Rick Stengel

If Mr. Moran worked for me, I would have had a private conversation with him about crossing a line into too much subjectivity—I would not have suspended him. I suspect if he had said the same exact words on air, nothing would have happened. Journalists have free speech rights too.

We’re seeing one of the hallmarks of authoritarianism: the criminalization of dissent and its suppression by violence.

Autocrats turn ordinary situations into emergencies so they can wield extraordinary power.

I don’t talk about it because it’s not the most important thing, but Donald Trump has the worst taste of any president in history.

The president of the United States announces an agreement that Iran is reopening the Strait of Hormuz which was open before he invaded Iran.

The thing that always struck me was even if you are so narcissistic as to put your name on the Kennedy Center, wouldn't you have had the decency and humility to have it come after John F. Kennedy and not before?

By the way, why do people report that the bombing was canceled when we don't even know if it was authorized?

How many times has a "deal" been imminent? Dozens. I wish the markets and journalists would not react so reflexively to his Perils of Pauline script and phony cliffhangers which he is doing both to keep attention on himself and manipulate the markets.

I don’t think Gordon Wood had an equal as a historian of the founding era. His book "Empire of Liberty" is magnificent. His lifelong theme was how America became America and how we all became Americans. Nothing was ever sugar-coated. We may never see his like again. RIP.

It would be amazing if Trump could negotiate an agreement in which “Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons." Oh, that was from Obama's 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump ripped up.

In terms of our global soft power, the White House 250th UFC spectacle will confirm the international view that America is vulgar, violent, low-brow and tasteless.

While the practical effect of this is negligible (the president can veto it), the fact that a bipartisan majority of the House is standing up for its constitutional authority and against a war-of-choice is enormous. The tide is shifting.

Nations decline when security officials are selected for loyalty, not ability; sycophancy not skill; pliability not backbone.