California “bluffed” its way into flipping the script on Republicans and Donald Trump, according to a new report.
Politico on Saturday published a story called, How California bluffed its way into a redistricting war with Trump, in which the outlet quotes “nearly 50 people involved with the effort” who “shared details with POLITICO about the tightly guarded process.”
California is currently in the process of potentially altering its district maps in response to Texas’ redistricting. But it started off as a “bluff,” according to reporters.
“When word got out that Texas might undertake an extraordinary mid-decade redistricting at Donald Trump’s behest, a handful of top California Democratic operatives floated an idea to Rep. Zoe Lofgren: Could California respond in kind?” according to the weekend report. “Lofgren, the chair of California’s 43-member Democratic delegation, consulted in June with a trusted data expert who dismissed it as absurd — a foolhardy end-run around the state’s popular redistricting panel with no guarantee of yielding enough blue seats to fully offset Texas. Deterred by those misgivings, California Democrats instead spent weeks putting up a front, dangling the threat of a countermove without making any real plans to do so.”
The piece quotes Lofgren as saying, “It seemed to me worth a bluff… If the Texans and Trump thought they’d go through all of this and they’d end up not gaining anything, maybe they would stop.”
She then added, “But they didn’t stop… They just doubled down.”
However, the bluff soon met reality.
“So did California Democrats, especially Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a matter of weeks, they bluffed themselves into the marquee political contest of Trump’s second term, a high-voltage fight to shape the outcome of the 2026 midterms and the remaining years of his presidency,” according to the outlet.
Summing up, the reporters wrote, “In the end, 87 of 90 Democrats voted to put the maps on the ballot — a display of consensus that [Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas] said was made possible by the California-under-siege mentality that had been building up ever since Trump re-took the White House.”
“It’s Whac-a-mole. We’ve been trying to play defense,” Rivas reportedly added. “But we finally just threw up our hands and said, ‘We’ve got to flip the script.’”
Tag Archives: Donald Trump
Raw Story: ‘Stench of their product’: Trump snarls at news network in overnight rant on name change
Trump spent part of his evening touting his big win in Texas, where Republicans passed their redistricting bill, citing a poll by writing, “59% APPROVAL RATING FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP, MASSIVE LEAD OVER THE DEMOCRATS,” without citing what poll he was speaking of.
He then lashed out at California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been a thorn in his side on social media, by writing, “Gavin Newscum is way down in the polls. He is viewed as the man who is destroying the once Great State of California. I will save California!!! President DJT,” again without what polls he is talking about.
One hour later, he attacked Comcast, a frequent target, with an all-caps attack.
“MSNBC IS DOING SO POORLY IN THE RATINGS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE THEIR NAME IN ORDER TO GET AWAY FROM THE STENCH OF THEIR FAKE NEWS PRODUCT. SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH THEIR WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE OWNER, “CONCAST,” HEADED BY DOPEY BRIAN ROBERTS, HOPELESSLY AND AIMLESSLY FLAILING IN THE WIND IN AN ATTEMPT TO DISASSOCIATE ITSELF FROM THE GARBAGE THAT THEY CREATED! MSNBC IS A FAILURE BY ANY NAME!!!” he claimed.
You can see his most recent post here.
Guardian: Immigration raid in New Jersey results in dozens of warehouse workers detained
Workers were led away in zip ties after CBP officials raided a workplace in Edison, New Jersey
“We have customs and border patrol [sic] holding the door open for their ICE counterparts to say they’re allowed in with us, and then they start doing immigration-related actions,” Amanda Dominguez, an organizer at New Labor, told News 12 New York.
“That is illegal. ICE still needs their own judicial warrant signed by a judge.”
Dozens of immigrant workers were detained at a warehouse in New Jersey on Wednesday, in the latest federal raid as part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) descended on the warehouse, in Edison, New Jersey, at 9am on Wednesday, the New York Times reported. Officers led some workers away in zip ties, employees told the Times, while people they deemed to have legal status in the US were given yellow wristbands.
Univision reported that the agents spent hours at the facility, during what CBP said was a “surprise inspection”. CBP told Univision the operation had begun as part of “routine efforts” to verify customs, employment and safety regulations.
Community rallies around LA teen detained by Ice while walking dogRead more
CBP did not immediately respond to questions from the Guardian.
Videos taken by New Labor, a New Jersey-based labor and immigration reform organization, showed CBP vehicles at the site, along with unmarked SUVs. New Labor said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents were also at the raid.
