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<channel>
 <title>Latest articles from Crooks and Liars</title>
 <link>https://crooksandliars.com</link>
 <description>The latest articles from Crooks and Liars</description>
 <language>en-us</language>
<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The latest articles from Crooks and Liars</itunes:subtitle><item>
    <title>Trump's Latino Polling Latest To Go In The Crapper </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trumps-latino-polling-latest-go-crapper</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59794.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;CNN polling data guru Harry Enten delivered more bad news for Trump heading into the midterm elections as Latino voters have now turned on him by a huge margin.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"So, how much ground has he lost here?" the CNN host asked.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"Oh my goodness gracious. Oy, oy, oy," Enten mocked. "No bueno if you're the president of the United States."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
In an average of polls, CNN, SSRS polls across 2026, he's 42 points underwater.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That is a switcheroo-capable win of what, 43 points, shifting away from the president of the United States.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His support rapidly declining, plummeting among working-class Latinos.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A group that helped get him elected back in 2024.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After outlining where the dissatisfaction has come from within the Latino community,  Enten said, "Kate, you do the quick math with me here, minus 47 plus nine, that is a shift away from the president of the United States of 56 points."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Drops like these are unheard of, unless you're Demented Donald. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
ENTEN: He was more trusted on immigration than Kamala Harris was with working-class Latinos. And now he is horribly underwater. We're talking 47 points underwater.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These are terrible, terrible numbers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Latino voters helped Congressional Republicans and Trump in 2024 get power, but that has been turned on its head.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trumps-latino-polling-latest-go-crapper" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/69154">Donald Trump poll numbers</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/75152">Harry Enten</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103222">Latino polling</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/39284">Latino voters</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:53:30 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Sen. Eric Schmitt Unleashes Racist Attack On Migrants On Fox News </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/sen-eric-schmitts-unhinged-racist-attack</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59793.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Fox News' Hannity program Thursday, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) went on a horrific racist tirade against undocumented immigrants and Somalis, claiming they're all on welfare and blaming them for the high costs of housing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The very brief clip came before the end of the segment on Hannity, and it was so offensive and full of lies and untruths that I had to post it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is stumping before an election, and then there's this bigoted, lie-filled attack on the Democratic Party and migrants as a whole. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
SCHMITT: It means they want to defund ICE.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It means they want sanctuary cities not to tell ICE when people, illegal immigrants, are being released from prison. That's what that really means. They think temporary should mean permanent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There's 25 percent of Mexico is here, and 70 percent of them are on welfare. Ninety percent of Somalis who are here are on welfare. You want to know why rents are up? You want to know why hospital waiting rooms take too long for American citizens to get?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt; Who knew a quarter of Mexico's entire population lives in the US?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; What a fucking liar. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; Undocumented immigrants cannot receive any federal funding, which means no welfare. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; And Somalis, yet again, are smeared by a powerful Republican because of the color of their skin. It's outrageous to claim 90% are on welfare when roughly 8% are receiving public assistance income. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; Sen. Schmitt gave a racist masterclass to any wannabe KKK member.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/sen-eric-schmitts-unhinged-racist-attack" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:47:03 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Trump’s Latest Solution To Bad Press: Just Ban The Press </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-s-latest-solution-bad-press-just-ban</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/32984155372_c5064eb351_k_20.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Donald J. Trump apparently woke up and decided that the best way to deal with news coverage he doesn't like is to ban the news organizations doing the reporting. Problem solved!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump announced that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico were being banned from the White House “effective immediately,” accusing the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he called “FAKE NEWS.” Because apparently the presidential solution to unfavorable coverage is now to start handing out press-room expulsions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump also took a swipe at MS NOW, claiming its recent name change from MSNBC stemmed from declining viewership and credibility. He then turned his attention to Politico, repeating his claim that the outlet received an $8 million government “subscription” during the Biden presidency and suggesting that the spending amounted to corruption.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Earlier in a separate post, he &lt;a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117292605168784403"&gt;wrote&lt;/a&gt;, "Unwatchable and Failing CNN is so dishonest. Everything they say is slanted against the Republican Party. They are truly FAKE NEWS! Thankfully, very few people are watching!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He offered no specifics to substantiate his sweeping accusations that the outlets were reporting “FICTION and LIES.” Instead, Trump declared that media organizations shouldn't be allowed to report that way about the president or his administration. It's not clear what set the thin-skinned president off this time. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-s-latest-solution-bad-press-just-ban" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/free-press">free press</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:48:00 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Conover Kennard</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon Staff Has A Savage New Nickname For His Wife</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/pete-hegseth-s-pentagon-staff-has-savage</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/54644345875_cf46f877bc_k.