“Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel said he’s skeptical of the U.S. war with Iran and does not believe the United States should have launched it, putting the major Republican donor at odds with President Donald Trump over one of the administration’s defining foreign policy decisions,” Politico reports.
Said Thiel: “I’m skeptical of the war, I think we should not have done it. There were a lot of mistakes that were made.”
“For most of the war, Iran had an invaluable cushion: dozens of oil tankers holding millions of barrels of crude sitting safely in waters in Asia. Tehran steadily sold the oil to China, bringing in billions of much-needed cash,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Now, that floating storage is gone. By mid-October, the reserves were fully depleted, according to analysts at Kpler, as a U.S. naval blockade prevented Iran from replacing the crude it normally sells to Chinese refineries.”
“The drop in oil revenue is a further blow to Iran’s struggling economy, already facing runaway inflation and widespread shortages.”
“Millions of Americans are expected to receive a settlement check from Amazon credited to ‘President Trump’s Federal Trade Commission’ in an unprecedented move coming weeks before the midterm elections,” Politico reports.
“The checks, part of a $2.5 billion settlement Amazon agreed to in 2025 for allegedly deceiving customers into signing up for Prime subscriptions, mark the first time an FTC refund has attributed the payments to a specific president.”
“James Talarico, the Democratic nominee seeking a Senate seat from Texas, fired back Wednesday night at Elon Musk for an X post in which the world’s richest man hours earlier had said, ‘There is something deeply wrong with Talarico,'” CNBC reports.
Said Talarico: “There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator.”
Bloomberg: Elon Musk’s Texas Senate race donations play into James Talarico’s hand.
“Multiple protesters were removed from Donald Trump’s rally at South Carolina’s Clemson University on Wednesday, including one who was apparently punched by a rally attender – to the U.S. president’s delight,” The Guardian reports.
Said Trump: “That was great, man. Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that. That was incredible. Wow. That was unbelievable. Is everybody OK?”
New York Times: Clashes darken rally in South Carolina as Trump seeks to boost Darline Graham.
New York Post: Trump South Carolina rally turns into royal rumble with hecklers getting “whacked” by MAGA supporters.
“President Donald Trump traveled to South Carolina on Wednesday to boost U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, whose stumbles in her first campaign since replacing her late brother have Democratic voters hopeful — but not necessarily optimistic — that their candidate can break Republicans’ grip on the state,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Trump, who was repeatedly interrupted by protesters early in his speech, sought to reassure South Carolinians on Wednesday that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham held his sister in high esteem.”
Said Trump: “Everybody respects her. She’s smart and incredible. She’ll never let you down.”
“The White House counsel’s office warned Politico in a Monday letter that it had 48 hours to retract or correct recent stories about alleged staff drama, or it would suffer unspecified consequences,” Axios reports.
“That deadline expires Thursday.”
The Wrap: White House Correspondents’ Association accuses Trump admin of “retaliation” after clash with reporter.
“House Democrats’ campaign arm is instructing allied super PACs to promote minor candidates in several key House races,” Axios reports.
“This allows Democrats to steer outside groups toward siphoning votes from Republicans without violating laws against direct coordination.”
A new Fox News Poll poll in Ohio finds Sherrod Brown (D) leading Jon Husted (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 52% to 47%.
The same poll in Ohio finds Amy Acton (D) leading Vivek Ramaswamy (R) in the governor’s race, 50% to 48%.
A new Fox News poll in Texas finds James Talarico (D) and Ken Paxton (R) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 49%.
The same poll in Texas finds Greg Abbott (R) leading Gina Hinojosa (D) in the governor’s race, 52% to 47%.
“President Donald Trump will visit Mississippi next week to campaign for U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Monday night,” Mississippi Today reports.
Said Hyde-Smith: “We feel very good about this. It’s going to be 13 days, and we’re going to run through the tape so strong. I’m very proud of the record I have to run on. If he would like to, that would be fine.”
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday insisted that he had nothing to do with a slowdown of SpaceX’s Starlink in Ukraine, and does not know if Elon Musk was responsible for speed-capping the critical satellite service,” CNBC reports.
Said Trump: “I wasn’t involved.”
Bloomberg: How Musk’s Starlink and U.S. spy satellites support Ukraine’s defense.
“The Pentagon is looking to build a more robust deep-cover spying program to conduct economic warfare against China and other U.S. competitors,” the Washington Post reports.
“This new next-generation spying program — in which U.S. operatives would go undercover as businesspeople or other private-sector personnel, without any overt U.S. government affiliation — is intended to be a covert prong of the Pentagon’s larger economic warfare campaign.”
“Mark Zuckerberg said he is considering leaving California if it passes a measure that would impose a one-time, 5% tax on billionaires,” Bloomberg reports.
“JD Vance may be an early Republican frontrunner to succeed Donald Trump in 2028, but the president has made it clear he isn’t ready to hand over the keys,” Bloomberg reports.
“With Vance standing behind him in the Oval Office yesterday, Trump declined to endorse his vice president for the next presidential election, calling him a ‘very talented person’ but insisting it was too early to make a decision.”
Said Trump: “We have to get through the midterms. We’ll see how it goes.”
Mediaite: Trump ties JD Vance to him: “We disagree on almost nothing.”
“Top Democrats and allied organizations filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against President Donald Trump and his administration over their attempts to stymie the midterm elections, including by removing voters from state rolls,” MS NOW reports.
“Illinois first lady MK Pritzker, who typically shies away from the political spotlight, announced Wednesday that she is contributing $500,000 to support Ohio Democratic governor candidate Amy Acton after the campaign of Acton’s Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, released a controversial video featuring her estranged mother,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC, plans to stop endorsing candidates, making direct PAC contributions and earmarking contributions to candidates,” CNBC reports.
“The shift reverses a strategy adopted five years ago as the influential pro-Israel group faces mounting political resistance.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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