Trump-Appointed Judge Orders White House to Restore Access for CNN, MS NOW and Politico

September 24, 2026

CNN_ — CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump ordered the White House early Thursday to restore press credentials for journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico, temporarily blocking a ban Trump announced last week.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted a 14-day temporary restraining order in the three outlets’ lawsuit. He directed White House officials to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the hard passes revoked after Trump’s Sept. 18 announcement. The order is temporary; the lawsuit remains pending.

Kelly found the outlets were likely to succeed on their claim that the administration revoked their passes without constitutionally adequate due process. Under the federal appeals court precedents he cited, reporters with White House hard passes must receive fair notice of conduct that could lead to revocation and an opportunity to respond.

The administration did not dispute that the journalists received neither notice nor an opportunity to be heard before their passes were revoked, Kelly wrote. Letters sent to the outlets on Sept. 22 cited standards of “professionalism and decorum,” but the judge said the language was too vague to establish what conduct could cost a reporter a pass.

Judge Questions National Security Explanation

Trump initially announced the ban by accusing the outlets of publishing false and negative coverage. In court, administration lawyers argued that some of their reporting threatened national security and that the White House could address the issue after revoking the passes.

Kelly acknowledged the government’s substantial interest in protecting national security but said the evidence before him did not support keeping the journalists out while the case proceeds.

“Nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” he wrote. The administration, he added, had offered no declaration explaining how the reporting identified in its letters had damaged national security. He also noted that most reporters who wrote the cited stories did not hold the hard passes at issue.

The three outlets sued Monday, arguing that the ban violated their constitutional rights. At Wednesday’s emergency hearing, their attorney, Theodore Boutrous, argued that Trump had retaliated against the organizations for their coverage. Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik countered that White House access was a privilege and raised the administration’s security concerns, according to NPR’s account of the hearing.

Kelly’s order rests on the outlets’ due process claim. Their broader First Amendment arguments remain before the court. The judge said he would set an expedited schedule to consider a preliminary injunction before the 14-day order expires.

Access Still Disputed Thursday Morning

The ruling did not immediately settle access at the gate. CNN reported that a reporter and photojournalist were denied entry Thursday morning, though a producer entered with a pass. Mediaite reported that a Politico reporter’s pass was confiscated and an MS NOW reporter was also turned away. Those accounts describe events in the hours after the order, not a subsequent court finding about compliance.

Kelly, whom Trump nominated to the federal bench in 2017, also ordered the restoration of CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s White House pass during a separate dispute in 2018.

Ari Emanuel Reveals Trump’s Private Talk About A 2028 GOP Ticket

Politics

Madeleine Jackson

September 23, 2026

Hollywood power agent Ari Emanuel says President Donald Trump dropped a revealing hint about the Republican Party’s possible 2028 ticket during a recent private phone call.

Emanuel disclosed the conversation Tuesday while appearing with MS NOW host Rachel Maddow at New York’s 92nd Street Y to promote his memoir, Roll the Calls.

According to Mediaite, Emanuel said he spoke with Trump by phone roughly three weeks earlier—and the president was already talking excitedly about Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a potential political team.

“He thought JD and Marco Rubio would be a formidable group,” Emanuel said.

The comment did not amount to an endorsement or reveal which man Trump envisioned at the top of the ticket. It did, however, add another piece of evidence that the president is thinking openly about who could carry the Republican Party into the post-Trump era.

Emanuel Pushes Back On Maddow

The private call surfaced during a sharp exchange over Maddow’s concern that Trump could try to remain in power after his second term ends.

Maddow described Trump as a “different kind of cat” and said she did not believe he would willingly leave office. Emanuel rejected that argument, pointing to Trump’s interest in a future Vance–Rubio pairing as evidence that the president is contemplating a successor.

Emanuel argued that the remarks did not sound like those of a “man trying to be in the White House forever,” according to Mediaite’s account of the event.

The Hollywood executive also compared the alarm surrounding Trump with fears voiced about President Richard Nixon decades ago. When members of the audience pushed back, Emanuel responded with a profane joke before continuing the discussion.

Emanuel is one of Hollywood’s most powerful dealmakers and the inspiration for the character Ari Gold on HBO’s Entourage. He currently serves as executive chairman of WME Group and executive chair and CEO of TKO Group Holdings, the company that owns UFC and WWE, according to CBS News.

