Trump trips
Plus: Miley revealed why she didn’t sing Hannah Montana songs for 14 years
This week in Washington, friends became enemies and former Democratic press secretaries became independent. At least there’s going to be a fashion coffee table book for a certain well-dressed former FLOTUS coming.
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to the end to find out why Balenciaga commissioned goth Britney Spears remixes. — Hunter
Trump trips:
President Donald Trump tripped while walking up the steps to Air Force One on Sunday in Morristown, N.J., which wouldn’t be as big a deal if his campaign didn’t repeatedly air ads showing former President Joe Biden trip during the 2020 race.
Friends become enemies:
Of course it ended with the billionaire ex-buddies talking trash about each other on the respective social networks that they own. After Elon Musk split with Trump over his signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Musk decided to burn the bridge. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” he wrote on X last Thursday. Trump responded.
“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!.”
When asked by NBC News Saturday if he’s interested in mending ties with Musk, Trump said, “no,” but reps from both camps talked Friday, according to Politico, and one unnamed official said “the future of their relationship is totally uncertain.”
For sale: Tesla, never used:
Trump is considering “either giving away or selling” the red Model S he bought in March as a show of support for Musk, a senior administration official told ABC News. The car was seen last week parked on West Executive Avenue between the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the model retails for at least $80,000.
Trump has a new headshot:
The White House unveiled Trump’s fourth official White House portrait last week, shot by White House chief official photographer Daniel Torok. Thoughts?
California’s suing Trump:
After Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles over the weekend where protestors demonstrated against the Trump administration’s immigration raids (Finneas said he was tear-gassed while protesting), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Trump was “hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.” Now the state is suing Trump, arguing what he did was “unlawful” and Trump says Newsom should be arrested.
KJP ditches Dems:
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced last Wednesday that after working for Biden, she left the Democratic Party to become an independent. The news came with the announcement of her new book Independent, out October 21. Hachette Book Group said the book “urges all Americans to vote their values and maintain individuality.”
A former Biden official told Politico “Everyone thinks this is a grift,” and another called it a “bizarre cash grab” to Axios.
Sarah McBride stars in a new doc:
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) is the subject of State of Firsts, a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Festival Saturday about becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the U.S. House.
“Every job I've ever had, I've had death threats,” McBride told People, but she said she doesn’t take it personally. “When people try to diminish me or impugn my dignity, it says a lot more about them than it does me.”
Washington’s hottest plastic surgery is jawlines:
“Strong jawlines and prominent chins are de rigueur in Washington,” K Street dermatologist Dr. Tina Alster told Politico, estimating the percentage of male patients who come in looking for a more defined jaw has jumped from about 20% to 50% in the past several years. Dr. Dan Belkin, a New York dermatologist, chalked up the rise of jawline surgery for men in politics to gender-affirming care. “I think they understand that it creates a manlier look,” he said.
Obama talks about Malia dropping her last name:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama said in a recent episode of “Sibling Revelry” podcast with Kate and Oliver Hudson that when her daughter Malia Obama decided to drop her last name and go by “Malia Ann” for her filmmaking career, that was her “trying to make her way.”
“It is very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world, and they don't want people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're just naturally, just handed things,” Obama said. “They're very sensitive to that — they want to be their own people.”
There’s going to be a Michelle Obama fashion coffee table book:
The Look, which comes out in November, collects more than 200 photos of the former FLOTUS up through outfits she wore for her The Light We Carry book tour.
“During our family’s time in the White House, the way I looked was constantly being dissected — what I wore, how my hair was styled,” Obama said in a statement announcing the book. “For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reclaim more of that story, to share it in my own way. I’m thankful to be at a stage in life where I feel comfortable expressing myself freely — wearing what I love and doing what feels true to me. And I’m excited to share some of what I’ve learned along the way.”
T Swift just took Reputation back to the top 5:
Taylor Swift’s Reputation moved 78-5 on this week’s Billboard 200 album chart following the news that she bought back her master recordings and wouldn’t record a “Taylor’s Version” of the album.
