Today in Politics, Bulletin 387. 5/26/26

… Lots of people closely watching Trump’s medical appointment at Walter Reed today as the feeble looking octogenarian’s hands resemble Tutankhamun’s with his ankles looking like cantaloupes as he repeatedly falls asleep during meetings, sprinkled with increasingly incoherent ramblings for periods of consciousness.

… MS NOW: “Trump built his 2024 campaign in part on the argument that Joe Biden was too old to serve as president. Trump traveled to Walter Reed Medical Center for a physical as he confronts questions about his age and fitness similar to those he once turned against his predecessor. The visit will be Trump’s third physical examination at the facility since the start of his second term. It is expected to include medical and dental evaluations.”

… “The visit comes amid a steady drumbeat of public concern about Trump’s physical condition. He has repeatedly been photographed with deep bruising on his hands, which he has taken to covering with makeup worn at public events. His lower legs have visibly swollen. Video footage has appeared to show him nodding off during public appearances. He has frequently been seen moving slowly and cautiously on stairs, steadying himself to avoid tripping. And some critics have questioned his mental acuity, given his erratic governing style.”

… Dr. Jonathan Reiner on CNN: “They only take the president to Walter Reed where there’s testing that can’t do at the WH. It’s never been explained why they took the president there in Oct. I’ll be very interested to see what testing they do today because if they repeat some of the scans that have been done in the last year or so, that tells us they are surveilling something and that’s never been disclosed to us.”

… “The president has severe daytime somnolence. He falls asleep very often. He’s fallen asleep in the Oval Office on multiple occasions with people talking to him in the cabinet room, and I was concerned yesterday that he might have fallen asleep at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day observances. Chronic insomnia is a severe illness. It can result in an increase in risk of dementia, decrease in cognitive effects in older people.”

… Host: “When I think of someone who is almost 80, I would think a little dozing off here or there to maybe be kind of normal. Is that not normal? Dr. Reiner: It's unusual to be surrounded by people in the Oval Office and you fall asleep.”

… I’m not a doctor, but I thought that as well.

… This was Trump today heading to his appointment:

Reuters/Kylie Cooper

… Dr. Reiner was back on CNN after Trump’s physical: "One other interesting thing I noted was that when the president left Walter Reed, he posted that he had a perfect '6 month physical.' So we're changing from a routine yearly physical to, I guess as a nod to his age, a 6 month cycle for evaluations."

… “A string of recent unfavorable polls has led to Trump notching his lowest-ever job disapproval rating in one top aggregator’s average. According to RealClearPolitics, which averages all major polls, Trump’s disapproval rating now sits at 58.3%. His previous low as president, in the RealClearPolitics average, was 57.6% - a number he reached shortly after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.”

… Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman was asked why he wasn’t responding to Trump and US media outlet’s claims about the terms of a peace deal: “I believe we have more important works to do than responding to the US President’s posts or the other malicious media campaigns including caricatures posted on the social platforms. We are a cultured, educated and developed people.”

… Trump’s former NSA John Bolton on CNN: “Trump thinks everybody wants to make a deal on just about anything. That’s not what these people are into. And they can see that Trump is so palpably desperate to have a deal that he can declare to be a victory - they’re playing him on that. They’re stretching him out. They’re buying time. All of that works in their advantage.”

… Bolton: “I think we’re on the verge of something that ultimately history will decide was a catastrophic loss for the US.”

… Iran’s Fars News: “No agreement is possible until the agreed-upon funds have been deposited. Given America’s history of breaking promises, Iran does not consider these understandings finalized and has stated that it is prepared for all possible options.”

… Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) was asked on Fox what the US should do if Iran doesn’t agree to open the Strait: “We’re gonna have to use the military to open up the strait and give assurance to commercial vessels. We have the capability to do that. It won’t be easy. But that’s ultimately the hard way.”

… WH economic advisor Kevin Hassett was asked on Fox about persistently high gas prices: “The thing I’ve seen is that while people have been spending more money at gas stations, they’ve been spending more money on everything else, which means they’re still very very optimistic about the state of the economy.”

… That’s because everything else is also more expensive. I’m not an economist, but even I know that’s not a good thing.

… Economist Heather Long on the May Consumer Confidence survey: “Two-thirds of American consumers say they are ‘cutting back on spending’ as prices rise due to war in Iran. It’s telling how many Americans say they are buying fewer items now.”

… Q - “Are you worried about grocery prices? Hassett: Absolutely. We’ve gotta continue to do things like make sure all the groceries stores aren’t closing because of stupid rules about refrigerators.”

… Once again, it’s Biden’s fault for energy-efficient refrigerators.

… Q - “Last time we spoke, you told me you were expecting GDP growth to go north of 6% later this year once the Iran conflict wraps up. Are you still expecting that? Hassett: I really do think you could see a quarter like that.”

… They’ve been saying that every month for 17 months. The boom times are always right around the corner and the goalposts continue to move.

… RNC Chair Joe Gruters: "Trump is the economic champion of the world. He's bringing record investments back to the country, which you may not feel right away because these things take time."

… Two weeks.

… Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was asked about Trump’s insistence to Arab leaders this weekend that they recognize Israel and join the Abraham Accords as part of a peace deal with Iran: “It’s obvious Trump is two moves ahead of his critics as always. I mean, who on a Saturday afternoon over a holiday weekend can pull together all of the world leaders from the gulf state allies, get ‘em all on a phone call?”

… First, it wasn’t a holiday weekend in the Middle East. Second, any US president can get them on the phone pretty much any time, but especially when the US is turning their region upside down with a war. Third, Trump’s request led to stunned silence as most Arab countries have a united position that they will not join the Accords until an independent Palestinian state has been created and recognized by Israel and the US.

… Reuters on the phone call: “Pakistan rejected the proposal. None of the other countries has so far publicly reacted to Trump’s demand and a positive response was unlikely when the public mistrust of Israel in these Muslim nations remains high over the scale of its military offensive in Gaza.”

… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Fox: "Trump doesn't get anywhere near the credit he should get for Abraham Accords. Now he's talking about expanding the Abraham Accords. That would be such a wonderful positive result."

… A panel of 3 federal judges blocked Alabama from using its 6R-1D congressional map for the 2026 midterms and reinstated the 5R-2D map. It is likely AL will file and appeal to the US Supreme Court. Two of the three judges were Trump appointees.

… Construction is underway on the south lawn of the WH for the stadium used to host the UFC fight taking place on Trump’s birthday, June 14. The WH released a photo of what they expect the event to look like.

… Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) on Trump’s fund to reward his supporters with taxpayer money for committing crimes: "I'm willing to hear what the WH has to say in terms of why this fund is needed, and I do believe there are people who have been legitimate victims of weaponization under the Biden admin that deserve to be compensated."

… Then they should file lawsuits in courts of law and see if they can get a jury to agree with them that they have a case. That is how our system is supposed to work - not have the president’s criminal defense lawyer play Evil Santa handing out our money to his supporters who committed crimes.

… RFK Jr. posted a video of himself today catching snakes on Dr. Oz’s porch in FL. I guess we know what’s for dinner in the Kennedy household tonight.

… Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) set off a firestorm with this comment about Maine US senate candidate Graham Platner’s tattoo on CNN: “I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying. I hope Maine voters agree with me. CNN host Boris Sanchez: Wow.”

… Auchincloss is the chair of the Majority Dems PAC. If he said that with Janet Mills still in the race it would have been no big deal. But now that Platner is essentially the Democratic nominee, Republicans pounced on the statement from Auchincloss as an endorsement of Susan Collins from the Democratic Rep.

… Auchincloss tried to clean things up later with this post: “Susan Collins is a rubber stamp for the worst admin in history. Claims that I would endorse her, implicitly or otherwise, ignore my track record supporting Democrats to take back both chambers. As I said months ago, I find Platner’s Nazi tattoo and his commentary about it personally disqualifying. If it were me I’d vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary. Regardless of what happens in Maine, Dems need to take back the Senate and I’ll keep working hard to make it happen.”

… As a Maine Democrat, I added my take on Platner and the entire controversy with Achinloss to this week’s Ask the Editor show with Pablo where he also weighed in with a story about Platner when he was a bartender at a place Pablo used to go at the same time Platner was making all the controversial Reddit posts at 3 AM. The show is out YouTube and will go up on Substack tonight where we also answered some of your other questions.

… If you missed the Bulletin recapping the weekend, you can find it here.

… Politico: “The John Cornyn vs. Ken Paxton showdown ends Tuesday night, but the brutal primary has some Republicans worried the party will emerge in tatters. Armed with Trump’s endorsement, Paxton has emerged as the clear front-runner in the final days of a Texas Senate runoff where the MAGA-aligned, scandal-plagued firebrand state AG has weathered millions of dollars in attack ads.”

… “But Cornyn, the establishment favorite and a giant of the Senate seeking a fifth term in office, is putting up a hard fight until the end, bolstered by a massive war chest and solidarity from senior leadership in Congress. The race has become increasingly vicious in the final stretch, with Cornyn accusing Paxton of being ethically unfit for office and Paxton arguing that the incumbent, 74, is too old to continue serving in the Senate.”

… “Their relentless mudslinging has only deepened existing divisions between the GOP’s hardliners and traditional moderates. Several Republicans in both Texas and Washington warn that Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton over Cornyn has alienated