David Rothkopf

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesThe first stages of the trial of the People of New York State vs. Donald J. Trump have been illuminating in a variety of ways. They have made it absolutely clear that this trial is not the legal non-event Republicans and drinkers of conventional wisdom-flavored Kool Aid said it was.It is not a case about “paperwork” or “bookkeeping.” It is not a bland little nothingburger of arcane, hard-to-prove white-collar crime. It is not just the “hush money” or the “porn star” sideshow. It is a case about an alleged attempt by a man running for this country’s highest office to systematically defraud voters and use illegal means to gain an advantage in an election. What is more, it is a case about doing so in an election cycle in which he won the electoral vote by fewer than 80,000 votes. His margin was razor-thin. The lies his friends at the National Enquirer told that were spread by others in the MAGA propaganda machine could well have tipped the balance of the election in his favor.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Amir Cohen/ReutersIran launched an attack on Israel Saturday that was apparently designed by Iran to be both dramatic and ineffective.It was dramatic, because in the long decades of enmity between the two countries, Iran had never directly launched an attack from Iran against targets in Israel. But it was also deliberately ineffective, employing tactics and utilizing weapons that were almost certain to be stopped by the sophisticated air defenses of Israel and its allies like the United States.Israeli and U.S. reports indicate that the vast majority of incoming Iranian weapons were neutralized.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyDonald Trump, over the past few weeks, has grown more vocal about what his foreign policy would look like in a second administration. You might even get the impression that the former president actually cares about what is going on in the world. But you would be wrong.Trump is indeed actively engaging with international leaders and weighing in on international issues on a regular basis as this election year heats up. But in each and every case, his foreign policy outreach has just one primary objective: helping Trump stay out of the slammer by getting himself re-elected President of the United States.This is as pathetic and dangerous as it is predictable, it may also offer an insight for the folks who actually care about foreign policy, and who want to get MAGA to shift its positions on critical issues—like providing aid to Ukraine.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesOutrage and indignation from the President of the United States and his aides, no matter how great, no matter how many times expressed or leaked to the press, will not save the suffering people of Gaza. Nor will they restore the high standing previously enjoyed by the Biden administration’s foreign policy.Neither, sadly, will more “or else” conversations between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu like the one that took place on Thursday. The White House indicated that in the conversation, the president “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on reducing civilian harm, stabilizing the humanitarian situation, and protecting innocent civilians.” There have been too many such conversations and too few constructive results.Read more at The Daily Beast.

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastBernard Schwartz was the last person in my life to regularly refer to me as “kid.” When in the course of our many collaborations over the past two decades, he would approve of a job I had done on something, he would say, “Nice work, kid.” It was, when you are, as I am, well into your sixties, a title that was as appreciated as it was misplaced.Bernard, a philanthropist, political activist, business leader, father, grandfather, husband, and mensch to the very marrow of his bones was born the same year as my own father, 1925. He was of the greatest generation. He remembered the Depression and served during World War II. Those experiences, as much as the great business success he worked for throughout his adult life, shaped who he was and the kind of America he so strongly believed in.He died earlier this month at the age of 98 after a long and extraordinary life. If, based on that life and the spirit of the man, I were able to bestow a title on him, it would be “the most optimistic man in America.”Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesWithin a 24-hour period, the 2024 presidential campaign kicked off in a way that could not present the choice before the American public more starkly.Joe Biden stood before the Congress and, in his State of the Union address, made a powerful case that he would fight with every fiber of his being to preserve American democracy and the fundamental freedoms of all Americans.Then, late Friday, Donald Trump hosted Hungary’s authoritarian ruler, Viktor Orban, in the kind of pro-Putin, anti-democracy summit that perfectly captured the true nature of today’s MAGA Republican Party. The dinner reception was so important that even Melania Trump made one of her rare appearances at her husband’s side. Trump said, “There’s nobody smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He’s the boss. He’s a non-controversial figure because he says, ‘This is the way it’s going to be and that’s the end of it.’ He’s the boss. He’s a great leader.”Read more at The Daily Beast.