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2026-08-28 02:03:30 CEST

How Trump Lost the Iran War in Every Way Possible in Less Than 6 Months
*Trump oversees “Operation Epic Fury” with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 28, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Daniel Torok/White House via Getty Images*
Donald Trump is far from the only U.S. president to lose a pointless war in the Middle East. But because of his insistence on continuously redefining the terms of victory, he may be the first president to lose the same war three times – and in just six months, no less. The initial regime change operation in Iran was doomed from the start – no amount of bombing and assassinations was ever going to produce an Iranian [Delcy Rodríguez][1] who could hand Trump the keys to the country. When regime change faltered in the first week of the war, Washington and Tel Aviv appeared to pursue the more realistic and even more horrifying objective of regime *collapse*, bombing infrastructure and [fomenting unrest][2] to turn Iran into a chaotic failed state. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu was [more enthusiastic][3] about this approach than Trump, who seemed to abandon it after failing to persuade Iranian Kurdish groups to launch a likely-suicidal uprising, though the language of regime collapse has
resurfaced to explain the administration’s sporadic, quixotic attempts at economic warfare. The [April ceasefire ][4]would signal Trump’s tacit admission that bombing could neither replace nor destroy the Iranian state.
[Subscribe now][5]
But for most of the past six months, Trump has been fighting to force open the Strait of Hormuz. This is the war to lower gas prices, the war to undo the consequences of the war, or, to be more precise about the president’s objectives, the war to forget about Iran as quickly as possible with minimal embarrassment. This war was also definitively lost months ago, when the initial, intense February-April “40-day war” failed to prevent the Iranian government from attacking regional shipping. After another four months of Trump threats, half-hearted bombing runs, and not one but [two U.S. blockades][6] of Iran, Tehran’s military exercises formal authority over [at least a third][7] of the ships transiting the Strait. Plus, it now regularly shoots at “unauthorized” ships with impunity.
The consequences of attacking Iran were, to a certain extent, well-understood within the administration: now-fired Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard [cautioned][8] that regime change was unrealistic, and that Tehran would close the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against America’s Gulf partners. And Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine [warned][9] about limited air defense munitions and the risk of U.S. casualties.
But Trump was never warned about a development that apparently surprised his Cabinet and certainly surprised me.
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/briefing/the-viceroy-of-venezuela.html
[2]: https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-israel-us-strikes-2026/card/trump-open-to-supporting-armed-militias-in-iran-u-s-officials-say-nydkWoLgSs641jEV68Dg
[3]: https://www.ft.com/content/dd070ee7-7021-4f90-86ec-690fe6aa34e6
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-new-iran-peace-deal-is-a-humiliation
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/us/politics/us-blockade-iran.html?eafs_enabled=false
[7]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/20/are-hormuz-ships-more-willing-to-defy-iran-or-the-us-what-data-shows
[8]: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/iran-war-warnings-9d7f289a?st=9V2rAR&reflink=article_copyURL_share
[9]: https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-flags-risks-of-a-major-operation-against-iran-1c7e9939?mod=article_inline
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-lost-iran-war-six-months
https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-lost-iran-war-six-months

2026-08-27 19:47:11 CEST

Conflating Jews with Israel Is Dangerous – Whether by Antisemites, U.S. Politicians, or the Israeli State
*A pro-Palestine march in Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 3, 2025. Photo by Michael Currie/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images*
Last week, a federal judge [weighed][1] in on whether an alleged assault involving an Israeli flag was antisemitic. The case stemmed from an incident in November 2024, at a [CodePink demonstration ][2]outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., when a pro-Palestinian protester, Janine Ali, a then-73-year-old Palestinian-American grandmother, allegedly grabbed the Israeli flag that a pro-Israel counterprotester, Kimmara Sumrall, was wearing tied around her neck as a cape. Ali was found not guilty of assault in a criminal trial in May, so Sumrall, with the support of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, then filed a complaint in federal court alleging antisemitic discrimination under civil rights law. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, noted that lawyers for Ali argued that “the Israeli flag represents the state of Israel rather than the Jewish race, so her action is merely anti-Israel, not antisemitic.” McFadden, however, rejected
the argument that the Israeli flag did not represent Jewish identity, [writing][3], “The Star of David, emblazoned upon the Israeli flag, symbolizes the Jewish race.”
The six-pointed star, called the “Star of David” (*Magen David* in Hebrew, literally “shield of David”), has been a Jewish symbol since long before the establishment of the State of Israel. It first became widely used as a distinctive Jewish symbol by European Jews in the 19th century. It came to represent Judaism in the same way that the cross represents Christianity. To this day, just as many Christians wear necklaces with a cross, many Jews wear a Star of David on necklaces as a symbol of their Jewish identity. Some Jews even have tattoos of it (disregarding the fact that Jewish law prohibits getting a tattoo).
[Subscribe now][4]
The Zionist movement adopted the Star of David at the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 because it had become a popular Jewish symbol by then, and for the mostly secular early Zionists, it had the merit of not being seen solely as a religious symbol (as the late Israeli Jewish scholar Gershon Scholem noted in a [1949 essay in ][5]*[Commentary][6]*[ magazine titled][7], “The Curious History of the Six-Pointed Star: How the ‘Magen David’ Became the Jewish Symbol”). It was subsequently incorporated into the flag of the State of Israel a few months after Israel’s founding in 1948.
When the Star of David is emblazoned in blue between two horizontal blue stripes on the flag of Israel, it ceases to be just a Jewish symbol. The Israeli flag symbolizes the State of Israel. It has a Jewish symbol on it, but the flag itself is not a Jewish symbol.
More than a dozen Muslim-majority countries have the Islamic crescent on their flags, but that does not make these flags Islamic symbols. For example, Pakistan, officially named the Islamic Republic of Pakistan**, **has a national flag with a white crescent moon – the symbol associated with Islam – on a dark green background, which is the color associated with Islam. If someone burned that flag at a demonstration against Pakistan, it would surely be offensive to Pakistanis, but it would not be Islamophobic. The same logic applies to the Israeli flag. Both Israel and Pakistan, as well as many other countries, have appropriated religious symbols for nationalist purposes.
Thus, wearing an Israeli flag at a demonstration is not the same as wearing a Magen David necklace. Grabbing an Israeli flag worn as a cape during a demonstration may be considered an act of political violence, but it is not an act of antisemitic violence or discrimination. It is not the same as grabbing a Magen David necklace or knocking a kippa off someone’s head – actions that are equivalent to pulling a hijab off a Muslim woman or a turban off the head of a Sikh man.
Although Israel’s flag is prominently displayed in many synagogues outside Israel, this does not make the flag itself a religious object (nor does the presence of an Israeli flag in a synagogue, typically alongside an American flag, make the synagogue an Israeli institution). To characterize the flag of Israel as a Jewish object because it has a Star of David on it conflates Judaism with Zionism and the Jewish people with the Israeli state.
Unfortunately, such conflation has become all too common. This is one reason, though it is of course not the only reason, why Jews are [harassed and attacked][8] by people who hate Israel. In some people’s minds, Jews are proxies for Israel; therefore, they hate Jews because they hate Israel, and they attack Jews because they cannot attack Israel. This is antisemitic and morally reprehensible because innocent people are being collectively blamed and harmed for the actions of a state. The same is true when all Muslims or Arabs are blamed for the actions of terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, which happened frequently in the [aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks][9]. It is bigoted to hold all Muslims or Arabs accountable for the behavior of terrorist groups, and it is equally bigoted to hold all Jews accountable for Israel’s behavior.
However, it is important to acknowledge that prejudice is not the only factor at play here. Another factor is that people mistakenly believe that Muslims support Jihadist groups and that Jews support Israel. Some do, but many do not. Although the Islamic State claims to act on behalf of all Muslims, [surveys show that most Muslims do not support the Islamic State terrorist group][10]. Similarly, Israel claims to act on behalf of all Jews, but surveys show that most American Jews [do not support][11] the actions and policies of the Israeli government and army, particularly towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (to be clear, I am not equating these actions with those of the Islamic State). For example, in [a 2025 ][12]*[Washington Post][13]*[ survey][14], 61% of American Jews said that Israel committed war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, and 40% thought that Israel had committed genocide.
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What complicates matters in the case of Jews and Israel is that most American Jews have an emotional attachment to Israel (around [six in 10][16] in surveys express such an attachment), and this attachment is a product of their Jewish identity. They care about Israel, which, it must be stressed, is not the same as supporting everything it does. Moreover, major Jewish organizations and mainstream institutions frequently publicly emphasize this attachment, and they increasingly insist that supporting Israel or being a Zionist is an integral, core element of Jewish identity. This effectively encourages non-Jews to believe that all, or at least the overwhelming majority of, Jews support what Israel does and identify as Zionists. However, surveys indicate that this is not the case. For example, in a [June 2026 national survey of Jewish Americans][17], only 36% said that “supporting Israel” is important to their Jewish identity (whereas 73% said that “remembering the Holocaust” was, and 43%
said “celebrating Jewish holidays”). In another [survey of American Jews conducted in March 2026][18], 87% believed in “Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish homeland,” but only a third (34%) actually considered themselves Zionists, while nearly half (48%) said they were not Zionists and another 17% were unsure (Orthodox Jews and Republicans were [most likely][19] to call themselves Zionists, whereas Reform Jews, Democrats, and younger Jews were most likely to say they were not Zionists).
It can be easy for people to conflate Jews with Israel, and this conflation has led some people to harass, attack, or discriminate against Jews. Such actions are undoubtedly antisemitic and deplorable, but they are increasingly happening nowadays because so many people are appalled by what Israel has done in Gaza and what it is doing in the West Bank. To acknowledge this obvious fact is not to excuse or justify antisemitic behavior or blame it solely on Israel, let alone on the victims of this behavior. The people engaging in antisemitic behavior are morally responsible for their behavior. However, we cannot prevent this kind of antisemitic behavior if we do not understand what can cause it. [Israel is becoming a global pariah][20], so associating all Jews with Israel can make Jews pariahs and potential targets for those who hate Israel. Whether this association is made by the Israeli state, Jewish organizations, or antisemites, the effect is essentially the same: Jews are conflated
with Israel, and the outcome of this conflation is harmful and dangerous for Jews.
I am not advocating, as Hasan Piker [recently did][21], that Jews living outside Israel should disassociate themselves from Israel in order to be safe. Jews are entitled to have an attachment to Israel. What I am advocating is the need to draw distinctions between Jews and Israel and between Judaism and Zionism. Blurring these distinctions, as Judge McFadden did in his recent ruling and as Jewish establishment organizations and the Israeli state do, does not protect Jews; it endangers them.
[Share][22]
***Dov Waxman** is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also an honorary research fellow at the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism. *
*This piece is being cross-published on [Dov’s Substack][23]. [Subscribe to Dov Waxman on Substack for more of his writing][24]. *
***The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.***
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/israeli-flag-symbolizes-jewish-race-judge-rules-in-assault-case
[2]: https://www.codepink.org/alipressrelease
[3]: https:/storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.282707/gov.uscourts.dcd.282707.46.0.pdf
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.commentary.org/articles/gershom-scholem/the-curious-history-of-the-six-pointed-starhow-the-magen-david-became-the-jewish-symbol/
[6]: https://www.commentary.org/articles/gershom-scholem/the-curious-history-of-the-six-pointed-starhow-the-magen-david-became-the-jewish-symbol/
[7]: https://www.commentary.org/articles/gershom-scholem/the-curious-history-of-the-six-pointed-starhow-the-magen-david-became-the-jewish-symbol/
[8]: https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/antisemitism/
[9]: https://www.cfr.org/articles/us-muslims-and-turbulent-post-911-world
[10]: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/11/17/in-nations-with-significant-muslim-populations-much-disdain-for-isis/
[11]: https://www.jewishelectorateinstitute.org/u-s-jews-identify-as-both-pro-israel-critical-of-its-govt
[12]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/06/jewish-americans-israel-poll-gaza/
[13]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/06/jewish-americans-israel-poll-gaza/
[14]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/06/jewish-americans-israel-poll-gaza/
[15]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[16]: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/u-s-jews-connections-with-and-attitudes-toward-israel/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23983542891&gbraid=0AAAAA-ddO9HxTsd1Da5gPwykBAd4uOPE3&gclid=CjwKCAjwwL_UBhAjEiwAEhuT5LqAz5IfiVddjIeZujQMmixlzTaxfn_rzMcZlv2tPvzqYb-A3dWGrxoCwDMQAvD_BwE
[17]: https://apnorc.org/projects/among-american-jews-views-on-jewish-identity-and-israel-vary-by-religiosity/
[18]: https://www.jewishelectorateinstitute.org/jei-s-spring-2026-latest-poll
[19]: https://irp.cdn-website.com/18f6b19f/files/uploaded/SPRING+.+PART+2.+ZIONISM.pdf
[20]: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/04/most-people-across-36-countries-have-negative-views-of-israel-and-little-confidence-in-netanyahu/
[21]: https://x.com/BMarchetich/status/2092370621183271227
[22]: https://zeteo.com/p/conflating-jews-with-israel-is-dangerous?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[23]: https://dovwaxman.substack.com/
[24]: https://dovwaxman.substack.com/
https://zeteo.com/p/conflating-jews-with-israel-is-dangerous

2026-08-27 12:59:22 CEST

Inside Team Trump’s Plan to Use Michael Cohen to Go After Trump’s Enemies
*On this day in 2021, Britain’s Prince Andrew was served with a U.S. federal lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a teenager, Virginia Giuffre, under the auspices of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The suit was ultimately settled for around $16 million. Last year, Andrew was stripped of his royal title.*
We made it to Thursday! It’s **Swin** again. If you work in political media and you, for a second, bought former Trump lawyer and fixer **Michael Cohen’s** schtick of turning on the president and earnestly seeing the error of his [mean and Trumpy ways][1], you might want to consider early retirement. Find someone less gullible – a 5-year-old, maybe? – to take your place. Somebody whose bullshit-detector isn’t irreparably broken. Your readers or listeners could use the upgrade.
In today’s ’**First Draft**,’ we’ll dig into Team Trump’s growing interest in weaponizing the man they once dubbed MAGA-land’s premier sniveling snitch. Plus, anti-vax Health Secretary **Robert F. Kennedy Jr.** says the deaths of two unvaccinated people in Pennsylvania during a growing measles outbreak are totally not his fault, and **Donald Trump** has an interview love-in with [checks notes from the Age of Obama] **Glenn Beck**. At least there are just two days till the weekend. Let’s read on.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘How Are You, Michael?’
*Michael Cohen attends the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024 in Chicago. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.*
When I was working at the Daily Beast’s Washington bureau in 2015, future President Donald Trump, via his attorney Michael Cohen, threatened to destroy my best friend and colleague, Tim Mak. I vividly recall the moment Tim stepped out of our mini conference room, clicking his little recorder and telling us as he chuckled: ***You gotta hear this… ***
Tim had just reached out to the 2016 Trump campaign for comment for a story that would soon be headlined: “**[Ex-Wife: Donald Trump Made Me Feel ‘Violated’ During Sex.][3]**” Trump did not appreciate it, so he sicced Cohen on my future best man. The Trump attorney shouted and swore, vowing to sue Tim and the Beast into oblivion. (You can [listen to some of the hilarious audio here][4], of a reporter standing his ground and of a small man trying to make himself sound big.)
[Subscribe now][5]
The Beast published the story, Cohen [made an ass out of himself][6] by spouting borderline-illiterate bullshit about spousal rape, and his promised world-altering lawsuit didn’t happen. In the years that followed, Cohen got raided [by the feds][7], very publicly fell out with President Trump, cuddled up to the anti-MAGA **“resistance,”** and became a key witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud case against Trump, as well as in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal hush-money case against Trump. Bragg’s case, of course, is the reason Trump became America’s first felon president, a label Trump bitterly resents.
In all those years of Cohen claiming he’d seen the light and had made an anti-Trump turnaround, I never *once* bought it. You can scroll through my public output and social media posts. It was always clear to me (not just as a close friend of someone he profanely threatened with financial ruin, but as a political reporter employing a shred of common sense and instinct) that Cohen was still the same guy: a gross habitual liar. It was just that his circumstances and benefactors changed.
Now Cohen – who is seeking a federal pardon, which Trump has the power to grant – has switched sides again. And the Trump-Vance administration has taken notice.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-lawyer-bragged-i-destroyed-a-beauty-queens-life/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-wife-donald-trump-made-me-feel-violated-during-sex/
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxHz18_LQIM
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://time.com/3974560/donald-trump-rape-ivana-michael-cohen/
[7]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rage-tweets-that-michael-cohen-wont-snitch-on-him-privately-hes-telling-folks-well-see/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-team-trumps-plan-to-use-michael
https://zeteo.com/p/inside-team-trumps-plan-to-use-michael

2026-08-27 04:02:30 CEST

How Can CNN’s Dana Bash Pretend to Be an Objective Journalist Anymore?
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s **‘Ragebait.’**
**Justin Baragona** here, bringing you the latest dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and the mainstream media at large. In tonight’s edition, we take a look at what sources describe as the “crazy” and “biased” way CNN star Dana Bash has covered Israel and Gaza in recent years. Additionally, Karen Attiah speaks to **Zeteo** after Jeff Bezos’s *Washington Post *suffered a humiliating defeat when an arbitrator ordered her reinstatement after she was fired for comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
[Subscribe now][1]
# **Dana Bash Bashes Dems on Israel**
“I don’t know how anyone can watch **Dana Bash** on **Bill Maher** and still pretend she is an objective journalist,” political strategist** Adam Parkhomenko** [reacted][2] to Bash’s recent appearance on ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ on HBO.
During that appearance, the veteran CNN anchor – who hosts ‘Inside Politics’ and co-anchors ‘State of the Union’ – seemed to find common ground with the caustic comedian’s more extreme and inflammatory views on Palestine, Israel, and domestic politics.
[Subscribe now][3]
Throughout the panel sit-down, Bash nodded along while Maher – who has become increasingly outspoken in his support for Israel – ranted that [“Democrats are cowards”][4] for backing pro-Palestinian causes while [insisting the party is bigoted][5] towards those of the Jewish faith.
“Well, in the Democratic Party, as long as that faith isn’t Jewish, you’re good, “ Maher, after Bash said **James Talarico** wears his “faith on his sleeve,” reacted. “Well, you said it,” she responded with a smile. (Currently, there are 31 Jewish Democrats in Congress – counting **Bernie Sanders** – versus just four on the Republican side.)
And when the sardonic comic sneered that Gaza “is not” a genocide and “doesn’t come close,” adding that many Democrats have only signed onto that because “they’re big on buzzwords and lawn signs,” Bash offered up this extra observation: “And likes on their social media.”
The Bill Maher appearance is the latest in a long list of not-at-all-objective comments from Bash.
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://x.com/AdamParkhomenko/status/2091171779758706743?s=20
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/2091015375697621360
[5]: https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-maher-blasts-democratic-party-says-fine-religion-as-long-faith-isnt-jewish
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-can-cnns-dana-bash-pretend-to
https://zeteo.com/p/how-can-cnns-dana-bash-pretend-to

2026-08-27 01:10:16 CEST

EXCLUSIVE: The Right’s ‘War on Woke’ Is a Cash Grab on State Treasuries
***Editor’s note:***
*The story below is from investigative reporter and documentarian Lauren Windsor. It’s the culmination of over a year’s worth of reporting, and breaks open a world of staggering corruption on the right you’ve likely never heard of. Please give it your time, and support our ability to do more original, in-depth reporting at **Zeteo** by becoming a **[paid subscriber][1]** or making [a donation][2]. *
[Subscribe now][3]
*Prospr board chair John Coleman (left), AIDEA CIO Geoff Johns (third from the left), Vident CEO Vince Birley (fifth from left), Derek Kreifels (center), Melanie Kreifels (right of Derek), on July 2, 2025. Photo via [Twitter][4].*
Ballrooms, slush funds, jumbo jets. Worship services in the Pentagon, electioneering in churches, the Ten Commandments in schools. Conflicts of interest and Christian nationalism have been hallmarks of Donald Trump’s second presidency. The epic flood of corruption swamping Washington isn’t just overwhelming American politics – it’s also obscuring the grift occurring in red states across the country, as officials work to put public investment funds under the control of their friends at Christian finance firms.
A major conduit for that corruption is the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), [a small but powerful nonprofit][5] that convenes Republican state treasurers and auditors, right-wing activists, and Christian finance executives to strategize over how to defeat liberals and weaponize state treasuries against allegedly woke corporations, while steering state treasury money to their ideological allies. Much of their “War on Woke” consists of boosting the fossil fuel industry and crushing efforts to mitigate climate change, under the notion that corporate safeguards are bad business.
That theory is convenient for conservatives’ fossil fuel funders – as well as for SFOF’s longtime top executive, who’s moving to cash in.
Derek Kreifels was the CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation for more than a decade. He resigned from this role in the fall of 2024, but he remains an SFOF [board member][6], and his wife serves as one of its top executives. Now, Kreifels is lobbying SFOF treasurers to put public retirees’ savings and other funds they oversee into faith-aligned financial products and services offered by his firm, Prospr Aligned, and its affiliates in the Christian finance industry.
[Subscribe now][7]
Kreifels’s firm has already won business from the Kentucky auditor’s office, which is led by a [member][8] of the State Financial Officers Foundation’s leadership team, as I can report for the first time. Another state Kreifels has targeted heavily is Alaska, where he has friends in former Revenue Commissioner and ex-SFOF Vice Chair Adam Crum and Alaska Permanent Fund Chair Jason Brune.
In an interview with me in Anchorage last fall, Brune defended Crum and his collaboration with Kreifels as efforts to promote resource extraction in the Arctic – arguing that he and Crum, as members of the governor’s cabinet, “are pimping for the state.”
Over the last year, I attended public board meetings in Alaska; staked out an SFOF conference in DC; and obtained records, photos, audio, and video documenting Crum’s efforts to direct public resources to his friend’s nonprofit and for-profit ventures during his tenure as revenue commissioner. Crum’s efforts are on the verge of paying off for Kreifels: A major state agency will soon decide whether to put money into Prospr’s Alaskan-themed investment fund.
The State Financial Officers Foundation has also helped support Kreifels’s private business ventures. According to state travel disclosures, SFOF paid for at least one treasurer’s travel to the New York Stock Exchange launch party for Prospr’s Alaska investment fund. Seven other state financial officials were in attendance. SFOF also arranged for a special speaker: [longtime ally][9] Paul Atkins, who as chairman of the Trump Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the Prospr fund.
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://x.com/OJOleka/status/1940550998046789794/photo/1
[5]: https://www.levernews.com/alleged-fraudsters-are-fueling-trumps-fraud-crusade/
[6]: https://sfof.com/board-of-directors/
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[8]: https://sfof.com/leadership-team/
[9]: https://sfofexposed.org/paul-atkins/
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/kreifels-war-on-woke-cash-grab-alaska
https://zeteo.com/p/kreifels-war-on-woke-cash-grab-alaska

2026-08-26 18:06:05 CEST

Is Trump’s War Handing Democrats Their Next Win?
Twenty years ago, an unpopular Republican president was waging an unpopular war in the Middle East. Sound familiar?
That political moment gave Democrats an opening to win back Congress – and later, elect Barack Obama. Now, chief Obama speechwriter and Crooked Media co-founder **Jon Favreau** thinks Democrats could be facing an even bigger opportunity, given …
[ Read more ][1]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/is-trumps-war-handing-democrats-their
https://zeteo.com/p/is-trumps-war-handing-democrats-their

2026-08-26 13:12:33 CEST

Dems Obsess Over Hasan Piker, Give Trump and Rogers a Pass
*On this day in 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat for the national anthem before a preseason game in protest of racist oppression. After a season of protests and media turmoil, including abuse from President-elect Donald Trump, Kaepernick left the 49ers. He never played in the NFL again.*
Good morning! **Andrew** here. Do you ever wonder why it is **Donald Trump** is wildly unpopular and yet Americans don’t seem very enthused about voting for Democrats? There are plenty of reasons, sure, but we have one more potential explanation for this phenomenon this week.
In today’s **‘First Draft,’** we look at the opposition party’s opposition to **Hasan Piker**, against whom senior Democrats are expending serious energy just two months out from midterm election day. We also consider **Darline Graham’s** win in the Republican South Carolina Senate runoff and another insane day in Trump’s stupid trade war with Canada. Time to read on.
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# Eyes Off the Ball
*U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at the 2026 National Association of Black Journalists Convention on Aug. 13, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images.*
Donald Trump is leading a deeply corrupt, fascist administration that seeks to punish and imprison his enemies – big and small, real and perceived. The unpopular president and his team are laying the groundwork to try to steal the 2026 midterms, and they’re not even trying to hide it.
Democrats in Washington, meanwhile, are hyper-focused on… condemning a left-wing podcaster, Hasan Piker, and distorting his comments criticizing Zionists as a way to marginalize and block the rise of anti-Israel voices on the left.
With less than 10 weeks to go before the election, the opposition party is using this crucial time to demonstrate their continued fealty to Israel – despite its deep and growing political unpopularity in the U.S., its horrifying genocide in Gaza, and the ruinous Iran war that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged America’s idiot president into.
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Some Democratic lawmakers have even used the controversy over Piker to try to undermine Abdul El-Sayed, the party’s Senate nominee in Michigan – making clear how little they care about gaining power to incapacitate Trump.
The latest Piker row stemmed from his remarks about how it’s **“dangerous”** for some Jews to teach **“people the idea that Jews are monolithic”** in their support for Israel.
**“People don’t fuck with Israel any longer,”** Piker [said][3]. **“And if Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action. Not against the State of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”**
Piker was responding to a Michigan Democratic congressional candidate’s [refusal][4] to back El-Sayed until he makes **“some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community” **– with El-Sayed’s apparent offenses being his opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and his having won the primary despite $32 million spent against him by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
**“This media narrative presents Jews as single-minded and singularly invested in the continuation of the Israeli apartheid,”** Piker continued, adding: **“I don’t know how people don’t recognize how dangerous this predicament is… You’re running around basically tying your entire identity to a country that inevitably will be seen as Jewish ISIS, and you’re saying, ‘As Jews, this is all we care about.’ You’re making antisemitism worse.”**
Pro-Israel Democrats have treated these comments as if Piker was calling for violence, when he very obviously wasn’t. Indeed, his argument is a common one: The idea that Jews universally support Israel, its genocide in Gaza, and apartheid *encourages* antisemitism. Of course it’s dangerous.
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://jacobin.com/2026/08/el-sayed-piker-centrists-democrats
[4]: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/08/abdul-el-sayed-israel-michigan-senate.html
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/dems-obsess-over-hasan-piker-give
https://zeteo.com/p/dems-obsess-over-hasan-piker-give

2026-08-26 03:03:48 CEST

Dolly Parton Dies at 80. Here Are 9 Ways She Changed America and the World for the Better
*Dolly Parton performs at The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 28, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images*
In 2024, Dolly Parton [received][1] the PEACE Through Music Award, recognizing her longstanding efforts to use music and philanthropy to promote peace and connection.
In accepting the award, Parton [reflected][2] on what she believes people share across political and cultural divides:
> “Is that not what we’re all looking for: a little peace? We all want it. Some of us, all around this old world, can only dream about it. But as people, we all deserve it.”
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Throughout her life and career, the 10-time Grammy Award-winning artist put that philosophy into practice through philanthropy, education, healthcare, and her public advocacy for treating others with dignity. On Tuesday, she [died][4] at the age of 80.
Here are nine ways she made an impact:
### **1. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library**
Parton founded the [Imagination Library][5], a children’s literacy program, in 1995 in honor of her father, Robert Lee Parton Sr. A sharecropper and father of 12, she [said][6] her father was one of the wisest men she’s ever known, but his inability to read or write probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true.
The Library is dedicated to “inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five” throughout the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. As of June 2026, the Imagination Library had gifted over [325 MILLION books][7] to children around the world.
But the program has also become caught up in broader political debates over state funding for public programs or faced challenges due to wider funding cuts, including in [Missouri][8], [Indiana][9], [Kentucky][10], and [Maine][11].
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### **2. The Dollywood Foundation**
Parton founded the [Dollywood Foundation][13] in 1988 to encourage children in her home of Sevier County, Tennessee, to achieve educational success. Efforts included the Buddy Program, through which Parton promised every 7th- and 8th-grade student in the early 1990s that she would personally give them $500 if they graduated high school. The dropout rate among these students fell from 35% to 6%.
The foundation also supports students through scholarships and other programs.
### **3. Funded COVID-19 Research**
[ Read more ][14]
[1]: https://www.grammy.com/news/dolly-parton-philanthropy-peace-through-music-award-2024-recipient
[2]: https://www.grammy.com/news/dolly-parton-philanthropy-peace-through-music-award-2024-recipient
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://apnews.com/article/dolly-parton-death-country-icon-87156f3e6a1547b88bf414529b644ad3
[5]: https://imaginationlibrary.com/
[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscb01jfukc&t=1s
[7]: https://dollyparton.com/imagination_library/dolly-partons-imagination-library-celebrates-a-summer-of-milestones
[8]: https://www.stlpr.org/news-briefs/2026-05-21/budget-cuts-mean-some-missouri-kids-wont-get-free-books-through-dolly-partons-imagination-library
[9]: https://www.wfyi.org/education/2026-03-10/indiana-dolly-parton-imagination-library-nears-90-of-goal-after-state-cuts
[10]: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sjr54.html
[11]: https://www.wabi.tv/2025/08/08/dolly-partons-imagination-library-funding-uncertain-maine-after-2026/
[12]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[13]: https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/dolly-parton-dies-at-80-here-are
https://zeteo.com/p/dolly-parton-dies-at-80-here-are

2026-08-26 00:03:17 CEST

‘Nerd Reich’ Author Exposes What Far-Right Tech Bosses Actually Want
At a 2010 conference Silicon Valley billionaire **Peter Thiel** reflected on realizations that inspired his creation of PayPal – such as that with enough capital and engineering, one could circumvent the government.
**“The basic idea was that we could never win an election on getting certain things because we were in such a small minority,” **he said, continuing: **“But maybe you could actually unilaterally change the world** **– without having to constantly convince people and beg people and plead with people who were never going to agree with you – through technological means.” **He added that **“technology is this incredible alternative to politics.”**
The conventional wisdom about Silicon Valley is that over recent years, it drifted from liberalism to Donald Trump. Founders got red-pilled, or incurred petty grievances, or simply got too online. But journalist **Gil Durán** suggests there’s more to it.
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**“The key to that quote is Thiel basically saying ‘Hey look we can’t win elections because we’re a small minority, but maybe we can use technology to get what we want – maybe technology, not democracy, is the key to power,” **Durán tells **Prem**.
In his new book *The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy*, Durán pinpoints an insidious theory inside Silicon Valley: that democracy itself is an obstacle to their own freedom – meaning freedom *from *us, and from society. Engaging in democracy (even in backing candidates like Donald Trump) is not the goal anymore. The ambitions are much wider.
Some titans believe the U.S. is going to collapse, and that technological, privatized overseers will take its place. And these titans, Durán warns, are seeking to self-fulfill that prophecy – perhaps to fatal ends. **“History is littered with people who thought a big apocalypse is coming…not quickly enough, we have to make it happen. And then people get hurt, people die as a result of these efforts to reach the prophecy. And it usually also ends poorly for the people pushing the prophecy.”**
Watch the interview above to hear Durán lay out the quiet theories driving Silicon Valley’s attempted global takeover, why JD Vance is no more than a “puppet” of that movement, and how the media and Democrats failed to take these titans seriously – or are in fact working hand-in-glove with them.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full interview for free, with no paywall. **Free subscribers** can watch a 4-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][2] to Zeteo to watch the full interview and the rest of **Zeteo’s** content.
[Click here][3] to buy a copy of Durán’s book, *The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy.* And if you’ve already read it, feel free to share your review of the book in the comments below!
Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the[ Zeteo book club here][4] for inspiration!
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***Check out more from Zeteo:***
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[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[3]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-nerd-reich-silicon-valley-fascism-and-the-war-on-democracy-gil-dur-n/a6f6f0dce1150339?ean=9781668221402&bkshp-astro=t
[4]: https://zeteo.com/t/book-club
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/nerd-reich-author-gil-duran?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/nerd-reich-author-gil-duran
https://zeteo.com/p/nerd-reich-author-gil-duran

