February 21, 2026 Archives

RealClearPolitics Week of February 16, 2026 Archives

RealClearPolitics Morning Edition

Monday, February 16
Presidents' Day: A Reminder How Legacies Change
Samuel Waitt, The Tennessean
Every Day Is Presidents' Day Now
Ryan Teague Beckwith, MS Now
Marco Rubio Delivers Tough Love to Europe
Miranda Devine, New York Post
Rubio's Speech to Europe Wasn't 'Reassuring' at All
Nathalie Tocci, The Guardian
Harris and Vance Lead in 2028 Primary Races for President
Terry Jones, I&I/TIPP
Poll Shows Older Women Are Up for Grabs in Midterms
Daniel de Vise, USA Today
Why China Wants Gavin Newsom To Be President
Joel Kotkin, New York Post
This AZ District Is Key to Control of the House
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times
New Way of Managing Weapons Sales Puts America First
Rubio & Hegseth, USAT
Trump’s Damage Is Done. Dems (& Europe) Wonder What's Next
Kasie Hunt, CNN
Governors & Good Governance
O'Comartun & Larsen, RealClearPolitics
ICE Is a Rogue Agency, Nasty and Cruel
Sen. Chuck Schumer, CNN
How Did Democrats Think Open Borders Would End?
Ann Coulter, Commonplace
Dems, Don't Provide a Single Dime to MAGA Storm Troopers
Ryan Cooper, TAP
Pam Bondi Deserves Backlash Over Epstein Testimony
Nicole Russell, USA Today
Should Trump Shake Up His Cabinet?
Byron York, Washington Examiner
No, NYT, a Woman Did Not Commit Mass Murder in Canada
Sasha Stone, Substack
'28 (TIPP): Dems: Harris 38, Newsom 13, Buttigieg 5, Shapiro 4 | R: Vance +25
Tuesday, February 17
Revival: Young Men, Highly Educated Lead Return to Religion
Kotkin & Mahlobo, RCI


Why Democrats Haven't Been Able To Moderate
Alicia Nieves, Compact Magazine
Trump's Washington Has Become Unrecognizable
Brian Karem, Salon
What WSJ Gets Wrong About the Talking Filibuster
Rachel Bovard, The Federalist
What Would It Take for Democrats To Take the Senate?
Bill Scher, Washington Monthly
When You're Over the Target and Fighting, They Come After You
Ken Paxton, FNS
Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Dead at 84
Kevin Robillard, HuffPost
How Relaxed Covid-Era Rules Fueled Minnesota Scam
Kristin Robbins, RCP
Is This Time Going To Be Different on Jobs?
Mohamed El-Erian, Financial Times
Self-Milking Cow Machines
Cass & Kishi, Commonplace
Was DEI Policy Responsible for E. Coli Exposure in DC?
Andrea Widburg, Am. Thinker
The End of Purple States and Competitive Districts
Mark Rush, RealClearPolitics
Can the U.S. Win the War on GPS Jamming?
Lisa Fletcher, Full Measure
Why Markets Should Care About Jimmy Lai's Sentence
Andy Browne, Semafor
Deportation NATO Is an Idea Whose Time Has Come
Rupert Lowe, Restore Britain
Pa. Town Struggles To Conquer the Curse of Coal
John Luciew, PennLive
Blackwater Draw: The Making of Billy the Kid
Palladium Pictures
Wednesday, February 18
Put Up or Put a Sock in It, Europe
Boris Johnson, Wall Street Journal


