Shadi Hamid
@shadihamid.bsky.social
Columnist at the Washington Post. Research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary. Co-host of Wisdom of Crowds.
Pre-order my new book THE CASE FOR AMERICAN POWER: https://amzn.to/3U73wu0
Pre-order my new book THE CASE FOR AMERICAN POWER: https://amzn.to/3U73wu0
One week from release! THE CASE FOR AMERICAN POWER from Simon & Schuster.
Pre-orders make a huge difference so if you're even slightly intrigued by the premise, do consider getting a copy: amazon.com/Case-America...
In some ways, this book is a culmination of the work I've done over 15 years.
Pre-orders make a huge difference so if you're even slightly intrigued by the premise, do consider getting a copy: amazon.com/Case-America...
In some ways, this book is a culmination of the work I've done over 15 years.
November 4, 2025 at 3:43 PM
One week from release! THE CASE FOR AMERICAN POWER from Simon & Schuster.
Pre-orders make a huge difference so if you're even slightly intrigued by the premise, do consider getting a copy: amazon.com/Case-America...
In some ways, this book is a culmination of the work I've done over 15 years.
Pre-orders make a huge difference so if you're even slightly intrigued by the premise, do consider getting a copy: amazon.com/Case-America...
In some ways, this book is a culmination of the work I've done over 15 years.
A teaser from my forthcoming book on why "declinism" is a storied American tradition. If you think the past was great, you're more likely to think the present is worse.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
July 31, 2025 at 2:33 PM
A teaser from my forthcoming book on why "declinism" is a storied American tradition. If you think the past was great, you're more likely to think the present is worse.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
One thing that all conspiracy theories share is a feeling of powerlessness — that there are powers-that-be (“them”) keeping “us” down. That’s why conspiratorial thinking tends to be both more common and more lurid in poorer, autocratic countries.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
July 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
One thing that all conspiracy theories share is a feeling of powerlessness — that there are powers-that-be (“them”) keeping “us” down. That’s why conspiratorial thinking tends to be both more common and more lurid in poorer, autocratic countries.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
For me, Mahmoud Khalil's arrest was the inflection point. Rather than provide evidence he had done anything wrong, the administration accused him, literally, of attending protests and "putting himself in the middle of pro-Palestinian activity."
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
March 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
For me, Mahmoud Khalil's arrest was the inflection point. Rather than provide evidence he had done anything wrong, the administration accused him, literally, of attending protests and "putting himself in the middle of pro-Palestinian activity."
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
After Trump's re-election, centrist and even left-leaning friends would suggest on encrypted group chats that some good might come out of this after all. I don't hear that so much anymore.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
March 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
After Trump's re-election, centrist and even left-leaning friends would suggest on encrypted group chats that some good might come out of this after all. I don't hear that so much anymore.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
DCers: It's on. I'll be debating @jamellebouie.net on American democracy tomorrow night at 730pm. Join us!
March 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM
DCers: It's on. I'll be debating @jamellebouie.net on American democracy tomorrow night at 730pm. Join us!
Congress is no longer a coequal branch of government. Instead, it has been refashioned as an enabler of Trump’s obsessions. Trump's goal is less to pass legislation and more to troll Democrats and assert his dominance over them. Dominance is the point.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
March 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Congress is no longer a coequal branch of government. Instead, it has been refashioned as an enabler of Trump’s obsessions. Trump's goal is less to pass legislation and more to troll Democrats and assert his dominance over them. Dominance is the point.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Some of the cultural shifts promoted by liberals during “the great awokening” did indeed go too far. It shouldn’t be too controversial to say that at this point. And it was bad politics.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
March 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Some of the cultural shifts promoted by liberals during “the great awokening” did indeed go too far. It shouldn’t be too controversial to say that at this point. And it was bad politics.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Is it okay not to like politics? Yes.
When you get over-excited about politics but are powerless to do anything with that excitement, resentment is the result.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
When you get over-excited about politics but are powerless to do anything with that excitement, resentment is the result.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
March 3, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Is it okay not to like politics? Yes.
When you get over-excited about politics but are powerless to do anything with that excitement, resentment is the result.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
When you get over-excited about politics but are powerless to do anything with that excitement, resentment is the result.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Does the Trump era mark the ultimate "vibe shift"? Left-wing dominance of culture seems like a thing of the past. How did such a cultural shift happen so quickly and, it seems, so thoroughly?
March 3, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Does the Trump era mark the ultimate "vibe shift"? Left-wing dominance of culture seems like a thing of the past. How did such a cultural shift happen so quickly and, it seems, so thoroughly?
Jordan Castro just moved to Washington. So I asked him how he's dealing with Trump's assault on the federal bureaucracy, democratic norms, and our minds.
March 3, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Jordan Castro just moved to Washington. So I asked him how he's dealing with Trump's assault on the federal bureaucracy, democratic norms, and our minds.
The irony of course is that a billionaire has become the avatar of anti-system sentiment. But this isn't really a paradox once we understand that the dividing line isn't wealth as much as it is one's relationship to institutions.
February 25, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The irony of course is that a billionaire has become the avatar of anti-system sentiment. But this isn't really a paradox once we understand that the dividing line isn't wealth as much as it is one's relationship to institutions.
For Republicans, there is no clear ideological aim. The chaos is the point.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 25, 2025 at 6:07 PM
For Republicans, there is no clear ideological aim. The chaos is the point.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
For a minority of Americans — mostly left-leaning college-educated professionals — the system was working. And for the richest and most wealthy among us, too.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 25, 2025 at 6:07 PM
For a minority of Americans — mostly left-leaning college-educated professionals — the system was working. And for the richest and most wealthy among us, too.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
But there’s a problem. While I might like the message in Munich, I disapprove of the messenger. I don’t think that JD Vance is equivalent to Trump, but the fact is he represents a president who has done odious things, including on the issues I most care about.
February 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
But there’s a problem. While I might like the message in Munich, I disapprove of the messenger. I don’t think that JD Vance is equivalent to Trump, but the fact is he represents a president who has done odious things, including on the issues I most care about.
One example that Vance rightly highlighted is Romania’s recent cancellation of elections, something that should have sparked real outrage here in the United States but went largely unnoticed.
wisdomofcrowds.live/p/the-messag...
wisdomofcrowds.live/p/the-messag...
February 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
One example that Vance rightly highlighted is Romania’s recent cancellation of elections, something that should have sparked real outrage here in the United States but went largely unnoticed.
wisdomofcrowds.live/p/the-messag...
wisdomofcrowds.live/p/the-messag...
The priority, for now, seems obvious: rebuilding and repositioning the Democratic Party so that's it's an actual opposition party that's deserving of people's votes, instead of assuming that it's entitled to people's votes because Trump is bad.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The priority, for now, seems obvious: rebuilding and repositioning the Democratic Party so that's it's an actual opposition party that's deserving of people's votes, instead of assuming that it's entitled to people's votes because Trump is bad.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Yes, this is a provocative title. But it's also a fact: I have criticized Democrats more than Trump. And I keep getting asked, why? So I decided to use my column this week to lay out my theory of the case. I think there's a strong argument for focusing inward.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 17, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Yes, this is a provocative title. But it's also a fact: I have criticized Democrats more than Trump. And I keep getting asked, why? So I decided to use my column this week to lay out my theory of the case. I think there's a strong argument for focusing inward.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
I couldn't help laugh at loud at this absurd comment from Jamie Raskin from James Pogue's fascinating @vanityfair.com piece on just how lost Democrats are.
A party that says stuff like this out loud doesn't deserve to win.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
A party that says stuff like this out loud doesn't deserve to win.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
February 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I couldn't help laugh at loud at this absurd comment from Jamie Raskin from James Pogue's fascinating @vanityfair.com piece on just how lost Democrats are.
A party that says stuff like this out loud doesn't deserve to win.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
A party that says stuff like this out loud doesn't deserve to win.
www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
February 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I pushed Shahbandar on how Trump clearly said that he hoped Gazans could be resettled outside of Gaza with the help of Egypt and Jordan. How else to interpret that than support for ethnic cleansing?
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I pushed Shahbandar on how Trump clearly said that he hoped Gazans could be resettled outside of Gaza with the help of Egypt and Jordan. How else to interpret that than support for ethnic cleansing?
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Oubai Shahbandar is a former defense intelligence officer who spent months campaigning for Trump in Michigan. To talk with Shahbandar about his support for Trump is to understand how the same words can be interpreted in radically different ways.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
February 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Oubai Shahbandar is a former defense intelligence officer who spent months campaigning for Trump in Michigan. To talk with Shahbandar about his support for Trump is to understand how the same words can be interpreted in radically different ways.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Anyone who insists on repeating the manta “this is not normal” to everything Trump does has forgotten how to do politics. They’re also evading responsibility for the blame that is partly theirs.
Great piece by James Duesterberg: thepointmag.substack.com/p/vibe-drift
Great piece by James Duesterberg: thepointmag.substack.com/p/vibe-drift
January 29, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Anyone who insists on repeating the manta “this is not normal” to everything Trump does has forgotten how to do politics. They’re also evading responsibility for the blame that is partly theirs.
Great piece by James Duesterberg: thepointmag.substack.com/p/vibe-drift
Great piece by James Duesterberg: thepointmag.substack.com/p/vibe-drift