Shiite Muslims burn representations of U.S. and Israeli flags during a rally to condemn Israeli strikes on Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
WAR & SHEESH
Donald Trump shattered his self-ordained image as a “peacemaker” today, warning of “more to come” following Israel’s devastating attack on Iran.
- The world watched in shock and awe last night as Israel conducted a massive strike on Iran, damaging nuclear facilities and killing several of Tehran’s top brass, including its chief military commander and the leader of its armed forces. It’s a monumental blow to Iran’s chain of command, coming as President Donald Trump’s team claimed to be negotiating a deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The attack is “a declaration of war,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
- Even more stunning is Washington’s secretive role in the matter. One of Trump’s top aides was set to meet with Iranian officials on Sunday, and few people thought anything would happen before then. Hours before Israel’s strike, Trump himself even warned that an attack could ruin his chances at making a deal with Iran.
- But Washington seemingly tricked Tehran into believing Israel wouldn’t strike immediately, and Trump now says the U.S. knew about the plans all along. “I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal. Today is day 61,” he posted on Truth Social. “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left.” There was full coordination between the U.S. and Israel on the attack, an Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post.
With this new warmongering, the president tossed one of his core pledges onto his flaming trash pile of broken promises.
- For years, Trump bragged that no wars were started during his first term in office (though that period wasn’t necessarily peaceful, by any means). “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” Trump boasted in January. He promised to end foreign wars, and now he may have helped spark a new one. He promised to keep American troops out of conflicts abroad, and now that may be difficult.
- “It seems the plan of your leadership is to avoid any participation in any war, but make it much easier for other states to start wars,” a person outside the U.S. who works closely with Trump officials told What A Day. (Trump, of course, has also threatened to take Greenland and the Panama Canal by force.)
- MAGAworld warned Trump against becoming too deeply involved in the conflict in the Middle East. “How does the America First foreign policy doctrine and foreign policy agenda … stay consistent with this right now?” Charlie Kirk, the popular right-wing influencer, said on a livestream after the attack. That’s the balancing act Trump will likely attempt: Supporting Israel without joining a war.
- Meanwhile, the U.S.-Israel relationship is “better than ever,” Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Israel’s special envoy for trade and innovation, told What A Day.
What’s next? Iran has already retaliated, and the U.S. is helping Israel defend itself. We’ll see whether the country turns toward American bases next, as it threatened to do.
RAIN CHECK
It might literally rain on Donald Trump’s parade tomorrow. At the same time, thousands of protests are planned to protest his authoritarian tendencies across the country.
“He is deploying an entire authoritarian playbook to crack down on dissent across society, and he’s employing fascist theatrics in D.C.,” Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg, who is helping to organize the “No Kings” demonstrations, told the What A Day podcast. “It’s a moment … we stand with our neighbors, with our communities, and for our democracy to come together and push back.”
Ahead of the protests, Trump’s radical immigration agenda is embroiled in court drama.
Last night, District Judge Charles Breyer (yes, from that Breyer family) ruled that Trump acted illegally when deploying National Guard troops to California without Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)’s permission amid anti-ICE protests. Hours later, an appeals court decided that Trump can keep control over the troops for now.
It’s worth taking a moment to remember: Many people being swept up in ICE raids are beloved members of the community. In one Los Angeles neighborhood, agents raided a car wash and took the workers, one resident told What A Day. They also took the “very sweet” man who runs the local fruit stand, she added.
Nannies across the city are too terrified to come to work. “They’re making a living. They’re taking care of all these people, and they’re so integral in our lives,” a mother of three told What A Day.
Hearing stories of these people being taken away is what has fired up Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), who was forced on the ground and handcuffed yesterday after attending DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference.
The Trump administration hasn’t “offered proper justification for these moves,” Padilla told Pod Save America. “So yes, I get a little worked up when I hear the misinformation … Look what they did. What worries me even more is if they can do this to a U.S. senator, imagine what they’re doing out there when the cameras are not on.”
Call out to DC residents: Will you be near Trump’s Army parade this weekend? The What A Day podcast team wants your videos! Send them to whataday@crooked.com — they plan on featuring some.
Want more?
Our nightly newsletter keeps you in the loop on everything going on that you need to know.
"I do not recognize you anymore.”
— LA Mayor Karen Bass, addressing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who she served with in the House.
NEWS NEWS NEWS
|
The Trump administration gave deportation officials the personal data of millions of Medicaid enrollees, including their immigration status, the Associated Press reports. Medicaid officials tried to block the transfer, but top advisers to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ordered Medicaid officials to comply with the directive. The data likely makes it easier for immigration officials to find people to deport. George Orwell is rolling in his grave.
Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego García pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges. Last week, the Trump administration brought Abrego Garcia back from El Salvador and accused him of illegally transporting undocumented migrants across the United States.
The Trump administration withdrew from an agreement with tribes to protect salmon and other fish in the Pacific Northwest. The Biden-era deal had been the culmination of a decades-long legal battle with tribes, which will now resume. The White House didn’t even appear to understand the dispute at hand, falsely attributing the issue to “speculative climate change concerns.”
The sole person to survive the devastating Air India crash is telling his miraculous story: “I still can’t believe how I got out alive,” Viswash Kumar Ramesh, 38, said in an interview from his hospital bed with Indian state media. “When my door broke, I saw there was some space — that I could try to get out.” He was in seat 11A, causing people to wonder if that’s the safest spot on the plane. Spoiler: Not necessarily.
There are many juicy tidbits in this New York Magazine feature on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s dumpster fire of a tenure, but this stood out to me: “In the secretary’s office are a half-dozen prints known as ‘jumbos.’ Typically these would be pictures of tanks and troops in battle. In Hegseth’s office, instead, are seven giant pictures of Jenny Hegseth, many of them showing her in the same pink dress.” We get it, Pete, you’re a Wife Guy!
|
Amazon sells over 60% of all books in the US.
Read that again.
The majority of books — those treasured worlds we love so much — are arriving to readers via a retailer who has misery built into its supply chain. A retailer who exploits its workers, avoids its taxes, and is one of the biggest carbon polluters in the US. We don’t think Amazon should be in charge of our literary culture, do you?
That’s why it means so much when you choose to shop with Bookshop.org. Every time you make a purchase with Bookshop.org — instead of Amazon — you’re directly supporting independent bookstores. Bookshop.org believes local bookstores are essential community hubs that foster culture, curiosity, and a love of reading, and they’re committed to helping independent bookstores survive and thrive. Join Bookshop.org in uplifting independent bookstores today.
What A Day is proud to partner with Bookshop.org in supporting independent bookstores. Every purchase you make on Bookshop.org directly funds local booksellers. Thanks to fellow readers like you, over $38 million has already been donated to help keep local, independent bookstores serving their communities. Bookshop.org is a certified B-Corp and all deliveries are carbon-neutral.
Listen to today's episode
https://what-a-day.simplecast.com/episodes/decoding-recent-supreme-courts-gun-rulings
