Important Takeaways:
- Leaders from across Europe expressed support for Ukraine and concern about the direction of the United States on Thursday at a security-focused summit clouded by worries about whether the U.S. will remain a reliable ally if Donald Trump wins a second presidency
- Newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed around 45 heads of government to a grandiose English country mansion to discuss migration, energy security and the threat from Russia as he seeks to restore relations between the U.K. and its European Union neighbors four years after their acrimonious divorce.
- Starmer said that the U.K. plans to take a more active role on the world stage, especially when it comes to Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion and to people-smuggling gangs organizing irregular migration.
- Trump’s skepticism about NATO has long worried U.S. allies. Trump’s choice of Sen. JD Vance, an opponent of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, as vice presidential running mate has heightened concerns.
- Hungary’s pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said a Trump victory would be “the best news for everybody, because he’s a man of the people.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to reject the establishment of a Palestinian state, reflecting the deepening decline in support for a two-state solution among wider Israeli society.
- The vote could signal that Israeli lawmakers have confidence that “the next president is going to be Donald Trump,” one analyst said.
- The vote came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to travel to the United States to address a joint session of Congress and meet with President Joe Biden
- Israel has faced growing pressure to present a clear plan for what happens when the war comes to an end, with Israeli opposition to a two-state solution complicating paths to a viable diplomatic resolution.
- Addressing the Knesset on Wednesday, Netanyahu defended his handling of the war in Gaza, saying Israeli forces had been effective in putting Hamas “under pressure” amid negotiations for a cease-fire deal that would bring an end to fighting in Gaza and see hostages who remain held by Hamas in the enclave released.
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Important Takeaways:
- For Donald J. Trump’s most devoted supporters, the bullet that nicked his ear and came within inches of ending his life was only further proof that a higher power is looking out for him.
- “I don’t see this as luck,” said the Rev. Nathaniel Thomas, a Republican National Convention delegate and a pastor from the Washington, D.C., area. “I see this as God’s protection.”
- “Something’s got to be at play,” said Michael Thompson, the Republican chairman in Lee County, Fla., while looking toward the sky as if to invoke the heavens. “I don’t think the average person could withstand a tenth of what he has gone through. So yeah, I think he’s probably chosen at the right time in our country’s history.”
- “The most incredible thing was that I happened to not only turn but to turn at the exact right time and in just the right amount,” Mr. Trump said. “If I only half-turn, it hits the back of the brain. The other way goes right through. And because the sign was high, I’m looking up. The chances of my making a perfect turn are probably one tenth of 1 percent, so I’m not supposed to be here.”
- On his social media website, Mr. Trump said, “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
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Important Takeaways:
- The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents trial dismissed the case against the former president Monday on the grounds that the appointment of and funding for special counsel Jack Smith was illegal.
- U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee, said in her 93-page decision that Smith’s appointment was “unlawful” and unconditional. “The clerk is directed to close this case,” the judge wrote.
- Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel in November 2022, tasking him with overseeing the federal investigations into Trump’s handling and retention of classified documents after he left office as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
- Trump’s lawyers argued in court papers filed in February that the appointments clause of the Constitution “does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States. As such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action.”
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Important Takeaways:
Here is My Plan to Celebrate America’s 1776 Founding:
- Day 1, I will convene a White House Task Force called “Salute to America 250”
They will coordinate with State & Local Governments to ensure not just one day of celebration, but an ENTIRE YEAR of festivities across the nation starting on Memorial Day 2025 & continuing to July 4, 2026.
- I will work with all 50 governors, Republican & Democrat to create “The Great American State Fair”, a unique One Year Exhibition featuring pavilions from all 50 states.
- The Great American State Fair will showcase the glory of every state in the Union, promote pride in our history & put forth innovative visions for Americas future.
- Trump plans to host “The Great American State Fair” at the Legendary Iowa State Fair Grounds.
- Together we will Build it & They will Come!
- We will host major sporting contests for High School Athletes — Patriot Games
- I will sign an Executive Order to bring back our National Garden of American Hero’s, commission artists in a statuary park honoring the greatest Americans of all time
- I will invite the leaders & citizens of nations around the world to visit the United States in honor of our 250th anniversary.