2026-08-25 19:03:13 CEST

Why ‘We Need To Tax Billionaires’
***Note from our Editor-in-Chief:***
*As inequality persists at extreme levels worldwide, we are excited to welcome **Gabriel Zucman** as **Zeteo’s** newest** **contributor. Gabriel, who teaches at Berkeley, is one of the leading economists and researchers on wealth inequality, taxation, and tax avoidance. His latest book,** ‘We Need To Tax Billionaires,’ **presents one of the clearest and most accessible arguments for a wealth tax I’ve read.** **Check out an **exclusive excerpt** from the book below, and watch out for more from* *Gabriel in **Zeteo** in the coming months! And please do support **Zeteo’s** ongoing expansion by becoming a **[paid subscriber][1]** and/or [donor][2]. A free press isn’t free! **- Mehdi ***
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*Elon Musk arrives for the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images*
Sometimes what is right in front of us is the last thing we see.
For more than 15 years, I have studied the world’s wealthiest people and analyzed the tactics they use, from Luxembourg to the British Virgin Islands, to eschew taxation.
At the age of 21, I was poring over Swiss bank archives and dissecting international balances of payments to determine how much money was hidden in offshore tax havens. When this historically obscure issue was brought to light in the [Panama Papers][4] in the mid-2010s, it finally started making headlines.
I then turned my attention to multinational corporations and their financial records. I found these entities’ Byzantine accounting methods fascinating. I now knew that profits made in France or Germany were ending up in Singapore or Bermuda, at a staggering cost to society.
This kind of global tax evasion has been one of the linchpins of rising inequality and growing government debt worldwide. It has also led many to lose hope in the very possibility of a fairer society, creating a breeding ground for the reactionary political movements that are thriving today.
But the real battleground, it turns out, is not in Switzerland or in the Cayman Islands. It is not in some faraway alpine hideaway or island enclave that our fundamental principles of justice are trickling away, but right here in the United Kingdom, in France, in the United States, and in other countries where most of the ultra-wealthy live.
By funneling their income into holding companies – most often located on our shores – those at the very top of the wealth distribution chain pay virtually no income tax.
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The end game defies all logic. If all France’s billionaires were to flee to the Cayman Islands tomorrow, the loss of tax revenue to the country would be insignificant: around 0.03%. And the same is true throughout Europe, and indeed globally: the super-rich have not yet entered the realm of national solidarity.
It is time to finish what we started with income tax – a major advance for democracy– in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is time finally to bring billionaires, who have never really been subject to income tax, into the fold.
Carrying this unfinished revolution to completion is imperative if we wish to live by our most fundamental principles of equality before the law.
This is why I am advocating for a wealth tax on ultra-high-net-worth individuals. The battle is likely to be difficult, but I believe it is one worth fighting.
***
In a sense, it is not all that surprising that it has taken so long for a clear picture of billionaires’ small contributions to national tax revenue to emerge.
Statistical institutes produce little or no information on their countries’ largest fortunes. The press – magazines like *[Challenges][6]* in France, *[The Sunday Times][7]* in the UK and *[Forbes][8]* in the U.S. – have been attempting to fill this information gap by investigating publicly available documents such as corporate financial statements and disclosures to financial market authorities.
Using these sources, they come up with estimates of billionaires’ net worth. But what their reporting hasn’t told us is how much tax billionaires pay. This information has remained shrouded in secrecy.
It was not until the 2020s that an international academic research project began to lift the veil. In 2019, my Berkeley colleague Emmanuel Saez and I attempted to [estimate][9] U.S. billionaires’ effective tax rates. The data was incomplete, so our findings could not be considered definitive at the time, but the results were later confirmed.
In the meantime, other researchers took notice. A body of work began to grow in countries including France, Brazil, the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Italy.
None of this would have been possible without a major development: the possibility for researchers, working in partnership with tax administrations, to access the holy grail – the tax returns of the super-rich and of the companies they own.
***
As researchers, we stand on the shoulders of giants. The collaborative and cumulative effort to shed light on taxation began nearly a century ago with the work of economists [Gerhard Colm and Helen Tarasov][10].
In the United States in the 1940s, they were the first to attempt to answer a seemingly simple question: Who pays taxes?
Their research aimed to establish the distribution of the tax burden across different income brackets.
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In today’s high-income democracies, where between 30% and 50% of national income goes to taxes, this information is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of public debate.
The conceptual framework and statistical techniques needed to answer this question in any meaningful way were developed by Colm and Tarasov, and dozens of other economists who have since followed in their footsteps.
Until the early 2020s, however, there was no way to include billionaires in this type of analysis.
We now have the missing information needed to paint a comprehensive picture of taxation—one that includes the super-rich.
***
In 2021, [ProPublica revealed][12] that U.S. billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in some years paid barely any individual income tax.
In one year, Bezos declared so little personal income that he claimed – and received – a tax credit for his children. As CEO of Amazon, he paid himself only a small wage; Amazon didn’t distribute dividends; and he didn’t sell shares in the company and hence did not realize any capital gains.
*Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Getty Images*
Even though he was one of the wealthiest people in the world, his taxable personal income was very small.
What the international research effort described in this book has revealed since then is that Bezos and Musk are not isolated cases, but instances of a more general global phenomenon.
While ordinary taxpayers must pay income tax, the truly rich have ample opportunities to avoid it: For them, income tax is optional.
***
One of the most surprising results to emerge from this body of work is that the problem appears to be even more severe in Europe than in the United States.
This is due to the widespread use of a specific tax-planning strategy in Europe: setting up holding companies to siphon off taxable individual income.
In practical terms, European billionaires direct their earnings—mainly in the form of dividends—to their personal holding companies. Because no actual person is receiving the income directly, no personal income tax is paid.
Virtually no corporate tax is paid either.
This is how a billionaire who owns a lot of shares in a luxury-goods behemoth can earn €3 billion (about $3.5 billion) in dividends without generating any significant tax liability.
[Share][13]
While ordinary shareholders pay 30% tax on *their *dividends, billionaires can pay just 1.25% in France.
Individual income tax is designed to be progressive: the higher a taxpayer’s income, the higher the tax rate. But for those at the top of the pyramid, income is swallowed up by holding companies, where any individual income-tax liability all but vanishes.
More than a century after income tax was created – in 1914 in France and in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in most other wealthy nations – the revolution remains unfinished.
Billionaires have still not opted into the system.
***
Why is this problematic?
In simple terms, it is a fundamental violation of the principle that all citizens are equal before the law – a pillar of the social contract in all democratic nations.
In France, Article 13 of the *[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789][14]*[ ][15]states that contributions to common expenditure must be divided among members of the community according to their ability to pay.
At the very least, this can be interpreted to mean that taxes cannot be regressive: The wealthiest people should not be allowed to pay a smaller proportion of their income than the less fortunate.
And yet, any way you slice it, this is exactly what is happening today.
The budgetary consequences of this situation, moreover, can no longer be ignored.
In the United Kingdom, the 200 wealthiest families [identified by ][16]*[The Sunday Times][17]* owned wealth equivalent to nearly 20% of Britain’s GDP in 2025, compared with 6% in 1994.
In the United States, according to *Forbes*, the wealth of the [400 richest households][18] grew from the equivalent of 2% of U.S. GDP in 1982 to more than 20% in 2025.
In the state of California, where voters will soon [vote on a trailblazing billionaire tax][19] – Proposition 40 – the 250 billionaires of the Golden State [own wealth][20] equivalent to 50% of GDP.
You read this correctly: 50% of GDP.
Let’s be clear about what these statistics tell us. At 6% of GDP, the wealth of the ultra-rich, if taxed at 2%, would generate around 0.1% of GDP in additional tax revenue. In budgetary terms, the impact would be negligible.
At 20% of GDP, however, the same 2% tax would generate around 0.4% of GDP in additional tax revenue.
And at 50% of GDP, as in California, the revenue potential reaches 1% of GDP – coming from 250 families – per year. This becomes a matter of the first order.
***
And then there is the question of inequality.
Most people can only save after they pay their taxes. The ultra-rich, once again, are playing a different game: they can save nearly all their income, largely unburdened by taxation.
This creates a self-perpetuating cycle: The less tax you pay, the easier it is to accumulate wealth. This snowball effect has been a major driver of the rise in wealth concentration globally.
And this spiral risks causing irreparable damage to democratic ideals.
It is, of course, difficult to know where the tipping point lies – the point past which democracy becomes oligarchy. Is it when the wealth of the ultra-rich exceeds 50% of GDP? 100%? 200%?
Is it when billionaires own not 80% of privately held media, as in France, but 100%? Or perhaps when they finally get their hands on public media? Is it when they own not only entire Paris streets, but entire neighborhoods?
Nobody knows the exact concentration of wealth at which the kinds of plutocratic collapse we have seen in history become inevitable. The point of no return is anyone’s guess.
The best we can do is study history and keep a close eye on developments around the globe in order to form an opinion.
[Share][21]
***Adapted from Gabriel Zucman’s ‘[We Need To Tax Billionaires][22],’ out now from Basic Books UK. ***
***Gabriel Zucman **is an economist at the Paris School of Economics and Summer Research Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.*
***The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.***
***Check out more from Zeteo: ***
[1]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.challenges.fr/
[7]: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list?eafs_enabled=false
[8]: https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
[9]: https://gabriel-zucman.eu/files/BSYZ2025NBER.pdf
[10]: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1924453
[11]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[12]: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-we-need-to-tax-billionaires-zucman-excerpt?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[14]: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
[15]: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
[16]: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list
[17]: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list
[18]: https://inequality.org/facts/wealth-inequality/
[19]: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/proposition-40-billionaire-tax/
[20]: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/talking-again-with-gabriel-zucman
[21]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-we-need-to-tax-billionaires-zucman-excerpt?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[22]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/we-need-to-tax-billionaires-the-most-important-economist-in-the-world-today-gabriel-zucman/113ca645a136d886?ean=9781399839600&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=dsa_nonbrand&utm_content=%7Badgroupname%7D&utm_term=aud-1885352274184:dsa-19959388920&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12440232635&gbraid=0AAAAACfld40gQNpycb7oKRAlcdB7A6hi-&gclid=Cj0KCQjw16_UBhCqARIsAIdOaXw7PEHYHXiK8rTmgeXNL5n0m5855U7H3aCPd-P2Muu5w6syW7P3ChAaAidPEALw_wcB
https://zeteo.com/p/why-we-need-to-tax-billionaires-zucman-excerpt

2026-08-25 13:04:37 CEST

🐂 Abdul El-Sayed Went on Fox and Cut Through Jesse Watters's Bullshit
*On this day in 2017, Donald Trump issued his first pardon. It went to Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, found guilty of criminal contempt of court for refusing to stop racially profiling suspected undocumented immigrants. Nine years on, the Supreme Court says such profiling is fine and Trump hands out pardons like Tic Tacs.*
Good morning, and happy Tuesday to all. **Martin** here, having undertaken the altogether unenviable task of watching **Abdul El-Sayed** go on **Fox** to be shouted at by **Jesse Watters**, the better to distill the result for your reading pleasure.
The short version, to put it in the language of an English soccer manager, is the boy done good, all in all. There was a deal of nonsensical stuff about progressive positions El-Sayed has taken in past years and which Republicans think mean society is about to crash down around their ears, but then there was always going to be and if El-Sayed sometimes dodged the question, that often had to be inferred because his host wouldn’t shut up. When El-Sayed did drag the interview his way, and offered more substantive points, he seized a share of the spoils.
Elsewhere, it was another wholly ludicrous day in **Donald Trump’s** trade war with Canada, while Treasury Secretary **Scott Bessent** announced new sanctions for Iran but shrank from actually confronting countries like China and Russia that continue to trade with Tehran. There was a lot more to think about too. Let’s read on.
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# ‘You Got to Give Credit to Abdul’
*Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit on Aug. 5, 2026. Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images.*
Abdul El-Sayed sat for an interview with Fox carnival barker Jesse Watters in primetime and did quite well. So much of the 26-minute exchange was taken up with Watters talking over his guest that the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan might’ve wondered why he bothered. But the hits El-Sayed landed, when he managed to shut Watters up, outweighed some awkward moments.
El-Sayed made Watters laugh, repeatedly, by calling Republican opponent Mike Rogers a **“beta,”** for avoiding campaign confrontation and not appearing on Watters’s show. Whether any Democrat should be joshing with the sort of host who opened with a seven-minute rant about communists and pointedly, repeatedly called his guest **“Abdul in Michigan” **might be debated. So might the chances of El-Sayed’s tax policy ever being given a fair hearing on Fox. But consider [four minutes that closed out the interview.][2]
[Subscribe now][3]
Watters said: **“Black people in Michigan voted for this white lady you ran against”** – Rep. Haley Stevens – **“by like eight points over you. What happened there?”**
El-Sayed said: **“Well, Jesse, I mean you said it yourself, right? You got to give credit to Abdul. He ran against the machine. I got outspent 11-1.”**
He didn’t mention [AIPAC][4], the pro-Israel group that backed Stevens heavily. Curiously, Watters didn’t bring up Israel either. El-Sayed mentioned Hasan Piker, the livestreamer Republicans want to tie to him to, presently at the heart of yet another confected **“[scandal][5]”** about so-called antisemitism. That might yet count as an unforced error, but Watters didn’t pounce. An exchange on **“sharia law”** might’ve had Fox-watching bigots salivating, but it went best for El-Sayed, who pointed out that it’s just the same as **“canon law,”** a concept familiar to Christians like Watters and his viewers, only for Muslims, free to practice their faith like all others.
Ultimately, El-Sayed succeeded in bringing Watters back to his core campaign message: *Forget the culture war hoo-hah, let’s talk about healthcare, inequality, and the cost of living.*
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://x.com/atrupar/status/2092048549949112451?s=46
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/2092027903861301487?s=46
[5]: https://michiganadvance.com/2026/08/24/el-sayed-says-hasan-piker-does-not-speak-for-his-campaign-amid-comments-on-sen-jeremy-moss/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/abdul-el-sayed-went-on-fox-and-cut
https://zeteo.com/p/abdul-el-sayed-went-on-fox-and-cut

2026-08-25 02:03:59 CEST

A Tale of Two Genocides: The West’s Hypocrisy in Gaza Desecrates Remembrance in Myanmar
*Left: Rohingya children line up at a food distribution in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Oct. 1, 2017. Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images; Right: Palestinian children wait to receive food distributed in Gaza on Aug. 10, 2025. Photo by Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images*
Tuesday is [Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day][1], which marks the start of Myanmar’s brutal “clearance operations” in 2017 that forced [1.2 million][2] Muslim Rohingya into Bangladesh and [killed][3] 30,000.
As part of this remembrance, Western countries have taken concrete action to condemn and bring to an end Myanmar’s atrocities. On March 21, 2022, the United States formally [determined][4] that the attacks constituted genocide. The U.S. State Department conducted hundreds of interviews of Rohingya refugees and analyzed whistleblower reports by soldiers in order to ascertain whether Myanmar displayed the “intent to destroy” required by the Genocide Convention of 1948.
[Subscribe now][5]
The result of U.S. inquiries [concluded][6] that soldiers had received orders to “shoot at every sight of a person,” burn villages, and rape women. They also showed that soldiers repeatedly engaged in “racial slurs” against the Rohingya they attacked, particularly in mosques, and that they “bragged about their plans on social media.” The U.S. [investigation][7] also took issue with Myanmar targeting “women, children, and the elderly” and with the [rhetoric][8] by Myanmar authorities, which treated the Rohingya as an “unfinished job” that the government had to “solve.”
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://rohingyakhobor.com/we-remember-25-august-why-rohingya-genocide-remembrance-day-matters/
[2]: https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/bgd
[3]: https://www.refugeesinternational.org/statements-and-news/remembering-the-rohingya-genocide-six-years-on-survivors/
[4]: https://2021-2025.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-the-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://2021-2025.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-the-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum/
[7]: https://2021-2025.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Documentation-of-Atrocities-in-Northern-Rakhine-State.pdf
[8]: https://2021-2025.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-at-the-united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum/
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/two-genocide-rohingya-gaza-west-hypocrisy
https://zeteo.com/p/two-genocide-rohingya-gaza-west-hypocrisy

2026-08-24 18:07:17 CEST

Mehdi Debates Pete Hegseth’s Christian Nationalist Pastor Ally
Do you ever wonder where Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth – who has [repeatedly][1] framed the U.S.’s deadly war on Iran as a divine mission – gets his “Christian” views from? Or why he [says][2] that the U.S. was “founded as a Christian nation” [despite][3] the Constitution having zero reference to Christianity?
In this wide-ranging and, at times, heated ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, **Mehdi **grills Pastor **Douglas Wilson** – the self-described Christian nationalist who [Hegseth][4] invited to preach at the Pentagon earlier this year and who also founded the network of right-wing churches that Hegseth is a member of.
[Subscribe now][5]
Mehdi challenges Wilson on his vision for a Christian nationalist America – which, according to Wilson, would [eliminate][6] the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote, [end][7] gay marriage, and [ban][8] non-Christians from taking office.
Here are some of the other topics Mehdi presses Wilson on:
* Whether the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation** **(**“The actual real life U.S. Constitution is not theological at all,” **Mehdi says)
* Whether a Muslim like Mehdi should be allowed to run for office
* Wilson’s controversial book on slavery, which described [slavery][9] as a “relationship based upon mutual affection”
* What would happen to U.S. states that want to keep gay marriage legal in Wilson’s vision for America (**“I***** *****believe that they should be expelled from the United States,” **Wilson says)
* Hegseth’s belligerent and very un-Christian [rhetoric][10] on the war on Iran
* Whether white evangelical Christians are hypocrites for supporting someone as openly sinful and un-Christian as Donald Trump
[Share][11]
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full hour-long debate to see Mehdi bring the receipts and fact-check Wilson on everything from the founding fathers’ beliefs to the definition of misogyny. **Free subscribers** can watch a 3-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][12] to unlock content like this and a lot more from **Zeteo**.
***A note from Mehdi: **Usually, I would never platform someone with such hideous views on slavery, women, Muslims, and gay rights. However, because of Wilson’s proximity to Pete Hegseth and the rising influence of Christian nationalism in the White House, I believed it important to challenge Wilson’s statements with the usual facts, receipts, and journalistic rigor that **Zeteo** has become known for.*
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[ Read more ][13]
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/10/pete-hegseth-christianity-iran-war-crusade
[2]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/13/politics/hegseth-iran-israel-war-american-crusade-analysis
[3]: https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/the-us-a-christian-nation-not-according-to-the-fou
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/18/doug-wilson-pentagon-hegseth-christian-nationalist/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://19thnews.org/2025/08/pete-hegseth-doug-wilson-women-voting/
[7]: https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/politics/pastor-doug-wilson-christian-domination-trump
[8]: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5822558/pastor-doug-wilson-interview-pete-hegseth
[9]: https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/doug-wilsons-religious-empire-expanding-northwest/
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/hegseths-christian-crusade-iran-holy-war?utm_source=publication-search
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/christian-nationalism-doug-wilson-hegseth?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[12]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/christian-nationalism-doug-wilson-hegseth
https://zeteo.com/p/christian-nationalism-doug-wilson-hegseth

2026-08-24 13:15:10 CEST

🍁 It’s a Huge Scandal That Trump Is Plunging Us Into ‘War’ With Canada
*On this day in 2023, Donald Trump had his mugshot taken after surrendering in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges arising from his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Trump monetized the mugshot. The case eventually collapsed. *
We made it to Monday! It’s **Swin** again. If you’re living in the U.S., you woke up this morning to our nation very much at war. No, I’m not talking about *[that][1]*[ war][2]. Or [that one][3]. Or [that][4] [other one][5]. Or [this war][6]… Nope, [not that one][7], either. I’m referring to the *other* insanely stupid war that **President Donald Trump** is forcing his fellow Americans to go along with – the one he’s waging on our neighbors to the north.
In today’s ’**First Draft**,’ we’ll get right to the point about Trump’s latest endless war; just because the bombs aren’t falling in this one (yet?) does not make the damage any less substantial or consequential. Plus, **Hakeem Jeffries** takes more fire over a secret meeting with **Jared Kushner** and the Trump administration prepares for its “Economic D-Day” with Iran. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][8]
# DON’T Blame Canada
*US President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images*
What happened this weekend wasn’t just folly and ‘Idiocracy.’ It was a scandal – an imperialistic disgrace that’s been going on far too long.
Donald Trump and his administration are waging a full-blown economic war [on Canada][9]. We are living in 2026 and in the real world, not in 1995 and in a poorly reviewed Michael Moore [movie][10], or in 1999 in the ‘South Park’ movie. So why, then, is the U.S. at **“[war][11]”** with Canada?
The simple but correct answer is that for the past year and a half, America has been ruled by an astonishingly violent airhead who likes starting [wars][12] that pretty much no one asked for – even if those wars [mangle][13] the U.S. economy.
[Subscribe now][14]
Almost right after he stepped back into the White House last year, the tariffs-obsessed Trump unleashed economic warfare on our longtime Canadian allies, for self-destructive and [made-up][15] reasons. Trump’s attempted strong-arming led to Canada’s leader [declaring an end to][16] the U.S.-led global order as we knew it. That warfare reached its latest, deranged state this past weekend, when trade talks imploded [in spectacular fashion][17].
[ Read more ][18]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-violent-crackdowns-on-us-cities
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/is-cuba-next
[5]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/us/politics/trump-cuba-sanctions.html
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-is-no-one-talking-about-the-new
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-illegal-boat-bombings-not-working
[8]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-pissed-off-are-canadians-at-trump
[10]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jf8Bt4gD9Y
[11]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/world/canada/carney-tariffs-trade-trump.html
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-venezuela-mexico-invasion-attack-cartels
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-advisers-worry-he-could-sink
[14]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[15]: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/nx-s1-5317494/tariffs-fentanyl-canada-mexico-trump
[16]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Carney%27s_Davos_speech
[17]: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/22/us-canada-trade-deal-01046788
[18]: https://zeteo.com/p/its-a-huge-scandal-that-trump-is
https://zeteo.com/p/its-a-huge-scandal-that-trump-is

2026-08-24 02:03:48 CEST

Trump Needs to Channel His Inner George Constanza to End His Disastrous Iran War
Nearly six months into the U.S. war against Iran, one can’t help but come to the conclusion that President Donald Trump doesn’t know what he’s doing, is completely out of his depth, or is basing his policy on incredibly flawed assumptions. It brings to mind one of George Constanza’s famous quotes in ‘[Seinfeld][1]’: “Every decision I’ve ever made in my entire life has been wrong. My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat, it’s all been wrong.”
[Subscribe now][2]
While this might seem overly hyperbolic, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize that every decision Trump makes with respect to Iran has led to results he didn’t expect. Much like the depressed Constanza sitting in the coffee shop, an angry Trump may now be sitting in the Oval Office wondering where it all went wrong.
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizwH_T7pjg
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-george-constanza-opposite-seinfeld
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-george-constanza-opposite-seinfeld

2026-08-23 18:05:26 CEST

Trump’s Crypto Corruption Is Off The Charts — Mehdi and Ben McKenzie Explore Why
Back in April, **Mehdi** was joined on ‘We’re Not Kidding’ by actor, author, and now documentary filmmaker **Ben McKenzie **to talk about Ben’s new film which investigates the fraudulent and predatory cryptocurrency industry, ‘[Everyone Is Lying to You For Money][1]’.
The documentary is finally available to stream online, but* for a limited time only *from Aug. 22 - Sept. 6. You can click the button below to stream ‘Everyone Is Lying to You For Money’ now.
[Stream the Documentary][2]
You can also revisit Mehdi’s [conversation][3] with Ben from earlier this year. They unpack the documentary’s globetrotting story — from Miami, to El Salvador, to London — as Ben follows the (figurative) money, including his now famous [interview][4] with convicted crypto grifter Sam Bankman-Fried. Ben also explains what exactly cryptocurrency is and uncovers why its evangelists want you to buy it so badly.
They also dig into the crypto industry’s influence on both the Republican and Democratic party, why the Trump family is the perfect avatar for crypto fraudsters, and end up having a blunt conversation about the direction of the Democratic Party. **“If you’re a Democrat and you’re having a hard time choosing between people and corporations, my humble suggestion is to get the fuck out of the party,” **Ben says.
***If you enjoy the conversation and want to support our work, please do consider becoming a paid subscriber to Zeteo.***
[Subscribe now][5]
***As always, you can also listen to previous episodes of ‘We’re Not Kidding’ wherever you get your podcasts.***
[Spotify][6]
[Apple Podcasts][7]
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://www.everyoneislying.com/
[2]: https://watch.eventive.org/everyoneislying/play/6a271e610f1d5fef3b4b09d5
[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaV1x7s1MpQ&t=1118s
[4]: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXo1BS1EhiW/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ogT7ZvKhH04CInjNQbbdp
[7]: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-friends/id1743028415
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-crypto-corruption-ben-mckenzie

2026-08-23 14:06:43 CEST

Exclusive Offer: 50% Off The Lever!
There is a reckoning taking place. Amid the rise of political figures like New York’s Zohran Mamdani, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, and Colorado’s Melat Kiros, oligarch-funded party insiders are on the defensive – and they’re spending millions to ensure their preferred candidates come out on top in the midterm elections.
No newsroom has done more to expose that effort than our friends at* **The Lever*****.**
For the last six years, *The Lever* has built an award-winning investigative newsroom dedicated to uncovering the hidden mechanics of power and finance in American politics. At a moment like this, that reporting is indispensable.
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[1]: https://www.levernews.com/50-off-the-lever-for-zeteo-readers
https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-offer-50-off-the-lever

2026-08-22 19:03:44 CEST

This Week in Palestine: Israel Kills At Least 17 Palestinians in Gaza in Days After Kushner Meeting
*A shoe lies among bloodstains and debris following an Israeli strike along the seashore in Gaza City on Aug. 18, 2026. Photo by Mohammed Al Qumsan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images*
“We found people in pieces.”
The comment is striking, even if increasingly familiar after nearly three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
It’s how a witness to [Tuesday’s Israeli strike ][1]on a Gaza City seaside cafe described to Drop Site the aftermath of an attack that killed at least six people, including a child, and [reportedly][2] pushed people nearby into the sea. One victim’s body was so mangled, officials said, they could not immediately identify them.
The strike took place one day after Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner, left the region, failing to make a breakthrough in efforts to implement the next stages of the so-called “ceasefire,” as Israel continues to reject the Trump plan. Unsurprisingly, according to[ ][3]*[Haaretz][4], *Israeli officials left their meeting with Kushner with an agreement that Israel could continue “targeted” strikes on the enclave.
[Subscribe now][5]
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers’ siege of the Palestinian village of Qusra continued; Israeli settler leaders pledged to return to Gaza; and a Palestinian teen was killed in a settler raid in Khirbet Hamroush.
Here’s more on those stories and others from another deadly and troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 15 – Gaza Oxygen Facilities Operating Beyond Capacity Amid Israeli Restrictions**
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israel-gaza-strikes-tuesday-primary-florida-liberia-us-deportees
[2]: https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/8/18/israeli-strike-on-gaza-city-cafe-kills-six-including-child
[3]: https://www.haaretz.com/gaza/2026-08-17/ty-article/.premium/kushner-netanyahu-talks-allow-continued-israeli-strikes-in-gaza-source-says/000001a0-100b-d76b-a7f9-f6dbe4890000
[4]: https://www.haaretz.com/gaza/2026-08-17/ty-article/.premium/kushner-netanyahu-talks-allow-continued-israeli-strikes-in-gaza-source-says/000001a0-100b-d76b-a7f9-f6dbe4890000
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-kills-gaza-kushner-settlers
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-kills-gaza-kushner-settlers

2026-08-22 15:04:20 CEST

A Federal Judge Is Promoting His Pro-Israel Book Live From His Judicial Chambers
*Judge Roy Altman speaks about his book at the American Enterprise Institute. Photo via [C-SPAN2][1].*
A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump has, in recent months, repeatedly broadcast live from his office, appearing on pro-Israel and right-wing programs to promote his book denying his genocide.
On one such broadcast, the judge, Roy Altman, [called][2] the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarf a “terrorism scarf.” He’s [participated][3] in events with a group that purports to combat “lawful Islamism” in the U.S. All the while, he has [bragged][4] about taking 10% of the federal judicial branch on trips to Israel, and helping ensure that other federal judges see the situation in Israel and Gaza the way he does.
This week, a Florida attorney filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals, accusing Altman, a judge in the Southern District of Florida, of violating judicial ethics codes.
### ‘No Genocide’
Born in Venezuela, Altman was nominated in April 2018 by President Donald Trump, and was eventually confirmed by the Senate the next year, by a 66-33 vote. At the time, he was the youngest federal district court judge in the U.S.
He’s ruled on a variety of high-profile cases, including [dismissing][5] a transgender teenager’s legal challenge to Florida’s law banning transgender girls from playing on women’s and girl’s sports teams – and, more recently, [halting][6] an order requiring Trump to hand over financial information about his empire to the BBC, amid an ongoing libel suit Trump filed against the outlet.
[Subscribe now][7]
But Altman has been unusually active *outside *of his judicial mandate – [including][8] *within* the confines of his workday, when he might otherwise be expected to be conducting the people’s work as a taxpayer-funded official of the judicial branch.
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/israel-on-trial/680033
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmjwZ4gGW14
[3]: https://www.meforum.org/about/about-the-middle-east-forum
[4]: https://x.com/RoyKAltman/status/2029683528581968186?s=20
[5]: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/miami/news/florida-transgender-athlete-law-challenge-rejected/
[6]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/06/trump-bbc-libel-lawsuit
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[8]: https://x.com/meforum/status/2048804451792945196
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/judge-roy-altman-trump-israel
https://zeteo.com/p/judge-roy-altman-trump-israel

2026-08-22 02:01:39 CEST

This Week in Democracy – Week 83: Supreme Court Hands Trump Ballroom Victory as He Pushes More Fake Noncitizen Voting Stats
*Construction continues on a new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House and the East Wing ballroom on August 20, 2026. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images*
If Donald Trump and his cronies spent as much energy actually listening to Americans and doing what voters want as they have on their freakout about the [spotlight on Natalie Harp][1], perhaps the president’s approval rating wouldn’t have [dipped to 33%][2] this week.
While Trump’s allies rushed to the [defense][3] of Harp, the president’s close and influential aide dubbed the “[human printer][4],” his administration was busy further harming democracy, undermining the Constitution, and hurting societies worldwide.
[Subscribe now][5]
This week, Trump’s newly sworn-in attorney general, Todd Blanche, [refused][6] to pledge that his Justice Department would act independently of the White House. That’s troubling but not surprising when it comes to Trump’s cronies, given we also learned this week the DOJ [sought to interview][7] FBI agents involved in the 2022 classified documents search of Mar-a-Lago. And Trump’s DOJ is [preparing to deploy][8] about 1,000 “election monitors” for the midterms.
Here’s more from ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 83’:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 15 – Trump DOJ’s ‘Ridiculous Fishing Expedition’ Into Law Firm**
The *New York Times* [reported][9] that, over the past year, Chicago prosecutors have investigated a Democratic fundraising firm that was previously co-owned by the daughter of the judge who oversaw Trump’s 2024 hush money trial, which ended in his conviction on 34 felony counts.
The founder of the firm, Mike Nellis, called the move “a ridiculous fishing expedition based on conspiracy theories that are completely divorced from reality,” and accused Trump’s DOJ of trying to seize “sensitive political communications of my clients,” including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
#### **Sunday, Aug. 16 – Blanche Won’t Pledge Independence**
During an interview on ‘Meet the Press,’ former Trump defense lawyer and newly-minted Attorney General Todd Blanche [suggested][10] the Justice Department may ask the Supreme Court to overturn the nearly two dozen lawsuits the DOJ has lost trying to force states to turn over their voter rolls.
He also [refused][11] to pledge that the DOJ would act independently of the White House, saying, “No attorney general should ever pledge that.”
[Share][12]
#### **Monday, Aug. 17 – Trump’s DOJ to Deploy 1,000 Election Monitors for Midterms**
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Bloomberg that Trump’s Justice Department is [planning][13] to deploy about 1,000 monitors during the midterm elections in November.
It’s unclear where the monitors will be assigned, but she hinted that they may be sent to jurisdictions where the DOJ alleges there may be “voter fraud issues,” despite the fact that voter fraud is [nearly non-existent][14].
#### **Tuesday, Aug. 18 – Trump’s Antisemitism Probes Against Universities ‘Predetermined’**
Multiple outlets [reported][15] that a Monday whistleblower disclosure [revealed][16] that the outcomes of the Trump administration’s investigations into three Ivy League universities over allegations of antisemitism constituted an “unlawful process designed to achieve predetermined political goals” that were “without regard for the evidence.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio [announced][17] sanctions against the International Criminal Court president who issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest, along with one of the Court’s senior lawyers.
[Subscribe now][18]
#### **Wednesday, Aug. 19 – Trump’s ‘Laughable’ Voter Report**
NPR [reported][19] that the Census Bureau report Trump [cited][20] as evidence of non-citizens voting in the 2020 presidential election was drafted by individuals affiliated with the Trump-aligned think tank, America First Policy Institute.
The Center for Election Innovation & Research’s David Becker told NPR the seven-page report was “laughable” and pointed out that “Census data cannot be reliably matched to voter data.”
#### **Thursday, Aug. 20 – DOJ Tries to Interview FBI Officials Tied to Mar-a-Lago Search**
AP [reported][21] that investigators at Trump’s Justice Department have made efforts to question FBI officials tied to the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago that led to the president’s indictment the following year for unlawfully retaining classified documents.
The move is part of an investigation based in Florida seeking to establish a conspiracy against Trump by his perceived enemies.
#### **Friday, Aug. 21 – Ballroom Construction Can Continue For Now, Supreme Court Says**
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts handed another victory to the Trump administration by [allowing][22] construction on the president’s White House ballroom to continue for now by pausing a lower court’s ruling that ordered a halt to the project.
Construction on the ballroom is already about [two-thirds complete][23], according to one White House official, with a team of 250 people working 20 hours a day, seven days a week on the project.
[Share][24]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][25]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
[2]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-33-lowest-his-presidency-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-17/
[3]: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/08/ossoff-trump-natalie-harp/688365/
[4]: https://www.ft.com/content/0eb4e7ce-42e3-49af-ae27-645eb7676fad?syn-25a6b1a6=1
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovwCBL3NVWE
[7]: https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-trump-maralago-b561cf695c2b8476a4320b03155c3d90
[8]: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-plans-to-deploy-1-000-monitors-to-watch-midterm-elections
[9]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/us/politics/prosecutors-examined-firm-with-tie-to-judge-in-trump-hush-money-trial.html
[10]: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/attorney-general-todd-blanche-doj-state-voter-rolls-supreme-court-rcna592721
[11]: https://x.com/bulwarkonline/status/2088990893214761141?s=46
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-83-supreme?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[13]: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-plans-to-deploy-1-000-monitors-to-watch-midterm-elections
[14]: https://www.brennancenter.org/topics/voting-elections/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud
[15]: https://apnews.com/article/trump-harvard-justice-department-brown-columbia-3e2519fac8b1d85caa74b7ff1ff63744
[16]: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28562760-title-vi-whistleblower-disclosure-for-congress
[17]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnvnl0elz47o
[18]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[19]: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/19/nx-s1-5938799/trump-census-bureau-noncitizen-voting
[20]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117118475271319244
[21]: https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-trump-maralago-b561cf695c2b8476a4320b03155c3d90
[22]: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-trump-white-house-ballroom-rcna592899
[23]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/us/politics/trump-ballroom-construction.html
[24]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-83-supreme?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[25]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-83-supreme

