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Trump Rebuilds Tariff Wall

February 24, 2026 at 4:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump’s new 10% global tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, kicking off a White House effort to preserve the president’s trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his original sweeping duties,” Bloomberg reports.

“The president signed an executive order last Friday authorizing the 10% import tax just hours after the ruling. He subsequently threatened to raise the number to 15%, but Trump did not officially issue a directive to increase the rate by Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. Washington time when the 10% levy went into effect.”

CNBC: The odds of Trump’s $2,000 tariff dividend checks are “now effectively zero,”

U.S. on Damage Control After Huckabee’s Comments

February 24, 2026 at 4:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senior Trump administration officials have called around to several Arab countries in recent days to mollify their concerns after Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee claimed Israel has a right to control much of the Middle East,” Politico reports.

Trump to Sell the Economy During State of the Union

February 24, 2026 at 4:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump will use his State of the Union address to sell the public on the economy and unveil new measures meant to lower costs, as Republicans try to address voters’ concerns ahead of the midterm elections later this year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The official theme of the speech, according to White House officials familiar with the draft: ‘America at 250: Strong, Prosperous and Respected,’ a reference to the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. The address will emphasize the idea of American exceptionalism, and the president is planning to weave in stories of Americans who say they have benefited from his policies.”

Beijing Sees Opening in U.S. Trade War

February 24, 2026 at 4:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “With President Trump on the back foot following a stinging judicial rebuke of his power to impose tariffs, Xi Jinping is spying a chance to reset relations with the U.S. on Beijing’s terms.”

“The Supreme Court has effectively dismantled the cornerstone of Trump’s trade strategy, ruling that the White House can’t use emergency powers as a blank check to levy broad, across-the-board tariffs. By stripping away these duties, the court hasn’t just limited the president’s firepower. It has deprived him of his preferred weapon of economic pressure just weeks before he lands in Beijing for a summit with the Chinese leader.”

“The impact on the ground is immediate. The effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods will tumble from 32% to 23%… This drop reflects the administration’s new—albeit temporary—15% global tariff rate, a fallback the administration reached for immediately after the ruling.”

Ex-ICE Instructor Says Training Was Slashed

February 24, 2026 at 4:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A former instructor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday accused the agency of dramatically slashing training standards for new officers and lying to Congress about it as the Trump administration seeks to rapidly expand its mass deportation operation,” the Washington Post reports.

France Says U.S. Ambassador Must Respond

February 24, 2026 at 4:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“France’s spat with the U.S. ambassador to Paris took another turn Tuesday with the French foreign minister saying the top U.S. diplomat in France must explain himself after ignoring a French summons,” the AP reports.

“The minister suggested that Ambassador Charles Kushner won’t have access to French government officials until he complies.”

“French authorities had summoned Kushner — the father of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner — for a meeting on Monday evening over comments from the Trump administration that France objected to. French diplomats said Kushner did not show up.”

Tom Hanks to Play Abraham Lincoln

February 23, 2026 at 11:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Oscar-winner Tom Hanks is set to portray President Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming film adaptation of Lincoln in the Bardo, Variety reports.

John Oliver Takes Down Twitter

February 23, 2026 at 11:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Oliver trashed Elon Musk’s X as a “sewer of disinformation,” that is “now worse than useless,” telling his viewers “my personal advice is to not post on it at all,” LateNighter reports.

The Revenge of the Dummymander

February 23, 2026 at 9:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Graham: “Partisan gerrymandering sometimes backfires on the people drawing the maps. Could that happen again in 2026?”

Democrats to Bring Epstein Survivors to Trump’s Speech

February 23, 2026 at 9:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“At least half a dozen House Democrats have invited survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to be their guests at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night,” NBC News reports.

Pentagon Will Use Musk’s AI Model in Classified Systems

February 23, 2026 at 8:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has signed an agreement to allow the military to use its model, Grok, in classified systems,” Axios reports.

Trump’s Suddenly High-Stakes State of the Union

February 23, 2026 at 8:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Lemire: “Here’s how much things have changed since Donald Trump last addressed Congress: A year ago, he shouted out a beaming Elon Musk, who was watching in the gallery.”

“At the time, Trump was triumphant. But tomorrow night, when he returns to the Capitol to deliver the State of the Union address, he will be trying to turn around a stumbling presidency.”

“His prized tariffs have been sharply curtailed by the Supreme Court. His most visible immigration push—federal surges into U.S. cities to carry out mass deportations—has become broadly unpopular since two Americans were killed by his masked agents. War with Iran seems to be approaching, yet Trump has not tried to sell the public on the conflict, articulated his goals, or laid out what would come next. He is facing an onslaught of questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the dead and disgraced sex offender, as well as his efforts to use the Oval Office to enrich himself and his family. And his poll numbers have slumped just months before Americans are set to render their midterm verdict on his performance.”

GOP Lawmaker Won’t Retire Early

February 23, 2026 at 7:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Neal Dunn plans to serve out the rest of his term, a spokesperson said Monday, addressing rumors that the Florida Republican would resign early and potentially put the GOP House majority at risk,” Politico reports.

Republicans Call On Tony Gonzales to Resign

February 23, 2026 at 6:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Several House Republicans are calling on embattled GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales (Texas) to end his reelection bid amid the growing scandal over his alleged romantic relationship with a staffer who died by suicide last year,” Punchbowl News reports.

“Four GOP lawmakers — Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Brandon Gill (Texas), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.) — have called on Gonzales to leave office immediately following a new report that the three-term lawmaker allegedly sent sexually explicit text messages to Regina Ann Santos-Aviles in 2024. Santos-Aviles took her own life last September.”

Mike Johnson Says Congress Won’t Approve Trump’s Tariffs

February 23, 2026 at 6:46 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Speaker Mike Johnson said plainly Monday that Congress could not pass a bill to put President Donald Trump’s tariff regime back in place, a stark admission recognizing the GOP’s slim margins on Capitol Hill and the deep unpopularity of the administration’s global economic policies,” Punchbowl News reports.

Trump’s Top General Sees Big Risks in Attacking Iran

February 23, 2026 at 5:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As the Trump administration weighs an attack on Iran, the Pentagon’s top general has cautioned President Donald Trump and other officials that shortfalls in critical munitions and a lack of support from allies will add significant risk to the operation and to U.S. personnel,” the Washington Post reports.

Trump Scrambles to Pick Up the Pieces of Broken Tariffs

February 23, 2026 at 5:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration has begun using a patchwork of trade laws to recreate the sweeping tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down as illegal last week,” the New York Times reports.

“But the approach will require a more cumbersome set of tariffs, ones that Mr. Trump will not be able to issue quickly or on a whim. The tariffs may be levied by country, trade issue or product and will probably take months to go into effect. The question now is how closely the old structure will be reproduced — or whether the new tariffs could end up creating an entirely different set of winners and losers.”

Wall Street Journal: Trump considers new national security tariffs after Supreme Court ruling.

Trump Prepares for State of the Union

February 23, 2026 at 5:41 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As President Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address, he gave a little glimpse on Monday of what Americans can expect,” the New York Times reports.

Said Trump: “It’s going to be a long speech, because we have so much to talk about.”

“Mr. Trump has long eschewed traditional preparation for major events such as joint addresses to Congress or presidential debates. He does not like to practice reading the speech out loud, but he spent time mimicking the setup of the House chamber.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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