Tuesday Afternoon News Updates: Where Is Trump? — 6/2/26
Six days without a public appearance, a war in limbo, a spy chief with zero intelligence experience, and more. Here is your midday update.
Hi all, Ben here. It’s Tuesday and we have a lot to get into today. Here’s a quick look at what we’re tracking:
Trump has disappeared from public view for six straight days, and Dr. Oz’s press briefing answers raised more questions than they resolved
Iran talks have broken down, and Iran’s military command says resumed hostilities are “inevitable”
Reuters reports the CIA has stopped contributing to intelligence assessments on the Iran war amid internal warfare with the ODNI
The Trump-Netanyahu feud leaks
Marco Rubio testified before the Senate and got caught in an embarrassing lie about where he was during Iran negotiations
Trump appointed Bill Pulte, a man with zero intelligence experience, as Acting Director of National Intelligence
The Pentagon just classified its entire press room to block journalists
Russia launched a massive overnight strike on Kyiv, killing at least 22 people
A U.S. soldier and a British soldier were killed in what the military is calling a “training accident” in Iraq
It’s a big primary election day across six states: California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota
And a whole lot more
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Let’s get into it.
Where Is Donald Trump?
Donald Trump has had no public events on his schedule for six days running. The last time he appeared publicly for something other than a pre-taped interview was Wednesday, May 27th — a cabinet meeting, the day after his trip to Walter Reed for what was billed as his annual physical.
Today’s official White House schedule shows only closed-press policy meetings in the Oval Office and a pre-taped interview in the Roosevelt Room. Nothing open to the press. Nothing public. Nothing.
Then came the Dr. Oz press briefing, which somehow made things worse.
A reporter pointed out that this was Trump’s fourth checkup, well beyond the standard one per year, and asked what the doctors are actually looking for. Oz said it’s “just a routine exam” and that Trump’s records are “spectacular,” adding that the president has a “unique ability to just keep going at all hours of the day with remarkable strength.” When the reporter followed up by asking why, if Trump is in such perfect health, he keeps going back for more checkups, Oz said: “He likes the results. He does really well. He aces the test every single day.”
Four checkups. Multiple CT heart scans. A suspicious health report full of red flags released after the Walter Reed visit. And the White House’s answer is that Trump just really enjoys acing tests.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is cognitively and physically deteriorating. The country is in the middle of a war and we cannot get a public appearance from the commander in chief. But we can get Truth Social posts. The posts are still going.
Iran Talks Hit a Brick Wall
Trump told CNBC he “couldn’t care less” if the Iran negotiations collapse and described them as “very boring.” He also claimed talks are still moving forward rapidly. Both things cannot be true, and as it turns out, neither is.
Iran’s state-affiliated Fars News Agency is reporting, citing an informed source, that the U.S. and Iran are not currently exchanging messages at all. Talks aimed at reaching even an initial understanding have been paused for several days. The last message Iran sent to Washington reportedly concerned Lebanon, not any kind of nuclear framework. That’s not a negotiation on the verge of a breakthrough.
And now, on top of that, Reuters is out with some truly stunning reporting. They say the CIA has stopped contributing to some intelligence assessments, including those related to the Iran war, produced by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The infighting between the CIA and the ODNI has been building for more than a year, but it has now boiled over to the point where the country’s top intelligence product is being produced without CIA input. At the center of the dispute is a task force set up by then-DNI Tulsi Gabbard in April 2025. The CIA contends that Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group acted recklessly by bypassing traditional intelligence-sharing and declassification protocols. ODNI officials say the CIA blocked the group’s access to intelligence. Both things are probably true, and neither reflects well on anyone. The bottom line is that Trump is navigating a war with Iran using intelligence products that the CIA is refusing to contribute to.
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, called out Trump’s “I don’t care” posturing. When someone says “I don’t care” three times, Bolton noted, maybe it means they really do care. He also pointed out that if Trump weren’t worried, he wouldn’t have called Netanyahu to push for a ceasefire in Lebanon. And Bolton made perhaps the most important observation of all: Iran believes it can outlast Trump. It believes Trump is more desperate — for lower oil prices, for a win — than Iran is for any deal.
Iran’s wartime command, the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya, has now declared that a resumption of direct hostilities is inevitable. Iran says it will not surrender. It says operations will continue until Israel and the U.S. “express complete regret.” And it has demonstrated that it will respond to U.S. strikes quickly, including hitting a Kuwaiti air base and injuring five U.S. service members in an attack that the military is still, absurdly, claiming was caused by “falling debris.”
