Two years, thirteen pictures
A few things happened.
I’m Darren Samuelsohn, and thank you for reading love, journalism. Let’s back track for a quick moment for a photo essay on how we got here.
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In April 2024 I became Congress and campaigns editor at USA Today. America was about to vote. I was in for a wild ride.
The first day of a new job has a way of making you feel like a kid who snuck backstage.
Hanging in the breakroom on Day 1: a fake front page from a movie about a guy who couldn’t stop looking backward. I took that as a sign.
View out the DC bureau’s window. Down that alley: a WeWork on the old Washington Post site, where The Messenger had once been. Three chapters of journalism in one sightline. I’d just started the third.
The first former American president convicted of a felony. Thirty-four counts. David Jackson, aka DJ, had the print byline. He’d been covering the White House since Bill Clinton. He passed away in April 2026. I was his final editor.
Washington has a way of putting the stakes right there on the pavement, in 35-foot letters, just in case you forgot what you were covering.
The Republicans came to Milwaukee in the summer. Fonzie was already there.
From up here you could see the whole thing at once: the spectacle, the cameras pointed at the spectacle, and the people typing about the spectacle.
A coffee mug with his mugshot. A photograph of the assassination attempt, matted and ready to frame. America, open for business.
Two weeks after Milwaukee, Chicago. Different party, same assignment (in one of my hometowns!). The lake didn't have an opinion either way.
She dressed for the occasion. The sash told the whole story.
Susan Page has interviewed the past 10 presidents. This was the last one’s final conversation in office with a newspaper reporter.
Frank E. Gannett, founder and chief executive officer. We had some things to discuss.
The box is on the floor. The nameplate is still on the divider. The skyline hasn't moved. Some mornings it's hard to tell if you're arriving or leaving, so you take a picture either way.