| CLAIRE HOWORTH,
DEPUTY EDITOR |
|
|
As many have argued, Donald Trump's second coming has been lighter on the chaos than his first, with the administration touting fewer scandals, fewer leakers, maximum loyalty. The tighter ship has often been attributed to Susie Wiles, his chief of staff. But in an explosive VF excerpt, Jonathan Karl reveals how two other women in Trump's inner circle, Linda McMahon and Brooke Rollins, nearly derailed the Wiles pick, among some other surprising early infighting during Trump 2.0. (Karl's excellent new book, Retribution, is one wild reminder that the stories do ultimately come out.) Elsewhere in politics, Aidan McLaughlin follows how the Paul Ingrassia "Nazi Streak" scandal embodies group-chat dynamics on the right, and Keziah Weir has reporting on the left's own Nazi scandal—Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's tattoo. |
During Trump's second term transition, Joe Biden was still the president, but for all intents and purposes, 1100 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach was the center of the political universe. His transition team's office was situated a few miles away from Mar‑a‑Lago in what had been the campaign's headquarters, but the key decisions that would shape the incoming administration were being made within the ornate and gold‑accented walls of Trump's private club. As virtually everyone looking to influence the president‑elect or get a top job knew, proximity to Trump mattered more than anything else. The key was to be the last person to speak with him before he made a decision. |
|
|
One former Trump official warns a "loose-screw caucus" is championing "the worst aspects of Trumpism." |
Platner's mother, former DNC delegate Leslie Harlow, warmed up the 600-person crowd that descended upon the tiny hamlet of Ogunquit to hear the Maine Senate Democratic front-runner explain himself. |
As the unscripted genre reaches new heights, two men are coaching the next crop of reality stars—aspiring influencers, single workaholics, and disgraced politicians among them. |
In his memoir You Thought You Knew, Federline tries to have it both ways. In an interview, he claims that airing his scandals with the pop princess is in service of his children—and Spears herself. |
|
|
The Rebirth of Television |
"We had learned some lessons about big stars and MTV. Early on, we had struggled to get permission even to use photos of recording artists. My partner, John Sykes, and I realized we were asking the wrong people. To the record labels, we might as well have been a high school fan club asking for free pictures. They were oriented toward radio and print, not TV. It was worse when we tried to go through the lawyers. They said no as a policy. It seemed to defy logic, but we found that the easiest people to deal with were the hardest people to get to: the artists themselves."
Tom Freston helped birth MTV and reinvent television. In an excerpt from his new memoir, Unplugged: Adventures From MTV to Timbuktu, he recalls the Hail Mary marketing spots that saved the network.
All of America got its MTV. Then the entire world got it. |
|
|
This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book.
View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe
Copyright © Condé Nast 2025. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment