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Who is Natalie Harp? The Trump Aide Dominating the Headlines Right Now
*Trump and executive assistant Natalie Harp attend a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on July 22, 2026, in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images*
Over the weekend, Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff [lambasted][1] Donald Trump’s handling of the country by name-dropping one of his closest aides, Natalie Harp, in this provocative way: “He [Donald Trump] wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Travel with Natalie? Ossoff’s comment, which spread like wildfire online, lit a fire under questions like who is Natalie Harp, what is the nature of her relationship with the president, and how did the two become so weirdly close. We’re here to answer those questions, and also the ones you didn’t think to ask.
[Subscribe now][2]
Here are seven things you need to know about the woman that *New York Times *reporter Maggie Haberman has [referred][3] to as Trump’s human “binkie.”
### **1. She Snuck onto the Catering Truck With Trump**
When Trump [secretly switched planes][4] in Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claimed was an assassination threat from Iran, the president left behind key allies like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
But among those Trump didn’t leave behind to serve as a human shield on a decoy plane was Harp, who snuck out of Air Force One on an airport catering truck with the president and two other close personal aides.
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2089089375372279942
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maggie-haberman-reveals-why-trump-took-human-binkie-on-secret-escape/
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/12/close-trump-aides-no-cabinet-officials-made-secret-catering-truck-move/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
*Trump and executive assistant Natalie Harp attend a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on July 22, 2026, in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images*
Over the weekend, Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff [lambasted][1] Donald Trump’s handling of the country by name-dropping one of his closest aides, Natalie Harp, in this provocative way: “He [Donald Trump] wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Travel with Natalie? Ossoff’s comment, which spread like wildfire online, lit a fire under questions like who is Natalie Harp, what is the nature of her relationship with the president, and how did the two become so weirdly close. We’re here to answer those questions, and also the ones you didn’t think to ask.
[Subscribe now][2]
Here are seven things you need to know about the woman that *New York Times *reporter Maggie Haberman has [referred][3] to as Trump’s human “binkie.”
### **1. She Snuck onto the Catering Truck With Trump**
When Trump [secretly switched planes][4] in Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claimed was an assassination threat from Iran, the president left behind key allies like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
But among those Trump didn’t leave behind to serve as a human shield on a decoy plane was Harp, who snuck out of Air Force One on an airport catering truck with the president and two other close personal aides.
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2089089375372279942
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maggie-haberman-reveals-why-trump-took-human-binkie-on-secret-escape/
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/12/close-trump-aides-no-cabinet-officials-made-secret-catering-truck-move/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
SCOOP: Trump’s Iran War Has Burned Through Well Over 90% of Key Long-Range Missiles
*Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth during a press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.*
However terribly you think the Iran war is going for Donald Trump, the reality is almost certainly worse. The worse it gets, the more the White House tries to cover up and hide the damage from the American people, and the more the president uses the Justice Department [to threaten][1] media outlets that expose the sheer tonnage of the damage.
President Trump won’t even be straight with the country about how he’s running out of weapons – when his war has depleted well *upwards of 90%* of certain crucial munitions, as **Zeteo** has learned. When reporters have dug in on this topic, he’s huffily accused them of “[treason][2],” and pledged that those responsible for leaking the information “are being hunted down” aggressively.
[Subscribe now][3]
The staggering rate of U.S. weapons exhaustion is one of many indications of how [colossally disastrous the Iran war has been][4] for the American side since the very moment Trump launched the conflict in February. And the extent to which Trump has routinely ordered the Justice Department to open sprawling leak investigations and browbeat journalists underscores just how much this president is attempting to make it functionally illegal for a free American press to report on how horribly the war is going.
After all, the only thing “[treasonous][5]” (to use a term so casually and regularly lobbed by the president of the United States…) about the reporting is that it is personally embarrassing to the man running this war.
### ‘High Nineties’
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAFvBfqInU
[2]: https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/donald-trump-accuses-the-washington-post-of-treason/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-doomed-from-start
[5]: https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/trump-calls-ny-times-reporter-treasonous-for-questioning-iran-war-success/5200348
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
*Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth during a press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.*
However terribly you think the Iran war is going for Donald Trump, the reality is almost certainly worse. The worse it gets, the more the White House tries to cover up and hide the damage from the American people, and the more the president uses the Justice Department [to threaten][1] media outlets that expose the sheer tonnage of the damage.
President Trump won’t even be straight with the country about how he’s running out of weapons – when his war has depleted well *upwards of 90%* of certain crucial munitions, as **Zeteo** has learned. When reporters have dug in on this topic, he’s huffily accused them of “[treason][2],” and pledged that those responsible for leaking the information “are being hunted down” aggressively.
[Subscribe now][3]
The staggering rate of U.S. weapons exhaustion is one of many indications of how [colossally disastrous the Iran war has been][4] for the American side since the very moment Trump launched the conflict in February. And the extent to which Trump has routinely ordered the Justice Department to open sprawling leak investigations and browbeat journalists underscores just how much this president is attempting to make it functionally illegal for a free American press to report on how horribly the war is going.
After all, the only thing “[treasonous][5]” (to use a term so casually and regularly lobbed by the president of the United States…) about the reporting is that it is personally embarrassing to the man running this war.
### ‘High Nineties’
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAFvBfqInU
[2]: https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/donald-trump-accuses-the-washington-post-of-treason/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-doomed-from-start
[5]: https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/trump-calls-ny-times-reporter-treasonous-for-questioning-iran-war-success/5200348
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
Is a New, Expanded Progressive 'Squad' Coming to Congress in 2027?
Darializa Avila Chevalier. Claire Valdez. Dr. Adam Hamawy. Donavan McKinney. Chris Rabb.
These progressive House candidates all won their Democratic primaries, but they also have something else in common – they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats.
With the midterm elections less than three months away, Justice Democrats’ communications director **Usamah Andrabi** joins **Mehdi** to break down what has, so far, been a big year for progressives, and what these victories mean for the future of the left and the Democratic Party.
“**The Democratic base is excited by our candidates because they are showing you don’t have to be bought and sold to be leaders for your communities**,” Andrabi says. “**In fact, you can’t be leaders for your community unless you are unbought and unbossed**.”
