Nicole Lafond

 Have a tip? Send it Here!
Nicole Lafond is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

Where Things Stand: Schumer Asks Fox To Put A Stop To Some Of Tucker’s Rampant Racism
This is your TPM evening briefing.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reached out to Tucker Carlson, Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch and other top Fox executives personally to ask them to stop promoting the racist bile that is the great replacement conspiracy theory.

“I write to urge you to immediately cease the reckless amplification of the so-called ‘Great Replacement’ theory on your network’s broadcasts,” he wrote in a letter obtained by the New York Times, before placing the blame for the conspiracy theory’s entrance into the mainstream squarely on Fox News’ shoulders.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Most Americans Don’t Want SCOTUS To Do What SCOTUS Is About To Do
This is your TPM evening briefing.

New polling conducted by NBC News has found that American opposition to overturning Roe v. Wade is at a record high. The poll was conducted after the draft Supreme Court majority opinion overturning Roe was leaked earlier this month.

Read More 
Pence Joins Parade Of GOPers Bucking Trump To Support Kemp
Where Things Stand: Some Updates On Those Impending Jan 6 Panel Hearings
This is your TPM evening briefing.

When the Jan. 6 select committee begins holding hearings on their investigative findings in about one month, we may see video testimony from some members of the Trump family.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Taking The Bait
This is your TPM evening briefing.

There’s an argument to be made that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) et al. knew what they were getting themselves into; the wrath from Trump their little musketeers-ing might evoke.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Does DeSantis Want A Treat Or Something At This Point?
This is your TPM evening briefing.

Sure, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), go ahead and take home the trophy for passing the most outrageous/bizarre/problematic anti-education laws of all the red state governors in the land, if that’s the distinction you’re after.

At this point, it seems that’s the governor’s goal (coupled with the, seemingly, broader party aim to distract voters so completely with such non-serious non-existent issues that they don’t remember why they decided to support GOPers in the midterms in the first place).

The latest DeSantis culture war to get legislated into law in Florida: a sidetrack focus on communism.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: GOP Circulates Talking Points To Try To Sound A Little Less Like They’re Throwing A Kegger Over Roe
This is your TPM afternoon briefing.

In an effort to sound like the “compassionate” party, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is reportedly circulating a messaging memo among members that gives the GOP talking points on how exactly they should publicly celebrate the Supreme Court’s plans to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: A Link Between Backsliding Democracies And Abortion Bans
This is your TPM evening briefing.

There’s lots of brilliant think pieces from reporters, scholars and political observers to consume today to help wrap one’s head around the gravity of the last 24-hours. Here’s another take to add to the list this evening.

New York Times writer Max Fisher flagged a piece he published back in September 2021 here:

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Advocacy Group Finds GOP’s Slew Of Education-Gagging Laws Intentionally Vague
This is your TPM evening briefing.

Political observers have been theorizing for some time that the Republican Party’s current war on education and school-related issues is all part of a broader effort to create a political illusion. The right-wing media and right-wing politicians are seemingly using each other to make enough noise about faux cultural grievances that it’s impossible to tell where the noise originated in the first place.

Are kindergarteners in Florida being exposed to LGBTQ or gender identity issues in an age inappropriate way? Are math textbooks in Texas indoctrinating kids to become liberal cyborgs? No, but asking the question gives the question a life of its own.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Roger Born-Again Stone Warns Of ‘Satanic Portal’ Above White House
This is your TPM evening briefing.

I will admit: I have watched every episode ever of the documentary-style “Ghost Trackers” and “Haunted,” as well as the fictionalized adaptations of the hauntings of “Bly Manor” and “Hill House.”

If there’s a fleck of dust in a dark room and you wanna call it an orb, I’m there.

But Roger Stone could perhaps stand to watch a few episodes of “Ghost Brothers” or “Haunted Towns” — particularly the episodes when they talk about how basic things like light reflections work — before he starts proclaiming evidence of “satanic portals.”

Read More 
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: