Systemic Error Podcast

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings were weighing heavily on Republican candidates in the closing weeks of the midterm campaign. Polls cited in the report placed his approval between 32 and 38 percent, gave Democrats an eight- or nine-point advantage in congressional preferences, and showed especially weak public confidence in his handling of affordabi...

What happened RawStory, summarizing reporting by The Atlantic, says the Trump White House has pressed FBI and Justice Department leaders to pursue indictments connected to President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. More than 40 current and former officials, FBI employees, and congressional staffers described demands relayed as coming from the White House, while FBI Director Kas...

What happened RawStory reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth selected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for Project Meridian, a four-month initiative intended to shape the Pentagon’s view of future warfare. Musk and Luckey lead companies with billions of dollars in active Pentagon contracts. Nine current and former officials reportedl...

What happened RawStory reports that Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton released an ad on October 2, 2026, acknowledging that groceries, rent, and insurance “keep climbing,” then blaming “liberal politicians” for worsening the strain. The ad features Paxton’s daughter, Mattie Hayworth, presenting him as the politician who will fight back. Critics pointed to the obvious problem: Republicans...

What happened RawStory reports that retiring North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis used an excerpt from his forthcoming book to attack Donald Trump’s advisers and supporters as “MAGA morons,” “sycophants” and drivers of what he predicts will be severe Republican defeats in 2026 and beyond. The excerpt was supplied by publisher HarperCollins ahead of the book’s scheduled Oct. 6 release. Tillis...

What happened RawStory, citing The Bulwark, reports that El Arepazo in Doral, Florida, has lost roughly 80% of its business as immigrants frightened by the Trump administration’s enforcement campaign stay home. An employee said prepared specials sometimes spoil because customers do not come. Owner Maximo Alvarez had welcomed Donald Trump to the restaurant seven months earlier and pledged his loyal...

What happened RawStory reports that former Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre warned President Donald Trump is repeating the Biden administration’s failure to address voters’ economic experience—and worsening it by openly dismissing affordability concerns. In a New York Times op-ed, she argued that Trump’s confrontational communication style is losing its force as prices remain p...

What happened RawStory, citing the Daily Beast, reports that Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt withdrew from a scheduled C-SPAN appearance one day after his questioning of former special counsel Jack Smith unraveled during a Senate hearing. Host Dasha Burns disclosed the cancellation but did not report Schmitt’s reason, so the claim that embarrassment drove his decision remains an inference, not an est...

What happened AlterNet reports that the White House planned to mail roughly one million people $500 checks bearing Donald Trump’s signature, accompanied by a letter claiming the Biden administration had “massively overcharged” users of the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace and retained the money. The administration had not published an accounting supporting that explanation, according to the...

What happened George F. Will’s call for “carnage” was a demand for sweeping Republican defeats in the November midterms. AlterNet reports that the conservative columnist argued most congressional Republicans had surrendered their independence to President Donald Trump and should be punished electorally for abandoning their role as a check on executive power. Will urged voters to target lawmakers w...

What happened A Broward County poll did not, by itself, put Florida in play. AlterNet reports that a Bendixen & Amandi International survey found Democrat David Jolly leading Republican Byron Donalds 52 percent to 26 percent in the heavily Democratic county. The Sun Sentinel reported the results; no statewide findings were provided. The result matters because Jolly’s 26-point margin exceeds Kamala...

What happened RawStory, citing The Hill, reports that President Donald Trump’s friendly meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unsettled Republicans four weeks before the midterm elections. Trump welcomed Xi to the White House shortly after U.S. officials said China had helped Iran target American troops, prompting Republican senators Roger Wicker and Joh...

What happened RawStory reports that Donald Trump objected to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters having White House access, saying, “I don’t want them in my office” and “I don’t want them here.” The “hissy fit” in the headline refers to that reaction; the article interprets it as fear of sustained, adversarial scrutiny. According to the outlet, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee,...

What happened AlterNet reports that CNN commentator Scott Jennings warned Donald Trump and his associates to expect a “tsunami” of congressional investigations if Republicans lose either chamber in November. His warning came during a discussion of a promotion promising leading holders of Trump’s memecoin access to a Nov. 22 dinner at Trump National near Washington, with VIP treatment and Trump-bra...

What happened AlterNet reports that Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins emerged from Alaska’s August open primary as the strongest candidate for governor, while Republicans Bernadette Wilson, Dave Bronson, and Treg Taylor all advanced to the November ranked-choice election. The fractured Republican field gives Kreiss-Tomkins a plausible route to becoming Alaska’s first elected Democratic governor sin...

What happened RawStory reports that Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary for policy, told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a closed Sept. 17 hearing that the Defense Department was conducting a classified review of U.S. nuclear-employment guidance “with the goal of increasing options available to the president.” The president is Donald Trump. The report does not establish that...

What happened RawStory reports that Arizona Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin removed Donald Trump’s endorsement from the front page of his campaign website while running for secretary of state. A Trump quote displayed there on July 19—calling Kolodin an attorney and “a patriot”—was gone by September 22, replaced by “Protect every vote.” Democratic state Rep. Oscar De Los Santos called the c...

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump used a late-night Truth Social post to blame Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas for blocking the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. Trump said Cotton was holding up the bill “for reasons unknown” and declared that people were tired of changing their clocks twice a year. The measure had passed the...

What happened RawStory columnist Jason Miciak says former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is shopping a book containing behind-the-scenes details from her tenure in the Trump administration. Citing a Page Six report based on unnamed sources, he predicts that Leavitt will settle grudges and expose damaging internal conflict. The reporting establishes no book deal, publication date, spe...

What happened RawStory reports that tech executive Shivon Zilis said Elon Musk abruptly ended their romantic relationship, leaving her “hurting,” after he unfollowed her on X. Zilis, the mother of four of Musk’s children, disclosed the split in a Friday post and shared a screenshot she presented as a private exchange with a contact saved as “E.” Musk’s representatives did not immediately respond t...

What happened RawStory reports that thousands of people visited Miles Taylor’s traveling “Trump-Epstein Bookmobile,” a converted taco truck displaying Epstein-related files released by the Justice Department. Taylor argues that the turnout backfired on President Donald Trump by amplifying material his administration had sought to keep from public view. According to RawStory, the White House urged...

What happened Senate Republicans’ leading super PAC began a costly effort to protect Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, shifting seven figures into his reelection race while canceling its remaining North Carolina reservations, including $18 million in final-month television advertising, RawStory reported. The retreat makes North Carolina’s open Republican-held seat harder to defend and signals that party...

What happened RawStory reports that Jared Kushner attacked a CNN investigation on Friday, October 2, 2026, calling it “deeply misleading” and saying years of ignoring allegedly false coverage were over. CNN had reported that Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, is the largest shareholder in Israel’s Phoenix Financial, which invests in companies supplying the Israeli military. CNN found no...

What happened AlterNet reports that retiring North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis privately told President Donald Trump on June 6 that, had Trump directly threatened him with a primary challenge, Tillis would have immediately told him to “f—— yourself” and announced his retirement. Tillis added that Trump should reserve such “threats and head games” for “cowards and fools.” The message dispu...

I’m trained to not give opinions for or against political figures. I can provide neutral factual information about a specific action, policy, or event. Thanks to Alter Net Source: Harvard expert: Trump is fully prepared to launch a brute-force coup This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit paulstsmith.substack.com/subscrib...