Ron Fournier on Muck Rack

Ron Fournier

Detroit
As seen in: MSN, The New York Times, Fox News, The Washington Post, TIME, USA Today, ABC News, NBC News, New York Post, The Atlantic and
Consultant. Ex-White House/politics reporter. Writing on Substack: open.substack.com/pub/convulsions Bestsellers “Love That Boy” & “Applebee’s America”
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Articles by Ron Fournier

What's the Lede?

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
HERE’S HOW I would have filed the story: WASHINGTON — In a post that may live in infamy, President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to lay waste to Iran’s civilian infrastructure unless Tehran stops blocking the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
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Anatomy of a Bribe

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety. These newsletters are free. A paid subscription also gives you access to “The Morning Read-In,”a daily curation and conversation around the day’s most compelling stories on politics, culture, communications, and life. Today’s newsletter draws from an item in the MRI.
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AI Didn't Write This

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety. These newsletters are free. A paid subscription also gives you access to “The Morning Read-In,” a daily curation and conversation around the day’s most compelling stories on politics, culture, communications, and life. Today’s newsletter draws from an item in the MRI.
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Innocence Seized by Evil

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety. These newsletters are free. A paid subscription also gives you access to “The Morning Read-In,” a daily curation and conversation around the day’s most compelling stories on politics, culture, and communications. Today’s newsletter pulls on a thread started in the MRI.
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A father's plea: Help me find a job for my autistic son, and thousands like him

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By Ron Fournier
| The Star (Malaysia) Verified
Please help me find a job for my son. While you're at it, help me find jobs for the thousands of other Michiganians with autism whose talents are being wasted over discrimination, lack of preparation and other barriers to the workforce. Tyler, 28, has graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, the United States with a history degree after a decade of grinding his way through education and social challenges that most of us can't fathom. He is my hero.
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When Tyler Met Obama: The Problem is Me

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
My son gradates from college this weekend. The milestone carries extra meaning with Tyler because he happens to be on the autism spectrum, a condition that heightened the typical educational and social barriers to a college degree. Tyler grinded it out and now, at 28, he launches into adulthood.
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On Pearl Harbor Day, "America First" Lives in Infamy

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety. Click the orange button to join. These newsletters are free. A paid subscription gives you access to “The Morning Read-In,” a daily curation and conversation around the day’s most compelling stories on politics, culture, communications, and life. Today’s newsletter is drawn from two items in the MRI. TODAY IS PEARL HARBOR DAY, a time to not only honor the victims of the Dec.
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Ron Fournier: Help me find a job for my autistic son - and thousands like him

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit News Verified
Dec. 3, 2025, 8:00 p.m. ET Please help me find a job for my son. While you’re at it, help me find jobs for the thousands of other Michiganians with autism whose talents are being wasted over discrimination, lack of preparation and other barriers to the workforce. Tyler, 28, graduates this month from Saginaw Valley State University with a history degree after a decade of grinding his way through education and social challenges that most of us can’t fathom. He is my hero.
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Cowardly, Compliant Media Cornered Again

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety. Click the orange button to join. These newsletters are free. A paid subscription gives you exclusive access to “The Morning Read-In,” a daily curation and conversation around the day’s most compelling stories on politics, culture, communications, and life. This column in drawn from today’s MRI.
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Dear Pentagon Reporters: Don't Cave

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony and anxiety at the intersection of politics, culture, communications, and life its own self. Join our community here, free or paid with benefits. THE DEADLINE is 5 p.m. today for news outlets to decide whether to agree to a government ban on reporting information the Defense Department does not explicitly authorize.
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Autism or Asphalt? Michigan Makes Wrong Choice

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony an anxiety at the intersection of politics, culture, communications, and life its own self. Join our community here. THE ONLY THING WORSE than seeing people hurt by partisan politics may be seeing people hurt by bipartisan politics. It happened here in Michigan this month, when Republican and Democratic leaders struck a secretive $80 million budget deal to reduce spending and direct more money to roads.
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Decoding Trump

