Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Red-Hot at RedState
D.C. Attorney General Tries to Come for Trump Over Ending Cashless Bail and It Doesn't Go Well
In response, the D.C. Police Union hit back, putting Schwalb's record of releasing criminals into the spotlight.
John Bolton Responds to Donald Trump After Being Raided by the FBI, and He's Not Happy
Bolton seems to have decided that running headlong into the brick wall is the only way through his current criminal woes.
Watch: Cameraman Wins the Day During Live Shot of JB Pritzker's Anti-Trump Presser
If anything, the "rent-free" situation is the other way around, as evidenced by Pritzker's actions over the last several months and his situating himself where he did on Monday.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Cornyn Is Learning Meaning of FAFO
It's bad enough when you're like me and have a slate of anti-gun Democrats calling the shots for you in Congress, but with Republicans like Cornyn, do we even need Democrats to take away our gun rights?
The weight of the 'hideous toad' of repression has become too much to bear.
Will Kamala Harris Be Responsible for the Democrats’ Failure in 2026?
At the end of the day, this is Kamala Harris’s legacy. She wasted a billion dollars, handed every swing state to Donald Trump, and left her party on life support heading into the next big election.
CNN's Scott Jennings Couldn't Contain Himself When a Guest Said This About GOP Poll Numbers
Democrats are not used to being mocked, derided, and dismissed by voters. They don’t know how to act, and it’s amusing to watch.
So Much Cringe: Dems Break Out Pink Vests and a Sing-a-Long For 'Maryland Man,' Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Seriously, though, what is wrong with these people?
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
Confession: Much as I hate to see August come to a close, I'm looking forward to having the critters back at the Capitol come next week. They've been a little too quiet of late, and that makes me nervous. In fact, unless I missed it (and that's possible given my recent return from vacation), they've been eerily quiet when it comes to the plight of St. Kilmar of El Salvador (or, perhaps soon, Uganda). Seems like just yesterday they were falling all over themselves to stan for the Maryland father. In fairness, Judge Paula Xinis is doing her level best to single-handedly upend the immigration system, but I do wonder why Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) isn't racing to set up another margarita summit.
Anyhoo, it sounds as though once they're back in session, the Democrats plan to continue on with their Democratting. Which, at minimum, has some entertainment value.
White House What's Up
President Donald Trump is set to hold a Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning at 11:00 AM Eastern. No doubt, we'll see some interesting clips and commentary coming from that. He signed a boatload of executive orders on Monday — many (or all) of which will undoubtedly be facing legal challenges, soon.
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the debate surrounding the executive order regarding "Prosecuting Burning of the American Flag," asserting that the order is consistent with the pertinent Supreme Court case regarding the issue (Texas v. Johnson), but also noting his disagreement with the court's holding in that case.
Few things:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 26, 2025
1) Antonin Scalia was a great Supreme Court Justice and a genuinely kind and decent person.
2) The President's EO is consistent with Texas v. Johnson.
3) Texas v. Johnson was wrong and William Rehnquist was right.
Full Court Press...
Speaking of legal challenges: I did finally make it through all of the CourtListener notifications that had piled up (something like 450 of them by the time I started wading through them all late on Monday). So, hopefully, I can get back in the groove of keeping up with the myriad cases involving the administration in real-time. As noted above, Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis decided to once again throw herself in front of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in an effort to forestall his removal to Uganda. We'll see how long that lasts...
READ MORE: New: Obama Judge Blocks Abrego-Garcia Deportation to Uganda, and the Game Being Played Is Obvious
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The critters return to the Hill one week from today, and appropriations will be front and center when they do.
MORNING MUSING
I'll confess that I'm ambivalent on the flag-burning executive order. Yes, I find the act of burning (or in any way desecrating) the American flag offensive, but I don't believe that is (or should be) the barometer of whether it's legal to do so. And I definitely don't want to wander down the road to speech suppression based on viewpoint. The order itself seems to dance along the edge of Supreme Court precedent, and I suspect this is a deliberate (calculated) effort to test the limits of speech and symbolism/sacred cows.
There's little political downside for Trump to push the issue — he's not going to lose base support over it. And, with so many of his agenda items, it invites the left/Democrats to fall all over themselves to demonstrate their hypocrisy while embracing odious behavior. (See, e.g., their reaction to burning/desecration of the Pride flag — or even the Palestinian flag.)
In the long run, this may force the issue back up to SCOTUS for a revisit and a refined look at when and whether free speech/expression crosses the line into incitement or vandalism. And while I don't consider this particular debate of paramount importance in this moment, it strikes me as part and parcel of a broader effort by this administration to better define the limits of constitutional governmental authority (be it executive, legislative, or judicial) and ensure that it's exercised in consistent fashion, regardless of which party is in power. (I'll admit that may be me reading more into things than is warranted, but it strikes me that this will be the long-term effect of all of this litigation, and I don't think that's a bad thing.)
LIGHTER FARE
I can sometimes get my dog to sit before she starts scarfing down her meals — for a second or so. Those are some well-trained (and patient) dogs! (H/t to the handsome beau for sending me this one this morning.)
When you have to wait for your little brother.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/8XursSFXCV
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) August 25, 2025
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