Irwin Arieff
In early 1974, fresh out of journalism school, I walked into the offices of the newly created Federal Energy Office in Washington and asked for a job. Within days I was back — a freshly minted writer-editor in the public affairs office of an agency launched in response to an oil embargo imposed on the … Read more
Donald Trump must have known just what he was getting into when he named Kelly Knight Craft to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations. But does Knight Craft understand the humiliating position the president is putting her into? Knight Craft, the soft-spoken wife of a billionaire coal executive from Kentucky, demonstrates scant … Read more
The Senate has confirmed Kelly Knight Craft to be Washington’s top ambassador to the United Nations, even as a key Democrat pronounced her “unfit to serve.” The move ends a seven-month vacancy in one of the country’s most senior diplomatic posts. The July 31 vote on Craft’s nomination was 56 to 34, with 5 Democrats … Read more
Six years ago, hungry staff members at the United Nations’ New York headquarters thought big changes were afoot in the cafeteria, and not a moment too soon. Toward the end, the provider, Aramark, a publicly traded firm best known for its catering at prisons and baseball stadiums, replaced silverware with plastic and got rid of all trays, … Read more
Kelly Knight Craft, Donald Trump’s pick to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations, raised eyebrows in her June 19 Senate confirmation hearing by putting some space between her views on global climate change and those of the president. But Trump needn’t worry that she might end up threatening her boss’s ostrichlike … Read more
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s not really “America First.” It’s “Donald Trump First.” Life would no doubt be safer for the rest of us if his administration based its foreign policy on something larger than one person’s personal fortune(s). But Trump policies have never been famous for their altruism and typically … Read more
Sure, you could check out The Pho 5 for its oversized bowls of beefy pho, its slurpable vermicelli and its tempting summer and spring rolls. But don’t snub the tacos. As slick nouvelle-Vietnamese cooking is trending, The Pho 5 offers simpler, more straightforward fare, in a sliver storefront on Third Avenue near 39th Street. The … Read more
It’s easy to figure out why Donald Trump picked Kelly Knight Craft to be his ambassador to the United Nations. She and her husband, Joseph Craft III, a billionaire coal baron, showered the president and his Republican Party with millions in campaign contributions in 2016. (A business consultant before she became a diplomat, she’s his … Read more
Two months after leaving the United Nations, Nikki Haley has assembled a political network that is laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run in 2024, or even in 2020 — should her mentor Donald Trump not run. The best thing about it from her point of view? The scheme will enable her to raise … Read more
When Secretary of State Michael Pompeo talks about global challenges, he insists that Donald Trump is doing a bang-up job steering the international community down the right path. He sees Trump’s America First mantra not as a retreat from the international stage or a slur on other nations’ ideas of leadership but as a frank … Read more
Little Tong wants you to fall in love with its rice noodles, known as mixian in Yunnan province, their place of origin. But don’t ignore the big draw at this diminutive Turtle Bay restaurant — as if you could: incendiary spice blends that make your mouth sting and eyes tear up the moment you plant … Read more
Nikki Haley is wasting no time revealing what her new act will look like now that she has ended her two-year gig toiling on behalf of Donald Trump at the United Nations. Hint: It looks about the same — only more so. Haley appears intent on continuing to build up her image as a potential … Read more
Dear Heather, I was moved to learn of that sweet letter that George H.W. Bush left for Bill Clinton in an Oval Office desk drawer as he left the White House in January 1993. Poppy wished him “great happiness” in the new job and advised him not to “let the critics discourage you or push … Read more
So many nonprofits seem to be after your money these days. Even if you are eager to give it away, you want to be convinced that a given group is the most deserving. But how can you tell when a charitable group is effective, making the best use of your donation without wasting it on … Read more
Nikki Haley has raised a surprise question as she heads for the door: How low can she go? Haley appeared to be trying hard to take the high road when she announced on Oct. 9 that she would be stepping down by the end of the year as the American ambassador to the United Nations. … Read more
So it’s happened again. Big deal. A top Trump administration official has jumped ship, one of dozens to do so less than two years into the president’s term. But this time was definitely different. When Nikki Haley announced she was stepping down, she did so from the Oval Office in a joint appearance with Trump, … Read more
O.K., let’s be honest here. Iran is a bad actor, just as Donald Trump says. While, to its credit, Iran has put its nuclear weapons program on ice — through an international agreement still supported by just about everyone in the world but Trump — it also regularly threatens Israel and the United States, stokes regional conflicts, interferes … Read more
There’s a rumor going around that Donald Trump is a master diplomat, a whiz at foreign affairs whose America First policies have taken the world by storm and won widespread admiration for his leadership skills. Check out the recent New York Post column by a Fox News analyst, Ralph Peters, claiming that the president’s foreign policy expertise, … Read more
Nikki Haley’s husband, Michael, sold a family property in Lexington, S.C., to a local investment firm in January 2018, removing a major liability from the family’s balance sheets while also earning a profit, at least on paper, state and federal documents show. Only five months earlier, the property, a small strip mall on Sunset Boulevard that once … Read more
It can be upsetting to see government officials, as they so often do, report vast new wealth on their annual financial disclosure forms shortly after taking a new government job. What enabled them to take in all that money just after starting a new career? Well, we can relax as far as Nikki Haley, the … Read more
