The Common Ills

Sunday, October 04, 2026

The chat & chews and Chump's desperation tour continues

The big news from the chat and chews? Senator John Kennedy talked to Kristen Welker (NBC's MEET THE PRESS) about running for re-election to the senate in 2028 and possibly running for president in 2028. In November of 2028, he'll be 77 years old. That means if he survived a first term as president, he would be 81 at the end of it. And if he survived another six year term as a US senator, he'd be 83. That's way too old for either. (On the same episode of MEET THE PRESS, Rahm Emanuel briefly noted a mandatory retirement age for Congress of 75: "Age retirement, 75. Fourth, a mandatory blind trust. And fifth, two years after you leave government, you cannot be involved with any foreign governments and do what I call the Jared Kushner rule, raising money over in the Mideast for a business, a two-year ban.")

CBS' FACE THE NATION big moment was Margaret Brennan's conversation with Senator Mark Kelly:

SENATOR MARK KELLY: But you got to remember this is a guy that gave a big tax cut to the wealthiest Americans, to billionaires and millionaires, and then, to partially pay for it, he's kicking people off of their health care, off of Medicaid. He's taken food benefits away from people that are having a hard time affording food, even children, in order to help out his family and his friends.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.

SENATOR MARK KELLY: So I think people should see this for what it is, especially this $5,000 payment if Republicans maintain control of the House and the Senate. I mean, this is just a – a payoff, and he's trying to buy votes. I mean, are you surprised with this president, who, in my view, is the most corrupt occupant of the Oval Office ever? I'm not surprised, but it's not right.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But what is the affirmative Democratic message here, other than, we're not him?

SENATOR MARK KELLY: Well, we're going to lower costs for the American people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How?

SENATOR MARK KELLY: We've got to win the House and/or the Senate. Well – well, how will we do this? I have legislation with – with Chris Van Hollen. We've got to get Republicans on board. It raises taxes for people who make over a million dollars a year in income, and it provides tax cuts for people, individuals and even couples up to – who make up to about $160,000 a year. That's some relief. Ending this war in Iran that he started without a – any kind of a strategic goal or a plan has jacked up prices for the American people. Ending that would help. Getting this tariff policy reversed, these ridiculous tariffs that have also jacked up prices, the American people pay this. For some reason, the president thinks that foreign countries are paying for these tariffs. That is not true.

ABC's THIS WEEK's best moment was at the start of the show:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome to "THIS WEEK."

I have experienced political waves from the inside. Thirty-two years ago this week, I was working in the White House when a red wave was building. The economy was growing, but voters were not feeling it. After the collapse of his health care plan, President Clinton's approval ratings were stuck in the low 40s. So, he was advised to stay off the campaign trail, where he might hurt more than help.

That did not quite happen. And the red wave crested on Election Day in a big way. The GOP won 54 House seats, eight Senate seats, gaining control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.

Flash forward to today. With voters unhappy about the economy and his approval ratings stuck in the 30s, the president is also being warned against making the midterms a referendum on himself. And like Clinton, Trump is resisting that advice, barnstorming in deep red states and taking his campaigning to another level, personally commissioning ads, paid for by taxpayers, that put the president front and center. One even titled "God made Trump."

Four weeks from the final midterm votes, that's where we begin this week. Here's Jay O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAY O'BRIEN, ABC NEWS CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You're watching an ad you paid for. Part of a series airing across the country praising President Trump that this week set off a political firestorm less than a month out from the midterms. One championing the war in Iran.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the great, proud people of Iran.

O'BRIEN (voice over): Another decrying socialism and communism. And one featuring President Trump speaking at Mount Rushmore. At the bottom of each, this disclaimer, paid for by the U.S. government.

"The New York Times" reporting President Trump personally directed the Office of Management and Budget to find government funds for the ads. At least $3.5 million of taxpayer money spent so far according to one estimate.

The funds coming from the Department of Homeland Security, which last month awarded a $20 million contract to a Maryland ad agency days before the TV spots rolled out. Federal records show it came via a section of the Customs and Border Protection budget for commemorative events typically used to pay for things like memorials for officers killed in the line of duty, or commendation ceremonies, according to a congressional report. Democrats and even some Republicans charging the ads could violate federal law, which prohibits public funds from being used to campaign.

