Latest articles from Crooks and Liars

Van Orden Is Using Illegal AI Slop Against His Opponent

Chris capper Liebenthal — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:24:25 +0000

Rep Drunken Van Orden, Trump's Little Bitch, is in a world of hurt just a few months before the election. He trails his opponent, Rebecca Cooke, in the polls and in fundraising. He's in so much trouble that ten different members of the Trump crime syndicate, including Dozing Donny, have come to Western Wisconsin to stump for him.

DVO is in so much trouble that he has taken a page from Big Daddy Donny's playbook and has been running a bunch of AI slop ads of what is supposed to be Cooke saying ridiculous things, which, of course, he swears are real.

Wisconsin has laws regulating the use of AI slop in political ads. One such law is that it has to have the disclaimer that the video contains AI-generated images. DVO's images do not have that disclaimer, although it does state it was made with Grok elsewhere in the post. Also, in the Drunken One's favor is that the Republican-written laws are so watered down; no District Attorney is going to try to prosecute any violations.

For DVO's sake, let's hope that Cooke's victory is quick and decisive. The sooner he's out of office, the sooner he can start getting help with his early-onset, alcohol-induced dementia.

Most Americans Hate Trump's Stupid Ballroom But SCOTUS Says Go Ahead!

Karoli Kuns — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:37:00 +0000

In a 5-4 ruling, SCOTUS said Trump could proceed with his ballroom while litigation is pending, making it next to impossible to undo what has been done without the consent of the people and after bulldozing the East Wing of the White House.

Ever since that bulldozing, I have vowed that it shall be undone whether by citizen sledgehammers or a wrecking ball. I do not care which.

But the fascist majority on the Supreme Court (with the exception of John Roberts), decided the construction must go on because they decided the National Trust for Historical Preservation had no standing to ask for a stay.

Which is the fascist way of saying to all Americans, "screw you, we want the dictator to prevail." It's a bail. If the National Trust for Historical Preservation has no standing, none of us do.

Never mind that it's OUR $1 billion going to build that monstrosity. Oh, he talks a big game about corporate sponsors. What do you think about seeing the Comcast Ballroom sign at the White House, for example? Or maybe the Exxon/Mobil Golden Ballroom? Yeah. No corporation is going to pay for this. We are.

The only good thing to come out of this is that most people across the political spectrum disapprove of a one billion dollar investment in a gold plated ballroom.

'Indefensible Breach': Grave Revelation Uncovered In Withheld Samuel Alito Docs

David Edwards — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 20:52:35 +0000

A long-delayed financial disclosure from Justice Samuel Alito shows he never sold the oil and gas holdings that watchdogs say disqualify him from a major climate case.

The report was posted on Monday by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and covers Alito's finances for calendar year 2025. It is the last disclosure the public will see before the Supreme Court hears the case in October. Alito signed the filing on Aug. 11, three weeks before it reached the public.

NBC News Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley wrote on Bluesky that the filing confirms the justice is "still holding on to oil & gas stocks ahead of the big climate change case being heard in October."

Two watchdog groups asked the Senate Judiciary Committee in May to investigate whether Alito violated the court's ethics code by staying on the case, reported by E&E News.

"Alito's decision to reverse course and participate in granting the companies' most recent petition — when a finding in favor of the companies could directly and indirectly benefit both himself and his billionaire friend — is an indefensible breach of ethical boundaries," the groups wrote.

Don't Fall For Trump's AI Slop Distractions

RedStateRachel — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:52:24 +0000

Don’t fall for Trump’s distractions. The Trump presidency is the most corrupt administration in American history.

This weekend, President Trump shared a video showing Donald Ducks, a group of gun-toting ducks with Trumpy yellow hair guarding the shores of “Lake America.” The AI video highlights Trump’s deranged executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”

Trump’s Donald Ducks video is another misdirection to make Americans look away from the Epstein files, the Iran war, high prices, and a hundred other failures of the Trump White House.

