Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

Usha Vance Nearly Falls With Newborn In Scary Stumble Off VP Helicopter

David Edwards — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 23:09:23 +0000

Second Lady Usha Vance nearly fell down the steps of the vice presidential helicopter while carrying her infant son.

C-SPAN shared footage of the Vances exiting the helicopter on Monday, after network staffer Howard Mortman flagged it. The family was at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to board Air Force Two for Alaska, according to Reuters.

Vice President JD Vance was joined by Usha Vance and their children, Mirabel Vance and Alec Vance.

The footage shows Usha Vance stepping out of the helicopter with the baby strapped to her chest in a gray carrier and one hand on the railing.

As she started down the steps, she lost her footing and lurched forward with her free arm swinging out, the video shows. After appearing to miss a step, the second lady seemed to save herself by grabbing a railing before finding steady footing.

Moments later, she returned upright, smiled at one of the service members on the tarmac, and cradled the baby as the Marines saluted before her husband exited, the footage shows.

JD Vance followed her down the steps, stopping mid-exit to return the salute while carrying their daughter, the clip shows.

Russia Hiding Suspected Plague Outbreak

Ed Scarce — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 23:09:22 +0000

The pneumonic plague is more serious and less common than the bubonic plague. If left untreated, it's nearly 100% fatal, and expiration (death) can occur in as little as 24 hours after symptoms are detected. Some hypothesize that the pneumonic form of the plague was mainly responsible for the Black Death, which resulted in approximately 25 million deaths in the 1300s.

Source: NBC News

Almost 200 people are under medical observation in Russia’s Siberia region after the death of a 28-year-old lab worker who may have been exposed to pneumonic plague, according to local media reports.

While Russian authorities have not confirmed her exact cause of death, the country’s consumer welfare service said Sunday that the researcher at an anti-plague institute in Irkutsk had died of “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” or origin. It said the “sanitary-epidemiological situation” in the Irkutsk region and the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov was “stable.”

The incident prompted health officials to place nearly 200 people who had been in contact with the researcher under precautionary medical observation, according to Russian media reports, which cited a regional leader. Maksim Modin, mayor of the Shelekhov municipal district near the border with Mongolia, said Friday that the inpatient facility where the researcher was treated had been closed for quarantine.
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Alabama State Rep, School Board Member Caught In Prostitution Ring Sting

Alabama Reflector — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 21:02:59 +0000

by Andrea Tinker, Alabama Reflector
October 5, 2026

An Alabama state representative and the former president of the Satsuma City Schools Board of Education were arrested Friday on charges of attempted human trafficking.

According to court documents filed Monday morning, Rep. Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale, and Kory Wesley, the former president of the Satsuma City Schools Board of Education, were arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Friday afternoon. The documents described the arrests as part of a sting operation, but did not provide further details.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Satsuma City Schools Monday morning. Attempts to reach Easterbrook were not successful. As of mid-Monday morning, neither Easterbrook nor Wesley had attorneys listed in court documents.

Satsuma City Schools said in a statement posted to their website Monday that Wesley had resigned from the board on Sunday evening. The statement said the mayor and city council of Satsuma will move to fill the position, and that Satsuma City Schools “remains committed to its core values of growth, community and high expectations.”

Scandal-Plagued Ken Paxton Busted In Leaked Audio... Again

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 21:02:53 +0000

Embattled and scandal-plagued Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton has been busted in unflattering leaked audio yet again, this time whining and complaining that he has virtually no control over his own campaign anymore: "It's all... coming from D.C."

This round of leaked audio was obtained by POLITICO and hails from a small fundraiser that took place last month and is now going public with less than 30 days left before Paxton goes head-to-head with his Democratic opponent James Talarico, who's whooping him in the polls.

In the clip, Paxton can be heard saying, "I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming — you know — from D.C."

The audio was captured by an attendee of the September fundraising event who admitted to POLITICO that they do not support Paxton.

"I don't have the ability to change anything," Paxton continues to whine in the leaked clip. "So I have to live with whatever I've got. So it is a challenge."

An anonymous source confirmed to the outlet that Paxton did not explicitly name Trump or the Trump White House as the driving force behind his Senate campaign, but "everybody knew what he was talking about."

