| DUKAKIS | Michael, U.S. politician who in 1988 was Democratic nominee for the presidency (7) |
| GOLDWATER | Barry, US politician who was 1964 Republican nominee for the presidency (9) |
| LAPTOP | Type of computer of which the Compaq SLT/286 released in 1988 was an early version (6) |
| CORBYN | Politician who in 2016 was filmed sitting on the floor of an allegedly "rampacked" Virgin Trains East Coast train (6,6) |
| JEREMY | Politician who in 2016 was filmed sitting on the floor of an allegedly "rampacked" Virgin Trains East Coast train (6,6) |
| NAGUIBMAHFOUZ | Egyptian author who in 1988 became the first writer in Arabic to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (6,7) |
| RONALDREAGAN | President who, in 1988, signed into law the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs: 2 wds. |
| GRAF | Steffi who, in 1988, won all four of tennis's majors and an Olympic gold medal |
| TROT | AKA "the horse movie," Bobcat Goldthwait's Hot to ____ (1988) was partly a guilty pleasure. |
| DAMPSQUIB | Dud politicians who in Paris stop poor tipping |
| CON | Not supporting politician who's in the right |
| CLINTON | Hillary, U.S. politician who lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election (7) |
| COLLINS | Michael, U.S. astronaut who piloted command module Columbia on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 (7) |
| MAMDANI | Zohran who became the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in 2025 |
| EDWARDS | John -, Democratic nominee for US vice president in 2004 (7) |
| SENATOR | U.S. politician who could resort to treason (7) |
| LEEADAY | Michael, U.S. actor and singer known as Meat Loaf (3,4) |
| SPEAKER | Next in line for the presidency after the VP |
| TRUMPET | Something that's blown U.S. politician on film (7) |
| METONYM | "The White House," for "the presidency," e.g. |
