Nicole Lafond
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Articles by Nicole Lafond
Calls for Investigations Into Trump’s Narcissistic Midterm Ads Pile Up Original
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has joined other Democrats this week in demanding answers about President Trump’s midterms campaign ads — which promote nothing but himself — and the apparent use of taxpayer dollars to finance them.
Dems Block Data Center Bill Designed to Boost Husted’s Campaign: ‘A Proxy for Corruption’ Original
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) has some major data center skeletons in his closet from his time as lieutenant governor of Ohio. He knows it, his Democratic challenger — the longtime Ohio elected official Sherrod Brown — knows it, his colleagues in the Senate know it, voters back home are well aware (thanks to an ad blitz from Brown’s campaign in recent months).
Dems Vow to Investigate Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded Midterms Ads Promoting Himself Original
House and Senate Democratic appropriators are unleashing on the Trump administration and confirming reports that the Trump White House moved taxpayer money out of Customs and Border Patrol to fund midterms advertisements running on major broadcast airwaves that promote President Trump.
Vulnerable GOPer Breaks With Trump’s Retribution Crusade Against Blue States Original
My colleagues and I have been tracking the creative ways in which vulnerable Republicans up for reelection in November have been distancing themselves from President Trump in recent weeks, as his approval rating craters — due to his war in Iran and rising gas prices, the ongoing affordability crisis generally, his inhumane immigration crackdown, and the role he’s played in ushering in a new Big Tech oligarchy, among other reasons. This has taken different forms.
Extremist Sheriff’s Seizure of Ballots on California Redistricting Was Illegal, Court Rules Original
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s election meddling scheme was declared unlawful by the California Supreme Court, which just issued unanimous decisions in two cases focused on Bianco’s seizure of 650,000 ballots in California this spring. I’ll unpack Bianco’s extremist background and ties to the far-right constitutional sheriff’s movement a bit more below, but, crucially, Bianco seized ballots in April that were cast in the state’s 2025 special election — when voters approved Gov.
Chicago mayor bets on political potency of data center resistance
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Chicago Mayor Bets on Political Potency Of Data Center Resistance Original
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson officially kicked off his reelection campaign last Sunday for the Feb. 23, 2027 mayoral election where he will face a crowded field of challengers. At least 14 people have announced their intention to run for mayor of the Windy City, though that number is expected to drop once nominating petition filing deadlines pass in late October.
Durbin Responds to GOP Sen’s Request for Don Jr Probe: ‘Corruption Must Never be Tolerated’ Original
A Republican member of the Senate broke party ranks on Monday in a letter to the chair and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asking that the panel subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and gather more facts about his “active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, his continued pursuit of international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state, and his reported investments in defense contracting.” In his letter, Sen.
News Organizations Band Together in White House Boycott Original
The news outlets that make up the TV pool that covers the White House and the president’s schedule joined together on Monday to announce that they would not be “designated as pool coverage of the president” until further notice after President Trump banned CNN from the White House.
Florida GOP rep up for reelection says voters ‘feel betrayed’ by Trump’s immigration assault
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Florida GOP Rep Up for Reelection Says Voters ‘Feel Betrayed’ By Trump’s Immigration Assault Original
A Republican member of Congress who is running for reelection in a Florida House district that is not considered to be competitive put out an ad on Thursday in which she breaks with President Trump’s at-times lethal immigration enforcement and mass deportation policies. “Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) said in the ad, first flagged by a New York Times reporter.
The Ohio Republican Begging the Senate to Help Him Get Out of the Data Center Mess He Helped Create Original
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) was appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s vacant Senate seat after Vance became vice president. He is currently running in the November 2026 special election to serve out the remainder of Vance’s term and is fending off an aggressive challenge from longtime Ohio Democrat and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Patel Won’t Rule Out FBI Agents At the Polls Because … He Got Tired of Dems Asking About It? Original
FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and seemed, at least initially, interested in following federal laws against deploying armed federal law enforcement to polling places this fall. Under federal law, armed federal agents or members of the military cannot be deployed to “any place where a general or special election is held.” That’s established.
