If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, CLICK HERE.
asserted
you → send → this
As usual, we run the rule over Donald Trump’s week, and we celebrate the New York Times reaching 175 years of age with an “editor’s note” for the ages, plus we ask whether AOC would even want Hasan Piker to campaign for her.
asserted
Piker → run → her
Donald Trump spent the weekend at his Doonbeg golf course in Ireland.
asserted
Trump → spend → Ireland
“I thought it would be an easy trip,” said one person who traveled with him.
asserted
who → think → him
“But he insisted on making news.”
asserted
he → insist → news
Top among the news was his call for a united Ireland, joining the British north and the southern Republic, something that will cause conniptions in London.
asserted
that → join → London
Back at the White House, Trump waded into the growing disquiet about artificial intelligence on Monday and whether there should be “guardrails” to prevent a bot-fueled apocalypse.
asserted
Trump → wad → apocalypse
He said on Truth Social that the only control needed was “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”
On Tuesday, he spent the day attacking institutions that he helped shape.
asserted
he → say → that
He attacked the Supreme Court after it blocked his administration’s new restrictions on mail-in ballots, despite nominating three of its justices.
asserted
it → attack → justices
And he posted video of the Kennedy Center, showing corrosion and general deterioration, after a judge blocked the latest attempt to add his name to the building.
asserted
judge → post → building
A day later, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, the first increase since 2023, defying Trump’s public calls for lower rates.
asserted
Reserve → raise → rates
Yet he later defended his Fed chairman pick, Kevin Warsh, who voted with other policymakers to address elevated inflation.
asserted
who → defend → inflation
He said Warsh was a “good man” who couldn’t do much if the rest of the board was intent on making the president look bad.
asserted
president → say → board
He traveled to Gastonia, North Carolina, in the evening to campaign for struggling Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is running to replace retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
asserted
who → travel → Tillis
On Thursday evening, Trump hosted more than 100 hunters, anglers, and members of the outdoor industry at a Rose Garden dinner.
asserted
Trump → host → dinner
He signed executive orders to expand hunting and fishing access on public lands and waterways and to roll back Biden-era restrictions requiring nonlead ammunition at federal wildlife refuges.
asserted
He → sign → refuges
Trump is due to spend the weekend at Camp David.
asserted
Trump → spend → David
Before that, his public schedule says he will make a healthcare announcement in the afternoon before traveling to his Virginia golf club for a MAGA Inc. meeting.
asserted
he → say → meeting
So what did our two strategists make of it all?
asserted
strategists → make → it
You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond.
asserted
You → read → D.C.
It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions.
asserted
you → write → comments
The Supreme Court, by a 7-2 margin, refused to allow Trump’s plan to give the Postal Service the unprecedented power to withhold millions of mail-in ballots to prevent voter fraud.
asserted
Court → refuse → fraud
Even some GOP election officials cautioned that the proposal could lead to chaos and mass disenfranchisement.
uncertain
proposal → caution → chaos
The bond market has reached a yield of over 5%, the highest since 2007, which could drive up mortgage and consumer debt, as well as the burdensome interest paid for the national debt.
uncertain
which → reach → debt
Homebuyers can expect to start with a mortgage rate of 7%.
asserted
Homebuyers → expect → %
The Fed defied pressure from the White House and agreed to raise interest rates a quarter of a percentage point to slow the rise of inflation.
asserted
Fed → defy → inflation
The Congressional Budget Office reported this week that one-third of inflation is linked to the war in Iran and will continue to rise through the first quarter of 2027.
asserted
third → report → 2027
U.S. ally Saudi Arabia is being attacked from all sides by Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis and is facing a severe economic crisis because of blocked shipping routes.
asserted
Arabia → attack → routes
The president refuses to help his “good friend” Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto leader of the kingdom.
asserted
president → refuse → kingdom
As of this week, the Houthis control much of the Red Sea to the south.
asserted
Houthis → control → south
The Houthis are also attacking from Iraq to the north and have severely damaged a vital pipeline that runs east-west.
asserted
that → attack → pipeline
U.S. military bases are suffering loss of building and supplies.
asserted
bases → suffer → building
Late this week, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), a three-term Republican who endorsed Trump in 2024, charged that the president has betrayed Hispanics with his harsh immigration policies.
asserted
president → endorse → policies
There’s more, but I think I’ll stop here.
asserted
I → ’ → ?
His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should.
asserted
We → read → Polls
His podcast with son, managing partner, and pollster Jeremy Zogby, can be heard here.
asserted
podcast → manage → Zogby
D+
This week had a lot of ups and downs for Trump, beginning with the poverty rate and ending with big losses in the Supreme Court and Congress.
asserted
week → have → Court
We finally admitted that we have weapons in orbit, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, says we need to fight on and around the moon.
asserted
we → admit → moon
I have been writing for decades that we need orbital weapons to protect our satellites, and now perhaps we have them.
asserted
we → write → them
There’s a lot of news from the war with Iran, most of it bad.
asserted
most → ’ → it
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
