David Von Drehle

Kansas City

Deputy opinion editor and columnist focusing on national affairs and politics
David Von Drehle is a deputy opinion editor and columnist for The Post, where he writes about national affairs and politics from a home base in the Midwest. He joined The Post in 2017 after a decade at Time magazine, where he wrote more than 60 cover stories as editor-at-large. During a previous stint at The Post, Von Drehle served as a writer and editor on the National staff, in Style, and at the magazine. He is the author of a number of books, including the award-winning bestseller “Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.” He lives in Kansas City with his wife, journalist Karen Ball, and th
Latest from David Von Drehle

Should Democrats tone down their rhetoric on Trump?

Republicans are blaming Democrats for the second assassination attempt on Trump. Is that fair?

September 17, 2024
Former president Donald Trump gestures at a rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 13.

Barney’s purple haze

We have the exclusive on the controversial purple dinosaur’s lost years since his show ended.

September 11, 2024

Was CNN’s big Kamala Harris interview a dud?

Or have the Democrats become a party that runs against the mainstream news media?

August 30, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz are interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash in Savannah, Ga., on Thursday. (Will Lanzoni/CNN)

Why Austin should leave the 9/11 plea bargain alone

The deal, while not perfect, reflects something good about the United States of America.

August 3, 2024
The annual Tribute in Light, which honors the memory of the twin towers, is seen from Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 11. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Time casts its vote

Let a fresh, democratic campaign for the presidency begin.

July 21, 2024
President Biden last month.

President Biden, be like LBJ, whose choice to bow out was hugely popular

The chaos of 1968 had nothing to do with Lyndon Johnson’s late decision not to run for reelection.

June 30, 2024
President Lyndon Johnson tells a nationwide audience that he would not seek nor accept “the nomination of my party for another term as your president,” on March 31, 1968, from his White House office. (AP Photo, File)

The perverse zealotry of the anti-IVF movement

If they knew what patients endured, antiabortion extremists might learn more about caring for unborn babies.

June 17, 2024
"Messengers," or representatives, raise their ballots in support of a motion put up for a vote Tuesday during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis. (Doug McSchooler/AP)

More evidence of the idiocy of Vladimir Putin

The war in Ukraine has turned Russia’s biggest company into a massive money loser.

June 6, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin, flanked by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. (Alexander Kazakov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

The age of discovery is only beginning

New brain research is a sign of how little we understand of ourselves, our universe and our place in it.

May 12, 2024
(Johnny Greig/iStock)

An amped-up Biden plays the age-old hits

Like him or not, America, Biden is headed for the November ballot.

March 8, 2024
President Biden is greeted by members of Congress on Thursday as he enters the House chamber to deliver the State of the Union. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)