Trump is Master of Misdirection

Authoritarian expert Sarah Kendzior tried to warn Americans about Trump and crew for years.

Kendzior’s book “Hiding in Plain Sight” has an epic quote about Trump:

"Trump covers up crime with scandal. That is his main propaganda tactic, the one few seem to be able to discern. The crimes are much worse than the scandals, but the media will always take the scandal bait."

On the latest episode of Fast Politics w/ Molly Jong-Fast, pod guest Rick Wilson argues:

'Shaky Object Permanence': Official Links Trump Chaos To Unlearned 'Peekaboo' Skill

David Edwards — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:51:30 +0000

A Trump administration official explained why President Donald Trump's inner circle keeps shrinking by pointing to "shaky object permanence," a skill infants learn.

White House correspondent Shelby Talcott reported Monday that Semafor spoke with more than a half-dozen current and former Trump officials about the power structure around the president.

Two of the five aides pictured as his core advisers at the end of 2025 are already gone. Two more who hold the president's trust leave within weeks, Talcott reported.

Some officials "argued that Trump's reality is one of shaky object permanence," Talcott wrote.

"Once the president has not seen someone for a while, especially if they're not people he has a longstanding relationship with," the official said, "he's not really going to be hungry to call them."

The official attached one condition to that judgment, according to Semafor, and it was the length of the relationship rather than the seniority of the aide. That matters because, as Talcott reported, "only a handful of advisers have direct, frequent access to him."

Eight White House aides announced their exits during this summer alone, Semafor reported, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair. Leavitt said that she is leaving to focus on her small children.

Trump Declares Iran ‘Dead’ Hours After U.S. Resumes Strikes

Conover Kennard — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 17:56:23 +0000

Donald J. Trump apparently has a fascinating new definition of “dead," according to his latest Truth Social outburst.

Hours after the United States resumed strikes against Iran, Trump took to his shitposting platform to announce that Iran is a “Failed Nation” and, more definitively, “DEAD.” Because apparently a country can be dead and still require the occasional bombing campaign.

Trump claimed Iran has essentially nothing left: no functioning navy, no air force, a worthless currency, and a government that supposedly can't even pay its soldiers or police. He also threw in a staggering claim that inflation has reached 300 percent, because why stop at merely declaring victory when you can throw a few gigantic numbers into the mix?

It's a wildly overstated claim, and we can only assume that Natalie Harp is taking Iran's already extremely high inflation rate and turning it into an even more extreme number for her boss. Who knows. Or, perhaps, that hamster powering his brain doesn't have much to work with.

What Really Happened Between Trump's 'Human Binkie' And Her Estranged Brother

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:54:53 +0000

Donald Trump's "human binky," Natalie Harp, has been dominating headlines over recent weeks after Senator Jon Ossoff dragged her bizarre relationship with the president into the spotlight. Since that first mention of possible impropriety, countless bombshell revelations have dropped, including Natalie's deeply disturbing letters to the president and her truly bizarre actions to remain physically close to him, including sleeping in a women's locker room and riding in a trunk -- all of which have been further bolstered by Natalie's estranged brother, Preston Harp.

Preston has made a few public appearances amid his sister's recent national attention to speak on her long running obsession with Donald Trump.

But in a new piece from the Los Angeles Times, Preston went a little deeper, revealing what actually happened behind closed doors that led to him and his sister no longer speaking.

Rep. Tom Emmer Denies Truth About Trump's Terrible Economy

John Amato — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:54:10 +0000

On Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer claimed the Trump economy is doing wonderfully; the polling problems they face for the 2026 midterms is just a messaging problem caused by left-wing media.

This is the Republican strategy for the midterms. Deny reality and accountability and blame Biden and the media at all costs.

Fox News started by playing video of the new Fed chairman saying inflation is running past their 2% target and bringing prices down should be the priority. Fox News posted posted BLS inflation data for the year at 3.4%.

All this information went by the wayside when Emmer showed up.

Guest host Cheryl Casone asked about the $40T dollar debt. Emmer blamed prior administrations and claimed only Republicans are committed to reducing the deficit. They've been in office two years and he's still making promises after voting to increase the debt by trillions for tax cuts for billionaires.

The Big Ugly Bill for the rich added significantly to the debt which he voted for.

Then the topic switched to the midterms.

CASONE: Let me ask you about the messaging to the American people because we saw consumer confidence fall in August. Americans are worried about gasoline prices, what they're seeing at the grocery store, health care prices, you know.

So what is the messaging plan here for Republicans as you go into the midterms? Because this seems to be issue number one for America, and that's affordability.
read more

BUSTED: Pentagon Pete Secretly Hired An Army Of MAGA Trolls And No One Knows Why

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:48:48 +0000

According to new reporting from The Washington Post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has hired an army of bootlicking MAGA "influencers" in secret Pentagon roles and refuses to say what these people are actually doing inside our federal government.

This band of former military personnel turned online Right-wing influencers turned secret Pentagon employees is reported to include the likes of retired Air Force colonel Rob Maness, who boasts upwards of 130,000 followers on X; retired Army colonel Kurt Schlichter, with more than 620,000 followers; and retired colonel Thomas Anderson, who seems to have made it his life's mission to defend scandal-plagued Hegseth to his 323,000 X followers under the online moniker “CynicalPublius.”

All three of these online MAGA influencers have been given active, official government emails with the .civ suffix, indicating that they've been given positions as civilian employees, rather than contractors or official US military personnel.

Ken Paxton Prays TV Ads Will Save Him

John Amato — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:51:56 +0000

Disgraced Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton denies the latest polling data, lies about Texans knowing James Talarico's true record, and thinks he'll win the election when he starts running TV ads.

On Fox News' The Sunday Briefing, host Jackie Heinrich asked Paxton about his upcoming election.

HEINRICH: Want to start with this new Texas Southern University poll. It shows Talarico with a pretty solid lead over you in three congressional districts that the president carried by double digits.

You're down 8 points in the 15th, 10 points in the 28th, and 11 points in the 34th district. This is Texas, after all. How did a Democrat get that far ahead in Trump territory?

PAXTON: Well, first of all, I don't trust all these polls. We have our own polling that suggests maybe a little different result. But we definitely have a close race.

And I can tell you this, I do not believe once we have the resources to expose his views, there's no way he's going to win Texas.

Yeah, I'm going to get to the resources in just a second.

Paxton tried to hijack the interview and Heinrich took it back.

HEINRICH: Yeah, I'm going to get to the resources in just a second. But one more question on this polling, because it does have you running about 20 points behind President Trump's margin in these three districts.
read more

Delusional Trump Says He's 'Largely Taken Care Of Inflation'

Heather — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:45:51 +0000

During a softball interview on Fox not "news" this Sunday, Trump once again proved he's living in some alternative reality.

Following yet anther unhinged rant during an hour long softball interview with former GOP Rep. turned Fox host Trey Gowdy, where he was going on about how terribly Democrats supposedly treated him for prosecuting him for crimes he actually committed, Trump told this whopper about inflation before making a bunch of convoluted statements about how things are supposedly going in Iran.

TRUMP: And frankly, know, with the inflation, I've largely taken care of inflation. By the way, the gasoline is going to go down. The oil is going to go down like a rocket going in the opposite direction as soon as we win that war, complete the war.

I thought it was already "mission accomplished." And it got worse the more he talked where he was still airing his grievances against South Korea and NATO for not wanting to get involved in his illegal war.

TRUMP: Already, you know, we've got total control. I would say almost total. They could be a nuisance, but we have control of the Hormuz Strait. We've swept it of all the mines.

You know, we don't have mines there now. We have all of the international. We got rid of them with very little help from other countries.
read more

Whiskey Pete Is In Over His Head As US Military Turns On Him Over Iran War

Andrea Thompson — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:51:33 +0000

President Trump's war with Iran, which was supposed to be over within a matter of a few weeks, has now raged full force into its sixth month with absolutely no conceivable end in sight, and the US military has had enough.

