A handwritten note with a whole lot of heart

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Earlier this week, I shared on social media the story of a man who mailed in his last $7 and a handwritten note to support this campaign.  He said he believed in what we’re building and wanted to do his part, even when times were tough. I don’t take a single dollar of that lightly. In an economy where folks are scraping to get by, sending $7 is more than just a donation, it’s an act of faith. It means someone looked at the way things are going under Trump’s broken economy and decided to believe in something better. I asked if we could match his $7 to show him how far it could go, and because of you, we’ve already turned it into $318.  That’s what people power looks like: folks stepping up for each other, turning seven bucks and a little hope into real fuel for a working-class movement that’s growing every single day. Let’s keep this goodwill going.   If 100 people chip in $7 tonight, we’ll turn our supporter’s last $7 into $700. Every dollar is going toward organizing, outreach, and standing up for working families across North Carolina. We take every contribution seriously because they come from the heart. This campaign is built on grit, sacrifice, and the belief that working people deserve leaders who fight for them. Chip in $7 now and help us keep proving that together, we can outwork and outfight and outlast the MAGA machine. DONATE TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST MAGA EXTREMISM! Sappers clear the way, Airborne all the way! Maj. Richard Ojeda (Ret.) Candidate for Congress, NC-09

Paid for by Ojeda for NC   Ojeda for NC PO Box 35 Aberdeen, NC 28315 United States

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Today in Politics, Bulletin 272. 12/16/25

Ron Filipkowski Dec 16 ∙

… An explosive article in Vanity Fair profiling WH Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has the WH in full circle-the-wagons mode since her quotes about things behind the scenes didn’t exactly paint a pretty picture of some of the people she works with. Despite submitting to 11 interviews and being quoted extensively throughout the article, Wiles lashed out - labeling the whole thing “fake news.” She didn’t deny her quotes were accurate, though.

Here are some key parts from the article:

… She described Russ Vought, architect of Project 2025 and head of OMB as “a right-wing absolute zealot.”

… When asked about one of Elon Musk’s crazy posts on social media, Wiles responded: “I think that’s when he’s microdosing. The challenge with Elon is keeping up with him. He’s an avowed ketamine user. And he sleeps in a sleeping bag in the Executive Office Building in the daytime. And he’s an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person.”

… On Musk eliminating USAID: “I was initially aghast. Because I think anybody that pays attention to govt and has ever paid attention to USAID believed, as I did, that they do very good work. When Elon said, ‘We’re doing this,’ he was already into it. And that’s probably because he knew it would be horrifying to others. But he decided that it was a better approach to shut it down, fire everybody, shut them out, and then go rebuild. Not the way I would do it.”

… She said there still is deep division in the WH economic team about tariffs: “There was a huge disagreement over whether they were a good idea. I said, ‘This is where we’re going to end up. So figure out how you can work into what he’s already thinking.’ Well, they couldn’t get there.” She said the tariffs have “been more painful than I expected.”

… On AG Pam Bondi giving Epstein binders to right-wing influencers: “I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this. First she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.”

… “The people that really appreciated what a big deal this is are Kash and Dan Bongino. Because they lived in that world. And VP Vance, who’s been a conspiracy theorist for a decade.”

… Wiles claimed that neither she nor Trump had anything to do with Ghislaine Maxwell getting transferred to a Club Fed after she cooperated with Dep. AG Todd Blanche: “The president was ticked. The president was mighty unhappy. I don’t know why they moved her. Neither does the president.”

… She revealed that Trump’s Venezuela policy isn’t really about drugs: “He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.”

… Wiles was asked about Vance and Rubio being harsh critics of Trump in 2016, then completely reversing themselves: “Marco was not the sort of person that would violate his principles. He just won’t. And so he had to get there.” But she said Vance has more cynical motivations: “His conversion came when he was running for the Senate. And I think his conversion was a little bit more, sort of political.”

… On Trump falling asleep in meetings: “He’s not asleep. He’s got his eyes closed and his head leaned back.”

