Iran Reopens Hormuz to Chinese Tankers While Trump and Xi Hobnob
The Morning Sixpack - 05/14/2026: Trump faces inflation fallout, Fed turmoil, emergency power fears, and late-night Truth Social chaos #MorningSixpack
Iran Starts Letting Chinese Ships Through Hormuz as Trump and Xi Push to Keep Oil Flowing
Iran is quietly reopening the Strait of Hormuz to select Chinese vessels after months of restrictions tied to the U.S.-Iran war and the blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday that Tehran agreed to allow some Chinese ships through the strategic waterway after requests from China’s foreign minister and ambassador. The move comes under the framework of the countries’ “strategic partnership” as China leans on Iran to avoid further disruption to global energy markets.
The development landed as President Donald Trump—currently visiting China—agreed with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the Strait of Hormuz “must be open” for global energy supplies. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments move through the narrow channel, making every disruption an instant global problem.
Iran had sharply restricted transit through the Strait after U.S. and Israeli strikes began on February 28. A later U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, launched after an early April ceasefire, only deepened the shipping bottleneck. According to ship-tracking data, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude finally passed through Hormuz on Wednesday after sitting stranded in the Gulf for more than two months.
“Tehran agreed to facilitate the passage of a number of Chinese ships in line with the two countries’ strategic partnership,” the Fars source said.
Source: Reuters
Editor: The global economy now depends on whether Iran answers Beijing’s calls faster than it answers everyone else’s threats. Totally normal system we’ve built here.
Robert Reich Floats 25th Amendment Fantasy as Trump War Fallout Rattles Republicans
Robert Reich says Democratic insiders are openly gaming out a scenario where JD Vance and Marco Rubio use the 25th Amendment to push Donald Trump from office within months.
In a Substack post published Monday, Reich described a dinner conversation with longtime political operatives who speculated that Trump’s war, rising gas and food prices, and what they described as worsening mental decline could fracture Republican support badly enough to trigger a constitutional revolt inside the administration.
According to Reich’s account, the imagined plan centers on Vice President JD Vance convincing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to back a 25th Amendment move against Trump, with promises Rubio would become vice president afterward. The scenario then ropes in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Todd Blanche, giving Vance enough Cabinet support to invoke Section 4 of the amendment.
“Trump screams, hollers, pounds his Mar-a-Lago desk, and threatens legal action, but there’s nothing he can do. He’s out of office,” Reich wrote, recounting the operatives’ fantasy scenario.
Reich himself admitted uncertainty about whether the idea was “elated or worried” territory, though the post reads less like insider reporting and more like a political daydream circulating among anti-Trump circles desperate for an off-ramp before the midterms. There is currently no public evidence that Vance, Rubio, Johnson, Thune, or any Cabinet officials are pursuing such a move.
The 25th Amendment has never been successfully used to remove a sitting president against his will. Any such effort would almost certainly trigger a constitutional and political firestorm unlike anything modern Washington has experienced.
Source: Robert Reich Substack
Editor: Washington used to leak policy plans. Now it leaks political Netflix scripts over appetizers and wine.
Nothing calms nervous Americans quite like hearing the president say he’s not thinking about their financial situation “even a little bit.”
Trump’s Iran Gamble Collides Head-On with Inflation Fears Ahead of Midterms
President Trump is signaling he’s willing to risk higher gas prices and market turmoil to pressure Iran, even as Republicans worry voters will punish them for it at the pump.
An Axios report published Thursday highlights growing anxiety inside Trump’s orbit over the economic fallout from the Iran conflict and the possibility of renewed military escalation. Trump reportedly told advisers that stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about inflation, oil prices, or market volatility—even in the middle of an election cycle.
“What Trump appeared to mean in Tuesday’s remark is that domestic economic concerns won’t deter him from whatever steps he feels are necessary,” Axios reported. But advisers privately acknowledged the political danger, especially as rising gas prices already appear in inflation data and polling numbers. One Trump adviser bluntly admitted: “The president could have chosen different words, but this is what he thinks.”
Behind the scenes, Trump’s team is reportedly weighing fresh military options against Iran, including resuming naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz or launching another bombing campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure. Israeli officials are said to be preparing for possible coordinated action as early as this weekend if negotiations remain stalled.
The White House insists the pressure campaign is necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and argues any economic pain would be temporary. But Republicans are increasingly nervous that voters won’t separate foreign policy strategy from four-dollar gasoline and higher grocery bills. Iran, meanwhile, appears to believe time is on its side and that Trump’s political calendar makes him vulnerable.
Even if a ceasefire holds temporarily, Axios notes Iran could still disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening another spike in oil prices and fresh instability across global markets. Democrats already see Trump’s “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation” line as ready-made campaign material.
Source: Axios
Editor: Presidents usually try to hide the “economic pain is worth it” part until after the election. Trump just walked straight to the podium and said the quiet part out loud.
The leader of the free world is apparently spending his evenings reposting anonymous meme accounts at a pace normally associated with teenagers avoiding homework.
WSJ Analysis Finds Trump’s Late-Night Truth Social Posting Sprees Fuel Conspiracies and Grievance Politics
A new Wall Street Journal analysis says President Trump’s Truth Social account has become a nonstop amplification machine for conspiracy theories, political attacks, and late-night rage-posting.
