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Tom Nichols: “No one yet knows the details of the Iran deal that President Trump has been teasing on social media for the past day or so. The president himself has admonished his followers not to ‘listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about.’”
“But as this war stumbles to a close, it is clear that the president, too, is lost: He didn’t know what he was doing when he began it, and now he doesn’t know how to get out of it.”
David Frum: “The first surprising thing about President Trump’s impending defeat in the 2026 Iran war is that he already fought and won a successful war against Iran last year. In June 2025, U.S. and Israeli air strikes badly damaged the Iranian nuclear program in 12 days of bombardment. Exactly how badly remains controversial. But they didn’t do nothing. If Trump had quit while ahead, he could have banked his gains from last June as a solid if imperfect win.”
“The second surprising thing about Trump’s impending defeat is that he does not seem to have cared at all about the only evident reason to resume fighting in 2026: the Iranian people’s rebellion against their brutal oppressors. Trump has never given any evidence of caring about Iranian democracy or human rights…”
“The third surprising thing about Trump’s impending defeat is that even he himself seems never to have understood why he went back to war against Iran. What exactly did he think he would achieve?”
“Hours after Iranian negotiators arrived in Qatar for talks on ending the war, U.S. forces struck missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to emplace mines,” the New York Times reports.
U.S. Central Command characterized the strikes in southern Iran as defensive and said they had been intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
John Avlon: “Giuliani has always been a mix of sunshine and shadow. He was a young man who had wanted to join the priesthood but chose to be a prosecutor instead, in part because he knew that he was too hot-blooded to keep his vows. In city hall, there was a constant struggle between the better angels of his nature and the darker impulses of his soul: the instinct to respond to a mosquito with a howitzer, the fact that he was more content to be feared than loved. Earlier this month, Rudy was suddenly hospitalized with pneumonia, sinking into a coma before recovering.”
“This urgent reminder of his mortality prompted me to reflect on the arc of his life. I had a front-row seat to this daily wrestling match as a 27-year-old chief speechwriter in his second term. I learned a lot from him—and the lessons of his life, both positive and negative, should not be lost.”
Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) slammed the owners of the Boston Red Sox in a new ad.
From the ad: “Private equity is taking our homes. It’s taking our hospitals. It’s taking beloved local businesses and stripping them for parts.”
He added: “And now private equity is running the Red Sox into the ground.”
Mediaite notes the ad was taken down by the New England Sports Network, which is also owned by the group that owns the Red Sox.
“A phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family business is investigating a potential security flaw on its website that appears to have exposed the personal details of an estimated 27,000 people who sought to buy a gold-coloured smartphone,” The Guardian reports.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced that he has filed to run again in 2028.
Said Massie: “I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race. This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office. I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run.”
President Trump celebrated Memorial Day by bashing “all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran.”
President Trump stepped up pressure on Saudi Arabia and Qatar to recognize Israel by joining the Abraham Accords, saying it would complement an interim peace deal he’s negotiating with Iran, Bloomberg reports.
“Key officials responsible for leading US research on infectious disease threats have been barred from speaking directly with the World Health Organization — effectively shutting some of them out of the global discussions on virus outbreaks,” CNN reports.
“The Trump administration issued the directive stopping individuals at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from communicating with the WHO.”
New York Times: “The Constitution’s framers were doubtless brilliant, and the document they drafted has endured. It is the oldest written national constitution still in force anywhere in the world. But, as the nation commemorates its 250th anniversary, some constitutional scholars say the second Trump presidency is calling into question whether the nation’s founding charter and sacred text truly provides the balance the founders wanted.”
“President Trump has used the power of the federal government to bully universities, law firms and news outlets; undermined the independence of the Justice Department by instructing it to prosecute his political enemies; defied Congress by impounding money it had instructed him to spend; flouted countless court orders; and cut off funding to states led by Democrats.”
“Since President Trump announced a cease-fire with Iran in April, he has sought to force Tehran to accept his terms for a peace deal with a mixture of threats and limited military operations,” the New York Times reports.
“But more than a month later, the contours of a deal emerging this week to end the war reflected how Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign does not appear to have decisively shifted Iran’s stance on its nuclear program.”
Wall Street Journal: “The slowdown followed a weekend that began with President Trump and other administration officials saying a deal was close and ended with Trump saying he wouldn’t rush to conclude an agreement that wasn’t right.
“After the initial reports of the deal surfaced, Trump came under criticism from more hawkish members of his party who worried an agreement could open the Strait of Hormuz and ease the financial pressure on Iran’s regime but leave its nuclear program intact.”
Wall Street Journal: “For decades, the swath from the Dakotas to Ohio steadily lost population to other parts of the country, as manufacturing jobs disappeared and the growth of the service economy pulled people to the South.”
“Now signs are emerging that the out-migration is slowing, and, in some places, even starting to reverse.”
“It may be too early to call a Midwest Renaissance, but for the first time in years, the numbers are pointing in an upbeat direction.”
“The cabinet has historically advised the president on a variety of matters, but in President Trump’s second term, it appears to have taken on a new mandate: flattery,” the New York Times reports.
“Marathon cabinet meetings, lasting one to three hours, have become a hallmark of Mr. Trump’s second presidency. Often televised, they provide an opportunity for cabinet officials to credit him for their department’s accomplishments while still trying to claim some of the spotlight for themselves.”
Paul Krugman: “Trump’s Iran war may be over, or virtually over. America lost.”
“Iran may or may not agree to exercise restraint in its control over the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program. But as Donald Trump of all people should know, agreements can be broken. At a fundamental level Trump, who began by demanding UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER and trying to impose a subservient new regime, is now slinking away, leaving Iran’s hard-liners empowered — and America’s reputation shattered.”
“The nationwide redistricting battle that erupted last year has evolved into a forever war,” the Washington Post reports.
“Politicians, no longer content to leave elections to chance, are working with increased precision to choose their voters, with plans to recalibrate as often as every two years…”
“Extreme gerrymanders could soon be even more extreme. California Democrats could eliminate every Republican in the state’s House delegation, giving them a 52-0 map. Republicans could get rid of nearly every Democrat in Texas.”
“President Donald Trump on Tuesday is expected to undergo his third scheduled medical checkup in 13 months, as outside physicians say they have persistent questions about the nearly 80-year-old president’s health and fitness,” the Washington Post reports.
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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