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NOTUS: “Lawmakers in both parties are raising alarms about the abrupt ouster of Navy Secretary John Phelan, with some Republicans questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership and Democrats warning of mounting chaos inside the Pentagon.”
“Phelan’s sudden departure came without explanation amid broader Pentagon infighting and shake-ups during the active conflict with Iran. It left lawmakers scrambling for answers about the direction of Navy leadership.”
Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump said a visit by King Charles III to the US next week could help improve US-UK ties that have soured over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s stance on immigration and reluctance to get involved in the Iran war.”
Said Trump: “Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes.”
The Trump administration on Thursday accused Chinese entities of waging “industrial-scale campaigns” to rip off U.S. artificial intelligence systems, and said it will explore ways to hold the foreign actors accountable, CNBC reports.
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Russell Berman: “Trump’s move to open this new front in a centuries-old gerrymandering war between the parties looks like an enormous tactical blunder.”
“Republicans have appeared taken aback by the ferocity with which Democrats have responded—and the speed with which they’ve set aside their drive to ban gerrymandering in the name of good government.”
A new Fox News poll finds a 56% majority of voters say President Trump has not been competent at managing the federal government.
President Trump told MS NOW on Thursday morning that Iran has “no idea who their leader is” at this moment — an assessment that experts on Iran have said is incorrect.
Said Trump: “They’re all messed up. They have no idea who their leader is. You know, we took out, really, three levels of leaders. And everybody that was even close behind him.”
He added: “So they have a hard time figuring out who the hell can speak for the country. They just don’t know.”
A new Cook Political Report poll of House districts rated as Toss Up, Lean Republican or Lean Democrat — districts which President Trump won by an average of two points in 2024 — Democrats hold a six-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, 50% to 44%.
Key takeaway: “If that advantage were to hold come November, any district Trump carried by 10 points or less could be in significant danger of flipping into Democratic hands.”
Another takeway: “In 2018, the last successful midterm election for Democrats, independent voters opted for a Democratic candidate by 12 points, according to exit polls. Today, Democrats are winning independent voters in the generic ballot by 25 points.”
“Four people from Utah political circles — three of them elected officials — accuse Eva Lopez Chavez, a Salt Lake City Council member and Democratic congressional candidate, of restraining them during what they considered unwanted sexual advances,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“Each person said their allegations arose in social settings before Lopez Chavez joined the City Council in 2023.”
Sarah Longwell: “President Trump reportedly likes to go around asking aides about who his successor should be: J. D. Vance or Marco Rubio. If Trump were to ask his own voters the same question, he would, at least based on my recent experience, come away with a pretty clear answer.”
“I run weekly focus groups, and the moderators regularly ask Trump voters whom they would like to see inherit the party in 2028 and beyond. More and more, what we’re hearing in response is a strange new respect for Rubio. Although Vance might seem like a more natural MAGA heir, many Trump voters see Rubio as a stabilizing force who comes off a lot better than many of his peers inside the administration, including the vice president.”
President Trump said Thursday he has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the AP reports.
“Potentially millions of Americans suddenly have a much easier path to Canadian citizenship, prompting a rush of people to explore their ancestry and file paperwork seeking dual citizenship,” the South China Morning Post reports.
“Since the new law took effect December 15, immigration lawyers in the United States and Canada say they have been overwhelmed by clients seeking help submitting proof of citizenship applications. Driven by politics, family heritage, job opportunities and other factors, thousands of Americans are exploring whether the easier process makes now the right time to gain dual citizenship.”
“When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as the supreme leader, he exerted absolute power over all decisions about war, peace and negotiations with the United States. His son and successor does not play the same role,” the New York Times reports.
“Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son, is an elusive figure who has not been seen and whose voice has not been heard since he was appointed in March. Instead, a battle-hardened collective of commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and those aligned with them are the key decision makers on matters of security, war and diplomacy.”
“Over the span of four days earlier this month, President Donald Trump posted to his Truth Social account about his proposed triumphal arch, ballroom construction, the Iran war, a UFC fight at the White House and Bruce Springsteen’s alleged plastic surgery,” CNBC reports.
“He also posted (and later deleted) an AI-generated photo of himself as Jesus…”
“What’s absent for long stretches in the president’s social media presence and from his discourse more generally of late is the economy — an issue Trump rode to the White House in 2016 and 2024.”
Aaron Blake: “Perhaps no modern politician has done more to mainstream conspiracy theories than President Donald Trump.”
“After effectively launching his career in Republican politics with false ‘birther’ claims about then-President Barack Obama, Trump has spent a decade lobbing all manner of wild theories about the “stolen” 2020 election, Haitian migrants eating people’s pets and the like. He’s also cultivated allies who helped him push those theories, often convincing many of his supporters.”
“But the monster Trump helped create could now be coming for him.”
Donald Trump said he has “to be careful” when he walks in a rare health admission, The Independent reports.
He took aim at Joe Biden, saying he “couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs” and was “falling all over the place.”
Trump added: “I have to be careful, ’cause if I do trip or fall, it’s gonna be the biggest… and this is why when I get out of those planes I walk nice and slowly, I’m not looking to set any speed records.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence told MS NOW that he “found the language and images” President Trump has used in recent weeks to depict himself as a Jesus-like figure “offensive,” and called on the president to ease his public feud with the pope.
Said Pence: “I think the Pope has every right to express himself in a manner that he believes is consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the president has every right to express his view and his agenda for the American people.”
He added: “If I was advising him — as I did every day for four and a half years — I’d say: Let the pope be the pope, and you be the president.”
New York Times: “The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has become a barometer of how the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is affecting the global economy.”
“On Tuesday, after nearly eight weeks of war, that number was one, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Then Wednesday, more ships tried and Iran attacked two cargo vessels in the strait.”
Dan Pfeiffer: “Trump ran on three promises: secure the border, lower prices, and no more wars. Then he went and started a war that raised prices. It’s an obvious and arrogant thumb in the eye of the people who put him in office. The true die-hards can twist themselves into a pretzel and be okay with it. Everyone else feels betrayed.”
“That may not be enough to push most former Trump supporters to vote Democratic — but they probably won’t vote Republican either, giving Democrats a real turnout advantage in the midterms.”
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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