David Kirkpatrick attempts an honest accounting of the Trump family’s profits from two presidencies — and conservatively estimates the sum to be $3.4 billion.
“By the time I finished adding up the Trump family’s profits, I was almost inured to it all.”
“If Republican lawmakers were trying to run away from the Jeffrey Epstein saga by leaving Washington, they may be disappointed. By returning to their districts, they very well may have run toward it,” NOTUS reports.
“At town halls around the country, Republicans are facing an onslaught of questions from constituents seeking details about Epstein-related documents. The drama has transfixed people across the political spectrum, with Republicans and Democrats seemingly disturbed by President Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein controversy and concerned that the administration is obfuscating the truth.”
Even countries directly involved in Trump’s tariff deals have been caught off guard by White House statements, which often contain little detail or require clarifications, Axios reports.
Said Taro Kono, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives: “Washington is just randomly shooting, and they are shooting some like-minded countries from behind.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), the first Democrat to call for Joe Biden to step down because of his age, is facing calls to step down — because of his age, the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told CNN that Democrats turned their backs on the working class.
Said Sanders: “I like Kamala, she’s a friend of mine. But her core consultants, you know, were very influenced by wealthy people.
He added: “How do you run for president and not develop a strong agenda which speaks to the economic crises facing working families?”
“A generation ago conventional wisdom held that as China liberalized, its economy would come to resemble America’s. Instead, capitalism in America is starting to look like China,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Recent examples include President Trump’s demand that Intel’s CEO resign; the “golden share” Washington will get in U.S. Steel as a condition of Nippon Steel’s takeover; and the $1.5 trillion of promised investment from trading partners Trump plans to personally direct.”
“This isn’t socialism, in which the state owns the means of production. It is more like state capitalism, a hybrid between socialism and capitalism in which the state guides the decisions of nominally private enterprises.”
“In a social media post on Sunday, Donald Trump has demanded homeless residents of Washington DC leave the country’s capital or face eviction, and again promised to use federal officers to jail criminals, even though violent crime in the city was at a 30-year low when he took office in January,” The Guardian reports.
“The post was illustrated with four photographs, all apparently taken from the president’s motorcade along the route from the White House to his golf course.”
“With President Trump and President Vladimir Putin preparing to meet in Alaska on Friday, ending the Russian leader’s years of diplomatic isolation with the West, Ukraine’s sidelined leaders warned that the Kremlin would try to ‘deceive America’ as Mr. Trump pushed to end the war,” the New York Times reports.
“Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is determined to demonstrate that his country is not the obstacle to peace by emphasizing Kyiv’s willingness to accept an unconditional cease-fire, an idea that Russia has rejected. He has cautioned that Mr. Putin will try to drive a wedge between the United States, Ukraine and its European allies by putting forth demands that the Kremlin knows Ukraine cannot accept and then portraying Mr. Zelensky as the barrier to a deal.”
“House Republicans are pushing for a second megabill. The Senate GOP’s not so sure,” Politico reports.
“After a grueling ordeal to get President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” signed into law last month, Speaker Mike Johnson and other leaders are already talking about crafting at least one more domestic policy package that can pass along party lines in the Senate.”
“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin rubbed shoulders with major donors at the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual Silver Elephant fundraiser, fueling intrigue around a possible run for president in 2028,” the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
“Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are expected to pay the United States 15 percent of the money they take in from selling artificial intelligence chips to China, as part of a highly unusual financial agreement with the Trump administration,” the New York Times reports.
“There are few precedents for the Commerce Department agreeing to grant licenses for exports in exchange for a share of revenue. But the unorthodox payments are consistent with Mr. Trump’s increasingly interventionist role in international business deals involving American companies.”
Wall Street Journal: “It is unusual for companies to essentially pay for export licenses. The agreements follow criticism from national-security hawks who fear the chips and other technology will boost China’s AI ecosystem and military.”
CNBC: “The arrangement comes as President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to reverberate through the global economy, underscoring the White House’s willingness to carve out exceptions as a bargaining tool.”
“Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is set to visit the White House Monday after President Trump called for his removal last week over ties to Chinese businesses,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Tan is expected to have a wide-ranging conversation with Trump, with the intent of explaining his personal and professional background… He could also propose ways that the government and Intel could work together.”
“The FBI has taken the unusual step of dispatching as many as 120 of its agents to help local law enforcement prevent carjackings and violent crime in Washington, as President Donald Trump threatens a federal takeover of the nation’s capital,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump, who plans a news conference at the White House on Monday on this topic, compared the forthcoming action against D.C. crime to his administration’s aggressive crackdown against illegal immigration at the southern border, saying on Sunday that he plans to ‘immediately clear out the city’s homeless population and take swift action against crime.’”
“President Donald Trump and the new AI search tool on his social media network, Truth Social, don’t exactly see eye to eye,” the Washington Post reports.
“Truth Search AI contradicts the president by saying that tariffs are a tax on Americans, the 2020 election wasn’t stolen, and his family’s cryptocurrency investments pose a potential conflict of interest.”
Vice President JD Vance said Republicans must take “very decisive action” with redistricting, arguing in an interview aired Sunday that those efforts and a new census will make “the congressional apportionment fair,” Axios reports.
Vance urged “hard work to reset the scales a little bit.”
“President Donald Trump is rushing to break ground next month on a giant White House ballroom, but has not yet submitted the project for a review that experts said is required by law and often takes years to complete,” the Washington Post reports.
“A security fence and a tennis pavilion — neither of which involved the White House itself — each took at least two years to move through the National Capital Planning Commission, which vets construction of and renovation to the region’s federal buildings. The Trump administration plans to start work next month on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot structure that would nearly double the footprint of the main building and its East and West wings.”
“Records show the project has yet to be reviewed by the commission. Three former planning commission members told The Washington Post that a review of any exterior construction project at the White House is required by federal law.”
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel defended on Sunday his government’s plan to launch a renewed offensive against Hamas in parts of Gaza, following a wave of international condemnation from traditional allies and critics at home,” the New York Times reports.
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.