“Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,'” The Wrap reports.
Said Harris: “The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”
“Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker lambasted the White House decision to invite Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a state dinner this week, calling the foreign head of state ‘a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator’ who cannot be trusted,” Politico reports.
“Wicker, typically a staunch defender of President Donald Trump and Republican loyalist, targeted most of his criticism at Xi and Chinese policy during a Senate floor speech Tuesday.”
“But the comments were nonetheless a surprise rebuke of the president’s courting of Beijing amid broader concerns, such as the durability of U.S. security commitments to the Indo-Pacific, including in deterring a potential invasion of Taiwan from the Chinese mainland.”
“President Karol Nawrocki said he hopes the U.S. will finalize plans to establish a permanent military base in Poland and, if it does, the compound will be christened ‘Fort Trump,’” Bloomberg reports.
“Nawrocki said he hoped a permanent American military base in Poland will be ready before the end of Trump’s term.”
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to press President Donald Trump to halt U.S. arms sales to Taiwan in talks this week, fueling Taipei’s concerns over a frozen $14 billion deal that Trump has described as ‘a very good negotiating chip,'” Semafor reports.
Amy Walter: “From the moment he descended the golden escalator, President Donald Trump has defied the rules and laws of political gravity like no other politician in our lifetime.”
“Trump’s staying power in our politics — even, astonishingly, despite the January 6 attack on the Capitol — gave the president the confidence and latitude to pursue unpopular policies and blow off scandals that would have sunk any of his predecessors.”
“But now, the economic consequences of his sweeping tariffs and the war in Iran have done the one thing all the controversies of his first term were never able to do: splinter his coalition and sink his approval ratings to all-time lows.”
Punchbowl News: “Texas PAC, the Senate Republican leadership-backed super PAC supporting Ken Paxton’s Senate bid, will add more than $35 million to their television reservations in the Lone Star State, bringing their total spend to more than $100 million there.”
”Texas PAC has $65 million in reservations already booked.”
”This is a major uptick in the GOP’s efforts to boost their chances in Texas.”
”Senate Leadership Fund, the leadership-backed super PAC, runs Texas PAC. But they have raised funds designated to help Paxton against Democrat James Talarico.”
Nate Silver: “Inflation in fuel prices is much higher in diesel-heavy farm states — and may explain some surprisingly competitive Senate races.”
“As President Trump fights the press over coverage, the White House launched its own 24/7 streaming channel — Trump TV,” Axios reports.
“So far, Trump TV resembles a round-the-clock presidential highlight reel more than a news network.”
The Wrap: Trump TV draws ire amid White House press shutout: “State-run media.”
Aaron Blake: “Republicans choosing to distance themselves from Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections was somewhat inevitable, given how historically unpopular the president is.”
“But the examples are piling up, and it’s notably happening in some pretty red territory.”
“Many of those running away from the president and policies like the Iran war are campaigning in territory that favored Trump by substantial margins — including by double digits in some areas.”
“The Iran war defections over the past week have been particularly notable.”
“Donald Trump made over a thousand stock sales and purchases worth between $79m and $270m in July,” The Guardian reports.
“His two largest sales were of Amazon and Microsoft stock, selling between $5m and $25m each on 20 July. That same day, he also sold up to $5m worth of Oracle and Costco stock, $500,000 to $1m in Nvidia, and bought up to $5m worth of shares in Intuit and Salesforce, among dozens of other transactions.”
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a video Tuesday, escalating a feud with one of his most prominent U.S. critics as he travels to the United Nations General Assembly,” Bloomberg reports.
“‘Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,’ Netanyahu said in the video posted to social media, accusing the mayor of supporting Hamas and ‘inciting’ violence against Jewish New Yorkers.”
“President Donald Trump has implemented a ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico at the White House, seizing reporters’ credentials amid what he deems unfair coverage. First lady Melania Trump, however, is taking a different approach on press freedom,” CNN reports.
“The office of the first lady formally approved CNN’s and Politico’s press credentials for a Tuesday event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly about expanding her ‘Fostering the Future Together’ coalition, an effort aimed at promoting children’s well-being with education and technology.”
“Zigzagging from issue to issue, President Donald Trump has left his political allies struggling to keep pace with his pronouncements and lost precious time to drive a compelling message ahead of the midterm congressional elections, Republican strategists and people who’ve worked with him said,” NBC News reports.
“The takeaway from recent polling is that voters worry most about high prices and the cost of living. But Trump has at times veered off pocketbook issues and made moves that are peripheral to the top-of-mind concerns of voters who will soon decide which party controls Congress.”
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a custody dispute between a California couple and surrogate who gave birth to a child last month with a rare and serious heart defect,” CBS News reports.
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is emerging as a frontrunner for President Donald Trump’s new ‘AI czar’ position,” Semafor reports.
“For months, Florida GOP gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds wanted anyone who would listen to know that he was endorsed by President Donald Trump,” NBC News reports.
“Nearly every press release during his primary campaign came with a reminder he was ‘Trump-endorsed,’ and campaign staff and surrogates were just as eager to remind people when doing interviews or posting about him on social media…”
“That moment appears to be over.”
“A newly released website from Donalds’ campaign scrubs nearly every mention of the Trump endorsement. The only reference to it is on a scrolling list of endorsements Donalds has received from the president and others.”
“President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that artificial intelligence will be renamed ‘super intelligence’ in all U.S. documents,” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump: “The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globality scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now, hereinafter called super intelligence. Changing the name.”
He added: “The use of the word artificial makes intelligence sound fake. It is not fake. It’s actually amazing. But we have to be careful. In fact, it is exactly the opposite of what it purports.”
Washington Sun: Trump says he’s ordering the government to call AI “super intelligence.”
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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