“The Trump administration is negotiating an agreement with Venezuela that would lay the foundation for a potential long-term U.S. military presence in the country,” the New York Times reports.
“The talks could open the door to a remarkable and perhaps risky new stage in the U.S. relationship with Venezuela, as the two former adversaries attempt to move toward military cooperation.”
“Israel has shared intelligence with the United States asserting that Iran is considering the use of chemical weapons against its adversaries, information met with alarm by some American officials and deep skepticism by others,” the New York Times reports.
“Some American officials see the Israeli intelligence as part of a pressure campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to persuade the Trump administration to return to major combat operations against Iran.”
“Other officials believe the threats should be taken seriously, given the recent array of warnings about Iran’s preparations to attack American interests.”
“Abdul El-Sayed offered barbed support for President Trump’s Election Day announcement that the U.S. would phase out billions of dollars in aid to Israel,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said El-Sayed: “Even a broken clock can be right twice a day.”
“First lady Melania Trump will host Russia-Ukraine peace talks at the White House on Thursday in hopes of building upon a limited cease-fire she brokered for a besieged Ukrainian city,” the New York Post reports.
“The United States will stop providing $4 billion in aid each year to Israel in 2027 but will sell arms to its closest ally in the Middle East, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday,” NewsNation reports.
“So what happens after the midterms to bring the Iran conflict to a conclusion? Because I can tell you he’s been advised and I think you’ve probably seen the reports where there people have told him this is going to drag on for the rest of his presidency. If it drags on for the rest of his presidency, it’s going to be devastating to his ability to get anything done and it is going to be very, very difficult for Republicans in the next cycle.”
— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), quoted by Mediaite.
“The only reason we’re not finished with Iran is, I want to be nice, I want to try and save all those lives if I can.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times.
“The U.S. attacked Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials said, in the latest of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The assault follows comments by Trump playing down the possibility of a return to war with Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. ”
Said Trump: “We had a war with Iran. We won. I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”
New York Times: U.S. military strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island in what U.S. officials call a defensive measure.
“North Korea has denied it was behind the record-breaking $6.3 billion hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in a move analysts say is designed to push back against Western depictions of the regime as a rogue state,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
President Trump said he’s “in no rush” to decide whether to resume fighting in Iran, Axios reports.
Said Trump: “One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it.”
“President Trump said Sunday his administration and Canadian officials are close to reaching a deal to end their months-long trade dispute,” NewsNation reports.
Said Trump: “We have the concept of a very good deal with Canada.”
Wall Street Journal: “For centuries, China was a continental force. Its sudden, historic emergence as one of the world’s top maritime powers is challenging the U.S. on a scale it hasn’t faced since World War II. “
“The transformation is driven in part by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s conviction that the rise and fall of nations is linked inextricably to the oceans.”
“President Trump had a candid phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday about the state of U.S. negotiations with Iran and how quickly to return to combat,” Axios reports.
“The sources said Netanyahu is pressing Trump to strike Iran immediately after the midterm elections on Tuesday. But Trump, for now, wants to let negotiations play out — a strategy Netanyahu is concerned about.”
Anne Applebaum: “At a dinner in Athens in March, Kimberly Guilfoyle, then the U.S. ambassador to Greece, made a statement that elegantly combined arrogance with menace. According to The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, Guilfoyle referred to the troubles of Romania’s governing coalition and, with Greek politicians in the room, took credit for its impending collapse: ‘We can do that to any country we want,’ she said. ‘We can do that here.'”
“Guilfoyle was subsequently disgraced for a different reason: The Journal also obtained screenshots of messages she had sent to a Republican donor, asking him to deposit $100,000 in her American Express account. She and her lawyer denied everything, including the dinner conversation, but the screenshots were too much even for the Trump administration. She resigned.”
“If Americans were more exercised by her apparent greed, Europeans were appalled by her political boasts. Guilfoyle did seem to think she could influence the coalition politics of democratically elected European governments, all of them U.S. allies and members of NATO. More to the point, she isn’t the only Trump-administration official who has tried to do exactly that.”
“Millions of Americans who buy cheap drugs from Canada could soon lose access when a customs rule goes into effect later this month, a change that has sparked opposition from Democrats and some Republicans with the cost of living a top issue for voters ahead of midterm elections,” the Associated Press reports.
“The rule applies to a swath of goods beyond drugs and is intended to collect tariffs and prevent illegal drugs from coming into the U.S. It comes as President Donald Trump has made lowering drug prices a top target in addressing soaring healthcare costs, and critics say the rule will hurt patients seeking affordable medicine.”
“Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei told the country’s top three military commanders that a renewed attack by the U.S. and Israel ״must be met with an immediate and effective response, without geographical limitations״ in order to achieve ‘maximum deterrence,’ according to a statement from his office,” Axios reports.
“If the president means what he says about ending the conflict, he should look to the wisdom of the American people, not naive businessmen who seem to think diplomacy entails fawning over adversaries.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on the Ukraine war.
“The traditional ‘family photo’ to open the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting has been abruptly cancelled in the U.S. after a host of nations – including Australia and the UK – refused to appear beside the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov,” The Guardian reports.
“The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, pulled the plug after several European officials, the UK and Australia made it known they would boycott or walk out of the snapshot that often kicks off such international gatherings.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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