Politics

Read about the latest political news, views and analysis

Macron and his diplomats can’t help talking down Americans

Diplomatic relations between France and the USA are more strained than ever following a row at the United Nations. The fallout began on Friday when the US was one of ten countries to vote against the renewal of Voker Turk as UN High Commissioner of Human Rights. They were in the minority. Turk, an Austrian, was reappointed by the General Assembly with 144 votes for and 13 abstentions. In response to the vote, the French mission to the UN in Geneva posted a message on social media devoid of any diplomatic nuance. “The United States was once a beacon of human rights,” it began. “That is no longer the case. Today, they find themselves isolated alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali and Russia. And the world is no longer listening to them.” It added a hashtag: “America Alone.

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Trump’s Bibi break-up

On Monday, an unusually camera-shy Benjamin Netanyahu hopped on a flight to Washington. It wasn’t totally clear he would. Officially, Netanyahu was travelling to attend the funeral of the late senator Lindsey Graham, last of the neocons, his supporter and friend. Unofficially, he wanted to get another face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump. But some “sources” around Trump hinted that the President would be too busy to squeeze the Israeli PM into his diary. A Trump snub would be embarrassing for Bibi, and suddenly he, too, was very busy and might not be able to make the funeral after all.

Has China cloned your congressman?

Speaking at The Hill’s Nation Summit last week, Florida Republican Kat Cammack claimed that the Chinese government was deploying “digital twins” of every member of Congress. These twins, digital replicas of individual lawmakers, are reportedly built from publicly available data and used to manipulate American politics. Cammack offered no evidence for this allegation, while the broader media largely ignored it. American academics had already published a proof of concept Yet, Cammack’s statement is more interesting than critics might recognize. China may or may not have built 535 virtual legislators. But it easily could. More importantly, somebody almost certainly will.

Abdul el-Sayed’s nasty streak

On the eve of his final debate with Michigan Democratic Senate rival Haley Stevens, Abdul el-Sayed was busted by Politico for declaring at a recent donor meeting: “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different.” A round of tut-tutting ensued as various Democrats denounced Sayed for uttering violent threats. By the time of the debate, which took place last night at the Fox 2 studio in Southfield, Michigan, Sayed was emphasizing that it was Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, not Stevens, that he was talking about.“Thank you for clarifying that you didn’t call me an ogre,” Stevens quipped.

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The problem with the Ann Widdecombe suspect’s ‘fair trial’

It’s hard to hold anyone responsible for anything today in British politics. That’s because no sooner have the facts emerged than everybody in Westminster has played another game of musical chairs. If the word “amusing” can be used in the same paragraph as “attempted beheading” allow me one amusing example. In June, a 30-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan allegedly attempted to behead a local man on the streets of Belfast. It was apparently caught on video. Everyone was geared up to make their points. The left was preparing to argue “So you’re saying all asylum seekers are beheaders, are you?” while the right was gearing up to say: “We must hold people accountable.

Drama, debt and dysfunction at the DNC

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin stepped into his role in early 2025. He said last year it’s the “political equivalent of being a fire hydrant. You get pissed on by everyone.” That might be partially his own fault. The committee, under his leadership, is $2 million in debt. Their physical headquarters have been put up for collateral in a last-ditch attempt to obtain a line of credit. And Martin threw his phone at a junior aide in a fit of frustration at the beginning of the month, resulting in an HR investigation. Tensions heightened at the DNC in May, when the long-awaited autopsy of the 2024 election loss was released – a typo-filled report with no solid thesis and notable absences of relevant details.

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How will Team Burnham deal with Team Trump?

Will Trump and Miliband hit it off?

Freddy Gray is joined by Ben Judah, a former Labour Special Advisor to discuss the new government's outlook on foreign affairs. Freddy and Ben examine how Andy Burnham's appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary will shape the way Britain builds on its special relationship with the United States and the Trump White House. They also discuss the implications of Miliband's past positions on net zero and fresh drilling for oil and gas, and how that might come to affect his personal relationship with Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. Learn how to earn yield on gold, paid in gold, at Monetary-Metals.com/Americano Produced by Natasha Feroze and Henry Lloyd https://www.youtube.com/watch?

