Good morning. Last night delivered one of the roughest nights of Donald Trump’s political career: three more endorsed candidates down for the count, a Trump +18 district flipping blue, and an upset Senate primary win that has Democrats feeling genuinely bullish about November. Add in a senator who admitted on live TV she can’t speak to basic national security questions, new documents exposing just how tightly the FCC’s chairman is coordinating with the White House and Fox News, and the wildest six-word review of Trump-world loyalty you’ll read this month, and it’s a lot to get through. So let’s get into it.
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Here’s the news:
Trump-endorsed candidates lose as Democrats set to flip Trump +18 District:
Donald Trump had one of his worst nights politically in a long time on Tuesday, as 10 Trump-endorsed candidates have now lost their primaries this election season, including 6 in the last two weeks and 3 on Tuesday alone. That total already matches Trump’s combined endorsed-candidate losses from 2018, 2020, and 2024 put together, and it’s just one shy of his single worst year, 2022. The losses come as Trump’s approval rating has fallen to a record low among several key voter blocs that helped return him to the White House in 2024, and they fit a broader pattern of Democratic overperformance in special elections nationwide that has Democrats increasingly optimistic about retaking Congress in November.
Two of Tuesday’s Trump-backed losses came in Florida.
GOP Rep. Cory Mills lost his primary to political newcomer Ryan Elijah despite Trump’s endorsement, as Mills was weighed down by a House Ethics Committee probe into alleged sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, plus a separate DOJ investigation into his finances; he’s now the 11th House member (7 Democrats, 4 Republicans) to lose a primary this cycle. Republican Catalina Lauf also fell short in the 19th District despite a late Trump endorsement, losing to businessman Jim Schwartzel in a crowded field that included two former members of Congress trying to restart their careers after ethics-related exits.
Pennsylvania Democrats delivered another blow, flipping a state House seat Republicans had held since 1999. Brandon Dukes narrowly defeated Scott Timko in the 12th District special election by fewer than 100 votes, in a district Trump carried by 18 points in 2024 and where the GOP incumbent had won by 30 points that same year. Governor Josh Shapiro and other Democrats seized on the result as momentum heading into the midterms, while Timko pointed to November as the real test; a recount may be triggered depending on how the state’s 0.5 percent margin rule applies to special elections.
Not every Trump-backed candidate lost, though. In Florida’s governor’s race, Trump-endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds won a contentious GOP primary after raising nearly $100 million, fending off attacks from controversial rival James Fishback, who was endorsed by white nationalist Nick Fuentes. And in Wyoming, Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman easily won the open Senate primary to succeed retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a state Trump carried with over 71 percent of the vote in 2024.
Florida’s Democratic Senate primary produced the night’s biggest upset: state Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democratic Socialists of America member, defeated heavily-funded former NSC aide Alex Vindman despite being outspent roughly 16-to-1. Nixon will now face Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who won her own primary and immediately cast Nixon as part of a “socialist” threat in her victory speech. Meanwhile in Alaska, GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola both advanced toward a competitive November Senate race that Democrats view as a path to the majority, complicated by a second candidate also named Dan Sullivan whose candidacy is under federal grand jury investigation.
Darline Graham fumbles:
Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) drew sharp criticism after telling debate moderator Greta Van Susteren she is “not that informed on national security” when asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea count as U.S. national security issues and why. She followed the admission by noting she supports the military, citing her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s 33 years in the Air Force and her father’s Army service, while acknowledging she’s “not a polished politician” and that national security isn’t her area of expertise. Former Rep. Katie Porter said the comment wasn’t a rushed, in-the-moment slip but possibly just “dumb,” while also taking a shot at Graham’s runoff opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman. Former state Rep. Adam Morgan called it a “stunning debate flop” that underscores doubts about her qualifications, and Nikki Haley contrasted her with Lindsey Graham, writing that national security expertise “is not something you inherit” and is critical for a Senate seat.
