This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 446.

… We are officially in a trade war with Canada, historically our closest ally and key trading partner, as Trump seems determined to crash the Republican clown car into a ditch before the midterms.

… Politico: “US Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer entered a meeting with Canadian officials Friday afternoon with a frown. For more than a week, Greer had been in wall-to-wall negotiations with Canada’s top trade officials, and the two sides were tantalizingly close to striking a deal that would break through more than a year of icy diplomatic and economic relations. The two had agreed on the overarching framework. Industry groups and stakeholders had been briefed. A deal seemed imminent.”

… “The negotiations also exposed friction between Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s respective public policy spheres. While the WH has been adamant officials are in lockstep, two people familiar with the talks said Lutnick felt the deal framework hammered out by Greer’s trade office was ‘sprung on’ his agency, despite involving a number of policy issues he oversees.”

… Lutnick, who has been one of the Trump officials who have been most openly dismissive of Canada and its interests, spoke to PM Mark Carney directly via text and phone multiple times in the last week. The two spoke as recently as Friday. Source: “I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the reason for the disconnect and why both sides blame the other for changing the terms at the last minute.”

… “Carney blamed the American side for pushing to exclude medium and heavy-duty trucks from tariff relief after the two sides had agreed to lower tariffs on autos to 15%. The Americans offered ‘no rationale’ for the carveouts, he said, ticking off Canadian-made Ford and General Motors models that would still face tariffs.”

… NYT: “Mark Carney did something that few other world leaders before him have dared to do. After days of intense trade negotiations with the US, with less than an hour to go on a midnight deadline for a new round of tariffs from the Trump admin, Carney instructed his negotiators to walk away. Then, he announced that once 50% tariffs came into effect on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, he would order retaliatory tariffs on the US ‘dollar for dollar.’”

… On Sat, in a lengthy televised address to Canadians, Carney brought fighting words to Canada’s act of defiance: “Last spring, I warned that America is trying to break us so that they can own us. And I promised: ‘That will never, ever happen.’ We are keeping that promise. Canada is becoming stronger and less dependent on America. We are already giving ourselves more than they can take away. And we are just getting started.”

… “By walking away, Carney chose a road that no major US ally has taken: With his country’s economy on the line, he stood up to Trump and refused to accept the admin’s offer of a new trade relationship with tariffs permanently baked in. Britain, the EU and other major US trading partners have agreed to smaller deals that have been volatile and often left them worse off.”

… Carney mentioned in some detail a number of what he described as last-minute curveballs presented by the US, as talks were supposedly near the finish line. Those included, he said, a demand that Canada comply with US diktats on tariffs on its trade with other countries: “We are the partners of choice for countries around the world and the Americans wanted to restrict that - unacceptable.”

… AP: “Carney said Canada had been willing to drop remaining retaliatory tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos if the US substantially lowered its own, and to encourage provinces to restore US alcohol sales. But he said Washington’s final demands went too far.”

… Carney: “They asked too much and offered too little.” Carney said the US added last-minute terms that would have reduced tariff relief for Canadian-made vehicles, restricted Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries and weakened protections for language, culture and sovereignty. He said such demands were “unacceptable.”

… Mark Carney:

• “For over a year, Canada has worked intensively and in good faith with the US to negotiate a new comprehensive trade deal. We have been pragmatic, patient, and persistent. Our goal has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame. Late last evening I instructed our negotiators to return to Ottawa.”

• “We cannot accept what the US has offered, and we will not give what they have asked. Canada will match the US’ new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses. We take this step confident that it is in the best interests of Canada. In the coming days, we will release the details of these new tariff measures, which will come into force the Tuesday after Labour Day.”

• “With the strongest fiscal position in the G7 and a resilient economy, Canada has all the resources we need to pivot and to prosper. We are creating jobs in this economy at 4 times the rate of the US. Our non-US exports are up sharply. They’re on track to double over the next decade.”

… Carney then took questions from reporters: Q: “Was Howard Lutnick’s involvement in the last days an impediment to getting a deal? Carney: It’s a question for the US admin. But I will say this, the Canadian team, unified, everyone knows what our objectives are. You cannot say that about the US admin.”

… Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew:

• “Everybody’s got Carney’s back today. We’re all united and we’re also united in our disappointment in the American admin. Even the MAGA hat-wearing American crowd should realize he doesn’t care. He’s out there talking about like ‘let them eat cake’ type of comments. He’s not in touch. He doesn’t care about the American people and the cost of living. He only cares about making his family richer.”

• “I’m sure there is a desire to get back to the table, but we should recognize that the Trump admin and the president are deeply flawed. He’s got two more years left in office. We should be prepared to duke it out for two years. And then hopefully sanity will return to America.”

… British Columbia Premier: David Eby:

• “The Americans, to put it politely, are taking us for granted. And they don’t clearly understand how significant and entrenched our relationship is and how much they benefit from it. The idea that you can simultaneously attack Canadians and also benefit from what’s in Canada, which the rest of the world also wants, is an absurd one. It makes no sense.”

• “It is reflective of this admin’s entire approach to their relationship with Canada. They want to have all the benefits of a relationship with Canada, but they also want to punish Canadian workers to bully us, to tell us who we can trade with. It is the definition of an abusive relationship.”

• “Even Russian forest products have better access to the US market right now than Canadian forest products. And in that environment, the idea that we would be stocking US liquor is absurd.”

… Québec Premier Christine Fréchette: “As long as the Americans are leading this trade war against our businesses and workers, I will not put US alcohol back on the shelves. We will also continue to penalize US businesses in our calls for tenders.”

… Ontario Premier Doug Ford:

• “Trump is the type of person that would steal your lunch money the first day. He’d steal the toque off your head the second day, and the third day he’d steal your running shoes. He is not to be trusted whatsoever.”

• “We need to fight these tariffs, tariff to tariff, dollar to dollar. And I’m glad he didn’t sign that deal because it was a bad deal. We have to use every tool in our toolbox to make sure, as Trump is trying to inflict pain on every Canadian, that we inflict pain right back.”

… Trump posted: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!! They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!”

… Sen. Susan Collins was in a panic, since Maine is so economically entwined with Canada on both trade and tourism and she is just over 2 months out from her election. She posted:

• “The on-again/off-again trade talks between the US and Canada lead to higher costs, risk, and uncertainty for Maine businesses. If the Admin proceeds with these tariffs, they will increase costs for Maine families, as most businesses will have no choice but to pass on the tariffs to their customers through higher prices.

• Maine imports approximately $2 billion in non-petroleum products from Canada each year. Ever since the tariffs were first announced, I have heard from many businesses, farmers, and lobstermen concerned about the cost of navigating the tariffs, the lack of domestic supply chains, and the likely imposition of retaliatory tariffs by Canada.

• I urge both sides to return to the negotiating table. The Admin must consider the negative impact tariffs would have on Maine businesses, communities, and families and work to reach a fair agreement with our Canadian neighbors.”

… Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Fox: “The fact we provide their security for them, and they take advantage of us? I think you’re gonna see Carney come to the table very very quickly, because it’s gonna be devastating for his country. It’s a country that doesn’t have a military. They have record high euthanasia rates. And so to think that they’re gonna go to war with Trump and actually win that war with the US, I think it’s foolish on their part.”

… An Oklahoma rancher posted this on X after Trump’s announcement that he was importing foreign beef with no tariffs:

• “I ranch with my 85 year old Dad who has been a die hard Trump fan. Whenever I criticize any Trump decision, even slightly, he’ll get personally offended and won’t want to talk about it. So I’ve avoided voicing my disdain over his attacks on Massie, spending, Ag, etc. when Dad is in the room.

• Today, after the beef import announcement, Dad shook his head, sadly, and said, ‘you know, I really don’t think he gives a damn about anyone who isn’t rich, and sure not about ranchers. Never wanted to believe that until today.’ There wasn’t a more stalwart Trump supporter on the planet. Trump is losing the room.”

… Pollster Adam Carlson: “Between the impending trade war with Canada having an outsized impact on Alaska, Maine, Michigan and Ohio, and allowing 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported and sold at 25% below market price having an outsized impact on Texas, Iowa and Nebraska, Trump’s really doing all he can to help Democrats flip the Senate.”

