The Matterboard is our weekly assessment of what’s worth your attention and what isn’t. Here’s last week’s edition, here’s an overview of the project, and here’s the full archive.
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Here’s what’s new on The Matterboard:
PAY ATTENTION ⚠️
The Iran war could last for months. Iranian officials told Reuters recently that they believe they can put the United States in a “strategic stranglehold” by continuing to threaten oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. That will ultimately force President Trump to make a deal granting many Iranian demands, which will likely include some sort of prolonged control over the strait. The Iranian strategy is “calculated escalation” meant to increase economic and political costs for the United States and its allies. It already seems to be working.
Interest rates are rising because of inflation fears and loads of debt hitting the market, including ongoing massive borrowing by the US government. Mortgage rates have risen from 6% before the Iran war to 6.7%, the highest level in a year. The US Treasury recently engaged in an unusual effort with Japan meant to strengthen the yen without raising US interest rates even more. Trump wants low interest rates and they’re going in the opposite direction, in part because his own policies—tariffs and the Iran war—are exacerbating inflation. He expects new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh to get rates lower. But Warsh may not be able to do it. Fireworks seem inevitable.
MIGHT GET SPICY 🤔
Iran is apparently trying to sabotage American infrastructure, to bring the US-Iran war home to ordinary Americans. Officials in Michigan, Minnesota and several other states have reported cyberattacks on water systems. There’s no evidence the attacks caused serious damage, but Iran is pretty good at cyberwarfare and national-security experts have long warned that US infrastructure could be vulnerable. China, Russia, and North Korea probably have similar capabilities.
US Central Command, responsible for military operations in the Middle East, is looking for better ways to deal with Iran. An unnamed CentCom officer sent an email to military analysts recently saying the military was looking for “creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” according to CNN. We have an idea: Get rid of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the most senior civilian advising Trump on this debacle. Firing Hegseth would let Trump blame the whole fiasco on him and push the reset button. But only Trump can fire Hegseth, and alas, there’s no sign he’s leaning that way.
[Why markets are manic right now]
Four million Americans have lost food aid because of cutbacks in the tax law Trump signed last year. Some of them are kids. And further cutbacks are probably coming. The president of the Children’s Defense Fund told NPR some families are facing “desperation.” Republicans who structured the cutbacks added work requirements and other conditions, knowing it would reduce the amount of aid going out and free some money to help finance the tax cuts. The tax cuts benefit the wealthy more than anybody else. Something seems wrong here.
Todd Blanche is set to become attorney general, after he revoked the May order setting up a $1.8 billion slush fund Trump wanted to pay off allies. That was a condition some Republican senators set in order to vote for Blanche’s confirmation. So they’ve now cleared the way for him to become attorney general. But Trump didn’t sign the new Blanche order and there’s a good chance the slush fund isn’t dead. The Justice Dept. has become a politicized arm of Trump’s machine and Blanche seems unlikely to change that.
[What you should know about Trump’s new insider-trading scheme]
Trump blames ExxonMobil and Chevron for $4 gas. He said they’ve made “too much money” since the Iran war sent oil prices surging, and should “give some of that back to the public.” Joe Biden would be proud. Energy companies always earn more when oil prices rise. They earn less when oil prices fall, but nobody notices that. Politicians looking for scapegoats have tried to browbeat Big Oil into cutting prices many times, but it never works because private-sector companies answer to shareholders, not politicians. Oil and gas prices would fall if Trump resolved the Iran war.
RESULTS MAY VARY 🤷♂️
Trump’s approval rating has hit record lows, according to several polls. His approval rating ranges from 32% to 34% in surveys by CNN, the Associated Press, and Quinnipiac. Trump’s Iran war is deeply unpopular and he keeps doing things voters don’t want, such as raising tariffs on imports and making everybody pay more for stuff. Trump’s terrible ratings are the best hope Democrats have of winning one or both houses of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
Contaminated food is marring the summer of 2026. Two people in Michigan died from the cyclospora parasite that has poisoned lettuce and other vegetables and caused an epidemic of explosive diarrhea. And a salmonella outbreak linked to eggs has sickened a bunch of people in 17 states. Food illnesses affect relatively few Americans but do tend to freak some people out.
SAFELY IGNORE 🚫
Mitch McConnell is still missing, and he may even be too frail to sign his name, according to a Daily Beast report. The odd silence of his staff and family amid a long hospitalization makes it seem like the Kentucky Republican senator is gravely ill. We’ve pointed out before that if McConnell dies, Kentucky’s Democratic governor may try to appoint a member of his own party to temporarily replace McConnell.
[Why Trump’s approval rating is cratering]
A “nudification” ban took effect in Minnesota on August 1. The law prohibits the use of technology to “nudify” an image of somebody. One of Elon Musk’s companies sued to block the law, claiming it went too far. A judge shot that down. We live in interesting times.
Two skeevy Congressmen face uncertain futures. The House Ethics Committee rebuked Rep. Chuck Edwards, a North Carolina Republican, for what sounds like sexual harassment of young women on his staff. In Ohio, Rep. Max Miller, also a Republican, is facing calls to resign because of what sounds like abusive behavior toward his ex-wife, who is the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. The two youngs had a contentious divorce, finalized last year, with the woman accusing Miller of abusing her and the two-year-old daughter they share. Moreno kept silent on the matter until August 2, when he said on social media that Miller is “erratic and dangerous” and should resign. Both of these guys are running for reelection in November.
The reflecting pool is back in the headlines, and we are delighted! Justice Dept. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro dropped the case against a 67-year-old Maryland man for “vandalizing” the pool because there was no evidence he did. Trump flipped out, because he’s clinging to the lie that vandals wrecked the pool rather than his no-bid contractors. Now, he might fire Pirro. The falsely accused Marylander might sue the government. Meanwhile, the pool is empty because the new lining didn’t work. This is one of the dumbest stories of all time and it perfectly encapsulates the folly of the Trump presidency.
FIFA flap. There’s a big controversy at soccer’s governing body, which everybody can ignore because Americans only care about soccer when their kids play or the World Cup comes to town.
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The Folly of the Trump Presidency! I like that. That sure sum's it up.