Marco Rubio’s Sugar-Coated MAGA
Carl Bildt, Project Syndicate
Trump Admin Is Serious About Western Civilization
Andrew Day, Am Conservative
Netanyahu Plays Trump & American Jews for Fools - Again
Thomas Friedman, NYT
Ocasio-Cortez Crashes and Burns in Munich
Sasha Stone, Substack
AOC Took Her Populism Global, Will It Take Her to Oval Office?
Kevin Frey, MS Now
Democrats, You May Already Have Lost the 2028 Election
Matthew Continetti, WSJ
Dems’ Investments in Black & Latino Voters Will Pay Off
Henry Fernandez, The Hill
Anti-Trump GOP Elites Scheming To Tank Midterms for Dems
Sean Davis, Federalist
The Year of the Independent
Adam Brandon, RealClearPolitics
Rise in Transgender Killers Shows Major Mental Health Crisis
Karol Markowicz, NYP
Understanding Public Opinion on the Trans Issue
Jerusalem Demsas, The Argument
NIH Rethinking China, DEI, and High-Risk Labs
Louderback & Jekielek, Epoch Times
Jesse Jackson Was Living Bridge Between King & Obama
David Smith, The Guardian
Obama in No Position To Lecture Us About Decency
David Harsanyi, DC Examiner
Jesse Jackson Was Never Going To Be President, But He Led
Joe Klein, Substack
Ben Sasse on Cancer Battle & 'Redeeming the Time'
Peter Robinson, Hoover Institution
Thursday, February 19
Why Exactly Did Biden & Co. Destroy the Border?
Victor Davis Hanson, Am Greatness


If Democrats Fold on Their ICE Demands, It Will Be a Disaster
Shirin Ali, Slate
Finance Industry Is a Grift. Start Treating It That Way
Oren Cass, New York Times
Oren Cass' Bad Timing
Michael Toth, Civitas Outlook
Talarico's Stunt Interview With Colbert
Bevan, Cannon & Walworth, RCP on SiriusXM
Democrats Throw Jasmine Crockett Under the Bus
Sasha Stone, Substack
What Will Replace the Old Order?
Mike Sabo, The American Mind
U.S. Dragging Europe Back To Days of White Supremacism
Shada Islam, Guardian
AOC Flops in Munich, NYT Tries To Save Presidential Hopes
Joe Concha, Examiner
Maybe the Time Is Right for an AOC Presidential Bid
Perry Bacon, The New Republic
Can Newsom Live Down His Record?
Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
Deporting Censorship: U.S. Targets U.K. Government Ally
Paul Thacker, RCI
The Unregulated AI Experiment on America's Kids
Logan Chapman, American Prospect
We Must Take Stand Against 'Woke AI' Before It's Too Late
Miranda Devine, NY Post
Don't Panic About Moltbook
Jackie Snow, Quartz
AI Surveillance Should Scare Both Parties
Brendan Steinhauser, RealClearPolitics
Lent Has Come, Just In Time
Peachy Keenan, Substack
NH Dem '28 (UNH): Buttigieg 20, Newsom 15, AOC 15, Harris 10, Kelly 10
Friday, February 20
Decisive and Effective: Trump Foreign Policy's Keys to Success
Penn & Stein, WSJ


