Chris O'Brien Profile Banner
Chris O'Brien Profile
Chris O'Brien

@obrien

Followers
24,305
Following
14,629
Media
3,262
Statuses
42,802

European Correspondent. Previously @latimes @mercnews @venturebeat . Travel writing @frenchcrossroad @forbes . Now: The French Tech Journal newsletter 🇺🇲🇫🇷

Joined December 2007
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren a billionaire illiterate for education secretary who wants to destroy public education.
9
273
3K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@daveweigel Trickle Down Economics is like the intellectual cockroach that never dies no matter how catastrophic the reality.
42
324
3K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
Yikes, looks like the dude who posted the clip of Musk getting booed no longer has an account.
Tweet media one
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
Elon surprised that thousands of people hate him will no doubt be a humbling moment that will prompt some serious soul searching.
17
21
240
85
392
2K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren cutting health insurance to 20 million people for starters, snowflake.
10
135
2K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
This NY Times homepage illustrates my continued frustration with the US media and campaign coverage and the lack of lessons learned from 2016. I count 11 headlines today mentioning Trump/Pence. 1 mentions Harris. 0 mention Biden:
Tweet media one
72
519
2K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
What's so awesome about this: As with every other time the Trump administration bungled something, they stubbornly refused to admit they made a mistake and just plowed ahead with some absurdity while pretending it was the plan all along.
44
233
2K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
Whoever you might be rooting for, the Brazilian people don't deserve this humiliation. #BrazilvsGermany #WorldCup2014 #BRA #GER
153
2K
1K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
The @nytimes has a dangerous obsession with Le Pen. A quick review of headlines from the past month: Marine Le Pen Is as Dangerous as Ever Macron May Keep the Presidency, but Le Pen Has Already Won
71
346
1K
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@GovAbbott How is this not human trafficking? Isn't this a federal crime?
306
24
897
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@AJDelgado13 So, totally on brand for a Tuesday?
2
2
828
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@realDonaldTrump Actually, Meryl Streep WON an award. She won big! That's why she was giving a speech.
30
45
810
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
47
67
780
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@JamesFallows @ewong You mean like the left has been saying for 4 decades? Huh. Imagine that. Here's another scoop: Reagan sold arms to Iran to fund the Contras.
19
65
727
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
@VancityReynolds The last Percy Jackson was also older Percy Jackson.
5
7
683
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
I understand Trump is facing a health crisis. But 11 headlines? Surely Biden said something noteworthy while campaigning yesterday in Arizona? But instead, the media lets Trump suck up all the oxygen as he has for years.
15
126
644
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
Even if the tone toward her is negative, she has absolutely dominated the way the Times covers and thinks about this election. In much the same way Trump used to drive media narratives. Lessons not learned, I guess.
14
91
654
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@RexChapman @JackPConnell this is genius-level meta-deconstruction of every sports press conference and she is maybe 4 years old? Unleash Taylor!
1
7
605
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@AOC We're headed to a Democratic president which means it's time for the GOP to start pretending they care about the budget after blowing a massive hole in the deficit following a reckless tax cut. Again.
14
23
563
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
9 years
Yelp sale rumor reminds us that social is terrible as a business even if it did change the Web http://t.co/eMIlZ7j0fN via @VentureBeat
5
990
450
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren a president riddled with business conflicts who is in violation of the constitution from day one.
2
38
506
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@FrankLuntz Better tell that to your party.
@GOP
GOP
3 years
"We will not be intimidated...We are going to clean this mess up now. President Trump won by a landslide. We are going to prove it. And we are going to reclaim the United States of America for the people who vote for freedom."—Sidney Powell
49K
22K
75K
22
37
368
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@MollyJongFast If only Biden could match the Shakespearean eloquence of her father-in-law.
5
20
476
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
The point is: To paint Macron as somehow unusually unpopular is just not the case. He is one of the 3 or 4 most popular politicians in the country at this point, not bad in a country where hating the president is practically the national pastime.
4
101
514
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren a president who has picked a cabinet of billionaires to lead his "people's revolution."
1
42
476
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
#GER 4, #BRA 0. Is there a mercy rule in the World Cup? #BrazilvsGermany #WorldCup2014
32
814
472
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
8 years
Twitter engineer shares her horrifying layoff tale: "The 37 minutes before I found a new job were the darkest moments of my life."
