Opinion Today: Trump’s way of doing business

Here’s what we’re focusing on.

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Opinion Today
March 12, 2026

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Welcome to Opinion Today! Every weekday, we’ll send you expert analyses and commentary to help you make sense of the news and see cultural moments from fresh vantage points. We’ll take a step back on Saturdays, sending you thought-provoking essays and interviews on the big ideas shaping the world. Your feedback is always welcome; feel free to write to us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.

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An illustration with an all white background and a black circular hole at the bottom. Donald Trump is emerging from the hole.

Illustration by Kristie Bailey/The New York Times

Notable

U.S. debt makes us vulnerable. “What is more important — and controllable — is trust. Trust is the actual asset underlying America’s ability to borrow cheaply and was what made foreign capital want to come here.”

— Kyla Scanlon, a contributing Opinion writer

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Cuba doesn’t have to be next. “There is still an opportunity for a softer landing that could alleviate Cubans’ suffering and pave the way for a more stable and peaceful political and economic transition.”

— Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, and Katrin Hansing, an associate professor of anthropology at Baruch College at the City University of New York

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‘I’m flabbergasted by the relentless pessimism’: Three Opinion writers on the war with Iran. “A zombie regime, humiliated and crushed? Why do I find myself thinking of Russia’s Soviet Union-to-Vladimir Putin trajectory?”

— Megan K. Stack, a contributing Opinion writer, in a round-table conversation

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Spotlight

James Fishback stands behind an American flag and puts his arm around a blond woman.

Damon Winter/The New York Times

I Went to Florida to See the 31-Year-Old Candidate Thrilling Gen Z. We’re in Trouble.

The columnist Michelle Goldberg writes that James Fishback has managed to bring the paranoid, transgressive, meme-drunk spirit of the right-wing internet into the real world.

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ICYMI

Why Mamdani is one of the country’s most popular politicians. “Mamdani is offering something no other politician in America has seemed able to for years now: a relentless optimism about what is possible through politics.”

— David Wallace-Wells, Opinion writer

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Listen (or Watch)

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The New York Times

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

The Democrats Could Still Mess This Up

MS Now anchor Chris Hayes says the party still can’t articulate its vision.

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1 HR 8 MIN LISTEN

More in Opinion

Barbed wire in a field on southern border of the United States.

The Conversation

I Declare War on You

Our constitutional framework for war lies in pieces around us.

By Emily Bazelon and David French

A huge plume of smoke rises above a highway with signs in Persian.

W.J. Hennigan

Trump and Netanyahu Are No Longer on the Same Page

American goals are starting to conflict with Israel’s.

By W.J. Hennigan

A photo illustration featuring Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. in “Love Story" and a woman facing each other, with the woman’s figure somewhat scratched out.

letters

Daryl Hannah’s Objections to ‘Love Story’

Readers respond to Daryl Hannah’s guest essay about a TV series’ portrayal of her. Also: Remembering a visit to Iran; an exercise plan for life.

A figure turns off a computer, the screen of which is taken up by a large eye.

Jessica Grose

Teens Are Falling Out of Love With Tech

The next generation is more tech-skeptical than you think.

By Jessica Grose

In Your Words

Re: “Carolyn Bessette Was Living the Dream. Then She Met John.

Being young and on the up and up in any city back in those days was great. People were interested in each other’s personalities and having fun, not their social media count and looking wealthy. It still exists, but you have to put down your phone to really find it.A comment posted by Patti from Toronto

Read more comments on the story here and check out our Letters to the Editor.

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