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth apparently has a problem at the Pentagon—and it isn't just the one staring back at him in the mirror.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to a new report, Pentagon staffers have given Hegseth's wife, Jennifer, a rather brutal nickname: “Yoko Ono.” The reference suggests she has become a powerful influence over her husband and is deeply involved in his professional affairs, according to the &lt;a href="https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16137335/Pete-Hegseth-wife-Jennifer-Pentagon.html"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Daily Mail&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jennifer Hegseth has reportedly become a regular presence inside the Pentagon, sitting in on high-level meetings, helping prepare her husband for public appearances, weighing in on communications, and reportedly even participating in the hiring process. She was also tapped to chair the newly established Military Spouse Commission after appearing alongside Hegseth and Donald Trump at the White House.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That level of involvement has raised eyebrows among Pentagon insiders. One former official questioned why a defense secretary would involve his wife in sensitive official matters, including information concerning an impending military operation. Another official described Jennifer as one of Hegseth's closest advisers and said her access inside the Pentagon was highly unusual for a defense secretary's spouse.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/pete-hegseth-s-pentagon-staff-has-savage" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103010">Jennifer Hegseth</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/589">Pentagon</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/pete-hegseth">Pete Hegseth</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:01:00 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Conover Kennard</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Sen. Kennedy Very Unhappy About Needing To Campaign In Red States</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/sen-kennedy-very-unhappy-about-needing</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/cnn-john-kennedy-091726.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Senator Foghorn Leghorn is extremely unhappy about the fact that he's going to have to help defend what should have been some &lt;a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/senator-kennedy-stunned-hes-campaigning-for-republicans-in-close-red-state-races-these-oughta-be-fat-guy-layups/"&gt;safe seats for them in the Senate&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) lamented that he will be campaigning for Republican Senate candidates in “close” races in solidly red states. [...]&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Thursday, reporters caught up with Kennedy outside the Capitol, where he told them he never thought he would be fundraising and campaigning for Republican Senate candidates in red states.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Why he's surprised, given how unpopular Dear Leader is, is beyond me, but here's his statement to reporters:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
KENNEDY: I'm going to Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa to help raise money and campaign for our very good candidates. If you told me six months ago I was going to be having to spend my time in those three states, I wouldn't believe you. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Those ought to be fat guy layups for us.  Now we're going to win there,  but the races are close.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yeah, keep telling yourself that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As the &lt;a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/senator-kennedy-stunned-hes-campaigning-for-republicans-in-close-red-state-races-these-oughta-be-fat-guy-layups/"&gt;Mediaite post &lt;/a&gt;reported:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/sen-kennedy-very-unhappy-about-needing" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/iowa">iowa</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/666">John Kennedy</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1017">Kansas</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/nebraska">Nebraska</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/56851">Pete Ricketts</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/67304">Roger Marshall</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 18:51:05 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Trump Boasts About What He Could Do With 'The Power Of This Office'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-boasts-about-what-he-could-do-power</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59791.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Donald J. Trump apparently discovered a new way to demonstrate the awesome power of the presidency: threatening to ban fishing until a billionaire calls him up and begs for mercy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Speaking at a White House dinner, Trump boasted that he could issue a quick order banning fishing and drive Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris “right the hell out of business.” Then, according to Trump’s scenario, Morris would have no choice but to call the president and plead with him to reverse course.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump even suggested he might do exactly that for a day or two, apparently to remind everyone who’s boss.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Because when you possess the extraordinary power of the presidency, why use it for anything boring when you can hold an entire industry hostage for a couple of days and wait for a billionaire to call you “sir”?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump’s takeaway was that “the power of this office is crazy.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Judging by his hypothetical fishing ban, he seems to regard that power less as a constitutional responsibility and more as an especially impressive toy for the Republican Party's special boy. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Social media users weighed in. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="embedfield embedfield-embed-html "&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:nbjpya2sjhe7mrzztokwdva5/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvs6sqio3k2m" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreibjhidwi3x5dwuhnigenu7nxthrnzxydykuubbwuiccogj3iwezji"&gt;&lt;p lang="en"&gt;Ladies and gentleman the current occupant of the Oval Office, er Gold Room, is quite mad. Seriously, Mad as fuck. Act accordingly. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Aux barricades mes amis!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-boasts-about-what-he-could-do-power" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/95286">Trump's mental acuity</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 17:47:03 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Conover Kennard</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Senior Iranian: Strait Will Not Open Until 'Criminal' Trump Is Removed From Power</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/senior-iranian-strait-will-not-open-until</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/bwtrumpd.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;A senior Iranian figure has made one thing abundantly clear -- the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until "criminal" US President Donald Trump and "bloodthirsty" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are removed from power. