The former Democratic president said Team Trump “mobilized a whole-of-government response” not to inflation, but to his Cheesecake Factory joke.

Thursday, October 29, 2026

 

TODAY'S TOP MADDOWBLOG POSTS

Obama skewers Trump again, says he ‘wasn’t even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison’

Obama skewers Trump again, says he ‘wasn’t even mad about the Saddam Hussein comparison’

The former Democratic president said Team Trump “mobilized a whole-of-government response” not to inflation, but to his Cheesecake Factory joke.

MORE
 

Hegseth purges yet another top general, intensifying controversy

The defense secretary’s purge campaign at the Pentagon has been so radical, it’s fueled impeachment talk. By all appearances, Hegseth doesn’t care.

MORE

Hegseth purges yet another top general, intensifying controversy

The defense secretary’s purge campaign at the Pentagon has been so radical, it’s fueled impeachment talk. By all appearances, Hegseth doesn’t care.

MORE

Eyeing Alaska, Trump and Republicans pick a fight over campaign mischief they can’t win

There’s a qualitative difference between genuine electoral scandals and routine campaign mischief. Ballot-stacking belongs in the latter category.

MORE

Eyeing Alaska, Trump and Republicans pick a fight over campaign mischief they can’t win

There’s a qualitative difference between genuine electoral scandals and routine campaign mischief. Ballot-stacking belongs in the latter category.

MORE

GOP’s Moreno targets El-Sayed with a religious test that even many Republicans can’t pass

The Constitution prohibits religious tests for public office. It’s a detail that Ohio’s senior senator doesn’t appear to understand.

MORE

GOP’s Moreno targets El-Sayed with a religious test that even many Republicans can’t pass

The Constitution prohibits religious tests for public office. It’s a detail that Ohio’s senior senator doesn’t appear to understand.

MORE
 

MORE FROM THE MADDOWBLOG

  • Trump’s latest transactional pitch: Space Force academy is conditional on election outcome
  • Trump downplays concerns about a possible Democratic majority, stepping on his message

  • Speaker Johnson says the polls are wrong. His own party doesn’t appear to agree.
  • Thursday’s Campaign Round-Up, 10.29.26: Poll shows Hamilton leading in Kansas
 

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

  • Massive Leak Exposes 41,000 Homeland Security Workers—Including Undercover ICE Agents — The leaked records include the locations of ICE and CBP facilities, workers’ cell phone numbers, and the members of groups tied to wiretap programs, Palantir software, and xAI’s Grok chatbot.
    (Wired)

  • "The Pentagon is treating the spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August as a suspected hack, according to four officials familiar ‌with the matter."
    (Reuters)

  • USDA sends more relocation notices, seemingly in violation of court order — A court-ordered stay prohibits USDA from issuing or enforcing "any other notice or directive of reassignment or relocation in whole or in part." 
    (Government Executive)

  • "Trump administration officials are privately encouraging U.S. firms to accept Russian diesel currently crossing the Atlantic, industry groups familiar with the conversations said, despite warnings that doing so could place them in significant legal and reputational jeopardy."
    (Washington Sun)

  • Every way the polls could be wrong, in one chart — You should expect a small amount of polling error — but nobody can tell you in which direction
    (Strength in Numbers)

  • “Everyone knows someone with cancer,” a national Republican consultant said of the situation in Iowa. They, like others who spoke to The Washington Sun, were granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. “These voters are saying, ‘Holy crap, this is a big problem, and Republicans have been in charge for over a decade,’ so there’s no other place to point finger.”

    Iowa’s Cancer Crisis Has Upended Pivotal Midterm Races
    (Washington Sun)

  • "This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot. If you have individualized proof, I invite you to provide it so election officials can take appropriate steps that are consistent with federal and state law."


    Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs response to DOJ letter about voter rolls
    (Washington Secretary of State)

  • "Most people recoil at the idea that the human race can be improved over time by forcible control of the gene pool, in part due to the history of shocking human rights abuses that eugenics-embracing governments perpetrated in the twentieth century.


    But eugenicist ideas have kept a toehold on the darkest white-supremacist fringes of the right—a fringe that has burst back into the mainstream during the Trump era."


    Top Trump DOJ Official Embraces Eugenics
    (The Bulwark)

Follow Rachel on Bluesky here.

 

Members who caught Rachel's Monday Q&A this week probably saw the writing on the wall (Rachel's protestations to the contrary) that she wasn't going to be in TV-making shape by 9pm.

 

But! The extra rest for Rachel will be worth it. We have a special show this Sunday, then regular Maddow Monday, then special election coverage Tuesday, and then special post-election coverage on Wednesday. So a Maddow marathon in the offing.

 

Submit questions for next week's here.

 

And the way to ask your question live on video is through this form.

 

NEW YORK CITY ADDED TO THE 'SOLD OUT' LIST

 

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

Sign up to follow it yourself or send this sign-up link to someone you know would appreciate it.

 
 

NEWS TIPS? SEND IT TO RACHEL

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

RACHEL MADDOW ON BLUESKY

 

229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY | CONTACT | VIEW IN BROWSER

UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY | CONTACT | VIEW IN BROWSER