7
409
475
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren a president who is the plaything of Putin.
3
27
447
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@RonFilipkowski I will give her this: She has muscled her way into an astonishing level of power and influence for someone who has only served one term.
65
11
478
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@KevinMKruse I have read 12 books on pandemics and I just re-watched Contagion on Netflix...
20
16
444
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
The coverage is veering into New York Times Pitchbot ( @DougJBalloon ) territory. It reeks of the Trump-obsessive coverage in the US. The determination to understand the monster's appeal and working doubly hard to avoid the appearance of liberal bias and thus overcompensating.
6
76
454
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@jdawsey1 @rebeccaballhaus In other words, she just sent him a bill.
18
8
436
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@BHoldeer @briandordevic @realDonaldTrump he is crushing all the major issuess of our age: meryl streep, snl, the apprentice ratings.
7
26
424
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@RexChapman @LindseyGrahamSC Glad to see the border patrol helping out on political videos. Clearly the most important thing they could be doing.
6
13
414
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
The default seems to be: Anyone voting for Macron is just choosing the person they hate less. But that's not true. Polls show his approval rating is above 40%, among the highest for anyone seeking re-election in the last 20 years. He was the first choice of 28% in round 1.
9
96
415
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@TomiLahren a president who believes climate change is a chinese hoax and put a Texas clown in charge of our nuclear arsenal.
5
40
380
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@MollyJongFast I miss having humans in the White House.
1
25
381
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@ProudResister @IvankaTrump Maybe if she could just change her name to Biden so she could get rich off her daddy?
42
16
351
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@GretaThunberg @JimMFelton Who is going to drive around all those poor cars he bought to own the libs while he's in jail?
65
5
389
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
@briandordevic @realDonaldTrump I’m sure it will be bigly and moderately coherent! Like the man himself!
14
7
382
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
This week is also a good reminder that while Trump was a catastrophe, much of the stuff happening now is the fruit of decades of basic Republican ideology and strategy. The party was not overrun by extremists. It is extreme at its core.
19
106
373
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
This show must have pretty broad appeal because even my mother in Kansas is watching it. 👀 If you can convince the heartland to watch something with subtitles, that is pretty impressive!
11
60
374
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@MollyJongFast @yashar Who the fuck would get on a panel with her in the first place? And The Paley Center should know better than to let that kind of horsehit be said on its stage.
6
17
330
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
Bottom line: This coverage is lunacy. Fortunately, the Times doesn't have the sway with French voters that it does (or used to?) in the US. But for much of the world, it paints a dangerously inaccurate picture of the country.
15
71
363
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
11 months
@karaswisher However, I do love that Elmo conned his fanbase into paying $8 for the blue check that they resented others for having, and then he turned around and gave it for free to those same notable people.
0
35
353
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@sama It's a shame he decided to flush down the toilet whatever goodwill he had built up just to purchase this platform so he could elevate hard-right voices, conspiracy theories, and disinformation. He red pilled himself and now he looks like a clown.
39
5
348
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@caro @JackK Wait until people start reclining their seats...There will be blood.
2
2
341
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@waltshaub This is why the GOP and their perpetually aggrieved followers have been emphasizing that the US is a republic. They are entering permanent minority status, and so the electoral college, Senate, and stuffing the courts are their main strategies (along with voter surpression).
7
64
313
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@RexChapman @bubbaprog Joe Biden: "To make progress, we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies." BBQ Beer Freedom guy: Hold my beer...and mask!
3
14
316
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
I have a feeling that @EricTrump and I would differ on the significance of the Trump campaign being "on fire."
Tweet media one
33
22
309
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@neal_katyal Winning is not the point. The goal is to tie it up in courts forever. Each hearing is a win for Trump.
7
22
303
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@IvankaTrump Journalists are still on the menu, though.
7
16
253
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
To celebrate France's 25th unicorn, President Macron announced today that all French citizens will receive an official Steve Jobs Black Turtleneck.
Tweet media one
14
33
304
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
I have my own critiques of Macron. And it's fair to say that there's unusual disdain for him relative to the actual state of the country. Whatever his successes, he is a clumsy politician. Still, where are the stories seeking to understand the Macron voter?
