JUNE 2025 – The Washington Post’s David Ignatius, at 75, is not just still going strong but he remains by far the best US national security journalist in the profession today. And his column today – which addresses Trump’s assault on the “elitists” of America’s Knowledge Class – may stray from national security. But not so much: Trump’s attacks on universities and science weaken the nation’s security by driving the world’s most gifted minds away from our country. No matter your politics, it’s a rather indisputable point, and one that needs to be made, again and again.
Yes, Ignatius – Harvard-educated, and today an adjunct at Harvard’s Kennedy School – is himself among the elites. And Thank God he is. He has a 50-year-old rolodex, with access to Washington’s most powerful and influential, particularly at The Pentagon and the city’s web of National Security outfits. Yet he continues to answer reader questions on The Washington Post’s web site, making himself available in a way most veteran columnists wouldn’t bother doing. Moreover, Ignatius brings a reporter’s instinct to his responsibilities as a columnist: He actually picks up the phone, listens to authoritative sources, and, more often than not, provides us their insights. Not something many of today’s columnists do – or do as well.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/03/maga-science-advantage-destruction-mao/