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“The war in Iran has now cost U.S. consumers $100 billion in higher energy prices, and the bill is rising another $1 million about every two minutes, per a real-time estimate from Brown University as of Monday morning,” Axios reports.
“Energy inflation shows up across the entire economy, and the recent surge in diesel prices in particular threatens to have a dramatic impact on freight and travel in the weeks and months to come.”
“An alleged attack on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton remained under investigation Monday but the aftermath of the weekend incident made one thing clear: Acton’s closer-than-expected race against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio has become extraordinarily toxic,” the Washington Post reports.
NBC News: Amy Acton reflects on a “rough day” as witnesses recall “frightening” confrontation.
“When Corey Lewandowski was at the Department of Homeland Security, he approached senior Qatari officials with a proposal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Hire me on the side, the longtime Trump aide who was effectively the shadow secretary at the department last year, told them… He said he could help the tiny, wealthy Gulf state with any issues that fell under the department’s purview, such as visas…”
“The alleged moneymaking efforts, which appeared to be offers by Lewandowski to sell government services for personal gain, came while he had an expansive portfolio at one of the most powerful agencies in the federal government.”
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“For decades, Washington has replayed the same fight over taming the soaring national debt: Democrats cite a need for more taxes. Republicans refuse. And anyone who suggests cutting the biggest source of spending — federal retirement benefits — gets attacked,” the Washington Post reports.
“But a coming crisis in Social Security appears to be pushing at least a few Republicans off the GOP’s long-standing pledge never to raise taxes.”
“This summer, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in proposing to raise the payroll tax cap so people with higher incomes pay more into the program. Now the idea is emerging as an acceptable fix among other GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Tom Cole, the influential chair of the House Appropriations Committee.”
“The son of former President Joe Biden is launching a meme coin that takes aim at his family’s nemesis, Donald Trump. And he’s naming it for the most-infamous personal computer in American political history,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Yes, Hunter Biden’s laptop will live on. At least on the blockchain.”
“Biden’s token will trade under the ticker, $LAPTOP, and launch Sept. 9 on Base, a digital ledger built by Coinbase Global, the largest U.S. crypto exchange.”
“President Donald Trump posted an image of dark ‘next generation’ U.S. Space Force uniforms on Sunday that the text claims were ‘inspired by the discipline and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform’ – a design the director of the 1997 film Starship Troopers said was directly meant to evoke Nazis,” the Tribune News Service reports.
“Greenland is cashing in on President Trump’s threats and talk of dealmaking by using its position as a strategic Arctic linchpin to draw investments from European allies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union’s executive arm, visited Greenland on Monday and pledged investments worth 200 million euros, equivalent to about $230 million, in minerals, satellite communications and renewable energy.”
“The move is the latest in an international tug of war for influence over the vast island.”
“Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Bombardier, the Canadian business jet manufacturer, as Ottawa prepares to impose $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in the intensifying trade war between the countries,” the Financial Times reports.
CNBC: Trump says Bombardier can’t sell in U.S. unless Canada aerospace giant builds there.
“New Hampshire hasn’t elected a Republican Senator in 16 years but Democrats are now at risk of losing a seat to the scion of a political dynasty, jeopardizing their chances of controlling the upper chamber,” Bloomberg reports.
“Voters from both parties will head to the polls on Tuesday to pick their nominees to replace Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who decided not to run again. The leading contender on the Democrat side is U.S. House Representative Chris Pappas. For Republicans, it’s John Sununu, who previously served in the Senate from 2003 to 2009 and whose brother and father were popular New Hampshire governors.”
“An unexpected Democratic loss in the Granite State would wipe out a hard-fought midterm victory elsewhere and complicate the party’s chances of securing the net gain of four seats that they need to win a Senate majority.”
“The Trump administration has removed language criticizing a memorial to the Confederacy formerly located in Arlington National Cemetery, part of its ongoing effort to reshape portrayals of the Civil War,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Confederate Memorial, a 32-foot bronze statue commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and unveiled in 1914, was removed from the military cemetery in 2023. Its removal followed a congressional mandate to rid U.S. military property of names and symbols honoring the Confederacy and its leaders.”
