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75 posts · Friday
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 191
Blue Wave Update
“President Trump decided to make a diesel fuel deal with Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ignored half a dozen U.S. requests to stop attacking Russian oil refineries,” Axios reports.
“Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked a new crisis with Ukraine and threatens to derail a new push by the Trump administration for a deal to end the war.”
The Guardian: Zelensky furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel.
“President Donald Trump reiterated his complaints on Friday about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, calling it a disgraceful and embarrassing decision that had left a stain on Norway, which hosts the Nobel committee,” Reuters reports.
Bloomberg: Trump warns Norway he won’t forget Nobel Peace Prize snub.
“Could this be a wave that takes the House, or a tsunami that takes the Senate, or an asteroid that just cleans out the party? We will see, but the polling and the feelings—nothing is good right now. Nothing is going in our direction.”
— Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
A new Ipsos poll finds Donald Trump’s approval at 32%, while 64% disapprove.
“President Donald Trump gambled that importing more beef would lower prices enough to mitigate the political hit from angry ranchers,” Politico reports.
“His bet hasn’t paid off.”
“Prices have barely budged, ranchers remain incensed, and vulnerable Republicans in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas are fighting to convince rural voters to turn out in November as farmers confront economic headwinds fueled by the president’s policies.”
“Prediction market Kalshi has launched an investigation into a series of suspicious trades on their platform about the selection of President Trump’s new White House press secretary,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The company said it is probing a series of trades on their platform that predicted Trump would select conservative commentator Katie Zacharia to be his next press secretary.”
“Asked Friday whether he had personally authorized or approved the live-streaming of the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, President Donald Trump responded, ‘Did I approve? Absolutely,'” the Washington Post reports.
Associated Press: A history of public executions in the U.S. as Fort Hood shooter’s could be livestreamed.
“Following days of increasingly fevered speculation about his extended absence from the public eye while reportedly sick, James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, was spotted Friday at the Austin City Limits music festival,” the Washington Post reports.
Bloomberg: James Talarico appears in Austin after 10-day campaign absence.
“As former Vice President Kamala Harris lays the groundwork for a potential third presidential campaign, her husband has privately told some people he would prefer she didn’t run and some donors have told her directly that a bid would be a longshot,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Harris has said she is undecided on whether to launch another run for the White House, but she has taken steps that could be a precursor to such a bid, including speaking with major donors, hiring staff and traveling to battleground states to boost Democratic candidates in the November midterm elections.”
“With less than a month until Election Day, former President Barack Obama is sharply increasing his role in the midterm elections, raising money, cutting ads and hitting the campaign trail as Democrats press into territory he says he never expected to compete in,” ABC News reports.
Said Obama: “I don’t want anybody to think this is a sure thing. It’s not. We could end up, all these races that are showing we’ve got a two- or three-point lead or it’s a tossup, we could end up losing all of them by two points.”
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in a phone interview on Friday that President Trump’s decision to unilaterally lift sanctions on Russia and allow it to export diesel was ‘not fair and not honest,'” Axios reports.
Said Zelensky: “You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible.”
“For weeks, top Democrats in Washington have watched with cautious restraint as Republicans dumped millions into red states like Kansas and South Carolina to defend an increasingly shaky Senate map,” CNN reports.
“But Democrats increasingly believe they have a real chance to win seats deep in Trump territory as Republicans face their worst midterm environment in decades and the Senate map abruptly expands.”
“Sen. Chris Murphy wants Democrats to go big for Angie Nixon in Florida’s Senate race — and he’s pushing to raise some ‘serious money’ to help,” Politico reports.
Said Murphy: “I do believe that we’d make a big mistake if we slept on Florida. I know it feels like a longer shot, but I just think this year is looking exceptional.”
When readers email me, they ask for book recommendations more than almost anything else. So I built a better answer.
Political Books collects every book that has been mentioned on Political Wire, nearly 800 so far, in one place. It’s searchable and sortable, and it updates itself whenever a new book appears in a post.
Search everything. Type a title, subtitle or author and results appear instantly as you type.
Sort it your way:
Every book has its own page. It shows the cover, the available formats (hardcover, paperback, Kindle and audiobook) and every Political Wire post that discussed the book. You can see why it mattered, not just that it exists.
Members can also save books to their reading list. Just click “Save to reading list” next to any book on the Political Books page or in any post. When you’re ready for your next book, it’s waiting. You can view your saved reading list in the “My Political Wire” section in the right column of the site.
If you’re not a member yet, join here. The reading list is one more reason to.
A new The Daily Agenda Poll/Morning Consult poll in Minnesota finds Peggy Flanagan (D) leading Michele Tafoya (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 41%.
A new Manhattan Institute poll in California finds Nithya Raman (D) leading Karen Bass (D) in the Los Angeles Mayor, 38% to 32%.
“President Trump took to Truth Social Thursday to encourage Alaska voters to vote for the Republican ticket in November and criticized the state’s voting system in the process,” NewsNation reports.
“Trump questioned why there are three Republicans facing off against one Democrat in the November governor election, calling the system ‘stupid.'”
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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