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The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

12 December 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

5 December 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

28 November 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

在与中国竞争的世界之巅,美国正给自己“挖坑”

28 November 2025 at 01:11

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在与中国竞争的世界之巅,美国正给自己“挖坑”

LYDIA POLGREEN
在华盛顿,长达十年的激烈政治两极化刚刚导致了美国历史上最长的政府停摆。但两党却存在一个罕见的共识:由美国建立并主导的世界秩序正面临中国的威胁,中国意图取代美国在全球的正当领导地位。
有一个词精准概括了这一论调——修昔底德陷阱,特指新兴大国挑战现存霸权国时引发的激烈冲突。在修昔底德所处的时代,是雅典成功挑战了斯巴达的霸主地位。而这一模式在历史上反复上演,新兴大国的野心与扩张几乎无一例外以流血冲突收场。
特朗普的第二任期彻底颠覆了这一预设。在一片混乱中,本届政府单方面对美国亲手建立的全球秩序展开了彻底破坏——威胁发动侵略、滥用惩罚性关税、近乎抛弃长期盟友。相比之下,中国的回应大多是坚定维护现状。局势出现惊人逆转:如今执意触发修昔底德陷阱的,似乎是美国而非中国。在世界之巅,美国正在自我颠覆。
两党此前的这一共识如今已显露裂痕,而这一共识本身建立在对中国意图的误读之上。至少,三位东亚问题学者近期发表在麻省理工学院《国际安全》(International Security)期刊上的一篇颇具争议的论文是这样认为的。作者写道:“中国是一个关注政权稳定、维护现状的大国,其对内政策重心远高于对外战略诉求。”
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这一清醒的分析基于对海量中国文献资料的深入研究,涵盖官方讲话、学校课程等各类文本。研究结论令人瞩目:作者发现,中国公开宣称的领土关切从未超出其长期主张的台湾地区及相对狭小的边境地带。“中国的目标明确无误;中国的目标持久不变;中国的目标是有限的,”他们写道。
中国的大部分外交政策并非向外输出意识形态,而是旨在巩固执政党在国内的执政根基。外界眼中所谓的激进举措,往往是为解决国内问题而采取的行动。以“一带一路”倡议为例,一些人将其视为中国通过准帝国主义手段争取发展中国家支持的举措。但论文作者之一、乔治敦大学国际关系学者泽诺比亚·陈(音)表示,该倡议的背后更多是国内考量,而非全球野心。
“这在很大程度上是受国内需求推动的,全球金融危机后,中国出现了严重的工业产能过剩,”她告诉我。她还说,除了长期坚持要求合作方恪守一个中国政策、不承认台湾独立外,中国基本上并未将这些海外投资用作实现全球野心的杠杆,更没有强迫发展中国家在美国和中国之间选边站队。
当然,中国在全球舞台上绝非高尚甚至善意的角色。其在南海的强硬姿态、在新疆的残酷镇压、对香港的整治行动,以及不顾台湾民众意愿、执意要吞并台湾的顽固诉求,都对亚洲的和平稳定构成了严峻挑战,也违背了基本人权原则。近期中国与日本的外交争端升级——暂停日本海鲜进口并建议中国公民避免赴日旅游——更是彰显了中国的施压能力。
但无论这些行为多么残酷,都远未达到重构世界秩序的程度。中国似乎只是在现有体系内维护自身认为的历史诉求和内政主权,以一种美国(尤其是在特朗普执政时期)几乎没有资格指责的方式曲解规则。这一区别至关重要:一个即便手段强硬但以维护现状为目的的大国,还是一个试图按自身形象重塑世界的大国,这两者所构成的挑战有着本质不同。
无论如何,认为全球应由单一霸权国主导的想法或许早已过时。“这并非单纯的美国相对衰落或中国崛起,而是相较于前几十年,权力分布更加广泛,由不同地区的多个大国共同掌握,”艾玛·阿什福德在其发人深省的新书《群雄之首》(First Among Equals)中写道。“美国和中国虽领先于其他国家,但领先优势远不及冷战时期的两个超级大国。”多极格局下的复杂平衡而非两极对峙才是未来的趋势。
