It’s Wednesday, September 2. There’s been a lot going on today, so let’s get to the top stories. And thanks so much again to everyone for letting us know they’ve pre-ordered our book WTF America. It truly means the world to us.
Today’s top stories:
Trump again falsely posts the U.S. has the Strait of Hormuz “under control” and floats renaming it to the “Trump Strait”
IRGC claims tanker strikes near the Strait and warns shipping companies of penalties
Iran claims strikes hit U.S.-linked sites in Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, and alleges American casualties
Iranian embassies mock CENTCOM’s silence on their alleged casualty claims in Jordan
Iranian official Ghalibaf accuses the U.S. of “satanic” conduct following strikes on children in Minab, Lamerd, and a wedding in Kouhestak
China blocks G20 consensus language on Strait of Hormuz navigation
Bessent blames Ukraine and Biden for gas prices and high cost of living
Lutnick downplays Iran war deaths
The U.S.S Abraham Lincoln limps into Thailand, visibly rusted
Trump’s $100B Venezuela oil “steal” faces more scrutiny
Tarrant County Republicans vote to close 92 of 316 polling locations
ProPublica reports Trump aide Peter Navarro fast-tracked a $620M Pentagon loan tied to Don Jr.
Bessent calls struggling Americans “malcontents”
Trump $1 coins are on sale now…
Trump is turning FEMA disaster aid in MAGA campaign ads
Katie Phang moves to force a federal judge to review FBI notes mentioning Trump in the Epstein Files for possible release
If you see this, that means you’ve been selected for advance access to our Labor Day sale:
Now let’s dive in.
Trump the Social Media Warrior
Things continue to go very badly for Trump and the U.S. in Iran. But in Trump’s deranged social media fantasy land, the U.S. is crushing it. Trump again falsely claims this morning that the Strait of Hormuz is “under U.S.A. control” and suggested maybe we rename it the “Trump Strait” because like America itself, it would be “hotter” than ever before. Again, we do not control the Strait. What we’re seeing is what I’ll call “Strait panic” from the Trump regime. The IRGC says it’s mined and set fire to 2 tankers trying to use its unauthorized route, and warned shipping companies that more penalties are on the way if they continue to try to avoid the Iranian’s designation lane.
Iran now claims it hit U.S.-linked sites in 4 countries overnight, including a maintenance center and equipment warehouses Erbil, Iraq, Camp Titan and Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and a military pier along with weapons storage in Kuwait. Iran is claiming American personnel were killed at some of these sites and Iranian-linked social media accounts have spent the day trolling CENTCOM for “staying silence” about the alleged casualties in Jordan. We do not have confirmation of these claims, but unfortunately, CENTCOM has been hiding so much from the American people that it’s hard to know if we’ll ever get a straight answer.
Iranian leader of parliament MB Ghalibaf released a statement accusing the U.S. of “satanic” conduct, listing children killed in Minab, a sports hall in Lamerd, and a wedding hit in Kouhestak. The wedding strike has now been geolocated by BBC’s Sarah Jalali. Separate footage shows the full scale of the destruction. This was a wedding with ordinary families, blown to pieces by the United States. Let’s call it what it is: another war crime.
Over at the G20, China was the sole holdout blocking consensus language affirming free navigation through the Strait, reportedly because Beijing does not want to set a precedent that could also apply to Taiwan.
The White House Spin Machine Is Spinning Out of Control
The Trump regime sent its economic team out to lie about the war today. Treasury Sec Bessent went on Fox and blamed the oil price shock entirely on Ukraine for striking Russian energy sites, then pivoted to blaming Biden for the high cost of living. Commerce Sec Lutnick went on CNBC and claimed there haven’t been American deaths in this war, calling it an “economic choke-out.” There have been at least 18 confirmed American deaths. Lutnick also whined that Canada has been “disrespectful” toward Trump and separately insisted that data centers do not use water at all (a lie), saying it’s all propaganda from U.S. adversaries. 40 billion gallons a year of water is projected to go to data centers by 2028.
