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“President Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension, a move that set off an uproar among soccer fans across the world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “All I did, I asked for a review. I didn’t think it was a foul. I can’t tell him what to do.”
Bloomberg: Trump says asked for red card review, FIFA made right move.
“A new report from the White House accuses the Smithsonian‘s National Museum of American History of ‘extreme political activism’ and blames museum leaders for erasing America’s heritage,” the Washington Post reports.
“The report, titled ‘Saving America’s Story’ and published Saturday, is the result of an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March 2025 demanding ‘improper ideology’ be eliminated from Smithsonian’s museums.”
CNN: White House report accuses Smithsonian leadership of radical ideology.
David Frum: “To the extent the decision is up to Trump, the United States that his speech celebrated on July 4 will exist no more.”
“Trump’s grotesque botch of the 250th anniversary of ‘We hold these truths’ aptly demonstrates how far his leadership has already pushed the United States away from its noblest past. Americans may not wish to acknowledge what Trump has done to their standing in the world. Such denial does not change reality. Norma Desmond’s last lover—and doomed narrator—delivers a verdict on the fading star’s descent from delusion into madness: ‘The dream she had clung to so desperately had enfolded her.'”
“Americans have not clung to their dream nearly desperately enough, but they too are now enfolded in something dark and diminished.”
“U.S. allies are bracing for unpleasant surprises at NATO’s annual summit in Ankara on July 7-8. President Donald Trump is still smarting from Europe’s reluctance to support his war in Iran, and has questioned why the U.S. should continue to defend the continent when allies don’t reciprocate by supporting American interests,” Bloomberg reports.
“It’s unlikely that Trump could unilaterally terminate U.S. membership of the military alliance that’s shielded Europe’s democracies through the Cold War and ever since.”
“But the very foundation of NATO deterrence is that if one member is attacked, America’s mighty military will rush to its aid. The fear in European capitals is that Trump will slash the U.S. armed presence in the region quicker than they can rebuild their own depleted militaries, leaving them perilously exposed if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to attack another country after Ukraine.”
“He and his family believe they are entitled to this… This is Putin-esque type of corruption and self-enrichment.”
— Former Gov. Chris Christie (R), on ABC News, talking about President Trump’s corruption.
Bloomberg: “The last week has underscored how much Donald Trump has changed the presidency. The next question is how permanent those shifts will be.”
“It’s an especially challenging dilemma for Democrats.”
“While Republicans have cheered on Trump and the Supreme Court has often granted its blessing, his opponents have warned of democracy-damaging consequences of his power plays.”
“But if Democrats win power in 2028, they’ll have to decide between returning to old restraints, or asserting the same authority for their own causes.”
“President Donald Trump on Monday morning joined the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in ringing the opening bell from the White House Oval Office for the first time ever,” CNBC reports.
“The event marking the launch of ‘Trump Accounts,’ the administration’s new tax-advantaged investment vehicles for U.S. kids, is also being attended by a raft of CEOs who are supporting the new accounts, including Dell chief Michael Dell and Visa CEO Ryan McInerney.”
“The Belgian soccer federation is demanding explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game,” the Associated Press reports.
Bloomberg: Uproar as FIFA allows Balogun to play after Trump call.
“Israel’s government said it won’t respect a Supreme Court ruling on a broadcast regulatory body, prompting accusations that it’s paving the way to a constitutional crisis ahead of national elections,” Bloomberg reports.
“Russian expansionism and US plans to dial down involvement in NATO are forcing European nations to rebuild military capabilities that have atrophied since the Cold War,” Bloomberg reports.
“The European Commission has doled out €150 billion ($171 billion) in cheap loans to encourage joint military procurement and relaxed fiscal rules so that governments can spend more on defense. Germany has embarked on a weapons shopping and production spree worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and most European NATO members are striving to raise defense spending to 3.5% of their economic output from as little as 1% previously.”
“There’s much to be done. There are gaping holes in the region’s air defenses, hollowed-out national armies lack equipment and personnel to fight a major ground war, and they remain heavily reliant on the US for air power, intelligence, logistics and leadership.”
CNBC: NATO 3.0 defense spending pledges face the Trump test.
“The US will resume troop rotation in Poland, overturning an earlier decision that led to a strain in ties between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, Poland’s top defense official said,” Bloomberg reports.
“A year ago, the message from many business leaders was that AI was going to wipe out jobs. For the past month or so, tech CEOs have been striking a more optimistic tone,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles Times: Want an AI-proof job? New research says you may be safer at companies embracing the technology.
Wall Street Journal: “Nobody has filed divorce papers, and important players on both sides are working hard to keep a loveless marriage going. Untangling the ties between Europe and the U.S. would be a massive undertaking. Canada, which is encouraging Europe to hedge against a more capricious America, is paradoxically much more reliant on the U.S. than almost any country on earth.”
“Militarily, it is hard to imagine the allies entirely going separate ways. This week’s summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will test the resolve of leaders to preserve an iconic fixture of Western might in the face of growing mutual distrust.”
Bloomberg: Why Europe fears Trump’s next moves on NATO.
“A draft report inside the Treasury Department is set to warn of the risks posed by the artificial intelligence market, likening key aspects of it to the dotcom bubble that upended the U.S. economy when it burst in the early 2000s,” NOTUS reports.
“The document, the existence and contents of which have not been previously reported but was obtained by NOTUS, is a significant departure from the Trump administration’s public tone, which has focused on encouraging unrelenting investment to unlock exponential growth.”
“Rahm Emanuel is in Israel this week to deliver a speech designed to be a thunderclap. The combination of message and messenger should produce a loud echo,” Politico reports.
”The message is that the war in Gaza and shifts in American and world opinion have converged with seismic consequences. Decades in which U.S. policymakers would often fret about Israeli choices and behavior but regard support for its government as absolute and unshakable are at an end.”
“President Donald Trump will take his Qatari-funded Air Force One jet on its first overseas trip tonight to Ankara, Turkey, ahead of the all-important NATO leaders’ summit,” Politico reports.
“Trump has promised those on board ‘a level of luxury that nobody’s ever seen before,’ which means a wood-paneled interior, tan leather seats, plush carpets and big-screen TVs. Seat belts carry the presidential seal, and even the humble journos get lie-flat seats.”
Michigan Senate Democratic primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) said he would welcome Mallory McMorrow’s supporters into the fold after she exited the race, Punchbowl News reports.
Said El-Sayad: “We cannot allow the establishment to decide our nominee for us.”
“The Federal Communications Commission has already changed the programming of one of television’s last remaining relevant daytime talk shows — before even making any formal demands,” Semafor reports.
“FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced in February the agency was investigating whether The View violated the ‘equal time’ rule, a 1930s regulation that requires broadcast programs to give equal airtime to opposing candidates if they permit a candidate for public office to appear on public airwaves.”
“Since then, the ABC talk show hasn’t featured a single political candidate running in a competitive midterm race.”
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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