Today in Politics, Bulletin 443. 8/18/26

… Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) travelled to GA to campaign with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) today as both potential presidential candidates hammered Trump, the Republican Party, and Ossoff’s opponent, Rep. Mike Collins. Ossoff:

• “Remember the president promised to bring down prices on day one? What’s the other promise he made? He said he wouldn’t take us to war. I would ask the president’s few remaining supporters to contrast his promises with the results you have been delivered and to vote accordingly.”

• “Over these next 3 months we face what for many of us is the most profound civic obligation of our lifetimes. And on election night, when you start to see the results come in, I know that you don’t want to be asking yourselves what more you might have done.”

• “The first thing that I want you to hear from me is that I’m your servant. I work for you. You are the boss. And whenever and however I can be of service to you, I want you to reach out to me and let me know. Because my fundamental purpose in this office is to support you and help you and solve problems for you so that you and your families and this community can flourish.”

• “Brian Kemp was right about Mike Collins. Remember how hard the governor worked to prevent this guy from getting the Republican nomination? Coach Dooley would’ve been an honorable opponent, not a sitting congressman who is surrounded at work and at home by neo-Nazi ideology and white nationalism.”

• “Because I don’t think anything illustrates the times more aptly than that the draft-dodging crook president who has plunged our nation recklessly into a war he knows not how to end or to win tried to imprison this man who embodies American heroism: a decorated combat veteran, naval aviator, astronaut, space shuttle commander, US senator. Trump tried to lock him up for daring to state in public a fundamental principle of military law.”

… Sen. Mark Kelly:

• “Trump said I should be hanged, executed, and prosecuted. The guy couldn’t even get the order right.”

• “It is not only Mike Collins. You see this in Texas with Ken Paxton. Another person who has no business running for the Senate, who was impeached by his own party because of corruption. So how did this happen? I think it happens when the country elects a man convicted of 34 felonies.”

… As Republicans were screaming for an apology from Ossoff for his Natalie Harp comment at a rally this weekend, he went on MS NOW where he was asked about it by host Jen Psaki:

• “We’re in wartime. The commander in chief has mired us in this geopolitical disaster. People have lost their lives. Our naval logistics are frayed. The global energy system is in crisis. And he retreats into this bubble of West Wing aides who are his security blanket to make him feel good about himself, to reassure him that he’s doing a great job, to help him while he designs his new ballroom.”

• “They have treated the lives of our service members as pawns in a geopolitical game in which they are in way over their head. And this debacle, this fiasco, this fundamental failure of the basic obligations of the commander in chief is something that will define Trump’s life, presidency and legacy for all time. And they know that. And that’s why they’re lashing out in this way.”

• Psaki: “The reason I asked about Natalie Harp is because it’s kind of raised this question out there. More questions about her. You specifically mentioned her, and I just wonder why? Ossoff: Well, I’ve heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket. And I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the WH. They’re not telling him what he needs to hear. They’re telling him what he wants to hear.”

• “Those sailors out on the Lincoln, they do their jobs with excellence and dedication every single day. They didn’t sign up for luxury. They signed up to defend the country. And the president, surrounded by enablers in the West Wing, is playing golf, is trading stock, and is decorating his ballroom. It’s a disgrace.”

… Politico: “GA Democrats and others who have worked with Ossoff - or seen him behind-the-scenes - say he is meticulous about how he communicates and oversees all the details of his campaign’s work. Michael Vainisi, a content strategist who has worked with Democratic presidents and senators in the past, described Ossoff’s speeches as ‘optimized for clipping.’”

… “Ossoff’s speech over the weekend was no exception: From a Midtown Atlanta rally stage, he quipped of Trump, ‘He doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace, gifted by the Emir of Qatar.’ He was referencing Natalie Harp, the president’s executive assistant.”

… “The one-liner has since drawn backlash from Republicans - but also over 5 million views on X.”

… Sarah Matthews, former Trump Dep. press secretary, on CNN: “They tried to get Harp to not stay at Bedminster that summer while they were on the campaign trail, because even campaign staff recognized that it was a weird relationship between the two. So what did Natalie Harp do? She found a workaround. She stayed in the women’s locker room all summer long. So I think that it’s fair to point out the sycophancy of her in particular, and their close relationship.”

… Miami Herald: “Michael Caruso, a former state legislator whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller, was arrested early Tuesday morning on allegations of molesting a child. The 67-year-old Republican is running for re-election in Nov to retain the top county post that DeSantis appointed him to last August. No other Republican is contesting him.”

… Florida Politics: “Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso, a former state rep. and steady ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been arrested on charges related to child sexual abuse. DeSantis suspended Caruso shortly after. Caruso has been charged with 5 felony counts: Kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse.”

… “The victim was Caruso’s grandson, to whom Caruso “enjoyed regular and unsupervised access as a family member, including periods alone with the child in Orange County, in Palm Beach County, and aboard a family vacation in August 2025.”

… “Caruso has been a consistent supporter of the Governor, who appointed Caruso as Clerk exactly one year ago, on Aug. 18. He was running for re-election at the time of his arrest. Caruso represented House District 87 from 2018-2025, when the Governor tapped him to replace former Clerk Joe Abruzzo, who vacated the post for a job as Palm Beach County Administrator.”

… “A father of 7, Caruso is married to Tracy Caruso, an editor for conservative media outlet Florida Jolt. Caruso’s previous wife, Beverly, the mother of all his children, accused him of sexually assaulting a child, according to 2012 divorce filings in Palm Beach County. Caruso denied wrongdoing.”

… This keeps happening with “Christian conservatives.”

… NOTUS: “Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign hired a staffer from Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Jacob Smith, who worked for Cornyn for 5 years as a deputy legislative director and policy adviser, is taking on the role of deputy policy director for Talarico’s campaign.”

… Smith: “I’ve worked for Republicans like Senator Cornyn my entire career, but this year I’m proud to be joining James Talarico’s campaign. Instead of playing partisan politics, Talarico speaks to the needs of everyday people who day in and day out work too hard for too little. In the Senate, James will fight to lower costs for all 31 million Texans, whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, or independents, so that Texans of all ages have a fighting chance at the American Dream of starting a family, owning a home, and leaving a little behind for their children.”

… “Ken Paxton is the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power. I’m encouraging all my fellow Republicans who know Ken Paxton is unfit to serve in the Senate to finally hold him accountable at the ballot box.”

… Fox senior political analyst Karl Rove, who is from TX, was asked about the race:

• Host: ”James Talarico making this concentrated effort against Ken Paxton. Paxton is not raising as much money as he should. Maybe not on the campaign trail as much as he could be and pummeled by negative ads. So is that a true toss-up?”

• Rove: “I think it is. The state is Republican in nature. But this is an unusual race. You are right, Talarico had over $70 million raised and Paxton had $9 million plus. The week before the Fourth of July, Paxton was in Iceland with his new girlfriend. On July 4th, a day where he could be campaigning at Fourth of July celebrations all across TX, he was in London.”

• “So he needs to get out on the campaign trail and he is not going to change as a fundraiser. So this is going to be one that will depend mightily upon the decision of Trump to spend or not spend the half a billion plus dollars that he has in his two super PACs. If he does spend he can even it up. If he doesn’t spend this could be a really bad night for Republicans in TX.”

… CNN pollster Harry Enten on the new Reuters/IPSOS poll: Enten: “Trump net approval hits a term two low, 31 points underwater. At the beginning of term two he was at +6 points. Now he’s 37 points from where he was. Trump was unpopular going into the midterms during his first presidency, but not anywhere as unpopular as this - he’s doing 19 points worse.”

… Economist Philip Pilkington: “It has been 18 days since the US Treasury undertook an all-hands-on-deck bailout of the yen. The intervention has now been completely wiped out and the Japanese are going to start considering liquidating US Treasuries to get the situation under control.”

… Scott Bessent was a currency trader for decades in the private sector, now he is currency trading with our money. When does all the winning start?

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… Deadline: “ABC filed an unprecedented First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC on Tuesday, claiming that its investigations and regulatory actions are part of a Trump admin ‘retaliatory campaign’ to curb the network’s free speech. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in DC, also seeks to halt a proceeding in which the agency and its chairman, Brendan Carr, demanded that it put its 8 stations up for early license renewal. That followed Trump‘s attacks on the network, including its late night host, Jimmy Kimmel.”

… ABC: “Acting through the FCC, the Admin has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts.”

… “The lawsuit is heavy in references to Trump’s attacks on the network and calls for its to lose its licenses, including his complaints over the way that ABC News