Balance of Power

The US and Israel began striking targets across Iran, with President Donald Trump urging Iranians to overthrow the government in a conflict that threatens to spiral across the oil-rich Middle East.

“The hour for your freedom is at hand,” Trump said, addressing Iranians in a video posted on Truth Social on Saturday. “When we’re finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

The military campaign could be a defining moment for Trump, risking a drawn-out regional war that leads to a surge in energy prices and American casualties ahead of mid-term elections this year. Iran quickly responded by firing missiles on Israel and US bases around the region, and countries in the Persian Gulf closed their airspace.

Israel’s military said the campaign would target “dozens of military targets,” and Iran media reported strikes on defensive and civilian sites, including more than 50 people dead in a strike on a school in Hormozgan, in the south of the country. Several large explosions were reported in the capital, Tehran.
Bloomberg's David Gura and Christina Ruffini lead our team coverage in this instant reaction podcast.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

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Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy.
On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall
Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haass
Bloomberg Wall Street Week Anchor David Westin
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino
Bloomberg Managing Editor for US Equities Michael Regan
Bloomberg This Weekend Hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini.
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Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.
Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Oil swung as traders parsed competing headlines on the status of negotiations between the US and Iran.

West Texas Intermediate inched down 0.3% to settle above $65 a barrel, while Brent ended the day below $71, as the US and Iran wrapped up a third round of nuclear talks in Geneva, just days ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline to strike a deal. Oman, a mediator in the discussions, said that talks are set to continue next week in Vienna at a “technical level,” allaying fears of imminent US military action.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Rapidan Energy Group Founder Bob McNally.
Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Democratic Strategist Meghan Hays.
Bloomberg Senior Editor for Technology and Strategic Industries Michael Shepard.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Insight & analysis on the White House and Capitol Hill.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Addressing one of his biggest audiences at perhaps the lowest moment of his second term, President Donald Trump returned again and again in his State of the Union speech to the same message on the economy: Everything is going great.

A resolute Trump was determined to will Americans into a better economic mood, seeking to paint over the affordability concerns at the center of upcoming midterm elections with statistics and self-congratulation.

“Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” Trump boasted early in the nearly two-hour speech.

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with:
Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall.
Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana.
Democratic Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address of the television age Tuesday, declaring “a turnaround for the ages” as he tried to sell Americans on his economic program ahead of crucial midterm elections later this year.
The speech had all the ceremony, confrontation and chaos that have come to define the event in an era of narrow congressional majorities and partisan polarization. Democratic Representative Al Green was ejected from the chamber for disrupting the speech. Trump invited the gold-medal-winning men’s Olympic hockey team into the gallery amid chants of “USA! USA! USA!” He awarded several medals honoring veterans and active-duty service members.
And in more than 1 hour 47 minutes, the longest State of the Union in history, the president delivered a rally-like speech punctuated less by policy proposals than by political attacks.
For instant reaction and analysis, Bloomberg Balance of Power hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz speak with:
Bloomberg White House correspondent Jeff Mason
Rick Davis, Partner at Stonecourt Capital and Bloomberg Politics Contributor & Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, Democracy Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center and Bloomberg Politics Contributor
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
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