After the Ethics Committee released its brutal report on Chuck Edwards on Monday, his campaign said the findings “exonerated” him, which was ridiculous. This morning, at 3:32 am, he dropped his re-election bid, but said he’s not resigning. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

GOP’s Chuck Edwards abandons re-election campaign following Ethics Committee report

“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” the congressman said. “I will complete my current term.”

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Peddling demonstrably false claims about crime rates in DC, Trump said, “It was a graffiti-filled, crime-filled mess. We turned it into Shangri-La.” It was an interesting choice of metaphors, since Shangri-La is a place that only exists in fiction. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

What Trump doesn’t (but should) understand about crime in Washington, D.C.

The president said he turned the nation’s capital “into Shangri-La.” It was an interesting choice of metaphor, since Shangri-La is totally made-up.

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There are a striking number of parallels between 2006 and 2026, though I’m especially interested in the GOP’s scandal-plagued members. Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, and Mark Foley have been replaced by Max Miller, Cory Mills, Chuck Edwards, and Tony Gonzales. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As Republican scandals grow, the parallels between 2006 and 2026 become unavoidable

Twenty years later, Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney and Mark Foley have been replaced by Max Miller, Cory Mills, Chuck Edwards and Tony Gonzales.

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Trump’s offensive against Pirro isn’t just about one prosecutor or one case. He’s taking this opportunity to remind prosecutors to think less like U.S. attorneys concerned with jurisprudential propriety and more like partisan operatives concerned with his wishes. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

‘She choked’: Trump rages against Pirro, but she’s not the only target

The president apparently wants Pirro to think less like a U.S. attorney concerned with propriety and more like an unflinching loyalist.

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Trump Media’s idea was so plainly ridiculous — selling special access to his tweets to Wall Street for $100k per month — that it seemed hard to believe the plan would ever be implemented. And yet, as of now, it’s live. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Democrats eye investigations as Trump Media starts selling access to president’s posts

“Truth API is the exact definition of insider trading,” Chuck Schumer explained. “It’s textbook pay to play.”

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Time will tell whether Jeanine Pirro’s tenure as US Attorney in DC is poised to end, but in the meantime, it’s worth appreciating her recent record: Pirro’s losing streak in big cases sure is embarrassing. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Jeanine Pirro’s reversal in Reflecting Pool case adds to her embarrassing losing streak

The former Fox News host has lost so many important cases, with such regularity, that it’s been challenging to keep up.

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As if the list of scandal-plagued congressional Republicans wasn’t already long enough: The House Ethics Committee’s new findings on Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) are pretty brutal. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Ethics panel: ‘Substantial reason’ to believe GOP’s Edwards violated sexual harassment rules

A spokesperson for the North Carolina Republican has dismissed the claims as “baseless allegations.” The House Ethics Committee disagreed.

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Friday’s developments didn’t end the Reflecting Pool fiasco; they simply started the next chapter in an ongoing scandal. As one House Judiciary Committee member wrote, “Democrats will investigate. November is coming.” www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump’s Reflecting Pool mess makes the transition from debacle to scandal

“Democrats will investigate,” one Democrat said. “November is coming.” That’s good news, because there are a ton of questions in need of answers.

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RFK Jr’s on-air tantrum on CNN yesterday was embarrassing, but it was part of a bigger picture: The Republican crusade to rewrite the recent past has reached a fever pitch three months before the midterms. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

RFK Jr. joins the Republican campaign to rewrite the recent past ahead of the midterms

As one observer recently noted, “The GOP campaign this fall will depend entirely on misremembering recent history.”

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After Trump tried to blame Americans for Iranian cyberattacks on U.S. water systems, Democrats pushed back with an underappreciated question: Maybe now’s a good time to turn the spotlight onto Trump’s own record on cybersecurity? www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems grows, Trump’s record faces new scrutiny

Almost immediately after the president tried to blame Americans, key Democratic officials turned the spotlight on the Republican’s cuts to cybersecurity.

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The White House likes to convey the idea that Trump never bluffs and can be counted on to always follow through on his threats and declarations. Recent history show just how absurd this is.

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social · 3d ago

He “often just… says stuff” www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Some might see this and assume it’s fake, but Trump actually published it. The White House perpetrated a fraud on the public, and after the DOJ was forced to abandon a baseless prosecution, Trump doubled down on the self-satisfying fiction he prefers to reality and threw Pirro under the bus.

Around this time 42 years ago, Jeane Kirkpatrick spoke at the Republican convention and condemned the “blame-America-first crowd.” It came to mind today watching Trump blame Americans for an Iranian cyberattack. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump blames Minnesota amid reports of Iranian cyberattack on Minnesota water systems

“I think that Minnesota is behind it,” the president said, adding, “I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack.”

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What an interesting choice of phrases. The U.S. economy certainly *was* the “envy of the world,” though it’s not anymore. The Economist ran this cover in October 2024 — a month before Trump won a second term, as Biden's presidency neared its end.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d ago

Bessent: "President Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton could not have imagined the economy that we would have created. It is the envy of the world."

- RFK Jr’s cooking show - Duffy’s reality show - Noem’s endless videos - DHS enforcement/deportation clips Team Trump too often looks less like an executive branch and more like a theater troupe that’s principally focused on putting on a good show. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

RFK Jr. finds time to launch a celebrity cooking show, despite pressing policy challenges

Trump administration officials too often look less like an executive branch and more like a theater troupe that’s focused on putting on a good show.

