President Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, CNBC reports.
Said Trump: “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on Kyiv… Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!”
China denied President Trump’s assertion that the two sides were involved in active negotiations over tariffs, saying that any suggestion of progress in this matter was as groundless as “trying to catch the wind,” ABC News reports.
China also made it clear that talks should involve the cancellation of all tariffs it currently faces.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett dismissed the notion that President Trump is worried about empty shelves in supermarkets and households due to the ongoing tariff war, The Hill reports.
“Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) retirement is setting off a once-in-a-decade leadership fight for Senate Democrats,” Axios reports.
“Durbin, 80, has been the Senate Democratic whip since 2005. Whoever replaces him becomes the instant front-runner to replace Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer down the road.”
“An open fight for the whip spot next year could also complicate Schumer’s strategy of privately mediating intraparty disputes. It will potentially expose the party’s deep divide on whether to elect a moderate — or a progressive — to help them return to power.”
Punchbowl News: The Durbin chain reaction.
“A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a 20-year-old Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador, whose removal violated a previous court settlement,” ABC News reports.
“One day after longtime Sen. Dick Durbin announced he would retire and not seek reelection, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, launched her bid for his seat,” NBC News reports.
“She is the first contender to enter what Democrats here are expecting to be a jam-packed field for a senatorial seat that hasn’t been vacant in nearly 30 years.”
“President Trump on Wednesday said he might call Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to press for an interest rate cut,” Axios reports.
Said Trump: “I might call him. I haven’t called him, but I believe he’s making a mistake by not lowering interest rates. He will hopefully do the right thing. The right thing is to lower interest rates.”
“In less than 100 days, President Trump has squandered his polling strength on the two issues most fundamental to his re-election: the economy and immigration,” Axios reports.
“Trump’s approval rating is cratering not because voters reject his goals — but because they’re increasingly alarmed by his methods. That disconnect threatens to collapse the two most durable pillars of his political brand.”
Art Laffer, a conservative economist once praised by President Trump as brilliant and bold, blamed White House trade policy for the “most scary, in-flux” economic moment of his life, Axios reports.
Said Laffer: “I don’t know how anyone looking at the facts could argue that protectionism doesn’t create downturns. The more protectionism there is, the greater the downturn. Reducing tariffs and protectionism causes a boom in the economy.”
“Former Republican Rep. David Jolly, who has made a national name for himself as a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump, took a step Thursday toward a possible run for governor of Florida in 2026 by launching a state political committee,” Politico reports.
“Jolly also switched his no-party affiliation voter registration to Democrat on Wednesday afternoon, which would make him eligible to run statewide under the party’s ticket by next year’s qualification period in June.”
Paul Krugman: “It has been amazing to watch the stock market gyrating in response to things that aren’t even policy changes — they’re hints and rumors of policy changes. Today’s Washington Post has an article with the headline ‘White House eases tone on tariffs on China but won’t be cutting them soon.’ OK, how much does the change in ‘tone’ tell you about what will actually happen?”
“Why, then, did stocks rise on this non-news? I’d say that the market is like someone caught in an abusive relationship — still in denial, seizing on every hint of decency as evidence that their partner is really changing their ways.”
“Apparently investors and the news media still haven’t learned that you can’t read supposed insider reports on administration thinking the way you could in a normal administration — as indications of where the policy process is headed. There is no policy process. Trump will zigzag based on who talked to him last.”
Alan Abramowitz: “Just a couple of basic factors—House generic ballot polling and the number of seats the presidential party is defending—do a decent job of predicting midterm congressional election results.”
“This model suggests Democrats would be favored to win the House majority even without a substantial lead in House generic ballot polling.”
“The model also is bullish on Democrats in the Senate, but we urge caution on the findings, as the Senate model is historically less predictive than the House model and does not take into account this cycle’s specific Senate map.”
“As President Trump tries to play hardball in his trade war with Xi Jinping, he faces an adversary who has armed China to play a long and potentially painful game in its contest with the U.S,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In the weeks since the U.S. president first slapped sky-high tariffs on China, Beijing has responded with defiance. A spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry posted on X footage from 1953 of Mao Zedong promising to fight to the end against U.S.-led forces in the Korean War. ‘We are Chinese,’ she wrote. ‘We don’t back down.’”
“The Mao post and other messages from Beijing highlight what China sees as one of its core advantages against the U.S.: While Trump and his Republican backers are vulnerable to the whims of American voters, the party that Mao built is deeply entrenched, having maintained power through more than seven decades despite war, famine, political upheaval and financial crises.”
“President Trump tossed cold water on the idea of raising tax rates on the highest-income Americans, ending for now a Republican flirtation with higher taxes at the top to help pay for his broader agenda,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“He called a potential millionaire’s tax ‘very disruptive’ on Wednesday, a day after former House Speaker Newt Gingrich circulated a message from Trump saying the president loves the idea of a small tax increase on the rich but was counseling Republicans against it for political reasons.”
“Trump’s comments in the Oval Office capped weeks of chatter in GOP circles about letting the 37% marginal income-tax rate climb back to 39.6% or rise to 40% on incomes over $1 million as part of the tax-and-spending bill Congress is considering.”
“After weeks of bluster and escalation, President Trump blinked. Then he blinked again. And again,” the New York Times reports.
“He backed off his threat to fire the Federal Reserve chairman. His Treasury secretary, acutely aware that the S&P 500 was down 10 percent since Mr. Trump was inaugurated, signaled he was looking for an offramp to avoid an intensifying trade war with China.”
“And now Mr. Trump has acknowledged that the 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods that he announced just two weeks ago are not sustainable. He was prompted in part by the warnings of senior executives from Target and Walmart and other large American retailers that consumers would see price surges and empty shelves for some imported goods within a few weeks.”
Wall Street Journal: Trump meets his match: The markets.
Politico: Hounded by Wall Street, Trump tempers his populist rhetoric.
“President Trump’s job approval rating has fallen steadily during his first three months in office,” according to a New York Times average of polling.
“Mr. Trump’s approval rating has sunk to about 45 percent, down from 52 percent one week after he took office. Around half of the country now disapproves of his performance, the polling shows.”
“American presidents typically enter office with a groundswell of support that wanes over time. But Mr. Trump’s approval has been dropping slightly faster than that of his predecessors.”
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.