Max Boot

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

All power is concentrated in the hands of the chairman. Barring a health crisis, Trump can run the Board of Peace as long as he likes, and he is empowered to choose his own successor. This is a model closer to the Trump Org than to the collective leadership of the UN or NATO. wapo.st/46dUKAF

US links security guarantees for Ukraine to peace deal ceding territory Washington signalled Kyiv would receive more backing after any withdrawal from the Donbas, say people familiar with talks

So, if this is accurate, the Trump administration wants Ukraine to commit strategic suicide (giving up chain of Donbas fortresses) as the price of getting worthless US security guarantees. What a deal! giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

From one of the Post’s best, a reporter who breaks story after story, @danlamothe.bsky.social.

One of my absolute favorites.

What could go wrong

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

The U.N. Security Council presumably had no idea, when it approved in November the creation of the Board of Peace, that it was bringing into existence a potential competitor to the United Nations itself. wapo.st/46dUKAF

How Trump Became a Liability for Europe’s Far Right

In France, Mr. Trump has become so unpopular that any tie to him could seem politically toxic. Eric Ciotti, who leads a small party affiliated with National Rally, deleted two congratulatory social media posts that he put out after Mr. Trump’s election. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/w...

ARD-DeutschlandTrend: US-Ansehen nach Angriff auf Tiefstand In der Bevölkerung herrscht Unverständnis über den US-Militäreinsatz in Venezuela, wie der ARD-DeutschlandTrend zeigt. Die Bundesregierung wird weiterhin kritisch gesehen, sie sammelt bei einem Thema ...

Only 15 percent of Germans consider the USA to be a trustworthy partner—the lowest level ever. Only slightly higher than Russia (9 percent). For comparison: 78 percent say this about France, 74 percent about Great Britain. www.tagesschau.de/inland/deuts...

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging

“These people used to be in the dark corners of the internet,” said Jessie Daniels, a sociologist at Hunter College who has studied online extremism for 30 years. “Now, they are holding public office.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

Administration Social Media Posts Echo White Supremacist Messaging

“These people used to be in the dark corners of the internet,” said Jessie Daniels, a sociologist at Hunter College who has studied online extremism for 30 years. “Now, they are holding public office.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

I know Alex. A true American patriot. What a great senator he would be.

Opinion | Mass Deportation by the Numbers ICE arrests are growing but fewer have a criminal history.

Since October, 73% taken into ICE custody had no criminal conviction and only 5% had a violent criminal conviction, according to a Cato Institute review of ICE data. www.wsj.com/opinion/mass...

40 years later, a new look at lessons from the Challenger disaster Christa McAuliffe’s flight as the “teacher in space” lasted 73 seconds. A reporter who witnessed the tragedy returned to the story and found an engineer still trying to spread its lessons.

A moving article about the Challenger disaster by a reporter who covered the launch. Bureaucratic incompetence at NASA killed the crew including the “teacher in space.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

In all probability, the Board of Peace will be forgotten quickly. If it is remembered at all, it will be as a testament to Trump’s tendency to make everything — even, or perhaps especially, the noble search for world peace — all about his own self-aggrandizement. wapo.st/46dUKAF

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

All power is concentrated in the hands of the chairman. Barring a health crisis, Trump can run the Board of Peace as long as he likes, and he is empowered to choose his own successor. This is a model closer to the Trump Org than to the collective leadership of the UN or NATO. wapo.st/46dUKAF

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

@maxboot.bsky.social unmasks the "Board of Peace" as a family business modeled on the Trump Organization: "The designated chairman is not whoever happens to be president of the US but Trump personally," he can run it "as long as he likes" and choose his own successor. Gift link🎁 wapo.st/3Zx5wyd

The Washington Post has a superb corps of dedicated foreign correspondents. I rely on their work and so do countless others. May that always be the case.

From my colleague David Ignatius.

‘The Superhuman President’ A good-faith attempt to ascertain the truth about Donald Trump’s health.

“He doesn’t think of legacy in terms of policies enacted,” a Republican operative with ties to the administration told me. “It’s buildings he can leave behind and prizes he can win”. nymag.com/intelligence...

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

If any members do ante up $1 billion to stay on the Board of Peace for more than 3 years, Trump could have access to a massive slush fund independent of Congress’s power of the purse—much like the Qatar bank accounts set up for the proceeds of Venezuelan oil sales overseen by the US. wapo.st/46dUKAF

In this week's episode of That 70s Movie Podcast, we explore the mysteries of Robert Altman's New Hollywood landmark The Long Goodbye [DP Vilmos Zsigmond/W Leigh Brackett]
w/Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt & Mr. Sterling Hayden: open.spotify.com/episode/35mG...
In the holy trinity of #70s neo-noirs

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

You can see why many invitees to the Board of Peace are keeping a wary distance: They would rather the U.S. support existing international institutions (the White House just announced it was leaving 66 of them) instead of creating a new one dominated entirely by Trump. wapo.st/46dUKAF

Yes, It’s Fascism Until recently, I thought it a term best avoided. But now, the resemblances are too many and too strong to deny.

@jonrauch.bsky.social: If historians object that Trump is not a copy of Mussolini or Hitler or Franco, the reply is yes—but so what? Trump is building something new on old principles. He is showing us in real time what 21st-century American fascism looks like. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The execution of Alex Pretti is playing so badly because you can look at his actions and life story - his last act was helping, boy scout, athlete, health care worker to veterans - and compare those to the men who killed him and know which you would want to be your son, brother, father, uncle.

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

In all probability, the Board of Peace will be forgotten quickly. If it is remembered at all, it will be as a testament to Trump’s tendency to make everything — even, or perhaps especially, the noble search for world peace — all about his own self-aggrandizement. wapo.st/46dUKAF

One former president is conspicuously missing. Didn't he espouse "compassionate conservatism"?

New from MN department of human services today: “New federal data release by the US Centers for Medicare/medicaid services shows the overall rate of improper payment in Minnesota’s Medicaid program is far below national averages.” 2.1% here compared to 6.1% nationally.

A Crisis of Confidence for ICE and Border Patrol as Clashes Escalate

One current D.H.S. agent said that he had “always given the benefit of the doubt to the government in these situations” but said he now no longer believed “any of the statements they put out anymore.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...

Opinion | Trump’s Board of Peace is already floundering Trump’s attempt to rival the U.N., with him in charge, is likely to disappear and be quickly forgotten.

You can see why many invitees to the Board of Peace are keeping a wary distance: They would rather the U.S. support existing international institutions (the White House just announced it was leaving 66 of them) instead of creating a new one dominated entirely by Trump. wapo.st/46dUKAF