Did President Trump fall for the myth of surgical warfare? Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins the columnist David French, both veterans of the Iraq War, to discuss what may have been overlooked in the planning of Operation Epic Fury. McChrystal, who retired from the Army in 2010, argues that the United States often overestimates the decisive power of aerial bombing while underestimating the weight of historical grievance. And the general weighs in on the current culture of bravado coming from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 20.
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This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur and Victoria Chamberlin. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin and Alison Bruzek. Mixing by Isaac Jones and Pat McCusker. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.
The pro-Iran war hawks keep crowing about how U.S. military prowess is supposedly striking fear in Beijing and Moscow. But what’s really happening is that Trump is doing exactly what China and Russia hoped he’d do. Beijing has wanted the U.S. out of the Western Pacific and Putin, of course, wants NATO wrecked. Our major allies are scrambling to form new economic and military relationships, and America is likely to be very lonely in the world with only a few stooges to count as friends. This is what ending our role as a global superpower would look like. Plus, the U.S. is unable to win the war at a cost that is acceptable to Americans, Trump is taking a cue from Putin by bombing civilian infrastructure, and blaming NATO for not being willing to fight for the Strait of Hormuz is absurd when the world’s most powerful navy doesn't seem to want to do it either.
Bob Kagan joins Tim Miller for the holiday weekend pod.
President Donald Trump told the nation during a presidential address that he expected the war in Iran to come to a close soon, saying that it was “nearly complete.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon is preparing for a weeks of ground operations in the Middle East.
And a federal judge struck down a Trump executive order that pulled funding from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, citing free speech violations.
And, in global news, President Donald Trump told aides this week that he would consider ending the war in Iran without securing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It’s a strategy that’s left some American allies a little nervous about their energy supplies, leading the president to tell them to “go get your own oil.”
Apologies for the late episode this week. Jay was on vacation but is now back. We talk this week about the attempted cancelation of Hasan Piker, the growing irrelevance of think tank bubble DC politics, the hopes we both have for the midterm elections, and the endless depravity of Hegseth and what’s happening in Iran.
Enjoy!
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On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Dr. Kenneth Calvert, professor of history and director of the Oxford program at Hillsdale College, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to consider the significance of Holy Week, chronicle the historical context surrounding Good Friday, and celebrate how Jesus' sacrifice has salvific relevance in the world today.
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In a prime time address on Wednesday, President Trump proclaimed that America was “on the cusp of ending Iran’s sinister threat.” But he also kept open the option of boots on the ground. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is also about to start really biting – as countries get hit with shortages, which would spike prices across the globe.
So what are Trump’s options? What would happen if he just declared victory and walked away from the fight? What kinds of military operations are on the table? If Trump ended the war without achieving his strategic goals, what would that mean for the United States, for Iran and for the world?
“I don’t see a victory in real terms at the end of this crisis…,” Suzanne Maloney told me. “And that is a very dangerous outcome for the long term.”
Maloney is one of Washington’s leading Iran experts. She has advised several presidential administrations and has written or edited a number of books on Iran. She is the vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s foreign policy program.
Note: This conversation was recorded on Wednesday morning, before Trump’s speech on the war. But the speech reflected Maloney’s analysis almost perfectly.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi and announces that Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney, will serve in the interim while he waits to appoint her replacement. Jon and Dan react to Bondi's sudden ouster and discuss the president's incoherent national address about his war with Iran. Then, they check in on Trump's long-shot bid to overturn birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court, his attempt to restrict mail-in voting via executive order, and what appears to be the endgame for the Department of Homeland Security shutdown — a deal House Republicans could've passed before they went on recess. Finally, Jon introduces Dan to 'bimboification' as they discuss Fox News' reaction to Kristi Noem's husband's double life.
Trump fired Pam Bondi, maybe the most destructive AG in the history of the United States, because she wasn't able to magically and lawlessly jail his political enemies. On Wednesday night, he told Americans that gas prices would naturally go down when he was finished with his war—much like the way he told the country in March 2020 that COVID would just go away. In reality, China may end up in control of the Strait of Hormuz and with freight passage paid with the Chinese Yuan. America and the world are paying for the incompetent (and petrified) advisers Trump has surrounded himself with. Plus, POTUS threatened war crimes on national television, the Iranian diaspora bet on the wrong horse, and who will be the next Barbie to get the ax?
It’s been nearly four years since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Since then, abortion access across the U.S. has been in flux – and the fight around that care continues today. Now, 13 states have a total ban. And five have restricted abortion after six weeks of gestation. The latest state to do so is Wyoming.
But legal challenges to such bans are swift and constant, leading to confusion and uncertainty for both those seeking abortions and those who provide them.
And despite these partial or total bans, new data from the Guttmacher Institute found that the number of abortions has remained relatively unchanged from 2024 to 2025.
We sit down with a panel of experts to talk about the state of abortion access in 2026.
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