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Decoding a top story in tonight’s New York Times: “Trump Says He Has Ordered Troops to Protect ICE Facilities in Portland” WHAT IT SAYS: “President Trump declared on Saturday that he had directed troops to be sent to Portland, Ore., saying he had authorized them to use ‘full force’ to quell protests directed at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.” Convulsions is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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"My President Is About to Make a Terrible Mistake"

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions newsletters are FREE. This special edition is based on today’s “Morning Read-In,” a daily curation and conversation on politics, culture, communications, and life. It’s a feature on Substack’s “Chat” platform exclusive to PAID SUBSCRIBERS.
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The Largest Little Known Scandal in American Politics

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsionsis a Substack for and about you — witnesses to an age of acrimony. If you like these newsletters, click the orange button and join my mailing list for FREE, and please share on social media. Paid subscribers get access to my daily pre-dawn “Morning Read-In,” a curation and conversation around the most important stories on politics, culture, communications, and life its own self.
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Don't Do It, Kamala Harris. Don't Pull a Joe Biden

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Former Vice President Kamala Harrissaid today she won't run for California governor. That means she wants to run for president in 2028, which would be a big mistake. "Over the past six months," Harris said in a statement, "I have spent time reflecting on this moment in our nation’s history, and the best way for me to continue fighting for the American people and advancing the values and ideals I hold dear.
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Why MAGA's Congress is Voting Against MAGA's Interests

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
The Republican budget package is shaping up to be one of the most politically and socially reckless pieces of legislation ever pushed through Congress. It’s hard to imagine how President Trump doesn’t pay a price for this assault on the social safety net that millions of his own supporters rely upon. The legislation, which the media has allowed Trump to falsely brand as “One Big Beautiful Bill,” is a massive moving target that the New York Times nicely summarizes here.
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No Guts, No Balls Pete Hegseth

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
I've known Elissa Slotkin for years. I watched her career develop from narrow victories in her MAGA-leaning House district outside Detroit to a solid win for the Senate in 2024. And I know this about the former CIA and Pentagon analyst: She doesn’t suffer fools. Enter Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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Are We Still Worthy?

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This video/text newsletter is free. It’s inspired by an items in today’s “Morning Read-In,” my daily curation and conversation around the most compelling stories on politics, communications, culture, and life. Click to subscribe to this paid-subscriber feature. Lawrence Peter Berra was a 19-year-old baseball-loving son of Italian immigrants when he enlisted in the Navy and almost immediately volunteered for a secret mission.
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Convulsions: Politics, Culture, Communications and Life

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts
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Will MAGA Voters Slow Trump's Roll?

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
President Trump’s supporters aren’t blind to the fact that a trade war with China hurts them. And they let their concerns be heard at the White House, where the president’s advisers persuaded their pliable boss to reduce his tariffs on Beijing.
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My autistic son is a gift to the world. RFK Jr. doesn't get it. | Opinion Original

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit Free Press Verified
My son is on the autism spectrum. It's what makes him who he is, and he's damn special. I wouldn’t want him any other way. Neither would he. “It’s a part of me, but I don’t find it’s a big deal that I need to talk about it every five seconds,” Tyler said in a video interview eight years ago. “Like blue eyes: I don’t talk about how I have blue eyes. I have autism, that’s it.” I am nearly certain the reason Tyler has autism is the same reason I have no hair and bad eyes: It's how God made him.
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Yes, Senator: In Trump's America, We Are All Afraid

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Good morning. On the menu today: The Lede Fournier Flurries A sales pitch We feel for you, Senator Murkowski. It must be scary to serve under a party leader capable of turning the full power of the presidency against you and unleashing waves of angry, potentially violent, supporters upon you. “We are all afraid,” you told a conference in Anchorage. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before.
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Trump, the Media, and a Leadership Vacuum: A No-Holds-Barred Conversation with a Veteran Journalist

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By Matt Lewis Verified, Ron Fournier
| Matt Lewis & the News(letter)
Consultant and veteran journalist delivered today! We covered a lot of ground, including: The dangers of Donald Trump ignoring the Supreme Court and using his power to target — not just immigrants — but political opponents, too. How journalists should handle the Trump presidency Matt Lewis & the News(letter) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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In Defense of Autism

