It’s Thursday, July 9. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Eli Lake on Graham Platner’s attempt to make himself a martyr. Inside the 2028 Republican shadow primary. The immigration hard-liners suing the Trump administration over deportations. And much more.
But first: The war with Iran is officially back on.
At the NATO summit in Turkey yesterday, President Donald Trump declared the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran dead. Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, triggering a wave of U.S. strikes that continued into Wednesday. Trump reimposed the naval blockade and said he wasn’t sure he wanted a deal at all. “We can play games,” he told reporters, “but I’m not sure I want to make a deal. Let’s just finish the job.”
So where do we go from here? Aaron MacLean argues that the administration’s original sin was failing to anticipate Iran’s most obvious countermove: closing the Strait of Hormuz. The ceasefire agreed upon three weeks ago was built on self-deception, with the United States claiming that the MOU required Iran to open the strait when its text said nothing of the sort. Now, with the agreement dead and strikes resuming, Trump faces four choices. Read Aaron on what those options are, and why only one of them offers a real way out.
Meanwhile, as millions gather in Iranian cities to mourn the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad has been hearing a very different story from people inside the country. What the Islamic Republic is staging as a display of strength, she argues, is instead a performance. Read Masih on what’s really happening on the ground.
—The Editors
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner suspended his campaign last night, but his statement wasn’t an apology. Instead, Platner denied the rape allegation made against him and characterized himself as a populist martyr ousted by the Democratic establishment. He may have lost his shot at the Senate, but as Eli Lake writes, “he may have won something even more valuable: an origin story.” Don’t miss Eli’s column on the biggest story in politics this week.
Forget the midterms for a moment: The 2028 Republican presidential race is already underway—and the list of contenders include names other than Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Robert Costa reports on the “shadow primary” of GOP outsiders positioning themselves for the race—and whether there’s a lane for a nominee outside of Trump’s orbit.
Whatever happened to Trump’s campaign of “mass deportations”? Some of the president’s former immigration allies think the official numbers are bogus, and now they’re suing the administration for transparency. Audrey Fahlberg reports that the conservative Oversight Project has filed federal complaints demanding that the Department of Homeland Security release a more complete record of its deportations. The Trump administration claims it has deported more than three million illegal aliens, but what’s the true number?
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The Trump administration cleared OpenAI to release its most powerful AI model, GPT-5.6, with a public launch set for today. The move follows a government-mandated staggered rollout last month of the same model, which restricted access to approved entities while officials conducted additional testing.
A federal judge ordered yesterday that Trump must hand over a $5 million judgment to writer E. Jean Carroll, after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal last week. A Manhattan jury awarded Carroll the sum in 2023 after finding Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her. Trump’s lawyers have filed a rehearing request and said they would appeal the order.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear sent a letter to Senator Mitch McConnell’s office on Wednesday, urging him to be transparent about his health after 24 days of silence from the 84-year-old. With rampant speculation circulating about his condition, Beshear said his constituents deserve answers about whether McConnell can continue to serve.
At the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems by granting it a production license—a significant win for Kyiv, which has been pressing for the capability for years. Trump met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the summit, praising him as having “done an amazing job” in the war.
The family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a Houston immigration raid Tuesday, is calling for an independent investigation into his death. The Department of Homeland Security said the agent fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo attempted to ram an officer with a vehicle.
Former Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan was fined $5,000 but spared prison after being convicted of obstructing the arrest of an undocumented immigrant. The penalty falls well below the 15- to 21-month sentence in the federal guidelines.
Egypt filed an official complaint with FIFA after blowing a 2–0 lead in the final minutes of its World Cup game against Argentina, alleging that inconsistent Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions directly influenced the outcome.
Emmy nominations are out, and HBO Max’s medical drama The Pitt led all shows with 25 nods. The final season of Hacks set a comedy record with 24 nominations. A win for Jean Smart in September would tie the all-time record for acting Emmys by a single performer.
I have a gut feeling that the oysters will be happy to have Graham back.
Mitch McConnell resign. All dinosaurs retire.