Trump Doubles Down on His Midterms Bribe Original
Hello, Where Things Stand readers! Starting today, while you will still be able to read most of the newsletter, only TPM members will be able to read the entire thing. But … If you love reading WTS every night and can’t imagine living without the whole thing, you should sign up to become a TPM member today ☺️ WTS readers are getting a special 50% off discount.
Jimmy Kimmel, James Talarico and the FCC’s Muzzling of the Media Original
Will the Federal Communications Commission ever actually punish Disney or CBS for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s belief that those networks are in violation of the agency’s “equal time” rule? We may never know the answer to that question, and that appears to be the point. Both networks have, in their own way, bowed to pressure from the Trump administration in muzzling themselves for the sake of avoiding something worse — or nothing! — from the sycophant running the FCC for Trump.
States Second Guess Tax Breaks for Data Centers As American Uproar Spreads Original
State officials and elected leaders who once championed tax exemption deals with the executives of companies like Amazon, Google and Meta for the development of data centers in their states are now having second thoughts — and some states are taking steps toward making those deals a thing of the past. It’s a sign that elected officials are belatedly taking notice of voters’ fears about data centers, unregulated AI advancement and the broader agenda of the tech industry.
Republicans Manufacture Hysteria About ‘Socialism’ — They Have Little Else to Talk About Original
House Republicans voted on an amusingly slapdash resolution last week that both condemned the concept of “socialism” and made the case for how great the SAVE America Act is. The resolution was put forward by Rep.
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Cleared the Way for More Data Centers. Dems Are Hoping You Know That. Original
Democrats are taking a convoluted, complex provision that was included in Republicans’ Big Beautiful bill to pin the blame for the national boom in data center construction squarely on Republicans ahead of the midterms. President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is most widely known for making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, and offsetting the cost of those tax cuts by gutting social safety net programs for America’s most vulnerable.
Thune Tries to Carve Out Lane for GOP on Data Centers Beyond Trump’s ‘Poor’ People Bombast Original
President Trump has made it impossible for Republicans to seize on a relatively easy, bipartisan issue that could help them win over voters in the midterms if they spoke about it in the right way. As he espouses bombastic rhetoric about how only “poor and backwards” people oppose data center construction, Republicans have struggled with how exactly to cross him on the matter.
Trump Calls on His Most Loyal Henchman to Shut Down Facts He Doesn’t Want Reported Original
President Trump has learned that Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr may be his most supple sycophant. In a Truth Social post this week, Trump took aim at NBC anchor Kristen Welker for reporting, accurately, over the weekend that Trump has seen some “mixed results” with his Republican candidate endorsements this primary cycle. “He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries,” Welker said. “He’s had some mixed results, but most recently, his pick of Sen.
Trump Picks Tech Friends Over Republicans This Election Cycle Original
President Trump is leading his administration full steam ahead in supporting his friends in the tech industry as he bulldozes his way through an issue that could’ve been a relatively easy bipartisan win for him and Republicans ahead of the midterms.
Maybe Trump’s Fraud Czar Should Be Looking at Florida Original
As part of President Trump’s pretextual war on fraud, he anointed Vice President JD Vance as his “fraud czar” to, essentially, find creative ways to withhold federal funding from blue states and cities. This is being done under the guise of cracking down on amorphous and sprawling fraud in how states’ spend federal funding that is dispersed for programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Vance made it clear this spring that no one — not even red states! — is safe from the administration’s watchful eye.
Maine GOP Gov Nominee Tests Whether Trump’s Noncitizen Voting Delusions Are a Winning Strategy Original
It’s a strange move for a Republican candidate running in a race that Cook Political Report has rated a “solid D.” Ever since he won the Republican nomination in Maine’s gubernatorial race, candidate Bobby Charles has attempted to walk a fine line between courting President Trump’s fans in the state and not running as a too-openly-MAGA candidate.
Trump’s EPA Clamps Down on Public Outrage Over Data Centers — the One Issue Sparking Bipartisan Revolt
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Trump’s EPA Clamps Down on Public Outrage Over Data Centers — the One Issue Sparking Bipartisan Revolt Original
Americans across the political spectrum are outraged and staunchly opposing the development of new AI data centers — and the fossil fuel-burning gas plants that run them — in rural and urban communities across the country alike. So naturally, the Trump administration’s Environment Protection Agency, run by Lee Zeldin, is putting a stop to how much input and notice the public receives at the onset of tech companies’ development of the wildly unpopular facilities in communities nationwide.
