Dear Everybody,

 Here’s the news for August 23. Connie will be back tomorrow!

This is John Stith https://www.neverend.com  filling in.

 Harp Snark. New reporting today says Natalie Harp posted approximately 150 pro-Trump messages on January 6, 2021, including messages urging Trump supporters to “never concede.” The posts came from an account that has subsequently been disabled. That’s significant because the recent Harp story has primarily concerned her extraordinary personal devotion to Trump and her current role as one of the people controlling the information reaching him. The January 6 material adds evidence that her loyalty was already unusually intense during the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. And despite the recent controversy, Harp remains physically close to Trump: she was photographed accompanying him at his Virginia golf course yesterday.  This is, as opposed to Bedminster, which is Trump’s New Jersey combination golf course & cemetery. Probably in Trump’s orbit, people no longer say “sleep with the fishes.” They might now say “sleep with Ivana.”      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/23/natalie-harp-january-6-trump-capitol-tweets

Three-Hour Tour from Hell.  There is also new reporting today on the USS Abraham Lincoln’s journey home. According to today’s reporting, the Navy was forced to conduct replenishment operations from much farther away, including Diego Garcia, contributing to shortages and deteriorating conditions aboard ship. There’s also a big new political wrinkle circulating today: a sailor serving aboard the Lincoln says his father was taken into ICE custody while he was deployed.  Trump claims it’s “fake News” that the ship had problems, but the ship is in fact being sent back to port.  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/international/fought-for-america-ice-took-his-dad-uss-lincoln-sailors-emotional-story-shocks-pete-hegseth/videoshow/133442638.cms

Canada 5, Trump 0.  Trump is still unclear on who pays tariffs and that Canada is a different country with their own needs and goals.  Trump has said Canada wants “the benefits of being a State, without being one” after trade talks collapsed late on Friday. He also said American farmers had been charged “massive amounts of Tariffs” for years. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fresh tariffs a “miscalculation” designed to “hurt and divide us”. Will somebody tell Trump?       https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx272np7vgyo

GOP Planning for Disaster. The Left May Vote. The Los Angeles Times reports that Democratic officials, election lawyers and voting-rights organizations are now actively preparing for possible federal intervention, including attempts to deploy federal personnel or otherwise interfere with state election administration. The Guardian goes further, reporting concern among election experts that Trump’s repeated claims about noncitizen voting and election vulnerability could be laying political groundwork for invoking some form of national emergency before the election. There is no substantial evidence supporting claims of widespread noncitizen voting. The constitutional point is key: states and Congress—not the president—have the principal constitutional authority over federal-election mechanics. MAGA in 2026: States’ Rights? We don’t need no stinkin’ states’ rights.    https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2026-08-23/will-trump-interfere-in-midterms-democrats-their-allies-are-preparing    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/23/trump-sowing-election-distrust

Fat Man Only a Little Boy in Some Ways.  You may remember Donald Trump, the failed casino owner famed for fat-shaming women. The Washington Post reports that tubby has gained another 20 pounds, just since he became president again.     https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/23/doctors-say-trump-weight-poses-significant-health-risk/

Different Scales Tipping, Maybe. An Axios report today says more Senate races are moving from “stronghold” to “battleground.”  Democrats are expanding the Senate battlefield beyond Texas and Iowa into traditionally Republican territory including Alaska, Kansas, Ohio, Mississippi, and Nebraska.   https://www.axios.com/2026/08/23/senate-ohio-alaska-iowa-texas-kansas-mississippi-nebraska  This NY Times piece expands on the Ohio race.    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/us/politics/ohio-politics-voter-anger.html

Bread and Circuses, Volume 342654.  DC has been converted into an IndyCar Speedway for the day.  Among the many unexpected consequences: DC had to weld shut more than 220 downtown manhole covers.  https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/23/politics/live-news/trump-administration-freedom-250-race  https://dc.citycast.fm/explainers/dc-manhole-grand-prix

Today in History:

The movie THE BIG SLEEP premiered on this day in 1946.

Birthdays today for Gene Kelly, River Phoenix, Barbara Eden, and Shelley Long.

Good News:

You Can Only Fool 33% of the People All the Time. The Reuters/Ipsos polling released this week says Trump’s approval has fallen to 33%, with 64% disapproving—his lowest approval rating of this term.  Historically, the president’s approval rating is strongly associated with his party’s House performance, and the president’s party has lost House seats in 20 of the past 22 midterms. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-33-lowest-his-presidency-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-17/

It’s the stupid economy. Voters have recently given Democrats a slight advantage over Republicans on the economy and cost of living, areas where Republicans ordinarily expect to have an advantage. Reuters/Ipsos found Democrats ahead 37–36 on handling the economy.  A one-point advantage isn’t impressive by itself. The reversal is. Republicans losing their traditional economic advantage while an incumbent Republican president sits at 33% approval is a particularly unpleasant combination for them.   https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-lead-republicans-economy-trump-approval-falls-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-03/

Quote for the Day: “The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic.” ― H.L. Mencken

This is John Stith, covering for Connie Willis for August 21, 22, 23.

As Connie says, keep calm and carry on,