“You’ve heard the joke: The White House is going to start talking about the Epstein files to distract from how badly the Iran war is going. Except that this reverse “Wag the dog” is based on bizarre truth” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“Most commanders in chief opt against attacking the vicar of Christ for fear of alienating the tens of millions of Catholics in the United States—or, perhaps, to avoid any potential for divine retribution.
“But Trump, of course, is not most presidents” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
NEW: President Trump is stuck in a bind of his own making
Iran. Orban. Rising prices. Sinking polls. The pope (yes, the pope). Epstein
Trump is on a real losing streak. And Republicans are now worrying about the House *and* Senate this November www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
NEW: President Trump’s ethos is famously shaped by the 1980s - which helps explain how he is viewing the conflict with Iran
A deep dive on his (surprisingly consistent) take on Tehran. And how that may be leading to mistakes in this war: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Military officials are planning for two potential high-risk ground assaults in Iran
Assets are in place for a raid on Kharg Island and an operation to retrieve Iran’s uranium
All they need now is President Trump’s go-ahead - if it comes www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Days before his 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki, Trump nearly pulled out of NATO
Furious over Strait of Hormuz, Trump is again trashing the allies - and could fulfill Putin’s lifelong dream
The U.S. attacked Iran. Russia may win www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: Trump’s Greenland obsession strained the NATO alliance
Now the Strait of Hormuz could break it
Trump is livid that other nations won’t help. And NATO is bracing for revenge:
Could Trump pull U.S troops out of Europe? Or withdraw from NATO entirely? www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: The U.S. presented a 15-point plan—based on the 15-point proposal presented to the Iranian government last year—to give the weakened regime a chance to concede and spare itself further bombardment
Trump says it’s progress. Tehran says it’s fiction www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
“Even by the low standards that Trump has set, cheering the death of another man is abhorrent. Not that it hasn’t happened before” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“Trump has never tried to be the president of all Americans. That deficiency was on grotesque display again as he celebrated the death of someone who devoted his life to the country Trump now leads” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
NEW: Robert Mueller III was a Bronze Star Marine veteran, an FBI director, and an American citizen
When the president of the United States heard the news that Mueller died today, he put it this way: “Good, I’m glad he’s dead." www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
The U.S. has lost 13 troops since the Iran war began, the same number killed at Abbey Gate in August 2021
Trump blamed Biden, whose presidency never quite recovered. But Trump’s Pentagon now faces similar questions as he considers deploying ground forces www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump wanted to attack Iran during the protests but couldn’t because it took weeks for the needed military assets to reach the region. Some experts say the strike was rushed; an ex-official told us that some early preparations were aimed at a May launch www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump now faces a daunting decision:
Does he escalate the conflict, no matter how unpopular at home? Or does he declare victory and leave, minimizing economic damage but leaving behind an embittered regime with the materials to build a nuclear weapon? www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: The Iran war has not quite gone to plan
Tehran’s military has been crushed, but the regime lives and oil prices are surging
The eventual outcome may come down to just how much risk Trump is willing to accept—and how much pain he is willing to take. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump has not uttered the line that once seemed to come so easily: We should take the oil
The omission is striking. For a president who has treated natural resources as both leverage and loot, Iran’s oil fields would appear to be the ultimate temptation www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: President Trump has rarely considered a foreign conflict without musing, sometimes bluntly, about what the United States might take in return for intervening: Iraqi oil. Syrian oil. Venezuelan oil
So why hasn’t he mentioned taking Iran’s oil?
(Yet) www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Inside Trump’s decision to attack Iran - including a last call to the U.S. military commander about possible American casualties
Killing the Supreme Leader was one thing. Ousting the regime will be another:
“The worst-case outcome is complete chaos” www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
President Trump attacks Iran
With unclear goals and little effort made to sell the conflict to the public, Trump has launched a broad military effort that could now help define his presidency
War with Iran has begun. Where does it end? www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
A year ago, Trump’s address to Congress was a victory lap
But his return to the Capitol tonight now comes amid his tariff defeat and poor polling
Suddenly, the State of the Union is a desperate moment in a stumbling presidency www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“Trump did not handle the SCOTUS decision well. He eviscerated the justices in a remarkably angry news conference. Then, in a particular fit of pique, he declared that he would no longer use capital letters to refer to, as he put it, ‘the supreme court’” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“But there’s a problem with the idea that Trump can simply rerun his 2024 campaign and expect the same result: Over the past two years, many of his most popular issues have turned into political liabilities” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
NEW: A year ago, Trump’s address to Congress was a victory lap
But his return to the Capitol tomorrow night now comes amid his tariff defeat and poor polling
Suddenly, the State of the Union is a moment to try to turn around a stumbling presidency www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“Never before has a president so thoroughly dominated the political landscape and national discourse. That is to Trump’s delight, but it potentially works less well for Republicans who are left to defend a series of unpopular decisions and policies” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
“Has the president lost focus on what got him elected as he takes on vanity projects such as the White House ballroom? Well, he’ll see you that and raise you both the Kennedy Center renovation and the construction of a giant arch that no one seems to want” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
NEW: The Texas defeat has set off alarms within the GOP
Yet Trump is doubling down on deportations, gunboat diplomacy and, yes, trying to remake DC landmarks like the Kennedy Center
Republicans want a course correction. But Trump's not one for a reset www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Trump’s about-face was so abrupt and so unaccounted for that officials in Europe are scratching their heads about what, exactly, changed his mind
They’re speculating about criticism on Capitol Hill, caution from military advisers, and chaos in the markets www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: President Trump gained little from his Greenland crusade—and lost influence and trust with America’s most important allies
“We are learning to bully back” www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Franklin D. Roosevelt likened lending Great Britain warships in the early days of World War II to loaning a neighbor a garden hose to put out the fire consuming his house
But now Donald Trump heads to Europe ready to set a bunch of new houses on fire www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
NEW: In a year, Trump has upended America's relationship with the world
And now his thirst for Greenland threatens to unravel the alliance that has ensured decades of transatlantic peace, prosperity, and democracy
In Davos, Trump may blow it all up www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...