Fireworks, Frontlines, and the Fight Over Citizenship

Maya: Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Rundown. David: Good morning. We've got a full one today. Maya: The full is putting it mildly. We're starting with the holiday weekend fallout, David: Mm Maya: including David: -hmm. Maya: Trump's Fourth of July speech. David: And overnight, Russia hit Kyiv really hard just hours before the NATO summit opened. Maya: Plus, China tested a missile launch from a submarine out in the South Pacific. David: Wait, a submarine? Yeah, we need to get into that. Maya: We will. And later, Trump's pushing NATO allies on loyalty. Beyond just spending numbers. David: Speaking of which, we're also covering Congress, Speaker Johnson's moving on birthright citizenship and voter ID. Maya: Plus, a Senate primary shakeup out of Michigan that matters for 2026. David: That's wild, right? All right, so much ground to cover. Maya: File that away for now. Let's start with the weekend because it did not go quietly. David: No kidding. Maya: Okay, so I woke up and just, the numbers from the weekend are rough. At least 25 people died from the heat alone. David: Over how many states are we talking? Maya: The Guardian says more than 20 states hit triple digits. This heat dome basically sat on the whole eastern half of the country. David: That's not a heat wave, that's a health emergency. Maya: And then Coney Island. Eight people shot at a Fourth of July cookout, four of them kids. David: Four kids? Maya: Yeah, AP reported a 21-year-old woman was in critical condition, everyone else expected to survive, and that was just one of nine states with shootings that weekend. David: Nine states on the one day we're supposed to be celebrating. Maya: I mean, come on. It's supposed to be barbecues and fireworks, not this. David: So here's what struck me: with all that going on-the storms, the heat-they still ran the Mall celebration in D.C. Maya: Wait, I thought they were evacuating people. David: They were. The Washington Post reported officials had a plan to cancel the whole thing, and Trump overruled it. Maya: Trump just said no? David: Yep, kept it running and then got up and gave the speech anyway. Maya: What did he even say with people getting soaked? David: NBC News covered it. He leaned into this. Maya: So overnight, Russia hit Kyiv with basically everything. Missiles, drones, the whole arsenal. Right before NATO leaders even sat down for the summit. David: CBS News is reporting the death tolls at least 10 a day before the summit doors opened. Maya: Ten people on a Monday. That's rough to just sit with for a second. David: Yeah, and CBS notes every single ballistic missile Russia fired hit its target. That's the number Ukrainian officials keep pointing to. They need more Patriot interceptors fast. Maya: So the timing wasn't subtle. Hit the Capitol, then everyone shows up to talk about backing Ukraine. David: That's kind of the point, I think. Walk into the summit with a fresh crater as the backdrop. Maya: And it's not just Russia flexing muscle this week. David: Oh, right. China. Maya: CBS News reported China test launched a long-range ballistic missile from a submarine out in the South Pacific. David: Wait, from a sub? That's a different message than a land test. Maya: Totally. And CBS News says neighbors in the region already filed protests over it. David: Everybody's testing something this week. Missiles, patients, alliances. Maya: Speaking of testing alliances, Trump's NATO ask. David: So PBS ran a piece on NATO chief Mark Rutte, and basically Trump isn't just pushing allies on spending targets anymore. Maya: What's he pushing instead? David: Loyalty. That's the actual word being used. Not a spending number. Loyalty to the alliance itself. Maya: That's an odd thing to have to ask for out loud. David: I don't think it's odd, honestly. If you're the country footing most of the bill, you'd want more than a box. Vox checked too. Maya: Fair point. David: Follow the money on this one. The U.S. has carried an outsized share of NATO's actual defense spending for decades. Someone's funding those budgets, and it's mostly us. Maya: So this isn't really about symbolism. David: No, I'd say it's the opposite. Hitting a spending percentage on paper is easy. Showing up when it actually costs you something? That's harder to fake. Maya: And Reuters says he's not stopping at the group meeting either. David: Right, he's got one-on-ones lined up. Ukraine, Zelensky? Minsk and Syria's Al-Shara on the sidelines. Maya: Two very different rooms to walk into back to back. David: Different leverage in each. Ukraine needs weapons. Syria needs the world to believe it's not the same country it used to be. Maya: That's a lot riding on one summit. David: And it all circles back to the same question. Who's actually paying and what do they get for it? Maya: Which, funny enough, is about to be the question back at home, too. Shifting gears closer to home now, Speaker Johnson's pushing to restrict birthright citizenship. David: Yeah, he told reporters he wants Congress to move on it immediately. USA Today had that quote today. Maya: And the timing's kind of wild too, because polling's shifting, right? David: The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell wrote about this. Voters are landing closer to Trump's position than people expected. Maya: Wait, closer how? David: Basically, this stopped being a fringe position. It's a real debate now. Fifty-eight now, not just a talking point. Maya: That's the part that gets lost. People assume it's settled law, case closed. David: Right, but the legal fight and the public opinion fight are two separate tracks, and the second one's moving. Maya: Okay, so Johnson's not exactly short on ambition this week. What else is he juggling? David: The voter ID bill. CNN reported he's pushing it through budget reconciliation. Maya: Isn't that the process where a few Republicans already revolted? David: That's exactly it. CNN said Johnson sent everyone home. He came home early after some GOP members stalled the floor. Maya: So he's downplaying the drama and just trying again? David: Pretty much—arduous was the word CNN used—he knows it's a grind; he's doing it anyway. Maya: I mean, come on; reconciliation is already a headache on a good day. David: Follow the incentive, though: voter ID polls well with the base; he's not walking away from that. Maya: All right, one more, and this one actually surprised me. David: The Michigan Senate race? Maya: Mallory McMorrow dropped out. The Guardian had it. She's out of the primary entirely. David: Huh, that's a name Democrats were counting on. Maya: Totally—now it's just El-Sayed, the progressive, versus Stevens, who's more centrist. David: Which turns a three way scramble into a real ideological fight for the party. Maya: In a seat they can't afford to lose, no less. David: Right, that's not a small primary anymore, that's a preview of where Democrats actually stand. Maya: So, between citizenship, voter ID, and Michigan, none of this is going away quietly. David: Not even close-these are the fights that'll define next year's ballots. Maya: And we'll be right here watching every twist. David: Oh, for sure. Buckle up. Maya: Okay, so today we sat with some heavy stuff. The heat deaths, Coney Island, David: And Kyiv right before NATO even opened its doors. Maya: yeah. But also Trump refusing to let a storm canceled a Fourth. David: Follow the incentive, like I said. Maya: You did say that. David: Honestly, the real takeaway is this. Leaders make choices about optics, whether it's a mall speech or a NATO summit. Maya: Exactly. So if you liked digging into that with us, David: Hit subscribe, leave us a review, tell a friend. Maya: We read every single one. David: Appreciate you starting the Morning with us. Maya: We'll see you tomorrow for the next Rundown.