Political Wire

Trump Could Cut U.S. Health Aid by More Than Half

August 31, 2026 at 7:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is working to cut global health funding to developing nations by tens of billions of dollars by 2030, according to a new analysis of the secretive agreements U.S. officials have pursued with more than a dozen governments to date,” the Washington Post reports.

“The planned cuts — targeting programs that combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, Ebola and tuberculosis, among other deadly diseases — appear to reduce U.S. spending on global health initiatives to less than half of Washington’s output in 2024, the analysis found.”

China’s Xi Steps Into Diplomatic Gap Vacated by Trump

August 31, 2026 at 7:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Xi Jinping will be clocking up air miles this week, zipping from Beijing to Bishkek to Cairo and back,” Bloomberg reports.

“It’s part of a diplomatic push designed to increase the Chinese leader’s influence just as that of President Donald Trump slides, with his ‘America First’ approach riling much of the globe.”

“On display will be an array of diplomatic approaches that help Xi boost his international standing, including his emphasis on the personal touch.”

Russia Taunts Ukraine with Nonstop Russian Drones

August 31, 2026 at 7:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Russia has turned to a terrifying new tactic in its assaults on Ukraine, launching nonstop waves of armed drones in recent days into busy areas of the capital, Kyiv. The relentless attacks have left residents exhausted and on edge as air raid sirens bellow nearly constantly,” the New York Times reports.

“With Moscow firing drone after drone into Kyiv, including many powered with jet engines that help them fly so fast they are difficult to intercept, many in the capital have begun to accept that they may be facing a new phase of the war.”

Neither Party Has Credibility with Working Class Voters

August 31, 2026 at 6:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republicans and Democrats are fighting over working class voters. Americans don’t believe the rhetoric,” Politico reports.

“Fifty-five percent of Americans think politicians are just trying to win votes when they say they will help the working class, according to new results from The Politico Poll. It’s a view held by majorities of people who voted for President Donald Trump, who voted for Kamala Harris and who self-identify as working class.”

“Only one in four Americans who self-identify as working-class say politicians genuinely want to help them.”

Netanyahu Son Evacuated From U.S. Over Threat

August 31, 2026 at 6:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Israel’s Shin Bet security agency says it urgently evacuated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oldest son from the United States due to a threat against him,” Politico reports.

Trump Posts AI Video of Iran’s Kharg Island Destroyed

August 31, 2026 at 6:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump posted an AI-generated video Sunday evening of what he said was Iran’s oil export hub of Kharg Island being ‘blown to smithereens’ hours after the first American airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic since July,” the New York Post reports.

“Trump, 80, did not clarify that the 10-second clip on his Truth Social account was AI-generated and there was no evidence Monday morning that the island off Iran’s coast had been hit.”

Taliban Makes Overtures to Trump Over Mineral Deals

August 31, 2026 at 6:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Afghanistan is offering the U.S. access to mineral resources, in an overture to the Trump administration as the de facto Taliban government pitches for relief from sanctions and the release of frozen assets to support one of the world’s poorest countries,” the Financial Times reports.

“The bid for investment comes as the Taliban has stepped up diplomatic efforts five years after its return to power and the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces, which President Donald Trump called ‘the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.'”

Election Officials Brace for Chaos Over Mail-in Ballot Rule

August 31, 2026 at 5:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Election officials in nearly half the states are warning the courts that implementing the U.S. Postal Service’s new mail ballot rule would cause significant turmoil in their plans for the midterm elections, with plenty of signs voters would lose their chance to vote,” NOTUS reports.

“In declarations filed in a lawsuit seeking to halt the ballot rule, the officials detail how the rule comes late in the process, squeezes deadlines for sending out ballots and clashes with long-standing state election laws and carefully timed procedures.”

America’s Next Grocery Shock Is Brewing

August 31, 2026 at 5:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“America’s grocery squeeze has thus far been most painfully felt in a few expensive categories, like beef, coffee and chocolate,” Axios reports.

“Now, the forces pushing up food prices are starting to pile up: expensive grain, soaring fertilizer and fuel, plus unpredictable weather and raging wars.”

”The next grocery price shock could hit much harder — and much wider.”

Trump’s White House Inner Circle Is Shrinking

August 31, 2026 at 5:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When Vanity Fair published close-up photos of President Donald Trump’s core advisers at the end of 2025, the group included five staffers alongside the vice president and secretary of state. Now two of those five aides are gone from the West Wing, turnover that’s reshaping the management of a deeply personal presidency,” Semafor reports.

