Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

'Onslaught' Is A B Movie Ode To John Carpenter

John Amato — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:00:01 +0000

Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett have created an homage to the great John Carpenter and the super soldier cannon with his latest movie "Onslaught."

I went to see the movie Saturday night and although it has many problems, it was still an enjoyable excursion.

Melding John Carpenter's Attack on Precinct 13, Halloween, Lori Strode, and movies like Universal soldier, and anchored by an excellent Adria Arjona, Wingard failed to create something new and instead hatched a B movie version of them all.

I immediately caught the Carpenter references from the outset when Wingard used Carpenter styled graphics as well as some of Carpenter's pulsating type music cues.

Dan Stevens, who was awesome in Adam Wingard's much better, sort of prequel called The Guest, played a campy German scientist who created these new super soldiers with no conscience along with his equally campy dominatrix wife played by Rebecca Hall.

Jesse Hassenger at the AV Club has a nice review.

For all it's flaws I still had a good time.

Open thread.

Nearly One Year Later, Charlie Kirk Is Still Not Very Popular

Chris capper Liebenthal — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:43:02 +0000

A place in Indiana named Goebel Farms (no, not Goebbels - I double-checked) made a corn maze in the image of the late Charlie Kirk. They also had the Turning Point symbol and the letters RIP CK.

Since it's revealing, the farm and the maze have received a lot of backlash and many negative reviews. In response, the farm posted this on Facebook, which was their second mistake. (The first was making the stupid maze.)

Goebel Farms would later post on Facebook explaining they recognized Kirk was a polarizing figure, but said that their tribute does not require anyone to defend or agree with his statements. The owners also claim the links to Turning Point’s website was only to provide information about the organization, and not an endorsement of the organization’s beliefs.

“Goebel Farms is a family business, not a political organization,” part of the post reads. “Our hope remains simple: that Americans can speak openly, disagree honestly, and challenge one another’s ideas without hatred or violence – and that our community can continue treating its members with dignity and respect.”

If their goal was to have honest dialogue and mutual respect, they might have wanted to choose someone who embodied those qualities instead of someone who spewed racism and misogyny at every turn—just saying.

Trump Judge Just Ruled That Americans Do NOT Have A Right To Safe Drinking Water

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:31:50 +0000

According to a truly horrifying new report from Mother Jones, a Trump-appointed judge has made it abundantly clear that safe, clean, uncontaminated drinking water is, in fact, not a right afforded to Americans.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kurt Engelhardt, who was appointed to his position by none other than Donald J. Trump, delivered that bone-chilling ruling in his dismissal of a lawsuit brought against the city of Jackson, Mississippi, by its residents, in which they accused the city of knowingly allowing them to consume water that was heavily contaminated with lead for upwards of six months in 2015.

"Defendants’ actions allegedly deprived Plaintiffs of clean water and guileless information," Engelhardt wrote in his dismissal on Friday. "These deprivations, while grievous, do not infringe upon any deeply rooted constitutional right.”

Nine US states and more than a dozen countries around the world maintain protections surrounding citizens' right to clean, safe drinking water. In both New York and Massachusetts, that basic human right is intertwined into their state constitutions.

But according to Engelhardt, the US Constitution does not provide that basic human right to all American citizens.

Energy Secretary: Deal With Iran May Have To Wait Until 'Next AdministrationNext Administration's A ''Disgrace To The Office'

John Amato — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 17:42:55 +0000

Energy Secretary Chris Wright admitted to ABC News that the Iran war is not going well, agreements may not happen, and any deal between the two nations may have to wait until the next administration.

Wright said this with a straight face with two years left in Trump's administration. He is signaling that Trump’s strategy is to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran and little else.

RADDATZ: Okay, it's been more than six months of paying higher prices. And there is also no sign of a nuclear agreement. You talk about that, President Trump talks about that.

But where's the sign that they're going to have a nuclear agreement?

WRIGHT: There may not be a nuclear agreement. It may be simply destroying their capabilities to do it.

An agreement may await a next administration in Iran. We simply don't know that. But I think what the president was communicating there is how critically important this is.

The country hates the Iran war and knows the pretext for the attack based on their nuclear capabilities was ginned up so Trump didn't look like a stooge to Bibi Netanyahu's demands.

