Bret Stephens

In the Middle East there are two kinds of regimes - those that could be worse, and those that couldn't be worse.

— Bret Stephens

My office-hour reading is fairly ad hoc: I generally read whatever seems relevant to what I'm editing, writing, or thinking about writing.

— Bret Stephens

Democrats should have learned in 2016 that what counts in American politics is location, not turnout.

— Bret Stephens

I grew up in Mexico City at a time when the country was a repressive one-party dictatorship almost wholly dependent on oil…

— Bret Stephens

Please spare us the self-pity about how tough it is to look for a job while living with your parents.

— Bret Stephens

I am not sorry the CIA went to the edge of the law in the aftermath of 9/11 to prevent further mass-casualty…

— Bret Stephens

Demanding abrupt and expensive changes in public policy raises fair questions about ideological intentions.

— Bret Stephens

Many of you have been reared on the cliche that the purpose of education isn't to stuff your head with facts but…

— Bret Stephens

It may be a truism that the country cannot be strong abroad unless it is strong at home, but it's also a…

— Bret Stephens

There is something kind of aggressively and inhumanly repetitive about this line that guns are essential to American liberties - hard one…

— Bret Stephens

People want leaders. Not ideologues. Not people whose life experiences have been so narrow that they've been able to maintain the purity…

— Bret Stephens

The most interesting conversation is not about why Donald Trump lies. Many public figures lie, and he's only a severe example of…

— Bret Stephens

I think Black Lives Matter has some really thuggish elements in it. Look - at the risk of being incredibly politically incorrect,…

— Bret Stephens

In place of presidential addresses, stump speeches, or town halls, we have Trump's demagogic mass rallies. In place of the usual jousting…

— Bret Stephens

Yes, Obama took over two wars from Bush - just as President Richard Nixon inherited Vietnam from President Lyndon Johnson and President…

— Bret Stephens

The American birthright belongs, potentially, to everyone. This is unprecedented. Other countries accept migrants on the basis of economic necessity or as…

— Bret Stephens

The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.

— Bret Stephens

The supposedly petty sexual harassment that so many women have to endure, from Hollywood studios to the factory floor at Ford, is…

— Bret Stephens

Movements that hector and punish rather than educate and reform have a way of inviting derision and reaction.

— Bret Stephens

Humanitarianism is commendable, but not when you're demanding that others share the burdens and expense.

— Bret Stephens

Before the word 'resignation' became a euphemism for being fired, it connoted a sense of public integrity and personal honor.

— Bret Stephens

The more afraid we are of the shadow of racism, the more conscious we might become of our own unsuspected biases.

— Bret Stephens

The dismissal of any of these people would send a useful signal to U.S. allies that the president has the nerve -…

— Bret Stephens

Donald Trump is a demagogue. Period. The fervor of his crowds recalls Nasser's Egypt. His convictions are illiberal. His manners are disgusting.…

— Bret Stephens

Since the end of World War II, U.S. presidents of both parties have recognized that foreign and domestic policy do not have…

— Bret Stephens

Voter fraud is a reality in American elections, but it is typical of the candidate to confuse anecdote with data and turn…

— Bret Stephens

When you work at 'The Wall Street Journal,' the coins of the realm are truth and trust - the latter flowing exclusively…

— Bret Stephens

The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy. I don't think…

— Bret Stephens

I think a Donald Trump presidency raises a new kind of version of conservatism which more closely resembles a kind of Father…

— Bret Stephens

It's normal that elections make fierce partisans of many of us. It's normal that Mr. Trump would attract the usual right-wing buffoons…

— Bret Stephens

When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise…

— Bret Stephens

I routinely interview college students, mostly from top schools, and I notice that their brains are like old maps, with lots of…

— Bret Stephens

Ms. Rice was a bad national security adviser and a bad secretary of state. She was on the wrong side of some…

— Bret Stephens

This is the standard line of the Trump side of the party, that us who oppose him are just a bunch of…

— Bret Stephens

A Trump presidency - neutral between dictatorships and democracies, opposed to free trade, skeptical of traditional U.S. defense alliances, hostile to immigration…

— Bret Stephens

If, in 2008, I could have not been in equities, I wouldn't have been in equities. If I could have not bet…

— Bret Stephens

It's important that Donald Trump and what he represents - this kind of ethnic, quote, 'conservatism,' or populism - be so decisively…

— Bret Stephens

I get if you're a conservative, and you're saying, I don't know, 'Government shouldn't be mandating what's taught in classrooms,' or, 'Government…

— Bret Stephens