'Make Better Decisions': Fox's Weinstein Lawyer Blames 'Debaucherous' Cornell Victim

David Edwards — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:13:45 +0000

A Fox News legal contributor who once defended convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein said the woman accusing seven Cornell fraternity members of gang rape must take responsibility for her choices.

Donna Rotunno, who also hosts a Fox News crime podcast, made the remarks Monday on "Fox & Friends" after co-host Lawrence Jones raised the case.

The woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleges in a civil lawsuit that seven former Chi Phi fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted her in October 2024, Fox News reported. No one has been criminally charged.

"You know, I want to be sensitive to Jane Doe, but we know the identities of these males now. At some point, we have to hear from Jane Doe," Jones said. "That's the only way this is fair and proper. Some of these guys have already lost their jobs without due process."

"These are young kids on a college campus making decisions. Decisions to drink, decisions to engage in debaucherous behavior, and there are consequences to that," Rotunno replied. "That does not mean that those consequences are one-sided."

'Heil Hitler': Nazis Attack 'White Supremacist' Jan. 6 Rioter During His Anti-Muslim Stunt

David Edwards — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 19:03:00 +0000

A small group of self-described Nazis attacked pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang as a "Jew" during his anti-Muslim march near Chicago, with at least one member shouting "Heil Hitler" repeatedly.

The confrontation took place Sunday outside Palestine Fest in Bridgeview, Illinois, according to a video thread independent journalist Ford Fischer of News2Share posted Monday.

Police held back a large crowd of counter-protesters as Lang rallied, while a small Nazi group also protested him, Fischer reported.

The Nazi group was led by Trevor Raein and Greg Conte, Fischer reported. Its members, dressed in white shirts, held a long banner reading "JAKE LANG IS A JEW," as shown in Fischer's footage and in a photo Raein posted on X.

"We were the Nazis there. We're not tolerating Jake Lang's Zionist ops for more wars for Jews," Raein wrote alongside the photo.

Quelle Surprise: Karoline Leavitt Is Joining Fox News As Network Infuriates Trump

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:48:57 +0000

In a move that comes as a shocking surprise to precisely no one, the New York Times has confirmed that former Trump White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is slated to join Fox News as an on-air contributor. According to the report, Leavitt is expected to start with the network on November 1, and Fox is expected to make an official announcement soon.

In a statement published by the Times, Fox News Media CEO said, "Karoline’s firsthand experience in the White House and on the presidential campaign trail gives her a distinct understanding of today’s political landscape."

Karoline gave her own statement to the NYT, promising to offer viewers "the unique perspective and candor that defined my tenure with the Trump administration."

Leavitt joins Dana Perino and Kayleigh McEnany as former White House press secretaries who ended up at Fox.

Karoline's move to Fox comes as her former boss, President Trump, has repeatedly expressed his outrage with the network, most recently complaining that Fox has not adequately covered his recent rallies.

Just yesterday morning, he raged, "Fox spends more time talking to Communists, Socialists, and Dumocrats, often without rebuttal, and MAGA is not, to put it mildly, happy."

CBS News Whiffs On Chris Wright's Lies About High Diesel Costs

John Amato — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:54:40 +0000

Ignoring the Trump led war against Iran, Energy Sec. Chris Wright made believe the reason diesel fuel costs have skyrocketed was because of the Russia conflict against Ukraine as well as blaming Gavin Newsom for supposedly closing two refineries which was a bald-faced lie.

Wright appeared on Face the Nation and the the discussion began on diesel fuel costs. Wright did his best to gaslight and then claimed prices will be going down quickly.

Host Margaret Brennan asked, "We are still seeing Iranian attacks on ships now," host Margaret Brennan said. "I mean, how can you be so confident prices are headed down?"

Wright claimed supplies are coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, US production is high, and US demand will dwindle after the summer.

WRIGHT: Similar stories with diesel.

Diesel's mostly been infected by the Russia-Ukraine war and also by China's decision not to export diesel or gasoline into the marketplace.

And of course, we're living with two refineries that were recently closed, large refineries in California that Gavin Newsom forced the closure of.

