Former Under Secretary of State in Obama admin & Editor @TIME. Political analyst @MSNOW. Book: "Information Wars." + @rickstengel.bsky.social

New York, NY
Joined December 2016
I always told my journalists, there aren’t two sides to a lie. Yes, you should be non-partisan, but not neutral. Journalists must be biased in favor of the truth and facts. Biased in favor of democracy itself. We protect the press so the press can protect democracy. Let’s do that
2,078
13,824
1,284
51,542
The incessant media meme of divided Democrats betrays a fundamental ignorance of politics. Do voters want a party where officials meekly fall in line behind a corrupt and incompetent leader even though they know it violates their own principles? Or do voters want a party where officials are independent and have their own ideas all under the overarching theme of doing what's right for America in a competent and non-corrupt way? Our federal system is designed to have officials reflect local principles—there's no reason a Congressperson in Ohio should have the same agenda as one in South Carolina or California. They need to reflect the views of their own voters, not Dear Leader. That's called democracy.
3
32
1
88
1,552
1. The Justice Department has no standing to sue election authorities in Alaska. 2. The Constitution empowers states to administer congressional elections. 3. Alaska's courts have already addressed and solved the issue. 4. And what about the voters who mistakenly thought they were voting for challenger Sullivan instead of Senator Sullivan? 5. As ever, it's a Trumpian press-release lawsuit designed to intimidate and inflame.
62
419
14
1,544
94,950
The president wrote that in exchange for the release of Mr. Hubbard from Russia, "the United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to given anything." Really? How about buying Russian diesel oil in violation of our sanctions policy, pausing the bi-partisan Lindsay Graham sanctions act in contravention of Congress, stopping Russian tariffs, and offering a trilateral summit with China? You gave away the store.
23
50
169
1,824
Richard Stengel retweeted
Churchill could have shortened WW2 by years if he had just “done a deal” with Hitler. George Washington could have done a deal to end the American Revolution. Zelenskyy is in good company.
6,249
9,808
906
69,342
3,036,198
The president's October surprise was appeasement of Russia.
46
416
16
2,372
22,627
Yes, Mr. President, there is foreign interference in our elections, just as you always say! An army of state-funded Russian disinformation bots are illegally trying to get your party elected! bloomberg.com/news/features/…
2
121
2
257
2,475
They hire a press secretary like they go to war in Iran, or impose tariffs: no plan, no preparation, no vision—it's all, Let's see what happens.
35
256
5
1,331
13,207
Under this president, the principal party "meddling" in our elections is not the Russians but the federal government. Local officials need to protect the integrity of the process from federal officials looking for fraud that does not exist. nytimes.com/2026/10/15/us/po…
1
4
1
24
703
He derides "affordability" because he knows it is his Achilles Heel. (Not to be confused with his phony bone-spurs military exemption.) Inflation is up, gas is up, prices are up, all because of his knuckle-headed actions on Iran and tariffs. And every Republican official supported him. #Bluewave.
7
63
1
212
2,196
Richard Stengel retweeted
Billions of dollars’ worth of contracts predicting oil would fall and the S&P 500 would rise were placed about 15 minutes before Trump announced a U-turn on Iran in a post on Truth Social. CFTC staff began to investigate-- then were told to lay off. bloomberg.com/news/features/…
163
3,467
356
9,379
1,107,837
Apart from the immorality of importing Russian diesel fuel, it makes no sense. We already produce more diesel than we need, and export the rest. The amount we're importing is a drop in the bucket, in total less than ten days of consumption. It only makes sense if the American president wants to help Putin keep killing Ukrainians.
45
146
4
377
4,165
Yes, there has been corruption in both parties in our history, but the Trump corruption is in a different category. The scale, the brazenness, the lack of any pretense of virtue or concern for the damage is unequalled in our history. nytimes.com/2026/10/12/us/de…
6
35
1
91
1,644
"Zelensky better damn well stop," the President said. "He's making problems for our farmers, our ranchers." The two people making problems for farmers & ranchers are (1) Putin by invading Ukraine in the first place, and (2) Trump by invading Iran. Mr. Zelensky has nothing to do with it.
262
3,930
65
16,680
108,358