Trump told us exactly what he did

[hookaleft]

Donald Trump visited a Mack Trucks facility in Macungie, Pennsylvania, this week. Though billed as an economic speech, Trump predictably wandered from topic to topic, leaving a trail of lies, distortions and incoherent rants.

We have come to accept Trump’s rambling as normal. We expect him to make up facts and defame his political opponents. Most importantly, we know that he will lie about elections and make false claims of election fraud.

But this normalization comes at a steep price for democracy. When we accept that the president lies, we cheapen the value of truth. When we accept his attacks on Democratic leaders and opposition figures, we destigmatize and thus enable the weaponization of government.

After ranting about California’s system of tallying ballots, Trump proceeded to falsely claim that the Los Angeles mayoral election was rigged against the Republican candidate. Never mind the fact that Los Angeles is overwhelmingly Democratic. In Trump’s telling, a Republican reality TV personality should have won.



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"I called up the very powerful and very good U.S. attorney in California, and I said, ‘Do me a favor. Take a look, they are trying to steal that election, too.’ I guess they called up. They said, ‘This is the U.S. Attorney calling.’

So, over the next week, he was definitely going to lose, but the U.S. attorney called, ‘We want to check your votes.’ About an hour after the call, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Hilton has won.’ Had I not made that call, Steve Hilton would right now be watching the election from home."

https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/trump-told-us-exactly-what-he-did/

snip>

Folks we are in trouble for the midterms

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. MaddowBlog-'Do me a favor': Trump privately pressed prosecutor to pursue elections conspiracy theory

It’s one thing for Democrats to argue that the Justice Department is under Trump’s thumb. It’s something else when he suggests his critics are right.

It’s one thing for White House critics to argue that federal law enforcement is under the thumb of the president, who’s effectively calling the shots at the Justice Department he controls.

It’s something else when Trump admits his critics are right.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-25T16:30:42.280Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-privately-pressed-prosecutor-elections-conspiracy-theory

In fact, 10 days after Californians finished casting ballots, the president started arguing that the only reason Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton advanced to the general election was that the president applied “heat” by making conspiratorial claims. (The actual reason Hilton advanced was because of vote totals.)

This week, the president elaborated on what happened behind the scenes. At an event in Pennsylvania on Tuesday afternoon, Trump told attendees:

Steve Hilton, who is running for governor. He was up in front, just about leading. No problem. Then all of a sudden, four, five days after the election is over, they said, ‘Steve Hilton is starting to lose votes.’ I said, ‘Here we go again.’ I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. attorney in California and I said, “Do me a favor. Take a look. They are trying to steal that election.”

The electoral dynamic the president described was plainly untrue, and there was literally no evidence of anyone trying to “steal” anything.,,,,

After delivering the instructions, one U.S. attorney did, in fact, start examining the matter.

This is a rather extraordinary admission — and in a healthier political environment, it would be seen as a genuine scandal. It’s one thing for the White House’s Democratic critics to argue that federal law enforcement is under the thumb of the president, who’s effectively calling the shots at the Justice Department he controls. It’s something else when Trump more or less admits — out loud, in public, on more than one occasion — that his critics are correct.

“Trump just admitted it,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom noted via social media. “The President of the United States is personally directing federal prosecutors to start investigations into his political opponents when his preferred candidate may lose the election.”

[usonian]

2. WTF is this nonsense? Hilton, a republican barely squeaked by a second Democrat in an open primary.

It would have been Democrat versus Democrat for the governor's job.

Democratic votes were very divided, mostly between qualifier Xavier Becerra and losing billionaire Tom Steyer.

Steyer has pledged his support for Becerra.

I personally wanted it to be Democrat versus Republican in the bluest of states, rather than see two Democrats bash each other.

Hilton won the "right" to be crushed for the asshole he is.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. MaddowBlog-RFK Jr. reportedly tried to make a legally dubious deal with a congressional candidate

A report that Kennedy raised the possibility of an “agreement” that would benefit an Iowa Libertarian if he exited the race raises all kinds of red flags.

Rough day for an ethically challenged Cabinet, Part I:

RFK Jr. caught on tape trying to work out an “agreement” with a congressional candidate, as part of an effort to get him to drop out of a key race.

In a normal administration, there’d be real talk right about now about his resignation.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-25T20:30:49.538Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/rfk-jr-reportedly-tried-deal-congressional-candidate

Politico also recently reported that Kennedy urged a Libertarian in the state’s 3rd Congressional District to drop out of the contest in order to help the Republican Party hold onto the seat. The Washington Post has a new report, meanwhile, on Kennedy taking similar steps in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District — though this time, there are reportedly audio recordings documenting the secretary’s efforts. From the article:

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged a Libertarian congressional candidate in Iowa to drop out of a competitive House race to help Republicans keep control of Congress, according to an audio recording of the conversation obtained by The Washington Post.

During the call, Kennedy said he was acting as a “liaison” with the White House, argued that a Democratic takeover of the House would undermine President Donald Trump’s agenda and suggested that he could help the candidate if he left the race. He also suggested that the candidate could “make an agreement” that would accomplish more than a “symbolic run” for office.

Kennedy declined the Post’s request for a comment and referred questions to a spokesperson, who did not immediately respond.

According to the recording, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, Kennedy told Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, “I can’t go into specifics because there’s legal prohibitions about that. … If it’s something that you want to talk about, you know, you and I can talk about specifics.”....

In fact, the Post report added, “Government ethics experts said Kennedy’s apparent intervention in the Iowa races was unethical and potentially illegal, depending on whether he promised candidates specific favors and whether he made the calls in his capacity as a Cabinet official, among other factors.”

For his part, Stewart told the newspaper that he interpreted Kennedy’s call as an attempt at quid pro quo.

“He was very careful about the words that he used, but the whole implication is: You help us, we’ll help you,” Stewart said. “They want to get me out because I might pick up 2 or 3 percent — and if I pick up 2 or 3 percent, they think it’ll come out of the Republican pocket.”

The Libertarian Party candidate said he does not intend to end his candidacy. As for Kennedy, it seems awfully likely the questions about his alleged efforts will continue.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Unearthed audio: RFK Jr. pushes a third-party candidate to drop out in exchange for a taxpayer-funded position

There is a recording of this call

Link to tweet

[B.See]

5. Whaa?? MAGAS trying to rig it, again??

What a surprise.
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