Listener Mailbag: 2025 in Review, With Carla Anne Robbins and Matthias Matthijs

The President’s Inbox

Council on Foreign Relations

Politics, News:politics, News

4.4 • 734 Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Carla Anne Robbins, senior fellow at the Council, and Matthias Matthijs, senior fellow for Europe at the Council, sit down with James M. Lindsay to answer listener questions about the major developments, initiatives, and changes in U.S. foreign policy over the course of 2025. Mentioned on the Episode: "2025 National Security Strategy of the United States of America," The White House Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, “The Price of Trump’s Power Politics,” Foreign Affairs Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, The Empty Throne: America's Abdication of Global Leadership Rebecca Lissner, “America’s Quasi Alliances,” Foreign Affairs Matthias Matthijs and Nathalie Tocci, "How Europe Lost: Can the Continent Escape Its Trump Trap?" Foreign Affairs Brad Setser, "How German Industry Can Survive the Second China Shock," Center for European Reform For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/tpi/listener-mailbag-2025-review-carla-anne-robbins-and-matthias-matthijs

Transcript

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0:00.0	Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
0:04.0	I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear.
0:07.0	I Donald John Trump do solemnly swear.
0:10.0	Tariffs first a shutter, now an economic roar, are here.
0:13.0	President Trump says he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska.
0:18.0	Details are emerging this weekend of a U.S. proposed 21-point peace plan for ending the war in Gaza.
0:24.1	2025 is coming to a close.
0:26.8	Over the past 12 months, we have seen a level of political and economic flux,
0:30.9	unlike anything in decades.
0:32.6	Both at home and abroad, the pillars of the global system are changing.
0:36.1	With the United States walking away from
0:38.0	many of the rules and institutions, it created during its eight decades of global leadership.
0:43.4	To help make sense of a turbulent year, we asked you for your questions on U.S. foreign policy.
0:48.4	I have brought in some friends of the podcast to help answer them.
0:52.2	From the Council on Foreign Relations, welcome to the President's inbox.
0:56.5	I'm Jim Lindsay.
0:57.8	Today I'm joined by Carla Ann Robbins and Matthias Metice, senior fellows here at the council.
1:03.4	Carla, Matthias, thank you for joining me.
1:06.3	Thanks for having us, Jim.
1:07.8	Glad to be here.
1:09.5	Okay, where I want to start is with your own takeaways about
1:14.1	the past 12 months, and maybe we can start with you, Carla. What is your big takeaway from 2025?
	...

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