How does Putin view Trump? “The ‘orange one’ is such a great guy, we must make a golden statue to him—and if we’re lucky, we’ll make it in Kyiv,” according to one of his closest allies, Yuri Kovalchuk. My latest, with the amazing @zygaro.bsky.social puck.news/is-putins-ru...

"We just won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service," Bezos brags, without mentioning the Pulitzer Prize winners he laid off.

In November I broke this story about Andrew Paul Johnson, a pardoned J6er who molested children and used the promise of reparations to bribe his victims silence.

The last time 30-year bond yields hit this peak was in 2007, and as we all know, the economy did fine after that. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

National Security Action, the group co-founded by Jake Sullivan, is dusting itself off and gearing up for 2028. But a lot of Dems just wish the Biden bros would just go away. As one Democrat told me, “They’re all canceled and they don’t realize it.” My latest. puck.news/the-return-o...

So, yeah, Hegseth is remaking the US miltary into a bunch of toadies. The favored generals & admirals will try to claim they are just doing their jobs and it isn't their fault, but they will be viewed by everyone as partisan, which will diminish their effectiveness (if they don't already suck). 1/

The silver lining in all this is that Americans have far too much respect for our military, and things like this naked politicization of the officer corps should help reduce it to more sensible levels.

I genuinely thought that's Jack Nicholson about to say "you can't handle the truth" but, sadly, he seems to be just another toady

This is a good piece about bad leadership “the Trumpian way inspiring contenders to devour each other for the big boss’s fickle favor, rewarding personal loyalty & then calling it a meritocracy…doing this in the world’s most powerful military while at war presents another level of risk altogether…”

Had you been wondering why Powell isn’t stepping down…

NEW: Gen. LaNeve has been the one Army general rising through the ranks as Hegseth purges all the superstars. He's also used his proximity to Hegseth to settle old scores and taking out rivals. Now, he's trying to lure one of them back. My latest. puck.news/general-chri...

Not getting the attention it deserves…

NEW: Gen. LaNeve has been the one Army general rising through the ranks as Hegseth purges all the superstars. He's also used his proximity to Hegseth to settle old scores and taking out rivals. Now, he's trying to lure one of them back. My latest. puck.news/general-chri...

ICYMI: As Hegseth has fired 20+ generals and admirals, there is one general who has skyrocketed through the ranks. And now he's in line to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Who is he? And why has he risen so fast? My latest. puck.news/pentagon-pur...

As Pete Hegseth has fired an unprecedented number of generals and admirals, one person has benefitted from the purge, rising quickly through the ranks. Who is he? My latest. puck.news/pentagon-pur...

As Pete Hegseth has fired an unprecedented number of generals and admirals, one person has benefitted from the purge, rising quickly through the ranks. Who is he? My latest. puck.news/pentagon-pur...

In our latest @erep.csis.org Russian Roulette episode, together with @maxbergmann.bsky.social, we speak with @juliaioffe.bsky.social Ioffe about her new book, "Motherland," which is a fascinating history of feminism and the role of women in Soviet and Russian society.

THE DALAI LAMA IS WEAK ON MONETARY POLICY.

Hegseth can't fire Army Secretary Dan Driscoll because Driscoll is law school BFFs with JD and Usha Vance. But Hegseth can fire everyone *around* Driscoll and make life miserable, including the head of the Army. In the middle of a war. My latest. puck.news/hegseths-pen...

Hegseth can't fire Army Secretary Dan Driscoll because Driscoll is law school BFFs with JD and Usha Vance. But Hegseth can fire everyone *around* Driscoll and make life miserable, including the head of the Army. In the middle of a war. My latest. puck.news/hegseths-pen...

Trump's ultimatum to Iran was always going to end not with mushroom clouds over Tehran, but with tacos in Washington. My latest. puck.news/the-day-afte...

The ceasefire gives Iran control over the Strait of Hormuz, which it did not have before Trump launched the war. The regime is still in place, it still has enriched uranium, the capability to shoot missiles at drones at its neighbors. What, other than chaos, did Trump achieve?

