This Weekend in Politics, 12/21-12/22/25

… Lara Trump announced that she is “withdrawing” her name from consideration for appointment to fill Marco Rubio’s seat in the Senate, which means she was just informed by Desantis that he will not be picking her. I predicted in the column multiple times that, despite lobbying from Trump, Vance, Musk and many others, there was no way Desantis was going to pick her over one of his cronies.

… There also remains plenty of bad blood between Trump and Desantis, no matter how much they both try and pretend they have patched things up. They haven’t posed for a photo together in over two years. Desantis hasn’t spoken at Trump rallies. They both attended the Army/Navy game but Desantis wasn’t invited to sit in Trump’s box.

… I also caught Trump from someone’s cell phone being recorded STILL calling Desantis ‘Ron Desanctimonious’ at Mar-a-Lago recently. These two flat out do not like each other, and aren’t especially good at hiding it from people who pay attention. Like me.

… Lara Trump: “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the US Senate. I do have a big announcement that I’m excited to share in January.”

… So her “big announcement” is that she is either going to run for the Senate seat in 2026, has a new heavily autotuned song coming out, or Trump is making her an Ambassador and sending her halfway around the world like Kim. Something tells me the announcement won’t be that she is coaching her daughter’s soccer team.

… The morning after Lara makes that announcement, Matt Gaetz tells Charlie Kirk’s big Turning Point USA conference in Arizona that he may now run for the open Senate seat in FL in 2026: “It seems I may not have had enough support in the US Senate (for his AG nomination). Maybe I’ll just run for Marco Rubio’s vacant seat in the Senate.”

… One thing that could complicate matters for Gaetz is that the full House Ethics report on his behavior during his years in Congress will be posted on the internet Monday for everyone to see. And it isn’t going to be pretty. I assure you that there will be many sordid details in there that we have not seen or heard yet. I will read it and will break it down in a full story tomorrow separate from this bulletin.

… At the same event, Steve Bannon said if the Gaetz ethics report is released on Monday as reported, then Gaetz is going to get his revenge on his former Republican colleagues because he will then “expose who slept with who - every intern, every secretary, every page. Gaetz isn’t backing down, and DC should be terrified.”

… I’m not terrified that Steve is threatening us with a good time again.

… More Bannon: “I would be very comfortable with Megyn Kelly as Speaker. And I mean that. She has common sense, tough as nails, and no one is going to be able to BS her. So, I’m all in for that. I think it’s time we had a conservative/right-wing woman in charge of things.”

… Lauren Boebert at the Charlie Kirk event: “We are seeing an end to the woke agenda because America is fully awake and not woke.” My head hurts.

… As I wrote a week ago, our intention was always to make this Bulletin for paid subscribers only. However, I wanted to offer at least half of it for 3 months to free subscribers so people could decide whether it is worth it to them, along with all our other content. That time period will end on January 15. After that, we will offer this entire Weekend Bulletin to free subscribers, but the other 5 editions during the week will be for paid subscribers only.

… To begin to get people used to that, I will make this entire weekend column free for everyone.

… Trump also said this weekend that if Panama doesn’t stop charging us fees to use the Panama Canal, then the US might seize it and take it over when he becomes president. He said when the canal was eventually turned over to Panama after construction and US administration, “it was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation between us and Panama.”

… More from Panama Don: “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!”

… Having read and watched thousands of Trump statements and speeches over the years, I can pretty much tell you to a 95% certainty who wrote what for him based on syntax, style and substance. This Panama Canal one was written by Stephen Miller.

… The President of Panama then responded: “Every square meter of the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama.”

… Trump then responded to that: “We will see about that!!”

… So basically Trump has now initiated conflicts with Canada, Mexico, Iran, Ukraine, the entire EU, China and Panama. And he hasn’t even taken office yet.

… Laura Loomer said she was the one who gave Trump the idea to seize the Panama Canal after she went down to that country last spring to document migrant caravans: “I remember telling President Trump in person in February that this would be a great idea.”

… After all the drama in the House this past week was resolved, we then learned when the bill finally went to the Senate that it was Rand Paul who was responsible for blocking funding for pediatric cancer research this year.

… The funding was cut out of the original bipartisan deal when Musk went nuts on X and demanded that Republicans tank the deal, which they promptly did. Mike Johnson then came out with a new deal without the cancer research funding in, which was promptly voted down by 38 Republicans because Johnson also attached Trump’s last minute demand to dissolve the debt ceiling during his entire presidency. (Cutting out the cancer funding didn’t bother them).

… When Democrats blamed Musk for cutting funding for pediatric cancer out of the bill, his X cult came to the rescue by pointing out that the funding had passed the House months earlier in a standalone bill, but claimed it was being held onto by Chuck Schumer in the Senate.

… But then we learned when the 3rd package finally passed the House and went to the Senate that it was Rand Paul who placed a hold on the bill for months to prevent it from being voted on, not Schumer. He finally relented and it passed on Friday. Democrats wanted it as part of the original CR deal to get around Rand Paul’s hold, then Musk made sure that effort was thwarted.

