Hi all, it’s Tuesday. Election Day.
Before anything else: if you haven’t voted, go vote. If you already have, call your friends, text your family, and make sure every single person you know gets to the polls today. If you’re stuck in a long line, stay in it. Your vote will count.
Here are the top stories we’re tracking this morning:
Trump phones into Fox & Friends and rambles about Iran, Greenland, inflation and becoming Israel’s prime minister
Trump throws a Hail Mary and announces an end to U.S. aid to Israel, and Israeli officials say they had no idea what he’s talking about
Early turnout data in Georgia, Arizona and Virginia looks grim for Republicans, and GOP analysts are saying so
Ron DeSantis breaks with the party line on gas prices and the Iran war
Trump’s cabinet closes with “high prices are good”
Voter fraud fearmongering from DHS, Ken Paxton and MAGA influencers, plus a machine meltdown in Westchester County
Lifelong Republicans telling reporters they voted Democrat
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Trump’s Election Morning Call-In
As polls opened, Trump called into Fox & Friends. It was one of those calls where you could really sense him spiraling in real time.
On Iran, Trump confirmed he struck the country last night, something MeidasTouch was first to report, but insisted it was “just a minor attack” and “this isn’t really war,” because “war would be the second world war.” He then added, “I’m not looking to kill lots of people, but if we have to, we’ll have to.”
He also addressed reports of depleted munitions, calling it a “fake rumor” before admitting “we were low on certain things,” and naturally blaming Ukraine and Biden for that.
On the economy, he claimed “the inflation is solved” and “everything is going good.” Asked by Ainsley Earhardt for his final pitch to voters, he said “We’re hottest country in the world,” crediting a meeting with Xi Jinping that he described as two weeks ago. That meeting was well over a month ago.
Then came Greenland. Trump told the hosts Europe “just gave the US the greatest gift” ever: “We got Greenland.” When Brian Kilmeade gently noted it was a military deal, Trump drifted off, and Earhardt quickly thanked him for joining. You could feel the control room begging for a commercial break. Those Fox hosts were DESPERATE to get this lunatic off the air.
Trump told Fox: “If people ever got tired of me in the US, I’ll move to Israel and become prime minister.”
Donald, I’m sure this community will happily chip in to get you a one-way ticket.
Trump Says U.S. Aid to Israel Is Ending, and Israel Has No Clue What He’s Talking About
Trump also told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the roughly $4 billion in annual U.S. aid to Israel “gets cut off at the end of the year,” because “they don’t need it.”
That appears to have been news to Israel. The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew media, reported that top financial, defense and military officials were caught off guard. A Finance Ministry official told Walla no formal document had been submitted by the Prime Minister’s Office, and that while the ministry knew of an intention to end aid eventually, it was surprised by the immediate timeline. A senior financial official told Ynet that losing two years of aid means $8 billion that will come “from citizens’ taxes.” A senior defense official told Kan: “We did not expect this announcement, certainly not today.” Reporter Yuval Sade noted the $3.8 billion per year was baked into Israel’s defense budget for 2027 and 2028.
Analyst Dr. Annelle Sheline flagged what Trump left out… The NDAA moves U.S. funding for Israel into the defense procurement process, meaning less oversight, no ability to turn it off, and deeper military integration. By her read, U.S. money to Israel will actually increase.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene piled on, pointing out she was labeled an antisemite last year when only six members voted for her amendment to strip Israel funding, and that being on the verge of a midterm wipeout apparently “changes hearts and minds.”
Meanwhile, in Israel, Gadi Eisenkot vowed to move quickly to prevent another election and Netanyahu’s further entrenchment. And in Tehran’s Revolution Square, a new billboard shows Trump behind bars with the words “We Will Kill Trump” in English and Persian.
Trump’s Truth Social Meltdown
Trump posted an AI image of Winston Churchill, cigar in hand, telling him “Donald, you’re doing a Superb Job.” Then he posted a vile attack on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, claiming he “Hates Jews and Hates Blacks” and “also Hates Whites,” and urging votes for Mike Rogers. That’s the President’s closing argument in Michigan: pure hate.
First Results: Guam
The first results of the day came from Guam. Democrat Alicia Limtiaco beat incumbent Republican delegate James Moylan 51.0% to 48.8%, the first Democratic FLIP in Congress. Republican Tony Ada won the governor’s race 51.5% to 48.1%.
Trump celebrated the governor’s race on Truth Social, calling Guam “always... strongly Democrat.” Five of Guam’s last nine governors have been Republicans. Trump didn’t mention the House seat his party lost.
Early Turnout Is Ugly for Republicans
Georgia: Patricia Murphy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Brad Raffensperger’s office counted 300,000 votes by 10 a.m., putting the state on track for 1.2 million today. That’s well short of what GOP strategists needed to overcome Democrats’ early vote advantage.
Florida: G. Elliott Morris found no Election Day Republican surge. Per his county-by-county data, Republican Election Day ballots were at 69% of the pace needed to beat 2022 turnout, while Democrats were at 107%. Manatee and Brevard, both GOP counties, sat at 54%. Pinellas and Polk were running at 127% and 126%.
