Maggie Haberman on Her Hardest Interview and Predictions for 2018

Like Trump you now have the power to intimidate, because you are a known star at the Times. Your siding with Sarah Sanders at the expense of Michelle Wolf, who was exercising her rights and doing her job, makes me much less likely to trust your journalism. Time for a talk show I guess!

Tax “reform”...unbelievable. Why not call it what it is—Billionaire Tax Relief?

Well, I like Maggie's balance: she doesn't like Trump OR HRC. But she misremembers the last election and the miscues that ultimately sank HRC. It wasn't just Podesta; and it wasn't just Wasserman Schultz. Most significantly, given the attention it's gotten, it wasn't just the Russkies, with or without cahooting. It was mostly Comey's abominably-timed announcements of unripe FBI investigations, Hillary's assumptions about how in-the-bag the rustbelt industrial Midwest was, and the slavering coronation by the press. An honest look at HRC's campaign would reanimate Richard Fedder, from Fort Lee, NJ, and cause balanced evaluations to conclude that HRC, during that frozen slice of time, DESERVED to live in New Jersey.

Dear Ms Haberman, please keep up the good work. The press needs to hold this administration’s feet to the fire. Without the diligence of honest political journalists, the US would sink into the quagmire of official lies and obfuscations. Though it must feel like an neverending task, you and your colleagues are providing a great service to your country, namely uncovering the truths this administration seeks to bury. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don't think that tax "reform" is as much of a good thing for GOP as you suggest: starting April 15th, people are going to realize how screwed they are because of this new tax code. The $10,000 cap on State and Local taxes paid deduction represents a huge increase in liability for me, as I suspect it will for many many others. I am a registered republican, but I have no problem voting otherwise, as I did in 2016.

Yes folks, we need more journalists like Maggie. This national outrage should have been nipped in the bud. But, as they say, "Never Again." -- But then again, they said that about the holocaust, and we keep seeing those tendencies recycling themselves throughout history. Until humans take a seriously hard look in the mirror, we may never escape the tribal part of our evolutionary nature. Still yet, there is hope that we will rise-up to step out of that Big Black Hole. With the help of investigative journalists who perform the role of self-reflection, we can still keep hope alive. There is no other choice.

The T in Times gives a little flair to Maggie's hair and overall look.

Keep holding feet to fire, Maggie. This country needs investigators like you. Journalistic lesson: Take all presidential candidates seriously from the moment they declare. Early on, major media treated Trump's candidacy as a joke, and look what happened.

I am so happy to hear that Hillary is the hardest person to interview. Hillary and Bill Clinton are smart as whips. They know the media, even the best of them like the Times, can take their words verbatim and still find a way to paint not the most flattering portrait. Anyone I have known who is in the public eye is well aware of this. Thus, the walk softly and proceed with caution. Only an outright imbecile or one ignorant to the wiles and ways of the Press would be so foolish to think they could get the upper hand. Only an egotistical narcissist would be so bold to attempt to go toe to toe with an experienced reporter. Only a complete dumbbell would even think they could win such a battle. Enter Donald Trump. DD Manhattan

Reporters like Haberman, papers like The New York Times, and journalism itself represent the principal defenses we have against the installation of authoritarian government. Please, please do not ever stop being passionate about reporting the truth. And thanks.

We need more Haberman's.

I have found that alerting people to a situation is sufficient; if you attempt to also tell them how they should feel, or what they should do, they often tune you out completely.

How you conduct interviews is interesting but the suggestion that a House flip is less likely after the tax cut package and that Russia will interfere with the elections is of far more concern. Neither presidential blather nor congressional indignation seem to have a kernel of strength. Our self-destructing government needs to start acting soon.

And scene. It only took 30 seconds to get in a dig against Clinton. I suppose that was for balance. I thought for a moment I was reading Maureen Dowd.

"Tax Reform". Those two words to describe what the Repubs did is so misleading. Where was the reform? Reform for the richest of the rich? Sure. Reform in how taxes are filed and/or collected? Not really. It was a tax cut. The narrative obviously is working.

It's nice to see the Haberman name on the NY Times. Maggie's father was one of my favorite writers, and now she is also becoming one

I confess to watching a fair amount of cable news. Whenever Maggie makes an appearance it's must see TV. One gets the distinct impression that she's always the smartest person in the studio. The way she imparts her insights with a sober, no nonsense delivery is the epitome of TV cool. Can't wait for her next big scoop. I suppose there's no way of saying this without sounding weird and sexist, but I find Ms. Haberman to be surprisingly sexy. Unlike the many other beautiful and talented women on the cable news networks, it's precisely her--what appears to be--deliberate shunning of the glamorous that makes her so attractive. And then there's those eyeglasses...