Dems Prepare for Trump Corruption Investigation Blitz Should They Take House Original
I received an email from Stand Up America last week about Sen.
Greg Abbott Grasps At Anything to Stir Up Anti-Islam Panic for His Reelection Original
For over two years now, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas has had facilities to accommodate the Muslim wudu ritual of washing hands, feet and face ahead of daily prayers. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is, just now, very concerned about it. That’s, in part, because of the recently-made-public plans to install similar facilities at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport — and in part because Abbott is running for reelection.
New Report on Carr Communications With White House, Right-Wing Media Affirms What We’ve Know All Along Original
I’ve been making the case in Where Things Stand for some time now that Federal Communications Commissions Chair Brendan Carr has been one of the most successful yes men of Trump’s second term when it comes to carrying out the very specific and often petty aims of Trump’s retribution campaign against the media.
Slotkin Asks Hegseth to Confirm He Won’t Send Troops to Polls Original
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and to Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday, asking both Defense Department officials to confirm that the Pentagon will not send troops to polling places during the upcoming midterms.
Blanche Hints Trump Admin Might Try to Take Voter Roll Fight to SCOTUS Original
Newly-confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche made headlines over the weekend for other, arguably, more alarming remarks and actions than what I am about to unpack. During an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Blanche refused to say that the Justice Department would act independently from the White House. On Friday, he and FBI Director Kash Patel openly campaigned for a Republican midterms candidate alongside President Trump.
Anthropic’s Fight With the Pentagon Shows How AI Could Threaten a Crucial Safeguard of Democracy
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation. In February, the United States Department of Defense threatened to designate the AI firm Anthropic a “supply-chain risk” after a dispute over the military’s use of the company’s Claude models. This designation would not only put the company’s $200 million Pentagon contract at risk, but would require all defence contractors to cut ties with the company.
Republicans’ Plan to Convince Americans They Care About Affordability Is Cartoonishly Out of Touch Original
I’ve been operating under the assumption that the Trump administration’s interest in cracking down on “fraud” in how states spend federal funding that is dispersed for programs like Medicaid, Medicare and the federal nutrition program SNAP was just another excuse to punish President Trump’s critics and perceived political foes.
Trump Admits to ‘Some Contractor Error’ As WH Asks DOJ to Consider New Charges: Catching Up on the Reflecting Pool Drama Original
You may have seen the news by now that the Trump White House has asked the Justice Department to consider bringing a new prosecution against the same man that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. just moved to dismiss felony charges against over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool saga.
Ralph Norman doesn't completely embarrass himself
Late-Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) sister Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) will both advance to an Aug. 25 runoff to determine which Republican will appear on the ballot in November to replace Graham after his unexpected death earlier this summer. The Associated Press projected Graham's sister would advance early in the night, but it was unclear if Norman or Rep.
Ralph Norman Doesn’t Completely Embarrass Himself
Late-Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sister Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) will both advance to an Aug. 25 runoff to determine which Republican will appear on the ballot in November to replace Graham after his unexpected death earlier this summer. The Associated Press projected Graham’s sister would advance early in the night, but it was unclear if Norman or Rep.
Republicans’ Red-Scare-Meets-Islamophobia Midterms Strategy Gets More Desperate Original
In today’s edition of Where Things Stand, I want to unpack a few examples of the Republican midterms messaging strategy that we’re tracking as the party grasps at increasingly dangerous and racist threads to campaign on in lieu of any cohesive policy platform.
Dr. Phil and a Texas Oil Firm Go to Greenland With a Suspicious Agenda. Signs Point to Trump’s Imperialist Visions. Original
There hasn’t been a ton of new reporting on a suspiciously-timed and blatantly Trump-linked project unfolding in a remote area of Greenland, so I wanted to use Where Things Stand today to help pull some of these threads together. It’s a convoluted story, of which we don’t have the entire picture, but it involves a Texas oil company with close ties to Trump’s imperialist visions in Greenland and, somehow, Dr. Phil.
