Today in Politics, Bulletin 416. 7/10/26
… Trump has not had any press or public events since returning from the NATO summit which he concluded by announcing that “the Islamic Republic of Japan just fired 10 missiles at us,” and has no events on his schedule this weekend. Maybe he’s visiting Mitch McConnell. … Trump also made only one Truth Social post on Thursday, which is highly unusual for him. He did make a few today (or Natalie Harp did): “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the US has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” … Iran, once again, denied they requested talks. … Axios: “The Trump admin is demanding that Iran issues on Saturday a public statement acknowledging the Strait of Hormuz is open and committing to stop firing on commercial ships, US officials said in a briefing with reporters Friday.” … Fox host Brian Kilmeade: “I don’t think that Witkoff and Kushner should be the ones doing this. They’re business guys. They have not been effective in Ukraine, not been effective in Gaza. They have not been effective in this. We have a State Dept for a reason.” … Some of us have been saying that for 18 months. … Gas market analyst Patrick De Haan: “That escalated quickly - national average now at $3.85 a gallon as recent oil price rise and new Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries has added to the jump. For now, we’re likely to break the 8-week streak of gas prices falling.” … Wait until someone tells Trump that Ukraine bombing Russian oil refineries affects the price of gas in the US since it is a global commodity. I can definitely see an angry Truth Social post demanding that Zelensky stop bombing Russian refineries. … Trump told the NY Post that if Iran assassinates him, “I’ve left instructions to just literally bomb them at levels never seen before.” … Iranians in Mashhad burned a giant LEGO-style Trump effigy during Khamenei’s funeral procession. Things are going well for the FIFA Peace Prize winner.
… Trump also posted that he won’t sign the Housing Bill: “I will not sign the Housing Bill, in PROTEST over the fact that the Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE ACT, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats. The Dumocrats will TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, if and when they ever get the chance to do so, in their very first hour - And I will no longer be able to call them Dumocrats again! The title of DUMB will revert to the Republicans who allowed this horrible calamity to happen to our Party, and our Nation, itself!” … He won’t veto it either though because Congress would override it and Republicans are desperate to have this bill to run on so they can say they at least tried to do something about affordability. So the bill will become law at midnight. … Politico: “Mike Johnson and House GOP leadership, along with WH officials, all worked over the last 10 days to try to persuade Trump not to veto the bill. Johnson said in an interview shortly before he officially transmitted the bill to the WH that he was still trying to persuade Trump to sign the legislation. House GOP leadership had also conveyed to the WH that they had the votes to override him if he chose to veto it, and that congressional Republicans would do it.” … RNC Chair Joe Gruters on Fox: “We saw what happens when Democrats can control, like the shutdown. They’re gonna have investigations, they’re gonna obstruct, they’re gonna impeach, it’s gonna be total chaos. Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, America Derangement Syndrome is real. We have to win. We need everybody to give us your time and treasure.” … Some of them might not have any treasure left after investing in Trump crypto. … WaPo reported that Graham Platner filed official papers late on Friday and is officially off the ballot for November, according to the Maine Secretary of State’s office. … Maine Democrats released the rules for Senate candidates trying to qualify for the convention: By next Wed at 5 pm, file a declaration of intent, which includes a headshot and a 300-word max statement about how your campaign will channel Maine’s “grassroots energy.” By Monday July 21, they have to collect and submit at least 500 signatures from Democratic voters.” … That’s not a small number for Maine. … There were efforts to draft actor and Maine native Patrick Dempsey as well as journalist Heather Cox Richardson. Dempsey actually said he seriously considered it given the current state of the country but decided not to. Sadly, Heather was a quick no (she would get my vote). … Brenden Moore with Capital News IL on Maine senate candidate Nirav Shah: “Shah was GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s public health director. If he’s nominated and wins, he’d serve alongside Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who called for his resignation in 2018 over the Rauner admin’s response to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the IL Veterans’ Home in Quincy.” … Duckworth responded: “Maine deserves better than someone who put his public image before the safety of our Veterans. Too many of our heroes