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With so much press focusing this week on President Biden’s health and the decisions that shaped the 2024 race, I had a conversation with former Congressman
on the Jessica Yellin Show on Substack. Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, briefly and reluctantly challenged President Biden in 2024, arguing Biden couldn’t win re-election and the threat of another Trump presidency was too great to stay silent.For saying this out loud, Phillips was vilified. Even now, he’s dismissed by some—including some in this audience—for calling out perverse incentives that reward loyalty over honesty and self-preservation over service.
In the conversation he details how consultants were threatened, how media played along, and how a culture of fear paralyzed decision-makers in the Democratic Party. His conclusion: “Everybody knew.” He says every major 2028 contender but one knew Biden was in failing health and chose not to mount a challenge, disqualifying themselves by staying silent when it mattered most. He shares who he’s looking at for 2028.
This isn’t a conversation about Biden’s health. It’s about how silence—among Democratic leaders and much of the press—denied voters a competitive primary and may have helped pave the way for Trump’s return to power. Rather than litigating the past, Phillips proposes structural reforms to ensure something like this never happens again. I hope you’ll watch with an open mind.
We recap the day’s other news below.
Here Are Your Headlines:
Early Birds: The House Rules Committee convened at 1am this morning to begin debating Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” As we send this newsletter, compromise remains elusive; the White House reportedly wants the bill to be voted on today, despite hardliners in the House Freedom Caucus warning they still aren’t satisfied with the level of spending cuts, including to Medicaid.
Taking From the Neediest: A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office finds that the latest draft of the GOP bill would add $3.8 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. It will cut $1 trillion in medicaid and food assistance, driving down resources for lowest-income Americans, while increasing resources for the top earners. Democrats say the GOP held the markup overnight to hide the fact that the bill would provide: a $1 billion tax break on gun silencers; $10 billion tax relief for people who pay for gym memberships with health savings accounts; $1 billion to banks that make certain loans to farmers and ranchers; and even tax relief for people who own tanning beds. New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said, “we’re prioritizing tanning beds over hospital beds in rural America.”
What’s Changed: Blue-state Republicans reportedly secured an increase in tax deductions. To appease hardliners, new Medicaid work requirements will be implemented in December 2026, instead of 2029 as originally proposed. Meaning more cuts faster.
Don’t Look a Gift Plane in the Mouth: The Department of Defense confirmed today that Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted that luxury $400 million jet from Qatar. It’s in San Antonio, Texas, awaiting an overhaul to make it fit for purpose as an Air Force One plane. But experts are worried Trump will push for the plane to be readied sooner than physically possible, necessitating shortcuts that could undermine security. We hope Hegseth’s security sweeps unearth any unwelcome surprises before they, ah, surprise us all. #TrojanHorse #NothingIsFree #WhatsYourTheory
Fringe Theories: Trump just wrapped up another shocking meeting in the Oval Office, this time with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa. As Ramaphosa attempted to talk trade and investments, Trump repeatedly brought up a conspiracy that white South African farmers are the victims of genocide. At one point, Trump even dimmed the lights to show videos backing up this false claim. “The difference between Trump’s responses, demeanor, and body language toward the white South African golfers in the Oval Office compared to the Black South African government officials is striking,” the New York Times’ White House reporter noted. For context, no political party in South Africa claims a genocide against white farmers is occurring.
Meddling: Elon Musk’s AI, Grok, last week started telling users it was “instructed by my creators” to accept that there is a “real and racially motivated” genocide of white South Africans. After someone corrected Grok, the AI then started claiming it was “sceptical” of the fact 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, claiming “numbers can be manipulated for political narratives.”
Refugees? The first group of White South African “refugees,” which arrived in the US last week, had their processing fast-tracked by the White House. Meantime, the Trump Administration is fighting in court to avoid resettling tens of thousands of refugees from other countries, who’d already been cleared for departure and are now stuck in limbo after fleeing war-torn homelands.
Awaiting Aid: Almost 100 aid trucks carrying flour, sugar, nutritional supplements, medical equipment, and more have entered the Gaza Strip. This is the first aid delivery since Israel lifted its monthslong blockade of the Strip on Monday, according to the Israeli army. Aid officials, local bakeries, the World Food Programme, and the UN warn that the aid has not reached the population yet.
Fact Check: You may have seen a viral post that claims 14,000 babies in Gaza will die in the next 48 hours if aid doesn’t reach them. That was based on a misreading of a report that found 14,100 “severe cases of acute malnutrition” will occur in children in Gaza over the next 10 months. It’s from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. 57 children in Gaza have died of malnutrition in the last three months, according to the World Health Organization.
Increasing Outcry: This morning Pope Leo XIV used his first general audience to call for “the entry of dignified humanitarian aid” into Gaza and “an end to the hostilities.” He also posted this message on social media: “The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful. I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to bring an end to the hostilities, whose heart-rending price is borne by children, the elderly and the sick.” I quote the whole statement to highlight an example of someone calling to end the suffering, without using language that perverts history, accelerates divisions or or evokes harmful historical stereotypes that have endangered Jewish communities throughout history.
Oversight: The Justice Department today closed investigations into police departments in eight jurisdictions across the country. Biden’s DOJ opened 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies, of which four were completed and found systemic misconduct. Now Trump’s DOJ dismissed these findings, retracted findings by Biden’s DOJ alleging constitutional violations by police, and revoked what they call “micromanaging” Biden-era oversight agreements in Louisville and Minneapolis.
Flight From Justice: A federal judge today ruled the Trump administration “unquestionably” violated his prior court order by flying eight migrants out of the country with barely 24 hours’ notice yesterday. The migrants, most of them from Asia, were reportedly told they were headed for South Sudan, a country on the brink of civil war the State Department advises against visiting, but the private jet carrying them seems to have landed in Djibouti this morning. The judge asked for the names of everyone involved, warning they could face criminal contempt penalties.
Prostate of the Nation: Former President Biden’s recent diagnosis of prostate cancer has the political world chattering about his health while in the White House — and questioning why he attempted to run again. Doctors and non-experts (read: Trump and Vance) expressed disbelief that such an aggressive form of cancer wasn’t detected earlier. But a Biden aide insisted Biden’s last prostate exam was in 2014, prostate exams are generally not recommended in men over 70, and in rare cases cancer really can appear out of nowhere.
Gerontocracy: With questions around President Biden’s age so very much in the news, we thought it’d help to remind you of the bigger picture.