2026-08-21 21:03:42 CEST

Here’s a Blueprint for What Democrats Should Do If They Take Back the House
*House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 19, 2026. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images*
During a live broadcast on X late last month, Alex Jones [declared][1] that “[t]he big issue” right now is “how to stop Trump.” “I mean,” he quipped, “this is absolutely out of control.” Jones invoked the “25^{th} Amendment, impeachment, whatever needs to happen . . . to get control over the country.” Congressional Democrats should take note.
Jones, the former owner of the right-wing conspiracy outlet InfoWars, is incensed over Trump’s illegal war in Iran, which, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, could ultimately involve a draft. “They want us in a total war so they can censor and take our freedoms, nationalize everything, and push us aside with AI — total liability, immunity, and protection. This is a disaster. We are facing tyranny,” Jones said. “We’ve got to come together and transcend left and right, and we have to say no to an expanded war that will definitely destroy the economy and kill a bunch of our troops. They’re preparing a massive ground invasion. It’s all confirmed. This is going down right now.”
Jones hardly deserves applause for his comments, but his reveal is remarkable – not only because he is a longtime Trump ally who abetted his return to the White House, but because serious talk of Trump’s impeachment has been mostly “crickets,” even among Democrats. In June, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) [told][2] CNBC’s Emily Wilkins that despite his optimism that the party would take the House in November, it’s not focused on impeachment, at least “at this moment.” “We haven’t ruled anything in; we haven’t ruled anything out,” he said.
[Subscribe now][3]
If the populace does deliver Democrats a victory in either or both chambers come November, Jeffries’s tune had better change. Trump’s approval ratings have never been lower, with 73% of U.S. adults in a new [CNN poll][4] agreeing that he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. Overall, his [approval is at 33%][5]. A Democratic win would constitute a clear mandate that the American people demand accountability for the overwhelming illegality, destruction, and corruption of this administration.
Although some will argue that addressing the “affordability crisis” should be Democrats’ top priority, that would be missing the forest for the trees. Without a functioning Constitution and rule of law, legislative policy preferences become optional. Trump has established that new baseline time and again, ignoring constitutional and statutory mandates with impunity. Americans are feeling helpless and overwhelmed as a result. If voters tell Democrats to do something about the carnage, they must act on day one.
### ‘Nuremberg-Style Trials’?
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5996424-alex-jones-trump-impeachment-iran/
[2]: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/02/jeffries-trump-impeachment.html
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/29/politics/cnn-poll-donald-trump-midterms-polls-iran-war
[5]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-33-lowest-his-presidency-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-17/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/heres-a-blueprint-for-what-democrats
https://zeteo.com/p/heres-a-blueprint-for-what-democrats

2026-08-21 13:22:07 CEST

⬇️ Trump Advisers Worry He Could ‘Sink to the High 20s’
*On this day in 2018, former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to charges arising from making payments to women who claimed affairs with his boss. Cohen served prison time and emerged as a stringent critic of Trump but has now crawled back onside, [interviewing the president on his radio show][1] Thursday night.*
Happy Friday! It’s **Swin**, again. I have seen a lot of you making the same complaint, and it goes something like this: **Donald Trump** is such a horrendous U.S. president on so many different personal and policy fronts; I know his poll numbers are garbage right now, but how is it even possible that he’s consistently clinging to more than 30% favorability in the polling? What does a doddering fascist have to do to crack the 20s?
*Well*… in today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ I may have a surprise for you: You’re not the only ones wondering that. Some very well-connected consultants and Trump whisperers are thinking about the scary 20s, too – and they’re not pleased about it. Plus, Trump’s DOJ opens yet another absurd but frightening front in his war on his enemies, and the Iran stalemate keeps on stalemating hard. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][2]
# How Low Can He Go?
*The Trumps attend an event at the White House on Aug. 20, 2026. Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images.*
Did you see the news this week? (No, [not that][3].)
**“Trump approval falls to 33%, lowest of his presidency, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds,”** Reuters [reported][4] on Monday. **“Trump’s approval rating plummets to new low ahead of critical midterms,”** [announced][5] Fox News, the president’s [source of comfort and advice][6].
American Research Group (which doesn’t have the reputation other pollsters do) clocked him [at an even ][7]*[30][8]*.
[Subscribe now][9]
**“Nearly a quarter of Americans who voted for President Trump in 2024 believe they are worse off financially since he returned to office last year, according to a new survey,”** [said][10] the *Financial Times*.
**“Republican support for Trump has fallen as Democrats hold a big lead among enthusiastic midterms voters,”** [said][11] the *Economist* and YouGov, noting that **“about one-third (35%) of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of Donald Trump’s job performance as president.”**
Private polls commissioned by different organizations and arms of the Republican elite **“aren’t much better,”** I’m told by an operative close to the White House who has knowledge of data causing a [sustained][12] [bedwetting][13] from much of the party that President Trump is going to drag them down hard in the [critically important][14] midterms.
Of course, one leading cause of these through-the-floor numbers is Trump’s catastrophic war on Iran. The data, and common sense, tell you that.
[ Read more ][15]
[1]: https://x.com/KitMaherCNN/status/2090566299311116645?s=46
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-trumplands-freakout-over-natalie
[4]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-33-lowest-his-presidency-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-17/
[5]: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-approval-rating-plummets-new-low-ahead-critical-midterms.amp
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-advisers-trash-fox-for-nearly
[7]: https://bsky.app/profile/polltracker.bsky.social/post/3mtjeyvnhts2j
[8]: https://bsky.app/profile/polltracker.bsky.social/post/3mtjeyvnhts2j
[9]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[10]: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6032764-donald-trump-second-term-republicans-survey/amp/
[11]: https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/55391-republican-support-donald--trump-fallen-democrats-hold-big-lead-among-enthusiastic-midterms-voters-august-14-17-2026-economist-yougov-poll
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-pollsters-2026-midterms
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-is-making-republicans-wet-their
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls
[15]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-advisers-worry-he-could-sink
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-advisers-worry-he-could-sink

2026-08-21 02:03:10 CEST

He Co-Founded Airbnb. Now He’s a Red-Pilled Billionaire Helping Trump
*President Donald Trump speaks as Joe Gebbia looks on during an event on drug pricing on Feb. 5, 2026, in Washington, DC. Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images*
Joe Gebbia was a classic Democrat when he co-founded Airbnb back in 2008. Over the years, he spent more than $200,000 on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and another $200,000 to support Joe Biden in 2020.
But like a growing number of Silicon Valley stories, Gebbia has since red-pilled himself, apparently leaving the Democratic Party in 2024, and going all in on Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and his pal, Elon Musk – all the while amplifying increasingly racist and vile takes online. You don’t have to believe me. Just take a look at some of his posts from the last few months.
[Subscribe now][1]
A quick scroll through [Gebbia’s X feed][2] reveals posts amplifying [COVID disinformation][3], white supremacist rhetoric, and conspiracy theories about election fraud.
In June, he [reportedly][4] shared a post by the far-right extremist John Birch Society arguing illegal immigration is driving up housing prices (it isn’t). His tweet appears to have been deleted.
Late last month, Gebbia [retweeted][5] a post from a far-right account reading, “I’m convinced that NGOs are the most evil and pernicious manipulators of our day,” along with a picture of migrants.
A little over a month before that, he [quoted-tweeted][6] a misleading headline from a right-wing website known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, claiming that L.A. would allow non-citizens to vote in elections. He added, “Treason. And full exposure of the Democrat deceit to import illegals for votes, beholden to the party that let them in.”
[Subscribe now][7]
On July 20, he [boosted][8] a post by the far-right account End Wokeness implying election fraud conspiracies, “In 2019, Kamala Harris ran on getting rid of US voting machines in favor of fully paper ballots. I wonder what changed in 2020?”
Several of his posts have bemoaned how the Democrats no longer align with his radical right-wing beliefs. He [reposted][9] a tweet by financier Bill Ackman reading, “It is incredible how far the Democratic Party has moved politically.”
It’d be one thing if Gebbia was just another tech boss posting and amplifying racist hot takes online. But like Elon Musk, Gebbia has actual influence in the U.S. government – and is now rebuilding government services in his official capacity as the first-ever chief design officer of the United States.
### **DOGE to America’s Chief Design Officer**
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://x.com/jgebbia
[3]: https://x.com/jgebbia/status/2084281692995322029
[4]: https://x.com/MattBinder/status/2073122822382104619
[5]: https://x.com/jgebbia/status/2083355946621743160
[6]: https://x.com/jgebbia/status/2067724849015840996
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[8]: https://x.com/jgebbia/status/2079183478604628446
[9]: https://x.com/BillAckman/status/2081335541535031607
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/airbnb-joe-gebbia-red-pill-trump-doge
https://zeteo.com/p/airbnb-joe-gebbia-red-pill-trump-doge

2026-08-20 18:01:52 CEST

Israel Finally Admits to Killing Hind Rajab. 933 Days Later
It took Israel more than two and a half years to [admit][1] to what the world already knew: Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle of Hind Rajab and her family. The admission comes after years of denials that were accepted with full embrace by U.S. State Department officials. There are very few journalists here in the U.S. who tried to hold those officials to [account][2] in the way **Zeteo’s **political correspondent **[Prem Thakker][3] **did**.**
[Subscribe now][4]
**“All the U.S. did was feign concern, defer to Israel to investigate itself for murder, and resist the facts over and over,”** says Thakker in his latest video on the case of Hind Rajab.
The 5-year-old’s harrowing story drew international outrage after her phone call recording with the Palestinian Red Crescent captured her final hours, sheltering from Israeli gunfire in a car with the bodies of her dead relatives around her. The Israeli army also [killed the medics ][5]who were sent to save her.
It took Israel 933 days to admit to a killing that went viral beyond headlines, one that inspired the [Oscar-nominated][6] film ‘[The Voice of Hind Rajab][7],’ and in which the victim’s testimony was caught on tape. Watch Prem reflect on what the admission means for Hind, and the more than 73,000 Palestinians killed since the start of the genocide, including 20,000 children.
[Share][8]
*This video is being shared without a paywall. Unlike much of mainstream media, **Zeteo** has been relentless in its pursuit of justice and accountability for the killing of Hind Rajab and the victims of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. If you believe in our mission, support us by becoming [a paid subscriber][9]. And if you’re not ready for the commitment, then a [donation][10] would still go a long way.*
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[1]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/19/middleeast/israel-military-idf-hind-rajab-firing-intl
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/200-days-justice-for-hind
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/hind-rajab-oja-award-israel-genocide?utm_campaign=23956408708&utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=-&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23946692121&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BaxFxzKsyJ2iLRW3fUPmIhCD_&gclid=CjwKCAjwy5rUBhB5EiwAIoAtCn1QXBW72k3rvYwZC-RX9lEyC2dTs4bAr_Fp0wflogXPkLq4QUJSohoCS50QAvD_BwE
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-palestinians-war-ambulance-girl-family-06f15b155f1de426e00f6a655554b2a2
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/voice-of-hind-rajab-israel-oscar-campaign
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/today-1pm-et-director-of-oscar-nominated
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/israel-finally-admits-to-killing?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[9]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[10]: https://donorbox.org/support-zeteo
https://zeteo.com/p/israel-finally-admits-to-killing

2026-08-20 13:28:11 CEST

🦅 🇮🇷 Yep, Iran’s Definitely ‘Cartering’ Trump
*On this day in 2020, Steve Bannon was arrested for defrauding donors to a campaign to build a border wall. The top Trump ally ultimately pleaded guilty to one count but served no prison time related to the case (though he did serve time for contempt of Congress). He remains a prominent pro-Trump voice.*
Welcome to Thursday. It’s **Swin**, again. You may have heard by now that “the MyPillow Guy” **Mike Lindell** – one of the [top financial backers][1] of efforts to overturn **Joe Biden’s** 2020 election win – has refused to concede after he lost the GOP gubernatorial primary in Minnesota, despite having **Donald Trump’s** endorsement. In case you’re wondering how it’s going, on Wednesday afternoon Lindell texted me a link to his **‘Lindell Plan’** for privately funding a recount, telling me: “**We need to get rid of the electronic voting machines and secure our elections!**”
It would be easier to shrug this stuff off if it weren’t also, [essentially][2], the animating policy position [of the White House and the entire GOP today][3]. But enough about the war on democracy at home…
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we’ll check back in on the war abroad and how it’s going for the president of the United States (piss-poorly, for starters). Plus, we consider another truly weird day in DC, filled with bizarro Trump rants, amid worrying signs for the U.S. economy. Deep breath, and let’s read on.
[Subscribe now][4]
# Get Carter(ed)
*Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House on Aug. 19, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.*
In early May, we here at **‘First Draft’** ran a story [headlined][5]: **“Is Iran Trying to ‘Jimmy Carter’ Donald Trump?”** The answer was: **“Yeah, probably.”** Nearly four months later, the answer is starting to look a lot like: **“Yes, absolutely.”**
It’s been half a year since the president launched his [disastrous][6], [woefully][7] unpopular [illegal war][8]. There is [no end in sight][9], American voters are [beyond fed up with it and its rising gas prices][10], and the Trump-Vance administration is still [flirting with][11] global economic apocalypse simply because the ego-addled president can’t just admit he lost a battle that he laughably claims to have **“won.”**
[Subscribe now][12]
In May, [we reported that U.S. government officials had][13] **“privately discussed classified intelligence assessments suggesting that the government in Tehran isn’t close to breaking, even after… months of war and a sustained economic assault… Administration officials, citing U.S. intel, have also warned that senior Iranian officials are keenly aware that if the war drags on much longer, it could further damage Trump and the Republican Party’s chances at the polls in November. ‘They know they can Carter him,’ a senior administration official familiar with the intelligence and internal deliberations says, referring to how the Iranian hostage crisis [helped tank][14] Jimmy Carter’s presidency by the time of the 1980 U.S. election.”**
At the time, much of this intel had been briefed to Trump.
[ Read more ][15]
[1]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/mypillow-ceo-mike-lindell-is-throwing-down-big-money-to-fuel-pro-trump-election-challenges/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/help-zeteo-defend-democracy-from
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/is-iran-trying-to-jimmy-carter-donald
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-no-way-out
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-doomed-from-start
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/new-us-iran-strikes-show-trump-has
[10]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-33-lowest-his-presidency-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-17/
[11]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/01/politics/trump-iran-war-oil-prices-strait-of-hormuz
[12]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/is-iran-trying-to-jimmy-carter-donald
[14]: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/us/politics/jimmy-carter-october-surprise-iran-hostages.html
[15]: https://zeteo.com/p/yep-irans-definitely-cartering-trump
https://zeteo.com/p/yep-irans-definitely-cartering-trump

2026-08-20 02:19:05 CEST

Is the Media Afraid of Covering the Natalie Harp-Donald Trump Dynamic?
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s ‘**Ragebait**.’
Justin Baragona here, bringing you the latest media dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and Bari World. In tonight’s edition, we talk to journalism ethics experts on whether it is “fair game” for reporters to dig into the nature of Natalie Harp’s relationship with Donald Trump, and how newsrooms should navigate this story. Also, Disney is getting lauded for punching back against the Trump administration, but didn’t they help jumpstart his war against the media in the first place?
[Subscribe now][1]
# **Who’s Afraid of Natalie Harp?**
*Donald Trump looks on as Natalie Harp places a computer playing a news report in the Oval Office on May 30, 2025. Photo by Francis Chung/Sipa USA via Reuters*
“Okay, back to the midterms because the Natalie stuff, I think, is strange. So I’m going to leave it there.”
That was what MS NOW’s **Katy Tur** said to the* New York Times’s* **Maggie Haberman** on Tuesday afternoon following a several-minute conversation about **Natalie Harp**, the close aide to **Donald Trump** who has [suddenly been thrust into the news cycle][2] after **Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA)** name-checked her during a Sunday campaign speech.
Tur’s pivot came after Haberman, whose [best-selling book ][3]*[Regime Change][4]* (co-authored with *Times* colleague **Jonathan Swan**) prominently features Harp, said the 35-year-old staffer had “clearly taken devotion to [Trump] to a very different level” while referencing the “deeply personal letters” Harp had left the president.
[Subscribe now][5]
Haberman pointed out that those letters, which saw Harp telling Trump he is “all that matters to” her, left the Secret Service “alarmed,” something Swan also [revealed][6] to **Mehdi** in an interview last month.
Still, it was Tur’s reaction to Haberman and desire to move on to another subject that got me thinking, particularly since the story being “strange” is precisely why people want to know more about it.
How should mainstream media newsrooms navigate this particular story, considering the innuendo tied to it? Is it fair game to go through the door that Ossoff seemingly opened and dig into the nature of Harp’s relationship with Trump? And what are the media and journalistic ethics involved here?
To answer some of these questions, I reached out to **Eric Deggans**, Knight Professor of Journalism and Media Ethics at Washington and Lee University and NPR critic-at-large, and **Subbu Vincent**, director of Journalism and Media Ethics at Santa Clara University.
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
[3]: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/07/07/regime-change-book-reveals-trump-s-improvisation-and-concentration-of-power_6755245_4.html?srsltid=AfmBOorSrfierBDrS0IM10kZ6vXOA7NurcGZsfPaLhLnMNmy793oeNLZ
[4]: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/07/07/regime-change-book-reveals-trump-s-improvisation-and-concentration-of-power_6755245_4.html?srsltid=AfmBOorSrfierBDrS0IM10kZ6vXOA7NurcGZsfPaLhLnMNmy793oeNLZ
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txo9r-PiI5w&t=1304s
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/is-the-media-afraid-of-covering-the
https://zeteo.com/p/is-the-media-afraid-of-covering-the

2026-08-19 20:02:49 CEST

The Silence of Western Feminists Over Gaza Exposes Their Fraud
*A man carries the body of a baby for burial as the bodies of 19 Palestinian newborns and fetuses from miscarriage cases are being kept at the morgue of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, Palestine, on July 13, 2026. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images*
Miscarriages in Gaza [tripled in the first half of this year][1] to [nearly 4,000][2], a shocking statistic. If this were any other place on Earth, women would be marching worldwide. They would be – rightfully – setting fire to the streets. Remember how upset women in Europe were that their Iranian sisters had to wear a piece of cloth over their hair? They made videos and signed petitions and cut snippets of their own hair in sisterly solidarity, and they were very, very mad indeed. But the news of Gaza’s women being unable to complete their pregnancies at a phenomenally large rate didn’t bother global feminists at all.
Did Gloria Steinem hold a demonstration? Did Oprah devote herself to a series of shows?
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-report-23-july-2026
[2]: https://www.haaretz.com/gaza/2026-07-30/ty-article/.premium/gaza-birth-rate-drops-as-miscarriages-triple-in-six-months-un-report-finds/0000019f-b2de-da04-a7ff-bbde13f20000
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-silence-of-western-feminists
https://zeteo.com/p/the-silence-of-western-feminists

2026-08-19 16:03:59 CEST

TODAY, 4PM ET: Francesca Albanese Joins Mehdi for a Live Town Hall Q&A
*Francesca Albanese speaks about her book in Milan on May 27, 2026. Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images*
Settler violence has hit an “[all-time high][1]” in the occupied West Bank, and in Qusra, extremist settlers [besieged][2] the homes of Palestinian families, cutting off their electricity and water supply, and [attacking][3] municipal workers as they repaired them.
Meanwhile, the genocide in Gaza continues as Israel’s national security minister [openly calls][4] for the “targeted assassinations” of “30 to 40” people every night.
Who better to speak to about Israel’s ongoing genocide and what she calls the “[pogroms][5]” in the occupied West Bank than** Francesca Albanese**, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories?
[Subscribe now][6]
Albanese, who has faced severe criticism from Israel and is considered one of the world’s most outspoken critics of the Netanyahu government, joins **Mehdi** for a special live **Zeteo** town hall **today, Wednesday,** at **4pm ET (1pm PT / 9pm BST)** you won’t want to miss!
The online Zoom audience will be limited to **paid Zeteo subscribers**, who will have the chance to ask Albanese their own questions as well.
If you’re a **free subscriber**, it’s not too late to [upgrade now][7] to **paid** and join this important and timely live discussion.
***Click the link below to register:***
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/07/1168045
[2]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1w1ylw0p3no
[3]: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/08/1168155
[4]: https://apnews.com/article/ben-gvir-israel-gaza-hamas-netanyahu-53f98e92686746f3c9bccd7cf59f26ad
[5]: https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/2080910847988175074
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://substack.com/redirect/df4f1d32-e183-4084-b28e-dfe440b907b5?j=eyJ1IjoiNGJ4bTgxIn0.msAKQ5U32zWOydDcCsy8wyI_uB-j5HK4bQ7qzhkOnrg
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/today-4pm-et-francesca-albanese-joins
https://zeteo.com/p/today-4pm-et-francesca-albanese-joins

2026-08-19 13:28:54 CEST

👱‍♀️ 🖨️ Inside Trumpland’s Freakout Over ‘Natalie’
### Don’t Miss It:
***Mehdi** will host a **LIVE** discussion, **for paid subscribers only**, with the one and only **Francesca Albanese**, the UN special rapporteur, **TODAY **at **4pm ET (1pm PT, 9pm BST)** to discuss the genocide in Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Scroll down to the bottom, past the paywall, for the Zoom registration link! And if you’re not already a paid subscriber, it’s not too late to [become one][1]. *
[Subscribe now][2]
Happy Wednesday! It’s **Swin** again. Within hours of **Senator Jon Ossoff** making [those now-viral remarks over the weekend][3] about **Donald Trump** and his White House aide **Natalie Harp**, longtime Democratic and Republican operatives immediately messaged me about a) whether it was politically savvy for the senator to bait the White House like this, and b) how Republicans in and close to the Trump-Vance administration were already preparing to, well, take the bait. Well, it worked – very quickly and very [loudly][4].
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we’ll get right into the strange, cultish history explaining why it feels like the entirety of the national Republican Party apparatus and key parts of the U.S. federal government were marshaled to gratuitously defend the honor of one blonde, young female Trump loyalist. Plus, progressives score a stunning upset in Florida, and Trump’s administration keeps targeting the International Criminal Court.
[Subscribe now][5]
# Fair Game
*Donald Trump steps off Marine One along with Natalie Harp, after landing at the Ellipse near the White House on Aug.16, 2026. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images.*
It was late November 2024. Donald Trump hadn’t even been sworn back into office yet, and yet he was already busy ordering up the kind of sweeping leak hunts [that would][6] [come to define much][7] [of his second][8] [presidency][9].
The president-elect was absolutely livid, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told me. On Nov. 25 that year, the *New York Times* ran a story that quoted from a series of leaked **“[devotional letters][10]”** that close Trump aide and confidant, Natalie Harp, had written to her boss. Eyebrow-raising lines included, **“You are all that matters to me.”**
**“I want to bring you joy**,” Harp warmly penned, **“to feel like we can get through a day without ever having to talk ‘work.’”**
Trump, the sources said, was furious about this for days, and ordered advisers to conduct what one of the sources called an expansive **“mole hunt”** to figure out who leaked the private correspondence – or, **“love letters,”** as some Trump advisers mockingly called them. The president-elect privately bellowed about how there were a tiny number of people, including himself, who had access to Harp’s letters, and that he considered it a towering **“invasion of privacy”** for anyone to leak them.
[Subscribe now][11]
One of the three sources says they were **“interviewed”** by Trump officials for the informal leak probe, and that they were asked to hand over their phone for inspection. It is unclear if Trump ever found the **“moles”** responsible. But his days of rage underscored a reality that was about to befall [Trump’s Washington][12]: Natalie Harp – a 35-year-old former One America News Network personality who now seems to follow Trump* everywhere* – was a [made woman][13], protected up on high by the MAGA prince of darkness himself.
[ Read more ][14]
[1]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
[4]: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6033511-white-house-response-jon-ossoff-donald-trump-iran-war-criticism/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/more-paranoid-trump-pushes-officials
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/reservoir-dogs-trumps-massive-leak
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-hegseth-pentagon-leaks-practice-beating-polygraphs
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/team-trump-under-maximum-pressure
[10]: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/us/politics/trump-natalie-harp.html
[11]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[12]: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3_h2uRk3bjI
[13]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_man
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-trumplands-freakout-over-natalie
https://zeteo.com/p/inside-trumplands-freakout-over-natalie

2026-08-19 03:03:08 CEST

Pro-Israel Groups Want You to Believe That Israel’s National Security Minister… Doesn’t Represent Israel
*Itamar Ben-Gvir pictured at the Knesset on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.*
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, just called for Israel to kill 30 or 40 Palestinians every day, arguing there are people in Gaza who “shouldn’t live” and are “not even people.”
Pro-Israel groups in the U.S. are condemning the man, saying he doesn’t represent the Israeli government, or its policies – even though he is literally the top national security official in Israel. Meanwhile, his calls for indiscriminate killing would be less deadly than how Israel has conducted its ongoing genocide in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, which the same groups have defended and denied.
Ben-Gvir made the vicious comments in a podcast published Saturday.
[Subscribe now][1]
“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister,” Ben-Gvir said, regarding Israel’s somewhat reduced operations in Gaza, in light of the thus-far failing “peace plan” brokered by President Donald Trump. ”I think we should carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night,” he continued. “Not just those who pose an immediate threat. No, there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”
Ben-Gvir made the remarks on the ‘October 8’ podcast hosted by a [former Israeli soldier][2] released from Palestinian Islamic Jihad captivity. He additionally called for the mass forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and Israeli settlement of the Strip.
“I see all of Gaza as ours,” Ben-Gvir said, calling for settlements “throughout Gaza, encouraging as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries, and for the terrorists, no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one.”
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/former-israeli-soldier-held-captive-gaza-asks-ben-gvir-let-him-execute-palestinian-detainees
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/itamar-ben-gvir-pro-israel-groups
https://zeteo.com/p/itamar-ben-gvir-pro-israel-groups

2026-08-18 20:04:04 CEST

The Death of Mainstream Media? Ex-CNN and CBS Journalists Weigh In
**“Redundant”** coverage, **“platforming lies,”** and **“cannibalizing”** economic problems – these are the fundamental issues facing the mainstream news media right now, according to a former insider*.*
CBS and NBC alum turned independent journalist **Scott MacFarlane** joined **Zeteo’s John Harwood** to answer an existential question: Can independent journalism protect democracy as big outlets bend the knee to Donald Trump?
[Subscribe now][1]
This was a **Substack live** conversation, where **Zeteo** subscribers could ask questions in real time. Be sure to [subscribe][2] to catch the next one.
Watch the **full video above **to hear why MacFarlane believes that outlets* *broadcasting Trump’s speeches and tweets actually hurt democracy – and why he considers the economic turmoil at the *Washington Post* more troubling than owner Jeff Bezos’s right-wing politics*.*
[Share][3]
*Free subscribers can watch a 1-minute preview. Paid subscribers can watch the full 33 minutes. Consider upgrading to a **[paid subscription][4]** so you never hit a paywall again!*
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-death-of-mainstream-media-ex?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-death-of-mainstream-media-ex
https://zeteo.com/p/the-death-of-mainstream-media-ex

2026-08-18 13:25:39 CEST

EXCLUSIVE: Voters Oppose Netanyahu-Led Scheme to Integrate U.S. and Israeli Militaries
*On this day in 1976, two U.S. soldiers pruning a tree in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea were killed with axes by North Korean troops. Tensions surged, before North Korean leader Kim Il-sung backed down. Today, his grandson is considered a close personal friend of the president of the United States.*
Good morning, friends! **Prem** here, back after being away for a couple of days… Did I miss anything? :)
Luckily for you, you never have to miss a thing with your trusted **‘First Draft.’** This morning, we have exclusive new polling on just how much U.S. voters don’t like the bipartisan press to merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Plus, the deadline for an end to the Iran war passes with **Donald Trump** issuing a dire threat to “bomb the shit out of”… Oman… and **Jon Ossoff** proves to have really touched a Trumpist nerve with his rally remark about Trump and **Natalie Harp**. Let’s dive in!
[Subscribe now][1]
# ‘Scrap This Ridiculous Proposal’
*Trump meets Netanyahu at White House on July 28, 2026. Photo by Maâayan Toaf (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images.*
New polling shared first with **Zeteo** shows a majority of U.S. voters are opposed to a provision being pushed by both parties to merge the Israeli and U.S. militaries in unprecedented fashion.
The poll – from **Demand Progress** and **IMEU Policy Project**, and conducted by **Data for Progress** – [found][2] a majority of voters siding with those members of Congress who just voted to cut U.S. aid to Israel, in a dramatic if losing House vote last month. Voters also overwhelmingly believe Israel benefits more from the U.S.-Israel relationship.
[Subscribe now][3]
The polling surveyed U.S. voters on whether they would support the merging effort that’s already passed the House. The provision, known as Section 219, is in the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House in July and is set to be voted on by the Senate in the coming weeks.
The effort to merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries has been backdropped by the likes of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham calling to wind down U.S. aid to Israel. But such calls are in fact a [ploy][4] to replace the current U.S. aid regime to Israel with a scheme that would have the U.S. backstop Israel in a much deeper fashion.
So what does the public think about it all?
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28561325/dfp-imeu-dp-tabs.pdf
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/israel-arm-sales-end-proposal-scam
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-voters-oppose-netanyahu
https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-voters-oppose-netanyahu

2026-08-18 02:02:23 CEST

Who is Natalie Harp? The Trump Aide Dominating the Headlines Right Now
*Trump and executive assistant Natalie Harp attend a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on July 22, 2026, in Dover, Delaware. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images*
Over the weekend, Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff [lambasted][1] Donald Trump’s handling of the country by name-dropping one of his closest aides, Natalie Harp, in this provocative way: “He [Donald Trump] wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”
Travel with Natalie? Ossoff’s comment, which spread like wildfire online, lit a fire under questions like who is Natalie Harp, what is the nature of her relationship with the president, and how did the two become so weirdly close. We’re here to answer those questions, and also the ones you didn’t think to ask.
[Subscribe now][2]
Here are seven things you need to know about the woman that *New York Times *reporter Maggie Haberman has [referred][3] to as Trump’s human “binkie.”
### **1. She Snuck onto the Catering Truck With Trump**
When Trump [secretly switched planes][4] in Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claimed was an assassination threat from Iran, the president left behind key allies like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
But among those Trump didn’t leave behind to serve as a human shield on a decoy plane was Harp, who snuck out of Air Force One on an airport catering truck with the president and two other close personal aides.
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2089089375372279942
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maggie-haberman-reveals-why-trump-took-human-binkie-on-secret-escape/
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/12/close-trump-aides-no-cabinet-officials-made-secret-catering-truck-move/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide
https://zeteo.com/p/who-is-natalie-harp-the-trump-aide

2026-08-17 22:51:56 CEST

SCOOP: Trump’s Iran War Has Burned Through Well Over 90% of Key Long-Range Missiles
*Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth during a press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.*
However terribly you think the Iran war is going for Donald Trump, the reality is almost certainly worse. The worse it gets, the more the White House tries to cover up and hide the damage from the American people, and the more the president uses the Justice Department [to threaten][1] media outlets that expose the sheer tonnage of the damage.
President Trump won’t even be straight with the country about how he’s running out of weapons – when his war has depleted well *upwards of 90%* of certain crucial munitions, as **Zeteo** has learned. When reporters have dug in on this topic, he’s huffily accused them of “[treason][2],” and pledged that those responsible for leaking the information “are being hunted down” aggressively.
[Subscribe now][3]
The staggering rate of U.S. weapons exhaustion is one of many indications of how [colossally disastrous the Iran war has been][4] for the American side since the very moment Trump launched the conflict in February. And the extent to which Trump has routinely ordered the Justice Department to open sprawling leak investigations and browbeat journalists underscores just how much this president is attempting to make it functionally illegal for a free American press to report on how horribly the war is going.
After all, the only thing “[treasonous][5]” (to use a term so casually and regularly lobbed by the president of the United States…) about the reporting is that it is personally embarrassing to the man running this war.
### ‘High Nineties’
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAFvBfqInU
[2]: https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/donald-trump-accuses-the-washington-post-of-treason/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-doomed-from-start
[5]: https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/trump-calls-ny-times-reporter-treasonous-for-questioning-iran-war-success/5200348
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned
https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-trumps-iran-war-has-burned

2026-08-17 15:10:58 CEST

Is a New, Expanded Progressive 'Squad' Coming to Congress in 2027?
Darializa Avila Chevalier. Claire Valdez. Dr. Adam Hamawy. Donavan McKinney. Chris Rabb.
These progressive House candidates all won their Democratic primaries, but they also have something else in common – they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats.
With the midterm elections less than three months away, Justice Democrats’ communications director **Usamah Andrabi** joins **Mehdi** to break down what has, so far, been a big year for progressives, and what these victories mean for the future of the left and the Democratic Party.
“**The Democratic base is excited by our candidates because they are showing you don’t have to be bought and sold to be leaders for your communities**,” Andrabi says. “**In fact, you can’t be leaders for your community unless you are unbought and unbossed**.”
[Subscribe now][1]
And as AIPAC continues to pour millions of dollars against pro-Palestinian candidates, the two discuss just how big of a role Gaza has played in the Democratic primaries.
“**Overwhelmingly, Democratic voters don’t want to see their taxpayer dollars spent on endless wars and genocide abroad, and yet, only a minority of Democrats in Congress represent that view**,” Andrabi tells Mehdi.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full interview above, while **free subscribers** can access a 3-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of **Zeteo’s** award-winning content.
[Share][2]
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems
https://zeteo.com/p/unbought-and-unbossed-justice-dems

2026-08-17 13:14:23 CEST

💰 A Bank Closed Trump Accounts for ‘Anti-Money Laundering Reasons.’ So Now He's Giving Himself… a Bank?
*On this day in 1998, President Bill Clinton admitted in grand jury testimony that he had a relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, which he then told the nation “was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.” *
Good morning… **Martin** here, delighted as ever to wish you a [Happy Monday][1]. It’s almost late summer now, but summer it still is, so Congress is still on its extremely generous holidays. Fear not: **Donald Trump** is here to fill the news with yet more absurd corruption.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look at two aspects of the second Trump administration that go hand in hand: the financial self-dealing allowing the president’s family and associates to rake in untold riches, and the obsequious yes-men who populate his Cabinet, ready to act with complete disregard for convention and the law.
Trump looks set to turn his crypto firm, **World Liberty Financial**, into a bank, while his new attorney general, **Todd Blanche**, gets on with targeting the boss’s enemies and rigging the law in his favor, without even pretending to do otherwise. It’s staggering – as is **Hakeem Jeffries**, very possibly the next speaker of the House, opposing Medicare for All, a policy favored by nine in 10 in his party. We’ll look at that and more, including Trump’s continuing stalemate with Iran. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘The Most Brazen Act of Self-Dealing’
*Trump before boarding Air Force One on Aug. 14, 2026. Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images.*
On Aug. 1, Capital One bank [said][3] it closed more than 300 Trump Organization accounts for **“anti-money laundering reasons.”**
**“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by ‌Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,”** it said.
Two weeks later, on Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national regulator whose head, [Jonathan Gould][4], was appointed by Trump last year, [granted][5] conditional preliminary approval of an application for a bank charter from World Liberty Trust – the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company.
[Subscribe now][6]
World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff – son of Trump real estate pal turned all-purpose diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff – said: **“Our ambition is clear: to build the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world while strengthening the role of the U.S. dollar across the global economy.”**
Among those crying foul, and there were plenty, the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, [said][7]: “**This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen. I’m introducing a bill to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption.”**
Which is precisely what this is: absolutely staggering self-dealing by the president, his family, and their cronies. But this is also the U.S. under the Trumps. The staggering self-dealing story was a Friday story, Saturday too, tops. By Sunday, the torrent of Trumpist slurry was washing other threats into view.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFf1J7ITetU&list=RDBFf1J7ITetU&start_radio=1
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/01/capital-one-trump-organization-money-laundering
[4]: https://www.occ.gov/about/who-we-are/comptroller/index-comptroller-of-the-currency.html
[5]: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-regulator-approves-bank-charter-trump-backed-crypto-company-world-liberty-2026-08-14/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/posts/this-is-the-most-brazen-act-of-self-dealing-our-financial-system-has-ever-seen-i/1617778166370708/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for
https://zeteo.com/p/a-bank-closed-trump-accounts-for

