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October 3, 2026

37 posts · Saturday

Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 191

Blue Wave Update

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 191: Blue Wave Update

Price of Ken Paxton Rescue Mission Has GOP Panicking

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“Republicans know they have to spend big to save Ken Paxton. They’re increasingly worried MAGA Inc. won’t throw down in time,” Politico reports.

”In private conversations over recent weeks, senior Hill Republicans and GOP officials have nudged President Donald Trump’s team to start spending more on the Texas Senate race before it’s too late.”

“Those fears escalated after audio leaked of Paxton privately trashing Trump’s midterm convention, with some worrying it could impact whether MAGA Inc. continues spending after a current wave of GOP ad bookings run out Oct. 12.”

Trump Says Republicans ‘Will Shove It’ Up Democrats’ Ass

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“President Donald Trump said he doesn’t care what the polls and the ‘fake news’ are showing: he is confident the Republicans are going to shock the world — and the Democrats, in particular — and perform much better than expected in the 2026 midterm elections,” Mediaite reports.

Said Trump: “They’re in for a big surprise. It’s very simple: You gotta get out and vote. You gotta get out. You gotta vote for these guys. If you do that, we’re gonna win and we’re gonna win big.”

He added: “And we’re gonna shove it up their ass.”

New AI Czar Unveils Goals

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“A new White House task force will have 120 days to report on the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence—and determine the federal government’s responsibility—according to Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence who effectively becomes the administration’s AI czar,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Clayton: “The president asked that a group be put together that was going to ensure exactly what he said, that we stay the leaders in superintelligence, and that the interests of the American people are put first.”

CNBC: Trump taps Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as AI czar.

Byron Donalds Walks a Tightrope of Trump Loyalty

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“Rep. Byron Donalds had a problem,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“President Trump had learned that the campaign of the man he’d endorsed to become Florida’s next governor had scrubbed prominent mentions of him from Donalds’s website. To calm Trump down, aides showed him a tweet where Donalds minimized the change and appeared beaming alongside the president inside the Oval Office, according to people familiar with the events. That satisfied Trump, who went on to warn that Donalds risked losing if he dropped him.”

“The incident last month shows the conundrum facing Republicans who owe their political careers to Trump. A worsening environment for the GOP is tightening midterm races across the country and prompting a number of Republicans to distance themselves from the president.”

Sexually Suggestive Ad by Hilton Campaign Condemned

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“A provocative, sexually suggestive ad by GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is drawing heat from his fellow Republicans while drawing millions of viewers online,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Two young women sit on a bed, with an LGBTQ+ flag in the background, with one urging the other to try a new experience.”

Said one woman: “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“She leads the hesitant woman’s hand to mark her ballot for Hilton rather than Democrat Xavier Becerra, the front-runner in the race, and says, ‘Now lick it,’ referring to the mail ballot envelope.”

Ted Cruz Blasts JD Vance as ‘Insecure’

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“Sen. Ted Cruz fired back at JD Vance for suggesting he’s already focused on a 2028 presidential bid, calling the vice president ‘insecure’ while insisting he’s focused on the 2026 midterms,” Politico reports.

Said Cruz: “In my experience, people engage in political bomb-throwing when they’re feeling insecure. So he’s welcome to make whatever comments he likes. I’m going to keep focusing on the midterms and helping us win on Election Day in the next 30 days.”

Reagan’s 1976 primary challenge to Ford set the template Cruz and Vance are now following against their own party’s sitting administration.
Taegan

Elon Musk and His Conflicts of Interest Are Back

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“In unveiling a panel to study the future of warfare this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did more than announce some advisers. He brought Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, back into the Trump administration fold,” the New York Times reports.

“With him came a raft of potential new conflicts of interest.”

“Mr. Musk had largely failed at his high-profile government cost-cutting expedition last year, not coming close to meeting his stated goals and leaving some agencies in disarray. After departing government duty, he prompted an epic fight with President Trump and threatened to start his own political party.”

“But after a long make-nice campaign, Mr. Musk is back in Washington with a seat at the table of the Pentagon, as a co-director of a group advising an agency that is a source of his vast personal wealth.”

Quote of the Day

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“If the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression, much like 1929. If the Republicans win you will each have $5,000 in your pocket.”

— President Trump, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, once again promising to pay voters to vote Republican in the midterm elections.

Trump Urges Republicans to Vote by Mail

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“President Trump, who has long staged a rhetorical and legal assault against voting by mail even as he used the method himself to cast his ballots, released a video on Saturday urging Republicans to vote early and by mail in the midterm election,” the New York Times reports.

Said Trump: “Vote early. Vote by mail. Or vote in person on Election Day.”

“It was the latest contortion from Mr. Trump on mail balloting. He has for years promoted unfounded claims that mail voting is rife with fraud, while working to restrict the practice for Americans, an effort that has been stymied by lawmakers and the courts. As recently as July, he said ‘mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt.'”

Ken Paxton’s Wife Urges Texans to Vote for Him

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“Angela Paxton wants to clear the air,” the New York Times reports.

“Mrs. Paxton, the estranged wife of Ken Paxton, a conservative firebrand locked in a fierce battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, is urging voters in a new ad to back the entire Republican ticket when they go to the polls next month.”

“While Mrs. Paxton doesn’t mention her husband — whom she is divorcing, alleging adultery — by name in the ad, she addresses ‘the elephant in the room’ by telling voters they should look past their qualms with any single candidate and think about the future of the Republican Party.”

Mediaite: Republicans sound alarm on Ken Paxton’s “slow-moving car crash” of a campaign.

IRS Employees Looked at Celebrities’ Tax Records

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“Dozens of Internal Revenue Service employees improperly viewed the tax records of celebrities, government officials and business leaders from 2022 through 2025, according to an inspector general’s report released on Friday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Unauthorized access is illegal, even if employees don’t disclose tax information outside the government, and it can be punished through criminal prosecution or employee discipline.”

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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