Graham was appointed to the seat by Gov. Henry McMaster after her brother’s sudden death last month, with President Trump’s full endorsement, and she announced soon after that she’d run for a full term. She and Norman advanced to a runoff after topping last week’s primary field, and Norman spent much of the hour-long debate hosted by South Carolina ETV and Public Radio attacking her lack of governing experience, at one point claiming Democrats prefer her as a candidate. The national-security exchange has become the most-discussed moment from the debate and adds to broader questions about Graham’s readiness for a six-year Senate term. The runoff will determine the Republican nominee for the seat once held by her brother.
Brendan Carr:
Internal FCC documents obtained by the Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward reveal that Chairman Brendan Carr maintained close, frequent contact with the Trump White House even as he publicly refuses to discuss the relationship. Between March 2025 and February 2026, Carr attended at least eight White House meetings and had at least three scheduled calls with administration officials, including two with chief of staff Susie Wiles, plus phone contact with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Some calendar entries specify topics like FAA/spectrum issues or drone policy, while others, such as a June 2025 “WH mtg,” offer no detail at all. Democracy Forward’s Dan McGrath said the records raise serious questions about whether the FCC is functioning as an independent regulator or has become too intertwined with political and industry interests, a concern amplified by Carr’s own past statements denying the agency’s independence since the president can remove commissioners at will.
The documents also expose a pattern of meetings with conservative media figures and executives, most notably ones not previously disclosed. Carr met with Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch and top Fox executives in January 2026 at Fox’s request, and with Sinclair Broadcast Group chair David Smith in February 2026, whose company had briefly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live under pressure tied to comments about Charlie Kirk. In June 2025, Carr also met with former congressman Matt Gaetz, now a host at the far-right network One America News, with OAN’s president listed as an optional attendee. These disclosures matter because Carr has been the architect of an unprecedented FCC order forcing ABC to apply early for license renewal just a day after Trump publicly demanded ABC be punished over a Kimmel joke, a decision ABC is now suing over.
Beyond the meetings, the files show Carr actively pitching himself to conservative outlets like Fox News’s “Fox and Friends” to discuss tech policy, and reveal a lighter, more personal side, including a joking internal reminder from his chief of staff that grammar violators would be “reported to Doge” and a pop-culture-laced introductory email referencing the Coen brothers’ film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” In one email exchange, Carr made an off-color joke about doing “the Trump dance” toward protesters who had disrupted an FCC meeting to demand his firing. Former Obama-era FCC chair Tom Wheeler called the Wiles-Carr correspondence “very interesting” but not “terribly unusual” for a same-party administration. Overall, the emails show Carr as consistently professional and cautious in FOIA-subject communications, never explicitly voicing pro-Trump sentiment, even as the broader pattern of access and coordination fuels concerns about the agency’s independence.
Natalie Harp:
Natalie Harp has become one of Donald Trump’s most constant and fiercely loyal aides, a role epitomized by an unreported 2023 incident where, denied a motorcade seat for Trump’s New York court appearance, she jumped into an SUV trunk rather than be left behind. A former right-wing TV host who says Trump saved her life, she’s since become a key conduit between Trump and the outside world, managing Truth Social posts, printing favorable articles, and staying by his side so constantly that allies nicknamed her the “human printer.” One White House adviser explained her staying power simply: “She doesn’t second guess, doesn’t question,” and Trump himself has praised her speed and reliability.
Natalie Harp’s brother responded to the new CNN reporting that she once jumped into the trunk of an SUV in Trump’s motorcade after being told there were no seats left, calling the episode “actually kind of sad” and describing it as “an unhealthy obsession.”
Other news:
The Israeli military acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that it fired on the vehicle carrying 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024, and said it has now opened a criminal investigation into her killing. The admission reverses the IDF’s earlier position, which had denied involvement and claimed a preliminary investigation found its forces were not present near or within firing range of the vehicle. Rajab was one of seven family members in the car when it came under fire; she survived the initial shooting and spent hours on the phone pleading with Palestinian paramedics to rescue her, but the ambulance sent for her was also fired on, and her body wasn’t found until 12 days later, riddled with bullets. Recordings of her calls with paramedics drew international attention and fueled demands for accountability over her death and those of thousands of other children in Gaza, and a film about the incident, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” was nominated for an Oscar in 2026.
Donald Trump paused a threatened 50% tariff on Canadian goods for three days late Tuesday, hours before the hike, which would have hit roughly $20 billion worth of exports including wine and hockey sticks, was set to take effect. He announced the delay on social media, saying Canada and the U.S. “subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL,” and in the same post floated reviving the long-dormant Keystone XL pipeline, saying it “may be awoken from the grave” without offering details or clarifying any link to the tariff talks. The move caps a volatile year between the two countries that included a 25% tariff imposed in February 2025 over border and drug-trafficking concerns, a further escalation to 50% in July 2026 over alleged discrimination against U.S. cars, alcohol and dairy, and repeated Trump musings about annexing Canada as a U.S. state. Keystone XL itself has a fraught history, having been proposed in 2008 and shelved by TC Energy in 2021 after Biden revoked a key permit, amid long-standing opposition from landowners, tribes and environmentalists.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded more cautiously, saying “substantial progress” had been made toward a trade deal but that more work remained before anything was finalized. His comments followed his description on Monday of “intense and delicate” talks between top officials from both countries in the lead-up to the deadline. Carney’s government had previously pushed back hard against earlier U.S. tariff rounds, calling them “unwarranted and unreasonable” and disputing White House claims by noting that less than 1% of fentanyl and illegal crossings originated from Canada. With roughly $909 billion in annual trade between the two nations and Canadian businesses warning of potential financial devastation from the latest levies, Carney’s measured tone signals relief at the reprieve without declaring the underlying dispute resolved.
A new international analysis found “substantial” ethical and legal concerns in 853 papers published by France’s IHU institute, far more than previously flagged, with 758 of them co-authored by founder Didier Raoult, who became globally famous in March 2020 for research claiming hydroxychloroquine could treat Covid-19. That study was praised by Trump as a “gamechanger,” championed by Dr. Mehmet Oz (now head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) in TV appearances and private emails to Trump officials including Jared Kushner, and later celebrated by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dedicated part of his 2021 anti-Fauci book to Raoult; the drug was never shown effective and the paper was retracted in 2025 after driving shortages and fueling anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. Researcher Lonni Besançon, part of the team behind the new findings, said Oz would have spotted the study’s problems had he reviewed it properly, and that the episode wasted enormous scientific attention and “millions of euros” in funding.
Dog food brand Years has issued a voluntary recall of all its fresh meals after reports that a recipe change involving buckwheat may have caused some dogs to develop sudden bilateral dry eye, a painful condition that can lead to blindness if untreated. As of early Wednesday the company said 192 of its roughly 40,000 customers had reported potential eye issues, up sharply from 57 suspected cases as of the previous Sunday, and a Facebook group tracking cases had surpassed 2,100 members within days of forming. Years said an independent vet initially found a link to its food “unlikely” based on early data but recommended further investigation, which led the company to launch lab testing, an ophthalmologist review, a customer questionnaire and an independent root-cause and toxicology probe before deciding Monday to recall everything as a precaution, while stressing that “there’s not conclusive evidence” tying the illness definitively to its products. The company has also deleted a February blogpost that had described buckwheat as safe for dogs “in most cases,” saying it removed the post to avoid customer confusion, even as it maintains the ingredient is “common and approved” and that testing on potential contamination within its buckwheat supply is ongoing.
Nick Kyrgios, the 31-year-old former Wimbledon finalist, has been suspended from tennis after testing positive for cocaine, with the International Tennis Integrity Agency confirming a mandatory provisional suspension in place since August 4. The positive test came from a sample given at an ATP 250 event in Mallorca in June, with a WADA-accredited lab confirming the presence of a cocaine metabolite in July. Kyrgios broke the news himself on Instagram, admitting he “made a huge mistake,” apologizing to his family, fans, sponsors and young fans, and citing the physical and mental toll of recent injuries and nearing the end of his career, though he stressed this didn’t excuse his actions. He said he’ll step away from social media and public life for 28 days to focus on getting himself right, and under ITIA rules the length of his ban will depend on whether the substance was used in or out of competition, with possible reduction to as little as one month if he enters an approved rehabilitation program, similar to the path cricketer Kagiso Rabada took after a similar positive test last year.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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