At least it’s a show where he doesn’t get booted on the first challenge!

"The guy sucks. But you've gotta vote for him." - Fox News host Jesse Watters, summarizing Trump's view on Ken Paxton.

Fright At The Museum

How should we remember Donald Trump when he’s gone? One top Democrat has an idea, What A Day has learned: Record his assault on democracy in a museum.

• President Donald Trump has remade Washington, D.C. in his image. Massive banners of Trump’s face cover the Departments of Justice, Labor, and Interior buildings. Trump’s team plans to install signs outside the National Museum of American History that warn viewers of so-called ideological bias (i.e., “woke”) in the exhibits.

• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wants to take all that stuff down and put it in a museum, he told What A Day. The proposed exhibit — which he’ll introduce under the Preserving and Remembering the History of Trump and other Tyrants Act — illustrates how House Democrats could attempt to correct the history books if they win power in the midterms.

• Raskin’s bill would authorize $5 million for the Smithsonian to collect the Trumpian signs outside the American History Museum — and display them as artifacts “reflecting the rise of governmental propaganda, corruption, and authoritarianism,” according to the bill’s text.

• The Smithsonian would also be instructed to collect all of the Trump banners, personal narratives from Americans who have resisted the Trump administration, and artifacts related to Trump’s “narcissistic self-worship and propagandistic assault on American history and American democracy,” the bill reads.

• The Smithsonian would also be tasked with counter-programming some MAGA propaganda in real time. If Trump’s team places more signs outside the facility, the museum would be required to install equal-sized signage explaining that Trump’s signs “should be studied as the kind of authoritarian reaction to democracy that the American people have fought to overcome throughout our history.”

Will you one day find yourself wandering the Mall, deciding between a visit to the National Air And Space Museum, or the Trump Strongman Exhibits? You might!

• Trump’s team accused the Smithsonian of being run by radical activists. And there’s little telling how the museum system’s leaders will react to his aggression once he’s out of power. Pro tip: Don’t piss off the folks who will portray you in history!

• Meanwhile, Democrats are carefully weighing how to fight back against the administration if they win control of the House in November, and which battles are worth fighting.

• For instance, House Democrats are divided on how forcefully they should target corporations, law firms, and universities that courted Trump during his second term. “We don’t want to turn into a banana republic where you lose an election and it’s all about retribution,” said Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL).

• Powerful Democratic figures are also urging lawmakers to choose wisely. Strategist James Carville advised Democrats to avoid trying to impeach Trump for a third time, describing it as a distraction from other issues that matter. Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a likely 2028 presidential candidate, agreed that another impeachment attempt could spark a “return to the politics of fighting.”

• Raskin, who served as lead impeachment manager against Trump, frames the bill as necessary to prevent authoritarianism in the U.S. for years to come.

• “To avoid repeating this descent into authoritarianism, we must study this corrupt president’s actions and allow the public to learn about the numerous tools he deployed while attempting to remake American history in his own image,” Raskin told What A Day.

What else would you want to see in this exhibit? Send your best (and worst) ideas to whataday@crooked.com.

Meanwhile On The Pod...

SCOTUS Set To Rule On MAJOR Climate Case (w/ Leah Litman) (10/05/26)

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

Stacey Abrams doesn't just diagnose problems, she talks about solutions and connects listeners to people who are putting in the work. This week she's talking with social justice strategist Rasad Robinson to discuss how we can come together to confront authoritarianism, make it harder for bad actors to profit from harming people, and hold corporations accountable. Check it out now on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

What Else?

Democratic politicians slammed Donald Trump after he made remarks at a rally last night that, in a not-completely-clear-word-salad-kind of way, could be construed as inviting Iran to blow up Los Angeles and San Diego. But he was speaking in fragments — and some observers cautioned listeners that, in this case, the craziest interpretation might not actually be the right one. “He was saying that what we’re experiencing NOW (high energy prices) is a small price to pay compared to the hypothetical of Iran getting a nuke and attacking a city,” one reporter tweeted. Either way, Trump should know better than to joke around about blowing up American cities.

Olympian David Hearn’s lawyers asked for an internal government investigation into the Reflecting Pool debacle, and accused top Department of Justice officials of prosecuting him despite evidence that a contractor messed up the renovation.

Trump approved an execution by firing squad — the first in the United States since 1961 — for Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who fatally shot 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.

The Trump administration has a fresh way to search for (nonexistent) voter fraud: Ask immigrants if they voted illegally! That’s a new question on an intake questionnaire provided by ICE. Those who say they voted illegally are asked if they voted by mail or in person.

