David Leonhardt

Senior writer, N.Y. Times. Author, "Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream." Best book of the year, Atlantic, FT & TNR. Now in paperback.

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

I consider this chart to be the clearest indictment of our country’s path over the last several decades: In 1980, the U.S. had a typical life expectancy for an affluent country. Today, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy of any affluent country:

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

@JakeMGrumbach This is factually incorrect. We looked at both winning and losing candidates and said so in the editorial.

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

For anyone thinking about immigration policy, I recommend this year-old piece by Michael Kazin: "How the GOP’s Hard Line Will Make America More Pro-Immigrant, Not Less." https://t.co/we5otoVgkN

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

@AZuckermanVA Thank you!

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

The left has lost power in the U.S., Germany, Italy and Sweden. Canada and Australia may be next. And the far right is growing across the West. But there is one European country where the left has won re-election and marginalized the far right: Denmark. Why? 🧵

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

@RWhelanWSJ Thank you!

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

@mattyglesias Say more, please! (And thanks.)

[David Shor @davidshor]

@JakeMGrumbach The funny thing about the traditional contact theory discourse is that now immigrants themselves are swinging pretty right https://t.co/HP99yL1Hjn

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

@JakeMGrumbach But what about South Texas? Queens? Chicago? Working-class communities that were most affected by the recent immigration surge swung to the right, while affluent areas that were largely untouched did not. https://t.co/Y4neURqzNC

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

The numbers matter too. The two countries that border Denmark — Germany and Sweden — each have a foreign-born population of 20%, not 12%.

Germany and Sweden have weak center lefts and strong far rights. Denmark has a center-left government and a hobbled far right.

[Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny]

"Today [2024] 12.6% of the population is foreign-born, up from 10.5% [in 2019] when [center-left] Frederiksen took office."

That's ~0.4% of total population increase in the migrant stock *each year.*

A sign, perhaps, that what matters is to get the rhetoric right?

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

More from Starmer: “This happened by design, not accident. Policies were reformed, deliberately, to liberalise immigration…. To turn Britain into a one-nation experiment in open borders. Global Britain – remember that slogan. That is what they meant. A policy with no support.”

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

Indeed. The UK Labour Party won last year partly by criticizing the Tories for being too lax on immigration.

[Paul Ashworth @FCVMacro]

@DLeonhardt Also, the UK went left.

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

Here’s PM Keir Starmer in November: “Nearly one million people came to Britain in the year ending June 2023… What the British people are owed is an explanation. Because a failure on this scale isn’t just bad luck…. No, this a different order of failure.”

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

Immigration is now roiling politics in the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa and Europe. The left's recent strategy -- lecturing working-class voters and ignoring the burdens on their communities -- hasn't worked. Denmark points to an alternative. https://t.co/wsGeOyhueh

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

Consider this: Around the world, there is not one clear example of a country that has accepted large numbers of newcomers in recent decades while marginalizing the far right and reducing inequality.

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

What a run for Ian. We are really sorry to lose him — but proud and excited that @BostonGlobe has hired him for this role. Sign up if you care about Boston or New England!

[Ian Prasad Philbrick @IanPrasad]

After more than seven years @nytimes, I’m thrilled to be joining @BostonGlobe to write Starting Point, the paper’s flagship email newsletter. I’m psyched to get back to my New England roots, and I’ll start writing in the coming weeks

[David Leonhardt @DLeonhardt]

She performed better in swing states relative to *her own performance elsewhere* (because she campaigned there). She lost NV, WI, MI and AZ, all of which Dem Senate candidates won.

[Michael A. Cohen (NOT TRUMP’S FORMER FIXER) @speechboy71]

“her dearth of swing-voter appeal”

Harris overperformed in swing states! She did close to 3 pts better in swing states than she did nationally