All posts tagged "midterms"

MAGA fans come unglued after TMZ challenges GOP lawmaker over Trump election claims

MAGA followers were coming unglued on Thursday after a Republican lawmaker got into a heated exchange with a TMZ reporter who pushed back on President Donald Trump's election claims.

TMZ's Charlie Cotton asked Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) if he was tired of hearing Trump talk about the 2020 election and his unfounded assertions that the election was rigged — just hours before the president was expected to give a primetime address about elections.

"Do you guys wish he'd give up the 2020 thing that he keeps harping on? Most Americans think it's crazy that he's saying the 2020 election was rigged still," Cotton said.

"President Trump should bring up the 2020 election, that is a complete justification for why we should pass the SAVE Act," Nehls said in response.

Cotton pushed back as Nehls brought up the Los Angeles mayor's race and referred to candidate Nithya Raman as "the Indian lady," describing how MAGA-friendly candidate Spencer Pratt had lost the primary election to her. Cotton corrected him and said "the American lady."

The two got into a fiery back-and-forth over Trump's claims.

"There's no evidence of that," Cotton said. "I just think it might not bode well for you guys in the midterm if he keeps harping about this same thing that's been proven not true."

MAGA loyalists on social media responded to the comments.

"Because it was rigged! They have been ignoring the proof!" Zac Urban, a user who shares MAGA-related content and has more than 52,000 followers, wrote on X.

"America owes an apology to Trump for stealing the 2020 election," Hank Bustamonte, who self-describes as a "member of the Heritage Foundation," wrote on X.

"A vast majority of Americans do not believe the election was legitimate," Garrett Barton, M.D., M.B.A., a physician who frequently posts Trump and MAGA-related posts, wrote on X.

"TMZ reports do not speak for ‘most Americans’ like wtf. Your boss was in the Epstein files, would you like to comment on that? I’d say most Americans believe 2020 elections were stolen, hence the reason he’s back in office in 2024. You people are the election deniers," user Ceara, who self-describes as "MAGA," wrote on X.

😬 Rep. Troy Nehls and @hicharliecotton get into a bit of a tiff over Trump continuing to assert that the 2020 election was rigged. pic.twitter.com/8god0ClVYc
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 16, 2026

Devastating humiliation served to Trump as TV networks snub speech — for these shows

President Donald Trump was served a heaping helping of humiliation ahead of his primetime address Thursday night, with several major broadcast networks snubbing the planned remarks in favor of a nature documentary and game show.

"NBC and ABC will not carry Trump on their respective networks but will carry on their digital feeds, NBC News Now and ABC News Live. Expect CBS to do the same," Wall Street Journal reporter Joe Flint reported on X, hours before the speech was to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

It wasn't immediately known if CNN would also snub the address, Flint explained.

"But cable news can dip in and out and has a lot more freedom than a broadcast network that in theory needs to let affiliates know what's up and the producers of whatever show is airing etc etc," he posted.

The move comes as several networks were quiet about whether they would air the president's speech to the nation, which is expected to focus on elections, including his ongoing baseless fraud claims about the 2020 election. The time slot across networks continued to display "their standard scheduled content," with no indication that coverage would be interrupted for the presidential address.

NBC News, according to TV Insider, is scheduled to feature its series "The Americas," a nature documentary narrated by legendary actor Tom Hanks. This week's episode was set to focus on the Gulf Coast and its swamps and wetlands that are home to black bears and alligators.

The network said it planned to broadcast a special report following the address, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

ABC plans to air the Elizabeth Banks-hosted game show "Press Your Luck" during that hour, TV Insider reported.

'Anxious' Senate Republicans fear they'll hand Dems another weapon — another shutdown

Senate Republicans are dreading the possibility of handing Democrats an opportunity to force a shutdown before the midterms, per Axios.