America’s tourist industry should get ready because we’re going to have a lot of people coming, it will be a record year.
- I will ask Americas great religious communities to pray for our nation & our people as we prepare for this momentous occasion!
“As we chart a course toward the next 250 years, let us rededicate ourselves as One Nation, Under GOD!
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Important Takeaways:
- ‘When America’s weak, the axis strengthens’: Fmr. Mossad official says Hezbollah fears war
- Oded Ilam, a former senior Mossad official, spoke recently with Arel Segal on his show on 103FM radio to discuss the implications of Biden’s failure in the recent presidential debate against Donald Trump and the possible escalation in the North.
- Ilam began by saying, “The Americans, although I don’t think they are anti-Israeli, continue to misunderstand the situation we are in. Biden and his administration have their hearts in the right place. The famous ‘warning’ that Biden gave to the Iranians didn’t move them at all. They attacked Israel anyway, and the American response was that the administration issued condolences for Raisi’s death. The American administration repeatedly shows weakness, which is also reflected in the ongoing negotiations.”
- “Every time Hamas does not accept a deal with Israel, we are forced to step back two more steps. It is hard for me to see a situation where Hamas allows us to write up another agreement that doesn’t include withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor,” Ilam noted. “I can assume that when America is weak, the axis strengthens. This confrontation is very significant. I saw Biden’s performance in Atlanta, where he was different than at the recent debate. He was excellent. The same team that advised him to go to the debate is exactly the same team that shapes America’s policy.”
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Important Takeaways:
- On Monday, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling that Trump has some presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken to overturn results of the 2020 election, Trump’s attorneys sent a letter to Judge Merchan asking to him to “set aside the jury’s verdict” in his hush money case.
- The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Tuesday it would not oppose former President Donald Trump’s request to file a motion arguing that his hush money conviction should be tossed, a move that will almost certainly delay Trump’s sentencing, which is currently set for July 11.
- Prosecutors asked for two weeks to respond to the defense motion.
- “The verdicts in this case violate the presidential immunity doctrine and create grave risks of ‘an Executive Branch that cannibalizes itself,'” defense attorney Todd Blanche wrote. “After further briefing on these issues beginning on July 10, 2024, it will be manifest that the trial result cannot stand.”
- Judge Merchan has yet to rule on Trump’s request to file his motion or make any determination about the July 11 sentencing date.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump on Monday, holding in a 6-3 decision that presidents are covered by limited immunity from criminal prosecutions for actions taken while in office.
- The decision is here.
- The Court held, according to the summary of the decision:
- Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.
- The Court also ruled that a president is entitled to a pretrial hearing on immunity that can be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court before a trial begins.
- This means that any trial of the former president will take place after the November 5, 2024, election.
- The case will now be remanded, and will likely result in the dismissal of some or all of the charges facing the former president in federal court in Washington, D.C., relating to the Capitol riot of January 6.
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Important Takeaways:
- A current president has never before debated his predecessor
- The two men are now facing off again for the presidency and this debate will mark the first time in this election campaign that millions of Americans are sitting up and paying attention.
- Unlike past debates, this one will be conducted in a cable television studio without a live audience
- The debate will also feature muted microphones for candidates during their opponent’s allotted speaking time
- This is the earliest presidential debate in modern US history – held before either candidate has become the formal nominee of their party.
- There’s another debate scheduled in September.
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Important Takeaways:
- Diplomats and world leaders have begun to worry that Biden’s reluctance to more fully break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could cost him the election in November.
- Their concerns have been conveyed largely behind closed doors, out of consideration not to wade too far into U.S. domestic politics.
- But the thrust is often the same: The war has furthered the perception that the world is peppered with a variety of out-of-control hot spots and, in turn, made Biden look weak among voters back home.
- They fear that it may usher in former President Donald Trump and rupture the broader diplomatic harmony Biden has worked to establish.
- European officials say they’re more vexed that Netanyahu hasn’t publicly supported the proposal, even though the U.S. says he privately agreed to it.
- Biden officials have dismissed concerns about the impact of the war on the president’s candidacy, pointing to polling showing that it doesn’t rank among voters’ top priorities ahead of the election.
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