Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
A former CIA analyst and Biden administration official makes a notable shift in tone from sharply criticizing to outright praising President Donald Trump.
Ned Price served in several roles within the Biden administration. He was deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a senior adviser and spokesperson in the State Department. He famously wrote an oped for The Washington Post publicly announcing that he had quit the CIA after ten years just one month into Trump’s first term. He claimed that he could not “in good faith serve this administration as an intelligence professional,” expressing concerns over Trump’s “disregard” for intelligence and politicization of national security.
Since Trump’s first term, Price has consistently discounted Trump’s foreign policy decisions as harmful to national security.
By acting like a dictator in front of a real one, Trump sends a message to autocrats the world over: “Rule however you please. We won’t be standing up for our founding ideals.”
But the lasting damage for America stems from the fact that their subjects are witnessing it, too. https://t.co/3Kd8cy7aul
— Ned Price (@nedprice) January 16, 2018
Still, it seems he might be softening to Trump’s approach, which he still considers incoherent and “feckless.” He admits in a new Washington Post oped that Trump’s tactics have proven effective and warrant study for future administrations.
Price claims that Trump’s success rests on two primary strengths: his ability to leverage U.S. power effectively and ignore domestic criticism. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
He highlights Trump’s willingness to wield the U.S.’s top weapons without hesitation, resulting in tangible foreign policy wins. He portrays Trump as excelling in high-stakes, high-context negotiations, using unapologetic strength to achieve outcomes in areas like the Middle East. He praised Trump’s Gaza ceasefire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which resulted in several hostages being released and a halt to hostilities (sort of). He sees such developments as a direct result of Trump’s aggressive negotiation style, combining threats, incentives, and alliances.
Price argued that Trump using U.S. military, economic, and diplomatic leverage exposes the weakness of previous administrations. In a rare criticism of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Price implied that their foreign policies were sometimes hamstrung by over-caution or appeasement, causing a failure to deliver similar breakthroughs as Trump.
“Trump seems to understand that diplomacy is about engaging with the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be. His administration has employed the diplomatic adage that countries negotiate peace with their enemies, not with their friends,” Price said.
“We [the Biden administration] typically managed the conversations far more discreetly,” he added. “Nevertheless, the current administration is right not to keep these talks shrouded in secrecy; there’s virtue in signaling to the world that America is prepared to speak with anyone if it has the potential to resolve differences.”
He also noted that Trump’s handling of Iran’s nuclear program, such as targeted airstrikes and economic sanctions, disrupted the program’s advancements, and forced Iran to make concessions. He contrasts this with more restrained approaches in prior administrations, suggesting Trump’s “shock and awe” method has delivered short-term gains in regional stability.
Price frames Trump’s ability to rise above media backlash on his foreign policy decisions like Gaza and Iran as a tactical advantage that allows him to rise above bureaucratic gridlock, enabling bold moves that prioritize outcomes over optics. He contends that an important element in Trump’s success is that he relies heavily on instincts rather than typical D.C. doctrine to make foreign policy decisions, which Price seems unwilling to break from.
Let’s not pretend this is a foreign policy speech or dignify it by calling it one. This is basically MAGA madlibs. Trump is speaking to his political base, hitting each of his campaign trail hits, while addressing a room of leaders who’d rather be just about anywhere else. https://t.co/j0Zi5yuJzh
— Ned Price (@nedprice) September 23, 2025
“Trump’s grip on his base gives him maneuverability that few, if any, of his predecessors have enjoyed. But his willingness to weather such criticism serves as a reminder that presidents need not be stymied by domestic political pressures from Capitol Hill and special interest groups,” Price said. (ROOKE: Senate Democrat Tells Party Only Way To Win — Forget Obama, Be More Like Trump)
And while Price includes his need to attack Trump on his lack of “doing things like we always do,” in reality it seems like he is creating a palatable discussion for leftist bureaucrats to stomach him praising Trump’s success. As a longtime critic of Trump, Price’s measured praise carries weight among the Never Trump D.C. crowd still consuming The Washington Post.
Price is selling them the idea that maybe they could learn a thing or two from Trump after all.
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