Political Wire

Trump Agrees to Ethics Provision in Massive Crypto Bill

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“President Donald Trump has agreed to a significant portion of a stringent ethics proposal that is part of broader cryptocurrency legislation headed for a key vote this week, according to three of the bill’s main Republican authors,” the Associated Press reports.

“The sweeping bill initially had just a provision included that would bar all federally elected officials and their spouses, as well as federal judges, from issuing digital assets.”

“A core group of Democrats, as well as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that didn’t go far enough to address conflict-of-interest issues they had with Trump’s crypto wealth. Their votes would be needed to advance the bill in a key vote this Tuesday.”

Elon Musk Documentary Is Already Causing a Stir

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Washington Post: “The three-hour-and-forty-five minute ‘Musk’ (plus a 10-minute intermission) hits theaters on Oct. 16, but it’s already causing a stir.”
”The documentary, which spans from his early Silicon Valley days through his Department of Government Efficiency dalliances and Twitter acquisition to his ascent to becoming the world’s first trillionaire, paints Musk as an emotionally unstable grifter with more power and influence than perhaps any other human who has ever lived.”

NPR: From DOGE to space lasers, Alex Gibney peels back the many layers of Elon Musk.

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The Bari Weiss Era of ‘60 Minutes’ Begins

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“The Serious Newsperson cast of correspondents was different — goodbye, Scott Pelley; hello, Ross Douthat — and the production values seemed glossier, a little more Vice News than Huntley-Brinkley Report,” the New York Times reports.

“But for all the Sturm und Drang that has surrounded ’60 Minutes’ since the arrival of CBS News’s high-profile editor in chief, Bari Weiss, the version of America’s most watched news program that returned to CBS on Sunday looked a lot like the show viewers have come to expect.”

Deadline: “60 Minutes” debuts new season with a Pentagon exclusive and hidden camera expose — and plenty of scrutiny of the show itself.

Democrats Give Native Americans More Power In Primaries

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“The 2028 race for the White House will give new political clout to a long-overlooked constituency: Native American voters,” Axios reports.

“Driving the news: New Mexico now holds an influential early spot as one of the first states to vote in the Democratic primary — on Feb. 15, 2028. That’s put Native Americans, who make up about 12% of the state, in position to wield more influence in the presidential race than ever before.”

Trump to Erase Limits On Climate Pollution

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“The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas,” the New York Times reports.

“The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency would complete the administration’s erasure of the most consequential climate policies of Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama. If the move survives expected legal challenges, it could also prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.”

Widening Mideast Instability Squeezes Global Oil Supplies

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“Yemen is the latest domino to fall in the chain of instability set off by the U.S. war with Iran, a development that deepens the risk to global energy supplies and complicates efforts to find a diplomatic off-ramp to the conflict,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The impoverished country has long been at war in a forgotten corner of the world. But the lightning offensive by Iran-backed Houthi militants who seized key territory around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait last week has made Yemen an important variable in the growing set of interlocked regional conflicts that are stretching America’s military capabilities and handing more leverage to Tehran.”

“The U.S. conflict with Iran had already sparked a new war in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah and pulled in Iraqi militias that had largely sat out three years of war in the region.”

Trump Is Spending in Every Senate Battleground but One

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“President Donald Trump dropped his largest reported spend so far this weekend, sending $21 million to candidates in competitive races as pressure ramps up for Republicans two months before the midterms,” the Washington Sun reports.

“The president’s Senate spending before Sept. 8 had largely concentrated on Republican nominee Ken Paxton in Texas, with his $10 million drop coming after party leaders urged him to get more involved. A set of financial disclosures filed Sept. 10-12 show Trump recently backed four additional battleground Senate candidates at the end of last week — while still ignoring incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’ toss-up race in Maine.”

Most Democrats Motivated by Opposition to Trump

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“A new poll shows that Democratic voters are more driven to cast their ballots in the November midterms elections out of their opposition to President Trump more so than the party’s platform,” NewsNation reports.

“The CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday found that 54 percent of Democratic voters said they will vote for their Democratic candidate to Congress to stop Trump and Republican lawmakers from passing their policies, and 46 percent said they will vote Democratic to help the party pass its policies.”

“More Republican voters said they intend to vote to help Trump and Republicans pass their policies at 57 percent, while 43 percent said they will vote to stop Democrats from having their policies passed.”

Democrats Gain Ground but Face Financial Gap

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“Democrats are grappling with several liabilities that risk impeding the momentum they have gained to retake control of Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“New opportunities have come on the map for Democrats as President Trump has become increasingly unpopular because of the war with Iran, tariffs and the high cost of living. Nonpartisan analysts say the party is favored to win the U.S. House and has a shot at a narrow majority in the Senate. Yet Republicans still have a significant financial edge, and Democrats have work to do to persuade voters to support them in states they need to win.”

Trump Says His $5,000 Giveaway Is ‘100%’ Happening

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“President Donald Trump guaranteed that his $5,000 checks to all Americans are ‘100%’ going forward if Republicans win the midterms and that he knows ‘exactly’ how he’ll pay for it,” Mediaite reports.

Said Trump: “I know exactly how we’re going to pay it. You know it’s interesting on that because everyone said that the great Big Beautiful Bill will never happen. It happened. They said that the 1776 for the military. $1,776 would never happen. And it happened. They were paid. And now they say, oh, the $5,000 — The $5,000 is going to happen 100%.”

Pardon Brokers Offer to ‘Put Pressure On the President’

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CBS News: “There has never been such a dizzying pardon economy as there is in Washington right now — a Wild West of clemency populated by MAGA-connected brokers and influencers — where the old norms have been largely tossed aside.”

“Previously, those seeking clemency typically went through the Justice Department. More than two dozen DOJ lawyers weighed factors that often included an applicant’s remorse and evidence of rehabilitation, and recommended worthy recipients to the president. That process has been largely sidelined.”

Trump Throws His Support Behind Flock Cameras

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“President Donald Trump shared his official take on Flock cameras on Sunday, saying he understands there are concerns about privacy violations, but he still thinks they are more useful than dangerous,” Mediaite reports.

Said Trump: “I sort of like ’em because of that, because of law enforcement. But some people don’t. They think it’s an infringement. But I like them.”

Texas Republicans Denounce GOP Statewide Candidate

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“Prominent Texas Republicans are denouncing Bo French, a Republican nominee to join the state’s railroad commission, after he made a xenophobic post describing a group of Asian American students attending a University of Texas football game as a ‘problem,'” Politico reports.

French posted a photo on X of UT students celebrating: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

Democratic Candidate Once Modeled for Fetish Sex Shop

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“Chris Gallant, the Democratic nominee running against Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) was previously involved in a very different kind of campaign: selling toys as a model for a fetish sex shop,” the New York Post reports.

“Gallant appeared in multiple pics for ‘Mr. S Leather,’ a San Francisco-based purveyor of leather-daddy supplies, wearing collars, leather straps, neoprene, bondage gear, and more.”

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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