by Steve Benen | Nov 2, 2026 | 2026 election, elections, Maddowblog, White House
Donald Trump’s monthslong crusade against Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed has been ugly in indefensible ways, but at a Friday night rally in Florida, the president pursued a new line of attack against the Michigan Democrat.
In a message delivered to Black voters whom Trump sees as supporters, the Republican said of El-Sayed, “I hope you’re going to vote against him and send him back to where he came from.”
Trump on El-Sayed: I hope you send him back to where he came from. pic.twitter.com/ko7q2rrUf2— Acyn (@Acyn) October 31, 2026
For many years, “go back to where you came from” was the kind of bigoted cliché one might expect to hear from the angry drunk at the end of the bar. In recent years, however, the overt racism has been embraced publicly by the sitting president of the United States.
But the problem isn’t simply the jingoistic nativism. It’s also the fact that El-Sayed isn’t an immigrant. The Democratic Senate candidate was born in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
No one can send El-Sayed “back to where he came from,” because he already lives in Michigan — which is where he came from.
What’s more, if this sounds at all familiar, it’s not your imagination. Six years ago, four progressive Democratic congresswomen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — voted against a border bill that they deemed too conservative, despite support from Democratic leaders.
Soon after, in an act of performative racism, Trump used his social platform to call on the four progressive lawmakers to “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places
by Steve Benen | Oct 5, 2026 | Maddowblog
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest in a series of deadly boat strikes: “The U.S. military said it attacked a boat suspected of being used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, killing four people, as the Trump administration continues its yearlong campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.”
* The ongoing campaign against the free press: “The White House blocked Politico from accessing Air Force One on Monday, leaving the news outlet unable to fulfill its pool responsibilities as President Donald Trump travels to Nebraska, a Politico spokesperson confirmed to MS NOW.”
* This is a story worth watching: “The United States rushed over the weekend to withdraw all 12 B-1 Air Force bombers from an air base in southern England after commanders received new threats about an Iran-backed plot against the installation, two U.S. officials said on Sunday. The withdrawal was highly unusual: Such moves are rarely made so quickly from an allied air base in a peacetime country thousands of miles from a combat zone.”
* A lawsuit that’s likely to prove consequential: “The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit on Thursday in Federal District Court in Washington, accusing the Defense Department of trying to disenfranchise overseas voters by altering a form used to register to vote and request mail ballots.”
* Given the circumstances, it’s tough to know in situations like these whether the scrutiny has merit or whether a hyperpoliticized Department of Justice is targeting a White House critic: “Sen. Ruben Gallego’s leadership PAC has been subpoenaed as part of a federal investigation into the Arizona Democrat’s use of campaign cash to fund a luxurious lifestyle,
by Steve Benen | Oct 5, 2026 | Maddowblog, Media, White House
Donald Trump spent the last month or so insisting that there were no empty seats at his recent midterm convention in Dallas. As recently as last week, long after most political observers had completely lost interest in the meaningless Republican gathering, the president continued to claim the event had extraordinary attendance — despite the fact that those who were actually in the arena saw, and in many instances documented, all kinds of empty seats.
The rhetoric was pitiful, but there’s little this guy cares more about than crowd size.
Now, as Trump has held campaign rallies in red states in recent days, turnout for the unpopular president can be charitably described as underwhelming. In fact, The New York Times reported after an event in Alabama, “These days, Mr. Trump is in political trouble, even with members of his famously loyal base. The indoor arena that he spoke at on Friday was a fraction of the size of the football stadium he once spoke in — security concerns are such that he rarely speaks in outdoor venues anymore — and still the place was not full. Some upper sections were almost completely empty.”
It wasn’t just Alabama. Plenty of empty seats were visible at Republican gatherings in Ohio and Oklahoma, as plenty of reporters in attendance for the event were able to document.
