Politics
Commentary: Jeff Pearlman goes from sportswriting to throwing fastballs at O.C. politicians
Jeff Pearlman is one of the most successful sportswriters of his generation. His must-read articles appeared in Sports Illustrated and ESPN in the 2000s before he switched over to penning best-selling books on everything from Bo Jackson to the 1986 New York Mets to the Showtime-era Lakers, the latter which was turned into the recent HBO series “Winning Time.” His biography of Tupac Shakur is scheduled for release in October.
And yet last month, Pearlman announced he was embarking on an altogether different kind of mission: to write about Orange County politics. Talk about a wicked curveball!
As a faithful reader and lifelong Orange Countian, I immediately signed up for his website, The Truth OC. There, on a near daily basis, Pearlman uses the same puerile-yet-potent invective against local conservatives and President Trump that he once reserved for sports fools.
Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns? He’s “Bull Connor meets Bobby Knight meets Officer Krupke.”
Laguna Woods Republican Club president Pat Micone? Belongs to the “genre of person who needs to be told, repeatedly, not to answer her cell unless she recognizes the number.”
Capistrano Valley Unified School District trustees are a “four-headed wackadoo squad of hard-right board members.” Rep. Young Kim is a “coward” for not standing up to Trump. Those are the barbs I can quote in a family-friendly newspaper.
Pearlman already scored a scoop by unearthing a video that went viral of Capo Valley trustee Judy Bullockus using the N-word during a board meeting. While I was pleasantly shocked by Pearlman’s pivot, he’s a much-needed chronicler for a region of 3.2 million that has served as a political bellwether for decades yet has a much smaller press corps than before.
Still, Pearlman writing about O.C. politics seems a little like Gustavo Dudamel quitting the L.A. Philharmonic to moonlight as a drummer at the Dresden Room. Shohei ditching the Dodgers to join a local pickleball league.
“I’m profoundly down” about national politics right now, he said when we recently met at a cafe near Chapman University, where he lectures on sports journalism. Gawky and bespectacled but with the brio of a scrapper, Pearlman was dressed like a quintessential sports geek: black-and-yellow Pittsburgh Pirates hat and Pittsburgh Maulers shirt, the latter a long-gone professional football team. Flip-flops. Sweatpants that looked like jeans.
“Like, these are not happy days for me. But every time I write a new post, I feel really good,” he said. “Every time I see people reading and the subscriptions keep going up, I’m like, ‘All right, this is a way to feel a little like you’re doing something.’”
Other sports journalists also occasionally opine on politics, long a no-no in their profession. But Galen Clavio, director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University in Bloomington, feels that what’s especially fascinating about Pearlman’s latest focus is that almost all of his peers “aren’t going into hyper-local things, because most followers will think, ‘I don’t believe you’re really into this, so why bring it into the equation?’”
“I wish I didn’t have to do this … but this feels more important,” the fast-talking Pearlman replied when I asked him why he’s now focusing on the micro instead of the macro. He recently covered a rainy Friday afternoon pro-democracy rally outside Irvine City Hall, for chrissakes. “We don’t need another me screaming about Trump, which I do a lot. It doesn’t really resonate. There’s a million people screaming, but there’s not that many people screaming about local politics.”
I wondered why he didn’t just volunteer for a local Democratic club, or write a check to a politician, instead of devoting time and energy to something he’s doing for free.
“This is important — I’m being serious,” he shot back. “I want people to know that not everyone is doing sh-t for the money. Like, I’m just doing it because I’m mad.”
Jeff Pearlman attends the premiere of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty” at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angees in 2022.
(Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images)
The East Coast native moved with his family from New York to South O.C. in 2014 after years of visits for his work, which included covering the 2002 World Series that saw the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants (he thinks the Halos are the worst franchise in Major League Baseball). “We wanted a yard for our kids,” he cracked. Pearlman was initially the classic O.C. suburbanite, preferring to focus on the good life instead of local matters. But he always kept in mind the experiences of a good friend.
“She used to tell me what it was like to be a Black person in Orange County and being stopped here” by police constantly. “And I’d notice weird things, and she was like, ‘Well, that’s Orange County.’”
