Susan Rice: Vote Like Your Life Depends on It

The United States has opened a war with Iran that is costing the average American family more than $2,000 this year in fuel and food costs, while simultaneously proposing to import Russian diesel in what former National Security Advisor Susan Rice calls "illegal, immoral" assistance to Vladimir Putin. On The Bulwark Daily, host Tim Miller and Rice dissect the cascading national security failures of the Trump administration, from the Iran conflict to Ukraine policy to the emerging threat of uncontrolled artificial intelligence. The conversation then shifts to Democratic strategist Jackie Rosa, who offers a ground-level view of how candidates in Texas are trying to win back Hispanic voters who shifted right in 2024.

The Iran War: A Self-Inflicted Strategic Disaster

Rice describes the current conflict with Iran as a war of choice that every prior administration—Republican and Democratic—had the wisdom to avoid. The Obama administration, where Rice served as National Security Advisor, deliberately kept military options on the table while pursuing diplomacy. The 2015 nuclear deal worked, she argues: Iran was not obtaining a nuclear weapon and was not increasing enrichment capacity until Trump pulled out in 2018. Even then, Iran waited a year to see if Trump would re-enter the deal before advancing its program.