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… NYT: “Angry OH voters could turn their state purple again. Across OH, signs of discontent this year are everywhere. In packed public forums, residents rage about data center projects. In grocery store aisles, shoppers lament to cashiers how little they can get for $50. In the soybean and corn fields, farmers express anxiety and pessimism. The basics of life and business have gotten punishingly expensive, and many have come to doubt that relief is coming anytime soon.”

… Sen. Tim Scott, who is in charge of Republican senate election efforts nationally as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, was on Meet the Press:

• Q - Susan Collins says Trump’s Canada tariffs will increase costs on American families. Is she right? Scott: Let’s look back at Joe Biden-- Host: Wait. Trump has been in office for two years. Inflation was at 3% when Biden left office. It’s at 3.4% right now. Scott: Let’s not forget, Joe Biden ... Host: The Biden admin is over!”

• Q - “The NRSC continues to put out posts saying Abdul El-Sayed has ‘terrorists ties,’ but there is no evidence. Should the NRSC stop running those ads? Scott: We know without question that he campaigns with Hasan Piker. Host: Let’s stay focused on El-Sayed though. Scott: Listen, birds of a feather flock together.”

… Democrats are running against the record of the Trump Admin, the Republican senate, the Republican House, and Republican nominees. Republicans are running against a podcaster by trying to make the midterms about Piker, when the vast majority of Democrats have never seen his show and don’t even know who he is.

• Q - “Ken Paxton has faced allegations of bribery, fraud, abuse of power, he was impeached by his own party. Why do you believe he has the character to serve in the Senate? Scott: Well I can tell you is we know James Talarico does not have the character to serve in the Senate. Q - But does Paxton have the character? Scott: At the end of the day, the contrast is clear.”

• Q - “Is Darline Graham qualified to be a senator? Scott: There’s no doubt. She’s the real deal. Q - But should a US senator have a basic understanding of national security issues? Scott: The answer is yes. And she does.”

… The only semi-coherent statement we’ve gotten out of Graham so far about foreign policy is that she “supports our troops”. And Israel. That’s pretty much her answer whenever she’s asked about Taiwan, Iran, Ukraine, you name it.

… Speaker Mike Johnson was on Fox:

• Q - “Can Republicans hold control of the House if the Iran war is still going on in November? Johnson: Absolutely. It will be helpful to get that thing resolved.”

• On the Indycar race being held in DC today: “I want to bring it back next year. I want to make it an annual event. We’ll be in the majority and I’ll be pushing for that.”

… Trump was at the Indy car race in DC today waiving the green flag to start the race.

… Dr. Mehmet Oz on CBS: Q - “The president twice said the MMR shot may be lethal. Do you want to clarify that? Oz: We want parents to have the autonomy to decide what their kids receive. Q - But he used the term ‘lethal.’ Do you want to clarify? Oz: The MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine.”

… Rep. Byron Donalds, Republican nominee for governor of FL, on CBS: Q - “Nearly all of FL is below the 95% immunization rate for herd immunity for measles. So, is your message to FL parents to get your kids vaccinated? Donalds: No. My message is the reason we have seen a measles outbreak is because of rampant illegal immigration.”

… Financial Times: “Scott Bessent’s running battle with the bond market is starting to look like his boss’s war in Iran - started by his own hand with a tangled set of objectives, an underestimated opponent and an implausible path to victory. And like the conflict in the Middle East, we are all going to suffer its effects.”

… “3 weeks ago, he inserted himself in the market for the Japanese yen, of all things, buying the currency to prop it up in what was painted as a friendly act of solidarity with an ally in need. The link back to Treasury bonds may not be immediately obvious, but bond market insiders are not buying the friends-helping-friends explanation, and instead see it as an effort to stop Japan from fixing its yen problem by selling down its gigantic stash of US debt.”

… “So now, no fewer than 3 times in 3 weeks, Bessent has given the message to investors to please stop selling his bonds. But they are selling his bonds anyway.”

… Telegraph: “Scott Bessent celebrated his 64th birthday on Friday. But it probably wasn’t his happiest. Two days earlier, he’d decided to give himself an early birthday present. Facing turmoil in financial markets, he told his officials to double the amount of long-term US govt bonds they should buy back from the market in the next few months, to $4 billion.”

