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    JD Vance and Ted Cruz are fighting for control of the GOP. The problem? Neither is called Trump | Arwa Mahdawi

    Having seemingly written off the midterms, the Republican bigwigs are making their pitches for 2028. But the current commander-in-chief could be looking closer to homeThe US midterm elections are a month away and it’s looking rough for the Republicans. I wouldn’t discount devious schemes behind the scenes, but, on the face of it, the president and his entourage seem to be flailing. Donald Trump is desperately dangling money in front of voters and promising “a big surprise”. Meanwhile, the vice-president, JD Vance, and the GOP senator Ted Cruz seem more concerned with fighting over who will be Trump’s heir than with the midterms.If the polls are to be believed, Vance is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. But while he may have great name recognition, Vance is also unlikable. According to the CNN analyst Harry Enten, he is one of the least popular vice-presidents in history. He’s also apparently made enemies within his own party, largely because of his scepticism about the Iran war. His detractors include Cruz, who told MS Now in August that Vance wasn’t a shoo-in for the nomination. The party, Cruz said, was still figuring out the best candidate and needed “to decide who we are, what do we believe”. Continue reading… More

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    Trump 2.0 is targeting US protesters with ‘antifa’ charges. Activists started a union to fight back

    NSPM-7 Defendants Union plans to offer legal clinics, media training and more to people facing prosecution for protestDarío Sánchez is facing state charges related to a protest he did not attend. Indictments against the 33-year-old Texas middle school teacher have changed three times. He has also been arrested and released three times, most recently for an online search for how to replace an old Game Boy battery; police alleged he was seeking information on explosives.“I’ve seen my case as one manifestation of all the different ways the Trump administration is going after people – regardless of if you’ve even been to a protest,” Sánchez said. “The reality is, as long as you disagree with the government, you’re a target.” Continue reading… More

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    I witnessed the Pinochet regime’s fall. It offers hope – and a warning – for the US | Ariel Dorfman

    November’s midterms bring parallels with a moment in October 1988. But Pinochet’s exit wasn’t the end of his influenceA malignant, monomaniacal president, deeply unpopular, faces an election that could restrict his power and end his domination of his country.It is true that, to influence the outcome, he counts on a supine supreme court and his ability to legislate through executive decrees, as well as an onslaught of fake news accusing his opponents of being unpatriotic communists, true that he has colossal financial support from an entrenched oligarchy that has thrived thanks to his rightwing neoliberal policies, true that he has gone out of his way to limit the freedom of those who vote and true that he has absolute command of the armed forces. Continue reading… More

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    Trump claims he’s ‘doing great’ as his approval rating sinks to record low – as it happened

    This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailAsk our reporters your questions about the Iran war and the US midtermsAs the supreme court hears oral arguments this morning, it’s worth noting that if the justices side with Boulder or decide that the case is not in their jurisdiction, then it would continue in state court.But if the fossil fuel industry convinces the justices, the decision could apply not only to the Boulder case, but also to the many other climate cases brought by state and local governments around the US that we mentioned earlier. Continue reading… More

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    Trump says Super Pac will pay for taxpayer-funded ads that sparked outcry

    President’s U-turn comes after Democrats and Republicans condemned use of tax dollars for pro-Trump adsDonald Trump said on Monday he would pay for taxpayer-funded, pro-Trump ads “with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”, a political action committee, after the television advertisements glorifying himself sparked a major backlash.In a social media post, Trump characterized the ads, which cost at least $1.5m in federal funds, as “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” and called them “a rather standard thing to do”. Continue reading… More

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    The Iran war is unpopular, but will it cost Trump the midterms? Our reporters answer your questions

    The war with Iran is reshaping America ahead of the midterms – how will it affect US voters at the polls? Join us for a live conversation on 6 October at 12pm ET with political and global correspondentsSign in or sign up to join the conversationWelcome to our latest US midterms live Q&A – just over a month away from election day on 3 November.The war with Iran has had major implications for Americans’ wallets, government spending and US foreign policy. It’s has also been an important factor in reshaping the political landscape as the war enters its eighth month, with the 2026 US midterms quickly approaching.The makeup of the Democratic party, plus key races to watchWho are the groups financially backing the candidates in the midterms? Continue reading… More

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    Vance wants voters to ‘give us another chance’. But he is cornered | Sidney Blumenthal

    The vice-president’s recent remarks seek to maintain a posture of strength while they inadvertently expose political realitiesJD Vance has parachuted into the midterm election campaign on a rescue mission in a new guise: a risk management consultant. Speaking in the flat language of the expert hired to identify threats, weaknesses and losses affecting a business’s reputation, he has presented his executive summary for limiting vulnerabilities and a scenario for averting disaster.“There’s a lot of good that’s been done, but there’s a lot of work left to do,” he informed his clients on 15 September about the words to use. “Give us another chance, or give us another couple of years, to continue to work on the amazing things that we’ve been doing for the past two years.” He turned the focus to harm reduction rather than total agreement and then shifted the equation to a negative binary choice. “Even if you don’t agree with us on every issue, the other party is consumed by craziness.”Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man, Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth. He is a Guardian US columnist and co-host of the Court of History podcast Continue reading… More

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    Trump’s recent statements on the economy are even more bonkers than usual | Steven Greenhouse

    Our ‘genius’ president is revealing his ignorance of economics, fueling concerns about the threat he poses to the worldDonald Trump recently made a bold claim about his abilities, writing on Truth Social: “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”But in the days before and after that post, Trump made one mind-boggling statement after another, including one that raised the possibility of cutting off all trade with dozens of the US’s trading partners. The president’s statements had many experts questioning not just his intelligence, but also whether he – and the outlandish policies he was proposing – were a clear and present danger to both the US economy and the world economy. Public respect for Trump’s economic sense has fallen so low that just 7% of Americans think he should take the lead in regulating AI, according to a recent WSJ poll. Continue reading… More