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: Abbott Says 14 Children And One Teacher Killed In School Shooting
This is your TPM evening briefing.

Just days after New York state was rocked by a devastating mass shooting in Buffalo where 10 people were killed by a white gunman, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed this afternoon that more than a dozen children were murdered in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Post-Roe, Trans Issues May Be GOP’s Next Evangelical Energizing Vehicle
This your TPM evening briefing.

For weeks we’ve been watching Republicans squirm to find a messaging balance.

The party as a whole is attempting to walk a bizarre tightrope as leaders try to downplay Republicans’ unadulterated joy at the defeat of Roe, a social issue the GOP’s been using as a policy placeholder for decades, in the face of our evidence-backed reality: support for abortion access is at a record high among Americans across the political spectrum.

Read More 
Where Things Stand: Trump Just Wants His Own Mini-Me
This is your TPM evening briefing.

When Donald Trump looks at Dr. Oz, he sees himself.

(He probably sees his own reflection in the glint in everyone’s eye, but …)

Mehmet Oz is super close to transforming into his highest self as a Trump mini-me — he’s already got the celeb status, he’s a reality TV host with no business being in politics, he’s just as bombastic in his MAGA beliefs as the ex-president. But he’s missing one key ingredient that Trump is already subtly calling him out for.

Read More 
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 
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: