Political Wire

Trump Blindsides Oil Executives

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“American oil executives thought they had won their fight to persuade Washington to keep diesel shipments flowing. Then, President Trump spoke up,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, he said he is considering restricting diesel exports. Prices have climbed to record levels ahead of the midterm elections in November, threatening some of the president’s Republican allies in Congress. Diesel is used by commercial truckers, farmers and others to move everything from groceries to electronic gadgets to the market.”

“Trump’s support for the idea blindsided industry officials.”

Politicians From the Working Class Are Very Rare

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“The 2026 elections are shaping up to be another terrible year for working-class representation in Congress,” Bloomberg reports.

“Of the 919 candidates running as major-party nominees for the U.S. House and Senate this November, only seven had a working-class job when they got into politics. That’s less than 1%, despite working-class jobs making up about half of the U.S. labor force.”

Machinists Union Campaigns for Affordability

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“The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, one of the largest labor unions in the U.S. has launched a ‘workers v billionaires’ political campaign tour targeting members in eight battleground states and encouraging them to support pro-worker candidates in the midterms,” The Guardian reports.

Trump’s Lame Duck Era Begins

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Donald Trump still has more than two years left in his presidency, but Republicans are beginning to treat him like a lame duck.

The signs are suddenly hard to miss.

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Don’t Expect an AI Deal from Trump-Xi Summit

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“The U.S. and China are in an AI arms race. But don’t expect a grand bargain out of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s three-day trip to Washington,” Politico reports.

Said one former Trump administration official: “There isn’t a deal to be had on AI. There’s not. This is not realistic, and I don’t know that there ever will be.”

Iran Denies Dropping Preconditions

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“Iran has pushed back on claims that it dropped former preconditions for reopening the strait of Hormuz in surprise talks held in New York under the mediation of Qatar between Tehran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” The Guardian reports.

“Trump said the three-hour talks held in a room at the UN headquarters had gone very well and been very productive. He suggested further talks were possible imminently, which led to the price of a barrel of Brent crude to fall to below $100 (£75) for the first time in two weeks. Witkoff said the talks had been ‘encouraging, constructive and successful.'”

Andy Beshear Hints He’s Running for President

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“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) last night gave the clearest indication yet that he’s eyeing a presidential bid in 2028,” Politico reports.

Said Beshear: “I walked off the stage in 2023 after reelection, looked at my wife and said, ‘Whoo! I’ll never have to run for anything ever again.’ Sitting here today, I’m not sure that’s true.”

He added: “While that’s not any type of announcement, because that would require me to fill out paperwork, I just, I won’t leave a broken country to my kids or to our future generations.”

Tafoya Called Minnesota ‘Embarrassing’ in Deleted Tweet

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“In a local radio interview earlier this month, Michele Tafoya, the Republican Senate nominee in Minnesota and former sports broadcaster, was asked about her past criticism of the state and whether she was embarrassed by Minnesota,” CNN reports.

Said Tafoya: “If I were embarrassed to be from Minnesota, would I be running for the United States Senate to represent Minnesota? I have never said that.”

“But three years ago, in a since-deleted tweet uncovered by CNN’s KFile, Tafoya said exactly that.”

Another Poll Shows Trump’s Approval Hitting New Low

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A new Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll finds President Donald Trump’s approval at 33%, while 63% disapprove.

Trump Approval
Approve 33%
 
Disapprove 63%
 
Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll · adults · ±2.6%
Generic Congressional Ballot
Democrats 52%
 
Republicans 42%
 
Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll · likely voters · ±2.6%

A Behind-the-Scenes Push to Get Xi a Red Carpet Welcome

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“Chinese leader Xi Jinping wanted his upcoming trip to the U.S. to be categorized as a ‘state visit,’ the highest tier of diplomatic pageantry. The designation would come with honor guards, a 21-gun salute and a formal welcome on the White House South Lawn,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“When he arrives Wednesday, Xi will get his way, but reaching an agreement took weeks of work.”

“The two sides sparred over what to call the trip before Washington agreed to Beijing’s requests, said people involved in the preparations, marking this the first state visit for the Chinese leader in more than a decade. That quiet fight over a label, more than anything likely to be announced in Washington this week, captures what this summit is really about.”

Federal Lawmakers Score Major Paydays From Books

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“Members of Congress haven’t received a raise in nearly two decades, and federal law severely restricts them from working side gigs to pad their personal finances,” the Washington Sun reports.

“But at least nine federal lawmakers waltzed through a literary loophole last year, earning income from book writing last year that rivaled — and in four instances, exceeded — their $174,000-per-year congressional salaries.”

“A couple dozen others earned four- or five-figure paydays in 2025 or are actively writing books that could score them handsome amounts of supplementary cash.”

Ex-GOP Lawmaker Vows He’ll ‘Never’ Support Ken Paxton

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“As Republicans ramp up spending for Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, a top group supporting his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, is pushing back with a new surrogate: a Republican former state lawmaker who voted to impeach Paxton in 2023,” CNN reports.

Said former state Rep. Glenn Rogers (R), in a new ad: “I’ll never trust Ken Paxton, I’ll never support Ken Paxton and the last place he should be is the United States Senate.”

Quote of the Day

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“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran. We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”

— Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), quoted by Fox News.

Democrats Are Making Moves to Run for President in 2028

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“The 2028 presidential primaries are 16 months away, but Democrats are making moves to enter the race at a moment voters are desperate to find a winner,” the Washington Post reports.

”Former vice president Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Ro Khanna are among the many Democrats eyed as potential presidential candidates.”

”Of course, none of them are openly committing to run yet. Presidential hopefuls often wait to publicly announce their plans to run for a host of personal and legal reasons. Sometimes they genuinely don’t make up their mind until after months of mulling the decision.”

About Political Wire

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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