[Subscribe now][1]
And as AIPAC continues to pour millions of dollars against pro-Palestinian candidates, the two discuss just how big of a role Gaza has played in the Democratic primaries.
“**Overwhelmingly, Democratic voters don’t want to see their taxpayer dollars spent on endless wars and genocide abroad, and yet, only a minority of Democrats in Congress represent that view**,” Andrabi tells Mehdi.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full interview above, while **free subscribers** can access a 3-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of **Zeteo’s** award-winning content.
[Share][2]
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems
https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems
Darializa Avila Chevalier. Claire Valdez. Dr. Adam Hamawy. Donavan McKinney. Chris Rabb.
These progressive House candidates all won their Democratic primaries, but they also have something else in common – they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats.
With the midterm elections less than three months away, Justice Democrats’ communications director **Usamah Andrabi** joins **Mehdi** to break down what has, so far, been a big year for progressives, and what these victories mean for the future of the left and the Democratic Party.
“**The Democratic base is excited by our candidates because they are showing you don’t have to be bought and sold to be leaders for your communities**,” Andrabi says. “**In fact, you can’t be leaders for your community unless you are unbought and unbossed**.”
[Subscribe now][1]
And as AIPAC continues to pour millions of dollars against pro-Palestinian candidates, the two discuss just how big of a role Gaza has played in the Democratic primaries.
“**Overwhelmingly, Democratic voters don’t want to see their taxpayer dollars spent on endless wars and genocide abroad, and yet, only a minority of Democrats in Congress represent that view**,” Andrabi tells Mehdi.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full interview above, while **free subscribers** can access a 3-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of **Zeteo’s** award-winning content.
[Share][2]
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems
https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems
💰 A Bank Closed Trump Accounts for ‘Anti-Money Laundering Reasons.’ So Now He's Giving Himself… a Bank?
*On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton admitted in grand jury testimony that he had a relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, which he then told the nation “was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.” *
Good morning… **Martin** here, delighted as ever to wish you a [Happy Monday][1]. It’s almost late summer now, but summer it still is, so Congress is still on its extremely generous holidays. Fear not: **Donald Trump** is here to fill the news with yet more absurd corruption.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look at two aspects of the second Trump administration that go hand in hand: the financial self-dealing allowing the president’s family and associates to rake in untold riches, and the obsequious yes-men who populate his Cabinet, ready to act with complete disregard for convention and the law.
Trump looks set to turn his crypto firm, **World Liberty Financial**, into a bank, while his new attorney general, **Todd Blanche**, gets on with targeting the boss’s enemies and rigging the law in his favor, without even pretending to do otherwise. It’s staggering – as is **Hakeem Jeffries**, very possibly the next speaker of the House, opposing Medicare for All, a policy favored by nine in 10 in his party. We’ll look at that and more, including Trump’s continuing stalemate with Iran. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘The Most Brazen Act of Self-Dealing’
*Trump before boarding Air Force One on Aug. 14, 2026. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images.*
On Aug. 1, Capital One bank [said][3] it closed more than 300 Trump Organization accounts for **“anti-money laundering reasons.”**
**“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,”** it said.
Two weeks later, on Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national regulator whose head, [Jonathan Gould][4], was appointed by Trump last year, [granted][5] conditional preliminary approval of an application for a bank charter from World Liberty Trust – the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company.
[Subscribe now][6]
World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff – son of Trump real estate pal turned all-purpose diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff – said: **“Our ambition is clear: to build the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world while strengthening the role of the U.S. dollar across the global economy.”**
Among those crying foul, and there were plenty, the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, [said][7]: “**This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen. I’m introducing a bill to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption.”**
Which is precisely what this is: absolutely staggering self-dealing by the president, his family, and their cronies. But this is also the U.S. under the Trumps. The staggering self-dealing story was a Friday story, Saturday too, tops. By Sunday, the torrent of Trumpist slurry was washing other threats into view.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFf1J7ITetU&list=RDBFf1J7ITetU&start_radio=1
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/capital-one-trump-organization-money-laundering
[4]: https://www.occ.gov/about/who-we-are/comptroller/index-comptroller-of-the-currency.html
[5]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-regulator-approves-bank-charter-trump-backed-crypto-company-world-liberty-2026-08-14/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/posts/this-is-the-most-brazen-act-of-self-dealing-our-financial-system-has-ever-seen-i/1617778166370708/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for
https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for
*On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton admitted in grand jury testimony that he had a relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, which he then told the nation “was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.” *
Good morning… **Martin** here, delighted as ever to wish you a [Happy Monday][1]. It’s almost late summer now, but summer it still is, so Congress is still on its extremely generous holidays. Fear not: **Donald Trump** is here to fill the news with yet more absurd corruption.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look at two aspects of the second Trump administration that go hand in hand: the financial self-dealing allowing the president’s family and associates to rake in untold riches, and the obsequious yes-men who populate his Cabinet, ready to act with complete disregard for convention and the law.
Trump looks set to turn his crypto firm, **World Liberty Financial**, into a bank, while his new attorney general, **Todd Blanche**, gets on with targeting the boss’s enemies and rigging the law in his favor, without even pretending to do otherwise. It’s staggering – as is **Hakeem Jeffries**, very possibly the next speaker of the House, opposing Medicare for All, a policy favored by nine in 10 in his party. We’ll look at that and more, including Trump’s continuing stalemate with Iran. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘The Most Brazen Act of Self-Dealing’
*Trump before boarding Air Force One on Aug. 14, 2026. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images.*
On Aug. 1, Capital One bank [said][3] it closed more than 300 Trump Organization accounts for **“anti-money laundering reasons.”**
**“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,”** it said.
Two weeks later, on Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national regulator whose head, [Jonathan Gould][4], was appointed by Trump last year, [granted][5] conditional preliminary approval of an application for a bank charter from World Liberty Trust – the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company.
[Subscribe now][6]
World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff – son of Trump real estate pal turned all-purpose diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff – said: **“Our ambition is clear: to build the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world while strengthening the role of the U.S. dollar across the global economy.”**
Among those crying foul, and there were plenty, the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, [said][7]: “**This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen. I’m introducing a bill to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption.”**
Which is precisely what this is: absolutely staggering self-dealing by the president, his family, and their cronies. But this is also the U.S. under the Trumps. The staggering self-dealing story was a Friday story, Saturday too, tops. By Sunday, the torrent of Trumpist slurry was washing other threats into view.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFf1J7ITetU&list=RDBFf1J7ITetU&start_radio=1
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/capital-one-trump-organization-money-laundering
[4]: https://www.occ.gov/about/who-we-are/comptroller/index-comptroller-of-the-currency.html
[5]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-regulator-approves-bank-charter-trump-backed-crypto-company-world-liberty-2026-08-14/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/posts/this-is-the-most-brazen-act-of-self-dealing-our-financial-system-has-ever-seen-i/1617778166370708/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for
https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for
How ‘Psychopath’ Trump’s Mayhem Will Backfire in 2028 for Republicans
Donald Trump seems to think he can run for president in 2028, and [if the law still stands][1], *he can’t* – but the seat may go to one of his top sycophants.
That’s why Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and Doug Burgum don’t push back on Trump’s reign of terror, argues political scientist **Norm Ornstein**, as he joins **Zeteo’s John Harwood** to unpack just how the Republican party got to this level of cult-dom.
[Subscribe now][2]
But as [prices soar][3] and people can’t afford [healthcare][4], is associating with the [failing president][5] a good idea?
This was a **Substack live** conversation, where **Zeteo** subscribers could ask questions in real time. Watch the **full video above** to hear what Ornstein thinks will come after Trump, how the president threatens his colleagues, and why* *Ornstein believes that Newt Gingrich and Mitch McConnell *(wherever he is!)* are as much to blame as Trump*.*
[Subscribe now][6]
We’ve made this conversation free for all subscribers, but if you support the work we do, consider upgrading to a **[paid subscription][7]** so you never hit a paywall again!
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
Get more from Mehdi Hasan in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android
[Get the app][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattrandolph/2026/08/14/gas-and-diesel-prices-on-track-for-their-most-expensive-august-ever/
[4]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/710942/adults-ability-afford-healthcare-five-year-low.aspx
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-no-way-out
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[8]: https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=author-post-insert&utm_source=zeteo
https://zeteo.com/p/how-psychopath-trumps-mayhem-will
Donald Trump seems to think he can run for president in 2028, and [if the law still stands][1], *he can’t* – but the seat may go to one of his top sycophants.
That’s why Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and Doug Burgum don’t push back on Trump’s reign of terror, argues political scientist **Norm Ornstein**, as he joins **Zeteo’s John Harwood** to unpack just how the Republican party got to this level of cult-dom.
[Subscribe now][2]
But as [prices soar][3] and people can’t afford [healthcare][4], is associating with the [failing president][5] a good idea?
This was a **Substack live** conversation, where **Zeteo** subscribers could ask questions in real time. Watch the **full video above** to hear what Ornstein thinks will come after Trump, how the president threatens his colleagues, and why* *Ornstein believes that Newt Gingrich and Mitch McConnell *(wherever he is!)* are as much to blame as Trump*.*
[Subscribe now][6]
We’ve made this conversation free for all subscribers, but if you support the work we do, consider upgrading to a **[paid subscription][7]** so you never hit a paywall again!
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
Get more from Mehdi Hasan in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android
[Get the app][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattrandolph/2026/08/14/gas-and-diesel-prices-on-track-for-their-most-expensive-august-ever/
[4]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/710942/adults-ability-afford-healthcare-five-year-low.aspx
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-no-way-out
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[8]: https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=author-post-insert&utm_source=zeteo
https://zeteo.com/p/how-psychopath-trumps-mayhem-will
This Week in Palestine: Israel Shoots 13-Year-Old as She ‘Memorized the Quran’ and Settlers Besiege Palestinian Families
*Israeli settlers run as they are chased by an Israeli military vehicle around Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 13, 2026. Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images*
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called settlers besieging a Palestinian American home in the occupied West Bank “[Israeli terrorists][1].” It’s a welcome, rare rebuke from a U.S. official, but what kind of weight does it really have when the same official has been a long-time supporter of Israeli settlements? It wasn’t that long ago that Huckabee made similar comments about settler violence gripping the [Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh][2], where attacks continue, or the [settlers who beat Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet][3] to death (no one has been held accountable).
[Subscribe now][4]
What kind of weight do Huckabee’s comments really have when, hours after using the phrase “Israeli terrorists,” he called the settlers “[illegal trespassers][5]” instead? Or when he defended the vast majority of settlers, saying they aren’t the problem, the “[unsettlers][6]” are, even though the settlements themselves are illegal under international law? It’s nice for officials to call attention to what Palestinians and their supporters have been decrying for years, but it rings hollow when nothing of substance is actually done to hold Israel accountable.
Just this week, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, Israel killed a 13-year-old girl by reportedly shooting her as she memorized the Quran, and an Israeli official said the bodies of Palestinians should be held as bargaining chips.
Here’s more on all those stories and other things that happened during another troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Israeli Forces Shoot 13-Year-Old Girl as She ‘Memorized the Quran’**
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087736809069465867
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/in-this-palestinian-christian-village
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-father-sayfullah-musallet-huckabee-netanyahu
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087793893450355051
[6]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087964441401028665
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots
*Israeli settlers run as they are chased by an Israeli military vehicle around Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 13, 2026. Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images*
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called settlers besieging a Palestinian American home in the occupied West Bank “[Israeli terrorists][1].” It’s a welcome, rare rebuke from a U.S. official, but what kind of weight does it really have when the same official has been a long-time supporter of Israeli settlements? It wasn’t that long ago that Huckabee made similar comments about settler violence gripping the [Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh][2], where attacks continue, or the [settlers who beat Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet][3] to death (no one has been held accountable).
[Subscribe now][4]
What kind of weight do Huckabee’s comments really have when, hours after using the phrase “Israeli terrorists,” he called the settlers “[illegal trespassers][5]” instead? Or when he defended the vast majority of settlers, saying they aren’t the problem, the “[unsettlers][6]” are, even though the settlements themselves are illegal under international law? It’s nice for officials to call attention to what Palestinians and their supporters have been decrying for years, but it rings hollow when nothing of substance is actually done to hold Israel accountable.
