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State of the Union Address

February 24, 2026 at 8:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump will deliver his State of the Union address at 9 p.m. ET

It’s expected to be a very long speech.

Punchbowl News: “Trump still has a stranglehold on the GOP, which means rank-and-file Republicans are hesitant to break with him. He’s not quite a lame-duck. But the clock is ticking on the 119th Congress, and Republicans don’t have a lot to run on in November.”

“It’s against this backdrop that Trump will head down Pennsylvania Avenue for his sixth address to Congress, including during his first term. On average, more than 40 million people have tuned into each of Trump’s joint speeches to Congress.”

Democrats Warn Trump on Iran

February 24, 2026 at 8:41 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Top Hill Democrats are warning President Donald Trump that he must seek public approval before launching an extended military campaign against Iran,” Punchbowl News reports.

“At tonight’s State of the Union, Trump is expected to talk about Iran and what’s at stake for Americans as he pushes for a showdown over Iran’s nuclear program.”

Al Green Is Back

February 24, 2026 at 8:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Al Green, the octogenarian Texas Democrat who last year was ejected from the chamber during Trump’s speech for shouting and waving his cane, is in the chamber with a homemade cardboard sign that says ‘Al Green,'” the New York Times reports.

“His outburst last year, which Republicans eventually censured him for, was largely viewed with frustration by Democrats, who thought it was a childish form of protest.”

From our partner: Ground News

The News Has Blind Spots. Most of Us Never See Them.

You already know the problem: the same story can look completely different depending on where you read it — and some stories barely show up at all because algorithms often decide what you see in the first place.

My goal for Political Wire is to help you get outside those filters — to understand not just what happened, but how it’s being covered and who might be missing it. That’s why I use and recommend Ground News.

They're an app and website that brings together global news from across the political spectrum, showing each source’s bias, factuality, and ownership.

What I find especially useful is the Blindspot Feed. It highlights stories that are getting heavy coverage on one side of the political spectrum but little to none on the other. It’s a quick way to see what your usual news diet — and its algorithms — may be leaving out.

For a limited time, get 40% off a Ground News Vantage subscription —- the same one I use —- by going to www.groundnews.com/political.



Democratic Response Will Stress Affordability

February 24, 2026 at 8:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Since she arrived in Congress in 2019, Abigail Spanberger served as an unofficial spokeswoman for the moderate wing of the Democratic Party whose primary goal was to win elections, not start a political movement.”

“So when Ms. Spanberger, weeks into her term as Virginia’s governor, was chosen by the Democratic congressional leadership to deliver the party’s response to President Trump’s State of the Union speech, it served as a message to the rest of the party to follow the example she set in her winning campaign last year.”

“And indeed, Ms. Spanberger plans to address key themes she campaigned on when she follows Mr. Trump on Tuesday night: affordability, the chaos instigated by the president both in America and overseas, and the ways ‘ordinary citizens’ are pushing back against the president, according to a preview of her speech themes circulated by her aides.”

Trump Wants Banks to Collect Citizenship Info

February 24, 2026 at 4:37 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is considering executive action that could require banks to report more information on the citizenship of their customers, the latest move by the White House to crack down on illegal immigration,” the Washington Post reports.

“The steps under consideration include a potential executive order requiring banks to collect information from all customers — both new and existing — and could require new forms of documentation, such as a passport, to verify citizenship.”

What the White House Isn’t Getting Through to Voters

February 24, 2026 at 3:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Puck: “Echelon found that 88 percent of voters have seen, read, or heard a lot or some about ICE raids and the protests that consumed Minnesota last month. And 76 percent have heard a lot or some about Trump’s attempts to acquire Greenland. Meanwhile, a majority of voters (55 percent) have heard about Trump’s attempts to ‘build new monuments or renovate existing ones,’ like tearing down the East Wing of the White House to erect his ballroom.”

“All of these stories have dominated headlines for months, clearly breaking through to voters of all stripes. (Even majorities of those notoriously hard-to-reach young voters had heard about all of these stories.)”

“By contrast, majorities of voters have not heard about several of Trump’s key economic accomplishments, including some that were promoted with high-profile events at the White House or press conferences featuring the president and allies. For instance, only 45 percent of voters have heard or read about the launch of Trump Accounts, the Michael Dell–backed federal investment accounts designed to build long-term wealth for young children. A full 27 percent of voters said they had heard “nothing” about the accounts, including 30 percent of independents.”

White House Urges GOP to Ignore Trump’s Diversions

February 24, 2026 at 3:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Scherer: “They will let Trump be Trump, but everyone else needs to stay focused on the economy.”

Could Republicans Blow the Texas Senate Race?

February 24, 2026 at 3:46 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Eli McKown-Dawson: “After every election, political commentators come up with countless theories for why the losing party failed. There’s usually a fair amount of disagreement about the correct lesson. But for 2022, a year when Republicans actually lost a seat in the Senate despite facing an already unpopular Joe Biden, it’s relatively uncontroversial to say that Republicans shot themselves in the foot by nominating a bunch of less-than-stellar candidates. It wasn’t the party’s only problem — the backlash triggered by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade also hurt the GOP — but still, they lost winnable Senate races in Georgia and Pennsylvania in part because they nominated flawed candidates like Herschel Walker and Dr. Mehmet Oz.”

