1/ Trump mocked the #MeToo movement in a speech in Montana on Thursday, repeatedly attacked Elizabeth Warren over her heritage, suggested Maxine Waters had an I.Q. in the “mid-60s,” derided both John McCain and George H.W. Bush, and vouched for Putin. “You know what? Putin’s fine,” Trump told the crowd, referring to his upcoming meeting with the Russian leader. “He’s fine. We’re all fine. We’re people. Will I be prepared? Totally prepared. I’ve been preparing for this stuff my whole life.” (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)

  • Trump challenged Sen. Elizabeth Warren to take a DNA test to prove that she has Native American ancestors, reviving his “Pocahontas” nickname for the Massachusetts Democrat, who has claimed Native American ancestry. Trump taunted Warren with an imaginary presidential debate, telling the crowd that he would toss her a DNA kit, “but we have to do it gently because we’re in the #MeToo generation, so we have to be very gentle.” He made a throwing motion and said: “We will very gently take that kit, and we will slowly toss it, hoping it doesn’t hit her and injure her arm.” (NBC News)

  • The 11 most dangerous things Donald Trump said in his Montana speech. (CNN)

2/ The U.S. and China each levied $34 billion in tariffs on each other’s exports as Trump’s trade war with China officially began today at 12:01 a.m. China’s Ministry of Commerce accused the U.S. of “typical trade bullying” for having “launched the biggest trade war in economic history so far.” Trump has threatened to target another $400 billion in Chinese products with tariffs if Beijing retaliates further. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

  • Russia imposed tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs. Russia’s economic development minister said that additional tariffs, ranging from 25% to 40%, have been applied to some U.S. construction equipment, oil and gas equipment, metal processing instruments, drilling equipment, and optical fiber. (The Independent)

3/ The U.S. Army started discharging some immigrant recruits who were promised a path to citizenship in exchange for enlisting. Some were labeled a security risk and discharged because they have relatives abroad. Others have been told they are being discharged because the Department of Defense had not completed their background checks. The number of soldiers who have been discharged is unclear, but immigration attorneys say they know of more than 40. It’s also unclear whether there have been policy changes in any of the military branches. (Associated Press)

  • The Trump administration created a task force to revoke the citizenship of some naturalized immigrants and then eventually deport them. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ new task force and will identify what it calls bad naturalization cases to refer to the Justice Department for denaturalization proceedings. The purported targets are people who had already been rejected by the U.S., but then created a new identity in order to gain citizenship afterward. (WNYC / CNN)

  • Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club applied for permission to hire 61 foreign workers to serve as waiters and cooks. The Florida resort requested H-2B visas, which are for temporary non-agricultural workers. In order to obtain H-2Bs, employers must prove that there are not enough US workers who are “able, willing, qualified, and available” to do the temporary work. (Washington Post / CNN / ABC News)

4/ The Trump administration requested more time to reunite families it separated at the border. The Justice Department said it has dedicated “immense” resources to reunifying families. A federal court ordered the administration to return all children under 5 to their parents by July 10, and all others by July 26. (Los Angeles Times / Washington Post / ABC News)

5/ Many of the records linking separated children to their parents have either disappeared or been destroyed, leaving the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security scrambling to identify connections between family members. DNA testing is now being used on children and parents in an attempt to reunite migrant families separated at the US border. (New York Times / CNN)

poll/ 47% of voters overall prefer to vote for a Democrat over a Republican for the House in the midterms. 37% of voters prefer a Republican. (Washington Post)

  • 59% of Democrats say the midterms are extremely important, compared with 46% of Republicans.

  • 55% disapprove of the job Trump is doing, compared to 43% who approve. 54% of men approve; 32% of women approve.

  • 69% of Americans oppose the policy that separates immigrant children from their parents, compared with 29% who support the policy.

  • 52% agree with Trump that America’s long-term trading partners have taken advantage of this country. Only 41% of Americans, however, approve of Trump’s handling of trade issues.

Notables.

  1. Michael Cohen doesn’t expect Trump to offer him a presidential pardon. “I brought up the pardon, and he said, ‘I don’t think so. I just don’t think so,’” said one friend of Cohen’s. “[Cohen’s] certain in his mind that he has been dismissed.” Cohen has not been charged with a crime, but is under criminal investigation in New York. (CNN)

  2. Peter Strzok will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next week. The FBI agent was the subject of criticism in the Department of Justice inspector general’s report on the handling of the Clinton probe. Strzok has been criticized for sending text messages critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. (CBS News)

  3. Paul Manafort spends “at least 23 hours per day” in solitary confinement while he waits for his July 25 trial because “the facility cannot otherwise guarantee his safety.” (Axios / New York Daily News)

  4. A fourth Ohio State wrestler said Rep. Jim Jordan knew about sexual abuse when he was an assistant coach, because he took part in locker-room conversations where athletes discussed the abuse. (NBC News)

  5. Trump on Jim Jordan: “I don’t believe [the accusations] at all; I believe him. Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington. I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.” (Washington Post)

  6. Mike Pompeo brought Kim Jong-un an Elton John CD with the song “Rocket Man” on it. Trump called Kim “little rocket man” following a series of nuclear tests and missile launches by North Korea last year. (Chosun Ilbo / NBC News)

  7. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4% after falling to 3.8% in May. The Labor Department reported 213,000 new jobs in June, down from 244,000 in May. (Politico)

  8. London’s mayor gave activists permission to launch the “Trump Baby” blimp when Trump visits the U.K. starting on July 13. The blimp will be allowed to fly for two hours at a maximum height of about 100 feet from Parliament Square Garden. (NPR)

  9. Trump will almost entirely avoid London – and the planned protests against him – during his four-day visit to the UK next week. (The Guardian)