In today’s edition … The rise of the Democratic Party switcher … What are your superstitions? … but first …
The big news
U.S. forces struck Iranian launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, my colleague Alex Horton reported last night. The strikes are the first publicly acknowledged attack on Tehran’s forces in nearly a month as the Trump administration navigates a tenuous ceasefire.
The war in Iran lurched into its seventh month late last week, highlighting how a military campaign that was slated to be far shorter has become the biggest test of Trump’s second term.
You can read more from Alex here.
Is a political candidate the company he or she keeps?
The Senate race in Michigan is critical to Democrats. To put it bluntly, there is almost no path to a Democratic majority in the chamber without Democrat Abdul El-Sayed winning in November.
That is why it is so striking that the race against Republican Mike Rogers has turned into a debate over El-Sayed’s connections to controversial streamer and left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker.
Last week, the El-Sayed campaign, as my colleague Alexei Koseff reported, was “consumed for days with the fallout from Piker’s Aug. 20 live stream on the platform Twitch, where he warned that Israel has become so politically toxic that supporting the country could incite violence against Jewish Americans.”
“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they’re singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone will come around and take action — not against Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said.
This is not Piker’s first foray with controversy. As Alexei wrote, “Critics have repeatedly lambasted El-Sayed for a comment that Piker made on one of his broadcasts in 2019, and subsequently apologized for, that ‘America deserved 9/11.’ Piker had argued that U.S. foreign policy had inflamed tensions in the Middle East. This month, El-Sayed called the comment a ‘dumb statement’ and said he would not ‘play gotcha politics’ over old Piker content.”
El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker earlier in the year, has tried to tamp down the latest controversy by ever-so-slightly distancing himself from Piker.
“I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” El-Sayed said last week.
But I spoke with El-Sayed for another story on Friday and asked whether, given the controversy Piker has raised for his campaign, he regretted campaigning alongside him. El-Sayed did not express any regret — despite giving some ground to his critics this weekend as he tries to court skeptics, including Jewish voters, who disagree with him on Israel.
“Mike Rogers desperately wants to make this campaign about a streamer in California. I’m focused on affordability in Michigan, and I’m going to go anywhere and everywhere I can to talk to voters about what it takes to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket and pass Medicare-for-all,” he told me. “It’s the sad truth of Republican politics that they want to turn our politics and culture, and they’re welcome to try and do it. In the end, I think it’s not going to work.”
The issue for El-Sayed, however, is that it isn’t just Republicans who are raising concerns about the connections between the Democratic nominee and Piker.
Democrats like Michigan Rep. Hillary Scholten have declined to endorse El-Sayed and continue to raise his connections to Piker.
“Abdul has not reached out to me, yet,” Scholten told reporters last week. “If he would, I would have some questions. … A lot of it has to do with his past associations with Hasan Piker.”
Not all Democrats in Michigan have followed Scholten’s lead.
“This is just the opportunity to say something to you, I’m done. This election is about what’s going to happen when we elect Abdul [El-Sayed] to the United States Senate,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) said at an event for El-Sayed last week. “So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker; it’s not what November is about.”
It’s similar to the argument El-Sayed made to me when we talked. When I asked him about Democrats questioning his ties to Piker, the candidate fired back, “And how well has that worked out for us?”
“I think we would do well to just focus on the issues that people are actually facing,” he said. “A streamer in California is not raising their gas prices. A streamer in California is not the reason we’re in a trade war with Canada. A streamer in California is not the reason that you can’t see a doctor. And I think that we would be well to focus back in on those questions, and that’s where I’m focused.”
It’s clear that El-Sayed is in a tough spot with Piker. Even if he disavowed the “streamer in California,” it’s unlikely many would believe him, given his clear ties to him, and he could risk hurting his campaign with Piker fans, many of whom skew younger.
If he keeps tying himself to Piker, he risks having to respond to every comment the political figure makes.
But a broader political question is at play, too: Is a candidate the company he or she keeps?
Rogers’s campaign certainly thinks so. Rogers has referred to Piker as El-Sayed’s “running mate” and suggested that El-Sayed believes the United States deserved 9/11.
But this is an example of a rule Republicans apply to their opponents, but rarely apply to themselves. Democrats, by comparison, police their own far more tightly, litigating everything from associations with people like Piker to former standard-bearers like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Then there is President Donald Trump, who has been close with the likes of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, white nationalist Nick Fuentes and Kanye West, the hip-hop artist now known as Ye who has made antisemitic remarks, and has not seen his political rise impacted. At all.