Trump didn’t take it well. He published this rant to his social media platform on Monday afternoon:
The Ohio Arena was already full to the brim — And yet these people were still trying to get in. The New York Times said, “There were empty seats” when, in fact, there were none, and
by Steve Benen | Oct 5, 2026 | Congress, Maddowblog, White House
Throughout American history, officials have recognized that Congress has what’s known as “the power of the purse.” In our constitutional system, it’s lawmakers who have the sole authority to dictate government spending. It’s designed this way for a reason: As the editorial board of The New York Times explained last fall, “Money is power, and the founders of this country feared that a president would turn into a monarch if he alone could dictate how the government uses the federal Treasury.”
It’s a model that Donald Trump has never been altogether comfortable with. Indeed, Russell Vought, who leads the president’s White House budget office, made clear during his Senate confirmation hearings early last year that he believes in an executive branch that has vast powers when it comes to federal spending.
He clearly meant what he said. Consider three examples that emerged over the course of a week.
On Friday, Sept. 25, the White House decided unilaterally to cut nearly $1 billion in domestic spending appropriated by Congress, executing a tactic known as a “pocket rescission.” Days later, the Government Accountability Office reaffirmed its stance that this is illegal, and Team Trump said it didn’t care.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the Trump administration redirected tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from European and Middle Eastern countries to reward conservative governments in Latin America.
As The Washington Post reported, the State Department notified Congress of its intention to do so last month, at which point the top Democrats on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees placed a hold on the diversion of funds. Last week, the administration decided it would proceed with
by Steve Benen | Oct 5, 2026 | Congress, elections, Maddowblog
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, Ken Paxton might be the state attorney general, but the scandal-plagued Republican recently complained about party operatives from Washington running his campaign operation.
“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming — you know — from D.C.,” Paxton said during a small fundraising event last month, according to an audio recording obtained by Politico. The candidate added, “I don’t control message or what we’re doing.”
NEW in @playbookdc: Ken Paxton in leaked audio vents over his campaign being run by DC:“I don’t control message or what we’re doing”“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign…it’s all coming — you know — from DC” pic.twitter.com/mnpUWMm6Y2— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) October 5, 2026
A campaign spokesperson confirmed the validity of the recording but said Paxton was referring to the disconnect between his campaign operation and super PACs. Given the context and his choice of words, that explanation is tough to accept at face value.
As for the state of the race, the latest Fox News poll showed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leading Paxton among likely voters, 51% to 49%, while the latest New York Times/Siena University poll found Talarico ahead, 51% to 45%.
* In Kansas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, the Democratic nominee, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, continues to pick up support from prominent former Republican officials in the state. The latest is former Gov. Mike Hayden, who threw his support behind Hamilton in an
by Steve Benen | Oct 5, 2026 | Maddowblog, White House, World, World News
When it comes to U.S. ambassadors, Donald Trump has two broad problems. The first is that the president hasn’t nominated enough people to serve in key diplomatic posts.
This isn’t due to a sclerotic Senate struggling to confirm nominees; rather, there are vacancies because the White House hasn’t bothered to nominate anyone. Even in the midst of international turmoil, the United States doesn’t have ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Iraq or even Venezuela, among many other countries.
But the other part of the problem is just as notable: In too many instances, where there are Senate-confirmed ambassadors, their tenures are not going well. The Wall Street Journal reported:
The top Democrats on the Senate and House foreign affairs committees urged the State Department to review the conduct of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, citing a Wall Street Journal investigation into her efforts to promote gas deals with a Greek company across southeastern Europe.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described concerns in a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Guilfoyle’s “inappropriate uses of an official position,” including her inclusion of a registered lobbyist in meetings with foreign officials and her promotion of one of the lobbyist’s Greek clients and its joint venture with a Greek state-backed company.
It was two weeks ago when the Journal first reported on Guilfoyle, a former Fox News contributor who is also Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée, and her controversial tenure in Greece. Among the most problematic elements of her work has been Guilfoyle bringing lobbyist Christos Marafatsos to so many official meetings “that some
