Today in Politics, Bulletin 414. 7/7/26
… The Trump Curse continues, as he just can’t seem to stay away from American sports teams when they are in the midst of pursuing major titles. Trump has always been someone who tries to attach himself to successful people and organizations to soak up their aura like a parasite. The problem for them is, as Rick Wilson titled his 2018 book, Everything That Trump Touches Dies:
He attended the Super Bowl and predicted a Chiefs win, but the Eagles blew them out.
He was there when the Commanders hosted the Lions and lost at home.
He watched from a suite as Miami fell in the College Football National Championship.
He sat in the owner’s suite when the Knicks snapped their 14-game playoff streak in NBA Finals Game 3.
He attended the Ryder Cup where Europe defeated the US team.
… And then he decided to get involved with the US men’s national soccer team at the World Cup, who promptly lost 4-1 after Trump meddled with FIFA to get America’s best player (a birthright citizen) reinstated.
… So now millions of football fans around the world view the US as cheaters who used political corruption to influence FIFA and we lose anyway. So much winning. When’s the next war?
… Let’s also not forget that he went to Mt. Rushmore on July 3 and his speech was delayed by a violent hail storm, then his speech on July 4 in DC was delayed by a vicious sand storm. I’m sure many of you can come up with many other examples that show something supernatural is going on right now. Bad juju. A disturbance in the force. Whatever you want to call it.
…WSJ: “The US national team came into this World Cup with every conceivable home advantage. The Americans enjoyed automatic qualification and a gentle group as co-hosts. They encountered raucous, star-spangled crowds wherever they went. And, when necessary, they could count on a game-changing assist from the Oval Office.”
… “Even after presidential intervention helped the team’s top scorer back into the lineup, however, the US couldn’t overcome its latest challenge on the field: the country of Belgium, the fifth-ranked team in Europe. On Monday evening, the Belgian Red Devils swept into Seattle and brought the American World Cup campaign to an untimely end with a 4-1 defeat in the round of 16.”
… Bottom line: If you are part of a sports team that is in contention for a major title, you probably don’t want to have Trump get involved in any way.
… The Belgium national team made this viral post after the game.
… Brussels Playbook: “Belgium got the last laugh.”
… Europe Express: “Sporting justice was served.”
… Headline of Belgium newspaper Le Soir: “Allô, Donald?”
… Theo Francken, Belgium’s defense minister: “Our Defense is better than yours.”
… El Pais: “Football still has antibodies against injustice.”
… NYT: Bart De Wever, the Belgian PM, has a cat with a very active Instagram account. On Tuesday, it posted: “I slept so well! You too?” The cat was hugging a Mr. Trump plushie. Taylor Swift’s “Karma” played in the background of the post.
… After a lengthy period of getting stonewalled by Mitch McConnell’s camp about his health status, two Republicans made statements today claiming that they just had detailed and substantive policy discussions with McConnell. Ironically, both of the conversations lasted 20 minutes:
Majority Whip Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) spokesperson Kate Noyes: “Sen. Barrasso and Sen. McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes. McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”
Scott Jennings, who wants McConnell’s seat in the senate: “I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”
… I’m skeptical.
… Jennifer Bendery with HuffPost: “Today I asked Mitch McConnell’s office if they could confirm or refute claims that he is brain dead, in organ failure and/or not returning to the Senate. They gave me a statement from last week about him appreciating support while he’s in the hospital.”
… I have some shocking news to report: Trump made a complete ass of himself on the world stage again on Day 1 of the NATO summit, trashing our closest allies for decades while praising Putin and Erdogan and ranting one lie after another:
Q - “Are further troop drawdowns in Europe likely? Trump: We’re going to see. I was very disappointed with NATO. Frankly, if it weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended. I felt I had to attend because I know he’s gone all out. But we weren’t treated well because we did something in Iran. We don’t need anybody’s help. I didn’t even want their help. But before I asked, they said they wouldn’t be there.”
“We’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO. Why? To protect European countries and others—Canada, etc.—to protect people and countries from what used to be the Soviet Union. Now it’s Russia. And I say that’s fine, but you would think they’d be very willing to do something to help us, and they really weren’t.”
“In a way, I was testing people. I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there because I’ve long said that we help them, but I’m not sure they’d be there for us. Italy turned us down, Germany turned us down, and France turned us down. It’s OK, but why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars if they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them.”
“What hurt my relationship with NATO is that Greenland doesn’t help Denmark. Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the US, and it’s surrounded by China ships and Russian ships. That should be controlled by the US, not by Denmark. And when they wouldn’t go along with it and with all the money we spend to help them with Russia and we don’t have to spend any money. We could remove all of our soldiers out of Europe.”
