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Latino Republicans Warn That Violent ICE Crackdown Will Lose Midterms

Latino Republicans Warn That Violent ICE Crackdown Will Lose Midterms

We have finally found the thing that gets Republicans to speak up against Donald Trump: fear of losing their own power.

Two Latino Republicans on Tuesday issued a stark warning to their Dear Leader: If immigration agents don't stop brutalizing and killing Americans in the streets as his goons carry out their ham-handed immigrant roundups to meet some arbitrary deportation quota set by ghoulish White House aide Stephen Miller, then the GOP is going to lose the 2026 midterms.

GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida told Newsmax on Tuesday that when it comes to immigration enforcement, "there has to be a better way to do this."

"I'm not comfortable with what's happening in Minneapolis at this time," Gimenez said, adding that Trump's immigration goons targeting "grandmothers, somebody taking care of kids that's been here 10 or 15 years" is "hurting our chances at the midterms."

He wasn't the only Latino Republican who spoke out.

Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who founded the Latinas for Trump group, told The New York Times that immigration agents' "abhorrent" killings of two citizens is going to be catastrophic for her party in November.

“It’s gone too far,” she told the Times of the immigration raids, later adding, “I do think that he will lose the midterms because of Stephen Miller."

Of course, Republicans were already likely to lose the midterms thanks to Trump's poor handling of the economy, which voters overwhelmingly disapprove of.

However, Gimenez and Garcia are unquestionably correct that Immigration and Customs Enforcement's violent behavior has only made things worse for the GOP.

Immigration—one of Trump's strongest issues when he took office—is now a liability as Americans turn against the brutality he has unleashed.

A plurality of Americans now support abolishing ICE in the wake of immigration agents killing two U.S. citizens who were merely exercising their First Amendment right to observe and record agents' lawless and chaotic behavior.Majorities now disapprove of Trump's handling of immigration, as well as ICE agents’ actions, which overwhelming majorities say have gone too far.

And polls show Latino voters—who moved heavily toward Republicans in 2024 and whom GOP operatives crowed were in the process of realigning away from Democrats—have now snapped back to their pre-2024 political alignment as Trump has terrorized their communities with his ICE raids.

An Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday found that Hispanics disapprove of the job Trump is doing by a stunning 41-point margin. That’s a massive slide from February 2025, when Hispanics disapproved of Trump by a 10-point spread in the Economist/YouGov poll.

“Hispanic voters have completely reverted to 2016 trend line. All GOP gains here have been lost,” Mike Madrid, a Hispanic GOP operative, wrote in a post on X. “The ‘Racial Realignment’ theory can officially be declared dead”

Trump seems to understand the political peril he’s in, as he pulled Greg Bovino, the Nazi-looking Border Patrol thug who had been in charge of the disgusting deportation surge in Minneapolis, from his role on Monday.

However, Trump and his administration are not backing down off their targeting of Democratic-controlled states for immigration enforcement. ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are set to remain in Minneapolis and are now surging in Maine, where they recently landed to carry out their reign of terror.

And Trump and his aides have continued to blame the two Americans murdered for exercising their First and Second Amendment rights—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—for their deaths, calling both of them “domestic terrorists.”

In fact, Trump blamed Pretti for being shot to death because Pretti was carrying a firearm—something Pretti was licensed and legally allowed to do, thanks to the Second Amendment Trump once extolled.

"You can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You can't do that. You can't walk in with guns, but, it's a very unfortunate thing," Trump said Tuesday of Pretti.

While Trump's violent immigration agenda is mobilizing Democrats and turning independents against him, it's the president’s refusal to acknowledge Pretti's Second Amendment rights that could turn Republicans against him too.

"It's unbelievably stupid that they've chosen to alienate the gun lobby. The NRA and the gun lobby have basically been a bedrock constituency of the Republican Party for 50 years," Florida Republican strategist Jacob Perry told Reuters.

If the base turns against Trump, then the bottom really falls out for the GOP.

We’ll have our popcorn at the ready when that happens.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

GOP Politicians Eagerly Defend Latest ICE Execution In Minneapolis

GOP Politicians Eagerly Defend Latest ICE Execution In Minneapolis

If you thought Republican lawmakers would finally rein in President Donald Trump's immigration goons after one of them executed an innocent man in broad daylight, you'd be wrong.

On Saturday morning, Border Patrol agents fatally shot intensive-care nurse Alex Pretti while he was subdued on the ground. Pretti was armed with a handgun, but videos show he never drew it during the encounter and that an agent secured Pretti’s gun before agents fired the first shot. Pretti held an active concealed-carry permit, according to his family members.

In all, federal agents fired at least 10 bullets at Pretti, executing a disarmed man who was no threat to them—all for Pretti having the temerity to assist another innocent bystander who had been brutalized by federal agents.

Despite these clear-cut facts, Republicans rushed to defend the execution.

"Organized domestic terrorists believe they are untouchable. GOP must unite to support @realDonaldTrump to defeat them," Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas wrote in a post on X shortly after Pretti was killed, seemingly him of being a domestic terrorist. "Stay the course[.] Fund ops through reconciliation or ending fake filibuster[.] Support Insurrection Act[.] Follow the money to crush Marxist terror network[.]”

Roy wasn't the only Republican to push the false and defamatory accusation that Pretti was a paid agitator.

Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said Americans need to "chill out" and stop protesting, accusing those in Minnesota of being "paid protesters," "communists," "anarchists," and people who "hate our country,” “hate our flag,” “hate our veterans,” “hate our God,” “hate democracy,” and “hate capitalism."

Apparently, Burchett didn't see that Pretti worked as an ICU nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs. On social media, a viral video showed Pretti reading a heartfelt final salute to a veteran who had died at the VA hospital where he worked.

Other Republicans similarly lied about Pretti, accusing him of pulling a gun on agents despite numerous videos showing Pretti did nothing of the sort. They also blamed Pretti’s killing on Democrats, not the federal agents who have been wantonly beating and killing Americans in the streets.

It was clearly a coordinated messaging campaign from House Republican leaders, who posted similar versions of the same message on X.

"The governor and local leaders’ rhetoric has empowered criminals and put federal law enforcement’s lives at risk. It’s dangerous and has made the situation in Minneapolis much worse. Unlike my Democrat colleagues, I’m going to let law enforcement conduct their investigation and not jump to asinine conclusions. We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota, wrote in a post on X.

Other Republicans made near-identical posts.

"Democrats have spent years empowering criminals and vilifying law enforcement, causing federal agents to be under siege in a city surrendered to lawlessness," the Republican Study Committee—which the majority of the House Republican conference belongs to—wrote in a post on X.

The post was in response to the lie-filled statement from the Department of Homeland Security in which the agency sickeningly accused Pretti of wanting to "do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

"[Minnesota Gov.] Tim Walz and [Minneapolis Mayor] Jacob Frey have blood on their hands. Nobody wants to see injuries or fatalities—of citizens or law enforcement. That means citizens can’t run over law enforcement with their vehicles or pull a gun on them," Rep. Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona, wrote on X.

Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican running for Senate, said Pretti would be alive if he had just complied with officers and not been armed—a bizarrely hypocritical message from a self-proclaimed Second Amendment defender who has posted videos of him shooting things for fun.

"Please do not fight with or interfere with law enforcement doing their job and be armed while doing so," Collins wrote in a post on X.

Other Republicans were quick to post similarly disgusting comments, including Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri, who wrote in a post on X of the innocent Americans who have been shot to death by ICE, "The common denominator: not complying with police."

Of course, Pretti was not interfering with law enforcement. He was recording their violent tactics before assisting a fellow observer whom agents had harassed and sprayed with chemical irritants.

Multiple media outlets have posted stories that a growing number of Republicans are criticizing immigration officials who shot Pretti to death.

However, a deeper look at the Republicans criticizing the horrific killing are the same cast of characters who have made tepid criticism of Trump before refusing to do anything to stop him. Among those criticizing the latest tragedy are Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Ultimately, most Republican lawmakers are sadistic Trump sycophants who like what they are seeing. And as long as Trump is defending immigration agents’ tactics, congressional Republicans will do the same.

Because at the end of the day, Republicans are cowards who are afraid of Trump and the rabid MAGA cult that blindly follows Dear Leader.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

First Year Poll: Americans Scorn Trump For Making Everything Worse

First Year Poll: Americans Scorn Trump For Making Everything Worse

When President Donald Trump took the oath of office, Americans approved of the job he was doing by a nearly 10-percentage-point margin as they hoped he would lower costs and make life a little easier—a number that horrified Democrats amid fears that Teflon Don and his MAGA movement were untouchable entities.

Yet now, almost exactly a year into his term, Americans overwhelmingly believe Trump has been a failure and that his policies and actions have made things worse in almost every sector of American life, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll released on Friday.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (58%) think Trump's second term has been a failure, and a majority (55%) say his policies have worsened economic conditions in the country—the very thing voters put him back in office to fix.

CNN/SSRS also polled Americans on whether they believe Trump has made progress on or exacerbated the issues he pledged to tackle in his dark inaugural address. The results there were also damning, with a plurality saying Trump made things worse on every single issue CNN surveyed.

On Trump's pledge to restore safety in the U.S., 39% say he's made things worse as opposed to the 35% who say he's made progress. On bringing law and order to American cities, 42% say he's made things worse, while 33% say he's made progress. On restoring free speech, 41% say he's made things worse, compared with just 27% who say he's made progress. On ending the weaponization of the Department of Justice—which was never weaponized in the first place and correctly charged law-breaking Trump with multiple crimes—41% say he's made things worse, and just 21% say he's made progress.

Most embarrassingly, 47% of Americans say he has not been a peacemaker and a unifier—despite Trump's deluded belief that he has ended multiple wars.

Of course, all of this was predictable.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as the Democrats who supported her, warned that a second Trump term would be a disaster, with him abusing his power to punish those who don't support him and to enrich himself and his wealthy benefactors. And that's exactly what he's done.

He has weaponized the Department of Justice to go after his perceived enemies. He's deployed a lawless, ill-trained immigration gestapo to brutalize Americans in the streets and to carry out his racist and evil anti-immigration agenda. He pardoned violent insurrectionists and other rich fraudsters who used their considerable means to bribe their way to freedom. He's cut benefits to the poor and slashed the federal government in a way that hurt federal workers while also costing taxpayers money. His idiotic trade policy has not only failed to lower prices but also tanked the job market. And he's literally destroyed part of the White House to turn it into his own version of his tacky Mar-a-Lago club.

Turns out, America isn’t a fan of all that. A year into his term, just 39% approve of the job he's doing in office, according to the CNN/SSRS survey—a terrible position for him to be in ahead of the midterm elections.

