Stephen Walt
@stephenwalt.bsky.social
Harvard professor, realist, FP columnist. Tennis enthusiast, amateur musician, proud dad, & grateful husband. Troubled by the state of the world & looking for solutions. For speaking engagements contact John Bute at [email protected]
Reposted by Stephen Walt
This is a thoughtful article but what's omitted and now threatened, free speech, is the foundation of greatness. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/o...
Opinion | America’s Formula for Greatness Is Under Threat
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:09 PM
This is a thoughtful article but what's omitted and now threatened, free speech, is the foundation of greatness. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/o...
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Mafia governance in action
"the only offer on the table was that I needed to resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA... If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block hundreds of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate."
"the only offer on the table was that I needed to resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA... If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block hundreds of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate."
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Mafia governance in action
"the only offer on the table was that I needed to resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA... If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block hundreds of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate."
"the only offer on the table was that I needed to resign by 5pm that day or the DOJ would basically rain hell on UVA... If I did not resign that day, I was told that the DOJ would extract/block hundreds of millions of dollars from UVA before they would even negotiate."
Reposted by Stephen Walt
I was told there was a crisis of free speech on campus that must be reversed
MAGA’s ongoing war on academic freedom, reflected in headlines from the last 24 hours.
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 PM
I was told there was a crisis of free speech on campus that must be reversed
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire (or, to use Trump's words, since he achieved "the peace that has been sought for at least 3,000 years")
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire
Entire neighbourhoods controlled by Israel have been levelled in less than a month, the images show.
www.bbc.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire (or, to use Trump's words, since he achieved "the peace that has been sought for at least 3,000 years")
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Look, everybody! It’s an economist who can’t read a chart.
HASSETT: We're comfortable that inflation has come way down
QUINTANILLA: Even though it's been increasing for 5 straight months?
HASSETT: Well I guess there's ups and downs and seasonals
November 12, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Look, everybody! It’s an economist who can’t read a chart.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
This Veterans Day, columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social reflects on how the military’s role in American society is changing for the worse.
The Would-Be Dictator’s Army
The United States is about to celebrate a very worrisome Veterans Day.
foreignpolicy.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This Veterans Day, columnist @stephenwalt.bsky.social reflects on how the military’s role in American society is changing for the worse.
For Veterans Day, a warning about where civil-military relations are headed in the US, and its dangerous effects on readiness. Latest FP column here: foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/11/v...
The Would-Be Dictator’s Army
The United States is about to celebrate a very worrisome Veterans Day.
foreignpolicy.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM
For Veterans Day, a warning about where civil-military relations are headed in the US, and its dangerous effects on readiness. Latest FP column here: foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/11/v...
Reposted by Stephen Walt
The #CaveCaucus got Thune to promise he'd pay them Tuesday for a hamburger today all the while knowing that Mike Johnson is holding Thune's wallet and is never going to pay the debt. Pathetic.
Q: Will you assure House Democrats they'll get a vote on ACA subsidies by a date certain?
MIKE JOHNSON: Ah -- no. I'm not promising anyone anything.
MIKE JOHNSON: Ah -- no. I'm not promising anyone anything.
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 AM
The #CaveCaucus got Thune to promise he'd pay them Tuesday for a hamburger today all the while knowing that Mike Johnson is holding Thune's wallet and is never going to pay the debt. Pathetic.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
tomorrow's announcement on truth social
darth vader says " i am altering the deal pray i don t alter it any further "
Alt: darth vader says " i am altering the deal pray i don t alter it any further "
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:44 AM
tomorrow's announcement on truth social
Reposted by Stephen Walt
JUST NOW: Donald Trump gets loudly BOOED by the crowd at the Commanders game. What a loser!
November 9, 2025 at 11:20 PM
JUST NOW: Donald Trump gets loudly BOOED by the crowd at the Commanders game. What a loser!
Reposted by Stephen Walt
As a lawyer who advised and represented international financial institutions making loans and guarantees on major investment projects in Uzbekistan for 15 years, I can say with 100% certainty that Uzbekistan does not have $135 billion to invest in the US, or anywhere else outside of Uzbekistan.
November 8, 2025 at 2:05 AM
As a lawyer who advised and represented international financial institutions making loans and guarantees on major investment projects in Uzbekistan for 15 years, I can say with 100% certainty that Uzbekistan does not have $135 billion to invest in the US, or anywhere else outside of Uzbekistan.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Chris Rufo/Ron DeSantis overhauled New College and made it "the most financially inefficient school in the university system"
Degree yield is 19%, 2nd-worst in Fla.
Operating funds per student at New College: $83,207
Same category at Univ of Florida: $45,765
www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/e...
Degree yield is 19%, 2nd-worst in Fla.
Operating funds per student at New College: $83,207
Same category at Univ of Florida: $45,765
www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/e...