2026-08-16 15:06:11 CEST

How ‘Psychopath’ Trump’s Mayhem Will Backfire in 2028 for Republicans
Donald Trump seems to think he can run for president in 2028, and [if the law still stands][1], *he can’t* – but the seat may go to one of his top sycophants.
That’s why Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, JD Vance, and Doug Burgum don’t push back on Trump’s reign of terror, argues political scientist **Norm Ornstein**, as he joins **Zeteo’s John Harwood** to unpack just how the Republican party got to this level of cult-dom.
[Subscribe now][2]
But as [prices soar][3] and people can’t afford [healthcare][4], is associating with the [failing president][5] a good idea?
This was a **Substack live** conversation, where **Zeteo** subscribers could ask questions in real time. Watch the **full video above** to hear what Ornstein thinks will come after Trump, how the president threatens his colleagues, and why* *Ornstein believes that Newt Gingrich and Mitch McConnell *(wherever he is!)* are as much to blame as Trump*.*
[Subscribe now][6]
We’ve made this conversation free for all subscribers, but if you support the work we do, consider upgrading to a **[paid subscription][7]** so you never hit a paywall again!
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
Get more from Mehdi Hasan in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android
[Get the app][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattrandolph/2026/08/14/gas-and-diesel-prices-on-track-for-their-most-expensive-august-ever/
[4]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/710942/adults-ability-afford-healthcare-five-year-low.aspx
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-no-way-out
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[8]: https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=author-post-insert&utm_source=zeteo
https://zeteo.com/p/how-psychopath-trumps-mayhem-will

2026-08-15 19:03:39 CEST

This Week in Palestine: Israel Shoots 13-Year-Old as She ‘Memorized the Quran’ and Settlers Besiege Palestinian Families
*Israeli settlers run as they are chased by an Israeli military vehicle around Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 13, 2026. Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images*
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called settlers besieging a Palestinian American home in the occupied West Bank “[Israeli terrorists][1].” It’s a welcome, rare rebuke from a U.S. official, but what kind of weight does it really have when the same official has been a long-time supporter of Israeli settlements? It wasn’t that long ago that Huckabee made similar comments about settler violence gripping the [Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh][2], where attacks continue, or the [settlers who beat Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet][3] to death (no one has been held accountable).
[Subscribe now][4]
What kind of weight do Huckabee’s comments really have when, hours after using the phrase “Israeli terrorists,” he called the settlers “[illegal trespassers][5]” instead? Or when he defended the vast majority of settlers, saying they aren’t the problem, the “[unsettlers][6]” are, even though the settlements themselves are illegal under international law? It’s nice for officials to call attention to what Palestinians and their supporters have been decrying for years, but it rings hollow when nothing of substance is actually done to hold Israel accountable.
Just this week, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, Israel killed a 13-year-old girl by reportedly shooting her as she memorized the Quran, and an Israeli official said the bodies of Palestinians should be held as bargaining chips.
Here’s more on all those stories and other things that happened during another troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Israeli Forces Shoot 13-Year-Old Girl as She ‘Memorized the Quran’**
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087736809069465867
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/in-this-palestinian-christian-village
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-father-sayfullah-musallet-huckabee-netanyahu
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087793893450355051
[6]: https://x.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/2087964441401028665
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-shoots

2026-08-15 14:05:04 CEST

7 Things About Afghanistan the U.S. Wants You to Forget, Five Years After Kabul Fell
*In this photograph taken on June 1, 2025, Gul Ajan Hotak offers prayers over the grave of his son Shafiullah Hotak, who died after falling from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft amid the August 2021 panic-stricken evacuation to flee Taliban-led Afghanistan. Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images.*
Five years ago today, as the U.S. hurried to bring an end to its longest war and Afghanistan’s government collapsed, Taliban fighters [swept][1] into Kabul. The images were [inescapable][2]: desperate Afghans surrounding planes at Kabul airport, crowds pressed against its gates, the last American military aircraft leaving.
Then, much of the world moved on.
[Subscribe now][3]
But for Afghans, Aug. 15, 2021 was far from the end of the story. In the five years since the Taliban recaptured power, hundreds of thousands promised pathways to the U.S. have remained stranded; the Taliban has systematically pushed women and girls out of public life; international aid has collapsed while hunger has skyrocketed; millions of refugees have been forced back into the country; and Afghanistan has once again become the center of major regional conflict.
Here are seven things to know about Afghanistan, five years after the fall of Kabul:
#### **1. America evacuated more than 120,000 people. Hundreds of thousands are still waiting**
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-15/kabul-falls-to-taliban-us-withdrawal
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/afghanistan-striking-image-appears-to-show-640-people-fleeing-kabul-in-packed-us-military-plane
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us
https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-about-afghanistan-the-us

2026-08-14 23:03:43 CEST

This Week in Democracy – Week 82: A Decoy Plane, ICE’s Electric Gloves, and Government Fascists Investigate the Left
*Trump waves from the presidential limo on Aug. 11, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images*
It’s no secret that Donald Trump only looks out for himself, but this week, a [bombshell report ][1]from the *Washington Post *underscored just how expendable even those closest to him *really* are. As **Swin** [laid out][2] in **‘First Draft,’** Trump left Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, and Stephen Miller, along with the White House press corps, as human shields in a plane the administration claims was the subject of an Iranian assassination threat. (There’s also a question about the Israeli-provided *unverified* intel about the threat itself, as **Mehdi **[explained in ][3]**[‘First Draft’][4] **this morning.)
We wish we could say such stories still surprise us.
[Subscribe now][5]
Meanwhile, in democracy news, Trump-endorsed election denier MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell [lost][6] his gubernatorial primary in Minnesota, while another Trump-endorsed election denier, Tom Tiffany, [secured][7] the Republican nomination for governor of Wisconsin. Trump still refuses to rule out declaring a national emergency to take over the midterm elections. And ICE is planning to spend up to $20 million for agents to use [electric shock gloves][8].
That’s not all that happened this week – another bombshell report shed light on a [terrifying investigation][9] the Trump admin conducted into left-wing groups. Here’s just a taste of how Trump and his allies harmed democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide this week:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 8 – Former Trump Lawyer Confirmed as Attorney General**
The Senate [narrowly voted][10] to confirm Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general.
As acting attorney general, Blanche [greenlit][11] the second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, [reauthorized][12] the use of firing squads for death penalty executions, and [signed off][13] on a now-supposedly [rescinded][14] $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”
#### **Sunday, Aug. 9 – Trump Crypto Company’s Curious $100 Million Investment**
The *New York Times* [reported][15] that a businessman once under investigation in the UK for money laundering became one of the biggest buyers of tokens from Trump’s cryptocurrency company, spending $100 million through a newly formed firm.
As much as three-quarters of the money ultimately went to a company controlled by Trump and his sons.
[Subscribe now][16]
#### **Monday, Aug. 10 – Trump Left Government Officials, Reporters as Human Shields**
The *Washington Post* [published][17] a bombshell report that Trump hid in a catering container and was secretly shuttled into a different plane when leaving Turkey last month, in response to what the administration claims was an Iranian assassination threat against the president. (Israel provided the intel about the threat – intel U.S. officials could not independently verify.)
While Trump switched planes, he left key officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller – along with reporters in the White House press corps – aboard Air Force One, which effectively became a decoy.
#### **Tuesday, Aug. 11 – ICE Wants Agents To Use Electric Shock Gloves**
AP [reported][18] that ICE, an agency already [known][19] for its use of excessive force, is planning to spend up to $20 million to give its agents electric shock gloves to use as part of its enforcement operations.
The manufacturer says the gloves shouldn’t be used on children, pregnant people, or elderly or disabled people.
[Subscribe now][20]
#### **Wednesday, Aug. 12 – Top Trump Propagandist to Leave White House**
On Truth Social, Trump [announced][21] that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her post by the end of August, but will remain as one of the president’s “top outside advisors.”
Leavitt, the youngest press secretary ever, welcomed multiple [far-right][22] [content][23] [creators][24] into the “new media” seat at press briefings, [lashed out][25] at a reporter during an exchange about the killing of Renee Good, and [argued][26] that reporters who won Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election should be stripped of their awards.
#### **Thursday, Aug. 13 – DHS Investigated Left-Wing Groups After Pretti’s Killing**
The *New York Times* [reported][27] that the Department of Homeland Security quietly launched an investigation into several left-leaning political organizations in the wake of Alex Pretti’s killing by federal immigration agents.
The probe [targeted][28] many groups and individuals who weren’t connected to any criminal activity, and involved expansive surveillance efforts, including infiltrating group chats on Signal, as well as obtaining financial records of organizations.
#### **Friday, Aug. 14 – Trump Takes White House Ballroom Fight to Supreme Court**
Trump [asked][29] the Supreme Court to clear the way for his White House ballroom to continue construction before an appeals court ruling halting above-ground work on the project goes into effect on Aug. 21.
The Trump administration argues the injunction that blocked the construction “threatens the security and safety” of the president.
[Share][30]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][31]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/moronic-trump-thinks-its-funny-he
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/11/nx-s1-5928394/2026-minnesota-governor-primary-election-lisa-demuth-mike-lindell
[7]: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/election-denier-tom-tiffany-wins-wisconsin-gop-nomination-for-governor/
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-016e15e31c5dac5cc253d32b4734dd2a
[9]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[10]: https://apnews.com/article/senate-blanche-attorney-general-justice-department-fcb4157d45d7b13a05de4d2b0f4f92e2
[11]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/politics/trump-todd-blanche-attorney-general.html
[12]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/24/doj-death-penalty-firing-squad-lethal-injection
[13]: https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dl
[14]: https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2084114427813437897
[15]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/us/politics/bobby-zhou-trump-crypto.html
[16]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[17]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[18]: https://apnews.com/article/ice-electric-shock-gloves-85ff746d3e0ee5f39e7a9a3f1f576252
[19]: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/ice-expansion-has-outpaced-accountability-what-are-the-remedies/
[20]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[21]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117084211457388624
[22]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0Fl2kaj_w
[23]: https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-podcaster-tim-pool-goes-full-suck-up-in-first-white-house-briefing/
[24]: https://x.com/PressSec/status/1956720318384324719?lang=en
[25]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2011872598549020793
[26]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/1948080549966528579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1948080549966528579%7Ctwgr%5E253a1308d8c7ea8b8a397ad7fce22d729a86e732%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latintimes.com%2Fwhite-house-demands-reporters-pulitzer-prizes-stripped-perpetuating-hoax-587457
[27]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/us/politics/dhs-inquiry-immigration-protests-minnesota.html
[28]: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-progressive-groups-investigated-5e6e554e79980553c3a02ca199593a7d
[29]: https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/cms/prod_cms_alt/file/2026/08/14/e271a436-0d8b-4806-9a44-b8b222fdf8b8/26a203__1_.pdf
[30]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[31]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-82-a

2026-08-14 17:22:03 CEST

The U.S. Owes Afghanistan a Reckoning – But It Refuses to Have One
*A military transport plane departs overhead as Afghans hoping to leave the country wait outside the Kabul airport on Aug. 23, 2021. Photo by Marcus Yam /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images*
“You’ve come to this place to talk to us? That’s honorable,” a gray-bearded man in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province told me as he sipped his green tea.
I visited the region in 2021, just a few months before the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the return of the Taliban, to report on war crimes in rural areas. Too often, these regions were completely ignored. For years, [Western media coverage][1] of the war was thoroughly “Kabulized” – meaning it focused almost exclusively on the country’s capital.
Even that description is too generous. Most Western reporting was confined to Kabul’s green zone, which didn’t even reflect the reality of the rest of the capital. While the slums of Kabul expanded in the shadows of pompous mansions built by pro-American warlords using aid money, subcontracting cash, sex trafficking, and drug operations, and while fancy parties took place inside embassy compounds and NGO villas, rural Afghanistan was being systematically targeted by American drones and death squads. Entire communities were shattered, and thousands of civilians were radicalized in the process.
Ultimately, it all collapsed.
[Subscribe now][2]
Five years ago, American planes lifted off from Kabul’s airport, bringing a 20-year experiment in American empire to a humiliating end. In the years since, the narrative the West tells about Afghanistan has hardened into something comfortable and deeply self-serving.
The anniversary coverage will focus once again – rightly and overwhelmingly – on the Taliban’s [horrific repression][3] of women and girls, their bans on education and work, and the total dismantling of civil society. All of that is real, and all of it deserves urgent attention.
But the narrative built around these facts allows the West to assume its favorite posture: the grieving, generous patron whose noble project was ruined by an ungrateful, backward populace.
What that story leaves out is the very violence that made the Taliban’s return possible in the first place.
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://revealnews.org/article/the-writing-was-on-the-wall-in-afghanistan-years-ago/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/taliban-women-afghanistan-gender-apartheid
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning
https://zeteo.com/p/the-us-owes-afghanistan-a-reckoning

2026-08-14 13:09:35 CEST

Did Israel Fake the Iran Threats Against Trump’s Life?
*On this day in 2023, Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and 17 others were indicted on felony charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The case collapsed in 2024, after Trump won re-election. Now he seems to want to commit those alleged crimes all over again.*
Happy Friday! **Mehdi** here, still recovering from my Wednesday interview with **Count Binface **– yes, *Count Binface*, that’s his name! Have you not [seen][1] it yet?
Last night, Count Binface won 9,455 votes in the UK parliamentary by-election in Clacton, provoked by the resignation of sitting MP and Reform UK leader **Nigel Farage** in a weird and desperate attempt to distract from a hugely contentious [financial scandal][2]. Farage was re-elected with 22,239 votes, so the parliamentary investigation into his donations now picks up where it left off. So… what was the point of all this?
But let’s turn this morning to the man Nigel Farage defers to, **Donald Trump**, who has been in a spot of bother recently because of the man *he* defers to: **Benjamin Netanyahu**.
[Subscribe now][3]
# ‘Israeli-Derived’
*Donald Trump holds a press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 29, 2025. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.*
Did you know that all those Iranian threats against Trump’s life that we’ve been hearing about recently come from… Israeli intelligence? And did you know that they aren’t considered all that credible by the U.S. intelligence community?
*SURPRISE*!
Reuters dropped this [blockbuster story][4] from reporter Eric Banco yesterday:
> **The U.S. has received several warnings from Israel over the past year that Iran intended to assassinate President Donald Trump, including before a secret Air Force One ruse in Turkey, that U.S. intelligence officials could not independently verify, according to a current U.S. official and two former officials.**
That Reuters piece came off the back of earlier reporting from the *Washington Post,* which revealed how** “U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was relayed by Israel.” **
[Subscribe now][5]
According to the Post, one U.S. official described the intel on the threats against the president’s life as **“Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.”**
So Trump secretly left Air Force One, hid in the back of a catering truck – with [Natalie Harp][6] – and got onto an alternative plane to fly to London from Ankara, as the *Washington Post *[revealed][7] on Monday, because of an “Israeli-derived” and “low confidence” piece of intel?
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-meets-count-binface
[2]: https://zeteo.uk/p/nigel-farages-5mn-donation
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://whbl.com/2026/08/13/us-could-not-verify-israeli-warnings-of-iran-plots-against-trump-sources-say/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://x.com/DanLamothe/status/2087502702703964532?s=20
[7]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats
https://zeteo.com/p/did-israel-fake-the-iran-threats

2026-08-14 03:03:46 CEST

Karoline Leavitt at Her Worst: Lies and Abuse From the Podium
No one has been a more relentlessly dishonest and verbally abusive mouthpiece on behalf of Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda than Karoline Leavitt.
[Subscribe now][1]
The White House Press Secretary in Trump’s second term has attacked journalists, defended the indefensible (Being friendly with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein! Deporting Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia!), and spouted absurd lies about [Gaza condoms][2] and [DEI-induced plane crashes][3].
Now that Leavitt has announced [her departure][4] from the White House, we’ve rounded up some of her most heinous moments from the podium, all in under two minutes.
[Share][5]
Watch the short video above and tell us what you think it, and her!, in the comments below.
*We’ve made this video free for all, but if you support the work that we do, consider becoming a [paid subscriber][6].*
[Subscribe now][7]
*Zeteo’s Layla Nayfeh contributed to this piece.*
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/condoms-for-gaza-fact-checking-trumps
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-blames-dc-plane-crash-on-dei
[4]: https://apnews.com/live/trump-news-midterms-primaries-updates-08-12-2026
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
https://zeteo.com/p/karoline-leavitt-at-her-worst-lies

2026-08-13 23:28:36 CEST

Did COVID-19 Actually Come From a Lab? Two Top Scientists Debate Its Origins
There’s nothing Republicans love to do more than:
1. [Rehash][1] the COVID-19 pandemic
2. [Pretend][2] to know what they’re talking about
In the last few weeks, Senate Republicans have been able to do both of these, as they [relentlessly][3] claim that the COVID-19 virus must have come from a lab in China, despite all the scientific [evidence][4] saying otherwise. Nevertheless, the GOP’s messaging has proved to be quite convincing, with the [majority][5] of Americans believing COVID-19 came from a lab.
[Subscribe now][6]
But here at **Zeteo**, we believe in cutting through the noise, listening to the experts, and hearing out *reasonable *people (aka, not Senator Rand Paul).
That’s why in this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ segment, **Mehdi** moderates a very factual and insightful debate on the lab leak theory. Leading virologist and Save America Movement science chair **Dr. Angela Rasmussen** [argues][7] that COVID-19 likely came from zoonotic – or natural – origins, not a lab, while **Dr. Ashish Jha,** who was President Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, [argues][8] that COVID-19, in his view, likely came from a Chinese laboratory.
Here are some of the key questions Mehdi asks:
* Why Jha changed his mind on COVID-19 origins and now supports the lab leak theory
* Why Rasmussen’s own research supports zoonotic origins
* Whether Republicans have overstated the merits of the lab leak theory
* Their reactions to recent GOP [misinformation][9] around the COVID-19 vaccine and miscarriages
* How prepared – or *unprepared* – the U.S. is for another pandemic
[Share][10]
You won’t see an informed, in-depth, good-faith debate like this, on Covid and its origins, anywhere else in the media!
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 46-minute debate above, while **free subscribers** can access a 4-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit a **Zeteo** paywall again!
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent articles:***
[ Read more ][11]
[1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx85vkk0gko
[2]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/03/fauci-covid-house-testimony-lab-leak/
[3]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/31/us-senates-fauci-hearing-renews-covid-origin-debate-but-reveals-little
[4]: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62307383
[5]: https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/45389-americans-believe-covid-origin-lab
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-war-on-fauci-lab-leak?utm_source=publication-search
[8]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/politics/video/former-white-house-covid-19-response-coordinator-dr-ashish-jha-dana-bash-it-was-probably-a-lab-leak
[9]: https://health.yahoo.com/your-body/womens-health/pregnancy-fertility/articles/fact-check-studies-not-show-054858979.html
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen
https://zeteo.com/p/lab-leak-covid-jha-rasmussen

2026-08-13 19:08:16 CEST

Cheating Is All Trump Knows
*Donald Trump exits the club house at Trump National Golf Club on Aug. 9, 2026 in Bedminster, New Jersey. Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images*
Donald Trump makes things up every day – about war, the economy, his deal-making prowess. But nothing captures his compulsion for fabulism better than golf.
Early this month, Trump [announced][1] on social media that he shot a two-under-par 70 at his Bedminster NJ course to win another of his “40 Club Championships.” The 80-year-old president boasted: “It’s called TALENT, and I have it.”
Golf aficionados immediately recognized something else, called “cheating.” Conservative journalist Scott McConnell, a Trump club member who has seen him play often, [posted][2] on X: “No one like that can win a senior club championship in any universe.”
[Subscribe now][3]
“No 80-year-old on earth with a pancake swing and the chip yips has ever shot TEN SHOTS under his age,” [added][4] golf writer Rick Reilly, an authority on the president’s game. The title of Reilly’s book on the subject: *Commander in Cheat*.
Millions of American golfers, trying to make their rounds a bit more respectable, take mulligans every weekend. It’s a harmless indulgence. What distinguishes Trump – a more than respectable golfer – is the extent of his cheating, not just on the course but in every realm of life.
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117027337618143949
[2]: https://x.com/ScottMcConnell9/status/2084004157459947922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2084004157459947922%7Ctwgr%5E3c66366f5a0a7e80d418f2cc69ab426dfa259d4e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hitc.com%2F2600602-2%2F
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://x.com/ReillyRick/status/2084301994710458460
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/cheating-is-all-trump-knows
https://zeteo.com/p/cheating-is-all-trump-knows

2026-08-13 13:35:26 CEST

✈️ 🚚 Moronic Trump Thinks It’s Funny He Left Toadies and the Media on Death Force One
*On this day in 2025, 37-year-old paralegal Sean Dunn was charged with felony assault for throwing a sandwich at an immigration agent in Washington, DC. In an early fiasco for Fox host turned DC U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro, the charge was downgraded before Dunn was acquitted.*
Happy Thursday! **Swin** here. There’s an episode from the classic era of **‘The Simpsons’** (yeah that’s right; [I’m referencing][1] [the show][2] [again][3]) in which the billionaire Republican tyrant **Mr. Burns** jumps in an escape pod and mercilessly [locks out his][4] ultra-sycophantic assistant, **Waylon Smithers**, because Burns wants more leg room, all the while expecting his yes-man to keep on serving. **Donald Trump** did his version with his decoy Air Force One caper – and I’m very sorry, I simply cannot pretend it isn’t tremendously funny.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we get into the wild saga of Trump, his planes, and his apparently expendable aides. Plus, responses to a progressive defeat in Wisconsin and a progressive win in Minnesota suggest Democrats might just have read the memo about the overwhelming need for unity in the attempt to wrest Congress away from the GOP, the better [to hold Trump to account][5]. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][6]
# ‘They Expect One of Us in the Wreckage, Brother’
*Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, aboard Air Force One on Oct. 27, 2025 Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.*
One of the reasons I’m glad to [no longer be a member of the][7] White House Correspondents’ Association or the White House press pool is that I can easily decline being used as an in-flight decoy and human shield for the dumbest, most blundering U.S. president who ever lived. I can’t fathom a less honorable or more meaningless way to die – and yes, I’m taking into account that Trump’s fellow gold-plated sadist Saddam Hussein used body doubles, who might’ve had to take a bullet for him.
For the sake of argument, let’s assume ([as we should][8] [probably ][9]*[never][10]*[ do][11]) that we can take the Trump administration’s claims and the Israeli government’s intel at face value: that there *was* a credible threat that Iranian-government-backed actors, in retaliation for Trump’s illegal war, could try to blow up Air Force One during Trump’s flight out of a NATO summit in Turkey last month. (Allowing for the *Washington Post’s* [reporting][12] on Wednesday, that the CIA had “low confidence” in there being a threat.)
[Subscribe now][13]
It would make sense for any American president to have additional security measures in a situation like that. I’m told the White House has been taking the possibility of Iranian-linked attacks on Trump’s wife and other family members *incredibly seriously* and has acted accordingly during this hellish war that Trump was [stupid enough to start][14]. (More on that soon, [here at ][15]**[Zeteo][16]**…)
But in recent days, multiple news outlets [have revealed how][17] Trump and his team conducted themselves like cartoon-villain caricatures in an attempt to make the former host of ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ feel safer in the air.
[ Read more ][18]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/insufferable-bully-demands-friends
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-slush-fund-is-an-even-bigger
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/guess-whos-afraid-of-going-to-jail
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz6z-N4GjQ8
[5]: https://substack.com/home/post/p-210679413
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://bsky.app/profile/swin24.bsky.social/post/3lizloxcdbs2w
[8]: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-iran-attack-no-intel-nuclear-1235369641/
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[12]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/12/cia-had-low-confidence-iranian-threat-before-trump-switched-planes-turkey/
[13]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-doomed-from-start
[15]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[16]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[17]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/
[18]: https://zeteo.com/p/moronic-trump-thinks-its-funny-he
https://zeteo.com/p/moronic-trump-thinks-its-funny-he

2026-08-13 03:03:54 CEST

Bernie Sanders Joins Mehdi to Talk Dems, Abdul El-Sayed, AIPAC, and Netanyahu
After a night of progressive wins, **Senator Bernie Sanders** joins **‘Mehdi Unfiltered’** for the first time to share his reactions to the major primary victories of multiple Democratic socialists this election cycle, including Abdul El-Sayed’s **“historical”** win in Michigan.
“**The Democratic leadership is, in many respects, way, way out of touch with where ordinary people are**,” Sanders tells **Mehdi**, adding that the country’s **“corrupt campaign finance system**” might be starting to backfire on the Super PACs pouring millions into elections.
During the interview, Mehdi asks Sanders why he didn’t endorse Francesca Hong, who lost her bid to be the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor by just a few thousand votes.
[Subscribe now][1]
Mehdi also asks the socialist senator from Vermont whether restricting aid to Israel should be a litmus test for Democratic presidential candidates, and about criticism Sanders has received for his overriding focus on PM Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than Israel’s decades-long occupation and apartheid regime.
Plus, hear what Sanders has to say about his Senate colleague John Fetterman making a habit out of appearing on Fox to disparage him.
Want to see how Sanders responds to Mehdi’s questions? **Paid subscribers** can watch the full video above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 2-minute preview. [Consider becoming a paid subscriber][2] to unlock more award-winning content from **Zeteo **and never hit a paywall again.
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[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/bernie-sanders-joins-mehdi?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/bernie-sanders-joins-mehdi
https://zeteo.com/p/bernie-sanders-joins-mehdi

2026-08-13 01:02:48 CEST

This Dem Uses Fox as a Platform for Hate
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s **‘Ragebait.’**
**Justin Baragona** here, bringing you the latest media dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and Bari World. In tonight’s edition, we look at why a former spokesman for Jill Biden is publicly endorsing a Trump-backed Republican for Senate, and why it may not be all that surprising. Also, if you thought Fox was bad with the anti-Muslim hate, you ain’t seen nothing yet, while it looks like Bari Weiss’s right-wing blog is doing the bidding of one of its investors.
[Subscribe now][1]
# **Why Is This Ex-Biden Spox Choosing Mike Rogers Over Abdul El-Sayed?**
*Michael LaRosa attends “Politico X Showtime”, a cocktails and conversation event co-hosted by Politico Playbook and Showtime’s The Circus, at the International Spy Museum on March 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images.*
Days after [declaring his support][2] for Michigan’s Trump-endorsed GOP Senate candidate **Mike Rogers**, claiming he couldn’t defend **Abdul El-Sayed’s** [“cowardly”][3] stance on 9/11, **Michael LaRosa**, a one-time press secretary for former First Lady **Jill Biden**, doubled down during an appearance on MAGA sycophant **Laura Ingraham’s** Fox show.
And he made sure to add a dash of Islamophobia too.
Pointing out that he’d already signed a petition calling for New York Mayor **Zohran Mamdani** to be banned from the 9/11 commemoration next month, LaRosa demanded that El-Sayed fly to the Big Apple and personally address every single person who lost a family member in the 2001 World Trade Center attack.
[Subscribe now][4]
“He should look them in the eye and tell them that there is no justification for what happened,” LaRosa [groused][5]. “I would like him to wipe the grin off his face when he is talking about it, too!”
LaRosa was linking El-Sayed to comments made seven years ago by [influential leftist streamer][6] **Hasan Piker**, who has been campaigning for El-Sayed. Though Piker [took those remarks back][7], saying he “obviously” didn’t mean America deserved 9/11, it hasn’t mattered to El-Sayed opponents who have [found their new bogeyman][8]. (Notably, Rogers [falsely claimed][9] that El-Sayed “believes that America deserved 9/11” shortly after El-Sayed secured the Dem nomination.)
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://x.com/MichaelLaRosaDC/status/2086184178035347712
[3]: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-world-veteran-issues-stark-warning-abdul-el-sayed-crosses-party-lines
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2086961595486494787
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/hasan-piker-heart-and-mind?utm_source=publication-search
[7]: https://youtu.be/lKQGvVsRpaE?si=yoirHdCFsIjywWLg&t=40
[8]: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/09/trump-elsayed-gop-boogeyman-01029265
[9]: https://www.factcheck.org/2026/08/rogers-makes-false-9-11-claim-about-el-sayed/
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-dem-uses-fox-as-a-platform-for
https://zeteo.com/p/this-dem-uses-fox-as-a-platform-for

2026-08-12 17:04:48 CEST

Mehdi Meets Count Binface
***Editor’s Note:** We thought you might find this interview with Count Binface a worthwhile watch, so we are republishing it from **Zeteo UK**.*
*If you’re currently only a **Zeteo** subscriber but want to get more content like this from **Zeteo UK **as well, consider [upgrading to our bundle option][1].*
This is not your usual Mehdi Hasan interview.
While the guest you see above may seem like a character from a kids’ show or an adult into some really weird cosplay, he is actually a candidate in the special election of Clacton-on-Sea in southeastern England. If you haven’t been living under a rock in the UK for the past few weeks, you’ll know his name is **Count Binface**, and he has a can full of ideas for defeating his opponent in the Clacton by-election on Thursday: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
[Subscribe now][2]
**“I thought if I came down in my true form, I might freak you out, you humans,” **the space warrior tells Mehdi. Count Binface aims to break the mold of your usual British politician. His policies range from capping the price of Flake ice cream at 99p to forcing politicians who resign mid-parliament to face a by-election. **“Everyone just needs to calm down a little. Maybe that’s how I come in.”**
To be clear, this is not a joke - though, as you’ll see, Mehdi does struggle to keep a straight face throughout the interview.
**“He [Nigel Farage] made a false equivalence between a democratic mandate from Clacton and the results of a parliamentary inquiry into his financial affairs. I would say that’s going to come out in the wash,” **Binface says.
[Share][3]
Watch the full interview above to hear the Count’s stance on hand dryers in men’s toilets, whether the UK is considering changing the rules to allow him to keep his regalia on in the House of Commons chamber should he win and become an MP, and what he makes of the British mainstream media.
*This video is being shared without a paywall. If you believe in the work we do and want to see more of it, do consider becoming [a paid subscriber][4].*
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https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-meets-count-binface

2026-08-12 13:09:21 CEST

Trump Is Now Openly Flirting With Attacking the Midterms
*On this day in 2021, the U.S. Census [revealed][1] the first-ever decline in the white population, down by 2.6% in 10 years as Hispanic and Asian populations surged.*
Good morning. **Martin** here, writing on another day (and night) of momentous primary elections, with the direction of the Democratic Party once again in play. It may be the middle of August, but politics won’t slow down.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look first to an alarming moment, in which a far-right TV host urged **Donald Trump** to declare a national emergency in order to grab control of midterm elections Republicans seem bound to lose, and the president played alarmingly coy. Are we dangerously numb to such moments?
We also consider what turned out to be a mixed night for progressives with primary hopes, as **Francesca Hong**, the democratic socialist many thought would be Democrats’ nominee for governor in Wisconsin, lost a tight battle with moderate **David Crowley**. There was still a big win for the left in Minnesota, where **Lieutenant Governor** **Peggy Flanagan** won the Senate primary.
We also have exclusive polling that shows a near-tie for Senate in Kansas, which hasn’t sent a Democrat to the upper chamber in 96 years. All around the U.S., the electoral stakes are high. Let’s read on.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘Stranger Things’
*Trump attends the 2026 Patriot Games finals at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, on Aug. 11, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.*
Donald Trump openly flirted with a new coup against U.S. democracy, telling an interviewer, **“Stranger things have happened.”**
The president was speaking to Real America’s Voice, the far-right network that is home to shows including ‘The War Room,’ hosted by former Trump campaign chair, White House strategist, and election attacker Steve Bannon, and ‘The Charlie Kirk Show.’ Host Wayne Allyn Root – a [conspiracy theorist][3] who [once said][4] Trump was like **“the King of Israel”** and like **“the son of God”** – [told][5] Trump that declaring an emergency over the midterms would be a viable alternative to the SAVE Act, the voter suppression bill that the president has obsessively championed but which remains stalled in the GOP-run Senate.
Root said:
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/08/12/us/census-results-data#census-demographics-asian-hispanic
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-quotes-conspiracy-theorist-claiming-israelis-love-him-like-he-is-the-second-coming-of-god/2019/08/21/603cea14-c405-11e9-9986-1fb3e4397be4_story.html
[4]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/21/trump-press-conference-greenland-jewish-democrats
[5]: https://x.com/Acyn/status/2087071585245311291
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-is-now-openly-flirting-with
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-is-now-openly-flirting-with

2026-08-11 23:05:41 CEST

'I've Been Handed a Death Sentence, and My Crime Is Being a Cancer Patient From Gaza'
*Photo by Donato Fasano/Getty Images*
Um Mahmoud* considers herself “one of the lucky few.” From Gaza, she was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 after years of experiencing often debilitating back pain. But she happened to be in Ramallah, receiving treatment, when Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza broke out in October 2023.
Nearly three years later, however, Um Mahmoud is facing a different kind of death sentence: While she’s escaped the immediate threat of bombs, gunfire, and healthcare collapse, she’s trapped in the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority can no longer pay for her treatment owing to Israel’s withholding of tax revenues. So she must wait, without treatment – while the cancer ravages her body.
[Subscribe now][1]
Um Mahmoud’s story is both about one woman who desperately needs cancer treatment – and one about how Israel’s genocide extends far beyond the borders of Gaza.
### **A Difficult Journey Even Before Oct. 7**
Before I get into Um Mahmoud’s story, it is important to describe the situation of cancer treatment in the West Bank and Gaza before 2023.
[ Read more ][2]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/ive-been-handed-a-death-sentence
https://zeteo.com/p/ive-been-handed-a-death-sentence

