June 29, 2026

THE WAR ROOM: After several days exchanging fire with the US, it seems evident that Iran is intent upon maintaining military and economic control of the Strait of Hormuz. With a considerably diminished military, control of the strait is Iran’s primary tool of leverage in negotiations.

  The Institute for the Study of War says Iranian attacks on Bahrain, for instance, may be an effort to pressure Gulf states to accept Iranian control of the strait.

  But this morning the Trump administration says the two sides agreed to stop mutual attacks, allowing shipping to pass freely through the strait. Iran has not confirmed that.

  Erika Solomon writes in The NY Times that: “The Iranians are seeking relief from years of punishing sanctions if the two sides move forward on a nuclear deal. Such an agreement would most likely entail Iran handing over or diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — material that could have been used to construct a nuclear weapon.”

  While the official position of the Trump administration is that talks with Iran will continue, the President posted on his Truth Social: “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”

I HAVE A LIST:  Trump’s new big lie is that Democrats who win elections are communists and posted on his Truth Social over the weekend, “Communism is the Greatest Threat to our Country since World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11!”

  Trump called New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a communist nearly a year ago. But he’s stepping it up, accusing Democrats of being a grand communist conspiracy. Last Friday he posted; “These are not social Dumocrats, these are hard core, godless Communists. This is the most serious threat to our Country since its existence 250 years ago.”

  On Saturday he posted, “The Communists are finally making their move” and that, “These ruthless Communists will attack all Religions but, in particular, Christianity – They always do.”

  Yesterday he wrote the following: “Janeese Lewis George, the Communist who is almost certainly going to be elected Mayor of Washington, D.C., has stated that she wants to empty the prisons, make D.C. a Sanctuary City, oppose ICE, welcome Criminal Illegal Aliens back into our beloved Capital, resist Anti-Crime Crackdowns, Defund the Police, continue and expand Cashless Bail, and so many other Capital destroying ‘things.’”

INSIDE EDGE: Sons of Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stand to profit from a deal the President and Lutnick made with Kazakhstan for access to one of the world’s largest reserves of tungsten, a metal for missile warheads, fighter jets, computer chips, and other critical instruments, The NY Times reports.

  Trump’s sons Don Jr. and Erik are investors in a company that would have a 20 percent stake in the tungsten operation, the Times reports.   At the same time, Lutnick’s investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by his sons Brandon and Kyle, were involved in raising investment money.

  The Times reports that: “The arrangement is hardly an outlier. One or both families have financial ties to at least 14 companies that are actively working with the federal government on critical mining deals, including the Kazakhstan project, according to federal filings examined by The New York Times.” 

FROM THE RUBBLE: Rescuers on Saturday were able to recover two 11-year-old boys from earthquake rubble in Venezuela as the 72-hour golden window for finding people alive has passed. One boy was near his sister and mother, who were both dead.

  Search teams also pulled out a baby, but the number of people rescued is only 33. Thousands of volunteers and professional rescuers from around the world have joined the effort.

  The current number of deaths is 1,430, but that is expected to rise.

 INFINITE SCROLL: 

— When you get inside Donald Trump’s head, he shows it.

  In their new book “Regime Change,” NY Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan delve into Trump’s obsession with power. They write that in their interview with the President he  compared himself with Napoleon, Hitler, Mao, and Stalin, saying their power was local, not global. What mattered most to Trump, they report, “Is that they had huge power – and that he had more.”

  Trump hasn’t read the book, but posted; “Based on a very quick and boring briefing concerning the Magot Hagerman book about me, it is mostly made up, Fake News, largely fiction, as have been most of the things she has written about me for so many years. She is a third rate writer and intellect, who has made a first rate income because of your favorite President, ME.”

  “Maggot” is spelled with two g’s.

— President Trump posted a 589-word self-congratulatory rant about his Washington beautification projects, 323 words of which were about re-doing the public golf course in the middle of the city and making it a PGA-quality championship course.

— Recent polls have shown a slight uptick in President Trump’s job approval, but he is still in negative territory. Nevertheless, he posted, “Highest Poll Numbers Ever. Even Higher than Election Day, November 5th.”   

THE SPIN RACK: Five instructors, five students, and the pilot died yesterday in the crashed of a skydiving plane near the northeastern city of Nancy in France. Families and friends were reported to have witnessed the crash. Only on June 14^th a similar crash of a skydiving plane near Kansas City, Missouri killed 12 people. — Polling shows that Maine oyster fisherman Graham Platner holds a slim two-point lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. — 

BELOW THE FOLD: Members of 19 tribal nations gathered over the weekend to celebrate the victory over George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. About 100 riders on horseback swarmed a hilltop in a circle in commemoration of an event that is the source of historic pride.

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