“Turkey’s largest opposition party will launch lawsuits and mass protests that bring ‘life to a standstill’ if the government pushes ahead with a legal “coup” against its leadership,” the Financial Times reports.
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Justices Back Trump’s Aggressive Immigration Raids
“The U.S. Supreme Court again backed President Donald Trump’s hardline approach toward immigration on Monday, letting federal agents proceed with raids in Southern California targeting people for deportation based on their race or language,” Reuters reports.
Trump Takes It Easy on Big Tech
“Trump 2.0 is taking it easy on Big Tech, despite some forecasts that he would wield an antitrust anvil,” Axios reports.
“The slackness is sparking a wave of large U.S. tech mergers, with dollar volume up 52% from this time last year.”
On the Road to Stagflation
Derek Thompson: “The first stagflation was imposed on America by outside forces. But imagine, hypothetically, that by some bizarre masochistic instinct, you wanted the US government to impose stagflation on its own country. What might you do in this totally hypothetical situation?”
“Well, maybe you would institute a legally dubious set of tariffs that immediately raised the price of all imports, including parts that manufacturers need to build things in the U.S. This would almost certainly raise the cost of durable goods, like cars and electronics. Meanwhile, if you really want to crush manufacturing, you might have the president change his mind on policy so frequently that banks and manufacturing firms couldn’t get together to invest in domestic plants.”
“Then, maybe, you would announce the most restrictive immigration policy in modern history and turn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department into an extralegal paramilitary force that raided farm workers, construction workers, and manufacturing plants. Altogether, this might be sufficient to push down growth while forcing up prices.”
“Of course, all of this is happening.”
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CBS Abruptly Changes Editing Rules
CBS News, facing attacks over its coverage of the Trump administration, abruptly altered its rule for editing interviews on its long-running political show “Face the Nation,” the New York Times reports.
Air Force Academy Cancels Lecture
Air Force Academy officials canceled an upcoming lecture by University of Utah professor Paisley Rekdal after discovering her online history of disparaging President Trump, the Denver Gazette reports.
Exchange of the Day
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a heated confrontation with Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte:
BESSENT: It’s either me or him. You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here. Or, we could go outside.
PULTE: To do what? To talk?
BESSENT: No, I’m going to fucking beat your ass.
There’s a Deep Gender Divide Among Gen Z
NBC News Poll: “Among Gen Z overall, 64% disapprove of Trump’s job performance versus 36% who approve. But young men are more evenly split (53% disapprove, 47% approve) than young women (74% disapprove, 26% approve). The 21-point difference in Trump’s approval rating is unchanged from April.”
“That split continues when it comes to Trump’s handling of issues. On two issues — inflation and the cost of living, and trade and tariffs — young men approve of the president by about 20 points more than young women do. The biggest Gen Z gender split on the issues is on immigration, where 45% of young men approve of the way Trump is handling deportation and immigration, compared to just 21% of young women.”
How Democrats Pressured Lloyd Doggett to Step Aside
“When Republicans unveiled a new congressional map shrinking the number of Democratic districts in Texas, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett was quick to announce he would run in the sole Austin-based district,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“Doggett, a formidable incumbent with three decades in Congress, was planting a flag with the hope that his Austin counterpart Rep. Greg Casar would stay in his current district despite its new boundaries favoring Republicans. But Doggett’s move unexpectedly set off a powerful coalition that worked publicly and privately to support the younger congressman.”
Bolsonaro Supporters Flood the Streets
“Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on the nation’s Independence Day on Sunday in dueling political protests, opening a tense week that is expected to conclude with the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro,” the New York Times reports.
Milei Sticks to Plan After Landslide Defeat
“Argentina’s President Javier Milei vowed no changes to his free-market economic program after a resounding defeat on Sunday to the center-left Peronist opposition in the province of Buenos Aires,” Bloomberg reports.
“The Peronist opposition came in first in the provincial election, winning about 47% of the ballots compared with 34% for Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party, with 91% of votes counted.”
Trump Loses Appeal of $83.3 Million Defamation Verdict
“A federal appeals court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a jury verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll,” CNBC reports.
New York Times: “The court also rejected Mr. Trump’s argument that the Supreme Court’s decision last year affording presidential immunity for official acts barred a finding of liability in Ms. Carroll’s lawsuit.”
Putin Bets Ukraine’s Army Will Break Before His Economy
“The war in Ukraine has become a contest between two hourglasses: one measuring how long Ukraine’s thinly stretched army can keep up the fight, and the other how long Russia’s economy can sustain the invasion without hurting the stability of Vladimir Putin’s regime,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The problem for President Trump’s push for peace is that Putin is betting Ukraine’s hourglass will run out first, allowing him to impose a victor’s terms and win a place in Russian history alongside conquering czars.”
“That is why the Russian president has for months sidestepped Trump’s proposals to freeze the fighting with a territorial compromise that the U.S. thought would be attractive for Moscow. Instead, the Kremlin is sticking to its maximalist demands, which would effectively make Ukraine its vassal and change the balance of power in Europe.”
Most Americans Still Favor Capitalism
Gallup: “Americans are more positive toward capitalism than socialism, but the 54% viewing capitalism favorably is down from 60% in 2021 and near that level in most prior years.”
Norway Heads to the Polls
“Norway goes to the polls on Monday after an unusually close-fought and polarized election dominated by the cost of living, wealth taxes, oil fund investment in Israel and relations with Donald Trump,” The Guardian reports.
“There has been a surge in support for the populist rightwing Progress party led by Sylvi Listhaug, in what has been described by some as ‘the Maga-fication’ of Norwegian politics.”
GOP Grapples with Internal Divide Over Obamacare Credits
“Republicans detest the idea of spending billions of dollars to shore up the Affordable Care Act. They are also realizing that the alternative could be a political disaster,” Semafor reports.
“With health insurance premiums projected to skyrocket at the end of the year thanks to the expiration of tax credits Democrats enacted during the pandemic, Republicans are likely to focus on paring back those federal subsidies. But allowing them to go away entirely at the end of this year heading into the midterms?”
Russia’s Largest Drone Attack Yet Hits Ukraine
“Russia struck Ukraine with the largest aerial bombardment of the 3½-year war, hitting a government building in the heart of the capital for the first time,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Russia fired 13 missiles and launched more than 800 attack drones, according to Ukraine’s air force, a record for the number of drones it has directed at Ukraine in a single night. Air defenses intercepted four of the missiles and nearly 500 drones.”
