#73 Oh, I don't know.

Perhaps at least point out, matching $ for $, that the "pro-trans Harris ad" was, in fact, a response by CA AG Harris to the Trump administration dictate for trans care in federal prisons.

Perhaps.

#72 Indeed.

They wouldn't like what I would say.

#67 What do you suppose is the general population participation on Threads?

Or even know what is going on, on Threads?

Sorry, my friend Alexandrite.

$300,000,000.00+ anti-trans/anti-Harris/pro-Trump spending in September/October, in all seven swing states - on NFL/NCAA broadcast games - and completely unanswered by the Harris campaign, was political malpractice of the highest order.

Gaza, immigrants, inflation, Biden, Harris ... none of these things caused voters of color, Hispanics, and others to vote for Trump, in all 7 swing states. Or just stay home.

It was the vile attacks on trans people.

#64 I listen.

I learn.

#62 Nope.

That was at the edges.

Look at the underlying issues.

"Gaza" might have had an effect in Michigan.

Might.

Unanswered "anti-trans" ads?

That's what went wrong in 2024.

The D.N.C. Is Scrapping Its Report on What Went Wrong in 2024

No mystery whatsoever.

The Trump campaign spent $300,000,000.00+ on advertising on NCAA & NFL games throughout September and October in every single swing state ("All 7 of them!")...

... an investment that went answered by the Harris campaign by $0.00 spending.

The focus of the $300,000,000.00+ on advertising?

So-called "trans" issues.

That's what went wrong in 2024.

#13 Presidents say stupid ---- all the time?

You mean just like you, onepigheadedsmoothbrainaut?

We have come to expect that.

#8 Spoken like a true chicken hawk and armchair warrior.

Kudos, visitor_.

#21 Sorry, onepigironheadedsmoothbrainaut.

No one believes that there exists a woman stupid enough to take your hand in marriage.

#19 Thank you, CBOB.

#3 "...I learned of Pres Trump's character (or lack thereof) "

Winston Wolf: Because you are a character doesn't mean you have character.

snip ...

Truth be told, we believe the Republican thinking on this race is pure fantasy. It is possible that, one day not too far in the future, New York will again have a Republican governor. But it's not going to be in 2026. Hochul is not especially popular, but she's not radioactive, the way that Andrew Cuomo might be. There's also the great likelihood that all Republicans are going to face midterm-backlash headwinds. Oh, and just as we don't believe an outspoken lefty can win statewide in Texas, we don't believe a MAGA candidate can win in New York. It would have to be a normal Republican, not a Trump sycophant. Also, the GOP strategy here is basically nonsensical. They're going to sell Hochul as a wild-eyed leftist upstate, but as a tool-of-the-establishment centrist in NYC? Do they think there is a wall running through Woodstock that keeps sound from crossing over? Do they think voters in the various parts of the state aren't going to figure out that the Republicans are selling two very different Hochuls, and they couldn't possibly both be true?

Since we don't actually see much relevance to the New York governor's race here, that means there's only one reason to talk about this story, and it's Trump. Once again, he shows he doesn't have the spine to make tough choices when it involves people who have flattered him and puffed up his ego. We have no doubt that Stefanik and Blakeman have found a way to make sure he knows how very impressed they are with his having won the FIFA Peace Prize. Such an important honor!

Also, it's reminder #237 that Trump doesn't give two craps about his Party's fortunes; he only cares about his own needs and his own image. After all, what's it to him if Hochul remains as governor? Truth be told, that's probably better for him than if one of the Republicans wins, since he can use Hochul as a bugaboo when needed. In any event, the needs of Trump and the needs of the GOP will continue to diverge, and the longer that GOP muckety-mucks refuse to accept and deal with that fact, the more damage that will be done. (Z)

Snip ...

The problem is the gubernatorial race. The people of New York have sent just one member of the red team to the governor's mansion in the last half-century, but Republicans like their chances in 2026. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is not terribly popular, and the GOP wants to portray her as both a tool of the upstate elites (an old trick, going at least as far back as complaints of Martin Van Buren's "Albany Regency") and yet also a clone of Zohran Mamdani. The Republicans think this might just be the path to the promised land.

The issue is that even if Hochul is vulnerable, disunity on the Republican side simply will not do. A messy primary will cost a lot of money and will leave the winner bruised and bleeding. And a messy primary is what is on tap, at least as of the moment. On one side is Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and on the other side is Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R). They're both very MAGA, they both have a relationship with Donald Trump. Usually, when it's MAGA vs. MAGA, the contest turns into a lot of personal attacks and a lot of claims about who is the Trumpiest. And Democratic operatives are going to record every single one of those statements, so they can put them in ads once the primaries are over.

