Wednesday, August 12 | By Joshua Feldstein and Steff Danielle Thomas
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It's Wednesday. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. Let's not ask too many questions.
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Programming note: Hello! We are Joshua Feldstein and Steff Danielle Thomas filling in for Cate, who will return to your inboxes on Thursday! Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to jfeldstein@thehill.com or sthomas@thehill.com.
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Lindell isn't ready to call it a night: |
Getty Images | Richard Tsong-Taatarii
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MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is refusing to concede in Minnesota’s GOP gubernatorial primary against state House Speaker Lisa DeMuth (R), who defeated Lindell by about 11 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Only trusting the votes: Lindell, who was backed by President Trump, said on his LindellTV network that he wouldn’t listen to The Associated Press if it called the race for DeMuth, and that the only way he would concede is if all votes were counted.
“There’s 265,000 votes left to count. I’m down by 18,000 now. I’m not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That’s nonsense," Lindell said.
Lindell was behind by double digits when DDHQ called the race for DeMuth, despite just over 20 percent of the votes being counted, according to The Hill’s Caroline Vakil and Julia Mueller.
No rest for the winner: DeMuth advances to face Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) in November to see who will replace retiring Gov. Tim Walz (D).
Lindell stepped away from his company, MyPillow, to focus on his campaign, and his next steps are up in the air.
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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Did Wisconsin burst the DSA bubble?: |
The Democratic gubernatorial primary went deep into the Wisconsin night but ended in a Badger State upset to see who will run to take Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) spot.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, whom Evers endorsed, defeated democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong, with the race called at about 2:20 a.m. EDT when Crowley was ahead by 3,000 votes. Crowley will now face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who easily secured the GOP nomination in his primary.
Crowley’s victory over Hong was a disruption in a recent pattern of socialists defeating moderate Democrats across the country.
Progressive winning streak: Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial election came a week after a massive win for progressives in Michigan, when capitalist Abdul El-Sayed defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D) in the Democratic Senate primary race. El-Sayed will now face GOP Rep. Mike Rogers.
Just before Crowley’s victory, another center-left Democrat fell in Minnesota, as progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) defeated Rep. Angie Craig (D) in the North Star State’s Senate Democratic primary. The two battled it out for a chance to take the seat of retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D).
The Democratic Socialists of America had also seen success in big city elections, specifically in New York City with Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and the District of Columbia’s Janeese Lewis George (D), who is poised to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Who backed Hong?: Hong received support from progressive Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) but failed to receive an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who both supported El-Sayed.
She also drew a lot of criticism from the media in the past week, especially after a 2020 social media post that said she wanted to “cancel Thanksgiving” resurfaced. She later backtracked on the comment and told Politico’s Irie Sentner during an interview that it was her “favorite” holiday.
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➤🌴SOUTH CAROLINA SAYS RUN IT BACK: : |
Trump-backed Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), who was appointed to finish the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s term, will face GOP Rep. Ralph Norman in a runoff election on Aug. 25.
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Democrat Rep. John Larson (Conn.) lost to Luke Bronin in the Hartford-based 1st Congressional District.
🖊️ Here are the key takeaways from last night's races by The Hill's Caroline Vakil and Julia Mueller.
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An Air [Force One] quality check: |
Trump weighed in Tuesday on the controversial plane ruse last month — and it turns out he also has questions about it.
Catch up: Trump was secretly moved off Air Force One during his trip home from Turkey last month after officials were concerned about a potential threat from Iran. Reporters and some White House staffers, meanwhile, flew to the U.K. on the jet without him.
The president said Tuesday he followed the advice of the Secret Service and military — but suggested the maneuver may have actually made him less safe.
The Hill’s Julia Manchester breaks down the ruse here.
His thinking: Air Force One is Air Force One for a reason. The highly modified aircraft comes equipped with extensive security and defensive capabilities designed specifically to protect the president.
“It’s up to the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight from a different plane. I do what they say,” he told reporters on Tuesday, after the attending the Patriot Games in Ohio.
But, Trump added, “I think there was probably more danger in changing planes.”
The unanswered question: What exactly spooked officials enough to secretly move a sitting president off Air Force One? Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is among those asking this question and is demanding a briefing on the incident.
We still don’t know much about the specific threat that prompted the switch — which means this unusual story has some runway left.
> NOT THE FIRST DECOY:
This isn’t the first high-stakes presidential plane switcheroo.
In 2000, President Clinton secretly traveled to Pakistan aboard an unmarked Gulfstream jet during a visit that came amid serious security concerns. Meanwhile, another aircraft took off as a decoy — helping conceal which plane held Clinton.
The precautions were so extensive that his plane reportedly flew without presidential markings and kept its lights off as it approached the South Asian country.
🧐 Read the first-person account from The Hill’s Bill Sammon.
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🏗️ HGTV: White House edition: |
Grab your pocketbooks, folks. The White House renovation tab is getting pricey.
The Trump administration is planning at least $927 million in construction projects across the White House grounds, according to a new Washington Post report. And no, that eye-popping number isn’t just for the ballroom.
What could cost nearly $1 billion? There’s Trump’s new ballroom, of course, but plans also include work around Lafayette Square, a new visitor screening facility, the helipad and a number of other upgrades across the complex.
The president has said private donors would pick up the tab, but the broader White House makeover involves hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding, per the Post.
There is one rather large item missing from the renovation checklist, though: permission to keep building.
A federal appeals court ruled last week that the Trump administration needs congressional approval to move forward with much of the construction. The president has vowed to appeal, meaning this particular dispute could wind up at the Supreme Court.
The reviews aren't exactly five stars: Polling has found that most Americans oppose the ballroom project, and public comments on the plans have been overwhelmingly negative.
Quite the season finale!
> 📊 WHEN IT RAINS, IT POLLS:
The president’s approval rating on the economy has dipped to 33 percent, as voters feel the weight of affordability concerns and everyday costs ahead of November, according to a new survey from The Economist/YouGov.
That comes as inflation cooled slightly in July, despite continued pressure from fluctuating energy prices tied to the Iran war.
Waning support aside, Trump continues to tease a third-term run.
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DHS, ICE deliver ‘shocking’ announcement: |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would be provided with electric shock gloves.
ICE’s new devices will be called the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, cleverly known as GLOVE. According to KFOR, the devices will be similar to Tasers, but with lower voltage.
“ICE is constantly assessing the needs for our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal aliens from our county,” a DHS spokesperson told NewsNation.
“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the spokesperson continued.
How does the GLOVE work?: The electric shock gloves will be made by the firm Compliant Technology and will use positives and negatives on the hand to create a response on the skin, according to a company spokesperson.
It was emphasized that the shocks delivered would not have any impact on medical devices such as pacemakers or defibrillators.
Despite this, some are questioning whether ICE should be provided with more weapons, while others are saying that it could help aid officers in the field.
When will they be implemented?: According to the DHS, it is expected that the gloves will be distributed to ICE officers as soon as March.
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— The WNBA has drawn conservative attention in recent weeks because of its eligibility requirements, but Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White pushed back against critics saying “the divisiveness that’s trying to hijack our league will not win. It won’t win.”
— Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for a reduction in the number of recommended vaccines for young children, splitting apart measles, mumps and rubella shots. But the decision comes at a risky time only a few months before the midterms.
— Celebrity endorsements were all the rage during the 2024 presidential election, but entertainers such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lawrence have said they will leave their views out of the spotlight the next time around.
— Secretary of State Marco Rubio also got candid this week on Katie Miller’s podcast. Tupac, his future career plans and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s cats were all fair game.
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The New York Times: Trump’s Tariffs Force Some Canadian Companies to Consider Moving South
Axios: Take a look at Trump's Kennedy Center renovation plans
The Wall Street Journal: Why Wall Street and Nvidia Are Building an Exotic Money Pipeline for the AI Boom
NBC News: Count Binface, the man in a can with a plan, seeks Parliament seat in Britain’s wackiest election
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is at the White House with no public events scheduled. (All times EDT)
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2:30 p.m.: Trump signs an executive order
Today: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is traveling to Panama today and will deliver remarks at the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition Forum.
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👦👧🧒 Celebrate: Today is National Middle Child Day!
🧊 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is not the only big name to openly talk about freezing her eggs. Several celebrities have also considered the procedure. Here are 13 of them, according to People.
🌑 Total eclipse of the sun: Low-key jealous of Greenland, Iceland and other parts of the Arctic and Europe that will get to experience the full solar eclipse today. Others, including those on the Atlantic, will catch a glimpse of a partial one. 📺NASA’s feed is here.
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I don’t know about you, but sometimes the struggle is real and staying awake is a daunting task. I think this golden retriever pup gets it.
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📺 Miss a recent newsletter? Catch up with a video recap here.
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