The Free Press
Texas senator Ted Cruz talking MAHA with Jillian Michaels. Peter Thiel chatting with Kimbal Musk and RFK Jr.’s kids. Dierks Bentley singing for Amy Chua. Lex Fridman rubbing shoulders with Dana Bash. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Douglas Murray mingling in the crowd with Linda Yaccarino and Dara Khosrowshahi.
Where else could this meeting of the minds take place but a party hosted by The Free Press? On Friday, we arrived in Washington, D.C. to cover the inauguration of Donald Trump, and while we were there, we held a series of interviews with political movers and shakers—and if we may say so ourselves, threw a fabulous bash in partnership with Uber and X.
The room was a buzzy mix of contrasts: new media and old, Beltway insiders and MAGA insurgents, Silicon Valley gunners and faith-and-family conservatives. Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Dana Perino were there. So were NBCUniversal’s Cesar Conde and Rebecca Blumenstein, and Joanna Coles and James Bennet. Reporters Shawn McCreesh, Alex Thompson and Max Tani were by the bar. Morgan Stanley IPO legend Michael Grimes was holding court alongside Keith Rabois and his husband Jacob Helberg, Trump’s nominee for Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. Coleman Hughes was seen chatting with Lulu Cheng Meservey and Rikki Schlott. Miami mayor Francis Suarez made an appearance, as did Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Former British prime minister Liz Truss showed up. So did UFC fighter Conor McGregor. (Our bets are on Bari in that boxing match.)
The room hummed with the uncertainty and excitement that always accompanies the transfer of power, some thrilled by the promise of new leadership, others nervous about what comes next. As for Dierks Bentley? He made sure that we’ll feature his “Where I TG” photo this week.
It was a perfect cap to a weekend of live Honestly conversations.
If you haven’t yet, watch Bari’s conversations with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senator Ted Cruz, both of which broke news about Biden’s incapacities and Trump’s plan for higher education. Later, we’ll release more discussions, with Tiger Mother Amy Chua, and the people shaping the new MAHA agenda under Donald Trump.
The Free Press is new in Washington. But if the line of Senate staffers waiting outside our party—and searching for a back exit to get in—tells us anything, it’s that we won’t be new for long. And we can’t wait to report—with independence and fearlessness—on what comes next in this new era for the capital.
Sometimes the news moves so fast, you have to look closely to recognize if you’ve seen it before. Check out Eli Lake’s new podcast, “Breaking History,” where he breaks down the news by breaking down history. Premiering January 22 on all podcasting platforms.
captions would be nice. who are these people?
Guys - that's just shockingly tacky. What were you thinking writing out an entire article which is little more than a waterfall of dropped names? (And what names! Conor McGregor is a convicted rapist.)
That's not even the worst of the bad taste. You held a 'party' to celebrate the return to power of the most imbecilic, venal and lowest-ranked US President in history. And the party's twin sponsors were ... the gig economy and social media: the two most toxic tech phenomena of the last 15 years.
Is this all some kind of self-directed satire?