Today in Politics, Bulletin 401. 6/19/26
… Italian PM Giorgia Meloni released a video denouncing Trump for lying about an encounter with her at the G7 summit, which has caused an uproar in Italy. An Italian delegation led by their foreign minister also cancelled an upcoming trip to the US over the incident.
… In an interview with the Italian La7 TV, Trump was asked about his meeting with Meloni: "She's probably happy I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her. She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her."
… Meloni: “Certain things demand an immediate answer. Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly astonished. I don’t know why the President of the US behaves like this towards his allies. I can only say that I regret that he does not show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States, toward leaders with whom, instead, he shows far more conciliatory behavior.”
… “This not the first time this has happened. But you must remember one thing: Neither I nor Italy ever beg. Whatever one's political preferences, the President of the US has no business publicly mocking or insulting the democratically elected leader of a close European ally. Trump's childish and needlessly confrontational behavior is unworthy of the office he holds and of the great nation he represents."
… Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani: “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards PM Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the US scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June.”
… Undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari: “It is unclear whether out of intent or ineptitude Trump is wrecking the historic relations between the US and Europe. With his inappropriate outbursts, he has managed no easy feat, to make the US unpopular across the entire European continent, damaging not only Europe but above all the US.”
… Marge Greene: “I believe Giorgia Meloni, she’s great! Trump lies. Constantly.”
… CNN: “Trump’s pick for acting DNI Bill Pulte showed up at his new job a day early Thursday after asking for a list of every employee in the office so he could assess whether to fire them. Two sources said Pulte is eyeing cutting hundreds of jobs at the Office of DNI.”
… “Pulte’s appearance at ODNI on Thursday caught staff off guard, including the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, who was given a brief heads-up on the visit. Trump himself has said that Pulte, who is a Trump loyalist with no intelligence experience, would start his job Friday. Pulte met with lawyers and staffers during his visit.”
… “In his only other briefing with ODNI last week, Pulte asked staff if he could bring the President’s Daily Brief to his house, raising alarm bells among intelligence officials. That briefing is a highly classified set of intelligence on key national security matters of the day.”
… “Pulte also asked about his level of security clearance and whether he had access to a govt plane, the first source said, even though the briefing was meant to explain the core mission of ODNI to Pulte. Pulte has repeatedly inquired about his schedule and whether he gets his own govt plane, appearing almost overly fixated on his ability to travel between FL, Chicago and DC.”
… Pulte also asked for a protective security detail even before starting the job.
… Reuters: “WH officials have for months delayed the release of a US govt report that outlines what it describes as significant vulnerabilities in the nation’s voting machines ahead of the Nov midterms. The report, produced by Gabbard, concludes that voting machines could be further safeguarded by updating their software. It does not say the vulnerabilities have led to votes flipping, but examines security gaps in how the machines are used during US elections.”
… Gabbard, who launched an investigation into the voting machines and searched for evidence to support Trump’s false election fraud claims, steps down on Friday. Stepping in as interim director is federal housing regulator Bill Pulte. Trump has said he wants Pulte to investigate ‘rigged elections’ during his time at ODNI.”
… “It is unclear what Pulte plans to do with the report. He has been briefed on efforts by the agency to investigate flaws in voting machines, including the unreleased report. Democrats and some analysts warn of possible interference by the Trump admin in the midterm elections.”
… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: DOJ refuses to make official court filing which would've confirmed they're halting the Trump $1.7 billion slush fund. Judge in VA ordered such a declaration by today. DOJ instead writes to court: "Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns."
… Plaintiff's lawyer Skye Perriman, who's challenging slush fund: “It's telling that even after the federal court gave them a week, the Acting AG and senior admin officials continue to refuse to say under oath that the Slush Fund is dead and won’t operate in the future."
… NBC Sports: “Joe Gruters was only off by 117.4 million. Earlier this week, the RNC chair made the loony claim that more people watched the UFC Freedom 250 event on the WH lawn than watched the Super Bowl. The numbers are now in. Paramount says 8.2 million watched the event. (As noted by Mattew Belloni of Puck, that’s a ‘fraction’ of what marquee sporting events deliver.)”
… “And (shocker) it’s far, far less than the Super Bowl LX audience of 125.6 million. But who cares about the truth? The truth is an annoyance. An impediment. A pesky little thing that gets in the way of preferred narratives. No matter how outlandish those narratives may be.”
… Trump gave a speech today in front of his new Qatar Force One jet, which he will be using from this point forward and keeping after leaving the WH:
On Iran: “60 days, they have to make a deal. Otherwise, we will do things that won't make them happy. I don't think it's going to get to that. If we do that then all of a sudden you're not going to have the oil flowing out of the strait.”
On the Qatari jet: “I asked the Emir if we could use the brand new 747 that he got. A normal president wouldn’t do that but our country has to be represented properly.”
“These are the new colors red, white, and blue. Everything was designed good. It was my taste. All of the planes in the fleet are being changed into this look, which is a much better look and a more appropriate look.”
“We're going to do a flyover like no flyover. This is going to lead a group of many, many planes. They're putting F-22s. They're going to have the 35s. They're going to have the 60.”
… AP: “Talks between the US and Iran were called off Friday after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, officials said, raising questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran. Israel and the militant group later agreed to renew their ceasefire. The truce was mediated by Qatar, the US and Iran. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm that the ceasefire had gone into effect. Israel also did not.”
… “Iranian officials didn’t travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. JD Vance also postponed his trip.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off Saturdays. We are almost done living out of boxes at the new house. Tomorrow we are visiting with a fireplace guy (best time of year to do it in Maine), going to a farmer’s market, a small museum, and the historical society to get some records on the house.
I will be back with the Weekend Bulletin on Sunday night. Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, follows, shares and subscribes. Without your support I would not be able to do this, and we would not be able to continue to expand our reporting heading into the midterms with great new hires.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister for National Security: “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn! With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn. Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF,
