New York Magazine: “There was a time not that long ago when Donald Trump had earned a reputation as a populist, someone who bucked the political Establishment — or at least the Republican Establishment — by embracing policy positions that enjoyed widespread voter support.”

“Those days are over. Less than two months from midterm elections that will serve as a referendum on the first half of Trump’s second term in office, he seems to be going out of his way to associate himself with everything voters don’t like.”

“President Trump spent last year demanding rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Investors now expect his handpicked chairman to reverse course and start raising them this week,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The case for raising rates is a measure of how much the outlook has shifted since Kevin Warsh took over the central bank in May. The war with Iran has gone on longer than officials and investors expected and has pushed energy prices higher in recent weeks. New tariffs have taken effect. The AI build-out has strained supply chains for electricity and technology equipment, adding to demand faster than it has added to the economy’s capacity to meet it.”

“That leaves Warsh facing the fight Trump hoped he would avoid when he selected the new chairman.”

Associated Press: Federal Reserve expected to raise its benchmark rate, defying Trump.

“Jared Kushner was simultaneously ‘raising another five billion dollars’ from the Middle East for his investment firm while also engaging in talks with Iran this year,” Mediaite reports.

“I am the Hoax Buster.”

— President Trump, quoted by Axios, saying fears over AI are way overblown.