New College of Florida shows soaring expenses as state targets 'woke waste'
A report by Florida DOGE found that Sarasota's New College is the most financially inefficient school in the university system.
www.heraldtribune.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Chris Rufo/Ron DeSantis overhauled New College and made it "the most financially inefficient school in the university system"
Degree yield is 19%, 2nd-worst in Fla.
Operating funds per student at New College: $83,207
Same category at Univ of Florida: $45,765
www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/e...
Degree yield is 19%, 2nd-worst in Fla.
Operating funds per student at New College: $83,207
Same category at Univ of Florida: $45,765
www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/e...
Reposted by Stephen Walt
November 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Reposted by Stephen Walt
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond
Reposted by Stephen Walt
this looks like a trick daffy duck would put up to get bugs bunny into "the oval office"
November 5, 2025 at 11:04 PM
this looks like a trick daffy duck would put up to get bugs bunny into "the oval office"
It is revealing that some of most effective weapons against Trump’s creeping authoritarianism have been inflatable frog suits and a deli sandwich.
November 6, 2025 at 7:58 PM
It is revealing that some of most effective weapons against Trump’s creeping authoritarianism have been inflatable frog suits and a deli sandwich.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
None of what Trump is doing is popular and voters are telling us that
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
None of what Trump is doing is popular and voters are telling us that
Call me old-fashioned, but as these election results come in, let me just say that I don’t think anyone’s ethnic background is a good reason to vote for or against them. There are plenty of much better criteria.
November 5, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Call me old-fashioned, but as these election results come in, let me just say that I don’t think anyone’s ethnic background is a good reason to vote for or against them. There are plenty of much better criteria.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
A pass so hard that it crushes diamonds.
November 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
A pass so hard that it crushes diamonds.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Is this the long-awaited, much-ballyhooed replacement for Obamacare?
You message the president on social media and hope he intervenes?
You message the president on social media and hope he intervenes?
November 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Is this the long-awaited, much-ballyhooed replacement for Obamacare?
You message the president on social media and hope he intervenes?
You message the president on social media and hope he intervenes?
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Want to read what I really think about the Trump administration and the Asia Pacific? Here you go. It’s a goddamn catastrophe for U.S. national interests and for the regional economic and diplomatic order.
A United States that is disintegrating and no longer a leader in Asia
As Trump 2.0 hollows out US state capacity, the Asia Pacific must prepare for a world without US leadership
eastasiaforum.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Want to read what I really think about the Trump administration and the Asia Pacific? Here you go. It’s a goddamn catastrophe for U.S. national interests and for the regional economic and diplomatic order.
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Yet in 2010, Noem—then a congressional candidate—had “20 speeding tickets, three stop-sign violations, two seat-belt violations and a citation for driving with no driver’s license.” She had six court notices for failing to appear, and had two warrants out for her arrest. trib.al/uQSDaqR
ICE Barbie Says Immigrants Are Too Dumb to Drive Semitrucks
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the inane claim while bragging about arresting immigrant truck drivers.
trib.al
November 1, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Yet in 2010, Noem—then a congressional candidate—had “20 speeding tickets, three stop-sign violations, two seat-belt violations and a citation for driving with no driver’s license.” She had six court notices for failing to appear, and had two warrants out for her arrest. trib.al/uQSDaqR
Reposted by Stephen Walt
Every time you see a story of comically transparent corruption among Trump's immediate family, a cold shiver should shoot through you.
Trump will *never* accede to a situation where accountability for his or his family's ill-gotten gains is possible. Dictatorship to protect corruption is the agenda
Trump will *never* accede to a situation where accountability for his or his family's ill-gotten gains is possible. Dictatorship to protect corruption is the agenda
This is exactly right, with one addition to the end:
Trump wants to have the unconstrained ability to use lethal militarized force against Americans to make sure he never has to give up power—so that the corrupt enrichment & rank criminality of him, his family, & his cronies goes forever unpunished
Trump wants to have the unconstrained ability to use lethal militarized force against Americans to make sure he never has to give up power—so that the corrupt enrichment & rank criminality of him, his family, & his cronies goes forever unpunished
I've given my new Senator a lot of shit on here. But I don't think anyone with power has laid out the stakes of what we're facing as clearly as she does right here.
And if she's saying this, it's because she feels she must.
And if she's saying this, it's because she feels she must.
November 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Every time you see a story of comically transparent corruption among Trump's immediate family, a cold shiver should shoot through you.
Trump will *never* accede to a situation where accountability for his or his family's ill-gotten gains is possible. Dictatorship to protect corruption is the agenda
Trump will *never* accede to a situation where accountability for his or his family's ill-gotten gains is possible. Dictatorship to protect corruption is the agenda
Reposted by Stephen Walt
