SAD: Venezuela’s Struggle for Legitimacy Comes to New York. “It’s a do-or-die moment for every Venezuelan.”

The question came at the very end of a press conference dominated by fevered talk of Ukraine, Joe Biden, and impeachment. You’d be forgiven if you missed it entirely. President Donald Trump encouraged reporters assembled for the United Nations General Assembly to ask him about the booming U.S. economy. He didn’t get his wish. Trump called on a woman who identified herself as a Venezuelan journalist: “How are you doing over there?” Trump inquired.

“Our situation is pretty bad,” she responded.

“Yeah. I would say ‘pretty bad,’” the president agreed. “Sad.”

Plus: “It was a stark reminder that the political turmoil over a whistle-blower complaint concerning Trump’s dealings with Ukraine risks leaving a number of his urgent foreign-policy initiatives—very serious unfinished business, such as curbing North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, preventing Iran’s provocations, and striking a trade agreement with China—in limbo.”

This is a nice piece from The Atlantic’s Uri Friedman.