“We have customs and border patrol [sic] holding the door open for their Ice counterparts to say they’re allowed in with us, and then they start doing immigration-related actions,” Amanda Dominguez, an organizer at New Labor, told News 12 New York.
“That is illegal. Ice still needs their own judicial warrant signed by a judge.”
Relatives of the workers gathered at the facility throughout the day, the Times reported, waiting for news about people inside.
“People were very upset and crying and angry, completely understandably,” said Ellen Whit, who works at Deportation & Immigrant Response Equipo (Dire), a New Jersey hotline that responds to calls about raids and from relatives of immigrants who have been detained, told the Times. “One girl’s father was taken. She was very, very upset.”
Workers described a chaotic scene as federal agents arrived. About 20 agents entered through the front door of the warehouse, witnesses told the Times, while other agents blocked alternative exits. Some people were injured amid the chaos, while others hid in the rafters of the warehouse for hours in an attempt to avoid the officers.
The raid comes weeks after 20 people were taken into custody by Ice at the Alba Wine and Spirits warehouse in Edison. Activists told Fox 5 NY that masked Ice agents arrived that the warehouse in 30 cars, with dogs.
Phil Murphy, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, said after the Alba raid, according to NJ Spotlight News: “We don’t stand in the way of federal authorities doing their work and [we are] cooperating with them all the time. But beyond that, I have no insight into the Edison situation.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/21/ice-raid-new-jersey-warehouse-workers-detained
Daily Beast: Trump Loses the Plot After MSNBC Mocks Cankle Cover-Up
“The Last Word” host Lawrence O’Donnell noted how the president and the White House are shielding the president’s swollen ankles.
Donald Trump has lashed out at MSNBC after the network suggested the 79-year-old president is taking steps to hide his cankles from public view.
In a typical all-caps rant on Truth Social, Trump attacked the liberal network as “fake news” while referencing its upcoming name change to MS NOW, or My Source News Opinion World, as part of a rebrand during its split from NBCUniversal.
“MSNBC IS DOING SO POORLY IN THE RATINGS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE THEIR NAME IN ORDER TO GET AWAY FROM THE STENCH OF THEIR FAKE NEWS PRODUCT,” Trump stormed.
“SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH THEIR WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE OWNER, ‘CONCAST,’ HEADED BY DOPEY BRIAN ROBERTS, HOPELESSLY AND AIMLESSLY FLAILING IN THE WIND IN AN ATTEMPT TO DISASSOCIATE ITSELF FROM THE GARBAGE THAT THEY CREATED! MSNBC IS A FAILURE BY ANY NAME!!!”
Trump, no stranger to attacking media outlets he doesn’t like, went after MSNBC after one of its star anchors, Lawrence O’Donnell, mocked him for shielding his swollen ankles, a symptom of the medical condition chronic venous insufficiency.
During a monologue on The Last Word, O’Donnell noted that Trump took the almost unheard-of step of sitting behind the Resolute Desk during a meeting with European leaders in the Oval Office on Monday, rather than the usual spot in front of the fireplace.
O’Donnell said Trump made the move to ensure that “no one was going to compare his ankles to a French president’s ankles or a German chancellor’s or a British prime minister’s.”
Trump wasn’t so lucky when he met Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, with the two were seated in chairs out in the open.
O’Donnell said Trump made the move to ensure that “no one was going to compare his ankles to a French president’s ankles or a German chancellor’s or a British prime minister’s.”
Trump wasn’t so lucky when he met Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, with the two were seated in chairs out in the open.
O’Donnell also suggested Trump’s love of fast food may have accelerated the health problems of the president, who has also frequently been spotted with makeup patches covering a bruise on the back of his hand.
“That’s one of the ways a lifetime of McDonald’s junk food catches up with you,” O’Donnell said. “One of the places those Big Macs are going to show up is in the ankles hanging over the edge of your shoes.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-loses-the-plot-after-msnbc-mocks-cankle-cover-up
Daily Express: Fox News abruptly ends Donald Trump’s call in after he rants about ‘loving couple’
Donald Trump called into Fox and Friends to discuss his summit with Vladimir Putin and his ongoing strategy in the Russo-Ukraine war, but he couldn’t resist talking about one host’s relationship
Fox News, known for its support of Donald Trump and happily accepting calls from the president during broadcasts, had to make a swift about-face during an episode of Fox and Friends after he repeatedly brought up Aisnley Earhardt’s off-screen relationship with Sean Hannity.
