With historic prisoner swap, Biden has mastered the art of the deal

It's the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a lucky break for Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Evan Gershkovich, [finally free](. - Trump went on an [insult spree](. - [Swiping right]( is no longer key. - The [courage to cut]( at the BOE. [Hostage Diplomacy]( Imagine celebrating your 32nd birthday in a Russian jail cell after getting wrongfully arrested on espionage charges. Imagine doing heart hands inside a glass cage after a Moscow court rejected your appeal of your extended pre-trial detention. Imagine getting sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony. Now imagine being released two weeks later in a prisoner exchange. Wall Street Journal [reporter]( Evan Gershkovich did all that [and more]( “My son is in this aquarium, this cage.” — Ella Milman, Gershkovich’s mother Photographer: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Thanks to a historic [prisoner swap]( involving six countries and 24 people, Gershkovich is [finally free]( 15 months after being arrested, along with fellow citizens Paul Whelan (arrested in December 2018) and Alsu Kurmasheva (arrested last October) as well as permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza (arrested in April). “I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family,” President Joe Biden [tweeted](. Today, he met with the families of the now-released hostages, who were able to [speak]( to their loved ones over the phone. “Maybe this is what Biden had in mind when, in passing the Democratic baton in the presidential race to Kamala Harris, he said that he would use his remaining time in office to take care of as much unfinished business as he can, especially in foreign policy, which is his love and forte,” Andreas Kluth [writes](. As more [details]( emerge about the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War, it’s evident that Biden was steadfast in his efforts to bring these prisoners home: “Lame-duck foreign-policy successes are rare,” Andreas writes, which makes Biden’s feat all the more impressive. He was an hour away from making one of the biggest decisions of his life — to drop out of the presidential race as an incumbent, the first to do so since Lyndon Johnson in 1968 — and he was hustling to secure the freedom of four American prisoners. Months before that, he was [persuading]( German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to release a convicted Russian murderer serving a life sentence. “For you, I’ll do it,” Scholz told Biden at the time. If that’s not the textbook definition of good presidenting, I don’t know what is. The swap puts former President Donald Trump — who [claimed]( that Russian President Vladimir Putin would free Gershkovich “for me but not for anyone else” — in a rather [awkward]( position. Turns out, Biden has mastered “The Art of the Deal,” too. And all of America knows it. Bonus Foreign Policy Reading: - Will Kamala Harris face an October surprise? [These crises]( could derail her campaign. — Hal Brands - The rising popularity of [sanctions, tariffs and subsidies]( will make the world less stable. — Allison Schrager [Birtherism 2.0]( Let’s get one thing absolutely crystal clear here, OK? A White man who once paid for [a full-page ad]( that encouraged lawmakers to “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY” for five teenage boys of color is NOT the official authority on Blackness. Yet yesterday, Trump tried to be just that. Erika D. Smith [says]( his conversation with Black journalists was “[a spectacle]( of sexism, racism and hubris.” I’m sure you’ve read or heard this quote by now, but here’s what he said, word-for-word, about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris: “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Race-based [stunts]( are nothing new for the former president: “In the past, Trump has called Harris a [bum and a dangerous person]( who is ‘dumb as a [rock]( He’s also called her evil,” Nia-Malika Henderson [writes](. But Harris is unabashed about her background as the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants: “I was born Black. I will die Black, and I’m not going to make excuses for anybody because they don’t understand,” Harris said [in a 2019]( interview. As Nia-Malika [explains]( in a separate column, “What Trump does understand is that racism works in politics, and stoking Black grievance could pay dividends just like stoking White grievance.” Trump’s running mate [JD Vance]( — a father to three biracial children himself — is also all aboard the birther bus: “I thought it was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris,” he