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Preview

The 2024 Ticket Obama Wanted

Breaking down “FIGHT” with Jonathan Allen.
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Happy Wednesday and welcome to another episode of the Wake Up To Politics Book Club.

This morning, we’re talking to Jonathan Allen, a longtime Friend of the Newsletter and senior national politics reporter at NBC News.

Jon and his co-author Amie Parnes of The Hill have spent the last decade writing a series of revelatory books on Donald Trump and the Democrats he’s left in his wake: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and now Kamala Harris. Their first book on Hillary and her orbit is one of my favorites; it’s a fascinating look into how political machines operate in the modern era.

Their latest book, “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” goes deep in the Trump, Biden, and Harris inner circles to give a behind-the-scenes view of the 2024 campaign. I highly recommend it.

In our interview above, Jon and I discuss:

  • Jon’s take on whether Biden dropping out sooner would have helped the Democrats

  • Why Obama and top Democrats didn’t want Kamala Harris as their nominee — and the ticket Obama really wanted

  • What it was like reporting on the Biden White House

  • How Trump has moved away from his campaign-trail rhetoric

  • How long Susie Wiles will last as White House chief of staff

  • My concerns about the campaign book genre

I hope you enjoy!

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