Isaac Arnsdorf

Washington, D.C.

Staff writer

Education: Yale University, BA in History

Isaac Arnsdorf is a national political reporter for The Washington Post who covers former president Donald Trump, the “Make America Great Again” political movement, and the elected officials, activists, donors and media figures on the right who are powering the Republican Party. He was previously an investigative reporter covering national politics at ProPublica and a money-in-politics reporter at Politico.
Latest from Isaac Arnsdorf

Daines, head of powerful Senate GOP fundraising arm, endorses Trump

Daines made his endorsement during an interview on Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast. The senator told Trump’s son — Daines’s longtime friend — that the “best four years” he had in the Senate were those he served during the Trump administration.

April 24, 2023

Trump touts authoritarian vision for second term: ‘I am your justice’

The former president is proposing deploying the military domestically, purging the federal workforce and building futuristic cities from scratch.

April 21, 2023

After high-flying start, DeSantis hits stumbling blocks on road to 2024

After starting the year with momentum, DeSantis is now confronting a considerably more difficult path as he prepares to launch a national campaign.

April 20, 2023

You asked: Is a felon legally permitted to run for president?

Is a felon legally permitted to run for president? We answered this reader question in a recent live chat.

April 17, 2023

Trump says criminal conviction wouldn’t stop him from running for president

The former president also heaped praise on foreign dictators in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

April 11, 2023

‘Not going to be bullied’: Why DeSantis went after Trump, then retreated

The Florida governor’s response to Trump’s indictment shows the challenge of going on the attack.

April 9, 2023

‘Frustrated and upset,’ Trump goes silent, then seethes

The splitscreen highlighted the two worlds Trump is spanning as he makes a third straight bid for the presidency: one in which he is a defiant political hero and another in which he is in increasing legal peril.

April 5, 2023

Trump extends election-rigging myth to his potential criminal charges

Trump repeatedly emphasized his false insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him and suggested his political opponents were now bent on rigging the next election against him through the prospect of criminal charges.

March 27, 2023

Trump, under legal threat, tries to short-circuit DeSantis momentum

The former president holds his first rally of the 2024 campaign on Saturday, as he seeks to further slow his chief GOP rival.

March 25, 2023

Trump campaign prepares for ‘new normal’: Running under indictment

The former president’s team is pressuring other Republicans to show support. But advisers privately acknowledged many potential risks.

March 21, 2023