Happy Thursday. Who else has been watching the U.S. Open’s mixed doubles a week early? It’s making me excited for the full tournament to start!
In today’s issue:
- US, EU trade details announced
- Texas, California redistricting efforts advance
- Trump picks new culture war fight
- NYT analysis: Voters flee Democratic Party
- Hurricane Erin’s wild waves
💸 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Trump just got a big legal win:
A New York appeals court just tossed out the roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against President Trump, giving him a big legal boost.
Yes, but: The court didn’t toss out the case entirely. Instead, Trump’s appeal will likely move to the New York Supreme Court.
Trump took his victory lap: The president called the ruling a “TOTAL VICTORY” in a social media post, bashing the case as a “Political Witch Hunt” and “one of the worst business persecutions in the History of our Country.” 🔎 Read his full post
Quick refresher on the case: A lower court determined that Trump, his eldest sons and another executive conspired to alter his net worth for tax and insurance benefits.
To misquote Arby’s tagline — We got the deets!:
The White House unveiled new details about the trade deal with the European Union.
The gist:
- 15 percent blanket tariff on EU exports to the U.S.
- No tariff on industrial goods imported from the U.S.
- The EU will purchase at least $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over the next three years
- The EU will invest at least $600 billion in the U.S.
🔎 Read the details released by the White House
But there’s a caveat: Auto tariffs won’t be bumped down to 15 percent until Europe follows through on reducing tariffs on American goods.
For context: This is the deal that President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last month in Scotland.
*Updates the board* — ‘It’s been 0 days since Trump’s last culture war’:
President Trump has ignited a new culture war in the U.S. — this time over the Smithsonian museums and slavery.
How so?: Trump blasted the Smithsonian for being “OUT OF CONTROL,” arguing it is excessively focused on “how bad Slavery was.”
The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes that “whether that sentiment was clumsily phrased or fully intentional, it ignited a storm because of the implication that slavery was somehow not quite as bad as commonly portrayed.”
He’s faced a slew of criticism, including:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) argued Trump is “trying to ERASE slavery from U.S. history.”
- CNN anchor Abby Phillip began her show with a monologue about it. “It’s important to say, objectively, slavery was indeed bad,” she said. “It was evil — the nation’s original sin. And it is impossible to understand the true history of this country without fully grappling with slavery’s impact.”
It’s worth reading Stanage’s column today on the political risks of this controversy, “even as it delights his fans.”
➤ WHAT IS IRRITATING THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY:
The White Stripes frontman Jack White described Trump’s new Oval Office golden accents as “gaudy” and vulgar.”
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung labeled White to The Daily Beast as a “washed-up, has-been loser.”
🗺️ THE REDISTRICTING FIGHT
Green lights all around:
In Texas: A Texas Senate committee just advanced the state’s new congressional district map after Texas’s House Republicans passed it Wednesday. That means the state’s Senate will vote on the effort later today. If it’s approved, Republicans may pick up five additional seats (!) in the House.
💻 Watch the Texas Senate consider the new map at 8 p.m. EDT
In California: California Democrats got the green light to redistrict their state’s congressional map as a counter to Texas Republicans’ effort. California Republicans sued to stop Democrats from redrawing their map, but the state’s Supreme Court sided with Democrats on Wednesday. That means the state’s House and Senate are debating the issue today.
^ But keep in mind: For this effort to be approved, California voters would need to vote in favor of this new map in November.
💻 Watch the California Senate vote happening now
📰 OTHER NEWS
What’s keeping Democrats up at night:
The New York Times released a devastating report for Democrats on Wednesday, showing Democratic voters fleeing in favor of the Republican Party. The Times refers to the report as a “voter registration crisis” for Democrats.
The numbers: “Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a lot. That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from.”
^ Keep in mind: This is happening in battleground states, red states and blue states.
This stat is pretty interesting: “In fact, for the first time since 2018, more new voters nationwide chose to be Republicans than Democrats last year.”
Read the NYT report: ‘The Democratic Party Faces a Voter Registration Crisis’
The Hill’s Amie Parnes spoke with Democratic strategists following the report. The gist: They’re alarmed and feel disheartened.
Happening tomorrow:
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is giving his last speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., before his term ends in May.
Wall Street and the Trump administration will be closely watching. Reuters points out that Powell has used this annual meeting to preview his next plans.
Omg, this New York Times headline: “Fed Chair Faces Scrutiny at Major Policy Speech. Also, Bats.” Apparently, a colony of bats is now living at the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Related read, via The Wall Street Journal: ‘Trump Turns Up the Heat. Fed Chair Jerome Powell Tries to Keep His Cool.’
➤ QUICK HITS:
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) announced he is running for Texas attorney general.
White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields is leaving his job to work for a GOP lobbying and public affairs firm. The Hill’s Alex Gangitano noted this is one of the first major departures of Trump’s second term.
➤ OTHER READS:
The Washington Post: Trump, GOP portray cities as chaotic dystopias in need of occupation
The Atlantic: ‘Make McCarthy Great Again’: Laura Loomer has become the Joseph McCarthy of the Trump era.
Politico: Why Washington Residents Aren’t Flooding the Streets to Protest Trump
🌀 HURRICANE ERIN
This storm is doing so much from 400 miles away:
Hurricane Erin is passing over the Atlantic Ocean while wreaking havoc hundreds of miles away on the Eastern shore.
As The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore noted this morning, Erin is doing exactly what it was predicted to do: curving east and avoiding making landfall in the U.S.
Here is some footage of the storm surges:
📹 First Street Jetty in Virginia Beach
📹 Waves slamming homes in Rodanthe, N.C.
Omg, get out of the water!: A WeatherNation field correspondent showed the storm’s force along the North Carolina coastline. 📹 Watch
Wow, the waves in Nantucket: The Nantucket Current 📸posted a photo of a surfer riding a swell along Nantucket. The publication also 📹posted a video of the beaches. You can 📹see the water flowing in all directions. It’s so spooky.
📹 Watch ‘hurricane hunters’ fly through the storm
COMING UP
The House and Senate are out. 🌻 President Trump is in Washington. Vice President Vance is in Georgia. (All times EST)
Today: Vance visits Georgia to promote the Trump’s tax cuts.
3 p.m.: Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office.
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🍨 Celebrate: Today is National Spumoni Day.
🚸 Holy moly: The Wall Street Journal published a report on the cost of daycare across the U.S. The median cost of sending a child to daycare for the first five years of their life is $44,000 in the U.S. The most expensive area is Arlington County, Va., with a median of $147,000; the least expensive is Wayne County, Ky., at roughly $24,000.
👋 AND FINALLY…
To keep the August vibes positive, please enjoy watching this manatee with the munchies.
