Eugene Daniels

Eugene Anthony Daniels-Stephens II was born in Manhattan, New York, on February 12, 1989. His family moved to Fort Hood, Texas, less than a year later, where his father served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. Daniels attended Shoemaker High School in Killeen, Texas, playing football before committing to Colorado State University for NCAA Division I football. At Colorado State, he initially majored in political science, later switching to journalism. His football career was impacted by a heat-related health issue in 2009 and a shoulder injury in 2010, which led him to focus more on journalism. In 2011, he was elected vice-chair of the Division I National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Daniels joined Politico in 2018, covering the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential election, specifically the Andrew Yang campaign. He became a White House correspondent for Politico, covering Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff from 2021 to 2025. Daniels also co-authored Politico’s Playbook, a daily early-morning email newsletter, becoming the first Black and first openly LGBTQ author of the newsletter. His career progression continued in 2021 when he was named an MSNBC contributor, and by April 2022, he was promoted to senior contributor on “Morning Joe.”

In July 2022, Daniels was elected treasurer of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) for 2024–25. Following the resignation of the president-elect, he was designated president of the WHCA for 2024–25. In March 2025, Daniels announced his departure from Politico to join MSNBC full-time, where he now serves as a senior Washington correspondent and a co-host of “The Weekend.” This new role is notable as “The Weekend” has made history as the first American national television program co-hosted by two openly gay Black men. Daniels’ career highlights his consistent engagement with political reporting and his commitment to journalistic integrity.