by Steve Benen | Jul 9, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
With four months remaining before Election Day 2026, several prominent members of the Trump administration are focusing on fraud in social insurance programs, apparently convinced that Democrats are somehow vulnerable on the issue. JD Vance, who’s leading a White House task force on the issue, has been especially outspoken on this lately, peddling a variety of highly dubious claims.
To that end, the vice president this week took his message to Wisconsin, where he tried to make the case that previous generations of Americans “would not recognize” contemporary Democrats.
JD Vance: “I ask you a very simple question: When you come to vote in November, are you gonna vote for the pro-fraud party? Are you gonna vote for the party that is sending your tax dollars to the fraudsters?”— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-07-08T18:23:25.657Z
“They would not recognize a party that rewards the fraudsters rather than sending them to prison,” the Ohio Republican said. “So, I ask you a very simple question: When you come to vote in November, are you going to vote for the pro-fraud party?”
At this point, I could write a few paragraphs to remind readers that it was Trump who launched a fraudulent “university” that led him to pay a steep out-of-court settlement, who oversaw a fraudulent charitable foundation and had to pay $2 million in court-ordered damages, and who ran a family business that was found to have engaged in systemic fraud.
It’s also tempting to remind the vice president that just five days before he delivered a speech about “the pro-fraud party” and “a party that rewards the fraudsters rather than sending them to prison,” Trump pardoned a convicted
by Steve Benen | Jul 9, 2026 | 2026 election, Maddowblog, News, Politics
It’s been almost three years since Kevin McCarthy became the first sitting House speaker to be ousted in the middle of a congressional session, but the California Republican has nevertheless tried to maintain a public profile and has routinely appeared on conservative media to push partisan talking points.
So it wasn’t too surprising to see McCarthy on Fox News on Monday night, responding to the latest sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner, still a candidate for Senate at the time.
Kevin McCarthy on Platner Allegations: That one thing I know about Republicans is when we had a very bad candidate, we didn’t vote for that person. We walked away.— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2026-07-07T00:19:33.384Z
As part of an apparent effort to contextualize the scandals surrounding the Maine Democrat, the former GOP leader said, “One thing I know about Republicans is when we had a very bad candidate and found out, we didn’t vote for that person. We walked away.”
Moments later, McCarthy added, “When Matt Gaetz came forward, we got rid of him.”
As is too often the case, the failed former House speaker not only had it backward, but his mistake also offered a timely reminder of details that made him and his party look worse, not better.
Indeed, Gaetz offers a rather extraordinary example. The Justice Department investigated the Florida Republican over allegations of alleged sex trafficking, and while Gaetz repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and the prosecutors’ probe ended without charges, his House GOP colleagues made no effort to “get rid of him” as the scandal intensified.
What’s more, the House Ethics Committee found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz “regularly” paid women for sex, had sex with a
by Steve Benen | Jul 8, 2026 | 2026 election, Maddowblog, News, Politics
On Capitol Hill, Democratic and Republican officials may not agree on much, but there’s at least one area of common ground: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is one scandal-plagued Senate candidate.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said in May that Paxton “could reasonably be indicted for a felony.” Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has described Paxton as “an ethically challenged individual.” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina added, “To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder.”
That his list of controversies continues to grow isn’t helping matters for the GOP’s Senate nominee in the Lone Star State.
When it comes to Paxton’s real estate holdings, the Republican has already faced difficult questions about why he and his now-estranged wife declared three separate homes as their primary residence in mortgage documents, a practice his party has characterized as scandalous and potentially criminal.
This week, a related problem emerged. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported:
Paxton appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years, including in May’s runoff that made him the Republican nominee for U.S. senator, according to records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
This might not seem especially notable, except for the fact that Paxton, just months earlier, reminded Texans that under state law, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside.”
If the latest reporting (which has not been independently verified by MS NOW) is correct, the state attorney general failed to heed his own warning. In fact, the report added, “Three election lawyers told the news organizations
by Paul Waldman | Jul 8, 2026 | Opinion, Politics, White House
When Congress passed a bipartisan plan to address housing affordability, President Donald Trump pronounced it “a big yawn.” But give him a construction project to work on — especially one meant for his personal use — and he’s as happy as a kid tearing the wrapping paper off a Barbie Dreamhouse on Christmas.