In 2018, Pearlman came across the words of Huntington Beach-area Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, long an outlandish figure who once said during a congressional hearing that dinosaur farts caused global warming (he later claimed it was a joke). “I never actually never had exposure to people like this,” the 52-year-old said. “I had read about them, but that was it.”
He started a website that tracked some of the crazier things Rohrabacher said, which I remembered as being funny but not really revelatory. In hindsight, Pearlman was personifying the awakening of O.C. liberals, who made history in 2018 by electing an all-Democratic congressional delegation for the first time ever two years after making Hillary Clinton the first Democratic presidential nominee to take Orange County since the Great Depression.
“That was a real turning point,” Pearlman said. “And I didn’t think [Orange County] would ever go back for red.”
Trump’s triumph last year (although not in O.C., which he has never won), coupled with local election victories for MAGA acolytes, snapped Pearlman back into action. Shortly after the election, he went to a local meeting of liberals.
“They were very nice people, but basically the whole vibe of the meeting was, ‘Who wants a hug? You need to get in touch with our feelings.’ And that’s just not me at all. I’m not saying I don’t have feelings. But to me, you have to punch them [MAGA nation] in the face.”
His pugnaciousness reminded me of O.C.’s oldest political blog: Orange Juice Blog, which began in 2003. Publisher Vern Nelson started off as the resident loudmouth in its lively comments section before becoming a contributor, then taking over Orange Juice altogether in 2010.
He hadn’t heard of The Truth OC until I told him, and he asked if he could read some posts before offering his opinion. When Nelson called back, he was laughing in appreciation.
“He’s doing a lot of good stuff,” Nelson said. “We need another good political blog. I’d say to use his previously existing fame, but he’s probably going to piss off a lot of his old readers.”
Pearlman thinks his sports background actually makes him ideal to write about politics.
“We deal with people who are mad at us all the time, and we have to come back the next day,” he said. “And, like, you have to write fast. You have to turn around copy quick. You have to make it punchy. Like, it can’t just be flat.”
Jeff Pearlman, best-selling author of multiple books about sports, talking at L’Orange Cafe in Old Towne Orange. His elbow is resting on a copy of a book by Huntington Beach Councilmember Chad Williams.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
He admits to being a “community college student, second semester freshman year” when it came to knowing about his new beat. He knew none of the historic names I threw at him, and nothing about Santa Ana, where a new generation of Latino voters are bringing L.A.-style progressive politics to the city. When Pearlman tried to rationalize the conservative leanings of his neighbors — “I think my neighbor is upset about his taxes. I don’t think he’s upset about a Black family here” — I retorted that his neighbor would be up in arms if it was a Mexican family, and he conceded the point.
“But I’m taking whatever people have to give me,” he added. “I’m open to learn.”
Pearlman doesn’t know how long he’ll do The Truth OC and even admitted, “I know I’m definitely gonna burn out. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep going.” But he hoped that his example will bring attention and vigor to a political scene that desperately needs both.
“You’ll go to these [local Democratic] meetings and they’ll be like, ‘All right, guys, tomorrow we’re going to have a letter-writing campaign to Young Kim’s office, and we’re going to send 100 postcards. And it is done earnestly and with very good intentions. I’m not bashing anywhere, but it’s not f—— working.”
He stayed silent for a second — a lifetime for Pearlman.
“I sent 50 bucks to [Rep. Hakeem] Jeffries’ office. It’s another 50 bucks he has. What’s it going to do, buy 100 postcards?”
A half-second of silence.
“What these people [politicians] don’t like is being embarrassed.”
Politics
Kamala Harris blasts Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s Maduro as ‘unlawful and unwise’
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday evening condemned the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, calling the operation both “unlawful” and “unwise.”
In a lengthy post on X, Harris acknowledged that Maduro is a “brutal” and “illegitimate” dictator but said that President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela “do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.”
“Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable,” Harris wrote. “That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before.
“Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.”
SEE PICS: VENEZUELANS WORLDWIDE CELEBRATE AS EXILES REACT TO MADURO’S CAPTURE
Vice President Kamala Harris had strong words for the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
Harris made the remarks hours after the Trump administration confirmed that Maduro and his wife were captured and transported out of Venezuela as part of “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
The former vice president also accused the administration of being motivated by oil interests rather than efforts to combat drug trafficking or promote democracy.
