… “Trump will not attend the 25th anniversary in NYC of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. According to the NYT, Trump wanted to make a speech at the event during the ceremony at Ground Zero in Manhattan on the anniversary, but it has been the policy since 2012 that politicians aren’t not allowed to deliver remarks at the site to keep the ceremony apolitical. Trump wasn’t happy about that, so he won’t be attending.
… The NYT reported that Trump plans to deliver remarks at the Pentagon before flying to his golf course in Ireland which is hosting the Irish Open that weekend.
… NBC: “Milo Yiannopoulos, a self-described libertarian and professional internet troll who became known for his controversial right-wing political views, is in ICE custody. A spokesperson for DHS said that ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, a UK national, at the New Orleans International Airport.”
… “The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos legally entered the US on May 14, 2019, through NYC, but then “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”
… Yiannopoulos has ties to Kanye West, and previously served as the rapper’s chief of staff when Ye tried to run for president in 2020 and 2024. He also served as in intern in former Rep. Marge Greene’s DC office.
… It sounds like Milo got Loomered. Laura Loomer posted:
“For years I have been telling people that Milo Yiannopoulos was an illegal alien. Despite this, Marjorie Traitor Greene hired him to work for her in her Congressional office, let him live in her home, and recently, Candace Owens and Tucker Qatarlson harbored this illegal alien inside their homes when they both ‘interviewed’ him.”
“I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene. When Milo called for me to be assassinated, I reported him to ICE and the FBI.”
… Trump gave a speech today at NASA which was supposed to honor astronauts from Artemis II, but instead he talked about himself and make it a partisan speech of lies, playing his greatest hits. It went over like a lead ballon to scientists, astronauts, staff and their families, who sat in stony silence.
… Journalist Aaron Rupar, live-tweeting while covered the event:
“Trump is now more than an hour late for a Medal of Honor event at the NASA Johnson Space Center, and the producers of the event are playing long videos to fill the time as Trump posts on Truth Social.”
“Trump is making the astronauts he's supposedly honoring sit around and wait for him endlessly. Ambient music has been playing for a half an hour now as everybody waits for Trump to show up.”
“Trump’s me me me me me routine is not going over well.”
“Trump is speaking to complete silence at the NASA center. Not a single person is applauding or reacting to anything he says during his brazenly partisan speech.”
“This is one of those instances where Trump's inability to deliver a speech that's under a half hour long really hurts him. Nobody wants to hear him riff about Venezuela and Iran for an hour+ at an event that's supposed to be nonpartisan and in honor of other people.”
“Complete silence at the NASA center as Trump brags about the stock market and touts fake foreign investment numbers. Just a brutally awkward speech that is going over like farts in church.”
… WY Republican Gov. Mark Gordon was alarmed by surprise election monitors from DOJ showing up last week without notice during his state’s primaries: “It sounded like the behavior of the observers was a bit aggressive. It just was irregular and I have asked the AG to start looking into the nature of the visits and all that sort of stuff. Their behavior seemed to exceed what the authority that Congress had given them was.”
… Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee, also a Republican, said she was never notified that DOJ officials were showing up:
“It was a poorly managed exercise and one that showed complete disregard for our state laws and administration of our elections. Shortly after learning of their presence, I spoke with a DOJ official who informed me that the decision to deploy monitors to WY was made on short notice, and an email had been sent to me, but it may have gone to the wrong address.”
“Their questions were outside the scope of federal voting rights laws. They requested training guides, asked how our new election equipment was acquired, and wanted to examine our tabulators.”
… Lee said she also had to deny requests by the monitors to interview voters.
… This appears to be a practice run by Trump’s goon squad in a friendly state before the midterms.
… Axios: “Republicans will have some stiff competition for eyeballs when they hold their first-ever midterm convention next month in Dallas - the NFL, American television’s undisputed champion of ratings. The GOP’s Sept. 9-10 convention in Dallas will go head-to-head with the two opening games of the NFL season, which are expected to draw huge audiences each night.”
(I was the first one who reported that this event was the same time/dates as the opening primetime games of the NFL season)
… “Some GOP operatives are privately incredulous that a convention designed to draw attention to the party’s fall candidates was scheduled opposite the NFL. They fear the GOP will struggle to persuade voters - particularly men, who powered Trump’s 2024 comeback - to choose politics over football.”
… “The convention’s opening night will overlap with the NE Patriots playing the Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl rematch. It will be on NBC and its streaming platform, Peacock. In Dallas that night, JD Vance will deliver the convention’s keynote speech. The convention’s second night will coincide with a rivalry matchup between the SF 49ers and the LA Rams, which will be streamed on Netflix. Trump is the keynoter in Dallas that night.”
… Right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh: “I was already extremely skeptical about this ‘midterm convention’ idea and then I realized that they’ve scheduled it to compete directly with the opening nights of the NFL season. Almost nobody (myself included) is going to choose to watch midterm convention speeches over football. I really don’t understand the strategy here.”
… AP: “AIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. TRUMP CONSERVATIVE.” The all-caps headline on TX Republican congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz’s website used to align him with Trump. Not anymore. “NATIVE TEXAN. AIR FORCE VETERAN. SMALL BUSINESSMAN. PROVEN CONSERVATIVE,” it reads now.