According to an article by Axios, "anxious" GOP senators are already raising fears that Democrats will force another shutdown this fall, ahead of the November midterms. The situation is also complicated by the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"[Senate] Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has stressed the need to ensure the Senate is not trapped in another funding emergency right before the election," Axios reported, adding that some Republicans are even considering a short-term continuing resolution to carry the government through the midterms.

"Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) still wants to stick with the normal funding process to avoid a [continuing resolution]," Axios noted. "But Collins has been vocal about her frustration with Democrats' unwillingness to vote for the funding bills in committee."

Collins complained last month that Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) had threatened to vote against every appropriations bill, including measures Democrats helped write, according to Axios. However, Murray blamed the Trump administration's spending demands, including a $1.5 trillion defense request.

"We made it clear to the Republicans that we are not going to accept a gigantic war budget offer," Murray told reporters last month, according to Axios. The Trump administration also asked Congress for $87.6 billion, mostly to fund the Iran war, Axios added.

McConnell chairs the defense appropriations subcommittee, and his hospitalization since last month has already forced the panel to delay markups, per Axios. With just a one-seat GOP margin on the committee, Republicans can't bank on the Democratic votes they've leaned on before.

The Senate has endured three shutdowns in the past year, including a months-long closure last October. The government runs out of money on September 30, and the Senate is scheduled to be in recess all of October, Axios noted.

MAGA 'secret' exposed by ex-GOP operative as Republicans watch their 'numbers go south'

Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson cautioned on Friday that MAGA has a plan for midterm elections and it's time for Democrats to be "ruthless."

In his Substack, he issued the blunt warning that although MAGA has the money backed by its ecosystem of tech and media — that's about it.

"Let me tell you a secret about the MAGA movement that isn’t a secret at all, because they keep saying it out loud: they know they can’t win a fair fight in November," Wilson wrote.

Republicans have been watching the special elections and watching the polling results roll in — and the signs are there, Wilson argued.

"Midterms with a raving, senile, deeply unpopular president presiding over an economy held together with tariff ductAI stock market handwavium and duct tape, and the Iran forever war are a recipe for an electoral slaughterhouse, and every Republican operative with a pulse knows it," Wilson wrote.

"I used to be one of them," he explained. "I know how that room smells when the numbers go south, and all the culture war garbage in the world won’t fix it. It smells like fear, and fear in that party has exactly one output: cheat harder."

He suggested that Democrats have 90 days to focus on winning the midterms against Republicans.

"So they’re not going to run a midterm campaign," Wilson wrote. "They’re going to run a midterm operation. There’s a difference, and if Democrats don’t internalize that difference in the next ninety days, they will get rolled by people who have been planning this since the day the 2024 confetti hit the floor."

Wilson suggested that Democrats should focus on winning big — so big that MAGA can't cheat its way back into power.

"A political war is coming this fall," he added. "Not a metaphor, not hype, an actual contest over whether elections in this country still decide who holds power. The other side has already mobilized. They have the Court, the money, the federal agencies, and the machines."

Piers Morgan admits his 'changed man' Trump prediction died in Iran war

British political commentator Piers Morgan lamented having written that Trump is a "changed man" after seeing him wage war in Iran.

During an episode of The Bulwark Podcast, Morgan spoke about the New York Post column he wrote after Trump was re-elected. In the column, Morgan said that Trump is a "changed man" and could become "one of America's great presidents."

Host Tim Miller, a former GOP operative, asked Morgan how those words are looking now that Trump is more than a year into his second administration.

"Not great," Morgan admitted. "He, unfortunately, has reverted to type."

Morgan said, "More worryingly, I think, for his legacy," Trump has "begun to do things which he specifically campaigned on the opposite."

The main broken campaign promise identified by Morgan was "not going into war in the Middle East." Trump also campaigned on "focusing on America first and getting inflation down," Morgan pointed out.

"Why would you launch a global trade war, and why would you go to war with Iran if actually those campaign aims were your priority?" Morgan wondered. "It's the opposite. It's going to have the opposite effect as we've seen."

