July 10, 2026 By Michael Froman President, Council on Foreign Relations As Machiavelli wrote in The Prince , “Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.” This complex dynamic of fear and love was on full display in Ankara, Turkey, where thirty-two NATO heads of state and key partners just gathered for the alliance’s thirty-sixth summit. After leaving the closed door leaders’ dialogue, President Donald Trump pronounced , “There was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity.” Most NATO leaders had been biting their nails, worrying about whether there would be a blow up with Trump at the summit over their reluctance to support U.S. efforts against Iran. An expression of love was certainly not high in the prediction mar...
