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One of the week's bombshell stories is U.S. President Donald Trump dodging —according to the New York Times and the Washington Post — an Iranian assassination plot by using a decoy plane that he was wasn't actually flying on. The Times described it as an "elaborate ruse." But conservative journalist Tom Nichols seriously takes issue with the way the decoy was handled in a biting piece for The Atlantic.

"When the Secret Service got wind of a plan last month to kill Trump — apparently by taking out Air Force One — it engaged in a clever bit of misdirection: Trump boarded the usual Air Force One 747 in full view of the cameras, and then everyone shut the window shades as Trump surreptitiously climbed into one of the large containers that delivers food to an airplane galley," the Never Trump conservative explains in The Atlantic. "That container was then trucked over to a smaller C-32A aircraft, where Trump exited the container and boarded the plane — which, because of the president's presence, instantly became the real Air Force One. The C-32A and the 747 then both flew to the United Kingdom, with the 747 continuing the ruse by identifying itself as 'Air Force One.'"

Nichols continues, "Trump got off the smaller plane in Britain, snuck back on to the 747, and then exited from it as if he'd been on board the whole time. He then got on another 747, the lavish new Air Force One 2.0 given to Trump by the Qatari government, to fly home. We learned about the plane swap in Turkey in a scoop from the Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe and his colleagues, but more reporting now suggests that this whole escapade went from a Beatles movie to a Marx Brothers comedy."

But unlike the Beatles, Nichols emphasizes, Trump and his allies put people in danger with what the Times described as an "elaborate ruse."

"Trump, as it turns out, was not alone on the food truck," the conservative writer notes. "While the press and some others on the plane were told nothing about a threat, Trump reportedly climbed into the catering container with three of his White House footmen: Dan Scavino (his former caddie) and Walt Nauta (his former butler), both of whom are now White House aides, and Natalie Harp, his executive assistant. Meanwhile, military officers, enlisted staff, and several American civilians were left on a plane that was deemed too dangerous for the president."

Nichols stresses that while the Secret Service must do everything possible to protect the U.S. president, some daunting questions need to be answered.

"The commander in chief is the most important person on any American aircraft, and his safety must take precedence over all other concerns or interests," Nichols argues. "If the Secret Service wanted Trump spirited out of Turkey for his security, then no one should second-guess that decision ... One immediate question: If the situation was that dangerous, why send up the first 747 at all — and with two men fairly senior in the line of presidential succession aboard? Perhaps the threat wasn't quite so dire, or its parameters were not well-enough defined, and the Secret Service acted out of a superabundance of caution. Or perhaps the president thinks it's acceptable to send up an airplane full of innocent Americans as a decoy to draw fire so that he can evade enemy action ... Not only was it morally appalling to keep so many people in the dark about the threat; it was politically inept, on two levels."

Nichols adds, "First, imagine if something had actually happened to the decoy And second, Trump missed a major opportunity. Had he brought a few reporters with him, they could have told the story of a clever evasion. The 747, meanwhile, could have been temporarily held and its passengers delayed until Trump emerged in Britain, when the Iranians would find out they'd been had. That's not how this White House works."

Even though the White House has failed in its court cases to meddle in state elections, it is still planning to seize ballots and worse. President Donald Trump's cult-like supporters are embedded everywhere and poll workers and Democrats need to stop being in denial about that — at least according to one election security expert.

"This is where I depart from some of the happy talk that you sometimes get," election rights attorney Marc Elias told MS NOW anchor Jacob Soboroff on Wednesday after Soboroff claimed if Trump tries to steal the election, poll workers will stop him.

"There's a tendency for everyone to want to say, 'Well, don't worry, the poll workers will take care of it,'" Elias said. "Well, here are two problems for you. The first is that it's a lot to ask poll workers to stand up to the federal government. It's one thing if it's a bunch of guys in polo shirts — jokers looking to maybe cause a little bit of disruption, but otherwise fine. But let's imagine it's not that. Let's imagine it's ICE agents with guns. Let's imagine it's people with much more aggressive tactics. It's a lot to put on the poll workers. But here's the second problem, and I need everyone to pay attention to this."

