Matt Bai

Washington, D.C.

Contributing columnist focusing on politics

Education: Tufts University; Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Matt Bai, a Washington Post contributing columnist, is a journalist, author and screenwriter. He spent more than a decade at the New York Times, where he was the chief political writer for the Sunday magazine and a columnist for the newspaper, and five years as the national political columnist for Yahoo News. His last book, "All The Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid," was named one of 2014’s best books by Amazon.com and NPR. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film based on the book, “The Front Runner,” starring Hugh Jackman, which debuted nationally in 2018. Bai lives w
Latest from Matt Bai

Biden or Haley? For some Democrats, it’s about who can stop Trump.

It’s not hard to see why some Democrats would root for Nikki Haley to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — and why Biden would not.

January 21, 2024

The (sort of) redemption of Chris Christie

Lashing himself to Trump changed the story arc of Christie’s once promising career, and he was dead set on changing it back.

January 10, 2024

Ron DeSantis is betting you won’t click on this campaign finance story

Ron DeSantis might fade into irrelevance, but his campaign is leaving us with a question: Why should we care about the rules of campaign finance anymore?

December 18, 2023

What does Gavin Newsom think he’s doing?

Sean Hannity is set to host the most intriguing debate of this presidential season, a showdown between Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis and California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom.

November 29, 2023

A plea to Republican voters: Make this debate matter

For one night, do your civic duty and at least entertain the possibility that you have a choice.

November 7, 2023

Google Pixel’s ad campaign is destroying humanity

If you want to muddy the line between truth and invention in your Instagram feed, this is the phone for you.

October 31, 2023

Trump’s rivals helped create him. They won’t win without admitting it.

Taking some responsibility for the grotesque monster you created might be the only way the townspeople are ever going to trust you to dismantle it.

October 19, 2023

Master and Commander: Biden’s dog troubles hint at a larger problem

Here’s why Biden and his aides shouldn’t dismiss the Commander fiasco as just another “dog bites man (and woman)” story.

October 3, 2023

There’s a way for Biden to talk about the economy. This isn’t it.

Biden’s best bet isn’t to keep insisting that the economy is better than you think it is.

September 11, 2023

Trump won’t profess loyalty to his party. Neither will most Americans.

Here’s why Trump won’t even pretend to sign a loyalty oath to the eventual Republican nominee — even though he and the rest of the world assume it will be him.

August 17, 2023