And frankly, 15 years of Democrat policies that have been energy subtraction, trying to close coal plants, close refineries, and shrink our capacity, which means when you get in crisis, we're just less resilient than we should be.
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Kristi Noem Is Melting Down Over Damning NYT Exposé On Shady DHS Contract

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:51:39 +0000

It seems now-ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was, unsurprisingly, up to some shady business during her final days as DHS head, and she really does not want the New York Times to talk about it.

NYT recently released a bombshell new report revealing that, as Noem was already on her way out the door, the agency just so happened to purchase five airplanes from a political donor at a truly astronomical markup, in a "windfall" contract that was approved on Noem's final day. The Times also notes that the chairman of Daedalus Aviation Corporation, William Walters, donated $10,000 to Noem's American Resolve PAC in 2024.

Imagine that...

The report notes that, according to the company, "Mr. Walters did not know the group was associated with Ms. Noem at the time." Still, a quick look at the PAC's archived homepage clearly shows that promoting Noem was quite literally the entity's sole purpose.

"The Department of Homeland Security agreed to pay the donor’s firm $108 million for a Boeing 737 airliner that had been converted into a massive private jet, complete with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers, and a table covered in manta ray skin,” the NYT report reveals, further adding that the firm had just bought the plane a few months before the sale at a cost of less than $90 million.

Trump's Voting Pitch: Even If You Hate Republicans, Vote For Them

John Amato — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:47:26 +0000

During a Republican midterm campaign rally with GOP candidates in a high school gym in Vandalia, Ohio, Trump gave a truly bizarre endorsement for two of their candidates since they are behind in the current polling data and aren't the most well liked people around.

Sherrod Brown leads Husted at this point 51% to 43%, and Amy Acton leads Vivek Ramaswamy 50% to 44%.

"You're voting on Voter ID," Trump said. "Go out and vote."

Trump continued, "Even if you hate John Husted. Even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy, you're going to go out, you're going to vote, and then you're going to pull their triggers."

What a campaign slogan.

"I hate Jon Husted, but I'll vote for him anyway."

"Vivek Ramaswamy, he's a rich asshole that I hate, but he's got my vote."

Trump: "Even if you hate Jon Husted, even if you hate Vivek Ramaswamy, you're gonna go out, you're gonna vote" https://t.co/xoMHrQByRA

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

Trump Boasts Of High IQ Because He Can Add One To A Number

Chris capper Liebenthal — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:20:16 +0000

While stumping for - and probably dooming - fellow Republicans in Ohio before the midterm elections, Trump told one of his fractured fairy tales about how smart he is.

Trump was talking about his "warrior dividend," one of the few times he kept a promise to dole out some money. He claimed that he asked his staff for a number for what they could afford to pay soldiers and that they told him $1,775.00. A nice round number, isn't it? Trump then claimed that he had a moment of brilliance and said that if they could scrape up one more dollar, they could make each check $1,776.00.

Trump made sure to drive home just how brilliant he thought he was by boasting, "Nobody saw it but me, I'm very proud, it was very intelligent." Trump continued with his bragging, "I'm a high-IQ person unlike some other people I can tell you about... among the highest IQs anywhere in the world!”

So, Trump thinks that being able to add one to a random number is a sign of a high IQ, it would go a long way in explaining why the economy is tanking, why we are in a war he can't figure out how to win or exit, or why everyone is laughing at him.

The only way Trump could claim to have one of the highest IQs in the world is if IQ stood for Ingestion of Quarter Pounders. Although it's probable that he would still fudge the numbers, as he does with his golf scores.

Jake Tapper Grills Hassett On Trump's Bizarre ‘Best Economy Ever’ Claims

Conover Kennard — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:47:20 +0000

CNN's Jake Tapper gave White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett a rather inconvenient reality check when he asked him to explain Donald J. Trump’s boast that the country is enjoying “the best economic numbers ever.”

The problem? The actual numbers don't seem particularly interested in cooperating with Trump’s self-congratulatory assessment.

“So let’s break down the economic numbers,” Tapper said. “Growth is a modest 2.2%. Unemployment is relatively low, but ticking up a bit at 4.2%. Hiring is weak, only 29,000 jobs added in September. July and August were revised down. Inflation is at 3.4%. Prices rose 0.4% in August.

"Wage growth is at a five-year low. Hourly wages are down 0.3% over the past year," he continued. "So, assessing it here, it’s a growing economy, but hiring is slow. Wages are not keeping up with rising prices. So, what is the president talking about when he says it’s the best economic numbers ever? Is he misinformed or is he not telling the truth?”

