by Steve Benen | Jul 27, 2026 | Iran, Maddowblog, World
During his latest appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana acknowledged the fact that the Iran war is broadly unpopular with the American mainstream. It led the senator to offer the Trump administration some unsolicited advice.
Sen. John Kennedy: “I support the president in Iran. We all have to do a better job messaging.”— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-26T15:13:32.583Z
“I support the president in Iran,” Kennedy said. “We all need to do a better job messaging. I may end up with a sombrero on my head by saying this, but we all know the president. He exists loudly. He grows anxious when he has an unexpressed thought. He’s not always disciplined in his messaging. I’m not saying he should stop talking. He’s the president, and I’m not.
“But I would put [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan] Caine and [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe and [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth out there, either in a speech or in a long press conference, to explain what’s going on in Iran. Why we went in, why we’re still there.”
It’s a pitch rooted in a simple idea: The unpopular war would enjoy greater public support if the White House had better “messaging” and spokespeople who could simply “explain what’s going on.”
If this sounds at all familiar, it’s because it has become a go-to stance for Republicans in response to all kinds of challenges. Vice President JD Vance, for example, said earlier this month that the administration should have done a better job on “the communications” of the Epstein scandal.
Earlier this year, the president acknowledged his weak public
by Sydney Carruth | Jul 25, 2026 | Business, Iran, News, White House
As his new tariffs went into effect and gas prices climbed on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he’s not ruling out a full-scale war.
In a phone interview with French journalist Sonia Dridi, Trump said he’s “absolutely” considering resuming full-scale war with Iran if the U.S. doesn’t “get 100% of what we want.”
The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday the U.S. is “talking” to Iran, adding that he believes Iran is “getting more and more serious as the days go by” but “that doesn’t mean we get there.” Friday night was the first in 13 consecutive nights that the U.S. did not strike Iran.
The national average gas price rose slightly Saturday to $4.11 a gallon as Trump’s newly imposed tariffs on goods from more than 80 countries threatened to heap further financial strain on Americans ahead of the midterms. The reporter said when she asked Trump whether he would follow through with his threat to levy “substantial” new tariffs on the European Union, which he has accused of “robbing” American tech companies, he declined to comment.
The tariffs, which took effect Friday and have already been challenged in court, could cost American households an extra $1,100 annually, according to an analysis by The Budget Lab at Yale University. That comes at a time when consumers are already shelling out more for necessities, including gas and groceries, as the Iran war drives inflation and energy prices upward.
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Politico: 46% say high gas prices will impact their vote
July 24, 2026 / 06:43
Gas price averages in the United States surpassed $4 a gallon on July 20 for the first time in more
by Sharon Zhang | Jul 24, 2026 | Department of Defense, Donald Trump, Iran, News, Pentagon
The Trump administration quietly revised the U.S. troop death count in the Iran war from 18 to 14 this week, seemingly removing the deaths of the four troops killed this past weekend in Iranian strikes even as the administration faces accusations of cover-ups with regard to American casualties of the war. The New York Times reported that, on Wednesday, the Pentagon website that logs troop…
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by Jake Johnson | Jul 24, 2026 | Congress, cost of living, House Republicans, Iran, Military Budget, military funding, News, Reconciliation
House Republicans on Wednesday approved a $95 billion budget framework that would pump more money into US President Donald Trump’s illegal Iran war and push states to adopt restrictions on voting rights, all while Americans struggle to afford groceries and other necessities. Every present House Democrat and just three members of the GOP caucus — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky…
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by Sharon Zhang | Jul 23, 2026 | Donald Trump, Iran, Israel, Marco Rubio, News, War Crimes
President Donald Trump has threatened to conduct an attack on Iran that’s “bigger than ever,” saying that he is still considering whether or not to do so after weeks of vowing to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure, in what experts say would be war crimes. “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it,” Trump told Axios’s…
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by Sharon Zhang | Jul 23, 2026 | Chris Van Hollen, Donald Trump, Iran, Israel, John Fetterman, News, War Powers
Conservative Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) has cast the deciding vote to defeat yet another Senate war powers resolution aimed at reining in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, just hours after the House passed a provision to do so. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), failed to advance in a 47 to 49 vote on Thursday. The resolution would require the U.S.
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