This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 270.

… Fox devoted a segment to attacking Meidas for our coverage of the bandages on Trump’s hand. We covered Trump’s physical and mental health issues for a long time while legacy media ignores it. Fox played a clip of Jordy on the Meidas podcast talking about it, then a host said this: “That band aid doesn’t look suspicious to me at all, having worked with a lot of A-list talent who are out there shaking a lot of hands. I mean, the guy is an elderly man. Your skin gets thinner as you get older.”

… NYT: “Joseph Oduro was leading an economics study session at Brown Univ on Sat when a masked man carrying a rifle burst into his classroom of about 60 students and started shooting. The session for the Principles of Economics class was nearly over.” Oduro: “I was just teaching my review, like usual. I was telling my students that I am so grateful for them. All of a sudden, we heard gunshots and people screaming.”

… “About 3 seconds later, he said, a man with a face mask and a rifle entered the classroom and started shooting. The man screamed something that Oduro said was imperceptible.”

… Meanwhile, Trump was giving the all-clear to everyone with a post on Truth Social when the suspect still hadn’t been located: “I have been briefed on the shooting that took place at Brown University in RI. The FBI is on the scene. The suspect is in custody. God bless the victims and the families of the victims!”

… Providence mayor Brett Smiley responded to the misinformation from Trump, which put people’s lives in danger: “We know there will be misinformation available online. Please, when it comes to official updates, go to the city of Providence’s social media channels so you know you are getting an accurate and official update.”

… Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) to CNN: “This is not shocking, because over the last year, Trump has been engaged in a dizzying campaign to increase violence in this country. He is restoring gun rights to felons, eliminated the WH office of gun violence prevention, and he’s stopped funding mental health grants and community anti-gun violence grants.”

… Trump commented on it today: “Brown. Great school. One of the best in the country. Things can happen. To the 9 injured - get well fast.”

… A Fox host said this weekend that more Americans need to buy artificial Christmas trees because tree farms are needed for AI data centers: “There will be transmission lines that have to go through developments and farms. That’s the nature of a growing economy. Everybody needs to get on board. Buy a fake tree.”

… Politico: “Increasingly, congressional lawmakers from states at the center of the data center boom - such as IN, KY, OH, PA and VA — are feeling the heat and looking to adjust. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA): “I think people have very legitimate concerns, and that is: Who is going to pay the bill for the additional energy that’s demanded from this? They go, ‘My power bill’s gone up because somebody down the road is building a data center.’”

… Still, most Republicans remain supporters of the tech industry and the rapid infrastructure build-out. They see accelerating AI development as both an economic imperative and a geopolitical necessity in the race against China. Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY): “Industry has the money, they have the capital to invest — what they don’t have is access to energy.”

… Energy Secretary Chris Wright was on Fox: Q - “The president is coming up on a year in office. When can Americans expect to see their energy bills drop? Wright: Very soon you’ll see a stop in the rise in electricity prices, and with the continuation of Trump policies, you’ll see declines in electricity prices later this term.”

… WH Econ Advisor Kevin Hassett on CBS: Q - “A survey of CEOs said they anticipate employment will decrease next year. Are you concerned about a hiring slowdown? Hassett: The Fed said they’re more bullish on growth for next year. Q - But these are the CEOs who would be doing the hiring, and they saying they’re not. Hassett: But they don’t have the broad perspective that we’ll get when we get the big data release next week.”

… Q - “The president said ‘prices are coming down tremendously.’ But the latest data shows the consumer price index up 3% year over year. What data is he looking at? Hassett: He went through the individual items that we’ve already made a bunch of progress on.”

… A familiar pattern. Trump’s sycophants only cherry-pick positive news to show him because they are afraid to show him the truth, providing rocket fuel to his natural predisposition to lie about everything.

… Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) to Meidas on Trump: “I was just a kid and he would come on the local news doing his whole shtick: the biggest, the greatest, the most gold ever, yada yada. And then so many of those casinos went belly up. And by the way, do you know how bad that is? There used to be no competition from surrounding states. Now PA has gaming, MD has it, a lot of other surrounding states have it. None of that existed when he owned those casinos in Atlantic City in the 1980s. That’s how bad he is at business.”

… Fox Business and Trump cultist Maria Bartiromo: “When he says this affordability issue is a hoax, he’s right. I’ve got to tell you, I don’t think the people really feel as bad as the Democrats are talking about. The economy is doing well. There is $18 trillion of new investment that has come into this country.”

