Dog-whistling past the graveyard
The US, Russia, China, the UK, Israel, Syria, and Sudan.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UNITED STATES. As domestic woes mount, Trump bashes foreigners.
RUSSIA. CHINA. A marriage of convenience gets a bit more intimate.
BRITAIN. Nine years after Brexit, the UK is yet to find a role.
ISRAEL. SYRIA. Washington struggles anew to control rancorous allies.
SUDAN. As the RSF conquers the west, Russia eyes the east.
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UNITED STATES. Race against time
As domestic woes mount, Trump bashes foreigners.
Polls suggested Tennessee’s 7th district could flip Tuesday amid cost-of-living concerns. Kristi Noem recommended a “full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies”.
INTELLIGENCE. Donald Trump spent most of Monday night reposting jingoistic memes as the pressure built on Pete Hegseth’s role in ordering a strike on wounded boatmen, and as the president’s fortune took a hit in a sharp crypto rout. He may judge that red meat will get out the vote in rural Tennessee, but it may come at a longer-term cost as suburban swing voters, who’ll decide the next election, begin to form opinions ahead of the midterm primaries.
FOR BUSINESS. Trump needs lots of distractions. Between a potential war in Venezuela, warnings to Honduras, and unsubstantiated claims against Muslim migrants, he has several options. But voters remember their wallets and, besides potentially the Epstein saga, there’s little that distracts from inflation. Here, the options are worse. A rate cut next week could merely exacerbate higher prices. Further tariff reductions would cut against his arguments at court.
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RUSSIA. CHINA. Yuan and only
A marriage of convenience gets a bit more intimate.
Moscow granted Chinese tourists and businesspeople 30-day visa-free access Monday, reciprocating a move by Beijing in September. Russia began taking orders for yuan-denominated sovereign debt to help absorb its bilateral trade surplus.
INTELLIGENCE. Vladimir Putin visits Narendra Modi this week. Xi Jinping hosts