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… Trump had a nasty exchange with NBC reporter Monica Alba outside the WH today about his enthusiastic endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy’s repulsive ad against Amy Acton, his opponent on the OH governor’s race. This is what Trump told his supporters at a rally last night in Iowa:
“The mother is calling the daughter a terrible person and a liar. Why would you shield somebody from that? Why would we do that? So I told him, leave it up and say, ‘Thank you, God.’ I only wish I could have had an ad like that.”
… That prompted this exchange between Trump and Alba today:
Q - "Now that you know the backstory about Amy Acton and her stepfather and why she hasn't talked to her mom for so long, her stepfather was indicted for rape, now that you know all that, sir, do you change your mind about the ad? Trump: No, no. It's a mother speaking badly about Amy Acton. And to me it's very easy."
Q - "But they haven't talked for 50 years— Trump: I don't care.
Q - “But her mother stood by her after her husband had raped— Trump: Look, you don't know that. You don't know that. You don't know anything. Her mother stood by, didn't stand by. Her mother went on television and said that the daughter who's running for governor of OH is a liar and a bad person. That's all I know. Why wouldn’t you listen to a mother that says that?”
Alba: “She stayed with a stepfather who was charged with raping his stepdaughter in 1978, sir. Trump: You just keep talking. Alba: I am answering you, sir. Trump: I don’t know anything about stepfathers.”
Alba: “Many Republicans have denounced the ad. Trump: They don't know the facts. Why shouldn't somebody use that? Alba: Do the sexual abuse allegations mean nothing to you? Trump: Wait, wait, wait, wait, slow down. Who are you with?"
Alba: "I'm with NBC. Trump: One of the worst networks."
Alba: "There are very serious sexual abuse allegations. Trump: Quiet!"
Alba: "They make no difference to you? Trump: You're a horrible little reporter, aren't you?"
… Walks away.
… Vivek Ramaswamy also defended the ad again today:
"We ran an ad about lying. They are lying about an ad that is about lying. That is the truth of the matter. It had nothing to do with childhood abuse, which I will be the number one governor to prosecute."
“In politics, sometimes it’s a tough sport and you point out where you think your opponents are flawed.”
… She’s flawed for getting sexually abused by her stepfather or flawed for reporting it? Because reporting it was what upset her mother, who believed her twice-accused husband over her own daughter. And that’s why she made the ad. Plus most likely a few bucks from Ramaswamy.
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… Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “It’s tempting to say that Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad deploying the estranged mother of his opponent in the Ohio governor’s race is the worst sort of ends-justify-the-means politics. But the ends, in this case, are likely to be an even more pronounced rejection of Ramaswamy at the polls next month. The spot isn’t just bad taste, it’s bad politics.
… What the ad represents, rather, is an opening salvo in the post-midterms fight for the Republican Party’s future. It’s a battle that will accelerate next year but may not culminate until the 2030s. Put simply, what sort of party does the GOP want to be - and what will the market bear?
… Ramaswamy’s bet is that Trump has fundamentally transformed politics and the old rules no longer apply. Count me as skeptical - and not just because Ramaswamy is loathsome, his conduct appalling and the spot an act of self-sabotage once people learn the facts. But here’s the question: Can anybody besides Trump pull off this sort of low-down stunt?
… The body of evidence may be limited, but it’s fairly conclusive: Trump is singular, and his imitators have scant appeal with voters. There’s only one Trump, and if you don’t have Friars Club-level talent, well, you’re Ramaswamy. Or Kari Lake. The list goes on, and they’re all winless.
… A Trump party without Trump is a minority party. MAGA has always been a minoritarian movement - Trump just benefited from great timing and his opposition. Most Republicans, privately at least, have grasped this. Perhaps Ramaswamy’s defeat will drive it home, delivering yet more education in the 17th kick of the mule.”
