When President Donald Trump ducked out early from a meeting with G-7 nations in the Canadian mountain resort of Kananaskis on June 16, he said he needed to get back to Washington as strikes escalated between Israel and Iran. He didn’t like relying on phone calls, he told reporters on Air Force One, and he wanted to be a “little bit, I think, more well versed.” For the normally freewheeling Trump, it was a sign of the gravity of the moment, a rare acknowledgement that he didn’t have enough information to handle a hair-trigger situation. The stakes for America are high. Backed into a corner by Israel’s surprisingly effective attack, Tehran could decide to turn its proxy terrorist forces against the U.S. in the region and beyond. The strategic rapprochement between Israel and Arab states hangs in the balance as conflict threatens to spread. More broadly, the outcome of the war could decide whether the U.S. commits another generation of troops to the Middle East, once again diverting American might from countering China’s expansion in the Pacific.
Cover story with the great Eric Cortellessa. Illistration by @edelrodriguezstudio Photography by @theotherchrislee and @flipholsinger From the story: "The work is only beginning. On June 7, Trump ordered National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE protests. The Department of Justice is weighing arresting and prosecuting public officials who impede their immigration agenda, according to Administration sources familiar with the matter. The White House is considering suspending habeas corpus, a protection against illegal government detention enshrined in the Constitution that grants every person the right to have a judge review their imprisonment. 'We’re looking at every option,' Trump border czar Tom Homan tells TIME."
Photo illustration by TIME. (Source photos: Chip Somodevilla-Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker-Getty Images). From our cover story with Simon Shuster: "No single private citizen, certainly not one whose wealth and web of businesses are directly subject to the oversight of federal authorities, has wielded such power over the machinery of the U.S. government. So far, Musk appears accountable to no one but President Trump, who handed his campaign benefactor a sweeping mandate to bring the government in line with his agenda."
Art by @obrienillustration Here are some words from our cover story with the great @ericcortellessa@philelliott : The split-screen said it all: Trump glowered and grimaced, spewing old grievances and strange new attacks. The former President repeated a baseless Internet rumor that migrant invaders were killing and eating pet dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, and claimed that Harris “wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.” With sharp ripostes and canny traps, Harris baited Trump into boasting about his crowd sizes, grousing about the 2020 election, and standing up for the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. In the nine years since Trump first burst onto the scene, no opponent—Democrat or Republican—has dealt with the 800-lb. gorilla of American politics as coolly, or gotten under his skin to such a degree. Which is how it’s been going for Trump for a while now. Despite weeks of speculation that Harris was poised to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, Trump and his campaign were caught flat-footed, left lurching from one attack line to another. More than once, top aides thought they had settled on a strategy, only to see the candidate himself upend it on the fly. According to a person close to Trump, the level of campaign infighting and backstabbing rivaled the 2016 operation, an infamous snake pit. Facing a new opponent, Trump reverted to his old ways.
****** But the clearest sign that Trump’s bid for a return to the White House may be in trouble came after the debate ended. His top advisers claimed victory in a prepared statement hailing his “masterful” performance. Harris’ immediately asked for another showdown next month.
"Now Biden’s decision to bow out resets the race. Trump’s campaign, tooled to mock, deride, and defeat Biden, is scrambling to rethink their approach to the electoral map. Democrats will try to capitalize on the fresh start, banking that a new candidate at the top of their ticket will energize the base. But who that might be is an open question.
Even before Biden endorsed his running mate to top the new Democratic ticket, the easiest path forward for the party was to swap in Harris, who quickly announced that she would seek the nomination. Passing over the first woman and first person of color to fill the vice presidency would be politically tricky for a party that relies on those constituencies at the ballot box. Unlike other replacements, Harris would face no trouble tapping into the ticket’s war chest. Biden has said he wouldn’t have picked Harris for Vice President if he didn’t think she would make a strong President." With the excellent @philelliott
“Everyone’s reaching out to him,” says one person close to Trump. “He’s letting them back in, which is not his nature, which is usually full of revenge.” Being Trump, that remains the other possibility. Despite his recent show of discipline, he contains the same vindictive streak that has often led him to scupper his own successes with self-destructive and petty behavior. People close to him call it “the bad Donald Trump.” Trump’s combative instincts are often the enemy of his interests. The burst of momentum he enjoys now could be the prelude to hubristic overreach. Link in bio for the story w/ the great @ericcortellessa
“To all his norm-shattering iterations—flashy businessman, name-brand showman, novice President—Trump has added a new title: felon.” Link in bio. With the great Tessa Berenson Rogers and Eric Cortellessa
Happy Birthday to my inspiring brother Christopher Bennett. He's a disability rights advocate, a Congressional intern, a hard worker, and the keeper of family lore. Please wish him a very joyful day today! @christopherthomasbennett
Art by @obrienillustration Here are some words from our story on the operation to save Biden's campaign with @philelliott and @charlottealter :
As a fog of dread descends on Democrats, Biden’s inner circle is defiantly sanguine. They see a candidate with a strong economy, a sizable cash advantage, and a record of accomplishments on infrastructure, climate change, industrial policy, and consumer protections that will register for more voters as the campaign ramps up. They see a pattern of Democrats overperforming their polling in recent years, from the 2022 midterms to a spate of special elections and abortion referendums. Most of all, they see a historically unpopular opponent. And in the end, they believe, voters dissatisfied with the President will tally the stakes—from reproductive rights to the prospect of mass immigration roundups to the future of U.S. democracy—and pull the lever for Biden again. “Our biggest strength is that 80 million people sent him to the White House before,” says Quentin Fulks, Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, who notes that Trump needs to find new voters to win. “Our challenge is winning people who have already cast a ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris once.”
Art by @obrienillustration We published this cover story in January. By me and @mollyesque . Biden is still struggling to gain a foothold in office. From the story: One year in, there’s a growing sense that the Biden presidency has lost its way. An Administration that pledged to restore competence and normalcy seems overmatched and reactive. Biden has been caught flat-footed by not one but two COVID-19 variants. He has repeatedly failed to close the deal with the Senate he boasted of mastering. The former chair of the foreign relations committee has presided over escalating tensions with Russia and China as well as a chaotic pullout from Afghanistan. The consequences to America’s credibility abroad could be lasting, says Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador in Kabul. “What could be more damaging to internationalism in this country than an internationalist who is perceived as having just completely screwed the pooch?”
The White House press room vending machine during a big news cycle. In the past week: Putin's continuing invasion of Ukraine, Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court, Biden's first State of the Union speech.