… On Trump verbally abusing female reports, and specifically his ‘Quiet Piggy!’ comment, she blamed the victims: “He’s a counterpuncher. And increasingly, in our society, the punchers are women.”

… Wiles then responded to the article by making her first social media post in over a year. Her last post was before the 2024 election: “The article published early this morning is a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, WH staff, and Cabinet in history. Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”

… Every single member of the Cabinet then made social media posts simultaneously supporting Wiles and attacking the reporter and the media generally for committing the crime of printing her words. This is most of them to give you an idea of the propaganda damage control operation they launched as they tried to put out the fire.

… JD Vance was asked about it today. Q - “Susie Wiles referred to you as a ‘conspiracy theorist’ and your transformation into a Trump supporter as ‘an act of political expediency.’ Your response? Vance: Sometimes I am in conspiracy theorist, but I only believe in the conspiracy theories that are true. If any of us have learned a lesson from that Vanity Fair article, I hope it’s that we should be giving fewer interviews to mainstream media outlets.”

… It’s the media’s fault.

… Karoline Leavitt jumped on Fox to try and calm down the cult: “This was unfortunately another attempt at fake news by a reporter who was acting disingenuously and really did take the chief’s words out of context but I think most importantly, the bias of omission was ever present throughout this story. The reporter omitted all of the positive things we said about the President.”

… Punchbowl: Sen. Mark Kelly and Pete Hegseth got into a heated argument during the classified briefing this morning on the boat strikes. Kelly, who was sitting in front row, asked about the operations and Hegseth responded by referencing lawful vs. unlawful orders. (DoD is investigating Kelly over the video he did with other Dems). Kelly interrupted Hegseth as he was going after him for the video, noting his question had nothing to do with that.”

…The Hill: “The Pentagon is escalating its preliminary review into Kelly over his participation in a video where he and other Democrats told US service members to disobey ‘illegal orders.’ Hegseth’s office, along with the DOD’s Office of General Counsel, are ‘escalating’ the review to an ‘official Command Investigation.’ Kelly, who retired from the Navy with the rank of captain, is under investigation for ‘serious allegations of misconduct’.”

… Kelly: “It wasn’t enough for Trump to say I should be hanged. It wasn’t enough for Hegseth to threaten me with a court martial. Now they are threatening everything I fought and served for across 25 years in the US Navy - all because I repeated something every service member is taught.”

… Reuters: “Pete Hegseth says he has no plans to release the full top secret unedited video of the Sept. 2 strike against the suspected drug vessel.”

… As he was walking into a briefing for members of Congress on the strikes, Hegseth said this to reporters: “Of course we’re not going to release a top secret full unedited of that to the general public.”

… He then ran away without taking any questions as they chased after him yelling them out while he ignored them.

… Despite the fact that a clean bill to extend ACA subsidies would pass the House with several Republicans in swing districts joining with Dems, Mike Johnson is determined to block that bill from coming to the floor. NBC: “It’s official - Johnson says he won’t call a vote to extend enhanced subsidies under the ACA, effectively guaranteeing they will expire at the end of this month. That means higher insurance premiums will go into effect for millions of Americans who get coverage through Obamacare next year.”

… Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY): “I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bullshit, and it’s absurd. Everybody has a responsibility to serve their district, to serve their constituents. You know what’s funny? Three-quarters of people on Obamacare are in states Trump won. So maybe, just maybe, everybody should look at this and say, ‘How do we actually fix the health care system?’”

… Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) noted in a committee hearing today that 88% of new ACA subsidy recipients in recent years are in states that Trump won. Now they are all about to see their health insurance premiums spike in 15 days thanks to Republicans.

… Johnson was asked why he failed to get this done: Q - “You guys were out for 2 months during the shutdown. Why has it taken until the end of the year to start addressing these healthcare bills? And what is your message to those who are going to see their premiums rise? Johnson: We have been working steadily producing ideas trying to address this.”