If the last decade—and especially the last two months—have taught anybody running a country anything, it's that nuclear weapons are a key part of regime survival. Everything that's happened since Feb 28 will only make Iran *more* determined to get nukes.

Trump's war on Iran has reminded me of Putin's war on Ukraine in so many ways, not least of which is this one: a cadre of advisors being too scared to tell the President what they really think, only to be horrified when he unleashes what they should've stopped him from doing in the first place.

$2 million per ship — to cross a Strait that was free six weeks ago. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/w...

Step 1: start a war Step 2: war gets real messy, real fast Step 3: threaten nuclear annihilation/genocide, get temporary relief to mess of own making Step 4: declare victory

This is my favorite read in years. So, so, so good.

There's no domestic terrorism law because the First Amendment prohibits it. But the Trump administration has found a way around that: going after Antifa abroad—and then looking for Americans connected to it at home. My latest. puck.news/trump-moves-...

There's no domestic terrorism law because the First Amendment prohibits it. But the Trump administration has found a way around that: going after Antifa abroad—and then looking for Americans connected to it at home. My latest. puck.news/trump-moves-...

SCOOP: The Trump admin is trying to list antifa as a top counter-terrorism priority in the National Intelligence Priorities Framework, which tells all U.S. intelligence agencies where to focus. The real target, it seems, is domestic dissent. My latest. puck.news/trump-moves-...

Original story here: puck.news/trump-moves-...

"As a former senior national security official put it, 'They might as well be looking for Santa Claus.'" @juliaioffe.bsky.social

Pretty stunning reporting by @juliaioffe.bsky.social in @puck.news. The damage to U.S. global counterterrorism leadership will be profound and lasting.

SCOOP: The Trump admin is trying to list antifa as a top counter-terrorism priority in the National Intelligence Priorities Framework, which tells all U.S. intelligence agencies where to focus. The real target, it seems, is domestic dissent. My latest. puck.news/trump-moves-...

Putin is apparently so spooked by reports that Israelis hacked Tehran's traffic cameras to kill Khamenei, that he has stopped coming to the Kremlin, started taking his meetings virtually, and shut down cell service in Moscow. My latest. puck.news/putins-post-...

Treating literal Soviet propaganda posters as gospel truth. What can I say man, tankies always gonna tankie. Meanwhile if you’re interested in an actual feminist history of The Soviet Union, I’d highly recommend @juliaioffe.bsky.social’s new book Motherland.

How did the realist who spent his career saying "don't invade Iran" become the guy defending it in Congress? He became a "flexible realist." My latest. puck.news/how-elbridge...

In retrospect, it seems like changing the department's name to Department of War was a strong signal of what this administration wanted to do, huh

I'm deep into reading Motherland by @juliaioffe.bsky.social. It's a gripping feminist perspective on a history I have read in so many ways over the years. It's also a lesson in how much humans can endure. And a frightening reminder that you don't always "live through this."

Still trying to imagine what would happen if a President Biden—or a President Harris—started a war with Iran with no clear objective or timeline, said American troops were going to die because hey, that's war! and that they didn't rule out putting American boots on the ground...

If you don’t define your goals before you start, no one will know if you’ve failed to achieve them. My latest. puck.news/is-trump-hea...

If you don’t define your goals before you start, no one will know if you’ve failed to achieve them. My latest. puck.news/is-trump-hea...

👀

Glad we got rid of waste fraud and abuse

Rubio's Munich speech told a very specific story of American immigration: white and Christian. “That occurred to me too,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is Jewish, confided after. “I’m not a part of this?” puck.news/newsletter_c...

Holy shit! MOTHERLAND has won a National Jewish Book Award!!!

If you really want to know what went down at the Munich Security Conference—and especially Rubio‘s widely mischaracterized “conciliatory” speech—you’ve got to read [email protected].https://puck.news/inside-lindsey-grahams-greenland-meltdown-in-munich/

On Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham unloaded on the PMs of Greenland and Denmark, telling them that if Trump wanted to take Greenland, they'd just have to deal with it. “Lots of F-bombs,” said one person in attendance. My latest. puck.news/inside-linds...