“The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman,” Harris said. “If he cared about either, he wouldn’t pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies.”
SECOND FRONT: HOW A SOCIALIST CELL IN THE US MOBILIZED PRO-MADURO FOOT SOLDIERS WITHIN 12 HOURS
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after Saturday’s strikes on Venezuela. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Harris, who has been rumored as a potential Democratic contender in the 2028 presidential race, additionally accused the president of endangering U.S. troops and destabilizing the region.
“The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home,” she said. “America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and — most importantly — putting the American people first.”
MADURO’S FALL SPARKS SUSPICION OF BETRAYAL INSIDE VENEZUELA’S RULING ELITE
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch U.S. military operations in Venezuela from Mar-a-Lago in Florida early Saturday. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday after being transported by helicopter from the DEA in Manhattan after being processed.
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Earlier in the day, Trump said that the U.S. government will “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Harris’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
CARACAS, Venezuela — It was about 2 a.m. Saturday Caracas time when the detonations began, lighting up the sullen sky like a post-New Year’s fireworks display.
“¡Ya comenzó!” was the recurrent phrase in homes, telephone conversations and social media chats as the latest iteration of U.S. “shock and awe” rocked the Venezuelan capital. “It has begun!”
Then the question: “¿Maduro?”
The great uncertainty was the whereabouts of President Nicolás Maduro, who has been under Trump administration threat for months.
The scenes of revelry from a joyous Venezuelan diaspora celebrating from Miami to Madrid were not repeated here. Fear of the unknown kept most at home.
Hours would pass before news reports from outside Venezuela confirmed that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and placed him on a U.S. ship to face criminal charges in federal court in New York.
Venezuelans had watched the unfolding spectacle from their homes, using social media to exchange images of explosions and the sounds of bombardment. This moment, it was clear, was ushering in a new era of uncertainly for Venezuela, a nation reeling from a decade of economic, political and social unrest.
Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Chávez in downtown Caracas on Saturday.
(Matias Delacroix / Associated Press)
The ultimate result was an imponderable. But that this was a transformative moment — for good or bad — seemed indisputable.
By daybreak, an uneasy calm overtook the city of more than 3 million. The explosions and the drone of U.S. aircraft ceased. Blackouts cut electricity to parts of the capital.
Pro-government youths wielding automatic rifles set up roadblocks or sped through the streets on motorcycles, a warning to those who might celebrate Maduro’s downfall.
Shops, gas stations and other businesses were mostly closed. There was little traffic.
“When I heard the explosions, I grabbed my rosary and began to pray,” said Carolina Méndez, 50, who was among the few who ventured out Saturday, seeking medicines at a pharmacy, though no personnel had arrived to attend to clients waiting on line. “I’m very scared now. That’s why I came to buy what I need.”
A sense of alarm was ubiquitous.
Motorcycles and cars line up for gas Saturday in Caracas. Most of the population stayed indoors, reluctant to leave their homes except for gas and food.
(Andrea Hernandez Briceno / For The Times)
“People are buying bottled water, milk and eggs,” said Luz Pérez, a guard at one of the few open shops, not far from La Carlota airport, one of the sites targeted by U.S. strikes. “I heard the explosions. It was very scary. But the owner decided to open anyway to help people.”
Customers were being allowed to enter three at a time. Most didn’t want to speak. Their priority was to stock up on basics and get home safely.
Rumors circulated rapidly that U.S. forces had whisked away Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
There was no immediate official confirmation here of the detention of Maduro and Flores, both wanted in the United States for drug-trafficking charges — allegations that Maduro has denounced as U.S. propaganda. But then images of an apparently captive Maduro, blindfolded, in a sweatsuit soon circulated on social media.
There was no official estimate of Venezuelan casualties in the U.S. raid.
Rumors circulated indicating that a number of top Maduro aides had been killed, among them Diosdado Cabello, the security minister who is a staunch Maduro ally. Cabello is often the face of the government.
But Cabello soon appeared on official TV denouncing “the terrorist attack against our people,” adding: “Let no one facilitate the moves of the enemy invader.”