He added, "There are a lot of really good election officials, but Tina Peters [a Coloradan imprisoned for trying to meddle in elections] was an election official. Republicans have been putting election deniers in key positions in key states and counties around this country. The election deniers aren't just running for statewide offices. They're not just running for Secretary of State — they're running for, or being placed in, these local election official positions as well. So do I think that in Minneapolis we're in good shape? Yes. But what happens when you're in a state like Texas or Florida, where the Republican Party runs the state government but has also infiltrated a lot of these local county positions at a MAGA level? That's where I worry it isn't just going to be election officials standing up to the federal government. Remember, I mentioned we've won 21 cases — the Department of Justice sued 30 states. There were 20 states that turned it over voluntarily, and those are the places I'm, in some ways, more worried about."

The states in question were "Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Kansas and Montana."

"It's unbelievable, and that's why I think you're so right — you can't just rely on the poll workers," Soboroff told Elias. "You can't just rely on the lawyers. You can't just rely on other elected officials or election ministers who've been at this for years. It's all hands on deck — a mayday situation."

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President Donald Trump appears to have a flawless four-point plan for surviving the worst political scandals, and Republicans are determined to follow it.

It’s a kind of Konami code, reports Bulwark writer and researcher Will Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.

After three women accused Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) of physically abusing them, Miller told Trump he would stay in. Then Saletan said he went on TV and called Trump his model. He boasted that Trump had survived similar allegations in 2016 and that he, Miller, would now do the same.

“Miller is the latest in a line of scandal-plagued Republican congressmen who have played the Trump card. In the face of investigations, indictments, or convictions, they have denounced law enforcement and invoked the felon-in-chief as their inspiration to fight on,” Saletan said. “It hasn’t always worked out for them. But in doing so, they’ve clarified the ethos of today’s GOP: It’s a party of reprobates, led by a crook.”

In 2018, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) got indicted on charges of stealing money from his campaign for personal use. Similarly, Hunter vowed “I am not going anywhere.” Hunter accused the Justice Department of bias against him, and he embraced Trump — the party’s crook commander — who was also being investigated for obstruction of justice in the Russiagate scandal.

“The ploy paid off,” said Saletan. “Soon after Hunter delivered those remarks, Trump publicly rebuked Sessions for allowing DOJ to indict the congressman. Two months later, Trump dumped Sessions. And two years later, after Hunter pleaded guilty to the charges, Trump pardoned him.”

And in 2021, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) faced scrutiny in a federal sex-trafficking investigation he quickly announced “I am absolutely not resigning,” in a Washington Examiner op-ed. Then he accused the accusers and invoked Trump’s name in one go by claiming he was falsely accused, “just as they once falsely attacked President Donald Trump as a Russian asset.”

“Again, Trump rewarded the suckup,” said Saletan. “In November 2024, he nominated Gaetz to be the attorney general. Trump dropped the nomination only after it became clear that Gaetz couldn’t get confirmed. A month later, the House Ethics Committee reported “substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”

In 2023, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) — the same. When he was indicted on charges of money laundering, wire fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, and theft of public funds, Saletan said he refused to step down and then immediately invoked the fraudster-in-chief: “I’m entitled to that same process that Joe Biden is entitled [to], that Donald Trump was entitled to, but Donald Trump was denied,” he said.

The House expelled him, and in August 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft and got seven years in prison.

Five months later, Trump commuted Santos’s sentence, bouncing him from prison.

The formula also held true for Republican Gov. Eric Greitens (R-Mo.) and his allegations of violent and coercive sexual behavior, said Saletan: Never resign. Deny everything. Accuse the accusers. And invoke Trump.

