Depends On How You Define “Socialism”

They will win more elections with progressives than never Trump Republicans, or, specifically, by championing very popular economic progressive policies supported by a majority of voters.

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) October 3, 2026

In European history (which is our basic cultural heritage), roads were owned by kings. Who also provided whatever rough justice and security there was. Rich people had private roads, even in London, as late as Blake’s day. They bought their own fire protection, too. And police were more likely to favor the rich, because that’s who paid for them. Education was a private matter, too. Even libraries were private.

Ben Franklin, radical socialist that he was, started the public library idea. Police eventually became a public obligation, as did firefighters, and open public roads available to all. (We still have gated communities. Blake would recognize that.)

All socialist, really. 

I just visited my college town where, as I’ve said before, the city built a hotel in the 50’s, because they needed one to help attract commerce. Height of the Red Scare, but nobody thought anything of it. It’s still in use, btw. LBJ started the LCRA in the same decade (as a U.S. senator) to provide electricity to rural Central Texas. It still operates.

If that ain’t socialism, what is?

The point is, we did this before without screaming about it. That started with Reagan and the Chicago School of Economics, which was so anti-Keynesian it proved Keynes right. And we’re still all Keynesians (well, by Milton Friedman’s standards). We just call it capitalism because we still think socialism is the doorstep to communism and Soviet domination. 

Seriously. Why else is it scary? I mean, even MTG has given up on the Commies scare.

I agree progressive policies are popular. But people are still voting for labels. And word is the Latino bloc has turned against Trump, but not so far as for Democrats. So you can’t really say AOC’s positions are secretly super popular. They may secretly be popular; but getting people to vote for the actual candidates connected to those policies is still another matter.

And will be, for awhile.

Has Anyone Notifed Todd Blanche…

lol ok https://t.co/ZFoSA2Y1kL

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

... that Alito is talking to a journalist?

Oh, that’s right. The Supremes aren’t subject to independent ethical oversight.

Congress really should do something about that. (Aside from the title in Article III, the Court really is a construction of Congress.)

So, 4 For Every Polling Place In Houston?

BREAM: DOJ is planning to send 1,000 monitors to the polls. Sen. Baldwin says 'our democracy depends on people being able to have their voices heard, but that's at risk as Trump weighs sending in armed agents.' How do you answer her? BLANCHE: Senators should be saying 'thank God. Thank God we have a government that's ready to show up.'

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

Or 20 per state?

AI For Dummies

First question on AI. Is the problem superintelligence or distorted intelligence? This is a question I tried to address in this piece. I can add the following additional comment here. I believe the debate is being obfuscated by equating goal-driven, autonomous behavior with intelligence. Plants and insects have goal-driven, largely autonomous behaviour. But this isn’t what we mean by intelligence in general. Intelligence is general-purpose and holistic, and is typically well-adapted to its environment. There is no doubt that current AI models have impressive capabilities. But in attempting to achieve these capabilities, AI labs may be creating distorted intelligence rather than superintelligence, as I explain in this article. This matters because the dangers we should watch out for, the kinds of policies and regulations we should adopt, and the hope we should hold depend on the answer to this question.

— Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT) September 29, 2026

First question on AI.

Is the problem superintelligence or distorted intelligence?

This is a question I tried to address in this piece. I can add the following additional comment here.

I believe the debate is being obfuscated by equating goal-driven, autonomous behavior with intelligence. Plants and insects have goal-driven, largely autonomous behaviour. But this isn’t what we mean by intelligence in general.

Intelligence is general-purpose and holistic, and is typically well-adapted to its environment.

There is no doubt that current AI models have impressive capabilities. But in attempting to achieve these capabilities, AI labs may be creating distorted intelligence rather than superintelligence, as I explain in this article.

This matters because the dangers we should watch out for, the kinds of policies and regulations we should adopt, and the hope we should hold depend on the answer to this question.

Is AI even intelligent? The distortion starts there, with how we understand “intelligence.” I understand calling it “distorted intelligence,” but I’m watching MS NOW report on the White House chatbot which no longer answers questions about who won the 2020 presidential race, or whether inflation in 2024 was the worst ever. All within the space of a few days.

You can’t change a dog’s training that quickly. Nor that absolutely.

Second question on AI. We are told repeatedly that AI is going to transform every aspect of our lives – jobs, productivity, inequality, science, communication, daily activities, social order, and politics, among others. But this promise (or threat) is coupled with the rhetoric that such an important technology, with all of the risks and competitive pressures that it entails, should be left to experts or to “technocracy” (perhaps construed broadly to include some regulators). These two statements are hard to reconcile in a democratic society. If anything is half as important as AI is said to be (and I agree, AI is potentially very important and transformative), then involving democratic voice is essential. If something will shape our future in a democratic society, then its direction is for democratic institutions to decide. My instinct is that democratic voice is essential, and relying too much on technocracy could be both dangerous and counterproductive. The counterargument that AI’s direction can and should be entrusted to technocracy would go something along the following lines. First, democratic decision-making has become imperiled in our age of polarization. Second, AI is sufficiently complex that most citizens won’t have a deep enough understanding to meaningfully contribute to the debate (and even to the question of what we want from AI). Third, competition between different labs, and perhaps competition between the US and China, creates enough discipline for a socially beneficial direction of AI to be adopted. Fourth, today’s AI leaders are enlightened and ethical enough that within the framework created by competition, they can be broadly trusted. There are many aspects of this counterargument that I do not find convincing. Taking them in order: polarization can be overcome, and big decisions and challenges sometimes bring societies together; in fact, delegating key decisions to technocracy without democratic input may diminish trust in institutions and experts, and may worsen polarization. Second, democratic voice does not require citizens to write code or design new models; the debate should be informative enough that citizens can weigh in about what type of future they want and how they trade off the costs and benefits of different options. Third, competition doesn’t seem to be a good disciplining framework; on the contrary, competition sometimes brings the worst out of both organizations and people. Fourth, if three decades of work on political economy and institutions has taught me anything, it is that we should not bank on the ethical grounding of unconstrained leaders. But, still, I do not mean to immediately dismiss the technocracy option if there are more compelling arguments for it. The question is, then, whether there are any circumstances under which such important decisions can be delegated to AI experts and technocracy. One final secondary question: even if we managed to get democratic input in the United States or even in Europe, AI will shape the lives of everyone on this planet. How do we ensure that the voice of nearly 6 billion people who don’t live in the US, Europe and China also contributes to the debates on AI?

— Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT) September 30, 2026

Second question on AI.

We are told repeatedly that AI is going to transform every aspect of our lives – jobs, productivity, inequality, science, communication, daily activities, social order, and politics, among others.

But this promise (or threat) is coupled with the rhetoric that such an important technology, with all of the risks and competitive pressures that it entails, should be left to experts or to “technocracy” (perhaps construed broadly to include some regulators).

These two statements are hard to reconcile in a democratic society.

