menu_open Columnists
Ben Mathis-Lilley

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Slate

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The Only Explanation You Need for What’s Happened to America Is Right There, Taunting Us All

latest 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Ivanka Trump Has Emerged to Express Some Thoughts on the Seriousness of the Presidency

Ivanka Trump Has Emerged to Express Some Thoughts on the Seriousness of the Presidency
15.01.2025 20

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

You Know Who Else Blamed a Major Fire on a Global Conspiracy of His Political Enemies?

You Know Who Else Blamed a Major Fire on a Global Conspiracy of His Political Enemies?
10.01.2025 30

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Huh, I Wonder What the Political Svengalis Calling for “Populism” Said About Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren

Huh, I Wonder What the Political Svengalis Calling for “Populism” Said About Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren

Tweet Share Share Comment Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox...

03.01.2025 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

This Popular Theory About Why Democrats Lost Has Some Glaring Holes

Tweet Share Share Comment Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox...

19.12.2024 10

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

I’ve Been Informed by a Member of Congress That an Iranian “Mothership” Is Buzzing My House With Drones?

Tweet Share Share Comment Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox...

12.12.2024 6

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Trump’s Bozo Nominee to Be Defense Secretary Is Faltering. His Potential Replacement Is Really Something.

Tweet Share Share Comment Nominating Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense was, from the start, one of the least serious...

04.12.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

I for One Think Kash Patel Is a Great Choice to Lead the FBI

Tweet Share Share Comment It has come to our attention that President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will be nominating Kash Patel, a...

03.12.2024 20

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

A Troubling Takeaway From Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Tweet Share Share Comment Presidential transition season in Washington has a customary rhythm. About 20 people get nominated for Cabinet positions...

28.11.2024 10

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

They Found Something Called the “Doomsday Fish” but It’s Probably Fine

Tweet Share Share Comment What a week it’s been! But hey, we made it through. Time to crack a cold one, put up our feet, and browse the New York...

23.11.2024 30

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Trump Appoints Hot Tub–Toilet Scam Character From First Term as U.S. Representative to NATO

Tweet Share Share Comment One of the more delightfully dumb and blessedly low-impact storylines of the first Donald Trump administration involved a...

22.11.2024 40

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Whew, That’s a Lot of Smoke Around Matt Gaetz Already

Tweet Share Share Comment Since we wrote last week that Donald Trump seems to have homed in on “having been on TV” as the main qualification...

20.11.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The Trump Cabinet Is a Clown Car So Far. Thank God.

Tweet Share Share Comment One of the concerns that Democrats and other observers have raised about a potential second Trump administration is that...

14.11.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

There Are Some Giant Holes in One Popular Explanation for Why Kamala Harris Lost

Tweet Share Share Comment The recrimination game among Democrats and pundits is on in a big way, and a major theme is the idea that the party has...

08.11.2024 7

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Some Ideas About What Vice President J.D. Vance Will Be Like

Tweet Share Share Comment Not too long ago, things did not look that great for J.D. Vance. He’d decided to run as a Republican for U.S. Senate in...

07.11.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The Polls Are Tied. Whoever Wins, the Explanations Are Starting to Become Clear.

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring feature in...

05.11.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

There’s a Parallel Universe Where Biden Is Still in the Race

Tweet Share Share Comment Slate takes final stock of just how Not Normal this election was. Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race over the...

04.11.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Trump Is Trying to Win Over Undecided Voters by Making One of His Most Horrifying Promises Yet

Tweet Share Share Comment In the final few days of a campaign, candidates try to project a “closing message” that they believe will win over...

01.11.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Will This Giant Jam Bun Cost Kamala Harris the Election?

Tweet Share Share Comment Almost exactly two years ago, the New York Times’ Cooking section printed a delightful piece of politics...

25.10.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

You Might Think That These Stories Would Be an October Surprise for Trump

Tweet Share Share Comment On Tuesday, the New York Times and the Atlantic each published stories about Donald Trump’s history of denigrating...

24.10.2024 10

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Are the Polls Frightening You? Read This!

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring feature in...

23.10.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

There Is a Very Wrong Lesson to Take From Kamala Harris’ Performance Among Black and Latino Voters

Tweet Share Share Comment Why is Kamala Harris doing worse with Black and Latino voters than previous Democratic presidential candidates? That’s...

19.10.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The Phrase the Right Uses to Explain Why It’s OK That Trump Makes Things Up

Tweet Share Share Comment At an Oct. 5 rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump told a seemingly apocryphal story about a decades-old women’s...

12.10.2024 20

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Trump Is Doing His Best to Make the Hurricane Into a Bad Issue for Him

Tweet Share Share Comment About a month ago, polling guru Nate Silver wrote a (paywalled) piece for his Substack called “This Was Trump’s Election...

09.10.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

This Could Be Great News for Kamala Harris

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring feature in...

09.10.2024 7

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

I Have a Wild, Spooky Idea for the Harris Campaign. Hear Me Out.

Tweet Share Share Comment Kamala Harris is holding steady at a 3-point national lead in polling averages—enough to make her the favorite to win...

02.10.2024 3

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

J.D. Vance Had a Darkly Hilarious Response to the Debate Question About Jan. 6

Tweet Share Share Comment For most of Tuesday’s debate in New York City, Republican Ohio Sen. and vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance did well...