Just this week, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, Israel killed a 13-year-old girl by reportedly shooting her as she memorized the Quran, and an Israeli official said the bodies of Palestinians should be held as bargaining chips.
Here’s more on all those stories and other things that happened during another troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Israeli Forces Shoot 13-Year-Old Girl as She ‘Memorized the Quran’**
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087736809069465867
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/in-this-palestinian-christian-village
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-father-sayfullah-musallet-huckabee-netanyahu
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087793893450355051
[6]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087964441401028665
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots
7 Things About Afghanistan the U.S. Wants You to Forget, Five Years After Kabul Fell
*In this photograph taken on June 1, 2025, Gul Ajan Hotak offers prayers over the grave of his son Shafiullah Hotak, who died after falling from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft amid the August 2021 panic-stricken evacuation to flee Taliban-led Afghanistan. Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images.*
Five years ago today, as the U.S. hurried to bring an end to its longest war and Afghanistan’s government collapsed, Taliban fighters [swept][1] into Kabul. The images were [inescapable][2]: desperate Afghans surrounding planes at Kabul airport, crowds pressed against its gates, the last American military aircraft leaving.
Then, much of the world moved on.
[Subscribe now][3]
But for Afghans, Aug. 15, 2021 was far from the end of the story. In the five years since the Taliban recaptured power, hundreds of thousands promised pathways to the U.S. have remained stranded; the Taliban has systematically pushed women and girls out of public life; international aid has collapsed while hunger has skyrocketed; millions of refugees have been forced back into the country; and Afghanistan has once again become the center of major regional conflict.
Here are seven things to know about Afghanistan, five years after the fall of Kabul:
#### **1. America evacuated more than 120,000 people. Hundreds of thousands are still waiting**
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-15/kabul-falls-to-taliban-us-withdrawal
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/afghanistan-striking-image-appears-to-show-640-people-fleeing-kabul-in-packed-us-military-plane
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us
https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us
*In this photograph taken on June 1, 2025, Gul Ajan Hotak offers prayers over the grave of his son Shafiullah Hotak, who died after falling from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft amid the August 2021 panic-stricken evacuation to flee Taliban-led Afghanistan. Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images.*
Five years ago today, as the U.S. hurried to bring an end to its longest war and Afghanistan’s government collapsed, Taliban fighters [swept][1] into Kabul. The images were [inescapable][2]: desperate Afghans surrounding planes at Kabul airport, crowds pressed against its gates, the last American military aircraft leaving.
Then, much of the world moved on.
[Subscribe now][3]
But for Afghans, Aug. 15, 2021 was far from the end of the story. In the five years since the Taliban recaptured power, hundreds of thousands promised pathways to the U.S. have remained stranded; the Taliban has systematically pushed women and girls out of public life; international aid has collapsed while hunger has skyrocketed; millions of refugees have been forced back into the country; and Afghanistan has once again become the center of major regional conflict.
Here are seven things to know about Afghanistan, five years after the fall of Kabul:
#### **1. America evacuated more than 120,000 people. Hundreds of thousands are still waiting**
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-15/kabul-falls-to-taliban-us-withdrawal
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/afghanistan-striking-image-appears-to-show-640-people-fleeing-kabul-in-packed-us-military-plane
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us
https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us
This Week in Democracy – Week 82: A Decoy Plane, ICE’s Electric Gloves, and Government Fascists Investigate the Left
*Trump waves from the presidential limo on Aug. 11, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images*
It’s no secret that Donald Trump only looks out for himself, but this week, a [bombshell report ][1]from the *Washington Post *underscored just how expendable even those closest to him *really* are. As **Swin** [laid out][2] in **‘First Draft,’** Trump left Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, and Stephen Miller, along with the White House press corps, as human shields in a plane the administration claims was the subject of an Iranian assassination threat. (There’s also a question about the Israeli-provided *unverified* intel about the threat itself, as **Mehdi **[explained in ][3]**[‘First Draft’][4] **this morning.)
We wish we could say such stories still surprise us.
[Subscribe now][5]
Meanwhile, in democracy news, Trump-endorsed election denier MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell [lost][6] his gubernatorial primary in Minnesota, while another Trump-endorsed election denier, Tom Tiffany, [secured][7] the Republican nomination for governor of Wisconsin. Trump still refuses to rule out declaring a national emergency to take over the midterm elections. And ICE is planning to spend up to $20 million for agents to use [electric shock gloves][8].
That’s not all that happened this week – another bombshell report shed light on a [terrifying investigation][9] the Trump admin conducted into left-wing groups. Here’s just a taste of how Trump and his allies harmed democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide this week:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Former Trump Lawyer Confirmed as Attorney General**
The Senate [narrowly voted][10] to confirm Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general.
As acting attorney general, Blanche [greenlit][11] the second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, [reauthorized][12] the use of firing squads for death penalty executions, and [signed off][13] on a now-supposedly [rescinded][14] $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”
#### **Sunday, Aug. 9 – Trump Crypto Company’s Curious $100 Million Investment**
The *New York Times* [reported][15] that a businessman once under investigation in the UK for money laundering became one of the biggest buyers of tokens from Trump’s cryptocurrency company, spending $100 million through a newly formed firm.
As much as three-quarters of the money ultimately went to a company controlled by Trump and his sons.
[Subscribe now][16]
#### **Monday, Aug. 10 – Trump Left Government Officials, Reporters as Human Shields**
The *Washington Post* [published][17] a bombshell report that Trump hid in a catering container and was secretly shuttled into a different plane when leaving Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claims was an Iranian assassination threat against the president. (Israel provided the intel about the threat – intel U.S. officials could not independently verify.)
While Trump switched planes, he left key officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller – along with reporters in the White House press corps – aboard Air Force One, which effectively became a decoy.
#### **Tuesday, Aug. 11 – ICE Wants Agents To Use Electric Shock Gloves**
AP [reported][18] that ICE, an agency already [known][19] for its use of excessive force, is planning to spend up to $20 million to give its agents electric shock gloves to use as part of its enforcement operations.