“The Republican primary in Texas is giving strong 2022 vibes. Cornyn — an establishment figure who has a close relationship with Mitch McConnell and broke with Senate Republicans by not joining lawsuits challenging the certification of 2020 election results — is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton is something of a MAGA darling and was recently endorsed by Turning Point USA, although President Trump hasn’t endorsed any one candidate in the race…”

“Paxton is also a scandal-magnet. And by scandals, I don’t mean missing a few votes in the Texas Senate.”

The Deaths Doctors Never Thought They’d See in the U.S.

February 24, 2026 at 3:38 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Katherine Wu: “For years, the worst outcomes of measles were all but unknown in the U.S. Now they look inevitable.”

Tony Gonzales Digs In

February 24, 2026 at 3:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said he will not resign as he faces calls to step down amid allegations that he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide, The Hill reports.

House GOP Leaders Wade Into Gonzales Scandal

February 24, 2026 at 1:18 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After days of silence, the House Republican leadership is beginning to slowly turn the screws on embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Punchbowl News reports.

“Speaker Mike Johnson said he expected to talk to Gonzales today amid multiple reports that the Texas Republican had an extramarital affair with an aide who later took her own life. Gonzales also allegedly sent sexually suggestive text messages to the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, in 2024. Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September 2025.”

“House rules bar members from having a romantic relationship with any aide or staffer under their supervision.”

Bricklayer Behind Trump’s Plan to Send a Hospital Ship

February 24, 2026 at 1:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Jørgen Boassen, a 52-year-old Greenlandic bricklayer who last year helped organize Donald Trump Jr. visit to the island, says he was the one who inspired Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana and Trump’s appointed Greenland envoy, to propose the idea.”

“Boassen, unknown to the Greenlandic public until early last year, has become a controversial figure for his outspoken pro-Trump views and regular outings in a red MAGA hat. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said he was staying overnight at Landry’s mansion in Louisiana last week as part of a cultural exchange during Mardi Gras when the governor asked what the U.S. could do for Greenland.”

GOP Candidate’s Sister Calls Her ‘Evil Person’ and a ‘Snake’

February 24, 2026 at 1:10 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Secretary of State candidate Amanda Love’s (R) sister urged Republican delegates in a Facebook video not to support her sister for the nomination, saying she’s not qualified for the job, among other things,” MIRS reports.

Said Adora Orlowski: “She is a truly evil person and will do anything to anyone to gain power or control. Mandy is a snake who lives with her life entwined in a web of lies.”

GOP Lawmaker Quietly Questioned ‘Disturbing’ Demolition

February 24, 2026 at 1:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As GOP leaders leaped to defend President Donald Trump’s decision to tear down the East Wing of the White House last year, one Republican lawmaker privately warned a senior White House aide that he had “substantial concerns” and demanded answers about how the decision was made,” the Washington Post reports.

Wrote Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH): “The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation’s history.”

‘Trump Took Your Money’

February 24, 2026 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Dan Pfeiffer: “The Supreme Court ruling, which included two justices appointed by Trump, is crystal clear: Trump did not have the authority to levy this tax on American businesses and consumers.”

“The tariffs were illegal. Trump took your money.”

“And it wasn’t a close call. The Court did not reverse itself or change precedent. This was not a novel reading of the Constitution or legislative text. Trump’s tariffs relied on an incredibly aggressive and unprecedented interpretation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Many legal experts — including Republicans — warned that Trump was on shaky legal ground and that even a very pro-Trump Supreme Court could strike them down.”

“Yet Trump took your money anyway, and now he won’t give it back.”

One-Party Dominance in the States

February 24, 2026 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “In 41 of the 50 states, every statewide executive office is held by the same party—a striking indicator of the scope of political polarization today. In another six states, one side has a clear edge.”

“This leaves only three states that have a relatively balanced mix of Republican and Democratic statewide officeholders: Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina.”

Jeanine Pirro Shelves Pursuit of Six Democrats

February 24, 2026 at 9:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Jeanine Pirro’s office has decided to stop pursuing the case against six Democratic lawmakers who urged members of the military and intelligence communities in a social media video not to comply with unlawful orders,” NBC News reports.

Attack of the Zombie Tariffs

February 24, 2026 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Paul Krugman: “Trump administration officials are trying to put a brave face on the stinging rebuke just delivered by the Supreme Court in its ruling that most of the tariffs imposed since April 2025 (the IEEPA tariffs) are illegal.”

“Never one to accept limitations on his power, Trump rushed to impose new tariffs using an obscure clause, Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Section 122 tariffs have a 150-day limit, at which point they expire. So Trump officials are now claiming that they’ll find ways to reconstruct the tariffs using other legal loopholes before the expiration date is reached.”

“I don’t know how well this strategy will actually work. To the extent that it does work, we will be in the grip of zombie tariffs — tariffs that should be dead, because they were clearly imposed illegally, but that somehow keep shambling along.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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