The Conversation -- July 29, 2025
Will Weissert of the AP: Donald “Trump met on Monday at one of his Scottish golf courses with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who pressed him on the U.S. taking a larger role in helping quell a growing food crisis in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the territory. Starmer and his wife, Victoria, arrived at Trump’s Turnberry course on the southern coast, and the Republican president spent several minutes chatting with them and proudly pointing out key aspects of the property. But the prime minister didn’t wait until they were inside to insist that Gaza would be a key topic in their meeting, calling what’s occurring there 'a desperate situation.' Trump expressed concern about the humanitarian situation and urged Israel’s leader to take action as images of emaciated children have emerged.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: Donald “Trump on Monday expressed frustration about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, opening a day of talks in Scotland with Britain’s prime minister by saying he was significantly speeding up the deadline for Russia to make peace and indicating disagreement with Israeli officials who have denied that anyone is starving in the war-torn enclave. Mr. Trump said that he had seen pictures on television of children in Gaza and said they 'look very hungry' and that 'we have to get the kids fed.' He repeatedly said he wanted to get more food in to the area, but largely blamed Hamas for stealing the aid and selling it — a contention for which the Israeli military has found no proof.... Mr. Trump said he did not 'particularly' agree with a recent assertion by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there was no starvation in Gaza.... Just days ago, the Trump administration said it had approved $30 million in funding for a fledgling aid distribution system in Gaza backed by Israel and run mostly by American contractors, which has seen deadly violence erupt near its distribution sites.... Mr. Trump on Monday claimed that 'no other nation [besides the U.S.] gave money.' In fact, as of January, the European Union had spent about $605 million on aid to Gaza since 2023, according to the European Commission.” At 12 noon ET Monday, this is part of the pinned item in a liveblog. More on Israel/Palestine linked below. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Matthew Bigg of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Monday that he was 'disappointed' with President Vladimir V. Putin over the war in Ukraine, and said he would give Russia 10 to 12 days to end the conflict or face a new round of sanctions. Mr. Trump had warned Moscow earlier this month that the United States would impose “very severe tariffs” if Russia did not agree to a peace deal within 50 days, but on Monday he said he would bring that deadline forward. 'I’m going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There’s no reason in waiting,' Mr. Trump told reporters in Scotland during a meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain. 'We just don’t see any progress being made.' If the Kremlin does not comply, 'it would be sanctions and maybe tariffs, secondary tariffs,' he said. Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to punish Russia over its escalating attacks in Ukraine but so far has not followed through.” Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Dan Bloom, et al., of Politico: “Donald Trump reignited an old feud in Scotland Monday, taking potshots at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan while sitting beside Keir Starmer. 'I’m not a fan of your mayor,' said the U.S. president when asked if he would make a visit to London on his upcoming state visit. 'I think he’s done a terrible job … a nasty person. I think he’s done a terrible job. But I would certainly visit London, yeah.' The dig offered up an awkward moment for Starmer, the British prime minister, who was sitting alongside Trump following a bilateral meeting between the two leaders in Scotland.” ~~~
~~~ Then there was this extended outburst delivered in front of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who had come to supplicate before the old windbag: ~~~
~~~ Seth Meyers wondered if he was the only person who noticed that Trump was saying worse things about windminds than he said about Jeffrey Epstein.
Ellen Francis & Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: “The tariff-and-spending accord announced Sunday by the United States and the European Union stands to avert a damaging trade war between two of the world’s largest economies, but it is lopsided in favor of ... Donald Trump’s protectionist policies, with Brussels swallowing bitter concessions in hopes of stabilizing a relationship that is vital not just economically but also for security interests. The rough agreement — which allows Washington to raise tariffs on E.U. goods while the Europeans promise to buy more U.S. products — quickly came under sharp criticism in Europe. Despite feisty rhetoric and vows to stand up to Trump, E.U. leaders largely acquiesced to the U.S. leader’s ever-changing demands.... European officials and analysts said the tentative agreement does not end the uncertainty because so many details must still be worked out.” ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman disagrees. "Trump’s trade policy seems, if anything, to be tilting the playing field against U.S. manufacturing.... And he failed to gain any significant concessions [from the E.U.], mainly because Europe was already behaving well and had nothing to concede." Krugman himself boasts he could have cut a better deal -- "by doing nothing." Nonetheless, he sees big downsides for everybody because : "1. Trump probably believes he won, which will just encourage him to persist with his trade war. 2. This will hurt the world economy, with the burden falling mainly on lower-income Americans.... 3. European negotiators didn’t make many substantive concessions, but they pretended to give ground — and they didn’t retaliate, even though they were clearly entitled to do so, because the U.S. has just gone back on all its solemn past agreements. This makes the EU look weak...."
Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: “The trade deal reached between the United States and the European Union on Sunday will impose a 15 percent tariff on imported medicines from Europe. Drugmakers manufacture some of their biggest and best-known blockbusters there, including Botox, the cancer medication Keytruda and popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. The tariff rate is much lower than the levies of up to 200 percent that President Trump had threatened. Still, the new import costs stand to add billions of dollars in expenses for the drug industry and could lead to price increases for some medicines. That could translate into higher out-of-pocket costs and higher health insurance premiums for Americans. The 15 percent rate is final and will not be affected by the national-security-related tariffs that Mr. Trump is expected to impose on pharmaceuticals made elsewhere in the world, according to a White House official and senior European Commission officials. This outcome is something of a win for the pharmaceutical industry, which had feared that drugs from Europe would be hit with high levies related to national security. Both sets of pharma tariffs are expected to take effect simultaneously sometime next month, officials said.”
Donald Trump continues to handle the Epstein scandal with his unique sensibilities: ~~~
~~~ Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Monday that he had 'never had the privilege' of visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island because he had turned down an invitation from the financier. As part of a continued effort by Mr. Trump to distract, deny and deflect from his long-running relationship with Mr. Epstein, the president vigorously denied that he had ever visited Mr. Epstein’s private islands in the Caribbean, while in the same breath baselessly accusing his predecessor, former President Bill Clinton, of visiting the islands, his latest bid at conspiracy deflection. 'I never went to the island, and Bill Clinton went there supposedly' a number of times, Mr. Trump said during a trip to Scotland. Mr. Epstein owned two islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands — Little St. James and Great St. James, where he entertained famous friends and allegedly trafficked underage girls for sex. He continued, 'I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down.'...
“Mr. Trump also contradicted a previous explanation for the eventual rupture in their relationship offered by the White House. Aides had said that Mr. Trump barred Mr. Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club 'for being a creep.' On Monday, Mr. Trump said Mr. Epstein was blacklisted because he had hired away some of Mr. Trump’s employees. 'For years, I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein,' Mr. Trump said. 'I wouldn’t talk because 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. I said “Don’t ever do that again.” He did it again. And I threw him out of the place, persona non grata. I threw him out, and that was it.'... Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Mr. Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who died by suicide last year, had said that she was recruited into his world while working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago.” An Axios item is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The implication of Trump's remarks is stunning. He effectively acknowledges that he knew back in the day that something "very bad" was going on at Epstein's islands when he declares that it was in one of his "very good moments" that he chose not to go. Nonetheless, even today he thinks it would have been "a privilege" to participate in those "very bad" goings-on, "very bad" things that he obviously knows now were sexual abuse of children. Combine that with Trump's remarks to Howard Stern that he had no lower age limit for girls he would date, and his unannounced drop-ins at teenaged beauty pageant dressing rooms -- and we can be sure that Trump at least considered sexually abusing underaged girls and he "had no problem" with it. ~~~
~~~ Here is video of Trump's remarks Monday in response to reporters' questions about Epstein. Among other things, he called President Biden, Merrick Garland and Jim Comey "the worst scum on earth"; Bill Clinton went to Epstein's island 28 times; and Larry Summers also went there. ~~~
~~~ Evan Hurst of Wonkette is surprised to learn the autopen wrote the Epstein files. Hurst has thoughts on this and other matters of interest.
AP: “... Donald Trump is asking a federal court in Florida to force Rupert Murdoch to give a deposition for the president’s lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal within 15 days, citing the media mogul’s age and physical condition. Trump sued the Journal, owned by Murdoch, in the U.S. District Court of southern Florida on July 18 for its story reporting on the Republican president’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.... The president’s motion to the court on Monday noted Murdoch is 94 years old, is believed to have suffered several health scares in recent years, and is presumed to live in New York.” MB: Murdoch's lawyers should file a counter-motion, urging that Trump be deposed immediately on account of his advanced age and obviously deteriorating physical and mental conditions.
Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Monday demanded all recordings and transcripts of the July 24 and 25 Justice Department interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime partner of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who conducted the interviews, Mr. Durbin also demanded that the Justice Department commit to offering no pardon or commutation of Ms. Maxwell’s sentence in exchange for information, citing 'serious questions about the potential for a corrupt bargain between the Trump Administration and Ghislaine Maxwell.' The letter ... was co-signed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, who also sits on the Judiciary Committee. Because Democrats are in the minority and have no subpoena power, their demands may carry little weight with Mr. Blanche.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Mark Berman of the Washington Post: “Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of her sex-trafficking conviction and accused the Trump administration of making inaccurate, distracting claims in court papers. Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021, has said she was improperly prosecuted by federal officials. She contends her case should not have proceeded, saying a plea agreement Epstein signed in 2008 to resolve allegations that he molested dozens of girls prohibited charges against potential co-conspirators. The Justice Department recently said the widely criticized Epstein plea agreement, which was signed in South Florida, governed potential prosecutions only in that specific district and did not extend to New York, where Maxwell was indicted.” An NBC News story is here.
⭐Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: “The Trump administration escalated its battle Monday to cast as rogue partisans federal judges who have blocked ... Donald Trump’s priorities, this time taking aim at James Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced her office had filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg over comments, reported recently in right-leaning news outlets, that Boasberg made at a meeting of judges in March with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in attendance. According to the complaint, which was ... signed by Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle, Boasberg 'attempted to improperly influence' Roberts and two dozen other judges by suggesting the Trump administration might “disregard rulings of federal courts” and trigger 'a constitutional crisis.' Days after the alleged remarks, Boasberg, an Obama appointee, rejected the administration’s efforts to summarily deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to a notorious prison in El Salvador, finding many of the deportations abused due process. Despite the order, the administration disembarked most of the Venezuelans in El Salvador, a decision Boasberg had suggested flagrantly defied his order. Notably, the Supreme Court later vacated Boasberg’s order, saying the Venezuelan men should have filed lawsuits in the Texas district where they had been held before their deportation.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Although it's true that President Obama named Boasberg to the D.C. District Court, Obama nominated Boasberg during his term as a D.C. Superior Court judge, a position for which Republican George W. Bush nominated him. So Boasberg is not, to borrow Trump's terms, a "radical left-wing liberal lunatic." Rather, he has run afoul of the Trump toady team by ruling against them.
Perry Stein & Theodoric Meyer of the Washington Post: “A new whistleblower has come forward to challenge the federal judicial nomination of Emil Bove, sharing evidence with lawmakers suggesting the controversial former attorney for Donald Trump and current top Justice Department official misled lawmakers during his confirmation hearing last month. The whistleblower — whose existence has not been previously reported — presented documentation that contradicts claims Bove made before the Senate Judiciary Committee about a Justice Department prosecution. The Washington Post reviewed the evidence and agreed to withhold details to protect the identity of the whistleblower, whose lawyers spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the whistleblower’s fear of retribution. Trump formally nominated Bove for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in June and a full Senate vote is expected this week — a faster timeline than most other judicial nominations.” The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: So Bove aspires to be a top-tier federal judge; yet among his many failures, he committed perjury -- which is a crime -- during his confirmation hearing. And so far that seems to be A-OK with Republican senators. The courts & the entire justice system of course depend upon witnesses NOT lying under oath. Bove should not keep his job at the DOJ, much less become an appellate court judge. ~~~
~~~ Hailey Fuchs of Politico: “It’s not likely, though, that this new development could be enough to sway more Republicans to oppose him. GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine are expected to vote 'no.' Sen. Thom Tillis, whose opposition to Trump’s previous U.S. attorney pick for the District of Columbia tanked the nomination and is not running for reelection, had been viewed as a possible Republican who could be flipped on judicial contenders. But the North Carolina lawmaker said Monday his support of Bove remained unchanged.”
