Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Chump drops to 32% approval rating in new poll (that new hair color's apparently not helping him), he's kicking off TRUMPTHEBIGLOOSA in Dallas today, Markwayne Mullin's in the news as is Kristi Noem's sidepiece, Jared Kushner gets questioned by NBC's Richard Engel, and much more.
As Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) notes in the video above, Chump's handing out gifts. Chamberlain Harris and Margo Martin (POLITICO) report:
President Donald Trump gave three of his closest aides $45,000 cash gifts for the holidays, according to financial disclosures filed by the White House.
Natalie Harp, Chamberlain Harris and Margo Martin each reported receiving the gift from Trump in their annual public financial disclosures. The gifts totaled $135,000 and came on top of each aide’s $150,000 taxpayer-funded annual salary.
The filings identify Trump as the source of each payment and describe the gifts as “cash gift for the holidays.” Harris listed Trump’s location as Washington, D.C., while Harp and Martin listed it as Palm Beach, Florida. They were filed under the federal government’s public financial disclosure requirements.
The payments amount to 30 percent of each aide’s annual White House salary.
The disclosures identify Trump as the source of the payments and describe them as “cash gift for the holidays.”
The recipients are among the aides with the most regular access to the president.
With 55 days until the midterm vote, Chump gets more bad news. Fernando Cervantes Jr. (USA TODAY) reports:
As November’s midterm elections loom, President Donald Trump’s approval rating continues to struggle, reaching a new record low in a new Focaldata/Financial Times poll released over Labor Day weekend.
The poll, released on Sunday, Sept. 6, found that only 32% of Americans approved of Trump’s job performance, a three-point drop from last month’s edition and the lowest the president has seen in Focaldata/Financial Times tracking since it began in May.
Trump’s slip in the most recent poll comes as his approval among Republicans also dropped by two percentage points to 72%, marking a new low, according to the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, Kathrine Frich (DAGENS) notes:
The economic squeeze is turning into political poison ahead of upcoming elections. In an interview with the Mirror US, analyst Christopher Lee warned that key advisors might soon turn on each other to protect their own careers.
Lee highlighted Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as primary candidates who could create distance from the White House.
“Trump’s approval is at the dreaded 30% level where members of his own party are, within the next few weeks, likely to distance themselves from him,” Lee stated.
Former supporters are also expressing anger over sudden foreign policy shifts. “Additionally, the ‘no new wars’ cadre in MAGA are pretty angry over Trump breaking his promises on Iran, and to a lesser extent, Venezuela,” Lee added.
Tamara Keith (NPR) notes, "At the unconventional midterm convention kicking off in Dallas Wednesday, President Trump will be the star of the show, serving as headliner both nights of the two-night event. It is being billed as a 'Trumpapalooza,' a term Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters has been wearing out from overuse." Trumpapalooza? Try TrumpTheBigLoosa.
It begins in Dallas later today. Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:
Republicans arriving in Dallas for President Donald Trump's midterm convention are describing an atmosphere far removed from the triumphant spectacle organizers had planned, with candidates increasingly distancing themselves from the president over fears he could sink their campaigns in November.
"The vibes are very bad," a Republican lobbyist close to the White House told Politico Playbook. "Dems are salivating. Our people are debating Israel. Or melting down about this or that. No one is motivated to vote. Only the DSA rise is what's keeping us in the game."
One person close to the White House told Playbook the best outcome might simply be low viewership, given the convention's scheduling collision with NFL season openers.
"My only hope is that no one watches it," the person said. "Hopefully nobody notices the embarrassing show. ... I don't think it will matter. No one knows about it, no enthusiasm, and it's during football. Only D.C. people care."
That starts today. Chump descends upon the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas today and plans to hang around until tomorrow evening so that he can gather all his fans and worshippers together to celebrate and praise him. THE NEW REPUBLIC's Michael Tomasky observes:
Except for the Kool-Aid-drinking third of the population, America is sick of Donald Trump. The third of us who’ve always seen him as a fascist were sick of him 10 minutes after he descended that escalator. The middle third, well, their enthusiasm for him has waxed and waned, but in these last couple of months, they finally seem to have realized what a charlatan the man is.
So this convention, in other words, is exactly what America doesn’t want: two more prime-time nights of watching Donald Trump whine and moan and tell the country how great his poll numbers are and how “hot” America is. That should work great!
