For those who missed my conversation with
, I highly recommend giving it a listen. Barbara's Pentagon reporting and deep knowledge of America's armed forces ranks among the finest in journalism, and her incisive analysis of the Trump administration's escalating operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean, the deployment of National Guard forces to American cities, and the recent rebranding of the Defense Department as the Department of War is both sharp and sobering. She also had some good insights on Russia’s recent testing of NATO by sending drones to Poland and Israel’s audacious strike in Qatar. (More on that tomorrow)I look forward to welcoming Barbara back on Cosmopolitics soon. In the meantime, please subscribe to
for more of her exceptional reporting.I want to address yesterday’s senseless murder of Charlie Kirk. While I disagreed with his views on virtually everythink, I respected his commitment to engaging young people in political discourse—something I'm passionate about myself. His willingness to debate those with opposing views, exemplified by his "Prove Me Wrong" college tour, should be celebrated, not silenced through violence. He was a devoted husband and father whose family deserved to have him with them.
This alarming mainstreaming of political violence in America is rooted in an even more troubling phenomenon: the systematic dehumanization of those who think differently than we do. We've moved beyond simply challenging ideas we oppose to questioning the basic worth and dignity of those who hold them. The moment we start viewing political adversaries as mortal enemies rather than fellow Americans, when we characterize whole groups as dangerous threats to our way of life, when we treat people as collateral damage in our political battles, we create the conditions where violence seems not only justified but necessary.
Twenty-four years ago on September 11th, Americans made a solemn promise to stand united in the face of terror. In those dark days, we briefly rediscovered a fundamental truth: that whatever divides us politically pales in comparison to what we risk losing if we let violence and hatred destroy the democratic ideals and common bonds that make us one nation.
For me, this isn’t rhetoric. I try to live by this principle and keep my critiques to the policies themselves. This is precisely why my friendship with
means so much to me. Though we frequently disagree on policy issues, we share an unwavering commitment to debating our differences with the goal of mutual understanding while never losing sight of our shared humanity. This is the spirit behind our weekly Hot Takes Happy Hour—making sense of our complex world together through friendship, respect, and genuine dialogue. On that note, this week's Hot Takes will take place this Friday at 4 PM. We hope to see you there.
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, , , , , and many others for tuning into my live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.
