“The Trump administration jettisoned a plan to honor the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage and the civil-rights movement on quarters for the nation’s 250th birthday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Those themes were part of a proposed five-quarter special series that went through years of debate and design but was never officially announced by the U.S. Mint. They were replaced with images inspired by the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.”
NOTUS: “In the past two months, President Donald Trump has pardoned a convicted drug trafficker, an unemployment scammer, a money launderer whom he said he is unfamiliar with and a foreign bribe recipient.”
“The pardons — and post-pardon fallout — are increasingly rankling Republican lawmakers, who are left with little recourse to rein in Trump despite him, at times, undermining their political messaging about stamping out ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ and cracking down on foreign drug trafficking.”
“On paper, President Trump’s speech in Pennsylvania was supposed to be the opening night of a speaking tour on the economy, but spiritually, the rambling set felt more like the kickoff of a past-their-prime band’s farewell tour,” National Journal reports.
“There was no set list, he played the hits when he could, and did crowd work with MAGA’s version of the Parrotheads, decked out in their finest Trump swag after following him around for years.”
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“You can give up certain products. You could give up pencils. Because under the China policy, every child can get 37 pencils. They only need one or two. They don’t need that many. You always need steel. You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice. So we’re doing things right.”
— Donald Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania last night.
“The Justice Department on Tuesday moved to end long-standing civil rights policies that prohibit local governments and organizations that receive federal funding from maintaining policies that disproportionately harm people of color,” Politico reports.
Appeals Court Judge Emil Bove was spotted in the crowd at the Pennsylvania rally held last night by President Trump.
“A federal judge in Virginia suggested on Tuesday that Lindsey Halligan should resign as U.S. attorney after a ruling declared her appointment unlawful, making her the third jurist to challenge Ms. Halligan’s continued claim to the post,” the New York Times reports.
Colby Hall asked three leading AI models — ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude — to analyze Donald Trump’s latest rant on Truth Social.
“Remarkably, despite different architectures, training data, and corporate origins, all three systems reached the same diagnosis: This isn’t normal political communication. This is defensive grandiosity written by someone who experiences criticism as existential threat.”
ChatGPT’s verdict: “Classic authoritarian narcissistic rhetoric, except more theatrical and with more references to his own brain.”
Grok: “Classic high-dominance narcissistic personality organization… so classic it should be taught in seminars.”
Claude: “This is someone who experiences any challenge to his self-image as an existential threat.”
Elon Musk said that DOGE, the Trump administration’s cost-cutting department he spearheaded, was “somewhat successful,” Axios reports.
“It’s a rare comment from Musk regarding the work DOGE did earlier this year, and hints at his lingering dissatisfaction with the inner workings of U.S. politics.”
“But, he added, he wouldn’t take on the project again.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio waded into the surprisingly fraught politics of typefaces with an order halting the State Department’s official use of Calibri, reversing a 2023 Biden-era directive that Mr. Rubio called a “wasteful” sop to diversity, the New York Times reports.
“The White House says Secretary Kristi Noem isn’t going anywhere. That hasn’t stopped people from floating possible replacements,” Politico reports.
“Fox News contributor and former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose term ends in January, are among the names being discussed inside the Trump administration and on the Hill as potential Noem successors.”
The Wrap lists of all of President Trump’s attacks against female reporters in just the last few weeks.
The Justice Department said in court documents on Tuesday that it plans to continue its efforts to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, CNN reports.
“President Donald Trump will take his economic message on the road Tuesday to a swing district in eastern Pennsylvania, the first of many planned domestic trips the White House is organizing on an issue it believes will be the key decider in next year’s midterms,” CNN reports.
“It feels like a lifetime since Joe Biden was in the Oval Office, such is the turmoil and transformation unleashed since he went home to Delaware,” CNN reports.
“But one person in Washington never stops obsessing about the 46th president — his predecessor and successor.”
“Donald Trump rarely appears in public without complaining about Biden’s policies or flinging an insult at his mental or physical capacity.”
“President Donald Trump on Monday falsely denied making a comment he had made on camera just five days prior,” CNN reports.
“Then he launched a personal attack against the reporter who had accurately repeated his previous remark.”
“Unfortunately, under Sleepy Joe Biden—he’s a sleepy guy—our farmers were crushed by the worst inflation in modern history.”
— President Trump, announcing a $12 billion bailout for American farmers.
“Alina Habba resigned as U.S. attorney in New Jersey on Monday after a panel of federal judges ruled last week that she was serving in the position unlawfully,” the New York Times reports.
“Ms. Habba will become a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi and is expected to have a role overseeing U.S. attorneys across the country.”
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.
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