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
My son is on the autism spectrum. It's what makes him who he is, and he's pretty damn special. I wouldn’t want him any other way. Neither would he. I am nearly certain the reason he has autism is the same reason I have blue eyes and no hair. It's how God made him. I am nearly certain the reason there are so many more people diagnosed with autism is that doctors are now better at diagnosing it. Also, parents are more willing to seek the diagnosis, and the support that comes with it.
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A conversation with Ron Fournier

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By Steve Schmidt, Ron Fournier
| The Warning with Steve Schmidt
and I go way back, and it has been so great to reconnect with him through Substack. If you don’t subscribe to his , I encourage you to do so. Thank you to those who joined live for the weekly “The Wednesday Warning.” For those who didn’t, here is the full recording. Enjoy! Join me for my next live video — TODAY at 12 pm ET — with . If you haven’t already downloaded the app, you can do so here: Available for iOS and Android The Warning with Steve Schmidt is a reader-supported publication.
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Dear White House Reporters: WTF?

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
This newsletter is free. Subscribe to get more. Or level up to a paid subscription for the daily “Morning Read-In,” where I curate the most compelling stories on politics, culture, communications and life — with micro-essays of insight via the Subscriber-only chat feature. Dear White House reporters: Hello. It’s me. A few of you might remember my time on the beat for The Associated Press. Many of you have never heard of me and that’s okay. You’re busy people.
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Trump is Partying with Tax Hikes Like It's 1999

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
I’m old enough to remember when Donald Trump proposed a 14.25 percent tax on the net worth of wealthy Americans and dismissed concerns of economic blowback. ''It would not be a shock to the system,'' he told me in 1999. Actually, I didn’t remember. I had to be reminded today by Axios’ Mike Allen, who forwarded me a tweet by Politico’s Michael Kruse, who referenced my generation-old story because of its hyper relevance today.
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"I Don't Care What the Judges Think"

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
“I don’t care what the judges think.” When the final chapter is written on the Trump presidency, no matter how long it lasts and whether American democracy outlasts it, those words from President Trump’s border czar may live in infamy. “I don’t care what the judges think.” It is a statement of ultimate and absolute arrogance, the sleazy sentiments of an autocracy, the dismantling of checks and balances, the consolidation of powers in a system designed to separate them.
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Where Will Trump's Slippery Slope End?

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — “A witness to change in an age of acrimony” reading essays on politics, communications, culture, and life. Click the orange button for the benefits of leveling up to Paid or Concierge subscriptions. First they came for The Associated Press, and not enough people spoke out. Today, President Trump and his team came for the rest of the White House press corps and the First Amendment.
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Trump on The Wire

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — “A witness to change in an age of acrimony” reading essays on politics, communications, culture, and life. First-level subscriptions are free. If you value the written word and want greater access plus twice the content, level up to a paid subscription: $5/month or $50/year. Or be a Concierge Member for $500. Click the orange button for Paid and Concierge benefits. Read about me and my return to writing here.
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The Apprentice King

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — “A witness to change in an age of acrimony” reading essays on politics, communications, culture, and life. First-level subscriptions are free. If you value the written word and want greater access plus twice the content, level up to a paid subscription: $5/month or $50/year. Or be a Concierge Member for $500. Click the orange button for Paid and Concierge benefits. Read about me and my return to writing here.
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A conversation with Ron Fournier & Steve Schmidt

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By Steve Schmidt, Ron Fournier
| The Warning with Steve Schmidt
Thanks to those who joined and me last night on Substack Live. Ron is the type of journalist around whom journalism movies get made. He’s the real deal. Ron is a middle class kid from Detroit, MI, who rose to the top of American political journalism before returning home to help his fallen city rise again. He is someone who has travelled around the world on Air Force One, close in with presidents of both parties, and has seen exactly how it is that we have gotten from point A to point Trump.
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Morning Read-In

