Good morning.
I just wrapped up a CNN interview with John Berman and thought I’d make it a two-fer with a quick update here on Substack.
First, if you haven’t read Rachel’s (https://substack.com/@rachelvindman) excellent and very powerful piece, Courage Is the Antidote, I strongly encourage you to do so. It’s a sharp and timely commentary on the authoritarian takeover we are living through — one that doesn’t always look like what we expect from TV or from authoritarian regimes abroad, but is unmistakably here. We’re watching the targeting of political opponents, the infringement of First Amendment rights, and the normalization of coercion by the state. Rachel’s article is free to read, and I recommend it highly.
Key Themes from My CNN Interview
Our discussion focused on the upcoming UN General Assembly. This annual gathering brings world leaders together to grapple with both urgent crises and long-term challenges. Expect Israel’s war against Hamas, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and other flashpoints to dominate the agenda, along with enduring challenges like AI governance, cyber security, and climate change.
One particularly charged issue is the symbolic recognition of a Palestinian state by several nations — a rebuke of Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza. It is a reminder of how far we are from a viable two-state solution and a commentary on the failure to wind down the conflict and find a political path forward.
On Ukraine, the situation remains fraught three and a half years into Russia’s war. Moscow still believes it can outlast and out-escalate the West, using airspace violations, saber-rattling, and threats to pressure NATO into retreat. In recent weeks, Russian drones have violated Polish and Romanian airspace, and fighter jets have flown into Estonian territory. NATO’s response — intercepting and escorting aircraft out — risks being perceived as weak and emboldening further escalation.
Europe has options. When Russia violated Turkish airspace nearly a decade ago, Turkey shot down a Russian aircraft — and Russia never repeated the provocation. A similarly robust response today could reset the calculus. I continue to call for expanding NATO’s air policing mission into western Ukraine and shooting down Russian drones there to signal that Russian aggression carries consequences.
There’s a strong possibility that Trump and Zelensky will meet on the margins of UNGA. Expectations should be modest, but Trump has recently affirmed that the U.S. would defend the Baltic states and Poland if attacked — the minimum NATO commitment, but nonetheless an important statement. Continued intelligence sharing and arms sales, even at steep costs, may buy time for Europe to scale up its own defense production.
On a related note, my twin brother, Congressman Eugene Vindman, is in Ukraine right now as part of a bipartisan delegation. I expect he’ll have valuable insights to share when he returns.
A Dark Turn in U.S. Domestic Politics
Domestically, we are in an even more troubling place. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has become a pretext for escalating political violence and pretext for targeting Trump’s opponents. We are seeing threats against media figures and of revoking broadcast licenses as punishment for dissent. This is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment, which exists precisely to prevent government suppression of private citizens’ speech.
What’s more disturbing is how quickly major corporations, law firms, universities, and media companies bend under pressure — choosing to protect profit margins rather than the rule of law. It’s disheartening to see institutions so willing to sacrifice their integrity and undermine democratic norms to avoid confrontation with power.
I also find it grotesque that Kirk — a man who repeatedly smeared me and others, spreading lies and targeting vulnerable communities for personal gain — was honored with flags at half-staff and a presidential funeral. Fox News also branded congressional condemnations of political violence as “The Honoring of Charlie Kirk Act.” It’s a grim rewriting of events and a propaganda victory for the far right.
Add to this the administration’s push to limit access to COVID and childhood vaccines, its promotion of pseudoscience — now tying Tylenol use in pregnancy to autism — and the firing of prosecutors who refuse to fabricate charges against Trump’s political enemies, and we are staring at a truly dark moment for America.
The Way Forward
The next real chance to push back is at the ballot box. The upcoming gubernatorial elections in Virginia, as well as key races in New Jersey and special elections across the country, must be decisive. These cannot be close wins — they need to be overwhelming victories that send a clear message to every Republican sitting in an R+5 district: you are vulnerable.
Only by delivering wide, undeniable wins can we trigger the survival instincts of these politicians and begin to peel them away from rubber-stamping Trump’s agenda. A handful — Senator Tillis, Congressman Bacon, and others — have begun to distance themselves on specific issues. But we need far more than that. We need wholesale departures to turn the corner and set the stage for a more stable 2025 and 2026, heading into the midterms and the chance to reclaim a Democratic majority.
That’s the landscape as I see it. Thank you for tuning in, thank you for your support, and I look forward to continuing this conversation with you soon.
