Thursday, September 03, 2026
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Ryan Teague Beckwith: Coin of the realm
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In the grand scheme of things, a commemorative coin bearing Donald Trump’s face pales next to the administration’s more significant authoritarian moves. But it is still worth examining, precisely because it shows how Trump has been getting away with so much else.
Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the design for a proposed $1 coin featuring Trump to honor the country’s 250th birthday. If issued, it will be the first time a living president has appeared on a U.S. coin in a century.
The coin may be unlawful. It breaks with a tradition dating to George Washington. And outside of the most hardcore Trump supporters and rare coin collectors, it probably will be unpopular.
None of that is likely to stop the Mint from producing it.
The pattern is familiar. America began with a clear rule: no presidents on coins. But narrow exceptions over the years, often well-intentioned, undermined it until Trump finally broke through almost all the remaining guardrails.
Read Ryan Teague Beckwith’s analysis here.
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Should the Supreme Court expand to 13 justices?
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As a Republican effort to keep the Supreme Court at nine justices failed, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said this week that it should be expanded to 13 seats — one for each federal appellate circuit.
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Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:
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- Announced plans to create the U.S. Space Academy, similar to existing military academies, to support the U.S. Space Force
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- Demanded on social media that the Federal Communications Commission do “something” about “fake polls used by our crooked media”
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- Submitted to a court, through the Health and Human Services department, nonexistent and possibly AI-generated citations to support its case
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The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week’s challenger is Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon.
Trump carried Wyoming by nearly 50 percentage points in 2024, and its Republican governor has been a reliable ally. But Gordon drew a line recently after election monitors from the Justice Department appeared unannounced at a polling place during the state’s Aug. 18 primary. Local officials said the monitors tried to interview voters and gain access to voting equipment, actions that state law does not permit. Gordon called their behavior “irregular” and “a bit aggressive” and asked the state attorney general to investigate. At a time when the Trump administration is attempting to assert more control over voting, Gordon’s objection was a reminder that state and local officials still run elections. Read more.
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It’s been a wild week for the bond market, with a global sell-off pushing yields to some of their highest levels in years. That has economists and investors worried. But for others, any talk of bond yields will sound more like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon: “Wah wah wah wah.” But this isn’t some obscure investor chatter; it affects your daily life. Consider your mortgage. If you bought a $450,000 home — about the median price these days! — with a 30-year-fixed mortgage today rather than in February, you would pay about $207 more a month because of what's happening in the bond market, as tallied by CNBC. That’s because mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds. When investors demand higher interest payments to hold that debt, mortgage rates usually rise, too. And that is only one example: Higher bond yields can raise borrowing costs throughout the economy. In a world built on loans and credit, a bond sell-off can hurt everyone.
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This week on “Clock It,” Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels are joined by bestselling author Clint Smith to discuss the danger of the political moment, and the lessons from Black history that we should use today to fight back. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
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