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The Democrats Can’t Let Go of Racial Preferences

May 14, 2026 at 10:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Richard Kahlenberg: “Racial preferences in college admissions have long been deeply unpopular, and three years ago, the Supreme Court declared them unlawful, in a sweeping ruling that portended doom for other race-conscious policies to promote diversity or remedy past discrimination. Some research indicates that, in the aftermath of the civil-rights era, the achievement gap between rich and poor students now dwarfs the gap between white and Black students.”

“Even so, well-intentioned blue-state Democrats keep pushing for race-based affirmative action, to their own political detriment, rather than supporting a much fairer policy of providing a leg up to economically disadvantaged people of all races.”

Lutnick Claimed Only Three Interactions with Jeffrey Epstein

May 14, 2026 at 9:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed that he only had three “meaningless and inconsequential” interactions with his billionaire neighbor Jeffrey Epstein, including their first encounter in 2005, according to a transcript of his testimony to the House Oversight Committee, ABC News reports.

Trump Moved to Bypass Bidding on Triumphal Arch Work

May 14, 2026 at 9:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration planned to start work at the site of the president’s proposed Triumphal Arch by piggybacking on an existing, unrelated contract for engineering services at the White House grounds more than a mile away,” the Washington Post reports.

“The move would allow the administration to bypass a potentially lengthy public bidding process, and experts said it was unusual because the arch site is on National Park Service land across the Potomac River and is not part of the White House complex.”


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Trump Turned the Swamp Into a Cesspool

May 14, 2026 at 9:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Steven Greenhouse: “Every time Donald Trump has run for president, he has vowed to drain the swamp in Washington. But ever since he returned to the White House, not only has he not even tried to drain the swamp, he has pushed to gild it. Trump has used all the gold and glitz he can to cover up an increasingly putrid swamp – a morass filled with million-dollar donors scrambling for access, criminals seeking to buy pardons, corporate executives appointed to high-level government jobs and billionaire sycophants sucking up to Trump.”

“Making the swamp smell even worse, the president and his sons have somehow managed, through crypto and other means, to increase their wealth by an estimated $4bn since Trump won a second term. At this point, we should probably call Trump’s Washington not a swamp, but a colossal cesspool.”

Why Did Bill Cassidy Do It?

May 14, 2026 at 9:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nicholas Florko: “Bill Cassidy did not want to talk about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Last month, as we shuffled through the U.S. Senate subway, a subterranean corridor connecting lawmakers’ offices to the Capitol, the senator from Louisiana was fielding rapid-fire questions from reporters about two of his favorite topics: drug pricing and college sports. But I asked him about his least favorite: Did he regret confirming Kennedy as health secretary?”

“I was eager to know because, in spite of that decision, Cassidy may be looking at the end of his political career. This weekend, after 11 years in the Senate, he is headed into a Republican primary election with polls trending out of his favor. His vote last year to hand the keys of America’s immunization policy to one of America’s most prominent vaccine skeptics now hangs over him as a political move that may not have been enough to save his life in politics.”

The Bond Market Looms Large Over British Politics

May 14, 2026 at 8:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The cost of long-term UK government borrowing has touched the highest in almost three decades as speculation swirls over the future of Prime Minister Keir Starmer following his party’s heavy losses in local elections,” Bloomberg reports.

“Yields on Britain’s 30-year bonds — among the most sensitive to fiscal and political risk — rose above 5.8% on May 12, a level not seen since 1998. The jump shows investors are pricing in the risk that Starmer will be replaced by a more left-leaning figure from the governing Labour Party who may loosen his administration’s self-imposed “fiscal rules” that limit the scope for new borrowing.”

Leading Challenger to Keir Starmer Quits Government

May 14, 2026 at 8:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Wes Streeting has resigned as Britain’s health secretary, saying Thursday that he has ‘lost confidence’ in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership and that it would be ‘dishonourable and unprincipled’ to remain in his government,” CNN reports.

“The move comes after days of speculation about whether Streeting would formally challenge Starmer’s leadership of the Labour Party. In his letter to the prime minister, Streeting announced his resignation from government, but did not say that he was launching a leadership contest.”

Quote of the Day

May 14, 2026 at 8:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“You’re a great leader—I say it to everybody. Sometimes people don’t like me saying it. I say it anyway because it’s true. I always say the truth.”