SEN. THOM TILLIS, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: That's not how we should be spending taxpayer dollars.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, (D) CONNECTICUT: They are absolutely illegal.

TRUMP: We are the freest people on earth.

O'BRIEN (voice over): The White House has repeatedly called these ads public service announcements to justify using taxpayer funds.

TRUMP: This is the final battle.

O'BRIEN (voice over): But decide for yourself. One of the ads, titled "the final battle," features a long, continuous shot of Trump. It was used in 2024 as a campaign ad. President Trump defending the spots, arguing he's not on the ballot.

TRUMP: I'm not promoting myself because I'm not running for office. I'm promoting the country.

O'BRIEN (voice over): The president had a different message, though, at the midterm convention.

TRUMP: To pretend that I'm on the ballot.

O'BRIEN (voice over): And again Friday night.

TRUMP: Close your eyes and pretend I'm on the ballot.

O'BRIEN (voice over): Some Republicans we pressed insisted they hadn't seen the ads.

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT, (R) MISSOURI: I have not see it.

O'BRIEN: But they appear to be political ads using taxpayer money. Wouldn't that be illegal to do that?

SCHMITT: I don't know that they're taxpayer dollars. I don't know that.

O'BRIEN: They are.

SCHMITT: I don't know.

O'BRIEN: The White House has said that.

O'BRIEN (voice over): Several GOP lawmakers claiming both the Bush and Obama administrations took out similar ads, but those were for specific issues, like Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. And this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune voicing their disapproval, too, saying of the president's ads, "I like the message, but it shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (on camera): Democrats on Capitol Hill have sent a number of letters demanding answers from the administration, and they've also asked a government watchdog agency to investigate. But bottom line here, George, the White House shows no signs of backing down. So, unless something changes, these ads are likely to continue to run at least until Election Day.

George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Sure seems that way. Thanks, Jay.

With more on Chump's illegal theft of US tax dollars, Jason Linkins (THE NEW REPUBLIC) reports:

This week, one of the most talked-about stories has been President Donald Trump’s decision to spend taxpayer money on campaign ads that the administration is misleadingly characterizing as “public service announcements.” The move is vintage Trump in that the ads are both staggeringly corrupt—the administration is spending $20 million of the Department of Homeland Security’s money on them, in violation of the Hatch Act—and propagandizing slop. One ad, which uses a song without the artist’s permission, has Trump asking people, “Love me.” Another warns of a “final battle.” So far, the administration has only spent a fraction of the money that’s been allocated to this endeavor, so you can count on seeing many more iterations of these fake PSAs, which Trump is said to be guiding.

But rather than think of this as some kind of flex, or one more scandalous abuse of the public trust, I want to suggest that what these ads represent is desperation—an acknowledgment that if Trump’s goose isn’t cooked yet, the pot is at least boiling. I also think, if anything, this fusillade of propaganda will likely backfire.

These ads haven’t generated good news for Trump; very few people outside of the administration and its obvious sycophants have tried to defend them. Moreover, the media seems resistant to give this story the “both sides” treatment. As with Trump’s 25-minute prime-time ramble last July, the political press seems wise to what’s going on. Of that aforementioned speech, TNR editor Michael Tomasky said, the overall reaction to the president’s attempt to shine us on “tells us that that power he had over people and institutions a year or 15 months ago has evanesced.” I think these PSAs do little else than advertise that fact.

I am not sure that Republican lawmakers necessarily agree with that assessment, but their own appraisals range from avoidant to withering. As MS NOW reported this week, “even congressional Republicans are expressing concern that the ads may violate the laws governing PSAs.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune is quoted in the piece as saying that he didn’t mind the message of the ad but believed “it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.” That’s about the nicest thing any Republican who made their way into the story had to say about it, with Senator Mike Rounds saying, “It’s not something I would have done” and the outgoing Thom Tillis comparing it to Viktor Orbán. “I hate it,” said Tillis, bluntly.

Trump’s midterm activities aren’t limited to these controversial ads. According to reports, the president is planning to spend 32 of the next 35 days on the road campaigning for Republicans. As Politico notes, many of his intended destinations suggest the GOP is in tremendous peril. Instead of swing states and traditionally competitive districts, Trump is visiting “bastions of conservatism” like Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Texas. He’s even going to trek out to Alaska, “a significant commitment of time and presidential resources that underscores how dire the situation is for Republicans.” As one GOP donor told Politico, “The problem is that the fires are everywhere right now.”

