Trump’s Latest Meltdown
Attacking the pope was only part of the president’s disturbing night on Truth Social.
Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a contributor to the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School. He has served as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts House and the U.S. Senate. He writes about international security, nuclear weapons, Russia, and the challenges to democracy in the United States and around the world—along with occasional contrarian views on popular culture. His books include The Death of Expertise and Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy. He is also a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion.
Latest
Alex Wroblewski / AFP / Getty Did Trump Just Threaten to Use Nuclear Weapons in Iran?
If such an order comes to pass, the military can and must refuse.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Celal Gunes / Andalou / Getty. Hegseth’s War on America’s Military
Someone needs to explain the Pentagon purges to the American people.
Tierney L. Cross / Bloomberg / Getty Maybe Trump Should Not Have Given This Speech
His address raised more questions than it answered about the war in Iran.
Alex Brandon / AP Pete Hegseth Is Vice Signaling
The defense secretary is trolling America.
Win McNamee / Getty Trump Had No Plan B for Iran
And it shows.
Illustration by Liz Sanders / The Atlantic. Sources: Getty; Win McNamee / Getty. Operational Excellence, Strategic Incompetence
The president and his advisers are in the grip of “victory disease.”
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty; Kevin C. Cox / Getty. Pete Hegseth Treats Fallen American Soldiers as a PR Problem
His use of the Iran-war dead to attack the media was disgraceful.
Elizabeth Frantz / Reuters Trump Has Given America a Constitutional Dilemma
Congress should not have to argue over whether to trigger the War Powers Resolution, and certainly not in the midst of conflict.
Daniel Heuer / Bloomberg / Getty Trump’s Enormous Gamble on Regime Change in Iran
A few paths to success, many to failure
Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto / Getty