— President Trump, speaking to Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Profiles in Cowardice

May 14, 2026 at 8:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Coming this fall: Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era by Jacob Weisberg.

“A devastating reckoning with the people and institutions whose failure to stand up to Trump’s brazen grab for authoritarian power has been particularly shocking and consequential”

Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era
Profiles in Cowardice: A Study of Collaboration in the Trump Era
Amazon Prime
Check Price on Amazon

A Failing, Flailing President Supplicates Xi

May 14, 2026 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Paul Krugman: “China has many significant problems of its own. It faces a demographic crisis: Its working age population has been shrinking for more than a decade. Its economy is deeply unbalanced, relying on unsustainable trade surpluses and unproductive investment to make up for inadequate consumer spending. Its economic growth is slowing. It suffers from high youth unemployment. Discontent is rising, held in check by autocratic, police-state measures.”

“But despite China’s domestic troubles, in geopolitical terms China is on the ascendant. Trump’s visit to Beijing is a field trip by a failing, flailing would-be autocrat pleading with a real strongman, who leads a much more serious country, to bail him out of the mess he’s made.”

Trump vs. Massie Becomes a GOP Loyalty Test

May 14, 2026 at 7:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “No Republican has infuriated President Donald Trump more than Rep. Thomas Massie, which has placed him in a precarious position heading into Tuesday’s Republican primary in Kentucky. The race is already one of the most expensive primary contests ever, with more than $29 million spent on advertising alone, setting up the biggest political test Massie has ever faced.”

Rudy Giuliani Returns to His Talk Show

May 14, 2026 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rudy Giuliani returned to his regularly scheduled show on Wednesday evening for the first time after being hospitalized for viral pneumonia earlier this month, the AP reports.

Pentagon Abruptly Cancels Deployment to Europe

May 14, 2026 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Pentagon abruptly canceled the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland, a major step toward President Trump’s plan to shrink the U.S. posture in Europe that caught some military officials by surprise,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Democrats Would Give Up Black Voting Power

May 14, 2026 at 7:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A lot of Democrats are willing to sacrifice Black voting power to beat the GOP,” Politico reports.

“In the two weeks since the Supreme Court significantly narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Republicans have kicked off a fresh round of redistricting across the South. Their aim is to dismantle majority-minority districts, which they’ve long argued are unconstitutional, and to try to keep control of the House.”

“New results from The Politico Poll show many Democrats want their party leaders to fight back hard — even if it means breaking up districts designed to protect the power of Black voters and other minority communities.”

Trump Stays Mostly Silent in China

May 14, 2026 at 7:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The world’s most powerful duo held more than two hours of private talks inside the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square. Trump has been uncharacteristically tight-lipped (so far) about what was discussed, keeping off Truth Social and ignoring shouted questions about whether Taiwan was raised.”

“But Chinese state media reports that Xi went in hard, warning Trump that Taiwanese independence is incompatible with peace across the Taiwan Strait.”

A New Video Game About Trump and the Iran War

May 14, 2026 at 7:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wired: “A new video game about President Donald Trump’s war in Iran features fights with the pope and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. It’s impossible to win, and that’s the point.”

“The game, Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell, was developed by Secret Handshake, an anonymous group of artists behind a handful of satirical works mocking the Trump administration. The group previously installed a gold statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein on the National Mall; it portrayed Trump holding onto Epstein in a pose reminiscent of Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic.”

Rand Paul’s Son Apologizes for Drunken Outburst

May 14, 2026 at 7:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) son apologized for a drunken tirade at a bar in Washington DC, in which he reportedly told a Republican congressman he “hates Jews and hates gays,” The Guardian reports.

Said William Paul: “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem.”

Keir Starmer Faces Leadership Challenge

May 14, 2026 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “Keir Starmer’s efforts to hold back a potential leadership challenge showed new cracks, as allies of leading Labour Party rivals signaled they were ready to challenge him for the prime minister’s job.”

“Starmer’s former No. 2, Angela Rayner, indicated on Thursday that she was preparing for a bid to lead the governing Labour Party after announcing she had been cleared by a tax probe. The prime minister’s supporters had been expecting Health Secretary Wes Streeting to quit the Cabinet and declare his own challenge.”

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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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