Jonathan Lemire

Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?

Trump has made clear that he wants peace. He also wants a Nobel Peace Prize.

The situation in Gaza is deteriorating and Trump has not stood up to Netanyahu. So, he sees an opportunity with Ukraine www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?

“Putin has already won. He is the leader of a rogue state, and he’ll get a picture on U.S. soil with the president of the United States”

“Trump wants a deal. And if he can’t get one now, he may walk away from it entirely” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?

NEW: Vladimir Putin may be laying a trap

Trump is confident going into the Alaska summit. But Europe is worried that Putin is playing him - and will only offer a deal that Ukraine will reject

And would that then turn Trump against Zelensky again? www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Trump Invites Putin to Step Foot in America The Art of the Deal president hopes he can broker peace.

“But five days is also a long time in Trump’s America, and these fragile efforts to get Trump and Putin in the same Alaskan meeting room could easily hit barriers before the delegations board their flights” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The Making of a Trump-Putin Summit Back-channel intel. A Moscow trip. And an invitation to Alaska.

NEW: Vladimir Putin is coming to America

Trump, frustrated with Putin but drawn to spectacle, believes his dealmaking can end the war. But Ukraine worries he may hand Moscow a win

Inside the backchannel talks and Moscow trip that led to Alaska invite: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.

In 2017, Trump threatened “fire and fury” to intimidate North Korea—and because he was annoyed to not be the main storyline on cable news. The bellicose rhetoric succeeded: Suddenly, Trump had changed the news cycle

His efforts to do so now haven’t worked www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump’s own efforts to manage the Epstein story have only fed it. His account of why they had a falling-out years ago has shifted multiple times

And advisers have told Trump that saying he has the right to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell only raises questions www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.

“Donald Trump has almost certainly complained more about journalists than any of his predecessors have, maybe more than all of them combined. So when Trump deemed a query ‘the nastiest question’ he’s ever gotten from a member of the press, it was notable” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.

“A president who, less than a year ago, staged a historic political comeback and moved to quickly conquer Washington and the world now confronts more obstacles than at any point since his inauguration” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.

NEW: It’s Trump’s August of discontent

Wars in Gaza and Ukraine are expanding. The jobs report was poor. The new tariffs could raise prices. Republicans are being heckled at town halls. And there’s Epstein

Inside Trump’s toughest moment back in office: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Why Trump Broke With Bibi Over the Gaza Famine The president wants the war to end and thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is standing in his way.

Trump distrusts Netanyahu about the Gaza famine. But his frustration only goes so far

The president blames Hamas for scuttling recent ceasefire talks. And he backed Bibi by declaring the best way to end the humanitarian crisis is to release the hostages www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Why Trump Broke With Bibi Over the Gaza Famine The president wants the war to end and thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is standing in his way.

Trump has come to believe what many in Washington have thought for months: that Netanyahu is looking to prolong the Gaza conflict in open defiance of Trump’s wish for the war to end

But Trump’s anger hasn’t translated into any real shift in U.S. policy www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Why Trump Broke With Bibi Over the Gaza Famine The president wants the war to end and thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is standing in his way.

NEW: The famine in Gaza has put a new strain on President Trump’s relationship with Netanyahu

Trump wants the war to end and is frustrated with another news cycle he can’t control

But aides downplay chances of a real break - or major Israel policy shift www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Inside the White House’s Epstein Strategy Aides kept suggesting things to do. Trump kept saying no.

“Trump—the president, their leader, the martyr who had endured scandals and prosecution and an assassin’s bullet on their behalf—had repeatedly told them it was time to move on from Epstein and that alone should suffice” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Inside the White House’s Epstein Strategy Aides kept suggesting things to do. Trump kept saying no.

NEW: The White House mulled ways to quell the Epstein furor:

Appoint a special counsel. Unseal court documents. Have Bondi address the press. Could Trump hold *daily* news conferences à la his COVID briefings?

Then the birthday card story exploded: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

How Putin Humiliated Trump The real reason the president suddenly sounds tougher on Russia

Trump is finally taking the fight to Putin. Sort of. For now.

But the change is not reflective of Trump adopting a new worldview. He did not develop a fondness for Ukraine. He did not become a believer in transatlantic alliances

Rather, he got insulted www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

How Putin Humiliated Trump The real reason the president suddenly sounds tougher on Russia

NEW: Why Trump Suddenly Sounds Tougher on Russia

He didn’t change his worldview. He got insulted. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the Next Phase of Trump’s Presidency Will Look Like The president got his “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Can he sell it to voters?