Trump, of course, could ride to his Party's rescue by making an endorsement. It would be hard for someone to keep going as "the MAGA candidate" if the other person has Trump's backing. But, as much as Republican operatives beg, Trump refuses to pick a horse. Instead, he's picked TWO horses, doing the thing he does where he endorses BOTH candidates. That's good for purposes of his peacocking on social media, we suppose, since he can claim to be on the winning side no matter what happens. It's not great for his political party, though.

A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!
Honestly"and we were not the only ones who reacted this way"we initially thought it was a fake from some sort of parodist. But it's not. And in case there was any doubt, Trump doubled down during a press conference yesterday, telling reporters: "I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country."

Just in case you might think we were having a bad day, or something along those lines, here are a few messages from readers who were also disgusted by Trump's response:

D.E. in Lancaster, PA, writes: I've tried several times to write a measured response to Trump's obscene comments on the horrible and senseless murders of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, but failed with each attempt. All I can muster is: Is it too much to ask that we have a human being with a some sense of empathy for our president, or, if that's a hill too steep for him to shuffle up, for someone to shut him the --** up? That's my Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice wish. Just take him away some place where he can yell till his little chest cavity's content, but where we don't have to hear his filth, ever again.

That and I just donated to Indivisible to hope--lly aid in their organization of the next No Kings Rally.

To the incredibly talented and generous Rob Reiner, your life and works impacted mine in so many ways, and to his lovely wife, Michele: "Zichrono/Zichrona Livracha." To the surviving children, even to his troubled son who is charged with these horrible murders: "Min haShamayin Tenuhamu."

snip ...

Truth be told, we already knew what kind of person Donald Trump is. We've been writing about Trump the politician for a decade now, and he's shown over and over and over that he's boorish, and petty, and self-important, and mean-spirited, and utterly lacking in class (despite the liberal use of gilded decorations that are supposed to make us think otherwise). There's the Barack Obama birth certificate conspiracies, and the mockery of the disabled reporter, and "grab 'em by the pu**y," and the various snubs of John McCain's memory, and the nasty nicknames for various political opponents, and the palling around with Jeffrey Epstein, and the Mohammad bin Salman ballwashing, and... well, it goes on and on. And note, this is not a list of things that are illegal or are bad governance (though some of them are arguably that, as well). It's just a few of the high-profile examples in which Trump showed the world that he's a godawful excuse for a human being.

Once in a while, though"and it's very rare these days, after 10 years of developing Trumpian armor"he manages to surprise us with his utter and complete lack of grace. So it was yesterday. Among the first tasks of the day for (Z) are to check e-mail and cell phone messages. And both personal and Electoral-Vote.com channels were flooded with messages about the unbelievably classless message that Trump sent out on his a-pathetic-place-for-pathetic-people social media platform. In case you haven't seen it already, here it is:

#16 Looks white to me, onepigironheadedsmoothbrainaut.

Remove your spectacles.

You're welcome.

#21 "...except not spreading disease to other children who are vaxxed, right?"

Wrong.

You're welcome.

#21 Your wife is smarter than you?

Quelle surprise, onepigironheadedsmoothbrainaut.

Actually, now that the thought is processed...

Your wife is a sexual masochist.

Nailed it.

#90 Separating the chaff from the wheat.

Thank you.

#5 Breitbart?

You're joking, ---------------------.

Meanwhile, from the exact same source that Breitbart was citing (but conveniently, didn't mention it):

#77 & #80 As I understand it, Eb lives in a closed-primary state, where if his vote is to have any effect, it has to be in the primaries. If one does not register with a political party, then one cannot vote in the primaries for Republican or Democrat (except for nominally non-partisan elections and votes on issues).

At least that's my understanding.

snip ...

Another approach the administration is taking is blaming the economy on Biden. Bessent said: "We've got this embedded inflation from the Biden years." Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said: "That Biden-economy hangover is real." But several polls have shown that the voters blame Trump's tariffs, not Biden.

Will things get better next year? People don't think so. About 40% think things will be worse, 30% expect more of the same, and only 20% think things will be better. Having people expecting the future to be no better than the present is never a good sign for an incumbent party in an election year, especially a midterm year. (V)

snip ...

Interestingly enough, the poll results are very similar to an AP/NORC poll in Dec. 2022, when Joe Biden was president. The key word was "inflation" then rather than "affordability," but in both cases what people meant was they were struggling economically.

Donald Trump's response is a planned road trip in which he will barnstorm the country to tell voters that their observation that prices are up is wrong and the economy is great. Telling them to get their daughters two pencils and three dolls (instead of 37) is not likely to put many people (except Democratic strategists) at ease. Yesterday, on Face the Nation, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent responded to the polls by blaming the media for giving everyone the idea that people are having a rough time. As proof, he noted that gas prices are falling. Michael Strain, an economist at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute said that Joe Biden tried the same approach and it didn't work for him and won't work for Trump. Adding to Trump's tone-deafness is a cabinet full of billionaires and his focus on building a $300 million ballroom paid for by more billionaires at a time when regular people are suffering.

#132 You're speaking for many of us, Laura!