‘He wants peace': MTG praises Trump just hours after she called him out for strikes on Iran
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made clear she is at odds with the president and other Republicans who support an aggressive posture against Iran, acknowledging that there's a 'very big divide' in the party over the issue and that her position opposing foreign wars is becoming 'more popular' among the base.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
What to watch in Tuesday's New York City mayoral primary
For all their disagreements, sources in both leading New York City mayoral primary campaigns tell CNN their assessment going into Election Day is the same: jump ball. Technically, there are 11 candidates on Tuesday's ballot. But the final weeks of the Democratic race have revolved around Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as New York governor in 2021, and Zohran Mamdani, an assemblyman and democratic socialist who has been in government for less than five years. Who wins may come down to which candidate more voters find completely, absolutely unacceptable. Cuomo still faces skepticism over the issues that led him to quit as governor – sexual harassment allegations he has denied and his handling of Covid-19 – while Mamdani's critics call out his thin government experience and question his past statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Polls close at 9 p.m. Eastern. The primary's ranked-choice voting system could mean we don't know a winner until at least next week. Perhaps the most unpredictable factor: Election Day will take place under an oppressive heat dome that settled in over the East Coast at the beginning of the week, with stay-inside advisories potentially depressing turnout among voters Tuesday and amplifying the importance of those New Yorkers who voted early. Here's what to watch Tuesday night as New York Democrats make their picks for mayor and other offices: Cuomo has been running on his experience getting bills and projects passed. It didn't take His endorsement by his old boss Bill Clinton on Sunday made clear that he's positioning his campaign in part as the bulwark to the leftward, democratic socialist swing within parts of the Democratic Party. The party 'has been taken over by this far-left socialist mentality: dismantle the police, abolish the jail system, legalize prostitution, invest all the money in education—because if people have an education, nobody will commit a crime. What a beautiful concept. I think the Marx Brothers talked about that. It was called utopia. You know, it's a nice concept, but it has nothing to do with reality, right?' Cuomo said at a campaign event on Sunday. 'What has the Democratic Party produced for anybody recently? What has it done for the people in this city? The city's going backwards. What did it do for the country? The country's been going backwards. And that's the problem with the Democratic Party.' New York City has been facing several overlapping crises in the years since coming out of the pandemic. Together, those crises have created a sense for some that the city is out of control and not a place they either want to or can live anymore. Cuomo has campaigned as the strong, competent hand that New York needs to change that. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Queens congressman who has endorsed Cuomo, told CNN he's hoping that national leaders take note of the issues Cuomo is focused on and the kind of coalition he is building, saying the campaign 'helps us as we're getting ready for the struggles and battles in 2026 to regain the House.' Talk of who could stand up to President Donald Trump has been a major factor in the race in a city that showed both a significant increase in support for the Republican in the 2024 election. New York has been struggling with the massive influx of migrants that occurred during the previous administration of President Joe Biden. It's also being targeted by Trump administration officials for more crackdowns. 'I do not support Mr. Cuomo,' Jennifer Browne, one city voter, told CNN. 'I take care of my elderly mom who has Alzheimer's and I'm very distressed by the way the whole nursing home issue and I believe he's a sexual harasser and women will not be protected under him.' Other voters pushed back on exactly those issues, saying they are ready to forgive Cuomo and in fact look fondly toward him because of how well they remember him managing the pandemic. Mamdani has been talking up the need to turn the page to a new generation of politics while pitching an array of ideas to deal with the city's affordability crisis that range from rent freezes to city-owned and operated grocery stores. The 33-year-old, three-term assemblyman has caught fire in large part from disaffection, particularly among younger voters, with what the Democratic Party has been and how the 67-year-old Cuomo can seem like a walking metaphor for what they are trying to leave behind. Mamdani has said his lack of experience is a virtue both in making him free of scandals and in opening him up to new ways of thinking about what government can and should do. While Cuomo talks about the need for effective compromise, Mamdani said his uncompromising approach is precisely what New Yorkers want. 'So much of what he celebrates as his record are the things that he worked his hardest to water down when he was actually in power,' Mamdani said. 'An idea is only as good as its implementation. And these ideas we have put forward of freezing the rent and making buses fast and free, delivering universal childcare, we put them forward because we're confident we can deliver them.' Mamdani drew adamant opposition from some Democrats due to his socialist proposals and anger over his positions related to antisemitism and support for Israel. Mamdani refused to say he believed Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish state or condemn the phrase 'globalize the intifada,' referencing an Arabic term used by Palestinians to describe their uprising against Israel. Cuomo repeatedly accused Mamdani of fueling antisemitic hate, a charge Mamdani denied. This is the second mayoral primary election in New York City that will use a ranked-choice system, allowing voters to pick their five top candidates, and then having their votes reallocated to the leading candidates over multiple rounds. In 2021, though current Mayor Eric Adams stayed in first place through all seven rounds, he won in the end by just 7,000 votes. All the candidates are bracing for an extended wait. Some have been running strategies geared toward the peculiarities of this kind of election: Mamdani and city Comptroller Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other, for example, each urging their supporters to rank the other second. Other groups have been pushing a 'Don't Rank Cuomo' effort. How this, or voters who still don't understand the ranked system and pick only one candidate or those who may rank Cuomo as their only second choice because they know his name, will work out in the math is impossible to predict. If no candidate wins a majority of the first-choice votes, it'll be a week before the New York City Board of Elections releases a first look at the ranked-choice results on July 1. And that's assuming the board won't have another round of problems that they are infamous for. Or that there aren't legal challenges brought on by other problems. Primary day is going to be the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures expected to go over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That may keep older voters home, potentially hurting Cuomo, but it could also complicated organizing for less-involved voters, which could hurt Mamdani and the other candidates. Last week, the New York City Board of Elections announced that it would be distributing fans and water to polling sites without air conditioning. Multiple campaigns have already voiced their concerns about how the heat is going to be handled and how it may affect the results. And it may not just be about the voters who do or don't turn out: if polling sites are not able to operate properly of voting machines break down in the heat, legal challenges are expected. Known as a heavily Democratic city, New York has actually elected a Republican in five of its last eight mayoral elections – two times for Rudy Giuliani and three times for Mike Bloomberg, who had re-registered as an independent by his last race but appeared as the Republican candidate and has since become a Democrat again. (He's endorsed and donated to Cuomo.) Cuomo is looking at staying in on his own ballot line if he doesn't win on Tuesday. And the Working Families Party has its own ballot line and is expected to give it to Mamdani if he doesn't become the Democratic nominee. The Democratic primary winner will face Adams, the incumbent mayor who opted out of this year's primary four years after winning it and being hailed as a national leader for Democrats. Adams was indicted last year on charges that he accepted improper gifts and favors, a case that was dismissed by the Trump administration. There will also be a Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa. Unlike in the primary, there is no ranked-choice voting in November. Whoever wins the most votes outright will become mayor. CNN's Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
The politics of abortion have changed. Here's how.
Good morning, Early Birds. Here's hoping we see James Wood in the Home Run Derby. Send tips to earlytips@ Thanks for waking up with us. In today's edition … How abortion politics have changed in three years … An exciting race brewing in New York City … A well-funded, bipartisan anti-Trump political group launches … but first … Here's the latest on Iran. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran last night on Truth Social. Both sides would finish their operations against each other, then halt hostilities by around midnight Eastern time. 'This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!' he wrote. Israel and Iran didn't immediately confirm the ceasefire, leading to some skepticism from Democrats that it would hold. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no agreement for a ceasefire but added that his country didn't plan military strikes after last night if Israel held off. Lawmakers may get some clarity when Congress is briefed today on the intelligence that led to the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. Christopher Landau, deputy secretary of state; Steve Feinberg, deputy secretary of defense; Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence; and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are expected to brief lawmakers, two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the briefings, told our colleagues Theodoric Meyer and Marianna Sotomayor. Democrats have been eager to see exactly what — if anything — has changed since March, when Gabbard said the U.S. intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon' and that the country's supreme leader 'has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.' 'Have they changed their position? Did they get it wrong, and was Israel's intelligence community right? But if not, what in the hell is the president of the United States doing supporting a third country's policy and ignoring our own intelligence?' said Sen. Mark R. Warner (Virginia), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. 'Remember, messing with intelligence is how we got ourselves in the Iraq War.' Trump said the U.S. intelligence community's assessment was 'wrong' before launching the strikes, and Gabbard has since said the assessment was in line with Trump's policy. Iran responded to the U.S. strikes with a missile attack yesterday on al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. base in the Middle East. The Defense Department didn't report any casualties from the attack. The Qatari Defense Ministry said it intercepted the missiles. Trump said on Truth Social that Iran alerted the U.S. ahead of the attack. Iran's theocratic regime felt compelled to respond to the U.S. strikes but is fearful that a larger conflict can threaten its 46-year rule. The Trump administration's official line is that it isn't interested in regime change, but Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to rule it out over the weekend, especially if Iran obtains nuclear weapons. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters yesterday that Trump was not committed to regime change and 'was just simply raising a question.' Where will Trump be today? He's off to The Hague for a NATO summit this morning. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged during a news conference yesterday that Iran is top of mind and reiterated the defense bloc's position that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon. But he stressed that the summit will be focused on threats to the Atlantic alliance, specifically Russia's war on Ukraine, and funding to address them. There is a conventional wisdom in Washington that abortion, a top issue for Democrats during elections in 2022 and 2024, is no longer the politically potent talking point it once was. The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization three years ago today was politically seismic. It made abortion a top issue for Democratic-leaning voters overnight, helping the party raise hundreds of millions of dollars across the country, funding scores of ad campaigns about abortion and leading the party to overperform expectations two years into President Joe Biden's term. Then came 2024, when Republicans swept into control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, leading some election postmortems to suggest Democrats focused too much on abortion and not enough on prices and the economy. It's not that simple, said a range of Democrats we spoke to in the lead-up to this anniversary. To Jessica Mackler, the head of Emily's List, which aims to elect women who support abortion rights, elections are never as uncomplicated as one issue over another. 'This has always been a both-and proposition,' Mackler told us, noting that even in 2022, months after the Dobbs decision, there was a flurry of stories about Democrats focusing too much on abortion. 'To me, the imperative in front of us is that we have to both connect with voters on the way in which this recklessness and chaos in Washington is making their lives more difficult. And we also have to be clear in explaining where their Republican opponents are on abortion rights.' 'Abortion really did matter (in 2024),' said Yasmin Radjy, executive director of Swing Left, a liberal grassroots organization. 'But I think we got feedback from voters that while abortion mattered a lot … we weren't reaching voters on other issues that, honestly, were more front of mind for them.' Radjy argued abortion messaging needs to be tailored to various audiences, differentiating between speaking to voters in a state controlled by Democrats that has protected abortion rights versus voters in a state where Republicans have rolled back the protections at the state level. In the immediate aftermath of Dobbs, some states implemented trigger laws that banned or severely restricted the procedure, while others enacted abortion protections through legislation or voter initiatives. Voters in some Republican-controlled states such as Ohio, Kentucky and Kansas also scored wins for abortion rights proponents in the years after Dobbs. In states where laws protecting abortion have not been passed or restrictions are in place, Radjy predicted, the issue will be even more salient in the coming elections. 'It is no longer, 'trust us when we say this is going to be bad.' It is people feeling and experiencing how it impacts people's lives,' Radjy said, noting that recent research has shown voters are often moved by how abortion bans hurt people in their network of friends. 'That is the difference. It is not storytelling about reproductive freedom as an issue. It is storytelling on how these bans and Republican power are harming people.' Abortion is already a key issue in the top two races on the ballot this year. Democrats in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial contests are focusing on abortion rights, and both have plans to mark the anniversary by hitting their opponents on the issue. 'This is the first governor's race in Virginia and New Jersey since Roe v. Wade was overturned, placing abortion access back in the hands of the states,' said Johanna Warshaw, a spokeswoman at the Democratic Governors Association, who cast Republicans Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey as 'deeply out of step with voters on this issue.' Activist Amanda Zurawski agrees: She was galvanized to campaign heavily for Democrats last year after nearly dying from a complication to her pregnancy in Texas. She said she was encouraged by victories on ballot initiatives in states, where voters largely supported access to abortion, and said she would continue speaking out to keep the cause a central tenet for Democrats. 'When people see this affect them personally, that's when they start speaking up and fighting back,' Zurawski, who hasn't ruled out a run for office, told us. 'We saw, and we continue to see, time and again, that when reproductive freedom is on the ballot, it wins.' The House Democratic caucus will vote this morning for the ranking member of the Oversight Committee. It's a role that provides a prominent opportunity to confront members of the Trump administration in public. Four candidates are running: Reps. Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts, Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, Robert Garcia of California and Jasmine Crockett of Texas. Lynch, 70, is filling the role in an acting capacity following the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. He and Mfume, 76, are running on their seniority in the committee. Garcia, 47, and Crockett, 44, assert they represent younger perspectives and have experience using their social media standing to raise awareness of the committee's work. Garcia is seen as the front-runner, having won the endorsement of the House Democrats' steering committee on the first ballot last night. Voters in New York will head to the polls today for primary elections, including a closely watched mayoral race. The campaign — especially the race between the top two candidates, former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New York state Rep. Zohran Mamdani — has all the contours of the broader fight within the Democratic Party: young versus old, liberal versus centrist and establishment versus insurgent. Cuomo, who resigned in disgrace as governor after sexual harassment accusations, has been consistently leading in the polls. Still, there is a belief that Mamdani — buoyed by a go-everywhere media strategy and clever social presence — is closing strong. A recent poll from Marist University found Cuomo leading Mamdani by 12 points in ranked-choice voting. It could be days until we know who actually won the contest, however. A handful of top candidates are running, and New York City's use of ranked-choice voting means voters can choose up to five candidates. If no candidate receives over 50 percent as a first choice, the different rankings come into play. This is where things could get interesting, as Sarah Ellison notes in her story on the race. Cuomo has elicited a visceral response from a range of candidates, leading to a potent 'anyone but Cuomo' contingent in the race. So if enough voters don't rank Cuomo at all, a first-choice lead could quickly evaporate, making the race unpredictable. A $15 million ad campaign will tell the stories of Americans who have been hurt by Trump's second-term policies, operatives behind the plan tell us, aiming to highlight where the president has fallen short of his campaign promises. The bipartisan campaign — called 'Home of the Brave' — brings together an array of anti-Trump political figures, including Susan Rice, a former top adviser to Democratic presidents; Barbara Comstock, a former Republican representative from Virginia; and Michael Luttig, a former Republican judge who testified before the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack by a mob of Trump supporters. The first slate of stories includes a Virginia mother who relies on federal research for her special-needs child, a small-business owner in Indiana harmed by Trump's tariffs and a federal contractor who lost her job because of Trump's cuts. 'Regular Americans aren't afraid to speak out about what's happening to our country,' said Sarah Longwell, a Republican operative who has worked to oppose Trump for years and is a member of the group's board. 'That's why we're launching Home of the Brave — to give regular Americans a place to tell their story about how the Trump administration is harming them, their communities and their country.' (Pennsylvania): A blistering heat wave is sweeping the central and eastern United States, with temperatures reaching into the 90s and 100s, affecting about 170 million Americans. Bring Me the News (Minnesota): American cities and states are being put on alert after the U.S. strikes on Iran, reflecting the Homeland Security Department's warning of a 'heightened threat environment' across the country. 'While there's no known threats at this time, we'll continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly,' Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said. The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington): Washington state is joining several other states by levying tobacco taxes on Zyn, the popular nicotine pouches. Are you worried about the United States striking Iran's nuclear program? Do our readers see any echoes of the United States' conflict in Iraq? And are you surprised that the MAGA wing of the Republican Party is backing such an active foreign intervention after running on ending foreign wars? Send us your thoughts at earlytips@ or at and Thanks for reading. You can follow Dan and Matthew on X: @merica and @matthewichoi.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump takes his go-it-alone approach to NATO summit after announcing Israel-Iran ceasefire