… So the blame for the delay on this funding rests squarely on the narrow shoulders of President Elon Musk and Rand Paul.

… Paul said that he was blocking the bill for months because he claimed there was already agencies and organizations doing pediatric cancer research and more funding was unnecessary. But he gave up on that argument on Friday when the shit hit the fan over this.

… The Senate bill also had more money in it for cancer research than the bipartisan compromise that ended up passing, so Musk/Paul didn’t succeed in their attempt to completely eliminate the pediatric cancer funding, but they did succeed in it being reduced.

… Paul then introduced an amendment to raise the Social Security retirement age to 70. It failed by a vote of 3-93. Chuck Schumer to Rand after the vote: “Really came close. Real close.”

… Mitt Romney on why he voted against the final package even though he actually supported it: “While I support keeping the government open, I voted no on the CR. It was a simple protest that this is an absurd way to run a government.” Agree with that. We only have to do these because Republicans have been incapable of passing their own budget in the past 2+ years. It was probably Romney’s final vote and the bill was going to pass anyway, so he could afford to make a point on his way out the door.

… Democrats and media continuing to refer to Elon as President Musk is starting to get to Trump. He took the stage today at Charlie Kirk’s event where he addressed the President Musk issue: “No, he’s not going to be president. That I can tell you. And I’m safe, you know why? He can’t be because he wasn’t born in this country.”

… The fact that Trump is even talking about it now at a rally shows how much it bothers him.

… I have numerous videos and photos posted by denizens of Mar-a-Lago showing Trump sitting at a table holding court and signing MAGA hats on Friday afternoon at the exact time the most intense round of negotiations was happening in the House. Not to worry though, Musk was handling everything for him.

… AOC: “House Republicans don’t know which one they should be listening to first. As I’ve said, Republicans don’t know who their daddy is.”

… Of course, nobody is saying that Musk will be sworn in as president. What Democrats are saying is that Elon is the puppet master and is the one really running the Republican party behind the scenes. Doesn’t matter where he was born for that role.

… We at Meidas are now about to do the same thing to Trump that he and MAGA did to Joe Biden. They claimed that Barack Obama was secretly running the government for the last 4 years while Biden dithered. Now we will use their playbook right back at them. There is nothing they hate more than when we use their own tactics against them. But that is what we will do.

… President Musk.

… While Speaking at Charlie Kirk’s event today, Trump noticed that Ted Cruz wasn’t there during his speech. Trump said that Ted was in “big trouble” for leaving the venue right before he spoke. Then Ted eventually came running out from backstage while buttoning up his jacket to let Dear Leader know he was still there and didn’t skip out on his big speech. Pathetic.

… It was also Ted Cruz’s birthday. Not that Trump knew that though. I wish I didn’t know things like that.

… Trump also declared that he has just come up with the Very Original Idea to have drug companies warn you about possible side effects: “We're going to advertise how bad drugs are for you. They ruin your look. They ruin your face, they ruin your skin. Nobody's done that before and we're going to do it.”

… Kim Guilfoyle wrote that part of the speech.

… Trump also said that he and RFK Jr were going to figure out what causes autism. In two weeks.

… In 2023, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) was riding high politically. He was Chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. Had a nice, safe Republican seat. But then he endorsed Desantis against Trump in the primary. Rut roh. Trump went after him, endorsed a Republican primary opponent against Good, and Good was defeated.

… So after the CR drama ended, Good took a little parting shot at Trump on his way out the door: “The problem with being loyal to a person, any person, instead of being loyal to principles and the Constitution, is that you inevitably find yourself trying to justify things like raising the debt limit with no cuts.”

… But none of them want to be Bob Good or Liz Cheney 2.0. And that is why most of them will ignore Good and continue do what Trump wants rather than face his wrath. Life is much, much, much easier that way for elected Republicans. The only consistent exceptions right now are Chip Roy and Thomas Massie, who are in super-safe districts and don’t seem to care much what Trump has to say.

… Roy and Massie also endorsed Desantis over Trump.

… Former 2024 Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted a new Politico story detailing how former 2016 Trump campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski is now advising Kristi Noem on her transition to DHS Secretary. Several things make this especially interesting:

1. It was widely reported by many media outlets that Noem previously had an extramarital affair with Lewandowski that was one of the worst kept secrets in Trump World, although both unconvincingly denied it.

2. Lewandowski was fired by Trump as a Senior Advisor to his PAC after he was charged with sexually molesting the wife of a major Trump donor, and also allegedly carrying on an on again / off again relationship with Trump-favorite Hope Hicks without Trump’s knowledge or blessing.

3. When the Trump campaign was sputtering this past summer under LaCivita’s leadership, Trump brought Lewandowski back into the fold and rehired him. Corey then audited the amount of money LaCivita was making off the campaign and presented a lengthy report to Trump that LaCivita was robbing him, which reportedly infuriated him.