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Reporting from &lt;a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-un-war-crimes-iran-deal/#post-update-e3ee5ae6"&gt;CBS News&lt;/a&gt; confirmed that Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, a political adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, made the bold declaration, according to Iranian state broadcaster &lt;a href="https://www.irna.ir/news/86266780/"&gt;IRNA&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our fighters will not open the Strait of Hormuz until they bring the criminal Trump and the bloodthirsty Netanyahu down from the seat of power.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As Donald Trump's war with Iran stretches well into its seventh month and counting, traffic through the critical shipping waterway has plummeted to its "&lt;a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/us-iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-saudi-arabia-oil/"&gt;lowest level yet&lt;/a&gt;" while global oil prices have skyrocketed to &lt;a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Above-100-Pushes-US-Fuel-Prices-to-New-Records.html"&gt;record-breaking heights&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The American people have been left to suffer through the consequences of this war with no recourse and no end in sight, as &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/09/16/analysts-predict-gas-price-jump-long-disruption-damaged-pipeline/"&gt;The Washington Post&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; warns, "the worst is yet to come." &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/senior-iranian-strait-will-not-open-until" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/41419">Benjamin Netahyahu</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59980">Iran war</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/26545">Strait of Hormuz</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:58:38 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Fox Repeatedly Told Viewers High Gas Prices Were Temporary</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/fox-repeatedly-told-viewers-high-gas</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/payne_for_091726.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/fox-news-has-claimed-high-gas-prices-would-be-temporary-least-188-times-beginning"&gt;Media Matters&lt;/a&gt; did the math. On September 8, it found that Fox News and Fox Business figures told viewers that higher gas prices were a small and short-term problem &lt;strong&gt;at least 188 times&lt;/strong&gt; since Trump acted on his whim to start a war with Iran. “They’ve claimed repeatedly that soaring prices were temporary and would come back to Earth as soon as some constantly shifting goal was achieved,”  Media Matters reported.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It wasn’t just Fox. Media Matters caught other right-wingers in the media such as Carl Higbie, Bennie Johnson and Dave Rubin joining in the assurances.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For example: Fox Business host Charles Payne predicted &lt;a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4043365"&gt;in June&lt;/a&gt; that gasoline would be “well under $3.50 by the election – maybe even lower.” &lt;a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4043365"&gt;In July,&lt;/a&gt; he said it would be close to $2.50 a gallon “before the end of the year.” &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Fox liar extraordinaire &lt;a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4043334"&gt;Kayleigh McEnany&lt;/a&gt; told viewers in April that “President Trump can and will bring that [$4 gas] down when he wraps this up. He says two to three weeks is what he is asking for.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/fox-repeatedly-told-viewers-high-gas" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98653">2026 Elections</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/85605">Benny Johnson</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/60388">Carl Higbie</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/19557">Charles Payne</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/82562">Dave Rubin</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/dick-cheney-sean-hannity-interview">Dick Cheney sean hannity interview</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/fox-business-network">Fox Business Network</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/90258">Fox News Channel</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/78826">Fox Propaganda</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/682">Gas Prices</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/58969">Kayleigh McEnany</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/80761">Trump's Iran War</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/100722">Election 2026</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:56:51 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>NewsHound Ellen</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Trump Uncorked A Deranged Midnight Explosion On 'Dirty Dogs' </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-uncorked-deranged-midnight-explosion</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/trump_white_hat.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Someone tell Natalie that Daddy Donnie is up past his bedtime, playing on his phone again. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It seems President Donald Trump is getting so much sleep in his Cabinet meetings that he can't get a wink at night, leading to some of the most insane, unhinged, paranoid social media posts we've ever had the displeasure of reading. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The big guy uncorked a doozy just past midnight this morning, touting an almost month-old column from a Right-wing &lt;em&gt;Washington Post&lt;/em&gt; pundit, raging over leaks about his war with Iran and threatening severe consequences for whoever is telling all his dirty secrets to the press. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"Very interesting," Trump said of the three-week-old &lt;a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/27/iran-trump-took-an-enemy-its-word-if-only-past-leaders-had/"&gt;opinion column&lt;/a&gt; penned by Marc Thiessen, titled "What the disloyal leaks about Iran prove about Trump." &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump called it a "must-read" before turning his attention to the leakers themselves. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"Keep on leaking you dirty dogs!" he fumed. "When we find you, you will pay a big price!!!" &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117290107011309524/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-uncorked-deranged-midnight-explosion" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59980">Iran war</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/leaks">leaks</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103106">Trump's Mental Health</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/88366">Truth Social</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:52:50 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Ken Paxton Is Getting The Pro-Life Lawsuit He Deserves</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/ken-paxton-getting-pro-life-lawsuit-he</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/paxton_for_091726.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Even as Tierra Walker’s life was in obvious danger, she was denied an abortion because her fetus was deemed healthy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/16/texas-abortion-ban-lawsuit-san-antonio-tierra-walker/"&gt;The Texas Tribune&lt;/a&gt; has the details of Walker’s ghastly ordeal: “During the four months of her pregnancy, Walker suffered seizures, blood clots, and one hypertensive crisis after another that were all signs of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that results in high blood pressure and death, according to the lawsuit."