… “By shoring up the market for the bonds, he was hoping to stop restive bond vigilantes from blowing the lights out on the entire global economy. So with the Treasuries market in freefall last week, Trump tasked Bessent with stemming the slide and calming the nerves of bond investors. Bessent’s tactic was simple: if nobody else wants to buy unloved US 10-year and 30-year bonds, well, he’ll buy them himself.”

… “This spurt of artificial demand is meant to push up the bonds’ prices, lowering their yields – the interest the US must pay for borrowing bondholders’ money. Even tiny falls in the yield can cut hundreds of billions from the indebted Trump admin’s gargantuan interest bill. The plan didn’t quite come off. The yields did fall, but bounced right back. Bessent then promised to buy even more, and said he’d look at the budget and find ways to borrow less.”

… Trump urged the American public not to worry about the bond markets’ jitters. Asked whether Americans should fret, the president said: “No, I don’t think so. Our country is doing so well despite interest rates.” He later advocated for Bessent by claiming he has “a very natural touch for the bonds”.

… “But if Bessent’s gambit fails, the markets could take serious fright. That would send the cost of borrowing soaring – and not just in the US. Mortgages will get more expensive. Investment in roads, schools and hospitals will have to shrink. Taxes will have to rise. Businesses will struggle, jobs will be lost, economies will falter.”

… MarketWatch: “When it comes to stock-market downturns, listen to the Bible. Even if one is coming, ‘of that day and that hour knoweth no man,’ not even ‘the angels which are in heaven.’ But one is surely coming, and the unraveling of the long-term bond market is raising the chances that one is imminent.”

… “It is already absurdly obvious that we are in a massive stock-market bubble. Former Federal Reserve governor Bill Dudley just pointed out many of the signs. While Dudley listed a number of different issues, they boil down to 3 big ones:

• Stock-market valuations are already crazy by any number of measures.

• The entire AI financial boom is now in the kind of classic Ponzi-style loop that always happens in financial manias, and which has always been followed by a downturn or worse.

• The rise in long-term interest rates in the US and around the world are exactly the kind of thing that could burst the bubble.

… “The interest-rate argument is most timely. It looks increasingly like the US Treasury, the global lender of last resort, is losing control of long-term rates. The alleged Treasury ‘buyback’ program that sparked a brief rally was far less than it seemed; it involved trivial sums of money and no new money.”

… Wall Street analyst Gordon Johnson: “Every market has a fellow who is certain the prices are wrong and that he alone knows the right ones. Usually the market charges him tuition for this belief. Occasionally, it hands him the Treasury.”

… “Consider the record. In 2000, Scott Bessent left George Soros to run $1 billion of his own fund. 5 years later, the fund no longer existed. In 2015 he tried again with Key Square, co-founded with Soros alum Michael Germino and seeded with $2 billion of Soros money - which is a bit like failing your driving test and being handed a Ferrari. Assets peaked at $5.1 billion in 2017 and finished 2023 at $577 million.”

… “Institutional investors reportedly went from 180 to 20, a retention rate that would embarrass a gym in February. And in 2018, Soros - the man who staked him - took his chips off the table. When your own anchor investor would rather not watch, that is not typically a buy signal.”

… “Which brings us to the question: is the man now confidently dictating where oil, the dollar, Treasury yields, and stocks ought to trade a macro mastermind the market tragically failed to appreciate? Or did the market spend two decades doing its due diligence on him - and sell? He believes he’s smarter than the market. The market already graded that exam. Twice.”

… Long-time CNBC financial analyst Carl Quintanilla posted this about Bessent’s management of the fund:

… European economist Lars Christensen: “When we look at Scott Bessent, the performance of Key Square tells us less about his ability, or rather his lack of ability, to beat the market, and rather a lot about his character. He is a charlatan. He is able to convince people that he really does have insight. That he can beat the market. He convinced Soros himself. He has also convinced Trump – which was probably rather easier.

… And yes, less impressively, he convinced me that he was at least one of the people in the Trump admin pulling in the right direction. Everything suggested that, around Trump’s catastrophic ‘Liberation Day’, he was one of those in the admin who persuaded Trump to postpone his insane tariff increases. And I think many in the market took the same view – Bessent was helping to limit the damage Trump was doing.

