Calder McHugh

New York

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Co-Founder and Writer at Southpaw Report

Deputy Editor at POLITICO

Deputy Editor, @politico Nightly, writing features @politicomag

Articles

Why Zohran Mamdani’s win matters - and why it doesn’t

17 hours ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

New York democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani waves to the crowd during his first campaign rally at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn on May 4, 2025.
The new media strategy scrambling the New York mayor’s race

4 days ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

New York City mayoral candidate, State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani holds up a campaign shirt as he prepares to board the subway on March 24, 2025. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images LEFT AND CENTER — Just a few short months ago, Zohran Mamdani was languishing in the polls, with one February survey of the New York City mayor’s race placing his support at 1%.
Andrew Cuomo’s Anger is Legendary. And It’s Powering His Comeback.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Calder McHugh |Nick Reisman

NEW YORK — In 2021, as Assemblymember Ron Kim was drawing a bath for his children, his phone rang. It was Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and he was furious. Kim had criticized Cuomo’s handling of nursing home deaths during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, Cuomo was screaming. He threatened to “destroy” Kim, a fellow Democrat. He tried to pressure Kim into issuing a public statement and said Kim “hadn’t seen his wrath,” according to Kim’s later public account.
The impossible politics of bombing Iran

1 week ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) leaves a House Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol on June 4, 2025. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images TRUE TEST — President Donald Trump suddenly faces one of the most fateful decisions of his second term: Whether to intervene militarily in the war between Israel and Iran, a conflict that threatens to draw the United States into yet another Middle East quagmire.
Which Party Should Be Worried About the Politics of the LA Protests?

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Calder McHugh

Two hotly competing narratives have emerged over the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles and President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard and Marines to California. On one side, the protests symbolize crucial resistance to abuse and overreach by the Trump administration. On the other, radicals are torching cars and the troops are needed to restore law and order. The ultimate political fallout is still unknown.
Which Party Should Be Worried About the Politics of the LA Protests?

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Calder McHugh

NowJerusalem CNN — US President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and stop talk of an attack on Iran, according to a source familiar with the conversation. The two leaders spoke on the phone on Monday. Trump later said the call went “very well, very …
Wiara, rodzina, patriotyzm - chrześcijańska odpowiedź w Hollywood - Film - Kultura

2 weeks ago | kultura.onet.pl | Dominika Olszyna |Dominik Jedliński |Calder McHugh

Buffalo, Nowy Jork — W połowie kwietnia zaczyna wyglądać jak Boże Narodzenie. Mario Lopez, znany z serialu "Byle do dzwonka", trzęsie się z zimna na planie filmowym, co chwilę otulając się puchową kurtką. Członkowie ekipy i aktorzy z Los Angeles kręcą się wokół w zimowych ubraniach. Za nimi widać prawie zamarznięty staw, nagie drzewa i rząd identycznych jasnoniebieskich domów.
How Dr. Phil Became ICE’s Ride-Along Partner

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

The popular talk show host says he’s not very political. But he keeps showing up at very politicized events. Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, speaks next to President Donald Trump during a National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 1, 2025. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Calder McHugh is deputy editor of POLITICO Nightly.
The New Faith-Based Hollywood

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

Faith-based production companies insist they are not explicitly Republican. But they’re selling a vision of American culture to an audience that’s sick of liberal Hollywood. A Great American Media production is filmed in Arlington, Texas, in August 2024. | Rick Kern/Getty Images for Great American Media Calder McHugh is deputy editor of POLITICO Nightly. BUFFALO, New York — In the middle of April, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Trump’s big crypto play

1 month ago | politico.com | Calder McHugh

A cutout of President Donald Trump holding a Bitcoin token during the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, May 27. | Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images THE ART OF THE BITCOIN DEAL — Trump Media and Technology Group — the parent company of Truth Social that counts President Donald Trump as its controlling shareholder — announced today it had raised $2.5 billion from around 50 large investors.