July 04, 2026

The American Conservative Morning Briefing · Jul 4, 2026 · 4m

Good morning! Today is Saturday, July 4th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. On the semiquincentennial, Reid Smith reflects on the surreal spectacle of American strikes on Iran during a World Cup it hosts, and asks whether a republic founded on self-government can still constrain its own power with prudence and wisdom. Smith traces restraint as a broken but enduring American promise, from Washington's Farewell to Eisenhower's warning, arguing that the 1947 National Security Act turned war from a state of exception into the routine province of the executive branch…