lost their lives under Nirav Shah’s watch as IL Public Health Director. I called for his resignation then, and I strongly oppose his run for Senate now.” … Payday Report: “Rep. Summer Lee barred Daniel Moraff from her 2022 campaign after receiving at least 3 complaints of sexual misconduct against him. Now, Moraff, who recruited Graham Platner to run for Senate, is at the center of a massive controversy after he admitted that he spent only a few days vetting Platner, who just withdrew from the Senate race after he was accused of rape.” … Given the fact that both Lee and Justice Dems stopped working with Moraff following these accusations, questions have been raised about why so many on the left trusted him to give a thorough vetting and assessment of Platner. A woman who said she was sexually harassed while working on the Lee campaign: “Birds of a feather, flock together and Moraff and Platner were predators.” … “Platner’s guru and top strategist, Moraff was the grandson of Seymour Ginsburg, the founder of Toys R Us and its first president. Moraff was barred from Lee’s campaign following at least 3 complaints of sexual misconduct leveled against him, leading Lee to ban Moraff not just from his previous leadership positions in her campaign, but from even attending campaign events for Lee.” … PA Dem consultant Tom Duerr: “Having worked in Pittsburgh politics since 2016, these complaints against Moraff were well known and made him the most hated staffer in the region by the time he left - or rather was chased out. He should have never gotten another campaign job again after this.” … Puck: “While candidates accused of egregious misconduct are expected to face blowback, strategists rarely become targets. But in the aftermath of Graham Platner’s implosion, a number of veteran Democratic operatives are putting the blame on Morris Katz, the self-styled wunderkind and former Mamdani campaign advisor who helped recruit the Nazi-tattooed alleged rapist.” … “Katz had argued that the oyster farmer’s outsider appeal and rugged charm could redefine and broaden the party, and various operatives credited him with creative TV spots and media strategies for both Mamdani and Sen. John Fetterman. But they bristled at his claim to have cracked the code for electing a new generation of populist candidates that could succeed in notoriously swing districts or states.” … One Dem strategist: “Trying to take credit for Mamdani is like Phil Jackson trying to take credit for Michael Jordan. It’s nothing brilliant he’s figured out. We put flipping the Senate in jeopardy because of his ego.” … NYT: “ICE agents who killed a man during a traffic stop in Houston on Tues had been searching for a different person, according to a DHS spokeswoman. The targets of the ICE investigation were two people from Guatemala, one of whom the agents believed was in a white van being driven by the man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.” … “But the Guatemalans were not in the van. Araujo was on his way to work with 3 other men. When agents tried to stop the vehicle, the encounter quickly escalated, and an agent shot Araujo in the abdomen. He died at a hospital hours later. DHS officials said Araujo had tried to use his vehicle as a weapon, though no video or other evidence for that claim has emerged.” … Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “The ICE story around the man it shot is unraveling rapidly, with no evidence that he rammed anyone and video showing ICE actually rammed his vehicle. Making matters worse, ICE had no body cameras, despite having gotten $29.9 billion in 2025 that they could have used to buy them.” … Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens on the Katie Phang show: “There were 3 others with him in that vehicle. Those individuals are now being pressured to sign self-deportation orders. They’re trying to get rid of them as witnesses as well.” … Homeland Security Committee Dems: “DHS is trying to deport the witnesses to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s killing. It’s the same playbook every time: rush out a lie, then watch it unravel as facts emerge. They did it after the shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Sosa-Celis. They have no credibility.” … Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT): “ICE killed a man without wearing body cameras all because someone in his van ‘resembled the target’ though it wasn’t them. Now we’ve learned that the agents lied about what happened, mocked the man they shot as he was dying, and stripped his ID from him when they brought him to the hospital.” … “This comes just weeks after Republicans gave $70 billion to immigration enforcement without any accountability measures and it’s disgusting. Agents acting on behalf of OUR govt must be accountable to the public they’re meant to protect and serve. We must dismantle ICE.” … Reuters: “Trump terminated the last 3 members of the Election Assistance Commission, the independent commission that assists election admin officials nationwide. The remaining 3 commissioners of the 4-member bipartisan commission were forced out of the commission