Trump is altering the White House grounds again. This time, he’s building a helipad so he can land on the White House lawn in style. But instead of a typical helipad — a circle of concrete with a capital “H” visible from the air — this one will embody the spirit of Trump’s presidency. It will be expensive, driven by Trump’s insecurity, and involve a corporate payoff.
For those of you worried it might lack Trump’s unique aesthetic, rest assured: This helipad will be gorgeous.
Exactly how much the helipad will cost is unclear. It is part of a $13 million contract that includes some other work around the White House. But $5 million of the cost is being picked up by Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor that makes the Marine One helicopters through its Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary.
Unlike Trump’s wasteful ballroom project or the gargantuan arch he wants to build to loom over Arlington National Cemetery, the planned helipad construction arises from a genuine need. The helicopters used as Marine One have exhaust vents that point downward, which can burn the grass. Trump already ruined the South Lawn by putting a UFC stadium on it, so this is a good time to build a helipad — but not just any helipad.
For those of you worried it might lack Trump’s
by Steve Benen | Jul 7, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
Ahead of NATO summits, normal American presidents prepare by reviewing diplomatic objectives and scheduling discussions with key international partners. Ahead of this week’s NATO summit in Turkey, Donald Trump prepared for the gathering by needlessly extending his weird offensive against an allied leader for no good reason. Time magazine reported:
United States President Donald Trump on Sunday evening shared a social media post featuring Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reopening a recent dispute between the two leaders ahead of this week’s NATO Summit in Turkey.
Trump posted an image on Truth Social that shows Meloni looking up at the American President, with the words “restraining order needed” printed across the top.
The irony is that Meloni was supposed to be the one leader in Western Europe with whom Trump could get along. Indeed, for months, the American president singled out Meloni, one of the region’s most conservative figures, for praise, celebrating her as a “beautiful young woman” who took Europe “by storm.”
The Italian prime minister was the only European leader to attend his second inauguration, which came on the heels of a Mar-a-Lago visit. Headlines that referred to Meloni as Europe’s “Trump whisperer” soon followed.
In April, however, the relationship started to deteriorate. After the Republican picked a bizarre fight with Pope Leo XIV, Meloni defended the pontiff. The presidential whine was almost immediate: Trump complained that Meloni is “very different from what I thought,” adding, “I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong.” He added, “She is the one who is unacceptable.”
In June, for reasons unknown, Trump renewed the offensive, telling an Italian journalist that Meloni had “begged” him
by Steve Benen | Jul 7, 2026 | 2026 election, Maddowblog, News, Politics
When Democrats in Maine were introduced to Graham Platner last summer, the oyster farmer and combat veteran quickly started picking up the kind of enthusiastic grassroots support other Senate candidates can only dream of. It wasn’t long before his campaign events were drawing the crowds usually reserved for leaders such as Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders.
But a couple of months into his candidacy, as his record started to face greater scrutiny, controversies came to the fore. They were followed by more controversies and more still.
Most of his backers shrugged off the revelations, insisting that his near future was more important than his recent past. In early June, Platner held a private meeting with members of the Senate Democratic conference, who heard the candidate offer assurances that the worst was behind him. There was no reason to expect another round of damaging headlines, he said, just days before cruising to an impressive victory in Maine’s statewide primary on June 9.
As this week got underway, however, everything changed after Politico reported that a woman he previously dated had accused him of sexual assault. MS NOW reported:
Jenny Racicot, 41, of Maine said that Platner — whom she said she had casually dated on and off from 2019 to 2021 — entered her home one night late in 2021, uninvited and deeply intoxicated, and forced her to have sex despite her telling him to stop, according to the news outlet.
Racicot also detailed the allegations in a lengthy interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, describing the accusations after they were first reported by Politico.
For his part, Platner called the allegations “troubling, serious, and false” in a