… But it now seems to me that this was entirely the wrong judgement. Bessent is a fake. It is very clear to me that he is ‘playing clever’. Again and again he reaches for economic jargon to bolster his own credibility, but the problem is that if you actually are a professional economist, it is quite easy to hear that he fundamentally has no idea what he is talking about.

… I have met this type of person many times in my career. There are plenty of them in the financial sector – especially in the greyer part of the market. They are extraordinarily good at telling stories about how to beat the market and about their own insights into this and that. They are usually salesmen (of the worst kind). Most of them, for obvious reasons, do not last long in the system, but some do.

… Bessent is one of those who has survived, even though he ran Key Square straight into the ground. It did not cost him – it cost his investors. So no, I do not believe any of his statements. And certainly not his attempts at market manipulation – whether in the currency markets or in the bond markets. I am fairly convinced that I am not alone in feeling this way. The same mood is spreading everywhere. It is pure hot air when it comes to Bessent. The coming week may well be the week the markets call his bluff.”

… Iranian Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf posted: “Importing frozen meat to fix meat prices. Okay, that might work. What’s the plan for bonds, import frozen yields? Frozen homebuyers for housing? Frozen paychecks for wages? A frozen foreign policy delivers a frozen economy.”

… Financial Times: “For almost 4 decades, the American presence in the Middle East has been anchored by a chain of sprawling bases stretching across the Gulf. But in 6 months of war, Iran has cast their future into doubt. Tehran, which battered the US facilities with short-range missiles and drones, quickly exposed how vulnerable the vast installations had become when positioned so close to Iran’s shores.”

… The Islamic republic forced Washington to move soldiers and aircraft beyond its reach to Israel, Jordan and further afield. Washington has had access to bases in every major Gulf state for more than 3 decades. It will now need to decide whether to spend billions of dollars rebuilding the facilities or rethink its military footprint in the Middle East for a new era.”

… Ret. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former NATO Supreme Commander: “In my judgement, the US Armed Forces have probably permanently lost access to 15 Persian Gulf bases. Iran now poised to control access the Gulf States. US will have to negotiate new access in western Saudi Arabia, Israel, southern Europe.”

… Stars and Stripes published the final column from reporter Liz Korte this weekend right after she was fired by Pete Hegseth:

• “Nearly 6 months after the US Navy evacuated 1,300 family members from Bahrain at the start of the Iran war, officials are saying the evacuees cannot return for the foreseeable future and should find new homes elsewhere. The evacuation has left families in limbo and forced military officials to improvise solutions for support programs that were never designed to sustain a displacement lasting this long.”

• “Some evacuees say they have spent tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket for basic living expenses. Others are sleeping on the floors of temporary housing, while their cars and furniture are stranded in Bahrain or aboard ships unable to leave the region. Many say the prolonged displacement has taken an emotional toll and worry about its long-term effects on their families’ financial and emotional well-being.”

• “One spouse of an active-duty sailor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the repeated displacement has traumatized her children. The family first fled to a US base in Germany, where donations from the local military community helped them set up a temporary household. They were later told they had to relocate again, this time to the US. The spouse is now living in a short-term rental without the family’s car or furniture, which remain in Bahrain with her husband.”

• “She is struggling to find child care, medical care and basic necessities such as pantry staples. She said her kids are developing ‘serious behavior’ issues as a result of the move, and that the youngest now barely recognizes her husband during video calls. “I would go back to Bahrain tomorrow if my husband weren’t worried about that decision affecting his career and our financial future,” she told Stars and Stripes.”