02.10.2024 40

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Is Harris—Dare We Say It?—Actually Doing a Good Job Talking to Voters About the Economy?

Tweet Share Share Comment Kamala Harris, by most available measures, has run a successful campaign so far. Since she became the presumptive...

30.09.2024 3

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The State That’s Emerging as Harris’ Biggest Potential Pickup

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring feature in...

24.09.2024 5

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Vance Says Haitians Are “Illegal” Because He Doesn’t Like the Legal Program That Admitted Them

Tweet Share Share Comment Since I started writing about J.D. Vance in 2022, I’ve repeatedly noticed his use of a certain rhetorical technique that...

19.09.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

So How Much Did the Debate Actually Help Kamala Harris? Let’s See What the Polls Say.

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring feature in...

17.09.2024 5

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Harris Won the Debate—but There’s One Issue She Still Needs to Work On

Hello and welcome back to the Surge, Slate’s weekly roundup of the newsmaking-est figures in U.S. politics! I’m Ben Mathis-Lilley, filling in for...

14.09.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

There’s a Glaring Flaw in Trump’s Push for Young Men

Tweet Share Share Comment Kamala Harris isn’t in terrible shape right now, but her supporters don’t have to look too far to find reasons to panic,...

10.09.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Donald Trump Jr. Is Not Exactly One of the Great Political Strategists of Our Time

Tweet Share Share Comment On Friday, Donald Trump accepted Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s endorsement and appeared with the independent candidate at a...

27.08.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

RFK Jr. Endorsement May Not Help Trump Beat the “Weird” Allegations

Tweet Share Share Comment It’s been quite a ride for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the presidential race—filled with memories, shirtlessness, a...

23.08.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Breaking: Beyoncé Did Not Perform at the Democratic National Convention

Tweet Share Share Comment All day Thursday, rumors swirled online (and apparently in person in Chicago) that someone big was going to make a...

23.08.2024 3

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

What “Coach Walz” Tells Us About Why the Democratic Ticket Is Surging

Tweet Share Share Comment You could argue—and many have—that American football is a fundamentally conservative activity. It’s the most...

21.08.2024 6

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

For Kamalamentum, the Next Three Weeks Are Critical

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Good Is This, Really? —recently renamed from the original  How Bad Is This, Really? —a recurring...

19.08.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Media Complaints About Kamala Harris Clash Wildly With Media Consensus of Five Seconds Ago

Tweet Share Share Comment Last Thursday, standing on a tarmac in Michigan in front of Air Force Two, Kamala Harris took some questions from...

14.08.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Vance Nomination Reignites Age-Old Question of Whether Women Should Be Allowed to Vote

Tweet Share Share Comment Since he was nominated for the vice presidency, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance has been in the news for his history of...

02.08.2024 30

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

J.D. Vance Is Not the Crudest and Most Offensive Member of the Republican Ticket

Tweet Share Share Comment There’s a lot of regret inside the Republican Party right now about the selection of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as its vice...

30.07.2024 3

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

One VP Contender Will Give Kamala Harris Her Best Chance With Swing Voters

Tweet Share Share Comment Kamala Harris has one job: Persuading currently undecided, indifferent, or loosely Trump-attached voters in Arizona,...

27.07.2024 30

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

How Good Are Things Looking for Kamala Harris, Really?

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Bad Is This, Really? —or maybe this time we should call it How Good Is This, Really? —a recurring...

24.07.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

A Very Quick but Completely Authoritative Guide to the Kamala Harris Veepstatkes

Tweet Share Share Comment Very slowly and then all at once, Joe Biden got out of the presidential race. In a Sunday afternoon statement and...

22.07.2024 40

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Kamala Harris Could Probably Wrap This Thing Up Pretty Quickly

Tweet Share Share Comment Heading into the weekend, there seem to be few remaining obstacles to Joe Biden stepping down from the Democratic ticket....

19.07.2024 5

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Biden Got Three Weeks to Maintain His Dignity. Now It’s Time to Get On With It.

Tweet Share Share Comment Looks like it’s all over but the shouting. The question is, how much shouting is there going to be? As Politico...

18.07.2024 2

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The Election Forecast That Team Biden Likes Is Just a Ticking Time Bomb

Tweet Share Share Comment Something strange is going on in Poll World. Simply put, FiveThirtyEight’s model gives Joe Biden a much better chance...

18.07.2024 10

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

The Biden Age Question Is More Urgent Now, Not Less

Tweet Share Share Comment On Saturday, what was already one of the more unusual presidential elections in U.S. history took another turn. A Donald...

15.07.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

J.D. Vance Might Become Trump’s VP. But His Ascent Looks All Too Similar to Someone Else.

Tweet Share Share Comment The Republican National Convention gets underway on Monday, and heading in, the buzziest Republican “veepstakes”...

12.07.2024 1

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley

Good News! There’s Still Plenty of Time for Joe Biden to Prove That He Should Definitely Drop Out.

Tweet Share Share Comment Welcome to  How Bad Is This, Really? , a recurring feature in which we take the temperature of how things are looking in...

10.07.2024 10

Slate

Ben Mathis-Lilley