“In the years before Trump, Republicans talked a lot about character. They denounced Bill Clinton’s adultery, his perjury, and his exploitation of an intern. They said moral rot was infectious. They warned that a party led by a scoundrel, and dedicated to defending that scoundrel, would come to resemble him,” said Saletan. “Under Trump, they’ve proved it.”

Democratic James Carville said the nation is clearly losing patience with President Donald Trump, and even Republican voters are finding themselves less and less beholden to the man — even if they are loathe to admit it.

He said on his Wednesday “Politics War Room” podcast that many Republican and MAGA voters appear to be bidding a fond farewell to Trump as they cast their eye to a new cult leader.

Nowhere was this clearer, said Carville, than in the South Carolina primaries this week, as State Sen. Darline Graham failed to clinch the primary after Trump offered her a full-throated endorsement. Now she faces a second grueling run-off against Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, a conservative hard-liner who had previously run for governor.

Republican voters expressed doubt about Graham in earlier surveys, with one Trump voter saying “she has a master's and she's helped people that are blind and she's a lovely woman advocate. But I don't feel like she has the experience.”

“With Trump, it's kind of like he wants her to take his place because I almost feel like he feels like he can just mold her into doing whatever he wants,” complained another Trump voter. “… It was kind of like, ‘well, let's get her in there and, you know, she'll do what I want.’”

Carville himself acknowledged in conversations with Republicans that Graham appeared to be a “hard” sell after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster temporarily appointed Sen. Lindsey Graham's younger sister to the GOP senator's seat following his unexpected July death.

He added that Trump’s endorsement appeared to deliver diminishing returns as the president’s popularity continued to crater.

“The most under covered story in American politics today is Trump’s Republican approval numbers. They keep falling,” said Carville on Wednesday. “I think it’s coming in at 80 now in most polls, which is significantly lower than 95. For the last 10- years it’s been Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, and the country is starting to turn away from him.”

His polling numbers are down but he’s just becoming less relevant in peoples’ minds and I think that applies to Republican primary voters in South Carolina. I think every day his endorsements lose a tenth of a point of influence,” Carville added.

“It sure did in Minnesota,” said show co-host Al Hunt, referring to the crash and burn gubernatorial campaign of Trump endorsee Mike Lindell.

“They can feel it,” said Carville. “Even the Trump MAGA people, they’re becoming less attached.”

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Karoline Leavitt's stint as President Donald Trump's press secretary was full of controversies, from her insulting Generation Z by blaming them for their economic suffering to accidentally confirming a story about Trump arguing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that she had intended to deny. Yet now that she is being replaced as press secretary, one reporter claims that Trump has a very long and weirdly specific wish list for her successor.

"According to my sources, the next White House press secretary will be someone @realDonaldTrump deems 'from central casting,'" posted journalist Mark Halperin on X on Wednesday. He added that the person will need to be "either a man or a woman, someone who thinks much of the White House press corps is biased against this president, has never been governor of Arkansas, and is not named 'Scott.'"

Halperin concluded, "Narrows it down quite a bit…."

While it is unclear how much of Halperin's post was satirical, Trump has a long history of preferring to work with people who look good in their parts, from Hegseth to his first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

Leavitt's departure had its own weirdness to complement Trump's reported laundry list for her follow up. When she posted her goodbye statement online, it was flagged for being written by AI.

"The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary — and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life," Leavitt wrote, adding that she was grateful for her husband and family. Yet as Status News reporter Natalie Korach pointed out, a brief note at the end of Leavitt's post said "Interesting flag at the bottom of this post: 'Made with AI.'"

For Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person ever to command the White House podium, stepping down marks the end of a whirlwind tenure defined by fierce loyalty to Donald Trump and sharp, unyielding parrying with the press corps. Having recently returned from maternity leave following the birth of her second child, Leavitt ultimately chose family over the relentless 24/7 grind of the briefing room. Yet, true to her turbulent time in the spotlight, her digital sign-off became an ironic final headline when it was flagged as AI-assisted. Rather than fading away, Leavitt pivots smoothly into an outside advisory role, leaving a massive void and a unique standard for whoever inherits the president’s next communications apparatus.

Actor Matthew Rhys’ longtime partner and fellow actress Keri Russell discussed their Emmy nominations in an interview with Variety. Rhys chatted about his roles in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me, and Russell discussed her nomination for The Diplomat.

But even though President Donald Trump and the chaos politics surrounding him and the White House did not factor into the isolated world of the northeastern island that served as Widow’s Bay’s setting there was no banishing the controversial president form the exchange.

As they discussed the popularity of Widow’s Bay, Russell said she appreciated the “escape” the show provided the audience — even if it buries modern American politics in the drip-drip creepiness that plagues the beleaguered island inhabitants.

“It’s also such a delightful departure from the s—— that we’re in,” Russell told Variety. “Do you know what I mean? There is not a mention in the show so far for me about what’s happening — the destruction of our country,”

“Right?” she added, laughing “mordantly” according to Variety.

But Rhys disagreed, telling her that there was in fact one character in the series that reminded him of the make-up wearing White House occupant.

“Well, there is,” said Rhys, referring to the ghost of a clown that murdered children decades ago and who now lurks and heaves around in a dark basement containing his desiccated corpse. “In the crawlspace. That’s Trump.”

The interviewer noted that Russell seemed “dismayed” by the revelation. Her own show, the Diplomat, is set in a world of high-stakes international intrigue and smartly run government, “as we imagine it being practiced in a pre-MAGA era,” according to Variety.

“It can feel as if no time has passed since ‘The West Wing’ or ‘Homeland,’ both of which “Diplomat ‘ creator Debra Cahn wrote for.

President Donald Trump is focused on Michigan, a key swing state that he cited in his July speech falsely alleging widespread voter fraud and which is likely to be a target if he seizes ballots during the midterm elections. Yet a Michigan jurist, Judge Randy Wallace, announced on Wednesday that Michigan Republicans will not be able to wage a lawsuit to make it easier for Trump supporters to make frivolous claims of voter fraud.

"In a victory for voters, a Michigan judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC) that sought to make it easier for partisan poll challengers to dispute voter eligibility and interrupt the state’s ballot-counting process," reported Democracy Docket's Matt Cohen on Wednesday. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Randy Wallace found that the complaint was 'barred by laches,' meaning the RNC waited too long to file its lawsuit, leaving election officials too little time to implement changes before voters head to the polls for November’s midterms.

Cohen explained that "poll challengers are citizens appointed by political parties and nonpartisan groups to observe the ballot-counting process at polling places. Challengers differ from poll watchers in that they have the authority to challenge a voter’s eligibility or question election administration procedures if they have good reason to believe something is wrong."
He added that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has "aimed to make it more difficult for poll challengers to lodge frivolous challenges that delay or disrupt the ballot-counting process."

In his ruling, Wallace expressed dismay at the methods used by the RNC in attempting to sneak in rules to make it easier to overturn valid votes before the state could have a chance to effectively respond.

"This Court finds that because of plaintiffs' unreasonable delay in filing their complaint in this matter, there is not a reasonable amount of time, after the exhaustion of appeals, for election officials to comply with the mechanics and complexities that the relief requested would create," Wallace wrote, citing case law to prove his point.

"Plaintiffs have failed to rebut the presumption of laches, as it applies to the primary election," he added, citing additional case law. "Further, even if this Court accepts plaintiffs' argument about declaratory relief pertaining to the general election and thereafter, plaintiffs failed to bring this case at a proper time, as explained in this opinion."

Ultimately he concluded that the "defendants have demonstrated that they would be prejudiced as a result of plaintiffs' delay in filing the complaint. Thus, plaintiffs' complaint is barred by laches."