If anything is half as important as AI is said to be (and I agree, AI is potentially very important and transformative), then involving democratic voice is essential. If something will shape our future in a democratic society, then its direction is for democratic institutions to decide.

My instinct is that democratic voice is essential, and relying too much on technocracy could be both dangerous and counterproductive.

The counterargument that AI’s direction can and should be entrusted to technocracy would go something along the following lines. First, democratic decision-making has become imperiled in our age of polarization. Second, AI is sufficiently complex that most citizens won’t have a deep enough understanding to meaningfully contribute to the debate (and even to the question of what we want from AI). Third, competition between different labs, and perhaps competition between the US and China, creates enough discipline for a socially beneficial direction of AI to be adopted. Fourth, today’s AI leaders are enlightened and ethical enough that within the framework created by competition, they can be broadly trusted.

There are many aspects of this counterargument that I do not find convincing. Taking them in order: polarization can be overcome, and big decisions and challenges sometimes bring societies together; in fact, delegating key decisions to technocracy without democratic input may diminish trust in institutions and experts, and may worsen polarization. Second, democratic voice does not require citizens to write code or design new models; the debate should be informative enough that citizens can weigh in about what type of future they want and how they trade off the costs and benefits of different options. Third, competition doesn’t seem to be a good disciplining framework; on the contrary, competition sometimes brings the worst out of both organizations and people. Fourth, if three decades of work on political economy and institutions has taught me anything, it is that we should not bank on the ethical grounding of unconstrained leaders.

But, still, I do not mean to immediately dismiss the technocracy option if there are more compelling arguments for it.

The question is, then, whether there are any circumstances under which such important decisions can be delegated to AI experts and technocracy.

One final secondary question: even if we managed to get democratic input in the United States or even in Europe, AI will shape the lives of everyone on this planet. How do we ensure that the voice of nearly 6 billion people who don’t live in the US, Europe and China also contributes to the debates on AI?

I suppose it can be transformative and important, but where’s the evidence (v. hype and speculation) for that? AI, properly understood, is a tool. So is the cell phone in my hand. But I don’t need to turn over massive resources of society to my cellphone (indeed, it uses enough resources I remain blithely ignorant of, which is bad enough). AI is being sold as the tool we must acquiesce to. But isn’t that like saying I really should put my hammer in charge, since I can’t drive nails without it?

Third question on AI. A question that also remains unasked is whether the AI boom can continue without leading to a massive increase in inequality. A recent paper by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh runs the numbers on how much revenue the AI industry needs to generate to recover its massive investment (summary and a link to the paper can be found here: https://t.co/QIGcoObcVc). Van Nieuwerburgh’s arithmetic should make us more concerned. AI investments will average about 3.6% of GDP annually between 2025 and 2032. Van Nieuwerburgh calculates that, using a 10% rate of return, the industry would need to generate annual revenues of about $3.7 trillion by 2032 to recover these costs (growing from its current levels of about $200 billion or so). That is significantly more than 10% of current US national income, and will likely remain around 10% of national income by 2032, even if GDP growth rose from its current level. A large fraction of this revenue will go to capital income. That means a massive increase in the share of capital in national income, which has already risen substantially over the last 25 years or so – now standing at an all-time high of about 47% (https://t.co/IuYldl173r). Capital income is much more unequally distributed than labor income, so a massive increase in the capital share of national income will translate into a very sizable surge in inequality. The rise in inequality may not stop with the capital share. My work with Pascual Restrepo documents that (automation-driven) increases in the capital share of national income are typically associated with rising labor income inequality as well (see, for example, https://t.co/2D9KUL3QfM). The same may happen in the next several years, boosting inequality further. What is missing from our current debate is any discussion of a fundamental dilemma these numbers pose: can the AI boom avoid both an economically costly crash and a huge increase in inequality? If the industry reaches these revenues, inequality surges. If the industry does not become profitable, a crash, with substantial costs in terms of lost output and jobs, becomes likely. My assessment would be that the industry is unlikely to reach levels of revenue Van Nieuwerburgh calculates. First, diffusion has been and will likely continue to be slow. Second, competition from open-weight models, which are getting better, will limit how much proprietary models can charge. Third, despite important advances, I still believe that AI models will not be able to automate entire occupations anytime soon, thus limiting their value to businesses as cost-saving devices. Whether this leads to a crash or not is more complicated and will depend on whether various AI companies are bailed out and what kind of support they receive. Nevertheless, even if revenues fall short of these gargantuan amounts and we avoid a dramatic surge in inequality, I expect that the diffusion of AI will push up inequality between capital and labor and within labor. If inequality does surge, a further question becomes central: can our democracy survive such astronomical levels of inequality?

— Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT) October 1, 2026

Third question on AI.

A question that also remains unasked is whether the AI boom can continue without leading to a massive increase in inequality.

A recent paper by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh runs the numbers on how much revenue the AI industry needs to generate to recover its massive investment (summary and a link to the paper can be found here: https://t.co/QIGcoObcVc).

Van Nieuwerburgh’s arithmetic should make us more concerned. AI investments will average about 3.6% of GDP annually between 2025 and 2032. Van Nieuwerburgh calculates that, using a 10% rate of return, the industry would need to generate annual revenues of about $3.7 trillion by 2032 to recover these costs (growing from its current levels of about $200 billion or so). That is significantly more than 10% of current US national income, and will likely remain around 10% of national income by 2032, even if GDP growth rose from its current level.

The rise in inequality may not stop with the capital share. My work with Pascual Restrepo documents that (automation-driven) increases in the capital share of national income are typically associated with rising labor income inequality as well (see, for example, https://t.co/2D9KUL3QfM). The same may happen in the next several years, boosting inequality further.

A large fraction of this revenue will go to capital income. That means a massive increase in the share of capital in national income, which has already risen substantially over the last 25 years or so – now standing at an all-time high of about 47% (https://t.co/IuYldl173r).

Capital income is much more unequally distributed than labor income, so a massive increase in the capital share of national income will translate into a very sizable surge in inequality.

What is missing from our current debate is any discussion of a fundamental dilemma these numbers pose: can the AI boom avoid both an economically costly crash and a huge increase in inequality? If the industry reaches these revenues, inequality surges. If the industry does not become profitable, a crash, with substantial costs in terms of lost output and jobs, becomes likely.

My assessment would be that the industry is unlikely to reach levels of revenue Van Nieuwerburgh calculates. First, diffusion has been and will likely continue to be slow. Second, competition from open-weight models, which are getting better, will limit how much proprietary models can charge. Third, despite important advances, I still believe that AI models will not be able to automate entire occupations anytime soon, thus limiting their value to businesses as cost-saving devices.

Whether this leads to a crash or not is more complicated and will depend on whether various AI companies are bailed out and what kind of support they receive.

Nevertheless, even if revenues fall short of these gargantuan amounts and we avoid a dramatic surge in inequality, I expect that the diffusion of AI will push up inequality between capital and labor and within labor.

If inequality does surge, a further question becomes central: can our democracy survive such astronomical levels of inequality?

