Support Our Journalism

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Politics National News World Economy Lifestyle Store

Tag: democratic

Trump Blurts Out His Plan To Corrupt 2026 Midterm Elections

Democratic election lawyer, voting rights expert and Democracy Docket publisher Marc Elias is warning that President Donald Trump is determined to "steal the 2026 elections" — and his game plan, according to an August video, includes a combination of voter suppression, election denial and a mid-decade U.S. Census (which is violating the rules because the next Census isn't due until 2030).

According to The New Republic's Greg Sargent (formerly of the Washington Post), Trump made his intentions for the 2026 midterms clear in a Monday morning, August 18 post on his Truth Social platform.

"President Donald Trump raged at Democrats Monday for supposedly cheating in elections in a long and unhinged Truth Social rant — and buried in his tirade is a clear indication of how he hopes to corrupt the 2026 midterm elections at a time when his agenda is nosediving in polls," Sargent explains. "In his screed, Trump rehashed his familiar lies about how mail balloting is riddled with fraud, and promised to lead a new 'movement' to abolish it."

Sargent warned that the executive order Trump is threatening for the 2026 elections is especially troubling.

Trump posted, "WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections. Remember, the States are merely an 'agent' for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes."

Sargent explains, "Trump already unveiled a similar executive order in March designed to change election rules. It would have barred states from accepting ballots mailed on time but that arrive after Election Day and forced state officials to require documented proof of citizenship for everyone who registers to vote in federal elections…. Trump appears prepared to have a second run at such an executive order. But what's critical about Monday's post is he connected this scheme directly to the midterms, inadvertently revealing the real aim behind it."

The New Republic journalist continues, "Trump's new rant says he’s going to 'lead a movement to get rid of' mail balloting, then later says this 'movement' will begin with his new executive order — a strong indication he will try to ban vote-by-mail by executive order. Voting rights advocates have long expected him to attempt something like this, perhaps by arguing that vote-by-mail is a threat to national security."

Attorney Pooja Chaudhuri of the Democracy Defenders Fund warned that Trump could commit an "enormous abuse of power" with the 2026 midterms.

Chaudhuri told The New Republic, "It sounds like he will try to ban all mail-in balloting through executive order, and he's going to have to find some other rationale for such a sweeping presidential action."

Greta Bedekovics, associate director of democracy at the Center for American Progress, told The New Republic, "If they are going to try to stand for election integrity, it hurts them to point out that this is directly related to the 2026 elections. It exposes that this is not about election integrity and national security, it's about election rigging."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Trump's Tariffs Are Actually A Tax That Democrats Can Cut

As usual, the New York Times gets things exactly wrong in a piece headlined “Trump’s Tariffs are Making Money. That May Make Them Hard to Quit.” The gist of the article is that the tariffs are on a path to raise close to $400 billion a year, and possibly considerably more, depending on where Trump ends up with his trade “deals.”

While this is in fact a very substantial sum, it makes for an obvious campaign issue for Democrats in 2026 and 2028. They can promise a huge tax cut to ordinary workers.

At $400 billion, the tariffs come to an average of more than $3,000 per household annually. The Democrats can promise a large tax cut to working and middle-class families by rolling back the tariffs. They can offset much of the revenue loss by reversing Trump’s tax cuts to the rich. Tax cuts for ordinary people, paid for by higher taxes on the rich, is likely to be a very appealing campaign platform.

The Democrats will also have an advantage in going this route as a result of the fact that Trump will already have the tariffs in effect. Many Democrats, especially union members, have supported tariffs with the idea that they will bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs.

It is almost inconceivable that Trump’s tariffs will bring back any substantial number of manufacturing jobs, and the ones that do come back are not likely to be especially good paying. Historically, manufacturing jobs were high paying because the sector was heavily unionized. This is no longer the case, the manufacturing sector is only slightly more heavily unionized than the rest of the private sector; 8.0 percent in manufacturing compared to 6.0 percent in the rest of the private sector. As a result manufacturing jobs are not likely to pay more than jobs in other sectors.

With the tariffs in effect, workers will be able to see that this is not an effective route for creating good-paying jobs. Therefore, there should be less resistance to rolling them back.

It is also worth reminding folks, especially people who write major articles on economic issues at the New York Times, how tariffs work. They get revenue for the government by raising the prices of things we buy. That means reducing tariffs will lower prices.

The political experts who wrote about the last election all told us that the main reason the Democrats lost was that people hated inflation. This meant that even though most people actually had increases in wages that outpaced prices, they were still angry at Biden and the Democrats because things they bought cost most.

If inflation is very bad news politically, then presumably Donald Trump and the Republicans will be paying a big price for the inflation that is coming about as a result of their tariffs. That would seem to provide a great political opening for the Democrats. Just as Trump scored political points with his promise to bring prices down on day one, the Democrats should be able to score political points by promising to lower prices, but this time with a real plan: cutting tariffs.

It’s true that reducing or eliminating the Trump tariffs may raise the deficit if the tariff reduction is not fully offset by the increased taxes on the rich, but no one seems to vote based on deficits. At least that has been the track record for the last half century. Republicans were not punished for big increases in the deficit under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and Democrats were not rewarded for substantial amounts of deficit reduction under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The pundit class may get upset, but why should anyone care?

In short, the political warnings in this article are 180 degrees at odds with reality. The Trump tariffs should create a huge political opening for Democrats in future elections.

Reprinted with permission from Substack.

