Thursday Afternoon News Updates: Trump's Munitions Disaster, Legal Crises, + More – 8/6/26
Thursday Afternoon News Updates: Trump's Munitions Disaster, Legal Crises, + More – 8/6/26Here's the news. So far.
Hi everyone! These recaps are always a highlight of my day, so first I want to thank you for all your great comments. Also, a quick thanks to all those who continue to preorder our book WTF America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. I truly cannot wait for you to get your hands (or ears) on it. Ok, on to the news. Here are the top stories we’re tracking:
As a thank you, I’m opening up this recap to everyone today. One quick ask if you are able: if you find these recaps and our work valuable, consider joining now as a paid subscriber. Let’s dive in. Where’s Trump?Trump landed back in DC late last night. Oddly enough, today he shut down the White House to the press. Every single event on the calendar, whether policy meetings, intelligence briefing, etc—all closed press. Trump stepped off Marine One with his “human printer” Natalie Harp by his side. And side note: is Trump rocking new hair? What’s up with that wig?
So what’s Trump been up to? You know how it goes by now. He was raging on Truth Social, this time about “leakers.” As we’ve been warning about, the corporate media has now confirmed that U.S. munitions are running dry due to the Iran War. So Trump naturally called all these reports “fake news,” while simultaneously vowing to prosecute the “leakers.”
Reuters and CNBC have reported the U.S. has used “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles in the Iran war. CNN reported nearly 80 percent of interceptors for a key missile defense system are gone. Not good. The Washington Post then reported that this resulted in a screaming match between Trump and Hegseth at Camp David over the shortage, as well as a crisis meeting at the Pentagon. Trump’s basically doing what he just did to Jeanine Pirro: he’s not hunting down liars or trying to solve the issue at hand, but rather he’s trying to prosecute those who are actually telling the truth. Iran Knows His Game by Now…While Trump was in Vegas, Iran continued to position itself to formally control the entire Strait of Hormuz. According to Iranian state media, Iran's parliament is considering a bill that would ban U.S. and Israeli vessels from the strait entirely, deny transit to any country that's caused Iran damage until it's compensated in full, and put Iran's military in charge of monitoring all shipping through the region. Iran is also reportedly close to a separate deal with Oman over the strait that has nothing to do with the United States, because Trump has no involvement in it. He's never been a dealmaker. He's a deal wrecker. What he's trying to do now is find a way to take credit for something he had no hand in. Asked directly in a Fox 5 interview why this time would be different with Iran, all he could offer was, "it may be or may not be." In Vegas, Trump always played the “greatest hits.” He pivoted straight to transgender athletes and “men in women's sports,” insisting Democrats will “overturn” his policies if they win back power. Meanwhile at his rally he also spent time explaining to the crowd that nobody apparently knows the word "dumb" doesn’t have a B in it. He got a little mixed up on his “dumb” line. With a B. This is all Trump and MAGA have to offer at this point. They’ve taken a wrecking ball to everything, so now they’re resorting to the same tired strategies of fear mongering, racism, and attacking trans people. Enemies EmboldenedIt gets barely a blip of coverage, if that, but the Houthis just launched a massive missile assault on a Saudi-backed encampment near Marib, killing at least 30 government troops, with reports suggesting the toll could climb toward 50 or 60. Around eight ballistic missiles combined with explosive drones hit sites in Marib and Hadramout. The Houthis are emboldened because they watched Iran outlast the United States, and they know exactly how depleted our stockpiles are. Over in Ukraine, Russia has destroyed more than 400,000 square meters of Ukrainian warehouses and logistics complexes since the start of July alone, according to Forbes Ukraine, hitting companies like Nova Poshta, Rozetka and Toyota Ukraine. Kyiv region has now lost over a million square meters of warehouse space since the invasion began, roughly half its prewar stock. Remember, Trump promised to end this war in 24 hours. Instead, after his July 4th call with Putin, he told Zelensky at the NATO summit the U.S. would deliver Patriot interceptor licenses, then quietly reversed course weeks later at the worst possible moment. Ukraine now has essentially no way to stop incoming ballistic missiles. Putin sees Trump actions and is acting accordingly. And over at the Pentagon, Elbridge Colby, the guy who spent his whole career talking tough on China, has spent months begging Beijing for an official visit and getting turned down every time, reportedly because of Trump's $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan. Trump’s Legal