President Trump is expected to assist Iranians who are protesting nationwide against the Islamic Republic regime, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Said a source: “Trump has essentially decided to help the protesters in Iran. What he has not yet decided is the ‘how’ and the ‘when.'”
The source adds: “While the Trump administration does not believe that the Iranian regime is collapsing, it definitely sees problems and cracks that did not exist a week ago.”
“President Trump said that neither the Republican Party nor the MAGA movement had room for people with antisemitic views, his most direct public statement yet in a debate pulsing through his movement over the inclusion of supporters who spread hate,” the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “I think we don’t need them. I think we don’t like them.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said that Vice President JD Vance would be a “great, great presidential nominee,” adding his voice to the growing number of prominent Republicans who have pointed to Mr. Vance as a likely 2028 nominee and successor to President Trump, the New York Times reports.
Said Youngkin: “I agree with President Trump, I agree with Marco Rubio: I think Vice President Vance would be a great nominee.”
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New data reveals that a staggering 335,000 federal workers left government work last year, with the vast majority quitting or retiring — only 11,000 were a result of layoffs from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Washington Post reports.
President Trump will be briefed on Tuesday on “some kinetic and many non-kinetic” options in Iran, Politico reports.
“All eyes are on the president’s next moves after he threatened to strike the Iranian regime if it killed civilian protesters. Reports on Sunday indicated hundreds of Iranians have died during the current unrest, though information is limited.”
“The options being presented to Trump would range from targeted strikes inside Iran to offensive cyber attacks, one official granted anonymity to discuss ongoing conversations said, adding that the administration would want to avoid options that create massive civilian impact so things that can be tailored to targeting Iran’s military forces are preferable. The administration is also looking at whether it can send terminals for Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday had a strong message to Minnesota officials as tensions simmer between the administration and state leaders: “Grow up,” Politico reports.
Noem called for Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to “tone down the rhetoric” in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer.
Said Noem: “They’ve extremely politicized and inappropriately talked about this situation on the ground in their city. They’ve inflamed the public. They’ve encouraged the kind of destruction and violence that we’ve seen in Minneapolis these last several days.”
“President Trump declared a national emergency to shield Venezuelan oil revenue held by the U.S. government from seizure by private creditors, framing it as critical to U.S. national security and regional stability,” Axios reports.
“Control of Venezuelan oil — some $2.5 billion worth — is now a cornerstone of the White House’s strategy in the Western Hemisphere and an opening for U.S. companies in the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s capture.”
“Some of Silicon Valley’s ultrawealthy have been in a financial frenzy in recent weeks over how to protect their assets from a proposed California ballot measure that would tax their billions,” the New York Times reports.
“Now comes the next, more muscular phase: trying to beat the proposal, which supporters are trying to place on the ballot in November.”
“The first seven-figure political donation that can be used to defeat the so-called billionaires tax became public on Friday: Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist and chairman of Palantir, donated $3 million to a committee opposing the proposed initiative, according to a new disclosure.”
President Trump suggested that Cuba should cut a deal with the United States after last weekend’s military actions in Venezuela, NewsNation reports.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
“He failed on his campaign promises to tax the rich. Then city council members passed a budget without his blessing. Now his opponents are building a war chest that could be used to unseat him next year,” Bloomberg reports.
“Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is struggling to keep a grip on the third-largest US city and get its strained finances back on track, opening the door for a roster of potential candidates to take his spot in 2027.”
“The first week of 2026 left little ambiguity about what President Trump thinks of power — or whether there are any limits on his,” Axios reports.
“That worldview manifested itself in one of the most frenetic, forceful starts to a year in recent memory. Through it all, the White House barreled forward with swagger, speed and open disdain for guardrails.”
“Reports of a dramatic escalation in the use of deadly force by Iranian security forces have begun to trickle out of the country despite a severe communications blackout as authorities struggle to contain mass protests,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Center for Human Rights in Iran, based in New York, said it received eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed in Iran since the government cut off the country’s access to the internet on Thursday night.”
New York Times: “For a third night in a row, nationwide antigovernment protests rocked Iran, according to witnesses and videos verified by The New York Times, posted on BBC Persian and social media, even as the government intensified its crackdown and the military said it would take to the streets in response to the unrest.”
Axios: Trump considers options as Iran cracks down on protests.
Wall Street Journal: “After the brazen capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, investors are racing to capitalize on President Trump’s ambitions to dominate the Western Hemisphere.”
“Hedge funds and other investment firms, already boosted by a sharp rally in Venezuelan debt, are mapping out trips to Caracas to scope out on-the-ground opportunities. Some are investigating niche instruments, like arbitration claims and unpaid state debts.”
“Others are eyeing debt in Colombia and Cuba, while shares of a tiny bank in Greenland—another territory in Trump’s sights—have surged recently as the U.S. president pursues his own spin on the Monroe Doctrine that saw 19th-century America claim half of the globe as its sphere of influence.”
New York Times: “The region’s three largest nations — Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, all led by leftists — criticized the American seizure of President Nicolás Maduro with varying degrees of outrage and diplomacy.”
“A growing roster of right-wing countries, including Argentina, El Salvador and Ecuador, cheered on President Trump.”
“And a collection of smaller nations, like Guatemala and Peru, kept their heads down so Washington might not notice.”
“The divergent reactions show how an increasingly aggressive Trump administration is scrambling the politics of Latin America. While their public responses may be different, they all appear to share a common goal in a new era of U.S. interventionism: self-preservation.”
“Iran will attack American military bases in the Middle East if the U.S. hits first, the country’s parliamentary speaker said Sunday after U.S. officials said the Trump administration was looking at preliminary options for striking Iranian military sites,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Trump has found a powerful but obscure bulwark in the appeals court judges he appointed during his first term. They have voted overwhelmingly in his favor when his administration’s actions have been challenged in court in his current term,” the New York Times reports.
“Time and again, appellate judges chosen by Mr. Trump in his first term reversed rulings made by district court judges in his second, clearing the way for his policies and gradually eroding a perception early last year that the legal system was thwarting his efforts to amass presidential power.”
“OPEC members struggling to preserve their market share amid a sinking price for oil now have an unexpected new variable to contend with: President Trump’s move to dominate Venezuela’s oil supply and push the market in a direction that would benefit American consumers,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Trump has been briefed in recent days on new options for military strikes in Iran as he considers following through on his threat to attack the country for cracking down on protesters,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump has not made a final decision, but the officials said he was seriously considering authorizing a strike in response to the Iranian regime’s efforts to suppress demonstrations set off by widespread economic grievances. The president has been presented with a range of options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran.”
Taegan 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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