Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: 07/08/26

Trump’s NATO needling and niceties

Jul 08, 2026

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THE CATCH-UP

President Donald Trump arrives for a media conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

President Donald Trump arrives for a media conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday. | AP Photo/Francisco Seco

From the moment he landed in Turkey for the NATO leaders’ summit, President Donald Trump grumbled his way across Ankara, returning again and again to longheld criticisms that the alliance is ripping off the U.S. He threatened again to take Greenland from Denmark, rein in trade with Spain (dubbing it “a wasted cause”) and slammed Europe’s energy and immigration policies.

Now Trump appears to be playing nice—er. During a closed-door gathering of NATO leaders, the president told reporters there was “tremendous love” in the room, adding “it was very smart people, and they have a lot of good in their heart, not evil — good — and they're doing a great job for their country.”

“The world is doing well,” Trump said — a comment that stands in contrast to much of the rhetoric the president typically reserves for longheld allies.

Trump, who’s repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the alliance, told the NATO leaders during that meeting “we want to remain with you,” POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and colleagues report. Ahead of a bilateral with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he’s frequently criticized, Trump said he plans to budge on one of his key requests — allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

The turn comes after multiple leaders went out of their way to praise him during the summit — and as the war in Iran intensifies.

Trump this morning announced the ceasefire with Tehran was “over” after the U.S. attacked Iran over Iranian military strikes on three ships in the Strait of Hotmuz. Trump said U.S. troops bombed parts of Kharg Island, the country’s oil hub, and threatened to bomb it again today.

“I’ll give [them] a little warning,” he said. “We’re going to hit them hard tonight.”

Oil prices, which had been coming down, surged 7 percent — to their highest level in weeks.

AND ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE: The godparents of Europe’s populist right are emulating Trump’s brazen style to bulldoze their way out of scandal, hoping voters will agree the establishment is conspiring to stitch them up, POLITICO’s Tim Ross and Marion Solletty report.

Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com.

Watch the Season 2 premiere of On the Road

Season 2 is here. Jonathan Martin kicks things off in North Dakota with Doug Burgum, Kelly Armstrong and Kevin Cramer for a conversation on Trump, Teddy Roosevelt, the future of the GOP and why state leaders are betting big on a new presidential library during America’s 250th anniversary year.

Watch the first episode now.

7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. WEIGHING GRAHAM: The fate of Graham Platner’s Maine Senate campaign remains on the edge after POLITICO reported that a woman who Platner dated said he forced her to have sex with him, which he has denied. A senior Platner campaign aide said on a 1 p.m. call with Platner’s team that the embattled nominee is expected to speak later today, per a person familiar with the call, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky writes in. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Platner was planning to speak to staff or make a public statement.

Scoop: Platner’s team quietly fielded a poll yesterday gauging the strength of potential candidates who could replace him on the ballot, POLITICO’s Chris Sommerfeldt and Erin Doherty report. The flash poll, obtained by POLITICO, was conducted by Public Policy Polling and commissioned by Platner’s campaign. It tested head-to-head matchups between GOP Sen. Susan Collins and Platner, along with five possible Democratic replacements, including former state Senate President Troy Jackson and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

The news comes as Platner’s team remains sharply at odds with the Maine Democratic Party about next steps if he drops out. Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson ripped the Platner campaign in a new statement released this afternoon.

“While the Platner campaign remains focused on distracting from the job of defeating Susan Collins in November with false accusations against us, the Maine Democratic Party remains hyper focused on developing a representative, transparent and inclusive process to select a new nominee when he chooses to withdraw from the race,” Murphy-Anderson said.

“While we may be frustrated with Graham Platner’s continued efforts to manipulate this process, we are so thankful for his supporters and all of their efforts to defeat Susan Collins – they are a vital part of our Party and deserve to participate in an open process to select Platner’s replacement.” Last night, the Maine Democratic Party accused Platner’s campaign of attempting to “put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like” and emphasized Platner would have no say in who the party chooses to replace him.

And more Democratic senators are joining the near-total chorus calling for his exit. “I think he's beyond the point of having a viable candidacy for the Senate. And the sooner he's gone from the scene, the better, as far as I'm concerned,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told POLITICO’s Shia Kapos in an interview.

A name to know: “The Low-Key Lawyer at the Center of the Search for a Platner Replacement,” by NYT’s Tim Balk: “Charles Dingman, chair of the Maine Democratic Party and a progressive, would play a key role in choosing the state’s Democratic Senate candidate if Graham Platner leaves the race.”

2. SLOWDOWN: “Under Trump, the agency at the center of the global AI tech race has slowed to a crawl,” by POLITICO’s Ari Hawkins and Ben Johansen: “The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is supposed to be at the forefront of America’s AI race with China, creating and enforcing restrictions on advanced semiconductors and other building blocks for artificial intelligence models that are sold abroad. But POLITICO spoke with half a dozen former BIS officials, including four from the Trump administration and two career officials, and another half a dozen people close to the White House who said delays in decisionmaking are grinding core parts of the agency to a halt.”

3. WHERE’S MITCH? Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a public letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today requesting that McConnell “fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” POLITICO’s Jordain Carney reports. “As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent. I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve,” Beshear wrote. Speculation has grown over the condition of the 84-year-old McConnell amid his weekslong hospitalization, with very little indication of his status from the senator’s office.

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4. 2028 WATCH: Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading to Nevada this week for a three-day swing through the battleground state, POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports. Officially, he’s branding the visit as a way to promote Democrats ahead of the midterms — but it will also allow him to boost his national profile and forge connections outside of California ahead of an expected 2028 presidential bid.

5. RED MEAT: Speaker Mike Johnson is considering a vote on legislation that would block foreign pregnant women from entering the U.S., POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports. The legislation would be a way for Johnson to appease conservative hard-liners after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship. But a potential House vote would be largely symbolic since it would have little chance of passing the Senate filibuster.

6. BRAVE NEW WORLD: OpenAI is planning a public release of its newest models on Thursday after the White House last month requested the company stagger their release, POLITICO’s Katherine Long reports. OpenAI has been previewing and testing GPT-5.6 with the White House and the Center for AI Standards and Innovation for over a month, a company spokesperson told POLITICO.

7. TICK TICK BOOM: At least 26 data centers nationwide are being built in sensitive streams and wetlands — and critics are finding they have few legal levers to challenge them, POLITICO’s Miranda Willson reports. That’s because of a 2023 Supreme Court decision that contracted the amount of waterways protected by the Clean Water Act, meaning a vast majority of construction projects in the U.S. can now be built without federal water pollution permits.

TALK OF THE TOWN

HISTORY LESSON — “To justify his arch, Trump cites a 1925 plan. That vision was very different,” by WaPo’s Júlia Ledur and Dan Diamond: “Officials say the Trump administration’s proposal builds on a historic design. Architects and preservationists say the resemblance ends there.”

IN MEMORIAM — “Supreme Court’s last official crier is dead at 102,” by WaPo’s Cole Reynolds: “George Hutchinson’s words were far from the most important spoken during Brown v. Board of Education. But they were the first. … Hutchinson, who died June 14 at 102, was the last crier of the U.S. Supreme Court, tasked with carrying out ceremonial duties that were later turned over to the court marshal.”

POLITICO MOVES — Monday Ogbobi is joining POLITICO as chief financial officer. He most recently was a head of finance at Amazon. … Alex Ruoff is joining POLITICO as deputy Congress editor for energy and environment. He most recently oversaw Bloomberg Law’s labor and employment law coverage.

MEDIA MOVE — Hector Guevara joined WaPo as senior product manager. He previously worked on the SNKRS app for Nike and is an Outbrain alum.

OUT AND ABOUT — Target hosted a summer celebration last night on the rooftop of its D.C. headquarters in Metro Center. SPOTTED: Alexis Williams, Isaac Reyes, Robin Givhan, Kelly Flanigan, Doug Thornell, Rae Robinson, Liz Landers, Brian Dodge, Mary McGinty, Ninio Fetalvo, Cristina Antelo, Anthony Hinojosa, Antonio Tijerino, James Thompson, Scott Kratz, Kristina Noell, Colleen Gillespie, Matt Gorman, Erica Parker, John Buscher, Charles Carithers, Brian Pomper and Spike Mendelsohn.

TRANSITIONS — Retired Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey has joined WestExec Advisors as a principal. He most recently was commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. … Buck Owen has joined Barnes & Thornburg as chief operating officer. He most recently worked at Dentons. … Dan Weisberg has joined the Wallace Foundation as chief program and policy officer. He previously worked for New York City Public Schools. …

… Clayton Thompson has joined Winston Taylor as partner in its intellectual property litigation practice. He most recently worked at DLA Piper. … Nora Flood has joined Eversheds Sutherland as counsel in the U.S. Capital Markets and Investments practice group. She previously worked at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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