Chris Weigant
Maybe we should call Donald Trump's war of choice against Iran the "On-Again/Off-Again War"? That's what it feels like, at any rate, as Trump and Iran both stumble along, taking potshots at each other, with absolutely no end in sight. Trump in particular seems to have no idea what he's doing, no...
Chris Weigant
Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn are standing up to Donald Trump (for the time being, as of this writing) by successfully blocking the confirmation of Trump's attorney general nominee. Trump, in a snit, has now threatened to yank the nomination until next year, when both GOP...
Chris Weigant
In writing about Democratic hopes for a big win in the state of Texas, I have to start with a humorous quote (from Yogi Berra): "It's like déjà vu all over again." Too cynical? Well then how about a rousing Broadway tune instead: To dream the impossible dreamTo fight the unbeatable foeTo bear...
Chris Weigant
We have now entered the sprint phase of the 2026 midterm election season, with fewer than 100 days left on the calendar until Election Day. While nothing is guaranteed, up until now it has seemed that the Democratic Party has had the wind at its back, heading into the crucial part of the...
Chris Weigant
Donald Trump has ramped up his war of choice once again, bombing Iran on a nightly basis while Iran launches missiles at U.S. military installations and other targets in the region. Sadly, four more American soldiers lost their lives as a result of all this crossfire. And the war seems to be...
Chris Weigant
Shakespeare posed this question a while back, in his masterpiece Romeo And Juliet. Since the two lovers were from families in a longstanding feud with each other, Juliet begins her famous "balcony scene" railing against how fate has given her new love the wrong last name. Here's how she...
Chris Weigant
The mainstream political press loves to highlight the differences within the Democratic Party, usually presenting them as some sort of open warfare between opposing factions. But while there are indeed issues that polarize Democratic politicians and voters (support for Israel, for one), there is...
Chris Weigant
What was expected to be a free-for-all contest among Maine Democrats instead turned into a coronation this weekend. After Graham Platner ended his campaign to take on Senator Susan Collins in November, Maine's Democratic Party only had a couple of weeks to name a replacement to appear on the...
Chris Weigant
Rahm Emanuel has apparently launched his 2028 presidential bid. A wonky story about him appeared prominently in today's Washington Post, on the subject of his ideas for fixing education in America. He also recently tossed out a different provocative idea during a recent speech, which further...
Chris Weigant
The midterm congressional elections will happen in early November, which is now less than four months away. Trump has already been making drastic moves (such as firing all the members of a federal elections security board) seemingly designed to sow chaos (or worse) when the ballots are cast....
Chris Weigant
Today's rerun was an easy choice, even though it was originally published less than two months ago. Because today the House of Representatives actually passed the Sunshine Protection Act, by a vote of 308-117. As the article below mentions, what's unusual about that vote count is that it was...
Chris Weigant
As the M.O.U. crumbles, the price of gas is going back up again. That's where America stands with Donald Trump's on-again/off-again war of choice with Iran. The Memorandum Of Understanding that both sides signed less than a month ago now lies in tatters, Trump just announced that U.S. military...
Chris Weigant
Last week, we warned everyone that July was going to be a sketchy month for us, in terms of our ability to write these Friday columns. So we begin today with a program update. Today's offering is not a complete Friday Talking Points column. It is bare-bones, at best. We're not even really...
Chris Weigant
Rahm Emanuel just launched his 2028 presidential campaign -- in Israel. He did so by giving what might be called a "Sister Souljah moment" speech in Tel Aviv, where he delicately tried to thread the needle of addressing the relationship between the U.S. and Israel in a realistic fashion without...
Chris Weigant
As of this writing, Graham Platner has still not officially dropped out of the Maine Senate race. That may have changed by the time you read this, however, because he is reportedly going to make some sort of announcement tonight. Everyone knows what he's going to do already, though. So the two...
Chris Weigant
Once again, the state of Maine is now on the center stage in the American political spotlight. Yesterday, a bombshell report was published with an accusation that Graham Platner -- the Democratic nominee for the Senate race who was going to face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November -- had...
Chris Weigant
A surprise announcement shook up the Democratic primary for an open Senate seat in Michigan over the holiday weekend, as Mallory McMorrow announced she was suspending her campaign. This leaves the race as a two-person contest, which will pit a favorite of the Democratic Party establishment...
Chris Weigant
Tomorrow, America will celebrate 250 years of independence. That sounds like a long time, to Americans at least. It is a laughably short period to those who live in places with much longer histories, however. Travel around Europe or other foreign lands and you will see ruins and remains that...
Chris Weigant
Once again, it is time for my annual remembrance of the actual facts, rather than the myth that everyone in the country celebrates (a myth that was actually created and endorsed by the Founding Fathers, but no matter...). So join me in lifting a glass in honor of John Adams (and his letter to his...
Chris Weigant
As one of the last decisions the Supreme Court handed down in this year's term, they upheld the concept of "birthright citizenship" enshrined within the Fourteenth Amendment. Barely. The stunning thing wasn't the ruling, which was expected. The truly stunning thing is that the decision was...
Chris Weigant
It is darkly ironic that we are only a few weeks away from celebrating the 250th anniversary of declaring independence from a king while our own Supreme Court continues to advance a vision of American government where the president has powers that can only be described as kinglike. They don't...
Chris Weigant
If anyone needed any further proof that everything that Donald Trump touches turns to schlock (or worse), this week's opening of the Great American State Fair certainly provided some. The initial idea wasn't too bad a concept -- have all 50 states send an exhibit to the National Mall, and it...
Chris Weigant
At times, I almost feel sorry for John Thune. This is not a normal thing for me to feel, since he is the Republican Senate majority leader. But watching Donald Trump callously make Thune's job a lot harder than it needs to be almost makes me feel sorry for him. Almost.
Chris Weigant
It's that time of year again. "SCOTUS season" has begun. The end of June is traditionally when the weightiest Supreme Court decisions are handed down, as the high court ends its judicial year and begins a summer break that will last for months. The weightiest of the decisions still yet to be...
Chris Weigant
It is with a very heavy heart that I sit down to write this column today. This is going to be about my personal experiences and emotions, not about anything happening in the headlines right now, just to warn everyone in advance.
Chris Weigant
It's pretty easy to see who won Donald Trump's war of choice with Iran -- and who lost. All you have to do is look at the deal both sides just signed, which is obviously heavily tilted in Iran's favor. In fact, it is pretty much impossible to claim otherwise -- to claim that somehow the U.S. won...
Chris Weigant
The reviews are starting to come in, and they're... not good. Not good at all. Donald Trump's "Memorandum Of Understanding" with Iran is not exactly a big hit with anyone, it seems. The emerging consensus is that Trump pretty much threw away any advantage we had gained over the course of his...
Chris Weigant
The text of the "Memorandum Of Understanding" between the U.S. and Iran was finally made public today, and it's pretty easy to see why Donald Trump wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps for as long as possible. The deal is incredibly tilted towards Iran's objectives, while America's...
Chris Weigant
Donald Trump has just been caught in another lie. This is news, but it's hardly shocking, since he's been caught in so many lies it's tough to even keep count of them all. In fact, it'd be a lot easier to tally up the promises Trump has made that didn't turn out to be lies. If there are any,...
Chris Weigant
I feel like the world is now living a real-life Jerry Seinfeld routine: "What's the deal... with the deal?!?" Over the weekend, Donald Trump apparently reached a deal with the Iranians. But as of now, it is raising more questions than it is answering. To begin with: Was the deal electronically...
Chris Weigant
We start today with some good news, for a change. The first is time-sensitive, so check it out now -- a livestream of workers removing Donald Trump's name from the outside wall of what will once again be known as simply The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts. As of this...
Chris Weigant
As the Beatles sagely put it, a very long time ago: "I don't care too much for money / Money can't buy me love." Tom Steyer just found this out, for the second time. Or perhaps we should look to Silicon Valley, which adopted a slogan from the advertising industry a while back: "It doesn't matter...
Chris Weigant
Donald Trump just can't help himself, it seems. He keeps right on providing prime fodder for Democratic campaign ads in the midterms. Today was no different. After the official inflation rate was revealed today to have shot up to 4.2 percent, Trump was asked about it by a reporter. Here's what...
Chris Weigant
It's Tuesday again, which means another round of primaries is happening. Maine's Senate primary will probably be the most-watched of the night, as everyone is waiting to see how Graham Platner does after facing new controversies last week, but there will also be primaries in Nevada, North Dakota,...
Chris Weigant
I saw a story over the weekend that made my skin crawl and sent a chill down my spine. The news first broke in what I assume is a technical journal, MedPage Today. From their report: Members of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) were escorted by police out of the convention center in New...
Chris Weigant
There's a political cartoon out there just waiting to be drawn. Picture a coat-check window, with a line of people in front of it. But instead of coats, the sign says "Spinal Check." The person behind the counter is handing the person they're waiting on a full spine, while saying: "Here you go,...
Chris Weigant
It's an old joke, but it's still funny: "The Republicans are revolting!" Amusing wordplay aside, it is rather shocking (and heartening) to see how at least some Republicans in Congress are increasingly in open revolt against Donald Trump's agenda. At first a few cracks appeared in the dam, but...
Chris Weigant
The Washington Post ran a rather extraordinary exclusive report today, under the headline: "Netanyahu Backs GOP Effort To End U.S. Military Aid To Israel." On the face of it, this is big news. Israel currently receives something like $3.8 billion in U.S. money each year as military aid -- money...
Chris Weigant
Every so often a political proposal comes along that makes me sit up and take notice, because not only is it a great idea but it's also one that is simple. In fact, this one is so simple it is pathetically easy to fully describe: anyone who works overtime at their job should get double-time pay,...
Chris Weigant
There's been a rather extraordinary shift coming from the White House over the past week or so, as Donald Trump has been repeatedly forced to back down. This isn't normal for him, of course, which is why it is so notable a development. It has happened on big issues and small, and may signal a...
Chris Weigant
Welcome back, to this weeklong edition of "Deal, Or No Deal?" We're all anxiously awaiting word whether a short-term deal will be agreed to by both Donald Trump and the leaders of Iran, while the world's economy hangs in the balance. Will Trump agree? Will his own hawkish Republicans go...
Chris Weigant
Next Tuesday, California voters will go to the polls (unless they've already voted early). In the race for governor, two candidates will emerge from the pack and become the only two choices available to voters on the November general election ballot. And I have to admit, I am personally still...
Chris Weigant
Does the emerging Senate "YOLO caucus" now have a new member? For those of you too out-of-touch to know, "YOLO" stands for "You Only Live Once." It is a slogan designed to urge people to do things they maybe normally wouldn't (for whatever reason). But now the term has been applied to a certain...
Chris Weigant
Political wonks everywhere will be closely watching tonight as the Texas Republican primary runoff election returns come in. At stake is who will win the GOP nomination for a Senate seat now held by incumbent John Cornyn. Challenging Cornyn is Ken Paxton, who has now been endorsed by Donald...
Chris Weigant
The most startling development in the political world this week was that Republicans in Congress (some of them, at least) seem to be waking up to the fact that Donald Trump's poll numbers are sinking like a stone and that the only thing he cares about is building his palatial ballroom and wreaking...
Chris Weigant
We are now well into the primary election season, so it's time to take a look at the biggest burning question Democrats have at the moment: will they be able to ride a blue wave in November that is big enough to flip control of the U.S. Senate, or is this merely starry-eyed optimism run amok?
Chris Weigant
Can Congress manage to solve a problem that a huge majority of Americans agree exists -- but also one that people are fiercely divided on the best solution to? Or will the clock run out yet again, leaving us all in the dark? Yes, those were intentional puns. Because the subject at hand -- once...
Chris Weigant
This Wednesday, we will hit a political milestone which is rather grim for me to contemplate (please read this as a trigger warning: this is going to be a very dismal column, so please stop reading now if you aren't in the mood for that sort of thing). On May 20th, Donald Trump will have been in...
Chris Weigant
We began writing this column series lo these many years ago to help tongue-tied Democrats formulate snappy lines to use when being interviewed on television and/or to use in their campaign ads. These days, however, we have to wonder whether we should just pack it in and not even bother. We say...
Chris Weigant
With less than a month to go before California holds its primary election, it now looks as if the state's Democrats are going to avoid disaster. That is good news for Democratic voters in the state, who outnumber Republican voters by about 3-to-2. But even the fact that we got so close to...