John McLaughlin

United States

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), lengthy career in US Intelligence, Magic enthusiast. Contributor @thecipherbrief

Articles

Expert Q&A: A Vietnam Veteran and CIA Leader on Lessons from the War

2 weeks ago | thecipherbrief.com | John McLaughlin

Posted: April 30th, 2025 EXPERT Q&A — John McLaughlin was drafted and sent to Vietnam as an intelligence officer in 1969. He would later have a distinguished career in the Central Intelligence Agency, ultimately serving as its Acting Director. We asked McLaughlin – who is also a Cipher Brief expert – to share reflections of his time in Vietnam, and the lessons he drew from his own experience and the U.S. experience writ large.
McLaughlin Poll: Americans Want a Big Beautiful Trump Tax Cut

2 months ago | newsmax.com | John McLaughlin |Jim McLaughlin

Despite the liberal media and famed Clinton strategist James Carville's fondest wishes, after a month of historic transformational activity, public opinion is still on President Trump’s side, and he enjoys majority approval from the voters. However, big challenges remain — especially the most important issue of mustering House and Senate majorities to support President Donald Trump’s pro-growth tax cut to give relief to working middle class voters.
'No Precedent' for US-Europe Upheaval

2 months ago | thecipherbrief.com | John McLaughlin

Posted: February 21st, 2025 EXPERT Q&A — AsUkraine and other European nations grapple with the past week’s sudden U.S. pivot towards Russia, they are scrambling to find ways to respond, and to bolster the defenses of Ukraine and the rest of the continent.
Parker im TV Programm: 04.02.

Feb 3, 2025 | hoerzu.at | John McLaughlin

BeschreibungSteinreiche Menschen im Auftrag von zahlungskräftigen Kunden bestehlen, das ist Parkers Job. Er sieht sich als moderner Robin Hood, da er nur die beraubt, die ohnehin zu viel haben. Bei seinem neuesten Coup geht etwas schief und den versuchten Juwelenraub bezahlt er fast mit seinem Leben. Die Schuld gibt er seinem Kunden, der ihn reingelegt hat. Um sich an ihm zu rächen, schmiedet er mit der Maklerin Leslie einen raffinierten Komplott.
McLaughlin: US Voters Strongly Support Trump, GOP

Jan 30, 2025 | newsmax.com | John McLaughlin |Jim McLaughlin

Charging out of the starting-gate, President Donald J. Trump and his Republican supporters are making a start to solve the critical formerly intractable problems that the Biden Harris Democrats left for Americans. In doing so, President Trump is charting a stronger and more popular level of public opinion support than he ever had in his first term.
The New Administration Meets the Intelligence Community: What Should We Expect?

Jan 12, 2025 | thecipherbrief.com | John McLaughlin

OPINION — I’ve been wondering what I would say to my former government colleagues at this time of imminent change if I was still working among them in the intelligence community. I’m assuming they must be feeling something between puzzlement and anxiety, given the President-elect’s talk of retribution, the contempt he and his associates direct toward the chimera they call the “deep state”, and the elevation of loyalty as the litmus test for assignments in government.
SAIS Professor John McLaughlin makes 'magic with meaning'

Dec 9, 2024 | hub.jhu.edu | Abigail Green |John McLaughlin

Ever since he saw the 1953 film as a child about the magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, John McLaughlin has been fascinated by magic. "It was spellbinding to me," he says, recalling the Technicolor production starring Tony Curtis. McLaughlin ran straight to the library in his hometown of Pittsburgh and checked out an illustrated children's guide to magic. McLaughlin taught himself some simple card tricks and began performing magic at Cub Scout meetings and church groups.
November 2024 Post-Election Poll: Art of Trump's Comeback

Nov 19, 2024 | newsmax.com | John McLaughlin |Jim McLaughlin

We have been fortunate to have a front row seat to history in the making the past 13 years. During this time, we helped plan and advise Donald Trump becoming president in 2016, and now we helped his campaign in the primary and general election to become president again in 2024. Without a doubt, Trump is the most uniquely remarkable and successful political candidate in American history.
New McLaughlin Poll: Trump Leads Kamala

Jul 31, 2024 | newsmax.com | John McLaughlin |Jim McLaughlin

Following Kamala Harris’ week of honeymoon media coverage, our latest poll shows she has failed to move the needle. The new national survey ending July 29 shows former-President Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris 47% to 45% — as a historic number of Americans say the nation is on the wrong track. The poll shows Trump is up +2% — just as he was in our national poll detailing the Trump vs. Biden race. In that June 26 poll President Trump led Joe Biden 46% to 44%.
A Former CIA Leader on Debates - and What Matters

Jun 26, 2024 | thecipherbrief.com | John McLaughlin

OPINION — As President Biden and former President Trump prepare to face off in the first of their 2024 presidential debates, The Cipher Brief polled three dozen national and global security experts to ask what was top of mind for them in this first debate. We spoke in-depth with Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin, who served as acting director and long-time deputy director of the CIA to talk about the impact of presidential candidate debates since the first showdown between John F.