Bloomberg Politics

Trump Returns on Old AF1 Instead of Qatari Jet | Balance of Power: Late Edition 07/08/2026

5 hours agoCenter

"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker reacts to the second round of strikes against Iran, saying the MOU with Tehran was "never" the end-all-be-all. Jim Messina, founder and CEO of The Messina Group and manager of the Obama 2012 re-election campaign, says Graham Platner's "career in politics is done" after months of turmoil surrounding his campaign and sexual assault allegations that Platner has denied. Retired US Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula says President Trump's renewed strikes against Iran are "not necessarily escalatory," but rather a "smart reaction" meant to make clear to Tehran that violations of any agreement will "make its situation worse". (Source: Bloomberg)

Read Full Story at Source

Compare Perspectives

Found 8 stories

Judge Orders Release of $5.8 Million Trump Owes E. Jean Carroll

The New Republic

1 hour ago

Judge Orders Release of $5.8 Million Trump Owes E. Jean Carroll

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of the $5.8 million that President Trump owes E. Jean Carroll. After the Supreme Court declined last week to hear Trump’s appeal of Carroll’s successful defamation case against him, the president has made excuses and tried to get out of paying her. Trump has already provided the money through a fund set up during the appeals process. However, the interest has grown since then, raising the total sum past the initial $5 million verdict. Shortly after Judge Lewis Kaplan issued his ruling, Trump appealed the decision.In 2023, a jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 in a Manhattan department store, and defamed her after she went public with her story. The jury ordered $5 million in damages, and Trump put the sum, plus interest, in a court-controlled account shortly after losing the case. Still, Trump insisted that he didn’t know Carroll and accused her of political and financial motives, and continued to defame her by claiming she fabricated her story. That repeated defamation resulted in another lawsuit that Trump lost, with a jury awarding Carroll $88.3 million.Carroll is still awaiting payment from a man notorious for many years for not paying his bills. He’s pulling out all of the stops to avoid paying funds that he already deposited, and that are a tiny fraction of his net worth thanks to his successful efforts to use the presidency to enrich himself. Trump can’t admit when he’s lost, whether in court or at the ballot box, and he likes to hoard his ill-gotten gains. This story has been updated.

Left

Read →

With Iran ceasefire "over," Trump shifts to battle for Hormuz

Axios

2 hours ago

With Iran ceasefire "over," Trump shifts to battle for Hormuz

The White House is preparing for what could become a multi-day or even multi-week exchange of fire with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.The length and severity of the new campaign hinge entirely on Tehran's next moves, U.S. officials tell Axios.Why it matters: A war that began with the goal of degrading Iran's missile capabilities and destroying what remained of its nuclear program has evolved into an open-ended fight over the world's most important energy chokepoint.A U.S. official said the current escalation could last a day or two, a week or a month, depending on whether Iran continues its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz."We're going to slap them a bit so they understand we're not f*cking around," the U.S. official said.Driving the news: Diplomacy has stalled for now, and military pressure is back at the center of President Trump's strategy.Trump said Wednesday the 60-day ceasefire outlined in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) was "over" after an exchange of fire triggered by Iranian attacks on commercial ships.The U.S. then launched a second round of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, including attacks on infrastructure targets inside Iran for the first time in months.Iran retaliated with attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, while insisting it would not back down from its claim to control the strait.Shortly after, Trump signaled the U.S. was ready to de-escalate, telling reporters on Air Force One that Iranian officials had "called a little while ago" and "want to make a deal."It was unclear what call Trump was referring to, and Iranian officials did not immediately confirm any direct outreach."I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to do honor the deal," Trump added. "They're sort of crazy, to be honest."The other side: Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. of "bullying and breaking promises" and warned that the strait would only reopen on Tehran's terms."If you strike, you'll get hit," Ghalibaf wrote on X. "The Strait of Hormuz will only open with 'Iranian arrangements,' not American threats."The big picture: Reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restoring freedom of navigation for commercial ships has become a central goal for the Trump administration, mainly to stabilize global energy markets.For Iran, maintaining control over the strait has become a key objective in any deal to end the war.The issue was a central provision in the U.S.-Iran MOU, and conflicting interpretations of the strait clauses are now causing the deal to unravel.The MOU requires Iran to allow safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz. But soon after it was signed, Iranian officials accused the U.S. of violating the deal by routing ships through a southern lane near the Omani coast without Tehran's approval.Between the lines: U.S. officials say the White House believes it has more room to escalate because hundreds of oil tankers have managed to leave the Gulf through the strait in recent weeks.That has eased concerns inside the administration that a renewed clash would immediately trigger a major oil price spike, the officials said.Behind the scenes: A U.S. official claimed the current escalation stems from frustration among more radical elements inside Iran's fractured leadership who believe the MOU has not delivered real benefits for Tehran.Iran saw its leverage in Hormuz slipping as hundreds of ships transited through the southern route close to the Omani coast, the official said.Despite U.S. sanctions waivers, Iran struggled to sell oil because financial institutions would not approve transactions and countries were reluctant to rely on temporary waivers.No Iranian frozen funds have been released because Iran has not yet taken nuclear steps required by the agreement.The framework agreement the U.S. brokered between Israel and Lebanon made the Lebanon portion of the MOU unnecessary, the official said.What to watch: "Part of the Iranian leadership was not happy about all of those things," the U.S. official said."They started shooting and we decided it's time to slap them back hard. It's a process. We have patience. If we don't feel we're getting the deal we want, we are not going to do it."The bottom line: Vice President Vance said Wednesday the U.S. position is simple: the Strait of Hormuz must remain open."If they try to close it down, there's going to be a response from the American military," Vance said."They can either follow it, or they can have exactly what happened to them last night. It's just going to keep on happening until they open up that lane and stop shooting at ships."

