General
Going Pro
I’m a Wolfpack fan. I like going to games and yelling, “go to hell, Carolina!” I liked watching Dave Doeren’s teams beat Mack Brown’s four times in a row. I don’t fault Carolina for hiring Bill Belichick. UNC just recognized reality: college sports have gone pro. Some Carolina fans are bewildered by their university spending…
Read MoreVanity
Trump’s on the way back to the White House, the MAGA movement’s more powerful than ever – so is it about to Make America Great Again? Back in 1776 the 13 colonies had next to no power – while Great Britain, an empire, was a superpower. Four days after the Declaration of Independence passed, George…
Read MoreFanning Fires
Back during the election as Trump battled Harris – on TV, across social media, on websites – pundits on both the left and right fanned fires. And hordes of people cheered. Harris lost, Matt Gaetz strode onto the stage, new fires spread. Gaetz got out – fire spreaders locked eyes on Pete Hegseth, talking about…
Read MorePointing Fingers
Back in the old days when an election was over folks leaned back, heaved a sigh of relief. Squabbling stopped. For awhile. This year, after the curtain fell on the election, squabbling rolled on: We’ve got Fox News still bashing Harris and the ‘mainstream’ media punching away at Trump, who just handed them more red…
Read MoreIt’s Easy to Point the Finger…
Turning on the TV, watching the first debate in the 2016 Iowa primary, I stared at a row of candidates standing on stage – they all talked, sounded like smooth-tongued Washington politicians – except one: Donald Trump. Trump beat Hillary. Covid struck. Biden beat Trump. Trump ran again. Biden got out. Trump called Kamala Harris…
Read MorePublished stories from my memoir in The Assembly
John Bolton: “Reagan lost the first five primaries to Gerald Ford in 1976 – then upset Ford in North Carolina. Carter Wrenn ran Reagan’s North Carolina campaign. He tells a compelling story about American politics, from Reagan to Trump.” Stephen Mansfield, New York Times bestselling author: “Our generation is awash in a sea of thin…
Read MoreHad Enough?
There was a moment after Trump won when he could have sowed healing. Brought us together. But Trump’s a fighter. Not a healer. The media didn’t change either. It went from howling to defeat Trump – or Harris – to howling about Matt Gaetz and Trump’s cabinet picks. In a way, that wasn’t surprising: Howls…
Read MoreMy Memoir
John Bolton: “Reagan lost the first five primaries to Gerald Ford in 1976 – then upset Ford in North Carolina. Carter Wrenn ran Reagan’s North Carolina campaign. He tells a compelling story about American politics, from Reagan to Trump.” Stephen Mansfield, New York Times bestselling author: “Our generation is awash in a sea of thin…
Read MoreCourage
Instead of obsessing over Trump’s Cabinet picks, I read the story of a man who gave his life pursuing freedom and happiness for his country. The book is Patriot, by Alexei Navalny, the Russian politician who stood up to Putin and as a consequence was harassed, arrested, charged with multiple made-up crimes, poisoned and ultimately…
Read MoreMeeting Ronald Reagan
Back in 1975, I met Ronald Reagan at a dinner in Raleigh. That fall he ran for President – I ran his North Carolina primary, working with Jesse Helms (one of two U.S. Senators who endorsed Reagan) and Tom Ellis (Reagan’s North Carolina Chairman). Reagan lost the first five primaries to Gerald Ford – his…
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