Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of The National Interest. He lives in Washington DC
In his novel The Loyal Subject, which appeared on the eve of the first world war, Heinrich Mann, the brother of Thomas, satirised Wilhelmine Germany as a hotbed of chauvinistic nationalism. The servile nationalism that Mann mocked could not be further from the ethos of the Federal Republic of Germany today. So pervasive is Germany’s
24 min listen
Freddy Gray talks to Jacob Heilbrunn, the editor of The National Interest, about Vladimir Putin’s military action.
The only thing more sombre than President Joe Biden’s tone at his press conference on Friday afternoon was his funereal ensemble of dark suit and even darker tie. Biden made news with his declaration that the Russian president isn’t havering about invading Ukraine, if he ever really was. Instead, he’s made the decision, we were
It’s springtime for liberal interventionism. Russian President Vladimir Putin may not have intended it, but he is doing a good job of revitalising Nato. The organisation was faltering only a few years ago. Now, by threatening Ukraine, Putin is probably extending its lifespan by several more decades, a feat that even the most ardent Atlanticists
11 min listen
Joe Biden’s approval rating has dropped to 39 per cent, as he suffers from the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, an ongoing crisis at the border with Mexico, and rising Covid cases. Is it a short term dip, could Biden’s pandemic response wipe out the Democrats in the midterms, and will the 78-year-old still be president
21 min listen
Has Joe Biden done as much in his first days as he said he would? Freddy Gray talks to Jacob Heilbrunn about the Trump policies that Biden is keeping, and the ones that he’s already swept away.
He did it. Donald Trump made it through four years, not an accomplishment many of his detractors thought he would achieve, or even wanted him to. ‘See you soon,’ Trump said. A promise or a threat? The truth is that Trump has been badly diminished by his antics in the past few weeks, starting but
‘Send in the troops. The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.’ Aficionados of the New York Times may recall that these sentences appeared as the headline of Tom Cotton’s op-ed in June that led to the departure of the paper’s editorial page editor James Bennet. Bennet resurfaced as a guest author of Politico’s Playbook newsletter
Congratulations, President Trump! It took a while but you’ve finally achieved the American carnage that you purported to descry in your inaugural address four years ago. It would be hard to think of a more symbolically apt end to your presidency. Trump’s shameful, revolting and tawdry taped message late on Wednesday urging his supporters to disband
28 min listen
As the Electoral College confirms Joe Biden’s victory, Freddy Gray talks to Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest, about whether or not the president-elect, with his centrist appeal, is really a ‘DINO’ – ‘Democrat In Name Only’.
So is it over for Joe? Gloating Republicans and handwringing Democrats alike suddenly seem convinced that President Trump is headed towards an improbable repeat victory this November, especially after his acceptance speech last night. But there are multifarious reasons to believe that this is a bunch of hooey. For one thing, Biden has been repeatedly
Oops. Not only did the wall that Donald Trump promised to build never get built, but it turns out that some of his closest former confederates are now accused of deploying the slogan in the interests of building up nothing other than their own fortunes. A grizzled Steve Bannon, Trump’s former campaign adviser, wearing a
With his selection of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden bowed to the inevitable. Harris ticks all the boxes — Bay Area progressive who pushed a lock ’em up policy, senator with no apparent skeletons that haven’t already been pulled out of the closet (see: Willie Brown), and a woman and minority who relishes political brawls. She
17 min listen
The polls are tightening, meanwhile Joe Biden is on the back foot over another gaffe about African American voters. Is the Democratic challenger blowing the election? Editor of the National Interest Jacob Heilbrunn joins Freddy Gray, editor of Spectator USA.
15 min listen
As America continues to burn, Freddy discusses with Jacob Heilbrunn what the protests mean for Trump’s chances for re-election.
18 min listen
She wanted to be the Tin Lizzie of the presidential race, chugging to victory as the champion of the middle-class. But her campaign started running out of gas before it could even really get on the straightaway. Today the denouement arrives. Elizabeth Warren will announce that she’s packing it in. Will she endorse either Bernie
The luck of the Irish was finally with Joseph Biden. Dismissed as a loser by much of the US political class, Biden had never won a primary until South Carolina. Next he had a super-duper day on Super Tuesday, clobbering Bernie Sanders in state after state. Sanders may take Texas and California, but Bernie is
It’s time for Donald Trump to take a leaf from Boris Johnson, for the master to take tuition from his pupil. Instead of trying to placate his critics, Trump should prorogue the American Congress. The approval rating of Congress is somewhere in the teens, even lower than Trump’s, so most Americans would likely greet such a move
In determining that Donald Trump did not engage in secret collusion with Russia, Robert Mueller may well have done Democrats a solid. Instead of going down the chimerical road of impeachment, they can focus on ousting him from office in 2020. At the same time, they can keep the base agitated with intimations that not
