Latest / The American Conservative Morning Briefing

October 05, 2026
Good morning! Today is Monday, October 5th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Peter Van Buren argues the Taiwan status quo forged in the 1970s has quietly held for nearly half a century, and the silence on Taiwan at the Trump-Xi summit was diplomacy working as designed, not failing. Jack Hunter contends that Pete Hegseth's apparent relish for war, from his new Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs to his "no quarter" rhetoric, places the Defense Secretary outside the conservative tradition of Nisbet, Kirk, and Taft. and now for the details. We begin this morning with…
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