Center Left

Read →

U.S. announces new strikes on Iran as Trump declares the ceasefire over

Politics - CBSNews.com

2 hours ago

U.S. announces new strikes on Iran as Trump declares the ceasefire over

The U.S. military announced new strikes against Iran on Wednesday, marking the second straight night of fighting and the worst escalation since talks began to end the war. President Trump also escalated his rhetoric, declaring the ceasefire over. Ed O'Keefe reports.

Center

Read →

US military resumes Iran strikes as Trump ramps up rhetoric

The Hill News

2 hours ago

US military resumes Iran strikes as Trump ramps up rhetoric

The U.S. military resumed strikes against Iran on Wednesday, aiming to further decimate its ability to disrupt maritime traffic, hours after President Trump threatened to unleash a “big attack” on the country. “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their…

Center

Read →

Trump Admin Launches Probe Into H-1B Visa Fraudsters Stealing Jobs From Americans

The Federalist

2 hours ago

Trump Admin Launches Probe Into H-1B Visa Fraudsters Stealing Jobs From Americans

The invesitgation aims to further President Trump's goal to end foreign violence on American soil and return jobs to the American people.

Far Right

Read →

Clip of Trump's blunder-filled summit unsettles MS NOW: 'Something deeply wrong with him'

Raw Story

3 hours ago

Clip of Trump's blunder-filled summit unsettles MS NOW: 'Something deeply wrong with him'

MS NOW's Nicolle Wallace opened her show Wednesday by rattling off what President Donald Trump had just told the world — the Iran ceasefire is over, all trade with Spain is cut off, and, in her recounting, "Japan is now apparently an Islamic republic."She was reacting to Trump's rounds of news conferences at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where the president mixed up Iran and Japan, claiming "111 missiles" had been fired at a U.S. aircraft carrier by the "Islamic Republic of Japan." Moments earlier, seated beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump had gestured to him and asked reporters if they had a question for "President Putin." He also called TikTok "tic tac," branded Iran's leaders "scum," and declared the ceasefire over.Wallace was briefly left speechless as she played the clip, then unloaded with a withering verdict dripping in sarcasm."Marco Rubio is going to have to start standing next to him and translating. But unsurprisingly, Donald Trump's incomprehensible, unhinged, embarrassing, uninformed, me, me, me display there in his approach to geopolitics has had an effect. It appears to have finally exasperated and exhausted European leaders' patience," she said.Her guests went further.Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said such moments would once have been treated as international crises but now draw a shrug. Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols, a professor emeritus at the Naval War College, offered the bleakest read."It's almost like we have a relative in the room, and there's something deeply wrong with him, and we've all agreed to not talk about it," Nichols said. "But there is something deeply wrong with him. His friends know it. His critics know it. His staff, I'm sure, knows it. The world knows it. World leaders know it. And most importantly, our enemies know it, which is why they don't take him seriously." Nichols argued the real danger wasn't the viral gaffes, but that Trump made claims about an active war no one could parse. Wallace tied it to a broader shift, citing New York Times reporting that European leaders have decided to stop humoring the president and push back.

Far Left

Read →

Iran hit by round of U.S. strikes after Trump gives ‘mixed messaging’ on scope of military conflict

NBC News Politics

4 hours ago

Iran hit by round of U.S. strikes after Trump gives ‘mixed messaging’ on scope of military conflict

The U.S. military launches new strikes against Iran after President Trump suggested the ceasefire is “over." NBC News' Monica Alba, Brian Cheung, Courtney Kube and “Cosmopolitics” podcast host Elise Labott join Meet the Press NOW to discuss the state of the war.

Center Left

Read →

(VIDEO) Trump Trolls MS NOW Reporter During NATO Press Conference: “That’s a Failing Network. Why Would You Want to Work for Them?”

The Gateway Pundit

4 hours ago

(VIDEO) Trump Trolls MS NOW Reporter During NATO Press Conference: “That’s a Failing Network. Why Would You Want to Work for Them?”

President Trump trolled an MS NOW reporter during his NATO summit press conference on Wednesday, questioning why she would want to work for the "failing network." "They took [away] the name NBC because they were embarrassed by it," Trump said of the recent rebranding. The post (VIDEO) Trump Trolls MS NOW Reporter During NATO Press Conference: “That’s a Failing Network. Why Would You Want to Work for Them?” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Far Right

Read →

Trump Returns on Old AF1 Instead of Qatari Jet | Balance of Power: Late Edition 07/08/2026

Summary

Related Coverage

Daily Analysis

More Headlines From July 8, 2026

Trump Returns on Old AF1 Instead of Qatari Jet | Balance of Power: Late Edition 07/08/2026

Compare Perspectives