Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Trump’s all-about-me midterms

Trump’s all-about-me midterms

Aug 26, 2026

By Megan Messerly, Adam Wren, Dasha Burns and Will Steakin

Presented by

With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner

Good Wednesday morning, it’s beginning to feel a lot like fall in Washington, in more ways than one. Get in touch.

In today’s Playbook …

— Donald Trump’s midterm priority is Donald Trump.

— JMart hits the road with Rob Sand and finds out which Democrats are welcome in Iowa.

— The Boldfaces: Darline Graham, Gentner Drummond, Mike Mazzei, Mike Johnson, Scott Bessent, Kamala Harris, Thom Tillis, Dan Driscoll, Dolly Parton and more.

DRIVING THE DAY

A BRANDING ISSUE: President Donald Trump triumphed in last night’s headline South Carolina Republican contest that saw Darline Graham hold down the seat of her late brother Lindsey Graham.

In Oklahoma, he avoided a defeat that may have rankled him more.

The renewed gravitas behind the Trump brand that Graham carried to victory honored her brother, a longtime Trump ally. The president personally urged Graham to run, traveled to South Carolina to campaign for her in person and shelled out more than $800,000 from his political war chest. But even amid the aggressive campaign push, he largely left her opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman, alone. (In fact, he didn’t say Norman’s name once during his Friday rally with Graham.)

Oklahoma was different. One person familiar with Trump’s thinking said the president not only wanted his preferred candidate, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, to win — he specifically wanted to ensure state AG Gentner Drummond lost.

The president’s antipathy for Drummond was months in the making. In June, Trump singled him out by name, branding him a “FAKE REPUBLICAN,” and laid into the attorney general during a tele-rally for Mazzei Monday night.

“Gentner Drummond does not stand for the values of Oklahoma,” Trump said during the tele-rally. “He's a guy that would be, I think, a disaster — frankly, I think he'd be a disaster as your governor.”

Trump holding a grudge against a Republican is nothing new. But Drummond was an unusual target — not a former ally who crossed the president, not a longtime antagonist. Trump acknowledged during the tele-rally that he didn’t even “know the gentleman.”

So what was Drummond’s sin?

The biggest issue for Trump, the person familiar with his thinking said, was Drummond’s opposition to a proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter — a project the president has touted as a centerpiece of his push to revive American manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign steel and aluminum.

As attorney general, Drummond sued in June to stop it from being built, and sought an injunction earlier this month to halt construction, citing environmental, agricultural and foreign ownership concerns. Trump, meanwhile, had elevated the proposed smelter beyond a local fight, touting it as both a jobs engine and a national security priority.

“We don’t even make aluminum anymore. Now we’re going to have the largest aluminum plant in the world being built in Oklahoma. I love Oklahoma,” Trump said at the NATO summit last month.

But the smelter wasn’t the only offense. A donation from Drummond to the Biden campaign in 2020 — which he says was a mistake and refunded — as well as a contribution from Drummond’s wife to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project also bothered the president, the person familiar said.

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Taken together, yesterday’s runoffs represent the only motivating factor drawing the president’s engagement — and money — in the midterms: himself.

In South Carolina — where POLITICO’s Alec Hernandez and Aaron Pellish report Trump’s rally and spending have battleground Republicans hoping for similar support — the president made Graham’s race about himself, telling supporters her opponents were “only fighting Darline because they want me to lose.”

The White House, asked for comment on the two races, pointed back to the president’s remarks at his Friday rally for Graham.

“I said, ‘Darline, I’d love to see you run beyond the five months that you’re serving, and you’ve already made an impact in the Senate. You know that. Everybody respects you. Everybody listens to you,’” Trump said. “So, I asked her to run, and I think she's going to do phenomenally.”

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Veterans like Don Overton use Ray-Ban Meta glasses to "get my independence back."

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THE DOWNLOAD

DEEP IN THE HEART: Speaker Mike Johnson, who’s been on a 30-day tour barnstorming the House’s most competitive districts over recess, is starting a swing through South Texas today, per the Texas Tribune. It’s the latest sign of how important the Rio Grande Valley’s voters have become for the GOP to keep the majority. Johnson will appear alongside Carlos De La Cruz in the gerrymandered 35th District, Rep. Monica De La Cruz in the 15th District, plus Tano Tijerina in the 28th and Eric Flores in the 34th, who both are vying to unseat Dem incumbents.