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可以说,特朗普并未妥善应对这一现实。在他一系列疯狂威胁中,近期以“持续纵容杀害基督徒”为由扬言对尼日利亚动武的言论或许最能体现他的挫败感。美国向来按自己的规则行事,但特朗普甚至抛弃了表面上对原则的尊重。政治学家普拉塔普·巴努·梅塔对我说:“声称‘某些国际法规则不适用于我们’是一回事,而宣称‘我根本不在乎国际法是什么’则是另一回事。”
无论有没有特朗普,过去20年的军事冒险主义都已成为美国衰落的明显标志。“如果我们必须通过入侵这个并未对我们构成威胁的国家、发动全球反恐战争来维持霸权,那显然我们正在走下坡路,”进步派外交政策学者、《对抗危机》(The Rivalry Peril)作者范·杰克逊指出。“历史周期反复证明,当主导大国开始在全球范围内投入资源,扮演这种军事角色的时候,新兴大国就会崛起,在全球经济中发挥更重要的作用。”
历史上不乏衰落大国因侵略扩张而覆灭的案例:16世纪西班牙军事圣战式愚行、奥斯曼帝国晚期对民族主义的追捧、两次世界大战之间英国维系摇摇欲坠的帝国地位的无谓尝试。这些案例的结局如出一辙:在全球舞台上迅速丧失权力与声望。
当下的局势或许并非完全如此。尽管特朗普频频威胁在海外采取军事行动,但除了对伊朗核设施发动短暂空袭、轰炸加勒比海小型船只外,他似乎更热衷于动用军队管控美国公民。正如他对军方高层所言,这在一定程度上可能是为海外军事冒险练兵。但人们很难不认为,对民主党执政城市的居民发动战争本身也是一个目标。
同样,特朗普激进的关税战与世界关系远不如表面看起来那么密切。这场关税战表面上是为了与那些“欺诈”美国的国家公平竞争,惩罚那些政策损害美国利益的国家(芬太尼问题就是典型例子)。但近期最高法院就特朗普关税政策展开的辩论明确显示,这些关税的成本大多由美国民众承担,同时还绕过了宪法赋予国会的财政决策权。简而言之,这场关税战看似针对全球,实则伤害的是本国。
这就形成了一种难以抗拒的讽刺:特朗普政府领导下的美国,非但没有遏制中国,反而可能变得越来越像中国。美国正朝着这个方向发展:痴迷于政权稳定,不惜动用一切手段管控民众;小心翼翼地守护周边势力范围,却对领导全球毫无兴趣;在民族主义的狂热氛围中,围绕专制领导人塑造个人崇拜。
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尽管特朗普在竞选时言辞激烈地抨击中国,但他从未真正成为对华强硬派,即便其身边部分人士一直主张采取更激进的政策遏制中国崛起。事实上,他常常对习近平主席大加赞赏,习近平所拥有的那种近乎不受限制的权力正是特朗普梦寐以求的。“习主席是一个伟大国家的伟大领导人,”上月在韩国会晤时,特朗普曾这样献殷勤。
特朗普的赞美发生在美国接连退出自己协助创立的多边机构(联合国、世界卫生组织等)之际。至于本周末在南非召开的二十国集团峰会,特朗普数月前就宣布不会出席,派遣副总统万斯代为参会。万斯在此前的国际场合一直扮演着严厉批评者的角色,说教欧洲国家要维护言论自由,还当面斥责乌克兰总统泽连斯基。不难想象,他若在约翰内斯堡参会,又会发表怎样的言论。
但我们永远无从知晓了,因为特朗普本月突然宣布美国将全面抵制此次峰会,还荒谬地声称南非白人正遭受黑人多数群体的迫害和种族灭绝式暴力。“只要这些侵犯人权的行为持续下去,美国政府官员就不会出席峰会,”特朗普在社交媒体上写道。然而在周四,美国政府又突然改口,表示派遣一支规模小、级别低的代表团参会,但该代表团不会参与峰会讨论。
中国则在进行一场更具长远眼光、更精妙的博弈。作为习近平主席的首席特使,中国总理李强将率领庞大的官员代表团出席约翰内斯堡峰会,准备与全球主要经济体探讨新兴多极秩序下的挑战与机遇。
随着美国的霸权地位日渐衰落,如今它面临着一个抉择:要么以受尊重的伙伴身份,与新兴国家携手构建一个更公平的新型多极世界;要么执意追求通过霸权统治获得的、代价高昂且脆弱不堪的权力。特朗普选择了后者,而中国似乎选择了前者。哪条道路通向和平与繁荣,哪条道路终将走向毁灭,历史已经告诉我们。

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The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

21 November 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on transforming the armed forces

21 November 2025 at 18:00

Dan Driscoll made history earlier this year when, at 38, he was sworn in as the youngest Army secretary in U.S. history.

And he just made news again this week when he became the highest-level Trump administration official to visit Kyiv for the White House’s secret peace talks in effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Driscoll joined high-level talks with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as news broke about a potential peace deal on the horizon.
The Conversation 11-21-25 Driscoll is a veteran of the Iraq War, and as a result, has felt the effects of Pentagon decisions firsthand. He’s set out to reshape the U.S. Army and the Pentagon into an agile institution that can make better use of existing resources and channel the best practices of the private sector.

“When you are creating defensive and offensive solutions, you have to think even 10 years out when the war really gets to its most catastrophic moment, ‘What are the very basic tools of warfare that can't be impacted by the enemy,” Driscoll said.

In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Driscoll sits down with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to delve into the future of warfare, his plans for reinvigorating the Army’s technology and the innovation spurred by conflict.

“I think the best guess is if the United States entered a conflict with a peer in a couple of years, it would be a hybrid war where nearly every human being on the battlefield would be empowered and enabled with a digital tool,” Driscoll said. “I think we believe every infantryman in the United States Army will carry a drone with them into battle.”

CNN "NewsNight" host Abby Phillip also joined Dasha to chat about her new book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power,” Jackson’s influence on today’s political landscape and Phillip’s approach to her own roundtable show.

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Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and CNN Anchor Abby Phillip | The Conversation

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

14 November 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Seth Moulton on the Epstein emails, Venezuela and the shutdown

14 November 2025 at 18:00

Rep. Seth Moulton (D–Mass.) is not one to shy away from criticism of his own party. He made waves in the past when he insisted that the Democrats’ approach to dialogue on transgender issues was stifling. Moulton has also been vocal about the need for generational change in an aging Washington.

This time, the Massachusetts congressman is speaking out about the deal that ended the longest government shutdown in history and how Senate Democrats missed an opportunity to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“If Republicans were somehow gaining advantage here, if the polling was shifting in their favor, if they had done well in the elections last week, then I might say, ’Okay, I get it. It doesn't seem like this strategy is working, so let's give up,’” Moulton said. “But Schumer has just snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.”

Moulton is a veteran who served four tours in Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer. He’s also challenging Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey for his seat in the 2026 midterms — a feat that former Rep. Joe Kennedy III attempted and lost in 2020.

“Senator Markey is a good guy,” says Moulton. “He served the country for half a century. I mean, he's been in office longer than I've been alive. He and I agree on many of the issues. He says the right things, he has great press releases, but how much has he actually gotten done?”

In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Moulton talks with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns about how he believes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is failing his party, why age needs to be a major consideration for lawmakers and how Senate Democrats could have done more to guarantee access to affordable health care.

Plus, POLITICO’s Senior Congressional Editor Mike DeBonis joins Dasha to discuss how the shutdown finally came to an end, which party ended up better off afterwards and how this event may shape Congress in the year to come.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated when former Rep. Joe Kennedy III has run against Sen. Ed Markey. It was in 2020. This report also previously misstated former Rep. Joe Kennedy III's title. He is a former congressman.

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Seth Moulton on his Senate bid, Venezuela and the Epstein files | The Conversation

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

7 November 2025 at 18:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

31 October 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

24 October 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Why Sen. Rand Paul feels like GOP ‘whipping boy’

24 October 2025 at 12:00

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is known for being a firebrand when it comes to his conservative, small-government principles. He’s also known for being a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, despite taking issue with some of the president’s policies.

But Paul takes issue with being what he says is the only Republican willing to stand up to Trump and his latest moves which, according to Senator Paul, fly in the face of GOP principles and campaign promises.

Most recently, he was concerned over his Republican colleagues’ hesitation to confront Trump about his now-former nominee to lead Office of the Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia. Ingrassia withdrew from the Senate confirmation process earlier this week after POLITICO’s reporting on texts that showed him making racist and antisemitic remarks.

“I hear a lot of flack from Republicans and they want me to do it. They say, ‘Oh, well, you're not afraid of the president. You go tell him his nominee can't make it,’” says Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “I'm just tired of always being the whipping boy.”

