Today in Politics, Bulletin 480. 10/13/26

… An embarrassing debut for new WH press secretary Katie Zacharia today in her first press conference. Although it really wasn’t much of a press conference at all as the clearly nervous new Trump appointee couldn’t run out of the room fast enough. You would think that a WH press secretary should at least know something about govt, policy or politics. But it is clear that Zacharia does not:

• On Trump rallies: “He is an energetic president. Attendance is at record highs as enthusiastic, hardworking Americans are lining up and packing arenas to support President Trump and Republicans. It’s not hard to see why. He is fighting and delivering for American workers every minute of every day.”

• “As we are in the middle of the midterm blitz with energy and excitement never seen before in the history of midterms, thanks to President Trump. Just look no further than last night in Youngstown, OH where President Trump delivered another blockbuster rally out on the trail. The arena was overflowing with enthusiasm.”

… There were lots and lots and lots of empty seats.

• Q - “Your family is in CA along with your 4 young children. How are you going to manage that? Zacharia: My president—excuse me, my husband is out here in DC for the week.”

• Q - “Has the US stopped sharing intel with Ukraine? Zacharia: I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

• “We have asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well.”

… Zacharia ended the press conference after 3 questions. She called on reporters from Fox, Breitbart and Daily Mail. Fox host Bill Hemmer was incredulous live on air after the press conference: “On my watch, that was 14 minutes.”

… MS NOW reporter Jake Traylor: Quote from a WH official just now following Katie Zacharia’s first press briefing: “Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better, fast, otherwise she’ll break Scaramucci’s record.”

… CNN right after the press conference: “Some WH officials are already wondering how long she’ll keep the job. They tell Kaitlan Collins her performance was unlikely to satisfy Trump. One WH official called the appearance ‘unusual.’ Another called it ‘brutal.’”

… MS NOW correspondent Peter Alexander: “I was speaking to a former high-level Trump aide in the moments before we came out here. This person said, ‘I think she is going to be a train wreck.’”

… CNN correspondent: “I spoke with one WH official who said a lot of them are ‘missing Karoline today.’”

… But WH Communications Director Steven Cheung posted: “A tremendous start for the new WH Press Secretary! She commanded the room and effectively reminded the American people of all the great work President Trump and his Admin has done thus far.”

… Guilfoyle then posted:

• “Serving as the US Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime. I will forever be grateful to President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for entrusting me with the extraordinary privilege of representing the greatest country in the history of the world.

• I also want to address the recent allegations against me. These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity. I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.

• While my time as Ambassador may be coming to an end, my commitment to President Trump, the America First movement, and the country I love will never end.”

… House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia posted: “While your time as Ambassador to Greece may be coming to an end, our investigation has not. We have asked you a series of questions, and we look forward to your responses.”

… Trump at a press gaggle on his way to fly to AK for a rally:

• Q: “On Guilfoyle, she was almost a member of your family. How surprised were you to learn about these allegations? Trump: No, she wasn’t a member of my family. She, I guess, dated my son a long time ago.”

… They lived together for 6 years. They were engaged for 3 years. Trump: Kim Guilfoyle? Never heard of her. Maybe she went on a date with Junior a while back.

… Trump earlier this year at an event: “Kimberly Guilfoyle has been my friend for a long time. I love calling her Kimberlay. That’s my little pet name, right? But you are the greatest and I heard they love you over there in Greece.”

• “Does anybody want to see a great work of art, a great thing of beauty? The helipad. It’s gotten unbelievable architecture reviews. But that’s nothing compared to what’s being built right there. The roof of the ballroom.”

• Q: “Russia hit 6 energy sites yesterday. What evidence do you have-- Trump: Well, Ukraine hit many sites the day before.”

• Q: “What gives you such confidence that Putin wants the war to end more than Zelenskyy? Trump: Only in dealing. That’s what I’ve done my whole life is deals.”

• “Jon Husted - I heard he went up 9 points yesterday. I did a rally for him.”

… Completely delusional.

• On Zacharia’s press conference: “I thought she was very good.”

• Q: “You said Zacharia is an attorney. Where did she pass the bar exam? What state? Trump pointing to her: You want to answer? Zacharia: When I moved to China. Q - Which state? Zacharia: I went to China.”

… It appears from my research that she graduated from law school and went to work for an international company that did business in China. She never practiced law. She never took a bar exam. But she said many times on podcasts and TV appearances in the past that she was a licensed attorney.

… Politico reporter Dasha Burns: Zacharia tells me: “I practiced international transactional law, with all the appropriate credentials.”

… Um, this is not an answer. China is not an answer. Has she passed a Bar exam and been licensed to practice law by a jurisdiction somewhere, as she has claimed in the past repeatedly? If so, what Bar specifically? The fact that she won’t answer this is telling. She’s in the big leagues now, so this isn’t going away.

… Fox News ratings change. US House 2026. All shifts go in the Democrats’ favor:

AR-02: Safe R → Likely R
IA-01: Toss-up → Lean D
IA-03: Toss-up → Lean D
IN-05: Solid R → Likely R
KY-06: Likely R → Lean R
MO-02: Likely R → Lean R
MT-01: Lean R → Toss-up
NV-02: Solid R → Likely R
NY-03: Lean D → Likely D
NY-19: Likely D → Solid D
NY-21: Solid R → Likely R
OH-15: Likely R → Lean R
PA-01: Lean R → Toss-up
PA-07: Toss-up → Lean D
PA-10: Toss-up → Lean D
TX-09: Solid R → Likely R
TX-15: Lean R → Toss-up
WI-01: Likely R → Lean R

… WSJ: “As Trump weighed endorsing Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn this spring, he was told that damaging revelations were likely to surface about Paxton. Trump was dismissive and said there would be more negative material about James Talarico. Trump plowed ahead and endorsed the scandal-plagued TX AG, helping him win the Republican-primary runoff in May.

… Meanwhile, damaging revelations about Paxton continue to emerge. A new scene that could join the list: a previously unreported New Year’s Eve 2024 celebration where Paxton partied in Dubai with two fugitives from US justice and a woman who wasn’t his wife.

… As fireworks exploded over the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to welcome 2025, Paxton and his girlfriend Tracy Duhon watched from a luxury high-rise balcony full of people. Among those at the event with Texas’ top law-enforcement official were two Americans who had been indicted months before on federal healthcare-fraud charges but failed to return to the US, Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail.

… Ahmed, a healthcare executive, had donated $190,000 to Paxton, campaign-finance records show, including $25,000 days after he was indicted. The two fugitives at the Dubai event had been both indicted in federal court in IL in 2024 on charges that they embezzled $15 million from a Chicago hospital where Ahmed was CFO.

… A businessman with interests in TX, Ahmed was later charged in a much larger scheme involving at least $195 million in alleged payments from the govt for fraudulent Covid-19 tests.”

… WaPo: “Elon Musk elevated a false conspiracy theory about James Talarico over the weekend, lifting a fringe claim concerning the Texan’s mental health to the forefront of users’ X feeds, where it garnered hundreds of thousands of impressions.

… ‘The Talarico campaign is hiding something big that voters ought to know about,’ Musk wrote Sunday afternoon, replying to a post alleging that Talarico had been checked into the Lindner Center of Hope, a mental health facility in suburban Cincinnati. Musk’s reply amassed over 870,000 views, more than double the impression count of the post to which he was responding.

… The episode demonstrates a key way that Musk is wielding political power in the midterms. He has used his formidable war chest to quietly back efforts to elect Republicans to office. His midterm spending has swelled to at least $276 million since the beginning of July, making him the Republicans’ top individual donor.

… Univ of VA law professor Danielle Citron: “You have someone who is in bed with the political party, or an agenda, and is spreading falsehoods about an opponent who is gaining a tremendous amount of traction. It is like a thumb on the scale that we haven’t really ever seen.”

… Scandals this week in the Texas senate race:

• Ken Paxton on video with his latest mistress partying in Dubai with a wanted fugitive who committed over $300 million in health care fraud and gave $190K to Paxton.

• James Talarico stayed home to recover from the flu.

… CNN’s Manu Raju asked Democratic KS senate nominee Adam Hamilton, who has been surging in the polls, about JD Vance questioning the mega-church pastor’s faith: “I follow Jesus. I guess I would ask the question, ‘Do the policies of Vance and Trump, do they reflect the Jesus of the Gospels?’ And the answer is no. I don’t know what gospels they’re reading, but it’s not the Jesus of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.”

Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I do my weekly live podcast Uncovered, where we do a deep dive into the top stories of the week. Certainly LOTS to talk about this week. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

I am pleased that we have lifted the paywall on all our content until election day and everyone is also able to participate in the comments section below. Thank you to everyone who reads, watches, shares and subscribes to what we do. BIG DAY coming up for all of us on November 3!

… Politico: “Former Rep. Mary Peltola raked in $17 million over the last 3 months, a sizable haul for the Democratic challenger in one of the biggest Senate battlegrounds. It’s Peltola’s largest quarterly fundraising total in her bid to oust GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan. Her campaign also said it’s a record third-quarter sum for a Senate candidate in AK.”

… In response to Republicans pulling all their money and ads out of the GA and NC senate races, the Dem Senate Majority PAC has now pulled it’s ads from the GA senate race. This follows them pulling ads from NC over the weekend. This allows them to shift desperately needed cash to other places. A very big deal.

… Pew: “A new Pew Research Center survey of 5,062 US adults – including 3,917 registered voters – finds that Trump’s approval rating now stands at 30% – the lowest of his second term. Most voters (63%) consider Trump a factor in their vote for Congress, with far more thinking of their choice as a vote against the president (44%) than for him (19%).

… Democrats currently hold an 8 percentage point edge in national vote preferences, with 44% of all registered voters saying they would support a Democrat for the House if the election were held today and 36% preferring a Republican. Another 5% say they would select a different candidate and 15% say they aren’t sure.”

… NYT: “Top Republican super PACs aligned with Trump and congressional Republican leadership are cutting off financial support for two Republican House members seeking re-election. The decision represents the first instance this cycle of national Republican groups abandoning incumbents as the party scrambles to prevent more widespread losses in the midterm elections.

… Officials with the two super PACs decided to cancel all remaining advertising booked for Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. of NJ and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of IA over the weekend after internal GOP polling had showed their re-election chances dimming.

… National Republicans, after withdrawing funds last week from the open Nebraska seat of Representative Don Bacon, who is retiring, have now essentially ceded 3 House districts the party currently holds.”

… Trump posted on Truth Social that he doesn’t believe intelligence reports from multiple agencies that Russia and China are helping Iran: “I see so many comments from the Radical Left Morons and Lunatics that China and Russia are helping Iran. If they are, it’s at a very low level, but I don’t believe they are at all. They have too much to lose, and we would know about it, and know about it very fast!”

… Sen. Jon Ossoff was asked about Trump coming to GA to campaign for his opponent Mike Collins:

• “I'm surprised GA Republicans want the president here. Trump is deeply unpopular in GA because he's a failed president who lied the country into war.”

• Q - “How will Dems address affordability if they get the majority? Ossoff: We will repeal the tariffs which will reduce grocery prices, we will end this disastrous war which has driven diesel to $6, and we will repeal those healthcare cuts that have doubled health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians. Those are things that we can and need to do immediately.”

• "The last time Trump lost the presidency, he tried to seize the presidency and overturn the election. That's why it's so important that we vote in unprecedented numbers. This is up to the people."

… Trump at his rally in OH last night for Sen. John Husted:

• Looking at Husted: “I don’t do this with men very often, but I started examining his body. I looked up and down, I looked at his ass. And then I looked at his hands - he has claws. He was a great athlete. Look at that jawline. I’m telling you. I never used to study him. Now I study him.”

… National Coming Out Day was Sunday. I guess Trump observed it a day late.

• As a female protester wearing a ‘Release the Epstein Files’ was being punched in the face by MAGA supporters: “Paid protester. They’re all paid by the lefties to destroy our country. But he’s going back home to mom. Oh, he’s got to go on a diet. He’s a fat guy. Wow.”

• “Look at what’s happening in the once great state of MN. What a mess. Somalia - all they do is kill each other in the streets. They cheat on everything. You have to vote for Michele Tafoya. I thought I won MN 3 times.” The crowd then chants “De-port! De-port!”

… Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox:

• Q - “Ilhan Omar had her house raided yesterday. Are you concerned that it looks too political if the DOJ allows us to happen right before an election? Johnson: No one is above the law in our system. This was a long investigation. We have to let the system play out. Maybe the timing is unfortunate for her but we do our jobs and let people decide.”

… Johnson then threatened us with a good time.

• “If Democrats took over, heaven forbid, they would turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, spending every day investigating the president, first family, Cabinet, donors to the party, and leaders in business and industries. It would empower our enemies.”

… He said he’s confident Republicans will keep the majority.

• “I’m telling you the polling is wrong. Don’t buy the polls. I am on the ground in the swing districts and seeing huge energy in crowds. It feels like 2024 to me.”

… Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) on Fox: Q - “How do you and Republicans combat this sense among Americans, with mortgage rates at 7.4%, with fuel costs where they are - this feeling of 'I'll never be able to catch up'? Tenney: One of the problems is we're coming off 4 years of Joe Biden.”

… NYT: “About a year before the World Cup, FIFA held a splashy opening for its latest office, a 17th-floor suite in Trump Tower. Eric Trump said his family’s organization was ‘honored’ to host the global soccer body. FIFA signed a more than 7-year lease, worth about $4 million. The suite mostly sits empty.

… The terms of the deal, which have not been previously reported, raised concern among some senior FIFA officials about renting space in a Trump-linked building, in a high-tax state, without a clear need. The deal offers another example of how FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, sought closer ties to Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup, despite pushback from senior soccer officials.

… FIFA’s American operations are mostly based in two offices in Miami. The organization has no plans to fully staff the Trump Tower location and the office sits largely idle, according to current and former FIFA officials.”

… Trump is taking bribes in thousands of different ways. Despite great reporting we still only know a tiny percentage of it.

… CNN reporter Aaron Blake: “Trump has pardoned 9 of the last 11 GOP congressmen to be convicted of federal crimes. His DOJ has indicted, tried to indict, or taken investigative steps against 13 Democrats currently serving in Congress.”

… Military.com: “A US Air Force member jailed since August for publicly calling for Trump’s impeachment is being held in solitary confinement 24 hours a day, according to his attorney. Maj. Jason Watson was arrested July 1 on the steps of the US Capitol, where he demonstrated in uniform with a sign reading ‘Impeach. Convict. Remove.’ after speaking at a news conference calling for Trump’s removal.”

… Watson’s attorney Christopher Mutimer: “He is still in solitary confinement 24 hours a day. Even if he gets an hour to eat or to exercise, he’s alone. He’s looking at having his liberty potentially taken away. He is looking at being removed from the military, losing his benefits and potentially spending significant time in jail.”

… Daily Beast: “Grammy-winning musician Kacey Musgraves has brutally taken down puppy-killing Kristi Noem after the former DHS chief decided to get involved in TX politics. Days after filing for divorce from her husband of 34 years, Bryon Noem, Noem found time to weigh in on James Talarico sharing a photo of himself with Musgraves after attending her show in Dallas on Saturday.

… Noem shared a screenshot of Talarico’s post on her X account on Monday, informing her followers that she preferred ‘Choosin’ Texas’ country singer Ella Langley to Musgraves ‘any day.’

… Musgraves, who has frequently called out Trump and his admin, was quick to clap back to Noem: ‘I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.’ The post has already had over 6 million likes on X.”

My mother is flying in from FL to spend the week with us in Maine so I dug out the family archives I received from my uncle before he died. My great-grandmother Marilla was good friends with the greatest First Lady in US history in my opinion, Eleanor Roosevelt.

She was very active in politics and president of lots of political clubs in Vermont and Massachusetts. Her father, my great-great grandfather, was also active in politics and was Postmaster General for VT. She was always passionate about women’s rights, which is no doubt why she and Eleanor gravitated to each other. She also loved the British royal family even though she was 100% Irish (the non-UK part).

I actually watched Charles and Diana’s wedding with Marilla since my mom dropped me off to spend that week with her. That was basically a week-long event in her house which included a lot of British baking, and I was along for the ride for all the festivities. I was dreading spending that week with an old lady at age 12, but we actually really connected. I suppose now I know why.

I found this photo of them together.