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“Pope Leo XIV appeared to take aim at religious language used by U.S. officials to justify the war in Iran, in the latest salvo between the pontiff and the Trump administration over the conflict,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Leo: “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Rep. James Comer said that the panel would be holding hearings to give victims of Jeffrey Epstein the chance to speak about his crimes against them, CNBC reports.
First lady Melania Trump on Thursday said Congress should give “women who have been victimized by Epstein … a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.”
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Aaron Blake: “The week began with President Donald Trump saber-rattling like we’ve never seen before. He threatened apparent war crimes and to end a ‘whole civilization’ if Iran didn’t meet his demands.”
“It is ending with Trump looking like he’s losing leverage, out of ideas — and increasingly anxious for an offramp.”
“The economic news Friday was especially grim for Trump’s ability to keep prosecuting this war and drive a hard bargain with Iran in upcoming negotiations.”
“President Trump has repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump, in a recent meeting: “I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval.”
“That radius appears to be expanding as the president repeats the line. Another person who met with Trump earlier this year said the president quipped about pardoning anyone who had come within 10 feet.”
“In one conversation with advisers in the dining room next to the Oval Office last year, Trump said he would host a news conference and announce mass pardons before he left office.”
“Virtually every Democratic primary candidate this cycle, from the most progressive to the most moderate, wants voters to know one thing: How much of a ‘fighter’ they are,” Axios reports.
“It is the culmination of a year’s worth of liberal grassroots fury over what they see as President Trump’s many transgressions and the Democratic establishment’s lackluster response.”
“President Trump will not be on the ballot this year, but you might not know it based on the ads being run by Republicans in competitive congressional primaries,” Axios reports.
“Even as his approval rating droops amid rising gas prices and a sluggish economy, the president is still one of the most potent forces in Republican politics.”
President Trump, on Truth Social:
“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
NOTUS: “President Donald Trump is preparing a $98 billion supplemental spending request tied to U.S. military operations in Iran, a sharply reduced figure from earlier Pentagon proposals.”
“Defense officials initially floated packages approaching $250 billion to cover the cost of deploying troops, ships, aircraft and weapons to the region, and to accelerate munitions production — a key Pentagon priority.”
White House deputy chief of staff James Blair is considering a temporary leave of absence to run President Trump’s political operation during the midterms, Politico reports.
Blair would oversee the president’s entire political operation from the outside as well as midterm spending — the clearest indication yet that the White House wants a unified approach to strategy and spending in the charge toward November.
Isaac Stanley-Becker: “It may not be obvious why an election in Hungary, a landlocked European country with a population roughly the size of Michigan’s, has commanded so much international attention. It’s not a nuclear power, a global media hub, or a center of innovation. Its language is a beast to learn.”
“But Sunday’s vote may well be one of the most important elections in the history of postcommunist Europe. It will test the longevity of a regime that has deviated from principles of democracy and the rule of law that were vindicated by the peaceful revolutions of 1989 and later secured by the European Union, which incorporated Hungary as part of its eastward expansion in 2004.”
“The bloc doesn’t have a mechanism to expel a wayward member, but Western diplomats told me that brazen electoral theft would inaugurate a perilous new era. Some suggested that the prime minister, who oversees entrenched patronage networks that reach into the minutiae of municipal jobs, has too much at stake to accept defeat.”
New York Times: “Democrats seized on a report that President Trump accepted a donation of foreign steel to be used in the White House ballroom, saying it showed disrespect toward American steel workers and raised questions about possible corruption.”
“Vice President JD Vance said he expected to hold ‘positive’ talks with Iran, the Financial Times reports.
But within a few hours, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s top wartime leaders, cast doubts on the talks, saying Tehran would not participate unless Israel agreed to end its assault against Hizbollah in Lebanon and the U.S. agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets held overseas.
Washington Post: “The Trump administration on Friday unveiled new renderings for President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch, his most significant effort to remake Washington’s skyline, as officials begin the process of seeking formal approval for the controversial project.”
“Kristi Noem’s husband, Bryon, had an on-off secret online relationship with a left-wing dominatrix for more than nine years,” the Daily Mail reports.
“At times, the former homeland security secretary’s husband encouraged Shy Sotomayor as she repeatedly insulted his wife. Bryon fantasized about ‘leaving’ Kristi for the woman he worshipped as his ‘goddess’ and discussed his desire to transition his gender through surgery and hormone therapy.”
Bloomberg: “A group of small businesses and 24 mostly Democrat-led states urged a panel of US trade judges to vacate President Donald Trump’s latest global tariffs, arguing that they were issued improperly under a law that became outdated when the US ditched the gold standard decades ago.”
Punchbowl News: “It’s been a brutal run for President Donald Trump and Hill Republicans. Trump’s poll numbers on the economy are dismal, dragging down his overall approval rating. That hurts every Republican on the ballot.”
“Trump is headed to Arizona and Nevada next week to talk about the One Big Beautiful Bill, the signature legislative achievement of his second term, which also remains unpopular.”
“But for some reason, it feels like these elevated prices might be with us for some time. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t fully open yet. Its status will be the focal point of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations that begin this weekend in Islamabad.”
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that she might run for president in 2028, telling a gathering in New York that she is considering mounting a third bid for the White House,” CBS News reports.
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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