in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other two Democratic appointees were fired. The fourth commissioner departed the commission in April.” … “The terminations follow the recent Supreme Court decision that granted the president more power to fire members of independent agencies, and a push by Trump for more federal intervention in voting processes, traditionally the purview of the states, as midterm elections approach in Nov.” … “The election commission was established by Congress in 2002 through the Help America Vote Act. The 4 commissioners are appointed by the president, are required to be evenly split with two Democrats and two Republicans. The 3 remaining commissioners who were forced out, Thomas Hicks, Benjamin Hovland and Christy McCormick, were all unanimously confirmed by the Senate.” … Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA): “This should concern every American, regardless of party, because the EAC was established by Congress as an independent, bipartisan body to help states administer secure and credible elections. Removing every remaining commissioner just months before the midterms is an extraordinary step that demands an immediate explanation from the admin and raises profound concerns about political interference in the institutions that support our elections.” It is going to be 82 degrees and sunny here in Maine tomorrow and I am looking forward to my day off where we will be kayaking on a river that connects two lakes while I try to stay off the internet for the day. Big sigh of relief that Platner filed the paperwork today so we can move on and don’t have to worry about that. I will be back with the Weekend Bulletin on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. … NYT: “NM’s AG accused DOJ of obstructing the state’s criminal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein’s activities on a sprawling high-desert estate south of Santa Fe by withholding unredacted records. Raúl Torrez first requested original documents related to the convicted sex offender’s Zorro Ranch property in Feb. He said he reiterated the request 5 times in the following months, through a range of channels, but DOJ officials so far had not responded.” … The records, he said, contain names of survivors, witnesses, co-conspirators and other individuals who may aid the long-delayed state investigation into the deceased financier’s crimes in NM. His letter to Todd Blanche: “DOJ’s continued withholding of unredacted records is causing real and escalating harm. Every day that DOJ withholds these records, the foundation upon which a NM prosecution could be built erodes.” … “The breakdown in cooperation between fed and state authorities is the latest obstacle in the ongoing effort to bring justice to Epstein’s victims, some of whom have said they were trafficked and abused at Zorro Ranch. The remote property had escaped scrutiny for years, even as other parts of Epstein’s empire were scoured.” … “Documents unsealed in the release of the Epstein files indicated that fed investigators had overlooked the ranch when in 2019 they took over a state-level inquiry into Epstein’s actions. NM officials have since said that fed authorities failed to thoroughly search the property.” … “In March, the state AG’s office began a search of the ranch, which is now owned by a Dallas real estate magnate named Don Huffines, the recently appointed comptroller of Texas. Huffines, who plans to turn the ranch into a Christian retreat, said he was cooperating with the state investigation.” … “Torrez has also ordered dozens of companies to preserve records related to Epstein and his associates. The state commission has likewise sent a raft of subpoenas to federal and state agencies, financial institutions and a local nonprofit with ties to Epstein. But state officials may be limited in what they can do without collaboration from fed authorities.” … In his letter to Blanche, Torrez said DOJ officials had assured him months ago that they intended to send the unredacted records, but had failed to deliver. Without them, important leads have gone unfollowed: “Every avenue of investigation that begins with a redacted name, a blacked-out face or an obscured date is an avenue that ends before it begins.” … CNN: “Emergency responders took Sen. Mitch McConnell to an ambulance on a stretcher after being called to his home last month for a report of an unconscious person, according to new video of the incident and an eyewitness account. A neighbor of McConnell said that they opened their door to find commotion outside their home at around 8:30 AM on June 14, with two ambulances a fire truck and Capitol Police officers blocking the entire street.” … “Videos taken by the neighbor show emergency responders wheeling a person on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The videos are shot from some distance, and the face of the person is not visible. Once in the ambulance, the person’s lower legs appear to be covered by an orange blanket, but feet are visible. The neighbor said they learned from another eyewitness who saw the individual’s face that the person on the stretcher was McConnell.”