It appears that the idea was Trump’s, not some aide or sycophant’s. That makes sense. Only Trump is dense enough to think this is a good idea. Much has been made of the fact that they scheduled this without realizing that they’re competing (this Wednesday and Thursday) with the first two nights of the new NFL season, and against marquee matchups both nights. But I prefer to think that one of his saner aides knew this and scheduled it anyway, praying that most Americans would rather watch Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford than tune in to Trump’s train wreck.
Have you seen that list of speakers? If they’d asked me to come up with a speaking list, I couldn’t have concocted something this self-parodic, this certain to repel middle America. There’s Mr. Measles, a.k.a. RFK Jr. He’s almost as unpopular as Trump. There’s Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary who used to brag that America under Trump would see 4, 5, or even 6 percent GDP growth (actual 2025 figure: 2.1 percent, or 25 percent worse than Sleepy Joe’s 2024 number) and who in a just world would be prosecuted for lying to Congress. Todd Blanche, the most corrupt attorney general since, well, Pam Bondi, but a man so shady and unprincipled that he makes Bondi look like Louis Brandeis. And Karoline Leavitt—America wants more of her, right after she quit her job, mouthing her mendacious platitudes like those brainwashed soldiers in The Manchurian Candidate? Don Jr.? Seriously? Don Jr.??
Oh. There’s also Scott Turner. Who’s Scott Turner? Good question. I didn’t know. And I’m not telling you. He’s in the administration. You can google him, and when you see him, I think you’ll see why they added him to the list.
What a bestiary. And that’s why I’m kind of excited. A president at 35 percent in the polls presiding over $4.15 a gallon gas and thinking he’s doing something neat by trying to change New Mexico’s name (“Oh, hell, no,” blared a headline in the Albuquerque Journal) will now go before the nation for two nights spewing lie after lie about the economy. Pass the popcorn.
Jared Kushner on Sunday was asked directly why his lacking track record should inspire “any confidence” in his abilities to negotiate an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting the U.S. special envoy and son-in-law of President Donald Trump to get defensive.
“You have been involved in numerous negotiations around the world,” said NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel during a press conference in Kyiv. “Why should people have any confidence in your capacity to succeed here?”
Kushner, who married the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump in 2009, has been involved in high-stakes peace talks in recent years to help end several international conflicts — including the Israel-Gaza conflict, the war on Iran and Russia’s offensive against Ukraine.
“You were involved in the Gaza negotiations, but Gaza remains a wasteland,” Engel noted. “There’s been really no progress there. Iran, you were involved in those negotiations. The war is still going on.”
He continued, “You’ve been involved in several rounds of negotiations in this conflict. It’s only getting more intense. So you’re relaunching negotiations now. What’s the likelihood they will succeed, when other negotiations you’ve been involved in have not?”
Kushner has been under scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest in his dual role as a Trump adviser handling U.S. diplomatic efforts with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia while running a private equity firm heavily funded by those same governments.
Kushner has enriched himself. He's not accomplished anything for the United States however. He's just another in the inner circle grifting and on the take.
They all harm the country. And Chump has harmed the farming and the cattle industries. From yesterday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR):
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Canada hit back today against President Trump's latest 50% tariffs. The country is levying its own retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods. This will affect everything from imports of steel to farm equipment. Farmers in rural border states are worried about their bottom line, as NPR's Kirk Siegler reports from northern Montana.
KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: It's a two-hour drive north to the province of Alberta from Steve Sheffels' wheat and barley farm outside Great Falls. But you can see evidence of Canadian trade everywhere here, starting with the massive steel shredders attached to the front of his combines for harvesting.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMBINE MACHINE RUNNING)
SIEGLER: They're called headers, and they cut the grain he just finished harvesting.
STEVE SHEFFELS: For us, anyway, these headers are the best ones that we can buy. We think so.
SIEGLER: And they're made in Canada with steel, and they're ideal for this harsh environment, Sheffels says. He says this whole trade tussle feels like a big waste of time.
SHEFFELS: Getting the entire world upset with us. Our trading partners, I mean, can't be happy with what's going on.
SIEGLER: Now farm equipment is subject to a 15% or higher retaliatory tariff. This is just the latest economic stress for grain farmers, who are enduring generally flat commodity prices, the second trade war spanning two Trump administrations, as well as record-high diesel prices and rising fertilizer costs. All of this uncertainty weighs on Sheffels.
SHEFFELS: I'd like to consider buying a new drill, and I'm also looking at grain bins that come out of Canada, and I'm afraid I won't be able to afford them.
SIEGLER: Touching three provinces, Canada is Montana's single largest trading partner, accounting for about a billion in cross-border sales. That's no small number for a state with barely a million people. Lately, farmers have been shipping a lot of barley north to Canadian feed lots, as well as their cattle, which had been a lifeline for the struggling ag economy.
JILLIEN STREIT: It's just sad that food has to be a bargaining chip.
SIEGLER: This is Jillien Streit, director of Montana's Department of Agriculture, who also grows wheat alongside chickpeas and lentils on a family farm and ranch near the border.
STREIT: Canada is a hugely important trade partner because, I mean, I don't know how many times as a farm wife, I'm running up to Lethbridge to get parts. Or especially on the cattle side of things - we send 15% of our herd up north to be fed out.
SIEGLER: Streit thinks farmers will get through this latest trade war by maintaining strong business ties with farmers and companies north of the border that she says are caught in the middle of this escalating trade fight. Montana voted overwhelmingly for Trump, and it's not just farming that's going to be hit. At the Montana World Trade Center in Missoula, Director Brigitta Miranda-Freer is worried. She says America's adversarial tone toward Canada will jeopardize business for small manufacturers here and the vital service and tourism industries.
BRIGITTA MIRANDA-FREER: It doesn't feel right for Montanans (laughter), right? Montanans very much pride themselves on developing business relationships that are authentic and personal.
SIEGLER: For wheat and barley farmer Steve Sheffels, it all feels personal. He says this isn't how you treat friends, let alone one who has been one of the U.S.'s closest allies.
SHEFFELS: They're critical trading partners. My wife is Canadian (laughter). It just - you know, you don't treat your neighbors like this.
We've noted here that Chump's tariffs, his war on Iran and his war on immigrants have destroyed the US economy. The war on immigrants impacting the economy? ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR) covered that yesterday:
SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The Trump administration's nationwide immigration crackdown is well into its second year. Federal immigration agents have arrested hundreds of thousands of people since Inauguration Day. On any given day, about 65,000 people are sitting in immigration detention. That's a record. And about 70% of them have no criminal conviction. Now, new research quantifies how much these ICE arrest operations are costing local economies, and not just in immigrant neighborhoods. Here's NPR's Jasmine Garsd.
JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: In the days after President Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2025, the mood in Chicago's Latino neighborhoods was tense. Rumors were running wild that this city was going to be the first to see ICE raids. A waitress NPR spoke to back then, named Caridad, requested that we not use her last name for fear of being targeted.
CARIDAD: (Speaking Spanish).
GARSD: "I have to go grocery shopping," she said, "but I haven't because what if ICE is there? People are more than afraid. They're panicking." A new study out today shows just how big an economic impact that panic and the ICE raids that followed had. The report by the University of Illinois Chicago used anonymous GPS data from cellphones to unpack the economic toll of ICE operations in 2025 throughout Chicago. The study tracked movement between immigrant neighborhoods and nonimmigrant neighborhoods in Chicago's Cook County. Professor Matt Wilson, a study co-author, says the usual back-and-forth between the two areas stopped almost immediately.
MATT WILSON: The flows from the high Latin American-born areas to the low Latin American-born areas collapsed after January 20.
GARSD: Wilson says it's remarkable how strongly the economic impact was felt outside those immigrant communities. Now, the report estimates that the raids cost retail and restaurants in nonimmigrant neighborhoods in the county about $1.26 billion, and it cost the state around $107 million in tax revenue.
WILSON: We see that 9% drop in retail and 10% drop in restaurant visits, and it persists for about a year. People's behavior systematically changed after January 20, 2025, and it never recovered.
GARSD: For a small business, a 10% drop over the course of a year can be a financial hit. In a statement to NPR, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said, quote, "If there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy. Removing these criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers." Wilson, the researcher, says the report underscores that no community is an island.
WILSON: I think a lot of people treat Latino and some immigrant communities as if they're insular and they're isolated. But it's really that these communities are much more integrated into the broader economy and they're making trips to faraway places in the county routinely.
GARSD: Several other studies have confirmed that ICE raids have sent economic shock waves throughout local economies in and well beyond immigrant neighborhoods. Jasmine Garsd, NPR News, New York.
