This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 395. 6/7/26.

… Trump angrily stormed off the set during his interview with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. From the interview:

• Q - “Do you think anyone who attacks police officers on J6 should get taxpayer money? Trump: I can tell you this, 97% of those people, you look at them, the FBI or whoever it was, you had a lot of crooked cops. They had FBI agents ushering them in. You had a bunch of dirty cops. Welker: There’s no evidence of that. Trump: Try looking at the tapes.”

• Welker: “172 people did plead guilty to assaulting police officers. Trump: You know why they pled guilty? They were told they were going to jail for 15 years. They pled guilty because they were frightened. They went down and were ushered into a building. They had FBI saying: ‘Go into the building’. Those people are walking around, they’re looking, ‘Oh, isn’t this nice?’ You had a bunch of dirty cops and frankly, what they did was weaponization of our govt.”

• Q - “One of your consistent campaign promises was no new wars going all of the way back to 2015. Did you break that promise to the American people? Trump: No. Welker: You insisted no new wars… Trump: I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world? Welker: You said it over and over again.”

… CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale: “Not true. At an Aug 2024 rally in PA, he promised, ‘Under Trump, we will have no more wars, no more disruptions, and we will have prosperity and peace for all.” That month in NC, he pledged, ‘No more wars.’ In his July 2024 address accepting the GOP nomination, he said, ‘With our victory in Nov, the years of war, weakness, and chaos will be over. I don’t have wars.’ In his Nov 2024 victory address, he said, ‘I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars.’”

• Welker: “Gas is up. Diesel is up. Trump: It's all coming down as soon as the war is over. Welker: 70% of farmers say they can't afford fertilizer. Trump: The farmers are doing very well.”

… Farmers are doing so well under Trump that Republicans have to continue to do multiple billion dollar bailouts to send them our money so they will continue to vote for the Republicans who keep screwing them over.

• Q - “How long are you willing to give Iran to make a deal? You've been talking for quite some time. Trump: We really haven't. You were in Vietnam for 19 years. I won't even talk about World War 2, because that was the big one.”

• Welker: “Iran was the closest to developing weapons-grade uranium after you ripped up the nuclear deal because there were no guardrails. Trump: Excuse me. They were developing it during the nuclear deal. You don't know that? They got all the uranium under Obama.”

… A complete fabrication.

• Trump: “You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon or they will blow you up. There will be no more NBC, no more Meet The Press.”

• Q - “Will any deal you make include the release of Americans who are being held by Iran? Trump: We’ll see. Nobody has an accurate list of who they are, what they are, or if they are being held. Nobody really has a list. You know that right? Q - Are you demanding a list? Are you demanding that they have to come home? Trump: You know the people that we're talking about? If you give me the names I'll do my best.”

… CBS host Margaret Brennan responded to Trump’s statement: “There are 6 Americans detained in Iran and KNOWN to the US govt.”

• On Trump’s claim that CA election is being stolen: “Just to be very clear, there's no evidence of what you're saying. Trump: There’s a lot of evidence. Listen to me. Listen to me. There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence. The election was rigged. And it’s happening again in CA. They’re cheating. Welker: Do you have evidence? Trump: All I have to do is look. Welker: That’s not evidence. Trump: They’re crooked. Just like you’re crooked. The press is crooked. Meet the Press is crooked.”

• "You're either crooked or you're stupid. You know these elections are rigged. Your network knows they are rigged. Let's call it quits. Because I've had enough. Thank you darling. Welker: I traveled all the way to Wisconsin for this interview."

… Trump then unclipped his microphone, threw it on the ground, stepped on it and walked out.

… Susan Rice on Bill Maher’s show: “Back in 2013 we began an effort, without using force but using economic pressure and sanctions, that brought Iran to the negotiating table. That resulted in a nuclear deal that prevented Iran from building a nuclear weapon. We took 98% of their fission material out of the country. Shut down their plutonium reactor. The IAEA had 24/7 intrusive inspection at all of Iran’s facilities. But Netanyahu urged Trump to get out of the deal - and what happened? Iran built up its arsenal - now they have 440 kgs of highly enriched uranium, enough for 10 bombs.”

… AP: “Israel said Sunday that Iran has launched missiles at it in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war. Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launch of missiles and multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel.”

… “Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel called it retaliation for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day.”

… Fox asked Trump his reaction: "It’s certainly not going to help negotiations. What I would suggest to Iran: You've shot your missiles, that's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal.”

… Trump was asked about Israel’s strikes on Beirut: "I'm not happy about it. I will call Netayanu now and tell him not to attack Iran in response.”

… That looks a lot of me like Israel may have tried to provoke an attack from Iran to try and get Trump to resume bombing, but Trump has no interest and has already surrendered and is just trying to get the best deal he can to save face.

… Trump then claimed that he was finally about to sign the much-anticipated peace deal with Iran on ‘Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and now this has taken place.”

… Then Trump to Axios:

• “The Iranian strikes didn’t hurt anybody. Hopefully Israel is not going to retaliate. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3000 years.”

• “We are very close to a final deal with Iran. It is going to be a good deal. I don’t want it to blow up because of what is happening now.”

• “I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one”

… Iran’s military spokesperson: “Despite previous warnings from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the child-killing Zionist regime, by crossing all red lines and increasing attacks in southern Lebanon, has targeted Beirut’s Dahiyeh. We have previously warned: in case of the expansion of the crime in Beirut’s Dahiyeh, we will attack targets in the occupied territories.”

… “The Zionist army must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon and Dahiyeh, and in case of the expansion of its attacks on that region or responding to Iran’s action, it will face more crushing and regrettable blows and destructive attacks against the regime and its supporters will begin.”

… IDF Spokesperson: “The Iranian regime made a grave mistake.”

… Sounds like Trump’s ceasefire and imminent peace deal is going great.

… Jared Kushner on Lex Fridman’s podcast: “Why did you take $2 billion from Saudi for your private company? Kushner: “The money I received, I invested in Israel to build ties between the two countries, and to connect businessmen from Saudi Arabia and Israel with each other.”

… Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “And now he is negotiating for the US govt, or is it for Saudi Arabia or Israel? How can we trust he is negotiating to end the war with Iran when he is on the payroll of 2 countries that benefit from a war with Iran?”

… Dr. Vin Gupta to Meidas: “We need to understand why Trump is so sleepy for multiple periods throughout the daytime hours. That’s not normal. They like to wave it away by saying that he’s the chief executive of the country and therefore that explains it. I’m not so sure it does. His working hours are pretty limited, based on the WH schedule that’s been reported. He is falling asleep in front of the camera repeatedly.”

… Hakeem Jeffries to Meidas: “I was in my Capitol office a couple of days ago, and I think Lee Zeldin was talking. It was on C-SPAN. It was in the Oval Office. And the guy—the president—was literally falling asleep. I couldn’t believe it. Now, we’ve seen this happen in Cabinet meetings before, but the cameras are rolling, this Cabinet secretary is talking, and he’s falling asleep. Something is really wrong right now.”

… Dr. Gupta on new Medicaid changes: “They know people are not going to be able to navigate the paperwork, the signatures, and the 6-month recertification process.
So what’s going to happen? Those who are on the fringes of medical care, of maintaining a basic quality of life from a health care perspective, are going to suffer. And they’re basically guaranteeing that people will fall off the rolls and that many people will suffer—and likely die—because of this policy.”

… Pete Hegseth gave a disgraceful speech at Normandy during the D-Day ceremony: “Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies such as in Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late? I pray not. The men who fought and died here restored freedom to Europe. That freedom must be maintained by this generation or what they fought for was merely temporary.”

We make the entire Weekend Bulletin available to free subscribers where about the first third of the daily Bulletins during the week are available. Everyone is also able to participate in the comments section to this Bulletin. Tomorrow is also my Ask the Editor show where I answer 5 of your questions. Please submit a question for the show if you have one below.

We had a great hike yesterday on Orr’s Island in Harpswell on the Maine Coast around Bowdoin College’s center for coastal studies. Here is a pic from the hike. If you missed Friday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… Deseret News: “Utah’s two US senators are questioning a new Pentagon policy that leaves ‘Christian’ off the designation for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Dept of War recently announced the reduction in the number of religious affiliation categories for service members from over 200 down to 31. It is included as a religious category on the updated list, but the faith was not included in the list of faiths labeled ‘Christian.’”

• Sen. Mike Lee posted: “Can anyone tell me why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was left out of the list of Christian churches?” Lee made 14 posts about it in 24 hours.

• Sen. John Curtis: “Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country. They are also unequivocally Christian - just look at who is in the name of the Church. It is unacceptable for a govt entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets. I am working now to ensure a correction is made.”

• Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-UT): “The Pentagon’s decision to list The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart from other Christian faiths is wrong and needs to be corrected. We stand with Christ. We are Christians. On that ground, and on the much larger ground of shared faith, values, and purpose, Latter-day Saints stand alongside many Christians of every tradition in following the teachings of Christ. We only ask to be accurately portrayed. I strongly urge the Dept to correct the record.”

… AP: “After Pete Hegseth cut 9 Navy officers, including all the women, from a promotion list, several female officers say they see the unusual intervention as a sign that their careers now have a ceiling and worry for the future generation of female military leaders. The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike people from the list, including 3 women and 2 Black men.”

… “As a result, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank this year even though women make up about one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the sea service’s midgrade ranks, according to military data from 2024.”

… “The AP spoke with 8 female Navy officers of varying ranks and time in service after Hegseth’s cuts. The more junior officers said they saw the development as a sign that their careers would become politicized if they rose too far in the ranks, and some said they felt they now had a limit on how far they could be promoted. Some said it made them feel less valued within the military and wondered whether that wasn’t part of the intent.”

… USA Today: “The US military has killed more than 200 people in strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in the last 9 months in what legal experts and former military lawyers broadly agree constitute illegal military orders that service members should refuse to follow. While there is no record of troops refusing to follow these orders, at least a handful of service members grappling with these questions have sought legal advice.”

… “Two orgs that provide anonymous legal advice for military members grappling with orders they fear are illegal said they had received calls from service members concerned about the legality of the boat strikes, some from people directly involved in them. Steve Woolford, a counselor with Quaker House and the GI Rights Hotline, said he spoke with about 4 service members involved in the operation who were seeking legal and ethical guidance.”

… “One discussed helping plan a strike, and two others were ordered to execute strikes. Woolford said some of these callers were connected to lawyers, but he wasn’t aware of anyone who had refused an order or taken legal action. Callers are ‘more scared now that they’d be punished if they did bring something up,’ he said.”

… “Brenner Fissell, VP of the National Institute for Military Justice, said the Institute’s Orders Project, which also advises service members questioning if their orders are legal, receives a ‘steady but small number of calls,’ including from service members concerned that the boat strikes are illegal.

… Fissell said the callers expressed a “sense of being asked to do things that one is deeply conflicted with the morality of doing. There’s a general perception that no one is ever going to be prosecuted for this because Trump will be able to issue pardons preemptively.”

… Sen. John Fetterman on one of his daily Fox appearances went after Maine senate candidate Graham Platner with another bizarre rant: “P-Hustle, here’s a great chance. You can just prove that all these people that you’re dropping those dick pics and saying these things to were over 18. I will wear a suit every day in the Senate. You can set the record clear and provide all of those texts and all of those conversations that you were having.”

… Platner responded: “John Fetterman seems to genuinely think that the reason no one likes him is because he refuses to wear a suit. It’s not the hoodie, dude. It’s because you’ve become a stooge for AIPAC and the Republican party.”

… House Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked on Fox about Platner and other Dem candidates: “It's very interesting that you've asked me about candidates, many of whom haven't even confronted a Democratic primary yet, but haven't asked me a single question about the hatred, xenophobia, the outright racism we see being peddled by actual members of Congress in the Republican conference."

… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: “VA political organizer and a military vet filed federal suit, seeking court order to HALT the UFC fight at WH. From the lawsuit:

• “This plan is deeply corrupt. The president is giving Dana White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the WH to stage a private, for-profit sports event. The UFC is not being coy about the event’s pecuniary nature. One executive recently called it ‘the greatest earned-marketing tool of all time.’ He is far from the only one salivating at the business upside.”

• “Federal law tightly restricts private use of the national capital’s most sacred monumental spaces, which are national parklands. Under the NPS’s usual permitting regime, no special events of any sort, including any sporting events, may be held on the South Lawn.”

• “Defendants’ decision authorizing the structures currently being erected to host UFC Freedom 250 was likewise unlawful. In particular, the UFC is erecting a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure it calls ‘the Claw’ immediately adjacent to the Executive Residence, and is destroying much of the South Lawn in the process.

