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Daily Archives

October 17, 2026

27 posts · Saturday

← October 16, 2026October 18, 2026 →

Trump Can’t Stop Praising Men’s Bodies

October 17, 2026 · 11:14 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“The message delivered by a president during a high-stakes midterm campaign can be critical,” the New York Times reports.

“As President Trump travels the country ahead of this year’s elections, he might focus on selling Americans on how he will bring the Iran war to a close, or control rising prices.”

“But in a puzzling approach, at some recent rallies he has instead started his often-meandering remarks by effusing about the physical appearances of other men and, more rarely, finding fault with them.”

2026 Campaign, White House

Democrats’ Midterm Mail-in Votes Give Early Leads

October 17, 2026 · 11:12 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Democrats are running up lopsided majorities of the early votes as Americans head to the polls and mail in their ballots, carving out a clear majority of the votes cast so far,” the New York Post reports.

“Of early and mail-in voters, 54% were Democrats, 30% Republicans and 16% independents or ‘other.'”

2026 Campaign

Republicans Zero in On Cultural Issues

October 17, 2026 · 11:11 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Republicans across the most competitive House and Senate races have settled on a closing pitch ahead of Election Day: Democrats are too extreme to be given control of Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“It is an effort, pressed in a flood of TV ads and in President Trump’s rally speeches, to urge voters who are angry about gas prices and broader economic conditions to redirect their frustration away from the party in power. To make their case, Republicans are calling renewed attention to a set of cultural issues that hurt the Democratic Party in 2024, among them transgender athletes in women’s sports, border security and the claim that Democrats want socialism.”

2026 Campaign, Culture Wars

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Abdul El-Sayed Disavows Muslim Brotherhood

October 17, 2026 · 11:10 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Saturday disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement, during a heated exchange at a town hall,” CNN reports.

“El-Sayed, who could make history as the first Muslim elected to the Senate, has frequently faced Republican accusations that he is sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror. In recent days, Republicans including his GOP challenger, Mike Rogers, and President Donald Trump have commented about potential connections to the organization.”

2026 Campaign

‘No Kings’ Rallies Turn Focus to Voting

October 17, 2026 · 11:05 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“The fourth round of ‘No Kings’ rallies unfolded across the country on Saturday, barely two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, though they did not draw many of the Democrats running in the country’s most closely watched races,” the New York Times reports.

“The demonstrations, which were more subdued and in many cases smaller than past ‘No Kings’ gatherings, were singularly focused on the election, as organizers hope to push Americans to the polls. At the same time, they were intended to be nonpartisan, organizers said.”

Associated Press: No Kings rallies urge early voting ahead of midterms.

2026 Campaign, Advocacy

Violent Protests Rip Through Cities Across France

October 17, 2026 · 11:02 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Rioters rampaged through cities across France on Saturday as weeks of student protests broadened to a wider movement of people angry over the rising cost of living,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Foreign Affairs

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

October 17, 2026 · 5:03 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“If we’re not in the majority a year from now, then my life is a waste up here right now.”

— Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Senate

Trump Says He ‘Can Do Stuff That Is Unbelievable’

October 17, 2026 · 5:02 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“President Trump touted his power in his second go-around in the White House Saturday while rallying in Kentucky to bolster Republican turnout as his party struggles in the midterms, saying, ‘I can do stuff that is unbelievable,'” CBS News reports.

Said Trump: “I don’t think I could have done this in my first term. This is a much more powerful term. Google wouldn’t have taken my call in the first. Now, they kiss my ass.”

2026 Campaign, White House

Americans Have Seen No Real Wage Growth Under Trump

October 17, 2026 · 3:44 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Americans have seen no real wage growth on average, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” the Washington Post reports.

“Between January 2025 and September 2026, both prices and average hourly pay have risen by about 5.4 percent.”

Economy, White House

Army Plans to Return Confederate Statue

October 17, 2026 · 3:42 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration has moved forward with its effort to return a controversial Confederate statue to Arlington National Cemetery next year,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Office of Army Cemeteries submitted final plans to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday to return the Confederate Memorial to a small section of the cemetery where more than 400 Confederate soldiers were reinterred in the early 1900s.”

Culture Wars, White House

George Santos Pitches Himself as Trump’s Press Secretary

October 17, 2026 · 3:28 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Former Rep. George Santos (R-FL) pitched himself on Friday to fill the vacancy left by White House press secretary Katie Zacharia,” NewsNation reports.

Said Santos: “Hey I’m not technically open for a job because I have one already…. butttttttt… I’d jump to serve POTUS as press secretary in a heart beat. Just saying.”

White House

Retiring GOP Lawmaker Will Not Vote for GOP Nominee

October 17, 2026 · 3:22 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Retiring Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei said he won’t vote for the Trump-endorsed GOP candidate vying to replace him amid a string of stolen valor and other accusations — and warned that the once-safe Republican seat President Donald Trump won by 14 points is at risk of flipping blue on Election Day,” Politico reports.

“Amodei said in an interview Saturday he would ‘absolutely not’ vote for businessperson David Flippo in Nevada’s 2nd District.”

2026 Campaign, House of Representatives

Trump Had His Eye On Maria Bartiromo for Press Secretary

October 17, 2026 · 2:21 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Before Katie Zacharia’s brief turn as White House press secretary, Donald Trump reportedly had his eye on former Fox News host Maria Bartiromo for the job,” The Wrap reports.

“However, she ‘signaled she was not going to take the job.'”

“CNN’s Scott Jennings was also ‘in contention’ but was reportedly not offered the role.”

White House

Refusing a Crown

October 17, 2026 · 12:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Just published: Refusing a Crown: How George Washington Changed the World by Richard M. Lim.

How George Washington’s voluntary surrender of power—an act unmatched in its time—shaped the American republic.

New · Out October 13, 2026Refusing a Crown
How George Washington Changed the World
by Richard M. Lim · Republic Book Publishers
Buy on Amazon
Paperback·Kindle

Political Books

Vance Says It’ll Take Time to See Economy Improve

October 17, 2026 · 10:43 am ET · Leave a Comment

As Americans express frustration with the country’s economic outlook, Vice President JD Vance told CBS News this week it could take some time to see improvement.

Said Vance: “I’ll be the first person to tell you that just as this country wasn’t broken in one presidential term, it’s gonna take more than 18 months to fix things and turn them around.”

He added: “I think what we’re doing is, we’re turning the ship around.”

Economy, White House

Bonus Quote of the Day

October 17, 2026 · 10:41 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Bottom line, it’s gonna all work out. You know why? It always does.”

— President Trump, quoted by Axios.

White House

Elon Musk Says ‘AI and Robots’ Will Need to Fix Deficit

October 17, 2026 · 10:41 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Elon Musk tells biographer Walter Isaacson in a new podcast interview that the fizzled DOGE experiment, which the SpaceX and Tesla CEO once headed, proved there’s ‘no way we were gonna solve the deficit from within the government,'” Axios reports.

Said Musk: “The only way we’re going to solve the national debt is with AI and robots. We’re not gonna solve it by trying to save our way there.”

Budget & Taxes, Technology

Trump’s Election Interference Is Underway

October 17, 2026 · 10:37 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Even though President Trump’s efforts to bend elections to his will have so far largely failed, don’t mistake defeat for retreat. The federal government’s highest power centers are working overtime to tilt the election in the administration’s favor,” The Bulwark reports.

2026 Campaign, White House

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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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