Just finished up a fun discussion on this week’s primaries with the great Julie Mason.
Sean Duffy’s Road Trip Show Bombs
“Despite all the talk surrounding Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s new reality TV show, it has struggled to find a significant audience,” Mediaite reports.
“At the time of writing, the first 24 hours have not been kind to The Great American Road Trip. First episode garnered a little under 2,900 views. As is often the case with shows, viewership steadily declined from there. The second episode had approximately 1,700 views in the first day, but the final three had just 750, 625, and 659, respectively.”
CNN: Sean Duffy has a new reality show, sponsored by companies his department regulates. Who is it for?
Atlanta Lashes Out Over DNC’s 2028 Convention Snub
“Local leaders in Atlanta heavily criticized the Democratic National Committee on Thursday for rejecting the city’s bid to host the 2028 convention, accusing the national party of ‘abandoning’ both the South and Black voters writ large,” NOTUS reports.
Bessent Says U.S. Likely Won’t Restart Iran Combat
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “Trump administration’s plan to crush Iran’s economy will likely negate the need for major U.S. military operations against the Islamic Republic,” CNBC reports.
Said Bessent: “If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart.”
Darline Graham’s Misstep Tests Appetite for a Newcomer
“Senator Darline Graham’s acknowledgment at a televised debate this week that she was ‘not that informed on national security’ has magnified her biggest vulnerability in the race to succeed her brother in the Senate, reviving questions about her level of political experience,” the New York Times reports.
Washington Post: Darline Graham’s “oops” moment and the pitfalls of acknowledging ignorance.
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Videos Show McConnell Before Health Scare
Trump Withholds Key Election Files
“The White House in recent weeks has made public a steady drip of previously classified intelligence about foreign threats to elections and other matters, offering President Trump and his allies ammunition for baseless conspiracy theories about potential vote rigging,” the New York Times reports.
“But one crucial document has not been among the releases, despite a congressional requirement for it to be: the assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies of foreign meddling efforts during the 2024 election.”
“The omission of the report on the 2024 election shows the highly selective nature of the Trump White House’s approach to declassification.”
Jennings Emerges as Early Favorite to Replace Leavitt
“Scott Jennings has emerged as an early favorite for next White House press secretary, though all stressed that the process is far from complete,” CNN reports.
Three Months and Counting
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U.S. Moves Up Winter Gasoline Sales
“The Trump administration is authorizing an early shift to the sale of wintertime gasoline blends, its latest move to blunt fuel costs and supply concerns stoked by the war in Iran,” Bloomberg reports.
Wes Moore Has Spent 20% of His Term in Other States
“Gov. Wes Moore has spent at least a portion of one in every five days in other states since he took office in 2023 — and that pace of travel has accelerated as his national profile has grown,” the Baltimore Banner reports.
“A man on the move, Moore has visited at least 27 states, often for political business in addition to travel directly related to his duties as governor.”
U.S. Ramps Up Cuba Sanctions in Latest Pressure Tactic
“President Donald Trump’s administration is increasing pressure on Cuba by imposing more economic penalties on industries in the heavily sanctioned socialist country and broadening enforcement of laws that bar Americans who visit the island from dealings with government-owned or -affiliated businesses,” the Associated Press reports.
America’s Colleges Are Hurtling Toward an Enrollment Cliff
“Higher education is hitting a demographic cliff. After years of growth, the pipeline of 18-year-olds is dwindling—a result of lower birthrates,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The largest number of Americans born in a single year arrived on campus in the autumn of 2025, and now a falloff is looming. College enrollments are forecast to drop 13% by 2041… In some parts of the country—especially the Midwest and the Northeast—the declines have already begun.”
The Fed and Treasury Appear at Odds
“Kevin Warsh is trying to unwind years of explicit Federal Reserve guidance. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may have just complicated that experiment,” Axios reports.
“Why it matters: While the Federal Reserve chairman wants to give markets more room to respond to the economy, Treasury’s intervention signals that there are limits to how much market-driven movement Washington is willing to tolerate.”
“The result is a contradictory policy mix: The Fed is trying to do less to guide financial markets, just as Treasury is showing a greater willingness to intervene when market moves become uncomfortable.”
CNBC: Bessent moves to curb Treasury yields, putting new pressure on Warsh’s Fed.
A Stubbornly Naive Group of GOP Senators
David Graham: “For many observers of American politics, the past few years have been disillusioning, knocking down hopeful beliefs about what the people of the United States will support or tolerate. Even some of Donald Trump’s backers have become disaffected.”
“Yet somehow, a small caucus of non-MAGA Republican senators has managed to remain preciously naive about the president and the administration he runs. No matter how many times Trump or his aides show who they are and how they operate, these senators seem flabbergasted and saddened.”
ActBlue Co-Founder Pleads Fifth
“ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis pleaded the Fifth Amendment during his closed-door deposition before three key House committees,” Fox News reports.
Trump Accumulated Debt Equal to First 200 Years
MS NOW: “Two hundred and fifty years into the American experiment, our national debt has hit an all-time high of $40 trillion.”
“During his first campaign for president, Donald Trump promised to pay down the national debt within eight years.”
“Since then, it has doubled.”
“In fact, Trump has accumulated as much debt since entering the White House as every president from George Washington through Bill Clinton combined.”
Ukraine Planned to Swarm Moscow Airports with Drones
The Atlantic: “Early this year, Ukrainian officials came to President Volodymyr Zelensky with a risky new plan to end the war with Russia. It would require expanding their bombing campaign to include a set of targets and a class of weapons they had long avoided. In addition to Ukraine’s ongoing strikes against Russian military bases, oil refineries, supply lines, and logistics hubs, the officials wanted to launch waves of AI-enabled drones at Moscow’s airports, hoping to stop international carriers from flying in and out of the Russian capital.”
“If executed, the plan would mark a terrifying milestone in the history of warfare: an attack in which swarms of autonomous drones equipped with AI guidance systems would seek out and hit their targets without a human pilot controlling their movements.”
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