• “Trump posted a video on TikTok in which he suggested that the Claw may ‘never’ be taken down. Trump analogized the Claw to Paris’s Eiffel Tower, which, in his words ‘was supposed to be taken down immediately after the World’s Fair, and then they said, you know, we sort of like it.’”

• “The UFC’s broadcast partner, Paramount Skydance—which is run by two other Trump allies, Larry and David Ellison—has decided that no American will be able to take in this ‘celebration of America’ without first paying $8.99 plus tax for a Paramount Plus streaming subscription.”

… The Independent: “Several A-list celebrities invited to Trump’s UFC cage fight on the WH lawn later this month have no plans to show up, becoming the latest group to snub a presidential celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Comedian Adam Sandler, actor and former wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, actor and musician Jared Leto and TV host Mario Lopez are among the names that UFC President Dana White told Time were invited to the event on Trump’s birthday.”

… “But representatives for the stars told Vanity Fair that none of them plan to attend.”

… Hakeem Jeffries to Meidas: “He’s trying to make the Kennedy Center about himself. He has to make the America 250 celebration about himself. He’s got to make the World Cup about himself. He’s got to make the East Wing about himself. And now he wants to make this historic Knicks championship run about himself as well. Get lost. Doesn’t this guy have better things to do? Yes, he does. How about trying to turn around the economy that you are destroying in real time?”

… Tom Nichols on MS NOW: “He’s determined to leave his mark here by kind of embedding or just covering the city in this kind of Walmart Liberace design ethos that he has. It’s also a sign of his mental and emotional state that this is what he thinks about all day, and not about the job of being the president of the United States.”

… Jeffries was asked how the Knicks crowd will react to Trump being at the game: “I don’t think he’s going to be received well. I think it’s very likely that, if his name is called or if he appears on the Jumbotron, he’s going to get booed.”

… The Knicks announced they have canceled all watch parties outside MSG for Game 3 of the NBA Finals due to security requirements surrounding Trump’s attendance.

… Mother Jones: “Every single one of the 599 refugees the US admitted last month was a white South African, according to data the State Dept’s Bureau of Population released Friday. In fact, so was every other refugee admitted this year. Since Oct 1, 2025, the US has accepted 6,668 refugees. Of those, 6,665 were white South Africans. 3 - admitted last November - were from Afghanistan. No other refugees were admitted.”

… 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley did his first interview since being fired from the show by Bari Weiss:

• On the 60 Minutes story about the Renee Good murder: “Bari Weiss sends an email to my boss. Two of the things in the email include: ‘Can we make the protestors look more violent?’ The other thing was, ‘Renee Good’s car, you need to describe her as driving towards the officer.’ But this is not what you see on the video. That’s what the president said, and that’s how she wanted it described.”

• Q - “Do you think Bari Weiss needs to be removed? Oh, gosh, yes. Look, she’s a lovely person. And her Free Press org that she founded has been very successful. But TV’s not her thing. This is like somebody walking up to me and saying, ‘There’s a 747, there are 400 people on it, we need you to fly it to Paris.’ I’m going to decline because I don’t have a clue. And it would have been so much better if Bari Weiss had been offered this job and said, ‘Oh, that’s not for me, I don’t know how to do that.’”

• “Trump said you were part of this gang of ‘stupid, crooked people that don’t care about your country.’ Pelley: “I’ve never worn the uniform. But I’ve been in combat for this country, in Afghanistan and Iraq, Kuwait. I’ve been shot at, spent nights in foxholes filling up with water in the desert. I’m not aware that the president has ever done any of those things for his country. You become a journalist because you love the First Amendment. You become a journalist because you love the country. There is no democracy without journalism. It can’t be done. That is why I am a journalist.”

… NYT: “RFK Jr. has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his dept, according to multiple colleagues. Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful.”

… “Deeply mistrustful of career civil officials, the secretary has surrounded himself with a close circle of handpicked advisers and stacked agencies with political appointees aligned with his views. While major posts have sat vacant and a wave of veteran health experts and scientists have departed, Kennedy has remained isolated from much of the dept’s top staff.”