Yanqi Xu (NEW YORK TIMES) reports on a Republican friend of Chump's who benefits from migrant workers -- documented and undocumented:
Before becoming Nebraska’s governor three years ago, Jim Pillen built a multimillion-dollar hog enterprise. Casting himself as a conservative businessman who would grow the state’s economy, he defeated a Trump-backed candidate in the Republican primary.
This time around, Mr. Pillen, who is seeking re-election this fall, won President Trump’s endorsement. The governor — who had rarely spoken out about immigration issues until last year — had embraced Mr. Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda.
Days after Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, the governor directed the Nebraska State Patrol to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement. He allowed the federal agency to use a former state prison, now referred to as Cornhusker Clink, to hold hundreds of detainees caught up in the administration’s mass deportation sweep. He has echoed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric about “criminal illegal aliens” who have “invaded our country” and decried “the worst of the worst” immigrants he has claimed are hiding out in Nebraska.
But for more than a decade, Mr. Pillen’s hog business has employed migrant workers, those who are in the country legally — and those who are not, The New York Times and The Flatwater Free Press found.
His company, Pillen Family Farms, has taken on undocumented workers as it has grown into one of the nation’s largest hog producers, according to a review of state and federal court records and interviews with more than 40 current and former employees, prosecutors, immigration lawyers and community organizers.
He's happy to use undocumented workers, to make money off of them. He is the ultimate hypocrite.
Or maybe that's Markwayne Mullin. Secretary of Homeland Security. Alexander Willis (RAW STORY) reports:
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who’s been accused by Democrats of stolen valor, revealed on Fox News Tuesday that he had been rejected by the U.S. military three times, and called the military’s decision to turn him down “crazy.”
In the past, Mullin has given vague references to the “smell” and “taste” of “war,” comments that have led some critics to accuse Mullin of misrepresenting himself as having served in the military. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) aggressively questioned Mullin on the matter in March during a congressional hearing, asking him: “So where did you smell war, sir?”
Mullin refused to answer, telling Peters his answer would reveal classified information.
On Tuesday, Mullin was asked by Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade where he was during the 9/11 attacks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the incident.
[. . .]
“No, not at that time, I actually tried to join the military three times after that, and... uh... because of some previous injuries, they never would accept me, which is crazy because I try to keep myself in good shape,” Mullin said. “But that didn't stop us from being involved in other ways.”
Stolen valor? Markwayne is always embarrassing himself. Bennito L. Kelty (RAW STORY) reported yesterday:
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin should "go back to plumbing school," a legal expert said, warning that his own on-camera words are a crime.
In a Monday episode of the "Legal AF" podcast, lawyer and legal analyst Michael Popok unloaded on Mullin after the secretary suggested federal agents could turn up where people cast their ballots. Popok said Mullin, or "somebody," needs a lesson in "18 United States Code 592" and "593," the statutes that govern "armed forces or troops at polling places."
Popok said Mullin gave away far more than he realized when he floated sending agents to serve a warrant.
"No, you can't," Popok said. "And you just conceded that you're willing to commit a crime punishable by five years in prison."
[. . .]
Popok mocked Mullin's resumé, saying he "had been a plumber or a small homebuilder, and that was his credentials to become the head of Homeland Security." Popok called the wider administration "comprised of dingbats and idiots" and said Mullin is "about as smart as his predecessor," a jab at former Secretary Kristi Noem.
Turning to Markwayne's predecessor Kristi Noem. Joseph Konig (PEOPLE) reports:
A damning new report from The Wall Street Journal details allegations that longtime MAGA operative Corey Lewandowski ran the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a “shadow secretary” and allegedly sought payments from the autocratic governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Lewandowski’s role was officially an unpaid “special government employee” and was never confirmed by the Senate for any leadership position in the department that President Donald Trump has poured tens of billions of dollars into as it carries out his violent and deadly mass deportation campaign.
Lewandowski — Trump’s onetime campaign manager and the rumored lover of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — was ousted when Noem, the former South Dakota governor, was fired earlier this year.
But the Journal reported on Monday, Sept. 7, that the DHS inspector general is investigating Lewandowski’s tenure at the department and considering a criminal referral to the Justice Department. The White House and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have been briefed on the investigation, according to the report.
The report alleges that Lewandowski micro-managed the process of awarding the smallest DHS grants to multi-billion-dollar deals, directly approached Qatar and UAE to hire him on the side, installed allies in key positions, and pivoted DHS’ focus from the homeland and Latin America to the Middle East.
