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Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) talks to John Avlon about Pentagon intimidation, the rule of law, and his AI for America plan
Bret Stephens: “Though I tend to think it’s usually a waste of space to devote a column to President Trump’s personality — what more is there to say about the character of this petty, hollow, squalid, overstuffed man? — sometimes the point bears stressing: We are led by the most loathsome human being ever to occupy the White House.”
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Washington Post: “Missions have shifted or shattered. Entire agencies were deleted. Nearly 300,000 employees were forced out of the federal workforce. The Trump administration froze or shut off billions of dollars in scientific research, gutted or eliminated offices and programs devoted to civil rights and diversity, rewrote the federal hiring system to reward loyalty to the president, and shrank Social Security while installing Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents in hundreds of new offices across the country.”
“More changes are coming: Trump officials are planning to cut tens of thousands of open positions from the Department of Veterans Affairs, downgrade performance ratings across the government, and replace the State Department’s traditional condemnation of torture and the persecution of minorities worldwide with scrutiny of abortion and youth gender transitioning in other countries.”
Wall Street Journal: “The vice president will be the closing speaker Sunday at the mega conference held here. Behind the scenes, Turning Point is setting up infrastructure to boost his potential 2028 presidential bid. The conservative group is planning to put representatives in all of Iowa’s 99 counties ahead of the presidential primary. Iowa is an important early state in the presidential nominating process, and Turning Point is already trying to build grassroots support for Vance there.”
New York Times: “In his first year back in office, Mr. Trump has unabashedly adopted the trappings of royalty just as he has asserted virtually unbridled power to transform American government and society to his liking. In both pageantry and policy, Mr. Trump has established a new, more audacious version of the imperial presidency that goes far beyond even the one associated with Richard M. Nixon, for whom the term was popularized half a century ago.”
“He no longer holds back, or is held back, as in the first term. Trump 2.0 is Trump 1.0 unleashed. The gold trim in the Oval Office, the demolition of the East Wing to be replaced by a massive ballroom, the plastering of his name and face on government buildings and now even the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the designation of his own birthday as a free-admission holiday at national parks — it all speaks to a personal aggrandizement and accumulation of power with meager resistance from Congress or the Supreme Court.”
Wall Street Journal: “Some of the most influential people in President Trump’s orbit, past and present, are facing off in the unfolding drama over the future of Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix, which wants to buy Warner’s studios and HBO Max streaming business, is in a multibillion-dollar game of tug of war with Paramount, which wants to buy the entire company.”
“The Supreme Court is set to decide this term whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day. The case centers on a law in Mississippi, but a total of about 18 states and territories accept such late-arriving ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day,” the New York Times reports.
“Should the court rule that all ballots nationwide must be received by Election Day, it could lead to the rejection of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of ballots in the future, affecting a swath of American voters in rural and urban areas.”
Washington Post: “As Trump continues the boat strikes — now numbering 28, with at least 104 killed — and with the declaration of a “blockade” of all sanctioned vessels transporting Venezuelan oil, he has all but abandoned the public pretense that his goal is simply stopping migrants and drugs, rather than Maduro’s removal.”
Washington Post: “Researchers and activists increasingly fear that under the Trump administration, the U.S. government is abdicating its historic role as a clearinghouse for reliable information — a momentous shift for what has been the world’s foremost producer of widely accepted data for everyone including academic researchers, local governments and ordinary citizens. Despite sharp swings in the worldview of successive presidents, most agencies have maintained their reputation for evenhanded information.”
“That may now be under threat.”
“The Trump administration escalated pressure on the Smithsonian this week, threatening to withhold federal funds if it does not submit extensive documentation for a sweeping content review,” the Washington Post reports.
“President Donald Trump earlier this year set out to purge what he called ‘improper ideology’ from the nation’s most prestigious museum system, efforts that are expected to intensify as his administration tries to shape the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations next year.”
Politico: “Like many other European nations, France sees Russia has a growing threat to the continent. So it is preparing to defend itself against what the country’s chief of defense staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, called a ‘violent test’ from Russia in the next three to four years that it would need to counter without much, if any, help from Washington. To do that, France is boosting military spending, increasing weapons production and doubling the reserve forces.”
“As of next year, France will also reintroduce voluntary military service for young adults, primarily 18- and 19-year-olds. The goal is to enroll 3,000 new recruits next summer, 10,000 in 2030 and 50,000 in 2035.
These defense efforts come as most of Europe’s nations are having to rethink their security posture in the most meaningful way since the Cold War ended.”
New York Times: “Over the quarter-century since he left the White House, he has painstakingly worked to overcome the personal scandals that marred his presidency. At 79, Mr. Clinton has been enjoying the lifestyle of an elder statesman, traveling the world to deliver speeches and eulogies, writing memoirs and political thrillers, and continuing his philanthropic work.”
“But the Justice Department’s avalanche-like release on Friday of more than 13,000 files related to Mr. Epstein served as a powerful reminder of Mr. Clinton’s long-scrutinized ties to the disgraced financier as well as some of the former president’s less statesmanlike traits — his womanizing, reckless judgment and impulsivity.”
The Guardian: Bill Clinton spokesperson says White House is using him as scapegoat after Epstein files release.
“I did something no other president’s ever done. I took cognitive tests because I know that and by the way, not easy. You get to those last questions, those last 10, 15 questions…and I aced them. And no other president’s taken a cog–… Could you imagine sleepy Joe taking a cognitive test?”
— President Trump, quoted by The Independent.
Wall Street Journal: “The plan to move past Epstein hit a snag when Justice Department officials determined it was too difficult to make the necessary redactions in time. Instead they posted just the first tranche of documents Friday and promised to release more in coming weeks.”
“The timing makes it likely that Trump’s relationship with Epstein—which by Trump’s account ended when he cut off ties long before Epstein was first arrested in 2006—will continue to make news. The issue threatens to have a drip, drip, drip cadence that prevents the White House from fully turning the page.”
“Justice Department files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released Friday, included a 1996 complaint to the FBI about the disgraced financier allegedly possessing and distributing ‘child pornography’ about a decade before a federal investigation was launched into his predatory behavior with minors and young women,” the Washington Post reports.
“At least 16 files disappeared from the Justice Department’s public webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein — including a photograph showing President Donald Trump — less than a day after they were posted, with no explanation from the government and no notice to the public,” the AP reports.
“The missing files, which were available Friday and no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.”
NPR: Available to download Friday, some Epstein files no longer there Saturday afternoon.
The U.S. Coast Guard stopped and boarded a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil late Friday or early Saturday, the New York Times reports.
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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