… Kyiv Independent: “WSJ reported that Trump had ordered Elon Musk on Oct. 21 to lift the restrictions on Ukraine’s Starshield terminals, claiming Trump was ‘frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped at around 100 miles an hour’, another indication that Musk has far more control over the military version of the Starlink satellite internet service than previously believed.
… In remarks to reporters, Trump refused to confirm or deny ordering Musk to restore Ukraine’s service, but claimed Musk had made the change. ‘Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference. The bottom line, he put it back.’
… Ukraine’s Starshield terminals were still experiencing severe problems on Oct. 23, raising questions as to whether the US govt is actually in control of a piece of vital national security infrastructure, or whether, as multiple American government officials have claimed, control ultimately rests with Musk and SpaceX.”
… A senior Ukrainian official: “Overall, there’s no change anywhere. Starshield still doesn’t work.”
… Trump was asked about it again today:
Q - “Have you told Elon Musk to stop messing around with Ukraine's Starlink connection? Trump: I have not spoken to him. I might have to, but I have not. I've heard it was fixed. But if it's not, I'll speak to him."
Q: “You must know now who ordered the Starlink access in Ukraine to be restricted. Who was it? Trump: Well, I wouldn’t tell you if I did know. I have no idea.”
Q: “Do you think it's right for the richest man in the world to have so much power over what goes on in a war between Russia and Ukraine? Trump: Well, I don't think he does. First of all, he's a very good person. He's not gonna do anything wrong. Elon will never do anything wrong.”
… Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC):
“The shifting explanations from Musk and the admin sound like Abbott and Costello’s ‘Who’s on First?’ Except the consequences for Ukrainian civilians are deadly. Musk says he didn’t do it. The admin says it didn’t either. Yet someone in the admin reportedly told Musk to undo it, and Ukraine reports only partial restoration.
Are we supposed to believe Hegseth and the Pentagon don’t know the status of a capability critical to US, Ukrainian and allied security? Whoever is handing Putin the gift of a more vulnerable Ukraine should at least have the guts to put their name on it. Hiding behind denials while innocent people pay the price is cowardice.
Meanwhile, Putin keeps murdering civilians and trying to starve and freeze Ukraine into submission. Americans deserve answers. Ukrainians deserve the means to defend themselves.”
… Hillary Clinton said she thinks there are 3 reasons why Trump has gone all-in on Russia:
“He remains enamored with strong male leaders who can do whatever they want - including killing their opponents. He wants to be an authoritarian dictator.”
“He is desperate to make more money by making more deals with Russia, along with his family and close associates. Oil and gas deals. Critical minerals deals. It’s also about carving up Ukrainian assets. Follow the money.”
“I continue to believe that Putin has things on Trump - photos, videos, whatever it might be. Look how strongly Trump has fought against release of the Epstein files. When we finally see all the Epstein files I think even people who supported Trump are going to be shocked by what is shows about Trump.”
After a series of really, really long Bulletins this week we finally have one that is a little shorter. Although there were some very important news items, there just wasn’t quite the same volume as the previous days. I’m not complaining.
Reminder that I’m off Saturdays, so the next one will be out on Sunday night recapping the entire weekend. We are going to a couple of fall festivals tomorrow in southeast Maine before we gear up for the big Halloween festivities in our neighborhood next week. The decorations are already completely out of control.
Thank you to all who read, share and subscribe. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… WaPo: “Elon Musk has adopted a war posture in response to looming threats of congressional investigations: If Democrats win control of Congress in next month’s midterm elections, Musk has signaled he is bracing for a fight. Musk’s battle-ready stance comes as a host of Democrats have said they are eager to wield the power of their office to investigate the world’s richest person should they win either chamber in the midterms.
… As Republicans’ election prospects have soured, lawmakers are building momentum for probes looking into the tech mogul, his companies or the work DOGE, which Musk oversaw and which was instrumental in dismantling the USAID.”
… Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, said he would lead the investigation of Musk in the Senate if
Democrats win: “The American people have a right to know the cost, the consequences and the chaos resulting from DOGE and what he may be concealing. There is a web of potential corruption here that needs to be explored.”