… Trump (or Natalie) unleashed a vicious attack on some of his closest former allies with a long Truth Social rant:

Tucker Carlson just met with Lightweight “Former” Congressman, Thomas Massie, and Marjorie “Traitor” Greene, LOSERS ALL! Tucker’s “Views” have fallen through the floor, and will only get worse. Nobody cares about him any longer in that he has become totally irrelevant, and happens to be, surprisingly, a very Low I.Q. individual. He could barely get out of College, and maybe he didn’t, but only really dumb people can’t make it through that wonderful four year time in life! Tucker wants to run for political office, but he should be required to take a cognitive test. He’s got no chance, but could probably take a couple of points away from whatever the Republican ticket happens to be! Tucker is a loser, and always has been! Marjorie Taylor Brown (Green turns to Brown under stress!), a highly neurotic young woman, went from Ultra Conservative to a Liberal “Fool,” all in a matter of weeks, because I refused to return her phone calls — Not because I didn’t like her, just because I had no time. She was way down in the Polls in Georgia (because I took away my Endorsement), and would have had no chance at winning, so she, just like everyone else, “QUIT!” Thomas Massie has turned out to be a failed politician, and a real JERK. He thought it was really wonderful to vote, “NO,” on everything, no matter how good, strong, or proper the Legislation would be. What a team this would be, THREE LOSERS, and a pocketful of change! The only chance they have is to join the Radical Left Dumocrats, and try breaking into the Primary System. To all of them I say, PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!

… Greene responded: “He attacks us with such vitriol because we actually are everything he claimed to be, conservative and America First, and he has proven as President that he is nothing more than a neocon puppet for Israel, corporations, big donors with special interests, and his dear friends in the Epstein class.”

… “Tucker and Thomas both have led me in prayer to the Lord our God. They are my brothers in Christ. Trump never once prayed with me and only recognizes God when it’s in his staff written speeches. Most Americans don’t know what religion he is, if any.”

… “In the past, I supported him because of the policies he professed to support and passionately campaigned on, but now as president he’s been revealed to be the Trojan horse who enforces many of the policies he claimed to be against. I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier and wish I had never supported him.”

… “My biggest concern remains that as Trump loses power and influence he will turn more and more towards war and take actions to make himself feel more powerful and in control, as he grasp and clings to the Oval Office.”

… CNBC: “Trump disclosed 1,051 financial transactions for the month of June in what appears to be broad reshuffling of his portfolio. The president rotated in and out of stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds throughout the month. The transactions totaled between $78-263 million, according to Trump’s latest filing on Aug. 22, which shows a range for each sale or purchase rather than an exact figure. His securities purchases topped $49 million, while his sales totaled at least $28.5 million.”

… “While the filing gives a window into the investment moves made on behalf of Trump, it is not a clear picture of his total portfolio holdings. The amount bought or sold isn’t specific, and there is no indication of how much Trump owns of any particular security.”

… Here are two examples of trades by Trump that reek:

• June 18: Bought $250K–$500K in Boeing, the same day the Navy awarded Boeing an $880 million contract for P-8A training systems.

• June 23: Bought $15K–$50K in SpaceX, the same day NASA recorded a $425.6 million award to SpaceX.

… NYT: “Rep. Hakeem Jeffries met privately in recent weeks with Jared Kushner and discussed potential areas of common ground. The rare engagement was held in a private space in NYC, offered up by a mutual friend of the two men. Neither man would comment on the session, which was described by one person with knowledge of it as a broad conversation on a range of topics.”

… “Its timing underscored that those around Trump were well aware of the likelihood of a Democratic-led House, and trying to foster as much of a working relationship as possible before any change. During the recent meeting, the pair discussed housing, immigration and the high cost of living as potential areas of common ground. Kushner suggested that Jeffries should meet with the WH chief of staff, Susie Wiles.”

… Susan Collins to NewsCenter Maine:

• On her opposition to the SAVE Act: “I support mail-in ballots. In Maine, we have a disproportionately senior population. A lot of times, election day can be wintery and difficult for them to get to the polls, or they may not be. in good health, they may not have driver’s licenses anymore. So, mail-in ballots are very important to the people of Maine. I do not support restrictions that make it more difficult for seniors to cast votes on election day via the mail.”

• “I think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake. We produce a lot in Maine - our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber - that is processed across the border. If it comes back with a huge tariff on it, perhaps as much as 50%, that increases the cost of eating, building homes, and purchasing our best-known products.”

… Collins then said she won’t be able to attend JD Vance’s rally near Bangor on Monday. It is the second time Vance has come to Maine to campaign for the midterms. Susan Collins wouldn’t go near him either time.

… JD Vance at a campaign rally about MI Dem senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed: “I would love to go back in time and tell my pa-paw, that there is a man who claims to stand for working people, who says not only should we have Sharia Law, but if you criticize it, you are a white supremacist.”