According to a bombshell new report from the Washington Post, leaders within the United States military have begun to strongly push back against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's continued orders to dive headfirst into Trump's own forever war, repeatedly warning Hegseth that this conflict is unsustainable and continuing to move forward in this manner is putting the homeland at grave risk.

One insider spoke with the Post and said, "Overall, the tenor from the military leadership is that the ongoing Iran operation, having reached the six-month mark, has been 'too much for too long.'"

"Certain generals and admirals were more expansive and frank than is usual in telling Hegseth they disagreed with orders to keep providing equipment and personnel when the operation’s trajectory remains uncertain."

Canadian Premier Swats Down Martha Raddatz's Attempt To Both Sides Trump's Bullying

Heather — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:51:00 +0000

This Week host Martha Raddatz knows full well which side is the unreasonable one here, and it's not the Canadians who are to blame for Trump starting another stupid, damaging trade war, and they're not the ones that started the name calling. That would be our insane Dear Leader Trump.

That didn't stop Raddatz from doing her best to "both sides" the back and forth between Trump and Canadian Premier Doug Ford during Ford's appearance on her network this Sunday. Ford calmly explained that sometimes you have to stand up a bully before going onto detail on just how damaging this trade war Trump started is going to be for everyone involved:

RADDATZ: But first, President Trump threatened to double the tariff on Canadian auto imports, cars, trucks, auto parts, steel, from 25 percent to 50 percent beginning January 1st. If that happens, what would the effect be on both countries?
read more

In Ohio, Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Knocked 50,000 Kids Off SNAP

Ohio Capital Journal — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:28:48 +0000

by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal
August 27, 2026

Ohio Democratic lawmakers say the Republican “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has made everyday life more expensive for Ohioans, saying that people are losing their jobs, healthcare, and food security.

More than 100,000 Ohioans — including more than 50,000 children — have lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits since President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” made the largest cuts to food stamps in the history of the program.

Ohio is expected to lose 51,000 jobs and $5.3 billion from the state economy in 2029, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis.

Medicaid work requirements part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could cause 356,000 Ohioans to lose their healthcare coverage and about 113,000 Ohioans have already lost their coverage after tax credits expired.

Mike’s Blog Round-Up

Tengrain — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:28:31 +0000

Above, Gorillaz performs, Tomorrow Comes Today. Welcome to a new week, Crooks and Liars, and remember every day has a tomorrow.

No More Mister Nice Blog takes James Carville to behind the woodshed.

Election Law Blog says timing is everything when it comes to the 4th Reich's eff'ery with USPS.

Press Watch says the media normalizing THAT MAN jeopardizes our future.

I Fucking Love Australia also eff'ing loves Canada.

Bonus Track: Humanizing The Vacuum reports that 'Coyote vs. Acme' is a merrie melody.

Election Official: No State Could Follow Mail-In Ballot Restrictions

Chris capper Liebenthal — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:28:25 +0000

Wisconsin Election Commission Chair Don Millis explained to UpFront's Matt Smith that as it is written, it would be impossible for any state to follow Trump's myopic mail-in ballot restrictions, and even if it were able to be followed, it would hurt Republicans more than Democrats:

SMITH: Don Mills, a republican, is chair of the bipartisan elections commission. He joins us now. Don, good to see you. Welcome back to the show. Good morning. Let's start with this latest executive order, the latest from the federal judge. Barring these restrictions on mail-in voting from taking place. I mean, what is your understanding of what's latest, at least as it applies to Wisconsin?

MILLIS: Well, I think we are back at the status quo, which is the way it's been for several years. According to the judge's order, the post office will deliver ballots from clerks to voters. And if voters choose to return their ballot using the mail, the post office will deliver those to the clerks, as they have always done. There is a hearing now scheduled for Thursday. This will probably end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. Do you have any concerns? I guess short-term or long-term?

