“Podcaster Joe Rogan slammed MAGA supporters in a move that contradicts much of his past behavior,” the Daily Beast reports.
Said Rogan: “Trump supporters are fucking nuts, man. They’re rabid.”
He added that Trump “represents something other than just a person to them.”
“President Trump is expected to hold a meeting with Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the war with Iran,” Axios reports.
“The meeting is expected to focus on U.S. ideas for a postwar strategy as Trump and his senior team work on a day-after plan expected to be finalized after the midterms.”
“I mean, this was Donald Trump’s election to lose, and he’s doing everything he can to lose it.”
— Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), quoted by Mediaite.
“Sen. Mitch McConnell missed most of the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday, but he entered the meeting at the moment he was needed — to cast the deciding vote that advanced the farm bill,” the Washington Sun reports.
“The Kentucky Republican’s only contribution was an ‘aye,’ as staff and other senators watched closely to make sure he voted so. He then left the room.”
New York Post: GOP senator tries to tell soft-spoken Mitch McConnell how to vote during farm bill markup.
“President Trump said he was standing by Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh and that he spoke to him just before the central bank unanimously voted to raise interest rates,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “I’m relying on Kevin. But he has a very tough board. I talked to Kevin. I said ‘you might as well vote with the board because it’s not going to matter.'”
He added: “I said ‘do what you want.'”
Bloomberg: Warsh declines comment on any discussion with President Trump.
A new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll in Minnesota finds Peggy Flanagan (D) and Michele Tafoya (R) tied in the U.S. Senate race, 42% to 42%.
“Early in his second term, President Trump wanted Canada so entwined with the United States that he even set out to make it the 51st state,” the New York Times reports.
“Instead, he has driven Canada into the arms of the European Union, after antagonizing the Canadians for months, taunting the country’s prime minister and waging a relentless trade war.”
“The invitation by the European Union on Wednesday for Canada to become an ‘associate member’ is a sign of the knock-on effects of Mr. Trump’s brand of diplomacy, which often involves threatening countries that once were considered America’s closest friends.”
A new Fox News poll finds Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 51% to 44%.
“It deeply concerns me to see politicians giving medical advice which has zero scientific backing. Scaring mothers into delaying or even altogether skipping their child’s vaccine is wrong, and it makes America sicker, not healthier.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), quoted by the Washington Post.
“The House on Wednesday passed legislation granting President Trump tariff authorities to sanction countries purchasing Russian energy and impose tougher sanctions against the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine,” The Hill reports.
“The bill will now be sent to Trump’s desk for his signature, marking the end of a more than year and a half journey for legislation — championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who worked with Democrats to harness the president’s love of tariffs as a way to support Ukraine.”
Politico: House passes Russia sanctions bill, handing Trump more leverage against Moscow.
“U.S. intelligence officers have expressed concerns in internal reports about possible Chinese espionage related to a pending sale of dozens of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia valued at $24 billion,” the New York Times reports.
“Intelligence analysts have raised the possibility that China could acquire F-35 jet technology through spying in Saudi Arabia or through its military and security partnership with the kingdom.”
“Social Democrat Leader Magdalena Andersson is on course to become Sweden’s next prime minister as her left-wing bloc holds an unassailable lead over the right and far right with 99.9% of results declared,” Politico reports.
“Debris discovered in Yemen indicates that Saudi Arabia has fired a Chinese-made ballistic missile in combat for the first time, Yemeni officials and weapons experts said, in a move likely aimed at signaling to the kingdom’s Houthi rivals that it has other weapons in its arsenal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“This is fucking war! This is war!”
— House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris (R-MD), quoted by the Washington Sun, in a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that went off the rails.
“Rep. Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s Republican Senate candidate, will not attend a campaign rally headlined by Vice President JD Vance in Iowa on Friday, a Hinson campaign spokesperson said Wednesday,” the Washington Post reports.
“The spokesperson cited previously scheduled events but declined to say which events are preventing the congresswoman from campaigning alongside the Republican leader.”
“Former Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign with Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan next week as part of a midterms circuit tour to help Democrats win competitive seats in Congress,” the Washington Sun reports.
“A top Democrat said he would oppose President Trump’s planned $2.8 billion military aid package for Israel, saying it raises ‘grave, unresolved concerns’ about how the heavy bombs would be used in densely packed areas in Gaza and Lebanon,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The objection by Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is unlikely to stop the deal outright because the administration has options to bypass the objection.”
“But Meeks’ refusal to greenlight the transfer highlights a sensitive issue—military support for Israel—that has divided lawmakers ahead of the midterm elections.”
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.