Trump Has Floated The Pairing Before

Trump’s reported comments to Emanuel were consistent with ideas he has raised publicly.

During a White House event in May, Trump asked attendees whether they preferred Vance or Rubio before saying the two names “sound like a good ticket,” according to TIME.

Trump called the pair a “dream team” but immediately cautioned that the remark did not constitute an endorsement. He also left unanswered which official would run for president and which would seek the vice presidency.

Rubio, who ran against Trump for the 2016 Republican nomination, has previously signaled that he would support Vance if the vice president entered the 2028 race. Vance has described early campaign talk as premature while leaving open the possibility of considering his political future later in the administration.

Both men have become highly visible members of Trump’s second administration. Vance holds the office that has often served as a springboard to a presidential campaign, while Rubio has taken on overlapping responsibilities as secretary of state and national security adviser.

Third-Term Talk Meets A Constitutional Barrier

Trump has repeatedly joked about serving a third term and has sold “Trump 2028” merchandise, fueling speculation among supporters and critics alike. More recently, however, he acknowledged that “the law is very strong” and said he understood the legal restriction preventing another run.

The 22nd Amendment states that no person may be elected president more than twice. Changing that limit would require amending the Constitution.

Known Trump Rival Letitia James Sees Lead Shrink

Politics

Madeleine Jackson

September 23, 2026

New York Attorney General Letitia James still holds a double-digit advantage in her bid for a third term, but a new poll shows the prominent Trump adversary losing ground to a Republican challenger whom most voters barely know.

James leads former federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy 52% to 39% among likely voters, according to a Siena University poll released Wednesday.

That 13-point margin is down from James’ 18-point advantage in August, when she led 54% to 36%. In the span of a month, James slipped two points while Komatireddy gained three.

The shift narrowed the gap in a heavily Democratic state, but it does not mean the race is suddenly tied. James remains above 50%, and the poll’s roughly four-point margin of error means the month-to-month change should be viewed cautiously.

Low Name Recognition Shapes The Race

Komatireddy’s biggest challenge may also be her clearest opportunity: 71% of likely voters said they had either never heard of her or did not know enough to form an opinion. Her favorability rating stood at just 17%, with 12% viewing her unfavorably—the same result Siena recorded in August.

James, by contrast, is one of the most recognizable figures in New York politics. Her favorability rating was 51% positive and 40% negative, a slight decline from 52% to 38% the previous month.

Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said both candidates have secured more than 80% of voters within their own parties. Independents leaned toward James by a narrow 43% to 40% margin.

The most dramatic regional movement came in New York City. James still held a commanding 62% to 26% lead there, but that was substantially smaller than her 71% to 20% advantage in August. Siena found James maintaining narrower leads upstate and in the downstate suburbs.

Greenberg said the results left James ahead among independents and in each major region of the state, while Komatireddy entered the final weeks of the campaign with low name recognition.

Trump Feud Shapes The Contest

James’ long-running feud with President Donald Trump has made the attorney general’s race a contest with national overtones.

Her office brought the civil fraud case against Trump, his company and several executives. A New York trial judge imposed a penalty that grew to nearly $500 million with interest. In 2025, a divided state appeals court vacated the financial penalty as excessive while leaving the fraud finding and other restrictions in place.

Trump has repeatedly accused James of pursuing him for political reasons. James has defended the case as a lawful enforcement action and pointed to the surviving fraud judgment as validation of her office’s work.

Komatireddy has made public safety a centerpiece of her campaign. The former Eastern District of New York prosecutor has handled terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics and fraud cases, later served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and clerked for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, according to her campaign biography.

She has also proposed creating an Office of Civil Commitment to coordinate law-enforcement and medical responses involving people with severe mental illness who may pose a danger to themselves or others. James’ campaign called the plan “an empty proposal,” while defending the incumbent’s work on hospital discharge planning, supportive housing and treatment programs, according to the Times Union.

The same poll found Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul leading Republican Bruce Blakeman 50% to 41%, little changed from her 49% to 39% advantage in August.

Siena surveyed 1,144 likely New York voters from Sept. 11 through Sept. 17. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for the core questions and plus or minus 4.2 points among the 991 respondents who completed the entire survey.

