FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025
Voters eschew big ballroom: A remarkable moment occurred on this morning's Morning Joe. We're surprised that Mediaite doesn't seem to have caught it.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) made an unsupported claim about President Trump's imagined connection to the Epstein tapes. Instantly, Joe Scarborough jumped in to challenge what Moulton said. He was right to do that.
At some point, we expect to be able to show you what was said. For now, it's on to a set of results from a new survey by the Washington Post / ABC News / Ipsos.
For the record, surveys aren't always accurate. That said, this was the headline on one report about one of this new survey's results:
Americans blame Trump and GOP more than Democrats for shutdown, poll finds
More Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress than Democrats for the nearly month-long government shutdown, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
More than 4 in 10 U.S. adults—45 percent—say Trump and the GOP are mainly responsible for the shutdown that may lead the government to cut off anti-hunger benefits, has caused air traffic delays and has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
Yet the share saying Democrats are at fault has grown slightly, from 30 percent in a Post flash poll when the shutdown began to 33 percent in the latest poll. Among registered voters, 37 percent now blame Democrats, while 46 percent blame Republicans.
And so on from there. We wouldn't call that a gigantic edge.
This other result, which echoes results from at least one earlier poll, seems more surprising to us, but also more encouraging:
Most Americans oppose East Wing demolition for Trump ballroom, poll finds
Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom building by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Thursday.
Twenty-eight percent of Americans say they support the demolition project, paid for by $300 million in private donations from U.S. businesses and individuals, compared with 56 percent who oppose it, the poll finds. Another 16 percent are not sure whether they support or oppose the project.
That's a substantial margin. Among self-identified Independents, 61% said they oppose the demolition. Only 17% said they support it.
Despite the agitprop recited on Fox, the demolition of the East Wing was a piece of highly unusual behavior. If only the stars of the major Blue American press were willing to focus on the president's endless string of weird behaviors as a serious stand-alone news hook—as a serious ongoing topic.
Moulton's claim will follow, perhaps tomorrow. That moment was also quite unusual. We have no way of knowing whether Moulton's assertion was right or was wrong.
"We have no way of knowing whether Moulton's assertion was right or was wrong."
ReplyDeleteSomerby has no way of knowing if any of his own assertions are right or wrong, eschewing research and credible evidence, and instead relying on things like emotion, vibes, propaganda, and storytelling.
We do know that Trump is in the Epstein files, that it is likely very damaging, but that his supporters will not care, since they take pride in their lack of integrity.
President Trump wants to nuke the filibuster. Why didn’t he say so a month ago?
ReplyDeleteI like the filibuster because it makes it harder to pass new laws. Trump's claim is that the Dems will end the filibuster the next time they control Congress. so the Reps might as well end it now.
ReplyDeleteYes, DiC, that may be Trump's claim, but are you going to assess that claim? Point out that the Dems didn't end the filibuster when they controlled both branches of Congress, and that no Dems are pushing now to end it? Point out, perhaps, that Trump's claim is completely devoid of supporting evidence? Are you intending to do that?
DeleteGeorge - my personal feeling is that regrettably the two parties are conducting all-out warfare. We saw it with the Republican gerrymandering in Texas and the shutdown. We see it is the Dems' automatic opposition to anything Trump does. We saw it in Arctic Frost.
DeleteSo, my sad expectation is that the filibuster is no long for this world.
Sure, you may have your pwersonal view, but Trump wants to end the filibuster. And his argument is that the Dems will do it when they get the power. So I think you should admit that Trump has no basis at all for making that argument.
DeleteOn of the writers I follow (dsquared digest) has a saying that goes something like this: Good ideas don't need a bunch of lies to support them.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf both sides think they're winning the shutdown, then both have an incentive to keep it going.
