“Natalie Harp’s intimate letters to Donald Trump are being revealed in full for the first time—showing her spilling her heart, and saying she is ‘unworthy’ of him,” the Daily Beast reports. Writes Harp: “You are all that matters to me. I don’t want to ever let you down.”

“Justice Department investigators have sought to interview law enforcement officials related to the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of a Florida-based inquiry aiming to establish a conspiracy against the Republican president,” the Associated Press reports.

New York Times: “President Trump this week promised an ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran, a ‘crushing’ operation to ‘cripple’ Iran. The U.S. clampdown is formidable, a combination of wartime destruction, a naval blockade and sanctions that have already put the Iranian economy under more pressure than its regime has experienced in decades.” “But between the lines […]

President Trump’s endorsement record in governor’s races looks strong at first glance. But it looks far less dominant once the easy wins are stripped away. Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

“President Donald Trump publicly reconciled Thursday with Michael Cohen, his former fixer who became a key prosecution witness against him, calling into Cohen’s radio show and podcast to argue that the criminal cases they once bitterly fought over were products of political weaponization — while using the platform to reprise familiar talking points about Iran […]

“Democrat Aisha Wahab, a California state senator, won a Tuesday special runoff to take former congressman Eric Swalwell’s seat in the House, overcoming a late intervention by the pro-Israel lobby that spent millions of dollars to oppose her,” the Washington Post reports.

Just finished up a fun discussion on this week’s primaries with the great Julie Mason. You can listen here.

“Despite all the talk surrounding Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s new reality TV show, it has struggled to find a significant audience,” Mediaite reports. “At the time of writing, the first 24 hours have not been kind to The Great American Road Trip. First episode garnered a little under 2,900 views. As is often the case […]

“Local leaders in Atlanta heavily criticized the Democratic National Committee on Thursday for rejecting the city’s bid to host the 2028 convention, accusing the national party of ‘abandoning’ both the South and Black voters writ large,” NOTUS reports.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “Trump administration’s plan to crush Iran’s economy will likely negate the need for major U.S. military operations against the Islamic Republic,” CNBC reports. Said Bessent: “If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart.”

“Senator Darline Graham’s acknowledgment at a televised debate this week that she was ‘not that informed on national security’ has magnified her biggest vulnerability in the race to succeed her brother in the Senate, reviving questions about her level of political experience,” the New York Times reports. Washington Post: Darline Graham’s “oops” moment and the […]

“New videos of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the Senate floor 10 days before he disappeared from Capitol Hill following an apparent health crisis appeared to show him barely moving over the course of a six hour vote-a-rama and at times, confused,” Mediaite reports.

“The White House in recent weeks has made public a steady drip of previously classified intelligence about foreign threats to elections and other matters, offering President Trump and his allies ammunition for baseless conspiracy theories about potential vote rigging,” the New York Times reports. “But one crucial document has not been among the releases, despite […]

“Scott Jennings has emerged as an early favorite for next White House press secretary, though all stressed that the process is far from complete,” CNN reports.

Just for members: The latest Inside Elections. This issue includes the fallout from a host of competitive primaries in Florida, updates on dozens of House, Senate, and governor races around the country, and new rating changes in 8 House districts as the general election is less than three months away. Join now to continue reading. Members […]

“The Trump administration is authorizing an early shift to the sale of wintertime gasoline blends, its latest move to blunt fuel costs and supply concerns stoked by the war in Iran,” Bloomberg reports.

“Gov. Wes Moore has spent at least a portion of one in every five days in other states since he took office in 2023 — and that pace of travel has accelerated as his national profile has grown,” the Baltimore Banner reports. “A man on the move, Moore has visited at least 27 states, often […]

“President Donald Trump’s administration is increasing pressure on Cuba by imposing more economic penalties on industries in the heavily sanctioned socialist country and broadening enforcement of laws that bar Americans who visit the island from dealings with government-owned or -affiliated businesses,” the Associated Press reports.

“Higher education is hitting a demographic cliff. After years of growth, the pipeline of 18-year-olds is dwindling—a result of lower birthrates,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The largest number of Americans born in a single year arrived on campus in the autumn of 2025, and now a falloff is looming. College enrollments are forecast to […]

“Kevin Warsh is trying to unwind years of explicit Federal Reserve guidance. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may have just complicated that experiment,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: While the Federal Reserve chairman wants to give markets more room to respond to the economy, Treasury’s intervention signals that there are limits to how much market-driven movement […]

David Graham: “For many observers of American politics, the past few years have been disillusioning, knocking down hopeful beliefs about what the people of the United States will support or tolerate. Even some of Donald Trump’s backers have become disaffected.” “Yet somehow, a small caucus of non-MAGA Republican senators has managed to remain preciously naive […]

“ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis pleaded the Fifth Amendment during his closed-door deposition before three key House committees,” Fox News reports.

MS NOW: “Two hundred and fifty years into the American experiment, our national debt has hit an all-time high of $40 trillion.” “During his first campaign for president, Donald Trump promised to pay down the national debt within eight years.” “Since then, it has doubled.” “In fact, Trump has accumulated as much debt since entering […]

The Atlantic: “Early this year, Ukrainian officials came to President Volodymyr Zelensky with a risky new plan to end the war with Russia. It would require expanding their bombing campaign to include a set of targets and a class of weapons they had long avoided. In addition to Ukraine’s ongoing strikes against Russian military bases, […]

Cook Political Report: “The battle for the Senate is about to intensify ahead of the traditional Labor Day starting gun. Republicans still retain a structural advantage given the partisan challenges of the map, and Democrats still need almost every key race to break their way. But as we recently wrote, in a wave election akin […]

“Alina Habba, the president’s former personal attorney, ruled herself out as a candidate for White House press secretary as speculation swirls about who President Trump will pick to follow Karoline Leavitt,” NewsNation reports. Said Habba: “Flattered by the Kalshi odds, but I’m not in the running for any job. However, if I’m getting a new […]

“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. will soon unveil its plan to economically isolate Iran and its trading partners,” Bloomberg reports. Said Bessent: “Economic pressure means that we are going to all of our allies — and this is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world — […]

“Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer turned nemesis, defended his decision to interview the president on his podcast Thursday, saying the two men had forgiven each other,” MS NOW reports. “Cohen said he has been bombarded with angry responses since the news broke of his planned interview with a man he admitted to calling […]

“The United States sent 20 deportees to Liberia, who arrived on Thursday as part of 1,200 migrants that the African country will receive under a new deal,” The Guardian reports. “The 1,200 deportees will include African nationals and also nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to the Liberian information minister, Jerolinmek […]

“The longtime publisher of Stars and Stripes announced he’s stepping down weeks after the Pentagon installed an active-duty Navy captain at the military newspaper, an atypical appointment that staffers, board members and Democratic lawmakers say risks further eroding the publication’s independence from the government,” the Washington Post reports.