Troubles Keep Piling UpA federal judge froze discovery in Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its Epstein reporting, which blocks Trump from deposing Rupert Murdoch while the judge weighs whether to dismiss the case entirely, likely with prejudice. Another loss for Trump. Reporters in the courtroom said the judge’s comments made clear he’s leaning toward tossing it. As a reminder, Trump sued after the Journal reported a letter bearing his name appeared in Epstein’s birthday album, featuring a drawing of a naked woman and a message about sharing “wonderful secrets.” He’s denied writing it. Then he sued the WSJ. The Journal argues he still hasn’t come close to proving actual malice, and they’ve also asked the court to make him pay their legal fees. Separately, in Trump’s $10 billion suit against the BBC, his family trust just filed an emergency motion trying to block a court order requiring it to hand over financial records for roughly 400 entities tied to his businesses. The BBC’s response is essentially that there’s no emergency here at all, just Trump’s team waiting until the day before the deadline to try to make one up, after months of stonewalling depositions and interrogatories. A Trump-appointed judge earlier today paused the order demanding that Trump start turning over his financials to the network. And on top of that, DOJ “missed” its own deadline to respond in Katie Phang’s lawsuit over the Epstein files and had to ask for an extension. Some Other Stories Back at HomeI want to make sure we’re still talking about the fallout from the bill Republicans passed last year. Arizona has seen the largest reduction in food stamps of any state since the the big disastrous bill passed. 450,000 people, including 100,000 children, have lost nutrition assistance there, per the New York Times. Meanwhile the national debt climbs toward $40 trillion under this administration, plenty of it funneled into military hardware, while kids in Arizona get accused of fraud for the crime of…needing food. And here’s exclusive reporting from MeidasTouch News: In New Mexico, Senator Martin Heinrich and the entire congressional delegation are demanding answers from Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth after a Defense Department GPS jamming exercise contributed to a medical transport plane crash in May that killed four crew members and sparked a wildfire that burned nearly 32,000 acres. This is reportedly the first time Pentagon jamming has caused a civilian aviation crash. The letter, obtained exclusively by MeidasTouch, presses Hegseth on whether the department will compensate victims’ families and reimburse the agencies that spent an estimated $37.7 million fighting that fire. As of publication, the Pentagon hasn’t responded. And while Americans are struggling and the federal government is breaking, well, everything, the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during questioning from Rand Paul. As Meidas EIC Ron Filipkowski put it, on a day when the economy is slow, prices are up, housing and healthcare are unaffordable, we’re in a war Trump started, and we’re $39 trillion in debt, Republicans in Congress are once again focused on…Dr. Fauci. That’s the update for now. Ron will have his full bulletin later today, so keep an eye out. And thank you again to everyone preordering WTF America, it genuinely helps get this book the momentum it needs. Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy Meidas+, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe |
COMMENTS:
I love the midday brief Ben, and your occasional snark.
Best money I've spent all year was the subscription to MTN. How long before we see "'Trump Wigs' the hair of your dreams" ads?
Thanks! This means a ton to us. And oh no, sounds like a nightmare lol
Good one! "The hair of your dreams" could be his next big grift. Needless to say, he looks ridiculous and his attempt at not looking 80 years old is a big failure.
Pig in a Wig.
😂 perfect!
Good one! No offense to 4 legged pigs though.😉
With a snout and rubber lips to match.
LOL! Don't forget the lipstick!
Please tell me that the American taxpayers did not pay for the vermin fur wig that he is now sporting!
Of course we did, part of his lifetime medical plan.
He's trying to look good for Natalie Harp.
Honestly, what is wrong with that girl?
She has "trump love syndrome" which affects anyone who stays around him for a few days.
202 225 3121
Will reach any member of house or senate.
No damn save act no blanche!
Call daily n share number
Explain that one to me. He's nothing but a pig.
"Supposedly she told him something to the effect of, "you're everything to me" II think I am going to be sick
Professor Erica Chenoweth and Overconfidence in Elections
The following is an excerpt.
“People tend to think the way we create change is through elections, and the result is an overconfidence in elections,” she says. “During election cycles, people divert their energies away from community organization and mobilization in a way that makes it hard to sustain a mode of extra-institutional struggle.”