What is the value of the tool? And who is it valuable to? And how many narcissists does it take to insist humankind must do as the handful of narcissists say?

Perspective

Trump’s Ohio speech tonight is at the Butler High School gym. Here is a photo of what it looks like on a regular day as posted by a user to Google Maps. https://t.co/kWYJ6CWX8P

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) October 4, 2026

Trump: "We will pass the No Invasion of Our Country Act prohibiting any future president from every opening our borders to illegal immigrants again. We will pass a truly great healthcare plan." https://t.co/BosN4B7M54

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

In December?

Trump's audience in Ohio pops for his dancing as his rally wraps up https://t.co/xgwpLRn2tG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

All 4500 of them?

Upper level of this rally is emptying out about 45 minutes after the president started speaking in Ohio https://t.co/ZsGfvBCRTc

— Katie Rogers (@katierogers) October 4, 2026

Smartest Man In The World

Trump claims he's "among the highest IQs anywhere in the world" pic.twitter.com/AvBroPxYlI

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

Which is why he says this:

Trump: "We achieved price differences of, listen to this, 300, 400, 500, 600, and in some cases even 700 percent" pic.twitter.com/kbQRFLECQG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

He’s so smart, only he understands how this can happen.

a very weird thing about Trump that I have NEVER seen the media comment on is that he thinks "mutilization" is a word and uses it multiple times during every public appearance pic.twitter.com/583BdCvjMq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

He’s so smart nobody else knows what it means.

Trump: "All these fake polls don't account for one thing -- they don't account for the fact Trump is out campaigning. They never thought this was gonna happen. And it's their fault because they unleashed us and we're gonna really gonna do -- as the coach would say, let's go and… pic.twitter.com/oKtin5DY6B

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 4, 2026

Trump: "All these fake polls don't account for one thing -- they don't account for the fact Trump is out campaigning. They never thought this was gonna happen. And it's their fault because they unleashed us and we're gonna really gonna do -- as the coach would say, let's go and kick ass."

Smartest man in the world. He says so.

I’m probably going to miss most of the Trump rally tonight. Going to spend time with my family. Not sure if I’ll miss anything big but based on what I’ve seen over the past few nights, probably not… who knows

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

He didn’t miss anything at all.

Count The Clock That Tells The Time

Trump: You know who wants it? Professional sports and amateurs that would like to play tennis at night, would like to play golf a little bit without having to run home after 14 holes. People don’t want to have to change their clocks. It's a lot of work for a lot of people.… pic.twitter.com/fMVKLNpgNn

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Trump: You know who wants it? Professional sports and amateurs that would like to play tennis at night, would like to play golf a little bit without having to run home after 14 holes. People don’t want to have to change their clocks. It's a lot of work for a lot of people. They're running around for two days changing all the clocks in their house

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a state that I won by 35 or 40 points. He's got to do it

He’s the king of Arkansas. Cotton must obey!

Q: Why did you post Tom Cotton’s phone number?

Trump: We want to get away from this ridiculous custom of turning your clocks back, forward, being late for dinner, being late for very important meetings. Tom Cotton is holding it. He shouldn't be holding it pic.twitter.com/pdkeZifLck

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Cotton did it to himself.

(“We want to get away from this ridiculous custom of turning your clocks back, forward, being late for dinner, being late for very important meetings.” Isn’t that an argument for eliminating DST? Asking for a friend.)
 

Trump: I'll give you an example: right now we're sitting out here—it's light, it's nice. If you come down here and In another 3 weeks. It will be dark. Who wants it? pic.twitter.com/JJ8JdQiAWn

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

He really thinks the clocks control the sun; and the seasons.  And if he can control the clocks….

🌞 🕰️⏰

Trump does think DST controls the sun:

In his posts Friday and Saturday, Trump also highlighted support for the “Sunshine Protection Act” from Brian Rolapp, the CEO of the PGA Tour.

“Even the highly respected PGA Commissioner, Brian Rolapp, needs it for the completion of Golf Tournaments in the Winter, when they just plain run out of sunlight,” the president wrote on Friday.

The last time we tried this (to save energy), Congress repealed it less than a year later. It was that unpopular. Congress has been spectacularly out of touch for the past two years, so I don’t think permanent DST would be any more popular again. But Trump’s argument here underscores the mindlessness of his argument.

One response to Cotton’s position is to just start school later in the day in winter. Easier to change the tilt of the planet, or to change to year round school (why do we shut school down for three months?). Changing school hours means parents have to stay home later; and most parents work. The days of June Cleaver in the kitchen in heels and pearls all day, are long gone. So that wouldn’t please parents a bit. My memory of Chicago is that dusk arrived at 4 p.m. Push that back to 5, but you’ve pushed school starts to 9. What’s gained?

The PGA, OTOH, doesn’t have to acknowledge school or work or store hours schedules. It gets dark earlier in winter regardless. There are the same number of daylight hours, whatever the clocks say. Those hours are diminished in winter, wherever you are in the northern hemisphere. The PGA has to schedule around those hours regardless of the clocks. It’s not like Congress can legislate more hours of sunlight in the seasons.

Unless Trump thinks they can, which is a far bigger problem than many we have with him. 🌅

Dear GOP: SEND MORE MONEY TO TEXAS!

My literally favorite part about this is that the GOP raised a ton of corrupt superpac money from shakedown after shakedown and they are burning it in Texas - like $7 million a day. And Paxton’s numbers are getting worse.

The arc of the moral universe is long. But it bends… https://t.co/zNNYRgtMmL

— Neera Tanden🌻 (@neeratanden) October 3, 2026

My literally favorite part about this is that the GOP raised a ton of corrupt superpac money from shakedown after shakedown and they are burning it in Texas - like $7 million a day. And Paxton’s numbers are getting worse.

The arc of the moral universe is long. But it bends towards justice.

Thanks, appreciate it.

—The Democrats  😎

Cutting Out The Middleman

Trump: It was just announced that we have the best economic numbers of any president in the history of our country

Press: Who announced that?

Trump: Me. I just announced it. pic.twitter.com/wlDHYGHRRM

— CHUNTERKAP (@chunterkap) October 2, 2026

Also known as a short circuit.

Like I Said…

https://t.co/usIkfOwZ6A pic.twitter.com/TlAL0NT2X1

— Team Talarico (@TeamTalaricoHQ) October 3, 2026

Don’t Mess With Tex-Mex.

🌊

Wow pic.twitter.com/DyM5LVAHcT

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 3, 2026

Sheesh https://t.co/60ikQ1XgAL pic.twitter.com/sPW1Gyn1lt

— Adam Carlson (@admcrlsn) October 3, 2026

Gee, I wonder why:

Hegseth on Iran:

More oil is going through the Strait of Hormuz today than before the conflict even started, because incredible pilots control the airspace. pic.twitter.com/z78381lCWY

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 3, 2026

Strait of Hormuz live tracker: 1 transit in 24 hours. 147 ships waiting to transit. Status of strait: closed for 217 days. Before the war, 120 to 140 ships traveled the Strait daily.

