Trump Stokes Outrage at SCOTUS, Tries For New Red Scare as Part of SAVE Act Pressure Campaign
This is your TPM evening briefing.
Being Anti-SAVE Act Now = ‘Communist’
There is little that crosses the president’s desk these days that he won’t try to weaponize to continue bullying Senate Republicans into passing the SAVE America Act before the midterms — a logistical impossibility unless Republican leadership decides its a task worth nuking the filibuster or firing the Senate Parliamentarian over. As my colleague John Light noted this morning, so far, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has not been swayed to such an end. Nonetheless, from unrelated legislation to unrelated court decisions to his own nominees, no one and nothing is exempt from being turned into his cudgel to pass the SAVE Act — which he apparently now needs because of the “communists.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling this morning rejecting the Republican National Committee’s attempt to place sweeping restrictions on which mail-in ballots can be counted was no different. Trump called the decision a “tremendous loss” “concerning Voter’s Rights, and the fact that ‘people’s’ votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over.” He once again called on the Senate to pass the bill, which is expected to disenfranchise millions if passed by mandating documentary proof of citizenship and photo IDs for voting.
“There is no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against the above three requirements. There is only one reason to oppose — CHEATING!” he declared, before launching into a tirade revealing of the actual reason he wants the legislation passed before the midterms: he’s worried his unpopularity will result in major wins for Democrats in November.
He previewed this messaging point during a particularly incoherent — even for him — and graphic speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C. Friday. Perhaps spooked by a handful of progressive victories in primary elections in recent weeks — across New York City and elsewhere — Trump has started talking about the Democratic Party in apocalyptic and McCarthyist terms, perhaps a sign of his desperation to get the SAVE America Act passed. During his speech on Friday, he painted an ominous vision of a nation in decline, filled with “slums” and godless “communists,” while calling for the legislation to be passed.
During a Fox News interview this morning before the SCOTUS decision came down, his White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke in similarly feverish tones about the future that lies ahead if Democrats are able to take back either chamber of Congress — an outcome that would, of course, only be the result of cheating.
“These are radical marxist ideas that have never worked in the history of the world and I think it’s a choice coming up between communism and common sense — that’s how the president views it and that’s why Americans need to vote for this president and the Republican Party and the common sense ideals that make this the greatest nation in the history of the world,” she said.
Trump pushed the message harder during his post-SCOTUS ruling meltdown on Truth Social Monday, before calling out Republican senators who have qualms with the SAVE America Act by name — seemingly trying to equate their opposition to the voter suppression bill with support for communism and war and foreign terror attacks on Americans?
The House of Representatives has approved this vital Act, THREE TIMES. The United States Senate seems unable to do so. In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. There can be no more excuses!
It’s a sign of the Trump administration’s fears on a number of fronts: that working class Americans fed up with the nation’s affordability crisis — who may have joined the MAGA movement during earlier elections — might now, disillusioned by the rising costs of Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran, see more hope in the progressive populist movement. And also, the more immediate fear: Republicans may not be able to hold the House and Senate unless they enact drastic voter suppression laws in the 11th hour to stop potential Democratic gains in November.
Bipartisan Housing Bill Is Now Also Radical … Bc Elizabeth Warren?
Speaking of the SAVE Act and President Trump’s self-defeating routine of torpedoing his own priorities to try to pressure Republicans to pass it …
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) is laying the groundwork for President Trump to veto the bipartisan housing bill that he was suppose to sign into law last week — before he canceled the signing ceremony last minute to continue his SAVE America Act pressure campaign. By painting it as legislation filled with Democratic priorities — rather than a rare good faith effort to address skyrocketing housing prices that Republicans could campaign on ahead of the midterms — Fine is giving Trump the runway to kill the legislation all together if he wants to.
MAGA Groups Prep to Ask Carr to Revoke Disney License
As if he needed any encouragement — Trump-aligned groups are reportedly preparing to ask Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr to pull the broadcast television licenses for Disney-owned stations, something that Carr has already been threatening to do as part of his full-scale retribution crackdown on Trump critics in the media.
One of the groups that is expected to file a petition with Carr to encourage a review of Disney’s broadcast licenses is the right-wing Center for American Rights, Politico reported. That group has previously filed complaints with the FCC against NBC over “Saturday Night Live” and CBS’ “60 Minutes,” alleging favoritism in its coverage of former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
More details from Politico:
The Media Research Center, a watchdog group devoted to countering perceived liberal bias, also plans to file a petition Monday urging the commission to deny Disney’s ABC license renewal, a spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO. The Article III Project, a legal organization led by Trump ally Mike Davis, submitted an early petition to deny last week over Disney’s diversity initiatives.
The reporting adds to a scheme that Carr has already threatened to carry out, and one that TPM has been following quite closely over the past year. Earlier this spring he called in license reviews for eight ABC TV stations, which are owned by Disney, years ahead of schedule. At the time Carr openly admitted that the reviews were being conducted because of unfavorable coverage of Trump’s war in Iran.
Must-Reads From TPM Today
Kate Riga’s coverage of two major SCOTUS rulings today is unmatched: SCOTUS Officially Kills Precedent that Protected Agencies — But with Special Federal Reserve Carveout
And also here: Supreme Court Rules Against Republicans’ Attempt to Restrict Vote by Mail
Layla A. Jones captures experts’ — and Trump’s — reactions to the Slaughter and Cook rulings: SCOTUS’ Narrow Protection of the Fed Means Cook, and Fed Independence, Still at Risk
Catch up on today’s edition of the Morning Memo: White House Religious Liberty Commission Releases ‘Embarrassing’ Report
My colleague and TPM’s executive editor John Light has soft launched a new morning newsletter to help get you up to speed on the storylines that TPM is tracking on any given day. Give today’s debut edition a read: The SAVE Act Self-Owns Will Continue
And finally, a big SCOOP from TPM reporter Josh Kovensky, who has really important new details about the two prosecutors the Justice Department has tapped to help orchestrate Trump’s directive to crack down on its dissent: Exclusive: DOJ Taps Gang, Terrorism Prosecutors to Crack Down on Political Groups
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