‘Circus’ co-host a ‘latecomer’ to realm of politics
NEW YORK — Alex Wagner grew up immersed in politics in Washington, D.C., where her father, Carl Wagner, advised Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy.
He would sit by the phones at night waiting for poll numbers, she recalled, answering calls with a gruff “Give me the numbers!”
But she followed a circuitous path to political journalism.
In her 20s, Wagner focused on music, working as editor of the Fader, a hipster magazine. Then, in 2007, the so-called Saffron Revolution in her mother’s native country — Myanmar, in southeastern Asia — sparked a desire to be “more engaged with the world.”
After stints as executive director of George Clooney’s anti-genocide organization Not On Our Watch and a White House correspondent for Politics Daily, Wagner in 2011 landed her own MSNBC show, “Now With Alex Wagner,” despite being a TV newbie.
“We had no idea what the hell we were doing,” she said of the show, which lasted four years.
Wagner, now 40, has joined John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon as a co-host on the third season of “The Circus,” replacing Mark Halperin, who was accused of sexually harassing women during a previous job at ABC.
She also has written a memoir, “Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging,” exploring her mixedrace identity and complicated ancestry.
Q: What story lines do you think you’ll be following closely on “The Circus”?
A: The Mueller investigation is huge. It could refashion the landscape of American • “The Circus” is shown at 8 p.m. Sundays on Showtime.
politics in ways that no one can imagine. Or it could be nothing. The midterms could be the most consequential election of my lifetime in terms of the implications of what happens if the Democrats take back the House or Senate.
Q: Your predecessor, Mark Halperin, and other members of the political press were criticized for what some saw as sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton during the campaign. Do you think that’s fair?
A: I think when you have an industry that is overwhelmingly dominated by one gender and one race, there is necessarily going to be bias, whether intentional or unintentional.
Q: Do you feel like you learned a lot about yourself or your family in the process of writing the book?
A: Yes, and I learned more about this country, too. My father said (that) growing up in Iowa in a northeast town on the Mississippi River, there were no people of color. I had accepted that unquestioningly; it’s just Iowa. But then you begin to think, “Why weren’t there people of color?"
Q: Is there anyone in politics you’re dying to interview?
A: Steve Bannon. There are a lot of parts about Steve Bannon that are worthy of investigation, but he has a sixth sense for American politics, and it is borne of deep conviction and philosophy. I always want to interview John Boehner, especially now, where he’s just drinking merlot and smoking. ... And Melania. Knowing I’ll never get it, but she has an incredible story. Someday, I hope she’ll tell it — to me or anybody. There’s a lot to unpack there.