Jonah Goldberg Columns category, Page 3
Goldberg: Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia a criminal? Great question.
Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia a good person? I don’t know. In 2021 his wife petitioned for, and received, an order of protection against him after she alleged domestic violence; she said last week that their marriage grew stronger after they worked through that low point and that Abrego Garcia “has...
Jonah Goldberg: Whitmer’s party should learn from what she did in the Oval Office
Kudos to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She managed to generate the most negatively iconic photo of a Democrat since Michael Dukakis wore a helmet atop a tank. Whitmer, long considered a promising presidential prospect by Democratic insiders, was at the White House to discuss state business. But when President Trump’s...
Jonah Goldberg: What will Trump’s tariffs ‘liberate’ us from?
I am writing this from the last days of our captivity. Indeed, by the time some of you read this, we will be free. If all goes according to the White House’s plan, April 2 will go down in history as America’s “Liberation Day.” Steve Bannon, a prominent unofficial Trump...
Jonah Goldberg: Congress wants to impeach judges instead of doing its job
Some Republicans want U.S. District Judge James Boasberg removed from the bench for allegedly interfering with the president’s authority — under the Constitution and the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — to deport members of a Venezuelan gang. Texas Rep. Brandon Gill and several colleagues introduced articles of impeachment charging that...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump administration has a free-speech problem
I have to wonder: When will Vice President JD Vance condemn his own administration? Last month, Vance, a self-described foreign policy “realist” who scorns the practice of describing countries as “good guys” and “bad guys,” caused quite a stir at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. He invited controversy, however,...
Jonah Goldberg: The Homer Simpson gloss on Trump’s tariff philosophy
There’s a classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer gets a gun. He thinks his awesome gun is great for everything: home defense, opening beer bottles, whatever. When Marge says she doesn’t want a weapon in the house, Homer replies, “A gun is not a weapon, Marge, it’s a...
Jonah Goldberg: Here’s the key to understanding Donald Trump’s approach to the Ukraine war
I don’t say this often, but let’s give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt. During Trump’s instantly infamous Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, the Ukrainian president was determined to make one point above all: that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not to be trusted. Again and...
Jonah Goldberg: Whether Russia invaded Ukraine is not a ‘complicated’ question. Why say it is?
On the day before the third anniversary of the brutal, lawless invasion of Ukraine, “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on whether it’s “fair to say” that Russia’s attack was unprovoked. Hegseth responded that it’s “fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.” This is...
Jonah Goldberg: Trump’s pace can’t go on forever
Whether you’re feeling queasy or euphoric, or even a bit of both, about the opening weeks of the second Trump presidency, my advice is to remember Stein’s Law. Richard Nixon’s former chief economic adviser, Herb Stein, declared: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” I’ve found this to...
Jonah Goldberg: Many will lie about the consequences of Trump’s tariffs. The markets won’t.
Thank God for the stock market. The market is one of the only things Donald Trump can be expected to listen to — likely more than polls and certainly more than his advisers — even when he doesn’t want to hear what it’s saying. During his first term, Trump routinely...
Jonah Goldberg: Party unity no easy feat with leader like Trump
Donald Trump has long complained that Democrats are better at sticking together than Republicans are. He’s already revisited this gripe. In meetings with Republican leaders from the House and Senate and with the House Freedom Caucus, he reportedly insisted that Republicans need to be unified the way Democrats are. Whether...
Jonah Goldberg: Donald Trump is president again. Did you feel the vibe shift?
As a second Trump administration dawns — or, for his opponents, descends — on America, an interesting and unusual discussion has emerged over the broader meaning of Trump’s victory. One thing that makes it unusual is there’s more consensus than disagreement about the fundamental point: There’s been a significant “vibe...
Jonah Goldberg: The U.S. should acquire Greenland (peacefully). But Trump saying so makes it harder.
Whether it was Will Rogers or Tony Soprano, the old advice of “buy land; God’s not making any more of it” is good real estate advice, but it’s hardly an iron law. First of all, God does make more land from time to time. And so do humans. This raises...
Jonah Goldberg: The ‘deep state’ and ‘the swamp’ are both favorite Trump targets. Here’s the difference.
Donald Trump has promised to do many things once he reoccupies the White House. Among the most famous, and most desired by his biggest fans, is his vow to “drain the swamp” and “demolish the deep state.” The first and arguably most important challenge for such a project is definitional....
