Like a lot of journalists who cover politics in Washington, DC, CNN senior writer Zach Wolf grew up far away from the US capital. Being from a small central California city has given him a different perspective.
"I went to high school in Modesto, California, which is about as different from the nearby Bay Area as it is possible to be. And both places are in a different world than Washington, DC," Wolf said. "I think it's important to remember this is a big country with a lot of different viewpoints."
While his ears still "perk up" when he comes across news stories from his home state, Wolf is primarily focused on breaking down complicated political stories in his weekday newsletter, "What Matters."
"The goal for 'What Matters' is to give people a little more than the news and add as much context as we can find," Wolf explained. "CNN has such a large newsgathering operation around the world and the frontline reporters are always a starting point."
As CNN gears up to cover the 2024 presidential election, we asked Wolf to share with us a bit more about him and what to watch for. Here's what he told us:
Tell us about how you got your start as a political editor and writer.
As a campaign reporter I followed Ron Paul in 2008, which is a deep track. I spent a few years covering the US Senate (covering Capitol Hill remains one of the best jobs in the business). Then I slowly transitioned to the digital side because I really liked writing stories to go along with my reporting. But I guess you'd have to say my initial start came as a lowly desk assistant, fresh out of college in ABC's Washington bureau, back when a lot more people were watching network news broadcasts. The main part of that job was answering phones and making Xerox copies. But here I am.
What's your most memorable moment covering US politics?
Does the entire last seven years count? Anybody who tells you they were sure Donald Trump would win in 2016 is lying to you. His victory was a shock to people covering politics and continues to be a shock to the system. The insurrection, the anger in politics, the fact that Trump and President Joe Biden could face off again — things have felt crazed for a while.
But I also want to mention something that happened before Trump. When I was covering the US Senate and the Great Recession hit in 2008, lawmakers made the difficult decision to bail out Wall Street banks. That was a remarkable thing to see first-hand since it felt like the economy was about to end and it was not guaranteed the bailout would pass. Whether or not you agree today with the bailout (and a lot of lawmakers regret supporting it), watching it unfold was incredibly dramatic and it felt like lawmakers were putting the interests of the country over their own interests.
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