SMITH: One of the provisions says that the states have to comply with this citizenship list, or the postal service should not send ballots to anyone.

Canadian Resistance Army - Lake Ontario

Ed Scarce — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 03:00:01 +0000

With Trump now posting some lame AI slop on his fixation on renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America, it's sort of fitting that there is something much better out there that he won't be reposting. via Demonflyingfox on YouTube. Though it came out on Friday, it already has several million views on various platforms.

Open thread below...

Susan Collins Christens A Boat, Humiliation Ensues

Ed Scarce — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 23:03:28 +0000

Smashing a champagne bottle in this fashion is extremely dangerous. The bottles are highly pressurized, causing a "bomb-like effect" with dangerous shards of glass. She's lucky she didn't get injured or lose an eye.

Source: Facebook/Really American

BREAKING: Susan Collins Humiliates Herself Trying to Christen a Boat, Ends Up Drenched in Champagne

Susan Collins wanted a photo op celebrating Maine ingenuity. What she got instead was a champagne bath.

The senator posted video of herself attempting to christen 3Dirigo X, a 30-foot 3D-printed vessel built by researchers at the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center. Collins called it a proud moment, celebrating "Maine ingenuity at its best" and her longstanding support for the lab behind it.
The video tells a different story than the caption. Instead of a clean bottle break against the hull, the champagne explodes back at her, soaking her green suit jacket from shoulder to sleeve while she stands there laughing it off, arms out, visibly drenched.

It's the kind of moment a campaign account usually wouldn't post. Collins posted it anyway, captioning it with genuine enthusiasm about the science behind the boat rather than the mess covering her jacket.

Sometimes the ceremony goes exactly as planned. This was not one of those times.

No it was not.

Trump 'Lake America' Lampooned As Insane Distraction

Jake Johnson — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:57:45 +0000

The United States is locked in another Middle East quagmire, the American economy is shedding jobs, wage growth is decelerating, and the costs of essentials are rising, but President Donald Trump on Thursday took time to hold an Oval Office event for the signing of an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” as his damaging trade war with Canada intensifies.

Trump To Welker: Report The Truth, I'll Report You To The FCC

John Amato — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 19:05:33 +0000

On Sunday Donald Trump vowed to report Meet the Press host Kristen Welker to the FCC because she rightly reported that Trump has had mixed results on his endorsements leading up to 2026 midterm elections.

This is another blatant attempt to bully the media and undermine the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Welker did a pre-MTP interview on NBC and made these statements.

Politico recently reported that his picks for governor in four states failed to win the nomination." While House backed candidates in Tennessee and Michigan failed as well, while Lindsey Graham's sister was forced into a runoff in Georgia.

WELKER: Well, he's going to loom large over these midterms, there's no doubt about that.

He of course has endorsed a slate of candidates in the primaries.

He's had some mixed results, but most recently his pick of Senator Darline Graham, of course the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, was successful in her primary battle, so now she takes on Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina.

Maybe Demented Donald thought she said he was of "mixed" race?

Vonshitzhispants is having sh*t fits over the slightest thing.

He continues to dissemble right before our eyes. His threat is empty, just a way to make sure we all know he's still the boss. Here's what he wrote:

Pee Wee German Shredded For Claim GOP Would Ever Pay For Free Cancer Treatment

Heather — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 16:48:16 +0000

Trump's minion Stephen Miller found a new talking point and some numbers pulled out of his backside to demonize immigrants over. During a segment on this Friday's The Ingraham Angle on Fox while attacking Texas Senate candidate James Talarico for his statements about ICE, Miller made this absurd claim about the so-called costs for "fake asylum seekers."

MILLER: Did you know, Laura, the cost of adjudicating even one fake asylum claim is the same cost as providing free cancer treatment to one American citizen with pediatric cancer?

Every single fraud they abet, we could provide free cancer care to one American citizen.

