Podcast 12: Dan McLaughlin on Biden Press Coverage, Election Security and Baseball

Episode Introduction

National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin joined Sam Stone and Chuck Warren in the 12th episode of Breaking Battlegrounds. It was recorded in March 2021, right after President Biden’s first formal news conference.

McLaughlin, a former securities litigator who writes as “Baseball Crank,” walks through what he saw in that press conference. He also lays out the election reform ideas from his National Review cover essay, criticizes the Supreme Court for passing on the 2020 Pennsylvania election cases, and names the two problems that worried him most about America’s future.

The conversation opens with baseball. McLaughlin, a Mets fan and self-described purist, takes on the rule changes Major League Baseball was testing at the time.

Quick Answer

In Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 12, recorded in March 2021, National Review’s Dan McLaughlin argued that the press questioning at Biden’s first news conference mostly pushed him to move further left. He proposed freezing election rule changes within 60 days of Election Day and adding polling places to shorten lines. He also called MLB’s extra-innings runner rule wrong.

Episode Overview

This early Breaking Battlegrounds episode captures a specific moment: two months into the Biden administration, with the border, the filibuster and election law dominating the news.

McLaughlin’s segment covers five areas:

Coverage of Biden’s first press conference, including a much-discussed immigration question.
The humanitarian side of illegal border crossings run by smuggling networks.
His election reform proposals.
His path from Manhattan litigator to full-time National Review writer.
His concern that attacks on America’s institutions and a weakening civic culture pose the biggest long-term risks.

After McLaughlin’s interview, Makenzie Semerad’s Sunshine Moment looks at how COVID-19 changed wedding traditions. Chuck Warren shares that his daughter’s wedding, cancelled twice because of the pandemic, was finally happening that weekend. The hosts close with criticism of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego’s COVID policies and Arizona campaign finance practices, and a discussion of the Senate filibuster.

About Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at the National Review Institute. He remains on National Review’s masthead as a senior writer as of the magazine’s August 2026 issue. He is a 1993 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.

During the interview, McLaughlin described his path. He practiced law in New York, worked in the World Trade Center, and turned more seriously to political writing after September 11. He joined RedState in 2004 and spent 12 years there. He began contributing to National Review in 2016 and joined full time in March 2020. He is known online as @baseballcrank.

McLaughlin is one of Breaking Battlegrounds’ most frequent guests. He has returned for analysis of the 2024 Senate and House maps, Biden’s pardons, and Supreme Court decisions in 2025.

Key Topics Discussed

Biden’s first presidential news conference and White House press coverage
Border security and the humanitarian cost of cartel-run smuggling
Election reform, voter ID and ballot harvesting
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the 2020 Pennsylvania election cases
Early voting, polling place access and long lines
Threats to institutions and civic culture
MLB rule changes and the “phantom runner”

Biden’s First Press Conference and the White House Press Corps

Biden held his first formal news conference on March 25, 2021, after 64 days in office. Chuck Warren opened by arguing that much of the White House press corps was acting as a cheerleading section.

McLaughlin agreed. He said Biden appeared to call on a preselected list of reporters, and that most questions on immigration and the filibuster pressed Biden to move further left, faster. He singled out PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor’s border question as one he believed even Biden recognized as a political trap. Alcindor’s question drew criticism from commentators on the right and the left. That included Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who objected to its premise.

The Border as a Humanitarian Problem

Sam Stone, drawing on his experience working border campaigns, argued that migrants paying cartels to cross face serious danger.

McLaughlin added a point he said conservatives sometimes miss. An uncontrolled border lets in drug dealers and other bad actors, he said, but it is also a humanitarian crisis for the hardworking people being abused along the way. He said most Americans descend from people who came here for opportunity. In his view, the answer is an orderly legal process, and the country holds far more middle-of-the-road sentiment on the issue than the political debate suggests.

Election Reform: Hard Deadlines and Shorter Lines

The interview centered on McLaughlin’s essay “How to Secure Elections,” the cover story of National Review’s March 22, 2021 issue.

When Chuck Warren asked what he would do first as “king for the day,” McLaughlin chose hard deadlines. No legislature, state official, federal court or Justice Department should be able to change election rules within 60 days of Election Day or after the vote, he said. Disputes over what the rules should have been, he argued, should not still be playing out a week before or a month after an election.

On voter ID, McLaughlin said any rule imposes some burden. In his view, having no rules leaves no way to protect legitimate votes. He rejected proposals he saw as unreasonable, such as requiring notarized absentee ballot signatures.

He also named what he called Democrats’ one truly legitimate grievance: too few polling places and voting machines in many Black neighborhoods. Instead of a month of early voting, he argued, the better fix is to reduce the lines. He said he could accept a short early voting window of four days to a week, but not two weeks to a month.

The Supreme Court and the 2020 Election Cases

Sam Stone called the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin cases a travesty. He distinguished them from claims about voting machines because they involved election rules changed without the legislature.

On February 22, 2021, the Court denied certiorari in Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Degraffenreid by a 6 to 3 vote. The case challenged a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order requiring officials to count mail ballots that arrived up to three days after Election Day.

