“The opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Thursday will be a celebration of the legacy of former President Barack Obama and his accomplishments,” CNBC reports.
“The star-studded event that will feature an address from Obama and performances by Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and Jennifer Hudson is also expected to be the biggest gathering of donors, fundraisers and business leaders aligned with the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.”
Washington Post: “In the more than 100 days since President Donald Trump launched a war with Iran, he has offered a shifting list of reasons for why he started the conflict. But in explaining his push for peace, he named a priority much closer to home: protecting the stock market.”
Said Trump: “I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened, but all I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship.”
“The remarks provide the starkest example to date of Trump describing Wall Street as the barometer for consequential decisions of his presidency.”
“President Donald Trump formally agreed an interim peace deal with Iran, shifting focus to the planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a complex 60-day negotiating period over Tehran’s nuclear program,” Bloomberg reports.
Politico: “Heading into the gathering, expectations were modest, as Trump officials and G7 allies hoped to avoid any major blow-ups over the dicey issues that have threatened international relationships in recent months — from Russia’s war in Ukraine to the conflict in Iran. The leaders sought to demonstrate that the world’s leading economies could still work together, while keeping Trump in the country until the very end.”
“That they did — an achievement far from guaranteed for the leaders of the world’s seven largest economies and democracies, convening at a lakeside resort in France during a moment of acute global uncertainty. And in the Trump era, it’s another example of how success often means avoiding the worst-case scenario rather than sweeping breakthroughs or concrete policy directives.”
“President Donald Trump believes he handed Republicans a winning playbook for the midterms — if only they’d follow it,” Politico reports.
“Gerrymander everywhere possible, get rid of the filibuster, fire the Senate parliamentarian and pass the SAVE America Act.”
“None of it is likely to happen, and the gap between what is likely and what is possible explains Trump’s frustrations with many in Congress and the anger the White House channels at operatives and pundits who say the president isn’t doing enough to help retain control of Congress.”
Wall Street Journal: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Vice President JD Vance have all embraced the diet, drawn by the promise of slimmer waistlines and glowing skin.”
“The diet is the brainchild of Dr. Sean O’Mara, who advises his high-profile patients to eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi, alongside grass-fed steak—and to abstain from alcohol and sugary food.”
New York Times: “The average price of U.S. gasoline fell below $4 a gallon on Thursday for the first time in months, after Iran and the United States signed a preliminary agreement to cease hostilities for 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
“An initial agreement by the United States and Iran to halt their war grants Iran major economic benefits while delaying, for now, the thorniest areas of disagreement between the two countries and the toughest concessions Iran would have to eventually make on its nuclear program,” the New York Times reports.
“The agreement lifts the U.S.-imposed naval blockade of Iranian ports and, most crucially, grants Iran waivers to begin exporting its oil even before the negotiation of a final agreement on its nuclear program. That will give Iran a critical economic lifeline. In recent years, its economy has been in a tailspin, with a collapsing currency and sky-high inflation.”
Wall Street Journal: “The U.S.-Iran peace agreement includes a huge boost to Tehran’s oil industry, potentially restoring the regime’s economic lifeblood while generating more than $60 billion a year of revenue.”
“Days after the completion this month of a $14 million renovation, the shallow water in the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool had more algae in it than at any recorded point in the month of June for at least five years, according to a specialized analysis of satellite data,” the Washington Post reports.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ratcheted up pressure on European NATO allies, warning that the U.S. will review its military presence on the continent and would cut its payments to the alliance’s operating budget if Europeans didn’t meet their commitment to boost military spending,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Barack Obama is viewed positively by 57% of Americans, a new CNN poll finds, far surpassing the ratings for his two Oval Office successors. Only 34% of the public offers a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump, with former President Joe Biden’s favorability trailing at just 30%.
Obama’s standing among political independents is more than twice as high as either Biden’s or Trump’s. Unlike Biden or Trump, he also has the near-universal backing of his own party.
“The share of Americans who are secure about their healthcare costs — meaning they can access quality healthcare and afford the medicine and care they need — fell to a five-year low of 49% last year,” a new Gallup poll found.
“Forty-one percent are ‘cost insecure’ — meaning either they don’t have access to good, affordable care or were recently unable to pay for care or medicine they needed.”
Politico: “House Republican leaders and committee chairs have been meeting for weeks about what to include in a new party-line reconciliation package. Speaker Mike Johnson has also had conversations about the House’s vision with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.”
“But the Senate has taken no concrete steps toward advancing a bill, and GOP senators and aides said this week it was becoming clear any ‘Reconciliation 3.0’ would be a House-led effort. Multiple Senate Republicans — including members of leadership — say they don’t currently see a path that could marshall 50 votes behind such a measure on their side of the Capitol just months before the midterms.”
Bloomberg: “Explaining his decision to agree to an interim peace deal, Trump repeated his insistence that the country would never get a nuclear weapon. Yet he went on to suggest that Iran should have the right to enrich uranium, be allowed to develop ballistic missiles and get access to billions of dollars in frozen funds.”
“Those three things have been at the center of the debate around how to approach Iran for years, dating to the 2015 agreement that the US, under President Barack Obama, and other great powers signed with Iran to limit its nuclear program.”
“Not only that: Trump had repeatedly cited those issues as reasons why Obama and past presidents had failed so badly in containing the threat posed by the regime in Tehran.”
Wall Street Journal: “Thune has had to deliver a series of unwelcome news to Trump. Before they agreed to pass a recent $70 billion border-security package, Senate Republicans rejected funding for Trump’s White House ballroom and forced the administration to scratch a $1.8 billion fund that could have been used to compensate Trump’s political allies. Also, lawmakers loudly objected to Pulte in the role as interim director, saying he lacked national-security experience and airing concern that he would politicize the position.”
“Trump has privately complained about Thune—in particular about his inability to pass the stalled SAVE America Act—but he personally likes him, according to White House officials. While Trump harps on the bill, he hasn’t criticized Thune publicly. Nor has he called for the removal of Thune as leader. Such a move would trigger a revolt from members, one Republican senator warned.”
Just published: The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice by Devlin Barrett.
“No part of life in the United States has been untouched by Donald Trump’s relentless weaponization of the Justice Department. This is a cautionary tale about how, once a president amasses such power, future presidents may never relinquish it.”
“President Trump’s agreement with Iran opened new fissures in his party on Wednesday, with Republicans on Capitol Hill and beyond questioning whether his administration had secured adequate concessions from Iranian leaders after months of a costly and unpopular war,” the New York Times reports.
“After the Trump administration released the text of the arrangement on Wednesday, some Senate Republicans reacted with fierce criticism, skepticism and alarm. Prominent members of the GOP’s old guard from outside Congress also sounded dubious notes. And even some of president’s allies in the conservative news media voiced concern.”
“New York Knicks owner James Dolan said Wednesday that the team will be the first NBA champion to visit President Donald Trump at the White House after the team accepted an invitation,” NOTUS reports.
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.