2026-08-11 17:02:22 CEST

AIPAC Exposed: Mehdi Speaks to Authors of New Book on the Israel Lobby
Why can’t the U.S. stand up to [Israel][1]? Who is the bigger benefactor of this partnership? And is the Israel lobby’s [influence][2] in the U.S. waning? With AIPAC-backed candidates in this year’s [midterm elections][3] struggling to win despite their massive war chests, **Mehdi** talks to the authors of the new book, *‘Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power,’* who explain the shift in the notorious lobby’s influence.
[Subscribe now][4]
**“There’s one issue they [AIPAC] won’t talk about,”** says **Eli Clifton**, co-author and cofounder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, **“they don’t talk about Israel, and I think that that’s the admission from AIPAC…that their actual issue is toxic.” **Clifton notes that pro-Israel super PACs could end up raising and spending a quarter of a billion dollars this election cycle alone.
But it’s not all about money, as **Ian Lustick, **co-author and former State Department expert on Israel-[Palestine][5] affairs, tells Mehdi.** “I spoke with Blinken and Sullivan and Biden, trying to tell them what the actual [situation][6] in Israel was like. But they’re socialized psychologically not to even be able to include in their agenda of possibilities what the realities are there.”**
Watch this important conversation to understand how the U.S. paved the way for Israel to become the** “extreme right-wing rogue state”** it is today, as Lustick puts it, how people can push back against the lobby’s influence in the U.S., and a lot more.
[Share][7]
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full video above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 4-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][8] to unlock content like this and a lot more from **Zeteo**.
[Click here][9] to buy a copy of Clifton and Lustick’s book, *‘Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power.’* And if you’ve already read it, feel free to share your review of the book in the comments below!
Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the [Zeteo book club here][10] for inspiration!
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
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[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/gaza-genocide-bret-stephens?r=3uiw9m
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/will-this-be-aipacs-biggest-defeat?r=3uiw9m
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/here-come-the-super-islamophobic?r=3uiw9m
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-unicef-reports?r=3uiw9m
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/israel-has-imprisoned-a-16-year-old?r=3uiw9m
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/aipac-exposed-mehdi-speaks-to-authors?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[8]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[9]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/israel-s-lobby-america-in-the-grip-of-a-foreign-power-eli-clifton/16ed5a856e6a2af0?ean=9781668210840&bkshp-astro=t
[10]: https://zeteo.com/t/book-club
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/aipac-exposed-mehdi-speaks-to-authors
https://zeteo.com/p/aipac-exposed-mehdi-speaks-to-authors

2026-08-11 12:58:34 CEST

🙅 Can Dems Stop Trump From ‘Epically’ Stonewalling Them Next Year?
*On this day in 2022, FBI agents searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents improperly retained after leaving the White House. Trump faced 40 criminal counts in the matter but avoided trial before returning to power. *
Happy Tuesday! It’s **Swin** again. The Trump White House is acting like it’s a foregone conclusion that Democrats take back the U.S. House next year… to the point that **President Donald Trump** is preemptively, and [rather hilariously][1], spinning that the voters are “very angry” at Republican candidates but they are “not angry at me.” (They are [extremely][2] mad at him, and he is *the* reason his party’s chances are looking increasingly dreadful in the 2026 midterm elections, but who’s keeping score, [really][3]?)
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we get into some new reporting on *just how much* the White House is planning for a congressional Democratic majority to take over within months – and those plans involve a *lottttttttttttttttttttttttttt *of defiance of Congress, on a scale that could make even first-term Trump administration officials blush. Plus, Trump signs an insane executive order on vaccines and doctor-turned-Senator **Bill Cassidy**, the man who made **Robert F. Kennedy Jr.** health secretary, decides to say anti-vaccine conspiracy theories are wrong. Let’s read in.
[Subscribe now][4]
# Immovable Object Awaits Usually Stoppable Force
*Trump looks on before signing an executive order on vaccines on Aug. 10, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.*
If (or, as many Democratic *and *Republican officials now expect, *when*) Democrats retake the House after the 2026 midterms, they will have a humongous pile of subpoenas ready to go. Democrats aren’t in the majority today, so their [demands for documents][5] are largely for public-relations purposes. But should they win back the House, several lawmakers and senior aides on Capitol Hill tell me they have planned – in the phrasing of one of those aides – a **“death by a thousand cuts” **strategy of investigations, requests, televised hearings, and possible criminal referrals.
[Subscribe now][6]
One goal would be to slam Donald Trump, his administration, and some of the broader MAGA elite with so many investigations and oversight demands that at the very least the onslaught slows down the president’s vast and increasingly authoritarian machinery of destruction and abuses, which has so far enjoyed the protection of Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
The historic levels of corruption of President Trump, his family business empire, and other associates and enablers; the rank lawlessness of so much of the administration, at home and abroad; ICE killings; the Epstein files; Elon Musk’s empire and DOGE legacy; the ongoing catastrophic Iran war; and so much else – you name it, Dems are ready to slam Trumpland with investigations [about it,][7] the congressional sources say.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0z2yBXQFzIU
[2]: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/08/trump-loosing-black-hispanic-young-republican-voters/688164/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-dem-poll-finds-trumps-iran
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://newrepublic.com/article/214121/trump-reflecting-pool-fiasco-get-even-worse
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/congressional-democrats-to-investigate-efforts-to-deport-u-s-military-members-and-their-families
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/can-dems-stop-trump-from-epically
https://zeteo.com/p/can-dems-stop-trump-from-epically

2026-08-11 02:07:34 CEST

Why Ben Shapiro Is Wrong About Me, Islamophobia, and His Dumb New Movie
A triggered** Ben Shapiro**, one of Israel’s biggest cheerleaders and one of the biggest purveyors of Islamophobia in the U.S., recently devoted an [entire 13-minute video][1] responding to a [tweet][2] from me calling a trailer for a new film from his media company, the Daily Wire, “bigoted, Islamophobic & clichéd.”
So, I didn’t hold back in this **7-minute rebuttal video**, above, in which I lay out why Shapiro’s movie is actually *very* Islamophobic and why the Daily Wire co-founder is totally wrong about the number of Muslim bad guys in Hollywood. I also break down the real reason why Shapiro and the Daily Wire are making films about ISIS right now: to distract from Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
[Subscribe now][3]
**Watch the full video above** to see me bring plenty of receipts on how this new movie is just the latest example of Hollywood’s overwhelmingly negative depictions of Muslims and Arabs.
We are making this video free to watch, without a paywall, but a free press isn’t. If you’d like to see more videos like these, please consider [upgrading your subscription][4] or [donating][5] to support **Zeteo’s** work and never hit a paywall again.
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[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUoqjSTSo-4&t=317s
[2]: https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/2085442664921469038
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/watch-mehdi-respond-to-ben-shapiro?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
https://zeteo.com/p/watch-mehdi-respond-to-ben-shapiro

2026-08-10 22:21:34 CEST

Why Do People Linked to Jeffrey Epstein Keep Mysteriously Dying?
From left to right (top to bottom): Jeffrey Epstein, Steven Hoffenberg, Bill Richardson, and Daniel Siad. Photos via Getty Images/DOJ
Seven years ago, on Aug. 10, 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was found [dead][1] inside his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner [ruled][2] his death a suicide by hanging, later supported by [federal investigations.][3]
But the staggering [failures][4], from guards who neglected to conduct required checks to falsified records to malfunctioning security cameras, have maintained the air of suspicion and conspiracy that still [surrounds][5] his death.
[Subscribe now][6]
In the years just before and since Epstein’s death, several figures in his orbit have died, including former business partners, employees, alleged associates, and survivors. They’ve died under circumstances varying from cancer to suicide, overdose, and, in one recent case, a cause that has yet to be determined. Like Epstein himself, they took with them firsthand knowledge of his world, answers to questions we may never get.
Here are nine notable people connected to Epstein who have died in the last decade – and what the available evidence actually tells us about their deaths:
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/26/politics/epstein-files-prison-officials-night-he-died
[2]: https://www.npr.org/2019/08/16/751869191/jeffrey-epsteins-death-ruled-a-suicide-by-new-york-medical-examiner
[3]: https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/23-085.pdf
[4]: https://oig.justice.gov/news/doj-oig-releases-report-bops-custody-care-and-supervision-jeffrey-epstein-metropolitan
[5]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jeffrey-epstein-unanswered-questions-final-hours-orange-flash-search-rcna264147
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-do-people-linked-to-jeffrey-epstein
https://zeteo.com/p/why-do-people-linked-to-jeffrey-epstein

2026-08-10 17:18:43 CEST

Will Tucker Carlson Run For President? Sam Seder Thinks ‘It’s Bullsh*t’
There are few people who have worked in progressive media as long as **Sam Seder**.
As the host of the massively popular and long-running YouTube series ‘[The Majority Report][1]’, Sam paved the way for progressive pundits with his sharp and funny analysis of U.S. politics. That’s why Sam was the perfect guest for this week’s ‘We’re Not Kidding’ for **Mehdi **to discuss the wave of progressive and socialist wins across the country.
**“What do you say to this common line now — that this is the Democrats’ ‘Tea Party’?”** Mehdi asks.
**“It’s only analogous in the sense that there is an insurgency,”** Sam says. **“The establishment of the Democratic Party is completely out of touch with the voters.”**
[Subscribe now][2]
Oh and don’t think Mehdi forgot that Sam was the person who told Mehdi to participate in that insanely racist ‘Jubilee’ [debate][3]. Sam himself did a ‘[Jubilee’ debate][4] earlier in 2025, which also went viral. Togthether, for the first time, they unpack their insane experiences (though Mehdi’s was objectively *more *insane) and what it revealed about young MAGA conservatives. **“What’s animating their movement is what you exposed on that Jubilee,” **Sam says. **“I think it’s really important for people to understand the stakes and really how we got here.”**
The two also weigh in on what we’re now calling ‘The Great Tucker Carlson Debate.’ Will the right-wing podcaster run for president? Can he be trusted on issues like Israel and foreign wars? Is there utility to going on his platform, or vice versa? And which part of the debate does Sam think is **“bullshit?”**
You’re gonna have to watch to find out - and to discover which right-wing cable host’s **“Jewish beard”** did Sam describe himself as!
***Just a heads up — ‘We’re Not Kidding’ will be taking a break for the rest of August and will return in early September.***
[Share][5]
***Free subscribers get a 5-minute preview of the video above while Zeteo’s paid subscribers can watch it in full. You can find previous episodes of ‘We’re Not Kidding’ wherever you get your podcasts.***
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***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMajorityReport
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S-WJN3L5eo&t=13s
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js15xgK4LIE
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/sam-seder-majority-report-jubilee-tucker-carlson?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ogT7ZvKhH04CInjNQbbdp
[7]: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-friends/id1743028415
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/sam-seder-majority-report-jubilee-tucker-carlson
https://zeteo.com/p/sam-seder-majority-report-jubilee-tucker-carlson

2026-08-10 13:12:11 CEST

At Last, a Real Fighter to Punch Back at Trump
*On this day in 2019, the financier, sex offender and close Trump associate Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He has haunted U.S. politics since.** Prem** considers [8 Unanswered Questions About Jeffrey Epstein’s Death][1]. *
Good morning, and as tradition now demands, [Happy Monday][2]. **Martin** here, happy as ever to be delivering the news you need. We may be in the dog days of August, with the Senate finally having followed the House out of DC for an absurdly long summer break, but political battles continue.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look at a fascinating first few days in **Abdul El-Sayed’s** campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan, as the Democratic candidate mixes persuasive answers to predictably hostile news anchors with off-the-cuff hooks, jabs, and roundhouses befitting politics in the Trump age but all too rare from the Dems. Has **Donald Trump** finally met his match when it comes to the art of the counter-punch? We may be about to see. Also, we take in **Senator Bill Cassidy’s** truly excruciating explanation of his vote to make top Trump lackey **Todd Blanche** attorney general, and consider another dispiriting day in Trump’s zombie war with Iran. Time to dive in.
[Subscribe now][3]
# Meet the Dem Who Fights Back
*Abdul El-Sayed speaks in Detroit, Michigan, on Aug. 7, 2026. Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images.*
In late 2019, after Donald Trump stoked huge controversy by [suggesting][4] a revered Democratic congressman had gone to hell, the White House defended the president as **“a counter-puncher,”** who only delivered such right hooks when he was **“under attack.”**
The subjects of that Trump insult were the late Rep. John Dingell (the longest-serving member of Congress, ever) and his widow and successor, Rep. Debbie Dingell, who still represents Michigan on Capitol Hill. Since then, nationally, there have been countless other instances of Trump **“counter-punching”** opponents and critics with barely a blow in return. But now it looks like the Wolverine state has delivered a counter-puncher Democrats can call their own: Abdul El-Sayed, the newly minted candidate for U.S. Senate, after a bruising primary. And that should have Trump worried.
[Subscribe now][5]
From the president down, Republicans are going in hard. On Saturday, Trump [posted][6] pictures of himself with his third wife, Melania Trump, and El-Sayed with his only wife, Sarah Jukaku, who was wearing a hijab. The Islamophobic and racist message was as inevitable as the wrongly placed apostrophe in the caption: **“Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s.”** El-Sayed’s response was swift – and brutal.
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/8-unanswered-questions-about-jeffrey
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8maBsuhHr4
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://abcnews.com/Politics/white-house-press-secretary-president-trump-suggested-late/story?id=67821688
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://x.com/CNNSOTU/status/2086447534780580002
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/at-last-a-real-fighter-to-punch-back
https://zeteo.com/p/at-last-a-real-fighter-to-punch-back

2026-08-09 19:01:17 CEST

8 Unanswered Questions About Jeffrey Epstein’s Death
*The mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019. Photo by Kypros/Getty Images*
Seven years ago, Jeffrey Epstein – the shadowy financier and pedophile intimately linked to powerful people around the world, including Donald Trump – died in jail. He was [found dead][1] in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, where he was awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges.
Questions surrounding Epstein and his legacy have [dogged][2] Trump, particularly throughout his second presidency. Last year, due to significant public pressure, Congress passed a law mandating the Justice Department [release][3] its files related to Epstein. The Trump administration has been accused of slow-walking and [covering up][4] the release of the files, while members of its administration have [refused][5] to [productively][6] meet with Epstein’s victims.
[Subscribe now][7]
Epstein’s death, which was ruled a suicide, would have [possibly][8] been the first suicide in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in more than 20 years. That and many other puzzling questions and facts have left millions wondering: *Did Jeffrey Epstein really commit suicide?*
The confluence* *of procedural failures and dubious events surrounding his death has done nothing to quell suspicion. Here are eight unanswered questions about Epstein’s death:
#### 1. Why weren’t required inmate checks performed?
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49306032
[2]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/epstein-files-reveal-close-ties-to-trumps-influential-inner-circle
[3]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405
[4]: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/massie-khanna-leger-fernandez-merkley-lujan-introduce-the-epstein-files-transparency-act-ii/
[5]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epstein-survivors-felt-degraded-lack-empathy-ag-pam-bondi-rcna258633
[6]: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/epstein-survivor-dani-bensky-meeting-todd-blanche-not-productive-rcna587936
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[8]: https://www.foxnews.com/us/epstein-new-york-lockup-suicides
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/8-unanswered-questions-about-jeffrey
https://zeteo.com/p/8-unanswered-questions-about-jeffrey

2026-08-09 15:03:30 CEST

‘Republicans Are Trying To Distract You’: Former Wisconsin Democratic Leader Lays Out How to Win in November
People often associate Wisconsin with cold weather, stellar cheese, and of course, their swing state politics. But what many people don’t know is that for over a decade, the state’s democratic institutions have been under attack by the Wisconsin GOP’s partisan [gerrymandering,][1] [power grabs,][2] and [voter suppression.][3]
[Subscribe now][4]
In this Substack Live, **Zeteo’s** **John Harwood** is joined by Wisconsin’s former Democratic Party chair, **[Ben Wikler][5]** – who has spent years helping the state’s Democrats fight back against the GOP. In the conversation, Wikler lays out his plan for helping Democrats take back democracy, as outlined in his new [book,][6] *This Is the Plan.*
Wikler also discusses Wisconsin’s upcoming gubernatorial race, where Republican [Tom Tiffany][7] could be set to face off with democratic socialist [Francesca Hong][8].
**“Republicans are trying to distract you from the fact that they’re trying to rip you off, that life is so hard to afford right now. And Tom Tiffany is part of the problem,”** Wikler tells Harwood.
[Share][9]
This conversation was live on [Zeteo.com][10] and the Substack app, and both took questions from subscribers in the live audience. Share your thoughts on the discussion in the comments below, and be sure to keep an eye out for the next Substack Live!
***Check out Zeteo’s other stories:***
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/20/deliberate-and-anti-democratic-wisconsin-grapples-with-partisan-gerrymandering
[2]: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/4/18123784/gop-legislature-wisconsin-michigan-power-grab-lame-duck
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/12/wisconsin-republican-brags-low-democratic-turnout
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://substack.com/@benwikler
[6]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/this-is-the-plan-how-to-end-america-s-meltdown-and-save-democracy-ben-wikler/284c2d14677a8f6e
[7]: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/04/tom-tiffany-heads-into-general-election-with-nearly-5m-in-cash/91161111007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11xx48p119150l003850c119150e1102xxv11xx48d--34--b--34--&gca-ft=214&gca-ds=sophi
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/socialist-wisconsin-francesca-hong?utm_source=publication-search
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/republicans-are-trying-to-distract?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[10]: http://zeteo.com/
https://zeteo.com/p/republicans-are-trying-to-distract

2026-08-08 19:03:16 CEST

Meet the Former Trump White House Lawyer Who Says Our Democracy Could Be ‘Screwed’ in 2026
The amount of ‘yes men’ in President Donald Trump’s second term can be exhausting, especially when it comes to his team of suck-up ‘[lawyers.][1]’
Thankfully, Trump’s former White House lawyer **Ty Cobb **– who [represented][2] the Trump White House during the Mueller investigation back in 2017 – is not afraid to strike a different, more blunt tone.
**“We’re screwed,” **Cobb tells Mehdi, when asked about whether Trump’s new Attorney General [Todd Blanche][3] will attempt to discredit midterm election results.
Cobb’s honest yet brutal assessment doesn’t stop there in this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview. **“Come 2028, does American democracy survive Donald J. Trump?” **Mehdi asks him.
**“I’m not sure they survive it in 2026,” **he says.
[Subscribe now][4]
Mehdi** **also presses Cobb on his time representing the White House during the Mueller investigation, asking him hard-hitting questions that **Zeteo** is known for:
* **“The Mueller report… lays out [10 episodes][5] of potential obstruction of justice by Donald Trump. You don’t deny any of that, do you?”**
* **“When you were working for Donald Trump, did he ever ask you to obstruct justice?”**
* **“Do you have no regrets going to work for Trump in term one?”**
Want to hear Cobb’s responses? **Paid subscribers** can watch the full video above, where he also explains why Trump is even more [corrupt][6] than Russian President Vladimir Putin. **Free subscribers** can watch a 3-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][7] to unlock content like this from **Zeteo **and never hit a paywall again.
*Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded before the Senate [confirmed][8] Todd Blanche as the U.S.’s new attorney general.*
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent stories:***
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://newrepublic.com/post/201936/jeanine-pirro-fails-fourth-time-charge-dc-woman
[2]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/ty-cobb-trumps-lawyer-in-russia-probe-retiring
[3]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/politics/live-news/todd-blanche-confirmation-senate
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/18/mueller-report-transcript-trump-obstruction-justice-1281245
[6]: https://time.com/6165963/putin-money-bill-browder/
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/senate-blanche-attorney-general-justice-department-fcb4157d45d7b13a05de4d2b0f4f92e2
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/ty-cobb-mueller-trump
https://zeteo.com/p/ty-cobb-mueller-trump

2026-08-08 15:03:49 CEST

This Week in Palestine: UNICEF Reports 300 Palestinian Children Killed in 300 Days, as Israel Destroys Gaza Medicine Warehouses
*Palestinians attend a funeral ceremony held at Al-Shifa Hospital for Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza City on Aug. 2, 2026. Photo by Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images*
300 Palestinian children killed in 300 days. That’s[ one child killed on average every day][1] by Israel since the so-called “ceasefire” took effect last October, according to UNICEF. As we’ve asked over and over again: What ceasefire?
What ceasefire, when Israel kills over[ 30 Palestinians][2] in the days *after* U.S. President Donald Trump claims a breakthrough in talks to implement the truce.
[Subscribe now][3]
What ceasefire, when Israel destroys medicines… medicines without the world batting an eye?
This is Palestine, where Israel’s genocide continues unabated, where Israeli settlers continue to rampage through West Bank villages with impunity. Here’s just a small glimpse of what happened during another troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 1 – Israeli Forces Destroy Gaza Medical Supply Warehouses**
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-300-children-reportedly-killed-gaza-past-300-days
[2]: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/iran-us-trump-talks-gaza-israel-strikes-deal-cuba-electricity-blackout
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-unicef-reports
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-unicef-reports

2026-08-08 03:02:48 CEST

We May Need ‘Massive Boycotts’ to Stop Trump, Says Democracy Expert
This week, **Zeteo **ran a wide-ranging, four-part [‘Start the Steal’][1] series – a deep dive into the numerous, dangerous, and brazenly authoritarian ways that the Trump-Vance administration and its allies are attempting to rig the 2026 midterms, and U.S. elections going forward. The series also focused on how legal nonprofits, grassroots activists, and Democratic Party figures [are fighting back on a variety of key fronts][2].
On Friday afternoon, **Mehdi** hosted a live town hall with **Zeteo’s** **Asawin “Swin” Suebsaeng** and guest **Skye Perryman**, the president of legal nonprofit Democracy Forward. Perryman’s organization has been locked in legal battle after legal battle with the Trump administration ever since he retook power last year.
[Subscribe now][3]
In the town hall, which included a live online audience of paid **Zeteo** subscribers, Mehdi, Swin, and Perryman discussed how ordinary Americans can – and may *need* to – fight back against Trump and his party’s many election-rigging schemes. They also took subscribers’ questions on the GOP’s worst threats to a free and fair 2026 election, whether Team Trump is too stupid to pull off a successful coup, whether voters should be worried about troops or ICE at the polls, and more.
**“The suggestion of massive boycotts, massive work stoppages – we may be at the place where that is going to be needed in this country,”** Perryman said, adding, **“We have already seen this administration have to back down in the face of that type of collective action.”**
If you missed **Zeteo’s** ‘Start The Steal’ series, you can read **[Part 1][4], [Part 2][5], [Part 3][6],** and **[Part 4][7]** now.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full video above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][8] to unlock content like this from **Zeteo** – and also to join future **Zeteo** live town halls with big-name guests and newsmakers.
[Share][9]
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://substack.com/redirect/b065b3a5-a95a-4e16-b5eb-5302465ca334?j=eyJ1IjoiNmtwMDJrIn0.mFtwfUP_e5K3BaGBnHPvMiGnlTA2BVqgUgLSZoP_0HA
[5]: https://substack.com/redirect/4f6838b1-4568-4ab0-8654-4f0746925de1?j=eyJ1IjoiNmtwMDJrIn0.mFtwfUP_e5K3BaGBnHPvMiGnlTA2BVqgUgLSZoP_0HA
[6]: https://substack.com/redirect/8e560aed-cdf7-4f33-b531-3e5cc9fe7744?j=eyJ1IjoiNmtwMDJrIn0.mFtwfUP_e5K3BaGBnHPvMiGnlTA2BVqgUgLSZoP_0HA
[7]: https://substack.com/redirect/45390a86-5a1c-4043-9cbc-c34f39737cea?j=eyJ1IjoiNmtwMDJrIn0.mFtwfUP_e5K3BaGBnHPvMiGnlTA2BVqgUgLSZoP_0HA
[8]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/we-may-need-massive-boycotts?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/we-may-need-massive-boycotts
https://zeteo.com/p/we-may-need-massive-boycotts

2026-08-07 23:16:07 CEST

This Week in Democracy – Week 81: Trump’s Corruption Is Off the Charts
Trump speaks during a roundtable on the American mining industry at the State Department on August 7, 2026, in Washington, DC. Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images
It’s always a good week when what’s left of the levers of democracy actually work the way they’re supposed to. And Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in the Michigan Senate primary against [$60 million][1] in outside spending, including over $30 million from AIPAC, showed that the people – the voters – are what truly make democracy great.
Of course, Republicans and others have already kicked into overdrive, ramping up their racism and Islamophobia against El-Sayed, as **Mehdi** [laid out][2] in ‘First Draft.’ And **Zeteo’s** politics team painted a horrifying picture this week about Donald Trump’s plans to [steal the midterm election][3].
[Subscribe now][4]
Meanwhile, ICE is not investigating the Maine killing, but it is collecting DNA of migrants who have never been convicted of a crime. Trump’s former personal lawyer is one step closer to running the Justice Department. And Trump still thinks he can limit birthright citizenship. Here’s just a taste of what Trump and his cronies did this week that harmed democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide:
#### **Saturday, Aug. 1 – Trump Sells Early Access to Truth Social Posts for $100K**
Trump’s media company [launched][5] a premium version of Truth Social that includes a “Truth API,” giving users early access to the president’s posts – which often include announcements that affect the stock market and could prove lucrative to traders – for a monthly fee of up to $100,000.
One anonymous Wall Street executive told NPR the move would be “considered criminal” in a different administration.
#### **Sunday, Aug. 2 – Questions Swirl About Rescinded ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’**
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche [released][6] two documents the Justice Department says rescind Trump’s $1.8 billion so-called “anti-weaponization fund” and narrow a provision to only retroactively protect Trump, two of his sons, and his company from tax audits.
The orders helped Blanche secure key votes from holdout Republican senators, but legal experts [question][7] whether the documents are legally binding, and they expressed concerns about loopholes that could result in the original orders being reinstated.
Blanche’s nomination was later [approved][8] by the Senate Judiciary Committee. He’s now on track to be confirmed as the permanent attorney general, albeit by an extremely slim majority.
[Share][9]
#### **Monday, Aug. 3 – ICE Collected DNA From Nearly 1 Million People in 2025**
*Wired* [reported][10] that ICE has collected the DNA of roughly 920,000 immigrants in 2025 who were in ICE custody, according to new data from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology.
The DNA samples, which include those of young children, have become the largest single source of new genetic profiles in the FBI’s criminal database, even though the vast majority of people in ICE custody have never been convicted of a crime.
#### **Tuesday, Aug. 4 – Oath Keepers Off the Hook for Jan. 6, No FBI Probe into ICE Killing**
A federal judge begrudgingly [granted][11] Trump’s Justice Department’s request to dismiss seditious conspiracy charges against members of the far-right Oath Keepers over the group’s involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, but noted he wished for “a different ending” in the matter, saying the move “diminishes the gravity of that day.”
Meanwhile, CBS News [reported][12] that the FBI isn’t conducting a civil rights probe into the death of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was killed by an ICE officer in Maine in July – despite the fact that such fatal shootings are typically investigated by the agency.
[Subscribe now][13]
#### **Wednesday, Aug. 5 – Another ‘Inadvertent’ Deportation **
The lawyer of a Maine man who was [“inadvertently” deported][14] to Guatemala after ICE claimed they had mistaken him for someone else said he will be returned to the U.S. next week. The man was removed from the country even though he didn’t have a deportation order – and a federal judge had ordered ICE not to remove him one day before his deportation.
Meanwhile, AP [reported][15] that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty military members have been detained by immigration agents since Trump returned to office. At least six of the loved ones were deported, while another eight remain in federal custody.
#### **Thursday, Aug. 6 – Trump Targets Birthright Citizenship…Again**
Trump signed a pair of [executive][16] [orders][17] designed to further restrict eligibility for birthright citizenship, while also seeking to stop people from coming to the U.S. to give birth.
The new executive orders, which are likely to face legal challenges, come just over a month after the Supreme Court [upheld][18] birthright citizenship as constitutionally protected.
#### **Friday, Aug. 7 – White House Once Again ‘Considering’ Axing Lisa Cook**
ABC News [reported][19] that the Trump administration is renewing its effort to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook after White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino sent her a letter Wednesday giving her three weeks to respond to previous allegations of mortgage fraud she has steadfastly denied.
The latest push to fire Cook follows a Supreme Court ruling in June allowing her to continue in her position. The ruling, however, didn’t prevent Trump from attempting to remove Cook from her post again.
[Share][20]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][21]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://theintercept.com/2026/08/05/michigan-primary-results-el-sayed-stevens-aipac/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/here-come-the-super-islamophobic
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/doomsday-scenario-trump-republicans-steal-election
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/01/nx-s1-5912219/trump-truth-social-access-insider-trading
[6]: https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2084114427813437897
[7]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-loopholes.html
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/todd-blanche-attorney-general-senate-confirmation-39f2b08aaf72eb85c378272c039c8622
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-81-trumps?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[10]: https://www.wired.com/story/ice-dna-collection-fbi-codis/
[11]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/politics/jan-6-charges-oath-keepers-dismissed.html
[12]: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-no-civil-rights-investigation-maine-ice-shooting/
[13]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[14]: https://www.pressherald.com/2026/08/05/maine-man-mistakenly-deported-by-ice-to-guatemala/
[15]: https://apnews.com/article/military-families-immigration-trump-detained-deported-3337173bff1f06153738c217da52e846
[16]: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/ending-birth-tourism/
[17]: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/continuing-to-protect-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/
[18]: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-365_4hdj.pdf
[19]: https://abcnews.com/US/trump-moving-forward-attempt-fire-lisa-cook-after/story?id=135428517
[20]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-81-trumps?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[21]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-81-trumps

2026-08-07 19:56:46 CEST

Pakistanis 'Massively Disappointed' in Trump and the U.S., Says Top Imran Khan Adviser
This week marks [three years][1] since former Pakistani Prime Minister [Imran Khan][2] was imprisoned. He’s been held in solitary confinement and cut off from family amid their growing concerns about his deteriorating health.
**“No one’s had access to him for about seven months now,” Zulfi Bukhari,** one of Khan’s closest advisers and a spokesman for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, tells **Mehdi. **“**We’ve gone to courts to try to get a bail on medical grounds…But right now we’ve had zero joy.”**
[Subscribe now][3]
Bukhari also expresses frustration with the Trump administration, which Khan’s supporters had [hoped would speak out][4] on his behalf. **“We were told that President Trump really cares about his friend, Imran Khan,” **he says, adding **“I think all Pakistanis are massively disappointed in the way the U.S. has treated Pakistan.”**
And despite a recent *[Observer][5] *report that “a deal to free the World Cup-winning captain has been discussed behind the scenes,” Bukhari denies that negotiations are underway.
**Paid subscribers **can watch the full 18-minute interview above to hear about the latest efforts to release Khan and why his sons have still not been granted visas to visit him. **Free subscribers **can access a 3-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock the rest of **Zeteo’s** award-winning content.
[Share][6]
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/5/pakistans-khan-in-jail-for-3-years-pti-amnesty-slam-solitary-confinement
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-imran-khan-talks-to-mehdi
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/pakistan-trump-imran-khan-prison
[5]: https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/imran-khan-might-be-released-from-prison-on-health-grounds-say-his-family
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/pakistanis-massively-disappointed-over-imran-khan-donald-trump-response?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/pakistanis-massively-disappointed-over-imran-khan-donald-trump-response
https://zeteo.com/p/pakistanis-massively-disappointed-over-imran-khan-donald-trump-response

2026-08-07 15:05:49 CEST

🚨TODAY, 2pm ET, Live Q&A: 'Start the Steal,' Discussion with Mehdi and Swin
*Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on August 6, 2026. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.*
This week, **Zeteo** published our ‘Start the Steal’ special series, detailing the many, many ways that Donald Trump and his allies are working to rig or steal this year’s midterm elections – and how Democratic officials and nonprofit organizations are standing up to Trump’s scorched-earth attack on American democracy.
To cap this series, **Mehdi** will moderate a **LIVE Town Hall TODAY** at **2pm ET / 11am PT / 7pm BST **with **Swin**, who co-authored all four articles, and **Skye Perryman**, president of Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit that routinely fights the Trump administration in court.
[Subscribe now][1]
We believe Trump’s election-subversion campaign is the biggest story in America right now – and that *only* independent media can tell this story the way it needs to be told. You can read **[Part 1][2], [Part 2][3], [Part 3][4], and [Part 4][5]** of the series now – and **Mehdi, Swin,** and **Skye** will answer your questions at 2pm ET on Friday.
**It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss.**
*Paid subscribers can register through the link below. Free subscribers – it’s not too late to [upgrade to a paid subscription][6] and join the conversation.*
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/doomsday-scenario-trump-republicans-steal-election
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/19-ways-trump-and-republicans-are
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
[6]: https://substack.com/redirect/bc05c350-df2b-4aab-acf9-818b78cb4a31?j=eyJ1IjoiNmtwMDJrIn0.mFtwfUP_e5K3BaGBnHPvMiGnlTA2BVqgUgLSZoP_0HA
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/today-2pm-et-mehdi-discusses-our
https://zeteo.com/p/today-2pm-et-mehdi-discusses-our

2026-08-07 13:16:39 CEST

Here Come the Super-Islamophobic Midterms
*On this day in 1782, George Washington invented the Purple Heart, the U.S. military award for those wounded or killed in action. Donald Trump, who dodged service in Vietnam, famously told one supporter who handed over his award, “Man, that’s like big stuff. I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.”*
Good morning, **Mehdi** here, and happy Friday! It’s the weekend! *Phew*. Though, to be honest, in **Donald Trump’s** America, sadly, the week never ends. Still, what a week it has been *so far*. **Abdul El-Sayed**, whom I [first interviewed][1] when he was running for governor in 2018, is now officially the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan. And folks on the right are *freaking out*.
I’ll discuss that in **The Lede**, below. Plus, there’s more troubling news of **Israeli troops** brutalizing Palestinian-American citizens, and Trump is really, really pissed about the *Washington Post’s* report that he has fallen out with **Pete Hegseth** over the Iran war fiasco. Let’s read on.
[Subscribe now][2]
# **Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, the Muslim Boogeyman**
*Abdul El-Sayed departs after a press conference declaring victory in Detroit, Michigan, on August 5, 2026. Photo by Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images.*
The Republican Party’s reaction to Abdel El-Sayed’s Democratic Senate primary victory in Michigan immediately reminded me of something my friend Dalia Mogahed once told me.
Mogahed is a [Muslim-American scholar][3], [author, and former Gallup pollster][4] who has forgotten more about American attitudes toward Islam than most of us will ever know. Not long after I moved to the United States in 2015, she explained something that upended a common assumption.
Contrary to popular belief, she said, spikes in Islamophobia weren’t primarily driven by terrorist attacks – or even by the perception of a terrorist threat.
Do you know what they did correspond to?
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://theintercept.com/2018/08/04/abdul-el-sayed-michigan-governor/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://ispu.org/team/daliamogahed/
[4]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1595620176?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/here-come-the-super-islamophobic
https://zeteo.com/p/here-come-the-super-islamophobic