The manufacturer says the gloves shouldn’t be used on children, pregnant people, or elderly or disabled people.
[Subscribe now][20]
#### **Wednesday, Aug. 12 – Top Trump Propagandist to Leave White House**
On Truth Social, Trump [announced][21] that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her post by the end of August, but will remain as one of the president’s “top outside advisors.”
Leavitt, the youngest press secretary ever, welcomed multiple [far-right][22] [content][23] [creators][24] into the “new media” seat at press briefings, [lashed out][25] at a reporter during an exchange about the killing of Renee Good, and [argued][26] that reporters who won Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election should be stripped of their awards.
#### **Thursday, Aug. 13 – DHS Investigated Left-Wing Groups After Pretti’s Killing**
The *New York Times* [reported][27] that the Department of Homeland Security quietly launched an investigation into several left-leaning political organizations in the wake of Alex Pretti’s killing by federal immigration agents.
The probe [targeted][28] many groups and individuals who weren’t connected to any criminal activity, and involved expansive surveillance efforts, including infiltrating group chats on Signal, as well as obtaining financial records of organizations.
#### **Friday, Aug. 14 – Trump Takes White House Ballroom Fight to Supreme Court**
Trump [asked][29] the Supreme Court to clear the way for his White House ballroom to continue construction before an appeals court ruling halting above-ground work on the project goes into effect on Aug. 21.
The Trump administration argues the injunction that blocked the construction “threatens the security and safety” of the president.
[Share][30]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][31]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/moronic-trump-thinks-its-funny-he
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/11/nx-s1-5928394/2026-minnesota-governor-primary-election-lisa-demuth-mike-lindell
[7]: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/election-denier-tom-tiffany-wins-wisconsin-gop-nomination-for-governor/
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-016e15e31c5dac5cc253d32b4734dd2a
[9]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[10]: https://apnews.com/article/senate-blanche-attorney-general-justice-department-fcb4157d45d7b13a05de4d2b0f4f92e2
[11]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/politics/trump-todd-blanche-attorney-general.html
[12]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/24/doj-death-penalty-firing-squad-lethal-injection
[13]: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dl
[14]: https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2084114427813437897
[15]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/us/politics/bobby-zhou-trump-crypto.html
[16]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[17]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[18]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252
[19]: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/ice-expansion-has-outpaced-accountability-what-are-the-remedies/
[20]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[21]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117084211457388624
[22]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0Fl2kaj_w
[23]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-podcaster-tim-pool-goes-full-suck-up-in-first-white-house-briefing/
[24]: https://x.com/PressSec/status/1956720318384324719?lang=en
[25]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2011872598549020793
[26]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/1948080549966528579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1948080549966528579%7Ctwgr%5E253a1308d8c7ea8b8a397ad7fce22d729a86e732%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latintimes.com%2Fwhite-house-demands-reporters-pulitzer-prizes-stripped-perpetuating-hoax-587457
[27]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[28]: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-progressive-groups-investigated-5e6e554e79980553c3a02ca199593a7d
[29]: https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/cms/prod_cms_alt/file/2026/08/14/e271a436-0d8b-4806-9a44-b8b222fdf8b8/26a203__1_.pdf
[30]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[31]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a
*Trump waves from the presidential limo on Aug. 11, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images*
It’s no secret that Donald Trump only looks out for himself, but this week, a [bombshell report ][1]from the *Washington Post *underscored just how expendable even those closest to him *really* are. As **Swin** [laid out][2] in **‘First Draft,’** Trump left Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, and Stephen Miller, along with the White House press corps, as human shields in a plane the administration claims was the subject of an Iranian assassination threat. (There’s also a question about the Israeli-provided *unverified* intel about the threat itself, as **Mehdi **[explained in ][3]**[‘First Draft’][4] **this morning.)
We wish we could say such stories still surprise us.
[Subscribe now][5]
Meanwhile, in democracy news, Trump-endorsed election denier MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell [lost][6] his gubernatorial primary in Minnesota, while another Trump-endorsed election denier, Tom Tiffany, [secured][7] the Republican nomination for governor of Wisconsin. Trump still refuses to rule out declaring a national emergency to take over the midterm elections. And ICE is planning to spend up to $20 million for agents to use [electric shock gloves][8].
That’s not all that happened this week – another bombshell report shed light on a [terrifying investigation][9] the Trump admin conducted into left-wing groups. Here’s just a taste of how Trump and his allies harmed democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide this week:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Former Trump Lawyer Confirmed as Attorney General**
The Senate [narrowly voted][10] to confirm Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general.
As acting attorney general, Blanche [greenlit][11] the second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, [reauthorized][12] the use of firing squads for death penalty executions, and [signed off][13] on a now-supposedly [rescinded][14] $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”
#### **Sunday, Aug. 9 – Trump Crypto Company’s Curious $100 Million Investment**
The *New York Times* [reported][15] that a businessman once under investigation in the UK for money laundering became one of the biggest buyers of tokens from Trump’s cryptocurrency company, spending $100 million through a newly formed firm.
As much as three-quarters of the money ultimately went to a company controlled by Trump and his sons.
[Subscribe now][16]
#### **Monday, Aug. 10 – Trump Left Government Officials, Reporters as Human Shields**
The *Washington Post* [published][17] a bombshell report that Trump hid in a catering container and was secretly shuttled into a different plane when leaving Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claims was an Iranian assassination threat against the president. (Israel provided the intel about the threat – intel U.S. officials could not independently verify.)
While Trump switched planes, he left key officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller – along with reporters in the White House press corps – aboard Air Force One, which effectively became a decoy.
#### **Tuesday, Aug. 11 – ICE Wants Agents To Use Electric Shock Gloves**
AP [reported][18] that ICE, an agency already [known][19] for its use of excessive force, is planning to spend up to $20 million to give its agents electric shock gloves to use as part of its enforcement operations.
The manufacturer says the gloves shouldn’t be used on children, pregnant people, or elderly or disabled people.
