New York Times: “President Trump has picked Nick Adams, a right-wing influencer known for his machismo and professed love for steaks and the restaurant chain Hooters, to be a new diplomatic envoy for American tourism.”
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Trump Claims Iran ‘Gave Us a Present’
President Trump cryptically claimed Tuesday that he got a gift from Iran “worth a tremendous amount of money,” telling reporters it revealed to him that “we’re talking to the right people,” the AP reports.
Said Trump: “They gave us a present, and the present arrived today. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.”
Trump Decides to Sidestep Texas GOP Fight
Bloomberg: “The Republican infighting in Texas isn’t going to die down anytime soon with President Donald Trump no longer expected to endorse either candidate in the state’s increasingly nasty Senate primary runoff.”
“On one side of the fight is Senator John Cornyn, who’s held his seat since 2002 and reliably voted for Trump’s second-term agenda; on the other side is state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a darling of the MAGA movement who’s been trailed by ethics issues in office.”
“By sidestepping an endorsement, Trump and his team are setting up a costly, fractious fight between two allies at a time when the war with Iran is already causing fissures in the MAGA base — and potentially giving an opening to Democrats.”
How Jack Smith Connected the Dots
Politico: “Former special counsel Jack Smith’s office sought to map a vast web of contacts between President Donald Trump’s most vocal Republican allies in Congress and key players in his bid to subvert the results of the 2020 election, according to newly released records of the Smith-led investigation.”
“Emails from January 2023 circulated among Smith’s deputies show how top GOP lawmakers communicated directly with individuals later identified by Smith as Trump’s co-conspirators in his election interference plot, including attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.”
Trump Claims Again He’s Negotiating With Iran
President Trump said Tuesday the U.S. and Iran are “in negotiations right now” and suggested Tehran is eager to make a peace deal, even as the Islamic Republic has denied it is in direct talks with Washington, CNBC reports.
Said Trump: “They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense.”
Susan Wild Mulls Primary Challenge to Fetterman
“Former Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) is the latest Pennsylvania Democrat to consider challenging Sen. John Fetterman in 2028,” Semafor reports.
“It’s the latest sign of Pennsylvania Democrats’ keen interest in ousting Fetterman, who’s increasingly isolated in his party, even within his state delegation. House members from the same state are generally loath to criticize their colleagues, especially in a battleground like Pennsylvania, but frustrations with Fetterman are boiling over a full two years before a possible Senate primary.”
High Oil and Gas Prices Could Outlast Trump’s War
New York Times: “An end to the war would abate a geopolitical crisis and most likely help to reopen clogged shipping lanes in the Middle East, nudging down oil and gas prices from their recent highs. But any relief would arrive gradually for most consumers — and probably not fast enough to undo the damage to the U.S. economy.”
Trump Says He Won’t Be Happy With Any Funding Deal
President Trump told reporters that he plans to take a “hard look” at the emerging DHS funding deal but that he is unlikely to be “happy” with any agreement Republicans strike with Democrats, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “Well I’m going to look at it, and we’re gonna take a good hard look at it. I want to support Republicans. Sometimes it’s awfully hard to get votes when you have Democrats that don’t want to have voter ID, they don’t want to have proof of citizenship, they don’t want to do anything about men playing in women’s sports.”
U.S. Sending Thousands More Soldiers to Middle East
Reuters: “The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, adding to a massive U.S. military buildup even as President Donald Trump talks about a possible deal with Tehran to end the war.”
Prosecutor Admits Lack of Evidence Against Fed Chair
Washington Post: “A top deputy to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro acknowledged in a closed-door hearing this month that the Justice Department did not have evidence of wrongdoing in its criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve over the cost of its building renovations.”
“The prosecutor’s admission, which has not been previously reported, undercuts President Donald Trump’s claim that ‘there is criminality’ in the $2.5 billion overhaul of the Fed’s headquarters overlooking the National Mall.”
The Vance Whisperer
New York Magazine: “Though few outside the Trump administration are aware of his existence, Vance chief of staff Jacob Reses is one of the most influential Republican operatives in Washington.”
“He is the mysterious ‘Jacob’ in the leaked Signal chat that showed Trump-administration officials in 2025 planning a strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen. He is a conservative nationalist who was lauded as an emerging leader on the New Right trying to remake the GOP into a more populist party. He is Vance’s most important adviser on domestic politics ‘by a country mile.'”
Greg Bovino Says He Didn’t Go Far Enough
New York Times: “Mr. Bovino’s actions left a trail of litigation, condemnations from local politicians and accusations of discrimination and unconstitutional conduct.”
“And, yes, the Commander has a few regrets. But he does not think he went too far. He thinks he did not go far enough.”
Bolsonaro Can Serve 27-Year Sentence at Home
Associated Press: “Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro received permission Tuesday from a top Brazilian justice to serve his 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at home instead of in prison because of his failing health.”
Republicans Lean Toward Dallas for Midterm Convention
New York Times: “President Trump and the Republican National Committee are strongly considering Dallas as the site of an unusual midterm convention later this year… Republicans are working to finalize the plan as they seek to rally their voters in the face of political headwinds.”
Delta Suspends Special Congressional Services
“Delta Air Lines is suspending its dedicated flight assistance service for members of Congress as airport security lines grow longer amid the ongoing partial government shutdown,” The Hill reports.
Putin’s Post-Iran Paranoia
Julia Ioffe: “Vladimir Putin is, according to the chatter, completely spooked by the U.S.-Israeli war against Russia’s old ally, particularly the reports that Israel targeted the ayatollah by hacking traffic cameras in Tehran.”
“Earlier this month, the Russian president stopped going to the Kremlin and all his public events vanished from the calendar. Now, Moscow has virtually no cell service and it’s become impossible to message, call, or surf the web in large parts of the city. Even VPNs have been affected: One friend told me he needed to try three different services to see the videos I was sending him.”
“The Kremlin has experimented with shutting off cell service in other, smaller cities, but to do this in the nation’s capital—a city of 13 million people, where so many of the country’s businesses are headquartered—is shocking. The official explanation is that Moscow is protecting itself from Ukrainian drones, but even pro-Kremlin propagandists are speculating that this has more to do with the war in Iran than the one in Ukraine.”
Quote of the Day
“Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, ‘Let’s do it.'”
— President Trump, making sure everyone knows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was first of his advisers to back the Iran War.