… Bartiromo’s net worth is $50 million.

… Today was the day of the WH Christmas Reception. Trump call up up golfer Bryson Dechambeau and introduced him as “the current US Open Champion.”

… The current US Open Champion is JJ Spaun.

… On the economy, Trump said good times are coming. Next year: “You’re going to see results in 6 months to a year.”

… Trump: “The election was rigged in 2020. We have all the ammunition, all this stuff, and you’ll see it come out. It’s coming out in truckloads. California - such a rigged election. We won the Hispanic vote, so a lot of people say a Republican wouldn’t win California. But I won the Hispanic vote. I won in Miami. It’s a rigged election in CA, because we would win CA by a lot.”

… Gov. Gavin Newsom responded with this post: “Hahahahahahahahaha ok”

…. “We have a policy thing that’s going to be unbelievable. We’re building an ark like the Arc de Triomphe. It will be so special. It will be like the one in Paris but it blows it away. There is nothing that can compete with this. We’re going to top the one in Paris by a lot.”

… CNN: “The Republican plans to pick off 5 Democratic-held congressional seats in Texas once seemed like a sure thing. Not anymore. Trump’s flagging approval ratings, particularly among Latinos, and strong Democratic performance in this year’s special elections have changed both parties’ assumptions. Now, the cushion the TX GOP drew into its new map – Trump won every Republican-favored district by 10 points or more a year ago – seems like it might be too small.”

… Dems beat Trump’s 2024 results in 5 House districts with special elections this year by at least 13 points. Over-performance at that level next year would flip 3 of the 5 new TX seats to the Dem column. Trump improved Republicans’ standing with Latino voters in 2024, winning about 46%, up from 32% in 2020. TX’s new maps sought to build on Trump’s strong performance in the state, which he won by 14 points. Notably, Trump won every county in the heavily Latino Rio Grande Valley, which was long a Democratic stronghold.”

… But Trump’s standing among Latinos has fallen dramatically nationwide since the start of his second term, outpacing his drop in approval overall. In TX, Trump’s approval rating among Latinos dropped from 44% in Feb to 32% in Oct. Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX): “I can feel it on the ground. I really anticipate us taking the majority back next cycle and winning back South TX and places that had been traditional Dem districts that have turned on us in the last few cycles, with so many disillusioned people.”

… Trump was asked today about polls showing his approval rating with Latino voters plummeting: “They feel they have the advantage with Hispanics. They don’t, because I won Hispanic vote.”

We made the entire Weekend Bulletins available to all subscribers, while about the first third of the Bulletins during the week are open to free subscribers. This one is a little late tonight because my team is in the fantasy football playoffs so I was also trying to keep one eye on football while getting this done.

If you missed the last Bulletin, you can find it here.

… WSJ: “The US military is moving more weapons and units into the Caribbean that give Trump powerful new options to escalate his pressure campaign on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and potentially bring him down. After weeks of deadly boat strikes and the seizure of an oil tanker, the Pentagon is sending assets that could enable land strikes, disable Venezuela’s defenses and enforce an oil embargo—posing a direct threat not only to Maduro but to his regional allies such as Cuba.”

… Fox Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin: “When people suggest the looming war vs Venezuela is about drugs, remember 99% of the world’s cocaine comes from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, not Venezuela. No fentanyl is made in Venezuela. But it does have the world’s largest oil reserves.”

… A war for oil where we justify it with a lie claiming it is about something else. Seems like we’ve done that before.

… Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on NBC: “The president also said, ‘Be careful Colombia, you could be next.’ I mean, if we’re gonna go and topple regime after regime in South America, there’s no amount of money that could be printed to pay for that and I don’t think lives should be lost without a vote by Congress.”

… Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) on Fox: “I must remind everyone that we follow the law of war, and because of that, we expect other countries. So that when our service members are in distress, they’re not shot up in the water or if they’re wounded, left to die. If we don’t do it, then we can’t expect other countries.”

… Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) on ABC on the boat strikes: “There is very grave concern in Congress about these strikes in general. These individuals are not being subject to criminal prosecution, and if we they were subject to criminal prosecution, there’s no capital punishment.”

… AP: “Trump said that Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to renew a truce after days of deadly clashes, even as Thai and Cambodian officials suggested there is still work to do to get the ceasefire that the US admin had helped broker earlier this year back on track. Trump posted: “They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great PM of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.”