Trump’s past 24 hours of desperation:

— posts Sen. Tom Cotton’s cellphone number and tells people to call him over daylight saving time⁰— again tries to scam voters with fraudulent promises $5,000 checks to every adult citizen if Republicans win the House and Senate⁰— says if…

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) October 3, 2026

Trump’s past 24 hours of desperation:

— posts Sen. Tom Cotton’s cellphone number and tells people to call him over daylight saving time
— again tries to scam voters with fraudulent promises $5,000 checks to every adult citizen if Republicans win the House and Senate
— says if Democrats win it will be “a 1929 disaster” and an economic depression, essentially admitting he believes his term will lead to a Great Depression
— tells a Mobile, Alabama rally to close their eyes and “pretend I’m on the ballot”
— says he’s giving $100 checks to 20 million seniors

I don’t know why he thinks year-round DST will earn him any plaudits.* If he hates changing the clock that much, just eliminate DST. That would probably be slightly more popular.  Either way, it’s not going to preserve a GOP Congress.

*It seems he thinks it will control the sun; it will change the tilt of the earth:

“I don’t know about anyone else, but a table full of very distinguished people just told me that they HATE, immediately after a mandatory time change, going home at night – and it’s DARK,” Trump wrote.

He really does think this is a big issue in November. 🤷‍♂️

I lived in Chicago for a year. I got up in the dark in winter, and went home in the dark. On the Gulf Coast, I’d get in the dark, and go home (if I wasn’t retired) … in the dark. It’s called “winter..” It happens in the northern hemisphere as well as the southern (well, when you get to Antarctica). It’s why we have lights. All DST does in winter is make us get up earlier in the dark. Not too bad in summer; but terrible in winter.

It’s bad enough Hallowe’en takes longer to get dark; now he wants to fuck with Christmas Eve?

And we can eliminate that despair after the time change by just…eliminating DST! Win-win! (Because I agree: adjusting to winter is that much harder when you mess with the clocks. So stay on God’s time, the way Greenwich intended.)

Loser.

How about introducing a counter-bill supporting Permanent Standard Time?

— Meli (@MeliD712) October 3, 2026

How Many Lawyers Does DOJ Have?

Will Trump challenge the vote certification in 2026 like he did in 2020?

He’d have to challenge each federal district he didn’t like, individually. That would involve ballots from several counties, in some cases. And from all the counties if he challenged a Senate race.

In Texas, that would be 254 counties. Choose your fight wisely.

And what evidence does he have? In 2020: none, which was why 60+ cases were dismissed. A federal civil suit is not a fishing license. You can’t sue and then say “Now let’s look for evidence in their possession.” Especially when you’re challenging elections. There’s a reason Trump had his minions storm the Capitol. It was his last chance, having exhausted all the others. He can’t do that this time. He has to go to the states and make his cases there. In EAC federal district, and each state for Senators.

How many lawyers does the DOJ have? They’ve lost 25 court cases seeking voter records without any legal authority to have them. No reason to think they’ll do better in November-December. And so far all their claims of “illegal voting” have dwindled down to: nothing. The proven cases amount to less than one vote per year, in myriad elections.

The best and most sensible advice is this:

"Don't give Trump any more power than he actually has," Berman said. "When it comes to elections he has very little power."

Ultimately, he predicted the fight ends with a whimper. "I think at the end of the day, Trump's going to see his party losing, blame someone else, and decide to fight the next fight, and go golfing," Berman said.

Although I don’t think Trump actually fights anything. He’ll bitch and moan and then retreat to the Oval and glue up some more plastic gold. And convince himself he can put up monuments to himself nobody can tear down, and prove it by planning once again to demolish the JFK memorial.

Until Congress pulls all the rugs out from under him.

Double Bubble

The president was talking about Venezuela's role in drug trafficking, then started talking about the attack on Iran's nuclear sites...mistakenly mentioned drugs...and then, instead of just correcting himself, decided to pretend Iran's nuclear sites were indeed "drug factories."…

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 2, 2026

I asked the White House if the president indeed made a mistake and then doubled down when he said the Iranian nuclear sites the US attacked last year were also “drug factories.” Trump’s team wouldn’t offer any explanation, replying only, “Refer to POTUS’ comments.” https://t.co/MhuZTS4XpW

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 2, 2026

(If you get this reference, you win.)

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 2, 2026

Trump on South Korea saying they haven't signed off on an Alaska pipeline despite Trump saying they did: "If they don't want to do it, that's okay with me. I'll just charge them more. Tell them if they don't sign shortly, I'm gonna double it up." pic.twitter.com/n0boLPRLHz

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2026

Wait a minute...

He gaslights. Gets caught. And dances away. An amazing con man. pic.twitter.com/z234J6U1H1

— mountainviews (@mountainviews) October 2, 2026

Double what up? 

Trump has absolutely no idea what he’s doing.

Buying Votes With Pennies

Trump: "I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending 'Checks' of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts. This money will come from… pic.twitter.com/EUMwbeRfgv

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 3, 2026

Trump: "I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending 'Checks' of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts. This money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless 'Slush Fund' that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs. We are finally using this Fund, along with my Most Favored Nations Deals, to substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors. I pledged to protect and preserve Medicare and Social Security, which were on the verge of RUIN by Joe Biden, who foolishly and maliciously let tens of millions of Illegal Aliens into our Country, and we are doing just that for America’s Seniors. This is separate from the equally substantial Refund 'Checks' we are sending to One Million Americans who were overcharged for their Unaffordable Care Act plans by Joe Biden.

Because I delivered on this very important issue for the American People, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"

A) Next to nobody is going to read all that, let’s face it.

B) Medicare Part B premiums have gone up this year, not down.

C) The “checks” are going to be a one time payment of $90. 

D) It represents about 45% of the monthly premium. Once.

Try not to blink, or you’ll miss it. And don’t get too excited; there are 68 million people on Medicare. So 2/3rds of us, get bupkis.

As the Lovely Wife said: “Throw me a roll of paper towels, dude.”

🤷‍♂️

Trump: I'm talking to so many people in our country because they're being told really bad things—about ideologies like they're great but in one year it all collapses, the whole thing goes to hell. It's happened for 2000 years with different names. pic.twitter.com/2WD827nDTH

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Can he give us at least three names?

Visual Metaphors

Psaki: Even in ruby red Alabama, enthusiasm for Trump and his gimmick seems to be waning. Here was the scene from inside the venue at Trump's big Alabama rally tonight. Trump couldn't even fill half the seats in the arena

That venue holds 10,000 people. And when Trump kicked off… pic.twitter.com/SMcBUOVI9X

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Attendees listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Alabama

REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak pic.twitter.com/gqjoUwrlW0

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Trump at a rally in Alabama

REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak pic.twitter.com/TXBxahSSjz

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 3, 2026

Thousands were standing outside and couldn’t get in.

