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Trump Gives Iran a Lifeline and Calls It Peace
On his 80th birthday, President Trump is celebrating an agreement that temporarily solves a problem his war helped create, writes Eli Lake.
Center Right
BBC News
Trump heralds Iran deal but questions - and risks - remain
Center
The announcement of an Iran deal was a welcome birthday gift for the president – but its success or failure may hinge on the details.
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Raw Story
Calls to remove Trump from office after he appears to nod off at UFC birthday bash: 'How?'
President Donald Trump appeared to doze off in the front row of his own UFC birthday celebration, handing critics fresh ammunition and reigniting calls for his removal from office.Footage circulating from UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn shows Trump, who turned 80 on Sunday, seated beside UFC chief Dana White with his eyes closed and his head slumping to one side, according to the Mirror and various observers.Anti-Trump commentator Ed Krassenstein pounced on the clip. "How does this even happen?" he wrote, sharing video of the apparent nap. "Trump appears to have fallen asleep at the UFC event at the White House? 25th Amendment Now!"The progressive account Call to Activism amplified it as "BREAKING," announcing that Trump "HAS FALLEN ASLEEP AT HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY UFC FREEDOM 250 EVENT."The moment drew notice from fight fans, too. One MMA account, MMA Joey, claimed Trump "fell asleep during the Bo Nickal fight" and that White "had to slap him" to wake him during the finish, though that version of events could not be independently confirmed.According to the Mirror, the footage set off a wave of comments questioning the president's fitness, with one user sarcastically writing, "Oh…yeah…he's fit to lead the country," and another insisting he should resign because he is "too old."The episode echoes one from a week earlier. The Mirror noted that Trump had been widely criticized for appearing to nod off during Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, prompting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to post "WAKE TF UP" and the Lincoln Project to mock the outing as "the most expensive taxpayer-funded nap." Detractors have since taken to calling him "Commander-in-Sleep."The White House has consistently rejected that narrative. As the Mirror reported, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a congressional hearing this month that the opposite was true, describing Trump as working "inhumane hours" and phoning him in the dead of night. A White House spokesman has described the president's energy as "unmatched," and Trump's physician recorded a 30/30 score on a cognitive test at his late-May physical, which the White House billed as a "perfect bill of health."Whether the president was asleep or simply watching a screen with his eyes shut, as the Mirror put it, the image of Trump appearing to drift off at his own birthday party all but guaranteed the questions would keep coming.
Far Left
Washington Examiner
Trump repackages Obama’s Iran surrender and takes Americans for fools
When President Donald Trump accepted the April 2026 ceasefire, I knew he had committed the gravest political blunder of his career. America and Israel had cornered Iran, shattered its leverage, and battered its proxies. Instead of forcing permanent concessions, the White House now appears ready to rescue Tehran and rebrand retreat as a “peace crusade.” […]
Center Right
NBC News Politics
US and Iran Reach Framework Deal to End War, Reopen Hormuz
An agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to President Donald Trump and Iranian officials. A document signing is expected to take place Friday. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports on the details of the deal for TODAY.