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Blanche nomination fight in a nutshell: Key GOP senators, yesterday: We’re worried about a slush fund that could be used to give taxpayer money to Jan 6 rioters Trump, early this morning: But I want a slush fund that could be used to give taxpayer money to Jan 6 rioters www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

In new effort to boost Blanche, Trump pushes the wrong argument at the wrong time

The president could’ve taken steps to make things better for his embattled attorney general nominee. He instead made matters worse.

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As Todd Blanche’s nomination languishes, and Trump threatens a withdrawal, one thing seems obvious: The White House could simply do the right thing on the slush fund and IRS audit immunity, satisfying Republicans like Cornyn and Tillis, but it clearly doesn’t want to. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As Blanche struggles, Trump opens the door to ‘temporarily withdrawing’ his nomination

The GOP plan was to advance the attorney general nominee ahead of the Senate’s upcoming recess. That plan, at least for now, lies in tatters.

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I don’t blame Trump for hating Dulles Airport. I do blame him for caring more about redesigning the airport than actual governing, as polls show 73% of Americans believe he simply has the wrong priorities. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump’s fixation on the Dulles Airport overhaul reflects his misplaced priorities

If the president wants to improve a badly flawed airport, fine. But maybe he could invest comparable time and energy into his day job?

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Trump’s three most recent DNI nominees — Jay Clayton, Tulsi Gabbard, and John Ratcliffe — fell objectively short of the statutory qualifications for the position. In all three instances, Senate Republicans, many of whom helped write the statute, decided not to care. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Republicans show indifference to Jay Clayton’s inexperience, confirm Trump’s DNI pick

The president’s three most recent DNI nominees obviously fell short of the “extensive” experience standard. GOP senators chose not to care.

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Trump denies disaster aid requests, but only for blue states. He scraps energy grants, but only for blue states. He freezes funding for social services programs, but only blue states were affected. He launches a supposed crackdown on “fraud,” but its sole focus is on blue cities and states.

Trump reportedly overruled his own agencies to deny disaster aid to Democratic-led states

The White House didn’t need a fresh round of allegations about Trump politicizing federal disaster aid, but it’s confronting striking new claims anyway.

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As the midterms approach, Trump is still trying to pretend that he has a health care “plan.” He’s picking the wrong fight at wrong time — in part because his “plan” is a pitiful joke, and in part because new polls show it’s his party’s worst issue. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

As the midterms approach, Trump is still trying to pretend he has a healthcare ‘plan’

“We will pass the great healthcare plan,” the president keeps boasting, seemingly unaware he doesn’t actually have a real proposal.

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The DOJ just agreed to a seven-figure settlement with an anti-abortion activist who was convicted in 2024 of violating the FACE Act. Larger arc: The DOJ sure has been quite generous lately, agreeing to lucrative, taxpayer-financed settlements with plaintiffs aligned with the White House.

Anti-abortion activist agrees to 7-figure settlement with Trump DOJ

In response to dubious civil suits, the DOJ has been quite generous lately, agreeing to lucrative settlements with plaintiffs aligned with the White House.

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It’s a problem that the war with Iran has depleted U.S. munitions stockpiles. The fact that Trump and his team can’t keep their story straight about this, and keep pushing a series of contradictory statements, makes the problem noticeably worse. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

On questions about depleted munitions, Team Trump struggles to keep its story straight

To recap, the depleted stockpiles aren’t depleted, though they could be better, and everyone should blame Joe Biden.

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Why is Trump’s Consumer Product Safety Commission seeking detailed, personally identifiable medical information on emergency room patients? The closer one looks at this, the tougher it is to defend. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump administration takes steps to gain access to personal emergency room records

Why is the Consumer Product Safety Commission seeking detailed, personally identifiable medical information on emergency room patients?

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Trump launched an offensive against Venezuela and seized its resources, but he doesn’t want to say what he’s doing with the profits. The White House might not like the word “colonization,” but I’m hard-pressed to imagine a more appropriate term. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

6 months after the U.S. offensive, Trump is basically treating Venezuela as a colony

The American president attacked a foreign country and seized its resources, but he doesn’t want to say what he’s doing with the profits.

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On the campaign trail ahead of Election Day 2024, Trump said Americans could expect to see their energy bills cut in half by July 2026. It’s July 2026. How’d that work out?

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social · last wk.

"From Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 to April 2026 (the most recent month for which government data are available), residential electricity rates have risen by an eye-watering 18%..." www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Members of Trump’s own team have acknowledged Russia’s role in aiding Iran during the ongoing war. Trump could believe them, but he wants to double check with the suspected Russian war criminal and former KGB agent whose word he trusts implicitly for unexplained reasons. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Trump says he’ll ask Putin about Russia’s role in assisting Iran during U.S. war

The American president could accept his own team’s findings, but he wants to double-check with the suspected Russian war criminal and former KGB agent.

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The Qatari-gifted Air Force One controversy in a nutshell: Trump created a national security problem because he was overeager to play with his new toy. It's trite to say this would be an enormous scandal in a normal presidency, but this really would be an enormous scandal in a normal presidency.

Why Trump rushed the Qatari-donated Air Force One into service before it was ready

The bottom line is unavoidable: The president created a national security problem because he was overeager to play with his new toy.

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The fact that Trump was clueless when asked about the cyclospora outbreak was a serious problem. But it was his indifference to the public health problem that made the problem even worse. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

‘I haven’t thought about it’: Trump shrugs off cyclosporiasis outbreak

The president treated the intensifying public-health issue that’s sickened thousands of people as little more than a punch line to an unfortunate joke.

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Last year, Vance Boelter shot and killed a Democratic state rep and her husband. He was sentenced this week to consecutive life sentences. Maybe now’s a good time for some accountability for the Republicans who peddled disgusting conspiracy theories about the slayings?

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social · 2w ago

www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...