World Leader Skips Trump Reception — Meets With Key Rival Instead

Madeleine Jackson

September 23, 2026

1080px-P20250410MR-2927_President_Donald_Trump_Holds_a_Cabinet_Meeting — By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez skipped President Donald Trump’s reception for world leaders in New York on Tuesday, choosing instead to meet with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as tensions between Madrid and Washington continue to simmer.

Sánchez was invited to the reception, held during the United Nations General Assembly, but his government said the invitation arrived only after his schedule had already been set.

“He is not going to attend that dinner, but basically because the invitation arrived a few days ago, when the whole trip was already prepared,” Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz said, according to El País.

The scheduling explanation did little to quiet speculation that the move carried a political message. El País reported that the meetings cited by Sánchez’s team — including sit-downs with Newsom and Apple CEO Tim Cook — were not listed on the prime minister’s public schedule. The newspaper characterized his absence as a political decision, although Sánchez’s office has not described it as a boycott.

Newsom Meeting Takes Aim At Trump Agenda

While Trump hosted foreign leaders, Sánchez met with Newsom and signed a memorandum expanding cooperation between Spain and California on clean energy, battery storage, methane reduction, carbon markets and climate resilience.

Newsom’s office announced the agreement in a sharply worded statement accusing Trump of undermining American alliances and energy security.

“At a moment of increasing global instability, California will continue building strong relationships with partners around the globe to build a cleaner, more prosperous, more secure future,” Newsom said.

The Democratic governor has emerged as one of Trump’s most visible political adversaries and is frequently discussed as a possible 2028 presidential contender. His office used the New York meeting to contrast California’s climate policies with the Trump administration’s approach to energy and the war in Iran.

Sánchez Blasts Trump’s U.N. Speech

Sánchez also criticized Trump’s address to the General Assembly, calling it “very ideological” and “not backed and supported by facts and data” during an appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Weekly Show podcast, according to EFE.

“When he speaks about climate change, or the war in Iran, or the things that are going on in the Middle East, his political positions are not, let’s say, largely supported by many countries worldwide,” Sánchez said.

Trump used his speech to defend his administration’s Iran policy, challenge international climate policies and press other nations to put their own interests first. Sánchez, by contrast, used his U.N. appearances to call for broader multilateral cooperation and defend international institutions, according to Spain’s official government account.

The two leaders were already at odds over NATO spending. Trump blasted Spain in 2025 after Sánchez resisted the alliance’s new defense-spending target, accusing Madrid of seeking a “free ride” and warning that Spain could pay more in trade negotiations, Fox Business reported.

Their relationship deteriorated further over the Iran war, which Sánchez has publicly opposed.

Sánchez also skipped Trump’s U.N. reception last year, when Spain’s King Felipe VI led the country’s delegation. He had attended receptions hosted by President Joe Biden in 2022 and 2023, according to El País.

This time, the contrast was difficult to miss: Sánchez passed on Trump’s gathering, criticized the president’s speech and spent part of his evening signing a climate agreement with a Democrat who has built a national profile by confronting the White House.

South Korean President Presses Trump To Ease North Korea Sanctions

Madeleine Jackson

September 22, 2026

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is publicly pressing President Donald Trump to consider easing sanctions on North Korea — a high-stakes gamble aimed at stopping Kim Jong Un from adding more nuclear weapons to his growing arsenal.

Lee argued that demanding complete denuclearization before offering Pyongyang anything in return has produced a dangerous stalemate. In an interview with The New York Times, he proposed trading some sanctions relief for a verified halt to North Korea’s development of additional nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology, The Hill reported.

“Aiming for denuclearization under the current circumstances guarantees that nothing will be accomplished,” Lee told the Times.

The South Korean leader said a freeze could open the door to reciprocal concessions, build trust and eventually persuade the North to begin reducing its stockpile. His pitch amounts to a phased approach: stop the growth of the arsenal first, then seek reductions and, ultimately, dismantlement.

But it would also require Trump to decide whether sanctions relief could bring Kim back to the negotiating table — or merely reward a regime that has repeatedly advanced its weapons programs while talks remained frozen.

Lee Warns The Clock Is Ticking

Lee framed the proposal as a response to an increasingly urgent threat. He said South Korean estimates indicate North Korea may now be able to produce an additional 10 to 20 nuclear weapons each year.

“Once it believes it has accumulated enough nuclear weapons and missiles to guarantee its survival, it will be tempted to export them to make money,” Lee told the Times. “That will be a truly dangerous moment.”

The warning comes as Pyongyang continues to demonstrate new military capabilities. North Korea said this week that it tested a new hypersonic weapon designed to maneuver at low altitude and evade missile defenses, according to the Financial Times. The test added fresh pressure to diplomatic efforts by both Trump and Lee.

Kim has also hardened his public position. Earlier this year, he described North Korea’s nuclear force as an “irreversible” shield and tied it directly to the regime’s survival, the Financial Times reported. Pyongyang has meanwhile drawn closer to Russia and China, giving it economic and diplomatic alternatives that could blunt Washington’s leverage.

Trump’s Personal Diplomacy Faces A New Test

Trump met Kim three times during his first term, including summits in Singapore and Hanoi and a meeting at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The diplomacy produced dramatic images and an exchange of personal letters, but it did not deliver a lasting agreement to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.

Trump has nevertheless signaled that he remains open to another meeting. Lee has embraced that possibility, saying earlier this month that South Korea should help create the conditions for renewed U.S.-North Korea talks. He credited Trump’s outreach with creating “at least some possibility for a change” on the peninsula, according to The Korea Herald.

Trump also ordered the annual U.S.-South Korean Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise shortened in August, a move intended to reduce hostility and encourage diplomacy. North Korea did not respond by returning to talks and instead continued weapons tests and public criticism of the United States.

That history underscores the central risk in Lee’s proposal: sanctions could be relaxed before the United States has proof that Kim intends to move beyond a temporary freeze. Supporters of a phased deal argue that waiting for an all-at-once surrender allows the arsenal to grow unchecked. Skeptics warn that Pyongyang could pocket concessions, preserve its existing weapons and later abandon negotiations.

Washington And Seoul Still Demand Denuclearization

Lee’s push does not formally abandon the goal of a nuclear-free North Korea. His government describes the freeze as the first stage of a longer process, not the final destination.

That distinction was reinforced Monday, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in reaffirming their “resolute commitment” to the complete denuclearization of North Korea. The three governments also called on Pyongyang to resume dialogue and backed continued efforts to block revenue supporting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The result leaves Trump with a difficult choice. He can maintain maximum pressure in pursuit of complete denuclearization, or test Lee’s argument that a smaller interim deal is the only realistic way to stop North Korea’s arsenal from becoming even more dangerous.

For now, Kim has offered no sign that he is prepared to accept either path.

GOP Senator Calls For Trump Jr., Hunter Biden Subpoenas

News

Madeleine Jackson

September 22, 2026

Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah is calling for a sweeping congressional investigation into the business dealings of Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden, urging Senate leaders to subpoena both presidential sons for testimony.

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Curtis asked the panel to examine whether relatives of presidents have used their family connections for private financial gain, favorable treatment or access.

The request puts a Republican senator at the center of a politically explosive dispute just weeks before the midterm elections. While GOP lawmakers have spent years scrutinizing Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, Curtis is arguing that the same standard must apply to the family of a Republican president.

Curtis wrote that the concern should transcend whichever party controls the White House.

Curtis said the proposed inquiry should cover both men’s dealings with foreign individuals and entities, gifts and other benefits they received, and any occasions when their relationship to a president was used—or understood—to carry value.

Curtis Flags Foreign Deals And Lavish Gift

The Utah senator cited Hunter Biden’s business relationships in China and Ukraine while Joe Biden was in or seeking public office. Hunter Biden has repeatedly denied involving his father in his business dealings.

House Republicans previously conducted a multiyear investigation into the Biden family’s foreign financial relationships. Their 2024 impeachment inquiry report accused Joe Biden of benefiting from an influence-peddling operation. Biden and congressional Democrats rejected those conclusions, and the House did not vote to impeach him.

Curtis also pointed to recent questions surrounding Trump Jr.’s financial interests, including cryptocurrency ventures, international real estate activity, defense-related investments and ties to prediction-market companies affected by federal regulation.