On the Hannity show, Bessent suggested the Iranian people should just rise up, called Americans struggling in the Trump economy “malcontents” who do not want to work, and bragged about giving Canadian PM Carney a “verbal beatdown.”
A Rotting Navy and Oil Deal Steal
One thing to know about Trump is that whatever he says, the opposite is true. When Trump says he’s “rebuilt the military,” that’s a good sign he’s destroyed the military. The U.S.S Abraham Lincoln pulled into Thailand finally after 286 days at sea, visibly rusted with worn paint. The Navy says the wear and tear is normal. Here’s a photo. You be the judge:
In Venezuela, POLITICO reports that experts are already questioning whether Trump’s $100B so-called oil deal will survive, given that developing those reserves could take a decade and hundreds of billions of dollars the country’s infrastructure isn’t built for.
Voter Suppression and Corruption Alert
In Texas, Tarrant County Republicans voted 3-2 to close 92 of 316 polling locations just 63 days before the election, in a county Kamala Harris won by 26 points. More than 100 people showed up to protest, and they moved forward anyway.
ProPublica also reports that Peter Navarro personally directed the Pentagon to fast-track a $620M loan to a 2-year-old startup connected to Don Jr., the only deal out of dozens initiated by a top WH aide. Yes, that’s the same Navarro who went to prison after January 6.
Trump is also bragging about handing out FEMA aid to states that supported him, tying the aid to his campaign endorsements. He’s notably skipping Democratic-led states also seeking help.
And in Tehran, this billboard of Trump is now up:
Also, the U.S. mint just announced that these Trump $1 coins are now in circulation…
The Epstein Files Aren’t Going Away. We’re Making Sure of That.
Finally, our colleague Katie Phang continues to push the Epstein Files fight forward in court. In a fiery filing, she’s asking Judge Sullivan to personally review handwritten FBI notes tied to reports that reference Trump, arguing that AG Blanche is still defying a federal court order. She’s also challenging the DOJ’s attempt to pass off a months-old congressional letter as if it is the legally required redaction log, calling it “offensively insufficient.” She’ll be discussing this more on her podcast Sidebar with Katie Phang.
That’s where things stand for now. We’ll keep you posted as more comes in throughout the day. Remember to listen to the MeidasTouch Podcast for more updates, and a quick reminder that Scott MacFarlane just launched his podcast, Scott MacFarlane Reports.
Shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
The Midterms Will Not Solve the Problem
Those in the Resistance must think beyond the midterms.
Most Americans disapprove of His Royal Heinous, but they are looking for an easy solution. One that will not require even a small sacrifice on their part, or any disruption to their life.
They are putting too much faith in what the midterms will do. The midterms may have a beneficial psychologic effect but in reality the outcome will have little or no practical effect, unless the Dems can get 2/3 majority in the house and senate, which they won’t. They will not be able to undo anything His Royal Heinous has done or pass new legislation, because of his veto power.
There will be investigations if the Dems take the House, but to what end. HRH will pardon all perpetrators, and they know it.
They will impeach HRH, but we’ve seen that movie twice before. Convicted in the senate and removed from office? We can only hope, but hope is not a strategy.
He will continue to rule by “National Emergency“ and Executive Orders and almost surely the Supreme Court will allow it.
The greatest danger in all this is that it will appear that something beneficial is happening. The majority of people will believe the system is working. After about a year they will realize that nothing is changing. Then they will think, Oh well, he’ll be gone after the election next year.
Or will he? It took the Hungarians 16 years to get rid of Orban, and the Project 2025 people will certainly not make the same mistakes that Orban did.
as an Afghan veteran who was left behind after hearing so many promises from the current U.S. government,I read stories like this differently. We were told that people who served and trusted America would not be forgotten,but many of us are still living with the consequences. So when I hear more promises from Washington, I have a hard time believing them. I agree with you that people should judge this administration by what it actually does, not what it says