[Subscribe now][20]
#### **Wednesday, Aug. 12 – Top Trump Propagandist to Leave White House**
On Truth Social, Trump [announced][21] that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her post by the end of August, but will remain as one of the president’s “top outside advisors.”
Leavitt, the youngest press secretary ever, welcomed multiple [far-right][22] [content][23] [creators][24] into the “new media” seat at press briefings, [lashed out][25] at a reporter during an exchange about the killing of Renee Good, and [argued][26] that reporters who won Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election should be stripped of their awards.
#### **Thursday, Aug. 13 – DHS Investigated Left-Wing Groups After Pretti’s Killing**
The *New York Times* [reported][27] that the Department of Homeland Security quietly launched an investigation into several left-leaning political organizations in the wake of Alex Pretti’s killing by federal immigration agents.
The probe [targeted][28] many groups and individuals who weren’t connected to any criminal activity, and involved expansive surveillance efforts, including infiltrating group chats on Signal, as well as obtaining financial records of organizations.
#### **Friday, Aug. 14 – Trump Takes White House Ballroom Fight to Supreme Court**
Trump [asked][29] the Supreme Court to clear the way for his White House ballroom to continue construction before an appeals court ruling halting above-ground work on the project goes into effect on Aug. 21.
The Trump administration argues the injunction that blocked the construction “threatens the security and safety” of the president.
[Share][30]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][31]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/moronic-trump-thinks-its-funny-he
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/11/nx-s1-5928394/2026-minnesota-governor-primary-election-lisa-demuth-mike-lindell
[7]: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/election-denier-tom-tiffany-wins-wisconsin-gop-nomination-for-governor/
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-016e15e31c5dac5cc253d32b4734dd2a
[9]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[10]: https://apnews.com/article/senate-blanche-attorney-general-justice-department-fcb4157d45d7b13a05de4d2b0f4f92e2
[11]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/politics/trump-todd-blanche-attorney-general.html
[12]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/24/doj-death-penalty-firing-squad-lethal-injection
[13]: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dl
[14]: https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2084114427813437897
[15]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/us/politics/bobby-zhou-trump-crypto.html
[16]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[17]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[18]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252
[19]: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/ice-expansion-has-outpaced-accountability-what-are-the-remedies/
[20]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[21]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117084211457388624
[22]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0Fl2kaj_w
[23]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-podcaster-tim-pool-goes-full-suck-up-in-first-white-house-briefing/
[24]: https://x.com/PressSec/status/1956720318384324719?lang=en
[25]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2011872598549020793
[26]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/1948080549966528579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1948080549966528579%7Ctwgr%5E253a1308d8c7ea8b8a397ad7fce22d729a86e732%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latintimes.com%2Fwhite-house-demands-reporters-pulitzer-prizes-stripped-perpetuating-hoax-587457
[27]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[28]: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-progressive-groups-investigated-5e6e554e79980553c3a02ca199593a7d
[29]: https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/cms/prod_cms_alt/file/2026/08/14/e271a436-0d8b-4806-9a44-b8b222fdf8b8/26a203__1_.pdf
[30]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[31]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a
2
The U.S. Owes Afghanistan a Reckoning – But It Refuses to Have One
*A military transport plane departs overhead as Afghans hoping to leave the country wait outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 23, 2021. Photo by Marcus Yam /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images*
“You’ve come to this place to talk to us? That’s honorable,” a gray-bearded man in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province told me as he sipped his green tea.
I visited the region in 2021, just a few months before the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the return of the Taliban, to report on war crimes in rural areas. Too often, these regions were completely ignored. For years, [Western media coverage][1] of the war was thoroughly “Kabulized” – meaning it focused almost exclusively on the country’s capital.
Even that description is too generous. Most Western reporting was confined to Kabul’s green zone, which didn’t even reflect the reality of the rest of the capital. While the slums of Kabul expanded in the shadows of pompous mansions built by pro-American warlords using aid money, subcontracting cash, sex trafficking, and drug operations, and while fancy parties took place inside embassy compounds and NGO villas, rural Afghanistan was being systematically targeted by American drones and death squads. Entire communities were shattered, and thousands of civilians were radicalized in the process.
Ultimately, it all collapsed.
[Subscribe now][2]
Five years ago, American planes lifted off from Kabul’s airport, bringing a 20-year experiment in American empire to a humiliating end. In the years since, the narrative the West tells about Afghanistan has hardened into something comfortable and deeply self-serving.
The anniversary coverage will focus once again – rightly and overwhelmingly – on the Taliban’s [horrific repression][3] of women and girls, their bans on education and work, and the total dismantling of civil society. All of that is real, and all of it deserves urgent attention.
But the narrative built around these facts allows the West to assume its favorite posture: the grieving, generous patron whose noble project was ruined by an ungrateful, backward populace.
What that story leaves out is the very violence that made the Taliban’s return possible in the first place.
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://revealnews.org/article/the-writing-was-on-the-wall-in-afghanistan-years-ago/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/taliban-women-afghanistan-gender-apartheid
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning
https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning
*A military transport plane departs overhead as Afghans hoping to leave the country wait outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 23, 2021. Photo by Marcus Yam /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images*
“You’ve come to this place to talk to us? That’s honorable,” a gray-bearded man in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province told me as he sipped his green tea.
I visited the region in 2021, just a few months before the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the return of the Taliban, to report on war crimes in rural areas. Too often, these regions were completely ignored. For years, [Western media coverage][1] of the war was thoroughly “Kabulized” – meaning it focused almost exclusively on the country’s capital.
Even that description is too generous. Most Western reporting was confined to Kabul’s green zone, which didn’t even reflect the reality of the rest of the capital. While the slums of Kabul expanded in the shadows of pompous mansions built by pro-American warlords using aid money, subcontracting cash, sex trafficking, and drug operations, and while fancy parties took place inside embassy compounds and NGO villas, rural Afghanistan was being systematically targeted by American drones and death squads. Entire communities were shattered, and thousands of civilians were radicalized in the process.
Ultimately, it all collapsed.
[Subscribe now][2]
Five years ago, American planes lifted off from Kabul’s airport, bringing a 20-year experiment in American empire to a humiliating end. In the years since, the narrative the West tells about Afghanistan has hardened into something comfortable and deeply self-serving.
