September 09, 2026

The American Conservative Morning Briefing · Sep 9, 2026 · 4m

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 9th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Joseph Addington warns that Trump's sweeping Venezuelan oil deal, which hands Washington functional control of 65 billion barrels through a single shady middleman, is a flashy gamble that could delegitimize the Rodriguez government and hand a future Venezuelan nationalist a ready-made grievance. Eldar Mamedov argues that Vice President Vance's dismissal of Iran's leaders as "crazy people" is a strategic dead end, pointing to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's subtle rebuke of hardliners…