At 10:00 this morning, Donald Trump emerged from the White House and immediately started gesturing wildly with his hands, repeating the same unintelligible words over and over again to himself as he made his way across the South Lawn toward the press lined up to talk to him. With Marine One waiting behind him, the President of the United States turned toward a female reporter and jabbed his finger directly toward her face after demanding she be “quiet.”
What MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner had asked before she was cut off was whether the President only wanted news outlets that supported him to be part of the White House press pool. That was enough to make him snap and say, “No, no, no. I want real news, not fake news, like you.” After Gardner pushed back again, asking him, “Do you not want tough questions, sir?” He barked, “What I don’t like is fake news. And they’re fake news. One hundred percent.” Before adding, “I love an open, free press.”
Donald Trump’s latest attack on the First Amendment came after the White House announced the night before that CNN would once again be blocked, even after a federal judge had temporarily restored the network’s access to the White House. This time, CNN would not be allowed on Air Force One for the trip Donald Trump was just about to take to Tennessee. In its place for the day were LindellTV, founded by MyPillow founder and election denier Mike Lindell, and Real America’s Voice. Donald Trump replaced a legacy media network with two outlets known for spreading election lies and conspiracy theories, and then told us that he loves a free press and expects us to believe him.
When he was done talking, he threw up his hand, said thank you, and walked off. From there, he boarded Marine One for the first leg of his trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the biggest college football game of the weekend: number one Texas against number fourteen Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
With Trump still on board, Air Force One did a low flyover of the stadium and 29 minutes later, as the national anthem was being sung, Donald Trump arrived and made his way to the glass-shielded VIP suite where he sat with Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Marsha Blackburn, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and his “human blanket” and personal assistant Natalie Harp. Shortly after that, the announcer’s voice filled the stadium with: “Ladies and gentlemen, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.” The boos that followed swallowed the cheers, and a completely oblivious Donald Trump smiled and repeatedly pumped his fist toward the cameras.
Before the game had even started, the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, Steve Sarkisian had issued a warning of sorts about Donald Trump and the disturbance his attendance causes at games. He said that he needed to game-plan around the president’s presence because it cuts team communications whenever Trump enters, exits, or moves through the stadium. He brought up what Miami’s coach Mario Cristobal had told him, that Trump’s presence may have disrupted their communications during the College Football Championship game last season that they lost.
And as happens to most things Donald Trump touches, Tennessee lost 20-17, with many noting that the Trump curse continued. This follows the Super Bowl, where he had predicted the Chiefs would win, but instead they lost to the Eagles. There were the NBA Finals, where the Knicks lost the only game he attended and won the championship when he was not there. We can’t forget the World Cup, where he personally interfered and pressured FIFA to reinstate a suspended American player, and the team lost 4-1 to Belgium, just to name a few.
Donald Trump isn’t just causing an upheaval at sporting events; he continues to cause the same destabilization and worse around the world. This past week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told The New York Times that his government has set into motion preparations for an “extreme tail risk.” They actually studied a scenario where the United States takes military action against Canada. “It would be irresponsible not to” prepare, he said.
The Prime Minister of Canada, our closest ally, in every sense of the word, the country that shares our border, actually sat down with his military advisors and discussed what it would look like if we, the United States of America, attacked them. This is something I can’t believe I am even writing, and what would have been unimaginable happening even a decade ago. We have never in modern history been in a position like this. Donald Trump has destroyed our relationship with Canada to isolate us and also to make them vulnerable. But what he did not anticipate was Mark Carney. Donald Trump is nothing compared to him. Carney has managed to unite even the French-speaking Quebecers to stand united as one and also make Canada the first non-European country to participate in the European Union’s SAFE defense program. Canada isn’t preparing for a for-sure attack by the United States. But what they are doing is leaving us behind and forming mutually beneficial partnerships with allies that they can actually rely on.
Throughout the day, Donald Trump, or his private aide, Natalie Harp, at his direction, spent hours posting on social media to distract from the reality this country is actually facing. His social media posts included a very long economic manifesto where he claimed that the S&P Global reported U.S. business growth at a five-year high, that real median household income is now the “highest ever recorded,” that poverty is at its “lowest level on record,” and that exports are on pace for their “highest level in history.” He stuck to his usual insults and called Democrats “Dumocrats.” And he demanded that Americans “VOTE FOR REPUBLICAN AND ‘TRUMP’ CANDIDATES IN THE MIDTERMS.” Then, in what looked to be a moment of panic, he posted again at 8:59 PM: “We have the BEST FINANCIAL NUMBERS EVER, and the FAKE NEWS MEDIA refuses to report them!!! President DJT.”
