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“President Trump declared on Tuesday that he had already achieved one of the primary objectives of his attack on Iran, the elimination of its ability to build a nuclear weapon,” the New York Times reports.
“But there is no evidence that the United States or Israel has removed or destroyed the country’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade fuel.”
President Trump suggested in an interview with a British newspaper that the United States is considering leaving NATO over what he cast as the alliance’s lackluster military support for his war against Iran, CNN reports.
President Trump’s approval rating for handling the economy has fallen to a new career low of 31%, according to a new CNN poll.
“Trump’s overall approval rating has held relatively steady at 35%, one point off his all-time low in CNN polling. There’s been notable erosion, however, in his standing with his own partisans. The share of Republicans who strongly approve of his job performance has dropped to 43%, from 52% in January.”
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Playbook: “In a presidency filled with firsts, here’s another: Trump said he plans to head to the Supreme Court in person today to hear arguments in one of the blockbuster cases of his presidency — the White House’s attempt to end birthright citizenship in America. A sitting president has never attended oral arguments before the high court.”
“Let’s be clear: Almost nobody expects Trump to win… And Trump’s angry Truth Social post on Monday — in which he raged at the ‘stupid’ U.S. courts — suggests he knows he’s onto a loser.”
“The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the U.S. and other allies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, Arab officials said, a move that would make it the first Persian Gulf country to become a combatant, after being hit by Iranian attacks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The American military is intensifying efforts to secure greater access to Greenland, a clear signal that President Trump’s interest in the enormous Arctic island has not waned,” the New York Times reports.
“The United States is negotiating with Denmark for access to three additional bases in Greenland — including two previously abandoned by Americans — which would mark the first U.S. expansion there in decades.”
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a landmark case testing whether President Trump can limit birthright citizenship, the long-held principle that nearly all children born in the United States are automatically citizens,” the New York Times reports.
“The case focuses on the constitutionality of an executive order signed by Mr. Trump last year that would end citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign visitors.”
“A ruling in favor of the Trump administration could redefine what it means to be an American. It could also have sweeping practical consequences, stripping citizenship from more than an estimated 200,000 babies born in the United States each year to undocumented immigrants.”
Punchbowl News: “In 20 days, Virginia voters will decide if their legislature is allowed to gerrymander the state’s congressional map to turn 10 of the 11 House seats blue for the midterms.”
“Yet despite a high-profile push that includes former President Barack Obama, Democrats are growing increasingly skittish about the referendum.”
“A nonprofit allied with House Democratic leadership upped its investment to $20 million this week. Private polling indicates a tight race within or not too far outside the margin of error.”
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday nullified an Army investigation into the unauthorized helicopter flybys of musician Kid Rock’s estate and anti-Trump protests in Tennessee over the weekend, announcing the move just hours after military officials opened their disciplinary review of the soldiers involved,” the Washington Post reports.
Wrote Hegseth on social media: “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, Patriots.”
“Hegseth’s swift intervention in the case raised immediate questions about whether the military can hold its own accountable for actions that Hegseth may deem politically favorable.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that President Trump will “give an Address to the Nation to provide an important update on Iran” at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Gallup finds the share of Americans saying they are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents in the first quarter of 2026, 39%, is at a low dating back to 2015.
At the same time, the share of Americans saying they are either Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents has reached 49%, matching highs from the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021.
New York Times: “The Justice Department is struggling to decide how to respond to President Trump’s lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion from the I.R.S., as the department’s lawyers try to resolve by a mid-April deadline the profound ethical questions the case raises.”
President Trump told reporters the U.S. will leave Iran “within two weeks.”
He added: “We will be leaving very soon, and if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, they will go up through the Hormuz Strait and will be able to fend for themselves. But we have nothing to do with that. What happens in the Strait—we aren’t going to have anything to do with it. There is no reason for us to do it.”
President Trump on Tuesday is expected to sign an executive order cracking down on mail-in voting, CNBC reports.
The Daily Caller reports the executive order would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to compile a list of verified U.S. citizens in each state who are eligible to vote.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) responded to photos of him at Disney World over the weekend in the midst of a partial government shutdown, NewsNation reports.
Said Graham: “I was invited to a meeting in South Florida on Friday with Trump official Steve Witkoff… to talk about the possibility of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.”
He added: “I went to Orlando to meet friends after. I’m already back in South Carolina.”
President Trump told the Daily Mail he was stunned to learn that Kristi Noem’s husband is a secret cross-dresser who experts say could have compromised national security.
Said Trump: “They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad. I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it,.”
Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump’s public comments about the Iran war reflect a growing frustration he has communicated privately to those around him, as the disruptive conflict stretches into a second month without a clean exit strategy.”
Former President Joe Biden and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently had lunch, MS NOW reports.
Rachel Bade: “Could Pelosi be doing a little preemptive damage control before the Biden books go to print?”
“Perhaps. She’d certainly be wise to smooth things over before the release date, given that she could undoubtedly play a starring role in the narrative. Once seen as a top Biden ally — singlehandedly muscling the ex-president’s signature legislative achievements through a narrow majority — Pelosi was later branded a traitor by some in Biden’s orbit for losing faith in his ability to run again.”
“Reports suggest Pelosi has long sought to clear the air with the former president. But until now, it sure seemed like the Bidens were giving her the cold shoulder.”
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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