@CFR.org Edward R Murrow Press Fellow. Founder @zivvynews, @AmericanU, @CNN.com alum, truth seeker, proud Jersey girl. I write Cosmopolitics on Substack https://www.cosmopolitics.newshttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3mg4cxonisk2iThe @statedept sent urgent travel advisory urging Americans in 14 Middle Eastern countries to “depart now”using available commercial transportation, “due to serious safety risks.” check out travel.state.gov for the latest security information, including how to register w/ local embassy/consulate.02 Mar 2026 22:37 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg4cxonisk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3mfyqo3awac2tIt’s a good day for Iran. But don’t expect a “ding dong the witch is dead” moment just yet. https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/ding-dong-the-iranian-witch-is-dead?utm_medium=ios01 Mar 2026 12:31 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfyqo3awac2thttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3ma4n2pxerc25The antisemitic attack in Australia was not about Middle East policy. It’s about the oldest hatred finding a new disguise. The between “criticism of Israel” and “globalize the Intifada” is the difference between political discourse and incitement to murder https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/when-the-lights-go-out?utm_campaign=post16 Dec 2025 17:06 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma4n2pxerc25https://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m7srul2x2k2rThe Chosen: Crowdfunding, controversy, conversion stories — and the moment Dallas Jenkins stopped trying to feed the 5,000 himself. https://thepreamble.com/p/how-the-chosen-became-a-global-phenomenon-87a12 Dec 2025 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7srul2x2k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m7l4ahjqjc2zThe Trump administration’s National Security Strategy identifies real strategic challenges. But when Vladimir Putin’s spokesman praises it as “largely consistent with our vision” and “a positive step,” we should ask ourselves what America has given away. https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/power-without-purpose?r=tziy09 Dec 2025 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7l4ahjqjc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m6fcj64wos2qThere's suddenly a lot of backtracking on President Trump's 28-point plan for Ukraine. Now it's being called just a "framework" for negotiations. But even as a starting point, this isn't a peace plan. It's a surrender document https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/ukraine-on-a-platter?r=tziy24 Nov 2025 17:01 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6fcj64wos2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m63ongcxjc2zThe GOP is facing the same crisis with Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson that it did in the 1960s with the John Birch Society. You cannot build a coalition on extremism and expect moderation to prevail. https://thepreamble.com/p/the-bircher-playbook20 Nov 2025 21:12 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m63ongcxjc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m5wkjesim22l MBS is trading w/ China, but his deals w/ Trump are betting Sadi’s economic future on American innovation. The partnerships being announced today across AI,advanced tech,and infrastructure could define the 21st century as profoundly as oil defined the 20th https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/mbs-comes-to-washington?r=tziy18 Nov 2025 20:15 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5wkjesim22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m5fqq23p5s2dLike me, have you ever waited weeks (or months!) for a doctor's appointment? This one's for you. Let me know if it resonates. https://thepreamble.com/p/the-doctor-shortage-we-designed12 Nov 2025 03:50 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5fqq23p5s2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3m5cw7lyrk22aThe test isn’t whether al-Sharaa’s journey from Abu Ghraib to the Oval offends our sensibilities. It’s whether this partnership advances US interests, stabilizes Syria, and constrains Iran & ISIS while preventing the humanitarian catastrophe from worsening https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/trumps-syria-gambit?r=tziy11 Nov 2025 00:51 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5cw7lyrk22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3ltejsmm3ak2eAt the White House today, Netanyahu will find himself in the familiar but uncomfortable position of managing Trump's expectations, as the president who green-lit the Iran strikes now demands payment in the form of a Gaza ceasefire that could threaten the very coalition keeping Netanyahu in power. https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/gaza-diplomacy-crashes-bibis-victory?r=tziy07 Jul 2025 10:02 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltejsmm3ak2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lqrkvzubus2wUkraine has become the ultimate foreign policy test case for whether Donald Trump leads his MAGA movement or follows it—and whether his personal frustration with being outmaneuvered can override his base's ideological commitments. https://open.substack.com/pub/labott/p/trumps-ukraine-rorschach-test?r=tziy04 Jun 2025 10:11 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqrkvzubus2whttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lqcq4e7o6k2eThe State Department has halted ALL new student visa interviews nationwide while expanding social media vetting. When we systematically reject global talent, they don't being brilliant - they build competing companies elsewhere. https://thepreamble.com/p/first-harvard-then-378000-american?r=tziy29 May 2025 12:34 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqcq4e7o6k2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lp2qrzijwc2kApparently human rights and war crimes are passé in America. https://thepreamble.com/p/us-signals-it-no-longer-cares-about?r=tziy13 May 2025 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lp2qrzijwc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3loo6hjk3jc2gPresident Trump’s deal with the Houthis couldn't more nakedly embody his America First foreign policy. The Houthis stop attacking American ships; the U.S. halts its bombing campaign. But missing from the deal? Any protections whatsoever for American allies https://www.cosmopolitics.news/p/a-convenient-truce?r=tziy08 May 2025 