The Trump administration’s DOJ suffered another humiliating defeat when a judge barred the government from bringing a case against an Olympian who the Trump administration accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

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Judge Todd Edelman wrote that Davey Hearn, "faces the unique possibility that the government will revive this case — one that it has already announced to be meritless — based on political pressure brought by the President of the United States upon his subordinate officers.”

The judge continued, “The government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, responded to the judge’s ruling on X:

Judge Edelman just permanently (“with prejudice”) dismissed the farcical charges brought against my wonderful constituent Davey Hearn.

As Judge Edelman pointed out, there was “no crime” so there’s no reason to hold the case up for further counterfeit prosecutions. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro never had any evidence against Davey, a three-time Olympian who has taught generations of my constituents canoeing, kayaking and how not to spend $15 million of taxpayer money turning your swimming pool into an algae farm.

Trump’s prosecutorial deflecting pool picked Davey as a scapegoat for Trump's Mar-a-Lago pool guy’s “rushed and botched” installation job of a new Royal hue in America’s Reflecting Pool, now known throughout the DMV as the "Strait of Warm Ooze."

So many Marylanders, led by Rockville Councilmember Adam Van Grack, stood strong with Davey as he fought these murky, trumped-up bogus charges. Now America celebrates a victory for justice and the rule of law.

Meantime, if Detectives Pirro and Blanche are still searching for felon vandals in the Nation’s Capital, I’ve got great leads on who illegally bulldozed the East Wing of the White House and who has been desecrating the Kennedy Center with deranged narcissistic graffiti.

If federal law enforcement were interested in stopping vandalism of monuments in Washington, they would begin with the guy who tore down the East Wing of the White House, destroyed the Reflecting Pool, and scribbled his name all over the Kennedy Center.

The real vandal has always been sitting in the Oval Office, seemingly napping most of the time.

Trump was willing to send an innocent person to jail to cover up his Reflecting Pool botch.

The corruption is endless, and the legal system is the only guardrail that has been effective in Trump’s second administration.

What do you think about Rep. Raskin’s statement? Join the discussion in the comments below.

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The Republican theory of the 2026 midterm election was based on the idea that Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 made a permanent shift rightward and could be used to build a wave-proof gerrymandered majority to keep the House with the GOP.

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That was the entire idea behind Texas Republicans redrawing their congressional districts to net them more House seats, but even before the ink was dry on the new map, signs showed Republicans had gotten it totally wrong.

Trump immediately did everything that he could to alienate the Hispanic voters who supported him in Texas, and they are seething with rage at the president.

The New York Times talked to Hispanic voters in Texas and found a grim scene for Republicans:

In more than two dozen interviews across the region in recent weeks, Hispanic voters said they were furious over the president’s approach to immigration and the economy — the very problems they had counted on him to fix.

Trump is coming to Texas on Thursday, and things could get ugly.

Hispanic Voters Didn’t Move Right. Democrats Screwed Up.

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The guy who caused the high gas prices is now trying to blackmail a red state.

Alaskans are their own people, who do their own thing, but one of the things that Alaska has done fairly consistently is back Republican candidates.

Back when the Republican Party was the party of small government and states’ rights, it made sense that voters in Alaska would be inclined to vote Republican more often than not.

Somehow, under Donald Trump, the Republican Party is no longer a small-government, individual-rights party, and Alaska is now in the president’s crosshairs because it has a vulnerable incumbent Senator, Dan Sullivan, facing a strong challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola

Just as Trump didn’t do Ashley Hinson of Iowa any favors when he tried to support her campaign, it could be argued that he did even more damage to Sullivan in Alaska with his sleepy mobster routine.

After Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks for everyone, but only if they voted for Republican control of the House and Senate, went absolutely nowhere and might have hurt Republican chances, the president tried again with a more targeted effort focused on Alaska.

Trump Says Alaska Can Only Have Lower Gas Prices If They Vote Republican

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Democrats are ready for Trump to try anything and everything to avoid becoming a lame duck president if Democrats win all or part of Congress in the midterm election.

While the same fringe right-wing zanies have been calling for Trump to impose martial law to stop the midterm election, which is something they have been saying that Trump should do since 2018- even though it wouldn’t work because the president has no federal authority over elections- there is a much more realistic Trump threat that Democrats have been preparing for.