“Two more advisers, each of whom holds the president’s trust, are also leaving the White House within weeks. The trend is familiar to many presidents heading into their final two years in office, but the stakes of a shrinking inner circle may be higher for Trump because of the ecosystem that’s defined his second term: Only a handful of advisers have direct, frequent access to him.”

Trump Puts Himself at Center of the Midterm Campaign

August 31, 2026 at 5:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “It is a risky strategy two months before Election Day. Vulnerable Republicans cannot afford to antagonize Trump because they need his help to turn out his base and tap into the $400 million war chest he controls. And he is not extending the leeway past presidents have for candidates to run their own races, even if that means keeping their distance.”

”Trump has told aides he wants ads paid for by his super PAC, MAGA Inc. to tout his second-term record, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Advisers already prepared some ads for the Texas Senate race and showed them to Trump, who provided detailed feedback, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal strategy.”

”Some donors, skeptical of the strategy, have become resistant to giving more money to Trump’s super PAC while it sits on hundreds of millions of dollars without sharing any plans about how it will use the money.”

Financial Times: Trump has put himself on the midterm ballot — should Republicans be worried?

How Dark Money Is Washing Over the 2026 Election

August 31, 2026 at 5:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “All across America, the midterm elections are drowning in dark money.”

“A New York Times review of advertising data, campaign-finance filings and tax records revealed that about $1 billion in anonymous money is sloshing through the political landscape in 2026, a staggering sum and yet almost certainly a low-end estimate, given how difficult this money is to trace.”

Big Texas County Plans to Trim Number of Polling Sites

August 31, 2026 at 5:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A plan in one of Texas’ largest counties to use dozens fewer polling locations than in previous years is drawing protests from Democrats who say the reductions could create confusion in the November midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.

“The proposal, set for a vote Tuesday, would reduce the number of polling locations across booming Tarrant County, which borders Dallas and includes Fort Worth.”

Republicans Put Trump On Ballot in 2026

August 31, 2026 at 5:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “It’s striking that Republicans have settled on a message that Trump is on the ballot in 2026. The election will be all about him anyway, so this is an attempt to turn necessity into a political virtue.”

”Yet Trump’s approval ratings are well under 40%, especially on his handling of the economy. He’s conducting an endless campaign against Iran that even top military leaders warn is unsustainable. Trump also launched a costly new trade fight with Canada, including focusing on renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America.’ Inflation remains stubbornly high, and gas is more than $4 per gallon nationally.”

”Dallas will be a fascinating interlude. The Trump White House seems to think it’s wise to put the president at the center of the fall campaign and spend lots of super PAC money touting his accomplishments.”

Mike Johnson Faces Pressure to Cut Out Early

August 31, 2026 at 5:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The House is back in session, but it might be a short one,” Politico reports.

“Speaker Mike Johnson is looking to tick off the lone essential item on the chamber’s to-do list in lawmakers’ first days back: a Senate-passed, shutdown-averting spending bill.”

“A handful of other priorities are caught up in partisan battles and Senate limbo. Rebel factions in a thin House GOP majority continue to threaten Republicans’ plans of opening the floor for debate. And many Republicans are simply eager to get back home to campaign ahead of the November midterms rather than endure more headaches in Washington.”

“Together, those dynamics have fueled open speculation among members and aides that House leaders will call it quits until mid-November much sooner than the currently scheduled Oct. 1 exit date.”

More Mail Ballots Are Arriving Late This Year

August 31, 2026 at 5:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The rate at which mail votes have been rejected for arriving late has ticked up in primaries this year and general elections last year in roughly a dozen states, prompting election officials to worry that the U.S. Postal Service is ill-equipped to deliver ballots in the fall midterms,” the New York Times reports.

Russia Preparing Massive Strikes On Ukraine Infrastructure

August 31, 2026 at 5:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Russia’s Defense Ministry said it is planning ‘massive strikes’ on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, days after launching a devastating attack on a warehouse near Kyiv, amplifying fears of another winter assault,” CNBC reports.

Why We’re Not Hanging Up On Phone Polling

August 31, 2026 at 5:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nate Cohn: “The New York Times/Siena Poll has traditionally been a telephone survey, but over the last few years we’ve experimented with most of the major methods for contacting voters. These include sending them text messages (and sometimes offering financial incentives to participate), sending them mail with financial incentives, and getting data from panels of people recruited online to take polls. At the end of it all, the Times/Siena poll is still a telephone survey.”

“The phone, while expensive, is still much faster and cheaper than high-incentive mail surveys. And the phone still seems to reach a more representative population — based on measures like educational attainment and record of voting in recent elections — than supplementing the phone with text-message links to surveys or online panels.”

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