The next phase of Trump’s presidency—as well as next year’s midterms—could be defined by his bet that the GOP bill, and his other policies, will usher in a booming economy

But if that wager loses, it would give Democrats their best chance yet for power www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the Next Phase of Trump’s Presidency Will Look Like The president got his “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Can he sell it to voters?

NEW: Despite his recent angry words for Putin, Trump is still not ready to endorse the bipartisan Senate bill that would punish Russia with tough sanctions

This despite Senator Lindsey Graham telling reporters that the president was on board www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the Next Phase of Trump’s Presidency Will Look Like The president got his “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Can he sell it to voters?

NEW: Trump got his bill passed. Now what?

The next phase of his presidency will be defined by his risky bet on the economy: tariffs, deportations, deregulation and the bill’s tax and Medicaid cuts

If it backfires, Democrats will have a midterms lifeline www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the New York Mayoral Primary Means for Democrats Zohran Mamdani’s success might give the party a few ideas about how to move forward—to a point.

To categorize Mamdani at the beginning of the race as an afterthought would have been an insult to afterthoughts

But he revealed himself to be an adept communicator, mastering social-media memes and evoking far more of Obama’s loft than Biden’s whisper www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the New York Mayoral Primary Means for Democrats Zohran Mamdani’s success might give the party a few ideas about how to move forward—to a point.

In a remarkable plot twist, Eric Adams believes that Mamdani’s win means that *he* can now position himself as the steadier choice for mayor

Trump has mused about endorsing Adams - though he may opt against out of concern that it would hurt more than help www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

What the New York Mayoral Primary Means for Democrats Zohran Mamdani’s success might give the party a few ideas about how to move forward—to a point.

NEW: Republicans are giddy to make Zohran Mamdani a new foil

But for Democrats, his win will resonate beyond NYC. It was a symbolic victory over the party’s aging old guard - and highlighted energy, communication and cost of living

On what Mamdani means: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The MAGA Coalition Has Turned on Itself And Donald Trump is caught in the middle.

Trump opposed the strike but came around to staying out of Israel’s way - while helping it defend itself from Tehran’s counterattack

Now that Israel’s initial wave of strikes has proved a remarkable success, he embraced the attacks, offering more support www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The MAGA Coalition Has Turned on Itself And Donald Trump is caught in the middle.

It was peace at 8 pm, war at 9 pm

Back in 2020, Tucker Carlson used his Fox News show to urge Trump against hitting Iran. An hour later on the same channel, Hannity took more hawkish views

That dynamic is now repeating itself as MAGA splinters over Iran www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

MAGA Is at War With Itself Over Iran And Donald Trump is caught in the middle.

The U.S. intel community and Gabbard do not believe Iran is close to a bomb. But Trump now sides with Netanyahu

Trump likes talk of bunker busting bombs as “leverage” to get Iran back to the table - but chances are rising that he may authorize their use www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

MAGA Is at War With Itself Over Iran And Donald Trump is caught in the middle.

NEW: MAGA is fighting itself over Iran

Both sides are pressuring Trump, who initially opposed Israel’s strikes. But he has grown frustrated with Tehran - and wants to share Israel’s success

His choice now: does he fully involve the U.S. in war? www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The White House Is Delighted With Events in Los Angeles But Trump aides know there are real risks for the president if troops are involved in violence.

“One photo—showing a masked protester standing in front of a burning car, waving a Mexican flag—has been embraced by MAGA as a distillation of the conflict: a president unafraid to use force to defend an American city from those he deems foreign invaders” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The White House Is Delighted With Events in Los Angeles But Trump aides know there are real risks for the president if troops are involved in violence.

NEW: The White House is delighted with events in Los Angeles

President Trump was looking for an immigration fight and found it in deep-blue California

Facing no guardrails, he has deployed the military as a show of force - but risks of escalation grow www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Inside the Trump-Musk Breakup The president tried to give his billionaire benefactor a dignified exit. It didn’t work.

NEW: As Elon Musk’s time as a government employee was set to expire, he asked the White House to stay on

President Trump said no

And then all hell broke loose, pitting the world’s richest man vs the world’s most powerful man

Inside the Trump-Musk fight: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...