The Journal reviewed more than 33,000 Truth Social posts tied to Trump’s account and found that since returning to office, the president’s feed has exploded into a high-volume stream of reposts, AI-generated imagery, attacks on opponents, and inflammatory political content. According to the report, Trump’s account has published at least 8,800 posts during his second term alone, including dozens of overnight posting binges.
One example cited by the Journal involved a single night where Trump’s account pushed out 55 posts between 10:14 p.m. and 1:12 a.m., including claims the 2020 election was stolen and calls for former President Barack Obama to be arrested. The report describes the account as “a nearly round-the-clock, high-volume amplification system” blending Trump’s voice with content pulled from partisan influencers and fringe anonymous accounts.
The investigation also spotlights Trump aide Natalie Harp, who reportedly prints stacks of proposed social media posts for Trump to approve before publishing them—often outside normal working hours. The Journal says Trump personally signs off on all content, including controversial posts that later had to be deleted, such as AI-generated imagery depicting Trump as a Christ-like figure and racist content involving the Obamas.
According to the analysis, roughly one in ten text-based posts from Trump’s account includes insults like “crooked,” “loser,” “sleazebag,” or “low IQ.” The phrase “Fake News” alone reportedly appeared nearly 140 times. Since the Iran conflict began in late February, the account has also posted at least 240 pieces of content tied to the war and the Middle East.
The White House defended the posting strategy, with communications director Steven Cheung saying Truth Social gives Americans Trump’s “unfiltered and direct thoughts” without media interference. Critics, meanwhile, see the account less as presidential communication and more as a live-feed glimpse into grievance politics operating at algorithmic speed.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (gift)
Editor: Somewhere in history books, presidential fireside chats have officially evolved into 1 a.m. meme repost marathons from accounts named things like “WallStreetApes.” Progress!
Former Obama Envoy Warns Trump Could Use Secret Emergency Powers to Interfere in Midterms
A former State Department insider is warning that Donald Trump could deploy secret presidential emergency directives that bypass Congress, avoid court review, and dramatically expand executive power during a national crisis.
In an interview highlighted by Raw Story, former Obama administration envoy Jonathan Winer raised alarms about Presidential Emergency Action Documents—known as PEADs—which are classified directives designed for use during national emergencies. Winer said the documents have never been reviewed by Congress or any court and can be rewritten by sitting presidents with virtually no outside oversight.
“The key thing about PEADs is they’ve never been reviewed by Congress or anyone outside administration,” Winer said during the podcast interview. “They can be rewritten based on any administration’s point of view as to what’s necessary in an emergency.” He added that any constitutional challenges would likely occur only after the powers had already been used.
The concern centers on whether Trump could invoke emergency authorities tied to domestic unrest, terrorism, or national security threats in ways that impact the 2026 midterm elections. Winer pointed to the administration’s recent counterterrorism strategy, which reportedly places Antifa alongside foreign terrorist organizations as a domestic threat, arguing the framework resembles earlier eras of government surveillance and detention planning.
Podcast host Sidney Blumenthal argued the bigger issue is that officials currently surrounding Trump—including Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel—would likely carry out any directives without resistance. “That history echoes,” Winer warned, “and those echoes are pretty loud right now.”
Presidential Emergency Action Documents have existed in some form since the Cold War and are intended to preserve continuity of government during catastrophic events. But critics have long warned the secrecy surrounding them creates obvious opportunities for abuse, especially when combined with expansive executive power claims during wartime or national emergencies.
Source: Raw Story
Editor: Washington spent decades mocking conspiracy theorists, then quietly built a classified emergency playbook nobody outside the executive branch is allowed to read. Great optics there.
Trump’s New Fed Chair May Be Headed for a Political Buzzsaw as Inflation Surges
Kevin Warsh just won Senate confirmation to lead the Federal Reserve, but economists already expect Trump could turn on his own pick if inflation and interest rates stay high.
Warsh was confirmed Wednesday in a sharply divided 54-45 Senate vote, making him one of the most politically contentious Federal Reserve chairs in modern history. According to Raw Story, only one Democrat—Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman—crossed party lines to support Trump’s nominee as inflation pressures tied to the Iran conflict continue rattling the economy.
The report notes that outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell plans to remain on the Federal Reserve’s governing board after stepping down, a highly unusual move reportedly aimed at protecting the institution from growing political pressure inside the White House. Economists increasingly expect the Fed to delay interest rate cuts as energy prices rise and inflation accelerates.
“Warsh’s honeymoon may not last long after senators cast their final votes to install him as chair,” Semafor reported, according to the Raw Story piece. Access/Macro chief economist Tim Mahedy was even more blunt: “The president has ‘put this guy in for a firing squad.’ It’s going to be brutal — Trump’s going to turn on [Warsh] in two months.”
Trump has repeatedly pushed for lower interest rates to juice the economy heading into the midterms, but the Fed now faces the opposite problem: war-driven inflation that could force policymakers to keep borrowing costs elevated. That creates a collision course between the White House’s political demands and the Fed’s mandate to control inflation.
The entire situation underscores the growing pressure on Republicans as rising gas and food prices begin bleeding into voter frustration. If inflation remains sticky through summer, Warsh could quickly go from Trump ally to convenient scapegoat.
Source: Raw Story
Editor: Washington’s favorite tradition remains alive and well—presidents demanding cheap money right up until inflation starts lighting voters’ wallets on fire.