“These nonsense polls that are out there telling us how the the president has never had a lower approval rating — what last week showed everybody once again is Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Donald Trump still holds the strength. There’s never been anybody like him.”
— House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), on CNBC.
“We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz.”
— President Trump, taking questions in the Oval Office.
“We want the Strait of Hormuz open.”
— Trump, a few moments later.
In the face of backlash by Republican senators, President Trump defended the new fund set up by the Justice Department:
“I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”
In a nearly 2 a.m. Truth Social post, President Trump celebrated Stephen Colbert’s demise, writing that it was “amazing that he lasted so long!”
Wrote Trump: “No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”
He later added: “Stephen Colbert’s firing from CBS was the ‘Beginning of the End’ for untalented, nasty, highly overpaid, not funny, and very poorly rated Late Night Television Hosts. Others, of even less talent, to soon follow. May they all Rest in Peace!”
Robert Kagan: “Now that Trump has made clear he has no intention of fighting to reopen the strait, the stampede to get good terms with Tehran will begin. All nations heavily dependent on energy from the Persian Gulf will want to cut their deal quickly to get the oil and gas and other commodities flowing and rescue their battered economy…”
“Trump no doubt hopes that he can slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat. The financial markets may stabilize if it is clear that oil will eventually start flowing again through a reopened strait, even if under the new Iran-controlled system. A major strategic setback for the United States need not affect Wall Street. The president may also hope that he can change the subject by launching another military operation, this time against the government in Cuba. And the news media have indeed begun writing more about Cuba than about the unfolding disaster in Iran.”
Jonathan Chait: “Donald Trump’s most amusing habit is meting out casual abuse to his sycophants. His recent answer to a question about the wedding of Donald Trump Jr. may, depending on how deserving one deems Trump’s eldest son of mistreatment—poor Don Jr. was, after all, born into the Trump life—qualify as his most hilarious riff ever…”
“Trump immediately confides that his son wants him to attend the ceremony, but he will not commit at this point, even though the wedding is just a few days away. He first floats the explanation that it will be ‘just a small, little, private affair,’ as if there may not be space in the party for him, the father of the groom—who, we have already established, wants him to attend.”
“Trump then pivots to a new excuse: He is waging war with Iran. This conflict, although serious, has not prevented the president from engaging in activities such as marathon social-media-posting sessions, regular golf outings, and an event two weeks ago to promote a future UFC bout at the White House.”
NOTUS: “Rep. Tom Kean Jr. appears to have taken at least two official actions during his weekslong and largely unexplained absence from Congress — both to the benefit of his staff.”
“Despite not casting a vote since early March, the New Jersey Republican signed a pair of congressional “gift travel” disclosures affirming that his chief of staff, Dan Scharfenberger, was authorized to take trips paid for by special interest groups.”
Edward Luce: “I would rather be Massie than Cornyn or Cassidy. The latter two have consistently voted with Trump, confirmed his most manifestly unfit nominees — Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr, Kash Patel etc — and turned a blind eye to Washington’s sprint into naked kleptocracy. Their loyalty went unrewarded. Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s Art of the Deal with the caption ‘recommended.’ He also sponsored legislation to upgrade a Texas highway to a future interstate and rename it after the ‘most effective and influential president of our lifetime.'”
“Fat use those did him. Cornyn can now nurse his self-humiliation at leisure. It is a pity because I think he is an otherwise decent man. Without courage, however, all the other virtues wither.”
Bloomberg: “A month has now passed since Donald Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire with Iran, and the tense stalemate looms over the start of Americans’ summer travel season, with no end in sight.”
“Heading into a holiday weekend in which 45 million people in the US plan to travel (and 87% by car), the average gallon of gas was up to $4.55 on Friday, according to AAA. It’s 42% higher than a year ago, and could keep going.”
“That’s economic and political pressure all in one, and the endgame remains elusive.”
G. Elliot Morris: “But the biggest problem is that the autopsy straight up ignores the major reasons Harris lost in 2024. Yes, it’s bad enough that the report doesn’t mention that party bosses failed to coordinate an early exit for Joe Biden, who was too unpopular to win. And there is no mention of Israel/Gaza, low turnout in the cities, and nothing on Harris’s race or gender. But this is a data-driven site, so I want to really focus in on what the numbers can tell us.”
“When we boot up the data, it’s obvious the main reason Harris lost — and the reason I am going to explore here, at this website, it being a data-driven website — is that 2024 simply had too much inflation-induced anti-incumbent sentiment for the incumbent party to overcome. This is curiously missing from its main diagnosis. The word ‘inflation’ isn’t mentioned in the autopsy a single time.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) took questions from reporters:
NORMAN: January 6th was an issue that was made up in the first place.
REPORTER: Made up?
NORMAN: That was a staged thing from day one.
REPORTER: The riot was staged? Your Republican colleagues barricaded themselves in their chamber. You think they were acting?
Washington Post: “Americans’ confidence in the economy has hit a nearly four-year low, according to a new poll, underscoring a growing problem for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections as President Donald Trump struggles to deliver on his campaign pledge to make life more affordable.”
“Just 16 percent of U.S. adults rate the economy ‘excellent’ or ‘good,’ according to the Gallup poll, which was released Friday. An additional 34 percent rate the economy as ‘only fair,’ while 49 percent say it is ‘poor.'”
“Economic confidence has declined steadily in recent months among Americans across the political spectrum, as the war in Iran drives a sharp increase in inflation and gas prices. Three out of four Americans say economic conditions are getting worse.”
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) told the New Jersey Globe that he is nearing a return to work and intends to discuss publicly the health issue that has sidelined him since March.
He also confirmed that he will seek re-election to a third term this year.
“President Donald Trump’s war threatens to push gas prices past the record high under former President Joe Biden. They aren’t the only numbers the White House staff is sweating,” Politico reports.
“While record high prices at the pump are a persistent concern, the bond market’s spike over the last several days also has aides and allies fretting, worried that borrowing costs will pummel a nation that runs on credit and make it harder for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.”
“The two moving in tandem are a double whammy for a White House working to assuage voters’ cost-of-living concerns ahead of an expected difficult midterm election.”
“President Trump’s week started in triumph when he took out a pair of Republican adversaries up for re-election — but it’s ending in a rare moment of Republican resistance, largely of his own making,” Axios reports.
“Trump has spent the better part of a decade steamrolling congressional Republicans, but the costs of his revenge campaign — and some politically toxic priorities — have finally caught up with him.”
Stephen Collinson: Trump’s second term is increasingly about one thing: Trump.
“Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin is facing a surge of anger and even some calls to resign from congressional Democrats following the release of the DNC’s 2024 election autopsy on Thursday,” Axios reports.
“The chaotic handling of the report builds on concerns among Democrats about Martin’s leadership and the DNC’s anemic fundraising numbers compared to its GOP counterpart.”
“Cuba’s armed forces once fielded tens of thousands of well-trained soldiers during the height of the Cold War, deploying to conflicts from Angola to Syria,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Today, as the U.S. sends an aircraft carrier to the Caribbean in a pressure campaign to change the island’s Communist government, Cuba’s military is a ghost of its former self.”
“Until the decline and fall of its benefactor, the Soviet Union, Cuba had an army of more than 200,000 soldiers. Now that force is down to some 40,000 to 45,000 active-duty soldiers divided in three parts to defend the country’s east, west and center.”
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.