Center Left
Raw Story
Republicans now believe Trump 'is going to croak' — and are vying to replace him: insider
Republicans have made a dramatic U-turn on the 2028 presidential election, with dozens of contenders now expected to enter the race to succeed Donald Trump as president, an insider told Raw Story.And while no candidates have officially announced their campaigns yet, Rick Wilson, former Republican operative and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that he was tipped off about the development by strategists.“The number of Republicans who are planning to run in 2028 is growing by the minute,” Wilson told Raw Story.“I would say a year ago, there was the presumption that Trump was trying to run again,” Wilson said.But now it’s different. “They think Trump is going to croak,” he said.Wilson anticipated that nearly 20 people are planning on vying for the nation’s top job.“It will be people from Congress, from the Senate, governors, they’re all going to get in because they’re going to see the end of the Trump era. They’re going to claim the throne of MAGA,” Wilson said.“Ambition is a hell of a drug,” he added.Wilson shared insights about who some of the potential candidates could be, and how many have played a long waiting game and think it’s about time they line up.“Some of these guys have been sitting on the sidelines for a decade,” Wilson said. “They all think they should be president.”The number of candidates could present a problem for the GOP — and particularly Trump.“I think we’re going to see a real mess starting in the spring of next year, where you’re going to have the Ted Cruzes and Josh Hawleys and all these other people running around, and it’s going to make Trump lose his damn mind. He’s going to go crazy,” Wilson said.As for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, it’s unclear what they will decide to do. Wilson referred to the two Trump administration members as “two men with an exaggerated view.” He cited why Rubio’s timing could hurt him.“Marco has peaked way too early. He’s the golden child for Trump and MAGA world, but it’s so early,” Wilson said.By 2027, it will be clearer who might be next in line to succeed Trump and try to make gains among the MAGA movement, he said.“Watch the spring of next year, you’re going to see a lot of people suddenly visiting New Hampshire, suddenly visiting Iowa, suddenly announcing the ‘American Dream super PAC’ and writing terrible campaign books,” Wilson added. “That’s become sort of one of the things, the ritual.”
Far Left
Raw Story
Trump caught smiling after UFC fighter drops shocking remark about Michelle Obama: report
President Donald Trump was captured on video “smiling” Sunday after an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter dropped a shockingly "offensive” and false remark about former First Lady Michelle Obama during the UFC event at the White House, CNN reported.Mixed martial artist Joshua Hokit, 28, defeated his opponent Derrick Lewis Sunday night at the White House UFC bout, and after his victory, shouted an inflammatory and false claim targeting the former first lady.“Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?” Hokit said, eliciting both cheers and boos from the crowd, CNN reported.Hokit’s remarks also elicited a response from Trump, who was seated in the first row at the event.“In a brief moment captured on camera, Trump, seated first row at the ‘Octagon,’ appeared to show a half-smile seconds after the false remark, which has previously circulated online,” wrote CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo.Back in February, Trump faced rare bipartisan outrage after posting a video on his social media platform Truth Social that briefly depicted former President Barack Obama and the first lady as primates in the jungle. The blowback was so fierce that Trump – who denied being aware that the segment of the video he posted included the racist depiction – ultimately deleted the post.
Far Left
The Hill News
Trump hosts ‘UFC Freedom 250’ on White House lawn: Five takeaways
It was a spectacle, with a presidential birthday and an Iran peace deal as context and background. “UFC Freedom 250,” a primetime fight night that played out just steps from the White House on Sunday night, combined sports and the office of the president in a way never seen before. Reactions to the event fell sharply along partisan lines, but the event…
Center
Alternet.org
Trump fails again
Trump again claims victory in Iran. He’s claimed victory before, but now he has a so-called “agreement” with Iran.That agreement, which appears to be no more than a memo of understanding — that is, a set of principles to which Iran and the United States have agreed — stops the fighting and reopens the Strait of Hormuz but it does not deal with the issue that caused Trump to initiate the conflict: Iran’s nuclear program. Keep that in mind as you hear various renditions of what’s been decided. Recall that the Strait of Hormuz was open before Trump began bombing Iran. At best, the agreement Trump is touting restores the status quo to where it was when he commenced hostilities. Remember also that Iran had agreed to limit its development of nuclear-grade materials in its treaty with the Obama administration, which Trump revoked in 2018. So what has been accomplished? Iran now is under the control of a more extremist regime than when Trump started this war. Oil prices are far higher, and will take some time to return to where they were before it began (if they ever do). Meanwhile, Trump has caused the United States to be more dependent on fossil fuels than we were prior to his inauguration for a second time, and the high oil prices brought on by his war has enriched Vladimir Putin’s regime. The war with Iran has cost the United States an estimated $90 billion, and that’s a conservative estimate. It has caused widespread suffering throughout the Middle East. It has put Israel in a more precarious situation than it was before — and much of that is due to Benjamin Netanyahu, who is not a party to, and has not approved, the agreement. This doesn’t look like a victory. Compared to where the United States and the Middle East were on February 28, when Trump began this war, it’s a terrible failure. Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/
Left