Wright is a terrible spokesperson on every level, but he unwittingly admitted some truths about Trump.

No matter how many times the hair-brained Trump claims it's not a war, we know he believes differently behind closed doors.

His attempts at controlling Hormuz have failed.

His attacks have failed to bring Iran to their knees.

Energy Secretary: Deal With Iran May Have To Wait Until 'Next AdministrationNext Administration's A ''Disgrace To The Office'

John Amato — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:57:31 +0000

Combat veteran Cait Conley, who was awarded the bronze star three times said in no uncertain terms that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a disgrace and should be removed from office.

Conley, a sixteen year Army veteran is running against Rep. Mike Lawler, a Trump toady who is speaking at Trump's narcissistic convention.

BASH: You've said Hegseth should be fired. But if you are elected, would you support actually impeaching him?

CONLEY: I believe he has been a hazard to American national security and a disgrace to the office.

I would absolutely support removing him from office because his actions and decisions are failing service members who have sworn an oath to this country and deserve respect and for politicians to actually value their lives and their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice instead of thinking that it's a game or some movie like Hegseth continuously talks about.

And I do believe that the decisions out of this administration made by Hegseth, but also enabled by Congressman Mike Lawler and Republicans in Congress, just like with the Iran war where Lawler voted five times to give Donald Trump a blank check on this conflict that they continue to bungle.

That's not leadership. And America deserves better.
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Raskin Schools Welker: Hasan Piker 'Is An Irrelevant Distraction'

John Amato — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 14:35:53 +0000

On Meet The Press, Rep Jamie Raskin easily pushed back against the continued insistence that Hasan Piker is relevant to the Democratic Party and the issues the U.S. faces from the destructive Trump administration.

Host Kristin Welker played a clip of Piker choosing Hamas over Israel and asked if that is Democratic position.

WELKER: Is the Democratic Party tent big enough to include Hasan Piker?

RASKIN: I don't even know if Hasan Piker considers himself a Democrat.

I know he attacked me for campaigning with Cali Barr and Sean McCann and other Democrats in Michigan.

I think all of that is an irrelevant distraction.

Obviously, nobody supports Hamas, a terrorist organization which brutally attacked Israel on October the 7th.

But people here also don't support the policies of Bibi Netanyahu.

But we're not going to be able to work that out in the next 60 days.

We're going to stand strong for democracy, national security, human rights all over the world, but beginning right here in America, where our national security, our democracy, and our human rights have been undermined by Donald Trump and his MAGA followers.

If the mainstream media press took a cursory look at every single Fox New, Newsmax, OANN, Real America's Voice host - just to name a few - they'd have much more harsher questions to ask Republicans in Congress.

Apparently this one person is the only negative they can find on El-Sayed so they treat it like a runaway train.

Trump Has Completely Lost It, Unleashes Barrage Of 3 Dozen UNHINGED Posts In 2 Hours

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:03:55 +0000

Since his first presidential term, onlookers have been arguing that Donald Trump is deeply unwell.

Whether it be dementia, some sort of severe mental disorder, or the result of some sort of unconfirmed drug addiction or disease, there is simply no denying that the man has never been the poster child for mental stability.

But this very well may be the worst we've ever seen.

Over the course of two short hours on Sunday afternoon, the sitting president of the United States of America took to his floundering Truth Social echo chamber with a barrage of more than three dozen absolutely unhinged posts that left Americans in genuine fear, considering this is the same guy who has the nuke codes.

Almost all of Trump's bizarre posts were generated by artificial intelligence, many of which depicted him in truly hellish landscapes, complete with deeply disturbing and threatening messages.

One shows Donald Trump walking through Washington, D.C., flanked by an army of robots and soldiers with glowing red eyes, the message reading, "THEY WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN."

FCC Chief Brendan Carr Bends The Knee To His Orange Clown God

Karoli Kuns — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:03:44 +0000

Brendan Carr can't punish Kristen Welker for uttering a true statement, but he's sure going to try to nail her for something.

You may recall that in late August Welker made the true statement that Trump's endorsement results have been "mixed," which sent Hair Furor into a screaming rage whereupon he called upon his FCC goon to "punish her."

