The American Conservative Morning Briefing

Good morning! Today is Saturday, July 11th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. President Trump has declined to renew the USMCA, the trade pact he himself negotiated, arguing that ballooning deficits with Mexico and Canada and a shrinking manufacturing base prove the deal failed to deliver. Ted Snider contends that the proxy war in Ukraine and the direct war on Iran have ra...

Good morning! Today is Friday, July 10th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. As U.S. and Iranian forces trade fire for a second straight night and strikes hit civilian infrastructure near Khamenei's funeral, President Trump declares last month's memorandum of understanding with Tehran "over.". Ted Snider argues Washington is deceiving itself about a "victory" in Iran, citi...

Good morning! Today is Thursday, July 9th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Andrew Day warns that Trump is repeating Biden's 2022 mistake in Ukraine, waving off peace talks just as Kyiv briefly gains momentum, even as interceptor shortages leave its cities exposed and analysts warn the pendulum will soon swing back toward Moscow. On day 131 of the war with Iran, Presiden...

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, July 8th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. The U.S. military launched massive retaliatory strikes on more than 80 targets in southwestern Iran after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iranian forces reportedly striking back at Bahrain within hours. At the NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump signaled a warming...

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, July 7th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. At the NATO summit in Ankara, Luke Nicastro warns that Europe's rearmament pledge is a trap designed to keep American troops on the continent, and argues the case for unilateral U.S. withdrawal is stronger than the tired "freeriding" critique suggests. Eldar Mamedov reads Israel's sudden recogniti...

Good morning! Today is Monday, July 6th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. In Tehran, hundreds of thousands mourn the assassinated Ali Khamenei as Iran War negotiations grind into their 18th day, with new polling showing 58 percent of Americans now say the war hasn't been worth the cost and President Trump's approval sliding to 36 percent. Aaron Magid argues in TAC that J...

Good morning! Today is Sunday, July 5th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Two bills moving through Congress this summer would deepen the U.S.–Israel military bond, with Section 219 of the NDAA fusing the two countries' defense industries and a separate $3.3 billion transfer facing a Massie-led revolt that has House Democrats scrambling. In Tehran, up to thirty million mo...

Good morning! Today is Saturday, July 4th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. On the semiquincentennial, Reid Smith reflects on the surreal spectacle of American strikes on Iran during a World Cup it hosts, and asks whether a republic founded on self-government can still constrain its own power with prudence and wisdom. Smith traces restraint as a broken but enduring Ameri...

Good morning! Today is Friday, July 3rd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Andrew Day unpacks the Supreme Court's 6–3 ruling upholding birthright citizenship, arguing that while Trump's executive order was struck down, the constitutional split was really 5–4 and the national debate over citizenship has only just begun. Chart Westcott challenges the familiar phrase "a nati...

Good morning! Today is Thursday, July 2nd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Doug Bandow argues Europe's fury at Council President António Costa for opening a channel to Moscow reveals a continent unwilling to face the reality that after 52 months of war, only negotiations can produce a durable peace. Jack Hunter examines how the hard left and the America First right have...

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, July 1st 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Jude Russo warns that both Washington and Tehran are poised to squander their leverage in the Iran peace talks, with American negotiators misreading Hezbollah and Iran floating a fantastical $40 billion Hormuz toll scheme. Kushner and Witkoff landed in Doha as talks stretched into their thirteen...

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, June 30th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. The Supreme Court hands the Trump administration two losses and one win as the term winds down, with major rulings on mail-in ballots, the Federal Reserve, and the FTC reshaping the boundaries of executive power. Day twelve of the US–Iran ceasefire brings confusion over whether talks in Doha are...

Good morning! Today is Monday, June 29th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Iran strikes U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain as Trump warns the Islamic Republic could cease to exist, while Tehran demands Washington rein in Israel's campaign in Lebanon before negotiations can continue. With inflation back at 4.1 percent and voters focused on affordability, W. James Antle III...

Good morning! Today is Sunday, June 28th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Andrew Day skewers Ben Shapiro and allied commentators for scapegoating "useless white people" after Democratic Socialists swept New York's primaries, arguing the right's incoherent fixation ignores how demographic change and Israel's conduct in Gaza are actually fueling the socialist surge. U.S....

Good morning! Today is Saturday, June 27th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Phillip Linderman exposes how career diplomat Tressa Rae Finerty maneuvered around the White House to land a top UN refugee post, sidelining Trump's nominee and shielding UNHCR from a reform-minded American. U.S. Central Command strikes Iranian radar and drone sites along the coast in retaliatio...

Good morning! Today is Friday, June 26th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. As Vice President Vance unveils the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding in Switzerland, James P. Pinkerton writes that the result is a muddle—the regime bloodied but not toppled—yet a half-century of reflexive hostility may finally be softening. Harrison Berger reports that congressional Democra...

Good morning! Today is Thursday, June 25th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Leonid Ragozin reports that European leaders are exploiting Trump's Iran setback to derail his Russia rapprochement, gambling that a politically weakened president facing tough midterms will pivot toward coercion against Moscow. Ragozin traces the Ukraine conflict's roots back to Russia's explic...

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 24th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Trump's G7 clash with Giorgia Meloni exposes a coordinated push to dress up Brussels orthodoxy and the Ukraine war in populist clothing—a phenomenon Philip Pilkington calls "Euroslopulism.". Sharp gaps emerge between Washington and Tehran on day 116 of the Iran War, as Trump claims Iran has agr...

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, June 23rd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. As the Iran MOU enters its 60-day window, Scarlett Kennedy argues the deal's survival depends on Washington dropping maximalist nuclear demands and reining in Israel's ongoing campaign in Lebanon. Harrison Berger reports the Switzerland talks yielded a high-level committee on nuclear matters and...

Good morning! Today is Monday, June 22nd 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. On day 114 of the war, Vice President Vance opens talks with Iran in Switzerland as 78 percent of Americans tell pollsters to end the conflict now, with Israel's continued bombing of southern Lebanon and a closed Strait of Hormuz dominating the agenda. Janeese Lewis George's primary win positions...

Good morning! Today is Sunday, June 21st 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. As the Iran War enters its 113th day, Vice President Vance prepares for talks in Switzerland while Tehran reshuts the Strait of Hormuz over Israel's continued bombing of Lebanon. Harrison Berger investigates Israel's systematic destruction of southern Lebanese villages, documenting American-made m...

Good morning! Today is Saturday, June 20th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Jon Schweppe urges MAGA "Panicans" to trust the plan after the Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs, arguing the administration's pivot to Section 301 authority puts the trade agenda on firmer legal ground. Ted Snider examines how the UAE swung from joining Israeli and U.S. strikes on...

Good morning! Today is Friday, June 19th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. President Trump signed a framework peace deal with Iran at Versailles this week, ending the war on all fronts and committing both sides to a final agreement within sixty days, though critics in his own party have called the terms too generous. Harrison Berger argues that Israel's continued occupat...

Good morning! Today is Thursday, June 18th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Kelley Beaucar Vlahos dismantles Mike Pence's new book tour and his attempt to blame Trump-era populism for the GOP's drift, arguing the former vice president refuses to reckon with how pre-Trump Republicans expanded the administrative state and entangled the country in costly wars. Doug Bandow...

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, June 17th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Eldar Mamedov argues the U.S.–Iran peace deal set for Friday's signing in Geneva exposes the limits of American military power and opens the door to a long-overdue strategic recalibration in the Middle East. As the Iran War hits day 109, Trump publicly rebuked Israel's conduct in Lebanon at the...