This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 458

… As Trump arrived in Ireland to watch the Irish Open on his golf course, protesters took to the streets in large numbers. A clip of blowup dolls of Bibi Netanyahu having sex with Trump went viral on social media with over 20 million views.

… Trump held several press events, including one with the President of Ireland in an attempt to justify the taxpayer funded visit to watch golf and promote his Irish resort:

• “Democrats skipped socialism. They’ve come down to communism, but you have the same thing a little bit. I’m reading some stories about you, but we’re shutting it down pretty good. We’re not going to have communists running our country.”

• “My son Don is here. He’s calmed down so much. He’s like a different human being. He had a lot of energy. Now he’s a little less energy.”

… Must’ve went to rehab. Some are speculating it’s because he’s planning to run for president in 2028.

• “My wife is here. My wife is here in spirit. She’s watching right now. I said, ‘why don’t you come with me.’ She said it’s a 7 hour trip.”

… Actually his other wife was there. Natalie Harp was even in the receiving line to greet the Irish president before the press event.

• “Canada wants to make a deal very badly just like Iran wants to make a deal very badly. I hope Canada appreciates being in the same sentence with Iran.”

• Q: How was your phone call with PM Andy Burnham last week? Did he talk about the Falkland islands and Argentina? “Well, the Falkland iIlands is very interesting because here we go again. I remember as a young boy, pretty young boy anyway. But the Falkland Islands and, uh, I think it was a different country at that time, the UK a little bit, but they went in and they took it over. I’m not sure if they’re doing that.”

… Trump was 36 years old at the time of the Falkland Islands’ war.

• “When you look at Gaza, there’s a lot of good relationships taking place right now in Gaza. I think we’ve done a great job. Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, they’ve done a very good job.”

• “I was playing golf and we had hundreds of Secret Service all over the course. In fact, they said, ‘Does Trump cheat?’ I can’t cheat. You have 250 Secret Service agents running down. It’s not that I wouldn’t cheat, but you can’t move the ball.”

… Yeah, like Secret Service is going to stop him from cheating at golf.

• Q - “What’s you message to the Americans concerned about data centers? Trump: My message is that if you want to be poor, have no jobs and watch other countries do great, or other states do great. You don’t want to kill the golden goose because that’s what you would be doing.”

• Q: “What do you make of what the British PM said about your comments on a united Ireland? He said there will be no referendum until the majority of people in Northern Ireland-- Trump: Everybody says that, and then things happen. One thing he’s going to do is he’s going to be stopping the stupid windmills.”

• Q - “When are elections going to happen in Venezuela: “The people of Venezuela now are so happy. Venezuela is making a tremendous amount of money. So are we.”

… I’m sure the people are thrilled that the Maduro regime remains in power but is now backed by the US in exchange for letting Trump steal their oil.

• “Zelenskyy has to do one thing - he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. He’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel. This isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”

… Readers of this column and those who watch my weekly podcast Uncovered know that when Ukraine first started hitting Russian refineries over a month ago I predicted that Trump would blame them for diesel prices and would start demanding that they stop. He said it today almost word-for-word how I predicted he would.

… Democratic nominee for senate in KS Adam Hamilton absolutely destroyed Sen. Roger Marshall at a debate this weekend. Marshall was already reeling after two stories broke this week about him suing his OB/GYN patients - which led to the arrest of dozens of them, and living in FL while using a fake address in KS.

… The debate took place live in front of big crowd at the KS State Fair. There were supporters for both candidates there as well as other voters. By the end of the debate, the entire crowd was completely on Hamilton’s side and he received a thunderous ovation after his closing statement, which was fantastic.

… I confess that I did not pay much attending to this race because I thought KS was just too Republican for Hamilton to have a shot. But with these recent blockbuster stories about Marshall, all the things Trump has done to hurt farmers and ranchers, and this debate performance, I am all-in on Hamilton so you will be reading about this race from this point forward:

• Hamilton: “Importing 300,000 metric tons of beef was a slap in the face to all of our ranchers.”