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Our picks
- With shutdown looming, House leaders aim to quickly pass funding bill, from Jarrell Dillard and Mariana Alfaro.
- Trump’s deals in Africa could cut U.S. health aid by more than half, analysis shows, from Adam Taylor.
- Democrats want the midterms to be about Trump. He does, too, from Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Isaac Arnsdorf.
- Airman’s ‘contemptuous’ words for Trump lead to high-stakes military charges, from Dan Morse.
- Why more homeowners across the U.S. are turning to insurance that offers less coverage, from Brianna Sacks and Kevin Crowe.
- Military leaders warn Hegseth against extending Iran war operations, from Alex Horton and Tara Copp.
- Trump’s ambassador to Italy is flaunting his wealth, and it’s dividing Italians, from Anthony Faiola.
What we’re watching
The rise of the party switcher.
I really enjoyed Mariana Alfaro’s piece about the Democrats who were once Republicans running for office this year. The list is long: Nancy Lacore in South Carolina, Janelle Stelson in Pennsylvania, Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey and David Jolly in Florida, to name a few.
This trend, interestingly, cuts against both parties.
There was a trend a decade ago of Republicans, disgusted with Trump, leaving the party when he won the White House in 2016. It led to the rise of the so-called Never Trump movement. Although they had no success stopping the president’s rise, the movement highlighted a restive part of the party that was unhappy with how Trump was changing what it meant to be a Republican.
Now to the Democrats.
Trump’s rise has also turned a series of states against Democrats, deepening their red hue to a point where it feels almost impossible for any blue to break through. That has only been exacerbated by a slumping Democratic brand — made worse by the party’s failures in the 2024 presidential race — allowing former Republicans like Jolly to make the case that because it is more difficult to tie them to national Democrats, and they stand a better chance of winning over those voters who remain deeply skeptical of the party.
“They say, ‘Okay, let me look at Jolly,’ and they kick the tires of this former Republican who says: ‘Look, I think the private sector should lead. Economic growth is good. I think we should stay out of your bedroom,’” Jolly told Mariana. “And they start to say, ‘Maybe I could work with this guy.’”
In your local paper
Honolulu Star Advertiser: Dueling storms in the Pacific are impacting each other and worrying people in Hawaii. The most pressing for the island chain is Tropical Storm Lowell, which could become a hurricane as early as Monday.
Washington State Standard: In an odd story about Democrat-on-Democrat conflict, an ethics panel in Washington state has found that state Rep. Tarra Simmons did not violate ethics rules when she urged fellow Democrat Daria Ilgen not to challenge her in November.
Oklahoma Voice: The call may be coming from inside a prison. This publication details how calls for everything from insurance companies to political operations are being made from inside prison call centers.
From you
It’s been a while, but I asked you a week ago about the physical changes Trump has implemented in Washington, D.C., from the Reflecting Pool to his proposed arch to the ballroom he is building on the east side of the White House.
Some of you said you weren’t that concerned about the projects, given the other issues people are facing.
“Trump’s vanity projects to transform Washington DC are not my highest priority. I think they’re a waste of money. But he has atrocious taste, and he should be accepting the advice of the preservation groups who advocate for simpler, smaller-scale structures,” wrote Nancy Idaka Sheran. “That being said, the core idea that the East Wing needed security updates and that the White House needs a place to entertain large groups is valid.”
Others were notably exercised about the projects.
“He acts like he owns historical treasures in his usual display of arrogance. Add his awful sense of taste and you have an infuriating result,” wrote George Silverwood.
“What has me concerned is that Trump is exploiting his position in our government to satisfy his personal ego,” wrote Juan J. Martinez. “Trump is having himself a spend fest at the expense of the American taxpayer and to our ever-expanding national debt.”
And Robert Hanawalt lamented that “Trump’s plans for Washington have done nothing to beautify the city or deliver a better quality of life for its residents and visitors.”
Send a reply
I love the odd superstition. My colleague Hannah Sampson detailed why some passengers touch the plane before boarding. “Like you give a dog a little pat on the head,” said one flyer. “We now have the connection.” The piece details how it gives flyers comfort before the hurdle through the air at 38,000 feet. Do you have any funny/odd/endearing superstitions? And, if so, what does the superstition provide you? Let me and your fellow Early Brief readers know at [email protected].
Thanks for reading. You can follow me on X at @merica.
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