David Axelrod: “Donald Trump recaptured the White House in part by relentlessly exploiting Joe Biden’s failure to heed widespread concerns about the rising cost of living.”
“Now, bizarrely, President Trump is walking himself—and his party—into the same perilous trap by denying the economic reality that working families are living.”
The Economist: “You might think that in Trumpworld a new National Security Strategy would not count for all that much. John Bolton, a national security adviser in Donald Trump’s first term, frequently laments that his boss had no strategy at all. Instead, the president worked by impulse—and without the encumbrance of too many briefings. From one day to the next, he veered in opposing directions.”
“Despite that, the new NSS matters. Released, weirdly, in the dead of night on December 4th/5th, it will be pored over by soldiers, diplomats and advisers in America and around the world. It is the latest and fullest statement of what ‘America First’ means in foreign policy. It sets the terms for a soon-expected review of military power, and lays out the priorities for all those trying to interpret the president’s wishes. And, for many of its readers, it will be profoundly alarming.”
Playbook: “The first reviews are in … and it seems Donald Trump’s performance at the Kennedy Center Honors wasn’t half bad. The president had expected to get panned by critics after appointing himself emcee of the center’s flagship annual awards.”
“But the president is nothing if not a showman.”
Dan Diamond: “He’s been loose and funny. And his delivery is far tighter and on-script than usual speeches.”
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ProPublica: “For months, the Trump administration has been accusing its political enemies of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence.
“President Donald Trump branded one foe who did so ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’ He called another ‘CROOKED’ on Truth Social and pushed the attorney general to take action.”
“But years earlier, Trump did the very thing he’s accusing his enemies of, records show.”
“President Trump’s firing spree at federal agencies has snowballed into a Supreme Court showdown over how modern American government should work,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Dangling by a thread is the tradition that certain sensitive policy details—from regulating nuclear reactors to setting safety standards for consumer products—should be managed by bipartisan panels of technocrats, whose jobs are insulated from political pressure.”
“In its place, the high court appears poised to enshrine a competing view championed by Trump: that presidents must have the power to dismiss any of these unelected experts for any reason—or no reason at all. That is the only way, proponents say, to cut red tape and ensure that regulators remain accountable to voters.”
“American households are nearing the end of the year feeling a lot more dour about the economy than they did at the beginning, even as they keep spending,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“High prices, a fragile job market and anxiety about President Trump’s tariffs have helped drag consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, down near historic lows this year. The latest numbers were slightly improved from a previous reading freighted by government shutdown disruptions, but barely.”
“Republicans have yet to coalesce around a healthcare strategy just days before an expected vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies, triggering concerns from some GOP lawmakers about a voter backlash,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Senate is expected to vote this week on a Democratic-backed measure to extend the enhanced healthcare subsidies for three years. Senate Republican leaders agreed to hold the vote as a condition for ending the government shutdown.”
“The Democratic proposal isn’t expected to pass, heightening the risk that the subsidies will expire and millions of people will see their healthcare costs rise starting next month. Republicans haven’t yet united around an alternative proposal, as they struggle with how—or whether—to extend the subsidies and address issues that animate conservative such as healthcare fraud.”
“China got the world’s attention last January when it announced that its trade surplus for goods and services had hit almost $1 trillion, an excess of exports to imports that no country had ever reached,” the New York Times reports.
“Now China has surged through that milestone in just 11 months this year. China’s customs agency announced on Monday that the country’s accumulated trade surplus reached $1.08 trillion through November.”
“Republicans want to put the economy at the center of their midterm message as they seek to protect their majorities in Congress. But as cost-of-living concerns mount across the political spectrum, the GOP is struggling to act decisively to address them,” Politico reports,
“Already top Republicans acknowledge they haven’t done enough to sell the “one big, beautiful bill,” the party-line centerpiece of their economic agenda they enacted over the summer. Now internal divisions and the need for bipartisan support in the Senate are threatening any attempt to follow up on it.”
Washington Post: “Overall, Trump — who campaigned against America’s worsening drug crisis and promised to crack down on the illegal flow of deadly drugs coming across the border — has pardoned or granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term.”
“He also granted pardons or commutations to almost 90 others for drug-related crimes during the four years of his first term, the analysis showed.”
“Sprawling defense legislation set for a vote as soon as this week would place new restrictions on reducing troop levels in Europe, a bipartisan rebuke of Trump administration moves that lawmakers fear would limit U.S. commitments on the continent,” Politico reports.
President Trump gushed over Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandso calling him “fantastic” and more but also noted that a combined Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery would “have a great big market share,” Deadline reports.
He added that’s “for some economists” to look at “and I’ll be involved in that decision.”
Variety reports Trump said that the government review of Netflix’s proposed $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. must “go through a process, and we’ll see what happens.”
Puck: “House Republicans got everything they could have asked for in 2024—not just a powerful (albeit small) majority in their own chamber, but also control of the Senate and the presidency.”
“Still, that governing trifecta has been less productive and more acrimonious than anyone hoped: The electoral high has long since worn off, replaced by stalled legislation, a capricious and vindictive White House, and the possibility of a midterm beating that could relegate them to the minority.”
“These days, many House Republicans are wondering if their future includes another term in Congress at all.”
The Bulwark: “For weeks, a rumor has been circulating in political circles that Noem may soon be on the outs. It briefly surfaced in a CNN report a few weeks back that listed her first among the cabinet officials who could be caught in a year-end turnover, noting that while Trump himself has been happy with Noem, top White House officials have grown frustrated with her tenure—specifically, her employment of her divisive and combustible chief adviser, Corey Lewandowski.”
“Noem has downplayed any tensions or concerns. And in a text to me, Lewandowski called bullshit on any talk of turnover.”
“But in conversations with three former DHS officials—who served in both the Biden and Trump administrations and are still in touch with current staff—it was made clear that Trump is indeed considering moving on from Noem.”
“Netflix taking pole position to win the race for Warner Bros. Discovery sent shockwaves through Hollywood, partially because it was presumed that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison had the support of President Donald Trump,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Now multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Netflix may also have received some sort of blessing by Trump, or at least his ear. Insiders says that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke with the President in the last couple of weeks in a confab that lasted about two hours.”
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said he agrees with Michelle Obama that the U.S. is not yet ready for a woman president, but he still intends to support women candidates, Politico reports.
Said Clyburn: “As we saw in this past election, sadly we ain’t ready. That’s why I’m like, ‘Don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman.’”
“I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks — making fun of me constantly for supporting him — to when he won the primary in 2024 they all started — excuse my language, Lesley, kissing his ass and decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time.”
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), on 60 Minutes.
“The Supreme Court will debate Monday whether to finally finish off a teetering, 90-year-old precedent that limited presidents’ power over many federal agencies,” Politico reports.
“But lurking in the wings is a far more radical bid by the Trump administration to remake the federal government from top to bottom by ending the concept of the civil service.”
“Indeed, some legal experts say that as a practical matter, the administration — emboldened by the justices — has already managed to eliminate job protections that have been on the books for nearly 150 years.”
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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