… “He rarely engages with members of Congress, colleagues said, unless he is asked to testify. He has made just one known visit to the CDC, after a gunman opened fire on its headquarters and killed a police officer last Aug. His detachment from much of the work of the agency, along with the admin’s deep staff cuts and his attacks on career staff, have driven down morale. It’s a dynamic that could threaten the dept’s ability to protect Americans in a crisis, according to public health experts and former secretaries.”

… CNN: “It was 3 days before the filing deadline when Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan learned of an 11th-hour Republican challenger in his high-stakes reelection race. The challenger’s name: Dan J. Sullivan. Sen. Sullivan says it’s not a joke. The incumbent is raising major alarms about his same-name rival, warning that it could cost them a seat by confusing the electorate and give a leg-up to his well-funded Democratic challenger, former Rep. Mary Peltola.”

… Sen. Sullivan: “His whole purpose of running is to confuse Alaskans, to make him, make them think – Alaskan voters – that somehow he’s me, so they could rig the vote in favor of Mary Peltola.” Sullivan and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are pressing state officials to remove his challenger’s name from the ballot.”

… “Dan J. Sullivan, a resident of a small fishing town in southeast Alaska, has said little publicly about his campaign – and he did not return several calls, emails and texts from CNN to discuss his bid. But in his few public comments, Dan J. Sullivan insists his campaign is legitimate. In a press release, Dan J. Sullivan described careers in the US Forest Service and as an elementary school teacher. And he told his local newspaper that he had no contact with Peltola prior to running.

… Dan J. Sullivan said he would not drop out: “I have every right to stand up and do this. It’s my name, my grandfather’s name: Dan Sullivan. My dad’s name: Dan Sullivan.”

… Republicans continue to echo Trump’s claim that the CA election is being stolen:

• Fox host Jesse Watters: “I can't prove it, but everybody watching thinks there's shenanigans.”

• Fox host Laura Ingraham: “If mail-in ballots are so cool and great, why is it mostly Democrats? “

• Fox host Greg Gutfeld: “They said it's going to take weeks to count. You know what that means: Shenanigans.”

• Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO): “What California is doing in this crazy Democrat scheme to sort of rig the elections.”

• Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL): “They have designed a system to cheat.”

… ABC: “In Texas, BBQ is more than just a meal, it’s a cultural staple and a way of life. But across the state, there are growing concerns as more and more BBQ joints announce they are closing their doors amid rising costs. TX is home to thousands of BBQ restaurants, many of which are now feeling the financial strain. Closures have hit beloved establishments like Kirby’s BBQ and Brett’s BBQ Shop as US cattle supply has dropped to a 75-year low, leading to a historic shortage of beef and sending prices soaring.”

… Emily Williams Knight, president of the TX Restaurant Assn: "4 years ago, it cost about 29 cents for the brisket on a sandwich. That is almost $6 today, and that's before you add potentially 12 hours of labor, because brisket's very labor-intensive. You add the pickle, the sauce, the bun, the credit card swipe fees, and so what you're seeing is this sort of incredible increase, almost 40-50%, is driving these barbecue restaurants right out of business."

… Dem US senate nominee James Talarico, outside a Texas BBQ restaurant, talked about the situation while ridiculing Republican claims that he is a vegan: “With the rising price of beef, we may all be forced to be vegans.”

… Tom Fitton’s right-wing Judicial Watch posted a story with a sensational claim about the shooting at the Trump rally during the 2024 campaign in Butler, PA: “FBI records shows Trump shooter emailed local law enforcement before Butler assassination attempt. For whatever reason, FBI is slow rolling the release of records about Butler!”

… The FBI posted: “This is a CLICK BAIT LIE by Judicial Watch which is now nothing more than the fake news media! The unredacted documents are interviews of Thomas Crooks’ by COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS, NOT cops, wherein those instructors reference to having emailed Thomas Crooks about COURSE WORK. They make NO references to contact between Thomas Crooks and ANY police department. Maybe if you spent more time on Facts instead of clicks you wouldn’t be a laughing stock.”

… Kash Patel then posted: “Facts over click bait.”

… Rep. Lauren Boebert to a Fox reporter who asked her about a former staffer for Rep. Victoria Spartz’s claims that Boebert had an affair with Rep. Thomas Massie: “Fuck you, first of all. If you’re going to bring me into this - the sexist stuff is out of control. I don’t want to talk about anybody’s exes and the crazy shit they do.”