Stephen Wertheim

Forget putting America first. Trump treats the interests of a Persian Gulf emirate as equivalent to those of the United States:

"The United States shall regard any armed attack on the . . . State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States."

Assuring the Security of the State of Qatar By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in recognition of the enduring alliance

With this executive order, pledging to defend Qatar against any armed attack, Trump further entangles the United States in the conflicts, present and future, of the Middle East. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Live updates: Trump defends using troops to police U.S. cities in address to military leaders The gathering, at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, was ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and required some officers to fly thousands of miles.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

No need for analysis when he's just saying it.

How Trump Brought Home the Endless War Having come to power exploiting the fears spawned by perpetual war abroad, the President is defining the enemy of his war at home just as expansively.

Having come to power exploiting the fears spawned by perpetual war abroad, Trump is defining the enemy of his war at home just as expansively. www.newyorker.com/news/our-col...

YouTube video by Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Weatherhead Forum | From Victory to Uncertainty: The Postwar Order After Eighty Years

Watch the full event here, with thanks to @weatherheadcenter.bsky.social: youtu.be/nzZydcgbXc8?...

YouTube video by Stephen Wertheim The Post-World War II International Order is Not the Point: Remarks at Harvard's Weatherhead Forum

My remarks at Harvard's Weatherhead Forum: We have to come to grips with the errors of post-Cold War foreign policy — and not hide behind the post-1945 legacy — in order to understand the current moment and forge a better way forward. youtu.be/uGxZGIftNAE?...

I look forward to this conversation on Wednesday 9/17. Register now to join us:

Graphic shows event details next to a stylized and mirrored image of Winston Churchill with a giant red half-V, half-U overlaid.

Join us on September 17 @12pm ET for our first Weatherhead Forum of the year: "From Victory to Uncertainty: The Postwar Order After Eighty Years." This event is on Zoom and requires registration. For details, see our event listing: https://loom.ly/4cyzbws

Opinion | Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind

🪖The title says it all. In the meantime, U.S. military spending and globalization continue to grow. @stephenwertheim.bsky.social #EmpireOfLiberty Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...

Trump 2 at 6 Months: Fury and Furor, But What’s Changed?

Looking for a report card on Trump's foreign policy after six months? I recommend this Christopher Chivvis interview of @stephenwertheim.bsky.social

carnegieendowment.org/podcasts/piv...

The Breaking Point Over the past few weeks as starvation in Gaza, long in the making and orchestrated by Israel, has reached unprecedented levels, politicians have finally risked criticism of the regime responsible, Sam Adler-Bell writes.

Over the past few weeks as starvation in Gaza, long in the making and orchestrated by Israel, has reached unprecedented levels, politicians have finally risked criticism of the regime responsible, Sam Adler-Bell writes.

The Gaza Breaking Point Political consensus is rapidly shifting as famine looms and Israel escalates. Will it matter?

I told @nymag.com: People have memory-holed numerous episodes in the course of the Israel-Gaza War in which there was a new swell of opposition to Israel’s conduct and then it just died out. So I worry that we’re back on that cycle. nymag.com/intelligence...

Why Everyone in Washington Is a ‘Realist’ Now What’s emerging is not yet a new consensus. But neither is it as incoherent as current rhetoric would have you believe.

I told @foreignpolicy.com: A foreign policy grounded in realism and restraint is still far from being the dominant position in either political party. There’s no question, however, that demand for it is rising, especially on the right, but also on the left, following a period of deference to Biden.

I joined ABC Australia's Radio National Hour to analyze Trump's penchant for deadline diplomacy — the hallmark of Trump the performer beating out Trump the realist. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

American Prestige | Bonus - The Unwinnable War in Taiwan w/ Jennifer Kavanaugh and Stephen Wertheim (Preview)

On @amprestigepod.bsky.social, @jekavanagh.bsky.social and I talked U.S. strategy toward Taiwan, arguing that in the event of a cross-strait invasion, the United States should assist Taiwan's self-defense but plan not to fight China directly. americanprestige.supportingcast.fm/listen/ameri...

