List of Leaders articles
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US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7. Less Gloating and More Diplomacy Are Needed to Heal the Middle East
In D.C. visit, Netanyahu is expected to toast Trump for U.S. attack on Iran.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter and departing the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 25. The Perils of Denigrating U.S. Intelligence
By doing so, Trump inhibits honest analysis.
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Trump motions with both hands outstretched to his sides as he stands at a podium. Behind him is a low pyramid of stacked oil barrels. Energy Security Means Using Less Oil
The war with Iran shows why hopes for energy independence are inadequate.
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U.S. President Donald Trump announces U.S. strikes on Iran with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth standing alongside, at the White House in Washington on June 21. An Emerging Trump Doctrine?
Success in the Middle East could be a template for a new approach to Russia’s war.
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An illustration depicts historical moments from the past in the curtains of the Oval Office: Julius Caesar, the Cultural Revolution in China, and three American presidents. The room shows an empty chair at the Resolute Desk and a presidential seal on the rug. Why Compare the Present to the Past?
Thinking via historical analogy has become the preferred way to confront our anxieties.
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People use their phones to take a photo of the empty space on a wall of portraits. How Trump Will Be Remembered
No other president has made his time in office so nakedly about himself and his legacy.
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A woodcut style illustration depicts Donald Trump as Julius Caesar An American Caesar
Comparing two leaders, two millennia apart.
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An illustration shows a Nazi-uniformed hand holding a fountain pen that breaks the globe into spheres of influence. How a Nazi Jurist Captured Imaginations on the U.S. Left and Right
It’s Carl Schmitt’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
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An illustration shows Chairman Mao being driven in a car past a sea of red flags. In the foreground is Donald Trump in a similar pose driven in a golf cart. Is This an American Cultural Revolution?
Liberal critics charge Trump with creating a cult of personality not unlike Mao Zedong’s.
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A woodcut-style illustration depicts Donald Trump on one end of a face card with Boris Johnson on the other. Both hold mirors. Ranking the Strongmen
In an era defined by vanity, the U.S. president outdoes all his populist peers.
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A woodcut style illustration depicts five U.S. presidents, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Nixon, Bush, and Trump Is Trump’s Use of Executive Power Really So Different?
Presidents of both parties have relied on expansive authority to achieve their goals.
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Iranian missiles aimed at targets in Israel passing over the West Bank on June 18. Don’t Let a Fake Victory Forestall Real Peace
Trump’s misplaced faith in the efficacy of the Iran attacks will bring more war.
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President Donald Trump and his national security team meet in the Situation Room of the White House, Saturday, June 21, 2025. The War for Trump’s Ego
The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States were really about less than they seem.
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Parts of the Shahran fuel depot on the outskirts of Tehran are ablaze after an Israeli attack on June 15. Did Trump Just Lift Sanctions on Iranian Oil?
Ignoring Tehran’s oil shipments has been informal policy for years. What if Washington made it official?
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Putin and Khamenei sit beside each other in upholstered armchairs, a coffee table between them. Putin gestures with both hands as he speaks, while Khamenei smiles slightly at him. Why Russia Is Sitting Out This Round of the Israel-Iran Conflict
As Putin’s dependence on Iran decreases, he seeks to maintain ties with Tehran’s regional rivals.