Welcome back, folks. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary since President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania.

It’s not hard to imagine where we’d be had that assassin been successful – Joe Biden serving his second term right now: ushering in millions more illegals, finally giving the deep state the war with Iran it desperately wants, and continuing to wreck our economy.

Thank God for saving President Trump. And please don’t forget Corey Comperatore, who was killed by a bullet intended for Trump.

• 📫️ Stamp prices increase to 78 cents

• ⚽️ Chelsea wins the Club World Cup 2025

• 🔫 On this day in 1881, Billy the Kid was shot to death

• 🤑 Tariff revenue through June hit record-high $113.2 billion

^{Sources: Axios, ESPN, History, Fidelity}

Trump’s plan to arm Ukraine without U.S. tax dollars

President Donald Trump is leaning on the Europeans to get weapons into Ukrainian hands — without draining the American taxpayers.

The details: Trump confirmed that the U.S. plans to sell offensive weapons directly to NATO allies, who will then transfer them to Ukraine.

• 💬 Trump told NBC News: “NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%.”

• 🚀 The weapons include Patriot missile systems, air-to-air missiles, and Howitzer rounds. Axios also reports it may also include long-range missiles that could reach targets deep inside Russia.

• 🤔 Who’s paying? Germany, Spain, and Norway have offered to buy Patriot missile systems for Ukraine.

Why this matters: Up until this point, Trump has only offered defensive weapons as he sought to end the conflict.

A message to Putin: Since taking office, Trump has aggressively sought to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But in recent weeks, his patience with Vladimir Putin appears to be wearing thin. At a recent cabinet meeting, Trump said:

• “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all of the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

• Trump no longer believes the Russian president is serious about peace. His latest decision to begin arming Ukraine should be seen as a direct response.

Real talk from G: This latest move isn’t as much about Ukraine as it is about Putin. Everything is a negotiation for Trump. Giving Ukraine access to weapons is part of the Art of the Deal.

What happens next? NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week to iron out the details.

Something to keep an eye on: There's a bill in the Senate being pushed by Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, which would call for a 500% tariff on all goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, and other exports – namely, China, India, and Brazil. In my opinion, this would be a bad move. When Joe Biden put economic sanctions on Russia, it drove them closer to China.

[Source: AP, CNN]

Trump misreads the room

It brings me zero joy to write that headline.

The firestorm inside the MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein files isn’t dying down — it’s intensifying. And every time President Trump tries to pour cold water on the outrage, it only seems to burn hotter.

Back up: After MAGA stalwarts like Attorney General Pam Bondi built up expectations that Trump’s return would unleash dramatic revelations about Jeffrey Epstein’s circle, the DOJ and FBI concluded last week that there’s no client list — and that Epstein died by suicide, not murder.

• Recall, in February, Bondi told Fox News the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk” waiting for release.

Misreading the room: On Saturday, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “[Let’s] not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about” in a post that also asked: "What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!"

• This comes after Trump said, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” after a reporter asked him about the DOJ’s findings last week.

MAGA backlash: You don’t need to look any further than President Trump’s own Truth Social page to learn that his most loyal supporters don't think "nobody cares" about it. The Saturday post was ratioed [that’s when the post gets more comments than likes, suggesting people disagree with its sentiment] to the tune of 45,000 comments and 39,000 likes. One of the top comments reads, “This statement breaks my heart, Mr. President. These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone’s child. Please reconsider, sir.”

• Steve Bannon, longtime Trump supporter and former campaign president, said: “We need to get to the bottom of Epstein. He’s the key that picks the lock.”

• Megyn Kelly, who supported President Trump in 2024, said: “There's all sorts of things [Trump's] focused on. I just don’t think this has captured his attention just quite yet. But it needs… I blame Pam Bondi... She has never missed an opportunity to go on TV and dangle sweet nothings that might be coming your way."

Dems pounce: Making matters worse, the Democrats smell blood. Over the weekend, Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna announced plans to call for a vote to force the release of all unredacted Epstein files.

MAGA dust-up: FBI deputy director Dan Bongino reportedly had a heated argument with AG Pam Bondi last Wednesday, and is considering resigning over the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files.

Real talk from G: For nearly a decade, political pundits have talked about “the MAGA base” – Trump’s most loyal, ride-or-die supporters. Through the Russia-gate hoax, impeachments, J6, trying to put Trump in jail, and everything else – the base were never Sunshine Patriots. They held the line. But on this issue, they are asking President Trump to deliver for them. I hope he does.

[Source: NY Post, The Post Millennial]

✋ Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly expressed willingness to testify before Congress about “The Epstein Files." Read more.

📦️ The State Department terminated more than 1,300 positions as part of Trump’s effort to trim the size of the federal workforce. Read more.

✅ The U.S. government posted a $27 billion surplus in June, driven by $26.6 billion bump from tariffs and a $187 billion decrease in spending. Read more. This is fantastic.

📼 Footage from near Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell at the time of his 2019 death was modified before being released by the DOJ, according to video forensics experts. Read more.

📺️ The X account for Elmo, the beloved children's character, was hacked on Sunday and posted several antisemitic messages. Read more.

🪴 More than 300 illegal aliens were arrested during last week's raid at a Ventura County, California cannabis farm – including a violent child predator. 14 children were rescued from potential forced labor. Read more.

🧑‍⚖️ A federal appeals court overturned a plea deal for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants, halting efforts to conclude the long-running legal case. Read more.

🥫 A decade after merging, Kraft-Heinz, two of the biggest names in packaged goods, plans to break itself up. Read more.

🔱 The U.S. signed a trilateral agreement with Japan and Australia to enhance logistics between their naval forces as a deterrent to China. Read more.

🗽 In the race for NYC mayor, Andrew Cuomo is asking all candidates running against Democrat socialist Zohran Mamdani [so, Eric Adams and Curtis Swilwa] to vow to drop out of the race come mid-September if they're not in the lead, himself included. Read more.

🎥 Highlights of President Trump & First Lady Melania with Texas flood victims. Watch. Melania speaks about her experience. Watch.

🎥 Trump celebrates FIFA championship with Chelsea soccer team. Watch.

🎥 Jake Paul: "Send it to f***ing Kamala" when asked a dumb question about gender roles. Watch.

🎥 Border Czar Tom Homan DEMOLISHES a heckler. Watch.

🎥 Derrick Lewis was on the phone with President Trump after his UFC win. Watch.

🎥 Megyn Kelly goes after Pam Bondi over Epstein files. Watch.

🎥 Go long: On my commute to work today, I’ll be listening to Charlie Kirk moderate a debate between Dave Smith and Josh Hammer on Israel. Watch. [79 minutes]

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A few months ago, I was at a butcher in my neighborhood and saw a diagram of a cow, with all the cuts of meat labeled. And that gave me an idea for a t-shirt:

DOGE Butcher Shop — but instead of the cow, we use a pig. And the cuts of meat in the diagram represent all the waste, fraud, and abuse being butchered by the Trump admin.

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