This Month
- Analysis
- Trump's White House
What departing presidents say to their successors
In every transition since Ronald Reagan’s to George Bush, the outgoing occupant of the White House leaves behind handwritten words for the man taking his place.
- Leo Sands
- Opinion
- World politics
Rich democracies need an acute crisis to trigger real change
It is almost impossible to sell voters on drastic reforms until their nation is in acute trouble. The chronic kind isn’t enough.
- Janan Ganesh
December 2024
- Opinion
- Obituaries
Jimmy Carter was right about America, but nobody listened
“Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption,” he said in his famous 1979 speech.
- Ron Lieber
The new world order looks like mercantilism
The chaotic politics of the past 16 years masked the steady development of a new economic order, but trade and the economy aren’t zero-sum games.
- John Authers
October 2024
- Opinion
- US Votes 2024
Trump sells the dream while Harris warns of nightmare
Donald Trump can’t win over a staunch liberal New York City, but he used a rally at Madison Square Garden to flaunt his claim to own America’s future.
- Jennifer Hewett
Trump’s supply-side economics revives ‘crackpot’ idea
Fantastical promises have always structured the political appeal of American conservatism, which the latest Trumpian incarnation has only amped up.
- Rick Perlstein
- Opinion
- Trump's America
Donald Trump’s secret sauce - he just gets very lucky
From The Apprentice to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, something always seems to turn up for Trump. But every gambler knows his luck will run out.
- Pamela Paul
September 2024
- Opinion
- Cryptocurrencies
Blockchain revolution won’t wait for Labor to catch up
Blockchain needs to be regulated properly before more investors take the plunge. Yet, the Albanese government is still missing despite its earlier pledges.
- Simon Kennedy
- Opinion
- US Votes 2024
Harris must dazzle in debate or face defeat
The Democratic candidate badly needs a breakthrough in this week’s televised debate to restore momentum to her faltering campaign.
- Gideon Rachman
August 2024
‘You don’t embarrass the New Yorker in Trump’ says military adviser
Chris Miller, a former acting secretary of defence and Project 2025 contributor, says the AUKUS military alliance will be fine if Donald Trump wins the election, but Vladimir Putin could be in a jam.
- Kevin Chinnery
July 2024
- Opinion
- US election
How toxic talk turns too easily to assassin’s bullets
A more centrist political culture doesn’t make Australia immune to the language that has inflamed American politics in recent times.
- Georgina Downer
‘I carry a firearm every day’: party chief who wanted gun inside RNC
Guns were allowed to the edge of the Republican National Convention perimeter this week. Their own politicians wanted to bring their pistols inside the venue.
- Matthew Cranston
- Opinion
- US election
Trump’s survival will turbocharge the Republican convention
The former president’s narrow escape from death is giving new life to his campaign, and Joe Biden’s address calling for unity won’t fix the extreme division in America.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- US election
America is staring into the abyss
A bullet almost killed the man who is vowing retribution if he is returned to the White House. A spirit of vengeance is haunting America.
- Edward Luce
A history of political assassination in the US
There have been several instances of political violence targeting US presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates.
- Darlene Superville and Christina Cassidy
- Analysis
- US election
MAGA world unites around ‘unstoppable’ Donald Trump after shooting
The incident marked a new moment in America’s dark history of political violence. It also brings another twist in this year’s White House race between Trump and Joe Biden.
- James Politi and Lauren Fedor
Is America entering another age of political violence?
Let’s hope that the voices of American moderation, who have been cowed by extremes on both sides of the political spectrum, step back into the arena.
- Peter Spiegel
- Opinion
- US election
What if Joe Biden stays?
A second presidential term that was already burdened with political disadvantage will be incalculably more difficult because of questions about his age.
- Peter Spiegel
June 2024
- Opinion
- US election
Why next week’s Biden v Trump debate is so important
A set piece clash between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will turn less on policies than on manner and appearance. What they say will matter less than how they seem.
- Updated
- Edward Luce
February 2024
The expert who unmasked a Hitler forgery and appraised Nixon’s papers
Safeguarding History is a fun read about the life of a history expert who hobnobs with the rich and famous.
- Michael Dirda