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Saturday Afternoon Update: Trump's Great American Fiasco — 6/27/26

Strait of Hormuz strikes continue, Lebanon deal undercuts Trump's own Iran framework, and the 250th anniversary celebration is somehow getting more embarrassing by the day

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Ben Meiselas's avatar
MeidasTouch Network and Ben Meiselas
Jun 27, 2026
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U.S. President Donald Trump‘s sits inside a vehicle of his motorcade en route to the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Hi all, Ben here. It’s the weekend! I hope you are enjoying your Saturday. There is a lot going on today, so if you want to catch up, now’s your chance! Remember to like, share, and re-stack. First, a quick overview:

Top stories we’re following:

  • Iran has struck another tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran-linked drones have hit targets in Bahrain following new U.S. strikes

  • A new U.S.-brokered framework between Israel and Lebanon appears to directly contradict the existing Iran MOU, and that may not be an accident

  • Trump’s 250th anniversary celebrations continue to flop, from empty National Malls to a “Great American State Fair” with nowhere to sit

  • Trump’s response to all of this chaos is retruthing approval polls and posting AI images of himself holding up the globe

  • Katie Phang just won a major court victory in the Epstein files case, and the DOJ is already crying foul

  • Trump’s showcases new U.S. passports with his own portrait in them, and still manages to mess them up

  • Iran’s World Cup run update, including their mistreatment, and one of the more moving statements you’ll read from a national team this year

Before I go any further, if you haven’t yet joined as a paid subscriber, consider doing so now by clicking here to support our work. This is how we grow. It will give you access to all recaps like this, our exclusive Ask-the-Editor series, and more. Plus, it is the best way to help support the growth of this network.

Let’s get into it.

Iran Strikes Again in the Strait of Hormuz Following U.S. Attacks

Iran has hit yet another vessel trying to leave the Strait of Hormuz without going through the route Iran has designated as the only safe passage. This is not a one-off. This is the second tanker hit since Thursday, and it is happening because the Trump regime keeps trying to tell ships to use a different route than the one Iran has laid out, and Iran keeps following through on its warning that it will not guarantee the safety of any vessel that ignores it. And that’s just the start. Other clashes today show that the war is very much active, despite the so-called ceasefire and MOU. More on that in just a moment.

And let me just say, if Iran controls the actual shipping lanes right now, today, in real time, what does that say about how this war is actually going? I’ll get into the satellite imagery in a moment, and it is not what the Trump regime wants you to see.

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