Four Dems called out for helping Republicans cut food aid for pregnant women and children

Democrats are running on working-class résumés. Republicans question the credentials

As Democrats try to rebuild support among working-class voters, they’re increasingly running candidates who bill themselves as blue-collar outsiders, and Republicans are increasingly accusing them of overselling the story. From Montana to Maine, campaigns are scrutinizing rivals’ résumés, political connections, and family backgrounds to undermine claims of working-class authenticity. Republicans have already begun deploying that […]

Trump’s gruesome specter may save the Dems’ bacon in contentious election

Up until the last minute, Democrats in ultra blue California were on the ropes in the governor’s race and local elections, with boisterous Trump-style candidates making huge strides with populist arguments.But then the long, dark shadow of President Donald Trump fell over angsty voters, and weekend news reports reveal something changed. The New York Time reports this has plenty to do with the violent thrashing of a fading MAGA star.The California governor’s race was in question for embattled Democrats due to high inflation and state taxes, and there was no guarantee that Democrat Xavier Becerra would advance to the general election for California governor. But on Friday, Becerra surpassed Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton. And s of Friday evening, the Times reports he was leading the race with 26.7 percent of the vote, with Hilton at 26.4 percent. These numbers did not reflect the scrum preceding poll results in the weeks leading up to the vote.Meanwhile, Democratic Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman is closing in on Trump-endorsed reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, cutting his lead to about 3 percentage points, according to the LA Times, as both vie for second place in the mayoral primary.This breathing room for Democrats — however potentially fleeting — should not be so easy to come by, say critics, with California’s burgeoning homelessness and taxes. But it appears Trump-style personality and reality star-pizzazz may not be enough to easily carry a candidate over the finish line after all.Political scientist Jonathan Bernstein told the New York Times on Friday that Trump’s reality-star demeanor is deflating into empty showmanship before voters thanks to Trump’s personal failure to deliver on his own political promises.“Trump’s main politically relevant skill is that he’s actually a really good reality TV star. He’s very good at grabbing attention,” said Bernstein. “ … [But] Trump is an inept president, so he mostly squanders the attention he gets — and at least half the time, he winds up drawing attention to things that don’t help him at all.”“We never know what’s really going on in a president’s head, but it seems to me that Trump thinks winning elections is like winning a prize — the United States of America — to do with as he pleases. But what actually happens in elections is that the voters hire you to do a job. It’s a job with some 340 million bosses. And like all jobs, it has constraints and obligations.”And judging by the horrific polling numbers Trump has been turning out for most of 2026, voters are not approving of his job.“Trump, as far as I can tell, just doesn’t see that. Which, among other things, seems to mean that he actually gets worse at all of this as he goes along,” said Bernstein.Couple that with a few Trump endorsements of GOP candidates in a state that generally hates him, and Democrats appear to be finding an edge that should not easily exist.

First round of June Social Security payments goes out in four days

The first round of June Social Security payments for retirees, now capped at $5,181, will be issued in four days. When will payments arrive? Retirees born on or before the 10th of a month will receive this payment on June 10. The second round will go out on June 17 to those born between the […]

WATCH: Hawley fumes after 4 GOP senators help sink Trump-backed voter ID law

Sen. Josh Hawley criticizes four Republicans who voted with Democrats to block the SAVE Act voter ID amendment in the Senate reconciliation package.

Karl-Anthony Towns helps lead Knicks to critical Game 2 win — even if one thing slowed him down

The only thing that can slow down Karl-Anthony Towns at this point is the officiating.

Fetterman talks Graham Platner ‘d*ck’ pics: ‘I’m glad my children aren’t old enough to watch this show’

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) surprised a CNN talking head with his graphic remarks about Maine Democrat Senate hopeful Graham Platner’s history of lewd messaging to women. […]

'Poof, it's gone': The quiet way Republicans kill Trump's priorities without a vote

President Donald Trump has a reputation for bending Republicans to his will, but a political scientist said Friday there's a quiet trick Republicans use to kill his priorities — without ever casting a vote against him.In a New York Times conversation, Good Politics/Bad Politics writer Jonathan Bernstein laid out the strategy political scientist Matthew Glassman calls "negative agenda setting." If Republicans simply never bring something to a vote, it vanishes, and no one has to go on record opposing the president."As Trump's unpopularity among voters starts to really sink in, Senate Republicans seem to be more willing to go public," Bernstein said. "But there are still lots of things, from nominations to specific budget requests, that just disappear."Trump has repeatedly demanded the Senate nuke the filibuster to ram through his SAVE Act voter restrictions — and Senate leadership has simply refused to move on it. His proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund was stripped down after Senate Republicans balked, and even outgoing senators have admitted colleagues are deliberately sitting on the sidelines to avoid a public fight.Bernstein argued that Trump makes it easy by not sweating the details. A more engaged president, he said, would fight for these items — or never propose doomed ones in the first place. Instead, they quietly die without a vote."If they never take an action on something, say a vote, poof, it’s gone," said John Guida, a Times Opinion editor.

Dem Reactions to New Platner Revelations: the Good, the Bad - and the *Really* Ugly