“President Trump on Wednesday celebrated the loss of Alex Vindman in the Senate Democratic primary in Florida,” The Hill reports. Said Trump: “The most gratifying loss last night was that of a real treasonous creep, Alexander Vindman, to a Radical Left Lunatic, who can’t speak or think properly.”

“The staff of the tiny agency on the front lines of President Donald Trump’s trade wars has shrunk to its smallest size in two decades as its responsibilities balloon. Its work is suffering,” Politico reports. “Since Trump returned to the White House, the agency has rolled out new tariffs across the globe, launched trade negotiations […]

“President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters that he plans to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un this year, a highly unusual move for an American president,” NBC News reports.

“Sen. Ruben Gallego is facing fresh allegations of misspending campaign funds after records show he billed $2,000 for flights for his sister-in-law and au pair — with the new details emerging as the Justice Department reportedly probes the Democrat’s possible misuse of donor contributions,” the New York Post reports.

“President Donald Trump unveiled a new White House construction project Wednesday, issuing an impromptu invitation to reporters to join him on the South Lawn and tour the replacement of the White House driveway as well as progress made on his new helipad,” CNN reports. “During the tour, an animated Trump highlighted his personal investment in […]

“Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton needs all the help he can get to support his campaign heading into the fall — and President Donald Trump is set to deliver,” ABC News reports. “The president will headline an Aug. 27 fundraiser for Paxton in Houston — an event that could generate millions of dollars for […]

“A Democratic lawmaker has asked a federal judge to prevent the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from inscribing President Trump’s name on the building, arguing that the plan is an attempt to circumvent a previous court order,” the New York Times reports.

“White House correspondent Maggie Haberman said President Trump’s insults directed at female reporters in the press corps are much more ‘aggressive’ than in previous years,” NewsNation reports. Said Haberman: “The attacks on female reporters have gotten much nastier and much more aggressive and much less just about being a keyboard warrior where he would do […]

“The tarp covering the Kennedy Center facade must remain as part of ongoing construction activities following the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the building, Justice Department attorneys argued in a recent court filing,” NOTUS reports.

Axios: “Most Americans (63%) say Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency — from which he brought in upward of $1 billion last year — since his return to Washington, a four-day Reuters-Ipsos poll out Wednesday found.” “Plus, nearly seven in 10 Americans believe Trump’s private business interests are influencing his presidential decisions, […]

“The Trump administration moved to further limit immigrants’ access to the refundable portion of four tax credits aimed at aiding students, workers and families,” Bloomberg reports. “Only citizens and certain foreigners, including lawful permanent residents, asylum recipients and refugees, would be able to claim the refundable portion of tax credits available to children, students, adoptive […]

“A woman has told the House Ethics Committee that Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez sexually harassed and assaulted her, her attorneys said in a statement on Wednesday,” CNN reports. “The Ethics Committee announced Monday that it had opened an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Gomez, including ‘engaging in inappropriate sexual contact’ with a staffer, […]

“North Korea denied any direct communication between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump even as the U.S. president said he’s seeking to meet with the strongman this year,” Bloomberg reports.

Dan Pfeiffer: “The real story of this race is not Vindman’s failure; it’s Nixon’s success. She is a dynamic candidate who ran on the exact message that has been resonating in Democratic primaries this cycle — a progressive, populist approach focused on lowering prices for working families.” “Nixon, a Black Democrat who joined the DSA […]

“The Justice Department is defending its prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, saying ‘there is no serious dispute’ that a social media post of seashells he made last year could be understood as a threat against President Donald Trump,” the Associated Press reports. “Prosecutors also called into question Comey’s account that he had found […]

“Three candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump lost their primaries on Tuesday night,” Mediaite reports.

Hollywood Reporter: “Conor Kennedy, the son of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list after traveling to Ukraine in 2022 to fight with the country’s International Legion.”

“When the board of the Kennedy Center met last week to decide on the future of the complex, they took up a resolution to restore Donald Trump‘s name to the front facade of the complex,” Deadline reports. “The vote by the Trump-controlled board was not just one designation for the president, but three.” So the […]

“President Donald Trump says he told Florida Rep. Cory Mills to exit the Republican primary before his election defeat Tuesday but that the embattled lawmaker ‘wouldn’t listen,'” Politico reports. Said Trump: “He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”

Politico: “These brief sessions lasting a few minutes or less have traditionally been little-noticed, low-drama affairs. They require one senator from the majority party to make the trek back to Washington every few days during an extended break. Their purpose is to effectively limit a president from either party from temporarily installing a Cabinet pick […]

“North Korea says a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea doesn’t change anything,” the Associated Press reports. “The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country’s first reaction to President Donald Trump’s moves to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military […]

Angie Nixon’s upset victory in Florida’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary surprised almost everyone. Almost everyone except, apparently, Angie Nixon. 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.

Roge Karma: “The driverless future is here—but, to borrow from William Gibson, it’s not evenly distributed. Waymo’s self-driving robotaxis are available in cities in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. Aside from California, where the technology originated, those are all red or purple states. In every other blue state, meanwhile, driverless taxis are still […]

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the Florida Senate race to “safely Republican” following an unexpected Tuesday win for a democratic socialist in the primary.

Alaska’s Senate race suddenly looks a lot more interesting. With roughly 80% of the ballots counted, Mary Peltola (D) was running more than five points — and nearly 8,000 votes — ahead of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R). Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re […]

Mark Liebovich: “Here it is, August on Martha’s Vineyard, and Alan Dershowitz has barely been heard from.” “Well, that’s not exactly true. He has been heard from on many topics—because Dershowitz is who he is, and pretty much anyone can join Substack, and TV bookers can be hard to resist. Still, he has said little […]

John Harris: “It is an argument without end in part because the positive and negative elements of Clinton’s character, the light and the shadows, seemingly flow from the same source: an intense need to win, to matter, to seduce, to prove himself in the world…” “He’s been out of political office for more than a […]

“As allegations of sexual misconduct, questions about his military record and campaign finance violations surrounded Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills, House Republican leadership, the White House and the majority of the GOP conference publicly stayed behind him,” NOTUS reports. “But Rep. Mike Haridopolos, a freshman member of the Florida delegation, grew concerned.” “He worked behind […]

Politico: “The bitter personal drama surrounding Kyrsten Sinema is set for a public airing this morning in a federal courthouse in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.” “It’s the first hearing on a lawsuit Heather Ammel filed last September claiming that Sinema — while a sitting senator in 2024 — caused the breakdown of Ammel’s marriage to her […]

Robin Givhan: “The MAGA aesthetic has seeped into all the nooks and crannies of the culture as well as here in diplomatic Washington. You could just as easily find the look on the runway in Ronkonkoma, New York, where, in the fall of 2024, conservative women came to admire red-white-and-blue-bedazzled jewelry and skirts depicting the […]