The Guardian: “Two months after receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to ‘annihilate’ Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.”
“The convicted coup-monger – who has been living under house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid growing speculation that he will be sent to a notorious maximum security prison.”
Jonathan Chait: “Why has Trump chosen to inflict this wound upon himself? A Trump ally suggests to Politico that the president, like many young children, is expressing what some might call oppositional defiant disorder: ‘POTUS doesn’t like to be told what to do or give Dems a win, so he’s been fighting it.’ This theory might make more sense if releasing the Epstein files hadn’t been Trump’s own idea before he abruptly reversed course earlier this year.”
“Trump’s own responses to this very question are even less reassuring.”
“Asked on Air Force One last Friday why he won’t just release the files, Trump snapped at a female reporter, ‘Quiet, piggy.’ As a longtime married man, I have seen enough rom-coms to recognize the trope where Mr. Wrong, after having maintained a thin veneer of suitability for 90 percent of the movie while misbehaving just enough to make the audience root against him, suddenly rips off the mask and delivers a crass or entitled speech that makes the heroine snap out of her infatuation. A set piece in which the bad guy, under suspicion of misogynistic conduct and consorting with a trafficker of teenage girls, launches a sexist attack on an inquisitive female journalist would be too ham-handed even for the writers at the Hallmark Channel.”
“President Donald Trump suggested he would fire Scott Bessent if the Treasury secretary doesn’t help secure lower interest rates, expressing ongoing frustration with the Federal Reserve’s reluctance to cut rates more quickly,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “The only thing Scott’s blowing it on is the Fed. Rates are too high, Scott, and if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your ass. Okay?”
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“President Donald Trump’s plan to shore up Republicans’ House majority in the 2026 midterm elections by redrawing congressional maps is backfiring, at least for now,” the Washington Post reports.
“When Trump pressured Republicans in Texas and other states to carve up their districts, his party appeared to have the upper hand. They controlled the redistricting process in more states and therefore could net more seats.”
“But so far, Trump is losing. Democrats, who once thought they would come up short in a gerrymandering war, are on track to net an estimated five seats. And while that could shift, they may still end up with an advantage by the time state legislators, voters and courts finish weighing in.”
“Donald Trump went after Jimmy Kimmel again, calling for ABC to remove him from the air, Deadline reports.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”
For members: When You Pay Off a Bully, Expect More Bullying
New York Times: “Employers are signaling a more cautious approach to holiday hiring this year. Retailers that normally add staff for the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas rush, such as UPS, haven’t released their typical hiring targets. Others, like Kroger, have said they expected to bring on fewer temporary workers than last year.”
“Mao Zedong once said that China must wield both the pen and the gun against its adversaries. It is a strategy China is now intensifying for Taiwan,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“With its so-called pen, China’s state television is preparing the domestic Chinese population for a new phase of pressure against Taiwan.”
“Its prime-time slot is filled with a new historical drama, ‘The Silent Honor,’ which lionizes Communist Party agents operating in Taiwan after the Nationalists fled to the island in 1949 following their loss of the civil war to Mao’s forces. The series frames the agents’ espionage—and eventual execution—as martyrdom for the cause of ‘unification.'”
“European officials pushed back against a U.S. proposal for ending the Ukraine war, saying that Kyiv must approve any plan and that the conflict must not end with a Ukrainian capitulation,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“European officials will now have to reprise a role they have played periodically since President Trump’s return to the White House in January: using connections in Washington to try to pull the administration back from a proposal they see as too favorable to Russia.”
“Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett watched GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene apologize on national television for her role in perpetuating divisive rhetoric and immediately instructed her staff to see if the Georgia Republican wanted to work with her on a bill addressing lawmaker safety,” CNN reports.
“Crockett had reached out to Greene on the issue shortly after Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, without response. But now, with Greene’s public rebuke of President Donald Trump and her own party, Crockett sees even more potential in teaming up.”
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“A week before he voted to significantly cut Medicaid, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) dumped six figures’ worth of stock in a quartet of companies that manage nearly half of all Medicaid enrollees in the country,” NBC News reports.
Playbook: “The coming-together of the two standout politicians of 2025 has the feel of a glorious end-of-season finale. We can only pray they’ll invite the cameras in to watch.”
“Two months after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a government-backed campaign has led to firings, suspensions, investigations and other action against more than 600 people,” Reuters reports.
“Republican officials have endorsed the punishments, saying that those who glorify violence should be removed from positions of trust.”
Axios: “Step back and survey the political landscape. Republicans aren’t only losing elections, they’re consistently losing support on prices and the economy, in all polls, big or small, Republican or Democrat, over a several-month period. You can’t spin yourself out of reality.”
“Five new polls this week show Republicans’ problems might be even deeper and more worrisome than many fear.”
Paul Krugman: “It may be that Trump is — bear with me here — actually paying a price for telling Americans not to believe their own eyes. As I’ve written recently, it’s important not to engage in false equivalence. Biden and company told Americans that their incomes were outpacing inflation, which was true but not what people wanted to hear. Trump keeps insisting that grocery prices are way down, which is simply a lie. And people may be noticing.”
“The absolute absurdity of the Trump team’s efforts to explain away bad economic news may also be taking a toll.”
New York Times: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to explain high beef prices over the weekend by blaming undocumented immigrants, saying they were bringing sick cows into the United States. Mr. Bessent said that forced the Trump administration to halt imports of beef from Mexico, which is the second-largest supplier of beef to the United States.”
A new Fox News poll finds some 76% of voters view the economy negatively.
“That’s worse than the 67% who felt that way in July, and the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Biden’s term.”
Also important: “Voters blame the president. About twice as many say President Donald Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy. And three times as many say Trump’s economic policies have hurt them.”
And more: “Approval of how Trump is handling the economy hit a new low and disapproval of his overall job performance hit record highs among core supporters.”
Taegan 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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