Morgan was hoping to see "Trump Mark 2, particularly after he survived several assassination attempts," and added, "It's unfortunate" that's not what he's seeing.

"I felt, talking to him, he was a bit of a changed character, but you know, there's also the reality check," Morgan said. "He's just turned 80. There aren't many people who turn 80 who suddenly become different people."

Morgan added that if he were advising Trump, he'd say, "It's looking more likely than not he might lose control of the House and the Senate in the midterms," which are only a few months away. "He'll become a lame duck, which will be for him about as bad as life gets."

GOP charging thousands to participate in Trump's 'grifter free-for-all': report

State Republican parties are charging thousands of dollars to be an "honorary delegate" at Trump's midterm convention, per HuffPost reporting.

Trump is hosting an unusual midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, in September, and the GOP is hoping to rake in profits by selling expensive tickets, hotel stays, and honorary titles, according to HuffPost.

"It's not a real convention. The RNC hasn't written any rules for this," an anonymous Republican consultant told HuffPost, referring to the Republican National Committee. "It's just this grifter free-for-all."

The Texas Republican Party is charging $20,000 for an "honorary delegate" credential, which includes a two-night hotel stay and a "Texas Shirt and Cowboy Hat," according to a flyer reported by HuffPost. The Michigan Republican Party is charging $7,500 for a floor seat or $10,000 for a couple, according to HuffPost.

The California Republican Party is offering a "VIP delegate" package for $10,000 and another package priced at $250,000 that comes with floor access, hotel rooms, and gift bags with the state party logo, HuffPost reported.

However, HuffPost noted that Trump's convention won't pick any national nominees or approve a platform, despite selling these delegate credentials and packages. A "prominent" Florida Republican who spoke anonymously to HuffPost called the convention a "donor rally" and "a bad idea, poorly executed."

The GOP consultant who spoke with HuffPost mentioned that Trump might not even be able to fill the convention space, which will be hosted at the American Airlines Center, a 20,000-seat arena used by the Dallas Mavericks.

"I think there's a tremendous risk here that this could blow up," the consultant told HuffPost. "They might end up having to give tickets away."

Ex-GOP operative predicts stunning November defeat for 'deeply flawed' MAGA senator

A MAGA senator faces a competitive midterm race, according to a former GOP operative who expects him to lose.

In a recent episode of The Warning podcast, Steve Schmidt predicted that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will lose his seat to Annie Andrews, who was Schmidt's guest on the show.

"You're gonna win this race," Schmidt told Andrews. "This is a winnable race with a deeply flawed candidate in South Carolina who's never really been rooted to the state in the way that historically some South Carolina politicians have managed to do."

Schmidt credited Graham with having "political success in the way sometimes that a lucky surfer is able to get up on top of a wave, even when they don't necessarily deserve it," but he thinks that South Carolinians will refuse to re-elect him in the midterms, which are a few months away, because of his constant support for Trump.

"He's a sucker fish that lives off the detritus of the predator that swims around it," Schmidt said. "He attached himself to a vile, vicious shark named Trump, and now he's a remora on that vile creature, and that explains Lindsey Graham. He lives to have a piece of the action, but he has no attachment to the concept of service."

Adding that Graham is a "bottom feeder," Schmidt encouraged Andrews, telling her, "his number is due, and I think you're running a great campaign."

Andrews said that her campaign's latest poll showed her down "just three points" against Graham, giving her "a real shot to defeat him in November" and "a path to victory." Schmidt vouched for her polling numbers as "not being BS."

Read on Substack

Red state's top election official chides Trump DOJ's latest 'love letter': 'Truly bizarre'

President Donald Trump's Department of Justice dropped a threat for election officials on Tuesday, prompting a red state's top election official to reject the demand, Democracy Docket reported.

