It’s Tuesday, May 26. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: A Democratic congressional candidate who wants to imprison “billionaire American Zionists.” Vindication for Harvard’s anti–grade inflation crusader. And much more.
But first: Michael Doran on Trump’s two-part peace plan.
Memorial Day weekend began with every indication that a deal with Iran might be imminent. It ended with U.S. strikes against Iranian forces.
On Monday, the U.S. sank two Iranian boats that officials said were attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. also struck missile launchers in southern Iran after missiles targeted American planes. “U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” said Captain Tim Hawkins, a military spokesman.
In other words: A precarious ceasefire remains in place for now. Meanwhile, the diplomatic mood music still points toward a deal—even if the talks have slowed and President Trump threatens to walk away. “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal,” he said Monday on Truth Social.
So what will Trump do next? Michael Doran has answers to that question in his latest piece for The Free Press. Michael is one of the most astute observers of this conflict, and in a must-read account of the state of play, he lays out where he thinks things are heading—and reveals what senior Trump administration officials say are the president’s long-term plans on Iran.
As national security adviser to President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan played a critical role in an administration with a very different Iran policy to Trump. He joins Aaron MacLean on the latest episode of School of War to discuss the state of his world and the state of the Democratic Party. Tune in for Sullivan’s views on China, Israel, Iran, Ukraine, foreign policy debates on the left, and more.
—Oliver Wiseman
Meet Maureen Galindo, the Texas Democrat Who Wants Internment Camps for ‘Zionists’ |
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A Democratic congressional candidate in Texas wants to imprison “billionaire American Zionists” and turn an immigration facility into a “castration processing center for pedophiles.” Maureen Galindo is sending Democrats across the country into a panic ahead of her runoff today. Olivia Reingold reports on the sex therapist now being called “Marjorie Taylor Blue,” and why conspiratorial politics is here to stay. | | |
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Arthur Brooks: How to Give a Commencement Speech That Isn’t Awful |
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Graduation season is upon us, and most commencement speeches fall somewhere between forgettable and infuriating. Arthur Brooks has given his fair share of commencement speeches, and he understands why most speakers go wrong. Too many speeches are full of platitudes nobody remembers or political grandstanding nobody asked for, and lots of them simply go on too long. He breaks down the four rules for an address people won’t hate—starting with the most fundamental: “It’s about the students, not the speaker or their controversial opinions.” | | |
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Victory for Harvard’s Anti–Grade Inflation Crusader |
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Grades at Harvard have been climbing for decades. Last year, three out of every five grades were A’s. Last week, the faculty finally voted to cap them. Novi Zhukovsky reports on the reform and talks to Harvey Mansfield, the 94-year-old retired professor whose largely solitary fight against grade inflation began in the 1970s. His reaction upon hearing the news: “It’s about time.”
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