Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
As the co-publisher of The Fulcrum it is my responsibility to adhere to the principles of our daily publication.
Our mission states we are “a platform where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk, and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives.”
We approach all our news stories with an open and skeptical mind, and with a determination, through research and critical thinking, to acquaint our readers with a wide range of viewpoints.
As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in the opinion pieces we choose to publish.
And while many publications endorse candidates, The Fulcrum has never done so.
With the above in mind it is with great caution and forethought that I announce my personal support for the election of Utah’s Evan McMullin to the Senate. This is not a change in policy for The Fulcrum, which continues to focus on coverage of solutions to the problems plaguing our nations without endorsing any specific ideas or people.
Few deny that our political system is broken. The crippling partisanship and grinding gridlock in Congress that frustrate and anger most Americans must come to an end. However, election after election we vote for candidates who put political parties over the needs of our country. Does anyone really believe virtually every candidate’s promises that they will solve our problems and deliver real solutions to our nation’s problems? To believe so is the definition of insanity. Something must change in the type of people we elect.
Political leadership must change. The sound bite nature of media coverage must change. The very nature of the national dialogue must change. The behavior that people accept from our leaders must change.
And that is why I am supporting Evan McMullin for Senate.
McMullin is a former Republican, now a declared independent and fully backed by the Democratic Party. He says uniting voters across the spectrum is the only way to unseat the incumbent,Trump ally Mike Lee.
"People are sick of the divisiveness," McMullin told People. "We've got mounting challenges in Utah — inflation is worse here than almost anywhere else, air quality is a real challenge especially during the summer, we're running out of water in a historic drought, we've got high cost of health care and on and on. Politics of division and extremism just don't solve them, and people are tired of it."
Our nation is at a crossroads. Now more than ever, when we are locked into a divisive political battle between left and right, we can – and we must – come together to support one thing that unites us all: a belief in the freedom of people to determine their own destiny.
I believe Evan McMullin embodies these principles.
MuMullin is looking for votes from what he calls "principled Republicans," as well as Democrats and, of course, independents. This is not the typical way candidates seek election. McMullin says: "We're building a coalition of Utahns who have not been well represented in Utah or national politics for decades."
He continues: "We listen to each other. That's what's happening here that I don't think is happening anywhere else in the country, but it needs to. Our country will not survive if we don't build a new, sustainable coalition to defend our democracy. Even if it is Pollyanna-ish, it's what we have to do."Typically independent candidates do not succeed because finding a coalition of conservatives, moderates and liberals is a difficult task indeed. "It doesn't mean there aren't tough conversations. We don't agree on everything, and that's okay," McMullin says. He looks for moderate solutions that most people support. He explains, for example, he's a gun owner who believes in "sensible reform." People can enjoy their Second Amendment right and laws can protect against gun violence. "It's not an either-or."
McMullin’s campaign is focused on the vast middle that he believes represents America. While he admits we all don’t agree on the issues "we agree on standing up to the extremes."
Our country needs bold leadership. We need leadership that is direct and honest in public statements and puts ethical commitments above partisan or career objectives. I believe McMullin embodies this principle.
Our country needs leaders who respect all persons, including opponents, and are willing to engage constructively. I believe McMullin embodies this principle.
Our country needs leaders who take full accountability for actions through a willingness to amend one’s positions, learning from one's mistakes, thus resulting in a more constructive approach to problem identification and solutions. I believe McMullin embodies this principle.
Our country needs leaders who always remain open to learning new information and seeking it out through supporting research and analysis that actively broaden one’s horizons. I believe McMullin embodies this principle.
Our country needs leaders who are willing to demonstrate bold leadership by taking political risks if necessary to advance controversial policies, particularly those likely to bring long-term benefits. I believe McMullin embodies this principle.
Only with leaders like Evan McMullin can we defeat the tribalism that separates us as a nation and build bridges and alliances beyond one’s constituency. By adhering to the principles that I believe guide McMullin, and leaders like him, we can build trust and understanding as a nation. "We are at a real crossroads in American history when we have to get back to basics. This coalition is defending what matters most in America and without that we won't solve any other problems in our country," he asserts. "Every generation or two there is a realignment in American politics," McMullin says. "And we need that right now to stand up to those who threaten our democracy.”
I agree.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.