THURSDAY: Lawrence interviews Mary Peltola!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2026

But also, the president's "mental health:" She appeared last night with Lawrence O'Donnell, but who is Mary Peltola? 

Who the heck is Mary Peltola? When it comes to pure Americanism—but also, when it comes to Americanism with a smile—that was a truly beautiful interview. 

Before we link you to what was said, this is an overview of the person in question:   

Mary Peltola   

Mary Sattler Peltola (born August 31, 1973) is an American politician and former tribal judge. She served as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district from 2022 to 2025. 

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, was executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councillor, and member of the Alaska House of Representatives. As of 2026, Peltola is the most recent Democrat to have won statewide office or held the position in Alaska.   

Peltola was first elected to Congress in an August 2022 special election after the death of incumbent Don Young...

Peltola was re-elected to a full term in 2022. She lost re-election in 2024 to Nick Begich III. She is a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2026, challenging incumbent senator Dan Sullivan.  

She once "won statewide office in Alaska?" In Alaska, congressperson is a statewide office. Alaska has only one member of Congress. That person serves the whole state.  

Come November, Peltola may win one of Alaska's Senate seats. This is also part of who this candidate is:   

Born Mary Sattler, Peltola is Yup'ik from the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta in Western Alaska and German-American. She was born in Anchorage on August 31, 1973. Her Yup'ik name is Akalleq (translation. the one who rolled). Her father was Ward Sattler, a German American from Nebraska. He moved to Alaska to be a pilot and teacher. Her mother, Elizabeth "LizAnn" Piicigaq Williams, is Yup'ik from Kwethluk, Alaska.

Mary Sattler grew up with her sister along the Kuskokwim River in the communities of Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel. As a Yup'ik child, she began fishing with her father at the age of six. Her uncles taught her how to place nets to catch different kinds of fish. 

When she was 12, her father registered a boat in her name and she began fishing independently as a captain at 14. She traveled with her father while he campaigned for Congressman Don Young, later commercially fishing with her father during the summers... 

And so on from there. In our view, that is pure Americanism, one of roughly 330 million different examples of same.

("No people are uninteresting," Yevtushenko, in translation, once said.)

Upon reflection, we won't attempt to follow the richness of that overview by transcribing some of what was said during last night's interview with Lawrence. Instead, we'll strongly suggest that you watch MS NOW's videotape of the session.  

It runs slightly less than seven minutes, and it's filled with the miracle of Alaska. You'll quickly note that the candidate knows how to smile, a very good way to win votes. She's also concise and quite sharp.

Regarding the ongoing struggles of President Trump, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) appeared with Erin Burnett on Tuesday night. Burnett described the president's weird behavior over the weekend—his weird Truth Social posts.

At that point, she turned to Rep. Garcia. Here's part of what was said:  

BURNETT (9/8/26): Out front now, Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia. He's a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. And I appreciate your time.

So, you know, as I said, this shouldn't be controversial, to just say that this is not okay, to have the president of the United States in this moment spending his time in this way. Are you hearing anything from your Republican colleagues just privately about their concerns about what Trump is doing, about his state of mind, about his focus?

GARCIA: Yes, I mean, look, I think the Republicans in Congress, I mean, many of them, are very concerned that the president continues to, what they believe, tank their chances this November. He's not focused on anything he said he would. A lot of them are concerned about his mental health.

I think that as a country, we should be, one, outraged. It's bizarre behavior. It's unhinged. I'm concerned about the mental health of the president, who is sending out these messages, what, 100 on a certain day. And they are just bizarre things. It's a bunch of slop. It's a bunch of things that insult our allies, things that are not true, and things that no American president should be doing.

It is an embarrassment to the White House, to our country, the way he's treating Canada and our North American allies. It's disrespectful. And we have to now wonder, is—I mean, is Donald Trump fully there? I mean, that's something that a lot of us are actually wondering. 

He's falling asleep during meetings. He's saying bizarre things. And it's concerning that he's the president of the United States.

BURNETT: Look, what he's posting is concerning...

Good grief! Garcia specifically cited concerns about the president's "mental health." He did so right out of the gate, two separate times. 

After that, he went colloquial, but he continued asking if the president is "fully there." 

Burnett seemed to agree, seeming to say that the president's mental health is "concerning." But as you can see from the CNN transcript, she then posed a question about possible political "strategy" on Trump's part, and this highly unusual interchange came to an end.

Robert Garcia gave it a try. The moment quickly ended. 

The "journalists" know they mustn't go there. Our "journalists" refuse to discuss what seems to be sitting there right before everyone's eyes.