… Q: “Mike Lawler said it was ‘political malpractice’ to not allow a vote on the ACA subsidy extension. What’s your reaction? Johnson: We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.”

… Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) to CNN: “It’s a failure of leadership.”

… Rep. Buddy Carter (D-GA), who is running for Senate, on Fox: Q - “The ACA has never been more popular than it is today. Republicans are losing on this messaging. How do you talk to Americans who say the Republicans don’t have a plan? Carter: You explain it by explaining it’s not working. When the govt has to subsidize a program, that means it’s not working.”

… Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) was asked if Republicans were going to put out a healthcare plan of their own: “We’re treading water. I wouldn’t bet we’re gonna get something done. We’ll see how we do in January.”

… House Maj Whip Steve Scalise was asked on CNBC what a GOP healthcare plan might look like if they ever come up with one: “Car insurance or your homeowners insurance - you turn on the TV, there are commercials with lizards and all kinds of other animals that are selling you options to get lower insurance. You don’t really have that in health insurance. So we want to open up the marketplace - we’re gonna give people options.”

… Sounds legit. Can’t wait.

Reminder that there is no Bulletin on Wednesday because I do my podcast Uncovered where we do a deep dive into the top stories of the week, and then Ask the Editor where I answer 5 of your questions. The questions last week were the best so far overall, and 394,000 people watched the video. If you have a question for tomorrow or would like me to talk more about something, post it in the replies to this Bulletin.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

… The US labor market lost another 41,000 jobs over Oct-Nov. The unemployment rate is now up to 4.6% - the highest it has been in 4 years.

… CNBC host: “It looks like these like 60,000, 50,000 jobs growth numbers are just kind of the new normal, and that’s a pretty interesting fact. When you look just a year ago, you were seeing 200,000 private sector job growth. That’s pretty striking.”

… I wonder what happened?

… Economist Heather Long: “The economy is about people. We talk about %, but keep this in mind: There are nearly 1 million more unemployed people now than in January. The US would have LOST JOBS in the past 6 months if it weren’t for healthcare. This has become the most important chart: ‘Hiring by industry for the past 6 months’. Notice all the industries doing LAYOFFS:

-Professional/biz services
-Financial
-Information
-Transport and warehousing
-Manufacturing
-Wholesale trade
-Mining and logging
-Government

… Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA): “The year before Trump took office, the US averaged +168,000 jobs per month. It added just 119,000 jobs TOTAL in 7 months since Trump’s tariffs began.”

… Treasury Sec Scott Bessent on Fox: Q - “People are stressed out about inflation. What is the admin’s plan to rein in the cost of food and housing? Bessent: People should be stressed because it’s Biden inflation. We are bringing that down. I suspect we are gonna see a substantial drop in inflation in the first 6 months of next year.”

HUH? It's Biden's fault?

… Q - “How is it possible that Democrats are winning the messaging argument on affordability? Bessent: A lot of it is the mainstream media.”

… Mike Johnson was asked about Trump’s post about Rob Reiner: “I don’t do ongoing commentary about everything that’s said from everyone in govt each day. Q - But this is the President of the United States? Johnson: We’re trying to bring down healthcare costs and that’s what we’re focused on.”

… Bessent said he wants to undo the banking regulations that were put in place after abuses caused the last two recessions: “These 2008, 2009, 2010 financial rules were too tight. They hamstrung the American financial system. It was time for a change. We’re gonna be safe, smart, and sound in terms of our deregulation. But we have to take the financial system out of this straitjacket. This substantial increase in private credit which is outside of the regulated banking system - that tells me that the regulated system is too constrained.”

… Bessent misses the good old days of the Savings & Loan Crisis in the late 1980s and the 2007-08 Great Recession.

… Kash Patel and his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins sat down for an interview together with Stephen Miller’s wife Katie on her new podcast to talk about their relationship. The Brown Univ. mass shooter still has not been identified or arrested. There is mass murderer out there somewhere, and Kash is doing podcasts about his girlfriend.