When Trump took office, Democrats were despondent, thinking that Americans approved of Trump and that there was nothing they could do to turn public opinion on their side.

Yet we now see that Trump is vulnerable. Indeed, with less than a year to go before the midterms, Democrats are the favorites to win control of the House and may even have a shot at flipping the Senate.

And, believe it or not, a lot of that is thanks to Democratic messaging. Democrats have tied Trump’s evil moves to the fact that he’s focused on everything but making life more affordable for Americans.

So, as horrible as everything is, keep fighting the good fight. Trump and the GOP are not untouchable.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Jerome Powell

Trump's Threat To Prosecute Fed Chair Powell Plunges​ Markets Into Chaos

The stock market plunged on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 400 points at the opening bell, as economists and investors alike fear that the Federal Reserve Bank's independence is in doubt.

The stock market slide came the day after Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell issued a rare and forceful video statement accusing Trump of opening a criminal investigation into him in order to pressure Powell into lowering interest rates.

"This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. It is not about Congress's oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President," Powell said. "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."

President Donald Trump has publicly chastised Powell numerous times for not lowering interest rates, a move that would make borrowing money for Americans cheaper but likely would spike inflation even further.

Trump has even threatened Powell with removal, though he backed off those threats after U.S. markets revolted.

Now, however, he is trying to coerce Powell to step down by opening a criminal investigation into Powell's congressional testimony about renovations to the Fed's buildings. Powell leaving early would allow Trump to install his own chair, whom he would be able to direct to bend to his will on monetary policy.

But the threats have clearly not worked on Powell, who instead of acquiescing to Trump's demands instead forcefully criticized the president.

And even typically sycophantic GOP senators are revolting against Trump's attempt to use lawfare to force Powell out.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said that while he thinks Powell is a bad Federal Reserve chair, he is not a criminal. “I hope this criminal investigation can be put to rest quickly along with the remainder of Jerome Powell’s term,” Cramer said in a statement. “We need to restore confidence in the Fed.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) went a step further, saying he would put a hold on any future Federal Reserve nominees until the investigation ceases.

“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question,” Tillis said in a statement. “I will oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved,” he added.



Economists and investors fear a politicized Federal Reserve because chaotic monetary policy would hurt the economy and leave investors weary about putting their money into U.S. assets, which according to the Council on Foreign Relations would “cause long-term economic harm."

Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, used Turkey as an example of what can happen if a despotic leader influences monetary policy. Wolfers posted a chart on X that showed after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took control of his country’s central bank, inflation spiked massively, peaking at a stomach churning 86 percent before falling to 38 percent currently.

Sounds like something voters, who are desperate to see inflation cool, would be super jazzed about.CFR also said that, "independence enhances the Fed’s credibility and fosters market confidence in its decisions. Crucially, it also empowers the Federal Reserve to take difficult but necessary actions, even when they are unpopular."

Indeed, countries with despotic leaders do not have independent banks like the Federal Reserve, which has caused their countries economic harm.

“Some countries that have prosecuted or threatened to prosecute central bankers for the purpose of political intimidation or punishment for monetary policy decisions: Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and Zimbabwe,” Harvard economics professor Jason Furman wrote in a post on X. None of those countries have sound economies, and are not a list of nations the United States should want to be associated with.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos


Bribe Them With Billions: Trump's New Scheme To Acquire Greenland

Bribe Them With Billions: Trump's New Scheme To Acquire Greenland

President Donald Trump has a new idea for how he's going to accomplish his imperialist wet dream of annexing Greenland: Bribery.

Reuters reported Thursday that the Trump administration is mulling over a plan that would give every resident of Greenland up to $100,000 in cash in an attempt to convince them to change their minds about Trump’s takeover.

Given that there are roughly 57,000 residents of the Arctic island, this insane idea would cost U.S. taxpayers a whopping $5.7 billion. It's just the latest instance of Trump proving that he's fine with spending money on things that fluff his ego, all while refusing to fund health care subsidies, Medicaid, and food stamps.

For example, Trump said on Tuesday that he wants Congress to approve another $500 billion in military funding for next year to build what he calls his "Dream Military.” That funding would help him develop his idiotic “Golden Dome” missile defense program and a new class of battleships—named after Trump, of course.

For example, a YouGov survey released Thursday found that just 28 percent of Americans would support the United States purchasing Greenland, while 52 percent do not think that the United States should expand its territory.

But shelling out billions on things that Americans don't even want while refusing to fund programs vital to their wellbeing is mind-bogglingly stupid—and Americans know it.

Polling shows that Americans want Trump to focus on affordability, which they cite as the most important issue ahead of the 2026 midterms. One way that Americans want Trump to address the cost of living is to extend Obamacare subsidies. But Trump and congressional Republicans let the subsidies expire, ensuring that premiums will skyrocket for millions of Americans.

What’s more, Trump has dismissed affordability as a Democratic “hoax” and has chastised Americans for wanting to buy so many things. Instead, he said, they should simply go with less.

But at the end of the day, Americans want health care and a lower cost of living—regardless of the lies that Trump cooks up.

"What if we funded health care instead?" Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia wrote on X.

What if.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Trump Grades His Performance On The Economy: 'A-plus-plus-plus-plus'

Trump Grades His Performance On The Economy: 'A-plus-plus-plus-plus'

President Donald Trump gave himself a perfect grade on the economy, telling Politico in a sit-down interview on Monday that the economy is currently an "A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus."

Q: What grade you would give your economy?Trump: A-plus. A plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.

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— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) December 9, 2025 at 9:42 AM

But Trump was singing a different tune, spewing lies in an interview with Politico's Dasha Burns about inflation and affordability.

"What you have to understand, the word affordability ... I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially," Trump said—a total lie as prices were not at an all-time high when he took office, and prices in general are not coming down now.

Trump went on to lie that energy prices are coming down, despite that they are increasing for millions of Americans.

Look at energy. You and I discussed before the interview, energy ... energy has come down incredibly. When energy comes down, everything ... ’cause it’s so much bigger than any other subject. But energy has come down incredibly," Trump told Burns.

Trump also claimed that gas prices are down to “$1.99” in “three states.” In reality, no state has an average price of that amount, according to data from AAA. And while gas prices are decreasing, they’re close to what they were a year ago, before Trump took office.

Ultimately, while Trump lies about the state of the economy, Americans are not buying it.

Gallup's Economic Confidence Index fell 7 percentage points in November, down to -30 points....

Gallup's Economic Confidence Index combines Americans' views of current economic conditions with their current economic outlook, with a theoretical range of -100 to +100.Created with Datawrapper

At the end of the day, Trump can't piss on Americans and tell them it's raining. People know what they are spending and what their finances are, with millions of Americans now resorting to using “buy now, pay later” loans to afford necessities like groceries.

"Trump just rated his economy an 'A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus' as families in Denver struggle to afford groceries plus health care plus child care plus rent," Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado wrote in a post on X. "Donald Trump is out-of-touch and gaslighting the American people."

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

New Policy On X Platform Exposes Foreign Trolls Behind 'America First'

New Policy On X Platform Exposes Foreign Trolls Behind 'America First'

Elon Musk has finally done something good with X, even if it wasn’t necessarily the goal. Over the weekend, his social media company rolled out a new policy that allows users to see not only when an X account was created, but also where the account is from.

The new feature has led a number of pro-Donald Trump and pro-MAGA accounts to be unwittingly exposed as foreign trolls—who have had great success amassing followers and thus payments from Musk’s creator fund by capitalizing on the easily manipulated rubes in the Republican base.

"This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X," Nikita Bier, X's head of product, wrote in a post on the social media platform.

For example, the account @MAGANATIONX—which has nearly 400,000 followers and describes itself as an "America First" "Patriot Voice" who is "standing strong with President Trump"—is actually from a non-European Union country in Eastern Europe.

The account pushes voter fraud lies and posts questions seeking input from its followers about whether Democrats should be prosecuted. But it also sent a post that slammed the United States' support of Ukraine—which should have been a sign all alongthat the account was not on the level.

Meanwhile, the account @America_First0—which has more than 67,000 followers and once claimed to be an attractive female and former liberal who voted for Trump—is based in Bangladesh.

Screenshot2025-11-24at3.00.59PM.png

The account @KLeavittNews, a fan page for the White House press secretary with more than 13,000 followers that claims it's based in Washington, is actually from Macedonia. In fact, a number of these pro-Trump accounts have been exposed as being from the small Balkan nation.

Screenshot from X

An Ivanka Trump fan page that had more than 1 million followers was suspended after it was exposed as being from Nigeria. So too were a number of accounts that purported to be attractive, Trump-supporting white women but were actually from places like Thailand and Myanmar.

Exposing these accounts as foreign trolls is the first good thing Musk has done since he took over the platform—which has devolved into a disinformation hotbed filled with antisemitic, racist, and other discriminatory content.

In fact, the Centre for Information Resilience did a study during the 2024 election that said just how dangerous the fake MAGA accounts were. But now that users will be able to see where these accounts are from, their fake content could be called out before it spreads.

“Just think about the foreign influence operations that are happening right now on this app,” Brett Meiselas, co-founder of the liberal news site MeidasTouch, said in a video about the changes. “Think about the lawmakers who feel pressured by accounts like this. Think about the disinformation that spreads as a result of all these accounts out there.”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Bombshell Epstein Emails Released: Trump 'Knew About The Girls'

Bombshell Epstein Emails Released: Trump 'Knew About The Girls'

House Democrats on Wednesday released emails from Jeffrey Epstein, in which the deceased financier accused of child sex trafficking said that President Donald Trump "knew about the girls" and that Trump even “spent hours" at Epstein's house with one of the victims.

The emails are the biggest proof yet that Trump—who has denied knowledge of Epstein's sex trafficking and called the scandal surrounding the files a “hoax”—is lying about his involvement in Epstein's crimes as he seeks to block the files the government has on his former friend from ever becoming public.

Based on the emails released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, it’s easy to see why Trump doesn’t want the documents to be seen.

In one email from 2011 that Epstein sent to convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein wrote: "i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump."

🚨BREAKING: Oversight Dems have received new emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that raise serious questions about Donald Trump and his knowledge of Epstein’s horrific crimes.Read them for yourself. It’s time to end this cover-up and RELEASE THE FILES.

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— Oversight Dems (@oversightdemocrats.house.gov) November 12, 2025 at 8:31 AM

Epstein added that a victim, whose name the Oversight Committee redacted, “spent hours at my house with” Trump. (She was later revealed to be the late Virginia Giuffre.)

.In another email exchange from 2015—when Trump was first running for president—reporter Michael Wolff told Epstein that Trump could get a debate question about his relationship with Epstein.

When Epstein asked Wolff how Trump should respond to such a question, Wolff replied: "I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt. Of course, it is possible that, when asked, he'll say Jeffrey is a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness, which is to be outlawed in a Trump regime."

And in a third email from 2019 to Wolff, Epstein wrote about a victim who was at Mar-a-Lago, saying of Trump, "of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop."

“Oversight Dems have released serious and disturbing emails today about the Trump and Epstein relationship,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), ranking member of the Oversight Committee, wrote in a post on X. “An email from Epstein alleges Trump ‘spent hours at my house’ with a victim. We won’t stop until we end this White House cover-up. Release the files, NOW.”Democrats released the emails on the same day that a discharge petition—which will force a vote on a bill that would require Trump to release the Epstein files—is set to gain the required number of signatures.

That's because House Speaker Mike Johnson is finally going to swear in Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who will be the 218th signature on the petition, giving it a majority.

Johnson had refused to swear Grijalva in for nearly two months, keeping the House out of session in order to have an excuse to now seat the Arizona Democrat so that the discharge petition would not get a majority.

But now that the House is returning after an insane eight-week-long recess, Johnson has to swear Grijalva in, and the discharge petition clock will begin.

That means the House will vote on whether to release the files in the coming weeks, likely in early December. Republicans will have to decide whether to do what polls say voters want and vote to release the files, or instead vote to protect Trump, as Dear Leader demands.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Trump Asks Supreme Court To Vacate Verdict In E. Jean Carroll Sex Abuse Case

Trump Asks Supreme Court To Vacate Verdict In E. Jean Carroll Sex Abuse Case

President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the federal grand jury that found him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.

Trump is asking the nation’s highest court to rule that the federal judge overseeing the case improperly allowed other women who accused Trump of sexual assault to testify during the trial.

In 2023, a federal jury awarded Carroll $5 million, after they found Trump liable for sexually abusing her in a department store in the 1990s. After that decision, Trump verbally attacked Carroll, who then sued him again, this time for defamation. She also won that case, in which a jury awarded Carroll a stunning $83.3 million in damages.

Trump had appealed both cases—and lost both of those challenges, with an appeals court ruling that Trump “has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”

Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court concerns the initial case in which he was found liable for sexualabuse. However, if the court overturns that case, it would also jeopardize Carroll's later defamation judgement.

Currently, it’s unclear whether the Supreme Court will hear the appeal. The justices will decide “early next year” whether to take the case, according to Politico.

However, the Supreme Court has run defense for Trump multiple times, ruling in his favor over and over again, sometimes without explaining their reasoning.

Most notably, the Supreme Court helped Trump avoid legal punishment for his improper handling of classified information and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election by ruling that presidents are largely immune from prosecution. It was one of their most egregious decisions to date, basically declaring Trump to be a king.

But they have also used the emergency docket—which typically involves quick, unexplained rulings—to allow Trump to cancel congressionally appropriated funding for foreign aid and block transgender and nonbinary citizens from choosing their sex on their passports, among others.

Latest Polls Show Trump With Worst Ratings Of His Second Term

Latest Polls Show Trump With Worst Ratings Of His Second Term

President Donald Trump's approval rating sunk to a second-term low on Monday, amid his refusals to address the country's high cost of living while he lives lavishly on the taxpayer dime.

Trump's average approval rating now stands at 42.9 percent, according to election analyst Nate Silver, the lowest since he retook office in January. Trump's disapproval rating is also at a second-term high, with an average of 54.6 percent of the public opposing the job he's doing as president.

Individual surveys from high-quality pollsters bear more bad news for Trump.

A CNN/SSRS poll released Monday found that just 37 percent of U.S. adults approve of the job he’s doing in office, while a whopping 63 percent disapprove. That puts Trump's net approval rating at a staggering 26 points underwater, a 10-point drop since July, when CNN/SSRS conducted its previous poll.

In fact, according to CNN’s data, Trump's disapproval rating is now the highest it's ever been, surpassing the 62 percent disapproval he clocked after he fomented the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

It’s obvious why Americans are unhappy with Trump.

Trump’s lawless immigration goons are stoking unrest in cities across the country. He’s starving the poor as leverage to try to end the government shutdown—a shutdown that Americans blame him and the GOP for. And as costs continue to rise for Americans, Trump is instead focused on levying nonsensical tariffs on consumers. And all of this is happening while he renovates the White House to be able to host even more of his billionaire buddies.

Trump's sinking approval rating likely spells doom for Republicans in a trio of crucial elections taking place on Tuesday. Republicans are trying to win the New Jersey gubernatorial election, defend their hold on Virginia's governorship, and defeat a ballot measure in California that, if successful, will allow Democrats to cancel out some of the GOP's corrupt gerrymandering in other states.

So far, polling shows Democrats on track to win all three of those elections—with Virginia and California showing Democrats likely to outperform Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential margins in those states.

"Dems are the precipice of delivering a yuge electoral blow to Trump," CNN polling analyst Harry Enten wrote in a post on X. "They lead in NJ-GOV (only close one), VA-GOV, & NYC Mayor. Trump's way underwater in all 3 places (like he is nationally) & is drag. Historically, a sweep of NYC-NJ-VA means Dems win the House the next year."

In fact, new polling shows Democrats are expanding their lead on the congressional generic ballot—which measures the party voters want to see control Congress after the next election.