Republican Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson called out the federal agency for its attacks on election officials in multiple states after the DOJ warned that the leaders could face criminal prosecution over potential noncitizen voting. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent the letters to Michigan, Nevada, and Utah, saying that these states had five days to prove how they plan to "comply with federal voter eligibility laws."

"Got another love letter this morning from the DOJ sprinkled throughout with threats of criminal prosecution," Henderson wrote in a post on Threads.

"I’m sure I’m not the only chief election officer of a state who is being targeted for following state and federal laws by resisting DOJ’s demands for private voter data that have thus far been ruled illegal by at least a dozen courts. This is truly bizarre behavior by the federal agency that is supposed to be protecting civil rights," Henderson wrote.

The letters portray standard voter roll upkeep as a possible criminal issue. The DOJ cautioned that election officials could face prosecution if they knowingly keep noncitizens on the voter rolls or permit them to receive and cast ballots.

"Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s [Statewide Voter Registration List] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability," Dhillon wrote.

The move was the latest in Trump's election agenda ahead of the midterms.

"The letters come as Trump and his allies continue to push restrictions aimed at alleged widespread noncitizen voting — a problem for which they have not produced evidence," according to Democracy Docket.

Republican senator scoffs at House GOP's 'super cute' bullying threat

The war between House Republicans and their counterparts in the Senate over passing Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act shows no sign of ending as the House leadership has attempted to do the president’s bidding, resorting to threats.

According to MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell, one Republican senator whose vote would be needed was curt and dismissive of the idea that embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) thinks he will come out on top when the votes simply aren’t there.

Now Johnson has started attempting a Hail Mary: pushing pieces of the voting legislation through budget reconciliation, announcing plans for a federal fund that states could use to implement parts of the bill.

"The only way to get that to the president's desk, we've been shown many times, is to put it on a reconciliation bill, so that is in process," Johnson told MS NOW last week.

Senate Republicans aren't buying it.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) was blunt about the reconciliation fantasy: "It can't. If it could, we'd already be talking about it. Let's just stop playing games. Let's stop being dishonest."

When a reporter suggested the House might pressure the Senate by blocking other legislation, Tillis curtly replied, "That's super cute."

Even retiring Republicans in the House are done pretending Trump's strategy is workable.

"He wants to go it alone, his way to the highway, and it don't work," Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told reporters."He's trying to pound the square peg through the circle, and it doesn't work."

With only a handful of legislative weeks before midterms, some Republicans are quietly suggesting "an alternative" to actually accomplish something.

"The right thing to do, frankly, is you got voter ID, you can pass that, so take a win," Bacon suggested.

Trump wants to sabotage his own party to send a message about himself: biographer

A Trump biographer suggested that Trump is sabotaging his own party ahead of the midterms for a selfish reason.

On an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Michael Wolff said that he believes Trump's strategy is to lay the groundwork for the Republicans to take the blame for losing the midterms, and his goal is to prove that the party needs him.

"You can actually kind of get inside his head, and that's what he's doing. He is now undermining the Republicans," Wolff said, adding that it's to "blame it on them, to reinforce the fact that they can't do anything if he's not running."

Wolff said that Trump's strategy when losing is "he just denies it [and blames] it on somebody else," and "it would seem now that he has gone down the path to do almost everything to undermine the Republicans."

On that point, Wolff looks to the bipartisan housing bill that Trump refuses to sign as a sign of undermining the GOP, explaining, "This was actually a bipartisan win that might have helped them during the midterms."

By refusing to sign the housing bill, "what he's stolen from the Republicans is the ability to show that they care, and this would have been very helpful" for them ahead of the midterms, which are now four months away.

Co-host Joanna Coles agreed that Trump is prepared to blame the GOP ranks, predicting, "He's going to blame John Thune (R-SD)," the Senate majority leader, and "He's going to blame John Cornyn (R-TX)," the veteran senator who was "scooped out of the way" by the Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the primaries.

"He's good at blaming," Wolff said.