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Navigating the Nonsense

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 189: Navigating the Nonsense

Trump Says He’s ‘Getting Good’ at Impeachment

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“President Donald Trump brushed off the prospect of Democrats regaining control of Congress in the midterms, remarking that he has become so accustomed to impeachment that he’s ‘getting good’ at it,” Mediaite reports.

Said Trump: “Well, I don’t know, but I’m getting good at it. It’s a fake impeachment, and we could’ve done that with ‘Sleepy’ Joe, but we didn’t do it because it wouldn’t have been appropriate. I could’ve done that with Hillary Clinton, as you know. I had the chance to do it if I wanted, and I said, ‘That would be inappropriate,’ but with me, they like to do it.”

GOP Senators Warn Trump Is Hurting with Independents

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“Senate Republicans say President Trump has become increasingly toxic with independent voters critical to winning Senate races in battlegrounds such as North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska,” The Hill reports.

“Some GOP senators are warning Trump to stay away from key Senate races, cautioning that his presence would likely turn off independent voters.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

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“I can name 100 great things I’ve done. I never get good press. I never get fair press. Doesn’t have to be good. All it has to be is fair. So at a certain point, you say, ‘What’s the purpose of like this crazy Kaitlin Collins?’ She’s a very average person. She’s the most unhappy young person I’ve ever seen. If I did something spectacular by any standard, and they would write about it, they will only write badly.”

— President Trump, quoted by Mediaite.

Marsha Blackburn Sues Jack Smith Over Phone Records

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“A close Capitol Hill ally of President Donald Trump is suing the Justice Department and former special counsel Jack Smith for obtaining her phone logs in the course of his investigation into Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election,” Politico reports.

“Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) filed suit a day after Smith testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee — on which Blackburn sits — and defended his office’s investigation, including its effort to obtain the records of Blackburn and dozens of other GOP lawmakers who spoke with Trump and his advisers during a four-day period in January 2021.”

Washington Sun: Marsha Blackburn sues Jack Smith for $1.

Buzz Around Carney for a Prize Long Coveted by Trump

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“Mark Carney built a global profile in 2026 by standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump. If some prediction-market traders and prominent admirers are right, the Canadian prime minister could end the year with the Nobel Peace Prize and Time magazine’s Person of the Year,” the Associated Press reports.

“Carney briefly became the favourite Monday for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Kalshi, a U.S.-based prediction market, when traders on the exchange put his chances at 14 percent.”

Trump Ends Court Fight Against $5 Million Verdict

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“Donald Trump has agreed to stop fighting in court the disbursement of E Jean Carroll’s $5m verdict in her 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against him, a procedural development as these funds were already distributed to her,” The Guardian reports.

“While the decision does not change anything about Carroll’s receipt of the payout, its revelation effectively means that Trump will no longer oppose the monetary outcome he had long fought.”

Democrats Force Uncomfortable Vote On Health Care

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“Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic effort on Tuesday to overturn a Trump administration rule they say will make it harder for people to enroll in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans and raise costs for existing participants,” the Washington Sun reports.

“Democrats forced a vote to undo the regulation under the Congressional Review Act, which failed 48-50, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joining with Democrats to support the measure.”

The Beclowning of Scott Bessent

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Paul Krugman: “One iron law of current politics is that nobody who associates themselves with Donald Trump emerges with a shred of credibility. For some, that’s not a big loss — it’s not as if anyone respected Pete Hegseth even before he decided that the key to military success in an age of drones and AI was more testosterone. For others, however, the costs are real. I’m old enough to remember when Marco Rubio was widely considered a reasonable, thoughtful politician.”

“Right now, however, my candidate for the biggest loser is Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation. If asked whether to prosecute a former president today based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat. The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence.”

— Former special counsel Jack Smith, quoted by Mediaite. in testimony before the U.S. Senate.

Jack Smith Will Appear Before Congress

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“Jack Smith, who as special counsel twice charged Donald J. Trump after his first term, is set to testify to Congress on Tuesday as Republicans vow to scrutinize his every word for possible prosecution,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Smith’s third appearance before lawmakers, this time in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is likely to be contentious.”

Proud Boys Go From Prosecutions to Pardons to Premiere

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“President Trump has spent the past half decade working with his allies on a revisionist history of Jan. 6, 2021, trying to rebrand the rioters who breached the Capitol that day as persecuted patriots and transform an act of political violence into what he once described as a ‘day of love,'” the New York Times reports.

“The latest chapter in that alternate account was written on Saturday evening when 300 people gathered at an arts center in West Palm Beach, Fla. down the road from Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club and residence. They were there for the debut screening of ‘American Martyrs,’ a new documentary about the far-right Proud Boys who went from being prosecuted for the Capitol attack to being granted clemency by the president.”

Top House Democrat Vows Probe of Intel Contractors

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“The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is preparing to investigate the spy industry’s work with the Trump administration, the latest sign that the party plans to put anticorruption efforts at the center of its legislative agenda if it wrests control in the elections this fall,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In a Monday letter to a defense-industry group reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Rep. Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat who is expected to claim the gavel if Republicans lose the majority, said he was concerned about the administration’s ‘nakedly corrupt dealings with the private sector,’ as it has ‘appeared to inappropriately fuse the government contracting process with the attempted extraction of political or private favors.'”

How Trump Is Using Power to Try to Shape Who Votes

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“One major variable hanging over the midterm elections has nothing to do with gas prices, campaign funding, or candidate quality,” Bloomberg reports.

“It’s about Donald Trump’s far-reaching attempts to use the power of the federal government to shape who votes, and how.”

“After his flailing attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Trump is taking a more systematic approach this year to transform the nation’s electoral system, with aides more willing to back up his debunked claims of massive voter fraud.”

“The effort so far has involved or attempted to involve the departments of Homeland Security, State, Justice, and Commerce, the Postal Service, the former head of national intelligence, and FBI.”

Blame Trump for Rising Borrowing Costs

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David Frum: “This has been a week of pain for anyone who borrows money.”

“All over the world, lenders are demanding higher interest rates. The global bond market is extracting higher yields from every borrower, starting with the biggest borrowers of all: national governments. But not every government is paying equally.”

“Trustworthy borrowers with solid finances and honest leadership pay less. Distrusted borrowers with disordered finances and corrupt leaders pay more. In times past, the United States would have headed that first list. Under President Trump, the United States has tumbled onto the second one.”

China’s Truce with Trump Buys It Valuable Time

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“For China and its top leader, Xi Jinping, the biggest prize from a summit in Washington, notably free from confrontation, may be simple: time,” the New York Times reports.

“Time to cope with a housing market crash that has wiped away the savings of tens of millions of Chinese families. Time to deal with local governments running short of money as land-use revenue collapses. Time to make China even less vulnerable to economic pressure from the United States and other industrialized countries.”

“And perhaps most consequentially, time to prepare for the once-in-five-years Communist Party national congress next autumn, which will choose a new slate of top leaders to work under Mr. Xi.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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