Monday, October 26, 2026
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
Well, That '60 Minutes’ Deportation Sob Story Sure Blew Up in a Hurry
Well into the 60 Minutes report, they acknowledge that "the U.S. had a right to deport him, but not to Mali."
They didn't. They sent him to Ghana. Aside from the entire premise being false, the outlet did a bang-up job reporting here.
Mike Rogers Shuts Down Kristen Welker's Gotcha Games in Contentious 'Meet the Press' Interview
There will be no apology or correction from Welker because this is just what they do: go to bat for Democrats when they appear to be on the ropes, which is the situation El-Sayed is currently in, with nine days to go before voters have the final say on who they want to represent them in the United States Senate. But hats off to Mike Rogers for being locked in and understanding what Welker was trying to do - and then effectively countering it.
Elon Musk Busts a New Call to Target Him That Is Completely Off the Rails
But in a way, it's good these unhinged folks are laying out their thoughts and plans before the election - so we can see the very clear choice between freedom and what they are proposing.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Bearing Arms — Armed Employee Turns the Tables on Attacker in Shreveport
Louisiana is a permitless carry state, and Durham shouldn't have assumed he could (allegedly) threaten and attack his intended victim without them having the means to defend themselves.
HotAir — In a Major Shocker, the Woke Syrupeans of British Columbia Lurch Right
Whatever those differences are between American and Canadian philosophies, the sea change for British Columbia should start washing in almost immediately if the new party in power holds fast to implementing most of its campaign promises.
PJ Media — The Real Target of the Paris Riots Comes Into Focus — and It's Not 'School Funding'
I asked her what the endgame was for the riots, and she told me that the shifting rationale points to the next presidential matchup after the Macron regime terms out. Cui bono? The far left party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who wants a matchup with Marine Le Pen in the 2027 presidential race.
Townhall — Something Set Off Trump to Post This 1,300+ Word Screed Against Bill Maher
No clue what set this off, but the president should have known that the HBO host would never be a Trump guy. He said he would seriously consider voting for JD Vance or Marco Rubio if the Democrats don't continue to be insane. But he posted how he felt at the time, which Maher has noted he does often, good or bad, but Trump does torch him.
And that was the real kicker. If you watch the footage, you don't see a lot of black people in the crowd. You see exactly who you'd expect to see: bored old white leftist women, angry confused men, and obvious socialists. Not even Obama can save Abdul.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
Eight days out, my friends. The races and rhetoric are ratcheting up. House Speaker Mike Johnson is relatively sanguine about the outcome of the midterms, but nothing should be taken for granted — run through the tape!
Speaker Johnson Says Dem-Favoring House Polls Are Faulty
CA Senator Previews the Schiff Show We'll See If Democrats Win Midterms
White House What's Up
President Trump’s schedule for Monday includes:
- 8:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time — The White House
- 11:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
- 11:45 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
- 12:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office
- 1:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT meets with the U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco — Oval Office
- — THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route to Corinth, Mississippi — The White House
- — THE PRESIDENT arrives in Corinth, Mississippi — Corinth, Mississippi
- 6:00 PM CDT — THE PRESIDENT delivers Remarks — Crossroads Arena
- — THE PRESIDENT departs Corinth, Mississippi en route to the White House — Corinth, Mississippi
- — THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House — The White House
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. Commerce - Howard Lutnick — Lutnick recently traveled to upstate New York to announce major funding for semiconductor fabrication plants.
Great to be back in upstate New York to announce the huge $21 BILLION funding for two new semiconductor fabs thanks to President Trump’s historic trade deal with Japan. Japan is providing the funding for these high tech production facilities, and our partnership with GlobalFoundries will deliver 2 million silicon wafers from these massive new facilities in upstate New York, creating 27,000 construction and related jobs and more than 1,000 high-skilled high paying manufacturing jobs. We are bringing semiconductor chip manufacturing BACK to America, strengthening our national security, and delivering for our American workers. This is the America First Trade Agenda in action and it builds big! https://t.co/eie0rWx5hG
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) October 22, 2026
Full Court Press...
- ❌ In Newsom v. Trump (National Guard deployment), 9th Circuit DENIES admin's request to dismiss appeal and AFFIRMS a preliminary injunction blocking President Trump's June 2025 federalization of California National Guard troops.
- ❌ In L.T. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (immigration enforcement), 9th Circuit DENIES admin's emergency request to stay amendments to a preliminary injunction against ICE.
- ↔️ In American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy (restructuring of ACIP), 1st Circuit AFFIRMS the denial of Children's Health Defense's and four individuals' motion to intervene in litigation challenging HHS vaccine policies and DISMISSES their attempted appeal of the district court's preliminary injunction, holding that they failed to establish grounds to participate in the lawsuit or independently challenge the injunction.
- ✅ In Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy (election integrity). SCOTUS GRANTS New Hampshire's application to stay two district court preliminary injunctions concerning official guidance on the state's voter identification and registration requirements, invoking the Purcell principle.
- ✅ In Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara — The en banc 5th Circuit REVERSES three district court rulings ordering the release of illegal aliens detained pending removal proceedings and VACATES their habeas relief, holding, 10–7, that the Fifth Amendment does not require individualized bond hearings to assess dangerousness or flight risk for aliens subject to mandatory detention under federal immigration law.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
As noted above, President Trump heads to Corinth, Mississippi, later today. He is set to travel to the Philippines and China in mid-November.
Also, the White House will host a Halloween event on Thursday evening.
The next round of oral arguments at the Supreme Court starts the week of November 2.
MORNING MUSING
I did my usual weekend thing, largely tuning out the news for a few, but still catching the headlines — catching enough to note that former President Barack Obama was out stumping for candidates in Michigan and Ohio. It did get me wondering about something: Is President Hope N. Change still a big draw?
I mean, he was definitely the "It" guy 15+ years ago. He had that intangible quality that spells success in politics. For a time. And, admittedly, I'm quite jaded where he's concerned, having endured the eight years of his presidency and disagreeing with him politically on most — if not all — things.
But particularly after he squandered political capital in 2024 stumping for Joe Biden and then (at least tacitly) for Kamala Harris, I'm left to wonder — who are the uncommitted/undecided voters he's pulling into the fold? Maybe there are many. He just strikes me as a dude who's seriously lost his luster.
LIGHTER FARE
This looks like a friendly ghost!
Halloween is coming.. 🎃👻 https://t.co/mBWJRIHyO8
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 26, 2026
Enjoying the "Morning Minute"? You can ensure you receive it in your Inbox every weekday by signing up for our newsletter here.