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The threat has never been that Trump will stop the election, because he can’t. Trump, by his own actions, is admitting that he can’t stop the election from happening, which is why he has been trying to rig the outcome.

The real threat is that Trump is going to try to use the power of the presidency to shape the outcome of the election. The president has already tried to do this by ordering the USPS to write rules regarding mail-in ballots, which the Supreme Court blocked.

Trump, like all aspiring authoritarians, wants a pretense of democracy while secretly rigging the results in his favor.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) offered a more realistic possibility of election manipulation while speaking about defending democracy.

Trump Could Create A Fake National Security Crisis

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Sometimes in politics, there isn’t a direct line of causation. Unintended consequences of policy decisions are common. Presidents and Congress can think they have thought of every possible outcome, and then a law is passed and implemented, and unexpected results happen.

Unintended consequences are a byproduct of governing.

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In the case of the current gas price crisis, there is a clear and direct line of causation.

Donald Trump started a war with Iran that impeded and disrupted the oil supply chain, which caused gas and diesel prices to increase, which has fueled a resurgence in inflation, and, along with Trump’s trade war, results in higher prices and costs for the American people.

Republicans in the House and Senate have consistently refused to pass any legislation that would end Trump’s war with Iran, so Republicans are equally to blame for the high price of gas.

Donald Trump has blamed Joe Biden for high gas prices, even though Biden has been out of office for nearly two years and gasoline was around $3.10 a gallon when the former president left office.

With the midterm election turning into a disaster, some House Republicans have found someone else to blame for high gas prices.

House Republican Blames Obama For Gas Prices

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Republicans who are running in congressional races in all but the deepest of red states and areas are doing their best to distance themselves from Donald Trump. Republicans in close contests don’t want Trump in their states or districts.

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Everyone seems to have gotten this message, but the president.

Trump was asked after he met with tech executives about AI, “What's your reaction to Republican candidates who are breaking with you, openly distancing themselves from you on issues like data centers, like immigration?”

Instead of saying that he understood that every congressional race is different, and people have to do what they have to do, Trump took a trip to crazytown.

The president said, “Look, I won in a landslide. I won all seven swing states. I won all the states that you're talking about. I think out of the 22 areas that we're talking about where there's big contention, I won 21 of them. So yeah, 21, and the other one was very close. In fact, a lot of people think I won that too.”

Republicans don’t want to campaign with him. Many have been telling the White House not to send him to their state or district, but Trump got even more delusional.

Video:

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Republicans in the Senate are holding on for dear life and trying to cling to their Senate majority. The Jack Smith hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee is doing them no favors and is likely harming the GOP’s chances.

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri is a Trump loyalist, and the whole point of the hearing for Republicans is to rewrite history to reframe Smith’s investigations of Donald Trump as an unjust political prosecution.

Schmitt was in full performance mode and called Smith a dirtbag, but things quickly fell apart.

Schmitt used his time questioning Smith to ask, “ Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?”

Smith: I'm sorry, could you say that again?

Schmitt: Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?

Smith: What city would that be in?

Schmitt Atlanta.

Smith: No.

Schmitt: Okay So your testimony today is that you did not go to a Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024. Is that correct?

Smith: I have no recollection of that.

Schmitt: Okay. Is it your testimony that you were not in Atlanta on February 3rd, 2024? Let me, let me just give you a little context. Yeah. The day before Fani Willis came clean with her affair with the prosecutor, you know the Atlanta prosecutor that was also trying to get Trump, the next day were you in Atlanta?

Smith: I do not believe so.

Schmitt: Okay. Did you ever go to Atlanta during your time as special counsel?

Sen. Schmitt thought that he had Smith and was setting him up for the conspiracy theory.

Schmitt asked Smith if he ever went to Atlanta and met with Fani Willis and Nathan Wade.

Remember, the Republican conspiracy is that Biden directed a political prosecution of Trump that involved federal, local, and state officials. This was all supposedly a vast conspiracy against Trump.

Then Schmitt face-planted in front of the world on national television.

Jack Smith Perjury Trap Backfires

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Republicans currently have 99 problems, and winning might not be one.

The original Republican plan for the midterm election was to use their overwhelming cash advantage to flip Senate seats in Michigan and Georgia while keeping or expanding their House majority by deploying Trump to swing districts that he won in 2024.

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The plan fell apart under the weight of an economy that looks fine on paper, is great for the rich, but is crushing regular people through inflation and high prices.

An electorate whose anger Trump and the GOP benefited from in 2024 has turned on the president and his party in 2026 and is even angrier.

Trump’s immigration and economic policies have sent the Hispanic voters that the party was counting on in the midterm election back to the Democratic Party.

Instead of picking up Senate seats, Republicans are trying to hold on to their majority and playing defense in red states like Texas, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, and Alaska.

Trump promised that he would be going around the country in October to help Republicans, but the president only has a net positive approval rating in nine states, and the White House is sending him to red states to try to save seats.

Things Are So Bad That The White House Is Worried About Losing Alaska And Ohio

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Few states have been hit as hard by Trump’s tariffs and trade war with Canada as Michigan. Republicans thought that they might have a chance at victory when Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic Senate nomination, but the anchor that is Trump appears to be dragging down Mike Rogers.

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A new poll conducted by GBAO for the Senate Majority PAC (D) found:

Trump's job approval stands at 37 – 61 percent approve/disapprove, down from 39 – 58 percent in our August survey. A majority of Michigan voters now strongly disapprove of the job he is doing (53 percent), and they dislike him personally, with 57 percent rating him unfavorably and just 34 percent favorably.

• El-Sayed leads Rogers by 4 points, 48 – 44 percent. Democratic-leaning voters are highly engaged in the race, and El-Sayed's lead is larger among the voters most likely to turn out. Among those who say they will “definitely” vote in the election, El-Sayed leads by 7 points (51 – 44 percent), and among those who rate their motivation to vote as “10” out of 10, he leads by 10 points (54 – 44 percent).

• Voters see El-Sayed, not Rogers, as someone who will fight for them. When asked which candidate each phrase better describes, Michigan voters choose El-Sayed over Rogers on key attributes including "will fight to lower costs" (48 – 38 percent), "will fight for people like you" (47 – 40 percent), "will bring the right kind of change" (47 – 40 percent), and "will take on corruption" (46 – 39 percent).

• Despite Republican attacks on El-Sayed, voters are more concerned that Rogers won't stand up to Trump. Regardless of which candidate they support, 51 percent of voters say they are more concerned that “Mike Rogers won't stand up to Trump,” compared to 38 percent who are more concerned that “Abdul El-Sayed is too risky for the economy.”

The fact that the more engaged voters are Democrats, and Democrats are more committed to turning out and voting in Michigan, is bad news for Rogers.

Some of these Senate races, like in Iowa and Texas, are dead heats that are within a point, so a four-point lead in Michigan is decent.

Donald Trump is sinking Republicans; even decent Republican candidates like Mike Rogers and Ashley Hinson, who don’t have the baggage of a Ken Paxton in Texas, are being dragged down by Trump.

El-Sayed’s lead could grow, given what is happening to Michigan’s economy and the damage Trump has done.

A Michigan race that Republicans thought they could flip is looking likely to stay in Democratic hands.

How do you feel about El-Sayed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Vice President JD Vance recently came to Iowa to campaign for the Republican at the top of the state ticket, Senate candidate Ashley Hinson. Everyone was there, but Hinson didn’t show up.

Hinson is pleading with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to bring the House back into session, so that they can pass legislation dealing with affordability.

Rep. Hinson said at a press conference before Trump spoke:

I texted him yesterday and put the extra pressure on. I think we should be in Washington, D.C. I think it was a mistake for them to cancel session. Every option should be on the table and we should be in Washington working to provide that relief right now and I stand ready to jump on a plane as soon as they make that decision.

We don’t need another resolution on the House floor. We need a resolution to end the war as quickly as possible and the president can do that and I trust also our US military, the best fighting force in the world, to make sure we put every option on the table to get that done, but it needs to come to an immediate and successful end.

Iowa is one of the states that is being absolutely economically hammered by Trump’s trade war and his war with Iran.

Hinson could lose the Senate race in Iowa due to Trump, whose approval rating in her state has gone from a net (+6) to a (-18). Trump’s current approval rating, according to Civiqs, is 36% in Iowa.

The last thing that Ashley Hinson needed was her name coming out of Trump’s mouth, but that is exactly what the president did.

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The Speaker of the House, who former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene recently claimed only got his current job because he was the person standing in the back of the room that everyone wasn’t mad at if Republicans ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and could not agree on a replacement, is having some trouble coping with the reality that he is not going to be in charge of the House by January 2027.

Mike Johnson has a lot of problems right now, but one of the simmering issues is AI and data centers.

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Trump is opposed to regulating AI and data centers because he and his family are invested in them, but the president’s opposition also means that Mike Johnson has to be opposed to them too.

Johnson rejected moratoriums and regulations for AI:

 I think there may be a role for the DOJ if things go awry. But what we need before we get to that stage is transparency, and we need some oversight. And I think that's what's involved. Instead of, instead of just smothering this with red tape, which is always the government's reflex, and I think would be wrong and frankly dangerous to national security if we did it here we wanna continue the innovation. We wanna keep America's lead over China and all of our other competitors, but we wanna make sure that it's being done in a safe way. So a little oversight, a little transparency I think would go a long way here.

Speaker Johnson also claimed that the public opposition to AI and data centers is a Chinese psy-op.

Mike Johnson Puts On The Data Center Tin Foil Hat

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After more than a decade of Trump on the national political stage, America has watched Donald Trump build his own realities. Trump was born rich, so he has never had to live in a world constrained by reality.

Trump has spent his entire life making his money by building and selling a false reality around himself. In a previous era, Trump would have been called a flim-flam man.

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When Donald Trump took over a political party, his false realities became the dogma of one of the two major political parties. Trump was amplified, and his unwavering commitment to living in his own universe attracted others who mistook delusion for strength and vision.

Trump isn’t a gifted politician. He isn’t a great communicator, personally liked, respected, or a master of the levers of government.

The president’s superpower has been in the ability to build false worlds, but Trump has run into a reality that has neutralized his one power.

Here is what Trump had to say about inflation and gas prices when returning to the White House:

 And a lot of good things are happening, including for our farmers. Thank you all very much. One thing I have to say, with the exception of oil, which is lower than the Biden administration, and we no longer have to worry about nuclear weapons with Iran 'cause they're wiped out. But with the exception of oil, everything is going down.

We have it going down. We inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country, and it's going really down. 401(k)s are at their all-time high. The stock markets are at their all-time high, and our country is doing really well.

Everything that Trump said was false, stretched, or cherry-picked, but there are growing signs that even some of his most devoted supporters have lost faith.

The Hardcore MAGAs Have Been Shaken

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Republicans are getting swallowed up by a wave of voter anger that they can’t quell no matter how much they campaign about trans people in sports and communists. People feel the economic pain of higher prices for virtually everything, including food, utilities, housing, and gas.

Americans are hurting, and the main reason why they are struggling is Donald Trump’s decision to start a war with Iran.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said on Meet The Press, “Thomas Massie and I had a war powers resolution to prevent us from getting into this war. That would’ve been the right decision. We made things worse with gas up at over $4.40, diesel at almost $6.40.”

The right decision would have been for Trump to tell Netanyahu what other presidents have told him when he pitched the war with Iran. The right answer was to tell Bibi to go pound sand, not what Trump decided to do, which was to fight a war that no one outside of Netanyahu wanted.

A president who has made life harder for most Americans should be expressing sympathy and concern, but Trump expressed zero sympathy when asked about higher prices, and he seems delusional on poverty.

Trump: The Best Poverty

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Donald Trump showed up at the Presidents Cup in suburban Chicago, IL and if people were expecting him to present the trophy and hang out, they were mistaken, because the president had other plans.

Just like at Ground Zero on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Donald Trump requested time to deliver a speech before play started.

Golfweek reported:

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to do more than just make an appearance at the Presidents Cup on Sunday. Hand out the trophy as he did in 2017? Possibly. But Trump has bigger plans. According to multiple sources, Golfweek has learned that Trump requested to speak at the first tee for 15 minutes before the start of play.

Giving Trump fifteen minutes may have delayed the tournament for hours, because Trump is not known for his ability to form coherant thoughts, stay on topic, or stick to a time limit.

There was nothing to fear, because the PGA would not say anything beyond that they were preparing for a presidential visit.

It turns out that Trump didn’t get 15 minutes.