Right?

Don’t Mess With Tex-Mex

More: https://t.co/eXjDqOJNFe

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

I have been eating Tex-Mex for as long as I can remember (and had the pleasure of introducing the Lovely Wife to it in high school. I remember a long time back these days.). I can comfortably tell Trump that nobody in Texas cares if Talarico is vegan or eats BBQ three times a day and as a midnight snack. But all Texans care about complimentary chips and salsa:

The Trump administration imposed a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes in July 2025, ostensibly with the aim of protecting U.S. farmers from foreign competition and boosting domestic production. Mexico accounts for roughly 90% of the tomatoes the U.S. has imported since 2015, worth more than $3 billion, according to a study by Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service.

Grocery stores and restaurants were initially able to absorb the higher costs rather than passing them on to consumers. But then, bad weather in Mexico and Florida reduced supplies, and tomato prices jumped to their highest level in two decades.

"As a result, we saw the fresh tomato market jumped to about $80 a box," said Dante Galeazzi, president of the Texas International Produce Association. "We saw, as American consumers, that there was a point in late April and almost the entire month of May, where grocery stores were not carrying tomatoes. So that’s a clear reflection of price elasticity where the buyers just say, ‘You know what? We’re not going to participate.'" Restaurants have held out a few months longer, in large part because customers have become accustomed to free chips and salsa. But food costs overall have spiked roughly 35% over the past two years, in part due to the tariffs.

Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer for the Texas Restaurant Association, said her members are now dealing with a raft of other escalating expenses.

"The challenge is for our Texas restaurants, they operate on very narrow profit margins in what I would call good economic times," Streufert said, "and right now we’re living in a time of very high costs on food — which is most restaurants’ biggest line item — but also labor, utilities, credit card swipe fees, insurance. Almost everything that it takes to run a restaurant these days is significantly more expensive than it was a year or two ago."

I remember when some “Mexican” restaurant chain (NOT based in Texas) tried to charge for chips and salsa before the meal. It went over like a fart at a funeral. I don’t think they’re even in operation anymore.

There are as many different kinds of Tex-Nex as there are regions in Texas: north Texas; Panhandle; west Texas: East Texas: coastal bend; South Texas; Trans-Pecos. You get the idea. When I lived in Austin there was a local chain of three restaurants (no, not Chuy’s) in South, central, and north Austin; which was a far smaller footprint than it is now. And I swear (still) that you could put me blindfolded in any one of those restaurants, and I could have told which it was. San Antonio is south of Austin, Dallas north, and each restaurant reflected that regional influence. And what all those restaurants throughout the state absolutely have in common is free chips and salsa on the table before you even have a chance to order drinks.

We take our Tex-Mex very seriously.

I’ve gotta be honest; gas, and even diesel, are a bit below national averages down here. Not so low it’s cheap, but we’re a bit better off than we deserve. We aren’t crowing about it, but we know we’re better off. We also feel superior in our access to Tex-Mex; especially when we look at that stuff California thinks is “Mexican food.” So threaten our access to free chips and salsa when we sit down to order a plate of cheese ranch with beef sauce and a side of Mexican rice and refried beans? Well, I’ll just say the person responsible would be wise to stay out of Texas, with or without bodyguards.

We take our Tex-Mex very seriously, and consider free chips and salsa our birthright as Texans.

The San Antonio Business Journal has reported that some restaurants in that city spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on salsa ingredients. That may no longer be sustainable.

"You have restaurants that are simply saying, ‘Look, I can’t afford to put salsa on the tables anymore,'” Galeazzi said. "What are consumers going to do? Where are consumers going to find this relief?"

This could seriously effect the midterms.

Don’t mess with Tex-Mex.

Trump on the midterms: "Pretend I'm running" pic.twitter.com/7xHgXDLzP1

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

(Be careful what you wish for.)

I Actually Agree With Mullin

I guess he missed Hegseth’s speech at Quantico this week. https://t.co/3Ky6ZDSMgL

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 2, 2026

Although I don’t recall Talarico spouting Scripture recently; well, outside a church, anyway.

We Get Comments On Proof Texting

From:

I’m guessing Hegseth hasn’t gotten to verses 16 ff. of Psalm 33?

Psalm 33

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.

5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

“The Devil can cite scripture for his own purposes.” Usually by proof texting.

Reform Is Coming

"What is becoming increasingly clear is that the administration does not see itself as a litigant before the court and does not see its attorneys as bound by court orders. It sees DOJ attorneys as somehow coequal with SCOTUS, the only attorneys in the federal system not bound by…

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2026

"What is becoming increasingly clear is that the administration does not see itself as a litigant before the court and does not see its attorneys as bound by court orders. It sees DOJ attorneys as somehow coequal with SCOTUS, the only attorneys in the federal system not bound by ethical rules."

Like SCOTUS, which does not consider itself bound by ethical rules. It only pays lip service to them.

Meanwhile, in the OMB:

Russ Vought: "We fund what we need to fund. I'm not at all shy about we want to spend billions of dollars on a new shipyard. We're up there defending the $1.5t that the Department of War needs. But it's also coming at a ton of reduction on the non-defense side" pic.twitter.com/012BadHwZ4

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2026

Russell Vought is neither co-equal to, nor superior to, Congress. Art. I gives Congress the authority to allocate federal funds; not the executive branch, and certainly not OMB.

Congress can straighten that out. It can also straighten out the DOJ, and even impose enforceable ethical standards on the Supremes.

Maybe people aren’t voting for the Democratic Party. But they are voting for reform.

Random Associations

Alaska voters respond to Trump's broken campaign promises:

"He's just lying... I'm disappointed in him. Americans expected so much more and what he promised isn't happening" pic.twitter.com/cihl3V0Dx8

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

Theo Von to Mayor Mamdani: I know that you were offering a night out for parents and childcare. Tickets for the opera, which is just a chance for somebody to have a new experience. And the stabilization of rent control. It sounds like you're just trying to give people a chance to… pic.twitter.com/O6lRTuS78E

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

Theo Von to Mayor Mamdani: I know that you were offering a night out for parents and childcare. Tickets for the opera, which is just a chance for somebody to have a new experience. And the stabilization of rent control. It sounds like you're just trying to give people a chance to take a breath.

Mayor Mamdani: Just last week, we held DoorDash to account. They were underpaying more than 260,000 workers for $131.5 million.

Theo Von: That's a lot of money.

Mamdani: This is the largest labor settlement in New York. pic.twitter.com/Db0jgfjvk2

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

Mayor Mamdani: In nine months, we've started to deliver universal childcare for families. We've paved 200,000 potholes. We're launching the nation's first municipal rule to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions as to sign up

Theo Von: Let's go, bro pic.twitter.com/XfvENyeTwu

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

🔥MUST-WATCH: "It sounds like you're just trying to give people a chance to take a breath."@ZohranKMamdani & @TheoVon on greed/capitalism leaving too many behind, which @NYCMayor's policies seek to address.