Meanwhile Chump's desperation tour continues. Arianna Coghill (MOTHER JONES) reports:

On Saturday, President Donald Trump hosted a campaign rally for Ohio senatorial and gubernatorial candidates, John Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy. As part of his campaign to revive GOP turnout and avoid what is widely predicted to be a Democratic sweep, he appeared in Ohio following weekend visits to Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. With his signature lack of subtlety, he encouraged the state’s voters to head to the polls.

“Just get out and vote,” Trump told a crowd that barely filled a high school gymnasium in the city of Vandalia. “If you do that, we’re going to win, and we’re going to win big. And we’re going to shove it up their ass.” Ohio, a state that Trump has won three times, has become a battleground for the same reasons that the GOP is predicting a bleak forecast in this year’s midterms: skyrocketing gas prices, bipartisan disdain for data centers, high costs for food and utilities, and Trump’s unpopular war with Iran.

On the sad spectacle that Chump has turned himself into, Katie Rogers (NEW YORK TIMES) adds:

If President Trump’s earlier political rallies felt like standing-room-only rock concerts, the latest ones are starting to feel like the first stops of a farewell tour.

The events are a ritual. He will attack Democrats. His words will probably stop making actual, logical sense for a moment, or for many moments. (It’s “the weave,” you see.) He will accuse Democrats of rigging the 2020 election (they didn’t). He will attack the news media. Then he will dance to a Village People song.

At a time when embattled Republican candidates could use concentrated attention — and money — to elevate a prospective new crop of leaders, Mr. Trump is clinging to an old strategy that has served him for years: talking mostly about himself. With a month until the midterms, he is again rallying, talking up his record, offering cash prizes and asking supporters to play pretend.

And Chump plays pretend along with them as he pretends he's still capable of drawing huge crowds:

The president has maintained that the events have “sold out” and that there are overflow crowds in each town. The rallies are, in fact, more modest — and at times more sedate — than they used to be.

In Oklahoma, visitors nearly filled an event center on a casino complex with a capacity of 4,920. In Alabama, the same state where 30,000 people attended a Trump rally in a 30,000-person stadium in August 2015, there were swaths of empty seats at the 10,000-capacity athletic center where Mr. Trump spoke on Friday. In Ohio a day later, several areas of an upper deck were empty by the time Mr. Trump finished speaking at a 4,500-capacity high school student activity center.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:

Lawmakers had repeatedly pressed FEMA to release already-approved funding as critical recovery program faced funding cliff

Los Angeles, CA — Today, following weeks of sustained pressure from U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) and Congressmembers Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.-32), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $6.6 million in previously approved funding for the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) serving survivors of the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires.

The funding represents the second and third installments of FEMA’s original DCMP award and comes on September 30, the same day the program had been facing a major funding cliff. A fourth installment of already approved funding remains pending. The DCMP helps survivors navigate critical recovery resources, including temporary housing, FEMA and SBA loans, insurance claims, and long-term rebuilding plans. Without this funding, the DCMP would have expired a year early today, September 30, 2026, leaving thousands of Californians without their case managers in the middle of their recovery, and over a hundred case managers without a job.

Last week, the State of California also announced an amended agreement with case management providers allowing the program to extend until October 31. However, additional federal funding is still needed for reimbursement and to ensure the program’s approved 24-month time frame is completed.

The lawmakers, who have led congressional efforts to secure federal disaster assistance, tax relief, and long-term recovery resources for Eaton Fire survivors, repeatedly pressed FEMA to release the outstanding DCMP funding, including through direct calls to the agency.

September 3, 2026: It is announced that DCMP would be forced to terminate on September 30, 2026, over a year early, due to lack of FEMA funding.
September 10, 2026: Reps. Chu, Sherman, Sens. Schiff, and Padilla sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton demanding the agency immediately release the pre-approved DCMP funding.
September 24, 2026: After FEMA failed to respond to the lawmakers’ first letter and separately denied California’s request for supplemental DCMP funding, Reps. Chu, Sherman, Sens. Schiff, and Padilla sent a follow-up letter again demanding FEMA release the outstanding installments to stop the DCMP from shutting down.
September 30, 2026: FEMA obligated $6.6 million in previously approved funding, representing the second and third installments of the original DCMP award.

