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Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff

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“President Trump has repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Trump, in a recent meeting: “I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval.”

“That radius appears to be expanding as the president repeats the line. Another person who met with Trump earlier this year said the president quipped about pardoning anyone who had come within 10 feet.”

“In one conversation with advisers in the dining room next to the Oval Office last year, Trump said he would host a news conference and announce mass pardons before he left office.”

Every Democrat Is a ‘Fighter’ Now

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“Virtually every Democratic primary candidate this cycle, from the most progressive to the most moderate, wants voters to know one thing: How much of a ‘fighter’ they are,” Axios reports.

“It is the culmination of a year’s worth of liberal grassroots fury over what they see as President Trump’s many transgressions and the Democratic establishment’s lackluster response.”

Trump Looms Large Over Congressional Primaries

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“President Trump will not be on the ballot this year, but you might not know it based on the ads being run by Republicans in competitive congressional primaries,” Axios reports.

“Even as his approval rating droops amid rising gas prices and a sluggish economy, the president is still one of the most potent forces in Republican politics.”

Trump Plans to Request $98 Billion for Iran War

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NOTUS: “President Donald Trump is preparing a $98 billion supplemental spending request tied to U.S. military operations in Iran, a sharply reduced figure from earlier Pentagon proposals.”

“Defense officials initially floated packages approaching $250 billion to cover the cost of deploying troops, ships, aircraft and weapons to the region, and to accelerate munitions production — a key Pentagon priority.”

Trump Aide Would Oversee GOP’s Midterm Election Effort

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White House deputy chief of staff James Blair is considering a temporary leave of absence to run President Trump’s political operation during the midterms, Politico reports.

Blair would oversee the president’s entire political operation from the outside as well as midterm spending — the clearest indication yet that the White House wants a unified approach to strategy and spending in the charge toward November.

Viktor Orbán Could Actually Lose

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Isaac Stanley-Becker: “It may not be obvious why an election in Hungary, a landlocked European country with a population roughly the size of Michigan’s, has commanded so much international attention. It’s not a nuclear power, a global media hub, or a center of innovation. Its language is a beast to learn.”

“But Sunday’s vote may well be one of the most important elections in the history of postcommunist Europe. It will test the longevity of a regime that has deviated from principles of democracy and the rule of law that were vindicated by the peaceful revolutions of 1989 and later secured by the European Union, which incorporated Hungary as part of its eastward expansion in 2004.”

“The bloc doesn’t have a mechanism to expel a wayward member, but Western diplomats told me that brazen electoral theft would inaugurate a perilous new era. Some suggested that the prime minister, who oversees entrenched patronage networks that reach into the minutiae of municipal jobs, has too much at stake to accept defeat.”

Iran Casts Doubt on Peace Talks Before They Even Begin

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“Vice President JD Vance said he expected to hold ‘positive’ talks with Iran, the Financial Times reports.

But within a few hours, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s top wartime leaders, cast doubts on the talks, saying Tehran would not participate unless Israel agreed to end its assault against Hizbollah in Lebanon and the U.S. agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held overseas.

Kristi Noem’s Husband Fantasized About Leaving Her

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“Kristi Noem’s husband, Bryon, had an on-off secret online relationship with a left-wing dominatrix for more than nine years,” the Daily Mail reports.

“At times, the former homeland security secretary’s husband encouraged Shy Sotomayor as she repeatedly insulted his wife. Bryon fantasized about ‘leaving’ Kristi for the woman he worshipped as his ‘goddess’ and discussed his desire to transition his gender through surgery and hormone therapy.”

Bad Economic News Keeps Coming for Republicans

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Punchbowl News: “It’s been a brutal run for President Donald Trump and Hill Republicans. Trump’s poll numbers on the economy are dismal, dragging down his overall approval rating. That hurts every Republican on the ballot.”

“Trump is headed to Arizona and Nevada next week to talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill, the signature legislative achievement of his second term, which also remains unpopular.”

“But for some reason, it feels like these elevated prices might be with us for some time. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t fully open yet. Its status will be the focal point of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations that begin this weekend in Islamabad.”

Keir Starmer Says He’s ‘Fed Up’ with Trump

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New York Times: “In the six weeks since the Iran war started, the once-chummy rapport between Mr. Starmer and Mr. Trump has cratered. In the face of repeated taunts and mockery by the president, Mr. Starmer has hardened his approach, saying he will not give in to pressure from the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to join the fighting in Iran.”

Said Starmer: “I’m fed up.”

Calls to Impeach Trump Collide With Reluctant Democrats

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Time: “Dozens of Democrats this week called for a premature end to Trump’s second term—either through impeachment or the Constitution’s 25th Amendment—as much of the party’s base expresses outrage at Democrats’ inaction. Yet there is scant appetite for such an effort before the midterms from party leadership—as well as from swing-state lawmakers and those who see it as the kind of therapy presenting as governance that risks sapping the party’s momentum.”

“Conversations with more than a dozen Democrats involved in this fast-moving internal debate paint a picture of a party out of power divided between wanting to show voters they are fighting Trump and not wanting to be viewed as chasing performative exercises in futility.”

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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