If there was a single strategic turning point in the 2024 presidential election, it could have been the disastrous decision of the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris to take a pass on the Al Smith Dinner in New York. This singular event has generally been considered obligatory.

Trump will encounter a region in which Israeli military successes have dramatically reset the balance of power. That creates the possibility for a bold play to roll back Iran’s influence and curb its nuclear program — if he can avoid stumbling into another Middle Eastern mess.

All memes aside, the Department of Governmental Efficiency could turn out to be a worthwhile enterprise, deserving of bipartisan support — so long as people temper their expectations.

For many countries, Trump’s return is less disconcerting than one might imagine. From India to Turkey to Indonesia, they are confident they will manage just fine — and perhaps even benefit more from their relationship with the U.S. than they did under President Joe Biden.

Presidents believe, understandably, that they were elected to do what they campaigned on. The challenge is that Congress and state governments are full of people who won an election, too. And they often have their own ideas about what their “mandate” is. Postelection politics is about dealing with that reality.

Donald Trump will inherit, to all appearances, a solid economy when he assumes the presidency in January. Yet there’s a reason for voter dissatisfaction with the economy and, beneath the surface, there are several risks for Trump 2.0 as he thinks about enacting his trade and fiscal agenda.

Moving forward from this election, the question of how we will wield the power of oratory will shape the course of history for generations to come. Will the choice of our words be to lift each other or to tear each other down? Will we seek to heal and unite or to divide and conquer?

Since the onset of the Cold War, the United States and its allies have taken every possible measure to avoid “World War III.”

It’s been almost a decade since Macron rode into power with all kinds of promises of sovereignty and strategic autonomy — yet even today, with the largest full-scale conflict on European soil since 1945, South Korea has supplied more shells to Ukraine than all of Europe.

Iran is in a tough spot. Retaliate against Israel and open yourself up to more Israeli military action, including on strategic sites the Israelis avoided the last time. Or don’t respond and anger off the IRGC brass, which will view standing down as the definition of weakness.