America’s Thin Social Safety Net Is ‘Communist’ Now
President Trump and other Republicans have been struggling to land on any sort of uniform messaging as they seek, ahead of the midterms, to spin their recent legislative effort as making life more affordable for working class Americans when it has, in fact, largely done the opposite.
America’s Thin Social Safety Net Is ‘Communist’ Now
President Trump and other Republicans have been struggling to land on any sort of uniform messaging as they seek, ahead of the midterms, to spin their recent legislative effort as making life more affordable for working class Americans when it has, in fact, largely done the opposite.
Trump Mixes Usual Election Fraud Delusions With New Red Scare in Wake of El-Sayed Win Original
In the wake of now-Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow victory over the Democratic establishment-backed candidate Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday’s primary, President Trump is back to his old ways, giving a platform to MAGA conspiracy theories about how Detroit runs its elections.
Max Miller Agrees Allegations Are ‘Troubling,’ Admits He’s on T in Strange CNN Interview
I break down some of the details in tonight’s edition of Where Things Stand here. It’s the third item in tonight’s newsletter, so just wanted to flag it. It was strange. Here’s a link to the interview in full.
Is Blanche Vow to Make Dobbs Permanent in ‘Every Single State’ Tied to Cornyn, Tillis Appeasement? Original
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and a handful of women’s rights and reproductive freedom groups are sounding the alarm over recent reporting that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has vowed to use the Justice Department to roll back abortion access nationwide — a break with both President Trump’s own campaign promises that places him much further out on a limb on abortion than other Trump admin officials have been willing to go.
After Some Early Trump Retribution Wins, Pirro Has Fallen Out of His Good Graces Original
President Trump spent the weekend raging on Truth Social against Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, after the Justice Department wrote in a motion to dismiss the case that issues with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool were the result of bad refurbishing work — and not the product of vandalism, as it had previously alleged. Trump still insists vandalism is to blame.
ABC Unleashes: Carr Wants a ‘Media Industry Too Fearful of Official Reprisal to Report the News Freely’ Original
In a scathingly-written regulatory filing posted on the Federal Communications Commission’s website on Thursday, ABC’s lawyers tore into Trump administration FCC head Brendan Carr for “attempted censorship” and accused Carr of helping President Trump in his retribution campaign against media that criticizes him.
Trump and Republicans Ensconce Themselves in 2020 in Lieu of Any 2026 Midterms Strategy Original
By now, you may have seen the headlines about Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) dragging former Trump and Biden administration health official Dr. Anthony Fauci before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — during which he berated him for pleading the fifth and kicked Fauci’s attorney out of the hearing. While the senator is not exactly an orthodox MAGA zealot, Paul has been fixated on Fauci — as many MAGA-aligned conspiracy theorists were back in 2020 — for years.
Now Cornyn’s Talking About a Potential Delay in Blanche Vote Original
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters on Tuesday that there’s a chance the confirmation vote to move Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination out of committee may be postponed — or it may not. Cornyn said a delay in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s scheduled vote (set, for now, for 9:00 a.m. ET Thursday) is “being discussed but hopefully … won’t be necessary,” Politico reported.
Sherrill Signals She Won’t Hand Over Names of Noncitizens Who Voted as DOJ Seeks Scapegoats Original
It appears as though New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) will not comply with the Justice Department’s demands for the identities of the 6,600 noncitizens who were, through no fault of their own, placed on the voter rolls in 2023 and 2024. The whole episode was the result of a software error.
DOJ Was Never Not Gonna Use New Jersey Noncitizen Error to Bolster Trump’s Delusions Original
The Trump administration has been salivating for something — anything! — that could help feed President Trump’s belief in the myth that noncitizens are illegally voting en masse for Democrats. The unfortunate situation in New Jersey this week, involving a software error at the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission during Gov.
Lindsey Graham’s Sister Pledges Her Allegiance to Trump by Way of SAVE Act Original
Freshly sworn-in Sen.
Trump Has to Beg Two GOPers He’s Spurned to Get Blanche Over Finish Line Original
The White House is being forced to court a Republican senator who President Trump has labeled a “loser” and another whose political career Trump ended to advance acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s AG nomination to the Senate floor.
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