CFR fellow, Washington Post columnist. Pulitzer finalist for biography. Author: REAGAN: HIS LIFE AND LEGEND, NYT bestseller and NYT 10 best books of 2024. Man of many hats. Repost ≠ endorsement. maxboot.net.https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkvlv4v2jc2s“Following the Pentagon’s abrupt decision Friday to remove 5,000 troops from Germany, the GOP chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services committees issued a rare public statement criticizing the planned withdrawal.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/02/hegseth-trump-job-security/02 May 2026 21:34 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkvlv4v2jc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkssw5fmp22401 May 2026 19:02 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkssw5fmp224https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mksa52vyic2xPresident Donald Trump’s war in Iran is as unpopular among Americans as the Iraq War during the year of peak violence in 2006 and the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/01/poll-trump-iran-war-iraq/01 May 2026 13:26 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksa52vyic2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mksa3iqqd22xEvery accusation is a projection. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mortgage-fraud-florida-principal-residences?utm_campaign=propublica-sprout&utm_content=1777604404&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter01 May 2026 13:25 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksa3iqqd22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mks72kk5ic2xEvery accusation is a projection. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-mortgage-fraud-florida-principal-residences?utm_campaign=propublica-sprout&utm_content=1777604404&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter01 May 2026 13:06 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mks72kk5ic2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkofazjzuk2b“I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,” Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. “So this is not something specific to this administration.” The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/us/politics/pete-hegseth-falsehood-firings.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share30 Apr 2026 00:47 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkofazjzuk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkobxxaoks2bThis comes right after Trump spoke with Putin. A US pullout from Europe is Putin’s dream.29 Apr 2026 23:48 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkobxxaoks2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkobqcqglk2b“The president had, in private conversations, begun thinking about himself less as a peer of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and more as an addition to Hegel’s immortal trifecta (Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte).” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/donald-trump-legacy-history/686817/?gift=lCdjaWXvFBDogsmLLLMOemw7cNw4BavgvG0kF8S4R-c29 Apr 2026 23:44 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkobqcqglk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkm343fegs2rTrump can’t decide what to do so he’s just continuing doing what he’s already doing even though it is not forcing Iran to cave—and is unlikely to do so. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-tells-aides-to-prepare-for-extended-blockade-of-iran-da3be7a4?st=E2SVyE&reflink=article_copyURL_share29 Apr 2026 02:40 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkm343fegs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mklslstn6224You know the war is going really well when the vice president’s team wants everyone to know he opposes it. https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/04/iran-war-vance-hegseth-trump/686905/?gift=lCdjaWXvFBDogsmLLLMOeoFMhRYzkNFTuPqeOzPN4Xk29 Apr 2026 00:07 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklslstn6224https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkls5swc6c24I’m thinking this was not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they rebelled against the English king to establish a government of laws, not men. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/28/us-passports-trump-image/29 Apr 2026 00:00 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkls5swc6c24https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mklf37jhkc2gI would say we now live in a banana republic, but that’s probably unfair to actual banana republics.28 Apr 2026 20:05 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklf37jhkc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkleysguv22gA second U.S. envoy to Kyiv is leaving reportedly over frustration at Trump’s lack of support for Ukraine. Davis has been acting ambassador because the administration couldn’t be bothered to nominate an actual ambassador after Bridget Brink resigned last year. https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/3d1bec79-cb45-40d2-a04a-c6e05c4f557528 Apr 2026 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkleysguv22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhvweacdc2nLawmakers should slash funding for the Trump-class battleship and the Golden Dome missile-defense boondoggle. The defense budget should be tailored to the nation’s security needs, not to the president’s insatiable ego. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:56 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhvweacdc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhvy3cb5c2nThere is a good reason why the Navy hasn’t built a battleship since 1944: These massive surface vessels were already an anachronism in the days of propeller-driven airplanes and dumb bombs. They are all the more outdated in the age of satellites, submarines, drones, jets, missiles. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhvy3cb5c2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mki36nnams2oTrump could leverage his blockade to end the Iranian blockade. But the Iranians aren't giving in on their fundamental demands. Speaking on MS NOW.27 Apr 2026 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mki36nnams2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mki2xiflg22hThe Iranians are successfully wielding a weapon of mass economic destruction, and Trump still hasn’t figured out a counter. Speaking on MS NOW.27 Apr 2026 12:26 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mki2xiflg22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhzqh2zws25“Trump-class” battleships are projected to cost as much as $17 billion each. Even assuming no cost overruns, that would make them more expensive than the Ford-class aircraft carriers or any other warships ever built. Yet battleships were already an anachronism in the 1940s. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 12:05 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhzqh2zws25https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhze2cius25US defense needs are real (eg replacing missiles fired against Iran). But is it right to spend so much on defense while slashing spending on scientific research, which is integral to the nation’s economic & military competitiveness, and adding to the growing mountain of public debt? wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 11:58 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhze2cius25https://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhw3ba6y22nSomehow this hypothetical warship with non-existent weapons is supposed to start construction in 2028, notwithstanding the pathetic state of the U.S. shipbuilding industry. It’s hard not to feel a smidgen of sympathy for John Phelan — seemingly fired for not doing the impossible. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:59 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhw3ba6y22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhw26jc5k2nThere is also the issue of how much waste and corruption is buried in the defense budget. In all likelihood, even more than usual. The president’s son Eric Trump bragged last week that a company he invested in just received a $24 million Pentagon investment to build robots. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:58 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhw26jc5k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhvzamgz22nPart of the reason why the Navy Secretary was fired last week was because Trump had given him an impossible and unnecessary assignment to build a new “Trump-class” battleship, the centerpiece of what Trump calls a “golden fleet,” before he leaves office in 2029. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:58 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhvzamgz22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhvy3cb5c2nThere is a good reason why the Navy hasn’t built a battleship since 1944: These massive surface vessels were already an anachronism in the days of propeller-driven airplanes and dumb bombs. They are all the more outdated in the age of satellites, submarines, drones, jets, missiles. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:57 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhvy3cb5c2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkhvweacdc2nLawmakers should slash funding for the Trump-class battleship and the Golden Dome missile-defense boondoggle. The defense budget should be tailored to the nation’s security needs, not to the president’s insatiable ego. wapo.st/3P4HKrR https://wapo.st/3P4HKrR27 Apr 2026 10:56 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhvweacdc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkfiils2622e“The overall mood is that’s enough already; you’ve been fighting for long enough,” said a Russian official. “It seems to everyone that it’s been going on for longer than World War II, the Great Patriotic War —and at the same time we can’t even take one region.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/04/26/russia-public-despair-war-ukraine/26 Apr 2026 11:51 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfiils2622ehttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkdbhaotvc2vThe U.S.-Israeli strategy of killing Iranian leaders is predictably backfiring. Now the U.S. can’t find anyone who can make decisions to compromise in negotiations. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/irans-leadership-divisions-frustrate-efforts-to-make-progress-in-talks-f87fac3a?st=NmXAbg&reflink=article_copyURL_share25 Apr 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkdbhaotvc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkbdamozx22wGood news: “After years of growth fueled by the war, Russia’s economy contracted by 1.8 percent in the first two months of the year, compared with the same period in 2025.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/world/europe/russia-economy.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share24 Apr 2026 20:06 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbdamozx22whttps://bsky.app/profile/maxboot.bsky.social/post/3mkbbfrz2u22rWhen you’ve lost Mike Pompeo.24 Apr 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:ijn7lseerxnkh5vdf2qoc6t2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbbfrz2u22r