Become a member. Already a member? Log in.
“The oil shock set off by the war in Iran is already rippling through Asia, where factories are curbing production to save energy and some gas stations are telling drivers they can fill up only partway,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Economists say it is a sign of things to come for countries in Europe and Africa that also rely on imports from the Middle East.”
The Baltimore Sun is pouring resources into investigating Gov. Wes Moore (D) as he seeks reelection and eyes a potential presidential run in 2028, Semafor reports.
Playbook: “That’s in line with the paper’s new mandate, which current and former staff told Semafor is to expose fraud and misdeeds among Democratic politicians in the state. And behind the scenes, owner David Smith, the Trump ally and longtime Sinclair steward, has been deeply involved in the team’s coverage.”
“President Donald Trump is promising the economy will snap back as soon as the Iran war ends. But the economic wounds may prove slow to heal,” Politico reports.
“Beyond spiking oil prices, many of the war’s domestic knock-on effects — farmers’ scrambled planting decisions, upended plastic supply chains and a depressed spring housing market — will take months, possibly years, to unwind, industry analysts say. That leaves the administration with a limping economy heading into a midterm election season it had planned to spend selling its successes.”
Axios: The massive economic impact of the global energy crisis.
“I don’t think we’re going back to the pre-war prices for the foreseeable future. Certainly won’t be this year, won’t even be next year. Might not be ever.”
— Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, quoted by Politico.
“Donald Trump endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race early Monday morning, dealing a potentially fatal blow to GOP rival Chad Bianco’s campaign — and to Republicans’ hopes of locking Democrats out of the runoff,” Politico reports.
“Trump’s intervention comes despite some California Republicans arguing that the party’s best, if narrow, shot at the governor’s mansion depended on him staying out of the contest in this heavily Democratic state.”
“The U.S. and regional mediators are pushing for a 45-day cease-fire that could lead to a permanent end to the war with Iran, but the chances for a breakthrough remain slim,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Axios: “The sources said the chances for reaching a partial deal over the next 48 hours are slim. But this last-ditch effort is the only chance to prevent a dramatic escalation in the war that will include massive strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure and a retaliation against energy and water facilities in the Gulf states.”
Punchbowl News: “Tracking and understanding Trump right now is very difficult, especially on the Iran war. It’s like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. He’s all over the place on every issue — domestic policy, international affairs and Iran specifically — presenting Republicans with a political mess.”
“Had Congress been in town, every Republican would’ve been forced to respond to Trump’s threat to bomb Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages where they belong’ during his White House speech last week. Or his shockingly angry Easter morning Truth Social post.”
“Yes, Trump isn’t judged by the same standards as his predecessors. But even for him, Trump’s statements during the last few days have veered wildly from presidential norms, especially on an issue as serious as a U.S. military conflict.”
“Jim Jordan has spent much of the past year out of the House GOP spotlight. Don’t expect that to last,” Politico reports.
“The Ohio Republican rose to prominence as a headline-grabbing conservative firebrand, then saw that reputation work against him when he made a failed bid for the speakership in 2023. Since then he has been supporting President Donald Trump as chair of the House Judiciary Committee and otherwise staying out of Speaker Mike Johnson’s way.”
“But now as frustrations with Johnson’s leadership rise inside the House GOP, and expectations grow that the Republican majority’s days might be numbered, speculation is brewing that the 62-year-old former wrestling star is preparing another push for the top leadership ranks.”
“Some Democrats eyeing runs for the White House have rolled out a provocative new economic policy: massive tax cuts for the working and middle classes — and big hikes for the wealthy,” Axios reports.
“Republicans may lose the midterm elections because of voters’ anger over high prices, but Democrats are still struggling to figure out how to address voters’ concerns about inflation.”
“The proposals by Democratic presidential hopefuls include eliminating federal income taxes for half of all U.S. workers, making the first $75,000 of income earned by married couples tax-free, and enacting a variety of state-based tax cuts and credits.”
NBC News: Tax cuts are the hot new idea for Democrats.
“The energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East caught China, the world’s top buyer of oil, by surprise. But Beijing has been preparing for a crisis like this for years,” the New York Times reports.
“China has stockpiled increasingly large amounts of oil. It has pursued renewable sources of energy like solar, wind and hydropower so aggressively that its demand for refined oil, diesel and gasoline is falling. And it has harnessed technology to reduce its reliance on the foreign-sourced raw materials that go into the massive output of its factories.”
Washington Post: War-driven energy crisis boosts China’s sales pitch for renewable tech.
“U.S. oil futures opened higher Sunday evening after President Trump ramped up his threats toward Iran ahead of a Tuesday deadline he has set for the country to allow tanker traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz oil-shipping lane,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Trump told Axios the U.S. initially worried that a message from the stranded crew member of an F-15 downed by Iran was a trick by the Iranians to lure U.S. forces into a trap,” Axios reports.
“The crew member survived more than 24 hours in the mountains despite being wounded, before being rescued in a special forces operation on Saturday.”
“Democrats weighing runs for the White House want to forget many of the positions they took in 2020 — and they’re hoping voters will too,” Axios reports.
“Leaders and would-be leaders in the party have shifted their views on border security, DEI, crime, climate change, Covid-era lockdowns and more — all with an eye on this year’s midterms and the 2028 presidential election.”
“Many Democrats believe they lost to Donald Trump in 2024 because voters didn’t like some of their left-leaning policies, not just how they were communicated.”
New York Times: “No other recent American president has talked so openly about committing potential war crimes, legal experts, historians and former U.S. officials say. Wartime American presidents and their aides have usually insisted they were trying to follow international and U.S. military law, even if they violated it in some cases.”
“International laws aimed at preventing the horrors of total war are codified in a series of agreements, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions, the Nuremberg Principles and the United Nations Charter. Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate those. So does pillaging a country, which Mr. Trump has suggested he might do by taking Iran’s oil.”
“The Trump administration’s language and actions could have far-reaching consequences. Within Iran, it is likely to galvanize opposition to the United States, including among some ordinary Iranians who have protested their own government.”
President Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran’s power plants if the country’s leaders don’t agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening, ratcheting up pressure on Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country.”
Pressed on when he thinks the war will end, Trump said: “I will let you know pretty soon.”
Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter speech Sunday to deliver a resounding call for peace in times of renewed war, declaring, “Let those who have weapons lay them down!,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Leo: “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them! We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people.”
President Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s energy plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t reopened.
Said Trump: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!”
He added: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
G. Elliot Morris: “So we’ve got two layers of anti-Trump consolidation happening at once. YouGov’s data shows the Democratic left is coming home, and the CNN poll shows voters who dislike both parties — a swing group that has been decisive in recent elections — are breaking heavily toward Democrats for the first time in years. Neither group is necessarily enthusiastic about Democrats. But both are currently heavily voting against Republicans…”
“This could make for a big electoral win for Democrats in November, despite the division in the party and its overall nominally unpopular rating…”
“This is the pattern I’d expect in a midterm environment that favors the out-party. But with many Americans (including the vaunted ‘double-haters’) still viewing the Democrats as weak and ineffectual, a big electoral victory will not completely solve their deeper problems of identity and division.”
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.