Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication!

#1 – Elon Musk Wrecks John Brennan With Just Four Words – by Nick Arama

First, Brennan is the last person who can talk about “good people.” What irony for Brennan to talk about someone who is “attention craving, emotionally immature, & highly devious” and who is “politically destructive.” I’m thinking that maybe he should be checking the mirror for that one. Isn’t this the same guy who signed that intel letter from 51 former intelligence officials that claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was likely “Russian disinformation” right before the 2020 election? The letter itself was misinformation. Talk about election interference. It’s also the guy whose CIA spied on Congress and he lied about those actions.

How much this latest tweet tells you about Brennan — his natural inclination to deal with someone he disagrees with politically is to “prevent” that person from speaking. That likely explains a lot of what we have seen over the past few years. It also sounds like a threat. What does he mean by “prevent”? The reason we don’t have such a thing in our republic is that we operate under a Constitution and believe in the freedom of speech. We don’t believe that the government or a political party colluding with social media should be shutting down people’s speech.

#2 – EXCLUSIVE: Analysis of RNC Spending Since 2017 Shows Millions Were Spent on Private Jets, Limousines, Luxury Retreats, Broadway Shows — by Jennifer Van Laar

It is difficult to accurately categorize all of the expenditures because a significant number of transactions seem to be misclassified. For example, nearly $5,000 spent in 2022 at Lululemon, a luxury athletic apparel brand, was classified as “office expense,” as were two expenditures totaling $9,300 at Madison Square Garden in 2017.

Our review found that the amounts spent during the 2021-22 election cycle seem to have been par for the course and possibly even lower than previous portions of McDaniel’s tenure. According to FEC filings, since 2017, the RNC has spent:

• $3.1 million on private jet services
• $1.3 million on limousine/chauffeur services
• $17.1 million on donor mementos
• $750,000 on floral arrangements
• $80,000 in alcohol-related expenditures

Nearly $400,000 has been spent on event tickets and other entertainment activities, including $30,000 for a private box at a Las Vegas Raiders game, $13,000 for Broadway shows, $9,400 at Madison Square Garden, and $43,000 at Top Golf locations in Texas, Nevada, Virginia, and Maryland.

#3 – Donald Trump Drops His ‘Major Announcement,’ and I Can’t Stop Laughing — by Bonchie 

Still, when Trump puts his name on something, he’s responsible for it, and this feels a bit much. Serious presidential campaigns that want to help their party don’t introduce grifting NFT scams meant to deprive dementia-ridden old ladies of their cash. I mean, I thought the Save America PAC’s fundraising tactics were bad, but holy cow, this is next level.

This entire thing feels an awful lot like a cash grab from someone who doesn’t actually expect to win in 2024 and can see the gravy train coming to an end. I hate to say that, but selling NFTs? Come on. Even his most ardent supporters have to be looking sideways at this and questioning his motives. And to string them along for days, making it seem like he had something actually important to say? That’s kind of mean.

#4 – Joe Biden Launches Into a Profanity-Laced Tirade Over His Condition — by Bonchie 

The lack of self-awareness here is just incredible. Does he really not see how much he’s declined over the last several years? Is he not able to process when he’s fumbling over his words, forgetting names, and generally presenting as a man who should be in an assisted-living home?

Normal people as they age can typically sense that they are slowing down and adjust accordingly. Biden, though, is like a bull in a china shop. He truly believes he’s as capable as he was at 50, having no concept of his own condition and how others see him. That’s probably the scariest part of the situation. His profound lack of self-awareness is the best piece of evidence that he shouldn’t be holding the office he holds.

#5 – WATCH: Maxine Waters Flips Her Wig When GOP Congressman Prevents Her From Abruptly Ending FTX Hearing — by Teri Christoph 

That last bit, “You’re certainly welcome, sir,” was said in sarcastic tones that are reminiscent of a petulant teen girl who didn’t get her way. People actually keep re-electing this wretched woman, who is way past her sell-by date and has the bitter, self-important attitude that comes with spending way too many years in DC. She only manages a smile when blowing kisses to Democrat megadonors like SBF, apparently.

Speaking of SBF and the gobs of money he gave to Democrats in the midterm elections (plus the millions he poured into Biden’s 2020 campaign), Waters may have been trying to bring the hearing to an abrupt end to head off questions about this very matter. As RedState previously reported, Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee received over $300k in donations from SBF and his FTX co-founders, with Democrat Reps. Chuy Garcia, Ritchie Torres, Josh Gottheimer, Jim Himes, and Sean Casten being the primary beneficiaries of SBF’s ill-gotten gains.