Raw Story

A professor of international politics was stunned during an interview on Thursday because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has still not sworn in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona after more than a month after her election.

Grijalva, a Democrat, won a special election to replace her late father last month. She has pledged to support a discharge petition to force a discussion about releasing the Epstein files, which some experts have suggested is the main reason Grijalva has not been sworn in.

Scott Lucas, who teaches international politics at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin, discussed Grijalva's situation in a new interview for "The Trump Effect" podcast.

"They're just trying to avoid the reckoning," Lucas said. "The fact here is I don't think you're going to shift Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and that handful of Republicans."

"It just smells fishy," he added. "It smells fishy that they will not even allow a discussion on this."

Lucas added that the situation with Prince Andrew in the UK adds an interesting wrinkle in the case.

"I honestly think that Johnson and the Trump camp just think it'll go away, and the reason why I think Trump may think that is...he's gotten away with it for so long, [he] can get away with it again," Lucas said.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) took time on CNN Thursday evening to tear into Kevin Roberts, president of the far-right Heritage Foundation, for his refusal to condemn ex-Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for interviewing white nationalist Hitler sympathizer and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Roberts' claim that Fuentes and Carlson shouldn't be deplatformed has sparked a firestorm of anger and divided staffers within Heritage itself, fracturing the organization responsible for crafting President Donald Trump's Project 2025 agenda. It wasn't until after days of controversy that he finally backtracked.

"Congressman, what — I don't understand why it's a difficult question at all," said anchor Anderson Cooper. "Shouldn't — I think all Republicans would condemn Nick Fuentes' hateful comments, full stop."

"Yeah, you'd think. But remember, Donald Trump invited him ... to Mar-a-Lago to have lunch with him and Kanye," said Kinzinger. "This is crazy. I mean, look, this is — there's always been, you know, we'd have Lincoln Day dinners, right? This is like the big fundraisers for the GOP. And there'd always be a weird table. And the weird table would always have 1 or 2 people that were kind of like Nazi-ish, I guess. And that firewall, for the most part, in the GOP, held where it's like, yeah, they may be considered to the right, but they're not part of us."

Now, however, he said, "It feels like that firewall is crumbling and you hear sometimes people on the right say, we have no enemies to the right. And what they're saying is anybody that is on the right, even as far as Nazism — we have no enemies, we have to make common cause. The ultimate enemy is the left and the liberals. And so the fact that it has taken Kevin, that Heritage Foundation president or chairman, whatever, as long as it has to condemn that is enough to say like that firewall is crumbling now."

"I'll give Ted Cruz something here for speaking out as quickly as they did on this. Some of them," added Kinzinger. "But this — this has to be burned right out of the party. And unfortunately, it's taking too long to do that."

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President Donald Trump gathered pharmaceutical giants to the Oval Office on Thursday to discuss weight loss drugs when Novo Nordisk executive Gordon Findlay collapsed. Trump stood from the desk, looming over the situation as Dr. Mehmet Oz rushed to the man. Trump was then photographed turning away from the scene, looking disappointed.

"Trump stands unmoved, annoyed looking, as staff rushes to revive the man," said MSNBC host Chris Hayes on Thursday night. "And you can look at this photo of Trump. It's reasonable to think that guy doesn't care about getting my costs down. Not really. People seem to forget this. We all have very short memories these days. He was president before. He was the least popular president for the duration of his first term in modern polling. He is even less popular now after seeing his approval plummet all year."

Host Jen Psaki added her comments, asking, "Did he understand what was happening?"

Psaki and Hayes weren't the only ones to notice Trump's indifference.

"This is how he reacted," said Democratic activist Harry Sisson. "A photo that perfectly encapsulates who he is."

"At the same time, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. immediately left the office, and Trump seems like posing for the camera. Cowardice, lack of empathy and fear is the trademark of this administration," Commented inHereticAI creator Mario Pawlowski.

"Someone faints in the oval office and Trump could give two s---s," said Morgan J. Freeman on X.

"Trump springs into action as a man collapses in the Oval Office," former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) says sarcastically.

"Donald Trump reacts to a man in medical distress in the Oval Office," characterized columnist Matthew Yglesias.