Trump loves to punish women. I'm sure we'd see more evidence of that if we ever saw the Epstein files. But I digress.

Brendan Carr made an appearance on Fox News with Peter Doocy, who asked him whether or not he was going to carry out Hair Furor's wishes for some "punishment" for the Black woman who spoke truth on NBC's air waves.

Carr, acting in his capacity as Hair Furor's endorser, said, "Well, one thing that President Trump gets fundamentally is that broadcast TV is completely different than other forms of distribution, including cable. And so many broadcasters right now, they want to break the deal that they cut with the American people."

Oh, I see. Telling the truth is somehow betraying the deal they have for public airwaves?

Carr continued, "They get billions of dollars in taxpayer effectively subsidized distribution. And what they're supposed to do in exchange is operate in the public interest, not some sort of narrow partisan interest."

Mike’s Blog Roundup

Steve in Manhattan — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:02:01 +0000

BooMan - is Iran the big enchilada or just small potatoes?

emptywheel - is Iran flagging or waiting to pounce?

One Damn Thing After Another - what goes up must come down: Nuremberg swatstika edition;

The Field Negro - House Negro Power Rankings.

The Rude Pundit - Democrats have one job this year (all else is bullshit).

Send tips, requests, and suggestions to mbru@crooksandliars.com (with ‘for MBRU' in the subject line). Steve in Manhattan is on Bluesky.

Dem Candidate Attacked Right After Mullin Blames Dems For Violence

Chris capper Liebenthal — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:00:01 +0000

Markwayne Billy Bob Moon Mullin told Peter Doocy on Fox's The Sunday Briefing that the Democrats are to blame for violent rhetoric and political violence:

Well, I would say you're never safe when you're in the public eye. If you read any of the social media posts, which I choose not to, but you can see the type of rhetoric and the hatefulness that's out there. You see the attacks on President Trump's life every single day, but you have a leader that's out there that's constantly saying, fight, fight, fight. He's leading from the front, and that's what the American people need to know.

But the threats to our elected officials, they don't go away. The rhetoric, the dangerous rhetoric that the Democrats use is absolutely stirring the pot or putting fuel on the flames, and we've got to bring down the temperature, but the temperature is not going to go down on itself.

The American people have to realize that we do have a public, and the republic has different opinions, and it's OK to have different opinions, but when you cross the line and say that that different opinion needs to be silenced, it needs to be silenced through violence.

That's where Homeland comes into play. That's where we're going to stop that violent act. I don't, I mean, free speech is something we all protect, but there's a, there's a line that you can cross that goes from free speech to inciting dangerous behavior, and we have to attack that dangerous behavior at every, every turning point.
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Donald Trump's New Hairdo

John Amato — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 03:00:02 +0000

For the Labor Day weekend it appears Trump has a new hairdo.

As he ages, Trump's hair and skin have deteriorated rapidly. The orange bronzer looks worse and worse, and now he has decided he needs a new do.

Coming off Air Force One, Getty picked up these photos and I must say they are bizarre.

The NY Post characterizes Trump's mangy hair as iconic, but I'd use different words to describe it.

"Trump’s darker mane set the internet ablaze, as it marked one of the few times when he has messed with his trademark hairstyle," writes Ryan King.

At first I thought it was an AI generated image, but it's real.

If anything, he looks more ridiculous.

It's always the cover-up!

Natalie Harp must have told Trump's cabinet that if any anyone laughs, they will be fired and sent to Gitmo!

Open thread.

Duffy Deploys Doublespeak On Gas Prices - Record Highs Are Down

Chris capper Liebenthal — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:11:01 +0000

Trans Secretary Sean Duffy and Fox host Charlie Hurt showed off their doublespeak skills by crediting Trump for keeping gas prices down even as diesel hits record highs.

HURT: Quickly, I wanna ask you about diesel prices. Diesel prices have reached a record high for all time. Um, yet, uh, we're, uh, you know, obviously there's a lot going on in the world.

Uh, the vice president saying yesterday that, uh, a lot of what the administration has done has kept the... That they'd be a lot higher if it were not for the efforts of the administration.

