Collinson says the news cycle has been nonstop since June 2015, when Trump descended from the golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce his campaign.Â
Â
Once Trump left the White House last year, Collinson tried to distance himself a bit from the subject he spent years focusing on. But that distance didn’t last long.Â
Â
“It became pretty clear that he's still an extremely important political figure in the country,” Collinson said. “But Trump still has a hold on the imagination of his voters.”Â
Â
In his role writing mostly political analysis, Collinson is often tasked with explaining what’s possible in the unpredictable world of politics — including a potential Trump run in 2024.Â
Â
When writing his daily analysis, Collinson takes a different approach from a straight-forward breaking news write. He sees these as a way to step back and try to put all the pieces together for his audience.Â
Â
As for what he sees as the most important story on his beat right now, Collinson says it’s the obstruction of democracy.Â
Â
“Some of the things that are going on in the states with these new voting laws are really important,” Collinson said. “If you can stop 6,000 people voting, you can change the course of an election.”
Â
At home, with his family in DC, politics sometimes comes up. But that’s OK. Collinson could talk politics (US and foreign) all day — and he probably would with a willing audience.Â
Â
Which could be why he took on another daily analysis of US politics. But instead of writing for a mostly American audience, he authors a newsletter specifically for global readers. Along with international senior news editor Caitlin Hu, he explains how we got here, what it means — and where America and the world are heading next.Â
Â
Collinson describes his newsletter, “Meanwhile in America,” as punchier than his regular bylines. He sees it as an easy point of entry into American politics for a novice follower of news.Â
Â
“It's not like broadsheet newspaper stuff,” Collinson said. “I sort of think of it a little bit like a diary section of a Victorian newspaper.”
Â
As for what readers can expect Collinson to author next, that’s still to be decided. His deadline for the analysis he will publish tomorrow morning isn’t until this evening.Â
Â
“At the end of the day, you want to write about the biggest story, right?” Collinson said.