BRAVO CA GOV GAVIN NEWSOM! GOOD NICKNAME: KEYSTONE KASH!

… Gavin Newsom: “There’s a mass shooter still on the loose while Keystone Kash’s defunded FBI can’t catch him. But good to know he’s got time to hop on a taxpayer-funded private jet to record a podcast with his girlfriend.”

… Fox: “Dep FBI Director Dan Bongino will make a decision about his future at the bureau within the next few weeks. The sources deny recent reports that Bongino’s office at the FBI is empty, but they say his departure is a possibility in the near future. Bongino’s tenure at the FBI has come under fire in recent weeks, alongside Director Kash Patel. Earlier this month, a report from an alliance of active-duty and retired FBI personnel portrayed the bureau as directionless under its new leadership.”

… Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) posted this: “They tried to kill Trump. They killed Charlie Kirk. Now they’ve killed Ella Cook. The left wants all of us dead, and there’s no denying it anymore.”

… I’m not sure who “they” is, but they always use that word to describe crimes committed by lone individuals that they want to blame on Dems. Cook is one of the victims in the RI mass shooting, who was the president of the Republican Club on campus. There is no evidence at this time that she was the specific target or what the motive is in that case.

… Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was on Fox last night blaming Biden for the shooting in Australia: “Obama and Biden have a lot to do with this. Dumbass Biden—the biggest dumbass on the planet—withdrew from Afghanistan.”

… Lindsey also looked and sounded drunk again.

… WaPo: “The WH says its ballroom construction must continue for national security reasons. (A presidential emergency bunker has long been below the former East Wing.) This argument comes ahead of a showdown in court this afternoon.” From the WH’s brief to the court: “Any pause in construction, even temporarily, would hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission.”

… CBS: “Construction of the WH’s planned $300 million ballroom is expected to be completed in the summer of 2028, just months before Trump leaves office, according to an environmental assessment prepared by the National Park Service. The assessment finds some shortcomings in the presidential project, mostly stemming from the sheer size of the new structure. The 90,000 square-foot building - nearly double the size of the existing executive mansion.”

… From their report: “This will disrupt the historical continuity of the WH grounds and alter the architectural integrity of the east side of the property. The new building’s larger footprint and height will dominate the eastern portion of the site, creating a visual imbalance with the more modestly scaled West Wing and Executive Mansion. These changes will adversely alter the design, setting, and feeling of the WH and the grounds over the long-term.”

… CBS: “Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced legislation that would subject WH renovations like Trump’s ballroom project to the same reviews as other federal projects. Currently, the WH is exempt from certain oversight under the National Historic Preservation Act. Raskin’s bill would require WH renovations to undergo a so-called ‘Section 106 review,’ a pre-ground breaking assessment that addresses the impact of renovations on historic buildings and allows the public to weigh in.”

… Raskin: “It’s kings who treat public property as private property. It’s not his house; it’s our house. And if there is going to be construction and renovation expansion or changes, that should go through a regular public process.”

… WaPo: “Senior Pentagon officials are preparing a plan to downgrade several of the US military’s major headquarters and shift the balance of power among its top generals, in a major consolidation sought by Pete Hegseth. If adopted, the plan would usher in some of the most significant changes at the military’s highest ranks in decades, in part following through on Hegseth’s promise to break the status quo and slash the number of 4-star generals in the military.”

… Interesting chart of the number of podcast appearances that have been made so far this year from Democrats who have either expressed interest in running for president or rumored to be considering a run.

… New Siena poll on NY Gov race: Kathy Hochul-49%, Elise Stefanik-30%.

… NYT: “Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion over the editing in a documentary about J6. In a 46-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami, Trump accused the BBC of defaming him and violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.”

… Puck: “Early numbers for Bari Weiss’s Erika Kirk town hall ain’t great… 1.5 million. That’s comparable to an average CNN town hall and down considerably from the Army-Navy game (7.3m) and post game (3.5m) that preceded it. YouTube views around 100k.”

