Happy Wednesday! It’s another hot day in D.C., so stay hydrated and don’t forget your sunscreen!:
In today’s issue:
- White House refutes Iran nuclear strike report
- Trump compares Iran strike to WWII atomic bombs
- NATO chief calls Trump ‘Daddy’ (yes, really)
- Mamdani win sends Dem shockwaves
- Shake Shack’s Dubai chocolate shake
🎤️ NATO SUMMIT
The bee in Trump’s bonnet:
The White House has spent today disputing several news outlets’ reporting that the U.S. strikes against Iran did not decimate the country’s nuclear program.
If you missed the reporting: CNN, The New York Times and NBC News all cited an internal preliminary classified report that determined Saturday’s bombing only set Iran’s nuclear program back by a few months, challenging President Trump’s assessment that the strikes set the country back years or destroyed it entirely.
💡 Why this matters: Carrying out the strike against Iran was a sophisticated maneuver in foreign policy. Even if the initial report is correct in that it pushed back Iran’s nuclear program by just a few months, that’s still a win for the White House. But Trump has set the bar incredibly high by suggesting the U.S. strikes decimated Iran’s nuclear materials, setting Tehran back by decades.
Trump closed out the NATO summit this morning with a wide-ranging press conference but spent much of it pushing back on the reporting.
He even equated the Iran strikes to WWII: Trump compared the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites to dropping atomic bombs in Japan near the end of World War II. “It was so devastating. Actually, if you look at Hiroshima or if you look at Nagasaki, you know, that ended a war, too,” Trump said. “This ended a war in a different way, but it was so devastating.”
^ Keep in mind that roughly 200,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He also dismissed the report’s assessment that Iran moved its nuclear materials before the strike: “If you knew about that material, it’s very hard and very dangerous to move,” Trump said.
Earlier this morning, Trump bashed the news outlets as “scum.”
From Trump: “This was an unbelievable hit by genius pilots and genius people in the military, and they’re not being given credit for it because we have scum that’s in this room. And not all of you are … CNN is scum. MSDNC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They’re bad people. They’re sick,” Trump said. “And what they’ve done is they’re trying to make this unbelievable victory into something less.” 📹 Watch Trump vent about the reporting
His team publicly backed him up: The president’s national security team strongly disagreed with the reporting on the initial internal assessment.
➤ Vice President Vance posted a scathing critique of American media, arguing it is “full of the least curious, least insightful people in our country.” 🔎 Read Vance’s criticism
➤ Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued to Politico that Iran is now “much further away from a nuclear weapon.”
➤ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says there is an investigation into how the report was leaked. During Trump’s NATO news conference, Hegseth stepped up to the microphone and accused the media of trying “to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons to try to hurt President Trump or our country.”
^ Oh, by the way. Trump referred to Hegseth as “Secretary of War,” noting the position used to be called that. “We feel like warriors,” Trump said. 📹 Watch
For what it’s worth: An Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson says that Saturday’s bombing “badly damaged” its nuclear installations.
Keep in mind: The report’s conclusion could easily change — it is an early assessment, after all. Without any inspections on the ground, it’s hard to know how successful the strikes were. Here’s a helpful Brookings Institution explainer on measuring the strike’s success.
Back to the NATO summit:
President Trump wrapped the NATO summit with a press conference. While that Iran report was on the top of his mind, he had plenty of other matters to discuss.
- Trump says he will speak with Iran next week: “We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran, we may sign an agreement. I don’t know,” Trump said. “To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. They had a war they fought, now they’re going back to their world. … I don’t care if I have an agreement or not.”
- Trump laid into Spain: NATO allies agreed to increase their defense spending, but Spain has reservations about the plan. Trump laid into Spain this morning. “I think Spain’s terrible, what they’ve done. No, I do. They’re the only country that won’t pay the full — they want to stay at 2 percent,” Trump said in response to a Spanish reporter’s question.
- On the Russia-Ukraine war: A reporter asked Trump why he hasn’t been able to end the Russia-Ukraine war. “Because it’s more difficult than people would have any idea,” Trump responded. “[Russian President Vladimir Putin] has been more difficult. Frankly, I had some problems with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] … it’s been difficult than other wars.”
- On Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: Trump said he thinks Powell is “terrible.” A reporter asked whether he’s begun interviewing candidates for the next Fed chair. “Yeah, I know three or four other people,” Trump responded.
➤ TIDBIT — UH, NO COMMENT:
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte referred to Trump as “Daddy” this morning after the president used harsh language to bash Israel and Iran for continuing strikes despite a fragile ceasefire agreement. 📹 Watch— it’s around the one-minute mark.
🍎️ IN NEW YORK
Cuomo bested in NYC primary:
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) conceded to 33-year old New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (D) on Tuesday night in the city’s mayoral primary, delivering an absolute stunner.
Nearly every poll consistently showed Cuomo in the lead, despite Mamdani closing the gap in several surveys. Cuomo also had a stacked list of Democratic endorsements, including former President Clinton and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Mamdani landed a few high-profile progressive endorsements — like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — but was still considered an underdog against the New York powerhouse.
Votes are still being tallied, but Cuomo didn’t wait to concede, telling supporters “tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night.”
Why this matters: Democrats have struggled to find their footing while trying to repair their damaged image after the 2024 elections. Mamdani is a democratic socialist and ran as an anti-establishment Democrat. He called for free buses, free childcare, a rent freeze and tax increase on wealthy taxpayers. What to know about Mamdani
His win is notable because progressives have had some big losses over the last year, including several high-profile progressives, like former Reps. Cory Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) losing their primaries.
Related, via The New York Times: ‘Why Ranked-Choice Voting Could Have a Pivotal Effect on the Mayor’s Race’
➤ TIDBITS:
📹 Wow: Watch Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) react to Cuomo’s loss. He railed on Cuomo. 📹 Watch the clip
There was an ~outlier~ poll predicting this outcome: The Economist’s Mike Bird posted a screenshot of “the single best poll for Zohran in the run-up to the election, discounted as a wild outlier at the time, undershot his actual first-round percentage of the vote by about eight percentage points.”
COMING UP
The House and Senate are in. President Trump has left the Netherlands. (All times EST)
This afternoon: Trump leaves the Netherlands and returns to Washington.
4:15 p.m.: Two Senate votes. 📆Today’s agenda
4:15 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆Today’s agenda
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🍓 Celebrate: Today is National Strawberry Parfait Day.
🥤 Tbh, the Dubai chocolate craze is not overhyped: Shake Shack is leaning into the craze over the combination of pistachio, toasted kataifi shredded phyllo and chocolate. It has created a shake with those flavors.
🎸 I would simply faint: Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at a charity concert in Nashville. 📹 Watch
👋 AND FINALLY…
Because you made it this far: If you aren’t craving a mozzarella stick already, this record-breaking cheese pull will surely change that.