… Greenland is not surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.
Q - “Are you going to sell F-35s to Turkey and what about the legal restrictions?
Trump: Many people, including the people sitting right here, think why wouldn’t we do that? Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.”On Erdogan: “Sometimes you get along with the toughest people like him, and sometimes you don’t get along with the weakest, most pathetic people. You just don’t get along. Maybe you don’t respect them.” To Erdogan: “You’ve been a great leader and a respected leader all over the world. We’ve had right from the beginning good chemistry. We’ve had a very special relationship.”
“I had a very good talk with President Putin, who by the way has a lot of respect for President Erdogan. We had a long talk yesterday. It lasted a long time. I settled 8 wars. And I think we’re gonna be settling a 9th.”
On the Russia-Ukraine war: “It doesn’t affect the US. We have an ocean in between. I’ve seen the battlefields - they send me pictures. I actually want to say, ‘Don’t send them to me.’ Pete Hegseth sends me picture. I say, ‘Pete, you know what? It doesn’t help the look.’”
… Amit Segal with Israel’s N12 News: “When Turkey, a NATO ally, lost the US’s trust in 2019 by purchasing Russian S-400 air defenses, it was rightfully banned from receiving F-35s due to the risk of allowing Moscow to collect sensitive data on the fighter’s stealth signature. Now, Trump is likely to reopen the sale to Ankara, and for the life of me I can’t imagine how the Turks earned it.”
… “Since 2019, they have kept every last unit of their S-400s—up to 200 missiles, many still in their shipping containers. They have remained the only NATO member that refuses to sanction Russia over Ukraine. They have hosted Hamas leadership in Istanbul and laundered billions for Iran, while Erdogan openly threatens Israel with destruction and talks openly about conquering Jerusalem.”
… “They continue to occupy half of Cyprus—a fellow EU member—and to menace Greece, another one. Not to mention, this is the same country Trump himself claims he had to stop from joining Iran in the last conflict.”
… “If trust isn’t earned, it seems it can be bought. The salesman on the account is Tom Barrack, the billionaire real estate investor, longtime Trump friend and ambassador to Ankara. Barrack doesn’t talk about Turkey’s conduct; he talks about the deal. The 7-year ban his own boss imposed? ‘Insane,’ he says. The legal requirement that Turkey actually give up its Russian missiles? A technicality to be workshopped.”
… “Thankfully, Congress is poised to ruin his mood. The law bars F-35 transfers so long as Turkey possesses the S-400, so the admin is hunting for a workaround: hand the systems to some unnamed third party (a mechanism, one official admits, that hasn’t been worked out), or pull a few key parts and declare them ‘inoperable.’”
… “The sale itself must survive a one-to-two-year gauntlet: some legal sleight of hand to make the S-400s ‘disappear,’ lifting sanctions that remain in place, formal notification to Congress, and bypassing resolutions of disapproval lawmakers are already promising.”
… Meanwhile, Erdogan was leading Trump around like a nurse at an Assisted Living Facility.
… NewsNation: Traveling on Air Force One to NATO summit:
President Trump
Secretary Marco Rubio
Secretary Scott Bessent
Secretary Pete Hegseth
Dan Scavino
Stephen Miller
Steven Cheung
Mike Needham
Will Scharf
Ross Worthington
Walt Nauta
Chris Ambrosini
Richard Walters
Ambassador Monica Crowley
Natalie Harp
… Trump probably brought Natalie Harp for her extensive military and foreign policy expertise.
No Bulletin tomorrow because we have a special edition of Uncovered where we analyze the DSA/socialist surge within the Democratic Party led by Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic establishment response to it, and how Trump and Republicans are dealing with the movement politically. It will air at 4 ET on Wed but you can watch it anytime after that.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to everyone who read, shares, watches, listens and subscribes.
… Politico: “Graham Platner’s campaign has canceled upcoming fundraisers and paused some online ads as he faces mounting calls to exit the Maine Senate race. Platner’s campaign has now iced all in-person fundraising, canceling at least a half-dozen planned events that had been penciled in over coming days.
… “It comes on the heels of widespread calls from Democrats - including nearly all of his high-profile former supporters and a majority of Senate Democrats - for him to drop out and let the party select a replacement to face Sen. Susan Collins. The campaign has also put holds on its ads on Facebook and Instagram.”
… “Platner must exit the race by Monday, July 13, as outlined in Maine state law. If he chooses to drop out by then, the state Democratic Party would determine who will replace him. That person must be named by July 27.”
… NYT reported that the new nominee will not be selected by the 100-member Executive Committee of the party. Maine Dems will either hold a “pop-up convention”