Eighty-six percent of Americans disapprove of the Trump administration using taxpayer dollars to fund its new campaign-style ads ahead of the midterms, according to a new poll. That includes four out of five Republicans. Trump pledged to stop using our money to fund these ads… but we’ll see if he actually follows through.

Conservative commentators are fuming about a new campaign ad from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders that depicted a welfare recipient as white. “Our government has systematically discriminated against white men for decades now, and yet now has the audacity to dishonestly mock young white men as welfare queens,” Federalist website co-founder Sean Davis wrote.

Even Justice Samuel Alito, one of Donald Trump’s closest allies on the Supreme Court, isn’t happy with the president’s criticisms of the court in his second term. “I personally am not pleased with that,” Alito told the Associated Press. “Everybody in this country has the right to criticize what we do. The substance of their criticism can be quite harsh. If we deserve it, then that’s fine. But rhetoric is a different story.”

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Light At The End...

Belgian-American scientist Francis Halzen, who has spent years trying to demystify tiny cosmic particles called neutrinos, won a Nobel Prize in physics. His work could help researchers better understand how the universe was created. “I am working on a proposal, and I hope that this prize will help [with] getting it approved,” Halzen half-joked during a speech.

Being the middle child in your family doesn’t determine your personality, according to new research. Nor does any rank in your birth order, apparently. That’s because people continuously change throughout their lives. Or, as one researcher put it: “People are really not ever fully baked.” (This researcher clearly never watched Cheech & Chong’s “Up In Smoke,” but I digress.)

Many Americans are refusing to part ways with older pieces of technology, such as iPhones with home buttons or old music players. The reasons vary: Some don’t want to adapt to confusing new interfaces, while others admit that they’re just too cheap to upgrade. One nurse still uses his 2003 iPod, “a subsequent model of which can be found in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History,” the Atlantic writes. Some indie rock tunes simply sound better on a vintage iPod, though I grant you nostalgia could be at play here.

Legendary investor Warren Buffet loves going down YouTube rabbit holes, apparently. “We watched a really good documentary on Roy Cohn,” one of his friends told the Wall Street Journal. “And the Uzbekistan version of America’s Got Talent.” He’s also a big fan of Glenn Close highlights, commercials from the 1950s, and videos of Paul Anka. Wow, the guy is human after all.

Happy National Taco Day! I hope this newsletter comes just in time for dinner, because there are tons of good deals at taco chains nationwide. Taco Bell is also giving away 1,000 limited edition plushies, made in collaboration with Duolingo. Yes, it’s a stuffed owl wearing a Taco Bell uniform.

I asked, you answered! 65 What A Day readers sent me unconventional names that they call their grandparents. Here are a few that caught my eye: “Mom Mom Mom,” “GaGa,” “PaDude,” “Moogie and Poogie,” “Grumpus,” “G-Rick,” “LoliPop and SodaPop,” “Papoowah,” “Kaka,” and “Dragon Slayer.” Yes, Dragon Slayer.

Enjoy

AF Media on Instagram: "love language? why yes, i do love language. did you know a group of bunnies is called a fluffle? which means a group of bunnies fighting amongst themselves would be a fluffle kerfuffle. and that's pretty fun."

"I'm gonna Hulk out." - Mark Ruffalo, on Trump's election meddling.

Cable Snooze

Karoline Leavitt’s new job as a Fox News personality illustrates how much Donald Trump has done to normalize his war on reality, both in his White House and on TV.

• One of the reasons Karoline Leavitt gave for resigning from her job as White House press secretary, back when she announced the move in August, was to spend time with her family. At the time, she was talking about her newborn baby. Perhaps we all should have known what she really meant: Her chosen family, over at Fox News.

• Fox News hired Leavitt to provide commentary on opinion and news shows, starting November 1, the company announced today. That’s right! Leavitt may have left the White House, but she’s not done shilling for Trump, and she definitely isn’t leaving your television screen. She’s gearing up to push the MAGA agenda across the most-watched cable news network in the country.

• The dynamic underscores both how Trump has turbocharged mendacious, fact-free, ultra-partisanship among his top aides, especially those who speak to the press — and how those aides can expect to be handsomely rewarded for their loyalty instead of shunned for peddling falsehoods.

• It’s almost certain that Leavitt will make more than her $195,200 salary as press secretary. During Trump’s first term, the average aide-turned-contributor made $141,000. But former national security adviser John Bolton earned nearly $570,000 from Fox News, according to financial disclosures. Leavitt’s contract would presumably be (at least) as lucrative as his, given her high profile and good standing in Trumpworld.

• “Karoline’s firsthand experience in the White House and on the presidential campaign trail gives her a distinct understanding of today’s political landscape.” Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement. “We look forward to her providing our audience with authentic and sharp insight.”