Who does Lewandowski think he is? Jared Kushner?
ICE continues to terrorize. Saturday's WEEKEND EDITION (NPR) reported:
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Earlier this week, ICE agents raided a night spot in Memphis that is popular with many Latino residents and detained more than a hundred and twenty people. Officials say they had a warrant to search for drugs and illegal gambling. Erika Konig with the Institute for Public Service Reporting and member station WKNO reports that it was one of the agency's largest mass arrests this year.
ERIKA KONIG, BYLINE: It was close to 1 a.m. Sunday when agents flooded into El Corralon, a restaurant and bar in Berclair, a Hispanic neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
KONIG: This employee asked NPR not to use her name because she fears jeopardizing a pending immigration case. She says patrons were told to put their hands up, that they were all being arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
KONIG: "Men and women were screaming, almost fainting and crying," she says.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
KONIG: "The mothers were screaming for their children or praying out loud." Then the questions started.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
KONIG: "One by one, they were asked about their papers and work permits." This employee from Central America keeps immigration documents with her. She and three others were released at the scene. Other patrons were not so fortunate. A relative of this employee was among those arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Spanish).
KONIG: She's now taking care of that relative's four children, including a 2-year-old, she says. The father was previously deported. The immigrant rights group Vecindarios 901 says the parents of at least 16 children were taken into custody in this raid. Data show this was one of the largest, single-day ICE arrests in the country this year. In a press release, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is quoted as saying those arrested included child abusers, drug traffickers and violent assailants. So far, the agency identified only five people in custody but was silent about the remaining 116. Community activists, such as Gisela Guerrero, question the need to arrest so many others.
GISELA GUERRERO: So any person is meant to be innocent until proven guilty. Any person is meant to have a right against illegal search and seizure and detainment, and everybody has a right to due process. And all of those rights are being violated in this case.
KONIG: ICE agents used search warrants from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to enter the bar looking for drugs and gambling equipment. Lucas Cameron-Vaughn with the American Civil Liberties Union says that should not give ICE the power to arrest an entire club full of people.
The ICE terrors are taking place around the country. Frederick, Maryland saw seen several days of terror from ICE and that's part of a larger wave in the state. Ahmed Hassan (HOODLINE) explains, "The Frederick standoff comes amid a broader escalation of interior immigration enforcement across the region. Federal officials reported arresting 1,328 people across Maryland and Virginia between August 1 and August 14 as part of a sweep designated Operation Safe Community, according to The Center Square." As for Frederick, Sara Ruberg (BALTIMORE BANNER) reported this past weekend:
Federal immigration agents violently clashed with protesters in Frederick on Friday night, using their vehicles to clear sidewalks and dragging protesters from the front porch of a home they attempted to enter, city officials said.
The escalation occurred after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents staked out a small neighborhood in the Taskers Chance area for about 40 hours starting at 6 a.m. Thursday. A couple of dozen community members gathered to watch the federal agents as more of them began to pour in and spread across the few streets of the subdivision.
The stakeout confused residents and put many of them on edge, according to activists and local officials. Many residents did not leave their homes, Katie Nash, vice president of Frederick City Council, said, and there were federal agents on every street of what she described as a quiet, small neighborhood.
Friday night, she says things took a turn.
"They turned on all of their lights in their vehicles, and they made an announcement saying everybody needed to disperse, that we were impeding a federal investigation and that we would be arrested if we remained on the scene," Tatiana said.
Video shows some of the people gathered there, linking arms and moving towards the home. Tatiana says things only escalated from there.
"They were pushing people down on the ground. They kicked them, they were beating them with batons," she said. "It was very violent for something that Um, just seemed over the top at that time like it wasn't necessary."
"These people weren't doing anything other than standing in front of this home," she said.
About an hour after that happened, the federal officers left, she shared.
Joseph DeBell (FREDERICK NEWS-POST) noted:
Several people reported injuries during the confrontation, which drew city police back to a neighborhood where ICE agents maintained a presence for much of the previous two days.
Videos provided to The Frederick News-Post show protesters linking arms and moving in front of a home on Stoneybrook Court, near the Taskers Chance neighborhood, as agents approached.
Agents can then be seen pushing through the group. Several appear to strike protesters with batons as an agent orders people to back up.
Another video shows an agent throwing an observer to the ground.
WJZ speaks with witnesses to ICE's actions.
The following sites updated:
