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Trump Says He’d Be ‘Stupid’ to Turn Down Plane

May 12, 2025 at 11:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump called it “stupid” for him to turn down the gift of a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar, praising the free present from the Arab nation as a “great gesture,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “Now, I could be a stupid person and say oh no, we don’t want a free plane. We give free things out, we’ll take one too. And, it helps us out because… we have 40-year-old aircraft. The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy top is astronomical, you wouldn’t even believe it. So, I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar, I appreciate it very much.”

He added: “I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘no we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane’ but I thought it was a great gesture.”

Trump Spent $21 Million Flying Migrants to Guantanamo

May 12, 2025 at 11:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration spent at least $21 million transporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay on military aircraft between January 20 and April 8,” NBC News reports.

“The naval base there currently holds 32 migrants, a tiny fraction of the 30,000 that President Donald Trump promised. Guantanamo has held a total of just under 500 migrants since Trump announced the effort in January, and it has never held more than 200 at any one time. Many of the migrants flown there are believed to have been flown back to the U.S.”

House GOP Would Limit SALT Deduction

May 12, 2025 at 10:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House GOP tax writers are discussing including a $30,000 SALT cap in their tax bill, Punchbowl News reports.

Deductions would be limited to people making less than $400,000 per year.

What to watch: At least five SALT cap opponents have already said a $30,000 limit is too low.


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A Foreign Government Would Love to Give Trump a Plane

May 12, 2025 at 10:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Garrett Graff: “The corruption bothers me a great deal, but I want to talk today about a different reason the gift boggles the mind: The national security risk.”

“To put the president of the United States on a plane built and owned by a foreign country for over a decade is the definition of insanity, the assumption of catastrophic and literally unquantifiable risk in an arena where the U.S. devotes billions of dollars a year to mitigating even the slightest, remotest risk to presidential security and communication.”

Flashback Quote of the Day

May 12, 2025 at 10:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I don’t believe there is any problem of American politics and American public life which is more significant today than the pervasive civic ignorance of the Constitution of the United States and the structure of government.”

— The late Supreme Court Justice David Souter, speaking in 2012.

Does Trump Have the Power to Appoint Jeanine Pirro?

May 12, 2025 at 10:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Under a federal law, the attorney general can appoint an interim U.S. attorney for up to 120 days. But soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration installed a Republican lawyer and political activist, Ed Martin, in that role.”

“The question is whether presidents are limited to one 120-day window for interim U.S. attorneys, or whether they can continue unilaterally installing such appointees in succession — indefinitely bypassing Senate confirmation as a check on their appointment power.”

Trump Says China Will ‘Open Up’

May 12, 2025 at 10:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said Monday that China would “open itself up to American business” after the two countries agreed to temporarily slash most of the tariffs on each other’s goods, CNBC reports.

Trump offered few details, but said it was “maybe the most important thing” to come out of the trade talks between the two superpowers in Switzerland over the weekend.

A remarkable statement considering it was Trump who retreated.

A Blatant Violation of the U.S. Constitution

May 12, 2025 at 10:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Founding Fathers were crystal clear about the dangers of foreign influence.

So much so, they wrote explicit language into the Constitution to guard against it: “No person holding any office of profit or trust… shall, without the consent of Congress, accept any present, emolument… from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

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RFK Jr. Went for a Swim in Bacteria-Laden Waters

May 12, 2025 at 10:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went for a swim in Rock Creek yesterday,” the Washingtonian reports.

“Health officials typically advise avoid swimming in that DC waterway, because sewage from the city’s aging system flows into it. The problem is particularly bad after rains, but even during dry spells, the bacteria count in Rock Creek is alarmingly high.”

Is Jeff Bezos Selling Out the Washington Post?

May 12, 2025 at 9:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Clare Malone: “How the paper that brought down Richard Nixon is struggling to survive the second term of Donald Trump.”

Trump Retreats on Tariffs — Again

May 12, 2025 at 9:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The U.S. and China agreed to a temporary truce in their trade war—one that has rattled global markets and strained supply chains across the world’s two largest economies.

The particulars are as follows: The U.S. will slash tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%. In return, China will lower its tariffs on American imports from 125% to 10%. The agreement is set to last just 90 days.

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Candidates Line Up to Replace Jan Schakowsky

May 12, 2025 at 9:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune: “Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old newcomer to the Chicago region who is banking on her blunt messaging and massive online following to earn her a place on Capitol Hill, might have been the first to announce she was running for the congressional seat — even before the 80-year-old Schakowsky said she wouldn’t run again. But Abughazaleh won’t be the last.”

“One state legislator, state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, joined the race within hours of Schakowsky’s announcement. Other local politicians are expected to follow soon, setting up a confrontation between candidates employing new media savvy and those relying on grassroots support and old-school organizing.”

Tlaib Backs Primary Challenger to Detroit Colleague

May 12, 2025 at 9:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is endorsing a state lawmaker who is trying to unseat Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), a fellow Democrat who represents the district next door to hers in Congress, the Detroit News reports.

Tlaib on Monday said she is backing state Rep. Donavan McKinney’s (D) bid for Congress in Michigan’s 13th District and also took a dig at the two-term Thanedar, saying his constituents deserve better representation.

Trump Is Completely Out of His Depth on Foreign Policy

May 12, 2025 at 7:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump campaigned on the promise that he alone could end the war in Ukraine — on day one. But four months into his second term, he’s privately admitting frustration that Vladimir Putin isn’t playing along.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump has been “griping” to advisers that neither side seems interested in a deal—and that Putin, in particular, refuses to compromise.

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Beef Prices Soar

May 12, 2025 at 7:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

U.S. beef prices are soaring to record highs as the country’s cattle inventory reaches its lowest level in more than 70 years, putting further strains on Americans’ grocery bills, the Financial Times reports.

Liberals in Canada One Seat Closer to Outright Majority

May 12, 2025 at 7:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Canada’s Liberals are now just two seats short of an outright parliamentary majority after a recount in a Quebec riding gave Liberal candidate a win by just one vote, the BBC reports.

Trump’s Trillion Dollar Trip

May 12, 2025 at 7:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump leaves for the Gulf on Monday and is aiming to return home with $1 trillion worth of deals and investment pledges,”Axios reports.

New York Times: Trump heads to Middle East with single goal: Deals, deals, deals.

Josh Hawley Urges No Cuts to Medicaid

May 12, 2025 at 6:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), writing in the New York Times:

“It’s safe to say the Trump coalition was not pulling the lever for Medicaid cuts in November…”

“Many of my House and Senate colleagues keep pushing for substantial cuts, and the House will begin to hash out its differences in negotiations this week… Republicans need to open their eyes: Our voters support social insurance programs. More than that, our voters depend on those programs.”

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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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