‘Goy’ and ‘goyim’ are not pejorative terms

The words goy and goyim are thrown around by Jews and non-Jews to mean very different things and to convey very, very different impressions. Some antisemites try to weaponize these terms to accuse Jews of being exclusionary or discriminatory against goyim (the correct Hebrew pluralization of goy, rather than the anglicized “goys”). Some Jews have also weaponized the term against their enemies: Ben Shapiro has accused, Tucker Carlson, of “goyslop” for falsely claiming that Jews want “goyim” to die defending Israel. The original meaning of the word goy is neutral. It simply means “nation.” The Bible describes the Jewish people as “goy Kadosh” – a holy nation. In post-biblical eras goy has come to mean “gentile” – any person or nation that is not Jewish.

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The media will miss Trump when he’s gone

Hats off to President Trump! At the conclusion of his speech to the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump donned a red cap with 2028 emblazoned upon it and declared that he had hit upon a scheme to “save” the ratings of the new media. “I am pleased to announce my intention to run for a fourth term as President of the United States,” he said.  Trump evoked a few titters from the assembled press corps at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, but that was about the extent of the hijinks. In one sense, it’s no laughing matter. What will the press do without Trump? He’s correct in viewing himself as its savior. Without the 24/7 entertainment provided by the Donald, views would dwindle.

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I invented Nixonmaxxing

The kids call it “Nixonmaxxing,” and I invented it 30 years ago. “I think that his historical record is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, but I think deservedly so,” Vice President J.D. Vance says about Richard Nixon, who has become, as a recent Wall Street Journal headline put it, “an unlikely new icon” for young conservatives. Maybe I can’t claim to have been the first teenage Republican to have embraced Nixon chic, but all the way back in 1996 a young Danny, irked by the banality of college application essay questions, decided to make his pitch to higher education by writing about the merits of the president who’d been taken down by Watergate. It was a way of daring colleges and universities to reject me.

Andy Burnham’s centrist act isn’t fooling anyone

When Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood arrived in Downing Street on July 20, the image of political rivals arm in arm symbolized a new government of differing views taking shape. It might have been more awkward. As they neared the door of No. 10 and the waiting television cameras, Miliband turned to Mahmood and asked: “Should we turn around for a photo together?” Mahmood gave the idea short shrift: “We’re not getting married, Ed!” But in a sense, Labour is seeking a new relationship with the British public – and everyone around Andy Burnham is alive to the importance of images, symbols and vibes. As Wes Streeting, the new Defense Secretary, put it in cabinet the next day: “We have a second chance to make a first impression with the voters.

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Will Trump’s ‘massive attack’ be on Yemen?

It is my solemn duty to report that, as ever in Trumpworld, the news zone has flooded and we are paddling through a reality-bending time loop. Last night, the government reapplied tariffs on more than 80 countries, on this occasion using dubious concerns about "forced labour" to justify the charges on Britain, the EU, Australia and elsewhere. Tonight, the President will attend the rearranged White House Correspondents’ Dinner, three months after the last one was canceled following another assassination attempt. The dinner will be held at the Waldorf Astoria, DC, which used to be the Trump International Hotel. The guest list and security will be tighter this time, and Donald should have a chance to make some good jokes.

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The Fetterman Show

Will he or won’t he? Senator John Fetterman is causing heart palpitations among Democrats with his recent threat to cross the political aisle should they “officially become the anti-Israel party.” Ever since he announced that he would form a joint campaign fundraising committee with his fellow Pennsylvania Republican senator David McCormick, Fetterman has captured the spotlight, which is how he likes it. New York magazine reports that in 2026, Fetterman has already popped up on Fox News 56 times.  It’s quite a remarkable turnaround for Fetterman who originally campaigned for the Senate from the Left, defeating his more mainstream Democratic rival Conor Lamb in the 2022 primary.

The wrong lessons from a politician’s murder

Reason, David Hume noted, is a slave of the passions. Arguments, especially political crusades, are often rooted in emotional responses, with the evidence assembled to justify a position which is heartfelt but often wrongheaded. So it is with the cry, from politicians, for more steps to be taken to safeguard the personal security of politicians. The killing of the former Member of Parliament Ann Widdecombe, like the deaths of Jo Cox and David Amess, has generated new demands for action, and legislation, to protect those in public life from risk and danger. The transparent nobility of Ann’s life and the grotesque tragedy of her death make it emotionally difficult to resist the call for strengthened perimeters around our politicians.