ZOHRAN: "What I'm fighting for is nobody is priced out of dignity." pic.twitter.com/pIRstmrixu

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 2, 2026

Kevin Hassett suggests skyrocketing mortgage rates are actually a good sign for the economy because corporations are borrowing money to build things like data centers "instead of lending to homeowners." pic.twitter.com/OtlorTX1VC

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

Q: What do you say to those who are struggling to afford gas, groceries, diesel?

Trump: We have the greatest economy in the history of our country pic.twitter.com/2E8T7ubCRh

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 2, 2026

“It’s The Dumocrats’ Fault…”

Trump: Prices are way down from what Biden and the Dumocrats left us. It's why I won the Election, and now prices are coming down, RAPIDLY. It's the Dumocrats' fault, not the fault of the Republicans - But we are fixing it! pic.twitter.com/OPXCgUio0Q

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 1, 2026

...that prices are coming down? But Republicans will fix it?

Is this the new Republican strategy?

ICYMI — Spineless Speaker Mike Johnson: "If Republicans hold the house in the next two years we’d do… exactly what we’ve been doing already.” 🤔

Ummm. Is he trying to lose? pic.twitter.com/b5FL4nmKNx

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 1, 2026

notably, Trump's speech in Texas isn't being taken live by Fox News or Newsmax. You'll have to watch Newsmax 2 or Real America's Voice to see it.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

Well, if they’re not interested, is it really a rally?

LOL -- Trump tries to shout out Ted Cruz in Texas and *not a single person applauds* for him. Not one! pic.twitter.com/domEMoSqm2

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

Trump mumbles through an extremely low energy endorsement for Ken Paxton to little applause from the audience pic.twitter.com/aYwboZahoS

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

Youth Is Wasted On The Young

GOP Rep. Moore on Watergate: "Richard Nixon was absolutely couped out of office and was framed. All of this was fake." pic.twitter.com/cTxNTxuXSU

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2026

And the moon landing was faked because the earth is flat and the moon is made of green cheese.

He was born in 1980. He doesn’t even realize it was GOP Congressmen who convinced Nixon to resign, because he would have been the first President forcibly removed from office.

But all the witness testimony was ginned up by the “deep state.”

Oh, to be young and stupid again, and imagine this will lower the price of gas.⛽️ 

“America! Love It Or Leave It!”

Vance: Send a message to the Democrats. America belongs to those who love it, not who hate it. pic.twitter.com/ckvybJqpCL

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 1, 2026

In his defense, he’s too young to remember that wholly unAmerican sentiment.  OTOH, he’s really, really stupid. And racist.

JD Vance: "We're going after universities and corporations that reject applicants because they were born with the wrong skin color" pic.twitter.com/do1Rv2XMf3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

I suppose his excuse is, he’s listening to his master’s voice.

Trump Shares Article Calling Black Hanging Deaths a “Leftist Race Narrative”

President sends dismissive message regarding lynching investigations.https://t.co/7sMp1Jkve6https://t.co/7sMp1Jkve6

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) October 1, 2026

I Remember The 1970’s

Thanks Reagan 😕

The Republican agenda for the past 45 years in one chart 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/jmzfvBqsSG

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 1, 2026

And then came the next 46 years.

“You’re Paying A Lot Less…” 😵‍💫

Trump: Costs are way down. We've done a great job. The thing I haven't done a good job with is explaining it to people. pic.twitter.com/IoKRpghJul

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2026

"… for gas and diesel and food than you think you are. And you’re getting sleepy…your eyelids are very heavy…”😵‍💫

Trump: It was just announced that we have the best economic numbers of any president in the history of our country pic.twitter.com/4ySIzyl67A

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2026

Self-hypnosis is a helluva drug.

“Make Me Richer…”

The most corrupt administration in the history of the US by far. You could add up all instances of corruption by every other admin in US history and it will not equal the amount of corruption perpetrated by this one in less than 2 years. https://t.co/jNszPHwXj6

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

“…I’ll give you a McDonalds cheeseburger.” 🍔 *

*Fries extra. BYOD.

VOTE LIKE TRUMP IS ON THE BALLOT!

Talafreakout

Rep. Michael Cloud on Talarico: "We don't need heresy -- heretical things coming out of his mouth that Texans don't believe in. We like our barbecue, we like our trucks, we like our firearms as well, we like our freedom. We don't want to go that path." pic.twitter.com/pRsiIo6ppZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

No idea what he’s talking about. But I remember Texas Republicans in the Lege warning that Talarico was “dangerous” back when he was still running for the nomination. They meant politically dangerous. They were right.

NEW AD: Today on House Hunters, Ken Paxton is shopping for a new house.

Will he buy the three-story luxury lodge in Oklahoma? The condos at a wellness resort in Utah? The ocean-view property in Hawaii?

(Spoiler alert: He won’t take one — he’ll take 15.) pic.twitter.com/qvsHh4ANwd

— Team Talarico (@TeamTalaricoHQ) September 29, 2026

Enten: "Congratulations to Ken Paxton. You are the least popular Texas Senate GOP nominee this century. No one was even in the negative, and you're at -16." pic.twitter.com/bXhiYc195t

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

Talarico is part of the reason for that.

Enten unpacks how Trump's net approval in Texas is 13 points lower at this point in his term than any other president this century pic.twitter.com/oGc8SJUmSg

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

But Trump is the bigger danger in Texas. Not that Talarico is riding on that wave alone.

James Talarico walks out to a standing ovation from 50,000 Texans at the State Fair Classic. pic.twitter.com/Q2ClPpBEGa

— Team Talarico (@TeamTalaricoHQ) September 30, 2026

So Thirsty

You seem to think that's a good thing. https://t.co/Um9uHq8SBC

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 1, 2026

I recommend people read Time's interview with Trump to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to…

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

I recommend people read Time's interview with Trump to get a sense of the president's grave cognitive impairment. Trump is either unwilling or unable (or maybe both) to answer the questions he's actually asked, so he just rants and raves while the interviewers do their best to provide structure to his random brain firings.

Like this:

TIME: So what is the hoax of AI? Who's behind it?

TRUMP: The whole country is based on fake stuff because these people have Trump derangement syndrome. pic.twitter.com/mjmRJS5TD1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

TRUMP: Did you see the story about my uncle?

TIME: The one who taught at MIT?

TRUMP: I have the highest of IQs. I have the highest. pic.twitter.com/0x1NxEW2zQ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026

Trump attempts to list the "great things" he has done as president and stops at one:

"I've done great things. I mean, I've done Venezuela. I've done—I can name, I can name 100 great things I've done." pic.twitter.com/YINqqnYmvA

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2026

War is peace, and genocide is a good thing.

Q: How can the president of peace be calling for the annihilation of an entire people?

