by Jacques Berlinerblau | Jul 25, 2026 | Opinion, Politics, White House
Friday night’s redo of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had three things in common with April’s doomed event, which was cut short after the intrusion of a gunman identified by authorities as Cole Tomas Allen. The first was a beaming President Donald Trump, delighted to be holding court among the journalists whom he habitually abuses, insults and subpoenas. The second was the presence of the aforementioned journalists, who in their gowns and tuxedos looked like runway models in a Stockholm syndrome-themed fashion show. And the third was the absence of a comedian entrusted with making jokes about the leader of the free world.
Roasting the commander in chief was once a venerable WHCA tradition. But like so many American institutions subjected to a MAGA stare-down or shakedown, the organization abandoned its principles.
Roasting the commander-in-chief was once a venerable WHCA tradition.
In 2025, the WHCA disinvited comedian Amber Ruffin, presumably because her barbs might have scratched the president’s thin skin. This year, the WHCA didn’t invite a comedian at all. With professional comics absent from the dais, roast master Donald was poised to fill the void.
In the lead-up to the April event, Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, mentioned that he was working with joke writers to hone his act (though she insinuated that he didn’t really need their help because he’s so darn funny on his own). Hours before the spring gathering, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt gleefully brayed that “there will be some shots fired tonight.” Then actual shots were fired. Afterward, the president sighed, “I was all set to really rip it.” “I said to my people,” he continued to
by Steve Benen | Jul 24, 2026 | Congress, Maddowblog, News, Politics, White House
There’s one word Donald Trump clearly doesn’t like to hear: “No.” And yet, it’s precisely what Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forced to tell the president quite a bit over the past year or so — not because the South Dakota Republican necessarily disagrees with the White House’s agenda, but because Thune hasn’t had the votes to give Trump everything he wants.
One GOP senator, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics, told MS NOW last month that Trump and Thune “have an awkward relationship.” The lawmaker added, “It’s awkward for everybody.”
This is especially true of the president’s top legislative priority, a sweeping voter suppression package he has labeled the SAVE America Act that Republicans have already conceded they can’t pass. Trump, apparently furious by Congress’ inability to meet his demands, has increasingly turned against his own party’s Senate leader.
During a campaign-style event in Georgia this week, the president told supporters, “[House Speaker] Mike Johnson and Congress have done a great job, but we’re having a hard time in the Senate. The Senate, what they’re doing, it’s just not right.” The Republican added, “It’s like the Senate is where you send things you want them to die. We’re not going to be able to take it much longer.”
He didn’t elaborate as to what would happen after he’s no longer content to “take it,” though Trump specifically told attendees to “call John Thune” and demand that the GOP-led Senate pass the president’s anti-voting legislation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the message during Thursday’s briefing.
Leavitt on Trump’s views on Thune: “His patience is running out”— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-23T15:46:36.874Z
Asked
by Steve Benen | Jul 23, 2026 | Iran, Iran Tensions, Maddowblog, News, Politics
During a brief Q&A with reporters on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump was reminded that most Americans oppose the war in Iran. The president immediately pushed back against the assertion.
Q: Americans are firmly against this war—TRUMP: Well, Americans aren’t against the war. A poll just came out. Americans don’t want high gasoline prices, but they’re not against the war. That just came out loud and clear in a poll.— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-22T13:54:36.364Z
“Well, Americans aren’t against the war,” he said. “A poll just came out: Americans don’t want high gasoline prices, but they’re not against the war. That just came out, loud and clear, in a poll.”
Trump has spent much of his political career referring to survey data that exists only in his imagination — up to and including making up approval ratings for himself, citing data that he thinks ought to exist. So when the president told reporters about a poll that “just came out,” he didn’t elaborate, probably because he was making stuff up again.
To the extent that reality matters, plenty of polls show just how wrong the Republican is about public attitudes toward the ongoing military operations.
Last week, for example, the latest Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that 68% of Americans believe the war was not worth fighting. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were also unpopular, but according to previous Washington Post polls, public opposition to the current war in Iran is even worse than attitudes toward those other recent conflicts.
