Sen. Susan Collins struggles in debate as challenger Jackson mocks road salt tariff win

Susan Collins Struggles in Debate Against Troy Jackson

Maine Senator Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the midterms, faced a humiliating reality check Tuesday night during her debate against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.

In the first of four televised debates, Collins struggled to defend her efforts to rein in President Donald Trump's policies.

"Troy mocked it, but I was successful in getting concrete, pulp, and road salt removed from the tariff list," Collins said.

"I didn't mock the fact that she got road salt back, I mocked the fact that, what about everything else? We can't eat road salt," Jackson responded. "And the thing about it is, is that everything that she's doing with Iran war, stuff like that, there's going to be so many less people that'll be able to afford to drive that I'm not even sure the road salt is going to be worth anything, either."

The exchange highlighted how Collins has failed to truly stand up to Trump. She has voted five separate times to extend Trump's military campaign in the Middle East. A study found that as of July, the average Maine household has had to pay $3,900 more for goods and services during Trump's second term.

Naked Gold Trump Statue Erected at European Parliament

An eight-foot-tall statue covered in 23-karat gold leaf has been erected at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, showing a naked, overweight Trump being carried on the back of a much smaller man. The president holds a golf club, a tiny world-shaped ball, and the scales of justice. The base is inscribed with the words: "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back," attributed to "The King of Injustice."

Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt, who created the piece titled The Orange Plague, said it is a satirical outcry against volatile U.S. environmental and foreign policy.

"Trump represents one of the greatest threats to the rule-based world order, democratic values, and our common effort to solving the climate crisis," Galschiøt said in a statement. "We must address this issue and stand together against such destructive influence."

Danish MEP Per Clausen said at the unveiling: "If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture being exhibited in the European Parliament, then they have no place on the world stage."

Trump has been mocked by statues before. Before the 2024 presidential election, a 43-foot-tall naked statue of the president toured Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada. Golden statues of Trump also appeared in Portland and Philadelphia behind statues of naked women with inscriptions reading, "In honor of a lifetime of sexual assault." More recently, statues and art installations addressing Trump's association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have appeared in Washington, D.C.

Trump has yet to comment on the statue in France.

Leaked Audio Shows Ken Paxton Blaming Trump for Campaign Woes

Yet another leaked recording of Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton has surfaced.

"It's the war, it's gas prices.... It's over $6 a gallon for diesel," Paxton said at a donor meeting when asked what issues were "dragging" on him and his campaign, according to audio obtained by Axios. "People are feeling that pinch. So I'd say that's probably the biggest problem … food prices, everything else.... That's by far our biggest problem, and I think that's why we're having a hard time with numbers."

When asked how he responds, Paxton outlined his tax cut plan called "Protecting the Texas Promise Plan," which he said should apply to everything from "gym memberships" to "GLP-1s."

He then noted he was essentially powerless to stop President Trump's war on Iran. "I have no control over the aspects [of the war]. So many of the factors of this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions, I don't know what's behind some of the decisions."

This is at least the third time Paxton has been recorded sending messages critical of Trump. Last week at a fundraiser, he told someone that Trump's GOP midterm convention in Dallas was having a direct negative impact on his numbers. Two days ago, audio was released of Paxton saying his own Senate race was being operated by outside forces in Washington.

"I've never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it's all coming—you know—from D.C.," he said last month. "I don't control the message or what we're doing.... I don't have ability to change anything. So I have to live with whatever I've got. So it is a challenge."

Trump Falsely Claims Iran War Ended Before It Began

President Donald Trump falsely claimed Tuesday that his military campaign against Iran ended eight months before he started it.

"We really ended it as soon as the B2 bombers hit, because that was the end of their nuclear [program], that was 95 percent of the reason we did it. Maybe 100 percent," he said.

Trump was referring to a series of strikes using "bunker buster" bombs on three of Iran's nuclear facilities in June 2025—eight months before he ordered attacks in March 2026. Those strikes did not end the war.

The comment is concerning in light of Trump administration officials who have previously contradicted Trump's claims that Iran's nuclear program presented any imminent threat to national security.

If Trump's initial bombing campaign had satisfied his desire for violence, then:

• 22 U.S. servicemembers would likely not have been killed
• Hundreds more would not have been injured
• The Department of Defense would not have tried to cover up casualties
• Multiple U.S. bases in the Middle East would still be standing
• Hundreds of Iranian civilians, including dozens of school children, would still be alive
• A U.S. battleship would not have been deployed for hundreds of days, leading to attempted suicides
• The Pentagon would not have spent more than $45 billion
• The U.S. military weapons stockpile would not have shrunk to dangerous levels

Kash Patel's FBI Releases Partisan Video Targeting Abdul El-Sayed

Kash Patel's FBI slammed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in a partisan, and likely illegal, propaganda video Tuesday.

In a two-minute video posted on social media, the supposedly nonpartisan agency decried "democratic socialist leaders" for calling to defund the police. The video included footage of multiple Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Representatives Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, and Ilhan Omar, and El-Sayed, who is running for office in November's midterm elections.

"Not reform. Defund the police as policy," the video's narration stated. "As the path they said would keep you safer. In the cities that led the charge, the street told a different story. What followed was a complete failure."

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