“We’re working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards.”
— Jared Kushner, quoted by CBS News, on the lack of progress in Gaza.
“As the unofficial start of the campaign sprint kicks off on Labor Day Monday, President Donald Trump’s deep unpopularity is imperiling Republican chances of maintaining their narrow majorities in Congress with just two months before November’s midterm elections,” Reuters reports.
“Midterm elections, above all, are a referendum on the occupant of the White House, according to election experts. That is even more of a truism in the era of Trump, who has spent the better part of a decade as the country’s dominant political figure and could face stiff political headwinds in his final two years in office.”
Associated Press: Whiplash election year enters final stretch as Trump holds wild cards.
“With an insulted and angry nation solidly behind him, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada is charging ahead in a bitter trade war with the United States, risking a further fraying of what once was one of the world’s closest friendships,” the New York Times reports.
“Retaliatory tariffs, set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, demonstrate Mr. Carney’s defiance toward increasing bombast by President Trump, who has been trying to humiliate Canada economically after more than two weeks of finger pointing and threats.”
Associated Press: A testy trade war threatens to keep Canadian travelers from the U.S.
“President Donald Trump on Monday promised victory in the upcoming midterm elections for the GOP and went after Democrats in a Labor Day message posted to social media,” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump: “Happy Labor Day to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics, Communists, and Dumocrats who will do anything possible to destroy our Country. These Deranged People, after fighting for 10 years, should finally acknowledge that your Favorite President (ME!), knows how to WIN!”
He added: “They should be exhausted by now but, sadly, they’re not. They’re going to give it one last shot at ruining America, but we’re not going to let that happen. We’re going to win the Midterms, BIG, and SAVE AMERICA!”
Mother Jones: Trump wants to make sure every voter knows the midterms are a referendum on Trump.
“President Donald Trump raised eyebrows and sparked criticism on both sides of the aisle on Monday by posting a map of the United States expanding to include both Canada and Mexico,” Mediaite reports.
“Iran’s oil export revenue is drying up as a U.S. naval blockade strangles shipments from the Persian Gulf and offshore stockpiles feeding China dwindle, putting more pressure on Tehran’s battered economy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“No Iranian crude has crossed the blockade since it was reinstated by the U.S. Navy in mid-July, according to ship tracker Kpler. Iran is still loading small amounts of oil onto tankers, but those barrels remain trapped inside the Gulf.”
Bloomberg: Iran says Strait of Hormuz deal with Oman just days away.
“Donald Trump loves hot dogs—loves them. But he reserves a particular devotion for the ones served at the snack shack beside the 11th tee box at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington, D.C.—wieners that, on Trump’s personal scale of human achievement, probably rank somewhere between mankind’s first glimpse of gold in a riverbed and the construction of Trump Tower,” Forbes reports.
Said a former club employee: “He has this weird, very odd pride about how good the hot dogs are. That’s his thing. The chef has to be out there. And he’s like, ‘Chef, get everyone a hot dog—all these guys.'”
“And everyone means everyone—roughly 30 carts full of Secret Service agents included. But the president’s frankfurters are not free… Ethics rules restrict agents from accepting gifts from those they serve. So Trump’s club charges the agency that protects him.”
“There, in one all-beef transaction, is the Trump presidency in miniature: Trump owns the club. Trump controls the chef. Trump doles out the hot dogs. Trump watches everyone eat them. Then Trump’s business sends the government the bill.”
“Many Jewish Americans who have reliably voted Democratic are considering withholding support from the party — or even crossing the aisle in November — over concerns about rising antisemitism and progressive candidates’ stances on Israel,” NBC News reports.
“Michigan’s toss-up Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers is the epicenter of this dynamic. But these tensions are also simmering in other competitive Senate races, including in battleground Georgia and the tight contest in Texas. That has prompted Democratic fears that a shift by some Jewish voters away from the party could affect the battle for control of Congress in November.”
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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