Did Trump just bring peace to the Middle East?
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Dana Milbank: War with Iran? Let's run it up the flagpole!
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Newsweek
3 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Notches His Best Week Yet
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump is coming off what may be his most successful week in office — perhaps of both terms — with a string of victories that reinforced the speed at which his administration is moving to radically reshape American policy, both foreign and domestic, ahead of a critical summer stretch. A landmark Supreme Court ruling, a successful NATO summit, a ceasefire that appears to be holding in the Middle East, another peace deal in Africa, a stock market back to setting records, a key trade breakthrough with China — capped off with the surprise emergence of a new political foil — all combined to shift the narrative in his favor, even as polls show him underwater on some of his signature issues. In a pivotal decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of individual judges to issue nationwide injunctions, a ruling that Trump hailed as "a monumental victory" that clears the way for his administration to reintroduce contested policies such as ending automatic birthright citizenship. "We can now promptly file to proceed with these numerous policies," a jubilant Trump said from the White House. "Even the Birthright Citizenship Hoax has been, indirectly, hit hard," he posted on Truth Social, describing citizenship by birth as "a scam" on the U.S. immigration system. U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a press conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a press conference on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. AP The court's 6-3 ruling marks a significant shift in how legal challenges to executive power may proceed, reinforcing Trump's long-standing criticism that district judges were overstepping their roles. The ruling did not address the constitutionality of Trump's proposed order to end birthright citizenship, which remains blocked, but it opens the door for narrower challenges that could now proceed on a case-by-case basis. Following the Supreme Court ruling, Trump hosted leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda at the White House to sign the framework of a peace deal between the African neighbors intended to end a long-running and bloody conflict. Iran-Israel Ceasefire Holds Amid Fallout From U.S. Strikes In the Middle East, the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, personally brokered by Trump, held through the week, and U.S. officials offered new details to support the president's claim that American strikes had crippled key parts of Iran's nuclear infrastructure. "This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop," Trump said at a NATO summit at The Hague, dismissing initial intelligence suggesting a limited impact. People run along the beach promenade on June 27, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. As Israel's government touts its victory over Iran after 12 days of war, and a sense of normalcy returns to daily... People run along the beach promenade on June 27, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel. As Israel's government touts its victory over Iran after 12 days of war, and a sense of normalcy returns to daily life here, Israelis are also recovering from a wave of aerial attacks that killed 28 people, caused an estimated $3 billion in damage, and tested the limits of its air-defense systems. MoreDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe echoed Trump's confidence, with Ratcliffe claiming "several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years." Meanwhile, Iran's own foreign ministry acknowledged "significant damage," though observers warned that full assessments could take weeks. "The bombing rendered the enrichment facility inoperable," said a joint statement by the White House and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Although some lawmakers, like Democratic Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, criticized the administration for not consulting Congress, the ceasefire and lack of immediate retaliation gave Trump a short-term diplomatic win. Markets Surge as Trump Fiscal Agenda Gains Momentum Financial markets responded positively to Trump's string of policy wins and signs of economic stabilization. The S&P 500 closed at a new high on Friday, driven by investor optimism over the administration's trade and tax proposals. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that negotiations over new reciprocal tariffs are proceeding and could stretch beyond Trump's July 8 deadline. He told Fox Business that talks with 10 to 12 major trading partners might wrap by Labor Day. UNITED STATES - JUNE 24: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with reporters in U.S. Capitol after attending the the Republican Senate luncheon on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP... UNITED STATES - JUNE 24: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with reporters in U.S. Capitol after attending the the Republican Senate luncheon on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) More Tom Williams/AP "If you can't get to a deal," Bessent said, "Trump is happy to go back to the high April 2 tariffs." Meanwhile, the administration's fiscal package, which includes steep cuts to SNAP benefits and other government programs, gained traction in the Senate following overnight revisions, clearing procedural hurdles and staying on pace for a vote as soon as this week. Trump also announced that the U.S. had finalized a long-sought agreement with China to resume the export of rare earth minerals crucial to American technology manufacturing. "We just signed with China the other day," Trump said, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg that the deal was "signed and sealed." Bessent elaborated on the agreement, saying that Trump had "set the table with a very important phone call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping which had led to the U.S. securing the deal. "In dealing with the world's second largest economy, we approached each other with mutual respect," he added, adding that part of the agreement was tariffs coming down and rare earth magnets starting to flow back to the U.S. "They formed the core of a lot of our industrial base," he said. The Chinese Commerce Ministry confirmed it would approve export applications for "controlled items" and in turn, the U.S. would remove several restrictive measures on Chinese technologies. The agreement is a step toward easing a two-year trade standoff that had disrupted global supply chains . Progressive Challenger Emerges as New Target Back home, the rapid ascent of Zohran Mamdani—a Democratic Socialist who upset Andrew Cuomo in New York City's mayoral primary—has given Trump a fresh political foil. Trump-allied media and political surrogates seized on Mamdani's win as a sign of rising extremism within the Democratic Party. "They're going to run the most radical candidate in the country in the biggest city in the country," Vice President JD Vance said in an interview Friday. "That contrast is perfect." New York mayoral candidate, State Representative Zohran Mamdani, speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025, in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens... New York mayoral candidate, State Representative Zohran Mamdani, speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025, in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. More Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Conservative groups have already begun circulating clips of Mamdani's past remarks, and Trump hinted at plans to use the young lawmaker's views to frame Democrats nationally in 2026. "The Democrats now belong to the socialists and the scammers," Trump said at a rally in Ohio earlier in the week. "This guy Mamdani—he's like the AOC of mayors. If you like riots and sanctuary cities, you'll love him." NATO Commits to Spending Boost After Trump Pressure Trump spent part of the week jetting to and from a summit of NATO leaders in The Netherlands, where he claimed another major foreign policy victory as alliance members agreed to dramatically increase their defense spending targets. Under the deal, nearly all NATO countries committed to raising military investment from 2 to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 — an increase Trump has been calling for since he started his political career a decade ago. "Without the support and without the leadership of Donald Trump, it would be impossible," said Polish President Andrzej Duda, according to a White House statement summarizing reactions from leaders across Europe. President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. AP Photo/Alex Brandon The agreement, hailed by analysts and politicians as a breakthrough in transatlantic burden-sharing, was described as a "rebirth of NATO" by Dutch media. Even some longtime skeptics praised the result, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb who called it "a big win for Trump" and for Europe. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch said: "NATO's commitment to raise defense spending to 5 percent is a tremendous achievement. New investments in defense and industrial cooperation will strengthen the core pillar of NATO." The summit closed with Trump declaring that America's allies had finally begun to shoulder their "fair share" of the burden. House Speaker Mike Johnson added, "No more free rides for the rest of the world. No more using the American taxpayer as their own personal piggy banks. THIS is the Trump effect." Legal Setbacks, Intelligence Leak, and Weak Polling Undercut Trump's Agenda While Trump marked a week of substantial wins on trade, his administration also faced sharp criticism and legal controversy on several domestic and foreign fronts. A federal judge in Newark released Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal U.S. resident, who had spent 104 days in detention. The Trump administration accused him of spreading antisemitism through pro-Palestinian activism and moved to deport him. Judge Michael E. Farbiarz granted bail, citing evidence that the detention was politically motivated. Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil speaking after his release from federal immigration detention on Friday, June 20, 2025. Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil speaking after his release from federal immigration detention on Friday, June 20, 2025. Matthew Hinton/AP In another courtroom loss, a Nashville judge ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was wrongly deported back in March. Judge Barbara D. Holmes dismissed claims that Abrego was a gang member or trafficker, saying prosecutors had exaggerated their case. "Abrego has no reported criminal history of any kind," she wrote. A leaked U.S. intelligence report also contradicted Trump's public statements about the impact of recent airstrikes on Iran. The Defense Intelligence Agency concluded in a low-confidence initial assessment that the strikes caused only limited delays to Iran's nuclear program and failed to destroy key underground sites. Trump had described the attacks as having "obliterated" the country's nuclear capacity. Still, the IAEA acknowledged the centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment facility had been destroyed, and Israeli intelligence contradicted the claims that the strikes were only partially successful. Poll numbers from Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin added to the mounting pressure. Net approval for Trump on inflation is now at -22.6 percent, with trade at -14.7 percent and the economy at -13.4 percent. Immigration, once a Trump strength, has dropped to -3.7 percent, following backlash to aggressive ICE operations and high-profile deportation cases.
Fox News
24 minutes ago
- Fox News
From Washington: Inside Operation Midnight Hammer
Over the weekend, the United States carried out targeted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the attack made U.S. history as the largest B-2 operation ever conducted. Retired Army General Joseph Votel formerly served as the U.S. CENTCOM Commander. He explains the time and planning that went into the operation, and discusses why President Trump made the decision to attack now. Then, cybersecurity expert and American AI Logistics CEO John Cofrancesco explained the risks of Iranian hacker retaliation, and how the U.S. is prepared to respond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
CNBC
25 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump calls for a deal on the Gaza war as signs of progress emerge
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-month-long conflict as Israel and Hamas appeared to be inching closer to an agreement. An Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized. "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Sunday between posts about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill. Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, "We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of." Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed. A top adviser to Netanyahu, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire. The Gaza message wasn't the only Middle East-related post by Trump. On Saturday evening, he doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it "a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure." In the post on Truth Social, he said the trial interfered with talks on a Gaza ceasefire. "(Netanyahu) is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING," Trump wrote. The post echoed similar remarks Trump made last week when he called for the trial to be canceled. It was a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. And it unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump's popularity in the country. The Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swaths of northern Gaza, an early target of the war that has been severely damaged by multiple rounds of fighting. Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media. It includes multiple neighborhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp. The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city's northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said. After being all but emptied earlier in the war, hundreds of thousands of people are in northern Gaza following their return during a ceasefire earlier this year. An Israeli military offensive currently underway aims to move Palestinians to southern Gaza so forces can more freely operate to combat militants. Rights groups say their movement would amount to forcible transfer. The war in Gaza began with Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in which militants killed 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostage, about 50 of whom remain captive with less than half believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory response has killed more than 56,000 people, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count but say more than half of the dead are women and children. The war has set off a humanitarian catastrophe, displaced most of Gaza's population, often multiple times, and obliterated much of the territory's urban landscape. Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over one major sticking point, whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement. Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi accused Netanyahu of stalling progress on a deal, saying in remarks on the Telegram messaging app that the Israeli leader insists on a temporary agreement that would free just 10 of the hostages. A Netanyahu spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hamas says it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war. Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas disarms and goes into exile, something the group refuses.
