Wednesday’s Mini-Report, 10.8.25
Today’s edition of quick hits.
Andrew Young: The Dirty Work
This new documentary reveals the untold story of Andrew Young — a behind-the-scenes force of the Civil Rights Movement and a giant of international diplomacy.
Kash Patel fires yet another group of FBI agents without cause, shutters corruption group
The Republicans’ “Arctic Frost” controversy has largely collapsed under scrutiny. It led the FBI to fire at least three special agents anyway.
GOP’s Josh Hawley tries and fails to make a ‘weaponization’ argument against Joe Biden
The Missouri Republican presented his best case to prove that the former president targeted his political opponents. Hawley failed spectacularly.
Team Trump’s clashes with the faith community go from bad to worse
The political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity of the conflicts between the Republican administration and the faith community.
Ministry of Truth | A New Book by MaddowBlog's Steve Benen
Steve Benen's new book, 'Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past,' with an audio version read by Rachel Maddow is now available.
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Wednesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 10.8.25: More House Democrats draw primary rivals
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
Even now, Republicans are still struggling to remember who was president in 2020
One professor joked, “‘Who was president in 2020?’ is the question of our time.” The number of Republicans who can’t answer the question correctly is amazing.
The latest Republican conspiracy theory about the FBI and Jan. 6 starts to unravel
Republicans are claiming that the FBI was caught “spying” on congressional Republicans and “tapping” their phones. That’s really not what happened.
White House announces radical new plan to allocate tariff revenue without Congress
The Constitution gives Congress what’s known as the “power of the purse.” When Trump tries to claim he has his own purse, there’s a problem.
Rachel Maddow Show
Is that really Rachel?
Spot checking and sometimes debunking quotes, memes and fake news stories about, or ascribed to, Rachel Maddow.
AG Pam Bondi refused to answer key questions, and Adam Schiff kept the receipts
Over several hours, the attorney general was unprofessional and partisan, but most importantly, she was evasive, rejecting important lines of inquiry.
When it comes to Trump's war on cities, he doesn't have the courts or the people on his side
It appears that Trump sending troops into U.S. cities hasn't made people any less interested in protesting against him.
Why Stephen Miller’s weird vision of a vast left-wing conspiracy matters
The deputy chief of staff’s conspiratorial vision is ridiculous, but given his position in the White House, it’d be a mistake to ignore it.
Republicans pick a losing fight over which is the party ‘concerned about health care’
GOP leaders apparently want a public debate over which party is focused on health care. Given the party’s record, that’s not a fight Republicans can win.
Six former surgeons general warn that RFK Jr. is ‘endangering the health of the nation’
This is the first time six former surgeons general have linked arms and urged the public to recognize the nation’s health secretary as dangerous.
Trump leaves the door open for a possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
It would’ve been easy for the president to simply say, “No, I have no intention of pardoning a convicted child sex trafficker.” But he again chose not to.
More MaddowBlog
Trump and his team add the NFL to its growing list of culture war targets
Given football’s popularity, common sense might suggest the president would be eager to align himself with the league, but he can’t seem to help himself.
Trump-appointed CIA leader makes himself the agency’s top legal official
A Trump loyalist is helping lead the CIA. The same Trump loyalist is also apparently in control the CIA’s legal judgments. What could possibly go wrong?
As the shutdown reaches the one-week mark, Trump points to 'negotiations' that don't exist
The president isn’t just boasting about imaginary negotiations, he’s also moving further away from the Democratic position on health care.
Monday's Mini-Report, 10.6.25
Today’s edition of quick hits.
Treasury eyes a commemorative dollar coin for Trump, with plans for a 2026 rollout
It might sound like a weird joke, but there’s an actual plan to make a legal tender $1 coin next year that would glorify the incumbent president.
As his FBI tenure goes from bad to worse, Kash Patel abandons the pretense of seriousness
The problem isn’t that the FBI director is failing at his attempts to be a serious and capable figure. The problem is that he isn’t even trying.
Despite campaign promises, White House eyes new changes to Social Security and Medicare
“I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” Trump vowed in 2024. I have bad news for voters who believed him.
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