President Trump told donors during his 2024 campaign that he had previously told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would bomb Moscow if Russia invaded Ukraine, according an audio recording of his comments, NBC News reports.
He also claimed he had an almost “identical conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, referring to Beijing’s claim to Taiwan.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) “says he’s heading to Iowa next month, fueling speculation he may be eyeing a 2028 presidential bid,” NBC News reports.
“Kevin O’Connor, who served as Joe Biden’s physician while the former president was in office, is refusing to testify in a closed-door interview as part of the House GOP probe into Biden’s mental acuity,” Politico reports.
“O’Connor asserted doctor-patient privilege and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, according to a statement from his attorneys. He had repeatedly argued his duties as a doctor complicated his testimony and prevented him from sharing some sensitive information.”
“Third parties are good for me; I don’t know about Republicans, but for me.”
— President Trump, speaking to reporters.
“Linda Yaccarino said she is stepping down as chief executive of X, capping a tumultuous run atop Elon Musk’s social-media company,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Police in Canada have arrested and charged four people, including active military members, who they allege were “planning to create anti-government militia” and to “forcibly take possession of land” in the province of Quebec, The Guardian reports.
“Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement have gained access to a massive database of health and car insurance claims and are using it to track down people they want to deport,” 404 Media reports.
“The database, which contains details on more than 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills and growing, includes peoples’ names, addresses, telephone and tax identification numbers, license plates, and other sensitive personal information.”
“Lawmakers are just now catching up on the missed sleep from the marathon floor sessions during the last reconciliation fight. But that isn’t stopping Republicans from starting to talk about the next reconciliation battle,” NOTUS reports.
Said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI): “I think I pretty well have a commitment.”
“Johnson, a fiscal hawk who withheld his vote on the reconciliation bill until the final days over the legislation’s $3.9 trillion price tag, said he ultimately decided to back President Donald Trump’s landmark legislation because of assurances from top Senate Republicans — as well as the president himself — that the GOP would pursue another reconciliation bill in the next fiscal year that addresses spending cuts.”
Said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA): “We’ve been planning a second reconciliation bill for the fall. It would be attached to the next fiscal year. And then potentially one in the spring. That’s my plan: three reconciliation bills before this Congress is over. I think we can do that.”
“Western Europe officially experienced its hottest June on record, as scientists warned such an “exceptional heatwave” was likely to become more frequent and intense because of climate change exacerbating extremes of heat, dryness, cold and wet around the world,” the Financial Times reports.
President Trump threatened to use federal power to seize control of New York City if “communist” Zohran Mamdani is elected mayor, the New York Post reports.
Said Trump: “If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”
“My point of access to the White House is Donald Trump. And that’s really hard for people to comprehend.”
— Right-wing agitator Laura Loomer, quoted by the New York Times.
“A special team created by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has expressed a desire to gain access to emails and chat logs of the largest U.S. spy agencies with the aim of using artificial intelligence tools to ferret out what the administration deems as efforts to undermine its agenda,” the Washington Post reports.
President Trump said Jerome Powell should “resign immediately” if allegations from an administration official that the Federal Reserve chair misled lawmakers prove true, while deepening his personal attacks against the head of the central bank over interest rate policy, Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “We should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest rates.”
“President Donald Trump’s allies in the Senate are warning their GOP colleagues that failing to pass the White House’s $9 billion-plus rescissions package would embarrass the president and show Republicans aren’t serious about reducing federal spending,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA): “If the Republicans in the United States Senate do not pass the rescissions package after all the rhetoric about reducing spending, then they should hide their head in a bag. And I think the White House will provide the bag.”
Semafor: Rescissions bill becomes next Republican headache.
“Students from around the world who hope to study in the United States are winding down much of their online activity, unfollowing celebrities and politicians, asking friends and family to stop sending news links and scouring their own internet presence for posts that carry even the faintest whiff of hot-button politics,” the Washington Post reports.
“International student visa applicants told The Washington Post that the sanitization is driven by fear that a single ‘like’ or meme, if taken the wrong way, could derail years of hard work, should it run afoul of sweeping new visa-vetting procedures under President Donald Trump. Tech companies have also been marketing account-scrubbing and screening tools to foreign visitors.”
“Elon Musk has left the government, but his clout at DOGE lives on,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Weeks after the billionaire left his role at the Department of Government Efficiency amid his feud with President Trump, a small band of Musk loyalists is fighting to preserve the legacy—and power—of the government-slashing office.”
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.