Adam Wren
@adamwren
Senior national politics correspondent @POLITICO. Contributing author, @playbookdc. [email protected]
New for @POLITICOMag: Joe Rogan told Texas Democratic lawmaker @jamestalarico he needs to run for president. But he might sooner end up running for Texas Senate. We talk about what it's like to go on Rogan, a Senate run, and what nat'l Dems get wrong about Texas.…
Between Hunter Biden ripping his father's Dem critics and Trump dwelling on Obama-era grievances, both worlds seem focused on the past. Can either party find a forward-looking message going into 2026? @DashaBurns & @adamwren discuss on #PlaybookPod. 🎧: ow.ly/tEG750Wp5Ig
“You’re seeing Democratic institutions like the DNC have some trouble raising grassroots money because these institutions are so tied to the national party brand ... which to state the obvious is not a popular brand right now.” tinyurl.com/yzxw2tf9
More Americans get their soccer news from @politico than from any other source
Scoop: A WSJ reporter was slated to be part of the travel pool this weekend when Trump travels to Scotland. After the paper's Epstein story last week, the WH booted them from the pool. w/ @iriesentner politico.com/news/2025/07/2…
New: There's been an unlikely alliance between the populist left and right lately—on Epstein files, war, AI, Israel. Steve Bannon & progressive Ro Khanna have even "exchanged a few texts" in "the context of trying to stop the regime-change war in Iran." politico.com/news/2025/07/1…
Some grafs from this morning's @playbookdc: I asked the White House what President Trump's 3-minute, captionless video that he Truthed meant:

Summary of Pres Trump’s truth social posts last night via @playbookdc
As the Epstein story soaks up attention, Dems are learning to use Trump’s own tactics against him. On today’s #PlaybookPod, our @AdamWren and @DashaBurns discuss Dems’ attempts to close the “attention gap” with Republicans. 🎧: ow.ly/tEG750Wp5Ig
New @playbookdc: As Trump struggles to wire the news cycle in his favor, Democrats are learning how to tip the attention economy in theirs.

Striking words here about @RoKhanna, who @RepJamesClyburn says makes him “think of what the future of this country is about.”
The tassel at top of stalk sheds its pollen on the white silk lower on stalk Each thread of silk leads to a future kernel When the silk turns brown as u c in last picture pollination is complete #cornwatch
“When we take joy in the distress and ruination of other people, we make monsters of ourselves,” writes @KatRosenfield. thefp.com/p/the-coldplay…
Exactly right.
“Forget about how this impacts people like the CEO and his mistress, garden-variety sinners who, through a combination of terrible luck and atrocious judgment, will be famous, and hated, for the rest of their lives. You don’t have to feel sorry for them (although I admit, I kind…
President Trump faces calls from both Democrats and Republicans to release the Epstein files. Fmr. Jan. 6 Cmte. Lead Investigator Tim Heaphy, fmr. Dept. of Homeland Security Chief of Staff @MilesTaylorUSA, and POLITICO Correspondent @adamwren weigh in. msnbc.com/weekends-with-…
"I think what @joerogan is doing is maybe how we can fix this democracy," @jamestalarico tells @adamwren. "If we actually sat down and listened to each other and loved our enemies ..."
"I just got the overwhelming impression that Joe Rogan is not loyal to either political party, and is deeply skeptical of our political system as a whole. I think that skepticism also applies to Donald Trump, just like it did to Joe Biden last year." tinyurl.com/5n756pnw
Go to Fancy Farm next month and you’ll quickly revisit Western Ky
This is the South.
Meet James Talarico, the Texas Democrat that Joe Rogan says should run for President. Read our interview with @jamestalarico here 👇 politico.com/news/magazine/…