“A slight majority of registered voters describe President Trump as corrupt and dangerous, a recent poll found, while just 14% say he isn’t divisive,” Axios reports.
“Simply put, polling hasn’t been pretty for the president — or for his Iran war, tariffs or other top priorities. Still, with the midterms weeks away, Trump has centered himself, making the election a referendum on his presidency.”
“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to immediately close the performing arts venue, a few hours after a federal judge ruled that President Trump’s name could not be restored to its facade,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“It remains unclear when the venue might actually close since U.S. Federal Judge Christopher Cooper would have to lift his preliminary injunction against the closure — an action that will almost certainly be fought in court.”
Deadline: Trump says no renovations unless his name is restored.
“A cryptocurrency regulation bill failed to advance on the Senate floor Tuesday, after all Democrats and a few Republicans blocked a procedural vote,” The Hill reports.
Washington Sun: Senate Democrats block cryptocurrency bill, citing lack of Trump ethics rules.
“Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) insisted Tuesday he won’t become a Republican, showing frustration with the ongoing questions about his intentions,” NBC News reports.
Said Fetterman: “I’m not going to be a Republican! If I turn a Republican, then I’ll be a liar.”
He added: “My name is not on the ballot. Like, chill and wait for the midterm here. I’ve always been a Democrat. It’s like, no matter how many times I say that, I’m still getting asked just getting into the elevator.”
“The war in Iran cost the United States roughly $38 billion through Aug. 1 and significantly depleted U.S. munitions, the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan scorekeeper, said on Tuesday,” the New York Times reports.
“In a 19-page analysis, which the office said had been limited because the Defense Department did not respond to its requests for information, the CBO also projected that the war would continue to cost approximately $2 billion to $3 billion per month, and that rebuilding depleted U.S. stockpiles could take ‘at least five years.'”
CNN: Iran war expected to cause a spike in U.S. inflation, according to budget watchdog.
“Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told confused members of the Senate judiciary committee on Tuesday that new FBI hiring standards are aimed at protecting ‘victims of bestiality,'” Wired reports.
“Prior to the current administration, FBI policy was to bar applicants who had, among other things, hired sex workers, stolen from an employer, or engaged in bestiality. In August, CBS reported that these standards had been relaxed, and that multiple sources claimed ‘the FBI did so to facilitate hiring in some cases.'”
Rolling Stone: Kash Patel defends the FBI welcoming applicants who have engaged in bestiality.
“House Republican and Democratic leaders both exhorted their rank-and-file lawmakers to open their wallets this morning for endangered colleagues in the run-up to the midterm elections, which are now just 49 days away,” Punchbowl News reports.
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Missouri reverting to its old House districts for 2026 slightly lessens the overall GOP improvement on the national House map, although the map is still more favorable to them than the map in place for 2024 was.”
“A state-by-state scorecard based on our House ratings shows the Republicans gaining between 2 to 6 seats from redistricting this cycle, although there is potential for the final tally to end up somewhere outside of that range.”
“FBI Director Kash Patel declined to rule out sending agents to polling places on Election Day, telling senators he wasn’t certain the bureau is legally barred from doing so,” Bloomberg reports.
A new co/efficient poll in Minnesota finds Peggy Flanagan (D) leading Michele Tafoya (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 43% to 42%, with Rebecca Whiting (L) at 2% and Marisa Simonetti (I) at 2%.
“The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America,” the Washington Sun reports.
“The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it will reprogram $52 million in foreign military financing from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.”
“Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Tuesday launched an effort to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing the Pentagon’s military actions against Iran,” NewsNation reports.
Washington Sun: Massie introduces articles of impeachment against Hegseth.
“The Trump administration is preparing a multibillion-dollar sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in the largest single sale of the controversial munition in recent years, a U.S. official told The Washington Post,” the Washington Post reports.
“The $2.8 billion package, which would be purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars, includes 40,000 bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds each, including 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s… The sale also includes 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads.”
“Among the most destructive munitions in Western military arsenals, an MK-84 explosion sends metal fragments in every direction for thousands of feet, can rip through metal and thick concrete, and often creates large craters in the earth.”
“The U.S. military said Tuesday that it opened fire and destroyed two small Iranian boats this week trying to steal a drone ship in the waters off Iran,” the Washington Sun reports.
“A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could not honor President Trump with an inscription on the institution’s exterior, blocking an effort by the center’s board to restore the president’s name to the building,” the New York Times reports.
Rolling Stone: Trump is ready to close the Kennedy Center because he can’t put his name on it.
“President Trump alleged Tuesday that the July 13, 2024, attempt on his life in Butler, Pa. was part of a ‘Democratic plot’ against him,” the New York Post reports.
Said Trump: “Everybody knows the Crooked Joe Biden FBI didn’t do what they should have with respect to the Lunatic who shot me in Butler, PA.”
He added: “By the time I got into Office, on January 20th, most of the information was missing, altered, corrupted, or gone. New info was just found! Why wasn’t it seen long ago? This was all a Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election, that failed.'”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dodged a question from Eric Michael Garcia of The Independent:
GARCIA: You’re talking a lot about communism. How is communism any different from what President Trump is doing, getting equity stakes and promising $5,000 checks to Americans and having equity in steel?
JOHNSON: So, what the president is articulating—and he comes up with creative ideas all the time, he’s the ideas president, and we have a hard time keeping pace with it sometimes—he debuted at the convention, famously, the idea of basically a dividend check to Americans, right? We’re processing that.
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.
