The media is the message
The US, Iran, Israel, Mali, and Myanmar.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UNITED STATES. Another shooting shows the schizophrenia of US politics.
IRAN. Hormuz remains shut and the backchannel remains unrealistic.
ISRAEL. A unifying opposition to Netanyahu could backfire.
MALI. Moscow’s ally faces a common enemy.
MYANMAR. Min Aung Hlaing is back at the table.
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UNITED STATES. Reactions speak louder
Another shooting shows the schizophrenia of US politics.
An alleged shooter was apprehended at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. After evacuation, Donald Trump said the suspect was “anti-Christian” and “pretty sick”. Republicans slammed efforts to block a secure White House ballroom.
INTELLIGENCE. Trump said there was a moment of unity as Washington’s elite hid together before Cole Allen, the alleged gunman, was disarmed. Yet outside, the paranoid style of politics went haywire. Iran-linked accounts boosted images of Allen in what looked like an IDF shirt. The chair of Media Matters pointed to a false flag theory boosted by a Fox reporter’s exchange with Karoline Leavitt’s husband. Others pointed to an alleged time traveller’s 2023 tweet.
FOR BUSINESS. The shooting was at the DC Hilton, the same venue where, in 1981, a schizophrenic musician tried to kill Ronald Regan to impress Jodie Foster. As then, it probably doesn’t matter what Allen’s motives were. What does is how quickly disinformation has spread. And while unsurprising – Trump himself has manufactured dozens of conspiracy theories – it shows how little shared narrative now exists, even with the entire press corps in one room.
IRAN. No show
Hormuz remains shut and the backchannel remains unrealistic.
US negotiators cancelled a trip to Islamabad after Tehran refused to talk. Axios said Iran had offered to reopen Hormuz if the US ended its blockade and postponed nuclear talks. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went to meet Vladimir Putin.
INTELLIGENCE. The US and Iran are in a stalemate on Hormuz. The proposed