Aaron Zitner

Washington, D.C.

Political Reporter, Washington Bureau at The Wall Street Journal

Serving up hot stacks of facts for all you Jills and Jacks. Working on polls and politics for the Wall Street Journal.

Articles

Essay | Trump Wants to Remake the Sports World Too

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Alex Leary |Aaron Zitner

Give President Trump the chance to banter, and he often sounds like the guy on the next bar stool, eager to opine about the game on TV. Pro football’s new kickoff rule, he insists, is ruining the game. Trading NBA powerhouse Luka Doncic from the Mavericks to the Lakers was a terrible move. And Major League Baseball “should get off its fat, lazy ass” and finally put the Cincinnati Reds’ Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.
Trump Won in 2024 By Expanding the GOP Coalition. It’s Starting to Fray.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Aaron Zitner |Kara Dapena

President Trump’s victory in 2024 not only put a Republican in the White House but gave the party hope that its appeal was attracting new groups of voters. Trump drew unexpectedly large shares of young voters and Black and Latino voters—groups that had largely resisted the GOP. After broadening the Republican coalition, Trump is at risk of shrinking it. Trump came close to winning young voters—those under age 30—in 2024, a sharp reversal from his 25-point loss among young voters in 2020.
Trump Won in 2024 By Expanding the GOP Coalition. It’s Starting to Fray.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Aaron Zitner |Kara Dapena

Now that he is back in the White House, these groups have grown increasingly unhappy with his job performance. White working-class voters Since taking office, Trump’s job-approval rating has fallen across all segments of the public—even among his most ardent supporters. Now, he draws positive job ratings from only a few major voter groups. One is the group that has backed Trump since he became a national political figure: white, working-class voters without a four-year degree.
I cattolici conservatori alla conquista della chiesa

1 month ago | internazionale.it | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

Il 20 aprile 2025, domenica di Pasqua, poche ore prima della sua morte e nonostante uno stato di salute precario, papa Francesco ha incontrato brevemente in Vaticano il vicepresidente degli Stati Uniti JD Vance. Per Francesco si è trattato dell’ultimo incontro con un rappresentante dell’ala conservatrice del cattolicesimo statunitense, sempre più forte e aggressiva.
Constantly in Motion, Trump’s Cabinet Portrays a White House That’s Always Winning

1 month ago | wsj.com | Aaron Zitner |Nancy Youssef |Sadie Gurman

April 26, 2025 5:00 am ETOn any given day, Americans on social media can hope to glimpse Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pounding push-ups with the troops. They might catch FBI Director Kash Patel alongside agents as they cinematically repel from helicopters and blast their way into a building. Or they’ll find Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, dairy cows pacing behind her, pledging to rescind a government ban on whole milk in schools.
As Catholic Church Enters New Era, Conservative U.S. Members Push It Right

1 month ago | tovima.com | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

The conservative wing is reviving old practices and growing more assertive in the battle for the future of the Church—and the nationOn Easter Sunday, hours before his death, an ailing Pope Francis roused himself to share a brief meeting at the Vatican with U.S. Vice President JD Vance . For Francis, it was to be a final encounter with a conservative wing of American Catholicism that is flourishing and increasingly assertive at a time when the Church, more broadly, is struggling.
L'Eglise catholique entre dans une nouvelle ère, et les conservateurs américains la poussent vers la droite

1 month ago | lopinion.fr | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

Dimanche de Pâques, quelques heures avant son décès, le pape François, très affaibli, a puisé dans ses dernières forces pour une brève entrevue avec le vice-président américain, J.D. Vance, au Vatican.
Conservative Catholicism Stages a Resurgence in the MAGA Era

1 month ago | wsj.com | Joshua Chaffin |Aaron Zitner

FLORISSANT, Mo.—The Catholic Church is struggling in St. Louis. Two years ago, the archdiocese closed or merged dozens of parishes due to declining attendance and a scarcity of priests. But just outside town, on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, conservative Catholicism is flourishing.
Trump Is Taking On America’s Institutions but Resistance Is Building

1 month ago | wsj.com | Sadie Gurman |Aaron Zitner |Meridith McGraw

Federal courts raised the prospect of holding Trump officials in contempt. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has resisted calls to pre-emptively lower interest rates to cushion any economic fallout from Trump’s trade war. Former cybersecurity official Chris Krebs, targeted with a federal investigation for not going along with Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, quit his private-sector job so he could more freely battle the White House.
Trump Is Taking On America’s Institutions but Resistance Is Building

1 month ago | wsj.com | Sadie Gurman |Aaron Zitner |Meridith McGraw

Federal courts raised the prospect of holding Trump officials in contempt. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has resisted calls to pre-emptively lower interest rates to cushion any economic fallout from Trump’s trade war. Former cybersecurity official Chris Krebs, targeted with a federal investigation for not going along with Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, quit his private-sector job so he could more freely battle the White House.