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Trump Fatigue Starts to Rattle Republicans

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“Congressional Republican leaders are putting President Trump front and center in their campaign to keep control of the House and Senate, even as some in the party say the strategy could increase the likelihood of a drubbing in the midterms,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“While many GOP lawmakers are embracing the president, others have started to sound the alarm publicly and privately that Trump’s low approval ratings could drag the party down in November. They say resentment is building as Trump focuses more on legacy construction projects and fights with allies than on helping Republicans keep control of Congress.”

House Republicans Set to Cut Pre-Election Session Short

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“Republican leaders are set to announce Thursday that the final two weeks of the pre-election House session are canceled,” Politico reports.

“That means members are set to depart Washington no later than Sept. 17 and not return until mid-November. The House will recovene for one additional week of business after next week’s Labor Day break.”

Lutnick Falsely Said No Americans Died in Iran War

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“Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick publicly apologized on Thursday after falsely asserting that no Americans had died during the Trump administration’s war with Iran,” CNN reports.

“Lutnick made the claim while defending the war in an interview on CNBC, saying that ‘the way the president is playing Iran, right, there haven’t been American deaths. It’s really just an economic chokeout which the administration is now executing more broadly, and I think it’ll be very effective.'”

“In fact, 18 U.S. service members have died since the U.S. first attacked Iran in February. Hundreds more have been wounded.”

The MAGA Right Is Only Pretending to Be Censored

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Anne Applebaum: “During the Biden administration, MAGA allies and politicians filed multiple lawsuits with the goal of exposing alleged censorship. None has done so. One of them, brought by the Missouri attorney general, made it all the way to the Supreme Court before justices asked for underlying evidence that the government had censored anyone. The answer was no.”

“Another, brought against the Stanford research project by America First Legal—Stephen Miller’s team—failed in July, when a judge found the suit had no standing, no jurisdiction, and, after a discovery process requested by the plaintiffs, no evidence. There was no proof, in other words, that the Stanford research had resulted in anyone being censored.”

“Other cases against the Biden administration were simply settled by President Trump’s Department of Justice without finding any evidence of ‘censorship’ either.”

What We Learned This Summer

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Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, though with at least another six weeks of outdoor tennis ahead of me, I’m not quite ready to concede the point.

Still, it’s a useful moment to reflect on what we learned politically this summer — and what it means for the fall campaign.

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Republicans Scramble to Oppose Data Centers

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Reuters: “Across the ​country, as Democrats ride a wave of local opposition to data centers ahead of the November elections, Republicans are increasingly breaking from U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-AI agenda.”

“Republican candidates in at least five states – ‌including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – have recently adopted tougher rhetoric on data centers or proposed restrictions on their development, creating a new fault line within the party.”

Donald Trump’s Venezuela Deal Is Bold but Dodgy

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The Economist: “Any future, freely elected government of Venezuela might question a deal which gives America so much control of the country’s oil. That fact will make investors hesitate. Oil majors remain wary, though Chevron, which was already in Venezuela, has just announced a separate $7bn investment.”

“Worse, cash and tax revenue from the deal create incentives for powerful people to block Venezuela’s transition to democracy.”

Third Way Rolls Out ‘New Economic Bargain’ Platform

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“The Democratic centrist group Third Way is launching a ‘new economic bargain’ platform as part of its ongoing effort to steer the party toward a more coherent and big-tent vision heading into 2028,” Politico reports.

“The platform consists of what it calls 20 ‘ambitious and ruthlessly pragmatic’ ideas targeting working-class voters.”

Republicans Raise Alarm About Muslims

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“Hours after Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate nomination last month, President Donald Trump characterized the former public health official as a ‘Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel,'” NBC News reports.

“Five days later, Trump latched on to a new label, suggesting from the Oval Office that ‘jihadist’ might be a better term for Democrats and falsely claiming that ‘we have jihadists being elected all over the place.’ A day after that, in an interview with the conservative Real America’s Voice, he warned of the U.S.’ becoming a ‘jihadist-run country.'”

“For Trump and other Republicans, the missives represented an escalation of messaging designed to raise alarm about Muslim Americans and Muslim candidates like El-Sayed.”

Trump Is Taking Stakes in More Companies

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“The Trump administration is shaking up federal involvement in the mining, tech, energy and defense sectors by making the government part-owner of dozens of U.S. companies — and sparking a conversation among progressives about how a future Democratic president might reboot the party’s approach to climate and labor policy,” Politico reports.

”Starting with Trump’s surprise moves to take a ‘golden share’ in U.S. Steel and then a 10 percent share in Intel more than a year ago, the administration is approaching $30 billion in equity stakes, warrants or similar plans in U.S. companies by most estimates, a fairly radical departure from orthodoxy outside of times of financial crisis — like the massive government bailouts of 2008-2009 — or world war.”

Three Governor’s Races Move Towards the Democrats

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Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “We continue to have just two Toss-ups in our gubernatorial ratings, but Alaska replaces Iowa this week, while Georgia remains a Toss-up.”

“Democrats used to routinely control a majority of the state governorships, but Republicans have held a majority for almost all of the post-1994 period. Democrats have a chance to grab an edge this cycle, though.”

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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