Thomas Wright
Washington, D.C.
As seen in:
Medium,
MSN,
The Washington Post,
Yahoo Canada,
Aol,
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC),
The Atlantic,
POLITICO,
Brookings Institution,
Flipboard
and
Senior Fellow @BrookingsFP. Contributing writer @TheAtlantic, Formerly Biden NSC, Author of All Measures Short of War, co-author of Aftershocks. Views my own.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Thomas Wright
Better U and Evernow Partner to Transform Women's Hormonal and Mental Health Care Through Menopause
Better U and Evernow Partner to Transform Women's Hormonal and Mental Health Care Through Menopause New telehealth partnership pairs menopause specialists with integrative psychiatry to treat perimenopause and menopause symptoms, mind and body together This partnership pairs psychiatry with deep menopause expertise, so we can finally treat mind and body as the connected system they've always been.” LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Holistic mental...
Trump Is Betting on the Wrong Europe
The far-right parties the White House favors have a foreign-policy agenda that won’t serve American interests. Donald Trump says he wants a Europe that is more capable of defending itself. But the nationalist-populist movements he is championing there will not advance this agenda and may put Europe at odds with the United States over China.
Can we slow down AI without losing to China?
As AI models grow more advanced, warnings of catastrophic risks are escalating. But are existential fears overshadowing immediate threats? Brookings experts Elham Tabassi and Kyle Chan join Thomas Wright to evaluate the reality of runaway AI, the debate over government regulation, and the geopolitical stakes of the U.S.-China technology race. WRIGHT: How do we get from the systems that we have today to something genuinely catastrophic?
Can we slow down AI without losing to China?
As AI models grow more advanced, warnings of catastrophic risks are escalating. But are existential fears overshadowing immediate threats? Brookings experts Elham Tabassi and Kyle Chan join Thomas Wright to evaluate the reality of runaway AI, the debate over government regulation, and the geopolitical stakes of the U.S.-China technology race. WRIGHT: How do we get from the systems that we have today to something genuinely catastrophic?
Trump Is Betting on the Wrong Europe
Donald Trump says he wants a Europe that is more capable of defending itself. But the nationalist-populist movements he is championing there will not advance this agenda and may put Europe at odds with the United States over China. Earlier this month, the nationalist-populist Alternative for Germany party came just a few seats short of an outright majority in a regional parliament, its best-ever result. This Sunday, Germans will vote in two more regional elections.
Congress Might Be About to Hand Trump Sweeping Tariff Powers
The Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, which the House will likely vote on this week, looks like a no-brainer for supporters of Ukraine who have been calling for President Trump to get tougher on Russia. A large majority of America’s existing sanctions on Russia, which target thousands of government officials and companies, are currently enforced by executive order, meaning that the president can remove them whenever he wants.
Why Did John Ratcliffe Go to Moscow?
Despite Trump’s claims, the CIA director’s visit was anything but routine. It might be a sign that Putin is getting more dangerous. CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s brief trip to Moscow yesterday was unannounced but hard to miss: He flew in a C-17A, a large heavy-transport plane, that open-source analysts quickly identified and tracked. Within hours, he was already on his way home. The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit remains unknown.
What the CIA Director’s Mysterious Trip to Moscow Could Mean
CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s brief trip to Moscow yesterday was unannounced but hard to miss: He flew in a C-17A, a large heavy-transport plane, that open-source analysts quickly identified and tracked. Within hours, he was already on his way home. The purpose of Ratcliffe’s visit remains unknown. In an interview with Glenn Beck this morning, President Trump described it as “sort of semi-routine,” but such trips are rare.
Why Did John Ratcliffe Go to Moscow?
The book, titled 'The Tsar in Propria Persona: How Vladimir Putin Deceived Us All,' draws on more than two decades of investigative reporting by …
The Ticking Clock on the Strait of Hormuz
Back in June, at the closing press conference for the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, Donald Trump explained why he had called a halt to hostilities with Iran. Continued bombing would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and as long as the war went on, commercial ships would stay away while emergency oil supplies dwindled. “We run out of reserves in about four weeks,” he warned, conjuring up images of shortages, bedlam, surging prices, and a market collapse on the scale of 1929.
