February 1, 2026 at 11:51 AM EST
Trump's 'massive war chest' remains unmatched -- even as his popularity dives

With the United States' 2026 midterms a little over nine months away, President Donald Trump's low approval ratings are a major source of anxiety for GOP strategists. And a series of Democratic election victories has them worried as well. The latest came on Saturday night, January 30 in a special election for a Texas State Senate seat in the Ft. Worth suburbs. Donald Trump carried that district by 17 percent in 2024, but on January 30, Democratic nominee Taylor Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss (who Trump endorsed) by 14 percent.

February 1, 2026 at 10:34 AM EST
Trump admin 'overwhelming themselves' with their own brutal strategy

MAGA Republican Steve Bannon, host of the "War Room" vodcast and former White House Chief strategist in the first Trump Administration, famously described the MAGA movement's strategy as "flood the zone with s---." The idea, according to Bannon, is to keeping opponents feeling overwhelmed by inundating them with nonsense. "Real Time" host Bill Maher warned Democrats not to fall for it. Democrats, he stressed, need to pick their battles carefully with Trump and not "lose their s---" every time he says something offensive.

February 1, 2026 at 9:38 AM EST
Trump could become even more dangerous as public anger soars: historian

Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat -- a history professor at New York University, author of the 2020 book "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present," and a frequent guest on MS NOW -- is known for her expertise on the history of fascism and authoritarianism. And she isn't shy about comparing President Donald Trump to authoritarian figures of the past. In an op-ed/essay published by the New York Times on February 1, Ben-Ghiat argues that Trump's overreach may backfire -- which, she points out, happened with authoritarians before.

February 1, 2026 at 8:47 AM EST
The Aztec empire's collapse shows why ruling through coercion and force fails

When Aztec emissaries arrived in 1520 to Tzintzuntzan, the capital of the Tarascan Kingdom in what is now the Mexican state of Michoaca'n, they carried a warning from the Aztec emperor, Cuauhte'moc. They cautioned that strange foreigners - the Spaniards - had invaded the land and posed a grave threat. The emissaries requested an audience with the Tarascan ruler, known as the Cazonci, King Zuanga. But Zuanga had recently died, most likely from smallpox brought by the Spaniards.

February 1, 2026 at 8:34 AM EST
Trump's crackdown exposes Americans' shocking 'cognitive dissonance': analysis

The fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti during President Donald Trump's militarized immigration raids in Minneapolis are fueling large protests not only in that city, but also, everywhere from New York City to Seattle to Milan, Italy -- where, on Saturday, January 31, hundreds of protesters demanded that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents assisting with the Winter Olympics leave the country.

January 31, 2026 at 2:32 PM EST
Critics blast 'Donald Degenerate' after Epstein tipper alleges death threat

President Donald Trump's culpability in connection to convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is not dying down this week with the release of roughly 3.5 million new files on Friday, according to Raw Story. Included in the documents were multiple tips sent to authorities regarding abuses and behavior of Trump at the height of the president's friendship with Epstein. One such tip involved a witness telling the FBI in 2016 that they had "personally witnessed" Trump threaten to "disappear" a girl and have her entire family killed.

January 31, 2026 at 1:39 PM EST
Trump just sent the wrong message as he continues to 'spiral': analysis

New York Times Columnist Jamelle Bouie says President Donald Trump likes to project the image bullying strength at all times, whether it's against Democrats, critics, or the news media. But the president's effort to steamroll independent media on Thursday may number among the recent examples of overreach that's currently knocking Trump off his spin. "One point I've tried to make over the last year is that the Trump administration has a starkly unsophisticated vision of power," said Bouie. "Where a subtler president might cajole and persuade, President Trump demands and threatens. He prefers subordinates to partners and tries to dominate his opponents rather than de-escalate a situation or find a mutually beneficial solution. He rejects persuasion altogether. If he wants something, he takes it."

January 31, 2026 at 12:39 PM EST
'A message must be sent': Jim Acosta tells Don Lemon to 'sue the pants off Trump'

"Jim Acosta Show" host Jim Acosta says it's good that independent reporter Don Lemon has good lawyers in his corner, because he predicts lemon will be using them against President Donal Trump after his Thursday arrest. Even conservative media slammed the Trump administration's "dictator"-style arrest of Lemon for covering a protest at a Minnesota church. On Friday, CNN host Jake Tapper posted Lemon's 12-page indictment to his official X account, with D.C.-based attorney John Aravosis writing on social media that the indictment "basically accuses [Lemon] of journalism."

January 31, 2026 at 11:01 AM EST
News anchors blast Trump using lackeys to 'scam' taxpayers for $10 billion

MS NOW "The Weekend" hosts Jonathan Capehart and Eugene Daniels raked President Donald Trump for using his own government-appointed zealots to wrangle $10 billion from U.S. taxpayers. "President trump has filed yet another lawsuit, this time targeting his own government," said Capehart. "On Thursday, Trump announced he is suing the IRS and the Treasury Department over the alleged leak of his 2019 tax return and is seeking $10 billion in damages."

January 31, 2026 at 9:56 AM EST
Americans on the hook for an extra $6 billion -- thanks to Trump: report

President Donald Trump appears blind to consumers' rocketing electricity costs, reports the Washington Post. If anything, the president appears willing to make consumers pay even more for their monthly power bills to protect his favored industry. "On energy policy, the administration's most obvious sin has been picking losers," reports the Post. "It has attempted to halt construction for offshore wind developments, even some that were nearly complete, and suffocated massive solar projects with red tape. As the nation clamors for more electricity, this oppositional attitude makes no policy sense."

January 31, 2026 at 9:04 AM EST
'Total clowns': Critics roast White House's bungled Epstein files release

While critics deny Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's claim that the 3.5 million files the Trump administration released on Friday were all the department had, others are too busy lambasting the malicious clumsiness of the release. Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller and Bulwark editor Sam Stein say the administration's stuttered, idiotic drip of information was curated specifically to hurt certain people and protect others.

January 31, 2026 at 8:52 AM EST
Trump resents being forced to say he's sorry

Independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested this morning. So was Georgia Fort, also an independent journalist. Both covered a January 18 church protest in Minneapolis. It's unclear what they've been charged with. It's also unclear whether the federal agents who arrested them had the authority to. The US Department of Justice went to one judge. He said no. Then to another. He also said no. Then it went to a court of appeals. That panel said no, too. The Post quoted one of the judges: "There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so."