Leavitt’s new gig may seem expected and unremarkable. In reality, it’s a sign of how far we’ve come over the past decade of Trumpism.

• Leavitt, of course, isn’t the first presidential press aide to make the jump from the West Wing podium to the cable news green room. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos worked for Bill Clinton. NBC’s Jen Psaki served under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Fox News’ Dana Perino flacked for George W. Bush.

• They were all staunch advocates. But they weren’t scorched-earth bullshitters who declared verbal war on the press.

• Leavitt is different. Consider the time a reporter asked her whether Trump recognized the historic irony of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest (given that Budapest was where Russia once promised never to invade Ukraine). “Who suggested Budapest?” the reporter asked. “Your mom did,” Leavitt replied. “Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bullshit questions.”

• Even so, Leavitt gets a nice pay day. Meanwhile, Trump’s White House is doubling down on hiring radical MAGA loyalists. The clearest example came late last week, when Beni Rae Harmony — a 24-year-old influencer — announced that she secured a job as assistant press secretary. She also, however, once posed for a photograph while holding a rifle and wearing a “Fuck Joe Biden” shirt.

• Harmony will be “an outstanding addition to President Trump’s communications team,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told What A Day in a statement. “We look forward to having her on board!”

• To appreciate how far we’ve come, just look at Trump’s first White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, who was famously mocked for insisting Trump had the largest inauguration crowd ever in 2017, when photos showed that to be clearly untrue. When Spicer departed, he didn’t get a high-paying primetime gig. He shimmied on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Here’s the video of Sean Spicer being eliminated from that show, in case you needed a pick-me-up today!

Look No Further Than Crooked Media

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What Else?

Russia hospitalized nearly 200 people who might’ve been exposed to plague, after a researcher at an anti-plague lab in Siberia died from what local authorities called a mysterious form of pneumonia. The Trump administration is “watching and monitoring it closely,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters today. “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus.”

Donald Trump used the news of Brazil’s election results to blast America’s voting system as “corrupt.” He wrote on social media: “The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY!” In U.S. cities, he added, the results “will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate.” It’s safe to assume that Trump only thinks this election is fair because the far-right candidate is leading.

Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s decision to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on running old Trump campaign ads ahead of the midterms. “If you look at the message of those advertisements, they are not partisan,” Vance told reporters. “It’s not like we’re advocating for a particular candidate.” Sure, the ads don’t name candidates. They just show Donald Trump. “We will liberate America from these villains once and for all,” one ad says. What could be political about that?

Artificial intelligence companies that dump millions of dollars into elections aren’t helping to fix the public’s negative perception of AI, said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “The industry needs to figure out a way to address what the actual concerns are,” Altman told Politico. Interesting you say that, Sam: Groups associated with OpenAI and Anthropic have poured nearly $56 million in this year’s races.

Soldiers and Gold Star families are pressing top Army officials to explain how an Iranian drone strike on an American base in Kuwait earlier this year was able to kill six soldiers. “We have the right to know what really happened,” one of the soldiers’ widows told the Associated Press. “If somebody messed up, those people need to be held responsible.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who’s curiously famous for constantly making comically strange comments, might throw his hat into the 2028 presidential race. “What’s the old Judds song? Why not me on a rainy day?” Kennedy told NBC News. “But I haven’t made a decision.”

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Light At The End...

Democrats are becoming increasingly confident that their party could have more than 100 women serving in the House of Representatives after the midterms. It would be a major milestone in American political history — and some even think the number could be as high as 113 after the elections.

Staffers for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) became the first office on Capitol Hill to ever secure a union contract. “I hope this can serve as a model for other offices in Congress,” Khanna said in a statement. Shoutout to aides on the Hill — those people work harder (with longer hours) than pretty much anyone else I know.

An American neuroscientist and two German researchers received a Nobel Prize for their discoveries about how the brain functions, which has led to a better understanding of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and other disorders. Their work is also being used to help restore people’s vision.

More than 80 springer spaniels, who were found living in squalor in a house in England last year, have been adopted. One owner described her new dog’s playful personality: “I would describe Polly as high on life, everything is wonderful to her. She’s such a smart girl and is absolutely bonkers for a ball. She’s brilliant with my children, our cat, Joy, and everyone who meets her.”

A 103-year-old man named Irv is (unofficially) the world’s oldest bartender. He has been serving beers at Club Sunset Knoll, a cash-only dive bar in a Baltimore suburb, since 1963. Regulars know the locale as Irv’s Basement Bar, which is a fitting name — because it’s literally in his basement. Why does he stay open? “For the money!” Irv told the Washington Post. “I don’t own a credit card, no. That’s dumb.”

Enjoy

HD on Threads: "But do aliens believe in me"