Washington, DC

1. ‘New America’ fallout
2. Alme rising
3. Crude heads to $100
4. Trump’s evolving 9/11 story
5. Never hiker

It’s primary night in New Hampshire, where polls close at 7 pm and 8 pm.

Trump associates shrug off expansionist Truth Social posts

President Donald Trump is roiling allies over his weekend expansionist Truth Social posts, one of which showed a map with New Mexico renamed as “New America,” and another that displayed an American flag over countries like Iceland, Mexico, and Greenland. That post prompted Iceland to summon the American ambassador and issue a public condemnation. But at least some inside the White House don’t seem concerned about the international drama, arguing it’s another example of Trump trolling. “It’s him,” one White House insider told Semafor when asked whether the posts came from the president or a member of his team. “Troll city.” (Last week, Trump suggested he wasn’t being serious about another post proposing renaming the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait.“) Still, the trolling has gotten more attention given the US president’s proclivity for changing names this term, like the “Gulf of America” and “Lake America.”

— Shelby Talcott

Republican exploits divided field in Montana Senate race

The failure of two candidates — one Democratic and one independent — to consolidate anti-Republican support against GOP candidate Kurt Alme is propelling him to victory in the Senate race in Montana, according to polling first shared with Semafor. Alme is currently winning 44% of the vote, while independent Seth Bodnar is capturing 22% and Democrat Alani Bankhead is getting 19%, according to a late August survey from Peak Insights commissioned by the Alme campaign. Thirteen percent of voters remain undecided. Both Bodnar and Bankhead declined to withdraw from the race this summer as they split the anti-Alme vote, a dynamic that has cleared the path for Alme to succeed retiring Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. The poll finds that Bodnar and Bankhead are splitting the Democratic vote, 49% to 43% respectively. Bodnar is only narrowly winning independent voters over Alme.

— Burgess Everett

Houthi attacks threaten further upheaval in Gulf

Crude oil edged toward $100 today, as Republicans gather in Dallas for Trump’s midterm party convention. Dubbed “Trump-a-palooza” in GOP circles, the made-for-TV event is meant to rev up the base and energize donors during a year when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot. But rising gas prices and the Iran war are dragging the president’s approval numbers, leading some Republican candidates to skip the event altogether to campaign back home, instead. Crude spiked this morning after the Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks on Saudi Arabia. Analysts warn the escalating violence could tip into a renewed war between Yemen and the kingdom, which would further disrupt energy flows out of the Gulf. The US announced additional sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry today as the White House attempts to wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz from Tehran.

Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 9/11 firefighter

During a speech honoring 9/11 first responders, Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to a volunteer firefighter and described how two firefighters assisted him that day — an episode he’s not described before. Trump said he led a group of construction workers to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks, a claim that’s been challenged previously, when the firefighters came to his assistance. “Two firemen, big strong guys, and I’m not the smallest guy in the world, they grabbed me under the arm and said, ‘We gotta get out of here’ and they literally lifted me up,” he said. Trump plans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks at the Pentagon this year, rather than Ground Zero, as Trump wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech, The New York Times reported.

Warsh waits to raise rates

There are reasons for Kevin Warsh to raise interest rates next week — though Trump’s new Fed chief was chosen to keep rates low — and there’s no shortage of possible excuses to perpetually wait and see, writes Semafor’s Liz Rappaport. Friday’s job report was stronger than expected, but doesn’t show an overheating labor market that could spark a wage spiral. Restaurants, hospitals, and local government education departments added workers, but more white-collar jobs vulnerable to AI disappeared than in prior months. The Fed can argue it shouldn’t dampen an economy on the precipice of labor-market calamity that some warn is coming. That shifts the focus to inflation, which is slightly stuck above the Fed’s 2% target, and has been moving lower. The Fed’s preferred inflation index won’t be released until September, after the central bank’s next rate-setting decision — another reason to sit tight.

White House

• The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to use a federal immigration database to find people illegally registered to vote. — WSJ

Congress

• Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., kicked off a bid to be the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee against Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.
• Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall sued 700 patients, and 81 were arrested, over unpaid medical bills. — NYT

Campaigns

• Turning Point USA plans to get behind JD Vance in 2028. — WaPo

Courts

• Lindsay Clancy’s attorney hopes President Trump will consider a pardon for his client. — ABC

Transportation

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote a letter to Ford Motor Company’s CEO, Jim Farley, saying he “remains deeply alarmed” by the company’s ties to major players in China’s auto industry.

Inside the Beltway

• Secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, announced his resignation.

World

• The European Union and Canada are working towards forming a deeper partnership, including on trade and security, to offset the US and China. — Bloomberg
• The UK, France and Canada imposed new trade restrictions on Israel over its policies in the West Bank.

— South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Laura McGann, editor

With help from Elana Schor, senior Washington editor, and Morgan Chalfant, Washington briefing editor

Graph Massara and Lauren Morganbesser, copy editors

Contact our reporters:

Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Shelby Talcott, Nicholas Wu, David Weigel