Red flags fly after Trump 'lays the groundwork' for election plot: 'This is about pretext'

President Donald Trump may have just laid down the tracks for one of his boldest election plots yet, according to one political analyst. John Heilemann, an MS NOW political analyst, said on Sunday's broadcast of "Deadline: White House: Weekend" that Trump's recent national address about election security was an attempt to "lay down the tracks" for his next wave of lies about the election results."I think he's just trying to lay down the tracks on which he can make false claims in the future," Heilemann said. "For him, it's enough to have said those things publicly so that when he does what he's going to do, whatever that turns out to be in November, he can look back and say, 'I told you so. I said, this was rigged. You didn't believe me. You didn't listen to me. But it was rigged then, and it's rigged now ... This is an illegitimate election. And here's what we're going to do going forward.'" Heilemann noted that recent polling appears to back up his assertion. A recent poll from The Economist and YouGov found that 67% of Americans, including 77% of independent voters, thought Trump was trying to sow doubt about American elections during his national address rather than back up his claims of election interference with concrete facts. "So, all of this is about pretext, not about persuasion, and not about some kind of good faith attempt to govern," he added. "It's about ... laying the groundwork for what comes nextcomes next."

Troy Jackson Crowned As New Maine Senate Nominee

GOP senator says Thune ‘being too cautious’ in talks with Senate Democrats to avoid shutdown

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Sunday said that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is “being too cautious” in his talks with Senate Democratic leaders in an effort to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September. “Look, I mean no disrespect. I love John Thune. He’s my leader. He’s got a big brain.…

Jeffries pivots to Trump and GOP when asked about noncitizens on New Jersey voter rolls

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sidestepped a question about New Jersey’s disclosure that thousands of noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote, instead criticizing President Donald Trump and Republicans over election messaging. “I continue to have confidence in state and local authorities in making sure that there’s going to be a free and fair election […]

Waltz says pause in strikes against Iran is "giving diplomacy some space"

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz also said military assets are being moved into the region. GOP Sen. John Kennedy and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also weighed in on Iran.

Jeffries won’t rule out vote to abolish ICE if Dems retake the House, but downplays push from his party

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined to flatly rule out the possibility of Democrats moving to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement if his party retakes the House, but implied it's unlikely.

Sen. Kennedy says Trump likes daily strikes on Iran: ‘Sometimes you have to kill a few chickens to scare the monkeys’

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on Sunday said President Trump likes the daily strikes on Iran, which paused going into the weekend after nearly two straight weeks of attacks on Iranian infrastructure. “I think we ought to continue the blockade and starve them out,” Kennedy said on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” with Margaret Brennan. “I…

Sanders says polls show voters want change in midterm elections

Senator Bernie Sanders said the major obstacle progressive candidates are facing in the midterm elections is massive spending in key races by the "billionaire class."