History As It Happens: Trump and the Structures of 'Forever War' Since 1945, has there been an antiwar U.S. president? Is it even possible to be an antiwar president when one has at his disposal history's most powerful war machine and is expected to maintain Americ...

I joined History As It Happens to expand on my argument that Trump faces a structural bind that inhibits him from being a peacemaker. Thanks for the fun conversation, @martindicaro.bsky.social. sites.libsyn.com/317972/trump...

History As It Happens: Trump and the Structures of 'Forever War' Since 1945, has there been an antiwar U.S. president? Is it even possible to be an antiwar president when one has at his disposal history's most powerful war machine and is expected to maintain Americ...

Presidents can promise to be peacemakers, but the structures of U.S. primacy tilt toward war and violence.

My conversation w/ historian @stephenwertheim on why it's so difficult for the U.S. to avoid "entanglements."

Podcast: historyasithappens.libsyn.com/trump-and-th...

The Good and the Bad of Having a Foreign Policy Amateur in the Oval Office July 30, 2025 - Stephen Wertheim backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

A pleasure to join @ianmastersmedia.bsky.social to discuss Trump's foreign policy vision and record to date: on.soundcloud.com/MCtkADMbEhka...

Gaza Hunger Presents Trump With Moral Test Familiar to Past Presidents

I told @nytimes.com: “It’s not that other parties are engaged in atrocities and the question is whether the United States will use its righteous power to stop [them]. In this case, the issue is that the United States is complicit in Israel’s conduct.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/u...

The Good and the Bad of Having a Foreign Policy Amateur in the Oval Office July 30, 2025 - Stephen Wertheim backgroundbriefing.org/donate twitter.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

We speak with @stephenwertheim.bsky.social about the good and the bad of having an amateur in the Oval Office and how Trump's lack of ideological vision is impacting our foreign policy. soundcloud.com/user-8304426...

Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Betrayal Podcast / The Time of Monsters / Jul 28, 2025 Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Betrayal On The Time of Monsters: Stephen Wertheim on how Trump is blocking real change to the status quo. Jeet Heer Share C...

President Trump’s M.O., especially in foreign policy, is to criticize the status quo. But, says @stephenwertheim.bsky.social, he's still stuck in it.

Stephen breaks down why this is with ‪@jeetheer.bsky.social‬ for @thenation.com: www.thenation.com/podcast/worl...

Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Betrayal Podcast Episode · The Nation Podcasts · 07/27/2025 · 43m

Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Betrayal: really enjoyed talking with @jeetheer.bsky.social about why Trump keeps criticizing the status quo and then failing to change it. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

Opinion | Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind

"At the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, history didn’t merely repeat; it doubled down" www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...

Opinion | Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind

OPINION | Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/o...

Opinion | Trump Wants to Put America First. He Has No Idea How. At the bottom of the president’s foreign policy is a curious void.

“At the bottom of the president’s foreign-policy vision is a curious void. Mr. Trump is famously all about putting American interests first. Yet he has never figured out what he thinks America’s most basic interests are,” Stephen Wertheim writes.

Trump gets way too much credit for talking about peace without delivering it. (And much of what he says — "peace through strength," no nation-building wars — is nothing new.)

Full podcast here: youtu.be/TvXCbfwQfKM?...

President Trump governs by instinct – and those instincts are “unconventional,” says @stephenwertheim.bsky.social, but a lack of a coherent strategy isn’t an asset in today’s complex geopolitical structure.

Stephen explained on @morningjoe-msnbc.bsky.social 👇

I joined Morning Joe to discuss Trump's failure to end wars and avoid new ones — the standard he set for himself in his inaugural address.

Opinion | Trump Wants to Put America First. He Has No Idea How. At the bottom of the president’s foreign policy is a curious void.

Well-written, cogent, and articulate.

“At the bottom of the president’s foreign-policy vision is a curious void. Trump is famously all about putting American interests first. Yet he has never figured out what he thinks America’s most basic interests are,” Stephen Wertheim writes.