What Fresh Hell Is This?
Don't rally for me, please...
NEW - GOP plots Trump travel in the final stretch to boost turnout and avoid fallout for vulnerable Rs
— Meredith Lee Hill (@meredithllee) October 1, 2026
“We’re not going to be sending him into areas where it would necessarily be hurtful to our candidates," one GOP operative said.
Some Republicans have encouraged Trump’s team…
The rest of the tweet says:
Some Republicans have encouraged Trump’s team not to send the president to a blue-leaning Omaha district and other key districts where his approval rating is underwater ahead of Election Day, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Brinker Harding is running in the Omaha seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.); his campaign didn’t respond when asked if he’ll attend Trump’s upcoming rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, about a two-hour drive away.
Others have said similar things.
“They’ve called me four times now to see if we want him to come, and I’ve said no,” one senior Republican involved in a House GOP battleground race in a district Trump safely won in 2024 told POLITICO.
But keeping the president at arm’s length could make it harder to turn out the low-propensity base voters they need — voters that only Trump has been able to bring to the polls.
Meredith Lee Hill Tweet. 10/01/2026.
POLITICO (10/01/2026):
Five weeks before Election Day, many Republicans are facing a damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don’t dilemma. Some candidates in close races are wary of alienating undecided voters by campaigning alongside Trump and the baggage that comes with him: high gas prices, voters’ persistent economic concerns and the prolonged war in Iran.
But keeping the president at arm’s length could make it harder to turn out the low-propensity base voters they need — voters that only Trump has been able to bring to the polls.
“These guys are in a pickle,” said one national GOP operative granted anonymity to speak candidly about the landscape, like others in this article. “They may not want Trump to come to the district, but there are still things that Trump can do to help.”
[snip]
But some of the voters Republicans most need Trump to activate — especially blue-collar white voters in rural areas who came out to vote for him but often skip voting in the midterms — are themselves unhappy with his presidency.
Recent POLITICO polling found that even some of Trump’s strongest supporters — those who identify as MAGA — are souring on his handling of key issues. A POLITICO Poll in August found that a 44% plurality of MAGA Trump voters said the Iran war has made things more expensive for them, while 38% said the war has had no real impact on their costs.
POLITICO (10/01/2026).
Random Newsday Thursday...
In a blow to the lies told by U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine “Winebox” Pirro and Puddle, a D.C. judge has permanently barred the DOJ from re-charging Davey Hearn over the Reflecting Pool vandalism that wasn’t.
JUST IN: A judge in D.C. has barred DOJ from re-charging Davey Hearn over the Reflecting Pool damage, saying Trump's commentary and pressure on prosecutors had permanently tainted the case. https://t.co/hRxcm3spOS pic.twitter.com/A7PUdF1YdY
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 1, 2026
Guess What?
SCOOP O'clock: Sen. @Eric_Schmitt was warned texts from Jack Smith's office hadn't been vetted for accuracy.
— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) September 30, 2026
He used them anyway - to accuse Smith of perjury.
Trump @TheJusticeDept gave Sen. Grassley these texts before Smith testified, but Grassley didn't share with Democrats.…
The rest of the Tweet says: Trump @TheJusticeDept gave Sen. Grassley these texts before Smith testified, but Grassley didn't share with Democrats. W @mychaelschnell & @KDilanianMSNOW
MS NOW (10/01/2026):
As they prepared for the testimony of former special counsel Jack Smith, Republican staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee gave Sen. Eric Schmitt a warning: The texts they had obtained from the Justice Department — which Schmitt suggested was proof Smith had colluded with a Georgia state prosecutor — were “unvetted,” according to a source with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Schmitt used the texts anyway.
[snip]
According to a source familiar with the committee process and two sources familiar with the matter, the Department of Justice shared materials with GOP staff on the Judiciary Committee ahead of Smith’s hearing. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley’s team assembled a memo about key information for the hearing, according to one source.
But Grassley’s staff did not include the texts in the memo, that source added.
Grassley also did not share the texts with Democratic senators before the hearing, according to a Democratic staffer and another source briefed by committee staff. That omission deepened Democratic suspicion that congressional Republicans and the Trump administration were working together to undermine or trap Smith, one of the people said.
MS NOW (10/01/2026).
Yesterday, Puddle announced an investment by South Korea into Alaska.
This morning...
full piece https://t.co/8qmsC3WxcA
— Gavin Bade (@GavinBade) October 1, 2026
Wall Street Journal (gift--10/01/2026):
At a Wednesday announcement at the Oval Office, President Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and top Alaskan officials announced a roughly $50 billion investment by the South Korean government into an Alaska liquefied-natural-gas pipeline.
The rub: South Koreans didn’t agree to a specific dollar figure—or even to invest at all.
[snip]
At a Thursday press briefing, South Korea’s industry minister, Kim Jung-kwan, objected to the U.S. characterization of the country’s Alaska LNG investment. “Putting out figures, or using definitive language, goes far beyond what was agreed,” he said.
The White House didn’t address the South Korean government’s comments directly, but spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the president and Alaskans “look forward to the construction and completion of this long-anticipated project.”
The South Korean side isn’t disputing the country’s potential interest in the pipeline—a pet project for Trump—but rather the status of negotiations. A South Korean investment pledge of more than $50 billion would likely encompass much, if not all, of the total cost of the new pipeline.
[snip]
At the Thursday briefing, Kim, the South Korean minister, said Lutnick conveyed his understanding of Seoul’s concerns about the deal. Kim said he expects both sides to eventually follow up with more talks about the project.
Wall Street Journal (gift--10/01/2026).
Trolling Puddle...
I just signed an executive order permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence “Artificial Intelligence” in California.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 1, 2026
You’re welcome, America. pic.twitter.com/84LZb02jxz
That's a wrap of my random newsday Thursday grabs.