“One challenge to organization, especially in the Western world, Chenoweth says, is that progressive movements full of freethinkers tend to be fragmented and often internally contentious.
Participants in right-wing movements, meanwhile, are easier to organize because they tend to be more ideologically oriented to following authority.
“In emergencies, people in left-leaning or progressive movements can agree on the problem, so progressive movements tend to rally around a key moment or an emergency,” she says. “But this means they are often reacting to crises rather than taking the initiative or proposing a consensus-based solution to the problem.”
Complicating things further, she says, there is often less agreement in democracies about what exactly constitutes a crisis, and the energy around mobilization for change gets pushed into election cycles.”
Erica Chenoweth illuminates the value of nonviolent resistance in societal conflicts | Harvard Kennedy School
That straw-haired new wig that the vermin-in-corruption is wearing makes him look even uglier than his old sparsely weaved one did! How pathetic can he get? Maybe this one will insert the artificial straws into his head and strangle the blood supply to what is left of his impaired brain.
I was thinking roofing nails
Inspired by the wig comments, this goes out to the *Pig in a Wig* (good one!) with the sincerest of apologies to the lovely Carly Simon:
♫ ♪♫ ♪♫ ♪♫♬
(Son of a #$%@&!)
You stumbled out of the potty
While schmoozin' on Bezos' yacht
Your hair strategically swept high and dyed
Your skin like rotten apricot
You had griftin' on your mind again, thinkin' anyone can be bought
And you longed for the days when Epstein was your partner
Was your (censored) partner and...
You're so vain
I bet you think this song is about you
You're so vain (so vain)
I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you don't you
You had us several years ago when we were still quite naive
Now you're squatting in our White House and you've vowed you will never leave
You've destroyed all the things we loved
But soon we will be free
Because
You'll soon be gone, like clouds in our covfefe, clouds in our covfefe
And
You're so vain....
I agree about the subscription! One of my few retirement luxuries. I saw a photo earlier this week - it looked like Donny Dumb Dumb maybe entering or exiting Marine 1, and his whole toupee blew away. He is really bald!
So this must be the replacement - Donny's Hair Club for <good-looking> men coming soon. This one isn't a bad color
The wig! It is rare when Trump sends me into fits of laughter, but this did it. He’s so vain! I’m gonna save that photo, print it, put it on my bathroom mirror so I can laugh and laugh and laugh as I brush my teeth and probably choke. Nearly all the time this draft dodging, rapist, cheating, lying monster sends me into a sense of rage, but not right now. LOL!!🤣🤣🤣
I'm loving the BBC. He totally thought they would drop to their knees and hand him 10 billion dollars. I guess he underestimated them. They are not like ABC. Surely he knew they would slap discovery on him or is he that dumb? Wait, stupid question. He's ignorant. He's a loser and a fraud. What else am I missing to describe him?
Do you think the wig is in response to his recent hair malfunction? https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-ridiculed-entire-head-37512181
And OMG, this article by The Irish Star had me laughing out loud.
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/donald-trumps-new-wig-makes-37520001
They have another article about the wig making him look like Mrs. Doubtfire. 🤣
And it is up to us to not listen to the polls and go out (or stay in if that is what you can do) and work really hard to get the Dems back in charge of at least the House. The Contrarian had a great article today on things the Dems need to be doing...they are not exactly things individuals can do but we can help candidates implement the strategies discussed. And we can support independent media (I think clicks and views and comments help when you can't afford to be a paid subscriber). Leaders We Deserve seem to know how to attract young voters and Vote Riders actually helps people get the documentation they need to register to vote. I'm sure there are many more effective ways to help insure we win enough elections to gain back power and we need to be working extra hard now.
what’s that on his head? my dead cat?
You reminded me of one of the funniest bits I ever saw on "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist". Dom Irrera was the patient and he said, "You ever see a toupee that's so unbelievably bad, you just wanna say, 'Hey gimme that thing! Who do you think you're foolin', pal? Who do you think you're foolin'? You could've at least had the decency to close the eyes of the animal who gave his furry little life for you, mat-head, with that pelt. Look at that face.' Maybe that's the idea: You get a toupee that's so bad, nobody cares. You just get one with a chin strap and a big label turned up in the back." 🤣 https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/DrKatzProfessionalTherapist