Tapper pressed Hassett on the glaring disconnect between Trump’s rosy claims and what the economic data—and Americans themselves—are showing. Hassett, naturally, had an explanation: If people aren't feeling like the economy is fantastic, perhaps they simply aren't appreciating how fantastic it supposedly is.

Kansas Democrats Surge In Polls: GOP Attack Ads Are Deranged

RedStateRachel — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:34:49 +0000

Republicans put money into Kansas Senate and Gubernatorial races, and new GOP attack ads against Kansas Democrats are deranged. MAGA Sen. Roger Marshall and Gubernatorial Trumper candidate Ty Masterson created attack ads that reach a new low! I think even Donald might be embarrassed.

Kansas GOP Gubernatorial Ads: Jesus Was Transgender?

The Kansas Senate race between GOP Senator Roger Marshall and Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton has made national news. But the Kansas Gubernatorial race is wild! The state elected popular Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly twice, and she fought and won battles against an extreme GOP supermajority.

Democratic candidate for Governor, Cindy Holshcer, is surging in the polls. Holshcer served as a popular state Senator in the Kansas City area before running to replace Gov. Kelly. She understands the issues that matter to voters both rural and urban; Holshcer supports women's rights, healthcare, and education. The 50-something candidate opposes the Trump cost increases, AI data centers, tariffs, and the war in Iran.

Naturally, Republican Ty Masterson is attacking her for...socialism, illegals, California, Transgender. Trump's greatest hits. The best part of the absurd anti-Holshcer ad occurs at 0:16 when they accuse her of saying "JESUS WAS TRANSGENDER!"

AI, The Trillion Dollar Hammer

Tengrain — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:34:36 +0000

The Fancy Autocomplete cheerleaders at The Mouth of Sauron, er, Axios have four out of eight items in Sunday morning’s email thingie (if you count this breaking news above the lede):

? Bulletin: President Trump announced that his Super Intelligence Force will be led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton — a former SEC chair and U.S. attorney in Manhattan who’s expected to be AI czar — along with FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Pentagon CTO Emil Michael and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Quite a star-studded cast.

The Fancy Autocomplete cheerleaders at The Mouth of Sauron, er, Axios have four out of eight items in Sunday morning’s email thingie (if you count this breaking news above the lede):

Mike's Blog Roundup

Steve in Manhattan — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:34:30 +0000

It's Banned Books Week, so go ahead and read something forbidden!

Crooked Timber - The Office: why some American sitcoms are the way they are;

Dispatches From a Collapsing State - AI and the flattened future;

Off Message - Democrats need to be the uncompromising ones now (via Obsidian Wings);

The Rectification of Names - will the real dirtbag please stand up?

The Rude Pundit - Trump blames Biden for things Biden had nothing to do with ....

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

29,000 Jobs. One Man Did This.

Cliff Schecter — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:34:26 +0000

The September jobs report came in at just 29,000 jobs, with July revised down to a loss. Joe, a former Republican congressman, started with a confession: for decades both parties have given presidents too much credit for good economies and too much blame for bad ones.

But not this time. Illegal tariffs, an illegal war, and cruel mass deportations, he argued, made this the first economy one man has broken on his own. It has Trump telling even more tall tales of bringing jobs and plants to places like Iowa—which should happen just as soon as I travel to Jupiter.

From there, we covered the midterms--especially Senate races--as Republicans are sweating states nobody had on the that'd seem insane any other year--Kansas, Arkansas, Alaska, Nebraska, Idaho, South Dakota. We covered the week’s most humiliating Senate moment (those with *hawk-like* attention may remember), and answered the question of whether anyone will admit to voting Trump ten years from now.

You're gonna definitely wanna check this one out at BAM--chock full o' predictions!

SNL Cold Open: Republicans Film Ads For Midterms

John Amato — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 02:37:02 +0000

What a pathetic crew.

Saturday Night Live: President Trump (James Austin Johnson), Vice President JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane), Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Mitch McConnell (Mikey Day) film ads to encourage Republicans to vote in the midterm elections.

Open thread.