… “The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs then disputed Trump’s assertion that a ceasefire was agreed to without providing any details, and Thai defense ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said clashes were still ongoing. Cambodia’s defense ministry reported that Thailand continued to carry out strikes early Sat. Those strikes could not be independently verified.”

… NBC: “Fighting raged Sat morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire. Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Sat morning. Cambodian media reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.”

… Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Trump’s remarks didn’t “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation. We regret and we’re disappointed that some of the points made by Trump have bearing upon the feeling of the Thai people, because we consider ourselves - we are proud, in fact - to be the oldest treaty ally of the US in the region.”

… Fox: “DHS is amending its immigration enforcement operations by moving away from raids targeting all illegal immigrants in the US and focusing more on the ones who have committed serious offenses. Teams under Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino will shift their focus to specific targets, including illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes. The change means agents will put a smaller emphasis on carrying out large raids that have happened at Home Depot stores and other locations.”

… “Illegal immigrants have been targeted based on characteristics such as ethnicity, accent, language or location, such as being at a Home Depot or a car wash. Agents will still conduct traffic stop enforcement, but Border Patrol is unlikely to continue grabbing people off the streets. The reported change in immigration enforcement comes as support for Trump‘s mass deportation policies has tanked in the polls. A survey released earlier this week found that approval of Trump’s handling of immigration dipped from 42% in March to 33%.”

… NYT: “Trump vowed to retaliate against ISIS after an attack in central Syria killed two US Army soldiers and a civilian US interpreter, the first American casualties in the country since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad last year. The attack on Sat unfolded outside a building in Palmyra where Syrian Interior Ministry officials from the capital, Damascus, were meeting with their counterparts in the city.”

… “The American soldiers and their interpreter were providing security outside when a lone gunman opened fire on them from a nearby building with what appeared to be a machine gun. Syrian security forces then opened fire and killed the gunman. The American soldiers killed were part of an IA National Guard contingent assigned to the Syria mission, Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa said.”

… “A spokesman for the Syrian Interior Ministry, Noureddine al-Baba, said in a statement that the Syrian govt warned American counterparts about the possibility of attacks by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, on their forces: ‘The international coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings about the possibility of an ISIS breach into account.’”

… The Independent on Trump’s attempted hostile takeover of DC’s public golf courses: “Trump has set his sights on his next renovation project: DC’s golf courses. The president, who frequently spends weekends on the fairways at his various properties, is seeking to redevelop the 3 public golf courses in the nation’s capital.” Trump: “If we do them, we’ll do it really beautifully.”

… “In his pursuit to remake the green spaces, he is attempting to wrest control from the National Links Trust, a non-profit with a 50-year lease to operate, restore and maintain the affordability of East Potomac Golf Links, Rock Creek and Langston Golf Course. Earlier in 2025, the admin ordered the group to take dirt resulting from the demolition of the East Wing of the WH or risk defaulting on its lease with the govt. The group accepted and trucks were seen dumping piles of soil onto one of East Potomac’s courses.”

… “Despite this, the Interior Dept told the National Links Trust that it violated its lease and delivered an official default notice. Trump said that the courses will fall under the admin’s control if the group does not remedy alleged violations by the end of the year.”

… Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) was asked on Fox about Trump threatening Republican state senators in IN who voted against redistricting: Q - “Is going after every single Republican lawmaker who voted against this the right move? Banks: “I support the president. You don’t want to be on the other side of Donald Trump.”

… NBC: “Two groups show the largest drop in strong support for the president since April: those who identify as Republican, and, in particular, those who identify with Trump’s MAGA movement. Among the Republicans who consider themselves more supporters of the Republican Party than the MAGA movement, the share of those who ‘strongly approve’ of Trump now stands at 35%, compared to 38% in April.”

… “Trump’s strong approval is higher among those who consider themselves MAGA Republicans: 70%. But that represents a drop of 8 points (from 78%) since April. And while 7 in 10 MAGA supporters still say they ‘strongly approve’ of the president’s job performance, fewer Republicans report being part of the MAGA movement compared to earlier this year.”

… Reuters: “A senior German far-right lawmaker called for an alliance between US and German nationalist parties at a MAGA gala on Sat where he was being honored, buoyed by a new US security strategy praising Europe’s patriotic parties. Markus Frohnmaier was among some 20 state, federal and EU lawmakers from the AfD to attend the annual black-tie gala hosted by the NY Young Republican Club.”

… “The showpiece gala has become a gathering point for MAGA-aligned Republicans and international far-right figures in recent years, with Trump himself headlining it two years ago. The U.S. strategy document published last week frames Europe as stifling free speech and political opposition, and says the US should focus on ‘cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory’.”

… Frohnmaier’s speech: “The alliance between American and German patriots is the nightmare of the liberal elites – and it is the hope of the free world. Let us reclaim our culture, let us reclaim our nations, and let us make the West whole again.”

… “Frohnmaier, the foreign policy spokesperson of the AfD’s federal parliamentary group, met with Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers prior to the gala. Rogers last week published a video criticizing alleged incidents of censorship throughout Europe.”

… Frohnmaier later posted on X: “My exchange with Under Secretary Rogers on the new national security strategy of the Trump Admin has made it clear that the US is seeking a strong German partner. Germany should act once again as a capable leading power by making a consistent turn in migration policy and independently organizing European security. To shape this path together, I would like to organize a deepening event in Berlin in Feb 2026.

… Former Rep. and current congressional candidate Tom Malinowski: “Nothing to see here, other than a State Dept official meeting with a German neo-Nazi identified in leaked Russian documents as totally under the control of the Kremlin.”

… Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) is not happy with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner: “I’m glad some of our negotiators didn’t lead us during the Revolutionary War, Civil War and WW2. We would have lost them all. Peace at all cost does not lead to peace. Slavery is not peace. Being dominated by a thug is not peace.”

… All Republicans in Congress are faced with a choice. They either stand with Trump, Vance and Putin, or they stand with Ukraine, Europe, most Americans, and the civilized world. Of course, there is also a 3rd option which most of them usually choose - cowardly silence.

… Financial Times asked Zelensky about the US proposal for a “frontline” or a “DMZ” between their country and Russia: “I believe that today the only fair and possible option is ‘we stand where we stand,’ and that is true - because that is precisely a ceasefire. The sides stop where they are, and then try to resolve all broader issues through diplomacy. I know that Russia views this negatively, and I would like the Americans to support us on this issue.”

… “In response to position of ‘we stand where we stand,’ the Russians say that we must withdraw from Donbas, or they will occupy it anyway. I discussed this topic with the Americans. I told them that there are many insinuations of various kinds — for example, as with Kupiansk. They claimed that they had occupied Kupiansk and that we were encircled. I was recently in Kupiansk and showed who actually controls the city.”

… “There is a great deal of such disinformation coming from the Russians. That is why I told our colleagues in the US that one should not believe everything Russia says.
Russia wants to avoid expending forces and instead occupy the east of our state through diplomatic and political means. And then the US proposed the following compromise: the Russian army would not enter part of our east, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine would withdraw. I do not consider this fair.”

… Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin: “There’s no ‘deal’ to be had with Ukraine, only an agreement on its surrender.”

… Russian analyst Julia Davis: “I’ve been saying it for years, based on their own statements. Russia is interested only in Ukraine’s capitulation, which they would also consider America’s defeat, as well as an irreparable damage to NATO and the West as a whole.”

… MP and former Head of Intelligence for Estonia Eerik Kross: “Several friends have pointed out that the US has not threatened to withdraw its conventional assets from Europe, but has ‘only’ indicated that it may withdraw from NATO’s defense-planning mechanisms. That may sound harmless. To anyone familiar with military reality, it is not. In fact, it would be far safer for Europe if the US withdrew physical assets but remained inside NATO’s defense-planning system.”

… “Here is what it means in real life. If an ally pulls out of collective defence planning, it is actually signaling that it will not reliably fight with you - and that you should not count on its forces, capabilities, or territory in your own defense plans. That sounds simple, but the real-world implications are huge and cascade through every part of military, political, and economic life. So - the following will happen:

1. Loss of planning integration means loss of expected military support. Collective defense planning determines: Who fights where, with what units, how quickly, who reinforces whom, how logistics, airspace, and bases are used, who commands what. If a nation withdraws, you can no longer assume its forces will show up. You cannot assign them tasks in the defense plan. You must redesign defense plans without this nation. This alone forces massive revisions in all regional defense concepts.”

2. Loss of territory for defense planning. Collective planning assumes: access to airspace, use of ports, airfields, and logistics corridors, stockpiles on allied territory
prepositioned equipment, overflight rights for reinforcements. If a country withdraws from planning, you cannot plan to move forces through its territory. You cannot count on its bases for air operations.

3. Loss of command-and-control integration. Withdrawal means: no participation in command structures, in combined headquarters, in joint communication networks.
In real life, this means you cannot share intelligence or real-time data with them anymore. They become an “external actor,” even if still formally in an alliance.

4. Loss of interoperability. Collective defense planning drives: shared standards, joint exercises, shared logistics, compatible ammunition and systems, integrated air and missile defense. If one ally pulls out, you stop exercising together, lose tactical familiarity, stop maintaining common standards, and lose the ability to fight together efficiently. Militaries become alien to one another again.

5. Loss of collective logistics. Modern warfare is logistics-heavy: ammo, fuel, medical support, maintenance, spare parts, transportation. Withdrawal means that ally’s logistics system is no longer tied into the coalition. You cannot rely on their depots, trucks, railways, ports. They cannot rely on yours. This dramatically increases the cost and speed of war.

6. Legal and political consequences. Collective defense planning IS the operational expression of NATO Art 5, without it Art 5 is just words on paper. If one ally withdraws from the planning, it is implicitly signaling reduced willingness to implement Art 5 in practice. Allies begin to discount its political commitments. Trust erodes. You must plan for a “two-tier alliance”: active defenders and passive ones.

7. Intelligence consequences. If a country leaves defense planning, it loses access to high-end shared intelligence. Partners stop giving it sensitive info. Situational awareness becomes asymmetric. They may be “cut out” of crisis response loops
This creates political isolation and operational blindness. It might seem that Europe is the loser here, but it goes both ways and would hurt the US bad.

… “So, if an ally pulls out of collective defense planning, it effectively withdraws from the military reality of the alliance. Its forces, territory, airspace, intelligence, logistics and command structures can no longer be counted on. Other allies must redesign defense plans without it, increasing risk, cost, and vulnerability. In real life, it means the alliance begins to function without that member - even if it remains formally inside.”

… BBC: “A billionaire investor keen on buying TikTok’s US operations said he has been left in limbo as the latest deadline for the app’s sale looms. The US has repeatedly delayed the date by which the platform’s Chinese owner, Bytedance, must sell or be blocked for American users. Trump appears poised to extend the deadline for a 5th time on Tues.”

… “The popular short-form video app was due to be banned or sold in the US in Jan in accordance with a law passed by Congress in 2024. Lawmakers said at the time ByteDance’s links to the Chinese govt threatened national security, and expressed fears Beijing could force the company to hand over data on US users.”

… “Trump and members of his admin have previously claimed a TikTok deal was done, and had the blessing of Chinese President Xi. The president has also said ‘sophisticated’ US investors would acquire the app, including two of his allies: Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell.”

… “Members of the Trump admin had indicated the deal would be formalized in a meeting between Trump and Xi in Oct - however it concluded without an agreement being reached. Neither TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance nor Beijing have since announced approval of a sale, despite Trump’s claims. This time there are no such claims a deal is imminent, leading most analysts to conclude another extension is inevitable.”

… CBS News well all-in on Erika Kirk this week as their new chief Bari Weiss held a bizarre town hall with her on Saturday night. Prior to that, the CBS social media pages made 25 posts Weiss/Kirk posts about it in the 72 hours leading up to the event, and several more again on Sunday morning after it was over.

… Variety: “During a town hall led by Bari Weiss most of Madison Ave sought an off-ramp. The program featured an in-depth interview with Erika Kirk. The event marked a new offering from CBS News. The organization does not typically host town halls or debates on trending issues or with newsmakers. And the choice of Weiss as moderator also raised eyebrows, because in most modern TV-news orgs, senior editorial executives remain off camera, rather than appearing in front of it.”

… “More may be on the way. Weiss told viewers that ‘CBS is going to have many more conversations like this in the weeks and months ahead, so stay tuned. More town halls. More debates. More talking about the things that matter.’ That would suggest CBS is planning to devote more hours to the programs.”

… “Commercial breaks were filled with spots from direct-response advertisers, including the dietary supplement SuperBeets; home-repair service HomeServe; and CarFax, a supplier of auto ownership data. Viewers of the telecast on WCBS, CBS’ flagship station in NY, even saw a commercial for Chia Pet.”

… “Direct-response ads typically pay lower prices in exchange for allowing networks to put their commercials on air when convenience allows. A flurry of the ads appearing in one program usually signals that the network could not line up more mainstream support for the content it chose to air.”