9
41
292
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
Like, say, insisting a president was not born in this country for 8 years?
@BillOReilly
Bill O'Reilly
5 years
Without direct evidence, branding the President a white supremacy adherent becomes a cheap piece of political propaganda. And I would say the same thing about any politician maligned that way if flimsy evidence were used in the smear.
6K
5K
26K
16
29
282
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@waltshaub @JasonSCampbell How do people watch this? In addition to the racism and misogynism...the weird editing style and the constant twitching make it impossible to view for more than 10 seconds.
4
4
254
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
I guess they're in the same filing cabinet as the series on understanding the Biden voter?
1
27
262
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
Elon surprised that thousands of people hate him will no doubt be a humbling moment that will prompt some serious soul searching.
17
21
240
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@KevinMKruse Great when we were young, but the Raw concert on HBO does not age well.
16
2
231
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
Great explanatory thread.
@McFaul
Michael McFaul
4 years
Missed the impeachment hearings over the last 2 weeks? Well, I watched almost every word (doing commentary for @NBCNews & @MSNBC ) so you didn't have to. My quick takeaways in one thread. 1.
657
9K
21K
1
49
220
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@TerryFinnAgain Odd choice to post this video. From this angle, it looks like the gate is sticking out on the street. (At least, it looks like the street rather than the sidewalk.) In which case, the guy who posted the video would be liable should the kid's family sue.
142
1
221
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
@tonyposnanski @DonaldJTrumpJr Junior is tweeting a lot this morning. Should we demand a drug screening?
5
4
202
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
This car wreck of a game is over, and yet I can't stop watching. Feeling morbid. #BRA #GER #BrazilvsGermany #WorldCup2014
11
284
217
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
PS: While Jean-Luc Mélenchon came close to besting Le Pen, he was the subject of 1 feature in the Times. If he had advanced, I think collective heads at the Times would have exploded. Late Surge Has Fiery French Leftist Eyeing Presidential Runoff
11
20
208
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
I can't even begin to appreciate how mindbending this must have been for a parent, probably born in the 1930s, of teenagers listening to this. The electric guitar. The crazy sounds of the music. Kids dancing like they are having seizures. And on a box broadcasting images!
@RexChapman
Rex Chapman🏇🏼
2 years
64-years ago today Chuck Berry released 'Johnny B. Goode’ (1958) …
134
319
2K
10
31
206
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
. @KellyannePolls yes, they are fighting for the majority of voters who didn't want @realDonaldTrump to be president.
5
5
181
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@Amy_Siskind @JoeBiden Kamala Harris would be better.
5
2
190
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
Van Jones bawling on CNN is all of us right now.
5
6
193
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
"There's the whistle to put #BRA out of their misery." Truer words were never spoken by sports commentator. Congrats #GER ! #BrazilvsGermany
4
303
190
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
But if you're going to slobber all over Le Pen's reinvention and the drift to the right over and over, it would seem that it be reasonable to explore some of Macron's achievements, and why many other voters are big fans.
1
26
188
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
Hey hey just re-upping this story from Nov. 3, 2016 about all these GOP senators vowing not to fill the Scalia opening for 4 years if Clinton had won the election.
5
146
181
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
This man is unwell. He's a danger to himself and, well, all of us.
@elonmusk
Elon Musk
2 years
Tesla is building a hardcore litigation department where we directly initiate & execute lawsuits. The team will report directly to me. Please send 3 to 5 bullet points describing evidence of exceptional ability. justice @tesla .com
27K
20K
202K
17
43
177
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
Why? They knew nothing about his plans because there has been so little coverage of them:
Tweet media one
12
48
180
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
Take France's booming tech sector. That would seem to be a good thing, no? Well, no. Because according to the Times, it has not solved all of France's economic issues (an impossibly high bar). ‘La French Tech’ Arrives Under Macron, but Proves No Panacea
2
16
180
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
After being massively outspent by Trump in the Spring, Biden has been about even the last few weeks on FB and GOOG.
3
19
173
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
#GER fans told to stay in the stadium so nothing "untoward" would happen to them. Will be escorted out. Nice, #BRA . #BrazilvsGermany
8
316
172
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
The “Omelette Du Fromage” mystery man has been revealed. The man who rocketed to French internet celebrity thanks to a random TV cameo is 30-year-old Meka Anyanetu of Washington, D.C. Via @forbes
5
55
177
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
Today is a notable day in French history : The 20th anniversary of the 'attack' on a McDonald's in rural France. Like so many things that happen here, this story managed to be turned into a caricature of the French as it gained international attention. So what hapened that day?
7
109
177
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
10 years
Watching the #BRA fans sobbing is a bit heartbreaking. And still 65 minutes to play. Oy. #BrazilvsGermany #WorldCup2014
8
203
160
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@girlsreallyrule @AlanGedeEdwards If the Dems do nothing, he will consider himself all powerful. And those who turned out in the 2018 Blue Wave will be disheartened by do nothing Dems and possibly be less inclined to vote in 2020. .
18
7
148
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
In the raging debate over free speech and Parler and AWS, it's worth reading Amazon's response to the lawsuit. Amazon had been telling Parler for almost 2 months that the increasingly violent content violated AWS TOS. In response, Parler did...nothing.
6
72
165
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@atrupar So, he lied to her a couple of days ago. And then they thought, hey, let's have him back on again!
11
2
167
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
@RexChapman Per your earlier tweet: Seriously, what were the writers' rooms like on these shows. He's a dog, who is a janitor, but is secretly a martial arts superhero who bounces off the ironing board and then lands in a garbage dumpster where his supercar is hidden!
27
3
167
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 months
@chrissyfarr You mean, like the entire rest of the world?
3
1
167
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
0
12
163
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@maxwellstrachan A prelude to her joining CNN...
23
2
145
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
Readers might be interested to know about a €30bn reindustrialization plan announced last year to catalyze production across numerous sectors, especially green ones. (Wait, isn't Macron purely neoliberal?) France is attracting record foreign investment.
2
29
158
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
The impact @AOC has had in one term is amazing. The Green New Deal is a great example. The idea is growing (even if it won't pass this year due to GOP). Example: The Occitanie region in France announced a "Green New Deal"...even using the name in Engish.
3
17
156
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
And Hollande...FFS, the man had an approval rating of 4% at one point. So inept he didn't even run for re-election. This is what unpopularity looks like.
3
16
153
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
7 years
I believe Silicon Valley has reached its endgame.
Tweet media one
3
79
160
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 month
@BobbyBeefing @richeisen @ChildrensMercy Where were all the open carry freaks today who should have been protecting those kids?
12
1
163
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
LOL a former journalist now at Fox news whining about "enforced orthodoxy."
@brithume
Brit Hume
4 years
A NY Times columnist quits in disgust at what an organ of enforced orthodoxy the paper’s editorial pages have become. Read every word. The ring of truth is unmistakable.
3K
11K
35K
4
28
152
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@maggieNYT I can't imagine anyone thought she was a "secret weapon." I think the question was whether she worthy of pity/sympathy because was trapped in the White House with her deranged husband. Answer: LOL NOPE!
3
10
139
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
11 months
@karaswisher It is a weird self-own.
0
5
155
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
4 years
@FrankLuntz @brianstelter @TuckerCarlson Welcome to the world you helped create.
3
10
133
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
3 years
Why does this matter? I highly recommend this episode of @PodSaveAmerica , where they polled in-depth undecided voters (starting about 46 mins). Amazingly, a large number have no opinion on Biden, despite 47 years in public service.
5
31
149
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
Introduced a generation of children to the hallucinatory creative powers that could be unleashed by psychedelics...
@RexChapman
Rex Chapman🏇🏼
2 years
53-years ago today Sid & Marty Krofft's 'H.R. Pufnstuf' premiered on NBC (1969) …
574
523
5K
9
13
148
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@ScottAdamsSays "major side effects" is too vague for a poll. It's like "middle class". 90% of the population thinks they are middle class, even people who are quite rich or poor. What I consider "major" (severe chills, sore, exhaustion) may not be medically "major" (requiring hospitalization).
15
5
146
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
1 year
@NoLieWithBTC Cry more, please.
2
1
147
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
2 years
To be fair: @paulkrugman did give Macron and France props for the economic performance during the pandemic back in January.
1
22
143
@obrien
Chris O'Brien
5 years
@brianstelter No offense but...this is just occurring to you? It's the very foundation of this movement.
5
4
121