What Brexit Means

4 minute read

If you only read one thing: The populist and nationalistic forces that have reverberated through both political parties in the U.S. weren’t contained there. Thursday’s “Brexit” vote proved that those tumultuous waves have spread around the world, as the U.K. voted to to leave the European Union in a narrow vote. The commonalities were everywhere: concerns over immigration and the slow pace of the economic recovery drove the Leave side, as Remain leaders’ pushed for steadiness. Independent analyses of economic and political turmoil were rejected by voters who were driven toward upheaval by bombastic spokespeople and often fantastical messages. The political and economic impacts of the decision are only just being felt, but there is little reason to think it won’t color the November election.

In Scotland to reopen one of his golf courses, Donald Trump celebrated the ‘Brexit’ outcome in statements and a press conference Friday. “They took their country back, just like we will take America back,” Trump tweeted as his plane landed.” Speaking before he cut the ribbon on the new course, Trump drew explicit ties between his message and those of the Leave movement. And in Trumpian fashion, he delighted in the decline of the British pound. “If the pound goes down, they are going to do more business,” he said. “If the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry.” Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, said she respected the decision but disagreed with the vote, and calling for an immediate focus on addressing the economic unrest caused by the Leave victory.

President Obama was dealt a significant defeat Thursday as a deadlocked Supreme Court was unable to rule on his executive actions to provide a path to legal status for millions in the U.S. illegally. The 4-4 tie meant a lower court ruling preventing the actions from being implemented will remain in effect, poking a hole in Obama’s legacy-building efforts. Obama criticized the decision, saying it “doesn’t just set the system back even further, it takes us further from the country we aspire to be.” Meanwhile, Republican leaders celebrated what they considered a slap-back to unconstitutional actions by Obama. Obama had done himself few favors on the subject, having repeatedly said in the years prior to implementing the executive actions that he didn’t have the authority to do what he ultimately did.

Bernie Sanders says he’ll vote for Clinton. New questions emerge over Clinton’s truthfulness about her emails. And Trump is fined over a bench.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Donald Trump’s Strange Scottish Golf Course Promotion Trip Explained
The 36-hour Scotland trip is about publicity, not politics, TIME’s Alex Altman writes

Hillary Clinton Failed to Hand Over Key Email to State Department
New doubts about her claim to have returned all work email on private server [Associated Press]

Supreme Court Tie Blocks Obama Immigration Plan
Setback for Obama as deadlocked Court allows lower verdict to stand [New York Times]

Donald Trump Hails U.K.’s ‘Brexit’ Vote
Presumptive Republican nominee says Americans will face a similar opportunity in the fall’s presidential election [Wall Street Journal]

Sound Off

“I think there are great similarities between happened here and my campaign. People want to take their country back.” — Donald Trump in Scotland Friday morning

“We get these spasms of politics around immigration and fear-mongering, and then our traditions and our history and our better impulses kick in.” — President Obama speaking Thursday after a deadlocked Supreme Court couldn’t rule on his immigration executive actions

Bits and Bites

Meet the Woman Behind the Democratic Sit-In [TIME]

Bernie Sanders Vows to Continue ‘Political Revolution’ in New York [TIME]

Sanders says he will vote for Clinton [Politico]

Three Separate, Equal and Dysfunctional Branches of Government [New York Times]

Trump No-Show Earns City’s Ire In Bench Battle [Wall Street Journal]

Obama: Brexit Won’t Affect ‘Special Relationship’ Between U.K. and U.S. [TIME]

 

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