The Dictatorship
The Declaration contains perhaps the greatest sentence ever crafted by human hand
AMERICA’S 250TH — A GUEST ESSAY BY WALTER ISAACSON
When Thomas Jefferson finished a first draft of what was to become the Declaration of Independence, he sent it to Benjamin Franklin on the morning of Friday, June 21, 1776. “Will Doctor Franklin,” he wrote in his cover note, “suggest such alterations as his more enlarged view of the subject will dictate?”
For the next 10 days, the drafting committee made edits and tweaks. Most notable was the crafting of the soaring second sentence. Other nations had been born out of conquests and rebellions, usually based on tribal or religious identities.
But the United States was born out of an ideal, which they proclaimed in the memorable words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
It may be the greatest sentence ever crafted by human hand.
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation it brought forth, we have become increasingly polarized. But birthdays can be a time to put differences aside and celebrate, with gratitude, who we are. One way to lower the temperature is by appreciating anew the sentence that became our common creed and mission statement.
ON THE CALENDAR
No birthday party quite like a 250th. Americans will turn out this weekend in red, white and blue for barbecues, fireworks, parades and more in New YorkBostonChicagoLos AngelesMiamiHoustonCharlotte and everywhere in between. Happy birthday, America.
In the Big Apple, the “largest flotilla of the world’s tall ships” from more than 20 nations will sail down the Hudson through New York Harbor at Sail250. And down at Coney Island, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest returns for its 111th year. The over/under, as always, is stomach-turning.
In Washington, the Capitol Fourth Concert — featuring Patti LaBelleKool & The Gang and the National Symphony Orchestra — joins the National Mall’s Great American State Fair and the Independence Day Parade down Constitution Avenue. A full dance card, even by D.C. standards.
In Atlanta, runners will fly down 10 kilometers of the Track Club’s Peachtree Road Race. And if you’re not fleet of foot, there’s a $100 gift card waiting for the best sign.
Out west, Festival Napa Valley’s summer season begins this weekend: operas, jazz orchestras and a culinary garden showcasing the best of Napa. No better way to spend a summer evening.
And on the pitch: the World Cup’s Round of 32 ends today, and the Round of 16 gets underway. Argentina faces the tiny but mighty Cape Verde; Canada and Morocco meet tomorrow; and Norway takes on Brazil Sunday.
And on Monday night in Seattle, the U.S. takes the field with a quarterfinal berth on the line. Not a bad way to ring in the next 250.
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS
For today’s special edition, we asked you about your fondest Fourth of July traditions. Here’s what The Tea community said:
My mom’s birthday was July 4, 1924. She always was a proud Yankee Doodle Dandy and a proud American. Dad, a WW2 vet, would always dress in red, white and blue from his hat to the socks every 4th of July for both the country and his wife. It was always bbq, family and whoever stopped by. Fun times that we still honor!
—Doug L., Charlotte, North Carolina
Every 4th of July my Dad, along with his fellow American Legion cronies, started the day with a flag raising ceremony in the town center-then, they all marched in the town parade and finally finished the day with the town fireworks. They did this tirelessly and with much pride year after year. These true blue real patriots taught me all I needed to know about being an American. Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labour Day this group of Americans taught the entire town that being a proud American wasn’t about wearing red, white and blue or yelling at the top of our lungs, but rather quietly taking care of those who might need a helping hand. They’re all gone now, but the memory of what they did has stayed with me all of my 78 years. Happy Birthday, America!
—Anonymous
One of my most cherished memories is of my dad on July 4, 1976 — America’s Bicentennial. As a skilled pyrotechnician, he was entrusted with creating the fireworks display from a barge just off the coast of Long Beach, California. It was a breathtaking show that lit up the sky for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of spectators.
Standing there watching, I couldn’t have been prouder. Seeing my father’s talent and hard work bring so much joy to so many people is a memory I’ll carry with me forever. He loved this country and took great pride in celebrating its history that day.
P.S. He was a lifelong Democrat, and knowing him as I did, there’s no doubt he never would have voted for Trump.
— Roseann H., Canoga Park, California
As a child every year my small mountain community of Crestline in Southern California would hold a parade and I was so excited that I finally was able to ride my horse in it, much to my mother’s chagrin because she walked next to me!
—Kelly M., Temple, Texas
One 4th the parade was held in Houlton, Maine, and it snowed that day.
—Johnny L., Norwich, Connecticut
July 4th, 1976, found me in Zurich, Switzerland celebrating the holiday with other Americans working abroad. Some of my new friends were from the American south and some, like me, were from the north. The highlight of the evening was walking through the streets singing competitively, at the top of our lungs “I Wish I Was in Dixie” and “Yankee Doodle.”
— Monique N., Branford, Connecticut
Visiting the Gettysburg National Park on Independence Day 2025.
Outside of an active-duty military base, there is only one place I can think of where you will consistently see license plates from every corner of the country. Our national battlefields. Blue states and Red ones. East Coast and West Coast. Midwest ‘flyover states’ and Massachusetts. The apparently well-off and those who are probably struggling.
But, in some way, Americans who visit are on the same path of trying to understand why and who they are; not as themselves necessarily, but who they are in the big, collective puzzle of being American.
Where else do you see a rusted-out truck from the Midwest parked next to a brand new BMW with New York plates? Or a Mississippi big rig driven by a cigar-toting Southerner with a Confederate flag in his window beside a minivan from New Hampshire, piled to the ceiling with kids, bicycles, and a stressed-out dad?
(I observe the dad has a brief and friendly chat with the Mississippian. He ascended Little Round Top, hands on hips, let out a deep breath, and observed the Valley of Death below him. I felt his stress ease away as if he had a renewed understanding of life and what’s truly important in it, given the great context before him).
People from entirely different corners, abilities, and wealth, standing on the same piece of land their grandfathers engaged in combat over. Our shared history. There is a quiet but sure power about these places, bringing Americans together every day. The ground remembers who we are. It’s time for us to as well.
— Adam B., Mount Pleasant, New York
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls “revolutionary.” In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is “The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, as two retiring Republicans on the panel dug in over President Donald Trump’s personal “anti-weaponization” deal with the government he runs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision to delay the committee vote that had been set for Thursday marks a setback for one of Trump’s highest-profile Cabinet nominees, at the hands of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a pair of Republicans set to leave the chamber next year.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” the committee spokesperson said.
Blanche’s nomination to permanently head the Department of Justice needs the support of either Cornyn or Tillis to make it out of the committee to a vote by the full Senate, assuming all Democrats remain opposed.
“Why don’t you call over the Department of Justice and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon amid the hardening standoff over his demand that Blanche and the DOJ put in writing a commitment never to pursue the president’s prized “anti-weaponization” fund, and to clarify the terms of Trump’s personal deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Tillis told MS NOW that the conversations were complicated by the need for the Justice Department to get “several parties” to agree on the language of the statement Cornyn and Tillis are seeking.
“What I’ve advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we’re not prepared to vote yes yet,” he added.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in response to the decision to postpone the committee vote.
Cornyn was set to meet with Blanche on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was called off after Blanche failed to meet the senator’s demand for written proposals to modify the controversial settlement agreement he brokered between Trump and the IRS. The Republican senator is set to leave Congress when his term ends in January after a bruising May primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump’s chosen candidate.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard (Blanche) is going through quite nicely.”
Cornyn made clear to Blanche during his confirmation hearing that he will not get his support until he agrees to reopen and modify the settlement. Due to the committee’s narrow Republican majority, one GOP “no” vote is enough to sink Blanche’s nomination.
The senator has asked Blanche to provide proof that the proposed nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund established as part of the deal between Trump and the IRS is formally dead, and he has also demanded Blanche narrow the tax audit immunity provisions the settlement afforded to Trump and his family.
Blanche has publicly stated that his department has dropped the fund, but he and the DOJ have dodged requests from Cornyn and a federal judge to put that in writing.
After announcing his meeting with Blanche would not take place Wednesday morning, Cornyn told reporters that changes from Blanche “in a modified release form” would be acceptable, but that “for some reason … they simply refuse to do it,” referring to the DOJ.
Shortly after the meeting was called off, a Justice Department official told MS NOW that the department “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office.”
Cornyn said that proposal was “not responsive” to his demands because it did not address the tax audit immunity provisions in the settlement, one of his key demands.
In May, Blanche signed an addendum as part of the deal that granted Trump, his family and his businesses immunity from pending IRS tax audits. That agreement, which has been decried by former IRS officials and legal experts as unlawful self-dealing, is being contested in federal court.
Cornyn noted that Blanche testified under oath that he could meet the request during his confirmation hearing.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said when asked why he thinks the DOJ could be slow-walking his request.
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived this week for his tour of Washington, he may have had a mission in mind.
Netanyahu needed to overcome his newly diminished stature and waning influence over his once close friend President Donald Trump as both leaders grapple with the unpopularity of a war they started together and is escaping their control.
His meeting at the White House with Trump on Tuesday, which was closed to the press, was the first face-to-face encounter between the two allies since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump gave him a muted welcome and afterwards simply described the meeting as “very good.” “Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Rather than an intimate one-on-one setting, the Oval Office was full of top U.S. officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
But Netanyahu continued the full court press on the Trump administration.
Over the course of two days, in addition to seeing Trump and attending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the Capitol, Netanyahu also met separately with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio, White House and Israeli officials confirmed to MS NOW.
The Israeli prime minister’s slate of meetings with key U.S. national security officials comes at a pivotal moment in the Iran conflict as tensions escalate in the region and Americans increasingly sour on the war. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows 60% of American voters opposing U.S. military action against Iran and 74% against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Not only does Trump face pressure as Republicans face an uphill battle to retain congressional control in this fall’s midterms, Netanyahu’s fate as prime minister is at stake in Israel’s upcoming September elections – and he can’t afford to lose Trump’s favor.
The talks largely focused on what to do next as Iran continues to menace shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against American bases in the region and launch attacks on Gulf allies.
According to a senior Israeli official who was granted anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not come to a final decision after discussing three paths forward: get a “good deal” focused on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched material, have no deal and instead continue the blockade and economic pressure, or take escalated military action.
But Netanyahu did not tell Trump what he should do – nor did he express a preference.
The senior Israeli official noted Netanyahu has not ruled out diplomacy – as long as it is coupled with “very strong pressures,” calling the push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program “a contest of will and a contest of force.”
“There are ways of squeezing them and squeezing them and squeezing them and negotiating at the same time,” the official said.
Netanyahu did not present President Trump with new intelligence regarding the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain, per the senior Israeli official, noting the U.S. and Israel already are constantly sharing intelligence – and know where Iran’s highly enriched material is. “We don’t think it’s moved, and I think we have a pretty good grasp on that,” the official said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Trump and Netanyahu discussed ways Israel and the U.S. can work together to stop Iran’s nuclear program and get the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime trade, the senior Israeli official said.
The two leaders also discussed a third goal: to continue to undermine the Iranian regime and “possibly create future conditions for a change in that area.” U.S. officials have backed away from pursuing paths that would overthrow the current leadership, but Netanyahu still believes that could happen.
“The chasm that has been created between the people and the regime is not about to be closed,” the senior Israeli official said of Netanyahu’s thinking.
Netanyahu advised Trump in February that Israeli intelligence indicated launching strikes against Iran would lead to the toppling of the Islamic Republic’s regime – and five months later, the slain ayatollah’s son retains power with a close circle of hardliners, calling into question the accuracy of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
But the senior Israeli official said at the time, Netanyahu did not promise the Iranian people would take fate into their own hands following a coordinated attack. Rather, he chose his words carefully and said that an attack could create conditions to “advance the probability or the possibility that that would happen.”
The conditions needed for the Iranian regime to fall, “did not materialize,” the official told MS NOW, adding, “not for lack of insight, but for either operational failure or decisions that were made.”
Despite Netanyahu insisting Israel and the U.S. are on the same page, differences still remain: the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and the Saudi nuclear arrangement did not come up during Wednesday’s White House meeting, according to a second Israeli official granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to spread, with an Iranian drone attacking a U.S. gas storage tanker off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday.
Trump indicated he would not let Iran’s latest action slide, telling reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. would retaliate against Iran even as he leaves room for diplomatic talks to resume.
“It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”
As for what it would take for Israel to join the U.S. strikes, the senior Israeli official said that if Israel is attacked by Iran, “We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly. And I think Iran would make a great mistake.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
International rage over FIFA’s close ties to President Donald Trump has reached a fever pitch after soccer’s governing body announced a plan to sell a significant stake to an investor group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
The president and his family have all but turned the White House into their personal piggy bank. And FIFA — which has its own sordid history of corruption — seems to have made itself a party to Trump’s self-enrichment under Gianni Infantino’s leadership, such as by paying for space inside Trump Tower in New York. (The organization has defended the office rental as a World Cup outpost.)
Soccer is seen by many as a unifying game. But Trump’s incorporation of FIFA into his political dynasty is threatening that idea.
FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
A press release from FIFA confirmed the plans and said Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investment group that would control FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA did not clarify why Thrive Eternal was selected, and Kushner was already dabbling in sports.
But Trump basically has already given son-in-law Jared Kushner carte blanche to dictate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East while simultaneously hatching business plans in the region. (Jared Kushner has denied any conflicts of interest.)
Joshua Kushner reportedly has been a major donor to Democrats. But, predictably, the idea of another Kushner becoming financially entwined with the World Cup — the world’s most popular sporting event — and basically being dropped into a position of global significance isn’t going over well. Several other soccer governing bodies have expressed concerns, including Europe’s UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement about The Athletic’s report, adding: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also rebuked the plan, writing on X: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!
Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a… https://t.co/knSZibuMea
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) July 28, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has already launched an investigation into the FIFA leader’s relationship with the Trump administration, while dozens of European lawmakers — citing concerns about “potential breaches of political neutrality” — have called for the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. This new proposal seems unlikely to assuage those concerns.
But what it does seem likely to do is fuel global anger toward the U.S. — the kind that has been growing since Trump retook office.
And when you consider that, it’s truly remarkable how the same MAGA movement whose members whined for years about politics mixing with sports is now in lockstep with a president who seems dead-set on casting his shadow over every sports event he can.
This post on X basically sums up the foul stench around FIFA’s latest proposal.
Sepp Blatter was Infantino’s predecessor as FIFA president and oversaw the organization amid some of its many scandals. When heof all people, is warning about how Trump and Infantino’s relationship is “deeply damaging” soccer, it’s a sign of how far FIFA has descended into the gutter.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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