Mike Lindell’s long-shot bid for Minnesota governor

“For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit mypillow.com” is a jingle that punctuates every hour of Fox News viewing. Now “MyPillow guy” Mike Lindell is changing his tune: for the best governor of Minnesota in the whole wide world, vote Mike Lindell 2026. Lindell is a Trump ally, businessman and election conspiracy theorist. He’s known for his rags-to-riches origin story, rising from a crack cocaine addiction to achieving sobriety and turning to religion. He founded My Pillow in Minnesota in 2004. For readers unfamiliar with Lindell’s political history: before his run for governor, Lindell was sued by a voting machine company, then known as Dominion Voting Systems,  for defamation pertaining to false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

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The ADHD administration

At the start of the second Trump administration, the words on everyone’s lips were “breakneck speed.” On the day of his inauguration, Donald Trump declared a border emergency, designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations and challenged birthright citizenship. He withdrew from international climate agreements and ditched Joe Biden’s mandates on electric vehicles. He rescinded various Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. On January 20, 2025, he issued pardons for individuals connected to the 2021 riot on Capitol Hill. And he established the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE), which empowered Elon Musk to begin hacking away at federal bureaucratic bloat. Trump signed 143 executive orders in those first 100 days, more than any previous president.

Jeanette Rubio, first lady in waiting?

Marco Rubio proposed to his then-girlfriend, Jeanette Dousdebes, in 1997, at the top of the Empire State Building. After she said yes, he asked for the engagement ring right back, concerned that it might slip off her finger and fall on the way down. Only once the couple got to ground level did he return it. Jeanette entrusts her possessions to Marco to this day. “I just love that she makes her husband hold her phone,” one Washingtonian says. Unlike many of the wives and girlfriends of the Trump administration, Jeanette Rubio has not created an exaggerated version of herself online. “Wife of Secretary Marco Rubio,” her Instagram bio reads. It links to marcorubio.com, which contains a picture of Marco and the words “Thank you!

Trump’s battle for sovereignty

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on a roll. Docket his consistently robust responses to Hamas, Iran and NATO for future delectation. On July 13, he wrote a brilliant op-ed for the Wall Street Journal titled “Why We’re Dismantling the International Criminal Court.” Then, on July 20, the State Department released “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” a 64-page report detailing Cuba’s 40-year effort to infiltrate susceptible groups in the United States. As a prefatory summary notes, Cuba’s campaign was less about politics or economics than, at bottom, “a revolution against western civilization itself – waged, in part, via the novel and insidious method of persuading the children of the West to turn against their own inheritance.

The radical left-wing takeover of the Democrats is nearly complete

Tuesday August 4 could prove to be a turning point in American political history. If Democratic primary voters in Michigan choose Haley Stevens, a moderate, as their Senate nominee, the party establishment should stagger on, perhaps up to and beyond the presidential election of 2028. It’s more likely, however, that the Democrats will elect Dr. Abdul el-Sayed, a pro-Palestine radical who supports Medicare for All and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. El-Sayed’s victory would confirm that the hard left is the coming force in national politics, and suggest that the long-anticipated socialist takeover of the oldest party in the US – the party of Andrew Jackson, Harry Truman and Bill Clinton – is finally under way.

Energy investor that bailed on Britain IPOs for $230 million

Britain is losing out as a result of its changeable energy policy. That’s the main takeaway from Samos Energy’s recent closing of a $230 million initial public offering. On July 13, Samos Energy Acquisition Corporation announced the conclusion of its IPO of 23 million units, sold at $10 each to raise a total of $230 million. This number included an extra 3 million units that were bought due to high demand. The IPO comes after the company shifted its attention from the UK to Africa and South America, when co-founder Jacques Tohme called out the problems on the North Sea that influenced his decision. “The UK Treasury has become very unstable and lacks engagement with the industry,” Tohme said in 2023.

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Tariffs

Why aren’t American companies passing on tariff refunds?

Even for an economy as large as the United States, $70 billion still counts as a significant sum of money. After the first round of President Trump’s tariffs were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court, customs officials have already issued that amount in refund checks. Here’s the problem, however: none of it appears to have been passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. In reality corporate America is pocketing the money – but it is also playing with fire by inviting retaliation from President Trump. Almost no major policy has ever been quite so chaotically implemented as the tariffs imposed by President Trump on the oddly named Liberation Day in April last year.