Trump Confronts Options on Iran
Liptak, Holmes, Cohen & Bertrand, CNN
Solving Biden's Affordability Problem
Larry Kudlow, New York Sun
Virginia Gov. Spanberger To Give Dem SOTU Response
Julianne McShane, MS Now
We Have Made America Safer in Just One Year
Kash Patel, FOX News
The Democrats Have a Fraud Problem
Ruy Teixeira, Substack
The Wrong Agency Went First in Minnesota
J.T. Young, RealClearPolitics
Cornyn Flatlines in Polls Ahead of Texas GOP Primary
Nathan Gonzales, Roll Call
Timing Right for Justice Alito (or Thomas) To Retire?
Josh Hammer, Newsweek
Consumer Groups Could Derail Blackstone Utility Bid
James Baratta, Am. Prospect
Digitized Classrooms: What Were We Thinking?
Mark Bauerlein, Chronicles
How Early Did CIA Know About Nord Stream Attack?
Lehberger & Schmid, Der Spiegel
Can Board of Peace Replace the U.N.?
Bevan, Cannon & Wegmann, RCP on SiriusXM
Jesse Jackson, Complicated Man
James Antle, The American Conservative
Remembering Jesse Jackson's Poetic Synthesis
David Masciotra, Washington Monthly
Women Don't Want To Just Be 'Girlbosses' or 'Tradwives'
Kimberly Ross, DC Examiner
Liu's Incredible Comeback To Win Figure Skating Gold
Les Carpenter, Washington Post
Texas Senate: GOP Primary | Dem Primary | General Election | Generic (BD): D+9
Saturday, February 21
A Good Day for the Rule of Law
Jared Bernstein, MS Now
Chief Justice Roberts Delivers Another 'Creative' Ruling
Cass & Kishi, Commonplace
Tariff Smackdown Is Win for Limited Government
Ingrid Jacques, USA Today
Ruling Is a Victory for World Trade--But Also Tricky
Eduardo Porter, The Guardian
Supreme Court's Interference Won't Stop Reciprocity Tariffs
Larry Kudlow, NY Sun
Bruce Springsteen Is Bringing the Calvary
John Nichols, The Nation
Conversation With Joe Abraham, 'Angel Dad'
Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics on SiriusXM
CIA Yanks 19 Docs 'Compromised' by Leftist Activism
Hemingway & Boyd, Federalist
How Justice Alito's Retirement Might Upend the Midterms
Ed Kilgore, NY Magazine
Poll: 'MAHA Winnable Middle' Could Secure GOP '26 Victory
Adam Garrie, Substack
What Does 'America First' Mean in Iran?
Josiah Lippincott, American Greatness
Why Iran Is Betting on War
Vali Nasr, Financial Times
On Brink of War Trump Has Not Even Bothered Explaining
Glenn Greenwald, Substack
Trump Reveals True Cost of Federal Collective Bargaining
Vincent Vernuccio, RCP
Crockett Was in the Driver's Seat. Then Colbert Happened
Igor Bobic, HuffPost
Goodell Hopes To Cash In on Risky Halftime Decision
Charles Gasparino, NY Post
What Robert Kraft Gets Right
Pamela Paresky, RealClearBooks
Generic Ballot: Big Data: Dems +9 | YouGov: Dems +7 | Reuters/Ipsos: Dems +4
Sunday, February 22
The Father of Our Country and Stories That Formed Us
Carl Cannon, RealClearPolitics
The Left's Elastic Principles on Judicial Authority
Roger Kimball, American Greatness
Trump Attack on SCOTUS Was Unhinged Even for Him
Chris Lehmann, The Nation
SCOTUS Has Ruled on Tariffs, But Who Will Ultimately Pay?
Jonathan Turley, The Hill
Ruling Hands China Leverage Ahead of Summit With U.S.
Li, et al., Bloomberg
Eileen Gu Is an Indictment of Birthright Citizenship
Elle Purnell, The Federalist
Iran Students Resume Anti-Government Protests
Jaroslav Lukiv, BBC News
Brits Spied on Me
Paul Thacker, Substack
JPMorgan Closed More Than 50 Trump Accounts in 2021
Elizabeth Weibel, Breitbart
What Jesse Jackson Taught Democrats
Peters & Nwanevu, Vox
Incredibly Mamdani's NYC Budget Exceeds Entire State of Florida
Mark Penn, X
Trump Lives Up to His Promise to East Palestine
Salena Zito, Washington Examiner
Tolerance for Mismanagement Threatens Progressives
Erik Clarke, The Hill
A Solid Core Enlivens Free Speech and Viewpoint Diversity
Peter Berkowitz, RCP
Building Citizens
Justin Shubow, Civics Magazine
What DC Doesn't Get About Armenian Genocide
Stephan Pechdimaldji, National Interest
AI Can Help Defend Against Cyberattacks
Anne Neuberger, Wall Street Journal


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