Democracy v. the Constitution in the Trump Case

• Robert Benson at Center for American Progress writes that the 75th NATO Summit underscored the urgency of paving a clear membership path for Ukraine and strengthening Eastern Europe's defenses against Russian aggression, marking vital steps for the alliance's future.
• The column asserts that Washington must ensure all NATO members meet their defense spending commitments and enhance cybersecurity to tackle sophisticated threats, while also expanding NATO’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s growing military assertiveness.

• Elaine Kamarck at Brookings argues that President Biden's poor debate performance against Trump has raised doubts about his ability to lead, prompting questions about the delegates' role in deciding nominations.
• The article examines the history of delegate roles in U.S. party conventions, noting that although modern delegates are typically bound by primary results, under certain circumstances, they may exercise more independent decision-making.

• Brookings Foreign Policy Fellow Valerie Wirtschafter examines the growing influence of Russian state-affiliated accounts on TikTok and compares it with their presence on other social media platforms like Telegram and X (formerly Twitter).
• Russian state-affiliated accounts are leveraging TikTok's reach to disseminate state-backed narratives.
• Despite lower overall activity compared to other platforms, the engagement per post on TikTok is significantly higher.

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• Brookings expert William A. Galston reviews four recent polls of U.S. voters on the economy, comparing Biden and Trump on their economic records.
• Sixty-five percent of voters rate the economy as good during Trump’s presidency, compared to 38% under Biden.

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• President Biden's public statements on the drone attack that killed 3 U.S. soldiers in Jordan shows the U.S. is keen to avoid war with Iran while focusing on Hezbollah's activities.
• The drone attack represents a significant escalation, marking the first US military casualty by enemy air power since 1953 and prompting a strategic withdrawal of Hezbollah from aggressive engagements with US forces in Iraq and Syria.