Ahead of His U.N. Speech, Remember That Trump Is Learning Geopolitics in Real Time

A guide to pushing the U.S. president more quickly up his learning curve.

Trump signs a document at a desk, next to a child also writing on a desk. September 22, 2025, 11:43 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Trump’s Second Term

Ongoing reports and analysis

When it comes to international conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump learns everything the hard way. On issue after issue—North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine, Gaza, and more—Trump begins by bucking conventional wisdom and insisting that a bold new approach will yield breakthroughs. Implied, and often said outright, is that past officials who worked on the matter were feeble, inept, and craven. Trump insists that his determination and powers of p

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