… That’s despite the fact that The New CBS hyped it in promos like it was the Super Bowl.

… Love is in the air this holiday season for MAGA. Real America’s Voice WH correspondent Brian Glenn announced his engagement to Rep. Marge Greene, and will move to GA with her and no longer cover the WH.

… Donald Trump, Jr. announced his engagement to Bettina Anderson after his former fiancee Kim Gulfoyle was shipped off to Greece as US Ambassador. Daily Beast: “Trump Jr and Anderson began their whirlwind romance more than a year ago. But before that, the Palm Beach socialite and model reportedly tried to use him to get closer to Elon Musk, who at the time was a trusted adviser of Trump.”

… A friend of Anderson’s: “She told me she wanted to have one of Elon’s babies and she thought going after Don Jr would help her get close to Elon. She told several of us this was her ultimate goal.”

… But that didn’t work out, so Bettina had to settle for Junior. Here is the happy couple after their engagement announcement.

Coal miners are getting black lung. Trump doesn’t care.

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Donald Trump loves to talk about how much he supports the coal industry. But he doesn’t love the coal miners who have kept this industry running. Across the country, miners are contracting black lung at younger and younger ages. Some regions are seeing rates as high as one in five workers! This disease is debilitating. It is deadly. And miners have begged the federal government to keep strong protections in place. But instead of protecting them, the Trump Administration is now considering rolling back black lung protections that miners themselves have begged them to keep in place. This is unacceptable! Will you chip in today to help SEEC Members fight these rollbacks and stand up for the miners whose lives are on the line? DONATE $10 » Trump’s effort to prop up a dying industry is coming at the expense of the very workers who have paid the price. He is willing to sacrifice people for profit. He is willing to put miners who have already spent decades in dangerous conditions at even greater risk. This is about worker’s rights and environmental justice. These miners have worked in unsafe and dangerous working conditions for generations. Weakening protections for them now will only worsen the harms they’ve already had to endure. SEEC Members are speaking out because these workers deserve protection! Will you chip in today to help us fight back and safeguard these protections for miners? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately  $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 Other - SEEC PAC

Thanks to your help in 2024, SEEC PAC was able to re-elect over 95% of our pro-environment members to the U.S. House of Representatives — defying the odds on a night where Democrats lost seats. Now we are counting on you to help our SEEC members pass climate, clean energy and environmental justice policies in the 119th Congress while we continue fighting for a sustainable future.    DONATE TODAY The Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Political Action Committee (SEEC PAC) is an organization that supports members in the U.S. House of Representatives and candidates who fight for clean energy, climate change solutions, environmental justice, and protection of our nation’s clean air, water, wildlife, and public lands. Will you make a donation to our fight today?   Paid for and authorized by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Political Action Committee 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Washington, DC 20003 United States

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Watch now

MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 12/16/25 [AD-FREE]

Watch the latest episode ad-free on the Meidas+ Substack

Brett Meiselas, Ben Meiselas, Jordy Meiselas, and MeidasTouch Network Dec 16 ∙

The latest episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast is now available ad-free exclusively for Meidas+ Substack paid subscribers. To support ad-free episodes like this, please consider joining as a paid subscriber today!

You can also listen to the episode free on podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts or Spotify:

MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 12/16/25 The MeidasTouch Podcast 1:30:36

MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 12/16/25 MeidasTouch Network Episode

The MeidasTouch Podcast returns after a weekend marked by profound tragedy, as we confront a series of devastating events including a shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, a shooting at Brown University, an ambush of U.S. soldiers in Syria, and the murder of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner. In this episode, we examine Donald Trump’s horrific and disgraceful attacks on Reiner in the aftermath of the killing and his reckless blame-shifting in response to the violence at Brown. We also provide updates on Europe sounding the alarm against the Trump regime, place these events in their broader global and political context, and break down what they reveal about leadership, responsibility, and the stakes facing democracy right now. Ben, Brett, and Jordy discuss all this and more.

Remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.