The Verge hires Tina Nguyen as senior reporter to cover the Trump administration

Tina Nguyen is joining The Verge as a senior reporter, covering the Trump administration, Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government, and the tech industry’s embrace of the MAGA movement. Nguyen joins The Verge from Puck, where she was a founding partner and national correspondent covering the evolution of the MAGA political ecosystem. Before that, Nguyen was a White House reporter for Politico and covered politics and media at Vanity Fair. She is the author of The MAGA Diaries: Life Among the Fanatics, Extremists, and True Believers that Created the Modern Right. She starts at The Verge this week. “Tina is deeply sourced in the world of MAGA politics and has extensively explored how Trump and his movement use the power of modern tech and social media,” says Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief at The Verge. “That’s always been a Verge story, and it will only get more important as the tech giants work to curry favor and protection from an administration that is always and forever posting through it.” “What I’ve observed over the past decade, and what the second Trump administration understands innately, is that technology and data is the river through which cultural and political change flows,” Nguyen says. “Social media fluency kept far-right politicians relevant when officials in Washington tried to exile them. Consumer electronics gave MAGA podcasters more influence than a multimillion-dollar television studio ever could. And if you squeeze the proper tech billionaire who owns the proper information superhighway — a news site, an AI company, a social media platform, a device manufacturer — you can change millions of voters’ minds overnight. It certainly doesn’t hurt that you can shake some money out of them in the process. “The Verge has covered how technology changes culture and human behavior since its launch in 2011. I’m beyond excited to work with a team that understands the dynamics of technology and culture on a fundamental level, and to collaborate with reporters who have the inside scoop on how the tech giants themselves are trying to manage Trump 2.0.” Nguyen’s hiring comes shortly after The Verge launched its first site-wide subscription last December, offering reduced ads and unlimited access to its vibrant features and sharp original reporting. “The first wave of Verge subscriptions blew past our initial forecasts, and that reader support helps us invest in vital coverage. Tina will deliver the kind of industry-leading scoops that current Verge subscribers expect and help us attract new subscribers in 2025 and beyond,” said Verge publisher Helen Havlak. Nguyen is the latest addition to The Verge newsroom as the publication staffs up to expand its coverage throughout 2025: * Marina Galperina joined the site this month as senior tech editor, growing The Verge’s ambitious and essential tech reporting; Galperina was previously managing editor at Popular Science and features editor at Gizmodo. * Todd Haselton joined the site in January as deputy editor for reviews and commerce to lead The Verge’s unparalleled tech reviews program and indispensable deals and guides teams; Haselton was previously deputy technology editor at CNBC. * Dominic Preston joined the site in January as news editor, sharpening The Verge’s international coverage with a focus on emerging tech and European tech policy; Preston was previously managing reviews editor for Android Police. The Verge is the leading tech publication, with unmatched news coverage, trusted analyses and reviews, and scoops across Silicon Valley and Washington, DC.