… Bloomberg: “With a fresh infusion of cash to his Super PAC in the first two weeks of October, Elon Musk has now given more than $445 million in the current election cycle.”
… Semafor reporter Dave Weigel: “The total amount spent by Republicans on trans-themed ads in 2024 was around $215 million. By next month I bet that much has been spent on trans-themed ads in Texas alone.”
… Republicans supporting Ken Paxton in Texas have spent $78 million so far on anti-trans ads attacking James Talarico, per AdImpact data. Most of that is coming from Elon Musk’s PAC.
… AP: “The Trump admin has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate race in AK if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot, kicking off what many have feared could become a lengthy battle between the US govt and states over certifying an election where the president’s party is struggling.
… Many in both parties believe the fight over control of the Senate could come down to AK, where Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. Also on the AK ballot is a Daniel J. Sullivan from the tiny fishing community of Petersburg. He has said he decided to run on his own, but Republicans have contended he is a Democratic plant to siphon votes away from their candidate.
… The lawsuit by DOJ in federal court in AK demands that the state be blocked from certifying a Peltola win if Daniel J. remains on the ballot. The legal challenge came 11 days before the Nov. 3 election and months after the final ballot was set.
… The AK Supreme Court rejected a previous Republican effort to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot, and the state’s Republican officials made the decisions about how to list him on the ballot. He will appear without a party designation next to his name, while the senator will be listed as the Republican incumbent. AK’s ranked choice voting system also will allow voters to select both of the men if confused.”
… Trump was asked about it today: Q - “Any thoughts on the Alaska lawsuit? Trump: I'm the one that said do it. They have two Dan Sullivans.”
… Cook Political: “Republicans’ path to keeping control of the House has all but evaporated. The outstanding question is how large Democrats’ majority will be in 2027; in the best-case scenario, their party could enter the new Congress with more seats than they had after successfully flipping control of the House in 2006 and 2018.
… As a result of new polling and ad spending, we’re moving another 19 races in Democrats’ direction. 6 districts - 4 of which are held by Republican incumbents - are moving from the Toss Up column to Lean Democrat. Two more open seats are moving from Lean Republican to Toss Up.
… Following this latest round of ratings changes, Democrats now are favored outright in the 218 seats they need to win control of the House. In other words, 220 seats are rated either Solid, Likely or Lean Democrat. Republicans, meanwhile, are favored in 198 seats, rated Solid, Likely, or Lean Republican. That leaves 17 races rated as pure Toss Ups.
… We view the likeliest outcome as Democrats flipping between 12 and 22 seats.”
… WaPo: “With just 11 days until the midterm election, Texas Dems have a chance to win two key congressional seats in districts that Trump won by 10 points in 2024, a new WaPo poll finds. Exasperated by the high cost of living and a deportation agenda that a majority says has gone ‘too far,’ voters in one of the S. TX districts surveyed appear closely divided; in the other, they lean toward the Democrat.
… Democrats had invested very little in the 35th District, which covers the suburbs and exurbs south and east of San Antonio, because the party assumed it had no chance of winning after the Republican-controlled state legislature gerrymandered it earlier this year. The new poll, however, shows the race is extremely close between Republican Carlos De La Cruz and Democrat Johnny Garcia, both political newcomers.
… In the nearby 34th District, which runs along the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D) holds a 50-43% edge over Republican Eric Flores. The Cook Political report now lists the 34th District as leaning toward the Democrats.
… Hispanic voters are a key group in both districts, making up about two-thirds of likely voters in the 34th District and about 4 in 10 likely voters in the 35th. Both races test whether Republican redistricting efforts will backfire, especially with Hispanics, who feel underwhelmed by Trump’s policy agenda and the state of the economy.
… Republicans redistricted the state earlier this year and drew lines on the assumption that Hispanic voters would continue to back their party at levels near Trump’s support in the presidential election. That bet appears to have gone sour, leaving the party at risk, the new poll indicates.”
