{"id":79,"date":"2026-11-07T00:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T00:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/?p=79"},"modified":"2026-11-07T01:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T01:00:01","slug":"friday-talking-points-trump-spanked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/2026\/11\/07\/friday-talking-points-trump-spanked\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Talking Points — Trump Spanked!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Well, that was quite a week, wasn’t it?<\/p>\n

Donald Trump, after obsessing over asses for weeks, got his own soundly spanked on Tuesday night. It’s hard to even comprehend the magnitude of the spanking Trump just got, in fact. As of this writing, Democrats have won at least 54 Senate seats and 254 House seats, with a number of races still yet to be called. Democrats swept the board in Texas, winning every statewide race. Susan Collins was finally forcibly retired in Maine. Lindsey Graham’s sister lost in South Carolina. A Muslim man won a Senate race in Michigan. The first Black woman in American history was elected governor — in the Deep South. Kansas will send its first Democratic senator to Washington since F.D.R.’s first presidential win in the depths of the Great Depression. A Black man is currently leading a Senate race in Mississippi. The scope of Democrats’ 2026 victory is truly hard to grasp, it is so monumental.<\/p>\n

The best comment we’ve read all week is beyond apocalyptic<\/a>, but it still rings true:<\/p>\n

The 2026 midterms were not just an earthquake. They were a continent-wide rupture of the Earth’s crust, allowing molten lava to spill out across the nation and burn Republican bastions to the ground.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Seems about right, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

Every state that touches the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Georgia will now have at least one Democratic senator. Every House district that touches Mexico will now have a Democrat representing them. All the redistricting hanky-panky the Republicans did to prepare for the midterms wound up losing<\/em> them seats (poetic justice indeed). Democrats will enjoy such large majorities in both houses of Congress that it should be easy for them to pass whatever they want through the House and the chances are good that they can get at least some of it through the Senate (since they’ll only need anywhere from four to six additional votes from Republicans). Democrats hold more governors’ seats than Republicans for the first time in 16 years. Everywhere on the map you look, Democrats scored stunning victories — even in states that went for Trump two years ago by double digits. And most of these victories weren’t even close<\/em>. Democrats won down the ballot, too, flipping several statehouses blue. It wasn’t just an election victory, it was a realignment<\/em> of American politics.<\/p>\n

This election was a vast and powerful repudiation of Donald Trump and his entire agenda, across the board. It was a victory beyond most Democrats’ wildest dreams. It was the biggest midterm victory since 1974, when the public had its first chance to react to the Watergate scandal. It is hard to even put into words how historic a win this truly was.<\/p>\n

The victory was so big it actually shut Trump up<\/em>. Maybe that’s the most stunning way to put it. Trump has been uncharacteristically subdued ever since, without even bothering to rant and rave on social media about the unfairness of it all. Significantly, he does not seem interested in mounting challenges (legal or illegal) to the results, since even he must realize it would be such an impossible task to even attempt. Trump got spanked so badly it has shut him up — another result that nobody could have predicted (or even dreamed of) beforehand. So far the only thing he’s done in response is to fire Susie Wiles as his chief of staff and replace her with Stephen Miller, which is a big signal that he has not learned his lesson at all.<\/p>\n

Democrats now have a clear mandate for change. If they are smart, they will use it as forcefully and as quickly as humanly possible. Their first 100 days in office in the new Congress should be used to produce a raft of bills designed to make life better for average Americans. This can be accomplished in many ways, but it should be done as fast as possible. Pass good ideas in the House, send the bills over to the Senate, and dare<\/em> Republicans — from Trump on down — to oppose the will of the American people. Ignore the culture wars and instead focus on economic populism. End Trump’s disastrous war in Iran. End Trump’s ability to slap tariffs on any country he wants. End the corruption which has been such a hallmark of Trump’s second term. Pass a forward-looking agenda that Trump can either sign into law or Democrats can use as the backbone of their 2028 presidential campaign (“This<\/em> is what we will do for you with a Democrat in the White House!”).<\/p>\n

The biggest lesson of the 2026 midterm elections was that neither political party can take large swaths of voters for granted. Yes, we live in politically polarized times, but that only goes so far. When the voters are angry at politicians for not delivering anything that improves their lives (instead delivering things that notably make life worse), then they will vote against them in the next election no matter what demographic group they belong to. This is a lesson that hopefully Democrats will be mindful of.<\/p>\n

Another lesson from the epic beatdown Republicans just suffered is sometimes money just doesn’t matter in politics. The richest man in the world lit a half a billion dollars<\/em> on fire and the voters just flat-out ignored him. Fearmongering about trans kids and communism and vegans just didn’t work<\/em>. Being as racist and boorish and bigoted as can be imagined also did not impress the voters. They didn’t buy it. Instead they actually listened to what Democrats had to say and found that they agreed.<\/p>\n

Nothing should be taken for granted by the newly-elected Democratic majority. Voters could turn on them in two years just like they turned on Trump. The best way to prevent that is to get stuff done<\/em> in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Oversight of Trump’s sleaze and wrongdoing are important (to check his worst impulses), but legislation is far more important to lead with. Democrats can have their internal squabbles, but when it comes time to vote on productive bills they should all speak with one voice: This<\/em> is what we are doing for you! This<\/em> is what you voted for! These<\/em> are the things America can achieve! We can make your lives better!<\/em><\/p>\n

Democrats have a huge mandate right now, and they shouldn’t be shy about using it. Dare<\/em> Trump and his fellow Republicans to get in the way of the will of the American people. And if they do, loudly warn them that 2028 is going to be even worse for them than the spanking they all just got on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Most<\/p>\n

The Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week<\/strong> this week was: “all of them.”<\/p>\n