Trump Threatens Journalists Who Disclosed Iran Bombing Assessment

President Donald Trump, in an interview on Fox News aired Sunday, warned of efforts to hold reporters and Democratic figures accountable for allegedly leaking classified intelligence.

When host Maria Bartiromo pointed to Trump's recent social media posts critizing media outlets that reported on an intelligence assessment that Iran's nuclear program was not "obliterated" in recent U.S. strikes, Trump said, “They should be prosecuted.”

“Who specifically?” the anchor asked.

Trump outlined an assertive plan: “We can find out. You go up and tell the reporter, 'national security, who gave it?' You have to do that. And I suspect we'll be doing things like that.”

The president's remarks generated backlash on social media, with journalists and attorneys raising concerns over his apparent plan to target reporters for their stories.

National security attorney Mark Zaid wrote on the social platform X: "Be ready for President Trump to pursue prosecution against journalist[s] under #EspionageAct, particularly if they don't reveal source. It's coming. #1stAmendment won't protect."

Tracey Gallagher, another attorney, wrote: "The reporter is not legally obligated to turn over a leaker’s identity to the Department of Justice (DOJ), even if national security is cited, due to strong First Amendment protections for the press. The landmark 1971 Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. United States (the Pentagon Papers case) established that the government cannot censor or compel the press to reveal sources, even in matters involving national security."

She added, referencing Trump's social media post calling for mass evacuations in Tehran: "You were also the one who told everyone in Tehran to evacuate. You might want to look into your inner circle they might not be as loyal as you thought they were."

Writer Mona Burns said: "They are doing everything they can think of the kill free speech. He's heavily implying here that they're now going to start challenging what is known as 'reporter's privilege.' A right granted in the First Amendment giving press the ability to protect their sources."

A user posted: "Trump didn’t just attack Democrats — he openly called for gutting press freedom. He wants reporters bullied into naming sources like it’s a police state. And Bartiromo? She sat there grinning, practically handing him the match to burn the First Amendment. This isn’t tough talk — it’s the language of dictatorship in drag."

"Imagine his surprise when he realizes it was someone from his own administration!" wrote another user.

"He’s blaming Democrats and he doesn’t know who leaked the intel?" said another X account.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

New York Republicans Beg Trump To Deport Zohran Mamdani

New York’s Young Republican Club has urged President Donald Trump's administration to revoke Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s U.S. citizenship and deport him under the Communist Control Act after his win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night.

The New York Republican club wrote a post on the social platform X Wednesday, urging President Donald Trump’s aides to take action.

“The radical Zohran Mamdani cannot be allowed to destroy our beloved city of New York," the post read. It added: "The Communist Control Act lets President Trump revoke @ZohranKMamdani’s citizenship and promptly deport him."

"The time for action is now — @StephenM and @RealTomHoman, New York is counting on you," the tweet read, tagging the official handles of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and immigration advisor Tom Homan.

Mamdani, a 33‑year‑old democratic socialist and New York state legislator, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary Tuesday. The race drew national attention thanks to his progressive platform centered on rent freezes, free public transit, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores.

Born in Uganda and naturalized as an American citizen in 2018, Mamdani represents a generational and ideological shift in New York politics, energizing younger voters and gaining endorsements from leading progressive figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.).

The nature of the New York Republicans' deportation demand — which would hinge on the 1954 Communist Control Act — means it has virtually no legal basis, given Mamdani’s clearly documented U.S. citizenship. The Communist Control Act of 1954 is a U.S. federal law that formally outlawed the Communist Party and criminalized membership in or support for communist organizations.

This is not the first time Mamdani has faced such an attack from Republicans.

Earlier this month, Republican City Council member Vickie Paladino also called for his deportation in a post on X.

Mamdani responded forcefully, condemning the demand as part of a broader wave of “Donald Trump’s authoritarian administration” rhetoric that has included death threats and Islamophobic attacks.

“This is what Trump and his sycophants have wrought," Mamdani said in a statement to reporters at the time.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Shop our Store

Headlines

Editor's Blog

Corona Virus

World

        About The National Memo
    
The National Memo is a political newsletter and website that combines the spirit of investigative journalism with new technology and ideas. We cover campaigns, elections, the White House, Congress, and the world with a fresh outlook. Our own journalism — as well as our selections of the smartest stories available every day — reflects a clear and strong perspective, without the kind of propaganda, ultra-partisanship and overwrought ideology that burden so much of our political discourse.
TAGS

Created By

RebelMouse

About Masthead Terms of Service Privacy Statement Advertise Contact

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Trump Blurts Out His Plan To Corrupt 2026 Midterm Elections

Trump's Tariffs Are Actually A Tax That Democrats Can Cut

Trump Threatens Journalists Who Disclosed Iran Bombing Assessment

New York Republicans Beg Trump To Deport Zohran Mamdani

Shop our Store

Constitution Cork Coaster

Democracy Mug

Make America Think Again Hat

Constitution Rocks Glass

Headlines

Busted! Collins Advanced Trump Budget Bill After $2M Donation

Can Democrats Come Back? They Already Are

Suddenly, GOP Senators Are 'Concerned' About Kennedy's Lies And Misconduct

Is Blue America Starting To Separate From Red America?

Editor's Blog

Can Democrats Come Back? They Already Are

Dishonor And Depravity: Maxwell The Molester's Impending Pardon

Why Trump's Iran Strike Hype Is Falling Flat

Besides Food Dyes, What Endangers Children's Health? Bobby's Hypocrisy

Corona Virus