The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols joins me to discuss the Maine Senate election fiasco, Trump’s incoherent blathering at the NATO summit, and whether the Administration has a Plan C for its war with Iran.
If Donald Trump ever had any control over the war he started with Iran, he’s lost it. The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president. The “cease-fire” Trump declared last month—a move probably meant to both soothe international markets and avert legislative action from the United States Congress—never really existed, because neither side ever ceased firing.
FBI Director Kash Patel abruptly cancelled a planned flight Friday to see his girlfriend in Chicago this weekend, after top administration officials frustrated with Patel summoned him to the White House, according to two people with knowledge of the change.
The precise reasons that Patel’s political bosses demanded he cancel his trip and report to the West Wing are unclear, but several people said top Trump deputies were disturbed by a range of actions by Patel. Some found it confounding that the FBI director was leaving town amid the recent revival of the war with Iran and alleged threats against the president’s life, according to a person familiar with efforts to help Patel rebuild trust with the White House. For this article, people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive internal matter.
Investigators have found evidence that Corey Lewandowski may have been involved in improperly awarding government contracts during his time as a senior aide at the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and White House officials have been briefed on the inquiry, as investigators weigh a potential criminal referral to the Justice Department, the people said.
The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.
In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes.
The Times denounced the administration’s actions.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.
The Election Assistance Commission serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election administration”, accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail-voter registration form developed by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, according to the commission’s website. The terminations follow Trump and top administration officials’ advocacy to change vote-by-mail requirements and investigations into the 2020 election outcome, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
“It is irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on causing chaos for our election officials across this country,” Arizona’s secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, said in a Thursday statement. “This move undermines the integrity of nonpartisan election administration.”
You want proof that this summit was the worst in history? Let us go back to the summit declaration and read the last paragraph.
Our “next meeting”…interesting phrase that. Before Ankara, the next leadership summit was scheduled to be held in 2027, in Tirana, Albania. Yet, there is no mention of that meeting happening in this year’s statement. All we hear is some vague, “next” meeting happening sometime in the future at an indeterminate location.
This meeting was so bad there might not be another while Trump is President.
So, yes, this was the worst summit in NATO history, there were lies, deliberate papering over of cracks, strategic dreams, and benefits for Vladimir Putin.
But, hey, Trump felt the love, so that becomes the story.
Saturday dogs
The boys are checking on their people.
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The White House Correspondents’ Association is rescheduling its annual dinner for July 24 in what will be a more intimate event with “enhanced safety measures.”
The event was postponed following a shooting at the April fete….
WHCA President Weijia Jiang wrote in an email to members, “Rescheduling was not automatic. It was a choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members. I want to thank board members for the time and care they brought to this decision, particularly on the security front. The event will feature significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures. We will share additional details directly with attendees.”…
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “This announcement is a very good thing in that we cannot allow Lunatics to change our way of life, or even its scheduling. I was asked to be there, and speak, by Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association, and have accepted.” He also noted that hed built the hotel and its ballroom.
