Michael Waldman
Michael Waldman is president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. A nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving systems of democracy and justice, the Brennan Center is a leading national voice on voting rights, money in politics, criminal justice reform, and constitutional law. Waldman, a constitutional lawyer and writer who is an expert on the presidency and American democracy, has led the Center since 2005.
Waldman was director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999, serving as assistant to the president. He was responsible for writing or editing nearly two thousand speeches, including four State of the Union and two inaugural addresses. He was special assistant to the president for policy coordination from 1993 to 1995.
He is the author of The Fight to Vote (Simon & Schuster, 2016), a history of the struggle to win voting rights for all citizens. The Washington Post wrote, “Waldman’s important and engaging account demonstrates that over the long term, the power of the democratic ideal prevails — as long as the people so demand.” The Wall Street Journal called it “an engaging, concise history of American voting practices,” and the Miami Herald described it as “an important history in an election year.” The Fight to Vote was a Washington Post notable nonfiction book for 2016 and a History Book Club main selection.
Waldman is also the author of The Second Amendment: A Biography (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Publishers Weekly called it “the best narrative of its subject.” In the New York Times, Joe Nocera called it “rigorous, scholarly, but accessible.” The Los Angeles Times wrote, “[Waldman’s] calm tone and habit of taking the long view offers a refreshing tonic in this most loaded of debates.” In a Cardozo Law Review symposium devoted to the book, a historian wrote, “The Second Amendment is, without doubt, among the best efforts at melding constitutional history and constitutional law on any topic — at least since the modern revival of originalism two generations ago.”
His previous books are My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America’s Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama (2003, 2010), A Return to Common Sense (2007), POTUS Speaks (2000), and Who Robbed America? A Citizen’s Guide to the S&L Scandal (1990).
His frequent appearances on television and radio to discuss policy, the presidency, and the law include Good Morning America, the Colbert Report, Morning Joe, PBS NewsHour, CBS Evening News, Meet the Press Daily, All In with Chris Hayes, the O’Reilly Factor, Nightline, 60 Minutes, Tavis Smiley, Hardball with Chris Matthews, and the Rachel Maddow Show, as well as NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Fresh Air. He writes for the New York Times, Politico, the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, Slate, Democracy, Reuters, Bloomberg, and other national publications.
He is a graduate of Columbia College and NYU School of Law.
Opinions & Editorials
Don't let Trump and coronavirus ruin the election. High turnout is bipartisan and doable. USA Today, April 2, 2020
Saving Democracy from the Coronavirus Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2020
Watch Out When Trump’s Impeachment Slams Into the State of the Union Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2020
The Supreme Court Has Failed the Constitution Washington Post, June 28, 2019
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Identified the Problem. Here's the Solution CNN.com, February 19, 2019
New York Must Combat Court Fees that Many Low-Income Residents Cannot Pay New York Daily News, February 2, 2019
New York is Taking Strong Steps for the First Time in a Generation; it Must Finish the Job New York Daily News, January 14, 2019
“Democracy Itself is on the Ballot This Year,” Washington Post, October 24, 2018
“Courting Disaster: The Trouble With Brett Kavanaugh’s Views of Executive Power,” New York Daily News, July 13, 2018
Trump’s Unpardonable Pardons Send an Ominous Signal Daily Beast, June 1, 2018
The State Where Your Second Choice Could Actually Win Daily Beast, May 8, 2018
The First Step to Hack-Proofing Our Elections POLITICO Magazine, February 15, 2018
The Voter Fraud Hoax Isn't Funny Washington Post, January 4, 2018
Don’t Repeal the Second Amendment – Just Pass Sensible Gun Laws Daily Beast, October 18, 2017
History Frowns on Partisan Gerrymandering Washington Post, October 1, 2017
The Many Layers of Stakes in the Robert Menendez Trial Daily Beast, September 9, 2017