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — “A witness to change in an age of acrimony” reading essays on politics, communications, culture, and life. First-level subscriptions are free. If you value the written word and want greater access plus twice the content, level up to a paid subscription: $5/month or $50/year. Or be a Concierge Member for $500. Click the orange button for Paid and Concierge benefits. Read about me and my return to writing here. How quaint.
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A resplendent day for Jim Acosta and journalistic integrity

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By Steve Schmidt, Jim Acosta Verified, Ron Fournier
| Substack
CNN’s Jim Acosta would not get in line. The simple truth is that some people are not inclined to genuflect to power, or capable of gaslighting the public — or themselves — no matter how much is put down in from of them to do so. Today, was another bad day for America’s collapsing corporate media companies. Any claim to stand for any value beyond the whims of ownership, which increasingly holds the truth bound like they do their abused shareholders is absurd.
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Don't Hate Trump Voters

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Convulsions is a reader-supported newsletter for and about you — “A witness to change in an age of acrimony” reading essays on politics, communications, culture, and life. First-level subscriptions are free. If you value the written word and want greater access and benefits, please choose a paid subscription: $5/month or $50/year. Or be a Concierge Member for $500. Click the orange button for Paid and Concierge benefits. Read about me and my return to writing here.
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We, The Lemmings

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By Ron Fournier
| Substack
Lemmings are small creatures with large reputations. In the 17th century, scientists noticed that the arctic rodents seemed to appear out of nowhere and in large numbers. They studied the situation and, as 17th century scientists tended to do, they took a wild guess and concluded the animals spontaneously appear from the sky and fall to earth like rain. The truth is lemmings migrate in herds. Still later, some people thought that lemmings had such a temper that they would explode when angry.
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This Is What Functioning Government Looks Like

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By Ron Fournier
| The Atlantic Verified
When the first person diagnosed with Ebola on U.S. soil died in October, I suggested there was something scarier than the prospect of an outbreak. More alarming than a Texas hospital's misdiagnosis of Thomas Duncan. More threatening than a bureaucratic snafu at the state health department that delayed sanitization of Duncan's apartment. More worrisome than the sluggish pace of U.S. aid to West Africa, ground zero for the virus.
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Post-Trump Reforms Must Not Serve Partisan Interests

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By Nick Troiano, Ron Fournier
| RealClear Politics
COMMENTARY President-elect Joe Biden inherits a hostile Congress, a divided electorate, a raging pandemic and no clear mandate after a narrow victory over President Trump. Winners will gloat. Losers will pout. But soon the political class of this nation must choose between two paths: obstinance or reform. The first approach is the traditional course of ruling Democrats and Republicans because the duopoly is invested in winning a zero-sum game.
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With war authority, Bush plans how to rebuild Iraq

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By Ron Fournier
| StarNews Verified
By Ron Fournier Associated Press Posted Oct 12, 2002 at 12:33 AM WASHINGTON - Handed authority by Congress to oust Saddam Hussein, President Bush is reviewing postwar plans for Iraq that could include deploying U.S. troops to stabilize the nation until a new government is formed. His anti-Iraq resolution at the United Nations met stiff resistance Friday.
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Quayle To Drop Out of Race

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By Ron Fournier
| The Washington Post Verified
Quayle To Drop Out of Race By Ron Fournier AP Political Writer Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999; 9:14 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON –– Former Vice President Dan Quayle will drop out of the Republican presidential race, after determining that he can't compete with George W. Bush's juggernaut, The Associated Press learned Sunday. Quayle will announce his intentions at a news conference Monday in Phoenix, Ariz., said a senior campaign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Opinion: A serious response to those mocking me for wearing a mask

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit News Verified
Ron Fournier Published 10:50 p.m. ET July 16, 2020 Adjusting my face mask, I walked to the counter of a party store near my cottage in northern Michigan. “Six bags of garbage,” I said, handing the woman $18 for the privilege of throwing my vacation waste into her dumpster. Standing less than six feet away, a curly-haired blonde girl — maybe 7 years old — pulled on her father’s T-shirt and pointed at me with a dimpled grin.
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Donald Trump's Terrible Night