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3loo6hjk3jc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lo4wjwe6kc26 This White House statement is really telling: “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 May 2025 18:23 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo4wjwe6kc26https://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lo4vu2uj7c26Moscow Mules were sooo 1960s Hot Tale Happy Hour TODAY at 5:30 with me and @Danielle Pletka on Substack Live https://open.substack.com/live-stream/25883?r=tziy&utm_medium=ios01 May 2025 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo4vu2uj7c26https://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lo3bsrnkys2iThe U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, announced tonite, gives Trump something he’s long wanted: a financial stake in Ukraine’s future. It signals to Putin that Washington, under Trump, is no longer just cutting checks — it's investing.01 May 2025 02:39 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lo3bsrnkys2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lnh57oiw622nWhat's most striking about Rubio's State Department reorganization is political theater surrounding it.. Behind the fiery rhetoric about "draining the bloated,bureaucratic swamp" and eliminating "radical ideologues" is a plan far less apocalyptic than many feared https://open.substack.com/pub/statedept/p/a-new-state-department-to-meet-the?r=tziy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false23 Apr 2025 02:24 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lnh57oiw622nhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lmzk2dahls2jWe are watching a bizarre cycle of destruction and recreation. Trump tore up a functional, if imperfect,agreement that had Iran's nuclear program in check. Iran responded by accelerating toward weapons capability.Now, Trump must negotiate a new deal to solve the very crisis his actions helped create https://open.substack.com/pub/labott/p/trumps-revolutionary-recycled-iran?r=tziy17 Apr 2025 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmzk2dahls2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lmuj2cvnks2tWhen the world loses faith in America's financial foundation, we all pay the price. https://open.substack.com/pub/sharonmcmahon/p/gold-is-soaring-treasury-bonds-are?r=tziy15 Apr 2025 16:35 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmuj2cvnks2thttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lltq3grr6s2cTariffs are just the beginning. The Trump administration is methodically dismantling the global economic architecture the United States itself built over 75 years and rewriting the rules of international commerce, finance, and monetary policy. https://open.substack.com/pub/labott/p/tariffs-are-just-the-beginning?r=tziy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true02 Apr 2025 15:43 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lltq3grr6s2chttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3llsbqv2g522yPrime Minister Viktor Orbán has become something of a political cult hero on the right as a leader who has successfully quashed liberal influences. "We didn't just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals," he told CPAC in 2023. "We actually did it." https://thepreamble.com/p/who-is-viktor-orban-and-why-does?r=tziy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false02 Apr 2025 01:54 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llsbqv2g522yhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3llsbm63gdk2eFew Americans might recognize him, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has become something of a political cult hero on the right as a leader who has successfully resisted liberal influences. https://thepreamble.com/p/who-is-viktor-orban-and-why-does?r=tziy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false02 Apr 2025 01:51 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llsbm63gdk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3llegvj7srk2tMy first Substack Live! We will talk about how China is swooping into exploit the US retreat and government cuts Hope you will tune in TOMORROW at 12:30p. Don’t forget to download the Substack app subscribe to Cosmopolitics so you get a notification when we start.27 Mar 2025 13:48 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llegvj7srk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3llcyo4bumc2yAmerica's withdrawal has created a strategic vacuum that China is rushing to fill. The question is no longer whether America's retreat will create opportunities for China, but how quickly Beijing will seize them – and at what cost to the global order https://thepreamble.com/p/like-a-landlord-seeking-rent?r=tziy27 Mar 2025 00:01 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llcyo4bumc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3llaqbhkohc23There's an unmistakable culture of casualness permeating this administration that tracesdirectly to the top. President Trump, who has made no secret of his disdain for traditional guardrails, redefined presidential technology norms from day one. https://x.com/eliselabott/status/1904721309814133129?s=1226 Mar 2025 02:25 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3llaqbhkohc23https://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lknxkz3vrc2dEuropean leaders, former officials, and Russia experts—virtually everyone except President Trump—recognizes Putin's strategy: prolong negotiations while advancing militarily,exhaust Western resolve, and force Ukraine into a ceasefire that leaves it permanently vulnerable https://substack.com/home/post/p-15928983718 Mar 2025 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknxkz3vrc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lkljzyxqqs2dNothing says "America First" quite like pink-slipping 1,300 journalists who literally export American values for a living. https://open.substack.com/pub/labott/p/the-muzzling-of-us-funded-global?r=tziy17 Mar 2025 16:08 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkljzyxqqs2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/eliselabott.bsky.social/post/3lk5pka6ins2rHere is what's missing from this conversation on USAID: It's a strategic instrument of American foreign policy, developed with bi-partisan support as a cost-effective way to advance our national interests without deploying troops or imposing sanctions. https://thepreamble.com/p/cutting-foreign-waste-sounds-good?r=tziy12 Mar 2025 04:09 +0000at://did:plc:xqsm3meccue4ytrf54uwcgnu/app.bsky.feed.post/3lk5pka6ins2r