Happy Sunday, and 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. What do you suppose caught people's attention in this busy week? Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you're so inclined) and sit down with this 21st-century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication.
#1 - John Thune Just Stabbed Mike Johnson—and House Republicans—in the Back — by Jennifer Oliver O'Connell
Apparently. It is exactly what the American people don't want, and as Congress prepares to recess yet again, they will be hearing about it when they return to their states and especially on the campaign trail. Thune has played "Tommy Two-Face" too often, and his pretense at leadership while stabbing Republican and MAGA voters in the back, has worn thin.
Fox News Chief Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram has detailed what Speaker Johnson and the Republican House members worked hard to pull together in the CR, as well as their efforts to incorporate as much as they could of the SAVE America Act. Buried in Pergram's very informative X post (detailed below) he also asserts that Thune has no plans of backing the House's play.
#2 - ABC News Just Caught Democrat Senator Mark Warner Telling a Massive Lie About Voter ID — by Teri Christoph
According to Warner, everything is hunky dory with our election system, and, hey, just look his home state of Virginia. The Old Dominion, claimed Warner, requires voters to present an ID in order to cast their ballot, so no one can say we Democrats don't support this!
There's just one thing, noted Karl. That's simply not true.
Here's the exchange:
ABC: "You and every other Democrat oppose the SAVE America Act... requiring photo ID to register to vote, is this Democrats should get behind?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 19, 2026
WARNER: “In Virginia, we have voter ID and photo ID!”
ABC: “That’s actually not the case. I’m a Virginia voter…” pic.twitter.com/jRuFt8veKw
#3 - A Platneresque Democrat Scandal Hits WI Governor's Race, and You Just Cannot Make This Stuff Up — by Sister Toldjah
Now, here is what I think is the "tell" that Crowley is... not being honest about who ran that account. Notice how both he and his campaign were careful to note that the posts were from "a decade and a half ago." Why would that matter except to downplay their current significance, as if to imply "Even if it was something I wrote back then, I'm not the same person today"?
That would be something important for Wisconsin voters to know, and to evaluate. But even if there was a way to confirm the posts were indeed written by him, I could see a scenario where Crowley claims he was "young and foolish," something we saw play out to some extent in a Utah Democrat House primary. But Crowley was a grown man in his early to mid 20s when that stuff was written, so that excuse wouldn't necessarily fly.
#4 - New: Iran Furious After Missiles Hit Darkhovin Nuke Plant — by Ward Clark
This is precisely the kind of target American forces should be razing to the ground. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in its outrage, is again dissembling; nothing this regime does is peaceful or has an entirely peaceful purpose. If this facility had been allowed to move to completion, it somehow would have been folded into Iran's attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. And yet, the Trump administration has not acknowledged the strike, nor indicated if it was American weapons that struck Darkhovin; there are unconfirmed reports that the site was struck by at least three missiles, but so far, it's not clear who fired the missiles; it may well have been one of the Gulf Arab states that Iran has targeted with missile and drone attacks.
Big blow to Iran
— Israel Army (@Netanyahu_News) July 19, 2026
Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant has been hit by at least 3 missiles. The U.S. has not confirmed the strike
If not US, Kuwait or Bahrain may be behind the attack, as Iran had targeted critical civilian infrastructure in both countries earlier this afternoon pic.twitter.com/0L07oIuBo8
#5 - Boom: Elon Delivers Mic Drop Moment Against the Media During Fiery Interview — by Nick Arama
Musk acknowledged it might be true that some people loathe him.
"Maybe some people do loathe me, and that's probably true. I don't care," he replied.
Elon didn't let it go, going even further, dropping her and the media in response.
"But the fact that, as you pointed out, a quarter of a billion people follow me, is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don't. And I think a lot more people hate you and the media, more than you realize."
Now that's a mic drop right there, for sure. I'm willing to bet that Beddoes has not faced such a blunt (but true) assessment of the media to her face like that before. I doubt she was expecting that. She should reflect on why it's true that so many people hate the media, but I wouldn't bet that she would.
If you enjoy the Weekly Briefing, be sure to check out RedState Radio, our weekly podcast. It features a rundown of our top stories of the week, along with chats with a couple of our contributors about what they've been covering. If you like RedState, we think you'll like this added feature. This week, Ward Clark and I discussed the warrior ethos, the Iran endgame, Saudi Arabia's nuclear (energy) ambitions, and AOC's 2028 ambitions. You can always find RedState Radio and our other featured podcasts by clicking on the Podcast tab at the top of the page. Liking, subscribing, and following are much appreciated.
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