The anniversary coverage will focus once again – rightly and overwhelmingly – on the Taliban’s [horrific repression][3] of women and girls, their bans on education and work, and the total dismantling of civil society. All of that is real, and all of it deserves urgent attention.
But the narrative built around these facts allows the West to assume its favorite posture: the grieving, generous patron whose noble project was ruined by an ungrateful, backward populace.
What that story leaves out is the very violence that made the Taliban’s return possible in the first place.
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://revealnews.org/article/the-writing-was-on-the-wall-in-afghanistan-years-ago/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/taliban-women-afghanistan-gender-apartheid
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning
https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning
Did Israel Fake the Iran Threats Against Trump’s Life?
*On this day in 2023, Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and 17 others were indicted on felony charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The case collapsed in 2024, after Trump won re-election. Now he seems to want to commit those alleged crimes all over again.*
Happy Friday! **Mehdi** here, still recovering from my Wednesday interview with **Count Binface **– yes, *Count Binface*, that’s his name! Have you not [seen][1] it yet?
Last night, Count Binface won 9,455 votes in the UK parliamentary by-election in Clacton, provoked by the resignation of sitting MP and Reform UK leader **Nigel Farage** in a weird and desperate attempt to distract from a hugely contentious [financial scandal][2]. Farage was re-elected with 22,239 votes, so the parliamentary investigation into his donations now picks up where it left off. So… what was the point of all this?
But let’s turn this morning to the man Nigel Farage defers to, **Donald Trump**, who has been in a spot of bother recently because of the man *he* defers to: **Benjamin Netanyahu**.
[Subscribe now][3]
# ‘Israeli-Derived’
*Donald Trump holds a press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 29, 2025. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.*
Did you know that all those Iranian threats against Trump’s life that we’ve been hearing about recently come from… Israeli intelligence? And did you know that they aren’t considered all that credible by the U.S. intelligence community?
*SURPRISE*!
Reuters dropped this [blockbuster story][4] from reporter Eric Banco yesterday:
> **The U.S. has received several warnings from Israel over the past year that Iran intended to assassinate President Donald Trump, including before a secret Air Force One ruse in Turkey, that U.S. intelligence officials could not independently verify, according to a current U.S. official and two former officials.**
That Reuters piece came off the back of earlier reporting from the *Washington Post,* which revealed how** “U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was relayed by Israel.” **
[Subscribe now][5]
According to the Post, one U.S. official described the intel on the threats against the president’s life as **“Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.”**
So Trump secretly left Air Force One, hid in the back of a catering truck – with [Natalie Harp][6] – and got onto an alternative plane to fly to London from Ankara, as the *Washington Post *[revealed][7] on Monday, because of an “Israeli-derived” and “low confidence” piece of intel?
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-meets-count-binface
[2]: https://zeteo.uk/p/nigel-farages-5mn-donation
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://whbl.com/2026/08/13/us-could-not-verify-israeli-warnings-of-iran-plots-against-trump-sources-say/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://x.com/DanLamothe/status/2087502702703964532?s=20
[7]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
*On this day in 2023, Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and 17 others were indicted on felony charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The case collapsed in 2024, after Trump won re-election. Now he seems to want to commit those alleged crimes all over again.*
Happy Friday! **Mehdi** here, still recovering from my Wednesday interview with **Count Binface **– yes, *Count Binface*, that’s his name! Have you not [seen][1] it yet?
Last night, Count Binface won 9,455 votes in the UK parliamentary by-election in Clacton, provoked by the resignation of sitting MP and Reform UK leader **Nigel Farage** in a weird and desperate attempt to distract from a hugely contentious [financial scandal][2]. Farage was re-elected with 22,239 votes, so the parliamentary investigation into his donations now picks up where it left off. So… what was the point of all this?
But let’s turn this morning to the man Nigel Farage defers to, **Donald Trump**, who has been in a spot of bother recently because of the man *he* defers to: **Benjamin Netanyahu**.
[Subscribe now][3]
# ‘Israeli-Derived’
*Donald Trump holds a press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 29, 2025. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.*
Did you know that all those Iranian threats against Trump’s life that we’ve been hearing about recently come from… Israeli intelligence? And did you know that they aren’t considered all that credible by the U.S. intelligence community?
*SURPRISE*!
Reuters dropped this [blockbuster story][4] from reporter Eric Banco yesterday:
> **The U.S. has received several warnings from Israel over the past year that Iran intended to assassinate President Donald Trump, including before a secret Air Force One ruse in Turkey, that U.S. intelligence officials could not independently verify, according to a current U.S. official and two former officials.**
That Reuters piece came off the back of earlier reporting from the *Washington Post,* which revealed how** “U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was relayed by Israel.” **
[Subscribe now][5]
According to the Post, one U.S. official described the intel on the threats against the president’s life as **“Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.”**
So Trump secretly left Air Force One, hid in the back of a catering truck – with [Natalie Harp][6] – and got onto an alternative plane to fly to London from Ankara, as the *Washington Post *[revealed][7] on Monday, because of an “Israeli-derived” and “low confidence” piece of intel?
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-meets-count-binface
[2]: https://zeteo.uk/p/nigel-farages-5mn-donation
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://whbl.com/2026/08/13/us-could-not-verify-israeli-warnings-of-iran-plots-against-trump-sources-say/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://x.com/DanLamothe/status/2087502702703964532?s=20
[7]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
Karoline Leavitt at Her Worst: Lies and Abuse From the Podium
No one has been a more relentlessly dishonest and verbally abusive mouthpiece on behalf of Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda than Karoline Leavitt.
[Subscribe now][1]
The White House Press Secretary in Trump’s second term has attacked journalists, defended the indefensible (Being friendly with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein! Deporting Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia!), and spouted absurd lies about [Gaza condoms][2] and [DEI-induced plane crashes][3].
Now that Leavitt has announced [her departure][4] from the White House, we’ve rounded up some of her most heinous moments from the podium, all in under two minutes.
[Share][5]
Watch the short video above and tell us what you think it, and her!, in the comments below.
