Eric and Eliot catch up for the first time in a month after returning from overseas. They break down the latest jackassery, from Graham Platner's campaign implosion to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gifting revolvers and live, gold-plated ammunition to the heads of state at the recent NATO summit. They assess the NATO summit more broadly and note the caveats to Trump's promise to provide Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missile defense interceptors. Eric unpacks his recent Bulwark piece on the conspiracy of silence at the gathering related to Turkey's democratic backsliding. They also discuss recent investigations into China's assistance to Russia's war effort, the state of the "ceasefire" with Iran, and Rahm Emanuel's speech in Tel Aviv. Finally, they trade observations from their travels to France and Eastern Europe.

Eliot's latest in the Atlantic (gift link):
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/07/america-france-enduring-relationship/687844/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPg9Zn56KAT0A_Vk94nJcGVU&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Eric's latest in the Bulwark:
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-one-word-trump-wont-say-in-turkey-nato-summit-democracy-human-rights-europe-erdogan

Nate Swanson on Iran overplaying its hand:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/iran-won-war-may-lose-peace

Howard Altman on the problems with the Ukraine Patriot licensing deal:
https://www.twz.com/land/ukraine-built-patriot-missiles-wont-be-defending-the-countrys-skies-anytime-soon

Michael Weiss, Roman Dobrokhotov, and Christo Grozev on China and Russia's targeting of Starlink:
https://theins.press/en/inv/294635

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.