INGRAHAM: Well, real help to Americans who need help, especially today.

First off, the notion that Republicans would ever offer some program for free cancer treatment, even for children, is ridiculous.

Cancun Ted All-In With Trump's Venezuelan Oil Grab

Heather — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 15:50:06 +0000

Sen. Ted Cruz was asked about Trump's announcement that the US has reached a deal with Venezuela to control 65 billion barrels of country’s oil reserves, and naturally Cruz is all-in with the pillaging.

Cruz was asked by Meet the Press host Kristen Welker whether he believed elections should be held before any oil deal is finalized given the fact that he has been calling for free and fair elections in Venezuela.

Cruz, of course, brushed off those concerns and pretended it didn't matter that our newly installed puppet was the one doing the negotiating:

SEN. TED CRUZ: Well, let me start by saying that the oil deal as announced sounds like it could have a very positive impact on the United States, and the United States economy, on American jobs, and — and a very positive impact on gas prices over the long term. Sixty-five billion barrels of oil is an enormous amount of oil.

And so I commend President Trump for an agreement that on its face appears to have a really positive economic benefit for America.
read more

MAGA Mike Collins: White Nationalists... What White Nationalists?

Heather — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 14:48:46 +0000

MAGA Rep. Mike Collins, who is running against Jon Ossoff for the Senate in Georgia, pretends he just found out he's surrounded by white nationalists.

The Ossoff campaign has rightfully been slamming Collins in recent weeks: Georgia senator Jon Ossoff slams racist posts allegedly from Republican opponent’s ex-staffer:

The US senator for Georgia Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, has slammed a “disgraceful and disqualifying” report that a former staffer for his Trump-backed Republican challenger Mike Collins shared images online of a swastika and depicting himself in Ku Klux Klan robes.

It is the latest instance of someone in Collins’s orbit facing scrutiny over racist or white nationalist conduct. Ossoff called the report “stunning” and said it “should shock the conscience of every Georgian”.

The report “confirmed yet more extensive ties between Congressman Mike Collins and white nationalism, and Congressman Mike Collins and neo-Nazi ideology”, said Ossoff. “Mike Collins needs to hold a press conference this afternoon, and he needs to release all the communications between his office and these white supremacists.” [...]
read more

Jebus Johnson Puts Trump On The Ballot In November

Walter Einenkel — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 13:51:36 +0000

House Speaker Mike Johnson told a room full of GOP acolytes that the Republican midterm convention is not a desperate attempt to engage voters but a chance to remind them of President Donald Trump’s disastrous stewardship of the country.

Johnson recalled a phone conversation in which Trump ordered him to hold a “midterm convention,” remarking, it’s the “first time in history any party’s ever done this.” Johnson boasted that two nights of broadcast television would showcase a “parade” of GOP “stars” to viewers.

“We’re gonna talk about what we’ve done for the people, and then the president’s gonna look right in the camera and say, ‘I am on the ballot,’” Johnson said. “Okay? Because even though his name isn’t, his administration, his legacy, the ‘America First’ agenda is.”

Johnson’s remarks came while he stumped for incumbent Texas Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who has trailed Democratic nominee Bobby Pulido in polls in a district the GOP gerrymandered to make more reliably Republican.

RFK Jr Doesn’t Care If You Get Measles – Because Food-Borne Illness!

NewsHound Ellen — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 13:51:35 +0000

After two unvaccinated children in Pennsylvania died after contracting measles, HHS Secretary and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. all but declared that’s a small price to pay for his so-called MAHA agenda.

Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany, a liar extraordinaire, hosted a “town hall” with Kennedy that provided him a forum to legitimize his deadly disinformation. It was also conveniently timed given that just two days earlier, Kennedy was caught lying to Congress about his lethal anti-vaccine activism.

Kennedy dismissed the two "so-called 'measles deaths.'" But clearly, he doesn't care. He sneered, “In 10 years, there have been three measles deaths in America. There are now about 1.2 million deaths every year from food-induced illness.”