We also know that a U.S. Army soldier and a British soldier were both killed on May 31st at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, an area Iran targeted after U.S. strikes. The military is calling it a training accident.
What’s Really Happening with Trump and Netanyahu?
Axios’s Barak Ravid reported that Trump called Netanyahu and screamed at him, told him he was “hated worldwide,” that “everybody hates Israel” because of his actions, and blamed him for the collapse of Iran talks. Now, who knows what really happened. But I’m not sure I fully buy it. Trump is Netanyahu’s footstool. He pulls out the chair for the guy. Literally.
Then, earlier, a source within Netanyahu’s office told Israeli Channel 12 that Trump did not say those specific things. What was confirmed was that the call was tense. Both leaders spent most of it complaining about each other’s social media posts after their previous conversation. Trump felt Netanyahu’s post implied the war in Gaza was continuing at full intensity, which it is. Netanyahu felt Trump’s post suggested Israel had agreed to a ceasefire across all fronts, which it hadn’t. Trump did tell Netanyahu that it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend Israel’s position internationally.
So the relationship is fraying, just maybe not in the dramatic way Ravid reported. And the underlying problem remains that as long as Israel is actively invading Lebanon, any path to a real agreement with Iran is essentially closed.
Rubio Testifies and Gets Caught Lying
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today.
When asked about Iran, Rubio claimed credit for ending multiple wars: “India-Pakistan, we ended that war; we were involved in helping broker that.” Senator Cory Booker pushed back hard, pointing out that despite the constant triumphant tweets about obliterating and annihilating Iran, the war still hasn’t been resolved, the American people are still feeling it at the pump and in their wallets, and the U.S. is still spending billions per week. “The war is not over,” Booker said flatly. Rubio insisted it was. Committee Chairman Jim Risch banged the gavel to cut Booker off.
At one point, Rubio was asked by Senator Jacky Rosen where he was during the Iran negotiations when Vice President Vance was at the table. Rubio said that he was not at a party — that he was “co-located with the president” in a high-stakes negotiation, positioned to immediately inform him of events happening halfway around the world.
He was at a UFC event with Trump.
Rubio also stated he was not aware of any U.S. program to arm civilians in Iran to overthrow the government. Which is interesting, because Trump told us on May 11th exactly what happened — that the U.S. had sent guns and ammunition intended to arm Iranian protesters, that the Kurds were supposed to deliver them and didn’t, and that he was “very disappointed.” Someone needs to get Rubio and Trump in the same room.
A Trump Henchman with No Intelligence Experience Is Now Acting Director of National Intelligence
While Trump hides from cameras, his administration keeps rolling out appointments that would be disqualifying in any functioning government.
Trump announced via Truth Social that Bill Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, will now serve simultaneously as Acting Director of National Intelligence. Trump cited Pulte’s experience overseeing more than $10 trillion at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac as his qualification for leading the U.S. intelligence community during an active war.
Bill Pulte has zero national security experience. What he does have is a track record of using his position at the FHFA to go after Trump’s political enemies, referring Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and others to the Justice Department for cooked up “mortgage-fraud investigations.” The Government Accountability Office announced an investigation into Pulte’s conduct in December 2025.
And remember: this appointment is happening at the exact moment Reuters is reporting that the CIA has stopped cooperating with the ODNI on Iran war assessments. The U.S. intelligence community is in open internal warfare and Trump’s answer is to put a man whose primary qualification is harassing his enemies in charge of it.
Senator Schiff told MeidasTouch’s Scott MacFarlane on Capitol Hill that Pulte’s experience in government was “weaponizing” his agency. Senator Peter Welch was more direct: Pulte “knows nothing about intelligence.” Senator Ben Ray Luján weighed in on the broader pattern: “It’s bullshit. It’s wrong.”
The Pentagon Just Classified Its Press Room
The Department of Defense announced Monday that the Pentagon press office, the longstanding workspace where journalists seek information from military and defense officials, is now a classified space. Off-limits to the press. The stated reason is that speechwriters who handle sensitive material need the room.
This comes after journalists successfully sued to maintain access to the Pentagon. The Trump administration’s apparent response was to designate the press room itself as a sensitive compartmented information facility (a SCIF), which means reporters can be excluded on classification grounds. It is the same playbook they use in Congress, classify information that should be public, then threaten to prosecute anyone who discusses it as a leaker.
Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has been systematically shutting out journalists since day one. This is just the latest escalation.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner Gets a New Date
In a Truth Social post today, Trump announced he has accepted an invitation from Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, to attend the rescheduled dinner, now set for July 24th at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue. The original dinner ended abruptly on April 25th following the shooting incident outside the room. Trump said it will be determined whether or not he’ll deliver the same “rather nasty statements” he had originally prepared.
Some Other Quick Updates
Russia struck Kyiv overnight in one of the most heavily telegraphed attacks of the war. After warning for days that foreigners should flee and threatening to hit “decision-making centers,” Moscow launched 656 drones and 73 missiles, killing at least 22 people across Ukraine and injuring dozens more. A nine-story apartment building in Kyiv partially collapsed. MeidasTouch’s Ken Harbaugh is on the ground in Ukraine and has been reporting from there — check out his dispatches on Substack.
On the Epstein files: Judge Emmet Sullivan has set a June 30th hearing in MeidasTouch’s Katie Phang’s lawsuit against the Justice Department, which seeks a court order requiring the release of additional Epstein files. House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia has separately asked the committee chair to call Todd Blanche for a transcribed interview, noting that Pam Bondi mentioned Blanche’s name more than 30 times while pointing to him as responsible for DOJ’s handling of the matter, effectively throwing Blanche under the bus.
On Oman: The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration has pressured Oman, long a key neutral backchannel between Washington and Tehran, to cut diplomatic ties with Iran, threatening both sanctions and airstrikes over intelligence claims that Oman was considering joining Iran in charging vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Oman denies the claim. The Trump administration now views Oman’s traditional neutrality as an act of hostility. This is the same Oman that helped broker a framework deal between the U.S. and Iran in late February, right before Trump and Netanyahu blew it up.
On the economy: The White House quietly announced tariff reductions on agricultural and construction equipment — combines, harvesters, forklifts — to reduce costs for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. That’s a strange move for an administration that has spent months insisting tariffs don’t increase costs. I thought you told us the other countries pay the tariffs, Donald!
New Jersey’s state attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the operators of the Delaney immigration detention facility amid growing tensions between protesters, ICE, and state police. The suit requests full Department of Health access to the facility, where detainees have reported inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats have expanded their voter registration advantage to 62,000 over Republicans. In Michigan, a new generic ballot poll has Democrats at 46% to Republicans’ 38%.
And finally: Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan announced he will not perform at Trump’s Freedom 250 concert. “I know how politics works,” he told CNN. “I don’t want to be a pawn.” He joins the rest of the lineup, including the actual singers, in dropping out.
It’s Election Day in Six States
Today is a big one. Primaries are being decided in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota.
The marquee race is California’s governor’s primary, where voters are choosing a replacement for Gavin Newsom. The top two finishers advance to November regardless of party. The leading Democrats are Tom Steyer, the billionaire who has run hard to the left, and Xavier Becerra, the former state attorney general and Biden’s HHS secretary, who would be California’s first Latino governor in the modern era. On the Republican side, Trump-endorsed Steve Hilton, the former Fox News personality, leads the others. California counts votes slowly, so expect results to trickle in over days, not hours.
Also on the California ballot: the Los Angeles mayor’s race, where Karen Bass is seeking a second term against Councilmember Nithya Raman and former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt. A candidate needs more than 50% to avoid a November runoff. Top two advance if nobody reaches the threshold, which is how this is expected to pan out.
In New Jersey, Democratic and Republican primaries are being decided for U.S. Senate and House seats. Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota are all holding party primaries as well.
We’ll keep you updated all day. Subscribe to the MeidasTouch Podcast for the latest, and make sure to check back here and on our YouTube channel. Thanks for supporting this platform!
Don't you have to have intelligence to be director of national intelligence?
Pulte is nothing but a nepo-baby who's only there bc of his FINANCIAL support of felon Trump. He's a miserable failure at FHFA. The incompetence within this regime is perpetual.
Blue tsunami cannot come soon enough 🟦🌊
What's the problem with all the singers canceling? He has a cabinet full of clowns! Make them perform! Hegseth can do his drunk tank routine...oops...I meant dunk tank...RFKjr can give a talk on which jeans are best for working out...Rubio can give a seminar on proper shoe-fitting...Gabbard could give a class on how to color one streak of your hair...shoot, gnoem might even come back and give a class on dog-training...oops, I guess "shoot" was the wrong word to use right there...but you get the picture!!