Donald Trump Gets It Right In His Response to Hamas Killing American Hostage

Donald Trump responded to the news that another U.S. citizen was killed at the hands of Islamist terrorists like an American president should — not in sorrow but anger:

The all but universal acclaim Trump’s muscular posture produced among political observers on the right betrays the degree to which the GOP’s McGovernite wing has ill-advisedly bought into its own hype. Republicans are not longing for a GOP-coded Joe Biden — halting, insecure, and resolved only to keep Americans comfortable amid the nation’s inexorable decline. It seems Republican voters did not lose their taste for a confident, extroverted American presence on the world stage. We’re all bloodthirsty neocon warmongers now.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Donald Trump responded to the news that another U.S. citizen was killed at the hands of Islamist terrorists like an American president should — not in sorrow but anger:

The all but universal acclaim Trump’s muscular posture produced among political observers on the right betrays the degree to which the GOP’s McGovernite wing has ill-advisedly bought into its own hype. Republicans are not longing for a GOP-coded Joe Biden — halting, insecure, and resolved only to keep Americans comfortable amid the nation’s inexorable decline. It seems Republican voters did not lose their taste for a confident, extroverted American presence on the world stage. We’re all bloodthirsty neocon warmongers now.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.