President Trump has suggested multiple timesto senior Homeland Security and national security officials that they explore using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes from hitting the United States, according to sources who have heard the president's private remarks and been briefed on a National Security Council memorandum that recorded those comments.
Behind the scenes: During one hurricane briefing at the White House, Trump said, "I got it. I got it. Why don't we nuke them?" according to one source who was there. "They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they're moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can't we do that?" the source added, paraphrasing the president's remarks.
Facing chronic controversy over his comments about race and abortion, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is struggling to attract donors and has been largely abandoned by his colleagues, The Daily Beast reports.
Why it matters: King, a 9-term congressman, will be the most vulnerable he's ever been in 2020. His 2018 Democratic opponent J.D. Scholten is running again after losing by only 3 points last cycle, while Iowa state Sen. Randy Feenstra is attempting to force King out in the Republican primary. Feenstra’s campaign reported having $337,314 cash on hand in June, while King reported just $18,365.
Conservative radio host and former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) announced on ABC's "This Week" that he is launching a primary challenge to President Trump in 2020.
President Trump has generally been outnumbered at summits like the G7 — the disrupter-in-chief in a room of more sober-minded leaders. This time around, disruption is the rule.
Why it matters: French President Emmanuel Macron, who's hosting the summit this weekend in the seaside town of Biarritz, warned ahead of the gathering that twin threats to democracy and capitalism must be vanquished in order to ensure a free and prosperous future. For this weekend, though, he’d probably settle for anything short of disaster.