2026-08-07 03:03:22 CEST

How Trump Is Turning the U.S. Intel Community Into an Election-Rigging Machine
***Note from our Editor-in-Chief:***
*This week, we’ve been publishing our ‘Start The Steal’ series, documenting the president’s scorched-earth campaign to rig the coming elections. This remains the biggest story in America right now, and to keep reporting this story the way it needs to be told, we[ need your][1][ support][2]. In this new age of American authoritarianism, independent media is more important than ever. Subscribe to[ ][3]**[Zeteo][4]** and never hit another paywall. Read on for Part Four of our special series, below. – **Mehdi***
*Donald Trump dances after speaking at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 5, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.*
**Corrupting Intel Agencies:**
* High on the list of Trump’s unprecedented moves is his ongoing push to subsume the U.S. intelligence community into his personality cult – and use it to directly aid his campaign to corrupt and rig elections domestically.
* “We are so beyond the worst-case scenario of what many of us predicted Trump would do,” said Ian Bassin, who worked as a lawyer in the Obama White House. “This is the playbook of dictators: to turn these agencies into personal tools to aggrandize power and rig elections.”
* **Zeteo** has also learned that Trump-backing election officials in Georgia have been in touch with a Trump administration election security official, adding to an alarming pattern of this administration working closely with the election-denial movement, down to the local level.
As Donald Trump’s aides sat down to write his “address to the nation” that he would deliver on July 16, they realized that they had a problem: They couldn’t actually write what their boss wanted them to write.
For months, the president of the United States had been itching [to unveil a big, primetime speech that would][5] detail newly declassified documents and U.S. intelligence proving his demonstrably false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him in part by a massive conspiracy of foreign adversaries; that evidence of this conspiracy had been suppressed by the anti-Trump American “Deep State”; and that this secret trove of papers meant that everyone in the country has to submit to his party’s widespread crackdown on elections.
Obviously, none of that was ever true. And the White House knew it.
Since January 2025, the second Trump administration and his party’s elite ranks have worked to pervert and repurpose swaths of the U.S. intelligence apparatus – the institutions that are supposed to monitor foreign adversaries and protect Americans – to directly aid the president’s authoritarian desires to cement his 2020 lies into policy and remake domestic elections under the banner of the right’s heads-I-win-tails-you-lose philosophy.
[Subscribe now][6]
The speech – and the intelligence cherry-picking that went into it – was just one part of a giant narrative-cooking operation meant to justify Trump’s attempted federal takeover of elections.
According to two U.S. officials and two people with knowledge of the matter, Trump and senior White House staff had been briefed multiple times this year, by intelligence personnel and others, that there was no classified or top-secret evidence hidden within the federal government to suggest that China, or any other, government had breached election infrastructure to flip votes in the 2020 presidential contest to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. When Trump would seem annoyed by this, two of the sources said, some aides would assure him that officials had not finished reviewing literally every document yet, pushing the Trump-appeasing excuses into the realm of you-can’t-prove-a-negative.
“There just wasn’t anything to it,” a senior U.S. official told **Zeteo**.
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[3]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[4]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[5]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_YVJJUfWDI
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel
https://zeteo.com/p/how-trump-is-turning-the-us-intel

2026-08-06 22:44:20 CEST

Why Bari Weiss's Boss Is Full of ‘Horseshit’
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s **‘Ragebait.’**
**Justin Baragona** here, bringing you the latest media dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and Bari World. In tonight’s edition, we break down everything that’s wrong with David Ellison’s recent woe-is-me *New York Times *op-ed about the WarnerMount merger. Plus, ‘60 Minutes’ continues to be a disaster, and MAGA media had a racist, Islamophobic meltdown over Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan.
[Subscribe now][1]
# **Debunking Ellison’s ‘Desperate’ Ploy to ‘Change the Narrative’**
*David Ellison on April 22, 2026, in New York City. Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Paramount*
“Horseshit.”
That’s what a CNN on-air personality succinctly told me about Paramount CEO **David Ellison’s** [recent ][2]*[New York Times][3]*[ op-ed][4], which argued that his critics were wrong about his politics and that he’d be a good steward of CNN.
The essay, which a CBS News senior staffer described to **Zeteo** as “very ill-advised,” came across to several CBS and CNN insiders as a “desperate” ploy to “change the narrative” around the suddenly in-doubt $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
[Subscribe now][5]
While CBS and CNN sources I spoke to mocked Ellison’s column for reading as if it were written by a team of lawyers and PR flacks (Breaker’s **Lachlan Cartwright** [revealed][6] investment banker **Blair Effron** spearheaded the effort), it’s clear the 43-year-old wants to be seen as a misunderstood victim unfairly painted as a right-wing partisan.
But have his views and actions been misconstrued? Have his critics really been unfair to him? Well, I decided to do a bit of [“fisking”][7] of Ellison’s op-ed – and it’s clear: his argument doesn’t add up. Let’s take a look:
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/opinion/david-ellison-paramount-warner-deal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
[3]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/opinion/david-ellison-paramount-warner-deal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
[4]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/opinion/david-ellison-paramount-warner-deal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://elink75f.mail.breakermedia.com/ss/c/u001.o77sFAKGun0CsB6yAbgKyGAvHp-9Y1z6pz7IDqikaZ3jgNzuf3NKbexKmuyyj9aTRLZt_Ol9W4OiVACSpW2Na-UB19f0nqP39Mg9OUhiK7S236vbfuPzcEbaZbo6X6TY7LJeo4jCMqkEGhPvj93PmvwcQX7xTo-Gq3ObPEAmT7Ux-a2svHGMe6NuIca-60LWPCc3U3PEGGBrnrtVBPVLL_mgJaj7-39KaC2b-9ysZFlpFaCz8SP8WDWegF0MfsBZ_ZbuiHmJlI0zUg8qmfNm_RQNW3lmQSflSlYTJGfCvn0PzUab7pCKsX-sgrGkn6rSBthgyTYpLGi-5K-tPi1QC4LTEqKZADx7SODJOWXqSwZp_k_H3kGWTc8Gi1xkThX1/4sw/Ou-UFzPgRwCeRlo2la9LLQ/h0/h001.rBmfk3zg1Ydat6Tyn-BXFB2AW9DhW6vW1RT3tmaynl0
[7]: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/fisking
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-bari-weisss-boss-is-full-of-horseshit
https://zeteo.com/p/why-bari-weisss-boss-is-full-of-horseshit

2026-08-06 22:44:14 CEST

Trump Wants To Steal the Midterms – But the Dems Actually Have A Plan To Fight Back
*This week, we are running our ‘Start the Steal’ series, with three months left in the 2026 midterm elections*. *The president and his allies are conducting a scorched-earth campaign to rig the coming elections, and we believe it’s the biggest story in America right now. To keep reporting this story the way it needs to be told, we[ need your][1][ support][2]. In this new age of American authoritarianism, independent media is more important than ever. Subscribe to[ ][3]**[Zeteo][4]** and never hit another paywall. And read on for Part Three of our special series, below. – **Mehdi ***
*Donald Trump speaks with the media before boarding Air Force One on August 4, 2026. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images.*
**Wargames:**
* Democrats and election officials are preparing for unprecedented threats from the Trump administration to November’s midterms.
* Much of the secretive wargaming across the nation is focused on what to do if President Trump sends armed federal agents or U.S. troops to intimidate voters at polling locations or raid election offices.
* Senior election officials and Democratic leaders are urging people to take Trump’s authoritarian threat seriously – but they emphasize that Americans need to get out and vote in overwhelming numbers and reject his fearmongering.
Since early last year, Donald Trump and his Republican Party have been [working constantly to][5] rig the 2026 midterms and other future elections [in any way they can][6]. In response to this flagrantly authoritarian endeavor, a vast, loose network of elected Democrats, legal nonprofits, and aligned groups and activists has dedicated an astounding amount of resources and time to preparing for the *[many][7]* credible ways that the president could attempt to steal elections, if his party loses. It’s happening all over the country.
For this article, **Zeteo** interviewed numerous knowledgeable sources in a variety of states and cities – people in governors’ offices, sources on Capitol Hill, state attorneys general offices and prosecutors, secretaries of state and other top election officials, prominent liberal attorneys, pro-democracy advocates, and others – to catch a glimpse of just how much these Democratic politicians and their allies are prepping for an all-out onslaught from the Trump-Vance administration ahead of, and after, November.
Overwhelmingly, these sources said that what was most unsettling to them was that for many months, they’ve been wargaming and meticulously planning how to defend their upcoming elections from Trump in ways that mirror how they’d plan to protect elections from a foreign adversary, not the president of the United States.
The Trump administration is engaging in numerous [dirty tricks, intimidation tactics, and voter suppression salvos during this election cycle][8]. But perhaps the most depraved among the lot is the administration’s [ongoing][9] [public][10] threat to sic men with guns – FBI agents, ICE officers, or even U.S. troops – on voting sites or election offices in counties that President Trump has deemed enemy territory, to both intimidate Democrats and potentially even seize ballots and election materials.
[Subscribe now][11]
Election officials and lawyers noted how surreal it is, even after a decade of Trumpism, to treat the nation’s duly elected president as the primary threat to the freedom and fairness of American elections. Several of the sources said that they’d never before thought they’d have to spend this much time and energy figuring out *exactly* what they’d do if the U.S. government – acting like a far-off regime we’d typically hear about from victims who fled it – sends armed agents to harass voters and election workers.
Any deployment of National Guard troops or federal law enforcement like ICE would be illegal, [as federal law][12] prohibits armed federal agents from being sent to polling places “unless such force be necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.”
The Trump-Vance administration, however, has a lengthy [track record][13] of [breaking laws][14] and norms, and [defying][15] [the][16] [courts][17], when they want. The president would have to invoke the Insurrection Act to legally justify armed agents at the polls – though there would almost certainly be no genuine justification for doing so.
The second greatest fear expressed by many Democrats, election officials, and others working to prepare for Trump’s threats to the midterms is the prospect of the feds attempting to seize ballots.
[ Read more ][18]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[3]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[4]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/19-ways-trump-and-republicans-are
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/19-ways-trump-and-republicans-are
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/19-ways-trump-and-republicans-are
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/19-ways-trump-and-republicans-are
[9]: https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/president-trump-says-hes-willing-to-send-ice-national-guard-to-the-polls-in-november/5200208
[10]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0XgAtj6tuA
[11]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[12]: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/preventing-voter-intimidation-federal-agents-polls
[13]: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-musk-lawless-second-term-1235290095/
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-hegseth-admin-lawyers-warn-boat-strike-illegal
[15]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-defies-court-order-to-return-wrongly-deported-man
[16]: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-officials-diversity-orders-dei-pretending-1235294937/
[17]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/02/judiciary-trump-administration-separation-of-powers
[18]: https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls
https://zeteo.com/p/inside-dems-plans-to-fight-back-trump-ice-polls

2026-08-06 22:44:09 CEST

Even Wolf Blitzer Is Baffled by John Fetterman's Pro-Israel Obsession
*On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. A pillar of LBJ’s Great Society reforms, it is now all but demolished by a far-right Supreme Court determined to help Republicans diminish the influence of Black voters. Read **Zeteo’s **[deep-dive][1] into the VRA. *
Good morning! **Martin** here, delighted as ever to bring you the political news you need on this fine Thursday morning. Another summer weekend is in sight, but we’re keeping our eyes on the prize.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we consider a couple of monumentally embarrassing media hits by **Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman**, a man particularly put out by the rise of the progressive left but himself left on the ropes by **Wolf Blitzer of CNN**, of all people, when it comes to the matter of Israel and its waning place in Democratic politics. We also look to Maine, where new polling shows progressive **Troy Jackson** leading **GOP Senator Susan Collins**, and take in another interminable day in **Donald Trump’s** off-again, on-again war with Iran. Let’s dive in.
[Subscribe now][2]
# Fetterman’s Weird, *Weird* ‘Red Line’
*Senator John Fetterman at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.*
For a measure of the sheer absurdity of Senator John Fetterman’s display on CNN after Abdul El-Sayed’s [Michigan win was confirmed][3], consider this: interviewer Wolf Blitzer, a man once *[employed][4]* by AIPAC, reduced the Pennsylvania Democrat to incoherence by simply asking why he has made support for Israel his **“red line,”** to the extent of threatening to leave his party if pro-Palestinian voices continue to surge.
**“Well,” **said Fetterman, **“I’ve said this like if the Democratic Party adds that into the platform, if they say we become a party that will never vote for aid for Israel, or if we will define Israel as the aggressor, or that that’s the problem in the region, so then that would force me to reconsider that.”**
[Subscribe now][5]
Such a defection could determine control of the Senate. So Blitzer pressed: **“One issue alone, just Israel. If the Democratic platform upcoming were to say some anti-Israel stuff, you would leave?”**
**“Well,”** said Fetterman, **“that’s become the defining, that’s become the you know really the defining litmus in this race, I mean, if you’ve been following the Michigan race, it was AIPAC, AIPAC, AIPAC, AIPAC. I mean, that really made that the center of that race and all the other races across our country.”**
**“AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby organization,”** Blitzer clarified, of the group that [spent][6] more than $30 million to back Rep. Haley Stevens, the centrist Democrat El-Sayed defeated, and is now [considering spending millions more][7] to boost Mike Rogers, the Republican El-Sayed will face at the polls. **“Why is Israel, another country, your red line right now? This is what your critics are saying, rather than a domestic issue that impacts Americans’ everyday lives?”**
Fetterman’s answer… didn’t convince.
[ Read more ][8]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-supreme-court-shredded-americas
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/will-this-be-aipacs-biggest-defeat
[4]: https://theintercept.com/2024/03/03/wolf-blitzer-aipac-israel-si-kenan-cnn/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/politics/aipac-michigan-general-election.html
[7]: https://x.com/teddyschleifer/status/2085121599749927378?s=46
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/even-wolf-blitzer-is-baffled-by-john
https://zeteo.com/p/even-wolf-blitzer-is-baffled-by-john

2026-08-06 22:44:03 CEST

The Dem Establishment Kicked Me Out. Now They're Losing
*David Hogg, co-founder of Leaders We Deserve, speaks along the Freedom Trail during a “Democracy Walk” on April 8, 2026. Photo by Finn Gomez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images*
A year ago, I was [removed from my position][1] as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for daring to suggest that we needed to challenge geriatric, corrupt, and asleep-at-the-wheel Democrats in safe blue seats. That we needed a culture of competition, not complacency. That the status quo was failing. That with democracy on the line, we shouldn’t be letting Democratic members of Congress die in office.
The establishment kicked me out for those “radical” views, and the establishment is losing.
The party insisted that a ‘D’ next to a candidate was good enough. I argued that when you share the same corporate donors as those with the ‘R’ next to their name, when you vote the same as them, and when you answer to special interests, not the people you’re sworn to represent, ‘D’ becomes a meaningless demarcation. To win back the young voters we lost in 2024, I believed we needed to root out corruption in our party and elect a new segment of Democratic leaders they could actually believe in.
[Subscribe now][2]
A year later, and Democratic voters have been clear: no more status quo, no more special interests, no more strongly-worded letters.
In Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, Abdul El-Sayed [beat back over $60 million in outside spending][3] ([$32 million coming from AIPAC][4]), Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and an [endorsement][5] from the sitting Democratic governor. His historic victory proves, once again, that progressives aren’t just winning in New York City – they can dominate in swing states that Donald Trump won. As Senator Bernie Sanders [said][6], “[El-Sayed] pulled off the biggest upset that I have ever heard of in my life.”
In the year since I left the DNC, the organization I co-founded to elect young progressives to state legislatures and Congress, [Leaders We Deserve][7], has been on a hot streak. In Michigan, our first incumbent challenger of the cycle beat a corrupt millionaire candidate in Detroit backed by MAGA and AIPAC. Donavan McKinney, a Democratic socialist who has led the fight against utility companies in the statehouse, is now the presumptive nominee in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
We also took on the Democratic establishment in California’s 22nd Congressional District, where our candidate, Randy Villegas, beat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) handpicked candidate. The establishment’s choice was the only Democrat to vote against California’s challenge of racist Republican gerrymandering, siding with Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. Their candidate shared [more than 50 corporate and special interest donors][8] with the Republican incumbent. Our guy? A working-class candidate fighting for affordability who refuses to take money from the same corporations jacking up prices.
In state legislative races this cycle, [our record is 18-1][9], as we’ve fought to build a deep bench of power in key states like Georgia, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Our candidates have challenged the sports betting lobby, AIPAC, AI, and other dark money spenders, and they’ve won.
And of course, we couldn’t be prouder to have been the [biggest outside supporter][10] to a Zohran Mamdani-affiliated super PAC during his primary. As we saw in Mamdani’s race, and in races with progressive candidates across the country, young voters are turning out in [record numbers][11], proving that we didn’t lose Gen Z; they just needed candidates to vote *for.*
Now compare that energy and momentum to the Democratic establishment. The DNC is [over $2 million in debt][12]. The RNC has [about eight times as much cash on hand][13] as the DNC and is outraising the Democratic National Committee – $21.2 million to $11.4 million. Senator Schumer’s recruits are losing. Favorability of the Democratic brand is at an all-time low.
Why is the establishment getting beat so badly? Especially when Trump and his coalition are collapsing?
Voters see clearly that many of our politicians are serving their largest corporate donors instead of the working class. Younger voters cannot fathom voting for a status quo that has never served them. Moderate voters are sick of lectures about what politicians can’t do, instead of delivering results.
[Subscribe now][14]
So let’s put the electability debate to bed. Progressives aren’t just *electable*; they’re a *dominant force*. It turns out that a focused affordability message, moral clarity, and a commitment to not being bought motivates voters across the political spectrum. Americans are deeply [upset that their government][15] continues to send their tax dollars abroad to kill and maim children. They [don’t want data centers][16] in their backyards; they [want healthcare][17]. And they want their elected officials to fight like hell, not fold like a wet rag.
The many are beating the money. We’re proving that stronger candidates don’t need tens of millions of dollars in TV ads to get them over the finish line. Progressives like El-Sayed have already defeated the same corporate and special interests that are lining up behind his Republican opponent. He beat them on Tuesday, and he’ll do it again on Nov. 3.
A year ago, cable news pundit panels, elected officials, campaign strategists, and the entire establishment told me I was crazy for daring to challenge our party to do better. Today, I say: I wasn’t wrong; I was just early.
***David Hogg** is the president and co-founder of [Leaders We Deserve][18], a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and state legislatures. Hogg is also a former DNC vice chair, March For Our Lives founder, and gun safety activist. Check out the [Leaders We Deserve Substack here][19]. *
[Share][20]
***The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Zeteo.***
***Check out more from Zeteo, including Mehdi’s interview with Hogg from earlier this year: ***
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/david-hogg-dnc-democrats
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://x.com/teddyschleifer/status/2084784828445257888
[4]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/politics/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-aipac.html
[5]: https://apnews.com/article/michigan-whitmer-stevens-elsayed-a638d52f9a9c0cd86c82e266aa505297
[6]: https://x.com/igorbobic/status/2085032956045803885
[7]: https://leaderswedeserve.com/
[8]: https://prospect.org/2025/09/25/2025-09-25-conservative-dem-ad-corporate-donations-violence-bains-california/
[9]: https://leaderswedeserve.com/2026-candidates/
[10]: https://x.com/emmagf/status/1936129443925238207
[11]: https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/young-voters-power-mamdani-victory-shape-key-2025-elections
[12]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/us/politics/ken-martin-dnc-democrats.html
[13]: https://abcnews.com/Politics/democratic-donors-frustrated-dnc-chair-ken-martin-amid/story?id=132286127
[14]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[15]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/21/poll-finds-nearly-three-quarters-of-democratic-voters-oppose-aid-to-israel
[16]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx
[17]: https://zeteo.com/p/medicare-for-all-poll-searchlight-institute
[18]: https://leaderswedeserve.com/
[19]: https://leaderswedeserve.substack.com/
[20]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-dem-establishment-kicked-me-out?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
https://zeteo.com/p/the-dem-establishment-kicked-me-out

2026-08-06 22:43:52 CEST

DEBUNKED: Why This Pro-Israel NYT Columnist Is WRONG About Gaza
Ever since Israel began their horrific war on Gaza, many pro-Israel pundits and genocide-denialists have suddenly decided that they know far more about [war crimes,][1] [ethnic cleansing,][2] and [genocide][3] than actual genocide scholars and human rights experts. How convenient!
[Subscribe now][4]
*New York Times’ *conservative columnist* ***Bret Stephens** is of course [no exception.][5]
In this latest ‘DEBUNKED’ video, **Mehdi** breaks down why Stephens’s [viral][6] argument – in which he claims that calling Gaza a genocide is “farcical” – is total BS.
**Watch the full video above** to see Mehdi bring the receipts and show Stephens how ***real ***journalism is done.
[Share][7]
If you’d like to see more explainer videos like these, please consider [upgrading your subscription][8] or [donating][9] to support **Zeteo’s** work on videos like these.
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent stories:***
[1]: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164496
[2]: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/02/04/israels-extermination-ethnic-cleansing-escalate
[3]: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-politics/2026-03-12/ty-article/.premium/netherlands-joins-south-africas-icj-case-against-israel-over-gaza-genocide/0000019c-e312-d8a9-adbe-ef92fc730000
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opinion/no-israel-is-not-committing-genocide-in-gaza.html
[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls-TB-juuIg
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/gaza-genocide-bret-stephens?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[8]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
https://zeteo.com/p/gaza-genocide-bret-stephens

2026-07-25 19:03:32 CEST

This Week in Palestine: Francesca Albanese Calls Escalating Israeli Attacks in West Bank 'Pogroms' After Deadly Week
*A Palestinian walks towards a destroyed vehicle torched along with homes in an Israeli settler attack in the Palestinian village of Sarra, west of the city of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 24, 2026. Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images*
Israeli settlers attack; Palestinians get blamed. Israeli settlers kill; Palestinians are arrested. Israeli settlers antagonize and provoke; entire villages and towns are punished.
This week, the occupied West Bank experienced some of the deadliest settler violence this year – culminating in a Friday attack that ended with four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers killed. Palestinians are now facing renewed collective punishment – mass raids are being carried out under the guise of “counter-terror” operations, curfews were put in place, and roads were shut to Palestinian vehicles, including ambulances – while settlers continue their attacks.
“Pogroms against defenseless civilians all over the West Bank, while Gaza is under fire,” UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese [tweeted][1], calling for an arms embargo against Israel.
[Subscribe now][2]
The violence will likely only get worse – settlers raid villages under the protection of soldiers, they’re [rarely prosecuted][3], and their illegal outposts are continuously [legitimized][4] by Israeli officials.
All the while, Israel continues to pound Gaza, including killing a family of six this week and violating the so-called “ceasefire” in other ways.
Here’s more on those stories and others from another extremely troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, July 18 – Palestinian Teen Football Player Dies After Being Shot by Israeli Forces **
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/2080910847988175074
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera/videos/haaretz-columnist-gideon-levy-explains-how-the-israeli-government-is-fully-coord/2195720220994450/
[4]: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-west-bank-settlers-palestinians-violence-netanyahu/
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-settler-violence-west-bank-gaza
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-settler-violence-west-bank-gaza

2026-07-25 15:02:40 CEST

‘Logical’ That Iran Might Now Want Nukes, Says Biden’s Former Envoy to Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is [considering][1] restarting major combat operations in Iran after the breakdown of the memorandum of understanding between the two warring countries. According to veteran U.S. diplomat **Robert Malley**, who was a lead negotiator on the Iran nuclear deal under President Obama, predicting what happens next is an impossible task.
**“I’ve come to the point where any sentence that tries to predict where we’re going and that has the word Trump in it is a fool’s errand,” **Malley tells **Mehdi**. Still, building on his experience as both a lead negotiator with Iran and as President Biden’s Special Envoy for the Islamic Republic, he says **“if you were an Iranian leader today, you certainly would be thinking more concretely about whether or not to develop a nuclear weapon than you have in the past. It would be a logical thing to do.”**
[Subscribe now][2]
Malley, who describes the U.S. war with Iran as **“the first worldwide globalized guerrilla warfare,”** says U.S. strikes on the Islamic Republic are **“violating the laws of war,”** and adds that the outcome of the conflict would be **“worse than where we would be if the [2015] deal was still being respected.”**
The former peace negotiator also spoke about other Middle East conflicts and accountability for them on home soil, including:
* Why Lebanon’s [peace agreement][3] with Israel “**will be stillborn”**
* How the U.S.’s relationship with Israel and the Middle East needs to change
* Why there needs to be more accountability for former [Biden officials][4] who fueled the genocide in Gaza
[Share][5]
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full video above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][6] to unlock content like this and a lot more from **Zeteo**.
**Check out more from Zeteo:**
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/trump-axios-iran-interview
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-iran-3b8f85b214c3a603224a888e8882dad6
[4]: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/27/how-biden-emboldened-israels-aggression-toward-gaza-and-iran
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/iran-war-guerilla-warfare-robert-malley-?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/iran-war-guerilla-warfare-robert-malley-
https://zeteo.com/p/iran-war-guerilla-warfare-robert-malley-

2026-07-25 03:27:34 CEST

Tulsi, Trump, and the War on Fauci – Part 2: The 'Lab Leak' Obsession
*Editor’s note: This is the second piece in a two-part, in-depth series about the Trump administration’s obsession with trying to imprison Anthony Fauci. In **[Part 1][1]**, leading virologist Dr. **Angela Rasmussen** looked at the most ridiculous accusations made against Fauci. In Part 2 below, she dives into the much hyped “lab leak” theory that Donald Trump and his allies are obsessed with - and that doesn’t add up. If you’re not already a **[paid subscriber][2]**, consider becoming one today to get past the paywall!*
[Subscribe now][3]
*Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a House Select Intelligence Committee hearing on March 19, 2026. Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images*
As Tulsi Gabbard departed her role as the director of national intelligence, she released what she characterized as a bombshell reveal that former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci lied to Congress about masterminding virology research that created SARS-CoV-2, which leaked from a lab and caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), has done the same, releasing a trove of similarly uninformative documents this week, [which mostly show][4] some of my co-authors joking around, discussing politics, and changing their minds when faced with evidence (full disclosure: they mention me in the context of complimenting my Twitter game). Paul claims this is evidence that they conspired with Fauci to help him cover up the truth about the lab leak by writing a paper for a scientific journal.
[Subscribe now][5]
These documents are not proof of anything besides showing that, yet again, efforts across multiple intelligence agencies and the Senate HSGAC failed to uncover any hard evidence that a “lab leak” occurred. That’s because the sole piece of evidence supporting that version of events is that the pandemic began in Wuhan, where there is a lab that studies coronaviruses. There was also a market, where live animals were sold.
This is the second part of a two-part series. In **[Part 1][6]**, I examined how disinformation about the “lab leak” is being weaponized to attack science and persecute scientists, including Fauci, furthering the advancement of authoritarianism and erosion of democracy in America. Part 2 discusses what the evidence actually shows about the origin of the pandemic – and none of it indicates that it started in a lab.
### **What Evidence?**
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-and-the-war-on-fauci
[2]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/slack-drop-pm.pdf
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-and-the-war-on-fauci
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-war-on-fauci-lab-leak
https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-war-on-fauci-lab-leak

2026-07-25 00:37:40 CEST

This Week in Democracy – Week 79: GOP Targets Former Special Counsel Jack Smith as Trump DOJ Awakens 'Zombie' Immigration Court
*A banner featuring an image of Trump is displayed on the facade of the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC. Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images*
An illegal war [more][1] and [more][2] Americans don’t want. Tariffs the country has repeatedly [said][3] it doesn’t support. And “beautification” projects in Washington, DC, the majority of Americans are [unhappy][4] with. That’s just the start.
Americans are telling Donald Trump and his cronies they don’t like their policies – yet the president and his allies are still [escalating][5] – and [providing more money][6] for – the war in Iran, announcing [unpopular economic policies][7], and continuing to obsess over [expensive projects][8] that aren’t actually making the U.S. capital look more beautiful.
But that’s life in Donald Trump’s America – where fascism and idiocy are valued over democracy. From the Trump administration turning to a decades-old immigration court that’s *never *been used, to federal judges in Tennessee greenlighting a new voting map that will disenfranchise Black voters, here’s what Trump and his cronies did this week that harm democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt free societies worldwide:
#### **Saturday, July 18 – DOJ Files First-Ever ‘Alien Terrorist Removal Court’ Application**
CourtWatch [reported][9] that Trump’s Justice Department [submitted][10] an application to the Alien Terrorist Removal Court – which legal scholars had [dubbed][11] a “zombie” court having been established in 1996 but never used – in an effort to quickly deport noncitizens the government considers “alien terrorists.”
The [law][12] that created the court allows the secretary of state to label someone an “alien terrorist” who intends to engage in activities that “could endanger the welfare, safety, or security of the United States.”
[Subscribe now][13]
Little is known about the application submitted by the Trump administration. The court’s procedures allow for the use of secret evidence that the targets of deportation never see, a practice that has [raised concerns][14] among legal scholars about potential constitutional violations.
#### **Sunday, July 19 – FBI No Longer Investigating ICE Confrontations**
The *New York Times* [reported][15] that federal agents were informed that the FBI is no longer investigating ICE confrontations, a move that comes after multiple killings by federal officers in recent weeks and one that would make it much more difficult to collect evidence that could be used to prosecute agents.
The DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security denied the change is taking place, saying the FBI “will continue to investigate in accordance with agency policy.”
[Share][16]
#### **Monday, July 20 – Trump Admin Tried to Get Phone Records of *****NYT***** Reporters, Relatives**
The *New York Times* reported that the Trump administration sought phone records of some of its reporters dating back to Jan. 1, along with the records of their relatives, as part of its recent subpoenas surrounding an investigation into the *Times*’s [reporting][17] on security concerns about Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar.
In a court motion, the *Times* said the move is just one of many that amount to a “bad-faith effort to intimidate the journalists and chill their ability to report on the administration.” (Later, the DOJ [withdrew][18] its subpoenas against the journalists.)
#### **Tuesday, July 21 – Election Deniers Win GOP Primaries in DOJ-Monitored Arizona Elections**
Two election deniers involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election [won][19] key primary races in Arizona, putting them one step closer to securing pivotal positions of power in November.
Alexander Kolodin, who was involved in lawsuits challenging election results in 2020 and in 2022 before being [sanctioned][20] by the state bar, [became][21] the Republican nominee for the state’s top election official. Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Biggs, who supported Trump’s push to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidency, [won][22] the Republican nomination for Arizona governor.
During the state’s primary election, three counties were [monitored][23] by the Justice Department, as part of Trump’s [plan][24] to send federal election monitors to six states during their primaries.
[Subscribe now][25]
#### **Wednesday, July 22 – Another Trump Investigator Targeted by GOP**
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan [sent][26] a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging Trump’s Justice Department to prosecute former special counsel Jack Smith, in the latest attack on officials who have charged the president with crimes.
Jordan alleged that Smith made false statements during his closed-door testimony last year, but the former special counsel’s lawyers say the referral “reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”
#### **Thursday, July 23 – Majority-Black District Split Up in Tennessee**
Federal judges [approved][27] the use of a new congressional map in Tennessee that splits up a majority-Black district in Memphis, eliminating the state’s only Democrat-held seat.
The decision, which puts Republicans on the path to secure an additional seat in the midterms, comes after Republicans [revised][28] Tennessee’s congressional districts in May in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act.
#### **Friday, July 24 – Trump Has Demanded Over $70 Billion in Lawsuits and Claims Since Late 2022**
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [published][29] a new analysis finding that Trump has sought more than $70 billion in lawsuits and claims since launching his most recent presidential campaign in November 2022.
Among the litigations CREW tracked are Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, in which he initially sought [$10 billion][30], as well as his $10 billion [ongoing][31] suit against the BBC.
[Share][32]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][33]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/19/the-iran-war-is-americas-least-popular-since-polls-began
[2]: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/poll-maga-souring-iran-war-costs-trump-01006976
[3]: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2026/02/04/americans-largely-disapprove-of-trumps-tariff-increases/
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2026/07/23/heres-what-2600-americans-said-about-trumps-ballroom-pool-arch-projects/
[5]: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/24/g-s1-135417/us-iran-war-updates
[6]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-republicans-adopt-95-billion-package-for-the-iran-war-and-trumps-priorities
[7]: https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-forced-labor-4ea091eeee3fa1bfbe55af3f482e6bc1
[8]: https://apnews.com/article/reflecting-pool-drained-washington-monument-trump-repairs-0745ba52bc7273ce411ef29880f71cf0
[9]: https://www.courtwatch.news/p/alien-terrorist-removal-court-has-its-first-case
[10]: https://archive.is/o/Ps7Db/https://www.atrc.uscourts.gov/docs/2026-TRC-1-Application.pdf
[11]: https://download.ssrn.com/20/05/20/ssrn_id3606225_code2394218.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEEEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQC9xweSFw0jFLdgDhG7JYfVKB9bPelJypE4vvkNcp1uMwIhAM0aBcokKUSqX5Tv3wwP7N5Krb4EP0Oh5JxOSDDpxEcWKr0FCAoQBBoMMzA4NDc1MzAxMjU3IgzEE0H60rHZi8CA9hoqmgX6qMn93YCftSODRT7HkSb3Uw8S%2FyNqBH%2FACH81hB2IVbNTDveyFQibisONMw0h8Wh5j%2BUC6GkST6Vp6K%2F%2BSPOlxfUD69RgyU%2FynRYo%2FzoNxh7JgjI7a27WfO45lhfuB9MSu2YFVNRkqoe%2FyJiMNly87BbUgDEJw4tzDm9p7LMS8tLA2CyZBg8d5hNYr4%2BFwBl2csiK3rI9F9ZDZRdFwtPg1lELRp2UjMnfkJZiR%2F725JB9vkfhtVEgj2X8R8o5ibaqog6FNLrPtnZcIjUJbW%2ByDAJX%2FGB8q0Wv0jPW0z%2FG7hvg1G4yfQJC60s%2FCZU2YxMQRpyKcPIVq7n5BrNalea73M6Qk1UIWQGuVTWvRCt4ULuGe4RFzOlbi9J5iSN%2FyQV0Nx3dl6J5PPFwZpTogdIjiypIgnixnu9goULD6k0fJVqQbQq2vNgY37tAdjUfY%2BJ0pN7s1ARXvDrwambyDIPMxGj2aJXiIUY2liGd8ixdofsRmsejACaS1i9NixA2eNiWOLZY%2BLaXwp2klcVKV2PrqQFKaZumlsQLKjFTCSnH9c%2B47xBeIq85fDU79saoQWOjkzDpaB3pGNEa67YWvfVeRErRqAbupQMLOcbPhUKfiOXPX0htqgUZIPyMMALUrfp%2BcCSQ1JuWI
lOixGfozfMtNLGnwefgq6ine0SrvGRG6UVp9YFayb41%2FlwJRUxUMuWROuP0s3NS90LR4Xlt7WP8ursM0mDN6qHE8F4NxOWDy9yQ3UyosCOC2U9Znm0oxzUPVuW7tJ8jz7seqOtedQgJlfJ9EB7Ze1dC51Y5jS4bSjL7vmLU4lp9vrItt7cLMlGwY%2BldwS%2FpjPMMOsdVuXXR7WCzY0Yj28rG%2BxnHx4b41DIp7tOcZERNAi4wz62O0wY6sAGr287j8yk674iv%2FYOupqcExbqjbZIg7RllCVwYyta2iE9W2Tnpvl5QhV%2B692oK21kjSDSl%2FaiBHVwTr8uBCAmxa7%2FZqC2LvRsb9WmpfqYn3PRAiCHuugZeCfCWERsXqoQl6d%2FzEVexLGIVNGTQ3ndgGL8%2FidTCjG48zvmIVWcEM9KFHM5yRgJMpNBAgoWCSs0LDth1g2teT%2FoSvw6JOdkuuI7SggNUoRhtHDc5CfwzRg%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20260724T175011Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAUPUUPRWEXSOZ7EMB%2F20260724%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=805e1a94787bc89d6104f4977b7aaa2f2491b152ace2f6c43e45556e5e737c8a&abstractId=3411196
[12]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1533
[13]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[14]: https://www.justsecurity.org/148285/the-alien-terrorist-removal-courts-first-case/
[15]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/us/politics/fbi-ice-agents-investigations-shootings.html
[16]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-79-gop?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[17]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html
[18]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-withdraw.html
[19]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/21/politics/arizona-primaries-takeaways
[20]: https://www.kjzz.org/2023-12-15/content-1865727-state-bar-disciplines-arizona-lawmaker-who-represented-fake-electors
[21]: https://azmirror.com/2026/07/21/gop-picks-election-denier-alexander-kolodin-to-challenge-adrian-fontes-for-secretary-of-state/
[22]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/andy-biggs-wins-republican-nomination-to-challenge-democrat-katie-hobbs-for-arizona-governor
[23]: https://www.azfamily.com/2026/07/21/3-arizona-counties-under-federal-poll-monitoring/
[24]: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-doj-to-deploy-election-monitors-in-6-states-amid-pressure-campaign/
[25]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[26]: https://x.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2080106762867191820
[27]: https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-redistricting-memphis-congressional-district-a043e21920d7214d1eca88b779d0caa8
[28]: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/07/tennessee-congressional-map-redistricting
[29]: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/trump-has-filed-lawsuits-and-claims-demanding-over-70-billion-since-second-term-candidacy-announcement/
[30]: https://itep.org/president-trump-sues-american-people-for-10-billion-irs/
[31]: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93487x97kyo
[32]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-79-gop?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[33]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-79-gop

