President Donald Trump on Tuesday walked back his announcement, made the previous day, that the U.S. would institute a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying the toll would be replaced by trade deals with Gulf states. 

Trump, having hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House Tuesday morning, wrote on Truth Social that his change of heart was “based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership,” and that the deals “will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.”

Trump did not name specific countries, provide figures or outline a timeline for the new arrangement.

Trump reiterated in his post that the U.S. blockade, reinstituted on Tuesday, will remain in place on Iranian ships and cargo.

The reversal follows a rapidly escalating military exchange in the Gulf: The U.S. carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iranian targets early Tuesday. Iran, in turn, claimed to have struck and disabled two tankers in the strait and fired on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Cameron Kasky’s announcement on Wednesday that he was ending his bid for a coveted open House seat in the heart of Manhattan and pivoting to focus on advocating for human rights in the West Bank didn’t come as much of a surprise — given the 25-year-old progressive political activist’s almost exclusive fixation on targeting Israel as a first-time candidate.

Kasky, a Democratic upstart who was among a range of contenders vying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in the 12th Congressional District, had recently returned from a visit to the West Bank, and his experience meeting with Palestinians had left him with “one concern,” he said, motivating his decision to drop out of the primary and seek to promote legislation to counter Israeli settler violence in the territory.

Without providing specifics, Kasky said he looked forward to sharing more details of what he called a “West Bank human rights emergency plan” and said he had “consulted with experts extremely well-versed in the matter” to ensure that “the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted.”

Still, while Kasky framed his so far loosely defined next act as a “chance to do what must be done” in the wake of his brief “human rights-centered campaign,” as he described it, his explanation about the sudden withdrawal avoided mentioning that he had been seen as an unserious candidate struggling to gain any traction in the crowded race.

His harsh criticism of Israel generated online attention and helped him to build a relatively sizable and enthusiastic following on social media.  

But Kasky’s early exit from the June primary, just two months after launching his bid, illustrates how digital clout is not a reliable indicator of meaningful voter support, particularly as a growing number of influencers has sought unsuccessfully to convert online popularity into a seat in Congress in a range of recent primaries.

It also underscores how Kasky’s anti-Israel views were likely alienating to many voters in one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country — even as several far-left challengers across New York are taking on pro-Israel incumbents. One Democratic operative familiar with the district, which covers the Upper East and West Sides, called Kasky’s hostile positions on Israel a form of political “kryptonite.”

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a pro-Israel moderate, won the district with 50% of the vote in November, beating now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani by five points.

In contrast with top candidates in the race, Kasky embraced stances far to the left of the Democratic mainstream, repeatedly accusing Israel of committing genocide in its war in Gaza, for instance, while pledging to vote against all aid to Israel, “‘defensive’ or otherwise,” as he wrote on his campaign site. He also said he was running to block what he called the “Greater Israel” agenda, accusing Israeli leadership of using “colonial violence” to expand the country’s territory across the Middle East.

Polling commissioned by a rival campaign, some details of which were relayed to Jewish Insider by a Democratic source familiar with the figures, showed Kasky far behind his leading opponents. Two recent polls put Kasky in sixth place, garnering just 5% of the primary vote in one and 8% in the other, according to the source, who shared the unpublicized numbers on condition of anonymity.

The polls showed two state assemblymen, Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, clustered at the top of the field along with Jack Schlossberg, a young Kennedy heir, and George Conway, a former Republican attorney and a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, the source confirmed on Thursday. While no candidate won more than 20% of the vote in either poll, Kasky was seen as operating in a lower tier and unlikely to break out. 

His stances on Israel, among other issues, were “a dealbreaker” to a significant share of the electorate, the source noted to JI. “I don’t think that he had the means to become a compelling candidate and build a coalition,” he added.

Owing to his hasty departure from the race, some Democratic strategists and activists suggested that he had not intended to remain a candidate and was using his long-shot bid to build an online audience.

“Kasky saw the writing on the wall,” said another Democratic source who spoke with the candidate. “He did not have a sustainable campaign because it was never a campaign for Congress.”

For Kasky, a Jewish survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida who became a gun control activist, “it was a campaign for new social media followers, the hard, hard left and activist clout,” the source told JI on condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. “He can absolutely claim victory for getting new followers on Instagram outside of Florida, but he achieved this milestone on the backs of the people he so shockingly vilified: NY-12 Jews.”

“He was never running to win,” added a Jewish Democratic leader familiar with Kasky’s abortive campaign, who was granted anonymity to weigh in freely about the race. “He was running to raise his profile and raise some money so he could continue to be an activist influencer.”