The president dialed into the Tuesday, August 19 episode of the show to discuss his ongoing strategy to try and bring an end to the Russo-Ukrainian war, after his summit with Vladimir Putin failed to deliver an immediate ceasefire, although he hailed the “great progress” that was made.
However, despite Earhardt being open about her unique relationship arrangement with fellow Fox News host Hannity, she and her co-hosts were left scrambling as Trump made her relationship a major focus of his call-in to the show. It comes after a lip exposed the 3-word promise that Trump whispered into Putin’s ear before their Alaska summit.
Covering a range of topics, from the war to his takeover of the Washington, D. C. police force last week, the president veered off on one of his infamous tangents, shifting the topic to focus solely on Earhardt and Hannity’s romance, reports the Irish Star.
And despite the hosts’ numerous attempts to steer him back on track, he continued to discuss it.
“A guy named Sean Hannity, he might take a very lovely young lady that he knows very, very well, to dinner in Washington, and they don’t have to–and she’s sitting right next to you by the way-I don’t want to get her in trouble, so I better explain exactly, we don’t want any secrets here, but that’s the greatest relationship,” he said as Lawrence Jones tried to interrupt.
Nevertheless, Trump persisted with his line of thinking despite Jones’ efforts to divert him from discussing Earhardt.
“Hey, this could be the most important thing I’ve said, but those two are great. Ainsley and Sean, great people, and when they go out to dinner, I don’t want to see them get mugged,” he continued.
“Now they can go out, they can hold hands, and then they can both walk down the street. They’re both superstars.”
He then strangely pondered about their respective salaries at the network before Jones managed to steer the conversation back to the conflict in Ukraine.
Yet, it proved to be only a brief reprieve. As the phone call concluded, the President once more referenced their romance, clearly making Earhardt feel uneasy.
“And Aisnley, I hope I didn’t get you in trouble with Sean,” he said, which earned her a reply in which she thanked him for the support.
“I’ll say it, you know, I like this, it’s a great couple, we love ’em,” he said again, as Earhardt let out an awkward chuckle, before the call was officially cut off. The incident was swiftly picked up on social media, with numerous users commenting and drawing comparisons to various awkward everyday situations.
“Like an embarrassing great grandparent at dinner-only it’s 8 am,” one user posted on X (formerly Twitter), while another remarked “The lesson…DON’T INVITE YOUR CRAZY UNCLE TO LUNCH,” and a third commented “it’s like when your dog won’t stop trying to hump your company and you have to put them on the back porch.”
Additional observers suggested the digression indicated he was either experiencing mental decline or focusing too heavily on trivial matters rather than his presidential duties-with some joking that he was attempting to divert attention from the failed Putin meeting.
“Dementia Don let it slip. Trump is clearly going through cognitive decline,” one individual stated.
“Why is he always paying attention to things that don’t matter…” one questioned, while another remarked “like all alpha macho men, Trump just loves him some celebrity gossip.
“His summit with Putin and meeting with Zelenskyy went so poorly he retreated to his safe space over at Faux Spews, then proceeded to show how nuts he is and even they couldn’t cover for it,” another user quipped.
Nevertheless, some noted that the President hadn’t actually revealed any confidential information, since the romance has been public knowledge, with the couple announcing their engagement in December.
“They’re engaged? I’m not sure he ‘outed’ them. Lol,” one social media user commented, while another chimed in with “I thought everybody knew,” and a third added “it’s gross and everything but didn’t everyone already know those two were fooling around? They haven’t exactly been keeping it a secret.”
It comes after Earhardt posted a candid photo as she shared an ultra-rare personal update.

https://www.the-express.com/entertainment/tv/180857/fox-news-donald-trump-cut-off
Slingshot News: ‘You’re Trying To Play A Gotcha Question’: Pam Bondi Gets Paranoid, Believes Dem Senator Is Out To Get Her During Tense Hearing
Mirror US: Trump mocked by Gavin Newsom on socials as he ditches all caps writing style
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been relentlessly poking fun at Trump, and it seems to be influencing the way the former US President crafts his social media posts.
Supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are taking notice as the high-profile Democrat starts using Trump’s own brash and cheeky tactics against him.
As the leader of the country’s most populous state, Newsom is leading the charge as Democrats try to counteract Trump’s confrontational political style.
This comes after lawmakers in Texas pledged to redraw the state’s electoral boundaries in an attempt to tip the 2026 midterm elections in favor of the Republicans.
