Letters from an American

July 8, 2026
After the US resumed bombing Iran, Iranian forces retaliated with strikes on US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, At the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump lashed out at Iranian leaders, later backing down, Trump’s claim that “we have the Hormuz Strait,” is not correct, and Iran appears to be calling the shots, Trump was often incoherent in Ankara, making mistakes and claiming powers he does not have, European officials at the NATO summit are coming to the conclusion that they can no longer rely on the US, Meanwhile Jared Kushner and Trump’s sons are enriching themselves, raising billions in investment money from foreign governments, mainly in the Middle East where Kushner works as a special envoy for the president. 
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July 7, 2026
At a two day summit of the NATO countries in Ankara, Trump told reporters he was disappointed that NATO had not backed his war on Iran, He then claimed his beef with NATO began over Greenland, NATO is the most effective alliance in human history, The US and eleven other nations signed the original NATO declaration on April 4, 1949, The alliance calls for collective defense, It acts not only as a response to attack but also as a deterrent, Trump has said he would take the US out of NATO and even if he cannot do so, if the US abandons its commitment it will make the treaty worthless, The Trump administration has taken an estimated $8 billion in oil revenue out of Venezuela, As NATO’s leaders met in Türkiye, it was announced that US forces had launched new strikes against Iran. 
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July 6, 2026
In the World Cup match between the US and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the US team’s top scorer received a red card, Last Sunday, FIFA announced Balogun would be allowed to play, Trump had called FIFA’s president to intervene, There has been outrage over this interference but Trump isn’t interested in a level playing field, The episode represents the way Trump thinks about the rule of law in the US, Trump and the Republicans have skewed the US economy in favor of their supporters, History shows what happens when a few wealthy men control the government, Theodore Roosevelt demanded a square deal for the American people, Trump claims those calling for government to keep the economic playing field level are “communists,” Trump is looking to put his thumb on the scale of the midterm elections and is demanding that Congress pass his SAVE America Act, which they might just find a way to do.
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July 5, 2026
Going into the weekend celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Trump was facing a lot of bad news, Iran was blocking ships trying to get through the Strait of Hormuz, chocking of 2-5 of the world’s oil and one third of the world’s fertilizer transported by sea, Inflation is spiking in the US, The administration's corruption is being revealed, with reports that Trump has made a fortune in his cryptocurrency business, benefiting from insider information, Nearly a million people who have lost a total of $3.8 billion while Trump made $636 million in his cryptocurrency business, Trump diverted funds from America250 into Freedom250, misleading donors and skirting accountability rules, The Great American State Fair was poorly run and poorly attended, Trump flew to Mount Rushmore to rant about Democrats being communists, thinking this made up story is a winning theme and he continued the attacks in his talk in DC on July 4th, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum continued to promote what appears to be a made-up story about vandalism at the Reflecting Pool, Reality does appear to be reasserting itself, nonetheless. 
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July 3, 2026
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, The Declaration of independence was an astonishing radical document, despite its shortcomings, America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal, The Civil War tested whether the nation was dedicated to the idea that all men are created equal, The US endured and Americans began to expand the idea of equality to include Black men, men of color, and women, We are facing a rebellion against our founding principle today,  Lincoln’s reminder that "this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" are words to live by in 2026.
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