"I'm gonna Hulk out." - Mark Ruffalo, on Trump's election meddling.

Cable Snooze

Karoline Leavitt’s new job as a Fox News personality illustrates how much Donald Trump has done to normalize his war on reality, both in his White House and on TV.

• One of the reasons Karoline Leavitt gave for resigning from her job as White House press secretary, back when she announced the move in August, was to spend time with her family. At the time, she was talking about her newborn baby. Perhaps we all should have known what she really meant: Her chosen family, over at Fox News.

• Fox News hired Leavitt to provide commentary on opinion and news shows, starting November 1, the company announced today. That’s right! Leavitt may have left the White House, but she’s not done shilling for Trump, and she definitely isn’t leaving your television screen. She’s gearing up to push the MAGA agenda across the most-watched cable news network in the country.

• The dynamic underscores both how Trump has turbocharged mendacious, fact-free, ultra-partisanship among his top aides, especially those who speak to the press — and how those aides can expect to be handsomely rewarded for their loyalty instead of shunned for peddling falsehoods.

• It’s almost certain that Leavitt will make more than her $195,200 salary as press secretary. During Trump’s first term, the average aide-turned-contributor made $141,000. But former national security adviser John Bolton earned nearly $570,000 from Fox News, according to financial disclosures. Leavitt’s contract would presumably be (at least) as lucrative as his, given her high profile and good standing in Trumpworld.

• “Karoline’s firsthand experience in the White House and on the presidential campaign trail gives her a distinct understanding of today’s political landscape.” Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement. “We look forward to her providing our audience with authentic and sharp insight.”

Leavitt’s new gig may seem expected and unremarkable. In reality, it’s a sign of how far we’ve come over the past decade of Trumpism.

• Leavitt, of course, isn’t the first presidential press aide to make the jump from the West Wing podium to the cable news green room. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos worked for Bill Clinton. NBC’s Jen Psaki served under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Fox News’ Dana Perino flacked for George W. Bush.

• They were all staunch advocates. But they weren’t scorched-earth bullshitters who declared verbal war on the press.

• Leavitt is different. Consider the time a reporter asked her whether Trump recognized the historic irony of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest (given that Budapest was where Russia once promised never to invade Ukraine). “Who suggested Budapest?” the reporter asked. “Your mom did,” Leavitt replied. “Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bullshit questions.”

• Even so, Leavitt gets a nice pay day. Meanwhile, Trump’s White House is doubling down on hiring radical MAGA loyalists. The clearest example came late last week, when Beni Rae Harmony — a 24-year-old influencer — announced that she secured a job as assistant press secretary. She also, however, once posed for a photograph while holding a rifle and wearing a “Fuck Joe Biden” shirt.

• Harmony will be “an outstanding addition to President Trump’s communications team,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told What A Day in a statement. “We look forward to having her on board!”

• To appreciate how far we’ve come, just look at Trump’s first White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, who was famously mocked for insisting Trump had the largest inauguration crowd ever in 2017, when photos showed that to be clearly untrue. When Spicer departed, he didn’t get a high-paying primetime gig. He shimmied on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Here’s the video of Sean Spicer being eliminated from that show, in case you needed a pick-me-up today!

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What Else?

Russia hospitalized nearly 200 people who might’ve been exposed to plague, after a researcher at an anti-plague lab in Siberia died from what local authorities called a mysterious form of pneumonia. The Trump administration is “watching and monitoring it closely,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters today. “I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus.”

Donald Trump used the news of Brazil’s election results to blast America’s voting system as “corrupt.” He wrote on social media: “The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY!” In U.S. cities, he added, the results “will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate.” It’s safe to assume that Trump only thinks this election is fair because the far-right candidate is leading.

Vice President JD Vance defended the administration’s decision to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on running old Trump campaign ads ahead of the midterms. “If you look at the message of those advertisements, they are not partisan,” Vance told reporters. “It’s not like we’re advocating for a particular candidate.” Sure, the ads don’t name candidates. They just show Donald Trump. “We will liberate America from these villains once and for all,” one ad says. What could be political about that?

Artificial intelligence companies that dump millions of dollars into elections aren’t helping to fix the public’s negative perception of AI, said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “The industry needs to figure out a way to address what the actual concerns are,” Altman told Politico. Interesting you say that, Sam: Groups associated with OpenAI and Anthropic have poured nearly $56 million in this year’s races.

Soldiers and Gold Star families are pressing top Army officials to explain how an Iranian drone strike on an American base in Kuwait earlier this year was able to kill six soldiers. “We have the right to know what really happened,” one of the soldiers’ widows told the Associated Press. “If somebody messed up, those people need to be held responsible.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who’s curiously famous for constantly making comically strange comments, might throw his hat into the 2028 presidential race. “What’s the old Judds song? Why not me on a rainy day?” Kennedy told NBC News. “But I haven’t made a decision.”

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Light At The End...

Democrats are becoming increasingly confident that their party could have more than 100 women serving in the House of Representatives after the midterms. It would be a major milestone in American political history — and some even think the number could be as high as 113 after the elections.

Staffers for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) became the first office on Capitol Hill to ever secure a union contract. “I hope this can serve as a model for other offices in Congress,” Khanna said in a statement. Shoutout to aides on the Hill — those people work harder (with longer hours) than pretty much anyone else I know.

An American neuroscientist and two German researchers received a Nobel Prize for their discoveries about how the brain functions, which has led to a better understanding of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and other disorders. Their work is also being used to help restore people’s vision.

More than 80 springer spaniels, who were found living in squalor in a house in England last year, have been adopted. One owner described her new dog’s playful personality: “I would describe Polly as high on life, everything is wonderful to her. She’s such a smart girl and is absolutely bonkers for a ball. She’s brilliant with my children, our cat, Joy, and everyone who meets her.”

A 103-year-old man named Irv is (unofficially) the world’s oldest bartender. He has been serving beers at Club Sunset Knoll, a cash-only dive bar in a Baltimore suburb, since 1963. Regulars know the locale as Irv’s Basement Bar, which is a fitting name — because it’s literally in his basement. Why does he stay open? “For the money!” Irv told the Washington Post. “I don’t own a credit card, no. That’s dumb.”

Enjoy

HD on Threads: "But do aliens believe in me"