4. LaCivita was then inches away from being fired. Lewandowski badly wanted LaCivita’s job. Rather than focus on the campaign, Lewandowski was focused on taking out LaCivita and taking his place.

5. A big meeting was then held between Trump, LaCivita and Lewandowski which was reportedly very heated with accusations being thrown back and forth. The end result of that power struggle was that LaCivita won and kept his job, and Lewandowski was demoted to Trump Defender on TV.

… And now LaCivita is counting his millions at home, continuing to mess with Lewandowski by posting a story suggesting that Noem is back to her adulterous ways hanging out with Corey in DC while Noem’s husband runs the farm in South Dakota. (PS - LaCivita made a name for himself in politics by being the architect of the “Swiftboat” ads against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign).

… A bizarre story broke on Saturday about previous Appropriations Chair Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). She hasn’t been seen much in the last 6 months, she gave up the Chair in April, hasn’t voted since July, and didn’t run for re-election, but her X account kept posting things while her staff has acted like everything was fine. But the Dallas Morning News, quoting her son, reports that she has been residing at an assisted living facility for months with “dementia issues.”

… Granger is 81 years old and has been in Congress for 27 years.

… Former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton on Musk endorsing Germany’s neo-Nazi party AfD: “A few weeks ahead of the next election in Germany, and at the time of the heinous attack in Magdeburg, Elon Musk, the world’s influencer on X and a potential member of the future US Administration, openly supports the far-right AfD party. Isn’t this the very definition of foreign interference?”

… Musk responded to Breton: “Bro, American ‘foreign interference’ is the only reason you’re not speaking German or Russian.” Yes, I’m sure the US declaring war on Germany after Hitler first declared war on us is the same as Musk endorsing a Nazi party on social media. Pretty much identical.

… Musk also retweeted a meme this weekend that claimed actor Tom Hanks was involved in child sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein. The original meme came from a QAnon account. Musk captioned it that Hanks needed to be investigated by the incoming Trump DOJ: “Well, let’s find out, shall we?”

… That prompted this post from one of the leading QAnon accounts on X, who was very excited Musk validated their theories about Hanks: “This is not the first time Elon highlighted Hanks. Last year Elon commented on a post calling Hanks a mutilation blood sacrifice cannibal child rapist reptilian adrenochrome junkie.” How lovely.

… X user Robert Skvarla: “Let me get this straight: Tom Hanks, by all accounts a decent person who has no known connection to Epstein, is linked to sex trafficking in QAnon memes, while Elon Musk, who has met both Ghislaine and Diddy in-person and moved in their circles, is the one posting them?”

… MAGA activist Blake Marnell, who goes by the social media handle ‘Brick Suit’ because he has attended every single Trump rally for years wearing a suit that is a print of bricks from head to toe, fried all 3 of his cameras this weekend because he pointed them at a laser light show at a James O’Keefe’s event this weekend. He films attendees both inside and outside the rallies for MAGA social media. After he gets new cameras.

… Trump posted on Truth Social: “Next year, we will deliver the largest Tax Cuts in the History of our country.” That one he wrote. The random capitals is always a tell.

… He also posted that Liz Cheney should be in prison and “is so unpopular and disgusting, a real loser!” Class and grace is returning to the White House. Sorry, world.

… Politico reported that Chair of the San Diego Board of Supervisors, Democrat Nora Vargas, is resigning her position because of the number of credible threats she has received after she said that she opposed any county resources being used to assist Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

… The group ‘Stop Anti Semites’ has named Candace Owens their ‘Antisemite of the Year.’

… Trump named the former creator of ‘The Apprentice’ Mark Burnett as his Special Envoy to the UK. Without Mark Burnett there is never a President Trump. He created the myth of Trump as a successful billionaire at a time he was drowning in debt and going under and sold that fiction to millions of people for years. The revenue Trump got from the show also bailed him out financially heading into 2016.

… Of course, Burnett held on to all those tapes of Trump saying things while filming the show that that would have destroyed his candidacy in 2016. He has never released any of the things Trump said on camera saying during filming that were never aired on TV. Many of those things are reportedly Access Hollywood-level bad and worse.

… A new poll shows that 23% of Democrats say they will reduce time with relatives over the holidays because of political differences versus 5% of Republicans who say they will do that. I guess both sides will have their own takes on why that is so.

… Trump has transferred all his shares in Trump Media, which owns Truth Social, into a Trust. Trump owns 57% of the company. At the current share price, that is a $4 billion stake. CREW VP Jordan Libowitz: “Yes, he put it in a trust, but he basically did nothing to assuage any ethical fears. This is like a head nod in the direction of ethics, without actually taking an ethical step.”

… The NY Post reports that Jeff Bezos is spending more money on his wedding ceremony next weekend than he did to buy the Washington Post. That is where we are at as a civilization. Bezos denies the story, but didn’t disclose any specifics on how much it will cost.

… Every indicator suggests that tomorrow will be an incredibly slow news day for politics.

Which probably means that all hell will break loose.

See you then.