• Hamilton: “If you love $6 a gallon diesel fuel, you can thank Roger Marshall. He supported this war. He told us to tighten our belts! We were supposed to be out of this war after 4-6 weeks. We’re 6 months in, we still can’t figure out how to get out, and the cost of everything has gone up as a result.”

• Hamilton: “This is absurd, bribing people with $5,000 checks if they’ll just please vote for your party - because you’ve got to pay people to vote for your party because they’re worried about your positions. We’ve got a $40 trillion debt. If you’ve got a trillion dollars lying around, pay down the debt, or restore Medicaid benefits.”

• After posting initially that he loved Trump’s proposed, Marshall now claimed that he disagreed with it. Hamilton: “First he asked you how you were going to spend your $5,000. Now he disagrees with the proposal?”

• The crowd erupted in chants of “Shame on you!” as Marshall tried to explain why he sued 700 of his patients, leading to 81 arrests: “Those are common business practices. We would go a year before we would send someone over to the lawyers. Crowd: Shame on you!”

• Q: “Do you think the president’s tariff policies have worked? Marshall: It’s working. Crowd: Boooooo! Marshall: Tariffs are such a small portion of the future. Crowd: Booooo!”

• Marshall: “As far as our FL home, look, you’ll be glad to know it was struck by two hurricanes and has been uninhabitable. Crowd: You don’t live here! You don’t live here! Marshall: This is all a social media myth made by the social media Nazis!”

• Hamilton: “Roger Marshall loves FL. He sold his home in Great Bend days after being sworn into the Senate. Now he owns a million-dollar waterfront home in FL, which he used taxpayers’ dollars to visit repeatedly on ‘official business’ he refuses to disclose. He spent nearly $20,000 of taxpayers’ dollars on these trips.”

• Hamilton: “Senators are elected by the people to be their champion in Washington, DC - not hired by the WH to be their spokesperson to the people in their state. A senator is supposed to be a check on executive power. Roger Marshall struggles to do that.”

• Marshall’s closing remarks: “My opponent today is too woke, he’s too weak and he doesn’t stand for anything.”

… Hamilton then brought the house down with a huge ovation after his closing remarks:

• “I went to the Wizard of Oz Museum in KS. What did the Scarecrow need? A brain. What did the tin man need? A heart. What did the lion need? Courage. I thought, this is what’s wrong with Washington. We got people who’ve lost their minds - their critical thinking skills. They’re just doing whatever the president tells them to do. We have people who’ve lost their hearts in DC. Marshall lives there 180 days, goes to FL, then comes back to KS and all his stops are photo ops. Finally, you have to have courage to stand up to your president even if he’s going to bully you, primary you and call you names - that’s is when you say, ‘This is not OK.’”

… Politico: “Sen. Roger Marshall on Friday refiled his candidate statement listing a cabin in St. John, KS as his home address, after I asked his spokesperson about an earlier statement that listed a home that he had sold in 2021. The spokesperson said it was a clerical error.”

… “Voter registration records show that Marshall’s brother also currently lists the same address as his residence, which the KC Star said in 2024 was a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom house. The spokesperson said it’s now a 3 bedroom house and shared a public record confirming that.”

We make the entire Weekend Bulletin available to free subscribers who are also able to participate in the comments section. It’s time to submit questions for Ask the Editor, which we will have to record on Tuesday of this week because I have a big dentist appointment tomorrow morning and won’t be able to speak well after.

Please post any questions you have for the show, or just a topic you want me to talk more about, in the comments below. I choose 5 each week to talk about on the show. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you to all who read and subscribe!

… Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (D-IA) at the Iowa-Iowa St. football game: “Will Rogers said, ‘men learn 3 ways. Some men learn by reading. Some men learn by observation. And some men gotta pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.’ Well, I’m telling you right now, Christina Bohannan is peeing on the fence, pissing in the wind, and she’s going to find out this November.”

… AK Dem senate nominee Mary Peltola and Republican Senator Dan Sullivan had a televised debate this weekend:

• Peltola: “One of the top issues for our fishermen across every sector, across every region, is the high cost of fuel. The war in Iran is driving up gas and diesel prices. Dan Sullivan has voted for the war in Iran 10 times - 10 times to jack up your prices.”