Seriously, it is impossible to choose one or even multiple Democrats who were more impressive than all the others this week. Democrats chalked up so many “firsts” in this election it is hard to even list them all. To us, this is best exemplified by the fact that a Black man is leading the race for a Senate seat in Mississippi<\/em>. But he’s really just one out of a number of equally-stunning electoral performances across the entire country.<\/p>\n

This week will go down in history as one of the best weeks Democrats have ever had in modern times. We may not see another election this jaw-droppingly impressive in our lifetimes. It went so far beyond expectations it’s still — days later — hard to even comprehend.<\/p>\n

So congratulations to each and every Democrat who won their race this week. And congratulations as well to those who got close in very red states and districts but didn’t quite make it over the finish line.<\/p>\n

Democrats have everything to be proud of this week and nothing to regret. All of them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Most<\/p>\n

Sadly, this one was an easy pick, due to how egregiously offensive it was.<\/p>\n

Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan was clearly the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week<\/strong>. After losing a hard-fought primary to Senator-Elect Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Stevens endorsed him. At the very last minute (last weekend), Stevens had a little hissy fit because El-Sayed wouldn’t do what she insisted he do. When she was disinvited to an appearance with El-Sayed, Stevens petulantly appeared with the Republican<\/em> candidate instead and announced she was endorsing him.<\/p>\n

This betrayal was on the level of Judas, to be blunt. It was the biggest backstab of the entire election cycle, in fact. The only good thing that came out of Stevens being in a snit was to unite the entire Democratic Party against her. She now has no future at all in Democratic politics. The state party unceremoniously threw her out. Maybe she’ll get a slot on Fox News, but she’s never going to be elected dogcatcher in Michigan (or anywhere else) for the rest of her life — at least, not as a Democrat.<\/p>\n

Good riddance.<\/p>\n

[Contact Representative Haley Stevens on her House contact page<\/a>, to let her know what you think of her actions.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Friday<\/p>\n

Volume 862<\/strong> (11\/6\/26)<\/p>\n

When we sat down to write these, we began with a little end-zone dance, spiking the football as hard as possible. We were going to go with a whole list of in-your-face taunts (such as: “Suck it up, Buttercup!” and “Elections have consequences,” and “Buh-bye<\/em>!”) but then we calmed down and had a better idea.<\/p>\n

What follows isn’t really a list of talking points so much as it is a manifesto for the new Democratic Congress. This is what they should strive to accomplish, as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1\"
   End the war<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

Defund the war. Force Trump to cut some sort of deal with Iran that reopens the Strait of Hormuz and brings gasoline prices back down again. Demand an end to this misbegotten foreign misadventure. This more than anything else is why Democrats were elected, so they should lead with it. End the war, and do it now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"2\"
   End the tariff idiocy<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

Claw back the power to levy taxes from Trump’s petulant little hands. The Constitution is clear on this — Congress<\/em> has this responsibility, not the president. So pass legislation that rewrites all previous tariff laws to completely remove the president from the equation. This will put an end to all of the tariffs Trump has slapped on all of America’s allies and bring prices down for every American consumer. Take the power back — end Trump’s tariff idiocy once and for all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"3\"
   Stop all the redecorating<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

Zero out all money for all of Trump’s pet projects, immediately. Ban Trump from his plans to build a hideously ugly arch. Stop Trump from redesigning the golf course he’s got his eye on. Specifically limit the National Park Service from making any<\/em> changes to anything<\/em> without prior congressional approval. Force Trump to take down that tarp at the Kennedy Center too, so we can all see the proud name of it once again (without any mention of Trump). It’s probably too late to stop Trump’s ballroom (it’ll have to be torn down by the next Democratic president), but slam on the brakes of all<\/em> his other hideous redecoration plans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"4\"
   Refuse to confirm nutjobs<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

The Senate should make crystal clear the fact that they are not going to confirm people who are patently unqualified (or worse) to any high governmental post anywhere. Which, of course, includes federal judges. The only candidates who should even be considered are those with actual experience and knowledge about the jobs they are nominated for. End the parade of nutjobs and cranks. Close down the circus.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"5\"
   Expose the rot<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

Investigate the heck out of everything. Shine a bright light on all the sordid misdeeds of Trump, his family, his cronies, and his billionaire buddies. Expose all the corruption for everyone to see. The media keep asking about possible impeachments, but that’s putting the cart before the horse. The first step is to expose all the rot. Then it will become obvious what must be done to drain the Trump swamp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"6\"
   Stop sucking up to dictators<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

Renew our alliances with our allies. Support NATO. Support Ukraine’s war effort. Send a clear signal that Vladimir Putin is not America’s friend, and that China is at best our competitor. Send a clear signal that all of the trash-talk from Trump towards our staunchest allies does not represent America<\/em>. Treat our allies as friends and keep the dictators and foes of the country at arm’s length.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"7\"
   Restore sanity and decency to Washington<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

This is more of a performative thing, because it can best be achieved by the example Democrats set, to contrast that of Donald Trump. Constantly remind the public (and the media) of how abnormal the Trump era has been. Counter Trump’s daily idiocy and temper tantrums with sanity, intelligence, and decency. When Trump does or says something unacceptable, point it out<\/em> and condemn it. Americans are just exhausted<\/em> with Trump’s clown show, so prove to them once again that politics doesn’t have to be this way.<\/p>\n

— Chris Weigant<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow Chris on Twitter: <\/em>@ChrisWeigant<\/a><\/p>\n

Cross-posted at: <\/em>Democratic Underground<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, that was quite a week, wasn’t it? Donald Trump, after obsessing over asses for weeks, got his own soundly spanked on Tuesday night. It’s hard to even comprehend the magnitude of the spanking Trump just got, in fact. As of this writing, Democrats have won at least 54 Senate seats and 254 House seats,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisweigant.com\/cw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}