Tom Nichols

He betrayed Ukraine was a little bit surprising. I thought he would sort of ease his way into that with, you know, Kellogg over going overseas and doing something shaky at the negotiating table. I didn't expect him to basically like just reorganize American foreign policy into a de facto alliance with Vladimir Putin.

He betrayed Ukraine was a little bit surprising. I thought he would sort of ease his way into that with, you know, Kellogg over going overseas and doing something shaky at the negotiating table. I didn't expect him to basically like just reorganize American foreign policy into a de facto alliance with Vladimir Putin.

I wish I could go back and, you know, the Trump folks that I talked to just before the election and one in particular just swore to me, he's not going to do tariffs. That's, you know, that's just, and I said, he loves tariffs. This is, he is going to rattle the economy. This wasn't hard to see coming, but it was hard to predict both how fast and how completely nutty It is.

I wish I could go back and, you know, the Trump folks that I talked to just before the election and one in particular just swore to me, he's not going to do tariffs. That's, you know, that's just, and I said, he loves tariffs. This is, he is going to rattle the economy. This wasn't hard to see coming, but it was hard to predict both how fast and how completely nutty It is.

I wish I could go back and, you know, the Trump folks that I talked to just before the election and one in particular just swore to me, he's not going to do tariffs. That's, you know, that's just, and I said, he loves tariffs. This is, he is going to rattle the economy. This wasn't hard to see coming, but it was hard to predict both how fast and how completely nutty It is.

Actually, a few folks have asked, who's out there who knows what he's about to do? If you have any inside information, it's a day trader's paradise. It's like, okay, there comes the tariff thing. Oh, now he's going to roll it back. Oh, now the market's back up. The one thing I remember you and I talking about, I remember cautioning and saying, well, Elon Musk, he doesn't have that much power yet.

Actually, a few folks have asked, who's out there who knows what he's about to do? If you have any inside information, it's a day trader's paradise. It's like, okay, there comes the tariff thing. Oh, now he's going to roll it back. Oh, now the market's back up. The one thing I remember you and I talking about, I remember cautioning and saying, well, Elon Musk, he doesn't have that much power yet.

Actually, a few folks have asked, who's out there who knows what he's about to do? If you have any inside information, it's a day trader's paradise. It's like, okay, there comes the tariff thing. Oh, now he's going to roll it back. Oh, now the market's back up. The one thing I remember you and I talking about, I remember cautioning and saying, well, Elon Musk, he doesn't have that much power yet.

I didn't imagine that Trump would deputize him to do this, that he would be able to pay Doge staffers six figure salaries. which just always proves the point that these folks aren't about getting rid of government waste. They just prefer that it goes to them. And that Congress and the courts would just say, okay, Article I doesn't operate anymore. The Appointments Clause doesn't operate anymore.

I didn't imagine that Trump would deputize him to do this, that he would be able to pay Doge staffers six figure salaries. which just always proves the point that these folks aren't about getting rid of government waste. They just prefer that it goes to them. And that Congress and the courts would just say, okay, Article I doesn't operate anymore. The Appointments Clause doesn't operate anymore.

I didn't imagine that Trump would deputize him to do this, that he would be able to pay Doge staffers six figure salaries. which just always proves the point that these folks aren't about getting rid of government waste. They just prefer that it goes to them. And that Congress and the courts would just say, okay, Article I doesn't operate anymore. The Appointments Clause doesn't operate anymore.

The president can just pull a guy off the street and say, hey, go fire people. And the Constitution and the law just don't operate. That, I guess, surprised me a little bit.

The president can just pull a guy off the street and say, hey, go fire people. And the Constitution and the law just don't operate. That, I guess, surprised me a little bit.

The president can just pull a guy off the street and say, hey, go fire people. And the Constitution and the law just don't operate. That, I guess, surprised me a little bit.

And just to make the point that it's not about some sort of strategic calculation, he's also decided to send home Ukrainian refugees. He wants to take that refugee status away from them. You know, this is basically operating in concert with Putin. Vladimir Putin. My colleague David Frum had a great line.

And just to make the point that it's not about some sort of strategic calculation, he's also decided to send home Ukrainian refugees. He wants to take that refugee status away from them. You know, this is basically operating in concert with Putin. Vladimir Putin. My colleague David Frum had a great line.

And just to make the point that it's not about some sort of strategic calculation, he's also decided to send home Ukrainian refugees. He wants to take that refugee status away from them. You know, this is basically operating in concert with Putin. Vladimir Putin. My colleague David Frum had a great line.

You know, the Trump-Russia theory is like now one of the most durable theories in political science because you're watching it play out in real time. You know, we're getting confirmation of it every day. Was there any... overwhelming strategic or American interest reason to do this? And the answer, of course, is no.

You know, the Trump-Russia theory is like now one of the most durable theories in political science because you're watching it play out in real time. You know, we're getting confirmation of it every day. Was there any... overwhelming strategic or American interest reason to do this? And the answer, of course, is no.

You know, the Trump-Russia theory is like now one of the most durable theories in political science because you're watching it play out in real time. You know, we're getting confirmation of it every day. Was there any... overwhelming strategic or American interest reason to do this? And the answer, of course, is no.