• Peltola also had a viral moment in the segment where the candidates had to hold up just a YES or NO sign to each question simultaneously. When they got a question about whether fisheries adequately protect salmon migration and their habitat. Pelola raised her sign immediately while Sullivan did nothing. Sullivan then looked up at Peltola’s answer, then raised his sign to the same answer.

… Peltola posted a funny montage on social media with this caption: “Happy to help, Dan.”

… Austin American-Statesman: “There was no love lost from Longhorn fans Sat morning for Sen. Ted Cruz ahead of the Texas football game vs. Ohio State. The longtime Republican congressman made an appearance on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ as crowds chanted “Ted you suck, Ted you suck!”

… “Cruz appeared to talk about legislation he’s drafted to codify a NIL ‘bill of rights’” which would create legal guardrails for the name, image and likeness of student athletes across campuses. However, the GOP lawmaker’s words could barely be heard over the throng of fans booing and chants from the hundreds near the program’s set.”

… “Cruz did not address the crowd’s less-than-friendly reaction, speeding through his NIL talking points as the crowd did not let up.”

… Trump’s social media coordinator Alex Bruesewitz posted a message to Ted on X: “We’re trying to win elections over here, bro. That means attracting more young voters, not driving them away. Your appearances on mainstream television act as a repellent to our efforts. Please stay off it. Respectfully.”

… Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was on Fox to talk about the midterms: “Think about how incredibly dangerous states like CA are that want to take away your kids if you don’t agree with the pronouns the schools chooses for your kids. They’re coming for our culture. If you don’t want to stand up and fight for the soul of this country, your wood is wet. It’s that simple.”

… Speaker Mike Johnson on Jake Tapper’s CNN show:

• Tapper played a montage of Republican congressional nominee Brandon Herrera describing moms as “cum trophies” and calling Nazi machine guns “the original ghetto blasters.” Q - “How can you support him? Johnson: Herrera has run a very effective campaign. That was his persona online.”

… Isn’t it interesting though that Very Devout Christian Mike Johnson shrugs all this off as just provocative things said to create a “persona online” from one of his ACTUAL NOMINEES FOR CONGRESS, but Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who isn’t running for anything, supposedly represents the entire Democratic Party.

• Johnson: “Lutnick said the $5,000 check would come from tariff revenues. Trump thinks of the American people as shareholders in this American dream. Tapper: The tariffs revenue is about $300 billion, not $1.3 trillion, and obviously Americans are paying those revenues. But devil is in the details.”

• Q - Some Republicans are objecting to Trump’s promise to give $5,000 to voters. Johnson: “It’s a new creative idea. We applaud the president for thinking outside the box.”

… How much creativity does it take to just promise to give out checks to everyone with money we don’t have? I guess the “creative” part is explicitly tying it to an election result to make it a direct bribe.

… Johnson then went on Meet the Press:

• Q - “You’ve called the national debt the largest threat facing the country. Why would you want to add to it with $5,000 checks? Johnson: Uh, I don’t want to. I guess we’re gonna spend the whole segment talking about this one issue. You and I are wasting a lot of time this morning.”

• Q - “Since Trump took office, inflation is up, gas prices are up, tariffs have cost American households nearly $2,000. Many Americans say they just aren’t feeling that this is a great economy as Trump claims. Is there a disconnect? Johnson: No. Remember that when Trump took over the economy was in shambles.”

… I don’t remember that.

… Dem nominee for MI senate Abdul El-Sayed got frustrated with CBS’s Weijia Jiang when the only thing she wanted to talk about was Piker:

• “Weijia, with all due respect this is the 3rd time you’ve asked about a twitch streamer in CA. I’m not interested in having a conversation with streamers in CA because they are not raising the prices of gas and groceries.

• Let’s actually talk about the issues that are affecting people instead of getting distracted by whatever the president says we should be talking about. Their whole game is to make us fight culture wars so that we don’t pay attention to the fact that the president has made $2.2 billion. His family has made even more. How about your family in MI?”

