very confusing. there has been no actual rationale to explain it, but we do have sort of an accusation that there are some cherry-picking there among who is an ally or who is not, who's expressing representing the united states' interests. one thing i will say is that it isn't just about which countries are invited to the table. it's about who might have some solutions we could lean into here. when you look at country like germany, say, that rebuilt its post world war ii democracy on the principle of defensive democracy, strengthening the mainstream against the fringes, that built an entire agency at the state and federal levels for federal and civic education to help the public better understand what democracy is and how you restore it, i think there are lessons that can be learned. this has to be not just the u.s. pretending to be a beacon of democracy but also openness to learning from how others have come back from traumatic crises