A new NBC News poll finds Democrats leading the generic congressional ballot by 8 points, 50% to 42%, “the largest lead for either party on the congressional ballot in the NBC News poll since the 2018 midterms.”
The Pentagon’s Preferred Propaganda Model
Anne Applebaum: “When you imagine media in a dictatorship, you probably think of something dull and gray. Maybe a Soviet state-television program, extolling the annual harvest. Perhaps a smudgy newspaper photograph of Chairman Mao or General Pinochet, surrounded by blocks of turgid prose.”
“But if that is your mental picture, then your imagination is out of date. Nowadays, authoritarian propaganda can be varied, colorful, even mesmerizing. Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan dictator, used to perform on television for hours, singing, chatting, and interviewing celebrities. On one recent day, the website of Komsomolskaya Pravda—formerly the organ of the Soviet youth movement, now a mouthpiece of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin—offered stories ranging from clickbait about “the beautiful women who lure Muscovites into dating scams” to an alarmist account of how Ukraine is ‘being turned into a training ground for the EU army.’”
“The point of these efforts is not merely to misinform but to build distrust. Modern authoritarian regimes often offer not a unified propaganda line but rather contradictory versions of reality, and in many different forms: highbrow and lowbrow, serious and silly, sort of true and largely false. The cumulative effect is to leave citizens with no clear idea of what is actually happening.”
American Pessimism Soars
“In a bitterly divided country, pessimism and cynicism reign supreme: Two-thirds of Americans say it is at least probably true that the government often deliberately lies to the people. That distrust cuts across partisan lines: Strong majorities of Donald Trump voters (64 percent) and Kamala Harris voters (70 percent) agree. Nearly half of Americans, 49 percent, say that the best times of the country are behind them, according to the Politico Poll.
“That’s greater than the 41 percent who said the best times lie ahead, underscoring a pervasive sense of unease about both individuals’ own futures and the national direction.”
Quote of the Day
“The rules of the game have changed. Now, we have to rewrite the new rules.”
— California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), quoted by NBC News.
Republicans Shoulder More Blame for Shutdown
“Voters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown,” according to a new NBC News poll.
“But their verdict on the spending stalemate includes more blame for Democrats than some past shutdowns, part of a growing collection of data outlining negative views of both parties.”
Hegseth Bars Officials from Discussing Boat Strikes
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has disseminated a broad list of topics that Defense Department personnel are now required to seek prior approval on before engaging with Congress, which includes any and all ‘sensitive military operations’ and US military strikes on suspected drug boats around Latin America,” CNN reports.
Frustration with Trump Gives Democrats an Opening
“Democrats have an early lead in next year’s battle for control of Congress amid an ongoing government shutdown, as more voters say President Donald Trump has not lived up to their expectations on several major issues that propelled him back to the White House in 2024,” according to a new national NBC News poll.
“Around two-thirds of registered voters say the Trump administration has fallen short on the economy and the cost of living, and a majority say he’s fallen short on changing business as usual in Washington. At the same time, the Democratic Party continues to suffer from low ratings from voters as it seeks to offer an alternative.”
Trump Tells Ilhan Omar to Leave the Country
“President Trump went after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for her Somali heritage, urging her to leave the country in a social media post, reprising an attack he used several times throughout his time in office,” Politico reports.
Once Mighty Tea Party Hard to Find in Trump’s GOP
“The movement tore across the country with an energy new to American politics — its activists shouting at lawmakers and holding frenzied rallies to demand balanced budgets, an end to deficit spending, sharp tax cuts, fealty to the Constitution and a reined-in presidency,” the Washington Post reports.
“This was the tea party movement, which punctuated its arrival 15 years ago with the election of 2010, a moment that seemed poised to rewrite the rules of American politics. Yet just a few years later, the Republican Party was captured by the MAGA movement and President Donald Trump, whose agenda, to some tea party pioneers, is the opposite of theirs and which dominates the party today.”
