Trump Suggests Vance Is MAGA Heir Apparent
President Trump said that Vice President J.D. Vance was “most likely” to succeed him as the leader of the MAGA movement, in what appeared to be his strongest public backing for Mr. Vance’s political future, the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “Well, I think most likely, in all fairness. He’s the vice president.”
He also suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “somebody that maybe would get together with JD” on a Republican ticket.
J.D. Vance to Push Indiana on Redistricting
Vice President J.D. Vance is visiting Indiana this week to speak with Gov. Mike Braun (R) and Republican legislative leaders about the possibility of redistricting the state’s congressional districts amid the Trump administration’s push to increase the GOP majority in the House, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Playbook: “Trump world thinks it can bend state and local officials to draw new maps.”
Why Democrats Are Likely to Lose the Redistricting War
The Economist: “To consider how such a no-holds-barred fight might play out, The Economist has analyzed data produced by Dave’s Redistricting, including proposed congressional maps designed by its users. We mapped the most effective gerrymanders created by users in states controlled by each party to simulate a scenario where lawmakers faced no legal or political constraints on their map-making.”
“Overall, we found that Democrats could redraw 35 congressional districts won by Mr. Trump last year, while Republicans could redraw 34 won by Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. Under these boundaries, 229 districts voted for Mr. Trump—one fewer than the 230 districts he won under the present maps. The theoretical numbers add some weight to Mr. Newsom’s idea that Democrats could fight Republicans to a draw.”
“In reality, state legislators do not have a free hand. In addition to legal and political challenges, it can be difficult to draw maps which are tolerable to all of a party’s local politicians, with their competing interests. The limits on redistricting power are likely to hobble the Democrats disproportionately, making it harder for them to match Republicans’ potential.”
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “As judged by the presidential margin in the median House seat, the current national House district map has a small Republican bias.”
“A pending Texas Republican gerrymander could push that bias a little bit to the right, although that may also be counteracted by Democrats redrawing California. But Republicans also have other gerrymandering opportunities that could increase the GOP edge in the House.”
Trump Steps Up Attack on Federal Jobs Data
“President Trump doubled down on his decision to dismiss the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, casting the agency that published a bleak jobs report last week as broken and corrupt,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “It’s a highly political situation. It’s totally rigged.”
Marsha Blackburn Kicks Off Bid for Tennessee Governor
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced a campaign for Tennessee governor, Politico reports.
Said Blackburn: “In his first six months, President Trump has made historic strides in Making America Great Again, but as he sends power back to the states, he’s going to need strong conservative governors who can bring that revolution home.”
She added: “Trump is back. America is blessed. And Tennessee, better than ever.”
Senator Changed Child Rape Law After Relative Charged
“Last year, an 18-year-old Utahn was staring at the potential of years in prison, accused of having sex with a 13-year-old,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
“Plea bargain negotiations were at an impasse. Then the Utah Legislature — based on an initial suggestion from Senate President J. Stuart Adams (R) — changed the law.”
“Two months later, prosecutors offered the 18-year-old, who is related to Adams, a plea deal. The teen would plead guilty to reduced charges, face no additional jail time beyond a week already served, and would not have to register as a sex offender.”
Trump Quiets Far-Right Furor Over Jeffrey Epstein
“The Trump administration has largely succeeded in pushing the president’s core supporters to back off their online obsession with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” according to a Washington Post analysis of far-right internet activity.
“But the topic is still hot in some corners of the internet, where anger simmers over the president’s handling of the matter.”
“To track the arc of online outrage, The Post analyzed more than half a million social media posts and podcast segments during the months of June and July from more than 450 right-wing and conservative influencers and politicians. The Post then used artificial intelligence to categorize 10,000 posts that mentioned Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and examine the content of those posts.”
Trump Teases Massive Tariffs for Pharma
“President Trump plans to levy a stepwise series of pharmaceutical tariffs that could reach 150% within a year and a half, then rise to 250%,“ Axios reports.
“It’s the highest tariff rate the president has threatened the industry with to date while he also presses major manufacturers to commit to a ‘most-favored nation’ pricing policy.”
MAGA Expectations Soar Over Russia Grand Jury Probe
Axios: “The threat of criminal charges targeting Trump enemies, such as former FBI director James Comey and former CIA director John Brennan, is no longer confined to the base’s imagination.”
“With Trump at the peak of his powers — and the Justice Department brimming with loyalists, pretexts and political will — MAGA is primed for a historic reckoning.”
Strange Bedfellows
“Their relationship may surprise an untold number of Americans who consider rival party members abhorrent, but political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have formed an unlikely friendship,” the Baltimore Sun reports.
‘Big Balls’ Assaulted in D.C.
Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old known as “Big Balls” who played a key role in the DOGE initiative to shrink the size of government, was assaulted over the weekend in Washington, Politico reports.
President Trump posted a photo on his social media platform showing a shirtless Coristine with what appeared to be blood spattered on his face, body and pants.
Said Trump: “If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore.”
Trump Gets Fresh Shot at Bending the Fed to His Will
“In the chess game over bending the Federal Reserve to his will and sidelining Chair Jerome Powell, a significant piece just fell into President Trump’s hands,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Fed governor Adriana Kugler said unexpectedly last week that she will leave the central bank this Friday, about six months before her term was set to end. That gives the president the chance to install his own pick on the rate-setting committee earlier than he had expected, adding pressure on Powell with a new ally who can push for interest-rate cuts.”
“Trump could also use that selection to position someone as the heir apparent to Powell, creating a competing voice that markets listen to for signals about the Fed’s future direction.”
Bloomberg: Trump says he’ll decide on Fed governor before end of the week.
Trump Names Himself Chair of Olympics Task Force
An executive order signed by President Trump on Tuesday names him chair of a White House task force on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, viewed by the president as “a premier opportunity to showcase American exceptionalism,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Trump: “We’ll do anything necessary to keep the Olympics safe, including using our National Guard or military, OK? I will use the National Guard or the military. This is going to be so safe. If we have to.”
Noem Announces the ‘Speedway Slammer’
Quote of the Day
“The fact is that collectively we’re just tired of playing by the rules. This is a ‘fuck you, we’re going to match your scorched earth with our scorched earth.’”
— Democratic pollster John Anzalone, quoted by Politico, on Democrats fighting GOP efforts to redistrict mid-cycle.
Beto O’Rourke’s Group Funding Democrats Who Fled
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-TX) group, Powered by People, has “has emerged as a top funder covering the costs of Texas lawmakers’ out-of-state decampment,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“O’Rourke’s organization, armed with a $3.5 million war chest, has covered much of the costs so far — including air transport, lodging and logistical support, a person involved with the fundraising said — though other groups have been in the mix.”
Restraining Order Filed Against GOP Lawmaker
Florida Republican state committeewoman Lindsey Langston — who is also the reigning Miss United States — has filed a restraining order against Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) “after reporting him to local and state law enforcement for harassment, threatening to release sexual videos, and to harm future boyfriends,” Drop Site News reports.
A bizarre detail: “On at least one occasion, Mills sent a woman to a male friend’s home—a male friend this woman had never met—to have sex, according to texts and audio messages obtained by Drop Site. The male friend described his experience as humiliating, likening his role in them to ‘sex slavery.'”
And another: “Langston also raised questions about how Mills receives his income. ‘There were many times where I personally saw people from his company give him sacks of cash.'”
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