ON THE NUMBERS: The Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its revised GDP figures for Q2 at 8:30 a.m. And the next inflation reading will drop at the same time, with the July PCE numbers. Fed watchers and economists will be watching closely ahead of Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole conference as Fed chair this week.

Under pressure: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s credibility as a market steward is at risk after his new bond-buying plan shocked traders, who are left wondering what tools he might try next, POLITICO’s Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida report.

FOLLOW THE RULE: USPS is expected to formally publish its new rule in the Federal Register today imposing new requirements for states to provide the government information on voters before the midterms. But the notice from USPS also states it won’t implement the rule until two different injunctions from California and Massachusetts are resolved.

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THE FRONT PAGE

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Jonathan Martin’s “On the Road” returns with a dispatch from the Iowa State Fair, where the chatter is squarely focused on the seeming inevitability of Rob Sand’s governorship — a prospect Adam previewed back in March. In a conversation with JMart over pork tenderloin sandwiches, Sand made clear why he’s favored to become the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial race there in two decades. He’s also one of the first prominent Democratic candidates to say bluntly that, no, he wouldn’t want Kamala Harris to campaign for him and doesn’t think she should run for president again. Watch the episode … Read the Q&A

Asked which governors he most admires, Sand cited two Republicans before finally spitting out a Democrat, at JMart’s prompting. (And, no, he didn’t take an extra bite of his sandwich when asked about his youthful modeling days, when he posed for beefcake photos to make extra cash.)
Speaking of Harris: The former VP is being welcomed into one red state for the midterms, Adam reports. Harris is endorsing Chris Jones in Arkansas’ 2nd District, according to a statement shared first with Playbook. She joins a growing list of 2028ers jumping into the race: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have also backed Jones.

TRADING SPACES: Republicans were already facing affordability anxieties for the midterms — but Trump’s rekindled trade wars are sparking a whole new round of pushback, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Mia McCarthy write. Michigan and Maine could be hit hardest by the tariff standoff with Canada, as well as agriculture-heavy states like Iowa and North Carolina, all critical to the Senate majority. “We’ve got 71 days, and right now we don’t have a positive message to tell farm country,” retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis warned.

ON TO NOVEMBER: Annie Andrews, the Democratic Senate nominee in South Carolina, is kicking off the general-election fight against Darline Graham with a nearly $500,000 statewide TV and digital ad highlighting her work as a pediatrician and calls to lower health care costs, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky writes in.

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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. WAR REPORT: Bessent’s plan for an economic “D-Day” to end the war in Iran and calm down markets has Trump allies and some economists worried it won’t achieve either aim, POLITICO’s Scott Waldman reports with Megan. The offensive could prolong the war until Iran submits, or isolate Iran enough that it moves to attack again. Either way, it offers few immediate remedies as rising costs loom over the midterms. Adding insult to injury, the damage to U.S. intelligence posts and surveillance over the war will cost billions to repair, per NBC.

It’s personnel: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has told allies he plans to exit the Pentagon and resign his post by Labor Day, though Trump officials are pushing him to stay on through the end of the year, NBC’s Courtney Kube and colleagues scoop. It would be the latest leadership shakeup for the Army, which has been left “essentially rudderless” following firings and purges, NYT’s Greg Jaffe and colleagues write.

2. WHERE’S THE BEEF?: While Trump has dismissed the word “affordability” in the past, his administration’s latest push to lower beef prices is a fresh sign the White House is trying to ease concerns over stubborn inflation — risking the wrath of the ag industry in the process, POLITICO’s Myah Ward and Grace Yarrow write. “Trump’s gambit, though, may come too late to meaningfully impact prices at the supermarket before the election. And the move, a version of which the White House shelved in May amid internal divisions, produced predictable backlash from farmers and ranchers who say they are already being squeezed.”

3. IMMIGRATION FILES: DOJ is weighing slapping charges on the ICE agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg in Minneapolis in the winter, at the height of the administration’s Operation Metro Surge, CNN’s Whitney Wild and Rob Kuznia report. Meanwhile, ICE has quietly begun enforcing rules to keep officers involved in these deadly force cases off the streets pending the investigation, per The Atlantic’s Nick Miroff.