Trump: Because by annihilating Iran, we've created peace in the world. pic.twitter.com/etJ69Uyrxo

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2026

I for one think it’s bad that the president can just say crazy stuff all day every day and 99% of it doesn’t make the news because we’ve normalized having an insane president

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2026

[Unintelligible]

Trump is asked about the war in Iran by Time magazine. His reply:

"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."https://t.co/Xx5SWv5gNd

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 1, 2026

Trump is asked if he has confidence in Kevin Warsh. Here is some of his answer. Looking forward to @jbarro's translation of this [unintelligible] on today's pod! pic.twitter.com/g8uRmBwYlC

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 1, 2026

Whaddya bet none of these parts of the transcript ever make it off Twitter?

The Amount Of Grift…

This keeps happening. pic.twitter.com/nQt7F2OWAZ

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

... and sheer hucksterism and confidence gaming in the high reaches of American business makes you wonder why we admire “captains of industry” in the first place.

This is just despicable by MS NOW, which has accepted stolen taxpayers dollars for 38 illegal ads. Give me a break with this bullshit statement too. So your hosts are on air all day saying this is illegal while you are taking the money and running the ads? Just gross. pic.twitter.com/gpJqQ5gmCi

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

Sure reckoning is at hand.

We are paying CNN and MS NOW to run ads for Donald Trump right before the midterms. You and I are paying for them. And CNN and MS NOW are taking the cash while their hosts and guests say the scheme is illegal. That is the current state of corporate media in America.

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

But I’m not optimistic.

For Want Of A….

An ambitious narcissist megalomaniacal right-wing Christian nationalist fanatic with a drinking problem and a history of erratic and reckless behavior who hates rules of engagement in charge of the most powerful military in the history of the world. What could go wrong? https://t.co/bYnzVWMuFG

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 30, 2026

This is indistinguishable from many of Hitler’s speeches. https://t.co/m2GT6kbuBK

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

I never ever thought I would see such a dangerous unhinged psychopath running the US military. We’ve had some bad ones, but never like this. https://t.co/BQCHWIVR5u

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

Pretty clear Hegseth’s primary mission is to transform the military ideologically by overtly indoctrinating troops with Christian nationalism and apocalyptic holy war messaging while rooting out those who don’t want to participate and just want to serve their country admirably.

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 1, 2026

... and all for the costs of an egg.

Can Congress impeach him yet?

Hopefully The Last Word(s) On The Schmitt Matter

18 USC 1621;

Whoever—

(1) having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true

That’s the literal “legal definition” of perjury as it applies to anyone who testifies at a Congressional hearing. There are three parts (oath, tribunal, stating something the testifies knows not to be true), but what sets perjury apart from lying under oath, or mere misrepresentation, is that word “material.”

The question of a perjury charge against Jack Smith for his testimony in the House or the Senate, turns on the question of materiality. What is “material” to the Congress members is that their phone records were used as material in a criminal investigation. But that isn’t necessarily material to a court.

Besides, Smith answered the questions put to him by House members, and didn’t answer the questions they didn’t ask. One of the Senators tried to make much of this, as if Smith’s failure to offer information was tantamount to “willfully and contrary to such oath [stating] …any material matter which he does not believe to be true.” Smith said what he believed to be true, in answer to the questions he was asked. He didn’t say no records of the content of the calls were retrieved in the investigation. But he wasn’t asked if they were. If  the House Committee had wanted an answer to that question, they could have asked it.

So the perjury accusation there is almost over before it’s started. If the DOJ takes it up, it will be another loser for them. It will be interesting to find out if they are tired of losing.

Okay, then there’s Schmitt’s perjury trap. He actually accused Smith of perjury for saying he’d (Smith) not been to a basketball game in Atlanta in February, 2024. But even if he had been, what if Schmitt had presented his “evidence,” and Smith had said: “Oh, that basketball game!” Would his prior confusion have been perjury? Nope. Would it even have been a misrepresentation? Nope. If Smith had intended to mislead, he wouldn’t say, “Oh, I forgot.” That’s very poor evidence of intent to mislead. Put more in line with the law, Smith didn’t try to state a matter which he knew not to be true. And besides: was the matter material?

Schmitt tried to get Smith to deny he was in Atlanta so Schmitt could prove Smith had met with Fani Wallis. And if he had? What then?

Except Smith didn’t meet with Wallis, and denied being in Atlanta. And how would it be material if he had stopped over in Atlanta on the way to Florida? Or attended the Hawks game that night? Would it prove he met with Wallis?

Without that proof, is Smith being in Atlanta in February, 2024, material? To what? There’s a large gap between a text message, and a material issue. Smith being in Atlanta doesn’t prove Smith met with Wallis. Absent that proof, Smith is not testifying on a material issue. So maybe perjury could have been established. But not because Smith didn’t remember being in Atlanta; which is all he testified to.  And Schmitt never presented any evidence that Smith had met with Wallis. So Smith’s testimony was not willfully contrary to the truth. And then he realized he was at a basketball game that day; in Maryland. So in fact it never could have been a perjury case. Schmitt never had that, even on the evidence he thought he had. He could never prove materiality; and he could never prove Smith lied.

Schmitt simply never knew what he was doing, or what he was talking about.

The Schmitt Hits The Fan

So much for the meritocracy. https://t.co/RdT1Ln884k

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 30, 2026

If anyone wants to know how the outrage machine gets fired up:

1. Schmitt plans to drop “bombshell”

2. Someone plants story that Schmitt is a Vance VP contender

3. Right-wing Twittersphere gets Schmitt talking points

4. Schmitt steps in it

5. Scheduled tweets go out anyway https://t.co/JGwTDzrP37

— Jim Lokay (@Lokay) September 29, 2026

OTOH:

Mentions on Fox shows of the very newsworthy confrontation between Schmitt and Jack Smith:

Ingraham (7-8pm): 0
Watters (8-9): 0
Hannity (9-10): 0
Gutfeld (10-11): 0
Fox & Friends this AM: 0

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 30, 2026

Sashay away, princess. https://t.co/CxcL1ThnvS

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 30, 2026

Like Trump, Hawley can’t say what the crime would be. And how many of the people he ran from on J6 were pardoned of their crimes?

Never forget, @HawleyMO https://t.co/VwUUsI2GRw

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) September 29, 2026

(We’re gonna need several constitutional amendments when this is over. We should really start them in January. Trump can’t do anything about them, and if he campaigns against them, it might actually help their chances.)

An opinion about Kennedy: With his sterling education and considerable talents, he had a chance to be a real statesman, a "lion of the Senate." Instead, he chose to become another Fox troll, with cornpone. Our present age is, among other things, a diminishing one. https://t.co/NIfsuTXm2F

— Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) September 30, 2026

I have a hunch the next Democrat president will appoint Jack Smith—who weaponized the Department of Justice in a jihad against Joe Biden’s enemies—as Attorney General

If this troubles you, please show up and vote for Republicans—not just in 2028, but also in this year’s midterms pic.twitter.com/EQH4e85uZf

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) September 30, 2026

Which conspiracy theory kinda explains this:

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) sent a four-page letter dated Wednesday to R. Culver Schmid, chairman of the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, accusing Smith of "serious misconduct" when he obtained senators' phone records during his investigation of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Hagerty wrote that Smith subpoenaed Verizon for non-content records of calls made by Hagerty and other sitting senators. Along with the subpoena came a nondisclosure order barring Verizon from telling anyone about it, including the senators themselves. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., issued the order.