Voters Divided on Midterms Despite Trump Disapproval
“Americans broadly disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling his job, and a majority say he has gone too far in exercising the powers of his office,” according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
“But a year out from the 2026 midterm elections, there is little evidence that negative impressions of Trump’s performance have accrued to the benefit of the Democratic Party, with voters split almost evenly in their support for Democrats and Republicans.”
Trump Escalates Demands for 2020 Election Probes
“President Donald Trump is dialing up pressure on the Justice Department to freshly scrutinize ballots from the 2020 election, raising tensions with administration officials who think their time is better spent examining voter lists for future elections,” the Washington Post reports.
Can a Blue-State Republican Embrace Trump and Win?
“Four years ago, Republican Jack Ciattarelli shocked New Jerseyans when he came within 3 percentage points of knocking off incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“If Ciattarelli prevails on Tuesday in his third run for governor, few would be surprised. A once-commanding lead for his opponent, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, has shriveled to single digits, according to a sampling of opinion polls. Some put the two candidates within the margin of error in a hotly contested race to Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion.”
Even Mamdani Supporters Worry About His Thin Résumé
“In his path from obscurity to front-runner in the race for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has been propelled by raw political talent, an ambitious, progressive agenda and a diverse base of support,” the New York Times reports.
“But as Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, sprints toward Election Day on Tuesday, many New Yorkers are still struggling with a fundamental question about his candidacy: Is a 34-year-old state assemblyman who, until recently, managed a paid staff of only five, ready to lead the nation’s largest city?”
Politico: Zohran Mamdani winning would test how far New York City has come on inclusion.
Builders Find Hardship in Trump’s Policies
“When President Trump said he would enact sweeping tariffs and crack down on immigration, dire warnings rang out in the construction industry,” the New York Times reports.
“The policies threatened to push up building costs and deprive the industry of a crucial pool of labor when high interest rates were already depressing building activity.”
“Those forces are converging on builders, weighing them down in a potential drag on the economy. Higher import taxes on steel, copper, lumber and other materials are lifting construction prices and interrupting some jobs. Immigration enforcement is worsening worker shortages and delaying projects.”
Food Stamp Cuts Expose Trump’s Strategy for Shutdown
New York Times: “In what may become the longest federal stoppage in history, the president has frequently bent the rules of budget, primarily to reap political benefits or exact retribution. He has found new and untested ways to spare certain Americans, like the military, from the pain of the government closure, while claiming he has no power to help others, including low-income individuals who rely on benefits like SNAP.”
“The result is a shutdown unlike any other, one that has posed disparate and debilitating risks for those unlucky enough to depend on the many functions of government that Mr. Trump has long aspired to cut.”
Affordability Takes Center Stage
“Nearly one year since Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Americans’ concerns and anxieties about high bills, inflation and the cost of living that helped propel him back to the White House now loom over the upcoming elections in New Jersey and Virginia,” ABC News reports.
“How acutely voters are grappling with those challenges — and who they hold responsible for them — could shape the outcome of the major gubernatorial races, and with them, the trajectory of both parties heading into the 2026 midterms.”
FBI Ousts Official as Kash Patel Fumes Over Leak
“The FBI forced out a senior official overseeing aviation shortly after Director Kash Patel grew outraged about revelations of his publicly-available jet logs indicating he’d flown to see his musician girlfriend perform,“ Bloomberg Law reports.
New Warning Signs for Effort to Prosecute Trump’s Foes
“President Donald Trump’s effort to install loyalist U.S. attorneys without Senate approval could sink the Justice Department’s criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James,” Politico reports.
“In recent weeks, federal courts in New Jersey, Nevada and California have ruled that unusual maneuvers by the Justice Department to appoint Trump’s unvetted prosecutors violated federal law. Their rulings are a prelude to the potential disqualification of a fourth Trump-backed U.S. attorney: his former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan, who brought the charges against Comey and James.”
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