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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 191

Blue Wave Update

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 191: Blue Wave Update

Trump’s Quid Pro Quos Are Getting More Explicit

September 17, 2026 · 2:36 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Aaron Blake: “Few things have defined President Donald Trump’s second term as much as his transactionalism. He’s gone to great lengths to wield potential official actions for political and even personal gain in ways simply not seen since at least Watergate.”

“It’s this same sensibility that led to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, after he suggestively tied Ukraine’s military aid to that country investigating the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election.”

“But while that and many of Trump’s transactions have relied on implied threats or quid pro quos, he’s increasingly coming out and saying them out loud.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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