Trump Got 47 Seconds And Called A Pedo

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Reports that Trump’s big midterm election rally tour to help Republicans has been reduced to the president appearing in red states and districts because the White House only wants to send Trump where he will get a warm welcome tell only part of the story.

It turns out that Trump is needed in those red states because his support is collapsing and threatening to take Republicans down with him.

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Politico reported on Republicans hemorrhaging support in Trump’s adopted home state of Florida:

“I don’t think we are dead yet,” said one GOP county chair in Florida, granted anonymity to speak candidly as the party both nationally and in state has dismissed any possible concerns about the state of play. “We are not on life support. But we are hemorrhaging. The question is: Do we stop the bleeding now, or wait until we reach critical conditions?”

…

Also, the GOP voter registration advantage may not be as solid as it appears. An analysis of voter registration conducted by a GOP consultant shows that more than 70% of 5.6 million registered Republicans were enrolled with the party in 2022, the year that DeSantis won his reelection by almost 20 points. Nearly all the growth since then has come from people who switched from Democrat or were not signed up with any party.

In Florida, the problems for Republicans are much the same as they are nationally: the Iran war, inflation, gas prices, diesel prices, Hispanics flipping back to Democrats due to Trump’s immigration policies, and data centers.

When a Republican county chair is talking about the party hemorrhaging in the second-biggest red state in the country, the situation is dire for Republicans.

It gets even worse when Trump’s base of support is fleeing him.

Trump’s Hardcore Support Is Shrinking

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The White House launched Trump TV to give the president something that he has wanted for years.

Trump now has his own state TV media outlet on the White House YouTube channel that allows him to broadcast nonstop propaganda.

Well, broadcast might be too strong a word.

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The White House is showing video on Trump TV, but no one is watching.

The Independent reported:

On Thursday afternoon, Trump TV was streaming the president’s speech at the University of Alabama’s graduation ceremony from May 2025. Fewer than 700 people were watching the livestream compared to the thousands watching videos of squirrels eating nuts and rain hitting a tin roof.

A livestream of birds and squirrels snacking on seeds, nuts and fruit had more than 2,000 viewers Thursday afternoon. At the same time, a livestream titled “Rain Sounds for Sleeping” was generating more than 4,000 views.

People do like soothing noise when they sleep, and nobody would ever confuse Trump’s voice with anything relaxing.

Even though Donald Trump has been talking about Trump TV since after he lost the 2020 election, the launch of Trump TV doesn’t seem to have been thought out at all.

Rachel Maddow ripped Trump TV during an appearance on MS NOW’s Deadline White House.

Trump TV Is Your Grandma’s Security Camera

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Donald Trump went on a whinefest on his social media account about how he did not get enough TV coverage for his summit with President Xi of China.

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Trump posted before the state dinner:

CNN and MSDNC’s Ratings have dropped considerably. The primary reason is NO CREDIBILITY! They only write badly about a man who won the Election IN A GIANT LANDSLIDE, winning all 7 Swing States, the Popular Vote, and 86% of the Counties, etc., and whose Popularity has grown because of the unprecedented SUCCESS our Country is having on both the World Stage, and at home. CNN and MSDNC, to show you how fake they are, today refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years, the arrival at the White House of the Highly Respected President of China, Xi Jinping, and his beautiful wife, Madam Peng.

The event was magnificent — Actually made for Television but, because they’re Fake News, and because they knew how good it would be, they didn’t want credit to be given to “TRUMP,” they refused to be there. That’s why they have such poor Ratings. Tonight’s State Dinner at the White House, for President Xi, will be spectacular! The Media will be in attendance.

Trump then denied some CNN and MS NOW reporters access to the event.

What the president leaves out is that the reason he didn’t get any coverage was that he banned reporters from Politico, MS NOW, and CNN from the White House. He caused his own lack of coverage.

By Friday, things had been agreed upon, and the TV pool got assurances from the White House that they were seeking no more bans, so the reporters and TV cameras returned.

What happened next was a be careful what you wish for moment for Trump.

Reporters Hit Trump With Tough Questions

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James Talarico has the look of a confident candidate who knows that he has a real shot at being the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas in decades.

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A Marist Poll released on Wednesday found Talarico leading Paxton 50%-44%:

Talarico (50%) edges Paxton (44%) among registered voters statewide in the contest for U.S. Senate in Texas. Talarico receives majority support among independents (55%) Regardless of whom they support, 52% of voters overall think Paxton will win the Senate race.

A Democrat hasn’t won statewide in Texas since 1994, so it makes sense that a majority of voters in the state would think that Paxton will win the Senate race. Texas Republicans have spent decades making it nearly impossible for Democrats to win statewide. That reality is reflected by the finding that so many voters think Paxton will win.

The perception that Paxton will win is what James Talarico is battling against. It is not enough for him to be a viable candidate. The electorate in Texas has to believe that the Democrat can win, which is why getting Paxton on the debate stage is so important.

Talarico was interviewed at an event by The Texas Tribune on Thursday and he made some news by challenging Paxton to a debate on Fox News.

Talarico Says He Will Debate Paxton Anywhere

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Donald Trump has a vast record of falling asleep in front of the television cameras during his second administration. Trump has fallen asleep in front of reporters, cabinet members, and supporters on a regular basis.

The president’s allies regularly claim that he is high-energy and never sleeps, but the visual evidence presented to the American people tells a different story. Donald Trump is 80 years old and has trouble staying awake.

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On Thursday, while President Xi of China was speaking, Trump was sitting behind him, trying his hardest not to fall asleep.

Video:

Trump is 80 years old, and he didn’t have the energy to do the job the first time he was in office. Did anyone really think that he would get more energetic as he aged?

Some thought that when the White House didn’t immediately restore access to reporters that it had banned, Trump was trying to defy a court order. I suspected that the White House was dragging its feet and playing games.

According to former Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby, the answer is that the White House may have been dragging its feet because they were afraid to wake Trump up.

Kirby said on MS NOW:

 One, they just aren't properly organized. I don't think this is a press shop that is running on efficiency and, uh, with a, a due regard for meeting the needs, their requirements to meet the needs of the American people through the press.

Number two, I'm guessing this just has to do with Mr. Trump just wanting to slow roll this. I mean, they weren't gonna do anything in the middle of the night because that would've meant waking him up most likely because this is not something you're gonna comply with without getting the boss's permission in this particular White House.

And it’s probably hard to get to him first thing in the morning. So I don't think there was any sense of urgency to move on the judge's order. A, they weren't organized for it. B, they're afraid of the boss-and they don't, don't wanna, don't wanna have to go in that, that, uh, take that first step.

Video:

This White House has been terrified to give Trump bad news, so it isn’t a surprise that they would want to drag their feet and not wake up Trump in the middle of the night to tell him something that he won’t like.

What do you think? Was the White House afraid to wake Trump up? Share your take in the comments below.

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Overnight, Trump’s justification for banning reporters was shot down by a Trump-appointed federal judge who rejected the DOJ’s claim that reporters were banned from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW for national security reasons.

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Judge Kelly wrote in his ruling:

But the circumstances here are not so “extraordinary” as to permit deviation from the “essential principle of due process” that a deprivation of liberty “be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing.” Cleveland Bd. of Educ., 470 U.S. at 542 (emphasis added). Zevallos holds that post-deprivation due process may suffice in unusual situations, such as when “providing notice before blocking the assets of international narcotics traffickers would create a substantial risk of asset flight.” 793 F.3d at 116.

But nothing in the record suggests the need for such urgency here. Indeed, some of the reporting identified by Defendants in the letters to Plaintiffs stretches back months or years. See ECF Nos. 16-1, 16-2, 16-3. The sorts of stories Defendants identify in the letters to Plaintiffs are routine. And as discussed further below, the Court is skeptical—at least on this record—that Defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes.

Finally, even if the circumstances here allowed for post-deprivation process, Defendants are still left with the problem that, before the reporting at issue, Plaintiffs still did not “receive fair notice” of either the “conduct” that would lead to a sanction or of “the magnitude of the sanction that the White House might impose.” Karem, 960 F.3d at 665 (cleaned up).

In other words, Trump can’t take away press access, deny the reporters due process, and then claim national security as a justification for doing whatever he wants.

The reporters from the three outlets show up at the White House for work and have their credentials confiscated.

It is clear that the White House is throwing a fit over losing in court and playing games, but the only person this hurts is Donald Trump.

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