The Multistate Solution to the Middle East
Last week, Rahm Emanuel traveled to Tel Aviv University to deliver an unusually blunt warning: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is jeopardizing Israel’s long-term alliance with the United States. Emanuel, the former Obama White House chief of staff, urged Israel to pursue what he called a “23-state solution”: an agreement in which movement toward Palestinian sovereignty would be embedded in a larger normalization deal between Israel and the Arab world.
A fractured front? Inside the Ankara NATO summit
At the recent NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, wary European leaders sought an equilibrium with the United States. Against a backdrop of ongoing conflict in Iran and Ukraine, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş asked Thomas Wright and Mara Karlin about the dynamics at play.
What Biden Changed About American Foreign Policy
The debate over the future of the Democratic Party’s foreign policy has become intensely personal.
Worse Than an Axis
If actions speak louder than words, the four major adversaries of the United States have sent a very clear message over the past few months. In June, Chinese leader Xi Jinping took his first international trip of 2026 to North Korea, where he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to expand their cooperation with no mention of denuclearization.
The Price of Defeat in Iran
Seventy-nine years ago this month, at Harvard University, Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a plan for the reconstruction of Europe. The Marshall Plan, as it quickly became known, committed more than $13 billion for Europe’s postwar recovery—approximately $150 billion in today’s dollars.
The Iran War Isn’t Only Trump’s to End
A U.S. official told Axios that on Monday that Donald Trump read Benjamin Netanyahu the riot act for wanting to launch strikes on Beirut, which could collapse American negotiations with Iran. The message, the official said, was “You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” Later that evening, the official White House account posted “TRUST IN TRUMP.
Donald Trump’s Nixon Moment That Wasn’t
In 1971, Richard Nixon announced his plan to visit Beijing—marking a geopolitical turning point, as the trip would be the first for a U.S. president in 25 years. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield offered an observation that has since become a Washington commonplace.
Donald Trump’s Nixon Moment That Wasn’t
21 hours ago Hours after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Taiwan against pursuing independence. "I'm not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that. I want …
The world after the unravelling
Thank you Sam for that kind introduction. I am delighted to be back in Australia with the Lowy Institute, and even more importantly, in Melbourne. I want to begin with a Melburnian and a story you all no doubt know well. In September 1951, Robert Menzies' government signed the ANZUS Treaty, the formal cornerstone of the alliance that has anchored Australian strategy ever since.
After the unravelling: Confronting the new world order
Thank you Sam for that kind introduction. I am delighted to be back in Australia with the Lowy Institute, and even more importantly, in Melbourne. I want to begin with a Melburnian and a story you all no doubt know well. In September 1951, Robert Menzies' government signed the ANZUS Treaty, the formal cornerstone of the alliance that has anchored Australian strategy ever since.
The Real Reason Iran Hasn’t Struck a Deal
On Monday, Iran made Donald Trump an offer: It would open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade while nuclear negotiations continued. On Wednesday, Trump rejected this offer, promising to keep the blockade in place until Iran agrees to America’s terms on the nuclear issue. The blockade “is genius,” he said, and “now they have to cry uncle. That’s all they have to do.
The Real Reason Iran Hasn’t Struck a Deal
5 hours ago US President Donald Trump has been declared the favorite to win the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, according to a UK betting company, despite waging war in Iran. Lee Phelps, a spokesperson for UK bookmaker William Hill, says that Trump’s odds of winning the prestigious prize are on the rise. This comes despite the continuation of war in the Middle East, started by both the US and Israel, which shows no signs of slowing down, despite Trump’s claims that peace talks continue.
A New Geopolitical Reality Is Here
The E-3 Sentry, with its distinctive rotating radar dome, is a flying command center that allows American forces to see and coordinate the battlefield. In recent weeks, Iran destroyed one on a runway in Saudi Arabia and reportedly damaged another. The United States has only a handful of E-3s deployed to the Middle East and a limited global fleet, making the aircraft one of the country’s most strategically valuable assets. Iran probably did not act alone.
The Countdown to a Ground War
The president wants to avoid a long, messy entanglement, but all of the ground options promise to be just that. Donald Trump announced this week that the United States and Iran had made significant progress in negotiations, and he was allowing five days to reach a deal. Tehran denied that it was talking with Washington at all. This is not, in any meaningful sense, a negotiation: It is a countdown. The timing is not coincidental.