Bove is not the only federal official who has been making false statements: ~~~
Sam Levin of the Guardian: “US immigration officers made false and misleading statements in their reports about several Los Angeles protesters they arrested during the massive demonstrations that rocked the city in June, according to federal law enforcement files obtained by the Guardian. The officers’ testimony was cited in at least five cases filed by the US Department of Justice amid the unrest. The justice department has charged at least 26 people with 'assaulting' and 'impeding' federal officers and other crimes during the protests over immigration raids. Prosecutors, however, have since been forced to dismiss at least eight of those felonies, many of them which relied on officers’ inaccurate reports, court records show. The justice department has also dismissed at least three felony assault cases it brought against Angelenos accused of interfering with arrests during recent immigration raids, the documents show. The rapid felony dismissals are a major embarrassment for the Trump-appointed US attorney for southern California, Bill Essayli, and appeared to be the result of an unusual series of missteps by the justice department, former federal prosecutors said.” Read on. ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel hearing arguments Monday on a lower-court order barring 'roving' immigration arrests repeatedly pressed a Justice Department attorney to confirm whether immigration officials have been ordered to carry out 3,000 deportations or deportation arrests a day.... Judge Ronald Gould, a Clinton appointee..., [said], 'I’m just trying to understand what would motivate the officers who did the round-up of aliens here to grab such a large number of people so quickly and without marshaling reasonable suspicion to detain.'... The answer to the question posed by the panel could carry enormous significance as they weigh whether to maintain a lower-court judge’s decision to bar the administration from resuming large-scale immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area. U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a Biden appointee, ruled that the sweeps relied exclusively on factors such as race, ethnicity, language skills and job type to justify arrests, rather than individualized details that a person was in the country illegally.” DOJ attorney Yaakov Roth claimed ignorance of a quota even though Stephen Miller -- Trump's deportation ghoul -- told Sean Hannity on-air that “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day.”
Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that would prevent many Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements if they continue to offer abortion services.The order, issued by Judge Indira Talwani in Federal District Court in Massachusetts, extended a temporary block she had placed on the government earlier this month. She found that the policy retaliated against Planned Parenthood in violation of its First Amendment rights and could amount to an unconstitutional 'legislative punishment.' The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, came in response to a provision introduced in the sprawling policy bill that President Trump signed into law early this month. The bill imposed a one-year ban on state Medicaid payments to any health care nonprofit that offers abortions and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funding in 2023.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Vimal Patel of the New York Times: “When the Department of Justice recently opened an investigation into George Mason University over accusations that the university’s diversity programs were discriminatory, many members of the faculty were outraged. Professors quickly published a resolution supporting their president and the university’s efforts around diversity. Now, Justice Department officials say they will investigate the faculty, too.... Free speech advocates quickly denounced the move as an attack on academic freedom.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Bender, et al., of the New York Times: “Harvard University has signaled a willingness to meet the Trump administration’s demand to spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House as talks between the two sides intensify, four people familiar with the negotiations said.... University officials ... concluded months ago that even if they prevailed in their court fight against the government, a deal could help Harvard to avoid more troubles over the course of Mr. Trump’s term.” MB: I'm leading spelunking excursions in Cambridge now that I've found out the little college there is led by such enthusastic cavers. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: “To make a point that should be obvious to people to whom it apparently isn’t, once you’ve accepted the principle that the government can make you pay half a billion dollars in exchange for charges that have virtually no chance of standing up in court so you can stop them from pulling funding, whether the government has a formal monitoring role is beside the point — they can always take funding away again and/or come back and demand more money. How any halfway intelligent person could believe that agreeing to a shakedown will help 'avoid more troubles' is beyond me.” Read on for Lemieux's take on Larry Summers' public statement about Ivy League shakedowns.
Betsy Klein & Samantha Waldenberg of CNN: “The Trump administration has identified a new target in its battle with elite higher education, announcing a two-pronged front against Duke University on allegations the North Carolina school is in violation of the Civil Rights Act. The Education Department is launching an investigation into Duke University and the Duke Law Journal, the department announced in a news release Monday, citing reporting that alleges the university was violating the Civil Rights Act. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also sent a letter to Duke University outlining shared concerns about the use of race preferences in Duke’s hiring, admissions, and scholarship decisions.'... Separately, the letter from McMahon and Kennedy alleged 'serious allegations of systemic racial discrimination permeating the operations of Duke University School of Medicine and other components of Duke Health.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, my lands, I suspect some sweet white boys' mamas are all consternated that Duke failed to accept their darling offspring into its most prestigious programs. How can a university be "the Princeton of the South" if it is not overloaded with white boys of an upper-crusty class?
Every Day Is “Bring Jesus to Work” Day. Taylor Telford of the Washington Post: “Federal employees can display religious items at work, pray in groups while not on duty and encourage co-workers to adopt their faith, according to guidance released Monday by the Office of Personnel Management, which manages the federal civilian workforce. In a memo titled 'Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace,' OPM Director Scott Kupor said that the government workforce should be 'a welcoming place' for employees who practice a religious faith.” The Hill's story is here.
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Oklahoma. Jamie Stengle & John Hanna of the AP: “An Oklahoma sheriff’s office Monday opened an investigation over reports that images of nude women were displayed on the state’s school superintendent office television during a meeting with education board members. Top Oklahoma lawmakers have sought answers over accounts given by two State Board of Education members, who said they saw the images during a meeting in Ryan Walters‘s office Thursday.... Education board members Becky Carson and Ryan Deatherage told the online news outlet NonDoc that ... they were the only people seated in places where they could see the screen.... Walters, a Republican, has spent much of his first term in office lauding ... Donald Trump, feuding with teachers unions and local school superintendents, and trying to end what he describes as 'wokeness' in public schools.... Walters said in a post on the social platform X on Sunday that 'any suggestion that a device of mine was used to stream inappropriate content on the television set is categorically false.'” MB: Right. Walters was probably reviewing a sex education proposal. Or maybe models for an 8th-grade drawing & painting workshop. So definitely "appropriate content."
South Carolina. Maggie Haberman & Ken Besinger of the New York Times: The Republican architect of Project 2025 — the right-wing blueprint that Democrats made a rallying cry in the presidential election last year — is mounting a primary challenge to Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, saying he isn’t sufficiently devoted to ... [Donald] Trump’s political movement. As he begins his challenge, Paul Dans, who is not originally from South Carolina, starts out as a distinct underdog. Mr. Graham, who has the support of Mr. Trump, has won past primaries handily despite appearing vulnerable, and he is likely to have a significant financial edge. But Mr. Dans plans to run highlighting the work of Project 2025, from which Mr. Trump distanced himself during his campaign before enacting significant portions of it into his government.”
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Colombia. Genevieve Glatsky & Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: “Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s conservative former president who shaped the country’s politics more than anyone over the past 25 years, was found guilty on Monday of bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud. It was the first major criminal conviction of a former Colombian leader. Mr. Uribe was accused of working with a lawyer in an unsuccessful effort to bribe a former paramilitary to retract testimony that damaged him. The paramilitary had said that Mr. Uribe, 73, founded and financed a paramilitary group in the 1990s, during the country’s long and bloody internal conflict. The ruling, by Judge Sandra Heredia of a lower circuit court in Bogotá, is likely to further divide the nation, which has long debated the legacy of Mr. Uribe’s role in the conflict. As president from 2002 to 2010 he pursued an aggressive military campaign against the country’s leftist rebel groups, significantly weakening the largest group and bringing a measure of security the nation had not seen in years. But critics say his government’s tactics led to human rights violations against civilians and accused him of supporting right-wing paramilitary groups, for which they argue he should be held accountable.”
Israel/Palestine, et al. Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: “Two of the best-known Israeli human rights groups said Monday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, adding fuel to a passionately fought international debate over whether the death and destruction there have crossed a moral red line. The two groups were B’Tselem, a rights monitor that documents the effects of Israeli policies on Palestinians, and Physicians for Human Rights — Israel. Their announcement was the first time major Israeli rights groups have publicly concluded that the Gaza war is a genocide, an assessment previously reached by some organizations like Amnesty International.” (Also linked yesterday.)
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Who needs book learning, not Georiga.
MAGA Rep Misspells State In Senate Launch Video/a>
"Republican Georgia Congressman Mike Collins launched a Senate bid this week, but the campaign kickoff included one cringeworthy misstep: his campaign misspelled Georgia in one of its videos."
Here's the uninspired video
Teach 'em young that they are only cogs in the machine.
"One Tennessee school district will no longer accept doctors’ notes to excuse an absence despite objections from parents. Lawrence County School System officials said the school is instituting the policy to teach students work ethic and reliability, saying that students will be expected to go to work sick or injured as adults. With no federally mandated sick leave, many do go to work when sick, but public health officials advise against it.
The policy is meant to help improve attendance rates, but parents have objected, noting that an absence for an illness like the flu could now mean a referral to the Lawrence County Juvenile Court for truancy. Children who get sick at school or are sent to school sick and sent home by a nurse will be counted as tardy."
Charles C. Mann
"What Keeps the Lights On"
How long until Trump shuts off the lights with his incompetence?