Jonathan Lemire
@jonlemire.bsky.social
44K followers 160 following 190 posts
Co-host: Morning Joe, MSNBC Contributing Writer: The Atlantic Author: "The Big Lie." Ex-AP, Politico, NY Daily News. Dad, Mr. Carrie Melago, Red Sox fan
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jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: A government shutdown, weaponized

Projects slashed. Layoffs threatened. Russ Vought looming

It took President Trump fewer than 24 hours to turn a shutdown into a weapon wielded against the civil servants and opposing party he has long derided www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
A Government Shutdown, Weaponized
The president is boasting about doing things to Democrats that are “bad for them and irreversible by them.”
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: The federal government seems to be hurtling toward a shutdown

If that happens, the Trump administration might use it to finish the job that DOGE started

Inside the White House’s shutdown plan - which may include permanent mass firings www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump’s Grand Plan for a Government Shutdown
The Trump administration might use a shutdown to finish the job that DOGE started.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“He mocked alliances and the UN itself, outlining something of a Trump Doctrine that prioritizes individual nations’ sovereignty and a transactional approach that rewards only those nations that can do something for the United States—or him personally” www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump Dares the United Nations to Mock Him Now
The president made clear that he’s done “standing up for the world.”
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: Seven years ago, the world laughed at Donald Trump

But his return to the UN underscores how dramatically his relationship with the world has changed - and how he has led a campaign to upend the global order that the U.S. built following World War II www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump Dares the United Nations to Mock Him Now
The president made clear that he’s done “standing up for the world.”
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: Kamala Harris’ “first choice” for running mate in 2024 was Pete Buttigieg

But Harris believed “we were asking too much of America” to accept a ticket with “a Black woman married to a Jewish man” with a gay man

It was “too big of a risk,” she wrote www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Running Mate Kamala Harris Didn’t Dare Choose
“I love Pete,” she writes in her new book. But picking a gay man would have been too risky.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“The West Wing is aware of these weak job numbers, and is warily watching inflation and looking for ways to juice the economy. Officials are discussing a sweeping deregulation effort due this fall that is meant to spark business growth” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Fear of Losing the Midterms Is Driving Trump’s Decisions
The specter of investigations and impeachment has fueled many of the president’s most dramatic actions.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
Trump remembers how Democrats wielded the majority after capturing the House in 2018

If that happens again next year, it would end whatever was left of Trump’s agenda

And it would also consume his White House in investigations - and possibly impeachment www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Fear of Losing the Midterms Is Driving Trump’s Decisions
The specter of investigations and impeachment has fueled many of the president’s most dramatic actions.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: Redistricting. Seizing the Fed. National Guard in U.S. cities

President Trump’s extreme moves are in part fueled by fear of losing the midterms

Because if Democrats win the House, Trump will be plagued again by investigations - and maybe impeachment www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Fear of Losing the Midterms Is Driving Trump’s Decisions
The specter of investigations and impeachment has fueled many of the president’s most dramatic actions.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
The boat was chosen as the first target based on actionable intelligence, and followed the development of a policy and the completion of a legal review

Plans to strike were in place by last week, but the U.S. waited until it was in international waters www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump Is Crossing a Line That Dates Back to the Revolution
A missile strike in the Caribbean and National Guard deployments are pushing the armed forces beyond their traditional mission.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: The military wasn’t built to fight crime

A missile strike in the Caribbean and National Guard deployments in U.S. cities are pushing the armed forces beyond their traditional mission

And President Trump is planning for an expansion on both fronts www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...
Trump Is Crossing a Line That Dates Back to the Revolution
A missile strike in the Caribbean and National Guard deployments are pushing the armed forces beyond their traditional mission.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
Anchorage wasn’t Helsinki. For that, Europe can be grateful. Trump didn’t give away Ukrainian land to Russia or demand that Zelensky take a bad deal, at least immediately

But Putin got a high-profile summit and, most of all, more time to continue his war www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Well, What Did You Think Would Happen?
Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin but failed to make a deal.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
Putin sported the better body language: He almost glowed as he spoke to the press, And, oddly, he got to speak first, even though Trump was host

Trump, in contrast, seemed subdued, only perking up when Putin suggested that their next summit be in Moscow www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Well, What Did You Think Would Happen?
Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin but failed to make a deal.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: So what was that all for?

Trump emerged from his summit with Putin without a deal and without much to say

Stunningly, for a president who loves a press conference, he took no questions. Instead, he left Alaska empty-handed www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Well, What Did You Think Would Happen?
Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin but failed to make a deal.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
The White House announced the two men would not have a one-on-one meeting

But here, in the backseat of the Beast, Putin had his time alone with Trump

As the limousine drove off the tarmac to the summit site, Putin could be seen in a rear window laughing www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump Leaves Alaska Empty-Handed
The president rolled out the red carpet for Putin but didn’t make a deal.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: So what was that all for?

Trump emerged from his summit with Putin without a deal and without much to say.

Stunningly, for a president who loves a press conference, he took no questions. Instead, he left Alaska empty-handed www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump Leaves Alaska Empty-Handed
The president rolled out the red carpet for Putin but didn’t make a deal.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
Trump has made clear that he wants peace. He also wants a Nobel Peace Prize.

The situation in Gaza is deteriorating and Trump has not stood up to Netanyahu. So, he sees an opportunity with Ukraine www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap
Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“Putin has already won. He is the leader of a rogue state, and he’ll get a picture on U.S. soil with the president of the United States”

“Trump wants a deal. And if he can’t get one now, he may walk away from it entirely” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap
Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: Vladimir Putin may be laying a trap

Trump is confident going into the Alaska summit. But Europe is worried that Putin is playing him - and will only offer a deal that Ukraine will reject

And would that then turn Trump against Zelensky again? www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Vladimir Putin Could Be Laying a Trap
Donald Trump badly wants a deal to end the war in Ukraine. What is he willing to give up?
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“But five days is also a long time in Trump’s America, and these fragile efforts to get Trump and Putin in the same Alaskan meeting room could easily hit barriers before the delegations board their flights” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Trump Invites Putin to Step Foot in America
The Art of the Deal president hopes he can broker peace.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: Vladimir Putin is coming to America

Trump, frustrated with Putin but drawn to spectacle, believes his dealmaking can end the war. But Ukraine worries he may hand Moscow a win

Inside the backchannel talks and Moscow trip that led to Alaska invite: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Making of a Trump-Putin Summit
Back-channel intel. A Moscow trip. And an invitation to Alaska.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
In 2017, Trump threatened “fire and fury” to intimidate North Korea—and because he was annoyed to not be the main storyline on cable news. The bellicose rhetoric succeeded: Suddenly, Trump had changed the news cycle

His efforts to do so now haven’t worked www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way
He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
Trump’s own efforts to manage the Epstein story have only fed it. His account of why they had a falling-out years ago has shifted multiple times

And advisers have told Trump that saying he has the right to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell only raises questions www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way
He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“Donald Trump has almost certainly complained more about journalists than any of his predecessors have, maybe more than all of them combined. So when Trump deemed a query ‘the nastiest question’ he’s ever gotten from a member of the press, it was notable” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way
He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
“A president who, less than a year ago, staged a historic political comeback and moved to quickly conquer Washington and the world now confronts more obstacles than at any point since his inauguration” www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way
He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.
www.theatlantic.com
jonlemire.bsky.social
NEW: It’s Trump’s August of discontent

Wars in Gaza and Ukraine are expanding. The jobs report was poor. The new tariffs could raise prices. Republicans are being heckled at town halls. And there’s Epstein

Inside Trump’s toughest moment back in office: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Things Aren’t Going Donald Trump’s Way
He hasn’t ended the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. His economy looks shaky. And then there’s Jeffrey Epstein.
www.theatlantic.com