… The Jimmy Kimmel-James Talarico interview that Kimmel posted on YouTube instead of airing on the network because the FCC threatened ABC is now up to 8.1 million views.

… Kobeissi Letter: “Shocking stat of the day: $7.0 trillion worth of T-Bills are currently outstanding, with $6.1 trillion maturing within the next year. Including the remaining maturities, $7.5 trillion worth of marketable Treasury debt is maturing in 2026. Another $4.0 trillion matures in 2027, followed by $3.5 trillion in 2028.”

… “Meanwhile, if the Fed hikes rates by 75 basis points, annual interest costs on T-bills alone could rise by $50 billion, equivalent to 0.15% of GDP. This comes as much of this debt would be refinanced at higher market rates than those at which it was originally issued. The US is set to face a massive refinancing wave at higher borrowing costs.”

… NYT: “Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, called for a global slowdown of AI development in a 3,800-word essay on Saturday, just days after one of the company’s employees quit over concerns about the safety of the technology.”

… “Top executives of other major AI companies quickly signed on to the effort. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI; Elon Musk, whose SpaceX rocket company has been ramping up spending on AI; and Demis Hassabis, the chair of Google DeepMind, wrote in social media posts that they agreed on the need for a slower pace.”

… Amodei: “Over the last few months, I have become convinced that fully addressing the risks requires even more prudence - not just investing in risk prevention, but pacing the rate of capabilities advancement so that risk prevention has time to keep up. We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

… “He called for independent auditors to check the companies for safety standards and urged global cooperation in creating rules around AI development. The appeal for an industrywide pause follows months of escalating concerns across the tech industry.”

… “Amodei said that all AI labs could agree to 3rd-party technology assessments from ‘embedded evaluators,’ or outside specialists who could verify best safety practices across companies. He also suggested that countries with democratic governance systems coordinate to create safety standards, which could take the form of regulatory action. He added that it would probably require a global effort working with other nations.”

… Axios: “A letter is circulating among House members urging Mike Johnson to bring back the House ‘immediately’ and keep it in session until Congress passes AI safeguards. Such drastic action has been proposed by members of both parties this week after current and former Anthropic researchers went public with warnings that AI could kill off humanity in the next decade.”

… The letter to Johnson, drafted by Sam Liccardo (D-CA), says ‘urgent action’ is needed ‘to address catastrophic risk posed by advanced AI.’ The letter is co-signed by Reps. George Whitesides (D-CA), Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA). The letter calls for the House to “return to Washington immediately and remain in session until Congress advances meaningful, bipartisan AI safeguards.”

… “Despite growing urgency from rank-and-file members to respond to the existential threat allegedly posed by AI, congressional leadership has largely offered up silence.”

… Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) responded to David Sacks’ post that AI companies can police themselves and govt should leave them alone: “This is the WH AI Tsar spinning out because the leaders of the largest AI companies are admitting that their technology is dangerous and needs to be regulated. Regulate them! This is your job! What an epic failure of leadership, and the consequences could be devastating.”

… AP: “A lightning advance by Houthi rebels threatens a crucial Red Sea shipping route. Drone attacks blamed on Iraqi militias have forced the closure of a major pipeline, and Iran is still disrupting the Strait of Hormuz. It’s a nightmare scenario for Saudi Arabia, and it has sent jitters through global markets.”

… “The Saudis’ most essential ally, the US, has been unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. Trump seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war ahead of congressional elections. For Iran, the rebels’ advance and closure of the pipeline ramp up global economic pressure as its grip over the Strait of Hormuz has been loosened.”

… Michael Ratney, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia: “Despite their antipathy for the Iranians, this is a war they never asked for, they had great trepidation about. And once it started, all of their worst-case scenarios started coming true.”

… “Saudi Arabia said it shut down the pipeline leading from major oil fields in the east to the Red Sea in the west because of drone attacks originating in Iraq, where Iran supports powerful militias. Regional officials recently said that the Houthis have helped the Iraqi militias carry out attacks.”

… The Atlantic: “As recently as last week, the Iran war appeared to be turning slightly in America’s favor. The Houthis—the Yemen-based militia that is Iran’s most formidable remaining ally in the Middle East—were under pressure from their local rivals, and the Saudi air force was pounding them with air strikes.

… The president of Yemen’s internationally recognized govt issued a triumphant statement declaring that the Houthis’ miscalculations ‘will open the door to their complete collapse.’ With their Houthi partners wounded, Iran’s leaders would have one more reason to back down and agree to Trump’s terms.

… Those delusions drifted away like smoke as Houthi forces broke through their enemies’ defenses and seized the towns and islands around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, one of the most important maritime choke points in the world. That loss leaves Trump, who had been hoping to win back control of the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, with a bitter surprise. His enemies now control both of the two important straits in the Middle East, through which a combined total of about a third of the world’s oil shipments pass every day.

… It also underscores a stubborn fact: For all the setbacks suffered by Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ over the past year or two, its forces retain an ideological fervor and an esprit de corps that is sorely lacking on the other side. The Gulf states’ failure to work together against the Houthis has been catastrophic, and it echoes Trump’s own failure to devise a plausible or coordinated strategy against Iran.

… April Longley Alley, a Yemen expert at the Washington Institute: “The Bab el-Mandeb means you can literally sit on the coast and fire at passing ships. It makes it easier and cheaper, and it solidifies, from a military and political point of view, that they have a stranglehold on the strait.”

… Trump was asked about the situation today in Ireland:

• “The Houthis called us. They don’t want to fight with us. They let us know they don’t want to fight with us. They don’t want us to go after them. They would much prefer not having us involved, and they are letting most ships go through. There’s just one country they’re not too happy with.”

• Q: “Are you concerned with Saudi Arabia and movement in the strait? What are you hearing about that? Have you talked to the crown prince? Trump: It’s all going to work out fine.”

… CNN: “Pete Hegseth and political appointees in his dept pushed for the two crew members of an F-15 who were shot down over Iran in April to participate in Sunday’s highly publicized ‘60 Minutes’ report about the ensuing rescue operation.”

… “Both airmen initially expressed reservations about doing the interview, with one even raising concerns about the prospect of being potentially ordered to take part in the segment, while military officials were also wary of revealing classified details of the rescue effort.”

… “Political appointees in Hegseth’s office were adamant that both crew members sit for interviews. But after the two survivors voiced concerns, Hegseth met privately with them. As a result, one of the pilots, dubbed ‘Bravo,’ agreed to sit for an on-camera interview and discuss his experience, while the other, ‘Alpha, declined to take part.”

… “The episode underscores how Hegseth’s office is working to craft the narrative around the Iran war, which has become increasingly unpopular and put pressure on Hegseth to claim victory. It also shows how Hegseth has played an unusually hands-on role in that effort – engaging in the planning process for the ‘60 Minutes’ interview.”

… “Uniformed service members have voiced concern that the ‘60 Minutes’ presentation is an effort by Hegseth’s office to use the heroism demonstrated by US troops as part of a successful rescue operation for political purposes. But political appointees within Hegseth’s office insisted that the interview go forward despite reservations voiced by the military the chain of command.”

… WSJ: “Before Iran carried out its attack that killed three US troops in July, Tehran acquired high-resolution satellite images of the base in Jordan from Chinese entities, according to US officials familiar with details of the incident. It is the clearest evidence so far that Chinese support for Iran during the war has had lethal consequences for US forces, according to the officials, who say the US has connected the imagery to the attack.”

… Trump was asked about today about the report that the Chinese are helping Iran kill US troops: “We have a great relationship. We’re gonna get along. China has been I think very fair with us over the last number of years that I’ve been there.”

… Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked on ABC about his meeting with Jared Kushner: “I’m of the view that if we’re going to be committed to actually solving problems on behalf of the American people, they’re are gonna be times that you have to speak with people on the other side of the aisle. Even people you strongly disagree with.”

… WaPo: “Favored to regain the majority in November’s midterm elections, Democrats’ attention has turned to mapping out an accountability agenda that would pull Trump, his admin and his family into a harsh spotlight next year:

• Trump Family Enrichment: Democrats are laying the groundwork for investigations of how Trump and his family are getting richer while he is in office. Garcia’s committee launched a running tracker of the Trump family’s profits from crypto and foreign deals, calculating that Trump pocketed $2.25 billion from foreign payments in the first year of his second term.

• Handouts to Supporters: Democrats have slammed Trump for using his clemency power to pardon convicted fraudsters who donated to his campaigns or who maintain close ties to his political circle. Many of those pardoned fraudsters were absolved of the requirement to pay restitution to their victims.

• Construction Projects: Democrats would dig into projects such as the botched repair of the Reflecting Pool, his takeover of the Kennedy Center and the WH ballroom that he has rushed to build without seeking approval.

• Immigration Enforcement: In the last election cycle, the Trump campaign took aim at Democrats’ handling of immigration. But the American public has soured on his admin’s aggressive enforcement tactics, particularly following an operation in Minneapolis earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of two American citizens.

• Reshaping the Federal Govt: As Trump remakes the govt to carry out his agenda, Democrats have raised alarms about the destruction of long-standing institutions and checks on presidential power. Committees overseeing specific agencies could dig into whether offices such as the student loan program at the Ed Dept or the Labor Dept’s workplace safety office are meeting their congressionally mandated responsibilities.

• Prosecutions of Trump’s Political Enemies: Democrats want to probe prosecutions they consider politically motivated, including those focused on former FBI director James Comey, NY AG Letitia James and the Democratic lawmakers who released a video in November telling military personnel they could refuse illegal orders.

• Institutional Pressure Campaigns: Democrats are furious at how Trump has wielded the govt’s regulatory power to pressure law firms, universities and corporations into changing policies - and at many of those institutions for capitulating.

• Foreign Affairs: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have served as leading peace negotiators with countries including Iran, Israel, Russia and Ukraine, even without formally joining his admin.

• The Epstein Files: Democrats have turned the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein into a political cudgel against Trump. Last year, when the president reversed course on a campaign promise to release the files from an old federal investigation of the convicted sex offender’s crimes, Democrats accused Trump of a cover-up and then powered an effort that forced him to make the documents public anyway.”

… Judge Michael Luttig wrote an OpEd in The New Republic warning that Republicans are planning to steal the midterms:

“Today’s congressional Republicans took a blood oath 6 years ago not just to put their party before their country, but to put Trump before their country. And so it is that only weeks before the midterm elections, House Republicans have already sworn their allegiance to Trump and doomed the US to another January 6 next January 3.

So unalterably subjugated to Trump is today’s Republican House that even a decisive victory for Democrats and a resounding repudiation of Trump and the MAGA Republicans at the polls in November will not guarantee that a Democratic majority-elect will be seated in the 120th Congress on January 3.

All year long, Trump has been dragooning Mike Johnson and the congressional Republicans into prejudging as fraudulent the upcoming November elections of the presumed Democratic majority, as he himself has already prejudged those elections. His dragooning appears to have worked. House Republicans are now poised to claim that the midterm elections were stolen from them when they meet on January 3 to decide which members-elect will be seated in the 120th Congress.

Over the past year and a half since his return to the WH, Trump has exploited every conceivable unlawful means possible to rig the midterm elections in favor of the Republicans, and the federal courts have struck down as unconstitutional every one of these unlawful attempts. He will try every unlawful means over the remaining weeks to ensure that Republicans handily win the midterm elections in November.

Trump punctuated his expressed intent to interfere in the midterm elections 8 weeks ago in a national prime-time address on ‘election integrity,’ accusing the Democrats and the Chinese in particular of threatening the free and fair elections in November. In that address, he claimed without evidence or support (as usual) that the 2026 midterm elections were being threatened by noncitizen voting, weaknesses in voter registration systems, foreign interference, and vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems.

Everyone knows that the greatest threat to the upcoming midterm elections is not the Democrats or the Chinese, noncitizen voting, or electronic voting machines, but the president of the United States and his servile Republican Congress.”