His letter followed a ProPublica report that Russian businessman Umar Kremlev helped pay for two nights of festivities connected to Trump Jr.’s May wedding in the Bahamas. The outlet reported that Kremlev covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, including the rental of a private island and a fireworks display.

Kremlev leads the International Boxing Association and has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. ProPublica reported that he had accompanied a group traveling with Putin in China shortly before the wedding celebrations.

Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina, confirmed Kremlev hosted two nights of celebrations but described the arrangement as a generous gift from a friend. They said efforts to portray the gift as politically motivated were unfair.

President Trump later said his son would repay Kremlev and defended the arrangement as permissible, according to The New York Post.

Curtis nevertheless warned that relationships between presidential relatives and foreign business figures can create the appearance—or expectation—of favorable treatment and potentially expose national security vulnerabilities.

One Standard For Both Parties

Curtis framed his request as a test of whether Congress is willing to apply its oversight authority consistently.

He argued that the country should not accept different standards for Republican and Democratic presidential families.

The senator said an investigation should establish the facts, determine whether ethics, disclosure or anti-corruption laws apply, and consider reforms aimed at preventing presidential connections from becoming tools for private enrichment.

Curtis did not accuse either Trump Jr. or Hunter Biden of a specific crime in the letter. His request now leaves Grassley and Durbin to decide whether the Judiciary Committee will pursue an investigation or issue subpoenas.

“Congress has an obligation to pursue credible concerns wherever they lead and without regard to party,” Curtis wrote.

Former Fox Producer Found Dead In Florida Home

Madeleine Jackson

September 21, 2026

Former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart has been found dead at her Florida home, bringing a tragic end to the life of a media professional whose explosive allegations against former Fox News host Ed Henry drew national attention.

Eckhart was 36.

TMZ reported that Eckhart was found inside her Hobe Sound home after a heavy police presence was seen outside the property over the weekend. A representative for the Martin County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed her death to the outlet, while law-enforcement sources said the case had been ruled a suicide.

Martin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Christine Christofek separately said Eckhart appeared to have died by suicide, according to The New York Post. Authorities did not immediately release further details.

Eckhart previously worked as an associate producer at Fox Business before becoming widely known in 2020, when she filed a lawsuit accusing Henry of sexually assaulting and raping her while they both worked at the network.

The lawsuit alleged Henry used his position and their age difference to manipulate and control Eckhart, who was 24 when the alleged conduct began. It further accused him of demanding that she become his “sex slave” and threatening punishment or retaliation if she refused his sexual demands.

Henry denied the allegations. His attorney maintained that the relationship was consensual and that Eckhart initiated it.

Fox News fired Henry in July 2020 after receiving Eckhart’s complaint and conducting an internal investigation. The network said at the time that senior management terminated him within days of learning of the allegations.

Eckhart later described the fear she said she experienced while working at Fox.

“I was paralyzed by fear,” she told CBS News in a 2020 interview.

“I don’t know how you can continue to cultivate and foster an environment that rewards sexual predators consistently year after year,” she added.

The legal fight continued for years. Eckhart ultimately settled her claims against Henry before trial. The terms were not publicly disclosed.

A federal judge separately granted Fox News summary judgment in March 2025, dismissing Eckhart’s claims against the network. Mediaite reported that the judge also dismissed a revenge-porn claim against Henry while allowing several other claims against him to proceed at that stage of the case.

After leaving Fox, Eckhart launched the REINVENTED podcast, which featured people from business, sports and entertainment discussing how they had overcome adversity. She also became an advocate for trauma survivors.

Trump Responds As Media Giants Take White House Ban To Court

Madeleine Jackson

September 21, 2026

President Donald Trump is defending his decision to bar three major news organizations from the White House as the dispute moves to federal court.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico announced Monday that they were filing suit in Washington, D.C., after their reporters were blocked from the White House and their press credentials were deactivated over the weekend. The outlets argue that the administration retaliated against them for coverage it disliked, violating the First Amendment and their Fifth Amendment right to due process.

Trump rejected that charge Monday, portraying the restrictions as a response to deliberately false reporting rather than an attack on press freedom.

“The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said the administration was instead confronting what he called “FAKE NEWS” and described it as a threat to national security.

The president first announced the ban Friday, accusing the three outlets of repeatedly publishing “FICTION and LIES” about him, his administration and the country. He also warned that other news organizations could face similar treatment.

When reporters pressed him on the decision, Trump made clear that the outlets were no longer welcome inside the White House complex.

“I don’t think somebody should be allowed to come and write fake stories,” Trump said, according to CBS News. “I don’t have to let them into … the people’s house.”

Outlets Demand Immediate Access

The three news organizations said they notified the administration Monday that they would ask a federal court to restore their access immediately while the larger case proceeds.

“There could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment,” the outlets argued in a court motion cited by CBS News.

In a joint statement, CNN, MS NOW and Politico said the government cannot decide what news organizations may report or publish. They warned that leaving the ban unchallenged would threaten press freedom and the public’s access to independent reporting.

The dispute moved quickly after Trump’s Friday announcement. MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner and CNN reporter Betsy Klein said White House security personnel turned them away Saturday after their badges had been disabled, The Daily Wire reported.

CNN was also removed from its scheduled television pool duties for Trump’s Monday travel, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The White House Correspondents’ Association also condemned the move. Its president, Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, said constitutional press protections do not depend on whether a president approves of an outlet’s coverage or questions.

A New Court Fight Over Press Access

The showdown echoes an earlier battle between Trump and CNN. During his first term, the White House revoked reporter Jim Acosta’s credential following a contentious press conference. A federal judge ordered the credential restored, concluding that the administration had failed to provide the process required before taking it away.

This case could test the limits of presidential control over press access even more directly because the new policy reportedly blocks entire news organizations from areas generally open to credentialed White House journalists.

That distinction could matter. In separate litigation over narrower restrictions on access to highly limited spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One, an appeals court allowed some administration limits to remain in place. But the judges also said the White House may not exclude journalists from spaces generally open to the press because of their viewpoint, CBS News reported.

The new lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order, setting up a fast-moving constitutional fight over how far a president may go in deciding which news organizations get through the White House gates.

Report: Vance Gave Clinton Camp A Warning About Trump

Madeleine Jackson

September 18, 2026

Vice President JD Vance reportedly opened a private channel to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, urging her team to change course in the Midwest as Donald Trump closed in on the White House.

The previously unreported episode adds a striking new chapter to Vance’s well-known evolution from a fierce Trump critic into the president’s running mate and one of the most prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

According to a new Vanity Fair profile by Chris Whipple, Vance repeatedly asked an intermediary connected to Clinton’s campaign to put him in touch with Jake Sullivan, who was serving as one of Clinton’s senior policy advisers.

The intermediary recalled Vance saying, “I hate Hillary. But I hate Trump more.”

A Midwestern Warning Clinton Did Not Heed

Vance reportedly believed Clinton was in danger of losing the industrial Midwest and wanted her to make an urgent appeal to voters in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The source told Vanity Fair that Vance wanted Clinton to spend less time campaigning with celebrities and more time confronting the anger surrounding her 2002 vote to authorize military force in Iraq. His argument centered on working-class communities that had sent family members to war and felt forgotten by national leaders.

Vanity Fair reported that Vance eventually spoke directly with Sullivan roughly six weeks before Election Day.

A second source close to Sullivan confirmed that a conversation occurred but offered a narrower recollection. That person did not remember Vance laying out a broader strategy for the so-called Blue Wall states. The source did recall Vance pressing Clinton’s team to repair the damage from her “basket of deplorables” remark about Trump supporters and warning that she needed to sharpen her focus.

Clinton ultimately lost Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—three states Democrats had carried in every presidential election since at least 1992. Trump captured all three by narrow margins, breaking through the Democratic firewall and winning the presidency.

Vance’s Office Pushes Back

Vance spokesman Taylor Van Kirk disputed Vanity Fair’s description of the outreach.

Van Kirk said Vance did not work for either campaign and was encouraging politicians in both parties to pay attention to working-class communities like his hometown of Middletown, Ohio. The spokesperson said the vice president’s office “100 percent reject[s]” the suggestion that his purpose was to help Clinton win.

The report does not claim that Vance formally joined Clinton’s campaign or held any official role. Its central allegation is that he privately delivered political advice to a senior Clinton adviser because he wanted Trump defeated—a characterization his office denies.

From Never Trump To Trump’s No. 2

Vance’s opposition to Trump in 2016 was never a secret. While promoting his bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, he publicly called himself a “Never Trump guy,” described Trump as unfit for office and ultimately voted for independent conservative Evan McMullin rather than Trump or Clinton.

His position changed in the years that followed. As Vance entered the 2022 Ohio Senate race, he apologized for his earlier attacks and aligned himself with Trump’s political movement. Trump endorsed him in a crowded Republican primary, Vance won the Senate seat, and Trump selected him as his running mate in 2024.

The new account is especially notable because Vance’s reported advice identified the very weakness that helped decide the 2016 election: Clinton’s failure to hold key Midwestern states. It also reveals just how far the future vice president may have been willing to go at the time to stop the man whose administration he now helps lead.

Still, the most explosive interpretation remains contested. Vanity Fair’s sources portray Vance as trying to help Clinton defeat Trump. Vance’s team portrays the conversation as a bipartisan plea for Washington to stop ignoring working-class America.

Vanity Fair’s account, including confirmation from a second source that Vance and Sullivan spoke, offers the clearest description yet of the distance between Vance’s 2016 politics and his role in the Trump White House today.

Newsom Draws a 2028 Red Line—and Puts His Future in Kamala Harris’ Hands

Politics

Madeleine Jackson

September 18, 2026

California Gov. Gavin Newsom just made his clearest 2028 pledge yet—and it gives Kamala Harris the first move.

“I wouldn’t run if she ran,” Newsom told CNN anchor Jake Tapper during a fly-fishing interview in Montana.

Tapper wrote that the answer left him “stunned.” Newsom, however, described the decision as simple political math.

“Why would I?” Newsom said. “I wouldn’t do that to her. I wouldn’t do it to me. … I won’t waste everyone’s time. Who needs that?”

The governor argued that a primary battle between two nationally known California Democrats—with overlapping donors, allies and supporters—would create an opening for everyone else.

“First of all, electorally it’s a gift from God for everybody else,” Newsom said. “They’d enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It serves no greater good.”

Tapper pressed him on the obvious counterargument: Harris launched a presidential campaign in 2019 but withdrew before the 2020 primaries, then became the Democratic nominee in 2024 and lost the general election. Newsom, by contrast, has never tested himself in a national campaign.

Newsom conceded the point.

“That would be the case you’d make,” he said. “Pretty good one, actually. That’s objectively true.”

But he returned to the personal and political overlap between them. “I know her base of supporters, I know her friends,” Newsom said, adding that the Venn diagram was “pure crossover.” He said he would not force those allies to choose sides.

The pledge is a noticeable step beyond Newsom’s answer in February. Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash what would happen if the two longtime California figures collided in 2028, Newsom said “fate will determine that” and added, “I’ve never gotten in the way of her ambition, ever.”

Now he has converted that vague deference into a public condition: if Harris runs, he says he is out.

That does not mean Newsom has abandoned his own presidential ambitions. His second and final term as governor ends in January, and his political activity has increasingly reached beyond California. He launched the podcast “This Is Gavin Newsom,” traveled to South Carolina—an early Democratic nominating state—and said he would give a White House campaign “serious thought” after the 2026 midterms.

Newsom also promoted a national fundraising drive tied to California’s 2025 redistricting fight. The Daily Wire reported that some of its digital ads targeted donors outside California, fueling speculation that the effort could also help him expand a national fundraising list. A spokeswoman for the campaign rejected that interpretation, saying the out-of-state appeals were intended to rally opposition to Republican-led redistricting efforts.

And Newsom’s new promise appears narrowly tailored. The Daily Wire reported that he did not offer the same assurance when Tapper raised Rep. Ro Khanna, another California Democrat whose name has surfaced in 2028 discussions.

Harris, meanwhile, has not announced a decision. She said in July that she had “not made a decision,” and more recently said the 2026 midterms were occupying her attention “full time.” Her campaign schedule includes appearances for Democratic candidates in California, Nevada and Georgia, keeping her active in both battlegrounds and an early presidential primary state.

For now, the most consequential move in Newsom’s possible 2028 campaign may belong to Harris. His pledge removes the prospect of a direct California showdown—if he keeps it—but it also leaves his path dependent on a decision he cannot control.

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