Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 190
Trump Is Everywhere
“More oil is flowing from the Middle East than at any point since the start of the war with Iran, yet crude still costs almost $100 a barrel, much more than at other times when supplies were more constrained,” the New York Times reports.
“That seeming conundrum can partly be explained by a change in traders’ views about how long the conflict is going to last. Optimism that an enduring peace deal might be around the corner has given way to concern that hostilities could restart.”
“Some 15 miles off the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, around 20 empty Iranian oil tankers are stranded, drifting with their engines idled as food, fuel and fresh water run short,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“They are the most visible consequence of the new pressure campaign by the U.S. to bring Iran to heel. Dozens of Iranian or Iranian-linked tankers that had participated in the shadowy trade of getting sanctioned oil to China have been stuck in the waters near Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia since July, when the U.S. reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Senate Democrats are challenging the legality and prudence of the Pentagon’s plan to take a stake in a Venezuelan oil company, laying the groundwork for a potential probe into the arrangement,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Pentagon’s deal for a position in North American Blue Energy Partners—Venezuela’s second-largest oil producer—stands on shaky legal ground and undermines the Latin American country’s pursuit of a democratic transition, four high-ranking Senate Democrats said in a letter sent to President Trump’s top lieutenants.”
“President Donald Trump’s near-global tariff policy is being challenged in federal court — again,” CNBC reports.
“A panel of three judges at the U.S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan are hearing arguments Wednesday morning from a group of small businesses and Democratic-led states who say Trump’s sweeping ‘Section 301’ tariffs overstep the law.”
“It’s the third time in less than two years that the courts have been asked to intervene against the president’s attempt to impose sweeping tariffs on the vast majority of U.S. imports.”
“European countries sought to harden migration rules in a bid to quell support for nationalist parties across the continent,” Semafor reports.
“Anti-immigration parties have been on the rise in both domestic politics and the European Parliament.”
“Governments are trying to address voters’ concerns: Swiss lawmakers have advanced legislation taxing companies that hire foreign workers, while five EU member states want the bloc to launch a pilot project sending rejected asylum seekers to designated countries outside Europe.”
“U.S. forces are set to pull out from their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday, a departure celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies who now have deep influence in the country where 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war,” Reuters reports.
“Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal — agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran — could give Tehran and its powerful allies free rein, while also allowing other U.S. enemies to stage a comeback, including Islamic State.”
“The UK’s prime minister raised the specter of the country rejoining the EU, an issue that remains politically divisive despite growing numbers of voters voicing frustration over the lasting impacts of Brexit,” Semafor reports.
“Were Andy Burnham to support a campaign to reenter the bloc, he would draw a significant dividing line between his Labour Party and rival Reform UK, which, helmed by Brexit champion Nigel Farage, is neck-and-neck with Labour in polls.”
“As the U.S. and Iran continue to speak via mediators in a bid to end the war, the White House is tempering any expectations that a breakthrough might be near,” Semafor reports.
“Some U.S. officials have long conceded that there’s no clear — or clean — way out of the conflict, and that reality has emerged as a major issue for Republicans ahead of the midterms as voters focus on prices.”
“Efforts this week by Qatari mediators to broker a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran have made little progress, with neither side willing to budge,” Axios reports.
“The stalemate bolsters the belief on both sides that a renewed military conflict is becoming more likely. U.S. officials think President Trump could order a return to major combat operations after the midterms.”
Bloomberg: Iran pessimistic on deal with U.S. before midterms.
“Democrats in Congress are increasingly adopting a more punitive approach to dealing with Israel, taking a series of steps in recent days that suggest they would pursue sanctions for building new settlements and other actions against the Jewish state should they win majorities in November’s elections,” the New York Times reports.
“On Tuesday, all but one Senate Democrat voted to advance a measure that would force the Trump administration to produce a human rights report examining violence by Israel in the West Bank, including the deaths of Palestinian American citizens, in a rebuke that would once have seemed unthinkable.”
“The bid failed, but the near-unanimous level of Democratic backing for it reflected the party’s new willingness to embrace steps that had long been considered anathema given the relationship between the United States and its closest Middle East ally.”
“The U.S. is further restricting travel to Cuba and barring banks from working with the island’s nascent private sector, as Donald Trump’s administration presses to end nearly seven decades of one-party rule in the country,” Bloomberg reports.
“Loopholes that allowed people from the U.S. to travel to Cuba for professional meetings and educational activities are being closed.”
“Peter Navarro, a longtime trade adviser to President Donald Trump, on Tuesday excoriated Canadian lobbyists, telling them during a conference in Washington to leave the U.S,” Bloomberg reports.
Chrystia Freeland: “As Canada’s international trade minister and foreign minister, I learned that the only thing that works with this president is strength.”
“Lithuania is ‘ready to pay the bill’ to permanently host U.S. troops and has raised the issue with Washington as the Baltic nation seeks to lock in American security guarantees, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Sinkevicius: “We would definitely go for it if they’re ready.”
Simon Shuster: “Trump’s envoy wants to trade Russian political prisoners for U.S. sanctions relief, creating a path to business deals before the war in Ukraine ends.”
“President Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release Iranian frozen funds in return for concrete Iranian steps regarding the nuclear program,” Axios reports.
“But Trump took to Truth Social Monday evening to say such reports were ‘untrue.'”
Bloomberg: Iran officials pessimistic about U.S. deal before midterms.
“President Donald Trump said he has not discussed selling arms to China, contradicting a suggestion made by his ambassador to Beijing,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “I never heard of that.”
Washington Sun: “David Perdue said Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that if consummated would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and expose U.S. technology to a potential foe.”
Wall Street Journal: “Some Greek officials say they are happy their country, often overlooked in Washington, has the attention of an ambassador who can easily reach the U.S. president.”
“They are also fearful of getting on her bad side.”
“In March, at a dinner in Athens attended by Greek and U.S. officials, Guilfoyle got into an argument with Greece’s energy minister, Stavros Papastavrou, in front of the other guests. Referring to the impending collapse of the Romanian government, Guilfoyle told the group, ‘We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here,’ according to a person who attended the dinner and others who were told about it. The conversation became heated, with Papastavrou retorting that the U.S. couldn’t replace the government of Greece, which was elected by the people.”
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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