… El-Sayed responded on MS NOW:

• “Every time JD Vance opens his mouth, the first two things I can think are, man, that guy is boring. And second, Peter Thiel had to spend a ton of money to get that man elected, barely in the state of Ohio. But the confusing thing about it is that he thinks that there are some people who are more American than others because they can point to their Papaw who was here earlier.

• My question to him is simply, how do you look your parents-in-law in the eye and say that somehow they’re less American than you are? Because that’s what he’s implying there. But bigger picture, this is about trying to change the channel. They’re trying to dissuade us from actually paying attention to the issues that we see laid bare when we talk about our kitchen table budget every single month.

• My name and my background aren’t raising your gas prices. That’s what the Trump admin is doing. My name and my background aren’t picking trade wars to increase your costs. That’s what the Trump admin is doing. My name and my background aren’t the reason you can’t see a doctor. That’s because of the Medicaid cuts and the ACA cuts that are about to come down the pike next year because of what the Trump admin is doing.

• So if you don’t want to talk about what you’re doing, that’s fine, but I encourage you to leave my name and my background out of it. This is an America that’s big enough for all of us, even if Vance doesn’t agree, except for the fact that he actually understands and benefits from the nature of immigration and the fact that we are a bigger country because we are inclusive of people who don’t have pa-paws who were here 50 years ago.”

… Jessica Tarlov on Fox:

• “Vance said, ‘We are finally seeing the American dream of home ownership accessible again to young people.’ The average age of homeownership just hit 40 years old in this country. Mortgage rates are up. Construction is down. That's directly related to the war in Iran.

• Then he also said, ‘In Nov, we'll face a choice. Do we demand a govt that serves us rather than the fraudsters and the criminals? Do we demand that the American president fight for the American people first?’ 70% of Americans say Trump isn't focused on lowering costs, doesn't care about people like me, and 70% say he has businesses influence how he makes political decisions.

• JD Vance is describing his own govt, the fraudsters and the criminals, and Americans will vote based on that.”

… Axios: “Allies of Mike Rogers, Michigan’s GOP nominee for the US Senate, have asked AIPAC not to advertise on his behalf, triggering a rupture with the powerful but polarizing pro-Israel group. Rogers spoke with AIPAC chair Michael Tuchin in LA last week. The next day, AIPAC shelved an already-cut video ad targeting Rogers’ Democratic rival, outspoken Israel critic Abdul El-Sayed.”

… “The extraordinary tension underscores how far AIPAC’s political standing has fallen amid voters’ anger over the war in Gaza. Even Rogers - a staunchly pro-Israel Republican - fears the group’s public support could be a liability in the Nov. 3 election.”

… “The move by Rogers’ team angered AIPAC officials, who had spent more than $30 million to try to defeat El-Sayed in the Democratic primary and prepared to spend millions more to help elect Rogers, according to people familiar with the conversations. El-Sayed made AIPAC a centerpiece of his successful primary campaign, using the group’s spending against him to portray Haley Stevens as beholden to the pro-Israel lobby.”

… “After El-Sayed narrowly won, AIPAC told Rogers’ allies it wanted to continue its advertising offensive into the Nov. 3 general election. But Rogers’ team believed AIPAC’s primary ads had backfired by giving El-Sayed a powerful foil — one he was eager to use again.”

… “Rogers’ allies urged AIPAC to get involved without putting the group’s name front and center. One option: Directing AIPAC donors to a pro-Rogers super PAC instead of the group running its own ads, or a joint fundraising group the Rogers campaign has established with the national GOP. Rogers’ team also proposed hiring AIPAC’s political strategists to help guide its effort. But AIPAC officials weren’t satisfied: The group wanted a visible role in defeating El-Sayed.”

We had a great hike yesterday up Blueberry Mountain in western Maine where Rattlesnake Pool is. No, this water is not like Trump’s Reflecting Pool - it is crystal clear and 20’ deep. It just has the emerald glow from the way the sun reflects off the rocks and setting. Pretty cool swimming hole in the middle of nowhere. As I’ve said before, most of the coolest places in Maine you cannot see from a street or a car.