ReplyDeletehttps://thehill.com/opinion/robbys-radar/5581563-gop-poll-numbers-rising/?tbref=hp
This leaves out the voters, the people who are losing their SNAP benefits and seeing their health care premiums increase dramatically. Those people are putting pressure on their legislators. The main difference between the Republicans and Democrats in the House is that Democrats listen to their constituents whereas most Republicans do not. That makes the incentives different for Dems than Republicans.
Delete"Winning" for Dems means ending the shutdown so that people can live better lives. For Republicans, winning is keeping the Democrats from voting to release the Epstein files and making sure the people don't get what they need -- food Stamps, health care.
Dems didn't want this shutdown to begin with. Trump insisted that the Republicans shut down the govt. Those orders came straight from him.
Whatever happened to anything is possible and no one knows for sure? Somerby is certain that Moulton has no evidence to support his statements about Trump. How is Somerby so sure about that, all of a sudden?
ReplyDeleteI'll bet Somerby would have said there was no evidence against former-Prince Andrew too. Somerby seems to be unaware that there are Epstein victims who have given depositions and testified against Maxwell and Epstein and that they know who was involved. Do they not count because their victims and women, and only famous men matter in this scandal?
I don't want anyone to be slandered and miss their day in court. I want those Epstein customers to testify and be tried for their crimes against children (yes, 14-17 year old girls are still children and cannot give consent to sex or to being trafficked). Somerby doesn't seem to care that Trump's name appears so often in the Epstein Files and in transcripts of testimony and depositions (redacted but identifiable). Trump and Epstein were good friends while the bad stuff was happening, living near each other in both FL and NY. They partied together and are shown in photos doing it. Why does Somerby think there is doubt, to the point of saying that Moulton must be wrong?
Why is anyone still giving Trump and his cronies any benefit of the doubt? The chickens have come home to roost. Even Somerby needs to admit it. Mike Johnson is going to have to let that vote to release the files happen, sooner or later, it is going to happen. It is better for our country if it happens sooner, so we can reopen the government. Somerby should care more about people going hungry in our country, than he cares about protecting Trump from the consequences of his own actions.
Shame on you, Somerby!
E. Jean Carroll and Stormy Daniels both testified under oath in court to the way Trump behaved with them, what he said and did, what he was like with them. There are many other women who have similarly complained about Trump's behavior with them. Given this EVIDENCE of Trump's misbehavior with women, why would Somerby think it is unlikely that Moulton's statements are true? Trump has established a pattern of behavior that is consistent with the content of the accusations against Epstein. That stuff is on the record, public knowledge.
DeleteLiberals side with the women against Trump and his buddy, Epstein. Right wingers are the ones trying to deflect, cover up, deny what Trump is like with women. Once again, Somerby is advancing the right wing version of the Epstein situation, the one that closes ranks around Trump to protect him from his accusers.
Trump will destroy the files.
Delete10:26 - “Somerby is certain Moulton has no evidence to support his statements about Trump.”
DeleteSomerby - “We have no way of knowing whether Moulton’s assertion was right or was wrong.”
Moulton didn't make an unfounded claim. Somerby is resisting the idea that there is evidence against Trump. He would prefer to believe the propaganda supporting Trump's innocence. He used to call that a "preferred narrative." Now, the guy who won't take a stand on anything is damned sure that Moulton has no evidence to support his claims that Trump is on every page of the Epstein Files.
ReplyDelete"WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a desperate attempt to appease furious red-state farmers, on Thursday Donald J. Trump ordered ICE agents to pick crops left unharvested by deported immigrants.
ReplyDelete“I didn’t sign up for this,” complained an exhausted ICE officer, struggling to breathe through his mask as he picked tomatoes. “I should be kicking some minority’s ass at Home Depot.”
According to sources, tensions have reached a boiling point at the White House amid reports that disgruntled ICE agents were fleeing U.S. farms and seeking sanctuary in Mexico.
In a sharp Oval Office exchange, Trump reportedly turned on JD Vance and barked, “Get out there and pick some fucking lettuce, loser.”
[humor, in case you couldn't tell]