Chris Smith
Vanity Fair
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Past articles by Chris:
Joe Biden’s “Pro-Union” Promise Is Being Fiercely Tested in Detroit
Donald Trump is trying to use the United Auto Workers’ standoff to pry away working-class voters, but Michigan representative Elissa Slotkin tells VF “there is only one party” truly on labor’s side. → Read More
The Fight to Convince Joe Biden to Back Supreme Court Expansion Is Just Beginning
Brian Fallon, the former Hillary Clinton campaign flack who now runs advocacy group Demand Justice, thinks liberals should stop pretending that they can work within the current conservative majority—and start fighting for serious reform. “We have a ways to go,” he tells VF. → Read More
Can President Joe Biden Sell “Bidenomics”?
“Most voters tune out the job-creation numbers,” a top Biden adviser says, but the president is betting on his economic record to paint a big contrast with his Republican counterparts in 2024. → Read More
Joe Biden’s Circle Is Perfectly Fine With Republicans Wasting Time on Hunter Biden
The White House has no illusions of Hunter Biden’s plea deal cooling Republicans’ attacks on the president. To Bidenworld, the GOP onslaught is a losing strategy. → Read More
Gavin Newsom Is Quietly Prepping for a Possible Early Feinstein Exit
The California governor’s team is gauging interest among Black female politicians about a possible appointment should the Senate seat open up. Several have rejected the offer, as to not get ahead of Barbara Lee, insiders tell VF. → Read More
Joe Biden’s Trump Indictment Strategy: Stay Quiet, Let It Play Out
The president’s team thinks a rematch with Trump would play in their favor in 2024, but don’t expect them to jump into the fray over the former president’s legal woes. → Read More
How New York Democrats Could Redistrict George Santos—And the Republican Majority—Out of the House
Democrats in New York are suing in hopes of bringing back a blue-favored congressional map. And this time they might have a favorable court to make it happen. → Read More
Colliding Crises Are Testing Mayor Eric Adams’s Law-and-Order Agenda
This month, New York City’s mayor has been faced with Jordan Neely’s killing and the migrant crisis. Adams’s response has delivered Republicans with a juicy sound bite, and may make him politically vulnerable. → Read More
Philadelphia’s Mayoral Race Is a Test Case for Democrats on Crime
After progressive mayoral wins in Los Angeles and Chicago, Philadelphia’s competitive five-way primary for mayor is sharpening Democrats’ message. → Read More
The Question of Joe Biden’s Age: “It’s a Legitimate Concern”
At 80, President Biden is at the peak of his career. As he makes another run at the White House, those around him see a man with unfinished business who’s still deeply concerned about American democracy. But can they prove to the American voters that he’s up to the task? → Read More
Roy Wood Jr. on Hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
“Eighty percent of the room probably has no idea who I am. Ten percent just know me, kinda, as that guy from The Daily Show. And then the rest of the room thinks I’m Kenan Thompson. Which might not be a bad thing if this shit goes south,” the comic tells Vanity Fair. → Read More
“We Are Getting Into Position”: The Jockeying to Replace George Santos Has Already Begun
Santos has made no indication he’s willing to resign for lying about nearly his entire background, including in possibly criminal ways. But if he’s pushed out, Republicans and Democrats in his swing district are ready to put someone else up. → Read More
Joe Biden Is Trying to Get Ahead of a Big Weakness: The Border
After just unveiling a new immigration plan, Biden is making his first presidential trip to the southern border—all as Republicans prepare to give the administration hell on the issue over the next two years. → Read More
Eric Adams Absolutely Loves Being Mayor. Does New York Love Him Back?
With a jam-packed travel calendar, an administration of close allies, and a media-savvy strategy, Eric Adams has slipped comfortably into his position of power. But will a force of personality be enough to address the city’s many challenges? → Read More
Hakeem Jeffries’s Test of a Lifetime: Filling Nancy Pelosi’s Shoes
“In the end, what separates him is the thing that all legislative leaders need, which is a combination of people who love you and people who fear you,” one senior House aide said of the House Democrats’ new leader. → Read More
Georgia Has Become a Political Experiment
In the December runoff election, Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker face off in what will be Georgia’s sixth Senate vote in two years—a campaign environment defined by voter suppression, shifting demographics, and some of the starkest divides in American politics. → Read More
“If It’s Not Biden, Then Who?”: The President’s Team Girds for a Trump-Saturated 2024 Election Cycle
Biden’s chances at reelection are stronger if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. That also means the stakes are very high. → Read More
“Republicans Know There’s an Election!”: Is New York’s Kathy Hochul At Risk of Losing?
As blue as New York is, the state is not impermeable to national forces. Election insiders see Republican Lee Zeldin out-campaigning Hochul. And she’s not the only Democrat in the state who is facing a tougher-than-expected race. → Read More
“The Country Is Teetering”: What the Midterms Could Mean for America
The GOP has been very open about what it will do if in power, from cutting popular federal programs, to political investigations and changing the elections process. “They’re bomb-throwers. They’re crazy,” one Democratic lawmaker told Vanity Fair of the Republicans who could soon be calling the shots. → Read More
The Democratic Machine in Nevada Might Be Faltering
In Nevada, a major teachers’ union is withholding its endorsement, infighting has roiled the state Democratic party, and Republicans are inching up in the polls. “This would never have happened if Senator Reid were still alive,” a Nevada Democratic insider tells Vanity Fair. → Read More