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“During that time, Walker asked for an abortion but was denied it because although her own health was failing, the lawsuit claims she was told ‘your baby is fine.’ At one point, as many as 90 medical professionals were consulted on Walker’s case before she died, according to ProPublica’s profile on Walker’s death.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Two months later, her son found her dead on his birthday. An autopsy report confirmed she died from preeclampsia while 20 weeks pregnant. “More than 90 doctors were involved in Walker’s care, but not one offered her the option to end her pregnancy, according to medical records,” &lt;a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-tierra-walker-preeclampsia"&gt;ProPublica&lt;/a&gt; found in its report on Walker's death last year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/ken-paxton-getting-pro-life-lawsuit-he" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/247">Abortion</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/78288">Abortion Bans</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/61808">Ken Paxton</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/91643">maternal death</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/texas">Texas</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/99862">Texas Abortion Ban</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103219">Tierra Walker</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/100722">Election 2026</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:51:41 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>NewsHound Ellen</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Judge Drops The Hammer After Trump Threatens To Demolish Kennedy Center</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/judge-drops-hammer-after-trump-threatens</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/49567609682_724161b155_k_33.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The fight over Donald J. Trump’s plans for the Kennedy Center has moved into court, with a federal judge ordering the administration to provide advance notice before making any major physical changes to the building, &lt;em&gt;The Hill&lt;/em&gt; &lt;a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6096246-kennedy-center-emergency-hearing-demolition-trump-beatty/"&gt;reports&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The judge’s order follows concerns that were raised about Trump’s threats to demolish parts of the Kennedy Center. The dispute intensified when an image appeared showing the words “KENNEDY CENTER DEMOLISHED,” adding even more fuel to questions about exactly how far the administration intends to go with its plans for the cultural institution.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="embedfield embedfield-embed-html "&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvootf42xc27" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreigdgtixharxpkbel3fideaohbevt54iarjx45lxksfybinzheoefm"&gt;&lt;p lang="en"&gt;Trump looks at a placard that reads &amp;#34;Kennedy Center DEMOLITION&amp;#34; as he lands at Joint Base Andrews tonight&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;mdash; &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc?ref_src=embed"&gt;Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mvootf42xc27?ref_src=embed"&gt;2026-09-17T03:15:38.457Z&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/judge-drops-hammer-after-trump-threatens" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103218">Kenney Center</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:27:44 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Conover Kennard</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Major Leaked Split Inside The Trump WH Leaves Aides Panicking Behind Closed Doors</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/major-leaked-split-inside-trump-wh-leaves</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59789.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to a new report from the &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/inside-the-white-house-tussle-to-sway-trump-on-ai-0043d567"&gt;Wall Street Journal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, there's a quiet but massive fissure growing within the Trump White House over the rapidly growing dangers and increasingly terrifying warnings surrounding unregulated artificial intelligence. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A rapidly growing number of experts and other high-profile figures within the AI industry have begun to publicly warn that if artificial intelligence is not regulated &lt;strong&gt;soon&lt;/strong&gt;, the technology could quite literally &lt;a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/15/politicians-play-catchup-tech-bros-agree-decade-left-ai"&gt;wipe out the human race&lt;/a&gt; in a matter of years. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After a last-minute phone call from White House advisor David Sacks in May, Donald Trump scrapped an executive order in the ninth hour that would have significantly tightened government oversight of new AI models being cranked out by massive developers like Anthropic and OpenAI. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Incidentally enough, wouldn't you know, Sacks -- who once worked as Donald Trump's personal AI and crypto czar before transitioning into a co-chair position of the president's tech advisory council in March -- has maintained a heavy hand in the writing of rules for both AI and crypto, while also maintaining significant financial ties to a venture capital firm with monumental stakes in both industries. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/major-leaked-split-inside-trump-wh-leaves" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/62246">artificial intelligence</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/69824">Trump White House</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:56:35 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>White House Withdraws Unqualified Pick To Be Director Of ICE</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/white-house-withdraws-unqualified-pick-be</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/embeds/2026/09/71669.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The White House has withdrawn Trump's latest unqualified nominee for a major federal government position.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Lance Schroyer, whose only qualification was being an Oklahoma state trooper and a friend of DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, got the boot earlier today. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/17/ice-nominee-withdrawn-schroyer-01082250"&gt;Politico reports&lt;/a&gt;, "Schroyer’s abrupt exit means the agency’s streak of not having a confirmed leader at the top ranks will continue. The Senate has not confirmed an ICE director since 2014 and there is &lt;a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/23/ice-dhs-schroyer-mullin-01046067"&gt;pessimism within the administration’s ranks&lt;/a&gt; that the Senate could confirm any nominee with a significant track record at ICE, given how polarizing the agency has become under President Donald Trump."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's hard to find a qualified person to run an agency that has been turned into a racist secret police force under Stephen Miller, aka mini-Goebbels, control. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump only nominates people who pledge fealty to him.