In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Paul joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns — just hours after he was snubbed from a presidential luncheon — to talk about this GOP fear of confronting Trump, support for House colleague Rep. Thomas Massie, the administration's latest foreign policy moves, the Epstein files and a “farmageddon” that may be on the horizon.

“If I'm given the choice of President Trump versus Harris or versus Biden, without question, I choose President Trump over and over again,” says Paul. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and just say, ‘Oh, I'm leaving all my beliefs on the doorstep. I'm no longer going to be for free trade. I'm no longer going to be for balanced budgets. I'm no longer going to be opposed to killing people without trials, without naming them, without evidence.’ No, I have to remain who I am.”

Later in the show, Dasha speaks to epidemiologist and public health professor Katelyn Jetelina, the founder of the Substack “Your Local Epidemiologist." They discuss what it’s like being a health communicator in the time of MAHA and why she thinks public health is nearing "system collapse."

If you want more of The Conversation, check out the interviews with Senator Paul and Dr. Jetelina on YouTube and the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

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Sen. Rand Paul and Katelyn Jetelina | The Conversation

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

17 October 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

10 October 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Oregon AG to Trump: There’s no rebellion here

10 October 2025 at 16:00

Dan Rayfield is Oregon’s attorney general — and the latest state-level politician to be thrust into the national spotlight by a legal clash with the Trump administration. In this instance, it’s over the federal government ordering troops into Portland, where protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been deemed rebellion by the president.

I would invite anybody to come to Oregon and I think it's pretty clear that there isn't an invasion going on in Oregon,” Rayfield says. “Sometimes I'll joke the only rebellion going on right now is when I tried to feed my son a vegetable.”

The AG explained that his opposition to Trump’s proposed deployment is because, in his view, the president’s stated reasons for doing so aren’t based on the facts — or in the best interest of the people of Oregon.“If you want to deploy the military, if you want to federalize the National Guard, I'm okay with that if you have the right facts for it.,” Rayfield says. “We should give any president some deference, but when you have zero facts to base it on, that's when you've got to draw the line.”

In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Rayfield talks with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns about how he’s trying to defend states rights by fending off the Trump administration’s attempted National Guard incursion in Portland, the reality of what’s happening in the city, freedom of speech and how progressive policies have drawn outside attention to the state in recent years.

Plus, blogger and activist Vani Hari — better known as “The Food Babe” — joins the show to talk about her influence on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how she hopes to help the MAHA agenda become reality.

Check out the interview with Dan Rayfield on YouTube and the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

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Oregon AG Dan Rayfield and Vani 'Food Babe' Hari | The Conversation

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

3 October 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

26 September 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

James Talarico on immigration, his faith, and how Democrats are getting it wrong

26 September 2025 at 12:05

James Talarico is a Texas state representative who’s recently announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. He’s a Democrat, but not afraid to criticize some aspects of his party.

“National Democrats have talked about defending democracy or protecting institutions,” he said. “But, this democracy of ours doesn't work for a lot of people in this country. It doesn't work for a lot of people in Texas…. This is a deeply broken political system. And I'm not interested in defending it.”

Talarico joined POLITICO’s Dasha Burns this week for an episode of The Conversation, in a wide-ranging conversation about his candidacy, his faith and what Democrats can learn from Beyoncé.

Talarico caught national attention when he flipped a state House district outside Austin in 2018, and has grown in prominence on social media, where he boasts millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. The former school teacher who’s studying to be a pastor is joining a crowded race to try to turn a Senate seat blue in Texas.

His faith has been one of the central aspects of his campaign. “My faith is why I went into public service. My granddad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas [and he] told me that Jesus gave us these two commandments to love God and love neighbor, which means that your faith is inherently public, right?,” he said. “That means that your faith should impact how you treat people out in the world. And really politics is just another word for how we treat our neighbors at the most fundamental level.”

When it comes to immigration, a Texas issue in the national spotlight, Talarico offered a metaphor to explain his approach. “People have a desire for a sane immigration system, a secure border that can ensure public safety and can ensure that the people coming here are coming to contribute to our communities and not threaten our communities,” he said. “We should treat our southern border like our front porch. We should have a giant welcome mat out front, and we should have the lock on the door.”

The full episode of The Conversation is available this weekend on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

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James Talarico on immigration, his faith, and how Democrats are getting it wrong

The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics

19 September 2025 at 17:00
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
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