Yes Maggie Haberman, the big story of 2018 will be direct from the Oval Office: Trump's indictment for money laundering.

Maggie Haberman is one of my favorite journalists. She writes well, has a great TV panel presence and always strives to better inform her readers/viewers. Keep it up Maggie!

"Hardest interview" was H. Rodham Clinton because she was "closed-off". THAT says something, especially coming from a reporter like Maggie Haberman. And perhaps we can extrapolate that perceptive "closed-off" assessment to the entire Democratic Party MACHINE (including a tone-deaf DNC). [The missed opportunity in the 2018 Democratic primaries and general election was catastrophic.]

One has to be far too deep in the Washington beltway mentality to suggest with a straight face that the leaking of John Podesta's emails by Wikileaks was an "unprecedented form of terror in an election" and that it "led to an event that seemed unlikely (Trump's election)".

Pleased to see this interview with Maggie, we note her name as a contributor to lots of pieces in the NYT. No surprises that meals may be skipped over, she is certainly a very busy lady, and her hard work is very much appreciated.

Please enlighten me. Why would anyone trust Maggie Habebrman's predictions at this point? She was completely and disastrously wrong on the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. I am sure she's a good reporter. But if I were an editor at the Times, I would make sure she stuck to facts that happened in the past, not predictions.

Ms. Haberman, Thank you for your reporting, your grit (aka perseverance), and your perspective, as reporter, citizen, wife, and mother. I know that if anyone can unravel the tangled web of these parlous times, you will find the way.

Hello Maggie, we’ve never met, but your grandfather was my second cousin. I always look for your byline and read your articles before anything else in the paper. Congratulations! You are enormously talented and very accomplished.

I think history will rank Haberman with the likes of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for her doggedness, consistent scoops, and the importance of her reporting to the ongoing health of our democracy. Bravo, Maggie!

Maggie Haberman is one of my favorite reporters: smart, articulate, and competent. She maintains the kind of professionalism that is essential to preserving the critical role of journalists. I hope she serves as an inspiration to the next generation of journalist entering the field.

I always look for Maggie Haberman's by-line. She's brilliant at what she does...journalism that can be trusted. I hope she's now eating expensive chocolate. She's worth it.

How about this question: why have you gone so easy on the president? It's sickening to read some of the transcripts with her questions to the president! We understand: you've been covering the president for many years but get over the charm! He's playing you like a fiddle.

We can only hope that the biggest headline of 2018 will be: “Mid-Term Election Results Show Democrats Retaking House of Representatives by Large Margin.” It goes on in sub-heading:” Vote Count Sets Record in Off-Year Election.” Below that, “Voters Express Anger Over Trump Policies In Exit Polls.”

Really, it's not unexpected, funny actually how you just can't keep from digging at Hilary Clinton at any opportunity. She was your hardest interview because she's "closed off?" Still disappointing to read.

It's important these days that the general public get at least a glimmering of how good reporters work. It's important, too, that print reporters such as Haberman avoid so much as they can appearances on camera, where they are valued for the most succulent words in their last story. Reporters and talking heads are different species.

"You can't give in to intimidation." Thank God for fearless reporters and investigators...regardless of the barking from Trump

I met Maggie when she was about 10 years old, at PS 75 or whatever school it was (can't quite remember), as I taught various writing classes for kids in NYC while in grad school, and she was one of my students - she had that sardonic, witty, scrappy tabloid instinct even then. I think she was born with it.

Mrs. Haberman, This last year you have become the foundation on which that fourth pillar of democracy rests upon. Thank you for your strong journalistic ethics. Thank you for your clear and concise commentary when on CNN. Thank you for your efforts to keep that beacon light which guides freedom-loving people everywhere on our American hill fueled. Thank you.

I suspect you find it frustrating trying to be so accurate in your reporting, but FOXNews and their team are not held to the same standards. It would also be interesting to know how much of the reporters time is spent chasing the lies coming out of the Trump White House now into the thousands.

So grateful to people like you, Maggie, for doing the extremely hard work of digging for TRUTH and putting it out there for us. This is YUGE! This is the glue holding our democracy, our very fragile democracy, intact. You go girl!

It is too bad that the normal citizen can't learn the question that Maggie Haberman learned "you can't give into intimidation." It is why so many women and some men have been grossly taken advantage of. And that is everywhere in our society. We all should learn to stand up to it. Of course Maggie has the printed word on her side. Someone once said "never get into a fight when someone can by ink by the barrel." I think it was a Hearst incident that caused the comment to be made

In the age of Facebook, Twitter and Google, honest journalism is our only resue from the nonsense of propaganda and what is truly fake news. Keep it up! We need it!

Maggie Haberman is an American hero for her reporting on this administration.

Keep up the good work, Ms. Haberman. In the "interesting times" in which we live, we need the press more than ever.

I recall accusing Ms. Haberman of partisanship when it came to her coverage of Hillary Clinton versus Bernie Sanders. I actually sent an email to her in anger and really did not expect a reply. But, reply she did and it was clear to me that her protestations were less an ego response than an expression dismay that her work came across as having a bias. This short interview appears to support her contention that she tries very hard to avoid the kind of side-taking which raises my hackles

As a West Coaster, I cannot admit to having discovered Maggie any earlier than, perhaps, 2015: but since, seeking her stories, usually column-one, top-left, above-the-fold; I believe the President prizes her daily telephone inquiries above all-else at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Quite clearly Donald is smitten with Maggie's take-no-prisoners mien and the flint in her voice thrills him as daily she holds her cell-phone dear while shivering at his latest over-the-phone electronic lechery. The Staff knows; Donald has had a longstanding 'crush' on Maggie AND, this news just-in, he is NOT alone. Now bereft, without Bannon or Omarosa, vaguely remembering when Michael Woolf once sat outside the Oval Office, reminding Donald of his middle-school private-tutor and Idol, Roy Cohn, Donald often calls Maggie to bounce ill-thought-ideas off her, always well-passed the newsprint deadlines; Maggie shushing those near, fighting to decipher his talking-with-his-mouth-full expletives: and all-the-while Donald is screaming at Ms Hicks who steams his suit while he is wearing it, or shouting belittlements at an intern/food taster having just-returned via the secret-service men who daily ferry one of the lower 99 percentile down the block for some real KFC, he is becoming more difficult to understand, as Donald, drunk-with-grease and a double-order of biscuits, faux butter and gravy; gargles his soda, while Maggie, scribbles as fast as she can, to 'follow the honey' on Mr. Trump's hands.

Maggie is a voice of reason in these troubled times. Whether I’m reading one of her articles or watching her on a television panel, I can count on her to be level-headed, calm, cool and collected even while others around her are bickering, squabbling and generally losing their minds. Thank you, Maggie, for all you do.

A very interesting exchange. I wish it were longer. The comment about Hillary is especially interesting and begs for more detail.

Dear Maggie Haberman, I'm an older white guy, a retired state court judge, now teaching. I loved my work, However, reading your work has convinced me that if I were in school today I'd decide on journalism. We're all counting on you and your colleagues to get us through this dangerous nightmare (hey, no pressure). Thank you.

The house may not flip because of tax reform...you mean the tax cuts that disappear after five years for most middle class families.

Thank you, Maggie Haberman, for working so hard to ensure that the we get the facts, rather than the White House's preferred, altered, reality. Every reader who values democracy is in your debt.

My thanx to Maggie for her relentless pursuit of the truth. Not easy in the world of alternative facts as practiced by POTUS and his merry band of enablers.Keep doing it MH.

Here's my prediction of the 2018 story that needs to be told--from zip to nuts: all the ways our election processes can be manipulated, hacked, and results changed. It seems to me one of the most important stories of our times--but where is the full expose? Jonathan Simon: "[Election fraud] is the hub at the center of all the other concerns that people have. And you see people, whether it’s save the whales or forests or Social Security, whatever it is, working very hard on these issues and not recognizing that if elections continue to be rigged their work is going to be for naught.” Simon is author of "Code Red: Computerized Election Theft and the New American Century." Also see Simon's interviews at http://codered2014.com https://www.npr.org/2018/01/27/579683042/5-ways-election-interference-co... How to Rig an Election - The G.O.P. Aims to Paint the Country Red https://tinyurl.com/y9xx63f6 Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pisBdNLmo-A Josh Mittledorf: Intro to Election Theft in America (part 1 of 4) https://tinyurl.com/

I really hate softball interviews.