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“The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is eating into sales at U.S. fast-food restaurants, eroding a source of growth the industry long relied on,” the Financial Times reports.
“The vast majority of those targeted for deportation are from Latin American countries — a crucial segment of the fast-food industry, with 35 percent of Latino people in the U.S. consuming fast food on any given day, according to a 2018 study by the health department.”
Jonathan Chait: “The lie is the elemental matter of the Trump administration. The value of lying is Donald Trump’s deepest belief. He built his celebrity image through shameless and constant deceit that permitted him to bounce from blunder to blunder while constantly reeling in new suckers. Lying is also what binds his loyalists to him: The highest calling of any figure in Trump world is to refuse any concessions to reality when Trump commands it, and the surest ticket to oblivion is to speak the truth.”
“All of this has made the job of press secretary in a Trump administration less, not more, important than it normally is. In most administrations, the White House press secretary has a unique role in shaping public opinion, whereas the other staffers are concerned principally with governing. In Trump’s White House, distorting reality, rather than trying to improve it, is the highest priority for every official, including and especially the president himself. In an administration where everybody’s main priority is to lie on television, the role of the press secretary is redundant.”
“Billionaires and the companies they control have made up nearly all of the top individual donors this election cycle,” Forbes reports.
“Roughly 200 accounts from a suspected Chinese bot farm have quietly tried to influence Americans to oppose AI data centers on social media,” Axios reports.
“The U.S. and China are racing to build the world’s most advanced AI systems — and it appears Chinese propaganda has infiltrated American circles with the hope of slowing the U.S. down.”
A new Global Strategic Group poll in Kansas finds Cindy Holscher (D) leading Ty Masterson (R) in the governor’s race, 47% to 46%.
New York Times: “As more people spend time scrolling on their phones, campaigns view these shows of support from influencers as a vital way to reach voters. They are also significantly less expensive than traditional advertising.”
“But unlike campaign mailers, billboards and television spots, these messages fall into a legal gray area.”
“There are no federal regulations requiring disclosure of payments for political support on social media, and only a few states have such rules. That allows influencers, in most instances, to endorse candidates for a fee without ever disclosing those payments in their posts. Creators say some campaigns have even asked them to actively conceal the fact that they’re being compensated, making it impossible to know what’s genuine support — and what is pay-for-play.”
“Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia entered this election cycle with every reason to tack to the political middle,” the New York Times reports.
“He is the only Senate Democrat seeking re-election this year in a state President Trump carried in 2024, making him one of the most vulnerable incumbents in his party and an obvious Republican target from the start.”
“But Mr. Ossoff hasn’t moderated his votes or his message to appeal to a broader swath of voters, as Democrats in competitive statewide races often do in the conservative-leaning South. Instead, he has dived into his party’s efforts to thwart the president’s agenda in Congress, and sharpened his attacks on Mr. Trump and Republicans on the campaign trail.”
“In the nearly two years since President Trump clinched his return to office, the U.S. economy has come under great duress, leaving families and businesses to suffer through the expensive consequences of constant global conflict and soaring government debt,” the New York Times reports.
“It was the financial frustration of a pandemic-weary electorate that helped to catapult Mr. Trump and his fellow Republicans to a rare supermajority in 2024, which they promised to use to defeat the scourge of inflation and slash the profligate government spending they saw as the root of the problem.”
“But Mr. Trump’s actions in office have complicated — if not undermined — those pledges. With two months until the midterms, some of his policies have prolonged or worsened the economic fortunes of those he promised to help.”
“A military judge on Friday tossed out a confession that alleged Sept. 11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed delivered to FBI agents almost 20 years ago, finding it was not given voluntarily,” CBS News reports.
“The ruling marks a blow to the federal government’s long-delayed effort to prosecute Mohammed, who is accused of developing the plot to crash planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. He is being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, along with several other defendants who are awaiting trial.”
“Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh promised to bust inflation in his first major speech since his nomination by President Donald Trump, but he also lavished attention on a new focus for the Fed: artificial intelligence,” the Washington Post reports.
“The U.S. has rushed so many munitions to the Middle East to fight Iran that military planners are concerned the loss of firepower is diminishing America’s ability to defend against potential threats from China and Russia,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The cuts have been so deep that the U.S. inventories in Europe of PAC-3 Patriot air defense interceptors and Atacms surface-to-surface missiles are deemed to be ‘beyond critical.'”
“A federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitutional rights of international students when it sought to deport them for criticizing Israel’s war in Gaza,” the New York Times reports.
“In a 90-page ruling, Judge Noël Wise found that the key legal foundations that the Trump administration had relied on to arrest and deport foreign students were unconstitutional, because Trump officials had wielded them to target students who used their freedom of speech to express opinions that the government did not like.”
Wall Street Journal: “As his approval ratings sag, Trump is on a mission to burnish his legacy, according to his advisers. But Republicans privately worry that Trump’s focus on himself is backfiring with voters, complicating their efforts to keep control of Congress and giving Democrats plenty of ammunition for attack ads.”
“Trump’s senior advisers have for months tried to shift the president’s focus to the economy, in a bid to show voters that the president is focused on the issue they care about the most. While the president has touted his economic record in speeches and Oval Office events, his attention frequently shifts to other issues, from his construction projects to attacks on his perceived enemies.”
“Donald Trump took aim at New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman after she published a story claiming the president planned to skip a 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero because he would be unable to give a speech,” The Wrap reports.
Said Trump: “Maggot Hagerman, the Fake Reporter from The Failing New York Times, an unattractive person both inside and out, and who knows less about me than most reporters on the beat.”
“The White House teleprompter operator under investigation for placing bets using proprietary information reached a settlement with the prediction market Kalshi and federal regulators,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Under the terms of the settlement, Gabriel Perez, the teleprompter operator, will pay a $65,000 civil monetary penalty and give up more than $107,000 won in bets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He will also be suspended from direct or indirect access to Kalshi for three years.”
“President Donald Trump said Friday night the United States reached an oil agreement with Venezuela, a move he said will more than double American oil reserves, increase oil supply and lower gas prices,” CNN reports.
Said Trump: “At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer.”
Bloomberg: Why the U.S. wants a stake in Venezuela’s oil.
“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is shaking up her team with several departures and new aides,” Axios reports.
“Why it matters: The personnel changes come months before the progressive leader will decide whether to launch a presidential campaign. She’s also weighing a run for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s seat, which is also up in 2028.”
“Sen. John Cornyn slammed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a ‘lazy’ and ‘poor campaigner’ Friday as he explained why he won’t help the Republican Senate nominee in his race against Democrat James Talarico,” the New York Post reports.
Said Cornyn: “Paxton’s a poor campaigner. He’s lazy and doesn’t raise money. And he basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election. He’s making this harder than it needs to be.”
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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