When President Donald Trump travels here Tuesday for a consequential summit of NATO leaders, he'll arrive toting a freshly brokered ceasefire he hopes can prove to his skeptics — including at the conference — that he is a peacemaker at heart. The arrangement between Israel and Iran came after an intensive afternoon of diplomacy at the White House, but hours after it was set to take effect, Israel accused Iran of firing several missiles and vowed to respond 'with force.' Tehran denied violating the truce. Trump hopes the ceasefire — if it holds — will act as vindication for the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, which drew a mixed response from leaders here in Europe, who feared becoming embroiled in a wider war. In the end, the deal Trump announced Monday was brokered with the help of Qatar, and appeared to leave the Europeans on the sidelines. White House officials said the diplomatic arrangement would not have been possible had Trump not ordered the bombing run over the weekend. 'Congratulations to everyone!' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Monday evening as he revealed the parameters of what he called the end of the '12 Day War.' At least in Trump's mind, the deal could bolster his stature as a global deal maker at a moment when his ability to strike peace agreements is being tested. As he steps back onto the world stage, the president appears eager to demonstrate his ability to bring warring parties to the table — even if he hasn't yet been able to resolve the European conflict in the background of this week's gathering. This week's Hague summit had been carefully planned over months to avoid angering Trump and paper over the significant differences that remain between Europe and the United States on how to manage the war in Ukraine. The centerpiece is a short and focused final statement — designed to avoid any disputes over language — that will formalize a new plan to raise annual military spending targets to the figure Trump had demanded: 5% of GDP. (Trump, however, told reporters on Friday that the US shouldn't have to meet that target.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will have a seat at a pre-summit dinner on Tuesday evening, which Trump is expected to attend. But the Ukrainian leader won't participate in the one-day summit on Wednesday, underscoring his stalled ambitions for his country to join NATO — an outcome Trump has ruled out. Already, divisions between Trump and European leaders over Ukraine had threatened to foil attempts by NATO to signal a unified front to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has appeared reluctant to apply new sanctions on Moscow, even as his peacemaking efforts have stalled, and so far hasn't approved any new military assistance to Ukraine. And over the weekend, European officials privately fretted Trump would decide to cancel his trip to the NATO summit altogether, afraid he'd deem it a needless exercise that would take him away from Middle East consolations in Washington, according to one western official. White House officials had also weighed whether to still attend amid the Middle East conflagration. But on Monday, after it appeared both Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, the president determined to go ahead, carrying with him the freshly brokered agreement after an extraordinary day of diplomacy at the White House. In the past, a US president who just conducted a major military operation, followed by arranging a pause in fighting, might have relished an opportunity to consult his European counterparts in person to attempt coalition building. But Trump's approach appears less collaborative and more go-it-alone. Even before he gave the go-ahead to launch strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump openly dismissed European efforts at brokering a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. 'Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe, they want to speak to us,' Trump told reporters Friday, hours before US stealth jets took off on a bombing run in Iran. 'Europe is not going to be able to help on this one.' A few days beforehand, he departed early from the Group of 7 summit in Canada rather than remaining at the mountainside gathering to strategize on Iran with leaders whose own countries could have become embroiled in the widening conflict. The president's solitary approach has hardly come as a surprise to European leaders, who found themselves sidelined in the lead-up to the US strikes. Trump made clear over the weekend he believed only the US had any real standing to intervene, and declared afterwards, 'only American weapons could do what has been done.' Trump views multilateral organizations like the G7 and NATO skeptically, believing instead that direct interactions between countries is a more fruitful approach to world affairs. He has previously written off NATO as an attempt to wring resources from the United States to protect nations on the other side of an ocean. At a 2018 NATO summit during his first presidency, he left fellow leaders shaken when he said during a closed-door meeting he would considering doing his 'own thing' if they didn't significantly boost their defense spending. Trump's loud calls for increased investment in defense among NATO members have yielded results. More countries now meet the alliance's threshold than they did when he first entered office in 2017. But he has continued to insist it's not enough, particularly as the war in Ukraine rages. Now, however, the recent tensions in the Middle East may overshadow the war playing out in Europe.
