It’s Tuesday, October 14. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Can Zohran Mamdani really win over Jewish voters? Does a chatbot have a right to free expression? Plus: Join Jonathan Haidt and Bari Weiss live in New York City. And more.
But first: Victor Davis Hanson, Aaron MacLean, Eli Lake, and others on a dramatic day in the Middle East.
It’s been a mesmerizing 24 hours in the Middle East. Consider all that has happened since Monday morning:
Around this time yesterday, the last of the living hostages in Gaza came home.
Trump was welcomed as a hero in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. In his speech to Israeli lawmakers—the fourth by a U.S. president—he heralded the “historic dawn of a new Middle East” before going off script to call for Israeli president Isaac Herzog to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas appeared to breach part of the ceasefire agreement by returning the bodies of only four dead hostages, instead of the 28 they promised Israel.
Trump flew from Israel to Sharm El-Sheikh, where he met with world leaders and inked a deal for peace. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said.
Our contributors have been doing everything they can to help you make sense of these historic events as they’re happening, from Matti Friedman on the release of the hostages and Michael Oren on how three real-estate moguls succeeded in delivering a peace deal that had eluded veteran diplomats for years, to Matthew Continetti on why Trump deserved his victory lap and Amit Segal on the Middle East’s morning after. And on our livestream yesterday, Rafaela Siewert spoke to everyone from regional analysts to a hostage family. Watch it here.
Today, we’re bringing you more on what just happened. How did we get here? What comes next? And what truths have the historic events of recent days revealed?
We begin with Aaron MacLean’s look at what he sees as the recipe for Trump’s strategic success: The president gave war a chance, supporting Israel categorically and sending American bombers to help cripple Iran’s nuclear program. Critics, including many on the MAGA right, said Trump’s hawkishness would lead to World War III. Instead, it allowed him to push through a peace deal where others had failed.
How did he pull it off? MacLean argues that he took “a page from Seinfeld’s George Costanza” and essentially did “the opposite of whatever the Biden team might have done.” Read the whole thing here:
Meanwhile, Victor Davis Hanson lays out his 10 reasons why Trump succeeded in bringing about a peace deal where other administrations have failed. For one thing, Victor argues, “Trump dealt with enemies, allies, and neutrals from a position of strength, comparative advantage, and national ascendance, unlike the appeasing and anemic Biden years or the apologetics of Obama.” Read his piece here:
Finally, Eli Lake checks in with the people who are upset with the ceasefire. And sure enough, it’s the same crowd that’s been demanding a ceasefire since the moment Israel launched its war against Hamas following the terror group’s horrifying attack on Israeli civilians two years ago.
“The Palestine solidarity movement in the West claimed to be primarily concerned with the welfare of Palestinians,” Eli writes. “And yet, at the moment that Israel has pulled back its forces and when the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East claims to have enough food to feed Gaza for the next three months, there is either silence or exasperation from these so-called peace advocates.” Read his piece to find out why:
—The Editors
Free-speech battles are being fought everywhere: on our campuses, in our newsrooms, and on social media. But, as Tyler Cowen argues today, the most important free speech debate is about robots—and whether they should have First Amendment rights. Read Tyler’s full argument to find out why.
Less than a month out from the New York City mayoral election, Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani is making his pitch to skeptical Jewish voters. But can the anti-Israel stalwart who has struggled to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” successfully allay the fears of New York Jews? And how will his likely victory change Democratic politics nationwide? Read Olivia Reingold’s story to find out.
In his latest legal roundup, Jed Rubenfeld examines two controversies: Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities and the prosecution of New York attorney general Letitia James. Neither move might prove politically popular, and both have raised eyebrows. But whether Trump has overstepped his legal boundaries is another question. Read Jed to understand whether Trump has really exceeded his authority.
LIVE in New York City: Jonathan Haidt and Bari Weiss
Tickets are selling fast for How to Parent in the Digital Age, a live conversation with Jonathan Haidt and Bari Weiss on October 22 in New York City, about how we raise kids in 2025—and how we might be getting it all backward. Get yours before they sell out!
While Democrats pour millions of dollars into the New Jersey governor’s race, some are uneasy about their nominee, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, and her ability to defeat Republican Jack Ciattaralli. “I’m very scared,” one state Democrat told The Philadelphia Inquirer, despite Sherrill’s consistent lead in the polls and New Jersey’s pronounced Democratic lean. The election will be held November 4.
President Trump is set to host Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on Friday. The visit comes shortly after President Trump announced that he is considering sending Tomahawk missiles to the Ukrainian army. “We may not, but we may do it,” Trump said Monday. “I think it’s appropriate to bring up—yeah, I want to. I want to see the war settled.”
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt have won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The three economists all studied the relationship between technological innovation and economic growth.
JPMorgan Chase announced a new plan to invest $10 billion into U.S. companies deemed “critical to national economic security.” The move from the American bank comes amid rising trade tensions with China, and marks the first stage of a planned $1.5 trillion investment in such companies over the next decade.
OpenAI and Broadcom signed a multibillion-dollar chip-development deal Monday. The agreement includes a plan to develop 10 gigawatts of custom AI chips over the next four years, and will likely help OpenAI meet its massive computing needs. (For more on the race to fuel OpenAI, read Emmet Penney on why We’re Not Ready for the AI Power Surge.)
This weekend saw three separate mass shootings in the U.S., killing 12 and injuring at least 40. The shootings took place in Mississippi and South Carolina, and all happened at high school events.
Former Democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan reported to prison Monday. Madigan was convicted on 10 of 23 counts in his corruption trial in February, and is set to serve seven-and-a-half years behind bars. Some 2,500 Illinois public officials have gone to federal prison since 1976, according to one political scientist.
Nude protesters in Portland flocked to the streets Sunday for an “emergency” edition of the annual World Naked Bike Ride. The event typically takes place in the summer, but was quickly convened this weekend as a full-frontal rebuttal to President Trump’s attempts to deploy the National Guard to the city.
Been there. Got spit on.
Of course you did. Because it happend.
Which is why Israel censors it in schools :)