Political Tensions and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East

Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at CFR, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how Middle Eastern countries are reacting to former President Donald Trump’s election victory and his potential policy for the region. This episode is the second in a special TPI series on the U.S. 2025 presidential transition and is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Mentioned on the Episode

Steven A. Cook, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East

Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, The Empty Throne: America's Abdication of Global Leadership

Jared Kushner, Breaking History: A White House Memoir

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/trump-and-middle-east-steven-cook-transition-2025-episode-2