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/white-house-withdraws-unqualified-pick-be" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/101174">ICE director</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/24288">Immigration and Customs Enforcement</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103217">Lance Schroyer</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:47:26 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>MAGA Prophet: God Told Me Gas Prices Are Coming Down, Down, Down </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/maga-prophet-god-told-me-gas-prices-are</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/vlcsnap-2026-09-17-09h23m45s589.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Crackpot Christian nationalist, Trump cultist, self-proclaimed prophet to God, and conspiracy theorist Hank Kunneman held up a red gas can and proclaimed during a &lt;em&gt;Flashpoint Live&lt;/em&gt; event that gas prices are going to go down, down, down, down.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/search?search=Kunneman&amp;amp;sort=published"&gt;C&amp;amp;L has written many articles &lt;/a&gt;on this self-proclaimed MAGA prophet. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"I want to bring a prop, because I want you to see this, Gene?" Kunneman said. "The gas prices are going to go down, down, down, down, down."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Our good friends at &lt;a href="https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/props-and-prophecy-god-told-hank-kunneman-gas-prices-are-going-go-down"&gt;Right Wing Watch&lt;/a&gt; caught his tired act.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
God has been saying for a long time the gas prices are going down. Watch the oil of the earth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He prophesied. We did a whole show on Flashpoint about the oil.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We showed prophecies that specifically said Venezuela would be set free and their oil would be given to the earth years before what you just saw.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The oil is going to come down, but so is the Spirit of God the oil is going to come down.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And as you watch the prices of gas go down, you need to rejoice, because it's a sign of the spoils of war, but it's also a sign of what we're talking about.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The glory of God is coming down also.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/maga-prophet-god-told-me-gas-prices-are" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/81106">Christian Nationalism</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/682">Gas Prices</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/91967">Hank Kunneman</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103134">High gas prices</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/93877">MAGA prophet</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:47:16 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
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<item>
    <title>Mike’s Blog Round-Up </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/mike-s-blog-round-friday</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/embeds/2026/09/71664.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a quote from Harry Bates' short story entitled  "Farewell to the Master" which was first published in the October 1940 issue of Astounding Science Fiction:  "From his perch high on the ladder above the museum floor, Cliff Sutherland studied carefully each line and shadow of the great robot, then turned and looked thoughtfully down at the rush of visitors come from all over the Solar System to see Gnut and the traveler for themselves and to hear once again their amazing, tragic story."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;From a writerly point of view, this is a solid first paragraph.  It immediately identifies the story’s protagonist, where he is and that his presence is not alarming anyone at the museum, so presumably it’s OK for him to be there.  This exhibit is drawing people from “all over the Solar System”, so the exhibit is very popular and is taking place in a future when there are people all over the Solar System.  The exhibit is about Gnut and some sort of “traveler,” and their story is both amazing and tragic.  We learn all of that in the first paragraph. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's a really good story, but you were given a dozens guesses, it's a fair bet that many of you wouldn't be able to guess the movie which was "adapted" from this story, because just about every element of the story was either dropped or radically altered.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The movie is terrific "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and it hit theaters on this date in 1951.  And in 1995, it was inducted into the U.S.'s National Film Registry.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/mike-s-blog-round-friday" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/33195">MBRU</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:47:07 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>driftglass</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Susan Collins Proves Once Again She's No Moderate</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/susan-collins-proves-once-again-shes-no</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/collins_susan.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sen. Susan Collins has survived being a Republican in the blue-leaning state of Maine for decades by positioning herself as a moderate who breaks with her party on issues like abortion rights.   &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, Collins took off her mask again on Tuesday when she &lt;a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00233.htm"&gt;voted in favor&lt;/a&gt; of Matthew Byrne, a virulently anti-abortion Ohio state appeals court judge whom President Donald Trump nominated to the federal bench. In fact, Collins was effectively the &lt;a href="https://x.com/SenatePress/status/2099630152393114077"&gt;deciding vote&lt;/a&gt; on Monday to advance Byrne’s nomination, even though Byrne opposes abortion in nearly every case, including when the pregnancy is the product of rape or incest.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/susan-collins-proves-once-again-shes-no" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/247">Abortion</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/78288">Abortion Bans</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/102006">Maine Senate race</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103204">Matthew Byrne</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1404">Susan Collins</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/47998">Troy Jackson</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/29032">women's reproductive rights</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:47:02 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Emily Singer</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>RFK Jr Believes Chemtrails Are Real </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/rfk-jr-believes-chemtrails-are-real</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/vlcsnap-2026-09-17-12h09m41s139.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;As HHS Secretary, RFK Junior has already done monumental damage to this country's health and safety.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now he is turning his attention to another ridiculous conspiracy theory known as chemtrails.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Thursday, worm brain delivered &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtSwJ2q99w4"&gt;a keynote address at the Children’s Health Defense&lt;/a&gt; conference in Washington, D.C., when he made these asinine statements. Junior has already altered vaccine requirements for kids and now looks to the sky.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"We're also looking at chemtrails and the impact of emissions," he said. "Emissions from aircraft."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Originally it was called contrails, and the chemtrails idea has been&lt;a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/chemtrails-conspiracy-theory-explained-cec"&gt; around since 1996.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;"At its most basic, the chemtrails conspiracy theory posits that contrails are not created by water vapor at all, but instead are a sign that the government, the wealthy, or some mix of the two, is secreting toxic chemicals into the air, creating these white lines. Ideas about the purpose of these supposed toxic chemicals vary. Some believe the chemicals are being used to poison humanity, others say it’s for mind control, and some think it’s a way for the government to control the weather."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Will the Department of Health and Human Services ever recover from this quack?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Impeach him!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Open thread.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/rfk-jr-believes-chemtrails-are-real" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/60471">Anti-vaccination</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/64694">chemtrails</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/91437">RFK Jr.</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/39281">right wing conspiracy theories</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:55:53 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>New Poll: Pete Hegseth Is 'Hated By Basically Everyone'</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/us-public-hates-pete-hegseth</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/vlcsnap-2026-09-17-08h59m27s429.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;CNN's poll guru Harry Enten delivered more bad news for the disgraceful Pete Hegseth in the latest polling since the Iran war began, and it's doubtful he would have survived &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/cowardly-mike-johnson-cancels-remaining"&gt;an impeachment vote in the House&lt;/a&gt; if Speaker Johnson hadn't forced a recess.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Move over Donald Rumsfeld, you have company. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
HOST: Where is his, where is Hegseth's popularity right now?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ENTEN You know, we start off the title slide asking who hates Hegseth, and basically everyone if you're in the American public.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;No wonder, no wonder the speaker sent everybody home, because just take a look here. Okay, Hegseth's net approval, you know, back before the Iran war started back in January of 2026, right? It was minus nine points.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You think that's low? Look at this. He's more than twice as unpopular, nearly three times as unpopular now on his net approval rating, minus 25 points.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;How about among independents? You think that minus nine is low? How about minus 20 before the war started?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
You think that minus 20 is low? How about minus 43 points among independents now?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;No wonder, no wonder, no wonder Speaker Johnson did not want his Republican representatives to actually have to vote on this, because if they voted with the president, they'd be voting against the American public, because the bottom line is Pete, Pete Hegseth is hated by basically everyone.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/us-public-hates-pete-hegseth" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/75152">Harry Enten</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103216">Iran war polling</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/pete-hegseth">Pete Hegseth</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:55:15 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Braindead Sen. Blackburn: The Commies Are Coming! </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/braindead-sen-blackburn-commies-are-coming</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59788.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Fox Business, Sen. Marsha Blackburn tried to smear Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, but confused political ideologies and doesn't understand what communism means except as a phrase she can mouth off about in an attempt to be clever. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She failed miserably.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sen. Marsha Blackburn isn't known for her clever wit, and she joined the newly formed &lt;em&gt;Mornings with Fox Business&lt;/em&gt; program after the firing of MAGA Queen Maria Bartiromo. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Host Taylor Riggs asked the Tennessee Senator what she sees in Michigan for the midterms. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
RIGGS: Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed meeting with Democratic senators in Washington this week. Kamala Harris saying that she will join El-Sayed in Michigan next week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What do you make of this rising competitive Senate race and the DSA?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BLACKBURN: Mike Rogers is running a great campaign.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;These Democrat Socialist candidates are just crazy. And people in Michigan know that. They know these proposals are crazy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They know that in 1776, the battle cry was the British are coming.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They know that in 2026, the battle cry is the Communists are coming, and the people are standing against this.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A new poll released today &lt;a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/michigan-2026-poll-el-sayed-and-rogers-locked-in-close-election/"&gt;by Emerson College&lt;/a&gt; shows El-Sayed with a 2-point lead on Mike Rogers, so Michigan people are behind El-Sayed. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/braindead-sen-blackburn-commies-are-coming" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103022">Adbul El-Sayed</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/55766">Michigan Senate race</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/80376">Sen. Marsha Blackburn</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:53:05 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Susan Collins Warns Canada About Tightening Ties With The EU</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/susan-collins-warns-canada-about</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/default-ezgif.com-avif-to-jpg-converter_1_0.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maine's concerned Senator called it "unfortunate" that Canada is turning to Europe after Trump's disastrous tariffs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You know what's really unfortunate? Having this god-awful person represent you in the U.S. Senate for going on 30 years so that billionaires can have greater tax cuts while Maine's cost of living continues to rise, regional hospitals continue to close, and tourism from Canada disappears. That's what is truly unfortunate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Source: &lt;a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-canada-trade-us-congress-susan-collins-chris-coons-9.7346439"&gt;CBC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;A long-serving Republican senator from a border state is warning Prime Minister Mark Carney against strengthening Canada's economic and political ties to the European Union.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — facing a re-election battle in November's midterms in a state highly dependent on cross-border trade — says it's unfortunate that Canada is turning toward the EU in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"That doesn't help rebuild the good relationship that we once had and that I want us to have again," Collins told CBC News correspondent Katie Simpson at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In a speech earlier Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, with Carney present, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe wants to open the door for Canada to become an "associate member" of the EU.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/susan-collins-warns-canada-about" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/maine">Maine</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1404">Susan Collins</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:53:52 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Ed Scarce</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>In Case It Wasn't Already Clear, Trump Couldn't Care Less About Your Suffering</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/case-it-wasnt-already-clear-trump-couldnt</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59787.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;As of yesterday, the &lt;a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/"&gt;national average&lt;/a&gt; for a gallon of gas was $4.47, while diesel prices officially hit &lt;a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/u-s-diesel-prices-hit-new-record-high-as-fuel-squeeze-bites-455c4983"&gt;record-breaking highs&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Inflation continues to rise and has only further plagued the president's disastrous second administration in the wake of his decision to launch an all-out war against Iran, with Bibi Netanyahu in the passenger seat earlier this year. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Regardless of what the DOW is sitting at right now, real, average, working Americans are suffering more, presently, than many of us have in our entire lives. People can't afford to put gas in their cars, food on their tables, keep the lights on, or pay the rent—and polls ahead of the impending November midterms have already shown exactly who the American people blame for that. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As it stands, Republicans are soon to be swept away in a Blue Wave next month, as multiple polls predict monumental Democratic victories. A recent generic congressional ballot showed Democrats leading Republicans, 51% to 43%, and Trump himself isn't doing any better. An August &lt;a href="https://www.umass.edu/poll/about/reports/2026-08-national-public-opinion-poll"&gt; UMass survey &lt;/a&gt; put the president's approval rating at an embarrassing 32%. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/case-it-wasnt-already-clear-trump-couldnt" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/682">Gas Prices</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/inflation">inflation</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/59980">Iran war</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:57:40 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Is AG Todd Blanche The New WH Press Secretary? </title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/ag-todd-blanche-new-wh-press-secretary</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/mediaposters/2026/09/59782.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;MS Now host Pete Alexander was appalled that Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche acted like the new White House Press Secretary and spoke for the president during a news press briefing in the Rose Garden on Tuesday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Since Watergate, AGs have never held court for a US president and have worked hard to keep their independence above political party. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That's another norm that has disintegrated under Trump's fascist reign and willingly embraced byBlanche. .&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
ALEXANDER:  The Attorney General speaking on behalf of the President. There he was, Todd Blanche, hosting the news conference, the press briefing in the Rose Garden, right outside the Oval Office, something that just doesn't happen post-Watergate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When attorneys general do appear alongside a President, we went back to look.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's generally for a nomination ceremony.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's a bill signing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It happens in important times of crises, like Janet Reno, she entered the briefing room after the Oklahoma City bombing. Then President Clinton read a statement and left Reno to answer questions specifically about the attack.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But without a press secretary, Attorney General Todd Blanche was left to serve as Trump's mouthpiece.
&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What you are about to hear is as disgraceful as it gets for an AG, as he filled in admirably for the recently departed Karoline Leavitt. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
BLANCHE: As far as President Trump's truth about the justices, he is very frustrated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/ag-todd-blanche-new-wh-press-secretary" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/attorney-general">attorney general</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/71814">Pete Alexander</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/103208">Tod Blanche</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/white-house-press-secretary">white house press secretary</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 18:54:11 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>John Amato</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Petulant Trump Threatens To Cut Off Trade With Europe</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/petulant-trump-threatens-cut-trade-europe</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/fox-trump-canada-eu-091626.png" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Trump took questions from a group of reporters while arriving for a rally in Charlotte, NC, this Wednesday and was asked about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's offer to Prime Minister Mark Carney for &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/canada-invited-become-eus-first-ever"&gt;Canada to become the first "associate member" of the EU.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Trump responded by threatening more illegal tariffs and potentially further destroying the US economy by cutting off trade with Europe if Canada joins.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="transcript"&gt;&lt;p&gt;
TRUMP: Canada's been a terrible trade partner. If they do that, if I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So if they do that, if Europe does that with a bad intention,  if it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on them. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvoasz3ndb2f" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreiafmeg5a2xstpiw755r7cmj75j2p5amhxqhudfta5obmglt72zldm" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system"&gt;&lt;p lang="en"&gt;Trump threatens to cut off all trade with Europe if Canada associates closer with the EU&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3mvoasz3ndb2f?ref_src=embed"&gt;&lt;figure class="qtinsert-image qtinsert-image-float-none"&gt;&lt;img src="//crooksandliars.com/files/imagecache/%252F" alt="image" title=""/&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/petulant-trump-threatens-cut-trade-europe" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/937">Canada</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/779">European Union</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/24184">Mark Carney</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/73966">Trump tariffs</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/98248">Ursula von der Leyen</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:47:39 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Heather</dc:creator>
</item>
<item>
    <title>Judge Demands Immediate Answers From Trump As Forklift Slams Kennedy Center</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/judge-demands-immediate-answers-trump</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/trump_yell.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Federal Judge Christopher Cooper has now demanded &lt;strong&gt;immediate&lt;/strong&gt; answers from President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, after an emergency motion was filed by board member and &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/kennedy-center-board-member-went-trumps"&gt;Ohio Democratic House Rep. Joyce Beatty&lt;/a&gt;, as forklifts were spotted slamming into the building while surrounding it with fencing. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Judge Cooper signed the order just two hours after &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/beatty-trump-he-threw-tantrum-immature"&gt;Rep. Beatty&lt;/a&gt; filed it, according to the &lt;a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72069932/beatty-v-trump/"&gt;court docket&lt;/a&gt;. He gave Trump and the additional defendants a deadline of 10 a.m. today to respond to Beatty's emergency motion. He noted that the court would schedule a prompt hearing, if necessary, after reviewing the response. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Beatty &lt;a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972.84.0_1.pdf"&gt;requested the hearing&lt;/a&gt; on the grounds of what she calls an &lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/trump-puppets-vote-close-kennedy-ctr-after"&gt;unlawful closure&lt;/a&gt; of the famous, long-embattled performing arts venue and specifically requested that a senior decision-maker be ordered to attend. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/judge-demands-immediate-answers-trump" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/11836">Donald Trump</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/77745">Kennedy Center</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:51:15 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Andrea Thompson</dc:creator>
<enclosure length="150180" type="application/pdf" url="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972.84.0_1.pdf"/><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Federal Judge Christopher Cooper has now demanded immediate answers from President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, after an emergency motion was filed by board member and Ohio Democratic House Rep. Joyce Beatty, as forklifts were spotted slamming into the building while surrounding it with fencing. Judge Cooper signed the order just two hours after Rep. Beatty filed it, according to the court docket. He gave Trump and the additional defendants a deadline of 10 a.m. today to respond to Beatty's emergency motion. He noted that the court would schedule a prompt hearing, if necessary, after reviewing the response. Beatty requested the hearing on the grounds of what she calls an unlawful closure of the famous, long-embattled performing arts venue and specifically requested that a senior decision-maker be ordered to attend. read more</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary>Federal Judge Christopher Cooper has now demanded immediate answers from President Donald Trump and the Kennedy Center's board of trustees, after an emergency motion was filed by board member and Ohio Democratic House Rep. Joyce Beatty, as forklifts were spotted slamming into the building while surrounding it with fencing. Judge Cooper signed the order just two hours after Rep. Beatty filed it, according to the court docket. He gave Trump and the additional defendants a deadline of 10 a.m. today to respond to Beatty's emergency motion. He noted that the court would schedule a prompt hearing, if necessary, after reviewing the response. Beatty requested the hearing on the grounds of what she calls an unlawful closure of the famous, long-embattled performing arts venue and specifically requested that a senior decision-maker be ordered to attend. read more</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>Donald Trump, Kennedy Center</itunes:keywords></item>
<item>
    <title>Mike Johnson Cancels Congress To Keep Hegseth Off The Impeachment Hot Seat</title>
    <link>https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/cowardly-mike-johnson-cancels-remaining</link>
    <description>&lt;div class="node-media"&gt;&lt;img src="https://crooksandliars.com/files/primary_image/26/09/53301484041_b630157994_k.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mike Johnson remains the most pathetic, spineless, weak Speaker of the House...quite possibly in all of recorded history. And today he continued building on his legacy of pathetic, anti-Democratic choices - he canceled the remaining days of votes. He sent the House of Representatives home until after the midterm elections (in 49 days!). These people work less than just about anybody else...and collect a hefty taxpayer salary.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Why did Mikey tuck tail and hide? Because he was scared of Thomas Massie's pending motion that would require a vote on whether to move forward with impeachment of Secretary of Hair Gel, Pete Hegseth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A seven-week recess - after a nice long summer recess. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Under House rules, the motion would have hit the floor on Thursday, which is why Johnson canceled the session one day early.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Regarding impeaching Hegseth, Johnson called it "ridiculous."&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He added:  “It’s a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention. It will immediately be tabled, of course, but we probably won’t do that today. We’ll probably do it when we come back. But it’s a stunt. Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But do not worry. Other votes the GOP really wants to push through are still happening on Wednesday. Top of the list: overturning more EPA regulations, which is a great way to ensure that more people die faster. But corporations will get richer!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Priorities, eh?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://crooksandliars.com/2026/09/cowardly-mike-johnson-cancels-remaining" target="_blank"&gt;read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
     <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/coward">Coward</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/101743">financial times pete hegseth</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/176">GOP</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/1137">House of Representatives</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/94679">House Speaker Mike Johnson</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/67909">MAGA</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/51628">pathetic</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/276">Republicans</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/tags/speaker-house">Speaker of The House</category>
 <category domain="https://crooksandliars.com/taxonomy/term/70767">Thomas Massie</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>Red Painter</dc:creator>
</item>
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