Lessons in Diplomacy

April 22, 2026

John Kerry was on Stephen Colbert’s show last night, and he just made me so nostalgic for the days when we had serious, intelligent, thinking people in government. Kerry and Colbert’s conversation was only about 10 minutes long, but the stark contrast between Kerry and the people in the current administration was immediately apparent.

Kerry served in the Viet Nam war (and later criticized both why the U.S. was involved and how the war was conducted), was a US Senator from 1985 to 2013, and was Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. Even now, at the age of 82, Kerry could run rings around Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and J.D. Vance. These three do not have the knowledge, experience, or intellect, and Trump does not have the patience, to negotiate a peace deal for a war Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu started with dubious justification.

Kerry explained clearly and succinctly what it took to negotiate the Joint* Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—which was working until Trump pulled the U.S. out of it in 2018, at which point the Iranians said, “Right. If he can do it, we can do it. We’re outta here.”—and what is required for diplomatic negotiations in general to be successful. The current administration is clueless about this, which is why the U.S. is now mired in an unjust war and why the Strait of Hormuz may never again be an open, international waterway.

Kerry also got in a couple of zingers, one aimed at Trump, the other at Kash Patel. I strongly recommend watching the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unepFed8M3M

*The other participants were France, Germany, the U.K., China, and Russia.

Kerry bio information:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Kerry
https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/203657.htm