Now that Swift has two versions of her albums, industry insiders tell Billboard she has new avenues for generating revenue, like anniversary edition rereleases. She can also be more generous with her synch licenses, something she had control over even under owner Shamrock (which is why a 2020 Match ad used a new recording of “Love Story”). That means there’s now nearly twice the music available for ads, movies, and shows.
Pitchfork gave Addison an 8.0:
Addison Rae’s self-titled debut album scored well over on Pitchfork, which said Addison “floats in on a swell of goodwill following a string of improbably great singles, each one a little weirder than the last.”
ABC News suspends Terry Moran over X post:
ABC News said Sunday it had suspended correspondent Terry Moran after he called White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller a “world class hater” in a since-deleted post on X.
“ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others,” a network spokesperson told Deadline. “The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards — as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation.”
Justin Baldoni’s defamation suit was just dismissed:
A judge on Monday dismissed Justin Baldoni’s defamation suit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, saying her accusation was legally protected.
Reneé Rapp was a grand marshal at WorldPride:
Reneé Rapp, actress Laverne Cox, and Deacon Maccubbin, who helped organize the first Pride in Washington, D.C., in 1975, served as grand marshals at WorldPride 2025 this weekend in Washington, D.C. “Pride means us looking out for each other no matter what,” Cox said at the parade. “We know how to be there for each other.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said, “Everything that happened around the city that was associated with WorldPride was successful.”
How Charli and the Brat art director celebrated one year of Brat:
To mark the first anniversary of Brat, Charli XCX updated the album’s artwork on streaming platforms Saturday to read “forever <3.” The singer, who had Chappell Roan do the “Apple” dance during her set at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, wrote “365 days of brat <3” on X with photos of the new art up on four walls. i-D shared a gallery of behind-the-scenes shots of the making of the Grammy winning album packaging by the magazine’s art director Brent David Freaney.
Miley revealed why she didn’t sing Hannah Montana songs for 14 years:
Miley Cyrus sang an a cappella version of her 2009 hit “The Climb” at a screening of the visual album for her latest release Something Beautiful at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday, but the reason she didn’t sing “The Climb” and other early songs for so long was because she couldn’t.
“After I left Disney, I wasn't allowed to perform any of the Hannah Montana music,” Cyrus told the “Every Single Album” podcast. “But after being inducted as a Disney Legend [last year], I was given permission to perform those songs in the future, which is pretty cool.”
Xtina just explained the details behind her Bionic album cover:
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of her 2010 album Bionic, Christina Aguilera shared some behind-the-scenes details about its album cover, by DFace. “The artwork is filled with special customizations close to my heart,” Aguilera wrote on Instagram, including a singing songbird cage inside the illustration of her throat to symbolize her vocal cords, and her son’s name carved into the side of a drum by her ear. Justice for Bionic.
Madonna’s releasing a Ray of Light remix album:
Veronica Electronica is the name of Madonna’s Ray of Light-era alter ego, and it’s also the name of a forthcoming eight-track EP of remixes from the singer’s Grammy-winning 1998 album. “Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit)” is already out, and the rest of the music drops July 25.
Balenciaga commissioned goth Britney remixes:
Britney is going high fashion. To go along with the $1,250 studded “Britney” caps and $1,050 oversized Britney Spears t-shirt in their Spring 2026 collection, Balenciaga commissioned French house musician BFRND to remix “Oops!… I Did It Again” and “Gimme More” for Britney4Ever, a five-track EP presented by Britney Spears for Balenciaga Music with the remixes and three tracks from Britney’s inspirations: “Me Against the Music” with Madonna, Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” and Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes.”
“Britney is a trailblazer, she defined pop music and inspired generations of artists, reworking her legacy is a great honor,” BFRND said.
In other Britney news, songwriter Julia Michaels, who wrote for Glory, told Zach Sang in a new interview, “People think it’s all like heavily autotuned and stuff. No, no, no. That is what she sounds like.” She added that Britney’s “pop instincts are out of here.”
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