Kasky’s campaign, whose fundraising numbers will be reported later this month, did not return JI’s request for comment on Thursday.

Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller who previously lived in the district and now resides in Lower Manhattan, dismissed Kasky’s campaign as unviable from the beginning. “The bottom line is he wasn’t a factor when he was running, and he’s not a factor now that he’s not running,” Stringer, a Jewish Democrat backing Lasher in the primary, told JI. “I think he would have been better served by applying to his local community board.”

“There’s a whole lot of people on Twitter, unfortunately, who focus on Jewish hate,” he added. “But at the end of the day I think most people tuned out his rhetoric. I know I did.”

With Brad Lander’s announcement on Wednesday of his primary challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), allies of the progressive New York City comptroller are feeling particularly bullish about his prospects.

Lander, a former longtime city councilman, is widely known in Goldman’s left-leaning, heavily Jewish district, which covers Lower Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn. Polling has suggested a primary matchup will be competitive. Lander is also expected to notch a key endorsement from Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City and a democratic socialist who performed strongly in the deep-blue district last month.

But even as Lander now seeks to capitalize on the newfound momentum from Mamdani’s victory, some experts speculated that he could face more obstacles than his supporters have envisioned in his bid to unseat a two-term incumbent with vast personal wealth and who is nationally recognized as a top Democratic foe of President Donald Trump.

“A Democratic primary for Congress during a midterm election in which the narrative will strongly focus on rebuking President Trump and his agenda means, for candidates, a heavy reliance on credibility taking on the president,” Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. 

Goldman, a Jewish Democrat who served as a Trump impeachment prosecutor before he was elected, “has those credentials and the ability to show voters how he took on Trump in the past and won,” Dilemani said. “His antagonistic history with President Trump is unique compared to the rest of the field.”

While both Lander and Goldman have been forceful opponents of Trump’s deportation efforts, Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, called Goldman “the guy who took on Trump before it was fashionable,” arguing that he “has plenty to run on.”

He also predicted that Lander “is going to have problems going after Goldman” over his support for Israel “because [Lander is] a Jew who identifies as a liberal Zionist,” a term increasingly used as a pejorative on the far left. Lander, 56, has long been a vocal critic of Israel, but he is not aligned with the anti-Zionist left in refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, a disagreement that could fuel some tension during his campaign.

“You can’t dislodge an incumbent without a negative campaign. What’s the negative campaign? It’s not clear yet,” Sheinkopf told JI. “Goldman has a better playbook to work with.”

In a statement to JI on Tuesday, Maddy Rosen, a spokesperson for Goldman, said the congressman “is focused on stopping the Trump administration from what they’re doing to immigrant families in his district right now.”

“He’s proud of his progressive record in Congress and will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” Rosen added.

A spokesperson for Lander declined to comment. Mamdani’s team did not respond to a request for comment.

Lander, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, during which he emerged as a top ally of Mamdani, had been widely viewed as poised for a leading role in the mayor-elect’s administration. Instead of offering him a job, Mamdani reportedly encouraged him to challenge Goldman, promising an endorsement in next year’s June primary, likely to be among the most bitterly contested Democratic fights of the upcoming election cycle.

Goldman, 49, does still possess some notable vulnerabilities that have made him a target of the left. His outspoken support for Israel amid its war in Gaza irked many progressive voters, for instance, while his ties to AIPAC have fueled criticism from another potential rival, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman who has been weighing a campaign. 

Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who narrowly lost to Goldman during his first House bid in 2022, was considering a rematch but decided not to run to avoid splintering the anti-Goldman vote, she said on Tuesday.

Chris Coffey, a Democratic consultant who lives in the district, posited that by entering the race earlier than his potential opponents, Lander is now “trying to box out” the Democratic Socialists of America — which has officially endorsed Avilés for the primary.

“I think Dan will be able to raise money and have folks spend on his behalf,” Coffey added. “Overall a lot of money will be spent on this race.”

A spokesperson for AIPAC, which has endorsed Goldman and supported his first House campaign, declined to comment on the brewing primary battle.

Even absent outside spending, Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, can draw on his own personal wealth to help fund his reelection bid and mount an offensive against Lander — who is hoping to capture the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base and is reportedly courting endorsements from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

During his first congressional primary three years ago, Goldman dropped nearly $5 million of his own money into the race, prevailing in a crowded field of prominent progressive opponents with a plurality of the vote. Goldman easily won reelection last year, beating a handful of lesser-known challengers.