"A man suffers a medical emergency in the Oval Office and Trump just stands there, staring blankly, like someone shut off the robot in the Disney Hall of Presidents," quipped novelist Patrick S. Tomlinson.

Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt (I) recalled a 2017 report in Harper's Bazaar about an 80-year-old man who collapsed in Trump's presence and began bleeding. "Get that blood cleaned up, it's disgusting," Trump said, according to the report.

Legendary comedian and creative genius John Cleese described the photo saying, "Trump seething because he's not the centre of attention for a moment.

Findlay was ultimately okay.

Pro-MAGA host Gina Loudon feared Republicans would lose in the midterms after Democrats dominated election night on Tuesday.

Loudon spoke on Real America's Voice about the election results following President Donald Trump's address to Republican senators on Wednesday.

"Yeah, first of all, I think it was nice to see a president that was so presidential, as he stayed very calm, he didn't really respond to any of the silliness of Mamdani, all the rest of it," she explained. "So that was nice to see."

"I think that the consensus is, I'm looking through our chat," Loudon continued. "And I think that, to put it very succinctly, President Trump, being president, is a huge job. That's obviously an understatement. He has spent a lot of time looking out at the world and trying to fix things. I think it is time to come home and to focus on our, especially our economy."

According to the host, "People are feeling completely disabled economically."

"And if we don't come home and focus on our domestic issues, I'm afraid our midterms will look like this," she added.

Correspondent David Zere agreed.

"And the foreign policy is critical," he said. "But people can't survive. "Lettuce is still $3 a head in the supermarket."

"And Trump's economic agenda has not kicked in yet," Zere insisted. "But people can't wait, and that's exactly what Mamdani took advantage on yesterday in New York City."

Loudon argued that Republicans were losing elections because they were "letting [Democrats] label us as these, you know, awful, selfish capitalists."

"And the difference between a tyrant and Donald Trump is, yes, Donald Trump is wealthy, but he wants every American to be wealthy. He said it many times. He's working for it every single day. And I think it's going to take more than nine months to get it done," she remarked.

Pro-MAGA host Gina Loudon feared Republicans would lose in the midterms after Democrats dominated election night on Tuesday.

Loudon spoke on Real America's Voice about the election results following President Donald Trump's address to Republican senators on Wednesday.

"Yeah, first of all, I think it was nice to see a president that was so presidential, as he stayed very calm, he didn't really respond to any of the silliness of Mamdani, all the rest of it," she explained. "So that was nice to see."

"I think that the consensus is, I'm looking through our chat," Loudon continued. "And I think that, to put it very succinctly, President Trump, being president, is a huge job. That's obviously an understatement. He has spent a lot of time looking out at the world and trying to fix things. I think it is time to come home and to focus on our, especially our economy."

According to the host, "People are feeling completely disabled economically."

"And if we don't come home and focus on our domestic issues, I'm afraid our midterms will look like this," she added.

Correspondent David Zere agreed.

"And the foreign policy is critical," he said. "But people can't survive. "Lettuce is still $3 a head in the supermarket."

"And Trump's economic agenda has not kicked in yet," Zere insisted. "But people can't wait, and that's exactly what Mamdani took advantage on yesterday in New York City."

Loudon argued that Republicans were losing elections because they were "letting [Democrats] label us as these, you know, awful, selfish capitalists."

"And the difference between a tyrant and Donald Trump is, yes, Donald Trump is wealthy, but he wants every American to be wealthy. He said it many times. He's working for it every single day. And I think it's going to take more than nine months to get it done," she remarked.

One year and a day after Donald Trump won a second term as president – and on the 35th day of the US government shutdown, which has tied a record for the longest in history – the Democrats swept to victory in key races across the county.

Democratic candidates won the governorships in the states of Virginia and New Jersey, while Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s next mayor.

The Democrats may have just become the winners of the fight to reopen the government, too.

Trump’s ratings dropping sharply

Sixteen years ago, then-President Barack Obama was staggered by Republicans winning the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey in the 2009 elections.

The message was indelible: voters wanted to put a check on Obama and his wide-ranging agenda, from health care to global warming. Many Americans wanted him to cool his jets, including on what would become his signature achievement, Obamacare.

