Trump's birthday slur against Michelle Obama

I truly did not think I could be more shocked or more disgusted by this administration. Until I saw the video.

The first privately-promoted, for-profit sporting event in White House history went even worse than you'd expect. The disgraceful UFC spectacle was all a despicable excuse to regurgitate a transphobic slur against Michelle Obama on the White House lawn.

The crowd applauded. Joe Rogan gave him a high five. Trump smiled seconds after the comment.

This is the same president who, in February, refused to apologize for posting a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The comment was made by the same fighter who made the identical remark about Brittney Griner back in January.

Meanwhile, UFC fighters received payments in crypto issued by Trump's own company, the playlist featured a disgraced singer now in jail for literally running a sex-trafficking operation, and one UFC fighter was banned after criticizing Trump.

A GOP strategist noted that even MAGA supporters are "turned off."

Trump spent his birthday congratulating himself on a historic peace agreement with Iran that may or may not hold: at the time of publication, no one had seen the text of, and Tehran's state media was already hedging. Israel launched fresh strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut while the ink was supposedly drying, prompting Trump to warn both Israel and Iran not to "blow it."

Trump called Netanyahu “a very difficult guy” and asserted that he “should be very thankful” to the US for negotiating the agreement, “because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel wouldn’t be around for two hours.”

Stock markets soared on the announcement; Trump heads to the G7 in France today to take his victory lap.

The gap between what Trump says and what exists on paper has never been smaller, mostly because the paper doesn't even exist yet.

Trump's 80th birthday handed journalists two gifts: a brutal new NBC News poll showing even some Republicans turning against him, and White House insiders loosening their lips to reporters about Trump’s private memory struggles.

Aides are "scrambling" to explain his public glitches.

The official line: he's just "leaning in to better hear someone speaking." This week, he was seen leaning away from EPA chief Lee Zeldin — eyes shut — which is a strange way to listen.

The White House also attributes the prominent bruising on both his hands to "excessive handshaking," which is doing a lot of heavy lifting as an explanation.

A Washington Post/ABC/Ipsos poll found fewer than half of American adults believe Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively. Trump's own inner circle told the Times he's been "more tired than usual." The White House's response: "Truth Social has never been hotter."

Separately, the Trump administration is panicking about a possible Situation Room leak, with one insider saying they have "no idea" what might have been recorded.

This is a story that has been building for months and is now crossing a threshold: the people around him are no longer fully covering for him.

Mitch McConnell was admitted to a hospital Sunday, according to a terse statement from his spokesperson David Popp: "Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care."

No cause, no prognosis, no location.

McConnell's health has been under scrutiny for years. He inexplicably froze — twice — during news conferences in 2023, fell and suffered a concussion that same year, and sprained his wrist in another fall in December 2024. He has a long history of mobility issues dating back to childhood polio and has intermittently used a wheelchair to navigate the Capitol.

McConnell is 84, finishing out his final Senate term, and remains the longest-serving Senate leader in history. His term ends in January.

Gaza's Health Ministry confirmed Sunday that 73,001 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023 — with nearly 1,000 of those deaths occurring after a ceasefire technically went into effect.

Over 173,200 people have been wounded. The ceasefire, brokered by the U.S. last October, ended full-scale operations and secured the return of remaining hostages, but Israeli troops have advanced rather than withdrawn, and reconstruction, troop pullbacks, and a new Palestinian government are all frozen.

Five Israeli soldiers have died since the truce. The Health Ministry, staffed by medical professionals and considered generally reliable by UN agencies, says women and children make up roughly half of all fatalities.

A 13-year-old boy was among those killed Saturday night.

Trump arrives at the G7 in France today claiming a done deal with Iran — but Iran says the Strait of Hormuz stays closed until the agreement is actually signed, and nobody has published the text. Watch whether it holds up under scrutiny — or falls apart before the ink is dry.

See you tomorrow.