*We’ve made this video free for all, but if you support the work that we do, consider becoming a [paid subscriber][6].*
[Subscribe now][7]
*Zeteo’s Layla Nayfeh contributed to this piece.*
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/condoms-for-gaza-fact-checking-trumps
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-blames-dc-plane-crash-on-dei
[4]: https://apnews.com/live/trump-news-midterms-primaries-updates-08-12-2026
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies
No one has been a more relentlessly dishonest and verbally abusive mouthpiece on behalf of Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda than Karoline Leavitt.
[Subscribe now][1]
The White House Press Secretary in Trump’s second term has attacked journalists, defended the indefensible (Being friendly with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein! Deporting Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia!), and spouted absurd lies about [Gaza condoms][2] and [DEI-induced plane crashes][3].
Now that Leavitt has announced [her departure][4] from the White House, we’ve rounded up some of her most heinous moments from the podium, all in under two minutes.
[Share][5]
Watch the short video above and tell us what you think it, and her!, in the comments below.
*We’ve made this video free for all, but if you support the work that we do, consider becoming a [paid subscriber][6].*
[Subscribe now][7]
*Zeteo’s Layla Nayfeh contributed to this piece.*
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/condoms-for-gaza-fact-checking-trumps
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-blames-dc-plane-crash-on-dei
[4]: https://apnews.com/live/trump-news-midterms-primaries-updates-08-12-2026
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies
Did COVID-19 Actually Come From a Lab? Two Top Scientists Debate Its Origins
There’s nothing Republicans love to do more than:
1. [Rehash][1] the COVID-19 pandemic
2. [Pretend][2] to know what they’re talking about
In the last few weeks, Senate Republicans have been able to do both of these, as they [relentlessly][3] claim that the COVID-19 virus must have come from a lab in China, despite all the scientific [evidence][4] saying otherwise. Nevertheless, the GOP’s messaging has proved to be quite convincing, with the [majority][5] of Americans believing COVID-19 came from a lab.
[Subscribe now][6]
But here at **Zeteo**, we believe in cutting through the noise, listening to the experts, and hearing out *reasonable *people (aka, not Senator Rand Paul).
That’s why in this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ segment, **Mehdi** moderates a very factual and insightful debate on the lab leak theory. Leading virologist and Save America Movement science chair **Dr. Angela Rasmussen** [argues][7] that COVID-19 likely came from zoonotic – or natural – origins, not a lab, while **Dr. Ashish Jha,** who was President Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, [argues][8] that COVID-19, in his view, likely came from a Chinese laboratory.
Here are some of the key questions Mehdi asks:
* Why Jha changed his mind on COVID-19 origins and now supports the lab leak theory
* Why Rasmussen’s own research supports zoonotic origins
* Whether Republicans have overstated the merits of the lab leak theory
* Their reactions to recent GOP [misinformation][9] around the COVID-19 vaccine and miscarriages
* How prepared – or *unprepared* – the U.S. is for another pandemic
[Share][10]
You won’t see an informed, in-depth, good-faith debate like this, on Covid and its origins, anywhere else in the media!
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 46-minute debate above, while **free subscribers** can access a 4-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit a **Zeteo** paywall again!
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent articles:***
[ Read more ][11]
[1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx85vkk0gko
[2]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/03/fauci-covid-house-testimony-lab-leak/
[3]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/31/us-senates-fauci-hearing-renews-covid-origin-debate-but-reveals-little
[4]: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62307383
[5]: https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/45389-americans-believe-covid-origin-lab
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-war-on-fauci-lab-leak?utm_source=publication-search
[8]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/politics/video/former-white-house-covid-19-response-coordinator-dr-ashish-jha-dana-bash-it-was-probably-a-lab-leak
[9]: https://health.yahoo.com/your-body/womens-health/pregnancy-fertility/articles/fact-check-studies-not-show-054858979.html
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen
https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen
There’s nothing Republicans love to do more than:
1. [Rehash][1] the COVID-19 pandemic
2. [Pretend][2] to know what they’re talking about
In the last few weeks, Senate Republicans have been able to do both of these, as they [relentlessly][3] claim that the COVID-19 virus must have come from a lab in China, despite all the scientific [evidence][4] saying otherwise. Nevertheless, the GOP’s messaging has proved to be quite convincing, with the [majority][5] of Americans believing COVID-19 came from a lab.
[Subscribe now][6]
But here at **Zeteo**, we believe in cutting through the noise, listening to the experts, and hearing out *reasonable *people (aka, not Senator Rand Paul).
That’s why in this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ segment, **Mehdi** moderates a very factual and insightful debate on the lab leak theory. Leading virologist and Save America Movement science chair **Dr. Angela Rasmussen** [argues][7] that COVID-19 likely came from zoonotic – or natural – origins, not a lab, while **Dr. Ashish Jha,** who was President Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, [argues][8] that COVID-19, in his view, likely came from a Chinese laboratory.
Here are some of the key questions Mehdi asks:
* Why Jha changed his mind on COVID-19 origins and now supports the lab leak theory
* Why Rasmussen’s own research supports zoonotic origins
* Whether Republicans have overstated the merits of the lab leak theory
* Their reactions to recent GOP [misinformation][9] around the COVID-19 vaccine and miscarriages
* How prepared – or *unprepared* – the U.S. is for another pandemic
[Share][10]
You won’t see an informed, in-depth, good-faith debate like this, on Covid and its origins, anywhere else in the media!
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 46-minute debate above, while **free subscribers** can access a 4-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit a **Zeteo** paywall again!
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent articles:***
[ Read more ][11]
[1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx85vkk0gko
[2]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/03/fauci-covid-house-testimony-lab-leak/
[3]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/31/us-senates-fauci-hearing-renews-covid-origin-debate-but-reveals-little
[4]: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62307383
[5]: https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/45389-americans-believe-covid-origin-lab
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-war-on-fauci-lab-leak?utm_source=publication-search
[8]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/politics/video/former-white-house-covid-19-response-coordinator-dr-ashish-jha-dana-bash-it-was-probably-a-lab-leak
[9]: https://health.yahoo.com/your-body/womens-health/pregnancy-fertility/articles/fact-check-studies-not-show-054858979.html
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen
https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen