Today in Politics, Bulletin 429. 7/30/26

… A series of polls out over the past 24 hours signal a potential wipeout for Trump and Republicans in the midterms. CNN poll on the Generic Ballot: Democrats: 47%, Republicans: 39%. D+8 is the Dems’ largest generic ballot lead this cycle by CNN (was D+3 April). Democrats lead in voter enthusiasm - by 20 points among those extremely motivated to vote.

… 7 points on the generic ballot is considered a wave election. A big wave.

… Trump approval:

• CNN - 34%

• AP - 33%

• Quinnipiac - 32%

… Fox News Senate Polls:

• GEORGIA: Ossoff (D) - 56%, Collins (R): 43%

• NORTH CAROLINA: Cooper (D): 53%, Whatley: 44%

• OHIO: Brown: 53% (D), Husted (R): 45%

• IOWA: Turek: 50% (D), Hinson (R): 46%

… Center for Politics Crystal Ball ratings shifted 14 races toward Democrats. Senate:

Georgia: Lean D → Likely D

House
• PA-08: Lean R → Toss-up
• NY-17: Lean R → Toss-up
• NC-01: Lean R → Toss-up
• NC-11: Lean R → Toss-up
• FL-14: Lean R → Toss-up
• OH-07: Likely R → Lean R
• TX-15: Likely R → Lean R
• CO-04: Safe R → Likely R
• SC-01: Safe R → Likely R
• KS-03: Lean D → Likely D
• NJ-09: Lean D → Likely D
• NY-19: Lean D → Likely D
• CT-05: Likely D → Safe D

… NYT: “A sordid, yearslong family drama involving two powerful Republican members of Congress from OH and allegations of domestic abuse is threatening to put a fairly safe GOP House seat at risk in an already challenging midterm election year for the party. Rep. Max Miller has been accused by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, of domestic abuse against her and their 2-year-old daughter.”

… “Ms. Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, has said that Miller scalded her chest and stomach by throwing hot water from a skillet at her body; held a gun to her head; pushed her against a wall and hit her head; and fractured their daughter’s collarbone and bruised her shoulder. According to court documents, their daughter at one point told Ms. Moreno, ‘Daddy kill you.’”

… “Trump’s political operation, as well as WH officials, who are keenly aware that every seat matters as they stare down an electoral map that shows them at risk of losing their House majority. They worry that Miller is harming his re-election chances and Republicans’ hopes of preserving the seat. And Democrats, who initially had little hope of flipping the seat, are newly bullish about their chances in the district.”

… Miller, however, angrily disputed the notion that his seat was in jeopardy in a series of text messages in which he threatened to block a reporter’s number for seeking comment about the matter: “Texas is turning blue like I’m losing my seat. Take a hike. After I win by more than my district, don’t bother ever contacting me again.”

… Emily Moreno filed for a restraining order today. Her father, Bernie Moreno, remains publicly silent on the alleged abuse suffered by his daughter and grandchild at the hands of his OH Republican congressional colleague.

… Reuters: “The nation’s GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second quarter, the Commerce Dept said Thursday, weaker than economists expected and a sign the Iran war is hurting growth. Economists polled by Reuters predicted GDP would rise at an annualized rate of 2.1% for April to June. The economy grew at a 2.1% annual rate in Q1.”

… “The reading shows an economy grappling with the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and driven up global energy costs. In the second quarter, a surge in oil prices lifted US gas prices from an average of $2.98 a gallon just before the war started to well over $4.”

… Fox made the announcement on air as the report was announced: “Second quarter GDP came in at 1.5%. The estimate was a gain of 2.1%, so we’re coming in a little bit light.”

… Bloomberg’s Steve Dennis: “Bad news: The 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high today. America’s going to have to pay more for its colossal debt, which will soon hit $40 trillion. Interest already tops $1 trillion a year and is growing rapidly. There are no serious efforts to cut the deficit. WH/GOP plans to increase spending on war, farmers.”

… Meidas: “The Justice Dept confirmed Thursday that it has turned over unredacted Epstein-related records directly to a federal judge for private review, marking the latest development in a lawsuit brought by attorney and MeidasTouch host Katie Phang challenging the government’s handling of the files.”

… “In a new filing submitted July 30, Acting AG Todd Blanche’s DOJ notified US District Judge Emmet Sullivan that it had complied with his July 25 order requiring the government to produce documents supporting a series of contested redactions. According to the filing, DOJ delivered hard copies of the documents by hand to Judge Sullivan’s chambers at 2:28 p.m. Thursday.”

… “The records are being reviewed in camera, meaning privately by the judge rather than being placed on the public docket. The step allows Sullivan himself to examine what the government has concealed and determine whether DOJ’s explanations for the redactions hold up.”

… Sen. John Thune has canceled the vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination for AG and Trump is threatening to pull his nomination until next year as outgoing senators John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy and others refuse to back down on their demand that he terminate, in writing, Trump’s IRS immunity and slush fund for his criminal cronies.

… Politico: “The Senate Judiciary Committee has abandoned plans to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination as AG, a significant speed bump that will make it difficult for Republicans to confirm him before the chamber begins its August recess next week. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) held firm in his demand that Blanche revise a controversial settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS.”

… “Just one GOP ‘no’ vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee would effectively sink Blanche’s nomination. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), another member of the panel with concerns about the settlement, said he would follow Cornyn’s lead. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with Tillis, met late afternoon in Cornyn’s office to hammer out the issues on Blanche, but with no resolution.”

… Tillis: “We made it clear that we need the language to move forward with the markup.”

… Punchbowl: Cornyn says he sent line-by-line edits to DOJ’s proposal on the weaponization fund and the audit immunity deal but hasn’t heard back: “I would think he wants to be confirmed. And I don’t think he’s gonna be confirmed if he doesn’t at least try to be responsive. They claim to be negotiating in good faith, but something’s not working good. And I don’t know where the problem is. We’ve tried to make it easy for them, and they simply refuse to take our help.”

… Punchbowl’s Em Luetkemeyer: “Sens. Cornyn and Tillis both say someone higher-up in the WH is influencing and ruining any deal on Todd Blanche. Tillis said he doesn’t think it’s the president.”

… Cornyn: “If this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out, but, apparently, he’s getting some pushback from higher ups at the WH. I don’t know who, but it doesn’t need to be this hard.”

… Tillis: “I don’t know who it is - I’m just trying to get them out of the way so we can get the president his AG.”

… Tillis to Scripps: “Todd Blanche is negotiating in good faith, but it’s clear that the approval to get this done is above his pay grade, and we just need to get to that pay grade.”

… Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA): “Even some of Trump’s Republican allies thought his slush fund and ‘license to steal’ lifetime audit pass were too corrupt. They made ending them the price of confirming Trump’s AG nominee. Now Trump says he would rather have the corruption than his AG.”

… Sen. Cassidy to Semafor: “I have to make sure that he is the AG who used to be the president’s personal attorney, not the personal attorney who is also the AG. I am concerned about the lawfare, going after people. Cassidy Hutchinson, for example, a grand jury, I’m told is being empaneled, going after her. Why? Tell me that again. Why? The fact that that’s happening has great concern and should concern all Americans. Because where does it stop?”

… After the vote on Blanche was canceled, Trump had a temper tantrum on Truth Social:

“Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest AGs of All Time. However, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting. Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention. I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”

… Cornyn responded: “POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.”

… All of this is happening simply because Trump and his criminal defense lawyer Blanche refuse to reverse Trump’s immunity from IRS audits as well as the slush fund to pay off his criminal cronies with taxpayer dollars. Those are the only 2 things Tillis and Cornyn want.

… Reuters: “A US govt map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Dept presentation at ‌a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online. Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map ​displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Dept’s new health agreements.”

… “The map included in the presentation contained an AI watermark that ⁠signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The map showed Nigeria, where the US currently has several hundred troops deployed, as landlocked in the Sahara Desert. Mozambique, which is in southeastern Africa, was relocated to the Horn of Africa, while Ivory ​Coast in West Africa was placed on the other side of the continent.”

… The State Dept. announced today that the new Trump passports will be issued beginning August 8.

… Rep. John McGuire (R-VA) talked about the Fauci hearing on Newsmax: “I don’t know if you heard about the BLT sandwich - using human fetus baby parts in the vaccine when they could’ve used ivermectin.”

… These people are absolute freaks and weirdos.

… Days after intelligence reports indicated that Putin was using Russian satellites to help Iran target US troops, Trump was asked about a new report that China is also helping Iran:

• Q - “President Xi told you that China would not give or sell Iran any weapons. There’s a new report that Iran’s about to get 400 rocket launchers from China going through Pakistan to Iran. Trump: Well, that would be surprising, I mean things like that happen, but that would be surprising. He told me very strongly he wouldn’t partake, but he knows I’d be quite disappointed.”

… The only thing worse than having one of the biggest morons on the planet running your country is having one that thinks he’s actually smarter than everyone else.

… NYT: “The Middle East teetered on the brink of an expanded war on Thursday, after Iran and the US reignited their hostilities and conflicts on other fronts threatened to draw in more countries. For the first time since the conflict began, the authorities in Egypt said that the country had come under attack, stating that an explosion at one of its ports the previous day had been caused by an unidentified drone.”

… “Earlier, Saudi Arabia also acknowledged direct involvement in the war for the first time, after conducting joint strikes with US forces on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Jordan’s military said its air defenses had shot down 5 missiles launched from Iran early on Thursday morning. The statement, published by the official Jordanian news agency, said there were no casualties.”

Yesterday on Uncovered we talked about Sleepy Don at Lindsey’s funeral, how Trump won’t criticize Putin helping Iran, Musk’s latest meltdown, Trump and Republican missile stockpile lies, the Saudi nuke deal that blew up, issues with the DSA platform, Zelenskyy’s interview with Laura Loomer and what he’s trying to accomplish, the missing $13B Trump stole from Venezuela, the WHC Dinner fiasco & lots more!

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

… Financial Times: “Trump’s war in Iran has significantly reduced inventories of crucial air defense interceptors. The Center for Strategic and Intl Studies estimates that no more than 827 Patriot interceptors and no more than 278 THAAD ballistic missile interceptors remain in US stockpiles.”

… Right-wing podcaster Alex Jones: “This war is absolutely out of control. So I’m calling for it right now, 25th Amendment, impeachment, whatever needs to happen to get control of our country. This is unbelievable, this is disaster. But the public is awakening. This is destroying our economy and is going to kill a bunch of our troops.”