Power — and the abuse of it — is defining the current news cycle. On this week’s round table of “The Opinions,” the Times Opinion politics writer Michelle Cottle is joined by the columnists Nicholas Kristof and David French to discuss President Trump’s aggressive foreign policy, including the buildup of ships in the Middle East, and what the fallout from the Epstein files misses.
Read the full transcript here: https://nytimes.com/2026/02/21/opinion/iran-epstein-power.html
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35 Comments
I would support David French for president in a heartbeat. He is soooooooo reasonable.
If I'm Iran, I want the USA to bomb us. What greater excuse to crack down on civilians and solidify power is there than being attacked by the great enemy? It won't end their nuclear program and it will radicalise more of the country and more of the Middle-East.
Trump is a complete and total idiot.
Is everyone finally comprehending that Trump is still in business with Jeffrey Epstein?
my recent little blast of happy – google "daniel radcliffe, brotherhood of man, how to succeed in business, 65th annual tonys"
Will dems in Congress vote to declare war on Iran if it responds against Israel? Should Congress? (No!) Discuss.
David is such a classic Evangelical. I'm undecided personally on the issue of pornography, but this idea that porn is a major driver of male predation strikes me as very naive. I bet David knows the Meese report far better than I do, but I never hear Evangelicals stating the facts about child predators presented in that report. "contrary to the popular stereotypes the child molester is not a stranger wearing rumpled raincoats passing out candy to children on street corners. He is a generally known and trusted and loved adult who has cunningly sought employment with children so he will have a steady source of victims." -Lois Harrington. Mitch McConnell on pdf files, "He is most likely a middle-aged white male living in the suburbs, married, [and] has children. This type of person is usually reasonably well-connected. The typical child molester is not some shiftless bum in a trench coat." It's always the same story. "Couldn't be me" It's no fun to have to say that I'm the model of the guy you should be most vigilant about, but just be real about the issue for God's sake.
should check out james mcmurtry, larry's son, he has some amazing music with beautiful lyrics
The presumption that it is only girls that go through these societal aberrations.
Yet another Epstein episode without any mention of his links to Mossad/Ehud Barak/Israel. How does NYT not see itself as propaganda?
I know, maybe we should admit that it's a war crime, but heh, just me thinking aloud. Americans…can't live with them…probably would be much better off without them
Three pundits desperately trying to find intention in a complete buffoon. Trump does random things for no good reason. Always! Why is it so difficult to admit this?
What about Israel
I have not heard you speak about the reason for the war, so your analysis is flawed.
I miss Jamelle
Incredible how Epstein and co. are barley mentioned in the Epstein portion.
Come on, he always lies…
“Tool box?” I think the military is a toy box for Trump.
4:49 — and at the top of that list — America. The only country to have used nuclear weapons in anger. The only country that constantly uses it’s military dominance to maintain hegemonic control of the globe.
Oh, and you have been invading nations for decades.
Fucking American hypocrites.
One sided, abhorrent
Not sure how America is going to tackle porn when Grok can make porn images and Elon Musk says this is free speech…
Just like Trump and Afghanistan there is no plan. Like Venezuela there is no plan.
I second David French's concerns about porn. Not only that, but we need to repent of objectifying women in general.
Blaming the victim is how this admin roles. The females didn't speak up, it's their fault. The females spoke up, but not believed. Being accused of SA seems to be a requirement of this Admin. RE: Iran, lets be clear, Trump is not going there on behalf of the US. What can he get? Follow the $.
Gus McCrae was the first cowboy I ever loved. ❤
What did the TOUGH GUY Drumpf do with the N . Korea getting nukes after the "LOVE" letters? Nothing. It's all ISRAEL shame on US.
Not even the convenor of this discussion has any regard for the facts. For example anyone with even half a brain and access to the internet know thanks to Iran's publication of the names and circumstances of all the people killed during the external to Iran organised riots, that less than 3000 people died in the riots and that the vast majority were police and unarmed security guards. The opposition and those claiming a larger number died have repeatedly suggested the figure is much higher, yet every time they have been asked to supply some names of all these unacknowledged deaths, they have been unable to do so. Some names were 'suggested' but investigation revealed that they were either still alive and well or made up names of fictional people. This is easy to discover any journalist could do it, yet the great nyt appears incapable of hiring a neutral unbiased reporter. What a surprise.
Only Americans believe their operations in various countries around the world were successful… They haven't realized that each and every one has been thoroughly dissected, ultimately accusing the United States of destabilizing countries and regions, violating international treaties and human rights, being Israel's watchdog, and so on. The US has been losing credibility for 50 years, and much of it is due to what you call successes… The problem in the Epstein case is not only the child abuse, but also its use as a honeypot to blackmail and obtain privileged information or impunity, as we are seeing today with the unconditional support of the US for Israel.
Someone has opened the book of curses against Trump and has no intention of closing it.. karma is here
There is a plan. Distract from the internal failures of our incompetent president and the Epstein files.
The NY Times struggles to discuss subjects at the grownups table while Trump refuses to return to the kids’ table.
Kristoff is a Zionist, which makes his views of Iran worse than worthless.
The PeDon-old cared about not starting wars the same way he cared about finding pedophiles, not at all.
Children are not safe anymore. Epstein elites made their life in whole world. Crimes against children will be more now on.
Utterly useless conversation….New York Times still pretending that it’s relevant for some reason….