In a move reminiscent of Trump’s somewhat erratic style, Newsom announced his plans to implement similar redistricting measures, using all caps and heaping praise on himself. He also took a swipe at Trump’s controversial Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, calling her KaroLYIN and saying she’ll be left scrambling to answer press questions about the new electoral maps.
He even went so far as to claim these maps are ‘the greatest maps ever created’ and ‘even superior to those of Christopher Columbus’.
A statement from Newsom posted late Wednesday night read: “WOW! TOMORROW HISTORY WILL BE MADE. KaroLYIN LEAVITT WILL HAVE NO ANSWERS FOR THE SUPPOSED ‘FAKE MEDIA’ ABOUT CALIFORNIA’S BEAUTIFUL MAPS. PEOPLE ARE SAYING THEY ARE THE GREATEST MAPS EVER CREATED – EVEN BETTER THAN CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS’. DONALD ‘THE FAILURE’ TRUMP BE WARNED, TOMORROW MAY BE THE WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. ALL BECAUSE YOU ‘MISSED THE DEADLINE.’ LIBERATION DAY FOR AMERICA! ! ! – GCN”.
It appears Newsom’s jabs are getting under Donald Trump’s skin, with the former President seemingly using fewer capitalized letters in his recent Truth Social posts.
The shift was spotted on X, with one user sharing a screenshot of Trump’s less-capitalized messages. They posted: “The funniest thing about this is ever since Newsom started mocking him, Trump has stopped posting in all caps.”
Trump’s chaotic social media behavior has already resumed, but it suggests Newsom might be making an impression on him.
Texas Legislature Democrats initially fought back by blocking Republican measures through departing the state, but now multiple Democratic governors have pledged to establish new districts within their own states to counter potential Republican gains in Washington. Their approach has built steam through nationwide fundraising drives, media blitzes and public rallies, including demonstrations held across the country on Saturday.
Newsom joined forces with JB Pritzker of Illinois and Kathy Hochul of New York, showing solidarity with Texas Democrats and pledging to retaliate through redistricting. Pritzker mocked Abbott as a lackey who obediently responds “yes, sir” to Trump’s orders.
Hochul labeled Texas Republicans as “lawbreaking cowboys.”

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/gavin-newsom-donald-trump-1335709
Mirror US: Trump slammed for ‘dictator talk’ as he jokes with Zelensky about having ‘no more elections’ in US
Donald Trump has been accused of sounding like a dictator after joking with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky about how the US could have ‘no more elections’ by 2028
Donald Trump made an eyebrow-raising remark about the potential to halt US elections as he sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss efforts to negotiate peace with Russia.
Monday’s historic meeting marked Zelensky’s first time back in the White House since Trump and Vice President JD Vance laid into him live on TV during a spectacular Oval Office blowout in February. This time around, things remained relatively calm as the pair appeared far more civil with each other.
But Trump still escalated the tension in the room with a controversial statement. It comes as Trump appears to relish idea of a violent clash in DC as the city takes steps to de-escalate.
At one point during their press conference, the US president suddenly interrupted Zelensky as the Ukrainian leader was responding to a question about his commitment to holding elections after the war with Russia is over.
“So you’re saying during the war you can’t have elections,” Trump said. The president hinted that before the 2028 presidential election, he could call off elections as he joked: “So, let me just say, three and a half years from now so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. Oh, that’s good.”
Zelensky laughed before shaking his head as he responded: “You like this idea, no no no no.” Trump’s remarks, which have since gone viral on X, quickly saw him accused of spouting “dictator talk”.
Trump has previously called Zelensky a “dictator” and criticised him for halting elections during wartime in Ukraine. Critics raised the alarm, claiming there was a more sinister side to the joke.
One wrote: “You can practically see the dim little lightbulb flicker on above his head. ‘Wait a second… if my country is in a war… I don’t have to leave the White House… EVER?! THAT’S GOOD!’ It’s the giddy, amoral excitement of a child who has just discovered a brand new and fantastic way to cheat at the game. Except the game is the Constitution of the United States.”
A second warned: “His remark to Zelensky wasn’t just a slip of the tongue it’s a window into his authoritarian fantasies. If Trump thinks he can dodge elections by dragging us into some endless conflict, he’s not just dreaming; he’s planning. The question isn’t just ‘who’ we’re going to have a long war with it’s ‘how long’ before we wake up to the fact that this man will stop at nothing to cling to power.”
Trump’s comments to Zelensky aren’t the first time that he has hinted at plans to remain in the White House beyond his second term, something which is currently unconstitutional. In a phone interview with NBC news back in March, Trump said he’s “not joking” about running for a third term and insinuated that “there are methods” of bypassing the Constitution.
When asked to elaborate on those methods the following month, the president told TIME Magazine: “I’d rather not discuss that now, but as you know, there are some loopholes that have been discussed that are well known.”
“But I don’t believe in loopholes,” Trump added. “I don’t believe in using loopholes.” However, earlier this month the president appeared to back-peddle on talk about running for a third term.
Asked whether he would make another bid for president in 2028, Trump told CNBC: “No. Probably not. I’d like to run. I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had. You know why? Because people love the tariffs.”
Despite this, Trump on Monday showed off his collection of MAGA hats to Zelensky, including one emblazoned with the phrase “4 More Years”.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-elections-zelensky-usa-1337245
Daily Mail: Lawmaker allegedly ‘stuffs ballots’ in swing state that Trump just won
A chilling video has allegedly shown a lawmaker accompanying a friend who stuffed ballots in a swing state that Donald Trump only won by just over 80,000 votes.
Abu Musa, a city council member of Hamtramck, Michigan, was in the passenger seat handing several bundles of what appear to be absentee ballots to the driver.
Musa then watches the driver deposit three stacks of ballots into a drop box.
Michigan State Police confirmed the authenticity of the clip, which was filmed on August 1. It is part of an investigation into council members’ residency requirements.
The alleged ballot box stuffing incident took place just before the city’s latest primary election on August 5 – which Musa won with more than 1,129 votes.
The video comes days after two of Musa’s councilmen colleagues, Muhtasin Sadman and Mohammed Hassan, were charged over forging ballots in the city’s tightly fought 2023 election.
Musa was previously named as ‘under investigation’ in the same conspiracy – but was not charged at the time.
According to a document by Attorney General Dana Nessel requesting a special prosecutor in the 2023 case, Musa’s colleagues ‘conspired to receive unvoted absentee ballots that had been signed by recently naturalized citizens.’
The accused then allegedly proceeded to ‘fill in the candidates of their choosing’ during the city’s 2023 elections, according to the document issued in April.
Musa received the most votes in the August 5 primary election, per unofficial election results released on August 6 – receiving 12.5 percent of total votes in a field of 12 candidates.
Of the total 1,129 votes received by Musa, 843 were cast by absentee ballot. The 286 total of election day votes received by Musa is only the fifth-highest tally.
Hamtramck’s council was embroiled in the election forgery scandal earlier this year – and Sadman and Hassan were charged on August 11. Musa and another council member, Mohammed Alsomiri, were not charged at the time.
The drama was ramped up when Attorney General Nessel then decided to recuse herself from the investigation because of criticism she had faced in the past.
Nessel, a Jewish lesbian, previously criticized policy positions taken by the Muslim-majority council to ban Pride flags from being flown on city-owned property.
The Michigan Attorney General had also faced harsh scrutiny for her prosecutions of pro-Palestinian protestors at the University of Michigan in the wake of October 7.
Nessel was additionally accused of prosecuting the campus protestors due to ‘bias against Muslims and/or people of Arab descent.’
She foresaw similar criticisms coming her way in this ballot forgery case, as five of the defendants ‘are of Arab descent’ – therefore she removed herself.
Hamtamack, a city in Metro Detroit, has a population just over 28,000 residents, which is over 70 percent Muslim. The city became the first in America to be governed by an all-Muslim council in 2022.
Detroit’s Local 4 News reported that the initial investigation began ‘after the city clerk noticed unusual patterns with absentee ballots – including identical handwriting on multiple envelopes and large bundles of ballots submitted at once.’
Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj told Votebeat that ‘state laws are clear that your ballot should only be handled by you or a family member,’ adding that ‘everyone’s cousins around here.’
The council is made up of six members, and three slots are up for election every two years. Members serve four-year terms.
Donald Trump won Michigan’s 15 electoral votes in 2024 with 49.7 percent of the votes to Kamala Harris’ 48.3 percent.
Hamtramck’s Mayor Amer Ghalib made waves last year after endorsing Trump for President as the mayor of America’s first Muslim-majority city.
Trump later nominated Ghalib to be the Ambassador to the State of Kuwait.
Daily Mail have contacted Musa for comment.