Arizona: Sen. Ruben Gallego noted Republican turnout in Maricopa County at 10 a.m. was down 48% compared to 2022.
Virginia: Democrats are leading in turnout rate by about 10% as of noon, on top of their early vote lead. Falls Church, Alexandria, Richmond and Arlington are running ahead of Republican-leaning areas.
Weather: Slow-moving thunderstorms are dumping rain across heavily Republican East Texas and northwest Louisiana, including Tyler, Longview and Shreveport.
And the GOP’s own analysts are feeling it. ABC15’s Garrett Archer shared a text from a Republican analyst: “God all my models are already projecting doom / And it’s 8am.” Rasmussen’s Mark Mitchell relayed a source’s verdict: “this turnout is ass.”
DeSantis Twists the Knife
Ron DeSantis clearly smells blood. Earlier, he openly broke from MAGA messaging. He said gas is higher “because of the Iran conflict,” and that Republicans who deny it or blame Biden are “gaslighting” voters. He said Democrats are energized while GOP voters aren’t, that “DC is a total mess,” and that Democrats “have more momentum.” He warned that if Iran drags on, it’ll be “devastating” for Trump and Republicans, and he lamented people using “public office for private gain” in Washington. DeSantis is clearly positioning himself for the MAGA civil war that’s coming.
The GOP’s Closing Messages
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox Business: “The best cure for high prices is high prices. It grows supply.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins bragged that crop prices are up, which she claims helps farmers, while farmers are drowning in input costs from this war and bankruptcies are surging. The chyron during her segment: “TRUMP VOWS $15B FOR FARMERS STRUGGLING WITH COSTS.”
RNC Chair Joe Gruters said blue states “are terrible” and on a path to “Havana and Beijing and Moscow.” Our own Ron Filipkowski noted that’s Gruters’ closing message to Maine voters. Gruters also said this is “the president’s party” and Trump will have a “larger than life presence” in 2028.
Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, asked by NewsNation about Trump’s repeated rally comments on his physique, said it “added a little levity” and joked he was surprised he didn’t win the Heisman. No mention of healthcare or prices, tough.
Fraud Fearmongering and Westchester’s Machine Mess
Right on cue, MAGA influencer Joey Mannarino posted that “MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF VOTER FRAUD” are being reported nationwide. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned DHS will “hunt you down” for voting illegally. Remember, a DC grand jury just rejected the administration’s double-voting case, which we reported here at MeidasTouch. Texas AG and Senate candidate Ken Paxton told Newsmax there are “definitely some examples of felons voting” in Harris County that won’t be resolved by the time the election is over. CNN reports DOJ sent about 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states, largely to districts that voted Democratic in 2024.
In Westchester County, New York, voting machines countywide stopped accepting ballots. The county Board of Elections blamed ballot paper thickness. The New York State Board of Elections contradicted that, saying a programming update was only deployed to machines in one municipality, so machines elsewhere couldn’t recognize the ballots, and that there’s nothing wrong with the paper. Both boards say every vote will be counted: completed ballots are going into secure emergency bags under bipartisan oversight. And per City & State’s Rebecca Lewis, the county’s Republican elections commissioner, Douglas Colety, didn’t show up today, with no time off requested. Quite the day to not show up to work. If you’re voting in Westchester, stay in line.
Voices From the Polls
Iowa: Kenneth Hessen, 69, told the New York Times he’s voted Republican his entire life and voted straight Democrat this year, citing his local hospital at risk under Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Another Iowa Trump voter told MS NOW he feels “lied to” by Trump and that the tariffs weren’t good for anybody.
Michigan: A Republican in White Lake told CNN he voted Democrat because Rogers is “too aligned with Trump.” In Detroit, voter Faith Harris told ABC’s Juju Chang that Rep. Haley Stevens’ last-minute Rogers endorsement felt like a betrayal of her community.
Maine: A past Collins voter told Fox News the senator now does “whatever makes Trump happy.” Another past Collins supporter said they voted for Jackson to flip the Senate.
North Carolina: Cooper voters told CNN they were motivated by cost of living and a Congress that’s failed to enforce checks and balances.
Arizona: A registered Republican in Scottsdale told MS NOW she fears “a big Dem blue wave.” Another voter called herself “optimistic” because people are fed up with Trump.
Georgia: Voters told CNN and MS NOW they’re worried about their kids’ futures and that food, work and housing are all harder to afford.
Texas: A Houston voter told Fox Business he doesn’t trust Ken Paxton with his vote at all.
What to Watch Tonight
The House stands at 219 Republicans to 214 Democrats, with 218 needed for a majority. Fox put national early vote at more than 57.7 million. Key races include Senate contests in Michigan, Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Alaska and Nebraska (Osborn vs. Ricketts), plus governor’s races in Kansas and Ohio (Acton vs. Ramaswamy).
Ben will be live on breaking news at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, 1:30 p.m. Pacific, then our full election night coverage kicks off with Scott MacFarlane and Katie Phang hosting, with Ben, Luke Radel, and some incredibly special guests throughout the night. Click to WATCH HERE.
And if you’re waiting in line, grab a copy of WTF America while you’re there. If you grab the audio version, you can even listen while you wait.
Now go vote. Bring someone with you. Let’s go.
Shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