Throughout this period, the lawmakers also personally called FEMA officials to press for the release of the outstanding funding and prevent an interruption in services.

“Californians are still rebuilding and recovering after the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. I’m glad FEMA has finally heeded to our calls to release urgently needed financial assistance through the Disaster Case Management Program,” said Senator Schiff. “These families, who have already lost so much in these fires, deserve to have the resources and aid they need to rebuild and recover stronger than before.”

“Californians recovering from devastating wildfires and other natural disasters deserve meaningful support to rebuild their lives and communities,” said Senator Padilla. “That’s why I fought to secure this federal funding for disaster case management services across California, including communities in Los Angeles County. But this is just one step toward recovery. The work doesn’t stop here, and I’ll keep fighting for the federal resources California needs to recover, rebuild, and prepare for the next disaster.”

“I’m relieved FEMA finally released this funding at the eleventh hour. This is a real win for the thousands of wildfire survivors in Southern California who depend on these case managers to navigate the red tape standing between them and rebuilding, and it is exactly what my fellow California colleagues and I have been demanding for weeks,” said Representative Chu. “FEMA approved this funding because survivors needed it, yet millions of dollars sat unreleased while critical services hung in the balance. We pushed FEMA again and again to act, and today, $6.6 million is finally moving to California. But our work is not finished. Another approximately $3.3 million installment remains outstanding, and FEMA has still not acted on California’s appeal for the additional funding needed to sustain this program. I will keep pressing FEMA for every dollar our survivors need, and I will keep fighting until our families can rebuild and come home.”

“Pleased to see that FEMA is paying California the money it owes to the state for providing caseworkers for fire victims through September 30. It is now time for FEMA to approve and fund keeping this program open at least through May of next year,” said Representative Sherman. “Losing one’s home in a horrendous fire is extremely difficult on families. Working through the morass of governmental and insurance issues without a caseworker would be horrendous for many families.”

Long-Term Federal Disaster Recovery Funding Still Outstanding

While today’s release of previously approved DCMP funding is an important step, it does not resolve the broader federal funding shortfall facing communities devastated by the Eaton and Palisades Fires. California has repeatedly requested long-term federal disaster recovery funding to rebuild homes, schools, small businesses, and critical infrastructure. That funding remains outstanding.

“I welcome today’s release of funding for Eaton and Palisades Fire survivors, but let’s be clear: this is funding FEMA had already approved and that we have been demanding the agency release for weeks,” said Representative Chu. “And while today is progress, President Trump still has not delivered the long-term federal disaster recovery funding Los Angeles communities need to rebuild. Eaton Fire survivors have waited long enough. President Trump must fulfill California’s disaster funding request, with no strings attached, so our families can rebuild and come home.”

Background: Taking office just one month before the wildfires ravaged Southern California, Senator Schiff has introduced numerous of pieces of legislation to help communities rebuild, fight for Californians’ access to affordable home insurance and protect families from the threat of future wildfires. Schiff has also consistently pushed for disaster aid for California.

The first bill Schiff introduced in the Senate was a bipartisan piece of legislation promoting community resilience to natural disasters through the creation of a new federal tax credit to incentivize home hardening.
Within months of taking office, he also led bipartisan legislation, which passed through the Senate Small Business Committee, requiring the Small Business Administration to report monthly on disaster funds available to the public. He has also authored legislation to stabilize prices for homeowners’ insurance and protect homeowners from the increased costs of natural disasters.
To support rebuilding efforts, Schiff led legislation to assist with mortgage relief for disaster survivors across the country and help alleviate financial hardships.
Schiff and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.)‘s Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, which would provide tax relief for victims of wildfires and other natural disasters, was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Schiff and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced the Reducing Red Tape for Rebuilding Act, bipartisan legislation to expand the support local governments can receive from the federal government to help with the rebuilding process following natural disasters.
Schiff has also led multiple calls urging President Trump and senior congressional leadership to provide additional disaster relief funding and resources to help Los Angeles County rebuild after the devastating fires.