The GOP senator argues that Smith's request to the judge left out the fact that the records belonged to members of Congress. He says it also left out the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause and a federal law that allows Senate service providers to notify the Senate of legal demands for its data.

As a result, Hagerty wrote, he never had a chance to challenge the subpoena, and he also claimed the order was "apparently also written by Smith, and rubber-stamped by the judge."

"Smith's actions have set a precedent that a legislator should think twice before answering the phone," Hagerty wrote.

The senator alleges that Smith violated rules requiring lawyers to be candid with courts in one-sided proceedings and he asked the board to seek "the most serious remedy possible — disbarment." He cited Smith's "lack of remorse" and a "chilling effect on legislative communications."

The letter says that when senators questioned Smith before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, he stated that "we submitted these nondisclosure orders consistent with the law and department policy."

Of all the things that will never happen, Jack Smith getting disbarred over this will never happen the most. (Key point: the records in question belong to the common carrier, not the customer.)

Maybe Change The Channel

Trump: We have the best economy in the world. There's no economy like this economy. The only thing we don’t have is good public relations. We don't seem to be able to get the word across… that’s because of the press. pic.twitter.com/hI2drbZpX5

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

Top Treasury official's message to Americans who are unhappy with the economy:

"Maybe change the channel and try to find some of the good news out there" pic.twitter.com/2ui2DtHs2W

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Louisiana farmer burns through $1,000 worth of diesel every day:

The price of diesel has pretty much doubled from last year. It's a hard pill to swallow. pic.twitter.com/6AXxLaZliE

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Family farm may have to close after 100 years due to skyrocketing diesel and fertilizer prices:

"Just being able to come up with the funds to continue to farm is is very difficult." pic.twitter.com/BsDTFFIqZ0

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Trump: Our inflation numbers are way down, other than for oil pic.twitter.com/40TgQ12Y86

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Trump: "Our gasoline prices are lower than Biden" pic.twitter.com/pRexH6aleQ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2026

Any questions? 🤷🏼 https://t.co/sc7afU7aRx

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 30, 2026

Smit Machchhar, an Indian Flydubai captain, was stabbed by an Omani terrorist in the cockpit.

Despite his injuries and being barely conscious, he helped save 180+ lives.

Now, he is fighting for his life.

Let us pray for this hero tonight. ❤️🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/t5UPjHKsNF

— Robin 🇮🇱 (@Robiiin_Hoodx) September 30, 2026

Apparently he’s also a plumber:

Trump says Netanyahu told him that an Israeli plumber took over the controls and saved the Flydubai plane from crashing, but admits "I don't know if it's true, but that's the story I got from Bibi" pic.twitter.com/sAOxELDnYi

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2026

Trump elaborated:

Trump claimed an injured pilot managed to open the cockpit door before an Israeli plumber rushed in, pulled the other pilot from his seat and grabbed the controls.

“Having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up and leveled out the plane before it crashed,” Trump said.

“Now, this is the story that I heard,” Trump quickly added. “I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi.”

Trump then dropped what he called “the craziest thing” about the wild tale.

“When I asked why he did that, he said he watches the show ‘Air Disasters.’ You know the show? It’s that crazy show,” Trump said. “But he said he watches it a lot, and he learned from watching that show sort of how to fly.”

"I mean, you tell me, this is the craziest thing," Trump said.

Yes it is, Grandpa. 🙄

Vance: If you want to fix the country's problems, you have to elect problem solvers and not crazy people pic.twitter.com/rINQ62ZVlS

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Pretty insane that the president falls asleep in the Oval Office during televised meetings on a near daily basis and there aren't overwhelming calls for the 25th Amendment https://t.co/1AGB5bDcDo

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 30, 2026

Or just more attention to the fact.

Win With Trump!

Trump: We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country pic.twitter.com/WlhkRySCDi

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

And then he lists his accomplishments:

Trump: Canada has taken advantage of us for so many years. The worst of any country. They were very bad. Now, they're being taught a little lesson. We just named a certain lake: Lake America. pic.twitter.com/IH2yySIt1y

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

Trump: I hated to do this to the Mexicans. We love the Mexicans, but the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America. Is that OK? pic.twitter.com/bx9w0fS4ZA

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

If I didn’t have the video, you wouldn’t believe me.

Trump: I hope you can believe that I'm running, you know, they like to say, oh, nobody wants him. Everybody that has me wins pic.twitter.com/OdBsZ2bZlb

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

Tell that to Paxton.

Trump: They emptied their mental institutions, and I would have done the same thing if I was in charge of any country. pic.twitter.com/YvPpTL2Ihc

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

Trump: If I ran Venezuela, if I ran any country, I would do exactly the same thing that Maduro did. pic.twitter.com/a3U1cipyn6

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

🤷‍♂️ 

Trump: I've done a bad job of explaining how good the country is doing pic.twitter.com/0VHG0LmhXy

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

GEORGIA — @KeishaForGA: “Prices are at a record high because of Trump’s war in the Middle East, and the people of Georgia are paying the cost… farmers say they’re struggling to afford diesel. Trump did that.” pic.twitter.com/vbnRktjVnp

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 30, 2026

Win with Trump!

TRUMP VOTER: “Trump is a bald-faced liar. That's all I can say nicely… I was planning to retire, and I went back to work just to cover my insurance, my gas, and the price of food that keeps going up.” pic.twitter.com/9LyCoZoE7j

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 30, 2026

Trump: The director of the White House Faith Office. There's not a lot of space here. We don't have a lot of space, but we opened up a space office, OK, but it's a space office based on faith. pic.twitter.com/TDYKiQcWXM

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

He's an expert on space. His head’s full of it.

Trump: The incredible Hispanics, you know, there's lots of different names. Latinos, they call them so many different names, but I've used Hispanics.. pic.twitter.com/o09JbHcWDG

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

And what fills the space...

Trump: There's a tunnel going to what will be, I think, the greatest ballroom ever built. It's also a tremendous military complex with a drone port.

You literally will be the first group ever to enter. Don't fall over the edge because it's a long way down. And only a Hispanic… pic.twitter.com/FzgxwqWBeD

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 30, 2026

Trump: There's a tunnel going to what will be, I think, the greatest ballroom ever built. It's also a tremendous military complex with a drone port.

You literally will be the first group ever to enter. Don't fall over the edge because it's a long way down. And only a Hispanic could survive that fall.

... is racism.

Trump: Hispanics are too energetic pic.twitter.com/L3jROt3Oy2

— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 30, 2026

Don’t expect to hear any of those sound bites on the news tonight, or Sunday morning.