Republicans Suddenly Have Plans Next Week

The ad is a strategic blunder that ignores the president's low approval and the ongoing war, serving only to make Trump feel better about himself.

The ad is tonally off, acting as a victory lap when majorities of Americans think the country is on the wrong track and rate the economy negatively.

Republicans suspect Trump is holding onto his war chest for post-presidential travel, a library, or a 2028 successor, and by waiting, he has already wasted the huge advantage early money buys.

Republicans have a large cash advantage over Democrats in Senate, House, and Super PACs, and Elon Musk is also starting to spend, which will hurt Democrats in close races.

Dozens of Republicans are skipping the convention, with many citing scheduling conflicts or family time, and some were even sent bills to attend.

The convention is primarily an opportunity for Democrats to connect attending Republicans to Trump and drive up their negatives.

The Trump coins are already sold out, likely purchased by the Trump family or someone with a case before the Department of Justice.

Renaming the Strait of Hormuz would permanently associate a geopolitical disaster and global energy crisis with Donald Trump.

Trump may declare the war over to make voters think it's finished ahead of the midterms, while keeping troops deployed into 2027 to resume bombing if needed.

A Navigator poll shows 20% of Trump's 2024 voters regret voting for him, with 45% citing the Iran war and 43% citing prices and the cost of living.

The political problem is not the failure to end the war but the decision to start it, which broke his promise of no foreign wars.

Markey's victory exposed the limits of generational change campaigns that cannot explain what is lost by an incumbent's age or gained by a younger candidate's youth.

Markey seemed energetic and capable, and because Massachusetts is a safe seat, there was no electability question that might have hurt an older candidate in a swing state.

Rejecting Harris is an unfair test because few national Democrats besides Obama would be invited to campaign in Kansas, Iowa, or Alaska.

The real test for a 2028 nominee is whether they can campaign in purple states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, not deep red states.

Democrats should hammer Republicans for voting to cut Medicaid, cut taxes for billionaires, and cut taxes for AI companies to build data centers in the same bill.

The hit is effective because it connects data center tax breaks to rural hospital closures caused by Medicaid cuts in the same bill.

Sanders and Casar's bill would permanently ban ASI and pause AI development until a federal regulator establishes safety rules.

Banning AI would be as bad as banning electricity a century ago, and AI will eventually be expected everywhere.

AI company communicators have done a miserable job by touting cataclysmic consequences while pushing for IPOs and opposing regulation.

Private polling shows data centers have only 20% approval, and communities don't trust AI companies even when they promise to bear all costs.

Bartiromo was fired for leaking Fox's internal guidance to the White House that instructed employees to steer clear of Trump's delusional election claims.

The firing reflects Fox's internal drama and the network's caution after losing hundreds of millions in defamation lawsuits.

Settler violence is calculated and methodical, designed at the highest levels of the Israeli government to create Jewish sovereignty and bury a Palestinian state. According to the UN, settler attacks have increased every year since October 7, with 2026 on pace for more than 2,000 violent attacks.

Smotrich installed settler ideologues in the defense ministry to rubber-stamp settlements, while Ben-Gvir directed police to stop enforcing criminal laws against settlers. The Israeli government diverts disproportionate tax revenue and funds to build roads connecting illegal outposts and provides them with guns.

Eisenkot developed the disproportionate force doctrine used in Gaza, visited violent outposts to signal support, and remains opposed to a Palestinian state.

Ben-Gvir implemented a policy of starving Palestinian prisoners by cutting food rations and beds, defying a Supreme Court order to remedy the conditions.

Retired Israeli generals describe settler violence as the real threat to Israel, with some calling it ethnic cleansing and comparing it to Nazi-era efforts.

There is no other side to the story of what's happening in the West Bank, and the violence is a massive PR issue for Israel.

Democrats must address how Palestinians can defend themselves against armed settlers, rather than just issuing easy condemnations. If a two-state solution requires going to war with Israel, Democrats should discuss a one-state solution with equal rights for all.

Jewish institutions like the Jewish National Fund provide material support for terror by funding the training of violent hilltop youth in the West Bank.

Jewish Americans must reckon with what their synagogues and organizations are supporting and ask if it aligns with valuing human life.