DOLLARS AND NONSENSE!

The U.S. economy appears to have pulled off an incredibly rare feat: The so-called soft landing, in which inflation fell without a recession. Donald Trump’s allies are warning he could ruin it.

• Remember all that talk about a recession? Post-pandemic inflation was still running high, and basically every economist and their mother were all clutching their heads in their hands and forecasting the arrival of seven plagues and the four horsemen. But that dreaded nine-letter word never materialized. Instead, the economy continued humming along at a healthy pace, as shown in fresh growth numbers released today, which reveal a healthy expansion of 2.8 percent in the third quarter (just a bit less than expected). That update comes a month after the economy added a massive 254,000 jobs. Inflation has cooled to an annualized 2.4 percent.

• The econ nerds seem jubilant. “The economy right now is firing on nearly all cylinders,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at the accounting and consulting firm RSM, told the New York Times. “You’ve got the perfect combination of strong growth and slowing inflation. What more could you want?” Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade North America, told CNBC. Economists told CNN that the “soft landing” should finally be considered a done deal. Gas prices are expected to fall under $3 per gallon in some states in the coming days.

• Many Americans still call the economy, and specifically inflation, their biggest concern. They also remain pessimistic — and are split on whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris would handle it better. The numbers may have improved a lot, but many Americans still feel down. Regular people don’t think about inflation the way economists do, and, apparently, take a while to regain their sense of optimism and buoyancy — like getting over a rough breakup. With one week before the election, it’s still unclear whether the recent  good news will change voters’ minds.

Even some of Trump’s mega-fans warn his economic policies will create “temporary hardship” for Americans… because his tariffs plan amounts to slapping a fresh sales tax on imported goods.

• Conspiracist Elon Musk has emerged as Trump’s main billionaire hype man in this race, literally jumping up and down like a deranged pogo-stick at Trump rallies and passing out $1 million checks to voters (which experts call legally questionable at best). But Musk is now admitting that his buddy’s economic plans spell near-term trouble. On Tuesday, a viral tweet said Trump’s proposals would cause a “severe overreaction in the economy,” and that “markets will tumble”… before, eventually, they create prosperity. Musk’s reply: “Sounds about right.” Gee, that’s great! Elect Trump, and watch your retirement portfolio crumble! What a sales pitch. Other Trump allies, including running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), have made similar arguments.

• Actual experts are even more skeptical than Musk. Twenty-three Nobel prize-winning economists issued a warning last week saying Trump’s policies would be “counterproductive” and lead to greater inequality. Trump’s proposed tax cuts would reward his rich friends at the expense of the middle class. What’s more, billionaire investor John Paulson — considered a top contender for Treasury secretary if Trump wins — said he would work directly with Musk to cut costs, with a focus on eviscerating climate initiatives.

“All of us would do better if one side wins,” a Wall Street financier told Politico, referring to her wealthy colleagues under a second Trump administration. “The rest of the country just might crumble around us.”

BALLOT BOXING

Get ready for an earful of Donald Trump and his MAGA minions’ bogus claims of non-existent voter fraud — once again.

They’ve already begun. In recent days, Trump and his allies have ramped up their rhetoric casting doubt on how fair the election will be, seemingly sowing the seeds for legal challenges after November 5. The convicted felon’s latest pronouncement: “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before. REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!” he wrote on Truth Social this morning.

Trump was likely referring to two counties in Pennsylvania, which are investigating possible issues with voter registration applications. Those probes are still very much ongoing, and no amount of caps lock shitposting will change that reality.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) told CNN that Trump’s using “the same playbook where he tries to create chaos and stoke division and fear about our system,” after the former president made a similar claim about Pennsylvania voter fraud on Tuesday. “But again, we will have a free and fair, safe, and secure election in Pennsylvania, and the will of the people will be respected and protected,” Shapiro added.

It feels impossible to keep track of all of Trumpworld’s election-related lies, which range from election workers destroying mail-in ballots to 180,000 Amish people registering to vote in Pennsylvania (where only 92,600 Amish people live). But remember: Voter fraud is extremely, outrageously rare, no matter how much insane shit you hear.

You could actually make the argument that we’ve entered Republican voter suppression season.

Virginia officials can purge 1,600 voters, who could be noncitizens, from the state’s registration rolls, thanks to a Supreme Court ruling today. The Justice Department and activists opposed the measure, saying the people would be removed due to outdated or incorrect information. Also, noncitizen voting is extremely rare, and the court’s three liberal justices dissented.

Also, a former Republican candidate for Congress was charged this week with stealing ballots from a voting machine in Indiana. He literally was caught on camera folding two ballots and putting them in his pocket, according to local police. Democracy!

NEWS NEWS NEWS

A 28-year-old Texas woman died from an infection after doctors said it would be a “crime” to intervene with her miscarriage, which she had to endure for 40 hours, ProPublica reports. More than a dozen medical experts told the outlet that her death was preventable, calling it “horrific,” “astounding” and “egregious.” She’s the second Texas woman known to have died because doctors refused to treat their miscarriages, a gray area in the state’s restrictive abortion laws.

Israel has demolished over 1,000 buildings in southern Lebanon since the beginning of October as it targets Hezbollah militants there, according to a New York Times analysis. About 1.4 million people in the country have fled their homes because of Israel’s attacks, the United Nations estimates.

Famed antivaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that Trump vowed to give him control of the federal Department of Health and Human Services and its subsidiaries, including “the CDC, FDA, NIH, and a few others … and then also the USDA.” Trump’s spokesperson didn’t deny the comment from Kennedy, who should be automatically disqualified from any position that involves interacting with humans or animals.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) warned that if Trump wins, he’ll know how to consolidate power and rule ruthlessly, at least compared to his first term: “It’s going to be a hundred times worse, because Donald Trump knows what mistakes he made the first time,” she said in a Pod Save America episode that aired today. “He knows that he will not need to install professionals. He just needs to install sycophants.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger, longtime professional big fella and former Republican governor of California, urged voters to cast their ballots for Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris slipped into damage control mode after President Joe Biden made a garbled comment about “garbage,” which could be interpreted as referring to Trump’s supporters, but which the White House said referred to racist jokes made by the controversial Trump rally comedian. “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said in a statement this morning.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley blasted MAGAworld for being blatantly misogynistic, calling out Trump’s recent hate-filled rally, and seemingly taking aim at Elon Musk’s PAC for running ads saying that Harris “is a C-word.” Speaking on Fox News, Haley said that Republicans “need to look at how they’re talking about women … That is not the way to win women.

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