Midterm Defeat Would 'End Trump Presidency' - The Thursday AM Quickie 2/26/26

By Corey Pein — Feb 26, 2026

Larry Summers is finally out at Harvard thanks to his friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. But why is he being allowed to retire instead of getting fired like a mere mortal? It's almost like the elite lacks integrity. - Corey

ON THE SHOW TODAY

2/26: Emma will be hosting solo; the guests will be Daniel Boguslaw, investigative reporter at the Intercept, and Priscilla Yeverino, program associate for the Democratic Socialists of America.

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Today you'll read about the wild shootout off the coast of Cuba, how Pete Hegseth's Pentagon is turning the 1983 film war War Games into real life, and what the Minneapolis woman arrested for standing up silently during Donald Trump's speech this week has to say about her treatment by Capitol Police.

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THE BIG NEWS

GOP Makes Open Threats to Free and Fair Elections

At this point, November's midterm elections are looking bad for Donald Trump and his Republican Party. The Washington Post has a new poll showing that Democrats say they are more certain to vote than Republicans by 14 percentage points. And while Trump claims the country is in a "golden age" with a "roaring" economy, only 39 percent of Americans agree with him, the Associated Press reports. "If we lost the midterms – heaven forbid, if we lost the majority in the House – it would be the end of the Trump presidency," Budding Theocrat House Speaker Mike Johnson said after Trump's epically long, pointless, and unpopular State of the Union speech Tuesday night. From your lips to god's ears, pal.

The stakes of the midterms are high enough that Republicans, knowing the voters are against them, are taking steps to skew the process in their favor through any means necessary. The New York Times reports that "Trump has shown an increased eagerness to leverage the full investigative, prosecutorial and legislative powers of the federal government to bend election mechanics to his will... undermining Americans’ trust that the midterms will be free and fair." Speaking at an "election security" event in Arizona, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said "we've been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting." Her meaning is plain enough, but it bears pointing out that that's not really her job!

Some Trump advisers like Steve Bannon have called for deploying ICE goons at polling places to deter people from exercising their right to vote, which would be illegal under federal law. For what it's worth, Heather Honey, a deputy assistant secretary for "election integrity" at DHS, yesterday told state elections officials that "any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation." Of course, it would be foolish to take Honey's word for it, since she was personally involved in Trump's unlawful, calculated, and violent attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"I did not walk away from this meeting reassured that the federal government wouldn't try to interfere in state sovereignty over the election," Maine's Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows tells NBC News. What I'd like to know is what the opposition plans to do about it.

MORE STORIES TO WATCH

Armed Exiles from Florida Attack Cuban Forces at Sea; Rubio Denies US Involvement

A speedboat registered in Florida carrying 10 Cuban exiles armed with "assault rifles, handguns, molotov cocktails, body armor and fatigues" approached Cuba's northern coast east of Havana yesterday when it was intercepted by border agents. According to Cuba's Interior Ministry, the men on the speedboat opened fire, wounding the Cuban commander; the officers returned fire, killing four and wounding six. The government subsequently identified some of the men on the speedboat as US-based exiles, some of whom were wanted on terrorism charges. Officials also arrested a man living on the island who they say was "sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says "it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea" and that Homeland Security and the Coast Guard are gathering their own facts about the incident. He also said "no" when asked if the speedboat was part of a US government operation. If you say so, Marco... but where'd they get the guns?

'Devastating': Regime Deprives Minnesota of $259 Million in Medicaid Funds

You may remember when far-right streamer Nick Shirley kicked off the Republican obsession with both imaginary and overblown safety net fraud in Minnesota with a series of videos demonizing the state's Somali community. Yesterday, Shirley was boosting another fascist streamer who's been posting disgustingly racist and antisemitic videos about minorities in other states. And the Trump regime elevated Shirley's cause national policy, with Vice Bootlicker JD Vance and health official Mehmet Oz declaring a "war on fraud" beginning with the denial of $259 million in Medicaid payments for Minnesota. "This has nothing to do with fraud," Democratic Gov. Tim Walz says. "These cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state."

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that John Hurley, a Treasury Department official and Trump donor, resigned after voicing objections to the deployment of "law enforcement tools against Minneapolis's Somali community." A proposed new Justice Department division will prosecute supposed fraud, undermining the existing Criminal Division's authority while serving the whims of the convicted fraudster felon who sits in the White House.

QUICKEST QUICKIES

US Embassy to Israel Opens 'Pop Up' Consular Office in Illegal West Bank Settlement "This cannot be construed in any way other than as a political statement of legitimization of Israeli settlements in the West Bank," says Michael Sfard, an Israeli expert on human rights law. via the New York Times, the Guardian, and Al Jazeera.
Minnesota Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar Calls for Investigation After Her Guest at Trump Speech Is Arrested for Standing Up in Silent Protest "There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up," Minneapolis resident Aliya Rahman says. "I was arrested for standing up." via the Washington Post, Democracy Now!, and the Guardian.
Greek Leftist Politician Yanis Varoufakis Criminally Charged for Admitting to Having Used Drugs 36 Years Ago in Another Country "The idea of putting a party leader on trial for talking about his experiences with substances many decades ago is not an accidental, innocent gaffe," Varoufakis's party, the European Realist Disobedience Front, says. "It is a message from a judiciary that closes its eyes to those in power and goes after whoever refuses to bend the knee." via the New York Times, Politico, and Euronews.
Biden-Appointed Judge Rules Trump's Third-Country Deportations Illegal "Under the government's policy, people have been forcibly returned to countries where US immigration judges have found they will be persecuted or tortured," says Trina Realmuto, director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance, which represented the plaintiffs in the case. via the Washington Post and the AP.

SOME NUMBER

95 percent

That's how much of the time three leading commercial AI programs opted to deploy nuclear weapons in a series of 21 war games simulated by a King's College London researcher, New Scientist magazine reports. The Pentagon has made it a priority to incorporate artificial intelligence throughout the military.

DON'T MISS MR CLIPS‌

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PARTING WORDS

"The politics are a lot better if the Israelis go first and alone and the Iranians retaliate against us, and give us more reason to take action."

-- A person "familiar with discussions" inside the Trump regime about a possible US war with Iran, speaking to Politico about how they hope to instigate the conflict. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei yesterday responded to Trump's sparse comments about the country during his State of the Union speech, calling his claims about Iran's missile and nuclear programs "big lies" and comparing Trump to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Iran and the US resume nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland today.

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