Frank Wilkenson

Francis Wilkinson

Bloomberg Opinion Columnist

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

Latest

Homepage crop of Michelle Wu smiling

Bloomberg Opinion

Boston’s Michelle Wu Is a Model Wartime Mayor

Building affordable housing and filling potholes while trying to protect a democracy and economy under siege: Welcome to the world of a blue-city boss in the Trump era.

April 12, 2026

April 12, 2026

OpinionFrank Wilkinson

Boston’s Michelle Wu Is a Model Wartime Mayor

Building affordable housing and filling potholes while trying to protect a democracy and economy under siege: Welcome to the world of a blue-city boss in the Trump era.

Homepage crop of Michelle Wu smiling

December 21, 2025

December 21, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

MAGA’s Book Bans Are Coming Back With a Vengeance

The Trump administration’s executive orders are fueling a wave of book bans, and South Carolina is leading the pack.

MAGA’s Book Bans Are Coming Back With a Vengeance

October 7, 2025

October 7, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Can Canada Survive Donald Trump?

Under assault from an increasingly aggressive and authoritarian United States, the country’s future looks less secure than at any time in postwar history.

Hundreds protest President Donald Trump's rhetoric about Canada becoming the 51st state

July 27, 2025

July 27, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

New York Is the Front Line of the War on Cities

Without a baseline of the liberal tolerance that Trump and his base seem to hate, the Big Apple would quickly become unlivable.

US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION-ICE-PROTEST

June 1, 2025

June 1, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Immigrants Rebuilt a Pennsylvania Town — Then Became Targets

Haitians in Charleroi filled pews and revived stores. Now they face deportation and backlash.

Immigrants Rebuilt a Pennsylvania Town — Then Became Targets

May 4, 2025

May 4, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

How a School in a Tiny, New York Town Beat ICE

Sackets Harbor demanded that Tom Homan return three children and their mother. Why did he cave?

ICE Agents Carry Out Raid On Undocumented Immigrants In Chicago

March 23, 2025

March 23, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Universities Are Not Meeting This Moment

College presidents have grown quiet in the face of government attacks on free speech and academic independence.

Mahmoud Khalil

March 16, 2025

March 16, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Canadians Are Extremely Confused Right Now

During a recent trip north, the locals were full of questions about why the US president had targeted them.

Liberal Party Of Canada Leadership Debate

March 2, 2025

March 2, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Taking Migrant Children's Lawyers Is Just Callous

The Trump administration capriciously blocked, then restored, access to legal representation for thousands of kids who came to the US alone. No one knows what’s next.

Taking Migrant Children's Lawyers Is Just Callous

February 24, 2025

February 24, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Is Trump Strong or Weak? Americans Will Decide

Some say President Trump is ruling through executive orders because his grip on power is shaky. But strength is always relative.

President Trump Signs Executive Orders At Mar-a-Lago In Palm Beach, Florida

February 20, 2025

February 20, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Russia Wins When the US Stops Fighting Corruption

Several autocratic regimes will benefit from the Trump administration’s about-face on anti-bribery policy. But Putin’s country wins most.

VIETNAM-APEC-SUMMIT

February 4, 2025

February 4, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

MAGA’s Driving Force Is Christian Nationalism

Evangelical votes have mattered to the GOP for decades. But not like this — and not with such extreme views.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-POLITICS-ELECTION

January 24, 2025

January 24, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

What Happened to Black Lives Matter’s Momentum?

The criminal justice system still needs reform. But the movement’s energy has dispersed.

George Floyd Killer Derek Chauvin Found Guilty On All Three Charges

January 18, 2025

January 18, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Don’t Let MAGA Whitewash the Tulsa Race Massacre

The new Department of Justice account of the 1921 assault on a Black neighborhood is a necessary dose of truth in an era poisoned by disinformation.

The Black Dispatch Front Page, June 1, 1921

January 10, 2025

January 10, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

America Just Buried Trust Along With Jimmy Carter

The send-off for “Honest Jimmy” offered a grim reminder of how little the US seems to value truth-telling today.

State Funeral For Former US President Jimmy Carter

January 2, 2025

January 2, 2025

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

MAGA’s Jan. 6 Stories Are Taking a More Dangerous Turn

A new GOP congressional report on the House select committee shifts the counternarrative about the storming of the Capitol to the retaliation phase.

Trump Supporters Hold "Stop The Steal" Rally In DC Amid Ratification Of Presidential Election

December 30, 2024

December 30, 2024

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Jimmy Carter Just Got Better With Age

Carter’s legacy goes well beyond his time in the White House.

Democratic Convention Kicks Off

December 22, 2024

December 22, 2024

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

MAGA’s Orban-esque Plan to Control What Universities Teach

Trump and Vance are already indicating they’ll follow the Project 2025 blueprint to wage a pressure campaign on colleges.

Torn up book

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

How We Got to ‘Your Body, My Choice’ From #MeToo

A conversation with Cynthia Miller-Idriss, director of the Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab at American University.

How We Got to ‘Your Body, My Choice’ From #MeToo

November 20, 2024

November 20, 2024

OpinionFrancis Wilkinson

Trump’s Cabinet Blitz Is Straight From Orban's Playbook

An expert in authoritarianism who has lived in both Russia and Hungary explains whose blueprint Trump might follow in his second term.

President Trump Hosts Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban At The White House