(they dodged the question)
(they dodged the question)
But COVID went from looming to overwhelming, and by mid-March I, along with a significant chunk of the White House press corps, was no longer permitted to attend briefings and discouraged from spending any time at the White House itself.
Still, I'm proud of what I've been able to get done while working from home. Here are some of my favorite stories that have been published under my byline this year.
(reminder: this will be updated over the next 24 hours, so keep checking for more walks down memory lane)
(reminder: this will be updated over the next 24 hours, so keep checking for more walks down memory lane)
This 1/9 piece on @realDonaldTrump walking back from escalating tensions with Iran (co-authored with the fantastic @Beltrew) ended up being my first (and only, to date) appearance on the @Independent's front page. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/iran-sanctions-trump-iraq-missile-attack-us-bases-a9275851.html
Maybe you've noticed that @realDonaldTrump has largely disappeared from view since the election, it's not the first time he's retreated under stress. He did a similar disappearing act before his impeachment trial. I wrote about it here. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-trial-senate-schedule-democrats-ukraine-latest-a9283601.html
You might remember his lawyers' performance during his impeachment trial. They lied. A lot. Prominent members of the legal community were unimpressed. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-impeachment-lawyers-john-bolton-ken-starr-alan-dershowitz-a9305071.html
And as his trial went on, smart people told me that @realDonaldTrump would focus his energy on revenge against those who'd had any role in making him just the third POTUS to stand trial in the Senate (e.g. @AVindman).
[spoiler alert: they were right] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-acquittal-revenge-impeachment-mitt-romney-nancy-pelosi-insiders-a9324401.html
[spoiler alert: they were right] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-acquittal-revenge-impeachment-mitt-romney-nancy-pelosi-insiders-a9324401.html
Around that time, @TheDemocrats began the process of picking a nominee. You probably missed it, but @PeteButtigieg did win the Iowa caucus. In a preview of @realDonaldTrump's response to the general election, Bernie Sanders fans spun conspiracy theories. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bernie-sanders-iowa-caucus-winner-trump-democrats-a9317761.html
Bernieworld's reaction to @PeteButtigieg being declared the winner in Iowa also foreshadowed a phenomenon that would continue to hurt his second primary campaign: Overzealous, harassment-happy, extremely online fans. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/new-hampshire-primary-results-bernie-sanders-buttigieg-conspiracy-amy-klobuchar-emily-goldman-a9330031.html
As the primary went on, Sanders made some attempts to disavow what @nbcsnl mocked as his "troll army." But as I reported below, Bernieworld veterans said Sanders knew that a lot of the abuse towards other candidates' supporters came from his own staff. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bernie-sanders-campaign-russia-bots-trolls-bros-2020-election-a9352026.html
And by the end of February, COVID had started to get people's attention. But @realDonaldTrump, @MickMulvaney, and other allies were already call it the next big hoax. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-coronavirus-us-cpac-stock-market-a9365426.html
Then, he tried to "pivot" with a prime time Oval Office address, notable for how he bungled announcing his own administration's policies, and for him getting caught cursing on a hot mic. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/joe-biden-coronavirus-speech-trump-republicans-covid-19-a9398781.html
Another highlight: An interesting conversation with one of ex-AG Bill Barr's high school and college classmates. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/william-barr-trump-resign-roger-stone-fascist-classmates-a9345386.html
If you were surprised that @realDonaldTrump wanted state legislatures to somehow help overturn @JoeBiden's victory, you missed this piece I wrote in May, in which sources predicted that exact strategy. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-biden-victory-wisconsin-michigan-gerrymandering-voter-fraud-electoral-college-a9528561.html
Remember when the President had trouble walking down a ramp and drinking from a glass one-handed? https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-health-ramp-walk-water-white-house-doctors-a9569531.html
The president has been pushing his supporters to come to Washington to "protest" when Congress certifies the electoral college vote next week. The possibility for violence is something sources predicted would be afoot months ago. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-lose-2020-election-supporters-maga-presidency-a9606081.html
Another favorite piece of mine from this year was this one, breaking the story of how @realDonaldTrump bragged to a bunch of civil rights activists — including Martin Luther King III — about how Black voters not voting in 2016 was "great" for him. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-martin-luther-king-iii-recording-mlk-audio-civil-rights-a9681201.html
And who could forget the staffer who's response to @realDonaldTrump catching COVID was simply: "We're fucked." https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-covid-administration-insiders-mike-pence-election-over-b749588.html
Another prescient bit from this year? This piece looking at Trump trying to create his own "deep state" to sabotage @JoeBiden's administration. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-biden-administration-civil-service-stephen-miller-2020-us-election-b1185828.html
Anyway, it's getting late so I'm going to relax for the last few hours of this year from hell. Thank you for reading and thanks to @h0llyb4xter @C_Stevenson @philipthomaspt @GeordieStory and the other Indy editors for cleaning up my copy this year.
Here's to a not-awful 2021!
Here's to a not-awful 2021!
