Something for the White House to keep in mind: Meritocracies are good, and hiring random people because the president saw them on television is bad.

Friday, October 16, 2026

 

TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS

As Katie Zacharia’s tenure ends after just 5 days, here are some lessons for Team Trump

As Katie Zacharia’s tenure ends after just 5 days, here are some lessons for Team Trump

Something for the White House to keep in mind: Meritocracies are good, and hiring random people because the president saw them on television is bad.

MORE
 

‘I’m allowed to do a self-pardon’: Trump opens the door to pardons for staff and himself

Systemic government corruption is already a problem in the Trump era. The signal he’s sending to his team is likely to make matters worse.

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‘I’m allowed to do a self-pardon’: Trump opens the door to pardons for staff and himself

Systemic government corruption is already a problem in the Trump era. The signal he’s sending to his team is likely to make matters worse.

MORE

Pressed on her work with Trump, Maine’s Collins trips over key part of her record

Presented with the opportunity and the platform, the longtime Republican senator flubbed it, effectively proving her critics right.

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Pressed on her work with Trump, Maine’s Collins trips over key part of her record

Presented with the opportunity and the platform, the longtime Republican senator flubbed it, effectively proving her critics right.

MORE

Democrats have made corruption a key midterm issue. Polls show voters agree.

The midterms are making clear that there is a direct link between corruption and affordability — and that there is a real appetite for accountability.

MORE

Democrats have made corruption a key midterm issue. Polls show voters agree.

The midterms are making clear that there is a direct link between corruption and affordability — and that there is a real appetite for accountability.

MORE
 

MORE FROM THE MADDOWBLOG

  • Fearing Ken Paxton’s defeat in Texas, Trump tries pre-blaming John Cornyn
  • FBI agents fired for working on Trump’s classified documents case file new lawsuit

  • More than a year later, Team Trump’s boat strikes continue to fail on multiple fronts
  • Katie Zacharia’s attempts at damage control aren’t going especially well
  • Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 10.16.26: Elon Musk spends massively for Ken Paxton
 

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

  • “There’s no bigger betrayal to our soldiers than to use their trust in a program, set out by our government to protect their families, and ultimately use it to destroy their families while they’re serving our country and putting their lives on the line,” Martinez told us. “You’re stabbing your own soldiers in the back.”

    He Joined the Military. They Reported His Wife to ICE. — When a soldier’s wife went to pick up her military ID at a base in Texas, ICE officers showed up.
    (The Atlantic)

  • "The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter.

    The officials said ‌leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.

    The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order."
    (Reuters)

  • "While President Trump has claimed that noncitizens voted en masse and even tipped the scales in recent elections, research from partisan and nonpartisan groups alike has shown that instances of noncitizen voting are so rare that they have never been significant enough to change the outcome of an election."
    (New York Times with a cool visual data display)

  • "In late December, two months before the U.S. war with Iran began, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George warned that his service was critically short on missile defense munitions and that the shortage would last another five years, according to multiple U.S. officials familiar with the matter. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ousted George in April, as the Iran war was underway."
    (CBS News)

  • Russia Is Using an Army of Bots to Push Fake US Election Videos — State-backed Matryoshka campaign targeting Democrats inflates view counts of fabricated stories, creating illusion of popularity.
    (Bloomberg)

  • Behind a White House Feud That Is Bitter Even by Trump-Era Standards
     — Two Trump allies — Alina Habba Mildon and Richard Grenell — are locked in a raging dispute that has its roots in the battle for a share of the spoils in Venezuela.
    (New York Times)

  • Trump's MAGA allies openly discuss martial law
    (Axios)


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RACHEL GETS MAIL...

Hot off the presses!

 

Just received my author copy from the publisher -- can't believe it's almost ready to be out in the world 🥹

 

Pub date is Tuesday, November 10th -- pre-order details and book tour dates and locations here.

 

NEW YORK CITY ADDED TO THE 'SOLD OUT' LIST

 
 

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