The Countdown to a Ground War
Donald Trump announced this week that the United States and Iran had made significant progress in negotiations, and he was allowing five days to reach a deal. Tehran denied that it was talking with Washington at all. This is not, in any meaningful sense, a negotiation: It is a countdown. The timing is not coincidental. Thousands of Marines and much of the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne are en route to the Middle East.
The Countdown to a Ground War
22 hours ago The war in the Middle East ramped up on Thursday as Israel launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in the central city of Isfahan, and said it killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy. Iran hit back, firing two rounds of missiles at central Israel causing …
The Window to Declare Victory Is Closing
The window for Donald Trump to end the Iran war by simply declaring victory and walking away is rapidly closing. Soon he will face a stark choice: He can take greater risks in pursuit of a decisive tactical success, prepare the country for a prolonged conflict that could last for many months, or seek a negotiated settlement that involves a real compromise with Tehran. Initially, Trump saw his Venezuela operation as the template for Iran.
America’s and Israel’s Goals Are Already Colliding
Listen1.0x 0:008:57 The United States and Israel began their war against Iran with an extraordinary display of military cooperation, resulting in the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But differences began to emerge between Washington and Jerusalem almost immediately, and less than a week into the war, their objectives appear to be colliding.
America’s and Israel’s Goals Are Already Colliding
16 hours ago Years of US and Israeli pressure pushed Tehran from calibrated restraint to open regional confrontation. Since October 7, 2023, the United States and Israel believed that sustained diplomatic and military pressure on Iran would deter and degrade its capacity to fight. In the process, they degraded …
What Developers Know About the Dangers of Unbounded AI
On Tuesday, in a closed-door meeting, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a blunt ultimatum to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei: Strip the ethical guardrails from your AI models by Friday or face the full weight of the state. The terms of the threat were stark. If Anthropic does not allow the Pentagon “all lawful uses” of its Claude models, Hegseth will invoke the Defense Production Act to compel cooperation, he warned—or, even more devastatingly, designate Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
The Real Reason Anthropic Wants Guardrails
Now It’s my favorite “Star Trek” moment: Shields are down, captain! We can’t take another hit! In what seems like every movie or episode, whenever a federation starship is engaged in battle, its deflector shields are being raised or dropped or damaged by enemy fire to some oddly specific level (47 …
Trump’s Iran Policy Does Not Add Up
Donald Trump has assembled the largest U.S. force in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in early 2003, including two carrier strike groups and a formidable array of fifth-generation fighters. By one account, this agglomeration represents 40 to 50 percent of all deployable U.S. airpower in the world. War may be imminent. But the buildup masks a deep strategic confusion. The United States does not need a comprehensive deal with Iran now, and may be better off without one for the time being.
America Doesn’t Need a Deal or a War With Iran
1 hour ago Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, has cautioned that a lack of munitions and support from allies could mean greater danger for U.S. troops, people familiar with the discussions say. As the Trump administration weighs an attack on Iran, the Pentagon’s top general has cautioned …
Marco Rubio Doesn't Get It
Marco Rubio offered a more supportive message to Europe at the Munich Security Conference yesterday than J.D. Vance did a year ago. Wolfgang Ischinger, the chair of the conference, thanked him for the message of reassurance, adding: “I'm not sure you heard the sigh of relief in this hall.” This despite the fact that Rubio, like Vance, clearly misunderstands Europe and is in denial about the threats facing the United States and the transatlantic alliance.
Europe’s Red Lines Worked
Yesterday afternoon, Donald Trump announced that he had “formed the framework of a future deal” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, raising hopes in Europe that the Greenland crisis may have reached an end. The framework reportedly respects Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland and focuses instead on beefing up America’s military presence in the territory, reaching a deal on crucial minerals, and increasing cooperation on both Arctic security and Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense system.
What the Greenland Crisis Teaches Europe About Trump
9 hours ago US Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino couldn’t have been more unequivocal Tuesday when talking about the often aggressive and controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations he’s leading in Minneapolis. “Everything we do every day is legal, ethical, moral, well-grounded in law,” Bovino …
Building greater resilience and capacity in the US national security industrial base
Skip to content SPECIAL INSIDE THE CHINA THREAT | READ MORE → Powered by the McCrary Institute at Auburn University Get your cyber briefing Straight from our experts to your inbox
A strategy that ignores the real threats
Donald Trumps new National Security Strategy reveals an administration that is preparing for the wrong dangers and in denial about genuine threats.
