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you → send → this
Today, we bring you the usual roundup of the White House week, plus we get the lowdown on who was present and who was missing from the U.S.-Venezuela oil deal ceremony.
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who → bring → ceremony
Have a great holiday weekend, and Secrets will be back at it on Tuesday.
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Secrets → have → Tuesday
Donald Trump’s week was marked by bombs, ballots, and a ballroom, as he addressed more foreign challenges and questions about whether he cared enough about the midterm elections.
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he → mark → elections
Weeks after pivoting to a sanctions and blockade offense against Iran, Sunday brought the first U.S. strikes in a month.
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Sunday → pivot → month
American forces hit rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. Central Command said were positioned to deploy naval mines.
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Command → hit → mines
A day later, the president seemed to downplay the idea of an intensified war.
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president → seem → war
“Their navy is gone.
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navy → go → ?
Their air force is gone.
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force → go → ?
Their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone,” he said in the Oval Office.
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he → go → Office
“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them.
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we → mean → them
We’ll see what happens.”
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what → see → ?
At the same time, Trump announced a sweeping new oil deal with Venezuela that gives the United States effective control of 65 billion barrels of proven reserves through a new company, NABEP, which will receive Pentagon investment.
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which → announce → investment
It marked a dramatic assertion of U.S. geopolitical control over the resource-rich nation.
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It → mark → nation
At home, the Supreme Court handed him a 5-4 victory, allowing construction to proceed on his $400 million White House ballroom project.
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construction → hand → project
But there was fresh turbulence at the Pentagon with news that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was stepping down after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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Driscoll → be → Hegseth
Tuesday saw fresh exchanges with Iran.
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Tuesday → see → Iran
The U.S. hit air-defense systems, radar, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, and communications sites.
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U.S. → hit → systems
Iran retaliated with missiles and drones aimed at American forces in Jordan.
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Iran → retaliate → Jordan
A day later, Trump addressed the midterm elections, amid fears among some Republicans that MAGA Inc, an allied Super PAC, is not spending enough cash yet.
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Inc → address → cash
He said he would go to “every one” of 35 competitive races.
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he → say → races
“I’ll be with you 100%,” he said at a Rose Garden dinner.
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he → say → dinner
“We’re going to do something like I did for myself in the last presidential election.
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I → go → election
Four months out, I said, ‘OK, no days off.'”
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I → say → ?
So on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance took on the role.
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Vance → take → role
“Good morning,” he said as he arrived on the podium at 1:45 p.m., sounding for all the world like a man with a six-week-old baby at home.
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he → say → home
But he recovered easily and put in a strong performance, praising Trump and slamming the legacy media, all peppered with knockabout moments and in-depth answers about bond markets.
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all → recover → markets
Trump has no public events scheduled at the White House on Friday before he is due to depart to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf course.
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he → have → course
His plans to hit the campaign trail will have to wait, it seems.
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it → hit → trail
So what did our two strategists make of it all?
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strategists → make → it
John Zogby: C-
The week began with a deepfake from the White House: an AI-generated video of a US attack on Kharg Island.
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week → begin → Island
The Defense Department and the military were forced to scramble and come up with a denial that it had really happened.
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it → force → denial
Trump continues to say that “Iran is dead,” but the country’s leadership has resumed strikes against U.S. allies and threatens to attack in the U.S.
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leadership → continue → U.S.
Oil prices are still at or around $90 billion per barrel, and a new poll from the University of Massachusetts shows Mr. Trump with an overall approval rating of 32%.
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poll → show → %
An analysis of polling in eight battleground states shows that the Republican Party is down in all eight: Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Texas.
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Party → show → eight
If these hold, that could mean enough for the Democrats to take control of both houses of Congress.
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Democrats → hold → Congress
The President did get a 5-4 Supreme Court decision saying he has the authority to complete the new White House ballroom without congressional approval, and construction on a new 250-foot arch is expected to begin in two weeks.
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construction → get → weeks
Add in a very healthy jobs report on Friday, with 162,000 added to payrolls in August, and the result is that the F-key on my keyboard is taking a well-deserved vacation (but could be back in action soon).
John Zogby (@ZogbyStrategies) is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies.
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key → add → Strategies
His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should.
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We → read → Polls
His podcast with son, managing partner, and pollster Jeremy Zogby, can be heard here.
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podcast → manage → Zogby
…and 37 more, not listed.
The Aporia
