Key Takeaways
- Steve Bannon and Donald Trump have publicly discussed a "plan" for Trump to seek a third presidential term.
- The Department of Justice deployed election monitors to California and New Jersey, raising concerns about future election integrity.
- Republicans intensified attacks on New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, including calls to strip his citizenship.
- The government shutdown approached a record length, impacting federal workers, social programs, and flight operations.
- Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Canadian goods, prompting criticism for increasing inflation and harming U.S. farmers.
- Legal experts highlighted the unconstitutionality of a third Trump term, emphasizing public action against election subversion.
Deep Dive
- Steve Bannon claimed a "plan" exists for Donald Trump to serve a third term, with Trump stating, "I would love to do it."
- Polls indicate significant Republican openness to a third term, despite Democratic and Independent opposition.
- The discussion considered whether these remarks were serious intentions or political trolling, recalling past actions like "Trump 2028" hats.
- The Department of Justice deployed election monitors to California and New Jersey, a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
- Critics raised concerns that under a Trump DOJ, this action could serve as a pretext to dispute future election results, particularly in 2026.
- Monitors were not sent to Virginia, potentially due to expected Democratic wins and a Republican governor.
- Donald Trump publicly called for the prosecution of former Justice Department officials, including Jack Smith and Merrick Garland.
- These calls related to "Operation Arctic Frost," an FBI effort investigating the false elector scheme and 2020 election overturning attempts.
- A new book by John Carl revealed that Jack Smith's team sought to disqualify Judge Eileen Cannon, but the Justice Department reportedly blocked the motion.
- Donald Trump and Republicans focused on New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, predicting a "communist" victory and threatening federal funding cuts.
- Republicans are exploring stripping Mamdani of his citizenship, a goal previously stated by Stephen Miller.
- Speaker Mike Johnson attacked Hakeem Jeffries for endorsing Mamdani, calling Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party.
- The government shutdown neared a month, impacting Affordable Care Act subsidies, SNAP benefits for 40 million Americans, and Head Start.
- Flight delays occurred due to air traffic controller shortages, while federal workers faced missed pay.
- A $130 million private donation from Timothy Mellon to cover troop pay was questioned for legality and sufficiency, covering approximately $100 per service member.
- Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Canadian goods in response to an Ontario ad featuring Ronald Reagan.
- The tariffs were criticized for increasing inflation and potentially harming American soybean farmers through retaliatory measures.
- Concerns were raised about consumers understanding the link between higher prices and Trump's tariffs based on a disliked TV ad.
- A poll indicated Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2028 matchup, while Trump's approval ratings remained static since 2015.
- Discussion questioned media reporting disparities between Hillary Clinton's "baskets of deplorables" and Trump's AI-generated videos.
- Frustration was expressed over the difficulty of moving voters despite Trump's economic policies negatively impacting Iowa soybean farmers and wind energy.
- Election attorney Marc Elias stressed taking Donald Trump's third-term ambitions seriously, despite no constitutional provision allowing it.
- Concerns were raised about Trump's potential to defy or circumvent the Constitution, drawing parallels to January 6th.
- Elias advised preparedness to prevent Trump from exceeding his term limits by January 20, 2029, emphasizing he lacks constitutional power to overturn elections.
- Future elections, particularly 2026 and 2028, are anticipated to involve increased efforts to make voting harder and escalate "election vigilanteism."
- Two main forms of intimidation highlighted: mass voter challenges, targeting tens of thousands of voters, and monitoring ballot drop boxes.
- Donald Trump and allies may use tactics to subvert vote counting and certification, including efforts to place election deniers on county election boards.