Ben Rhodes

1. How did we get here? What is the argument that Americans have had since our founding? I set out to answer those questions by writing my new book out this May, available for pre-order: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717294...

So Putin gets a red carpet welcome, a ride in the presidential limo, speaks first at the presser, frames the meeting as a successful talk among equals, while making absolutely no concession on the conduct or outcome of the war.

The fact that an indicted war criminal has been invited to the US to meet with the President to look at maps of the country he invaded tells you Putin has already won.

People need to understand that we are in an entirely new paradigm. It is now Russia the US against Ukraine and Europe. This is not a shift in US policy, it is a transformation of what kind of country the United States is in the world

Donald Trump keeps doing things that help Vladimir Putin. benrhodes1.substack.com/p/how-putin-...

"Imagine, for a moment, being a parent who sent your child to that girls’ school that got bombed in Iran. Can you?" benrhodes1.substack.com/p/on-trump-a...

The Great Lie of War www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

Talked to Ezra Klein about the war in Iran - how we got here, where we're going, and what I'm worried about. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

"Authoritarian politics and military aggression are a dangerous mix." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/o...

Trump Wants You to Get Used to This. Don’t. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/o...

"What does it say about the United States that there was far more debate about a diplomatic agreement with Iran than there has been about a potential war with Iran?" benrhodes1.substack.com/p/trump-and-...

This is why people don't trust institutions and elites. If you ignore the views of your own voters over and over and over again people give up on politics.

Democratic leaders have been feckless and wildly out of touch with their own voters who don't want another pointless war in the Middle East.

"Just because people have legitimate grievances against a failed establishment does not mean they are justified in turning to fascism." benrhodes1.substack.com/p/how-people...