DUFFY: Yeah, so e- ... I think the, the... when you look at diesel, you have to look at the, um, at Russia and Ukraine. And, uh, Russia was a major exporter, the second-biggest exporter in the world of diesel. They've stopped their exports, so that puts pressure on a global market.

But, uh, President Trump has, uh, uh, pushed an American energy dominance. We are producing more energy now than ever in the past. We need to, uh, refine more capacity. Um, and just think about this, though, as we come into political season. It's Republicans who have pushed, uh, or are trying to push more production and drive prices down. It's the Democrats who have always wanted, uh, energy prices to come up and force you into an EV. Um, and so it's rich now that they're like- ... "Hey, we... We're really upset about, uh, you know, high energy prices." We're gonna resolve this issue in Iran and in, and, uh, in Russia, and you're gonna see historic low prices as we look to the future.
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Comer's McConnell Excuse Doesn't Even Fly On Fox

Heather — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 19:30:03 +0000

It's been over 80 days since Mitch McConnell's vanishing act from the Senate. When his fellow Kentuckian Rep. James Comer was asked about his absence during an appearance on this Saturday's The Big Weekend Show on Fox, Comer assured cohost Lucas Tomlinson that McConnell would be back in a couple of weeks according to his staff, and we should believe them because his staff would never lie to him.

TOMLINSON: Mr. Chairman, I want to get your take on another topic. A few days ago, you mentioned that you had been in contact with Senator Mitch McConnell's staff and expect the lawmaker to return to Capitol Hill later this month on September 14th after the recess. My question to you, when is the last time you spoke to the senator yourself?

COMER: It's probably been two months since I've spoken to Senator McConnell. I certainly haven't spoken to him since he had his accident, but I have spoken to staff.

I actually spoke to his staff again today in anticipation of this question because I was asked this question at a press conference last week, and I said it and it got a lot of press all over the United States. So I wanted to make sure what I said was right.

And what I'm going to say now is that they fully expect him to be back in the Senate in September, that he's undergoing physical therapy.
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Treasury Secretary Compares Canada To A 'Little Yippy Dog'

Heather — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 17:28:54 +0000

Could this clown be any more condescending? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was laughing at Canada's military capabilities last week during an interview on CNBC, and this Saturday during an interview with Trump's daughter-in-law on Fox, he compared the country to a "little yippy dog" when asked about Trump's failed attempt to bully them over the trade deal that Trump blew up at the last minute.

TRUMP: I want to talk about our neighbors to the north, Canada. President Trump offered Prime Minister Carney what you say was a highly favorable trade agreement that Carney blew up at the last minute. Canada is expected to impose those retaliatory tariffs. How do you see all of this playing out?

BESSENT: Well, know, Lara, I had a German shepherd, and there was a dachshund that used to antagonize her at the playground. And it kind of reminds me of that. It kind of reminds me of that.

And this little yippy dog, they used to just like bark away. And for a long time, 110 pound German Shepherd was ignoring the dachshund. And then one day she'd had enough.
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Lutnick Lies Nearly As Easily As His Boss

Walter Einenkel — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 15:36:27 +0000

Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and former lunch buddy to Jeffrey Epstein, hit up CNBC on Wednesday to lie about the environmental costs of data centers. He also dismissed questions about government corruption as “minor stuff.”

“One of my favorite things is when people talk about data centers using water,” Lutnick said when asked about the general dislike Americans have for the server warehouses. “The No. 1 product in America that uses water is cattle. I mean, data centers don’t use water. The data centers—this is propaganda by our adversaries to try to slow us down, right?”

Coincidentally (see: not coincidentally at all), Cantor Fitzgerald, which Lutnick used to run, is heavily invested in data center projects. Though Lutnick transferred his ownership stake in the company to his kids right before becoming commerce secretary, Cantor Fitzgerald has been making all kinds of big money since he became part of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

Pete Hegseth Is So Paranoid He’s Polygraphing The Pentagon

Conover Kennard — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:43:53 +0000

According to The New York Times, the tests were conducted in August and involved both military and civilian personnel. Investigators appear particularly interested in leaks concerning the war in Iran and shortages of critical munitions.

Officials familiar with the investigation said the sweeping use of polygraphs was intended not only to find a suspected leaker but also to discourage anyone else from speaking to reporters.

