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Donald Trump’s Long History of Fake History

July 30, 2025 at 6:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Daniel Dale: “Trump’s imaginary story about these events nine years ago might be considered trivial compared to his lies about pressing topics like inflation and the war in Ukraine. But it’s part of a pattern – a long line of similarly fabricated tales from the president about his own history and world history.”

“And the pattern has a purpose. Trump’s stories serve to exaggerate his foresight about and knowledge of domestic and foreign affairs, embellish his biography and record in office, and diminish his political opponents.”

“The stories tend to be colorful even though they’re fake. Trump’s historical fiction is sprinkled with vivid details and make-believe quotes, all the better to make it seem authentic and get it to stick in the minds of voters.”

The Trump-Crypto Honeymoon Is Over

July 30, 2025 at 5:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wired: “The flood of crypto money in the 2024 election was one of the biggest breaks for the Trump campaign. Six months into the term, the relationship might be cooling.”

Trump Slams Josh Hawley

July 30, 2025 at 5:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump went after Sen. Josh Hawley on over the Missouri Republican’s support for a committee-approved bipartisan bill to ban lawmakers, as well as the president and vice president, from trading stocks, Punchbowl News reports.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Hawley “is playing right into the dirty hands of the Democrats.” Trump called Hawley a “second-tier senator.”

The Number of People Missing in Mexico Is Staggering

July 30, 2025 at 5:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “The ranks of Mexico’s missing exploded in the years following the launch of then-President Felipe Calderón’s war against drug cartels in 2006. A strategy that targeted the leaders of a handful of powerful cartels led to a splintering of organized crime and the multiplication of violence to control territory.”

“With near complete impunity, owing to the complicity or inaction of the authorities, cartels found that making anyone they think is in their way disappear was better than leaving bodies in the street. Mexican administrations have sometimes been unwilling to recognize the problem and at other times are staggered by the scale of violence their justice system is unprepared to address.”

Democrats Have a Great Chance — Unless They Blow It

July 30, 2025 at 5:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Aaron Blake: “The 2026 midterm elections should, by all rights, be good for Democrats.”

“However, there is a sizeable ‘but’ that comes along with that right now… It’s looking like Democrats could squander at least some of that opportunity, if they don’t do something about their brand, which is historically awful right now.”

“That doesn’t mean they’ll lose the midterms. But it could mean they won’t take full advantage and grow their numbers as much as they could.”

For members: Some Early Thoughts on the Midterm Elections

David Ellison Thrust Into Trump’s War on the Media

July 30, 2025 at 4:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“David Ellison’s $8 billion takeover of Paramount, approved last week by Donald Trump’s media regulator, capped a year-long pursuit and vaulted the movie producer into the top tier of Hollywood power,” the Financial Times reports.

“But what should have been a triumphant corporate coup has instead pulled the son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison into a political storm, as the U.S. president seeks to assert control over the country’s media.”

What a New Texas Map Might Mean

July 30, 2025 at 4:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “The map is designed to allow Republicans to win five new seats in Texas, which would have the effect of pushing their edge in the state delegation from 25-13 at full strength to 30-8.”

“Not all the newly-drawn seats are guaranteed Republican pickups, though.”

“We offer tentative possible ratings of the new map’s 38 districts below, although without knowing if the map will be enacted under this form (or at all), we are not actually making any rating changes today.”

Playbook: “Republicans are bullish on the logic that, under the new map, Trump would have carried three of the new GOP districts by 10 points and the other two by more than 15… Four of the GOP’s pickup opportunities reside in majority-Hispanic districts, and the GOP is making a major bet that the same red wave among Texas’ Latino voters that helped Trump secure the White House will carry through to 2026.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

July 30, 2025 at 4:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Did you get to see my drive on the first hole? Pretty long. Pretty long. That’s no Joe Biden, let me tell you.”

— President Trump, when asked by a reporter if his trip to Scotland was a promotional trip for his family business.

Americans Are Starting to Sour on Tax Cuts

July 30, 2025 at 4:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Graham: “In theory, the proposition seems foolproof: Everyone hates the taxman and loves to keep their money, so a tax cut must be politically popular.”

“But Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act has tested the theory and found it wanting. A new Wall Street Journal poll shows that more than half of Americans oppose the law, which cuts taxes for many Americans while reducing government spending. That result is in line with other polling. The data journalist G. Elliott Morris notes that only one major piece of legislation enacted since 1990 was nearly so unpopular: the 2017 tax cuts signed by President Donald Trump.”