Donald Trump can say whatever he wants on social media, but the reality and truth we are living through won’t change. He can’t change that or what the polls say. Because according to the latest from the American Research Group, 72% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, and only 6% expect things to get better over the next year. His approval rating on the economy as a whole is only 26%. That is how people really feel based on their very real financial situations. Donald Trump flip-flops between saying everything is great and blaming other people for the economy under his presidency. He has been back in office for over a year and a half now, and he is still pointing the finger at Joe Biden for all of his own problems. At some point even his super fans will stop accepting that this economy is anyone’s but Donald Trump’s.
Today we are spending our final day at Disneyland, and I took a break from writing to go get a cup of coffee in the hotel lobby, where I sat next to a family that was talking about just how hard these times are for them and how the entire trip was being put on their credit cards to pay off over what they said was “years from now.” That alone is not that uncommon; vacations are put on credit cards often enough. It was what they also said about how this was “their last hurrah” that caught my attention, and their talk about how tight money had become. They were talking amongst the adults about the price of gas and groceries and how they were worried about paying for Christmas this year. The echoes of 2008 gave me the chills. I just kept thinking about how Donald Trump said we had the “BEST FINANCIAL NUMBERS EVER” in all capital letters, and how that means nothing to the people struggling. There are a lot of us who still remember the horrors of the Great Recession and can see the writing on the wall for a rerun if Donald Trump remains in control with unchecked power. I just hope it doesn’t have to get that bad for his most loyal supporters to finally see what is happening.
That is just one of the reasons why the midterm elections are the most consequential of our lifetimes and why we have to have voter turnout unlike we have ever seen for a midterm in the history of our country. We can’t have a repeat of 2024, when millions of people did not turn out. Many stayed home because they were certain that there was absolutely no way this country would hand power back to a man who incited an insurrection at the United States Capitol, who had such strong ties to a trafficking ring, or who was convicted of 34 felony counts. Yet here we are. The cost of that assumption has been two years of the most destructive, corrupt, and dangerous period this country has seen in a very long time, and we are still living inside of it.
We cannot do that again. Donald Trump is not technically on the ballot this November, but everything he has done is, and everything he still plans to do is as well. That includes every agency he has gutted and every program he has stripped of funding while redirecting money in ways that benefit him, his family, and his enablers. It includes every journalist he has threatened and every family torn apart by his deportation operations. Everything will get worse if his party keeps control of Congress. The midterms are 38 days away, and the numbers just keep showing us that we have a very real chance of making sure Donald Trump’s most destructive days are behind us if we show up in numbers never seen before.
Right now, election analyst and statistician Nate Silver’s latest forecast gives Democrats an 87 percent chance of winning the House. His model also has Democrats at a 59 percent chance of taking the Senate too, which is the highest that number has been all cycle. He projects Democrats will gain four seats.
In projections that show just how unpopular Donald Trump is, the Democrats are leading or holding competitive stakes in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Alaska, and Maine. Right now, Republicans hold most of those seats. The fact that a Democrat is leading in a Texas Senate race right now is huge. Two years ago, that would have been unfathomable. Silver has said publicly that everything in the political environment is pointing in the same direction: we have an unpopular president, a very anxious electorate, an unwanted war overseas, and the historical pattern of the president’s party taking losses at the midterms.
The only thing standing between us and the beginning of the end of Donald Trump’s grip on this country is whether enough people walk into a voting booth and do something about it. If the people who booed him today in Tennessee, and the families putting everything on their credit cards, vote, his entire corrupt hold on our country falls apart. If we flip Congress, the investigations and accountability start, and the thing Donald Trump fears most becomes more than a possibility; it is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump. The shift is in sight, and we have a clear path to better days. That is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
PS. You can make a significant difference right now by subscribing to my Substack. Your support helps me cover more ground and keep telling the truth about the lies and destruction unfolding in this country.
This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Picture of the day: For all my birdwatching friends, we saw a Disney duck today. This gal wanted popcorn and pretzels. Sadly, we had neither, but I’m happy to report that there were others near us that had both, and she enjoyed a couple of pieces of popcorn. Years ago, we were at a late-night party at Disneyland and saw a few of the famous Disney cats as well. I started thinking about the other animals that used to be here too, in more official capacities, like the pygmy goats at the Big Thunder Ranch Petting Zoo that left a decade ago to make room for Star Wars land. Does anyone else remember them?
Links to sources used in writing this article:
President Trump Gaggles with Press Upon Departure from the White House, Sep. 26, 2026: YouTube Video
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-escalates-war-with-cnn-with-petty-move-on-air-force-one/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-booed-tennessee-vs-texas-195301552.html
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/mark-carney-says-considered-possibility-171801788.html
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-hits-all-time-low-12467727
https://newsroom.aaa.com/2026/09/national-average-climbs-nearly-5-cents-since-last-week/
As always, a wonderful commentary. Thank you, Heather!
I wish reporters would all simply respond to Trump's assertions and accusations of "Fake News"s by asking him "What's your evidence?", and by supporting all their assertions with evidence. Make it a habit and a slogan, teaching us all how to think.