By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN I have never trafficked in the conspiracy theories about Donald Trump and Russia. I never thought that he was a Russian asset or that Vladimir Putin had some financial leverage on him or sex tapes to blackmail him with. I have always believed it was much worse: that Trump, in his heart and soul, simply does not share the values of every other American president since World War II when it comes to what America’s role in the world should be and must be. I

Passengers look at the Statue of Liberty from a Staten Island Ferry in New York, May 30, 2025. (Damon Winter/The New York Times) By NICHOLAS KRISTOF We Americans like to boast, “We’re No. 1,” and we certainly are in our military capacity to invade other countries and abduct odious foreign leaders. But in the well-being of ordinary citizens? A careful study released last week and based on a measure called the Social Progress Index suggests that in terms of quality of life, th

President Donald Trump reacts during an event marking the renaming of a section of Southern Boulevard to “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard” at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Allison Robbert/The New York Times) By THE EDITORIAL BOARD President Donald Trump is celebrating the anniversary of his return to power by accelerating his attack on the rule of law. He has spent the week leading up to Jan. 20 using the mighty powers of the Justice Departmen

President Donald Trump departs Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, en route to Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) By M. GESSEN A year into Donald Trump’s second term, friends who live outside the United States continue to express shock at the news that comes from this country, often mixed with concern for my safety. I shrug. Even those of us in the United States who oppose this administration’s actions have a way of normalizing them. On Tuesday

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By JAMELLE BOUIE Not long after his second inauguration — and still riding high on his return to power — President Donald Trump issued a stark proclamation on social media. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he wrote on X and his Truth Social platform, paraphrasing Sergei Bondarchuk

A billboard featuring a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, July 28, 2025. Khamenei “is an avowed Holocaust denier,” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens writes. (Nanna Heitmann/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS Notable among the slogans being chanted by the protesters flooding Iran’s streets is this one: “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life for Iran.” That’s more than a repudiation of the regime’s foreign policy. It’s a reminder tha

An aerial view of Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Feb. 3, 2014. “Will Puerto Rico remain under a status quo that costs $25 billion annually and perpetuates disenfranchisement — government without consent of the governed?” contributing columnist Gregorio Igartúa asks in an overview of “several pressing issues” in 2026. (Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo/The New York Times) By GREGORIO IGARTÚA Special to The STAR As 2026 gets underway, several pressing issues — both global a

Protesters face federal officers and local law enforcement outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, demonstrating against federal officer activity in Minneapolis, Jan. 9, 2026. The ICE Shooting Displays the Need for Equilibrium. But How? (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times) By ROSS DOUTHAT It may seem hard to believe when you’re inside the social media cascade, but American society actually stabilized meaningfully across 2025. The homicide and crime rates dropped

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN President Donald Trump said last Tuesday that Venezuela would begin handing over oil worth up to $3 billion that Trump would dole out “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.” On what legal basis this is being done and where exactly the money will go was not made clear by the president. But for the people of Venezuela, here is what is certain: If you didn’t know before, now you know. Trump came to liberate your oil, not your people. Sor

Nicolás Maduro, the ousted president of Venezuela, and his wife, Cilia Flores, are escorted off a helicopter en route to the federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday morning, Jan. 5, 2026. (Vincent Alban/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS There are good reasons to celebrate the downfall of the tyrant Nicolás Maduro, as so many Venezuelan exiles did when they heard the news Saturday morning. Not among those reasons: an America that seizes Venezuela’s oil assets while keepin