June 18, 2026

The American Conservative Morning Briefing · Jun 18, 2026 · 5m

Good morning! Today is Thursday, June 18th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. Kelley Beaucar Vlahos dismantles Mike Pence's new book tour and his attempt to blame Trump-era populism for the GOP's drift, arguing the former vice president refuses to reckon with how pre-Trump Republicans expanded the administrative state and entangled the country in costly wars. Doug Bandow draws hard lessons from Trump's 110-day Iran war, citing satellite imagery showing 228 damaged U.S. military structures across the Middle East and arguing the conflict has made the case for closing…