2026-07-24 20:37:27 CEST

BREAKING: ICC Member States Dismiss Chief Prosecutor
*Karim Khan attends a United Nations Security Council on January 27, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.*
Members of the International Criminal Court have voted to remove Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan – who two years ago issued arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the genocide in Gaza — from his role in response to allegations of sexual misconduct.
The vote was held on a secret ballot, and marks the first time a prosecutor was suspended and removed in such a fashion. 82 members [reportedly][1] voted to remove Khan, 13 voted against, and 15 abstained.
Allegations against Khan first emerged internally in May 2024.
[Subscribe now][2]
The complainant, a junior ICC lawyer who worked directly under Khan, alleged that his misconduct began shortly after she joined Khan’s office in March 2023. She alleged that Khan repeatedly subjected her to unwanted sexual advances, and non-consensual sexual contact over the course of months.
The allegations first emerged as Khan was preparing to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, political chairman Ismail Haniyeh, and commander Mohammed al-Masri. The decision to issue the warrants had [reportedly][3] already been made when Khan was notified of the accusations against him.
Months later, in October, the allegations were made public.
“There is no truth to suggestions of such misconduct. I have worked in diverse contexts for 30 years and there has never been such a complaint lodged against me by anyone,” Khan [said][4] at the time. In November, the ICC [announced][5] an external investigation into the allegations.
Then, in May 2025, Khan stepped aside to go on administrative leave until the investigation concluded. In the interim, a [second][6] allegation of sexual misconduct was made against Khan in August of 2025, by someone who first began working for Khan as an intern.
In March, after the investigation [found][7] evidence that Khan had “nonconsensual sexual contact” with the accuser, a three-judge panel ruled that the investigation was not conclusive enough and that the findings “do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant legal framework.”
But shortly after, members of the ICC’s executive bureau voted to [continue][8] pursuing disciplinary proceedings against Khan. In June, the ICC bureau suspended Khan pending the completion, and a few weeks later, [held][9] that Khan had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior staffer and thus that he should be fired.
A week before Friday’s vote, the complainant gave her first television interview, describing her allegations in greater detail and pushing back against claims made to question her credibility.
“I have no other way to describe it but an escalation of attempts,” Sarah – who only shared her first name publicly and is still working at the ICC – [told][10] CNN, adding that she said those attempts continued for a year after she started working as Khan’s assistant in early 2023.
“There is no way for something to be consensual when you have such a power disparity. What I think many people don’t understand is that Mr. Khan was not just my boss, he was everyone’s boss,” she said. “And it cannot be consensual.”
[Share][11]
Khan had previously denied the allegations, including to **[Zeteo][12]**.
“I denied all of the allegations. It couldn’t be clearer. From the beginning, from the time individuals came to me and I told them, please report it. Follow the normal process. That’s my track record. I denied in their entirety the allegations,” Khan said.
“So, just to be clear… you, Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, are denying the allegations of sexual misconduct from a staffer at the ICC. You’re also denying that you had any kind of relationship with her?”** Mehdi** asked.
“Absolutely,” Khan replied.
In months after she confided in colleagues about the conduct, Sarah said she faced pressure from Khan and another of his subordinates to rescind the allegations, to say she made them up or had no issue. Khan has denied this accusation.
Sarah’s interview increased the pressure ahead of the ICC vote. “The issue isn’t what he did charging Netanyahu or as an attorney defending Kenya’s William Ruto. Nor is it various procedural evasions concocted by his camp,” former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth [said][13]. “The issue is what he did to Sarah. This damning interview about his sexual misconduct makes clear he no longer has the integrity or credibility to lead the ICC.”
At the same time, many have maintained their skepticism about the whole process. A coalition of more than 180 Palestinian and international organizations [warned][14] that – while they were not taking a position on the validity of the claims – a lack of due process and a wave of aggressive politicization and attacks from entities, including the U.S., were threatening and corroding the ICC’s independence.
The organizations have criticized how the process conflated political procedures with legal ones. They argued that the ICC bureau “as a political body composed of diplomats, does not have the independence, impartiality or legal expertise to make assessments on the legal characterisation of conduct, nor did it enjoy the same timeframe as the ad hoc Panel to independently examine the two reports and 5,000-pages of evidence.”
They also cited the African Bar Association, which [cautioned][15] that "any departure by a political body from the reasoned conclusions of experienced judges could undermine the institutional credibility of the Court and weaken confidence in the rule of law."
### Second Accuser
“Patricia,” the intern who also alleged misconduct from Khan, also spoke with CNN. She [recounted][16] that Khan had asked his staff to work from his home and that “without fail, every time I was there, it was a constant onslaught of him coming onto me, groping me, grabbing me, kissing my face, touching my hair … trying to get me to engage in intimate activity with him, which I constantly had to bat off.”
Khan’s legal team denied these allegations, adding that “they’re also not new allegations. They’re allegations which have formed part of the evidential record and which were seen alongside the evidence of over 30 other witnesses as well as the evidence of Mr. Khan himself … the complete evidential picture paints a far different, far different picture.”
[Subscribe now][17]
Patricia told CNN seeing other coverage of allegations against Khan helped her speak out.
The timing of the allegations, Sarah’s specifically, led some to wonder whether it was some form of retaliation against the court – suspicions whipped up by Khan and his [allies][18] themselves.
“This is a moment in which myself and the International Criminal Court are subject to a wide range of attacks and threats,” Khan said in October 2024. “It has never been more important that the ICC, including myself as Prosecutor, is able to focus on its job to deliver justice for the victims of international crimes, and demonstrate through our actions that all lives deserve the protection of international law.”
“I will continue to make every effort, to the best of my ability, to deliver on that mandate no matter what actions are taken against me,” he [added][19].
Israeli intelligence agencies have run [yearslong campaigns][20] against the ICC, including attempts to intimidate and smear Khan’s predecessor. The U.S. – Israel’s staunchest ally and funder – has also flouted and threatened the ICC.
The first Trump administration sanctioned ICC officials after it opened an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. The Biden administration revoked those sanctions, but continued to reject ICC jurisdiction over U.S. nationals, and outwardly defied the court, and its peer institutions, warnings and recommendations regarding Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
And then the second Trump administration picked up where it left off, imposing new sanctions, this time, in response to the court pursuing justice against the Israeli officials whom Biden unconditionally funded.
Last week, in the lead up to Friday’s vote, Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a campaign to “dismantle” the ICC.
Sarah flatly denied any suggestion that she was working on behalf of Israel. “I think many parties have for their own agenda conflated the two things,” she told CNN. “That conflation has only helped to distract and eflect from the validity of that complaint.”
She also told CNN that part of why she spoke out was because her anonymity allowed others to fashion their own narratives. Asked about her thoughts on the validity of pursuing warrants against Israeli officials, she said she couldn’t speak in specifics, but that she “fully and entirely supports the court’s investigations.”
[Share][21]
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/icc-member-states-remove-prosecutor-karim-khan-majority-vote
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/oct/27/icc-prosecutor-karim-khan-allegedly-tried-suppress-sexual-misconduct-claims
[4]: https://www.reuters.com/world/international-criminal-court-notified-allegation-misconduct-against-prosecutor-2024-10-24/
[5]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/nov/11/icc-prosecutor-to-face-external-investigation-into-sexual-misconduct-claims
[6]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/aug/28/second-woman-accuses-icc-chief-prosecutor-karim-khan-of-sexual-misconduct
[7]: https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2026/judges-say-icc-prosecutor-in-sexual-misconduct-inquiry-can-potentially-resume-work-documents-show/
[8]: https://www.reuters.com/world/icc-moves-ahead-with-disciplinary-proceedings-against-chief-prosecutor-khan-wsj-2026-04-01/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[9]: https://www.reuters.com/world/icc-bureau-says-khan-should-be-fired-inappropriate-sexual-relationship-2026-06-24/
[10]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/europe/icc-prosecutor-allegations-interview-un-investigation-amanpour-intl
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/breaking-icc-member-states-dismiss-karim-khan?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/karim-khan-un-investigation-israel
[13]: https://x.com/KenRoth/status/2080253843649249420
[14]: https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/27714.html
[15]: https://afribar.org/african-bar-association-urges-icc-bureau-to-accept-panel-findings-on-prosecutor-karim-khan/
[16]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/europe/icc-prosecutor-allegations-interview-un-investigation-amanpour-intl
[17]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[18]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/11/sexual-abuse-claims-karim-khan-international-criminal-court-crisis-what-happens-now?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[19]: https://x.com/KarimKhanQC/status/1849476348592439421
[20]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/spying-hacking-intimidation-israel-war-icc-exposed
[21]: https://zeteo.com/p/breaking-icc-member-states-dismiss-karim-khan?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
https://zeteo.com/p/breaking-icc-member-states-dismiss-karim-khan

2026-07-24 16:46:37 CEST

Exclusive Invite to Founders: Early Access to the Zeteo App
Dear **Zeteo** Founder-
Today, we’re giving you **exclusive** access to the beta version of our brand new **Zeteo** mobile app!
Your generous support for us is not something we take lightly or for granted. One of the big projects we’ve been working on behind the scenes has been an **all-new Zeteo mobile app** – a way for subscribers to access all of our content in an eas…
[ Read more ][1]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-invite-to-founders-early
https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-invite-to-founders-early

2026-07-24 13:05:49 CEST

Elon Musk, Islamophobe
*On this day in 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled[ 8-0][1] that President Richard Nixon had to hand over the incriminating Watergate tapes, rejecting his claim of absolute executive privilege.*
Good morning! **Mehdi **here. So I watched ‘The Odyssey,’ and it was fun and deep and long but what stood out to me most was… the [frickin’ creepy horror-film trailer][2] masquerading as a family ice-cream ad that they aired before the movie began.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ Elon Musk says outrageous things about Muslims in a mainstream media interview and… no one seems to care. The Trump administration backed down in its latest fight against the press, while the president has issued sweeping new tariffs that nobody wants.
[Subscribe now][3]
# ‘Are You Anti-Muslim?’
*Elon Musk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. Photo by Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images.*
There are many words that could be used to describe Elon Musk, the world’s first trillionaire and one of Donald Trump’s biggest financial backers.
[Authoritarian][4]. [Narcissist][5]. [Hypocrite][6]. [Sadist][7]. [Snowflake][8]. [Racist][9].
But there is one label that somehow still escapes him, despite years of evidence for it staring us in the face: *Islamophobe*.
That omission is remarkable. Musk has spent years amplifying some of the most virulent anti-Muslim voices in the English-speaking world. He has [funded][10] and [amplified][11] Britain’s most notorious anti-Muslim thug, [Tommy Robinson][12]. In early 2025, he was **“boosting disinformation and divisive rhetoric on X about Muslim grooming gangs in the UK, posting almost 200 times,”** according to *[Wired][13]*, in the space of a few days. In recent weeks, he has been [praising and promoting][14] the unabashedly anti-Muslim, anti-migrant film ‘Citizen Vigilante.’
[Subscribe now][15]
And yet, for all the justified scrutiny on Musk’s politics, his businesses, and his support for far-right parties, his Islamophobia has rarely been treated as the scandal it plainly is. That says as much about our mainstream media as it does about Elon Musk himself.
Credit, then, to Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of the *Economist*, who managed to secure a [sit-down interview][16] with the world’s first trillionaire and not only raised his boosting of ‘Citizen Vigilante’ (**“it glorified the murdering of a Muslim immigrant family, I honestly think that it is irresponsible for you to put that up on X”**) but also asked him, rather bluntly: **“Are you anti-Muslim?”**
[ Read more ][17]
[1]: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/anniversary-of-united-states-v-nixon
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEpTgowZ1dI
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/18/media/elon-musk-60-minutes-prison
[5]: https://futurism.com/elon-musk-friend-power-narcissism
[6]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/15/elon-musk-hypocrite-free-speech
[7]: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1886307316804263979?lang=en
[8]: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/journalists-who-wrote-about-owner-elon-musk-suspended-from-twitter
[9]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/12/elon-musk-posts-january-white-supremacists
[10]: https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-fund-uk-far-right-ringleader-tommy-robinson-legal-fight/
[11]: https://counterhate.com/research/the-owner-amplifier/
[12]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tommy-robinson-elon-musk-want-freed-jail-rcna186084
[13]: https://archive.ph/UKXeo#selection-781.207-781.323
[14]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/30/elon-musk-citizen-vigilante-immigration
[15]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[16]: https://www.economist.com/insider/the-insider/an-interview-with-elon-musk?ref=featured
[17]: https://zeteo.com/p/elon-musk-islamophobe
https://zeteo.com/p/elon-musk-islamophobe

2026-07-24 03:02:11 CEST

Tulsi, Trump, and the War on Fauci – Part 1: The Smear Campaign
***Note from our Editor-in-Chief:***
*More than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic officially ended, Donald Trump and his allies remain consumed by their hatred of Dr. Anthony Fauci – and scientific expertise, more broadly. So we asked leading virologist **Dr. Angela Rasmussen** to debunk the dangerous claims being made by the Trump administration and Tulsi Gabbard, until very recently the director of National Intelligence. Today, read Part 1 – looking at the most ridiculous accusations Gabbard made against Fauci – below, and watch out for Part 2 on the much-hyped COVID “lab leak” theory tomorrow. If you’re not already a **[paid subscriber][1]**, consider becoming one today to get past the paywall! This is one you won’t want to miss! -* **Mehdi**
[Subscribe now][2]
*Anthony Fauci (left) and Tulsi Gabbard (right). Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images*
On her last day as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard was [bestowed with a lei ][3]and [declassified a trove of documents][4] that supposedly reveal explosive truths about how the U.S. government started the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Gabbard, a shadowy network of “biolabs,” some of which had the capacity for working with dangerous emerging pathogens like Ebola and bird flu, was established in foreign countries to engage in risky research under the direction of the U.S. Department of Defense and Tony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). When he learned about the “lab leak,” through evidence that has not yet been revealed, Fauci ran a “circular” scheme of promoting the opinions of world-renowned experts in virology and virus evolution, as well as a variety of peer-reviewed papers published in top scientific journals, to cover up his own culpability in starting the pandemic. But he didn’t stop there: Gabbard alleges Fauci lied to Congress – a criminal act, if true.
[Subscribe now][5]
Except that is not what these documents show. There’s no evidence in these documents that a “lab leak” occurred. And they certainly don’t show that Fauci lied to Congress or to anyone else, or committed any crime at all. The evidence *does* indicate that the pandemic began by spilling over from live animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China. The evidence is not consistent with a lab leak. When he testified that the work that NIAID funded in Wuhan couldn’t have started the pandemic, Fauci was telling the truth.
In this two-part series, I’ll first look at the most ridiculous allegations made against Fauci and what the Trump administration’s effort to prosecute him means for science, public health, preparedness, national security, and democracy. In Part 2, out tomorrow, I’ll address what the Gabbard documents do and don’t show about the origins of COVID.
### **The ‘Lie’**
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://x.com/tulsigabbard/status/2067827639700582672?s=46&t=xXiCd31CtsK0sGvr2-0UYA
[4]: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2026/4163-pr-10-26
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-and-the-war-on-fauci
https://zeteo.com/p/tulsi-trump-and-the-war-on-fauci

2026-07-23 23:38:31 CEST

‘Explosive Diarrhea’: Company Tied to Outbreak Donated to Trump as He Delayed Food Safety Rule
*A Taylor Farms facility in Salinas, California on July 17, 2026. Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images.*
Taylor Farms – the produce giant whose lettuce has been recalled in connection with the “explosive diarrhea” outbreak sweeping the United States – and its lobbying groups have for years worked to end or delay programs meant to help the government better test for foodborne diseases and prevent their spread, according to records reviewed by **Zeteo**.
Over a decade ago, Taylor Farms and big agricultural industry groups [successfully][1] [lobbied][2] to [defund][3] a significant foodborne illness testing program that was responsible for some 80% of U.S. public testing.
More recently, under Donald Trump’s second administration, a lobbying group that Taylor Farms belongs to successfully [pushed][4] to delay a rule that would have helped the government more quickly trace contaminations back to specific locations – which could have helped prevent the illness at hand, cyclosporiasis, from proliferating into thousands of cases nationwide.
[Subscribe now][5]
The Trump administration [moved][6] to delay the tracing rule last year. Several days later, Taylor Farms [donated][7] $1 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. That summer, Taylor Farms [contributed][8] another $1 million to House Republicans’ super PAC, and a few months later, Republicans in Congress [enshrined][9] the rule delay as part of a funding bill.
Separately, legal [complaints][10] and employee [accounts][11] suggest that Taylor Farms’s facilities have been host to unsanitary workplace conditions, with staff working long hours and receiving sparse breaks – conditions that experts say could foster the spread of foodborne illnesses.
[ Read more ][12]
[1]: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg52327/html/CHRG-111hhrg52327.htm
[2]: https://web.archive.org/web/20111024003705/http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5090885
[3]: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2013-CCS/pdf/BUDGET-2013-CCS.pdf
[4]: https://www.congress.gov/118/chrg/CHRG-118shrg50503/CHRG-118shrg50503.pdf
[5]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[6]: https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-intends-extend-compliance-date-food-traceability-rule
[7]: https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202507319789366251
[8]: https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202510279792025569
[9]: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5371/text
[10]: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.255594/gov.uscourts.caed.255594.101.0_1.pdf
[11]: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Taylor-Farms-Reviews-E1010102.htm
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/taylor-farms-trump-donations-explosive-diarrhea
https://zeteo.com/p/taylor-farms-trump-donations-explosive-diarrhea

2026-07-23 17:02:39 CEST

‘Five-Alarm Fire’: Top Senate Democrat on ‘Corrupt’ Elections, AIPAC Funding, and Ending the Iran War
After months of Donald Trump claiming that he would end the illegal war in Iran within two weeks, the U.S. and Iran are once again trading strikes as nuclear deal negotiations have collapsed.
And to make matters worse, this war – like most of Trump’s claims – is based on a lie.
[Subscribe now][1]
Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Virginia Democratic Senator **Mark Warner** tells Mehdi: **“I’ve seen all the intelligence. There was no imminent threat [from Iran]. And this was a war of choice.”**
As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to Capitol Hill this week to beg for a near $70 billion in [additional funding][2] for the war, Sen. Warner sounds the alarm on just how inept Donald Trump has been at handling the conflict: **“There’s not been an organized, straightforward plan, and his unwillingness to come before Congress or go to the American people and say, ‘Here’s what I want to do with this war’ is crazy.”**
But Iran isn’t all the two discuss. In this wide-ranging interview, Mehdi also presses Sen. Warner on:
* Whether he regrets his vote for Marco Rubio as Secretary of State
* His recent vote in favor of selling bombs to Israel while opposing the sale of bulldozers
* Whether he believes Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza
* The Sudan, Rohingya, and Uyghur genocides, in comparison to Gaza
* Why he still takes AIPAC money
* Trump’s bogus election interference claims and the ‘five-alarm fire’ about ‘corrupt’ elections
* And his position on the future of ICE.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 27-minute interview above, while **free subscribers** can access a two-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit a **Zeteo** paywall again!
[Share][3]
***Catch up on some of Zeteo’s latest stories:***
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-hegseth-military-deaths-95-billion-7d158708c3e5385683930f8b839d0344
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/mark-warner-elections-iran-israel-aipac-trump?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/mark-warner-elections-iran-israel-aipac-trump
https://zeteo.com/p/mark-warner-elections-iran-israel-aipac-trump

2026-07-23 13:03:48 CEST

Trump Is Dangerously Unwell. So Why Are These Dems Helping Him?
*On this day in 2020,[ a federal judge][1] in Portland barred President Donald Trump's federal agents from targeting journalists and legal observers, amid his crackdown on a U.S. city. Does this… sound familiar?*
Happy Thursday, everyone. It’s **Swin **and** Andrew **here. It’s obvious our current state of affairs is unsustainable.
The entire ruling party is propping up the personality cult and blundering agenda of someone who is disturbed to the point he’s willing to blow up the world economy for no reason beyond his [own spite][2] [and confusion][3]. Democrats, for their part, are not only struggling to oppose **Donald Trump** or rein him in… some are outright doing his bidding.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we once again acknowledge the reality that the president is deeply unwell and fundamentally unfit for office, while some Democrats insist on helping him. Meanwhile, the president unveiled his plan for spiking drug prices, and **Jeffrey Epstein’s** model recruiter was just found dead.
[Subscribe now][4]
# How Can They Help This Man?
*Trump speaks at Wheeler High School on July 22, 2026 in Marietta, Georgia. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.*
We’ve written here at **Zeteo** about how the sitting leader of the United States is **“too dangerous, too unwell, too much of a fascist”** and **“[must be removed from office][5].”** No one with any power is trying to remove Donald Trump from office, but that does not make it any less necessary: He is patently insane.
The president of the United States is trying to unilaterally impose new taxes on the American people because he’s mad at [Canada for being on fire][6]. He is [angrily threatening war crimes][7] and re-escalating his war in Iran [at the worst possible time for the global economy][8] – *even though he knows the war is [politically destroying him][9], his party, and his administration*.
[Subscribe now][10]
He is now ranting on social media about how voters should be *grateful* that his disastrous war [has only gotten 18 Americans killed][11]. He’s still [suggesting][12] he wants to run for an unconstitutional third term, and [claiming][13] now that **“communists”** want to **“blow up”** Mount Rushmore.
Every day Trump is in power is a unique, extreme crisis, one that threatens the lives and safety of an incalculable number of people, [both][14] [here][15] [and abroad][16]. And yet, some Democrats keep trying to give this man more power and more money, and expand his ability to threaten our democracy.
[ Read more ][17]
[1]: https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/23/894953202/order-temporarily-blocks-feds-from-targeting-press-and-legal-observers-in-portla
[2]: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5981743-trump-canada-wildfires-tariffs/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/bumbling-warmonger-picks-worst-possible
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/time-for-trump-to-go
[6]: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/ontario-wildfires-expand-smoke-lingers-parts-us-2026-07-20/
[7]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/22/world/live-news/the-war-with-iran
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/bumbling-warmonger-picks-worst-possible
[9]: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/22/poll-maga-souring-iran-war-costs-trump-01006976
[10]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[11]: https://newrepublic.com/post/213357/donald-trump-tries-claim-dead-troops-iran-good-thing
[12]: https://x.com/atrupar/status/2080019280138023188
[13]: https://x.com/atrupar/status/2080023499112857762
[14]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-cant-quit-his-failing-campaign
[15]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-violent-crackdowns-on-us-cities
[16]: https://zeteo.com/p/iran-humiliates-trump-again-as-his
[17]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-is-dangerously-unwell-so-why
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-is-dangerously-unwell-so-why

2026-07-23 02:03:11 CEST

Bari Weiss’s Latest Hire Has an N-Word Problem
Good evening, and welcome to this week’s **‘Ragebait.’**
**Justin Baragona** here, bringing you the latest media dispatches from the right-wing industrial outrage complex and Bari World. In tonight’s edition, we look at the controversial past of Bari Weiss’s latest hire – and what it says about the type of staff she’s looking to build at CBS News. Additionally, why is the White House Correspondents’ Association hosting the greatest threat to press freedom in America? Also, CNNers are feeling cautiously optimistic following the latest WarnerMount merger developments.
[Subscribe now][1]
# ‘An Absolutely Uninspired Choice’
*Mike Pesca onstage during a Politicon event on Oct. 26, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Ed Rode/Getty Images for Politicon.*
Shortly after CBS News editor-in-chief **Bari Weiss** [announced][2] that she had hired **Mike Pesca** – the host of the long-running daily news podcast ‘The Gist’ – to be the network’s editorial director of podcasts, one of Pesca’s former colleagues chimed in with a biting observation.
“‘What experience qualifies you for this job?’ ‘Well at Slate I died on the hill of being able to say n—,’” The Ringer’s **Joel Anderson** [tweeted][3] on Friday. “‘Say no more. Your offer is on the way.’”
Indeed, Pesca and ‘The Gist’ [were suspended indefinitely][4] by Slate in February 2021 after he argued with his fellow colleagues that white people should be allowed to say the n-word in certain situations. He would [ultimately part ways][5] with Slate in September of that year while also purchasing the podcast – which he would continue to host until he ditched it to work for Weiss.
[Subscribe now][6]
“I’m not surprised,” one CBS News insider told **Zeteo** about Weiss’s embrace of Pesca to lead the network’s budding podcast division.
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://x.com/maxwelltani/status/2078125379965894975
[3]: https://x.com/byjoelanderson/status/2078139007867744437
[4]: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/business/media/slate-mike-pesca-suspended.html
[5]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/03/slate-mike-pesca-part-ways-investigation-n-word/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/bari-weisss-latest-hire-n-word-problem
https://zeteo.com/p/bari-weisss-latest-hire-n-word-problem

2026-07-22 17:03:46 CEST

When Hasan Piker Met Mehdi Hasan
**“How is it that a 34 year-old Turkish-American socialist Twitch streamer is now a kingmaker in the Democratic Party of the United States?”**
**Hasan Piker **says he can take the heat. The famous political commentator has spent the past several months as the primary target of the Democratic party establishment for what they claim are his repugnant views. According to Hasan, the real reason is the success of the broader left movement that he has been a vocal advocate for.
Now, he sits down with **Mehdi **in Washington, D.C. to talk about becoming a **“lightning rod” **and the recent Democratic primaries shaking up the political landscape.
[Subscribe now][1]
The two Hasans (Hasan-squared? Hasandwich?) discuss the upcoming Michigan Senate primary between the AIPAC-backed [Haley Stevens][2] and the progressive [Abdul El-Sayed][3]. The polls are close, the money is overwhelming (Stevens has a [12-1 spending advantage][4] over El-Sayed), yet Hasan explains why he thinks **“this race will shock the world.”**
They also get into the whole Tucker Carlson debate. Is Tucker setting up JD Vance for 2028, or is he planning his own presidential run? Hasan and Mehdi unpack whether the right-wing Christian nationalist can be a trusted ally on Gaza and Israel. **“He’s been great on [Gaza]. I have no problems openly admitting that,”** Hasan says. “**He’s a phenomenal communicator and that’s what makes him so dangerous from my perspective.”**
The Hasans also discuss:
* Socialism’s rising popularity in the U.S.
* Hasan being targeted by both Democrats and Republicans.
* Accusations of antisemitism.
* Mehdi’s [appearance][5] on the PBD podcast.
* Marco Rubio vs. JD Vance.
* The hypocrisy of Joe Rogan and Bill Maher.
* And which Democrat Hasan wants to run in 2028…
[Share][6]
***Free subscribers get a 5-minute preview of the video above while Zeteo’s paid subscribers can watch it in full. You can find previous episodes of ‘We’re Not Kidding’ wherever you get your podcasts.***
[Spotify][7]
[Apple Podcasts][8]
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/aipac-michigan-senate-primary-stevens-abdul-el-sayed/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/could-abdul-el-sayed-be-americas-first-muslim-senator?utm_source=publication-search
[4]: https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/michigan-senate-haley-stevens-abdul-el-sayed
[5]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT3gimXBzAI
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/hasan-piker-michigan-democrats-tucker-carlson?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[7]: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ogT7ZvKhH04CInjNQbbdp
[8]: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-not-kidding-with-mehdi-friends/id1743028415
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/hasan-piker-michigan-democrats-tucker-carlson
https://zeteo.com/p/hasan-piker-michigan-democrats-tucker-carlson

2026-07-22 12:31:57 CEST

Platner May Be Out But the Media Insists on Punishing Democrats in Maine
*On this day in 1937, the Senate buried Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to add seats to the Supreme Court. But his pressure campaign worked, as the court began upholding New Deal laws it once struck down, and a wave of retirements let FDR reshape the bench. Will 2028 Dem presidential candidates learn a lesson from FDR?*
Good morning! It’s **Andrew** here, reporting once again from the great state of Maine. You may have heard that Maine has a new presumptive Democratic nominee: **Troy Jackson.** Now that he’s set to face **Susan Collins**, the Beltway media has some thoughts – and they’re not great.
In today’s **‘First Draft,’** reporters aren’t about to let Maine’s Senate contest be about the candidates’ politics, policy views, or records, or even the hell that **Donald Trump **has unleashed. Plus, we look at the latest development in the Trump administration’s long-running campaign to silence and deport student protester **Mohsen Mahdawi.**
[Subscribe now][1]
# ‘The Water Bottle Episode’
*Troy Jackson speaks to a woman during an anti-ICE protest on July 14, 2026, in Scarborough, Maine. Photo by Ryan Murphy/Getty Images.*
Democrats in Maine yearn for a different kind of politician in Washington – one who represents their political views and wants, rather than what the D.C. establishment thinks is best for them.
That was the throughline between Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, which saw populist outsider Graham Platner steamroll over the state’s two-term governor, and the conclusion of the hurried process that took place to replace Platner on the ballot after he was accused of rape.
The 17,000 Democrats who participated in the second primary overwhelmingly voted for delegates who support Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president whom Bernie Sanders had backed for governor. The contest wasn’t close. Jackson’s rivals dropped out. Upcoming debates were canceled.
[Subscribe now][2]
So what was the national media’s response to this impressive organizing display from the new progressive Democratic Senate candidate in Maine?
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/platner-may-be-out-but-the-media
https://zeteo.com/p/platner-may-be-out-but-the-media

2026-07-22 03:25:55 CEST

Everything You Need to Know About the U.S. Criminal Case Against Nicolás Maduro
*Nicolas Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad on Jan. 5, 2026 in New York City. Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images.*
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, former National Assembly President Cilia Flores, are expected back in U.S. court Wednesday as they face criminal prosecution over their alleged participation in a decades-long drug trafficking operation.
This hearing comes just six months after Donald Trump’s administration [kidnapped][1] Maduro and Flores in Venezuela as part of an unprecedented regime change operation, setting the stage for a lengthy and complicated legal battle ahead.
[Subscribe now][2]
But what, exactly, are they accused of? Were their arrests even legal? And why are they being tried by the U.S.?
Here’s what you need to know:
### What Is Maduro Accused Of?
[ Read more ][3]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/venezuela-attack-trump-maduro-oil
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/maduro-criminal-case-hearing-trump-what-to-know
https://zeteo.com/p/maduro-criminal-case-hearing-trump-what-to-know

2026-07-21 22:03:09 CEST

Why Is No One Talking About the ‘New War’ Trump Is Waging in Somalia?
*A U.S. Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) conducts routine flight operations in this handout from AFRICOM on Feb. 1, 2025. Photo by U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs via Reuters*
Ask the average person to name the major war that Donald Trump started, and they’ll understandably say Iran, now rounding out its fifth month with no end in sight. But entirely in obscurity, Trump has launched what one think-tank expert terms an “unprecedented increase” in strikes in Somalia – so unprecedented as, in his view, to represent an entirely new war emerging from the U.S. inability to defeat an adversary that it has fought for an entire generation.
[Subscribe now][1]
It is no longer a surprise that Somalia garners little attention. But it should be scandalous, because such neglect has permitted the U.S. military to wage an adjunct forever-war against jihadists in Somalia for 20 years, ever since a U.S.-backed and long-forgotten Ethiopian invasion in 2006. That ties Somalia with the 2001-21 Afghanistan war as America’s longest foreign conflict. But since the U.S. fights in Somalia without conventional ground forces, it has never faced any pressure to demonstrate success, let alone end operations. The U.S. war in Somalia has become a signal case of the so-called “War on Terror” launching an imperial police action uninterrupted by any need to justify itself. In another six months, this invisible, politically frictionless campaign will rank as the longest foreign war the U.S. has ever fought.
Congress certainly isn’t demanding any justification – or even devoting much in the way of scrutiny.
[ Read more ][2]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/why-is-no-one-talking-about-the-new
https://zeteo.com/p/why-is-no-one-talking-about-the-new

2026-07-21 17:06:37 CEST

‘My Father Is a Hero’: Detained Palestinian Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s Son Speaks to Zeteo
*Elyas and his father, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, before the Gaza genocide began. Photo courtesy of Elyas Abu Safiya*
Elyas Abu Safiya hasn’t seen his father in person in 19 months. The last time he did, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya was doing what he had done for most of his life: taking care of other people, saving lives.
On Dec. 27, 2024, the Israeli army abducted Dr. Abu Safiya from the Kamal Adwan Hospital – the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza. His son, Ibrahim, was killed in an Israeli bombing in October 2024.
For a week, Israeli authorities denied that they had abducted him. When they finally admitted they were holding him, Israel didn’t disclose his whereabouts for more than a month. He has since been moved around to different prisons, but Israel has shared little other information. We know he’s being held under Israel’s [“Unlawful Combatants” Law][1] – a fictitious legal classification (it does not exist in international law) that Israel uses to indefinitely imprison Palestinians without charge or trial. We know he’s been tortured, and has lost an extreme amount of weight – so weak, he is unable to sit upright. During one of his last visits with his lawyer, he [said][2]: “They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”
[Subscribe now][3]
Elyas, helpless, has had to wait for updates from afar – first from Gaza, and now from Kazakhstan, where his family moved late last year. I recently spoke to him about the campaign to release his father, his message to Donald Trump and new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and what his dad taught him about loving Palestine. His answers have been translated from Arabic to English and edited for length and clarity below:
**What is the latest information that you have on your father?**
[ Read more ][4]
[1]: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/07/israel-must-end-mass-incommunicado-detention-and-torture-of-palestinians-from-gaza/
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/kidnapped-gaza-doctor-hussam-abu-safiya-life-threatening-condition
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/abu-safiya-son-interview-gaza-doctor
https://zeteo.com/p/abu-safiya-son-interview-gaza-doctor

2026-07-21 11:59:20 CEST

Bumbling Warmonger Picks Worst Possible Time to Escalate His Iran War
*On this day in 2024, Joe Biden bowed to pressure building since a catastrophic debate against Donald Trump and became the first president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 not to run for re-election. For Democrats, however, it was too late.*
Good morning, friends; it’s **Prem** and **Swin **again. Hope your air quality is clearer than of late and your [lettuce is fresh][1] and safe!
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we have reporting from inside the White House on what exactly is leading Trump to re-escalate the Iran war to even more dangerous levels than before. Plus, the State Department releases a 100-page report on Cuba’s “assault” on the U.S., including a list of Americans whose opinions on the island nation Marco Rubio doesn’t like.
[Subscribe now][2]
# ‘They Pissed Him Off’
*President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on July 14, 2026. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.*
Donald Trump yearned for a ceasefire deal. When it came, it was a losing deal for him, underscoring how [desperate][3] he was to get out of his self-made problem. He swallowed it. And things were beginning to alleviate. Oil prices started to go down. But now, mere weeks later, not only has the ceasefire collapsed but the [Mad King][4] is drastically ratcheting up his disastrous war once again.
And Trump is doing so as the global economy runs dangerously close to going off the cliff. U.S. oil reserves are at the [lowest level][5] *since 1983.* And while global reserves helped stave off higher price increases previously, those reserves have [now been tapped][6]; there is less and less to draw from as the highly unnecessary crisis gets increasingly worse.
[Subscribe now][7]
And as Trumpland *apparently* tries to restart negotiations – while threatening more drastic violence – Iran is expressing little interest. To make matters worse, the Houthis are moving to close the [Bab-al-Mandeb Strait ][8]to Saudi tankers. The blockade would [hinder][9] an additional 7% of global oil supply – almost doubling the oil currently reduced by the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
All the while, Ukraine has [dismantled][10] Russia’s refinery capacity. All to say, the likelihood of global oil shortages has spiked.
This was supposed to be over.
[ Read more ][11]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/explosive-diarrhea-outbreak-what
[2]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[3]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-new-iran-peace-deal-is-a-humiliation
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-one-year-america-first-mad-king
[5]: https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/crude-oil/071526-us-strategic-oil-reserve-falls-to-lowest-level-since-1983
[6]: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-15/oil-reserves-spent-imf-us-iran-war/106918074
[7]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-bde
[9]: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/yemen-houthis-maritime-embargo-saudi-arabia-oil-rcna588345
[10]: https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/ukraine-cripples-russian-refining-global-230000948.html
[11]: https://zeteo.com/p/bumbling-warmonger-picks-worst-possible
https://zeteo.com/p/bumbling-warmonger-picks-worst-possible

2026-07-21 03:31:02 CEST

This Famous Indian Journalist Has a Warning for the U.S. Media Under Trump
**Sreenivasan Jain** spent nearly three decades anchoring NDTV, one of India’s most prominent news stations. Then, in 2022, billionaire and Modi ally Gautam Adani [bought][1] a majority stake in the company and turned it into a pro-government outlet.
Sound familiar?
Jain and many of his NDTV colleagues responded by resigning in protest, and Jain now reports for the independent [Newslaundry][2], one of the many digital outlets unabashedly holding the right-wing BJP government accountable.
In an important ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, **Mehdi** asks Jain what he makes of Trump’s campaign against the free press in the United States, as well as the unprecedented “**complete media capture**” in India, the so-called “**world’s biggest democracy**” – where journalists have been jailed, physically assaulted, and even killed.
[Subscribe now][3]
“**The problem is that if promoters and owners who actually have deep pockets, who have institutional safeguards, if they don’t show spine, then newsrooms are screwed, and independent journalism is screwed**,” Jain tells Mehdi.
During this timely conversation, the two also discuss:
* Pro-BJP “Godi media” outlets and the anti-Muslim propaganda they spread
* The Trump DOJ’s recently dropped lawsuit against billionaire Gautam Adani
* How the most prominent figures in Bollywood have been “**brought to heel**” by the Indian far-right
* The importance of independent media in the U.S. and in India, and Jain’s specific advice to U.S. journalists based on his own experiences.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 20-minute interview above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][4] to unlock content like this and a lot more from **Zeteo**.
[Share][5]
**Check out more from Zeteo**:
[ Read more ][6]
[1]: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/indias-ndtv-founders-transfer-most-their-stake-adani-2022-12-23/
[2]: https://www.newslaundry.com/
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/a-warning-for-the-us-from-an-indian-journalist?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/a-warning-for-the-us-from-an-indian-journalist
https://zeteo.com/p/a-warning-for-the-us-from-an-indian-journalist

2026-07-20 23:56:52 CEST

7 Things You Need to Know About the Bab al-Mandeb Strait - That Trump Probably Doesn't
*Satellite view of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026.*
Donald Trump’s war in Iran was supposed to be winding down. It is not – and things could get much worse soon, with news that Iran’s allies are planning to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis.
In recent days, Trump has expanded strikes to target [civilian infrastructure inside Iran][1]. Iran has answered by targeting Gulf infrastructure and formally exiting the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, a development that Trump said he “[couldn’t care less”][2] about.
[Subscribe now][3]
Now, Tehran’s allies in Yemen have opened a second front at sea on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. On Monday, the Houthis – the Iran-backed rebel group that controls northern Yemen, including its coastline above the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – [declared a maritime embargo][4] against U.S. ally Saudi Arabia “effective immediately,” asserting that the Bab al-Mandeb is now closed to Saudi maritime traffic.
If the Houthis close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Saudis, and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, it could send oil prices soaring to new levels.
Here are 7 things you really should know about the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that could dominate our headlines in the coming days…
### 1. Say Hello to the ‘Gate of Tears’
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/20/us-strikes-iran-strait-of-hormuz-oil-prices
[2]: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/trump-says-he-couldnt-care-less-about-iran-leaving-nuclear-agreement
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.euronews.com/2026/07/20/yemens-houthis-threaten-bab-el-mandeb-closure-in-embargo-on-saudi-arabia
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-bde
https://zeteo.com/p/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-bde

2026-07-20 13:05:08 CEST

The Arrested Tate Brothers Are Tied to the Trumps: Why Won’t Dems Exploit This?
⚽* The World Cup may be over, but you can support your favorite independent journalism team – **Team Zeteo!** – year-round with our brand-new football/soccer jerseys! [Visit our online store ][1]now to purchase them and all of our other **Zeteo**-branded merch. Paid subscribers get [20% off their orders][2]!*
[Shop Now!][3]
Good morning, and [Happy Monday][4] again, and congratulations to [Spain][5]. **Martin** here, in Washington, DC, delighted as ever to be bringing you the news you need to know to start your week.
In today’s ‘**First Draft**,’ we look at the dramatic arrest in Florida of the Anglo-American brothers **Andrew and Tristan Tate**, wanted on a raft of serious charges in the UK, and ask why top Democrats don’t seem interested in making clear how close the Tates have grown to the Trump family and the Republican Party they own. We also consider the latest catastrophic re-escalation of **Donald Trump’s** illegal war with Iran, and consider **Troy Jackson’s** barnstorming display in Maine, where he stands on the brink of confirmation as the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.
[Subscribe now][6]
# ‘An Enthusiastic Supporter of Donald Trump’
*Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate talk to the media outside their residence on March 23, 2025, in Bucharest, Romania. Photo by Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images.*
In Miami on Saturday, U.S. marshals arrested the Anglo-American manosphere influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate. [In the UK][7], the brothers face a total of 59 charges, covering rape, sexual assault, trafficking, assault, and offenses related to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.
Matt Jury, a lawyer who represents several alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, hailed **“the real prospect of extradition… after years of public campaigning by the four British women I represent,”** adding:** “Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of some of the most serious offenses**. **It is time they face justice.”**
[Subscribe now][8]
For the brothers, lawyer Joseph McBride said: **“The world knows Andrew and Tristan Tate are innocent. Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked. We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work.”**
But plenty of Americans have done political dirty work on behalf of the Tates and it seems incredible, particularly in light of ongoing scandal over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his links to Donald Trump, that senior Democrats with national platforms and profiles did not this weekend seize on connections between the Tates, the Trumps, and the Republican Party, in order to flood the zone with comment and questions, and shine a harsh spotlight firmly the way of the White House.
It’s not as if material is lacking.
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://shop.zeteo.com/collections/new-arrivals
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[3]: https://shop.zeteo.com/collections/new-arrivals
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNn51e11_dQ
[5]: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da_ZA53iQe3/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/jul/18/andrew-tristan-tate-arrested-miami
[8]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-arrested-tate-brothers-are-tied
https://zeteo.com/p/the-arrested-tate-brothers-are-tied

2026-07-20 04:53:35 CEST

EXCLUSIVE: Javier Bardem Joins Mehdi to Talk Spain's World Cup Win, Palestine, Trump, and More
The world saw **Javier Bardem**, legendary Spanish actor, Oscar winner, and one-time Bond villain, sitting in the crowd at MetLife Stadium, supporting Spain at the World Cup Final in New Jersey on Sunday.
Just hours after the game wrapped, with Spain defeating Argentina 1-0 to reclaim the World Cup trophy after 16 years, Bardem headed back to his hotel room and joined **Mehdi** for an **exclusive** live chat on [YouTube][1] and [Substack][2].
The two of them discussed the game itself and Argentina’s poor performance; Donald Trump embarrassing himself during the trophy presentation; whether the match was a proxy for Palestine vs Israel, given the latter’s loud support for Argentina and Spain’s backing of the Palestinians in Gaza; and also, the Spanish government’s anti-war stance on Iran.
[Subscribe now][3]
The actor told Mehdi that it was important to be able to speak out against what he called the **“genocide”** in Gaza and the **“war criminal”** Benjamin Netanyahu without being accused of, or engaging in, antisemitism. In fact, the conversation touched on everything from the “crazy impunity” enjoyed by Israel to the way in which Donald Trump and Javier Milei don’t represent their people to the ridiculously high ticket price at World Cup games in 2026.
Bardem also revealed his plans for the theater stage and plugged his forthcoming [movie ][4]with his wife, Penelope Cruz.
It is a conversation, above, that you will *not* want to miss, and which we are releasing without a paywall.
If you’re already a **paid** subscriber to **Zeteo**, thank you so much for your support, but do also consider becoming a **[donor][5]** if you can. If you’re a **free** subscriber and haven’t yet [upgraded to paid][6], well, *what are you waiting for*? **Zeteo** books big-name, left-wing guests like Javier Bardem on the day of the World Cup Final. What *more* do we have to do to earn your support?
[Share][7]
***Don’t miss these other posts from Zeteo:***
[1]: http://youtube.com/@zeteo
[2]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_(2026_film)
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[6]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-javier-bardem-joins-mehdi?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
https://zeteo.com/p/exclusive-javier-bardem-joins-mehdi

2026-07-20 00:03:26 CEST

'Zeteo Is a Pathetic Fake News Blog,' Says an Angry Trump White House
*⚽️ The World Cup may be ending, but you can support your favorite independent journalism team – **Team Zeteo!** – year-round with our brand-new football/soccer jerseys! [Visit our online store ][1]now to purchase them and all of our other **Zeteo**-branded merch. Paid subscribers get [20% off their orders][2]!*
[Shop Now!][3]
*Donald Trump speaks at a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8, 2026. Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images.*
At the beginning of this month, we pissed off the Trump White House.
Again.
[We ran a story on how][4] President Donald Trump is already planning to steal classified U.S. documents after he leaves office a second time – just like he did the first time. The West Wing got huffy about it.
“**Zeteo** **is a pathetic fake news blog and their so-called sources have no idea what they’re talking about. Zeteo’s three readers already know this ‘publication’ is total fake news**,” the White House [told us][5] in an email. No one signed their name. (If you read their statement closely, you’ll notice they did not deny any of our reporting… 🤣🤣🤣)
[Subscribe now][6]
The federal government is waging a [nonstop][7] [war][8] on the First Amendment in ways that we haven’t seen in the United States in a *long, *long time. On top of that, senior White House officials constantly hurl childish taunts and bullshit smears at news organizations that shine a light on what this corrupt, out-of-his-mind president actually does.
Their enemies list includes **Zeteo**.
The Trump White House has publicly denounced us as “**[terrorist sympathizers][9],**” because we’ve reported on the [scandals and lies][10] they’ve told about their disastrous war on Iran. Vice President JD Vance went out of his way to call our founder and editor-in-chief, **Mehdi Hasan**, a “**[dummy][11].**” A White House spokesperson called Mehdi a “**nutjob**” and “**such a terrible ‘journalist**’” after **Zeteo** broke news about Trump’s push to spy more, not on foreign adversaries, [but on ][12]*[U.S. allies][13]*.
Top MAGA ally and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has been paying attention to what Mehdi and **Zeteo** have been doing too and… [he doesn’t approve][14]! Trump’s “rapid response” team dubbed Mehdi a terrorist-loving “**moron**,” simply because he called out the White House press secretary’s [bald-faced lies][15]. The White House previously [branded ][16]**[Zeteo][17]** “**a fake news blogsite run by left-wing hacks that no one should take seriously**.” (They threw that particular hissy fit because we dared to report on Trump and the GOP’s [ongoing plots to steal elections][18].) And I will forever cherish the fact that the Trump White House issued a statement [labeling yours truly a][19] “**deranged hack who couldn’t even hold a job at *****Rolling Stone***** and is now writing for a [Greta Thunberg][20] blog**.” Despite all of their attacks, the Trump White House, perhaps nursing some hurt feelings, has pretended not to know who we are, emailing us, “**What the hell is a
Zeteo?**” That was after we reached out for comment regarding one of President Trump’s [massive, failing leak hunts][21].
They know what we are. And they’re going to keep knowing.
[Share][22]
I’ve been a political reporter at multiple mainstream media outlets, including the Daily Beast and *Rolling Stone,* and I can honestly say that I’ve never been prouder of the work I’ve done than when it’s here with the hard-charging team at **Zeteo**. You can tell a lot about someone from their enemies. Clearly, **Zeteo** is getting under Team Trump’s skin; we wouldn’t be doing our jobs right if we weren’t.
But, as always, the only way we can fight back is together.
So if you’re able to, please consider [becoming][23] a ***[paid][24]*****[ subscriber][25]** to **Zeteo** today to support us and help grow independent media. If you’re already a paid subscriber, *thank you!* You can still help us by making a[ donation][26] to **Zeteo**.
Every paid subscription, every donation, every financial contribution, big or small, sends a message to Donald Trump’s authoritarian, warmongering administration and his party – that we won’t allow ourselves to be bullied, we won’t be silenced, and we won’t stop telling the truth about fascism, genocide, illegal wars, the Republican Party’s widespread efforts to attack free and fair elections, and other moral and literal atrocities of our time.
[Subscribe now][27]
Please help us fight on. Thank you for standing with **Zeteo**.
***Check out more from Zeteo:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[3]: https://shop.zeteo.com/collections/new-arrivals
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-classified-documents-keep
[5]: https://bsky.app/profile/zeteo.com/post/3mpm3ztmrjc24
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/don-lemon-arrest-trump-minnesota-ice-church
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/so-much-for-free-speech-a-year-of
[9]: https://bsky.app/profile/swin24.bsky.social/post/3mmweoelf7c2q
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-iran-war-pentagon-good-news
[11]: https://www.yahoo.com/news/jd-vance-slams-mehdi-hasan-012800956.html
[12]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-wants-to-spy-more-on-our-allies
[13]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-wants-to-spy-more-on-our-allies
[14]: https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-responds-former-msnbc-host-calling-2028-democrats-prosecute-him
[15]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-white-house-attack-zeteo-iran-war
[16]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-threatens-election-2020-replay
[17]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-threatens-election-2020-replay
[18]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_YVJJUfWDI
[19]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-40-the
[20]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-worlds-silence-is-deadly-greta
[21]: https://zeteo.com/p/reservoir-dogs-trumps-massive-leak
[22]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-white-house-smears?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[23]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[24]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[25]: http://zeteo.com/subscribe
[26]: https://zeteo.com/p/donate-to-zeteo
[27]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-white-house-smears

2026-07-19 20:01:47 CEST

Russiagate Was Real, Trump Admits
*⚽️ The World Cup may be coming to an end, but you can support your favorite independent journalism team – **Team Zeteo!** – year-round with our brand-new football/soccer jerseys! [Visit our online store ][1]now to purchase them and all of our other **Zeteo**-branded merch. Paid subscribers get [20% off their orders][2]!*
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*Donald Trump before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on July 17, 2026. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images.*
“Russiagate” was real, according to none other than Donald Trump and his administration.
Trump spent years dismissing allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to aid his presidential campaign, labeling it a “hoax.” And yet, now his administration has, seemingly unwittingly, admitted that Russia sought to meddle in the 2020 election to boost his failed reelection bid.
[Subscribe now][4]
“President [Vladimir] Putin and senior Russian officials are overseeing efforts by proxies… to spread claims about former Vice President [Joe] Biden as well as Ukrainian politicians and alleged Ukrainian influence in the 2016 election,” [reads][5] a declassified National Intelligence Council document published by Trump’s administration on Thursday.
The White House released documents focused on “Election Integrity,” as Trump [delivered a primetime national address][6] alleging foreign election interference. And in the trove were documents that countered the president’s own years-long claims questioning intelligence reports indicating that Russia attempted to interfere in U.S. politics specifically on his behalf.
[ Read more ][7]
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[3]: https://shop.zeteo.com/collections/new-arrivals
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.whitehouse.gov/election-integrity/
[6]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-big-speech-was-gibberish-drivel
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/trump-russia-interference-real
https://zeteo.com/p/trump-russia-interference-real

2026-07-19 16:04:58 CEST

Could This Be America’s First Democratic Socialist Governor?
In politics, the state of Wisconsin is generally known for its swing state voters, razor-thin margins, and in the past decade, its back-and-forth [support][1] for U.S. President Donald Trump.
But democratic socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate **[Francesca Hong][2]** has a different perspective.
**“This is also a state where progressivism was born and nurtured, where kindergarten was formed,” **Hong says to Mehdi. **“Our socialist progressive roots run deep and the people all across our state are ready to dig up those roots and build something new and better.”**
[Subscribe now][3]
Watch **Mehdi** and Hong discuss her campaign, as she attempts to beat out establishment Democrats in the state’s primary and become the U.S.’s first democratic socialist governor.
Key moments from the interview include:
* What democratic socialism means to Hong **(“Human rights, democracy, and fairness.”)**
* The criticism from establishment Democrats that she is “unelectable”
* Why she has not walked back her previous [“defund the police”][4] comments **(“It is the responsible thing to demand reform.”)**
* Why she [reported][5] a Gaza ceasefire display in 2023 as a “highly antisemitic act” and why regrets doing so today and is calling out Israel’s genocide of Palestinians
* The Republican party’s likely gubernatorial nominee [Tom Tiffany][6] **(“A traitor.”)**
* Whether she will repeal Wisconsin’s [codification][7] of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism
[Share][8]
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full 25-minute video above. **Free subscribers** can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider [becoming a paid subscriber][9] to unlock the rest of **Zeteo’s** award-winning content.
***Check out Zeteo’s other recent stories:***
[ Read more ][10]
[1]: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4964446-trump-wins-wisconsin-2024/
[2]: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/democratic-socialists-eye-battleground-state-breakthrough-primary-rcna351135
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/22/politics/kfile-francesca-hong-wisconsin-governor-race-defund-police
[5]: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2026/07/07/francesca-hong-says-she-regrets-911-calls-over-gaza-protest-display/90773075007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11xx63p118650l118950c118650e1171xxv11xx63d--39--b--39--&gca-ft=254&gca-ds=sophi
[6]: https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6401027564112
[7]: https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-adopted-an-antisemitism-definition-into-law-critics-say-it-could-chill-free-speech
[8]: https://zeteo.com/p/socialist-wisconsin-francesca-hong?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[9]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23234856710&gbraid=0AAAAA-F9BazexDKE8DZfrLzh4CXXMQ9fn&gclid=CjwKCAiA2PrMBhA4EiwAwpHyC2IegxZtZP36gmzZ73GExvPfwxqiDiV4yqd6ZxaWjUqalj4PBDbmRxoCbb0QAvD_BwE
[10]: https://zeteo.com/p/socialist-wisconsin-francesca-hong
https://zeteo.com/p/socialist-wisconsin-francesca-hong

2026-07-18 20:02:48 CEST

This Week in Palestine – Israel Attacks Funeral as It Escalates Strikes on Gaza
*A young Palestinian boy lies injured at Al-Awda Hospital following an Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on July 17, 2026. Photo by Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images*
Palestinians must live their lives on repeat. Israeli strikes – day and night, targeting hospitals, police, and children. Kids lose one parent and then another. Parents cry over the body of a son, and then a daughter. Homes are [demolished][1]. Israeli settlers [attack Palestinians][2] on their own land – over and over again.
It’s a never-ending cycle – one caught on video, shared online, yet allowed to continue, a cycle that only gets worse.
[Subscribe now][3]
A U.S. politician [experienced][4] only a small sliver of the kind of violence Palestinians endure every day, only to find himself on the receiving end of the relentless hasbara industry this week. At the same time, more children were killed, a Palestinian family had 30 minutes to collect as many of their belongings as possible before their home was demolished, and Israel targeted a funeral in Gaza.
Here’s more on all of that and much more, as it was another troubling week in Palestine:
#### **Saturday, July 11 – No Justice One Year After Palestinian-American Killed by Settlers – Just Another Attack**
[ Read more ][5]
[1]: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/3/13/the-palestinians-forced-to-demolish-their-own-homes-by-israel
[2]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/16/palestinians-injured-in-israeli-settler-attacks-across-west-bank
[3]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/i-saw-terrorization-of-the-palestinians-says-ro-khanna-detained-settlers
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-attacks-funeral-gaza
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-palestine-israel-attacks-funeral-gaza

2026-07-18 15:03:28 CEST

The Real Winner of the World Cup? FIFA
As the World Cup draws to a close, all eyes are on **Spain and Argentina**. But whether we like it or not, our eyes will also be diverted to** Donald Trump**. For the first time all tournament, Trump will be in attendance for a match. And as we know from last year’s [Club World Cup][1] and [U.S. Open][2], as well as last month’s [NBA Finals][3], when Trump shows up to a sports event, **the story inevitably becomes about him.**
[Subscribe now][4]
Trump’s far-right pal, Argentine President **Javier Milei** was expected to be in attendance on Sunday too, and together they would have presented the trophy to Lionel Messi and his teammates in the case of an Argentina win. Thankfully, we’ve been spared the possibility of a Milei-Trump joint appearance because of Milei’s [superstitions.][5]
Still, a win will provide a boost to Milei, and for Trump, the final will mark the culmination of an event that’s served as a distraction from his various crimes and misdeeds. **FIFA** allowing authoritarian leaders to use the World Cup to their benefit is an age-old story – one we’ve documented throughout this [three-part series][6], dating back to Italy under **Benito Mussolini** during the 1934 tournament.
As the *New Yorker’s* **Ishaan Tharoor** puts it, that tournament was “**a wonderful showcase for Italy…a showcase for the preeminence and prowess of its fascist regime.**”
[Share][7]
Join **Mehdi**, **Ishaan**, Political Scientist **Jules Boykoff, **and FIFA whistleblower **Bonita Mersiades** for a timely unpacking of the dark side of this incredibly cherished international tournament, and FIFA’s role in it.
**Paid subscribers** can watch the full episode. **Free subscribers** can watch a 1-minute preview. Become a [paid subscriber][8] to **Zeteo** today to support the work we’re doing and to get access to all our premium content!
***Check out the other episodes from ‘The Dark Side of the World Cup’:***
[ Read more ][9]
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jul/13/trump-club-world-cup-final-chelsea-psg
[2]: https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/46189259/us-open-fans-stuck-line-trump-attendance-causes-delay
[3]: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ruining-everything-trump-attending-nba-165202202.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADK_i0J11MtJ0AezWMjVm345d6yxSY-Nkh4KoV2aayCQiImt442sgdf5R2ksntZgyuGomtQH9TCjmh6wmB-KMYj9R1jtwF7tckoAt9FW1fltq5O2bU4BbNoxYTRO_78LTniZkWGyJrrLjM-ZLui2TNe5DEi98BNYaPEG_oyX3pU-
[4]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[5]: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49380261/argentina-president-javier-milei-attend-2026-world-cup-final
[6]: https://zeteo.com/s/the-dark-side-of-the-world-cup
[7]: https://zeteo.com/p/fifa-world-cup-trump-final?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[8]: https://substack.com/redirect/46164598-a19c-4a1e-85e4-c5a5dd00056c?j=eyJ1IjoiMWI0YjMifQ.hfjgeu-nFio4eNcGNaZ1ZPzi9JKw1bKhuD6o8u1Jaig
[9]: https://zeteo.com/p/fifa-world-cup-trump-final
https://zeteo.com/p/fifa-world-cup-trump-final

2026-07-18 00:03:47 CEST

This Week in Democracy – Week 78: Trump Lays the Groundwork to Steal Future Elections
*⚽️ The World Cup may be coming to an end, but you can support your favorite independent journalism team – **Team Zeteo!** – year-round with our brand-new football/soccer jerseys! [Visit our online store ][1]now to purchase them and all of our other **Zeteo**-branded merch. Paid subscribers get [20% off their orders][2]!*
[Shop Now!][3]
*Trump is seen on a TV screen delivering an address to the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images*
Two separate speeches this week – one by the president and one by the arguably shadow president – were a crock of BS and could be ignored, if only they didn’t have real and devastating consequences for democracy and Americans.
First, there was White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and his whiny speech about the administration’s campaign against the scary “radical” left. Then came Donald Trump, and his “address to the nation” – aka lies, conspiracies, and already-known information – about the president’s greatest obsession of all: the election he lost. If you missed these speeches, we don’t blame you. **Zeteo’s** politics team endured both so you didn’t have to. We have more on both below, and [here][4] and [here][5].
[Subscribe now][6]
The speeches, and their expected consequences, are exactly why we maintain this project – Trump and his cronies’ efforts to harm democracy, undermine the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide continue at a rapid pace. Here’s more from ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 78’:
#### **Saturday, July 11 – *****Times***** Reporters Subpoenaed About Trump Coverage**
The *New York Times* [reported][7] that the Trump administration subpoenaed several of the publication’s journalists last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury about their [reporting][8] on security concerns surrounding Trump’s new Air Force One, which was donated by Qatar.
David McCraw, the top newsroom lawyer for the *Times*, said the move should “shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.”
The *Times* later [reported][9] that the subpoenas followed a meeting at the White House where FBI Director Kash Patel was directed to lead a leak investigation into the newspaper’s reporting about the plane.
#### **Sunday, July 12 – DOJ Investigating Head of Union Auto Workers**
Bloomberg [reported][10] that Trump’s Justice Department launched a grand jury investigation into United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain over allegations that he pressured a top union official to secure special favors for his fiancée and her sister.
Fain denied the allegations and accused the union’s vice president, Rich Boyer – who had filed complaints to the UAW’s court-appointed monitor about Fain – of trying to influence its upcoming election.
#### **Monday, July 13 – Trump’s IRS Settlement Voided by Federal Judge**
A federal judge [voided][11] Trump’s $1.8 billion settlement with the IRS that included an “anti-weaponization fund” and immunity from tax audits, ruling that the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed “to manipulate the judicial process.”
The judge sanctioned two of Trump’s personal attorneys, one of whom was banned from practicing in the Southern District of Florida for at least one year. She also suggested that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and associate Attorney General Stan Woodward could face investigations or disciplinary actions by state bar associations.
[Subscribe now][12]
#### **Tuesday, July 14 – Mahmoud Khalil Sues Trump Under KKK Act of 1871**
Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by ICE for more than 100 days last year and is currently [challenging][13] a deportation order, [sued][14] the Trump administration and pro-Israel groups, including Canary Mission, Betar, and the Heritage Foundation.
The lawsuit, which was brought under a statute of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, argues that the Trump administration conspired with the organizations to “terrorize and make an example of” Khalil to “intimidate and silence the growing movement for Palestinian rights and political freedom.”
[Subscribe now][15]
#### **Wednesday, July 15 – Trump Wants ICE Traffic Stops to Continue Despite String of Deaths**
On Truth Social, Trump [called][16] for ICE officers to continue conducting traffic stops, calling the practice one of the agency’s “most important and effective Crime Fighting tools,” one day after administration officials told ICE to suspend most vehicle stops.
The move came after ICE [shot and killed][17] Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week in Texas. He had been living in the U.S. for 35 years. Another ICE officer [killed][18] Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, letting him bleed out in front of his 3-year-old daughter on Monday. A third man [died][19] on Tuesday in Florida after he was hit by a tractor-trailer while trying to flee from immigration officers.
#### **Thursday, July 16 – Trump Relitigates His 2020 Loss Live on Television**
In an address to the nation, Trump [delivered][20] a sluggish speech chock-full of debunked lies and conspiracy theories about foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election, in an effort to pressure Republicans to pass the voter suppression bill, the SAVE America Act. He also [called][21] for ABC and NBC to have their broadcasting licenses revoked for refusing to air his propagandic tirade live on their networks.
Hours earlier, in helping [launch][22] the Trump administration’s global campaign against so-called “radical left terrorism,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller delivered a speech that **Zeteo** senior politics editor Andrew Perez [described][23] as “characteristically apocalyptic and authoritarian” and that only served to help Miller live out his “violent fantasy.”
#### **Friday, July 17 – Election Officials Threatened With Jail Time**
Speaking to reporters, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin [escalated][24] the Trump administration’s threats to jail election officials, warning that they could be criminally prosecuted if they refuse the federal government’s baseless demands to turn over their voter rolls.
[Share][25]
***Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up [here][26]. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:***
[1]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[2]: https://zeteo.com/p/the-zeteo-merch-store-is-open
[3]: https://shop.zeteo.com/collections/new-arrivals
[4]: https://zeteo.com/p/stephen-miller-expands-his-apocalyptic
[5]: https://zeteo.com/p/trumps-big-speech-was-gibberish-drivel
[6]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[7]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html
[8]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html
[9]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/white-house-patel-investigation-times.html
[10]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-12/doj-investigating-allegations-against-uaw-president-shawn-fain
[11]: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.106.0.pdf
[12]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[13]: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5837643/mahmoud-khalil-takes-deportation-case-to-the-supreme-court
[14]: https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2026/07/1_7-14-26_Complaint_w.pdf
[15]: https://zeteo.com/subscribe?
[16]: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116923585931908111
[17]: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/immigration-ice-shooting-houston.html
[18]: https://zeteo.com/p/you-took-her-dad-ice-kills-maine
[19]: https://apnews.com/article/man-killed-semi-truck-ice-florida-8e65b1ca2eab051392afc316972c92eb
[20]: https://apnews.com/article/trump-primetime-address-elections-5c84a59dffc20c12ed2fcb822fa950c9
[21]: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/16/trump-calls-for-revocation-of-abc-nbc-licenses-over-speech-snub-01002580
[22]: https://zeteo.com/p/stephen-miller-expands-his-apocalyptic
[23]: https://zeteo.com/p/stephen-miller-expands-his-apocalyptic
[24]: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/homeland-security-mullin-threaten-state-election-officials-voter-registration-save/
[25]: https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-78-trump?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share
[26]: https://zeteo.com/s/this-week-in-democracy
https://zeteo.com/p/this-week-in-democracy-week-78-trump