Playbook PM: Trump breaks with Bibi
THE CATCH-UP
TRUMP DECRIES 'REAL STARVATION' IN GAZA: The growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza took center stage today as President Donald Trump and British PM Keir Starmer launched their opening day of talks at Trump's golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.
In a rare break from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump acknowledged there was 'real starvation' in Gaza and announced the U.S. would set up food centers in the war-torn Gaza strip. 'We have to get the kids fed,' Trump told reporters, POLITICO's Myah Ward reports from Edinburgh.
When asked if he agreed with Netanyahu's claims there was no starvation in Gaza, Trump responded: 'Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry. … The whole place is a mess … They have to get food and safety right now.'
Trump later added: 'Some of those kids are — that's real starvation stuff.'
It's a sharper-than-usual criticism from Trump against the Israeli leader, who is facing growing condemnation from some of the United States' closest allies over the treatment of Palestinians. The renewed fury over conditions in the area comes after another round of ceasefire talks broke down last week, with little indication of progress toward a resolution.
Trump appeared to acknowledge the growing global outrage as more images of the dead and dying have emerged from the region: 'I see it, and you can't fake that,' Trump told reporters. 'So, we're going to be even more involved.' He said the U.S. will work with European allies to 'set up food centers.'
Seated beside Trump, Starmer also pressed for the U.S. to take a larger role in helping quell a growing food crisis, calling it an 'absolute catastrophe.' 'Nobody wants to see that,' Starmer said. 'And I think people in Britain are revolted at what they're seeing on their screens.' More from our POLITICO colleagues in Turnberry
Meanwhile, Trump suggested the sticking point for a ceasefire remains the fight over the hostages held in Gaza. A total of 50 Israeli hostages reportedly remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
'Hamas don't want to give the hostages. I told Bibi that he will have to now maybe do it in a different way,' Trump said, adding that the situation could be resolved 'very quickly' if not for the hostages, per Reuters.
But Israel isn't backing down. This morning, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told reporters that if Hamas does not release captured hostages 'the gates of hell will open in Gaza,' CNN's Dana Karni and Nadeen Ebrahim report. Katz also warned that Israeli military forces will 'strike everything related to Hamas until the hostages are released.'
Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. EPSTEIN SAGA LATEST: Even halfway around the world, Trump hasn't escaped questions about the Jeffrey Epstein drama that has consumed Washington in recent weeks. Asked at his Scotland presser about an incident where Trump reportedly threw the late financier out of Mar-a-Lago, he told reporters: 'For years I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein. He did something that was inappropriate. He hired help and I said 'Don't ever do that again.' He stole people that worked for me and I said 'Don't ever do that again.' And he did it again and I threw him out of the place … and that was it. I'm glad I did.'
And back in Washington: Trump's legal team asked a U.S. court today to order a deposition for billionaire WSJ owner Rupert Murdoch in his defamation lawsuit against the outlet's July 17 report detailing a 2003 birthday greeting from Trump to Epstein, Reuters' Luc Cohen reports. In the new filing, Trump's attorneys say the president 'told Murdoch before the article was published that the letter referenced in the story was fake, and Murdoch told Trump he would 'take care of it.'' Murdoch's 'direct involvement further underscores Defendants' actual malice,' Trump's lawyers wrote.
Meanwhile: Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, is appealing to the Supreme Court to get her conviction overturned 'on the grounds that she was unlawfully prosecuted for sex trafficking minors,' Axios' Marc Caputo reports. The filing comes days after Maxwell met with a top DOJ official to reportedly reexamine the case.2. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Trump also told reporters ahead of this morning's meeting with Starmer that he would shorten the 50-day deadline he recently gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace deal with Ukraine to '10-20 days from today.' 'There's no reason in waiting,' Trump added, per Bloomberg. Trump noted earlier he was 'disappointed' in the Russian leader for refusing to come to the negotiating table. 'We thought we had that settled numerous times … And then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city … bodies lying all over the street,' he said, per WSJ's Max Colchester and Tarini Parti.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to hike up sanctions on the Kremlin in the past month, though nothing has come of the threats yet. Still, some Ukrainian officials were quick to laud him for the shortened deadline, NYT's Marc Santora reports. 'Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for [Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on oline that Trump's comments showed he was committed to 'peace through strength,' adding 'Putin respects only power — and that message is loud and clear.'
And Capitol Hill lies in wait: A bipartisan proposal imposing Russian sanctions remains dead in the water, as over a dozen GOP senators await 'the greenlight' from Trump before they sign off on the move, Semafor's Morgan Chalfant and Burgess Everett report. 'Some Republicans want to move on punishing Vladimir Putin, with or without the president's explicit backing. But it's clear that that simply will not happen in Trump's Washington.'
3. THE ART OF THE DEAL: The U.S.-EU trade deal that Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen negotiated yesterday has effectively ended the president's threat to impose a 30 percent tariff on EU-made goods. As a part of the deal, the U.S. will set a baseline tariff of 15 percent for European goods, while the EU agreed to spend hundreds of billions on U.S. energy and weapons. Still, the deal has been met with mixed emotions abroad.
The responses: European stocks saw quite the uptick today in response agreement, 'despite widespread analysis that the bloc got the worst of the deal,' Semafor's Tom Chivers reports. And though markets are relieved, France denounced the trade agreement as a 'submission' by the EU this morning, per Reuters. 'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission,' French PM Francois Bayrou wrote on X.
4. ANOTHER CEASEFIRE STRUCK: Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire after five days of intense fighting on their border that have left dozens dead. The deal comes after officials from both countries, the U.S., Malaysia and China met in Kuala Lumpur today to broker a deal, per Reuters. Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim told reporters today that the agreement marks 'a vital first step towards a de-escalation and a restoration of peace and security,' per WaPo. Ibrahim noted the countries also agreed to convene an 'informal meeting' of their respective regional military commanders at 7 a.m. tomorrow.
5. DEEP IN THE HEART: The largest super PAC backing House Democrats is pulling together a whopping $20 million to target congressional Texas Republicans, as GOP lawmakers plow ahead with their plans to redraw the congressional maps to garner five more GOP seats ahead of the midterms, NYT's Shane Goldmacher and Nick Corasaniti report. Democrats have decried the rare mid-decade redistricting effort as a political stunt to rig the GOP majority and the House Majority PAC is hoping their aptly named 'Lone Star Fund' will 'tell congressional Republicans from Texas that their own jobs could be put in jeopardy by the remapping.'
What's next? The next round of public hearings for the redistricting efforts are underway today, with the Texas House set to hold its third redistricting meeting at 6 p.m. Eastern, The Dallas Morning News' Philip Jankowski reports. So far, GOP lawmakers have heard near-unanimous public opposition to their plan from the public. On Saturday, 'more than 700 people signed up to testify at a hearing' at the University of Houston, forcing lawmakers to 'cut off testimony after five hours.' Expect much of the same today.
Related read: The American Prospect's David Dayen is out with a deep dive on Greg Casar, the Texas Democrat and Congressional Progressive Caucus chair, who has been focused on 'reviving Democrats' populist roots, while trusting that such positioning can play across the ideological divide.'
6. TRAIL MIX: Paul Dans, one of the chief authors of the controversial Project 2025, is launching a GOP primary challenge against longtime incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), with a formal announcement expected on Wednesday in Charleston, per AP's Lisa Mascaro and Meg Kinnard. … Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper officially entered the race for North Carolina's Senate seat today via a post on social media, POLITICO's Cheyanne Daniels reports.
7. GEORGIA ON MY MIND: Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) formally joined a growing GOP primary field aiming to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff next year, POLITICO's Nicole Markus reports. Collins' announcement is a big blow for Gov. Brian Kemp, who desperately wanted to avoid a repeat of the GOP infighting over Trump's nomination that ultimately cost the GOP control of the Senate in 2020, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Collins and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) are 'both pitching themselves as unapologetic MAGA warriors,' compared with former college football coach Derek Dooley, 'a Kemp ally and political newcomer who's expected to model his imminent campaign on the governor's playbook.'
Though Kemp may not have been looking for a fight, he's certainly found one. The Georgia governor had reportedly agreed with the White House and the Senate GOP's campaign arm to find an ideal candidate to counter Ossoff, but 'Kemp has been clear' that he wants Dooley, NOTUS' Reese Gorman reports. Kemp's decision to push for his own candidate is viewed by some in MAGA world as 'a slap in the face.' As one person close to Trump's political operation notes: 'People are pissed. Trumpworld is pissed.'
8. THE ROOMS OF REQUIREMENT: 'Inside the Pettiest Fight on Capitol Hill,' by NOTUS' Riley Rogerson: 'Multiple Democratic lawmakers and staffers described to NOTUS a struggle to reserve rooms on Capitol Hill for committee or caucus meetings, shadow hearings and constituent gatherings. … Whether or not Republicans are intentionally blocking the rooms or not, there's a pervasive sense of suspicion among Democrats.'
TALK OF THE TOWN
TRANSITION — Rachel Tripp now senior director of comms at America First Policy Institute. She previously was VP of media relations at Alliance Defending Freedom.
BONUS BIRTHDAY: Kieran Lawless of Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) office.
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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