… Mike Pence posted this quote from the WSJ Editorial Board: “The President is right that his tariffs are at work—in destroying US jobs and raising prices. The US has lost some 75,000 manufacturing jobs since January 2025, including 25,900 in motor vehicle and parts production.” … MS NOW interviewed travelers at the Palm Beach Intl Airport about it being renamed the Donald J. Trump Intl Airport:
… Meidas reporter Scott MacFarlane reported from the Reflecting Pool today: Welcome back to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which has retained its very swampy, green-like color. It’s still fenced off. It’s still inaccessible. It’s still not in its best shape. It is reflecting again, but it’s almost like it’s quarantined in its green-like state.” … CBS: “As they juggle ongoing US military operations against Iran and a host of other national security challenges, senior Pentagon officials have also been pressing ahead on a far different priority: tightening the grooming, fitness and appearance standards of the American service members.” … “Military officials have recently taken steps to address troops who fail to meet hair, weight and physical fitness standards, 9 months after Pete Hegseth delivered a blunt message to a room full of admirals and generals at Marine Corps Base Quantico, declaring there would be ‘no more beardos’ and ‘fat troops.’” … “The renewed emphasis comes as Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former Fox host, has privately complained in recent days about seeing service members with facial hair and has expressed frustration over lapses in physical training and violations of military height and weight standards. Hegseth believes his message has not been fully embraced by the military's senior leadership despite his repeated public and private calls for stricter enforcement.” … One military official said Hegseth was frustrated that his speech to the top brass gathered from around the world at Quantico last year did not produce the rapid change he expected. Before the new Pentagon policy, shaving waivers were also granted for US troops diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, also known as razor bumps, a painful skin condition that disproportionately affects Black men.” … “Multiple studies estimate that the condition occurs in roughly 45-83% of Black men. It can also develop in women with hirsutism - a condition that causes coarse, dark facial hair to grow in a typically male pattern - when they shave.” … We all knew 2nd Lieutenants like Hegseth. They usually didn’t last long. Only Trump would make one the Secretary of Defense. … Guardian: “Since taking office for a second term, Trump has issued an executive order aiming to halt all wind-energy leases and permits, attempted to issue stop-work orders on wind projects under construction, and paid more than $2.6 billion in settlements to buy out wind energy leases. And hundreds of workers have been affected.” … “Thomas Kilday, a furnace electrician with IBEW local 99 in Providence, RI, was in the midst of a 4-week shift onboard a vessel off the Atlantic coast working on the Revolution Wind Project in Aug last year when the Trump admin issued a stop-work order on the project.” … Kilday: “No one really knew what was going on. We didn’t know what it meant for us. We just knew that everything was up in the air,. You plan your whole life around it and to come out here and have it thrown up in the air, worrying what does this mean for me, for my pay, what’s going to happen? There’s a lot of uncertainty.” … “A federal court granted an injunction to block the stop-work order in Sept last year. In December, the Trump admin issued another 90-day stop-work order, citing national security, before a second judge issued an injunction in Jan. When the second stop-work order was issued, Kilday was celebrating Christmas with his family and preparing for another 4-week shift.” … Kilday: “That was really difficult. I just spent a bunch of money on Christmas gifts for my family, and it was not what I wanted to be thinking about. 6 months out of the year we’re away from home, and for what little time we do have at home, not to be able to just focus all of that time and energy on our families, it’s tough. It’s not a great feeling to be worried about your job when you’re supposed to be home.” … “We’re proud of the work that we do out here, and we want to be able to continue to do it. We think it’s important work. When I’m at home, and I drive down my street, I look up at those power lines. I helped create the power that’s running through those power lines, and I’m proud of that.” … “Revolution Wind announced in March that it began delivering power to New England, citing the work of more than 1,000 local union workers, and is expected to power more than 350,000 homes and businesses. The project’s construction is over 90% complete.” … Puck: “Rep. Mike Collins, Republican Senate nominee in GA, has appointed his third chief of staff to his Capitol Hill office in just the past 6 months, continuing the high turnover among his senior advisors—never a good sign for a high-profile candidate. After Brandon Phillips, Collins’s longtime confidante, mocked a political operative whose wife had accused former NBC host Matt Lauer of rape, Collins fired him.“ … “Phillips’s replacement, Kip Talley, also brought baggage: Talley participated in a group chat with white nationalists Nick Fuentes and Richard Spencer about securing the release of Holocaust denier Charles Johnson from prison.” … One Republican aide: “At the end of the day, he’s sloppy in his hiring practices, and it shows in his Senate race.” … CBS: “Trump admin officials are discussing a plan for permanent fencing on the block of Pennsylvania Ave near the WH and around Lafayette Square, in an effort to bolster security and reduce the recurring costs of erecting and dismantling temporary barriers for special events.” … “Pennsylvania Ave is an iconic street in the nation’s capital, connecting the WH to the Capitol. It provides tourists and pedestrians with the famous view of the North Portico, the public entrance to the WH. The proposed permanent fencing would be located near 15th and 17th Streets, NW, along Pennsylvania Ave.” … Today was the final day of Trump’s Freedom 250 fair. DC photographer Joe Flood went out to take a video of the massive crowd around noon.
