Very dangerous. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...

The administration’s striking interest in Venezuela has nothing to do with oil, right?

Maybe the great divide in US (and world) politics is now between readers and watchers? open.substack.com/pub/jmarriot...

When it comes to national security concerns and China, there are big, glaring issues and there are smaller, messier ones. This might be a big one. Having (vetted) Chinese grad students in the US would seem to be smaller. Which does the Trump admin focus on? www.propublica.org/article/elon...

Pete Hegseth is decently good looking, reasonably articulate, and undeniably animated. He should leave his current job and go back to being on TV.

“…corrupt leadership and their enablers weaponized federal law enforcement, damaging once proud institutions and severely eroding public trust.” —Kash Patel

Seems like a great time to be doing political purges of US counterintelligence and cyber defense. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/w...

When I reported for duty at Naval Station Great Lakes, I never imagined that some day a US President would seek to use it as a base for surveillance and enforcement activity on American soil. Our military was not set up to cater to the whims of a would-be American dictator.

Is this what a new American golden age feels like?

An important read, though only partly new information. (See work by Audrye Wong and Flora Yan.) A messy situation, but what is clear cut is that non-profits must follow the law and all US political parties should reject unlawful foreign interference in elections. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/n...

If it’s unlawful sharing of classified information they’re worried about, some other names come to mind before Bolton.

"Burns noted it’s important to counter Beijing’s increasingly aggressive economic, diplomatic and military global footprint — but warned that Trump is going about it all wrong, particularly by using tariffs as a cudgel against longtime partners" www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Good policy is rooted in a coherent philosophy and weighs costs against benefits. Hard to see that happening with the brute-force crackdown on universities and Chinese students. If US strategy is to mitigate espionage risks and outcompete China, there are better ways. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/u...

Does Trump understand that higher education is a US export?

This probably won’t offend the MAGA base, but it’s just incredible how Trump’s America is out-China-ing China these days. www.reuters.com/business/med...

A must read from @KennedyCSIS — "For liberal Chinese who have long admired the United States, the Trumpian turn in Washington prompts a deep sadness. To this group of Chinese, Liberation Day must feel like just the opposite" foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/10/t...

It seems that the US is also becoming a country of concern. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

🥁 @cullenhendrix.bsky.social writes that North America's two largest cymbal producers—Zildjian in the US & SABIAN in Canada—provide a unique window into how US tariffs on Canadian goods would affect consumer choices & prices—both for the worse.🥁

Excited to share a new white paper on cities and US-China relations co-authored with @saranewland.bsky.social. This is the culmination of our year of research and policy outreach as visiting senior fellows with the Truman Center. www.trumancenter.org/news-posts/t...

Of course it’s the Dems who are “soft on China”, though. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/b...

@jarosky.bsky.social and I enjoyed speaking with Bonny Lin on the @csis.org ChinaPower podcast to discuss our research on city- and state-level US-China relations. Listen here: www.csis.org/podcasts/chi...

Just thought it was worth noting that a pretty solid majority of the American public does not support Donald Trump’s foreign policy moves. Like, at all. danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-pretty...

PRC leaders must be giddy about the actions of the new Trump administration: cutting foreign aid, cutting ties to international orgs, focusing on North American continent, alienating Europe and Latin America, doing deals with autocrats. It’s Christmas (or at least Spring Festival) in Beijing.

Just wrapped up a grueling but very productive week of events and meetings in DC with @saranewland.bsky.social on subnational US-China relations, the culmination of a yearlong project with the Truman Center. Highlights included a public event at Brookings and roundtable at Keough School DC office.

A few random thoughts about Yoon's attempted coup/martial law: 1. It is so outrageous I am having trouble getting my head around it. I was in Korea in 1987 and I remember martial law. This is one of the dumbest moves by a Korean president in its history. 2. Yoon's fate is sealed...

What is going on in South Korea!?