Trump's Pardon of Joe Arpaio is Unpardonable New York Daily News, August 26, 2017
Donald Trump Tells His Voter Fraud Panel: Find Me Something Daily Beast, July 20, 2017
We Can Still Stop Russia From Hacking the Next Election Daily Beast, July 9, 2017
Supreme Court Targets Rigged System of Redistricting Daily Beast, June 20, 2017
Kris Kobach Policing Voter Fraud? What a Joke. Daily Beast, June 14, 2017
James Comey's Notes Are Trump's Smoking Gun Daily Beast, May 17, 2017
Will Firing Comey Cost Trump? Daily Beast, May 13, 2017
Trump's commission on 'election integrity could instead restrict voting Washington Post, May 12, 2017
Is This A Constitutional Crisis? POLITICO Magazine, May 9, 2017
The Fight Over Voting Rules Didn’t Begin With Trump's Tweets Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2017
Trump Overkill Could Shift Voter ID Tide USA Today, March 7, 2017
What Could Gorsuch Mean For the Supreme Court? POLITICO Magazine, February 1, 2017
Trump's Inaugural Speech Was Strikingly Radical Washington Post, January 20, 2017
Voter Fraud Inquiry? The Investigators Got Burned Last Time New York Times, January 26, 2017
The Trouble With Jess Sessions: As Attorney General, He'd Pull The Country Backwards on Voting Rights and Criminal Justice Reform New York Daily News, November 18, 2016
What's Behind the GOP Witch Hunt for Voter Fraud billmoyers, March 30, 2016
The Right to Vote? Don't Count on It Daily Beast, February 29, 2016
The Stakes in A Post-Scalia Court New York Daily News, February 14, 2016
Clinton's Speech Writer on What To Expect From Obama's SOTU Thirteen, January 11, 2016
The Gun Debate Doesn't Have To Be All or Nothing Washington Post, December 9, 2015
How Antonin Scalia Changed America POLITICO Magazine, February 21, 2016
In 2016, the Integrity of our Democracy is at Stake Huffington Post, November 25th, 2015
Hillary’s Game Changing Voting Reform POLITICO Magazine, June 10th, 2015
How the Supreme Court Mas a Mess of Our Voting System October 20, 2014
Gun Laws and What the Second Amendment Intended July 5, 2014
How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment May 20, 2014
How Obama Can Use Executive Actions to Improve Our Democracy April 18, 2014
Obama Must Surprise in State of the Union Reuters, February 11, 2013
On Voting, Listen to John Lewis Reuters, January 22, 2013
For Obama’s Second Inaugural, Skip the Poetry Reuters, January 17, 2013
Why Doesn’t Mitt Romney Contribute to His Own Campaign? Reuters, September 25, 2012
Minimizing Special-Interest Power by Maximizing Participation January 3, 2012
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich's Hypocrisy on Super PACs December 21, 2011
Why is GOP Fighting Disclosure? June 10, 2011
It’s Time for Obama to Speak to Us About Libya Bloomberg, March 23, 2011
Marching Backward From Selma On Right to Vote Bloomberg, March 11, 2011
Obama Needs Clinton Rerun To Gain in Stalemate Bloomberg, March 3, 2011
Sucker Avoidance May Be Step To Presidency Bloomberg, February 15, 2011
iPhone Public Distrusts Dial-Up Government Bloomberg, February 4, 2011
Socialized Medicine Will Start With Judges Bloomberg, January 24, 2011
Shots Give Obama Chance To Make Us Better Bloomberg, January 11, 2011
Washington Dysfunction’s Cure is in Sight Bloomberg, December 28, 2010
Tea Party Love Of Constitution May Kill It Bloomberg, December 16, 2010
Obama’s Presidential Drama Calls For Muscle Bloomberg, December 9, 2010
Obama’s Rebound May Turn On Picking A Fight Bloomberg, December 29, 2010
Additional Media Appearances
Ballot Battles (with Michael Waldman) Stay Tuned With Preet Bharara (podcast), April 23, 2020
Trump Rails Against Mail In Ballot for General Election MSNBC, April 14, 2020.
Breaking Down the First Day of the Impeachment Trial Inside City Hall, NY1, January 21, 2020.
What the House Dems’ ‘abuse of power’ argument means MSNBC, October 22, 2019
Is there a way to break the cycle of rhetoric following mass shootings? MSNBC, August 10, 2019
Robert Mueller’s Testimony Inside City Hall, NY1, July 24, 2019.
How will President Trump’s Court Overhaul Impact Future Landmark Cases?, KCRA-TV, May 31, 2019
House Passes Gun Reform Bill MSNBC, February 28, 2019
How to Give an Effective State of the Union Address MSNBC, February 8, 2019
Gun Control and the U.S. Constitution GPS with Fareed Zakaria, CNN, November 27, 2018
Negotiating a Trump-Mueller Interview MSNBC, January 8, 2018
Gunning for the Second Amendment? Stay Tuned With Preet Bharara (podcast), August 15, 2019
Fight Over 2020 Census Citizenship Question Heats Up MSNBC, June 5, 2019
The Mueller Report: Should Trump Be Impeached NY1, April 18, 2019.