Vance Tells Voters To Quit Griping About The 'Little Things'

Chris capper Liebenthal — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 22:10:50 +0000

J. Divan Vance gave Fox viewers his best pitch for why they should vote for Republicans in the midterm elections.

"There are obviously, I think, every single person who voted for us in 2024 could find something where they wish maybe congressional Republicans had gone further, passed the Save America Act, which obviously the president and I worked very hard on," Vance whined. "But the challenge here is between Democrats who want to destroy the country, who want to permanently disempower you, make it so that even if you vote Republican, and your vote doesn't actually count anymore, and Republicans who fundamentally are trying to solve the problems that Democrats under Joe Biden created; that is the choice."

Vance droned on, "So I actually, you know, you know me, Sean, I invite people, I like to talk to people about what can we do better, what can we improve on. There's so much that is going in the right direction. There's so much that I'm proud of. Absolutely, we need to get more done, which is why you need to give us two more years to get more great results for the American people."

Will Trump's Tariffs On Tomatoes Cost Republicans Texas?

Ed Scarce — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 22:10:49 +0000

With tomatoes now going for around $80 a box, free chips and salsa may soon be a thing of the past at all Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants. With the cost of living crisis, the fuel crisis, and everything else, this might be too much for Texans.

Source: Houston Public Media

Free chips and salsa at Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants could soon be a casualty of President Donald Trump's trade war with Mexico.

The administration's tariffs on Mexican tomato exports are making the traditional appetizer too costly for restaurants to just give away.

The Trump administration imposed a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes in July 2025, ostensibly with the aim of protecting U.S. farmers from foreign competition and boosting domestic production. Mexico accounts for roughly 90% of the tomatoes the U.S. has imported since 2015, worth more than $3 billion, according to a study by Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service.

Grocery stores and restaurants were initially able to absorb the higher costs rather than passing them on to consumers. But then, bad weather in Mexico and Florida reduced supplies, and tomato prices jumped to their highest level in two decades.
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GOP Rep's Campaign Is Quietly Imploding Over Stock Trade Ban

Chris capper Liebenthal — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 20:39:03 +0000

Rep. Bryan Steil made his lead on banning congressional stock trading the main platform of his reelection bid. It turns out to have been a very poor choice.

Steil is running a rather cynical and hypocritical ad boasting about his bill to ban congressional stock trading. Before he did that, maybe he should have considered how he doubled his own wealth through trading stocks:

Steil’s median net worth more than doubled from 2018 to 2024, from $812,000 in 2018 to nearly $1.9 million in 2024, according to his financial disclosures. Several of Steil’s brokerage and retirement accounts jumped in value, including Vanguard Target Retirement, Mid Cap Growth Index Fund, and Strategic Equity Investor accounts. He also added a Vanguard U.S. Growth Fund account worth between $250,001 and $500,000 that’s now among his largest assets.

To make matters worse for Steil, his bill failed in the Senate this past week, with many senators from both parties saying it didn't go far enough. Well, they can't expect Lyin' Bryan to cut off his own gravy train, can they? Geez.

All of this, plus the Trump albatross around his neck, means the most recent polls show Steil blowing a 14-point lead over his opponent, Mitchell Berman. Cook Political Report has shifted the district from Likely Republican to Leans Republican.

Golfer-in-Chief Takes Aim At Daylight Saving Time

Heather — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 18:18:24 +0000

Welp, we found out why Trump doxxed Tom Cotton when he didn't want to go along with him on making daylight saving time permanent. It's all about him, of course.

From Raw Story on the doxxing: Trump sends his fans after GOP senator — and gives them his phone number:

President Donald Trump posted a GOP Senator's cellphone number in a Truth Social post on Saturday in an effort to make daylight saving time permanent.

Trump posted the number of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and urged Arkansas residents to call him and pressure the senator to drop his opposition to the Sunshine Protection Act because changing clocks is "very expensive for our Nation."

"Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill," Trump wrote. "For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it's very easy to do, it only takes one!"

Trump straight up just doxxed Senator Tom Cotton pic.twitter.com/Thniknb1Sb

— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) October 3, 2026

Cotton gave a mealymouthed response that didn't mention Trump by name but defended his actions.

Todd Blanche Defends DOJ Sending Federal Agents To Polling Stations

John Amato — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 16:31:04 +0000

Responding to critics of the DOJ sending a thousand "election monitors" to polling stations during the midterms," Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche claimed the DOJ has been doing it since the 60s and Senators should instead thank God they are doing it.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin is, "introducing a new bill to protect voters from intimidation or interference by federal agents at polling locations called the Safe Access to the Polls Act."

Blanche was on Fox News Sunday today and received no pushback for many of his answers.

BREAM: The DOJ planning to send out a thousand monitors to the polls during the midterm elections," Shannon Bream said.

Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin has said this about the upcoming election. She says our democracy demands or depends on Americans being able to show up at the ballot box and have their voices heard.

But that's all at risk this November as President Trump openly weighs sending in armed federal agents to our schools, churches, fire stations and other polling locations.

So what exactly is the plan? Who are these monitors gonna be?

And how do you answer critics who say it's about intimidation?

BLANCHE: I wish that the senators that are in the congressmen that are saying this fear of fear-mongering false statements would just not do that.

It's not fair to the American people.
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Trump Makes Another Pathetic Attempt To Bribe Voters Ahead Of Midterms

Heather — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 15:45:43 +0000

As we already discussed here, Trump's pathetic attempt to bribe his way out of a blue wave already backfired spectacularly. Now he's doubling down on the $5K bribe, and has promised a new one to boot: Trump promises another round of checks before the midterms:

President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to send “nearly $100" checks to more than 20 million seniors on Medicare, his latest pledge to send voters money before a critical slate of midterm elections in November.

“I pledged to protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security, which were on the verge of RUIN by Joe Biden, who foolishly and maliciously let tens of millions of Illegal Aliens into our Country, and we are doing just that for America’s Seniors,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. The checks, Trump said, would “help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums.” Funding would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which the president panned as “a pointless ‘Slush Fund’ that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs.”

Even MAGA isn't buying this one: Furious MAGA fans rebel against Trump over his new 'bribe': 'Won't even fill my tank':

Trump Crowd Size Craters In Ruby-Red Alabama

NewsHound Ellen — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:32:13 +0000

Donald Trump spoke to rows of empty seats on Friday during his “big rally” in Mobile, Alabama. MS Now’s Jen Psaki noted that the venue, not even half full, holds 10,000 people. “For context,” she added, “when Trump kicked off his presidential campaign in 2015, he was able to fill an arena three times that size in the exact same city.”

The Daily Beast reported that Trump ironically began his address by bragging that he could not find a Mobile venue big enough for all his supporters at that same 2015 event.

Trump also reportedly claimed that he was in Mobile “to say hello. I love you,” and that he was really there “as a sign of respect.”

Translation: Trump knows Republican control of Congress is in serious jeopardy; he can only rally for his party in the reddest of red states. As if to put a fine point on it, he reiterated his bribe of $5,000 if Republicans retain their Congressional majority, The Daily Beast also said.

This latest promise would almost certainly land in your wallet in the same place as the $5,000 “DOGE dividend”: nowhere. But even if Trump wasn’t notorious for stiffing people, he has to know that it is very unlikely his voter bribe chit will ever be called in.

Psaki called the half-filled Mobile arena “a visual representation of his political decline.”

She’s not wrong.

Why Was Schmitt Being Groomed For Stardom In The First Place?

Steve M. — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:32:00 +0000

Former special prosecutor Jack Smith was interrogated at a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing yesterday. If you know what happened, you know this ended as a massive embarrassment for Republicans -- and for one in particular -- but if you don't, here's a brief summary:

Trump and his allies have argued for years that Smith weaponized his powers as a politically motivated cudgel, and on Tuesday, [Missouri senator Eric] Schmitt and his aides were going to prove it. They were well prepared for the showdown. They didn’t just have a smoking gun — they had a chart printed on poster board....

But as it turns out, the Schmitt team’s whole setup was based on a dumb mistake. They apparently thought they’d found proof Smith was in Atlanta the day after a pair of local prosecutors announced an affair, revealing some kind of anti-Trump collusion between them.

This local prosecutors Smith was accused of meeting were Fani Willis, the Fulton Country DA, and a hired prosecutor with whom she was having an affair, Nathan Wade. Willis had acknowledged the affair a day before Smith's alleged trip to Atlanta.