… CNBC had a segment scheduled with Elon Musk today that didn’t go according to plan: "We were expecting to start an interview with Elon Musk right now. We just got word he has to postpone. SpaceX shares now trading down nearly 3% today." … But Musk was posting on Twitter nonstop all morning including during the time he was supposed to be on CNBC. … NY Post: “Kristi Noem is divorcing her cross-dressing husband Bryon, the ex-SD governor’s mother claimed in a new interview. ‘It has been difficult, but we knew this was coming, that they were going to get divorced,’ Corinne Arnold told the Daily Mail at her home next door to the ranch where the Noems lived and raised 3 children.” … “Arnold said that her daughter confided her plans not long after photos surfaced of Bryon wearing enormous fake breasts while chatting with a fetish performer. ‘She doesn’t tell me what she thinks. Finally, I said: ‘What’s the deal? Are you going to get together again?’ And she said: ‘No. No. We’re going to get a divorce’.” … Dr. Oz became the latest member of the Trump admin to put out a workout video, which I posted on Twitter, Bluesky and Threads. It promptly went viral on all 3 platforms with thousands of comments about his technique, his moobs, and the giant knot on his elbow.
JUST A FEW COMMENTS: Qell all I can say, is that. When Mitch McConnell dies, im going to use the exact same line that Trump used. I'm glad he's dead, now He can't do any more damage.... .Ah karma's a bitch huh Steve Schmidt did a brutal post about McConnell today. He said his obituary should consist of two words: "Good riddance". https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/the-man-who-broke-the-senate Yeah, I watched it.I can only handle so much of steve schmidt. He's so monotony, whatever I guess he was in some admin decades ago or whatever I don't know, but yes, good point ballad, I like it The Tyrant is going to need to spend some of his billions on multiple bunkers now that Iran is being really bold about wanting to kill him. Oh, well, you reap what you sow! And you can’t build bunkers on golf courses! And giving orders for major bombing to take place AFTER they assassinate you??? Your commands will no longer be valid then Bucko! And Americans will be partying in the streets celebrating our New Freedom!!! Thanks, Ron, and enjoy your Saturday off!!! 💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️💙💯🔥❤️ Another fake assassination attempt wouldn't surprise me. We’re paying for it… right where the East Wing once stood. I am reminded of the comics of Drew Sheneman and others when McConnell announced his retirement with "My work here is done". https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2024/03/02/csotd-fair-points-and-foul/ Yup, Mitch is leaving quite a trail of death and destruction of our nation as his legacy. Steve Schmidt gave us Sarah Palin. “Steve was a primary proponent of choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a move he argued would energize the conservative base and allow McCain to seize the "change" mantle from Barack Obama.” THAT worked out well!! Subsequently, “Schmidt spent 10 weeks building up Sarah Palin, and then the two of them… spent a good part of the past 14 months tearing each other down.” https://www2.tulane.edu/~bbrox/BroxCassels.pdf https://www.politico.com/story/2010/01/steve-schmidts-war-against-palin-031420 Kristi is divorcing "Big Titty Bryan" for Corey Lewandowski. She knew about his fetish. Isn't that what Evangelicals do, stay together no matter what? Stay with your man even if he's a rapist, child molester or in Kristi's case, a cross-dresser hubby. Re: Fox criticizing Kushner and Witkoff (finally) - that one must have come down from old man Murdoch As for these disgusting men (on the left, right or center) who think they can sexually harass and abuse women and stay in politics - it needs to stop. I’m so disgusted by all of it. An incredibly funny line - “Trying to take credit for Mamdani is like Phil Jackson trying to take credit for Michael Jordan.” Morris Katz can be gone too. |
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