Trump's SOTU Address, Fox News, January 28, 2018
State of the Union, CBS This Morning, January 27, 2018
Trump-Mueller Interview, MSNBC, January 8, 2018
Trump's Denial of Collusion, MSNBC January 6, 2018
Michael Flynn's Guilty Plea, MSNBC, December 2, 2017
Will Trump Testify?, MSNBC, November 27, 2017
Russia on Trial, MSNBC, November 27, 2017
Can He Do That?, the Washington Post, August 19, 2017
The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC, July 5, 2017
The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC, June 13, 2017
Road to City Hall, NY1, June 8, 2017
WBFO FM, May 20, 2017
PBS Newshour, PBS, May 17, 2017
WNYC, May 12, 2017
The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC, May 12, 2017
1A, WBUR, May 11, 2017
MSNBC, April 29, 2017
The CNN Newsroom, CNN, February 28, 2017
MSNBC Live, MSNBC, February 28, 2017
Intelligence Squared, February 1, 2017
11th Hour with Brian Williams, MSNBC, January 24, 2017
1A, WBUR, January 31, 2017
On The Media, WNYC, July 1, 2016
Meet The Press Daily, MSNBC, October 17, 2016
The Takeaway, NPR, January 31, 2016
Testimony before the Democratic Party Platform Committee, June 20, 2016
Tavis Smiley, PBS, April 11, 2016
CUNY TV, March 14, 2016
CBS Sunday Morning, March 14, 2016
HuffPost Live, March 4, 2016
Washington Journal, C-SPAN, February 24, 2016
Morning Joe, MSNBC, February 23, 2016
Politic's Nation, MSNBC, January 3, 2016
MSNBC, August 27, 2015
Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC, June 4, 2015
The Cycle, MSNBC, May 8, 2015
Morning Joe, MSNBC, April 30, 2015
CNN, January 20, 2015
Bloomberg TV, January 20, 2015
NOW with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, November 4, 2014
Charlie Rose, October 28, 2014
PBS, June 19, 2014
Inside City Hall, NY1, June 9, 2014
Chicago Tonight, PBS, June 9, 2014
U.S. National Archives, June 3, 2014
CNN, May 31, 2014
The Cycle, MSNBC, May 30, 2014
Politics Panel, RT, May 28, 2014
Washington Journal, C-SPAN, May 27, 2014
Alex Witt, MSNBC, May 24, 2014
All In with Chris Hayes, MSNBC, May 22, 2014
Andrea Mitchell Reports, MSNBC, May 22, 2014
Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC, May 21, 2014
PBS Newshour, PBS, April 2, 2014
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, April 2, 2014
Jansing & Co., MSNBC, February 24, 2014
Andrea Mitchell Reports, MSNBC, January 29, 2014
MSNBC, January 8, 2014
All In with Chris Hayes, MSNBC, November 4, 2013
The Cycle, MSNBC, October 1, 2013
The Cycle, MSNBC, September 9, 2013
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, July 25, 2013
Disrupt with Karen Finney, MSNBC, June 30, 2013
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, June 26, 2013
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, June 26, 2013
On Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign finance reform bill, June 11, 2013
Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC, March 29, 2013
Andrea Mitchell Reports, MSNBC, February 12, 2013
The Cycle, MSNBC, February 11, 2013
Weekends with Alex Witt, MSNBC, February 9, 2013
Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC, February 9, 2013
Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC, February 9, 2013
George Washington University Law School, February 8, 2013
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, February 5, 2013
Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN, February 5, 2013
Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN, February 5, 2013
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, January 29, 2013
Erin Burnett OutFront, CNN, January 15, 2013
Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer, Current TV, November 29, 2012
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, November 13, 2012
PBS NewsHour, PBS, November 5, 2012
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, September 13, 2012
PBS NewsHour, PBS, September 6, 2012
Moyers & Company, PBS, August 3, 2012
Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, August 2, 2012
Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, July 18, 2012
Politics Nation, MSNBC, June 26, 2012
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, June 25, 2012
Starting Point, CNN, June 11, 2012
Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer, Current TV, June 5, 2012
The Daily Rundown, MSNBC, June 4, 2012
Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, May 29, 2012
OutFront, CNN, March 27, 2012
Now with Alex Wagner, MSNBC, March 13, 2012
OutFront, CNN, February 13, 2012
Current TV, February 2, 2012
MSNBC, January 24, 2012
CNN, January 24, 2012
NY1 January 4, 2012
The Daily Rundown, MSNBC, October 7, 2011
Hardball, MSNBC, October 5, 2011
MSNBC, June 24, 2011
Richard Heffner's Open Mind, PBS, February 5, 2011
The Colbert Report, Comedy Central, January 26, 2011
The Takeaway, WNYC, January 25, 2011
Bloomberg TV, January 25, 2011
Parker Spitzer, CNN, January 24, 2011
Nightline, ABC, January 12, 2011
Good Morning America, ABC, December 15, 2010
Hardball, MSNBC, February 24, 2009
CBS Evening News, CBS, September 30, 2008
The Verdict with Dan Abrams, MSNBC, July 16, 2008
The Verdict with Dan Abrams, MSNBC, July 8, 2008
CSPAN, June 27, 2008
Live with Dan Abrams, MSNBC, August 4, 2007
On the Media, WNYC-NPR, January 26, 2007
PBS Newshour, PBS, January 23, 2007
Tavis Smiley, PBS, November 1, 2006
Books by Michael Waldman
The Fight to Vote (Simon & Schuster, 2017)
The Second Amendment: A Biography (Simon & Schuster, 2014)
My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America's Presidents, from George Washington to Barack Obama (Sourcebooks, 2010)
A Return to Common Sense (Sourcebooks, 2007)
POTUS Speaks (Simon & Schuster, 2000)
Who Robbed America? A Citizen's Guide to the S&L Scandal (Random House, 1990)