McLaughlin agreed the Court missed an opportunity. He acknowledged that courts avoid election disputes, especially after Bush v. Gore, and dislike cases that won’t change an outcome. Even so, he said this was a chance to clarify the law. He warned that mistrust in elections is corrosive and will be exploited by the worst actors in the system.

What Worried McLaughlin Most About America

Asked to name the two biggest problems facing the country, McLaughlin set aside his concern about federal spending, which he called far beyond anything seen in his lifetime.

His first concern was attacks on the system itself. He cited efforts to change election rules, end the Senate filibuster, add states and expand the Supreme Court. His second concern was the culture, including declining trust in institutions and what he called, borrowing Ronald Reagan’s phrase, “an informed patriotism.” He traced the shift to the turn from the 1990s to the 2000s. That’s when he saw two trends combine: attacking opposing voters, not just politicians, and refusing to accept election losses.

Baseball: A Purist on MLB’s Rule Changes

McLaughlin called himself a traditionalist. He said he was fine with requiring relievers to face three batters, but opposed bringing the designated hitter to the National League. The rule that “really offended” him was the runner placed on second base in extra innings, which he called “just wrong.” He and Sam Stone also criticized minor league experiments limiting pickoff throws, which McLaughlin said would handcuff pitchers.

What happened next:

MLB adopted the universal DH as part of its new labor agreement in 2022.
In 2023 it made the extra-innings runner permanent for the regular season.
Also in 2023, it enlarged the bases from 15 to 18 inches square and limited pitchers to two pickoff attempts or step-offs per plate appearance.

Sunshine Moment and Host Segment

Makenzie Semerad’s Sunshine Moment highlighted how the pandemic pushed couples toward smaller, more personal weddings. The source was a Brides article.

In the closing segment, Chuck Warren and Sam Stone criticized Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego’s COVID restrictions and the practice of officeholders raising money for one office while preparing to run for another. They acknowledged that many politicians do this. Their opinions are their own commentary, not reporting. Both hosts also said they support a “talking filibuster” rather than eliminating it.

Key Takeaways From the Conversation

McLaughlin argued that most questions at Biden’s first news conference pushed the president left rather than holding him accountable.
He framed illegal immigration as both a security issue and a humanitarian one.
His top election reform was a ban on rule changes within 60 days of an election or after it.
He called long lines in underserved neighborhoods a legitimate grievance and favored more polling places over extended early voting.
He believed the Supreme Court missed a chance to clarify who sets election rules.
He saw attacks on institutions and declining civic culture as the biggest long-term threats.

Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes

McLaughlin has returned to the show many times:

Mainstream media mishaps with Sean Noble: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/dan-mclaughlin-and-sean-noble-on-mainstream-media-mishaps/
The Trump indictment: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/dan-mclaughlin-on-the-trump-indictment/
With Josh Williams: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/josh-williams-and-dan-mclaughlin/
Russia-Ukraine episode on the Republican Party: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/explore-russia-ukraine-relations/
Podcast 215, final 2024 election analysis: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/brooke-rollins-on-strong-women-around-trump/
Podcast 223, Biden’s pardons: https://breakingbattlegrounds.vote/podcast/inside-putins-prisons-with-evan-gershkovich-david-schweikerts-meeting-with-elon-musk/

For more conservative analysis, see guest profiles for his National Review colleague Noah Rothman, Henry Olsen on elections and polling, and Ilya Shapiro on the courts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Dan McLaughlin?

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at the National Review Institute. A former securities and commercial litigator in New York, he wrote for RedState for 12 years before joining National Review. He writes about politics, law and baseball and is known online as “Baseball Crank.”

What did Dan McLaughlin say about Biden’s first press conference?

On Breaking Battlegrounds, McLaughlin said Biden appeared to take questions from a preselected list of reporters. He argued that most questions on immigration and the filibuster pressed Biden to move further left rather than hold him accountable. The press conference took place on March 25, 2021.

What election reforms did Dan McLaughlin propose?

His top priority was hard deadlines that bar anyone from changing election rules within 60 days of Election Day or after the vote. He also supported voter ID, opposed notarization requirements for absentee ballots, and favored more polling places and machines over long early voting periods to shorten lines.

Which Supreme Court cases were discussed in this episode?

The hosts and McLaughlin discussed the Court’s refusal to hear challenges to 2020 election rule changes in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. On February 22, 2021, the Court denied review in Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Degraffenreid by a 6 to 3 vote. McLaughlin said the Court missed a chance to clarify election law.

Has Dan McLaughlin appeared on Breaking Battlegrounds more than once?

Yes. After this 2021 interview, McLaughlin returned many times. His later appearances include analysis of the Trump indictment in 2023, the 2024 Senate and House maps in Podcast 215, Biden’s pardons in Podcast 223, and Supreme Court decisions in June 2025.

Conclusion

This March 2021 conversation is a time capsule of the early Biden era, recorded when the border, the filibuster and election law were all in play at once. McLaughlin’s central argument has outlasted the news cycle: Americans need to trust election rules before the votes are counted, not after. His concerns about institutions and civic culture remain live questions today.

Sources

Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.