told a group of reporters last night. Hysterical? I didn’t realize that was the adjective for petty attacks about someone’s biracial heritage. I’m not sure Vance will be laughing when his kids reach adulthood. Meanwhile in Paris ... Today’s Bloomberg Opinion debrief is brought to you by two-time all-around Olympic champion Simone Biles’ GOAT [necklace]( which is made with [546 diamonds](. Truly [iconic]( Let’s get into it: - The Chinese diving team is [super-synced](. - We can all relate to [race walking](. - Three ACL tears and [a silver medal]( damn. - The games are not good for [productivity](. - The IOC [stood up]( against discrimination. - [Cookie man]( is battling the [muffin man](. - Flavor Flav is [helping]( athletes pay rent. - Nara Smith is [making]( Suni Lee a gold medal. - Turkey’s [Yusuf Dikec]( is an unbothered king. - The Olympic Village Tinder scene [is dire](. Not surprised on that last one. Dave Lee [says]( the shares of the parent of Tinder and Hinge “are trading more than 60% lower than they were on Match’s first day as an independent company.” Activist investors are now sliding into the DMs of the dating behemoth in the hopes that they can turn the ship around. But hedge funds aren’t so fluent in flirtation: “The hottest trends in dating are happening offline,” Dave writes. “Daters [have grown tired]( of swiping left or right and have taken matters into their own hands.” Athletes staying in the Olympic Village don’t need their screens. Paris is the [city of love]( Telltale Chart Thirty months is an awfully long time be on a hike, but the Bank of England did it! And it’s finally time for the descent: “A 25 basis point cut to 5% in its official rate Thursday was a close call, with a 5-4 split,” Marcus Ashworth [writes](. He calls the central bank’s decision “a lucky break for the new Labour government to spur its growth agenda, and certainly welcome for many parts of the economy that have struggled after 14 hikes and 515 basis points of tightening since December 2021.” Telltale Photo All across Venezuela, angry mobs have spent the week [toppling]( giant statues of Hugo Chávez. “The [image]( couldn’t be more symbolic,” Juan Pablo Spinetto [writes](. “For anyone watching abroad, the message clearly spoke to the country’s thirst for change and the boiling public frustration with the latest [tricks]( of strongman Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime. Venezuelans had had enough; and for outsiders, the government’s outright [fabrication]( of the election’s results should amount to conclusive proof of its authoritarian behavior.” But Latin America’s left-wing leaders still aren’t willing to condemn Maduro’s electoral fraud. It’s a historic mistake that will intensify instability in the region. The remains of a statue of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez destroyed and burned during a protest on July 31, 2024. Photographer: Yuri Cortez Further Reading Green projects are being [strangled]( by red tape. — Bloomberg’s editorial board New AI rules risk [entrenching]( the transatlantic tech divide. — Lionel Laurent Venmo and Zelle may [not be free]( for much longer. — Marc Rubinstein Indian banks want [customers]( but no smartphones please. — Andy Mukherjee Trump’s [anti-vax agenda]( will kill Americans. — Francis Wilkinson The [economics]( of health care have battered hospital finances. — Sarah Green Carmichael ICYMI Amazon is [slipping and spending]( too much. Nielsen says [July 4 week]( set a record for US streaming. This is NYC’s [best defense]( against climate change. Thousands of middlemen [game]( the H-1B program. GLAAD may have [violated]( some IRS rules. Kickers The line between [yogurt and ice cream]( is blurry. How to confront those who steal [evening gowns](. Locking up toiletries [backfired]( for CVS and Target. Pottery Barn makes [remarkably nice]( furniture for seniors. Never eat the [roasted eel]( if it’s from a department store. Notes: Please send fancy gowns and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads]( [TikTok]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Stay updated by saving our new email address - Gmail: Open an email from Bloomberg, click the three dots in the top right corner, select “Mark as important.” - Outlook: Right-click on Bloomberg’s email address and select “Add to Outlook Contacts.” - Apple Mail: Open the email, click on Bloomberg’s email address, and select “Add to Contacts” or “Add to VIPs.” - Yahoo Mail: Open an email from Bloomberg, hover over the email address, click “Add to Contacts.” Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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