As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, we received an unexpected gift from millions of World Cup visitors: a fresh reminder of what makes America exceptional. Tourists from dozens of countries descended on American cities this summer for the ...

Discussions of American power are prone to hyperbole. In his first inauguration speech, in 2017, Donald Trump lamented “American carnage”. In his second, in 2025, he declared that “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most ...