What Actually Mattered This Week: Party-Elites’ Hypocritic Oath

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WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK

My Quick Take: Harris, Trump and the hypocrisy in US politics?

With the DNC wrapped up, we are officially neck-deep in the US election cycle. ?

Both parties have coalesced around leaders who party elites, donors, and the media have previously said they strongly opposed. On the right, we have people like Nikki Haley shifting from her anti-Trump stance on the debate stage to vouching for him at the RNC, and Rupert Murdoch who banned Trump from Fox but now platforms him in prime time. And on the left, the Democrats spent years saying Biden was the only person who could beat Trump and that Kamala would be a disaster if she were at the top of the ticket—and they’re now effusive of her as a candidate. The hypocrisy would be funny if it weren’t also so concerning.?

However, I’ve said for a long time, the thing that worries me the most is that one of these candidates is not prepared to accept a peaceful transition or a loss, and that is Donald Trump. We saw that in 2020. And I fear that if he loses in November, that we're going to see it again in 2024.?

This is a sign of a democracy in crisis, and the potential for this outcome to be manipulated and lead to more division is something we all should be paying a great deal of attention to.?

Ukraine attacks Moscow in one of largest ever drone strikes on Russian capital?

Ukraine launched one of the biggest drone strikes on Moscow since the start of the invasion. While Russia downed all 45 drones, including 11 breaching the Moscow region, the attack comes a week after Ukraine’s Kursk invasion, which Ukraine is continuing to push forward. ? ?

We are waiting to see what Russia’s response will be. But already the partial ceasefire talks that had been ongoing have been delayed.

Biden to push Netanyahu to be more flexible on Gaza-Egypt border?

Biden is pushing Bibi to show more flexibility in his demands so that mediators can reach a ceasefire...but Biden has already said twice that Bibi agreed to the ceasefire proposal.?

The false-starts and moving goal posts make it harder to believe we’re closer to the end of this war. Biden has stated that he is prioritizing ending the fighting before leaving office, but he has?just a few more months until the next president takes over. If he doesn’t succeed, Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will potentially inherit two wars with vastly different approaches towards ending them. And Biden will be remembered for that.

TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS

THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN

THE GRAPHIC TRUTH

YOUR GZERO WORLD

After more than two years of grinding, deadly warfare in Ukraine, with Russia’s invasion lurching through its third year, is it time for Kyiv to consider negotiating with Moscow? On GZERO World,?I speak with?Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, about the challenges Ukraine faces, including flagging morale and a struggle to expand military recruiting. Despite recent polls suggesting Ukrainians are more open to a peace deal, Trofimov stresses that Russia’s ultimate goals are clear: total destruction of Ukrainian national identity and culture. The traumatic history of Russian aggression during the Soviet Era looms large in Ukraine’s collective consciousness, and most Ukrainians oppose any compromise unless all internationally recognized territory is returned. Without security guarantees from NATO and Western allies, Trofimov warns that Russia will continue its assault until it controls all of Ukraine. Though Trofimov and I?spoke in July before Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, the overall situation remains unchanged: no clear path to military victory, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and nearly 20% of Ukraine still occupied. And if?Donald Trump?wins a second term, continued US military support is uncertain. So where does this leave the Ukrainian people? Nowhere good.?

For a longer, wider-ranging version of my interview check out the GZERO World podcast.?

BECAUSE THE INTERNET

Word to the Wise. Don’t push your luck with the Swifties

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK

Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World by Casey Michel?

The partnership of lawyers and lawmakers has captured much of US domestic policy. Casey Michel’s Foreign Agents details how this unholy American alliance threatens democracies around the world.?

DEEP THOUGHTS

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey??

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Thanks for reading!?Please subscribe to GZERO Daily for coverage of global politics. And make sure to read my latest book?The Power of Crisis?for a roadmap of this decade's great crises and how they might help us build a better world.

I am president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and foreign affairs columnist at TIME. I currently teach at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University. You can follow me on?X, Threads,?Facebook, and?Instagram.