Similarly, the latest Fox News poll found 66% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of U.S. policy toward Iran.
It’s possible the president discards such data because the surveys
by Steve Benen | Jul 23, 2026 | Iran, Iran Tensions, Maddowblog, News, Politics
When it comes to U.S. service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice during the Iran war, Donald Trump has struggled to know what to say — and how to say it.
In early March, for example, the day after he launched combat operations, the president posted a prerecorded video to social media in which he tried to comment on the deaths of U.S. troops. “Sadly, there will likely be more,” Trump said. Appearing to break from the text on his teleprompter, he added, “Before it ends, that’s the way it is.”
A few days later, Time magazine asked the president whether Americans should be worried about possible retaliatory attacks from Iran. “I guess,” Trump replied. By the end of the first week of the war, the president had attended the dignified transfer of six fallen U.S. service members as they were returned home, but he defied American tradition and wore a baseball cap as caskets were carried from the plane.
The image that came into focus was a leader who appeared to be approaching his responsibilities with an unmistakable mix of disrespect and a blasé attitude about developments that he should have taken with a sobriety that he just couldn’t muster.
This week, as the U.S. death toll reached 18, the Republican appeared to use his social media platform to suggest that the total number of fatalities wasn’t that bad because other modern wars were even deadlier. On Wednesday morning, he again traveled to Dover Air Force Base to attend another dignified transfer (he didn’t wear a hat this time), but before departing for the event, the president spent a couple of minutes
by Steve Benen | Jul 22, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
In early June, when Donald Trump announced that he wanted Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to succeed Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence, it seemed easy to imagine congressional Democrats pushing back against the nomination in a serious way.
After all, not only does Clayton fail to meet the statutory qualifications for the position, but he’s also spent recent months targeting the president’s political opponents and defending absurdities such as the administration’s defunct $1.766 billion compensation fund.
But almost immediately, Democrats largely had the opposite reaction. Relieved to see Gabbard go, many key Democratic officials said they saw Clayton as a credible figure who would likely garner bipartisan support.
So much for that idea.
On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced that the panel had voted, 9-8, to advance Clayton’s nomination to the floor for a confirmation vote. (Because the Intelligence Committee often operates under secrecy, the vote was held behind closed doors.) The New York Times and Politico separately confirmed that Clayton received unanimous support from the panel’s GOP majority and unanimous opposition from the Democratic minority.
So what happened? What did Clayton do to alienate Democratic members who, just one month ago, were otherwise inclined to support his nomination? As it turns out, we know the answer: His confirmation hearing changed everything. MS NOW’s David Rohde reported last week:
Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, appeared to speak to an audience of one in his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. That person was not one of the Republican or
by Steve Benen | Jul 22, 2026 | 2026 election, Maddowblog, News, Politics
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had already earned a reputation as the most scandal-plagued U.S. Senate candidate in recent memory, though the Republican’s troubles have managed to take a turn for the worse.
Just over the last couple of weeks, Paxton has been accused of using an address where he did not live while voting in recent elections and faced allegations that he and his estranged wife declared three separate homes as their primary residence in mortgage documents — a practice that his party has, in other situations, characterized as an outrageous abuse.
Complicating matters, property records now suggest the state attorney general, either in his personal capacity or through his trusts, now owns at least 15 properties worth roughly $9 million.
The good news is, Paxton finally held a press conference Tuesday — a “rare” occurrence for a politician who doesn’t seem to care for questions — offering journalists an opportunity to ask the Texan about his many controversies. The bad news is, Paxton didn’t want to answer any questions about his many controversies, and he then abruptly abandoned his own event when reporters treated him like a Senate candidate.
Wow — Ken Paxton and his team abruptly shut down a news conference and bail after journalists try to ask him about his various scandals— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-21T18:41:31.642Z
“General, I wanted to give you a chance to respond to [Democratic state Rep. James Talarico] and his campaign,” one reporter said. “They’ve made a lot about the reports that have come out, one in The New York Times about you acquiring properties worth—”
At that point, Paxton, surrounded by 22 local sheriffs who support his
