At the White House today, Netanyahu will find himself in the familiar but uncomfortable position of managing Trump's expectations, as the president who green-lit the Iran strikes now demands payment in the form of a Gaza ceasefire that could threaten the very coalition keeping Netanyahu in power.

Ukraine has become the ultimate foreign policy test case for whether Donald Trump leads his MAGA movement or follows it—and whether his personal frustration with being outmaneuvered can override his base's ideological commitments. open.substack.com/pub/labott/p...

The State Department has halted ALL new student visa interviews nationwide while expanding social media vetting. When we systematically reject global talent, they don't being brilliant - they build competing companies elsewhere. thepreamble.com/p/first-harv...

Apparently human rights and war crimes are passé in America. thepreamble.com/p/us-signals...

President Trump’s deal with the Houthis couldn't more nakedly embody his America First foreign policy. The Houthis stop attacking American ships; the U.S. halts its bombing campaign. But missing from the deal? Any protections whatsoever for American allies www.cosmopolitics.news/p/a-convenie...

This White House statement is really telling: “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”

Moscow Mules were sooo 1960s Hot Tale Happy Hour TODAY at 5:30 with me and @Danielle Pletka on Substack Live open.substack.com/live-stream/...

The U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, announced tonite, gives Trump something he’s long wanted: a financial stake in Ukraine’s future. It signals to Putin that Washington, under Trump, is no longer just cutting checks — it's investing.

What's most striking about Rubio's State Department reorganization is political theater surrounding it.. Behind the fiery rhetoric about "draining the bloated,bureaucratic swamp" and eliminating "radical ideologues" is a plan far less apocalyptic than many feared open.substack.com/pub/statedep...

We are watching a bizarre cycle of destruction and recreation. Trump tore up a functional, if imperfect,agreement that had Iran's nuclear program in check. Iran responded by accelerating toward weapons capability.Now, Trump must negotiate a new deal to solve the very crisis his actions helped create

When the world loses faith in America's financial foundation, we all pay the price. open.substack.com/pub/sharonmc...

Tariffs are just the beginning. The Trump administration is methodically dismantling the global economic architecture the United States itself built over 75 years and rewriting the rules of international commerce, finance, and monetary policy. open.substack.com/pub/labott/p...

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has become something of a political cult hero on the right as a leader who has successfully quashed liberal influences. "We didn't just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals," he told CPAC in 2023. "We actually did it." thepreamble.com/p/who-is-vik...

Few Americans might recognize him, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has become something of a political cult hero on the right as a leader who has successfully resisted liberal influences. thepreamble.com/p/who-is-vik...

My first Substack Live! We will talk about how China is swooping into exploit the US retreat and government cuts Hope you will tune in TOMORROW at 12:30p. Don’t forget to download the Substack app subscribe to Cosmopolitics so you get a notification when we start.

America's withdrawal has created a strategic vacuum that China is rushing to fill. The question is no longer whether America's retreat will create opportunities for China, but how quickly Beijing will seize them – and at what cost to the global order thepreamble.com/p/like-a-lan...

There's an unmistakable culture of casualness permeating this administration that tracesdirectly to the top. President Trump, who has made no secret of his disdain for traditional guardrails, redefined presidential technology norms from day one. x.com/eliselabott/...

European leaders, former officials, and Russia experts—virtually everyone except President Trump—recognizes Putin's strategy: prolong negotiations while advancing militarily,exhaust Western resolve, and force Ukraine into a ceasefire that leaves it permanently vulnerable substack.com/home/post/p-...

Nothing says "America First" quite like pink-slipping 1,300 journalists who literally export American values for a living. open.substack.com/pub/labott/p...

Here is what's missing from this conversation on USAID: It's a strategic instrument of American foreign policy, developed with bi-partisan support as a cost-effective way to advance our national interests without deploying troops or imposing sanctions. thepreamble.com/p/cutting-fo...

If we're serious about American leadership in a competitive world, we need to recognize that soft power isn't just charity -- it's strategy. thepreamble.com/p/cutting-fo...

Nobody is naive enough to think peace bought at the cost of Ukraine's sovereignty would put an end to Putin's revisionist ambitions. Precisely the same warnings were issued about North Vietnam and the Taliban. We ignored them then. We should heed them now www.cosmopoliticsbyelise.com/p/ukraines-p...

The irony is that Donald Trump's "America First" approach may accomplish what decades of gentle EU encouragement never could: forcing Europe to develop genuine strategic autonomy. Is this a gift, a wake-up call, or a burden for Europe? In many ways, it's all three. thepreamble.com/p/trumps-piv...

When competent officers are dismissed not for military disagreements but for insufficient personal loyalty, when combat experience matters less than political enthusiasm, we're crossing a line that America's allies and adversaries are watching closely. substack.com/@eliselabott...

The truth is that while Trump's instincts aren't wrong, his method of getting there is actively undermining his own goals. You can't bully your way to lasting cooperation, especially when your negotiating partners are already inclined to work with you. www.cosmopoliticsbyelise.com/p/trumps-all...

"The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It’s also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more." www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Recent polling that shows 60% of Israelis prefer Trump's vision of Saudi normalization with a path to Palestinian statehood over the annexation dreams of the far right creates an opening for Trump open.substack.com/pub/labott/p...