“The response to the 2017 cuts was fascinating. Americans grasped that the wealthy would benefit most from the law, but surveys showed that large swathes of the population incorrectly believed that they would not get a break. ‘If we can’t sell this to the American people then we should be in another line of work,’ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at the time. Americans agreed, giving Democrats control of the House a year later.”

“If tax cuts are no longer political winners, that’s a major shift in American politics.”

China Advances $167 Billion Tibetan Mega-Dam

July 30, 2025 at 3:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “While much is still unknown about the project, its cost alone shows the epic scale engineers are envisioning, with the estimate more than four times larger than the $37 billion that Three Gorges cost upon completion in 2009.”

“That promises an economic jolt for sectors like construction, cement and steel, and a major new source of clean power that could eventually help the country reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2060.”

Kamala Harris Won’t Run for Governor

July 30, 2025 at 3:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Kamala Harris will not run governor of California next year, she announced Wednesday, leaving the door open to another White House bid in 2028 as the former vice president considers her political future following her loss to President Donald Trump last fall,” the Washington Post reports.

White House Says Storm Over Epstein Has Calmed

July 30, 2025 at 3:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Three weeks ago, White House officials were battling a frenzy from President Donald Trump’s supporters over the Jeffrey Epstein case. But the flurry of criticisms from within the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement have quieted, and Trump officials say they are plotting steps to try to shape the public narrative to their advantage,” the Washington Post reports.

“The president’s advisers are not under any impression that the storm has entirely passed: The most recent polling shows the public largely disapproving of Trump’s handling of the Epstein case.”

Said a senior White House official: “I wouldn’t say it’s blown over. It’s one of those things where, with a certain segment of the base, a very small segment of the base, it’s never going to die down, no matter what.”

The Quickest Route to a Plum Judicial Appointment

July 30, 2025 at 2:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Quinta Jurecic: “Emil Bove has demonstrated that total sycophancy to the president can be a fantastic career move.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

July 30, 2025 at 2:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The genius of Trump is that he has internalized social media and how it works. He knows that saying something is no different than doing something, that it’s just one damn thing after another and nothing matters. Trump realized you don’t have to do things. You just need to say things and then it’s all wrapped in one big burrito of dream and fantasy.”

— Israeli writer Etgar Keret, quoted by the New Yorker.

A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds

July 30, 2025 at 2:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Fentanyl fueled the worst drug crisis the West has ever seen. Now, an even more dangerous drug is wreaking havoc faster than authorities can keep up,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The looming danger is an emerging wave of highly potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which often pack a far stronger punch than fentanyl. Nitazenes have already killed hundreds of people in Europe and left law enforcement and scientists scrambling to detect them in the drug supply and curb their spread.”

“The opioids, most of which originate in China, are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose. They have been found mixed into heroin and recreational drugs, counterfeit painkillers and antianxiety medication. Their enormous risk is only dawning on authorities.”

Trump’s Poll Numbers on Immigration Slide

July 30, 2025 at 2:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump started his second term with one huge difference compared with his first term: Polls regularly showed majorities of Americans approving of his handling of immigration. In fact, it was his best issue, whereas it had been one of his least popular before,” NBC News reports.

“Six months into his second term, it’s still among his best issues, but it’s no longer as popular. There has been a clear decline in support for Trump’s handling of immigration, with his approval rating dropping across a handful of prominent polls.”

Quote of the Day

July 30, 2025 at 1:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I am humbled and grateful by the massive statewide support that I have to run for governor, and if I wanted to run we all know I would win. It’s not even debatable.”

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), quoted USA Today, passing on a run for governor.

Trump Keeps Fueling Epstein Story

July 30, 2025 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump wants to move on from his administration’s fiasco over the Jeffrey Epstein files, but he keeps hampering that effort by opening his mouth,” CNN reports.

“The most recent instance has to do with precisely why the two men had a falling out about two decades ago.”

“Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that the employees who he said Monday that Epstein poached from him, triggering their breakup, were young women who worked in the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club.”

William Kristol: “Some of his staff must be worrying that the president doth talk about Epstein too much. To which all I have to say is this: Mr. President, don’t listen to them. Keep on talking!”

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