Opinion Today: Trump’s trouble with numbers, and a Republican Showdown in Texas
Here’s what we’re focusing on.
Opinion Today
February 26, 2026
Rob Farmer

Notable

The Trump White House needs a refresher on basic math. “When leaders abandon them, numbers lose their power to clarify and instead become cudgels to use against opponents, leaving the public without a common basis to judge competing claims.”

— Aubrey Clayton, a teaching assistant in the Harvard University department of mathematics

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Why is crypto struggling? “Instead of cementing crypto’s legitimacy, the administration has only pulled back the curtain on the fundamental worthlessness of its assets.”

— Ryan Cummings and Jared Bernstein, members of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers

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Japan is redefining its place in the world. “A constrained Japan may have been in America’s interest in the decades following World War II, but not anymore.”

— Joshua W. Walker, president and C.E.O. of the Japan Society

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Spotlight

Illustration by Mike McQuade; animation by Daniel Frumhoff

Cornyn, Paxton, Hunt: It’s a Republican Showdown in Texas

Times Opinion convened a panel of state experts to weigh in on the Senate Republican primary.

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ICYMI

I couldn’t have been more wrong about A.I. companies. “For now, policymakers and the public should recognize just how unusual this moment is.”

— Jason Furman, a contributing Opinion writer

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Listen (or Watch)

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The New York Times

The Ezra Klein Show

Trump’s State of the Union Was a Win for Democrats

Ezra Klein and Aaron Retica react to Trump’s 2026 State of the Union speech.

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46 MIN LISTEN

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The New York Times

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

The New Space Race

Can NASA and Elon Musk get us to Mars and beyond?

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57 MIN LISTEN

More in Opinion

A photo illustration of tangled trees with colorful drones flying above.

‘Time Is Not on Russia’s Side’

If the battle for Ukraine Is not World War I or World War III, what is it?

By David French

A multiple-exposure photograph of President Trump delivering the State of the Union address.

The Conversation

The Trumpiest Trump We’ve Ever Beheld

The president is becoming the very thing that destroyed the Democrats: a reality-denying machine.

By Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens

David Wallace-Wells

Don’t Look Now, but the Green Transition Is Still Happening

It feels as if our political institutions have abandoned the climate, but the clean energy economy is still growing.

By David Wallace-Wells

A person eats popcorn while a group of models take each others measurements.

Jessica Grose

The Uncomfortable Experience of Watching ‘America’s Next Top Model’ 20 Years Later

What’s worse for body image — the fashion industry or the algorithm?

By Jessica Grose

letters

How Did Trump’s State of the Union Play?

Readers respond to the president’s address. Most but not all are critical.

In Your Words

Re: “‘A Tedious, Tiresome Performance’: The Best and Worst Moments From Trump’s State of the Union

It was not a State of the Union address. It was a State of the President address, physically and mentally. How long do the American people tolerate this?— A comment posted by Matti from Helsinki

Read more comments on the story here and check out our Letters to the Editor.

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