Plus, what would happen if Trump went bankrupt? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| | | | | Anthony Zurcher | | North America Correspondent | | | | Hello from Washington. On Tuesday morning, a cargo ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, reducing it to wreckage. Within hours, US President Joe Biden was promising federal funds to rebuild. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg travelled to the scene.
The administration has been criticised for being flat-footed in response to domestic crises such as the Maui fire and the East Palestine train derailment. In an election year, a disaster can become a political danger if not handled effectively.
Read on for more on Donald Trump’s legal troubles, and a group of veterans who fought using inflatable tanks. | | | | | | |
| THE TAKEAWAY | | Money talks for RFK Jr |  | | RFK Jr and Nicole Shanahan. Credit: John G Mabanglo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock | | Robert F Kennedy Jr is having a moment.
The environmental lawyer turned vaccine conspiracy theorist turned independent presidential candidate announced his vice-presidential pick yesterday in San Francisco. While Nicole Shanahan isn’t exactly a household name and has very limited political experience, she has at least one attribute that opens a lot of doors in American politics: money, and LOTS of it.
The 38-year-old tech lawyer is also the ex-wife of one of Google’s founders, and can help Kennedy fund the state-by-state grind necessary to get their ticket on ballots. In some, he needed a running mate before he could even submit his paperwork. |  | | RFK Jr was introduced by his wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines. Credit: John G Mabanglo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock | | Kennedy is currently pulling anywhere from 5% to 15% support among American voters, polls suggest. While that doesn’t give him a realistic shot at winning, it could land him on the autumn presidential debate stage, and inject more unpredictability into a tight race between Trump and Biden.
An easy assumption is that Kennedy will hurt Biden by dividing the anti-Trump vote. Perhaps. But the polling is not so clear. As the nephew of President John F Kennedy, he has a family name steeped in Democratic Party history and liberal positions, but his anti-vaccine and anti-establishment views could well siphon support from Trump.
The takeaway: We’re still a long way from November, but it’s past time to acknowledge that Kennedy is a player in this presidential race. | | | |
| | | QUOTE OF THE WEEK | | “Congratulations, Donald. Quite the accomplishment.” | | US President Joe Biden’s response to Donald Trump’s excited announcement that he had won two trophies at his own Trump International Golf Club awards. | | | | | | |
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| | | ASK ANTHONY | | In the UK you cannot represent a constituency if you declare personal bankruptcy. Is this the same if you run for US president? - Mark Blaxland | | The US constitution requires that a president be a “natural born” American citizen who has lived in the US for 14 years and is at least 35 years old.
That’s it. Criminal convictions, personal bankruptcies, favourite sports teams – none of that matters, Mark.
With a $464m (£367m) penalty for business fraud and an $83m defamation judgment hanging over his head, there are significant financial reasons why Trump might want to declare bankruptcy. He is reportedly reluctant to do so, however, because it could tarnish his image as a successful businessman.
There’s been a bit of good news for Trump on the financial front this week, though. The bond he has to post to appeal that hefty business penalty was reduced to $175m – a pittance! - which the former president says he will be able to post.
Meanwhile, the merger between the Trump-centric social media site Truth Social and the publicly-traded shell company his financiers constructed promises Trump a multi-billion-dollar windfall.
After the dust settles, the former president may land on his financial feet once again.
Do you have a question for Anthony? Send us your queries here.
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| And finally... | | Eighty years after the fact, a group of veterans aged 99 to 100 were on Thursday awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service in the Second World War. And they served without touching a weapon.
The “Ghost Army” used inflatable vehicles and Hollywood-style special effects to fool the German army about Allied war plans. Learn more about their extraordinary story here. |  | | Allied soldiers carrying a rubber tank across Salisbury Plain. Credit: Getty Images/Bettmann | | | |
| | | Is there anything you want to know about the election campaign? You can email me to let me know what you think are the big issues. And why not forward the newsletter to friends? They can sign up here.
Thanks for reading!
- Anthony | | | |
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