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By David A. Graham Verified, Ron Fournier, Andrew McGill, Russell Berman Verified
| The Atlantic Verified
Mike Stone / Reuters Donald Trump has gotten very used to winning recently, after racking up three straight primary and caucus wins. He’s even promised to win so much that Americans will get sick of winning. But he didn’t get a victory in Houston on Thursday. It was Trump’s worst debate of the campaign, and the defeat came largely at the hands of Marco Rubio, who hit Trump early and often. The climactic moment arrived during a discussion of health insurance.
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Amid new emergency spending, fated debt commission marks an anniversary

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By Ron Fournier, Casey Wooten Verified
| National Journal Verified
Economic devastation, sky-high jobless rates, massive government-aid bills. It may be reality for Americans now, but it was also a fact of life a decade ago, when the Great Recession sent the economy into a tailspin and Congress had to dash off a series of measures to keep the financial system from collapsing. Today, it’s the economic fallout from the coronavirus shutdown, and after $3 trillion in aid appropriated by Congress, some Republicans are saying it’s time to scale back spending.
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Opinion: Whitmer's veto of autism program remains inexplicable and damaging

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit News Verified
Ron Fournier Published 11:00 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2019 The call came from a friend, the father of a girl with autism. “Did you hear what the governor did?” He was choking back tears. “She vetoed the Navigator program. “What was she thinking?” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had just issued $947 million in line-item vetoes, a political gamble designed to restart negotiations over road funding.
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Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?

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By Ron Fournier
| The Atlantic Verified
President George W. Bush is informed by chief of staff Andrew Card of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images A friend's email last night brought it all back: At this moment [14] years ago, millions of Americans went to bed quietly, with no thought that the next morning their world would change forever. That night hundreds packed flights bags they would never open. Thousands slept with loved ones for the last time.
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Will impeachment backfire on Democrats? Not if they do it right

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By Ron Fournier
| Newsday Verified
Late at night on Aug. 15, 1998, a source called me from the White House residence. He wanted me to know that President Bill Clinton had decided to tell a federal grand jury that he had an "inappropriate relationship" with Monica Lewinsky. After months of denials, Clinton would come clean. "He has crossed the Rubicon," the source said. I filed the story for The Associated Press - and watched as the chattering class rushed to misjudgment.
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Impeachment won’t backfire if it’s done right

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By Ron Fournier
| Stars and Stripes Verified
OPINION Impeachment won’t backfire if it’s done right By RON FOURNIER | Special to The Washington Post | Published: June 17, 2019 Late at night on Aug. 15, 1998, a source called me from the White House residence. He wanted me to know that President Bill Clinton had decided to tell a federal grand jury that he had an “inappropriate relationship” with Monica Lewinsky. After months of denials, Clinton would come clean. “He has crossed the Rubicon,” the source said.
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Opinion | Will impeachment backfire on Democrats? Not if they do it right.

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By Ron Fournier
| The Washington Post Verified
The front page of The Post on Dec. 20, 1998, the day after President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House. (Washington Post Staff/The Washington Post) June 16 Ron Fournier, a former White House reporter and Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press, is president of the strategic communications firm Truscott Rossman based in Detroit. Late at night on Aug. 15, 1998, a source called me from the White House residence.
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Jon Wolman: One of the most powerful people you'll never know

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit News Verified
Buy Photo Jonathan Wolman (Photo: Daniel Mears, The Detroit News) It was easy to overlook and underestimate Jon Wolman — especially in a place like Washington, where the smallest of people ride their large egos and loud voices to the top. Even in a city like Detroit, which Jon twice called home, my unassuming friend never commanded a room like Dan Gilbert or gathered power like Mike Duggan. He was an enigma — a quiet, unassuming man in an era of self-flattering celebrity.
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Opinion: Support for autism forms great workers

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By Ron Fournier
| Detroit News Verified
Ron Fournier Published 10:40 p.m. ET March 31, 2019 My son Tyler is 21. He drives himself four times a week to Macomb Community College, where he earns good grades. He excels at part-time jobs, most recently a summer internship at Chemical Bank. He wants to move out of his parents’ home and become a history teacher. Tyler is an extraordinary young man who happens to be on the autism spectrum.
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