Hegseth's boss, Donald Trump, flew into a rage last week, calling the press "treasonous SCUM" for reporting a munitions shortage.

The scope of the investigation is highly unusual. More than 1,500 people work on the Joint Staff, and retired Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, a former Navy judge advocate General, told the Times that he had never seen polygraph testing conducted so broadly or at such a senior level.

Hegseth announced in July that the Defense Department and Justice Department would work together on a joint investigation into leaks. The Pentagon has declined to discuss the probe's details, saying only that it takes the disclosure of classified national-security information extremely seriously.

Republicans Feel ‘Stuck’ With Trump’s ‘Me, Me, Me’ Midterms

NewsHound Ellen — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:43:53 +0000

Republican lemmings would rather march off a cliff than distance themselves from their corrupt, incompetent and apparently senile Dear Leader.

On Saturday, Axios reported, “Most Republicans are too scared to bluntly tell Trump how unpopular he is.” So, even though his midterm campaign plan heavily involves promoting himself, Republicans are going along with it. “We have no choice. We're stuck on the boat with him whether we like it or not," a “top Republican campaign official” told Axios.

The justification for this, Axios says, is because “Republicans need Trump’s low-propensity voters to turn out.”

That assumes those low-propensity voters are still on the Trump train. In December, 2025, before Trump’s Iran war sent gas prices soaring, Vox reported that Trump was already losing support among those low-propensity voters.

Nevertheless, Trump is planning a Republican midterm convention this week, in Dallas. He plans to speak both nights and, I’m sure, will deliver a winning message – not. “His speeches tend to lack cogency and focus, and their effectiveness is questionable,” Axios said. Ya think?

Should SCOTUS Have Fewer Justices?

Steve M. — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:30:01 +0000

This past Sunday, Congressman Jim Cyburn brought the notion of Supreme Court reform into the Democratic mainstream.

“Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Clyburn if he agreed with former Vice President Kamala Harris’s request for court expansion in an interview.

“Yes, I do,” the South Carolina Democrat said. “I think we are in a position now that calls for some significant actions taken by the Congress and we ought to expand, and 13 is a pretty good number. A baker’s dozen, it would be a good number to have on the court.”

The party's leaders usually recoil in horror whenever a Democrat or progressive proposes a major shakeup like this, so Clyburn's statement represents a real change in the party establishment's thinking.

House Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently announced a plan to have the House vote on a constitutional amendment fixing the size of the Supreme Court at nine justices. This is pure theater -- a constitutional amendment needs to pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds vote, after which it needs to be ratified by three quarters of the state legislatures. That's not going to happen.

Mike’s Blog Round-Up

Tengrain — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:02:01 +0000

Above, RAC performs, I Still Wanna Know. We all wanna know how the midterms will end, what with all the Orange Clown's eff'ery. Be prepared, be vigilant, and vote no matter what they throw at us.

Annie Asks You asks you to start making your voting plan TODAY!

If You Can Keep It says it's a privacy scandal just waiting to happen.

Public Notice presents The Golden Age of Disinformation.

Defector suggests maybe good editors might save us?

Bonus Track: Sluggish remembers the '70s kids movie-going experience. Hubba-hubba!

Round-up by Tengrain who blogs at Mock, Paper, Scissors. You can follow Tengrain on the Fediverse, or on BlueSky. Send tips, requests, and suggestions to mbru@crooksandliars.com (with For MBRU in the subject line).

A Long Way Down From Ground Zero

Ratt — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 12:00:01 +0000

The George W. Bush administration made claims regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction approximately 23 and a half years ago, and today, Donald Trump has us in another war. History repeats itself.

None of that has made us more safe.

- Karoli

C&L's Late Nite Music Club: Willie Nelson 'I Never Cared For You'

Courtney Winfree — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 23:45:36 +0000

Willie Nelson wrote his first song at seven. And he’s still touring at 93.

Abandoned by his parents as a young boy, he started making money as a musician early on, but over the decades he’s worn many cowboy hats: actor, writer, activist, outlaw, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and marijuana enthusiast. When the Internal Revenue Service seized his assets and claimed he owed $32 million in back taxes, he released The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? That album unironically helped him pay down his gigantic tax debt. What a hero!

I had always appreciated Willie Nelson for being Willie Nelson, but when Teatro came out in 1998, I finally felt Willie Nelson. Nearly 30 years later, I can hear “I Never Cared for You” like it was the first time.

Willie is as whimsical as he is profound. As a Monk junkie, I loved his appearance in “Mr. Monk & the Red-Headed Stranger” a few years after the release of Teatro. And at the beginning of the COVID shutdown, the Red-Headed Stranger livestreamed a very lengthy variety show called Come and Toke It.

What’s not to love about Willie?

Trump Still Hiding Where His Imported Beef Is Coming From

NewsHound Ellen — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 22:14:45 +0000

Donald Trump’s plan to screw U.S. ranchers with imported beef is bad enough. But his deliberate concealment of where and how he’s getting it makes the whole thing stink even more, with whiffs of corruption.

Trump’s obvious nervousness about what he’s up to with what he plans to feed Americans keeps triggering my Spidey senses. It’s pretty clear I’m not the only one.

On Friday, during an event that purported to be about helping ranchers after he infuriated them with his imported beef plan, a reporter asked Trump where the imported beef is coming from.

Trump was evasive. “Well, it’s coming from different places,” he said.

“From which country?” she pressed.

“It’s coming from Argentina. It’s coming from Brazil. It’s coming from a couple of other places,” Trump replied.

Then he quickly changed the subject to boast about how he’s making sure the beef is top quality. “We have our inspectors down there. It’s very clean. It’s very good,” he hastily added.

Trump Names New Secretary Of The Army With Zero Military Experience

Heather — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 20:53:10 +0000

What could possibly go wrong?

As we discussed here, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll recently resigned over clashes with Pete Hegseth and Trump, and now he's been replaced with someone with zero military experience: Trump names Adam Telle as acting army secretary following departure of Dan Driscoll:

Telle is currently the assistant secretary of the army for civil works.

“He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all,” the US president wrote in a Truth Social post. [...]

Telle has been at the Army Office of Civil Works since August 2025, according to Legistorm, a website that tracks lawmakers and Capitol Hill staffers. Before that, Telle spent 20 years mostly working in Congress for lawmakers, including as chief of staff for Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee from 2021 to 2025.

Telle had a job for 18 months working in the White House during Trump’s first term as a special assistant to the president for legislative affairs, Legistorm said. He also spent more than 10 years working for the late Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi.

Telle will be overseeing the country’s largest fighting force at a time when the US is still engaged in conflict with Iran and significant army forces are stationed in the Middle East.
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Trump Reveals He Wants To Build Monuments To Himself Before He's Gone

Conover Kennard — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:25:12 +0000

Donald J. Trump has essentially acknowledged that the grand construction projects he is pushing around Washington are monuments to himself.

In a revealing interview with New York Magazine, Trump was asked directly about projects such as the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. When asked whether he was building monuments to himself, Trump didn't dispute the characterization.

Instead, he agreed—and offered a remarkably straightforward explanation: once he's gone, he doesn't expect anyone else to do it.

The comments come as Trump has become increasingly focused on reshaping Washington during his second term. His most prominent project is the enormous ballroom being constructed where the White House's East Wing once stood. He has repeatedly defended the project as important for national security and diplomacy, pointing to features such as a rooftop drone facility, an underground bunker, and fortified windows.

Trump Claims He Controls MAGA Inc. PAC Money

Heather — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 17:52:16 +0000

Never mind those pesky FEC rules. Laws are for suckers, apparently. As we already discussed, Republicans are becoming concerned about Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., sitting on a pile of money rather than helping candidates.

This Friday, Trump was asked about it at the White House and here was his response:

TRUMP: I'm going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us. And this is money from MAGA Inc. This is the money that I control.

Now, this is separate from the RNC. It's separate from people having money. And I think it's not even counted in terms of the media. I'm not sure that they ever talk about it. They just found out about it.

But, yeah, we have around a billion dollars that I can spend. I can spend for the next race also. I can spend it for what I want to spend it for, but I'm going to help a lot of the congressmen and senators that need help.

REPORTER: Are you going to use it for 2028?

TRUMP: I could use it for '28. Yes, if I want. Sure. I mean, I expect to have money left over and we can use that for '28.

Here's more from CNBC: