"Prices is down" "My cost are lower"

Trump tries to make a joke, nobody laughs, and he weakly laughs at his own joke.

Trump is completely lost in his own reality. You'd never let a person going through this live on their own.

"The room where it happens" or a poolside cabana at Mar-a-Lago. You make the call.

real sense in which last night was fairly predictable. real question is why our pundits and the elites who listen to them couldn’t see it. (gift link)

Don't be surprised if Republicans in competitive 2026 races start to distance themselves from him. His personality cult offers them no advantage, and considerable risk. He's a lame duck, dead weight, and his time in public will end sooner than you think.

The myth of Trump as unbeatable and a perpetual winner is just that. The GOP struggles when he's not running, and there's no evidence his personal popularity carries over to other R's. 2026 is shaping up to be a massive loss for the GOP.

I wonder if a large number of Americans are just sick of this crap and would like to go back to having a government that works and not having to think about the president every day.

In the new season of Andor, one of the Imperial security bureaucrats says the Empire is arresting too many people to actually gather any useful information on the Rebellion.

SANDWICH HAS TAKEN MY SIGHT TAKEN MY SPEECH TAKEN MY HEARING TAKEN MY ARMS TAKEN MY LEGS TAKEN MY SOUL LEFT ME WITH LIFE IN HELL

🎙️ON AIR: We're talking to journalist and expert on conspiracy theories @rothschildmd.bsky.social about the Eaton Fire, and why conspiracy theories spread when major disasters strike. ❓Have you ever found yourself struggling to tell fact from fiction during a traumatic event? 📻 Listen:

I'm going to be on @kqedforum.bsky.social live at 10AM to talk about my MIT Technology Review article on Eaton Fire disinformation. www.kqed.org/forum

This is a very old argument on the right. Fuentes is just the first mainstream figure to move from "not all Jews, just the rich ones" to "yeah, all Jews."

It's inevitable that one of these unaccountable, rageaholic CPB/ICE goons is going to shoot someone point blank during one of these kidnappings. Dozens of cameras will capture it. They'll say they "feared for their life" from some suburban mom with a cell phone, and probably get a medal.

Los Angeles suffered tremendously because of the wildfires. The president of the United States has wanted to make the immigrants who make the city suffer and declared war on the city. But all throughout it, L.A. makes it work daily. It’s a place where people go to make it. LA deserves this.

They don't care and they know they'll get away with it.

"Look, JD, we love you for 2028. All the way. It's just...yeah. The Usha thing. Nothing against her personally. She's probably great. But our voters have a certain...type. If you get me. So some things are going to happen. You're going to like them, trust me. Cool? Cool. Good talk."

I know it's rough out there, but I could really use a few more paid subscribers to round out October. I'll be starting a new series next month, about my favorite conspiracy theory media figure, and you won't want to miss it! patreon.com/MikeRothschild

ICYMI, I wrote a feature for the MIT Technology Review on my journey of surviving the Eaton Fire while also reporting on and dealing with its myriad scams and conspiracy theories. www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/30/1...

The merging of Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes is not surprising at all. Nor is the professional Christian right's vocal support of it. They make perfect sense together, and essentially have the same gimmick of "say outrageous and horrible things, and never apologize." 1/

NEW: I spoke with the inestimable Terry Gross (!) on @nprfreshair.bsky.social about my year-long investigation of Russ Vought, the "shadow president" of Trump's second presidency. Listen here: www.npr.org/2025/10/30/n...

The absolute most hilarious and on-brand thing Trump could ever do is to get behind Vance for the 2028 primary, then with a few months left suddenly announce his own write-in candidacy and completely stab Vance in the back.

I know it's rough out there, but I could really use a few more paid subscribers to round out October. I'll be starting a new series next month, about my favorite conspiracy theory media figure, and you won't want to miss it! patreon.com/MikeRothschild

Whether or not there is a "legal case" for a Trump 2028 run, there are significant reasons why the GOP would probably like him to shut up about it. For one, the longer he talks about it as a choice, the longer it keeps actual 2028 candidates from moving forward.

As part of @technologyreview.com's big new package on conspiracy theories, I went long on weather modification — what's possible, what's not, what's happening and where, and why people will probably always find ways to blame weather disasters on shady forces:

I wrote a feature for the MIT Technology Review on my experience during the Eaton Fire, as I both experienced and debunked conspiracy theories about my calamity. www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/30/1...

I wrote a feature for the MIT Technology Review on my experience during the Eaton Fire, as I both experienced and debunked conspiracy theories about my calamity. www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/30/1...

Scoop: In digging into the AI slopification of the White House, I’ve learned that the president of the United States is capable, from time to time, of posting generative AI videos on his own, per a senior WH official. More in this week’s Inner Loop @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/donald...

When Trump voters on SNAP start missing meals, I'm guessing many will stop caring about "transgender for everybody" and Nobel Peace Prizes, and start wondering when Trump is going to fucking do something to help them. Things are going to get very ugly very fast.

Certainly many Trump voters will remain blindly loyal until the very end. But you can't eat blind loyalty, nor does your primary care doc accept it as payment. Hard conversations are going to happen in MAGA land, no matter how many times they scream "I voted for this" on X.

Many working people voted for Trump because he promised massive decreases in cost of living and nearly unlimited prosperity. Instead, prices remain high while health insurance rates skyrocket and SNAP will be cut off - and Trump builds a ballroom and makes billions on crypto.

I have been charged in a federal indictment sought by the Department of Justice. This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.

ICYMI: We have a lot to worry about as far as the integrity and fairness of elections under Trump. But the "third term" trolling from the president and his minions doesn't rise to that level. themikerothschild.com/2025/10/28/t...

I think "who is going to stop him" is the wrong question to ask about a Trump 2028 run. I prefer to ask "what would have to go right for it to be successful?" And the answer is "too much for it to be more than a theoretical possibility." themikerothschild.com/2025/10/28/t...

Today marks 8 years since Q Drop #1, promising HRC's extradition, followed by "massive riots" and martial law. Weird how none of that happened. I wrote a book about the QAnon movement, and why we're still talking about it. www.amazon.com/Storm-Upon-U...

I think "who is going to stop him" is the wrong question to ask about a Trump 2028 run. I prefer to ask "what would have to go right for it to be successful?" And the answer is "too much for it to be more than a theoretical possibility." themikerothschild.com/2025/10/28/t...

NEW: I wrote about how Trump's third term talk is like the fear of Napoleon invading England: useful for fearmongering, but facing too many real obstacles to be feasible.

Just to recap, in year one of term two, Trump has: had two annual exams taken at least one cognitive test had an MRI for...something shown facial drooping been hiding a large bruise on his hand had severely swollen ankles seemed unaware of actions taken by his own admin did I miss anything?

When Trump was getting an MRI, was he under sedation? Was he confined? Was he contactable? If an emergency arose that required the president to execute his role as National Command Authority, could he do it? Seems like something the WH press corps should ask about.

Trump took yet another test for dementia, and also "got" an MRI, which you don't "get" as a preventive measure, but because of a specific issue that needs to be monitored or diagnosed. Something clearly happened to him, and nobody knows what, and we're all just pretending everything is fine.

I spend all this time trying to figure out what the master plan is, and it always hits me: nothing. Just conspiracy brain worms all the way down. And the most smug self-righteousness as Kennedy and cronies destroy over a century of concerted scientific effort and hard work.

If you've been thinking about signing up for a paid subscription, now is the time. These pieces are partially catharsis, but they're also a good look at how disinformation and rage cults work online. Also, I've lost some subscribers to CC declines, so the timing would be great.

I watched A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE last night, and it is physically sickening to think of how our current administration would handle the nuclear crisis depicted in the movie. Would they allow Chicago to be nuked? Would they be too unprepared to respond? The mind boggles.

On Patreon, I looked at the toxic parasocial relationships in "Resistance Twitter," where an offhand comment I made about a known leftist grifter led to years of harassment by a deranged troll. Your subscriptions help me do this work, and every dollar helps! www.patreon.com/posts/my-tro...

We don't know who this "friend" was who apparently is paying our military. Congress used to be interested in that kind of thing, but not anymore. However, Trump has a long history of talking about imaginary people as if they were real. themikerothschild.com/2024/07/25/t...

Almost every major news story this week is about how the entire economy is now gambling, scams, bribes and theft.

"This is how they're going to steal the election..." Stop. That's what they want. They want you to give up and not bother, because you're afraid and disillusioned. CA and NJ are both heavily vote-by-mail states. Prop 50 in CA is on track to overwhelmingly pass. Don't give up.

If you've been thinking about signing up for a paid subscription, now is the time. These pieces are partially catharsis, but they're also a good look at how disinformation and rage cults work online. Also, I've lost some subscribers to CC declines, so the timing would be great.

Steve Bannon's "third term plan" is that you become so convinced that Trump will cancel and/or rig all future elections that you disengage from democracy, don't volunteer or donate or run for office, and think your vote doesn't matter so why bother. It only works if you let it work.

On Patreon, I looked at the toxic parasocial relationships in "Resistance Twitter," where an offhand comment I made about a known leftist grifter led to years of harassment by a deranged troll. Your subscriptions help me do this work, and every dollar helps! www.patreon.com/posts/my-tro...