Trump tells UN the midterms won’t change his Iran policy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Wall Street Journal interview at the U.N. during the General Assembly that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to curb attacks on Ukraine without additional pressure from Washington.

Zelensky sat down with WSJ Editor in Chief Emma Tucker on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The interview was published as part of the newspaper’s 10-Point newsletter on Wednesday.

In the interview, Zelensky said he asked Trump during their New York meeting for a “winter package” of new military equipment. Zelensky also said he believes the United States will pursue a deal to halt Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, an acute concern as the country heads into the colder months.

The interview came during a week in which Trump used the U.N. podium to signal that the approaching midterm elections would not affect his approach to the war in Iran.

“It doesn’t even enter my mind,” Trump said, according to the Journal.

The Journal reported that some Republicans wish the midterms would change Trump’s approach to the Iran conflict. With less than six weeks until the election, the conflict has become one of the Republican Party’s biggest vulnerabilities, the Journal reported. Trump continued to emphasize his foreign policy agenda at the U.N., positioning his overseas interventions as the centerpiece of his second term and his post-White House legacy, according to the Journal.

Beyond the Zelensky interview, the WSJ’s 10-Point newsletter covered several other items in its Wednesday edition.

Reporters AnnaMaria Andriotis and Alison Sider wrote that JPMorgan Chase has explored a “second-look” program to ease a longstanding point of contention with credit-card partners such as airlines and retailers, by opening the door for private credit to take on the risk of approving applications the bank denies. The bank sent out requests to discuss the approach with lenders including Blue Owl, Blackstone, KKR and Sixth Street, according to people familiar with the matter. A partnership with JPMorgan would signal another level of acceptance into mainstream finance, the reporters wrote.

Reporters Sune Engel Rasmussen and Antonio Pampliega investigated how southern Spain’s Costa del Sol has become one of the most trafficked entry points for global cocaine. Global cocaine production is at a historic peak, the Journal reported, driven by global demand, expansive coca cultivation and a well-oiled supply chain. Cartels ship the drug from ports in Ecuador or Brazil to West Africa and on to Europe — now the world’s second-largest cocaine market behind the United States, according to the Journal. Seafaring drug smugglers hold the advantage over antidrug forces, using drones, radar and thermal imaging to avoid detection and high-powered speedboats to outrun authorities, the reporters wrote. The reporters met with drug traffickers, law enforcement and the mother of a police officer killed by the gangs.

Travel columnist Dawn Gilbertson tested paid VIP airport services offered by American, Delta and United, which offer travelers a one-day taste of the frictionless experience reserved for the airlines’ invite-only loyalty-status customers, such as American’s ConciergeKey. Celebrities and executives are big customers, the Journal reported. On her American flight, a popular character actress booked it and was greeted in the jet bridge upon deplaning.

The newsletter also highlighted the work of Jay Jones, an out-of-work copywriter who has personally flagged about 7,000 scam profiles on LinkedIn and other sites while searching for his own next role, the Journal reported.

Artisanal butter has become Paris’s must-have status souvenir, supplanting Ladurée macarons and drugstore skin care, with the LVMH-owned La Grande Épicerie de Paris drawing most of the demand, according to the Journal. With summer heat waves, the window between culinary treasure and golden puddle has never been narrower.

Morgan Smith and Natasha Dangoor curated and edited the newsletter in collaboration with Tucker, the Journal’s editor in chief.