What We Learned From An Election Post-Mortem

If you only read one thing: Election Day may have been more than three weeks ago, but emotions were still raw as the Clinton and Trump campaign teams met in Cambridge for a two-day postmortem on the campaign. In a fitting capstone to the dispiriting cycle their meeting culminated in squabbling and even a few tears. The Harvard Campaign Managers Summit is a quadrennial gathering to draft the first history of the cycle, but the two campaigns seemed more interested in settling scores.

Trump operatives took a victory lap, touting their digital and communications strategies that exploited divisions to create a pathway to win. The Clinton campaign made clear that it won’t be putting FBI Director James Comey on its Christmas card list anytime soon. And everyone blamed the media.

Here are your must reads:

Must Reads

Clinton and Trump Aides Clash at Campaign Managers Conference
Deeply divided camps offered an unfiltered oral history of their campaigns at Harvard’s quadrennial postmortem. [TIME]

Trump’s Breezy Calls to World Leaders Leave Diplomats Aghast
Freewheeling style breaks with traditional decorum [New York Times]

Can Trump Clean Up His Messy World of Conflicts?
TIME’s Massimo Calabresi on the man tasked with protecting the president-elect.

See a Map That Shows Exactly How Donald Trump Won
TIME analysis of county-level results show his rust-belt strength

Trump Kicks Off ‘Thank You’ Tour
Reveling in Crowd and Campaign Themes [New York Times]

Sound Off

“If I made one mistake it was legitimizing the way the press covered this storyline.” — Clinton campaign communications director Jen Palmieri on the emails story

“They are an anti-Trump group.” — Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on the Southern Poverty Law Center

Bits and Bites

Here’s What You Need to Know About James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, Trump’s Pick For Secretary of Defense [TIME]

Chris Christie Makes Bid for Republican National Committee Chair [TIME]

Russia Accuses Ukraine of Trying to Sabotage Donald Trump’s Campaign [TIME]

Obama Administration Announces Support For Female Military Draft Requirement [Associated Press]

You Can’t Sue Wells Fargo for Fraud—Unless This New Bill Goes Through [Money]

Donald Trump Warns Companies to Not Leave the United States: ‘We Can’t Let It Happen’ [TIME]

Bernie Sanders: Donald Trump Just Let Carrier Take the U.S. ‘Hostage’ [TIME]