“SpaceX launched its enormous Starship toward orbit for the first time Monday, aiming for six full laps around Earth to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program,” the Associated Press reports.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 189
Navigating the Nonsense
Trial Balloon · Ep. 189: Navigating the Nonsense
Trump Dined with the Anthropic CEO
“President Donald Trump had a late dinner Sunday night with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, after Trump spent weeks dismissing Amodei’s calls for the industry to slow down AI development,” the Washington Post reports.
“The dinner was the first one-on-one meeting between the president and the head of Anthropic, one of the country’s leading AI firms, after months of tensions between the company and the administration. Trump has pursued policies to accelerate AI development, while Anthropic has called for greater caution and guardrails.”
How Trump Is Using Power to Try to Shape Who Votes
“One major variable hanging over the midterm elections has nothing to do with gas prices, campaign funding, or candidate quality,” Bloomberg reports.
“It’s about Donald Trump’s far-reaching attempts to use the power of the federal government to shape who votes, and how.”
“After his flailing attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Trump is taking a more systematic approach this year to transform the nation’s electoral system, with aides more willing to back up his debunked claims of massive voter fraud.”
“The effort so far has involved or attempted to involve the departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, and Commerce, the Postal Service, the former head of national intelligence, and FBI.”
Parnell Faces Uphill Battle in Senate for Army Secretary
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pick to lead the Army is facing Democratic opposition and a hesitant reception from key Republicans, amid jockeying for the service branch’s top civilian post after Dan Driscoll resigned a month ago,” NewsNation reports.
“Hegseth’s choice to lead the Army is Sean Parnell, a decorated Afghanistan war veteran and his senior advisor and chief spokesman at the Pentagon. The former congressional candidate has boosters within the Pentagon and allies in MAGA circles outside of the department.”
“But Parnell, a culture warrior in Hegseth’s mode, has received an icy reception on Capitol Hill among lawmakers and staff on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in part over abuse allegations from his estranged wife.”
Paul Emerges as a Roadblock to Homeland Security Efforts
“When it comes to homeland security, Republicans, Democrats, lobbyists and even the Trump administration agree on one thing: Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is impossible to get around,” Politico reports.
“The cantankerous chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has become a nearly immovable roadblock to even bipartisan proposals on everything from cybersecurity to immigration legislation.”
‘I Approve of Trump’s Ad’
Paul Krugman: “Democrats — and everyone who believes in rule of law — are, rightly, outraged by the fact that the U.S. government just effectively reran a Trump campaign ad from 2024.”
“My guess is that they probably also hope that Trump runs more such ads, and not just as a basis for future prosecutions.”
“I mean, the ad reminds voters that Trump is effectively on the ballot, which is all to the good given his approval rating.”
CNN: Trump stirs new storm by posing as strongman in taxpayer-funded video.
Swiss Voters Reject Proposal to Strengthen Neutrality
“Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to impose strict new limits on the country’s centuries-old neutrality, deciding in a referendum to maintain their existing approach to sanctions and security co-operation with other European countries,” the Financial Times reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think the two administrations made opposite mistakes. The first administration brought in all these people who couldn’t agree, and it was just all this internal fighting. The second administration, I think overcorrected for the mistake of the first term with all these loyalty tests. You got an administration staffed by not very smart, but very loyal people.”
— Peter Thiel, in an interview, on Donald Trump’s presidency.
Trump Is ‘Very Seriously’ Looking at Diesel Export Ban
“President Donald Trump said he is still looking ‘very seriously’ at implementing a U.S. ban on diesel exports to combat high prices, even as others in his administration continue to focus on other possible steps,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “That can oftentimes lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we’re looking at it very seriously — we may do it.”
Semafor: Oil prices rise as hope for a U.S.-Iran truce fades.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“People are worried about the cost of living, I don’t know how else to say it. We just haven’t addressed it.”
— Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), quoted by Politico, as the Senate prepares to leave until after the midterm elections.
The Most Expensive U.S. Election Ever
“The political battle for the Senate is spreading to states many analysts doubted would have a central role in the November midterms, prompting both parties to bolster spending in an election that is on track to be the most expensive in American history,” Bloomberg reports.
“Just 36 days before Election Day, and with voting underway in almost half the country, Democrats are betting that voter frustration with the cost-of-living can outpace the Republican Party’s financial arsenal. An estimated $11.6 billion has been spent so far, according to the ad tracking website AdImpact. That’s more than was spent during the entire 2024 presidential race.”
Voters Back Democrats But Still Don’t Trust Them
Playbook: “A new polling memo from Navigator Research being circulated to senior Hill leadership offices this morning is arguing Democrats’ affordability agenda is popular with over 70% of voters they polled, including 55% of MAGA Republicans. And the memo lays out one of Dems’ biggest hurdles: themselves.”
From the memo: “Of those who oppose this agenda, skepticism stems from distrust over whether the agenda can become reality – a quarter (25%) say they do not trust Democrats to deliver and a fifth (20%) say they don’t have enough information.”
The Guardian: What Democrats are getting right – and wrong – in run-up to midterms.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t plan on dying in office. But if I did, I don’t want a Democrat governor choosing my successor.”
— Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), quoted by the Washington Post.
Trump Refuses Off-Ramp to His Biggest Political Problem
“Poll after poll shows a majority of voters don’t approve of how President Donald Trump has handled the war, think the United States is losing and blame the conflict for rising prices,” the Washington Post reports.
“That is why it was shocking when Trump told reporters Saturday morning that he rejected an Iranian plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping corridor whose disruption has upended the global economy.”
Bloomberg: Trump rejects Iran’s Hormuz offer as U.S. borrowing costs, oil rise.
Iowa Republicans Try to Motivate ‘Frustrated’ Base
Washington Post: “A combination of factors has made Iowa, where Trump expanded his winning margin to more than 13 percentage points in 2024, a tougher landscape for Republicans. The Iran war has pushed up diesel and gasoline prices, squeezing farmers and truckers, while the trade fight with China has hurt soybean growers. And despite the bright spot of low unemployment, Iowa’s economy shrank slightly in the first quarter of 2026, and ranked 48th among states for growth for that quarter.”
U.S. Pressure Is Awakening an Energy Giant in Canada
“Canada wants to become an energy superpower. If it has the will, there is a way,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The country is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and fifth-largest natural-gas producer. The oil-and-gas sector represents about a fifth of the country’s exports, making it the largest contributor, according to Statistics Canada. But it sends nearly all of its natural-gas exports and about 90% of crude-oil exports to the U.S. limiting its global influence.”
“President Trump’s trade war and the Iran conflict have ignited Canada’s ambition to diversify its energy exports.”
France’s Far-Right Surges in Senate Elections
“The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has said her 2027 presidential campaign will be boosted after her anti-immigration party, the National Rally (RN), and its allies secured a record 14 seats in partial senate elections this weekend,” The Guardian reports.
“Le Pen called the results a ‘historic victory’ and ‘major milestone’ after her party cleared the 10-seat threshold to be able to form a senate group for the first time, following an indirect vote by local officials including mayors and councillors.”
Roy Cooper Holds Comfortable Lead in North Carolina
A new AARP poll finds Roy Cooper (D) leading Michael Whatley (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 53% to 42%.
Senate Race
Roy Cooper (D) 53%
Michael Whatley (R) 42%
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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