Behind the negotiating table to end the Russia-Ukraine war Original
A recent flurry of negotiations among American, Russian, Ukrainian, and European officials to find a diplomatic solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war has, so far, been unsuccessful. To discuss Putin’s negotiation tactics, the reality on the battlefield, and how Ukraine can best position itself moving forward, Fiona Hill and Thomas Wright, two Brookings Foreign Policy senior fellows, join The Current.
Inflection Point: Biden, Trump, and the Future World Order | A Lowy Institute Paper: Penguin Special
From a Biden administration insider, an account of how global crises were managed and a warning of what is to come. ‘I would like to share with you what I saw.’ The old international order is over, and a competition is underway to determine what comes next. Inflection Point is an insider account of how the Biden administration handled global crises and what is to come under Trump and beyond.
Building greater resilience and capacity in the US national security industrial base
In the current policy landscape, virtually every stakeholder—from federal agencies to industry groups—calls for classifying a widening swath of economic activity as “national security.” The impulse to broaden what counts as critical has gained momentum not only with each new global disruption, but also with each new report highlighting U.S. exposure to China in key sectors, making “national security” a catchall for fears that range from supply interruptions to cyber threats.
A Self-Defeating Reversal on Ukraine Original
The Trump administration’s new plan for Ukraine is apparently to reverse all the progress it has made there in recent months. And not just that—to create a much bigger strategic problem that will bedevil the administration for the next three years. The strangest part of all of this is that the plan emerged at a moment when Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy had finally found its footing after a very turbulent start.
What If ‘America First’ Appears to Work? Original
In his second term, Donald Trump has crafted a foreign policy that is more radical than that of his first but also more politically viable. The stabilizing influence of powerful Cabinet members (the so-called axis of adults) is a thing of the past. In its place stands an unsettling but coherent vision that exploits U.S. allies for economic gain and downplays strategic competition with U.S. rivals in favor of moneymaking deals.
What If ‘America First’ Appears to Work?
2 hours ago Last week, President Trump caused a media frenzy after he floated the idea that the government should back the creation of a 50-year fixed mortgage. Many commenters, including some of Trump's own supporters, hated the idea. They complained that it would result in Americans being in debt for their …
Why Trump’s Ukraine Peace Efforts Keep Failing
The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Donald Trump is clearly frustrated with his failure to end the Russia-Ukraine war. He thought he could strike a deal with a simple transaction that recognized Russia’s territorial gains and appealed to its economic interests.
Why Trump’s Ukraine Peace Efforts Keep Failing
Top diplomats from G7 countries meet in Canada as trade tensions rise with Trump TORONTO (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven industrialized democracies are converging on southern Ontario as tensions rise between the U.S. and traditional allies like Canada over defense spending, trade and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan in Gaza and efforts to …
Commentary: A dynamite film, but a house of cards on nuclear reality
WASHINGTON DC: Three years ago, when I was serving at the United States National Security Council, we were faced with a nuclear crisis. As Bob Woodward described it in his book War, the intelligence community assessed that if Russian forces were facing a collapse in Ukraine, the probability that they would use tactical nuclear weapons was a coin flip. We had been working hard for months to deter Russian nuclear use and we also developed plans for what we would do if those efforts failed.
Trump Isn’t Interested in Competing With China Original
Most Republicans and many Trump-administration officials believe that the stakes of America’s competition with China are all but existential. Apparently, Donald Trump is not among them. The president talks about China as an economic rival but rarely as a strategic one—a view neatly encapsulated by his decision last month to ease export controls on advanced chips, which granted Beijing a boost in the AI race in exchange for a cut of the resulting sales.
Trump Isn’t Interested in Competing With China
China: Flying electric taxis have mid-air crash at trade show in China Changchun, China - September 16, 2025 A pair of flying electric taxis collided mid-air at a trade show in China. Local media reported that the two Xiaopeng Huitian electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles clashed at the Changchun Air Show on September 16.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Thomas
Contact Thomas, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack