Systemic Error Podcast

What happened AlterNet argues that Donald Trump’s declining approval could become a broader electoral reckoning for the Republican Party, comparing his position to Herbert Hoover’s before the GOP’s 1932 defeat. The article does not establish that such a realignment will occur; it presents polling, economic pressure and Republican vulnerability as signs that it could. The outlet cites surveys showi...

What happened At a rally, President Donald Trump called aide Natalie Harp onstage to deliver an order expanding access to tax-exempt diesel, signed it, and then praised her as a “perfect person” while comparing the exchange to The Price Is Right , according to AlterNet’s account of Daily Beast reporting. The supplied report does not identify the rally’s date or location, explain the order’s substa...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump met in the Oval Office with Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk convicted in 2024 of seven offenses arising from a 2021 breach of county voting equipment. Former Justice Department official Ed Martin said they discussed election integrity and “the plans” for the midterm elections. Martin connected the meeting to Homeland S...

What happened RawStory reports that Bill O’Reilly called Republicans “blanking dumb” for failing to offer a convincing response to high prices before the November midterms. Speaking Monday on NewsNation, the former Fox News host argued that neither party has a serious affordability plan and described President Donald Trump as consumed by “gimmick mania.” O’Reilly told financially strained American...

What happened RawStory reports that British prosecutors, seeking Andrew Tate’s extradition from the United States, alleged in a Monday federal court filing in South Florida that his seized phone and laptop contained 168 indecent images and videos of a girl who was 17. Prosecutors say Tate appeared with her in a sexualized video, knew she was underage and shared videos of her with three people in J...

What happened RawStory reports that five of ten conservative Michigan focus-group participants who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 said they planned to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed over Republican Mike Rogers. One participant backed Rogers; four had not indicated a settled choice. The session aired on Tuesday, with 27 days reportedly remaining before the midterm election. MS NOW...

What happened RawStory reports that menswear writer Derek Guy identified President Donald Trump’s Nebraska rally suit as a Jos. A. Bank garment made overseas, typically in countries including China and Bangladesh. Guy contrasted it with the company’s Joseph Abboud line, which he said is made in the United States, and asked why Trump chose “the cheap import” instead. Trump wore the suit Tuesday at...

What happened Raw Story reports that the U.S. Postal Service contracted with Prosegur to deploy nearly 1,000 armed security officers at at least 55 postal facilities, authorizing almost 40,000 hours of work each week. The contract’s value was redacted. The startled “what the hell?” came from postal contractor and researcher Claire McKean, reacting to a multinational security conglomerate assuming...

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump appeared to stare at senior aide Natalie Harp’s legs during a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, held for Sen. Pete Ricketts. The moment came shortly after Trump called Harp “the perfect person.” The outlet says the clip repulsed several social-media commentators, including activist Derek Cressman, Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, and podc...

What happened CBS News deleted and replaced a social media post announcing former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s death after criticism that it reduced his criminal case to “violating banking laws” while omitting the sexual abuse those violations concealed. According to RawStory, CBS acknowledged that its original post had “missed the mark.” The replacement said Hastert had been jailed on charges c...

What happened RawStory reports that a CBS News insider dismissed Skydance CEO David Ellison’s promise to protect newsroom independence as “all lies” during the company’s first town hall after the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger on October 6, 2026. According to media correspondent Justin Baragona, the source cited Ellison’s alleged failure to honor a similar promise after acquiring Paramoun...

What happened RawStory reports that lawyers for three-time Olympian David Hearn asked the Justice and Interior departments’ inspectors general to investigate whether U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office improperly secured a felony indictment over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Prosecutors dropped the case after conceding that a botched coating installation—not Hearn—caused the dam...

What happened CBS News deleted and replaced a social media post announcing former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s death after criticism that it reduced his criminal case to “violating banking laws” while omitting the sexual abuse those violations concealed. According to RawStory, CBS acknowledged that its original post had “missed the mark.” The replacement said Hastert had been jailed on charges c...

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump spent Monday night accusing The New York Times of doctoring a photograph of Trump National Doral Miami. He said the image made his property look “shoddy” and posted a brighter picture that he claimed showed the real facade. But the two images were not the same photograph: they showed different landscaping, fountains, framing, and lighting....

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump told a Monday rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego while he defended the costs of war as a small price for national and global safety. The crowd applauded, according to the report. On Tuesday’s “Morning Joe,” MS NOW hosts rejected efforts to excuse the remark as a joke. Joe Scarborough said c...

What happened RawStory reported on October 6, 2026, that newly released documents showed the FBI monitored Melania and Barron Trump’s travel and tapped Susie Wiles’ phone during special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office. The story does not explain the legal authority, investigative purpose, duration, or scope of those measu...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump announced on September 28 that construction had already begun on a $15 billion Mesabi Metallics steel plant in Iowa. But Lee County officials said the company had not selected a final site, submitted permits or provided detailed plans, while local records showed no major property acquisition tied to the project that year. The project remai...

What happened The reported “insurance policy” is a planned $5 million Republican spending push to defend Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina. RawStory, citing Axios, reports that Graham—appointed to succeed her late brother, Lindsey Graham, and endorsed by President Donald Trump—was statistically tied with Democratic challenger Annie Andrews despite the state’s long Republican dominance. Accordi...

What happened RawStory reports that ABC and Disney asked U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan to block FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s unusually early review of licenses held by eight ABC-owned stations. Carr ordered the April review one day after President Donald Trump urged ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. ABC alleges that the administration is targeting constitutionally protected programming it dislikes. At Tue...

What happened AlterNet reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a Wednesday address at Quantico to announce an Autonomous Warfare Command and Project Meridian, a 120-day study of future warfare led by Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey. The headline’s supposed “admission” was Hegseth’s acknowledgment that inexpensive, mass-produced weapons can threaten costly mil...

What happened AlterNet, citing Politico, reports that Sen. Ted Cruz has become a major behind-the-scenes supporter of Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in Texas. Cruz has campaigned with Paxton, attacked Democratic nominee James Talarico on his podcast, deployed his super PAC against Talarico, advised Paxton informally and connected him with donors. He also helped arrange outreach to bring Paxt...

What happened A federal judge refused the Trump administration’s request to dismiss former Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith’s lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations, AlterNet reported. Judge Amit Mehta also denied Smith’s request for immediate reinstatement, ruling that she had not shown she was likely to prevail on the merits at that preliminary stage. The decision followed a Sep...

What happened AlterNet reports that Republican campaigns and allied groups spent heavily on Senate television advertising through September 2026 without gaining a comparable advantage in airtime or polling. AdImpact calculated that Republicans spent $563 million across nine battlegrounds, versus Democrats’ $375 million, but their 26 percent broadcast-spending advantage produced only 7 percent more...

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump told supporters at a Monday-night rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, calling that a “very small price to pay” while predicting that the war would end soon. The audience cheered. The two cities have roughly 5.3 million residents combined, according to figures cited by RawStory. San Diego C...

What happened RawStory reports that President Donald Trump brought aide Natalie Harp onstage during a Monday-night rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, to deliver an executive order concerning purchases of tax-free red-dyed diesel. Trump signed it before the crowd, called Harp a “perfect person,” and compared the presentation to “The Price Is Right.” On Tuesday’s “Morning Joe,” MS NOW co-host Willie G...