“The U.S. military has killed at least 32 people in seven strikes off the coast of Venezuela without telling Congress or the American people who was killed, or on what evidence,” Axios reports.
“The U.S. is eight weeks into a military campaign in the Caribbean Sea with the twin aims of stopping drugs and, potentially, toppling Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.”
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan sent a reporter dozens of text messages to complain about her reporting — and then tried to claim after the fact that the conversation was off the record.
“Donald Trump reportedly took time out from his 2024 presidential campaign to try to help one of his closest allies get ‘laid’ at his Mar-a-Lago resort,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Zeteo reports that Trump was curiously eager to help his newly divorced friend Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who featured as the Grim Reaper in a bizarre AI-generated video posted by the president, improve his luck with women. He even offered to be Vought’s ‘wingman’ at the Palm Beach resort.”
“Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are quietly ramping up talks within their senior ranks and with White House officials over how to structure and advance a potential extension of key Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies before the end of the year,” Politico reports.
Edward Luce: “If there were a Nobel Prize for patience, Volodymyr Zelenskyy would run away with it. The Ukrainian leader’s February encounter with the just-inaugurated Donald Trump went down as the most infamous spectacle of schoolyard bullying in recent history. Zelenskyy had no choice but to shrug off that Oval Office taunting. His endurance test shows little hope of flagging.”
“In Trump’s latest dressing down last Friday, he warned Zelenskyy his country would be destroyed unless he ceded territory to Russia. Zelenskyy has characteristically downplayed this recent bout of nastiness. Has Trump once shouted at Putin? That was a rhetorical question.”
“Former President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday, marking an unprecedented downfall for a French ex-head of state who rose to power as a political outsider with blunt law-and-order rhetoric,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
A pardoned Capitol rioter was arrested last weekend for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, CBS News reports.
Graham Platner, the Maine Democratic Senate candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), wrote in 2020 that he had an “antifa supersoldier” label on his “armor,” Axios reports.
“ABC News’ Jonathan Karl reports in Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America, out next Tuesday, that Hunter Biden was furious with former President Obama for taking President Biden’s hand to lead him off the stage at a Hollywood fundraiser last year,” Axios reports.
“The snippet went viral, reinforcing the impression that Biden was doddering.”
Said Hunter Biden: “I almost jumped up on the stage and said, ‘Don’t ever fucking do that to the president of the United States again — ever.”
“I am not a ‘when they go low, we go high’ person. I’m not that kind of girl. If they go low, I’m going to the gutter.”
— Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones (D), quoted by Axios.
“The economic effect of past government shutdowns has been straightforward. The economy loses some activity for a few weeks, then gains it back after the government reopens. The net cost is basically zero,” the New York Times reports.
“This time, the math may not be so benign.”
Paul Krugman: “Trump’s disconnect from reality is uniquely destructive. No previous president has tried to overturn an election, sought to use the military against U.S. citizens, or sought to use the Justice Department as his own personal vendetta machine. The difference is that he’s the first president to live in an autocratic bubble, surrounded by a cult of personality within which nobody dares to criticize him, tell him uncomfortable truths or refuse to engage in blatantly illegal acts.”
“Furthermore, Trump is clearly getting worse, growing even more out of touch with each passing week. Regardless of whether it’s advancing age or growing frustration, even Trump, I think, realizes that his efforts to suppress all opposition are running into serious resistance. Putting out an AI video of himself dumping shit on protestors suggests panic, not strength. But his claims about what’s happening in America and the world keep getting stranger and wilder.”
“And Trump’s denial of reality is already having devastating consequences for America, with more to come.”
“The era of A.I. propaganda is here — and President Trump is an enthusiastic participant,” the New York Times reports.
“After nationwide protests this weekend against Mr. Trump’s administration, the president posted an A.I.-generated video to his Truth Social account depicting himself as a fighter pilot, careening through major cities and dropping excrement on protesters.”
“It was the latest example in a yearslong shift by Mr. Trump to deploy fake imagery, generated by artificial intelligence, as part of his social media commentary.”
“With trade hostilities between the world’s two economic superpowers back on, China has sent the unmistakable message that it is ready to fight. A week ago, it invoked its grip over virtually the entire global supply of critical materials, breaking a delicate trade détente between the two countries,” the New York Times reports.
“Beijing feels it has another ace card: its booming factories. Even in the face of sky-high tariffs by President Trump, China’s manufacturing sector is helping to maintain growth and give the country’s top leader, Xi Jinping, a stronger hand to face down the United States.”
Graham Platner, the embattled Maine Democratic Senate candidate, said he doesn’t expect more damaging stories to come out about his social media history, even as he invited opponents to “go find more stuff” if they can, Politico reports.
Said Platner: “There is nothing that I can remotely think of that is out there that is any worse, or really any different, than what has come out. I mean, if that is their concern, then they can go find more stuff.”
A new Alaska Survey Research poll finds Mary Peltola (D) just ahead of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 48% to 46%, if she runs against him.
“A group of dozens of officials from across the federal government, including U.S. intelligence officers, has been helping to steer President Donald Trump’s drive for retribution against his perceived enemies,” Reuters reports.
“The existence of the interagency group indicates the administration’s push to deploy government power against Trump’s perceived foes is broader and more systematic than previously reported. Interagency working groups in government typically forge administration policies, share information and agree on joint actions.”
“A power struggle has emerged over who will run the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, adding fresh uncertainty about the agency’s leadership,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is NASA’s acting administrator, has told people that he wants to lead the space agency, according to people familiar with the conversations. So does Jared Isaacman—the billionaire entrepreneur who was the nominee earlier this year before President Trump withdrew his support.”
“Isaacman has re-emerged as a candidate as a push to have a permanent NASA chief intensified in recent weeks. Duffy interviewed Isaacman on Oct. 13 for the job.”
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.