4. MAN IN MOSCOW: CIA Director John Ratcliffe is visiting Moscow for meetings, marking his first known trip to Russia while leading the intelligence agency, CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs and colleagues scoop. Intelligence reports have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin could move to further provoke NATO, while negotiations to end the war with Ukraine remain stalled.

5. CUTTING DEEP: Health care providers are bracing for the impact of the slash to Medicaid funding and insurance subsidies, Stat’s Daniel Payne reports. The shifting landscape could be especially brutal in areas like Maine, with high shares of Medicaid users across rural areas.

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TALK OF THE TOWN

WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU — The sudden death of country music legend and all-around icon Dolly Parton at 80 yesterday ushered in a rare moment of bipartisan admiration, prompting the entire political spectrum, from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, administration officials and Democratic activists all mourning her death. Trump ordered flags to be lowered across the country for a week, starting last night at 6 p.m. “There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — Trump administration lawyers told a federal judge that the Kennedy Center needs renovations so severely that it may need to be “taken down” if the plans are blocked, NYT’s Julia Jacobs reports. The filing describes the center as an “unsafe, decrepit structure” that could be demolished, “with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years.” The center said the warning was a “hypothetical scenario.”

TOP TALKER — “Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s WSJ Op-Ed Criticizing Bessent Was Written With AI,” by NOTUS’ Jeff Stein: “Stanley Druckenmiller, a former hedge fund manager who founded Duquesne Capital, published ‘Let the Bond Market Speak’ on Monday, questioning Bessent’s interventions to hold down yields on U.S. treasuries. … Pangram, an AI detection tool, found that Druckenmiller’s op-ed had been written using artificial intelligence … In an interview with NOTUS, Druckenmiller said ‘of course I used AI’ when writing the column, and argued he didn’t see a problem with doing so.”

FOLLOW THE MONEY — “Boss of Trump Jr-backed start-up donated to Republicans after winning US contract,” by FT’s Joe Miller and colleagues: “The boss of a defence manufacturing start-up backed by Donald Trump Jr’s investment firm donated almost $450,000 to Republican causes just months after winning a $900mn contract from the US government.

Hadrian chief executive Chris Power gave the maximum individual donation allowed to a number of Republican National Committee entities in July, after Trump Jr’s firm increased its investment in the company as part of a $1.4bn funding round.”

OUT AND ABOUT — The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted its sixth annual Heartland Summit in Indianapolis yesterday with Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), focusing on international assistance, diplomacy and national security. SPOTTED: Kip Tom, William Fallon, Daryn Kracht, Liz Schrayer, Jim Richardson, Lawrence Muennich, Vanessa Green Sinders and Susan Brocksmith.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Kieghan Nangle is taking on a new role as press assistant at the White House. She currently serves as executive assistant to outgoing press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

TRANSITIONS — Adam Owens is now VP for government relations at Carrier Corporation. He previously worked at GM Defense. … Former Samoan PM Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa is joining Conservation International as its Arnhold Distinguished Fellow.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Molly Nuñez, SVP at BerlinRosen, and Matt Bisgyer, principal at energy VC Montauk Capital, welcomed Noa Raye Bisgyer on Aug. 12. Pic … Another pic

— Sarah Ryan, a senior director at PhRMA, and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Evan Ryan recently welcomed William Patrick Ryan. Pic … Another pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Bill Whitaker … State’s Tiffany Cox and Kirk Anderson … The New Republic’s Grace Segers … Gara LaMarche … Oracle’s Josh Pitcock … former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge … Eddie Vale of New Paradigm Agency … Jennifer Sherman of Reservoir Communications Group … Nicole Gaudiano … POLITICO’s Jordan Muller and Reese Quanstrom … Bloomberg Government’s Maeve Sheehey … Ilyse Hogue … Miriam Elder … Patrick Dorton of Rational 360 … Resonate’s Navin Nayak … Rebekah Hoshiko … Lindsey Curnutte … Satyam Khanna … Stephen Dubner … Arthur MacMillan … NBC’s Savannah Sellers and Sophia Maltese … Myles Miller … Julian Epstein … Russell Adam of the Herald Group … Quint Forgey … Hunter Wilson of Plus Communications … Jordan Wong of Vote Mama Lobby … Justin Dillon … Jim Harris of Bain … Nick Martin of Rep. Suzan DelBene’s (D-Wash.) office … Payton Fuller of Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.) office … Anna Connelly of New Heights Communications … Eric Fehrnstrom

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