It’s Tuesday, June 3. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: The Muslim Brotherhood’s capture of Europe; Uri Berliner on the suicide of the American dream; Trump ignores a clear order to sell TikTok; and more.
But first: Niall Ferguson on Donald Trump’s dealpolitik.
How far is Donald Trump willing to go for a deal?
Yesterday came the news that the United States has offered Iran a deal that would allow limited low-level uranium enrichment on Iranian soil—apparently contradicting previous statements by administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In Russia, the president has seemingly woken up to the reality that Vladimir Putin is not exactly eager for peace with Ukraine. (“Something has happened to him,” Trump posted last week. “He has gone absolutely CRAZY!”) The fact that the war has significantly escalated since Trump’s peace initiative began—with Russian air strikes reaching new peaks and Ukraine countering on Sunday with an audacious drone attack on Russian strategic bomber bases—speaks for itself.
“Diplomacy is negotiation,” said Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and a frequent visitor to the Kremlin.
But Witkoff and Trump seem to be learning the hard way that making peace—something the president promised he would do on day one of his administration—is harder than negotiating the sale price of a skyscraper.
In my essay today, I make sense of Trump’s strategy of dealpolitik—and what distinguishes it from the kind of foreign policy realism associated with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon.
—Niall Ferguson
A new report from the French government found that the Muslim Brotherhood has built an extensive ideological infrastructure in France—not through violent extremism, but via schools, charities, and mosques. The Islamist movement has distributed texts that praise Sharia law, denounce interfaith marriage, and vilify Jews. And it is expanding throughout the West.
Congress has voted, and the Supreme Court has spoken. So why hasn’t TikTok been banned yet? “Essentially with TikTok I have the right to sell it or close it,” said Trump. But that’s wrong. Trump doesn’t have the right to sell or ban the app—he has an obligation to. What gives?
MAGA economics are built on a powerful, enduring story: America’s working class has been shafted by globalization and an elitist system of trade. Yet this mythology and Trump’s salves ignore the three H’s: home prices, healthcare costs, and higher-education expenses. And the three H’s are home-brewed, made-in-America disasters.
New York City is enforcing its new eco-policy: Separate and compost your food scraps, or face steep fines. Over 4,000 New Yorkers have already been fined. But is this law just another impractical intervention that is more symbolic than sensible?
Over the past two decades, Qatar has developed a sophisticated apparatus to embed itself into American society in a way that would shock most Americans. The tiny Persian Gulf nation has invested in our politicians, universities, newsrooms, think tanks, lobbying firms, and corporations—all on an unprecedented scale.
There are a number of petrostates in the region with wealth that far exceeds Qatar’s. But what Qatar has chosen to do with its money—morality aside—is farsighted. It has chosen to invest in influence in America, to the tune of almost $100 billion.
So what’s the problem? For one, Qatar’s push to buy influence has made the country’s ties to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups ever more alarming and apparent.
Frannie Block and Jay Solomon published a massive investigative report on Qatar’s seismic influence strategy for The Free Press. It’s called “How Qatar Bought America.”
Today on Honestly, Bari sits down with Frannie and Jay to discuss how Qatar built this ecosystem, what it wants in return, and what it has already received.
The FBI reported that Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the Egyptian national accused of attacking a gathering for Israeli hostages, had planned the attack for a year. Soliman, who told law enforcement that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” was charged with a hate crime. Soliman stayed in the U.S. after his visa expired and yelled “Free Palestine” as he threw incendiary devices at observers.
Prices of U.S. steel spiked after Trump announced that he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent. Share prices of U.S. steelmakers climbed dramatically as foreign makers saw their numbers slump. Trump said the increased tariffs “will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.”
Trump announced that he planned to eliminate federal protections on millions of acres of land in Alaska, which would allow mining and drilling in large swaths of the state. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled to Alaska, where they are expected to endorse expanded drilling and the construction of a liquefied natural gas pipeline through the state.
Karol Nawrocki, the Trump-endorsed conservative candidate, won Poland’s presidential election. “We want to live in a safe country with a strong economy,” Nawrocki wrote on social media.
Ukrainian intelligence confirmed that China has supplied at least 20 Russian military production facilities with supplies and equipment. The findings reveal how China has circumvented international sanctions to support Russia’s war effort.
Of 2,066 counties in 33 states that researchers analyzed, 78 percent reported a decline in measles vaccination rates stark enough to fall below the rate required for herd immunity, according to a new study. “If measles gets introduced into these regions, there’s more likely to be an outbreak,” said the senior author of the study. “And that’s what we’re seeing.”
Scottsdale, Arizona, surpassed Austin as the fastest-growing hub of millionaire residents. Scottsdale’s millionaire population rose 125 percent from 2014 to 2024.
No, You are telling them to relax......you are obviously not Jewish and don't appreciate their mindset. I'm surprised at you...I've seen your posts and it seems out of character.
I told a friend of mine many years ago that Sharia Law will come to the United States. He scoffed at the notion. I was right and it happened even sooner than I thought... We need to throw out the Hamasniks and send them back to Qatar, Gaza or wherever they came from, before we get irreparably harmed by the scourge that is Islamism.