A new poll for NBC News, conducted by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies, found Democrats with an 8-percentage-point lead on the generic ballot, a massive swing from March, when Democrats had just a 1-point lead.

Turns out, excusing Trump's corrupt actions is not a recipe for success.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Virginia Democrats Push Back On GOP Gerrymanders (And Republicans Are Whining)

Virginia Democrats Push Back On GOP Gerrymanders (And Republicans Are Whining)

Virginia Democrats are giving President Donald Trump and his minions a taste of their own medicine in their redistricting war—and the GOP is pissed.

All five members of Virginia's congressional delegation held a whiny news conference Monday, railing against Democrats’ plan to suspend the state's independent redistricting commission and redraw its U.S. House districts—a move to counter the GOP's gerrymandering efforts.

Yet Virginia Republicans are only speaking out now that Democrats are fighting fire with fire, a move that imperils as many as four of their reelection campaigns.

"Yesterday I stood proudly with my fellow U.S. House Republicans from Virginia, and with members of the Virginia General Assembly in the State Capitol. We ALL agree that what the democrats in Richmond are trying to do is WRONG," GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), who is already facing a difficult reelection, wrote on X. "We will not sit idle as they undermine the constitution of our great Commonwealth. Gerrymandering is wrong and Virginia deserves better."

Virginia Democrats are planning to use the same game plan as California, putting up a ballot measure for permission to suspend the state’s redistricting commission and nix as many as five Republican seats.

"This is about overturning the election results of 2020, pure and simple," GOP Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), who is also already facing a difficult reelection, said during the news conference. "They want to deny the voter’s desires to have a bipartisan redistricting commission."

It's rich for Wittman, of all people, to claim that Democrats are trying to overturn election results, as he was one of the 147 congressional Republicans who voted to overturn the actual 2020 results to block Joe Biden's victory.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) also spoke during the news conference, admitting that he helped gerrymander Virginia in favor of Republicans back in 2010 when they held eight of the state's 11 congressional seats despite Democrats winning at the presidential level.

"I was a part of partisan redistricting. But the voters of Virginia spoke in 2020 that they didn't like that happening," he said. "They didn't want it, whether it be Republicans or Democrats in the back room. They wanted no more of a partisan redistricting process."

Apparently, Griffith believes in gerrymandering for me but not for thee.

Even Virginia's outgoing GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin moaned about Democrats' effort, calling it "nuts" and "desperate."

Funny, he didn't say that about Republicans' mid-cycle gerrymandering in other states.

Still, Virginia's Democratic State Senate President Louise Lucas said that Republicans’ bellyaching is just hypocrisy at its finest.

"I served with each of these members of Congress in the General Assembly and this rank hypocrisy only serves to strengthen our position," she wrote on X. "They can join the unemployment line with the federal employees they have turned their backs on."

With California’s redistricting effort poised to sail to victory, Virginia moving to emulate the same results, and Illinois tossing around a plan to redraw their own U.S. House map, it appears that Democrats have finally stopped bringing a knife to a gun fight.

These Democrats finally grew some spines, and hopefully just in time to stop America’s slide into autocracy.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

​Johnson Retreads His Unpopular, Previously Rejected 'Ideas' For Health Care Reform

​Johnson Retreads His Unpopular, Previously Rejected 'Ideas' For Health Care Reform

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday suggested that the "ideas" Republicans are kicking around for how to make health insurance more affordable is basically just the Obamacare-repeal plan that the GOP tried and failed to pass in 2017, during Donald Trump’s first term.

“When I say that the Republicans have been working on a fix for health care, we’ve been doing this for years,” Johnson said Monday at a news conference on Capitol Hill after he was asked how Republicans were planning on addressing the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that, if not extended, will soon cause massive premium increases for millions of Americans.Johnson specifically pointed to the health care proposal he released when he was chair of the Republican Study Committee—a caucus of right-wing House Republicans.

"These ideas have been on paper for a long time," Johnson said. “There’s volumes of this stuff. Volumes of it.”

Of course, the reason they have been on paper but never passed is because the ideas in the RSC health care proposal are overwhelmingly unpopular.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, reviewed a newer version of that RSC health care proposal found in the committee’s proposed budget. That review found the plan would weaken protections for preexisting conditions, cut the tax subsidies millions of Americans receive to make their ACA premiums lower, and "would slash $4.5 trillion in federal investment in Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and marketplace coverage"—all moves that would likely cause millions to lose their insurance.

“These proposals would create an environment where people with health conditions would pay higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for less substantial coverage than is currently available,” the CBPP report says. “Given the increase in costs, more people would enroll in subpar plans that leave them exposed to high costs if they get sick.”

That sounds a whole lot like the Obamacare repeal that Republicans attempted to pass in 2017. That bill failed spectacularly amid public outcry because it would have kicked millions off their insurance and weakened protections to cover preexisting conditions.

In fact, the repeal effort was such an unpopular boondoggle that it helped to sink the GOP in the 2018 midterm elections.

If this is the plan Republicans will try to pass again, it’ll likely be an equally unpopular mess for the GOP.

Polling shows that the ACA is popular, with 64 percent of Americans viewing it favorably, according to a KFF tracking poll.

GOP Sycophants Rush To Praise Trump's Gaudy $300M Ballroom Project

GOP Sycophants Rush To Praise Trump's Gaudy $300M Ballroom Project

Congressional Republicans bent over backward to defend President Donald Trump's unilateral decision to raze the entire East Wing of the White House to make way for his hideously gaudy $300 million ballroom.

Republicans mocked Democrats, who are outraged that Trump decided to demolish an entire segment of the White House to build a ballroom corruptly funded by donors who have business before the federal government.

"He put up some of his own money," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said of the project, even though we have no idea how much Trump—who notoriously stiffs his contractors—actually gave to the project. "You would think, 'Well gee whiz, at least they could agree to that, it's not even taxpayer money, it's gonna be a permanent renovation that will enhance the White House for all future presidents."

- YouTube youtu.be

Unfortunately for Scalise, Americans do not agree with that assessment, with just 23 percent of adults saying they think the ballroom will have a positive impact on the White House, according to a YouGov survey.

But Scalise continued his whiny tirade.

"They say no to everything he does," Scalise said. "Because they just are angry about the results of the election from last year."

Yes, we are angry. But it's because every day Trump does something so egregiously corrupt and illegal that it’s leading this country into banana republic territory.

"Presidents have routinely renovated and expanded the White House over the last century. The faux outrage from the Left is a deflection from the Schumer Shutdown," Trump bootlicker Rep. Andy Biggs wrote in a post on X. "Leftists are severely afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome," the Arizona Republican claimed.

Of course, those projects had approval from Congress, input from historic preservation boards, and were not funded by a corrupt pay-to-play scheme. But okay.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah also mocked Democrats' outrage.

"I’m shaking right now. The humanity!" he wrote in a sarcastic post on X that featured images from past White House renovations.

And in his haste to defend Trump, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee wrote an idiotic post on X in which he posted an image of the White House being demolished along with the text, "Someone needs to stop the @realDonaldTrump administration from destroying the @WhiteHouse. Oh wait this was during the basketball court construction during the Obama administration. #nevermind"

Of course, the photo Burchett posted was NOT from Obama's basketball court "construction"—which actually wasn't construction at all but rather converting an existing tennis court so that he could shoot some hoops while Republicans painted him as the antichrist because his skin wasn't white.

Burchett ultimately deleted the post and put in the correct time the photo took place, which was during the Truman administration. But that still doesn't make the point he thinks he's making, as Truman had to renovate the White House because it was structurally unsound. And he did so in conjunction with historic preservation boards that worked to reuse existing decorative elements in the new building, and with congressional approval and funding.

According to the Truman presidential library, "The Truman renovation retained the original walls, the third floor and the roof, while removing, and then reinstalling, the interiors within a skeleton of steel structural beams on a new concrete foundation."

Trump, meanwhile, took a literal excavator to the structure—and is now blocking the press from seeing the destruction as it unfolds.

Only one Republican had the sense to say that, actually, razing a major portion of the White House to build a gilded ballroom amid a shutdown when many federal workers aren't getting paid is not a great look.

“We’re in the middle of a shutdown," North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said. "Got a couple of other things going on that we should probably focus on ahead of a building project.”

Of course, Tillis is retiring, so he no longer has to lick Trump's boots like his fellow GOP colleagues, who are afraid that speaking out against Dear Leader will cost them their seats in Congress—or worse.

Because, say it with me now: They're all cowards.

House Republicans Spreading  Inflammatory Lies About 'No Kings' Democrats

House Republicans Spreading  Inflammatory Lies About 'No Kings' Democrats

As public polls show that Americans blame Republicans for the government shutdown, Republican lawmakers are now spreading a dangerous lie that Democrats are waiting until an Oct. 18 No Kings rally in Washington, D.C., to give them the votes they need to fund the government.

Not only is it an obvious lie, but the rhetoric Republicans are using as they spread said lie is inflammatory and dangerous.

"This is about one thing and one thing alone: To score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold a hate America rally in D.C. next week," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said Friday at a news conference on Capitol Hill.

- YouTube youtu.be

House Speaker Mike Johnson made almost identical comments at the same news conference, as well as during a Fox News interview.

"This hate America rally that they have coming up for October 18? The antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists, they're all gonna gather on the Mall. It is an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes," Johnson said in the news conference, referring to the peaceful No Kings rally in which average Americans plan to show up to voice their opposition to Trump’s shredding of the Constitution.

- YouTube youtu.be

"I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I have had it with these people," Johnson then told Fox News. "They're playing games with real people's lives. The theory we have right now—they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's all the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people, they're all coming out. Some of the House Democrats, they're selling T-shirts for the event. And it's being told to us that they won't be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can't face their rabid base. I mean this is serious business."

- YouTube youtu.be

These horrendous lies with incendiary rhetoric come as Republicans have blamed the "left" for political violence in the country, falsely saying that Democrats who call out the authoritarian actions of Trump and his GOP defenders were responsible for right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s murder.

Yet in the same breath they are accusing Democrats of holding a "hate America" rally and calling the protesters who will attend "antifa,” "Marxists," and “terrorists”—ratcheted-up lies that could get people killed.

"The very people who were loudest in lecturing us on political rhetoric now label millions of Americans peacefully exercising their constitutional right to free speech 'terrorist' because they don't hold conservative views," Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia wrote in a post on X. "Disgraceful and unacceptable."