… MI Democratic senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on his opponent Mike Rogers: “We had a little debate. Or I had a debate and he just pointed at me and said, ‘He’s Muslim.’”
… Trump’s IA rally was another bizarre one, with the sycophancy off the charts from the warmup speakers he was there to support and Trump making weird and crazy faces and noises in the middle of sentences as he continues to sink deeper into dementia:
GOP congressional nominee Joe Mitchell: “Thank God, you’re building the ballroom. Thank God you're getting rid of those awful bike lanes, by the way. We don't ride bicycles in IA. We ride Harley-Davidsons. Isn’t that true?”
… Iowa hosts RAGBRAI, the world's largest multi-day bike tour since 1973 with thousands of riders yearly. Iowa also has extensive bike trails and lanes. The bike tour actually runs through the district that Mitchell is running in.
“And they’ve never given you the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way, which is a disgrace. So, what I came up with, Mr. President, is a new award. It’s called the Man of the Century award, OK?”
… Semafor’s Josh Billinson: “No one has ever won both the FIFA Peace Prize and the Citizens of Iowa Man Of The Century award in the same year.”
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GOP senate nominee Ashley Hinson: "This one really really ticked me off. Josh Turek thinks it's okay to go school and have the kids be able to change their gender pronouns at school and not tell the parents about it. That is just crazy, right?"
… Then Trump took the podium:
“I actually called up Sundar from Google. You get it on Google, it's done, I actually sent him a picture of the Atlantic Ocean and called it the American Ocean, and he actually called me and he said, ‘Look, sir, this has to stop.’”
“If the Democrats win, you will have a 1929, and I hope they don’t win. You’re going to have a depression.”
“You have to go to MIT to turn on a lawn mower now.”
"Turek voted to allow schools to turn your kids transgender without informing the parents."
… Nothing like that ever happened.
… Then Trump blurted out another weird noise while talking about Abdul El-Sayed. You can watch it here because it’s hard to describe.
… He later stopped mid-sentence and make a weird face for no apparent reason. A clip of that is here.
… NYT: “DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski over accusations that he profited from his role as a top adviser to DHS. The inquiry, one of the rare instances in which an ally or appointee of Trump’s has been investigated for potential wrongdoing during his second term, was initiated in response to a referral from DHS’s inspector general.
… It was not immediately clear what actions were under investigation. Trump told reporters at the WH that he had heard about the investigation but did not know the details. He did not, however, offer words of support or even consolation to his longtime ally. He added that he viewed the potential theft of public funds as a personal affront.”
“I want my people to be honest, and if they are not going to be honest they have to be prosecuted. If people are not honest, they’re stealing from me.”
… What he’s really mad about is Lewandowski did it behind his back and didn’t cut him in for a piece of the action on his many grifts.
… The New Republic: “The parents of lowa lieutenant governor nominee Derek Wulf allege that he stopped paying rent two years ago on the farmland he rented out from them. A court petition demands repayment and also accuses him of lying about his assets in financial documents to a lender.
… While Wulf has yet to comment, his Trump–endorsed running mate, gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn, denied that Wulf owes his parents any money at all—and insinuated that the conflict was spurred by the poor health of Wulf’s father. Wulf’s parents rejected that, calling the claim ‘categorically false.’
… Duane and Jackie Wulf, 83 and 82 years old respectively, join a long list of creditors demanding repayment from the Republican candidate. 8 people and companies have sued Wulf and his company, Shallow Creek Land & Livestock, since 2023 for payments owed to them. All but one of the lawsuits have been settled. That one is from the WCF Financial Bank, which claims that Wulf is over a year behind on credit payments.
… Wulf is a 45-year-old man with a wife and two children running for lieutenant governor. These financial issues are not only embarrassing but raise alarming questions about how he might abuse a position in office. Hopefully, IA will never have to find out. Polls show that he and Lahn are currently trailing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand by about 11 points—in a state Trump won by 13 points two years ago.”
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