Although Trump, in his Saturday news conference, confidently predicted that the United States would “run” Venezuela, apparently during some undefined transitional period, it’s not clear how that will be accomplished.
A key question is whether the military — long a Maduro ally — will remain loyal now that he is in U.S. custody. There was no public indication Saturday of mass defections from the Venezuelan armed forces. Nor was it clear that Maduro’s government infrastructure had lost control of the country. Official media reported declarations of loyalty from pro-government politicians and citizens from throughout Venezuela.
A billboard with an image of President Nicolas Maduro stands next to La Carlota military base in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday. The graffiti reads, “Fraud, fraud.”
(Andrea Hernandez Briceno / For The Times)
In his comments, Trump spoke of a limited U.S. troop presence in Venezuela, focused mostly on protecting the oil infrastructure that his administration says was stolen from the United States — a characterization widely rejected here, even among Maduro’s critics. But Trump offered few details on sending in U.S. personnel to facilitate what could be a tumultuous transition.
Meantime, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez surfaced on official television and demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, according to the official Telesur broadcast outlet. Her comments seemed to be the first official acknowledgment that Maduro had been taken.
“There is one president of this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” the vice president said in an address from Miraflores Palace, from where Maduro and his wife had been seized hours earlier.
During an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council, Telesur reported, Rodríguez labeled the couple’s detention an “illegal kidnapping.”
The Trump administration, the vice president charged, meant to “capture our energy, mineral and [other] natural resources.”
Her defiant words came after Trump, in his news conference, said that Rodríguez had been sworn in as the country’s interim president and had evinced a willingness to cooperate with Washington.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.
Pro-government armed civilians patrol in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Saturday after President Trump announced that President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country.
(Matias Delacroix / Associated Press)
Somewhat surprisingly, Trump also seemed to rule out a role in an interim government for Marina Corina Machado, the Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate and longtime anti-Maduro activist.
“She’s a very nice woman, but doesn’t have respect within the country,” Trump said of Machado.
Machado is indeed a controversial figure within the fractured Venezuelan opposition. Some object to her open calls for U.S. intervention, preferring a democratic change in government.
Nonetheless, her stand-in candidate, Edmundo González, did win the presidency in national balloting last year, according to opposition activists and others, who say Maduro stole the election.
“Venezuelans, the moment of liberty has arrived!” Machado wrote in a letter released on X. “We have fought for years. … What was meant to happen is happening.”
Not everyone agreed.
“They want our oil and they say it’s theirs,” said Roberto, 65, a taxi driver who declined to give his last name for security reasons. “Venezuelans don’t agree. Yes, I think people will go out and defend their homeland.”
Special correspondent Mogollón reported from Caracas and staff writer McDonnell from Boston. Contributing was special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City.
Politics
Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America?’
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Sunday called for President Trump to only focus on America’s needs as the president meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president has been heavily involved in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts since returning to the White House.
Trump met with Zelenskyy on Sunday at Mar-a-Lago to discuss a peace plan aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war that began with an invasion by Moscow in February 2022.
Netanyahu arrived in Florida on Sunday ahead of their scheduled meeting on Monday at Trump’s estate to address Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East. It will be the sixth meeting of the year between the two leaders.
TRUMP ZELENSKYY SAY UKRAINE PEACE DEAL CLOSE BUT ‘THORNY ISSUES’ REMAIN AFTER FLORIDA TALKS
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized President Donald Trump’s meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Greene, responding to Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, said that the Trump administration should address the needs of Americans rather than becoming further involved in global conflicts.
“Zelensky today. Netanyahu tomorrow,” she wrote on X.
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
“Can we just do America?” the congresswoman continued.
The congresswoman has been a vocal critic of supplying U.S. military aid to foreign countries amid the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
She has also referred to Zelenskyy as “a dictator who canceled elections” and labeled Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as a genocide and humanitarian crisis.
ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and President Donald Trump had a public feud in recent months. (Getty Images)
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This comes after Taylor Greene, who is set to resign from the House in January, had a public spat with Trump over the past few months as Trump took issue with the Georgia Republican’s push to release documents related to the investigations into deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump had withdrawn his endorsement of Greene and called her a “traitor” over the public feud.
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