… “As the two-month sprint to Election Day begins, a small collection of Republican candidates have quietly begun to distance themselves in subtle ways from Trump now that they’ve won contested primaries in which his endorsement was often the most coveted prize. The shift is easy to miss, often only a few words or new pictures. And Republicans insist there is no shift at all.”
… “But from CA to TX and KY to AK, candidates in recent weeks have tweaked their campaign messaging to downplay their connection to Trump. A handful of others have highlighted their opposition to his policies. It’s an extremely delicate balance for vulnerable Republican candidates, who must expand their appeal beyond Trump’s MAGA base to win in the general election this fall, but are also afraid to trigger a backlash from Trump or his hard core supporters if they create too much distance.”
… Texas Tribune: “One of the things Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is best known for among his congressional peers is the hundreds of millions of dollars he’s raised, funneling cash to fellow Senate Republicans from the vast donor network he’s built over decades as a mainstay of the TX GOP. But don’t expect him to raise money for Ken Paxton in the TX Senate race.”
… Instead, Cornyn said he’s going to fundraise to help colleagues elsewhere: “What I’m doing is I’m raising money to help in places like NH and MI and AK. Paxton’s a poor campaigner. He’s lazy and doesn’t raise money. And he basically is not offering a very compelling case for his election. He’s making this harder than it needs to be. But so be it - we are where we are.”
… Semafor: “Trump’s trade war with Canada is handing a political gift to Democrats in this pivotal battleground state. Democratic candidates across MI are unifying against Trump’s 50% tariffs on an array of Canadian goods, hitching Republicans to a trade battle against a trusted neighbor that polls show is unpopular. The alignment is a helpful way for Democrats to change the subject from US-Israel policy, a topic that has bitterly split them in this state in particular.”
… “Taking on Trump over Canada trade also helps Democrats sidestep their own past divisions on the issue. The party has long cleaved between pro-business factions and labor allies, and some Democrats - especially in MI - remain open to targeted tariffs, not to mention critical of free trade pacts. But at the moment, in a swing state that counts Canada as its top export destination, Democrats are focused on where they agree.”
… Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed: “These tariffs are simply about Trump’s ego, and he wants us to have to pay for them. And Mike Rogers is going to do nothing but rubber-stamp it.”
… “It’s not just El-Sayed making the most of the opportunity to hammer Trump’s trade tactics. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson is linking Republican opponent John James to them at every turn, dubbing the Canada tariffs a ‘John James tax.’
… In a battleground manufacturing-heavy House district in the Detroit suburbs, Dem nominee Christina Hines said that “Canada is not the problem.” Hines used her opposition to the tariffs to cast her Republican opponent Mike Bouchard as a loyalist who “falls in line” with Trump:
“He’s a really nice young man, but he supports everything that this president does. What we need is someone that’s actually going to stand up and fight for us.”
… The 2026 ‘Defend the Vote’ March on Washington was held today, which drew thousands to the National Mall to protest the erosion of voting rights. It marked the 63rd anniversary of the historic 1963 march led by MLK Jr.. AOC spoke at the event:
“We the people demand guaranteed health care for every American as a right and not a privilege. We the people demand that one job with no need for overtime should be enough for our most basic needs, which also include rest. And we must recognize that that can only happen in an economy where Black women are not the first to be pushed out and the last to be brought back in.”
“This November, the first of many tides is coming—coming to respond to every right they are trying to take. The tide is coming, and this time we intend to win it all. I’ll see you on the streets.”
… Penn Live: “75% of PA Democrats would not vote for Sen. John Fetterman if he were running for re-election this year. The latest PennLive poll also found that Gov. Josh Shapiro has a 31-point advantage over Republican challenger Stacy Garrity, the state treasurer, while Trump remains highly unpopular and voters have a low opinion of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).”
… “Fetterman will be up for re-election in 2028 and there are several candidates considered potential Democratic primary challengers, including Reps. Brendan Boyle and Chris Deluzio and former Reps. Conor Lamb and Susan Wild.”
… “Not surprisingly, Trump is still underwater with PA voters as 40% approve of him and 57% disapprove.”
… Fetterman on Greta Van Susteren’s Newsmax podcast: “I can’t explain where I’m at anymore. If you seen the latest NYT poll. I don’t understand it - I’m more popular with Republicans. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why Democrats are upset with me. Ok, take me out. But that’s because I’m honest, that’s the space that I occupy.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off Saturdays. It was another long week for me to cover all of this and I’m sure for you to read it. Believe me, I know better than anyone how exhausting this regime can be, but I think it is so important to remain super informed, vigilant and active.
That is why my limited time off is always spent unplugged and out in nature. Tomorrow we are kayaking on a river that empties out into the Atlantic in Kennebunk. It’s a tidal river, so we will ride the tide from the mouth of the river inland until it peaks, then ride it back out to the ocean. Forecast is 76 degrees and sunny.
I will be back with the Weekend Bulletin on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… Trump tried to put out the fire with farmers and ranchers furious about his policies with this Truth Social post: “I have heard that they have had a tremendous problem with the Big Processors, who many say are a nasty Monopoly. So, in order to break this powerful monopoly, with much of its ownership based outside of the US, I am