The following year, in the 2010 midterm elections, the Democrats lost more than 60 seats and their majority in the House. For the next six years, Republicans had a veto over whatever bills Obama wanted Congress to enact.

With Democrats now winning the governorships in those two states, Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have just been sent the same message: you need to be checked, too.

Going into Tuesday’s elections, Trump’s approval rating in one major poll was just above 40%, and his disapproval rating just under 60% – the highest it’s been since the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Independent voters, who swung Trump’s way in last year’s election, are now disapproving of his performance by a 69–30% margin.

Trump’s leadership of what he calls the “hottest country in the world” is falling short in voters’ eyes on a number of key issues: inflation, management of the economy, tariffs, crime, immigration, Ukraine and Gaza.

What’s at the heart of the continued stalemate?

The US government has also been shuttered since October 1. Government agencies have been closed to the public, and hundreds of thousands of government employees are going without paychecks, while thousands of others have been laid off.

Millions of Americans have been affected by flight delays or cancellations due to air traffic controller staffing issues. And food stamps to 42 million Americans have been suspended, with the Trump administration only relenting to provide partial payments in response to a court order.

Closing the government was not solely the doing of Trump and the Republicans in Congress. After nearly a year of laying prostrate and appearing pathetically ineffective in responding to Trump and his agenda, the Democrats finally got off the mat to fight back.

Of all the issues with Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” – which contained huge tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, huge spending cuts for Medicaid, huge increases in spending to control immigration, more funding for fossil fuels and an increase in the debt ceiling – Democrats seized on one glaring omission from the legislation.

At the end of this year, subsidies are due to expire that more than 24 million Americans rely on to purchase health insurance under Obamacare. As a result, millions are projected to lose their health care coverage.

That is the cross Democrats chose to die on. They’ve told the Trump administration: you want to keep the government open? Keep the insurance subsidies flowing. Fix it now.

Republicans in Congress have had no interest in caving to Democratic demands. They’ve argued Democrats must agree to reopen the government before discussing the subsidies. Their calculation: voters will turn on the Democrats for the turmoil caused by the shutdown.

Trump wanted nothing to do with any such negotiations either. Two days before the elections, he said he “won’t be extorted”.

But a recent poll shows 52% of Americans blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, compared to 42% who blame Democrats.

The wins in Virginia and New Jersey drove this message home. Yes, the Democrats triggered the current shutdown. But the president owns the economy. For better or worse, Trump will own the economy going into next year’s midterm elections, too.

What happens next?

How can the Democrats get out of the shutdown box with a win? With the leverage they just gained in the elections. Republican stonewalling after these election defeats will hurt them even more.

There are two routes forward.

First, Democrats could reach an agreement with the Republicans on a fix to the health insurance issue, with a vote in Congress by Christmas to get the subsidies restored. A bipartisan compromise appears now to be in the works.

Second, if such an agreement cannot be reached, the Democrats can introduce a bill to restore the subsidies on their own, with an up-or-down vote in both the House and Senate. If this was voted down, the Democrats would then have a winning issue to take to the midterm elections next November. The voters would know who to blame – and who to reward.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has prevented the House from meeting for more than six weeks, but it has to come back in session to vote to reopen the government at some point.

Trump is also insisting the Senate change its rules to allow a simple majority to be able to reopen the government – without any compromises on health insurance subsidies. But this is not a viable political option after these election results.

Two other Democrats take centre stage

There were two other big Democratic winners on Tuesday. California voters approved a redistricting plan intended to partially offset Republicans’ gerrymandering of congressional electorates across the country for the midterm elections.

It was a high-risk strategy by California Governor Gavin Newsom, and it paid off handsomely: Newsom is now considered the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

And Mamdani, a Muslim socialist, was elected the Democratic mayor of New York City. Trump will no doubt continue to rubbish him as a communist radical extremist and follow through on his threats to cut federal funding for the largest city in the US.

Mamdani’s victory also places him on the national stage, but not centre stage. The Sinatra doctrine from his hit song New York, New York — “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere” — does not quite apply in this situation.

To take back Congress next year and the White House in 2028, the Democrats will need all kinds of flowers to bloom — not just Mamdani’s bouquet. In 2028, the party is going to have to shop in a bigger greenhouse.

Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney