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Mamdani Flexes Political Power in New York Primary

June 18, 2026 at 5:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Not long ago, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was demonized by leaders of both political parties. Today, just six months after taking office, the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s political strength is surging,” Associated Press reports.

“Always a darling of the far left, he has earned praise from both President Donald Trump and former Democratic critics like New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. He has emerged as the face of the region’s sports renaissance. And days before New York’s primary elections, Mamdani is testing the limits of his newfound political muscle in a bid to reshape the Democratic Party — in his state capital and in Washington — even if it means challenging his own party’s leadership.”

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JD Vance’s Risky Pivot to Iran Deal Defender

June 18, 2026 at 5:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“This wasn’t the book tour that JD Vance planned,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“What started as a gantlet of promotional interviews this week for his new book ended with the vice president becoming the face of the tentative peace agreement with Iran, for better or worse.”

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Cotton Joins Wicker in Criticizing Trump Iran Deal

June 18, 2026 at 5:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the No. 3 Senate Republican, said he has ‘concerns’ with President Donald Trump’s Iran deal,” Punchbowl News reports.

Said Cotton: “I do have concerns that certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.”

“In sum, just today, two top Senate Republicans – Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cotton – have come out with serious concerns about the memorandum of understanding.”

NBC News: Some Republican lawmakers raise concerns about U.S.-Iran deal.

Proposed California Billionaire Tax Clears Key Hurdle

June 18, 2026 at 5:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“California’s proposed billionaire tax has officially cleared the signature hurdle to qualify for the November ballot, setting up a high-stakes showdown between the healthcare workers’ union pushing the levy and top political, business and labor leaders fighting it,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Proponents of the novel wealth tax gathered an estimated 980,438 valid signatures from registered voters, California’s secretary of state said late Wednesday, clearing the 875,000 threshold they had needed to qualify.”

“If voters approve it, the proposal would levy a 5% tax on California billionaires’ net worth.”

Fox News Runs Supercut of Senators Ripping Trump’s Deal

June 18, 2026 at 5:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Fox News put together a scathing supercut of U.S. Senators knocking President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran this week,” Mediaite reports.

AIPAC Looms Large Ahead of New York Primaries

June 18, 2026 at 5:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The country’s most prominent pro-Israel special interest group isn’t even spending in Rep. Dan Goldman’s high-stakes primary. It could be his biggest problem anyway,” Politico reports.

“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has a familiar electoral playbook: funnel millions of dollars into an election through a super PAC to boost pro-Israel candidates, attack those critical of Israel or both. The group’s massive spending over recent cycles has established it as a boogeyman among progressives, who’ve attempted to use AIPAC’s intervention, or the threat of it, to activate their base.”

Trump Compared Himself to Mao, Stalin, Attila the Hun

June 18, 2026 at 3:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump argued earlier this year that he was “more powerful than some of the most feared and treacherous leaders in history — including Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler,” CNN reports.

Michelle Obama’s Speech Moves Her Husband to Tears

June 18, 2026 at 3:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a loving and heartfelt tribute to her husband at the Obama Presidential Center’s grand opening ceremony in Chicago Thursday,” CBS News reports.

Said Mrs. Obama: “You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world, but you could promise me an interesting life and of course you outdid yourself and managed to give me both.”

Pelosi Slams Trump’s Iran Deal as ‘Gift to the Iranians’

June 18, 2026 at 3:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday said Americans “paid the price” for President Trump’s “mistake” in taking military action against Iran, describing the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding as a “real gift to the Iranians,” NewsNation reports.

The Wrap: Mike Pence says Trump’s Iran peace deal is “bigger than a mistake.”

Colorado Governor Overruled His Own Clemency Board

June 18, 2026 at 3:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Months before Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado freed the felonious election denier Tina Peters from prison, his own clemency board voted unanimously — twice — to reject her bid for early release,” the New York Times reports.

“The first vote, taken under a cloak of secrecy, came in January, when the board reviewed Ms. Peters’s application during one of its meetings…”

“A month later, the board got an unusual request from the Democratic governor’s office, which was under enormous political pressure from President Trump to free Ms. Peters, two board members said — take a second look.”

“The clemency board obliged, but again, its vote was a unanimous no.”

Trump Gambles Iran Wants Money More Than Power

June 18, 2026 at 2:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Economist: “Having failed to defeat Iran with bombs, can President Donald Trump salvage something with bribes?”

“After weeks of haggling over how to end the war, he and his Iranian counterpart have signed a short peace memo. It amounts to the promise of lots and lots of money for Iran, so long as it can satisfy Mr Trump that it has abandoned any plans for a nuclear weapon. That is a huge and unlikely gamble and it leaves the countries of the Middle East with some hard thinking.”

Trump Intel Pick Pulte Getting Access to U.S. Intelligence

June 18, 2026 at 2:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick serve as acting director of National Intelligence, is poised to assume that role on Friday after Trump thwarted Senate Republicans’ efforts to fast-track confirming his nomination of Jay Clayton for that spot,” CNBC reports.

“Trump’s surprising move will give Pulte access to the most secret of U.S. intelligence data despite concerns he could use such information to target foes of the president.”

New York Times: Bill Pulte, a bulldog for Trump, prepares to take reins at spy agency.

Trump’s Iran Deal Is the Opposite of Obama’s

June 18, 2026 at 2:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nothing seems to irritate President Trump quite like having his newly-signed Iran deal compared to Barack Obama’s.

Which is strange, because the comparison is unavoidable.

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Iran Leader Opens Door to Face-to-Face Talks

June 18, 2026 at 2:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtab Khamenei endorsed direct negotiations with the U.S. late Thursday in a statement read by state media,” the Associated Press reports.

Said Khamenei: “It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion.”

Tom Kean to Return to House After 117-Day Absence

June 18, 2026 at 2:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Tom Kean Jr., the New Jersey Republican who has been missing from Capitol Hill since March 5, will return to work later this month — 117 days after his last vote,” Politico reports.

Trump’s Anthropic Restrictions May Be Illegal

June 18, 2026 at 2:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The administration is using export controls — rules that restrict the transfer of sensitive technologies to foreign parties — to bar Anthropic from allowing its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models to be used by foreign nationals, including those inside the United States, without a license. The directive prompted the company to disable access to the service on Friday…”

“But if left unchallenged, the maneuver could embolden the agency to impose the same restrictions on high-end models across the entire AI industry, allowing them to potentially choke off access for any foreign person who uses models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.”

Bloomberg: Anthropic Lays Out Vision for How to Bolster AI Models’ Safety.

Vance Issues Blunt Warning to Israel

June 18, 2026 at 1:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Vice President JD Vance on Thursday delivered an extraordinarily direct rebuke to Israeli critics of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement, as he sought to defend the preliminary deal with repeated misrepresentations of its terms,” the New York Times reports.

Said Vance: “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”

He added: “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”

New York Post: Vance issues harsh warning to Israelis slamming Trump’s Iran deal.

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  • Trump’s Iran Deal Is the Opposite of Obama’s
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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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