A Novel Moment in American Political History

Greetings from a hotel room in Detroit, where I find myself running on fumes in a city I hadn’t planned on visiting, attending another event I didn’t foresee. Exhaustion is a familiar struggle now, and homesickness is creeping in—it’s been over two weeks since I’ve been home. I’ve never been gone this long. Last night, my youngest son sent a simple message: “Coming home anytime soon?” Meanwhile, Mike called to say he came home to see our doorstep covered with thoughtful gifts—flowers, cards, a loaf of fresh bread, and a $300 bottle of champagne. Friends and strangers alike sense the shift in this new phase of the campaign. Collectively, they’re all leaning into celebration.

As draining as these past few months have been, Friday’s unexpected alliance between two major political names made it all worth it. The Kennedy-Trump alliance is more than a flashy or shocking headline—it’s a stunning turn of events weighed by a complex and compelling backstory. The media’s instinct, of course, is to undermine and gloss over it, but I’m here to tell you that what happened Friday is significant and deeply emotional, built of Shakespearean bones. Details I can’t wait to share with you once I’m not rushing between states, running on empty.

I was worried that the stories—or “chapters,” as I’ve come to refer to them—that I haven’t yet shared might lose relevance in swiftly changing scenarios, but I suspect they might be richer in hindsight, offering a fuller picture of how things have come together and fallen apart along the way from my perspective, typically at the center of it all. With 70 days left, there’s so much to tell you about the bachkchanneling, the main and supporting characters involved, my role in advocating between these two campaigns, gossip before the announcement, and the raw emotions in intimate post-rally moments I was fortunate enough to witness between Robert F. Kennedy and his farewell to team. There’s poetic inflection in all of it and I’m be grateful to have the opportunity to unfold it as such.

For now, I’m heading out on another leg of this journey tracking a motorcade you are sure to recognize, promising to return with all the goods when I finally make it back.

With Love and Thanks,

JRK