With Threat To Cut 'Large Number Of People' From Health Care, Trump Hails Shutdown

With Threat To Cut 'Large Number Of People' From Health Care, Trump Hails Shutdown

President Donald Trump threatened to cause Americans pain if the government shuts down at midnight on Tuesday, saying he could use a shutdown to make "irreversible" cuts to health care and other benefit programs.

"We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them," Trump said in the Oval Office in response to a question from a right-wing activist masquerading as a reporter. "Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like."

Trump went on to say that Project 2025 mastermind Russell Vought, who now serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget, will use a shutdown to "trim the budget to a level that you couldn't do any other way."

"Because of the shutdown, we can do things medically, and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out," Trump said, appearing to catch himself realizing that deliberately cutting medical benefits to Americans would be unpopular.

"We don't want to do that," he claimed.

Rather than negotiate with Democrats on a government funding bill, Trump has instead been threatening to cause pain to Americans during a government shutdown.

Democrats want Trump to agree to extend Medicaid subsidies that allow millions of Americans to have health insurance, something the White House said Trump is not inclined to do.

“He read all the shit they’re asking for, and he said, ‘on second thought, go fuck yourself,’” a White House official told Politico of Trump’s feelings on health insurance negotiations.

Already, Trump has threatened massive cuts to the federal workforce—which he was likely going to make whether or not the government shut down.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday also said that if the government shuts down, low-income Americans wouldn’t get their benefits—even though contingency funds are available that could fund those programs for one month in the event of a shutdown.

"The overwhelming majority of the American public wants to keep the government open,” Leavitt said. “They want food assistance programs for women and children and impoverished communities to continue going out the door. All of that will come to an end if Democrats vote against this clean CR that Republicans are proposing."

But now, Trump is clearly confirming that he will use a shutdown as a pretext to cut Medicaid benefits even more than he already did when he signed the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Already, polling shows voters would blame Trump and congressional Republicans—who have unified control over Washington—if the government shuts down.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday found that 26% of registered voters would blame Trump and Republicans in Congress for a shutdown, while 19% would blame congressional Democrats.

If Trump decides to use a shutdown to purposefully hurt Americans, the polling could swing even harder against his party.

But Trump is hell-bent on trying to blame Democrats for a shutdown, rather than negotiate.

On Monday, after meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Trump released a vile deepfake AI video that puts words in Schumer’s mouth and depicts Jeffries in a sombrero.

Don’t be fooled by any of the GOP rhetoric and lies: Trump wants a shutdown so he can hurt poor people and Democrats.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

John Thune

Republicans Praise Trump's Manic UN Speech And Vengeance Crusade

President Donald Trump has been inching the United States toward becoming an authoritarian state since he put his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office for a second time back in January.

But the inching turned into a full-on slide this week, as Trump took tangible steps toward weaponizing the Department of Justice to jail his perceived enemies and silence those with views that differ from his own.

There were fewer comments than usual this week, as Congress is in recess and thus lawmakers are not on Capitol Hill, and safe from reporters asking them to comment on Trump’s impeachable actions.

But the Republican lawmakers who did comment this week cheered Trump's actions.

Following reports that Trump's newly minted U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia will seek an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey—even though career prosecutors said they do not believe probable cause exists to charge him with a crime—multiple GOP lawmakers applauded.

"James Comey betrayed our nation. He meddled in the 2016 election, concealed the baseless Trump-Russia probe, abused FISA with the Steele dossier, leaked classified memos to spark the Mueller witch hunt, and lied to Congress. The DOJ should indict him. Justice must be served," Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) wrote in a post on X.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) went a step further, saying on Fox Business, "In my opinion he should be charged with treason."

And Rep. Derricek Van Orden had a more succinct response to the news of Comey's possible indictment.

"Prison," Van Orden wrote in a post on X.

Van Orden later said he was excited about the possibility of DOJ officials resigning in protest over a possible Comey indictment, saying that it would be "Outstanding."

"In SEAL training we call this 'self selection,'" Van Orden wrote.

Meanwhile, other Republicans continued to applaud Trump for trying to force ABC to pull comedian Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves.

“It is reasonable for the FCC commissioner to say what he basically said, which is when he said, 'You can do this the easy way or the hard way, either back off, Disney ... or you’re going to deal with the fact that you’re going to have licenses,'" Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told right-wing hack Glenn Beck.

They also refused to say Trump should rule out a third term—which the Constitution explicitly prohibits.

“Trump 2028. I hope this never ends,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) refused to condemn Graham for cheering on a blatantly unconstitutional action.

“Well, I didn't see—I know Lindsey said that before—and I think he generally expects a, you know, a pretty lighthearted response when he says it,” Thune said.

Less scary but embarrassing nonetheless were the Republicans who defended Trump's moronic speech to the United Nations on Tuesday, with others joining Trump's attacks against the organization over the failure of an escalator that Trump and first lady Melania Trump attempted to ride.

Thune called Trump's embarrassing speech that diminished the United States on the world stage, "Straight talk from the president."

"He puts out the unvarnished truth," Thune said of Trump's idiotic remarks.

"President Trump commanded respect at the UN, while Biden's wandering turned America into a global punchline," Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) wrote in a post on X, which is the absolute opposite of reality. "It's great to have leadership that doesn't apologize for American strength once again!"

Meanwhile, Steube called for an "investigation" into the escalator situation at the U.N., saying that it “could not be a coincidence" that the escalator stopped right when Trump was on it.

Never underestimate Republicans' ability to debase themselves in subservience to Dear Leader.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.