Lloyd Green, Freelance Journalist Profile

Articles

Musk’s tax bill attacks have rattled Republicans. But Trump still reigns supreme | Lloyd Green

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump is a godsend for Democrats, a headache for the president and a problem for Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House. Between now and the Fourth of July, Trump expects congressional Republicans to deliver a badly needed win. After more than four months back in the Oval Office, he still lacks a major legislative achievement. Republicans control both the House and Senate, but the public sees goose eggs on the scoreboard.
Dragon on Centre Street by Jonah Bromwich review - drama of Trump the felon

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

Trump Convicted on All Counts to Become America’s First Felon President: so blared the New York Times headline on 31 May 2024. “Donald J Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and transformed the former commander in chief into a felon.”Jonah Bromwich shared the byline.
Original Sin: how Team Biden wished away his decline until it was too late

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

Joe Biden mistook his victory in 2020 for a sweeping, FDR-like mandate. Officially, that was before age and decay caught up. Horrifically, for Democrats, in June 2024 a debacle of a debate against Donald Trump confirmed what Washington insiders had only dared whisper but what most voters had known: Biden should not have sought re-election. Less than a month later, he was out, replaced as Democratic nominee by his vice-president, Kamala Harris.
Zbig: a bracing life of Carter’s abrasive national security adviser

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

Double-digit inflation, high unemployment and the Iranian hostage crisis left Jimmy Carter a one-term president. Still, his watch was consequential. The US and China normalized relations, Egypt and Israel made peace and Russia invaded Afghanistan. Beyond that, the US returned the Panama canal and in Iran the shah fell to the Islamic revolution. After 444 days in captivity, 53 American hostages were freed moments after Ronald Reagan became president. Carter died in December, at 100.
Chaos is Trump’s calling card. But reality is biting back | Lloyd Green

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

In nearly 100 days on the job, Donald Trump has outlasted Liz Truss and a fabled head of lettuce. That’s a fact, not an achievement. Like the hapless British prime minister, the 47th president blazes a trail of wreckage. Chaos is his calling card. If, when and how the carnage ends is anyone’s guess. The US simultaneously wages economic war on its allies and China. Tariffs soar. It’s as if Trump forgot the words “Smoot-Hawley” and “Great Depression”.
Go-to author on White House reverses take on Biden and slams former president

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

“Biden was mentally sharp, even if he appeared physically frail,” Chris Whipple wrote in The Fight of His Life, his 2023 book on the 46th president, who was then warming up his re-election bid at the age of 80. In that book, Whipple quoted Bruce Reed, a senior aide, describing a long-distance flight. When others appeared exhausted, Biden was raring to go, Reed said. Biden showed “unbelievable stamina”.
Mad House: new book exposes Capitol Hill’s absurdity and dysfunction

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

Annie Karni, once of Politico, covers Congress for the New York Times. Her colleague Luke Broadwater, once a Pulitzer prize winner for the Baltimore Sun, makes the Trump administration his beat. As co-authors, at book length of Mad House, they deliver a sharp and wit-filled portrait of Capitol Hill dysfunction. Generally unflattering, Karni and Broadwater dedicate their book on modern US politics to “the leakers, gossips, and busybodies who populate the halls of Congress”.
Trump’s tariff mess raises the danger of a US default | Lloyd Green

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

“Trump backs down on tariffs, again. And it doesn’t look strategic,” a headline blared on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of trading, equities had recovered a portion of their losses. But plenty of damage had been done. Markets were thrown into turmoil, interest rates jumped and business activity took a hit. Beyond that, the possibility of a recession grew – and the possibility of a default by the US inched up to 6%, according to prediction markets.
Fight by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes review - scathing account of Biden, Harris and their election loss

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

In their book Fight, Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes offer an account of the “Wildest Battle for the White House” – and a scathing indictment of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the losers of that battle. By 2023, a year before the campaign, Biden’s age and fitness to be president were the topic of conversation among senior aides. He had difficulty stringing together a coherent sentence yet, there was no serious discussion of his exiting the ticket until it was way, way too late.
The Florida and Wisconsin election results are a warning for Trump and Republicans | Lloyd Green

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Lloyd Green

Donald Trump and the Republicans ought to be wary of a possible blue wave in next year’s midterms. On Tuesday, voters in Florida and Wisconsin signaled dissatisfaction with Elon Musk, the GOP and the president. On the surface, the results spelled political equipoise. No seats changed hands. A closer look, however, reveals possible headaches for Trump and his party.