🥊 Ben Shapiro vs Tucker Carlson
Peter Rothpletz with breaking news about Dick Cheney. Plus, the GOP is slowly waking up to its neo-Nazi infestation, everything you need to know about today’s US elections, and is Pelosi retiring?
🚨 Breaking: Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was a driving force behind the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, died Monday night at the age of 84. He should have died in The Hague.
Good morning! Happy election day! Peter here with some tragic news. I missed Zohran Mamdani at a New York gay club over the weekend. The future mayor of Gotham was met with thunderous applause when he addressed the crowd at Papi Juice around 1 am on Sunday. The spectacle prompted many, including me, to poke fun at Islamophobic bigots by declaring Mamdani clearly intends to enforce not “Sharia law” but… Shakira law! His hips don’t lie! Faiz Shakir, Senator Bernie Sanders’s (Muslim) senior adviser, and I shared this cheeky exchange about the campaign stop over the weekend.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson’s tête-à-tête continues to ignite a civil war within the GOP with Ben Shapiro weighing in; voters head to the polls in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and scores of other states; Donald Trump’s approval rating tanks; and ex-MAGA darling Marjorie Taylor Greene will chat with the ladies of ‘The View.’
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‘Are we the baddies?’
Yesterday, America’s conservative movement, at long last, finally acknowledged it has a big, fat, festering Nazi problem.
In the few, humble weeks Zeteo’s ‘First Draft’ has been delivered to your inbox, Mehdi and I have chronicled two, separate GOP group chat scandals involving Republican, adult apparatchiks musing about matters like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,” putting their political opponents in gas chambers, raping their enemies, and how they “love Hitler.”
We’ve reported on Vice President JD Vance’s dismissal of said rhetoric, asserting “kids do stupid things, especially young boys.”
And we’ve covered Tucker Carlson’s decision to platform arguably the most dangerous white supremacist and antisemite in the country, Nick Fuentes.
It appears ‘First Draft’ has at least one big fan in conservative media.
Yesterday, Ben Shapiro dedicated the entirety of his Daily Wire show to decrying the right’s embrace of Fuentes and his ilk – known online as the “Groypers.”
“They are white supremacists. They hate women, Jews, Hindus, many types of Christians, brown people of a wide variety of backgrounds, Blacks, America’s foreign policy, and America’s Constitution,” Shapiro explained to his audience.
I would’ve loved to hear a mention of “LGBT people” in there, Benny boy, but I digress…
A host of uber-influential right-wing mouthpieces shared his remarks on social media.
Personally, I laud Shapiro’s comments. They’re important. I only question why he’s taken so long to find his spine.
*Record scratch*
Sorry, I take that back, because upon a mere second of reflection, Shapiro hasn’t found shit. He published a nearly 42-minute video where he couldn’t summon the courage to mention Donald Trump’s name even once – the very man who empowered the crypto-(or not so crypto)Nazis within the GOP from Charlottesville to his infamous Thanksgiving dinner with Fuentes to Jan. 6.
I’ll be very real with y’all. This isn’t about partisan politics. This isn’t a trite matter of red jersey versus blue jersey. This is me expressing genuine fear about the prospect of the Republican Party – one of our country’s ONLY TWO political parties – bowing to openly white supremacist, rabidly antisemitic Nazism.
Period. End of sentence. It will take generations to recover from this.
🗞️ What You Need to Know
Pelosi ponders retirement: Democrats are preparing for 85-year-old Nancy Pelosi to announce her retirement after Tuesday’s elections, ending her nearly four-decade career in office, according to NBC News. Don’t love all her ALLEGED insider trading, but damn, she was one hell of a vote counter as speaker.
‘Let them eat… some food’: Trump’s Department of Agriculture announced that it will fund 50% of November’s SNAP benefits after a federal court ordered it to do so on Sunday. How very Christian.
Looney Tunes: Laura Loomer, a close Trump ally and self-described “proud Islamophobe,” is now credentialed to cover the Defense Department, per the Washington Post. She’s the latest addition to the far-right circus in the Pentagon’s new press corps after several outlets – including Fox – lost access for refusing to sign a DERANGED press policy.
Longest shutdown ever: By the end of today, the current shutdown will become the longest one ever in our nation’s history. But, yesterday, Majority Leader John Thune signaled a potential end to the shutdown by the end of this week, saying he was “optimistic” about reaching an agreement.
The Belles of the Brawl: As we told you last week, MAGA wildcard Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is set to join the ladies of ‘The View’ later today. Her appearance on the long-running, left-leaning talk show is an open act of defiance against, in her words, “pathetic Republican men.” Pop off, diva!!!
🚨 Don’t Miss It!
Mehdi and Prem Thakker will be covering the New York City mayoral election results LIVE from Zohran Mamdani’s election night rally. They’ll have results, analysis, and great guests.
You can catch their Zeteo livestream here tonight.
🗳️ PokémonGo to the Polls!
This time tomorrow, you are going to be inundated with oodles upon oodles of “think pieces” decrying how Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race is the swan song of the “sane,” “sensible,” “moderate” Democratic Party. There will be a clown car of pundits who will claim that the Dems are now wholly captured by the progressive, “communist” left.
This is an utter crock of shit.
For starters, Mamdani is not a communist, but let’s put that aside for a moment.
Come tomorrow morning, the same Democratic Party that will have elected Zohran Mamdani will have also all but certainly elected a former CIA officer as governor of Virginia (Abigail Spanberger) and possibly a former Navy helicopter pilot as governor of New Jersey (Mikie Sherrill).
The same voter base that is about to put a democratic socialist in New York’s City Hall will have very likely also handed victories to centrist, corporate-backed libs who speak fluent MSNBC and vote like Boeing executives. The reality will not be that the left has taken over; it’s merely that the party has grown just enough of a populist flank to make the donor class sweat.
☕ What’s the Tea?
Zeteo’s Swin Suebsang is back with some goss on the latest name to hit Trump’s list of enemies.
The political coverage published by People magazine (yes, that People magazine) is getting under the skin of the most powerful person on Earth. Over the past several months, Trump has privately voiced annoyance at how the celeb-news publication – famous for its “Sexiest Man Alive” feature – has covered his second presidency, according to two sources who’ve spoken to him.
As other legacy media outlets have equivocated on Trump, People’s recent coverage of America’s authoritarian leader includes headlines like: “Trump Says ICE Raids ‘Haven’t Gone Far Enough’ Despite Violence Against Immigrants and Bystanders”; “Trump Confuses Dementia Screening for ‘Very Hard’ IQ Test as He Brags About Results”; and “Trump Touts His Administration’s Ties to Project 2025 After Claiming He Had ‘No Idea’ Who Was Behind It on the Campaign Trail.”
Long gone are the days of People covering Trump with headlines such as: “Donald Trump Determined to Raise Successful, Respectful Kids.” The president, one of the sources tells me, has been particularly irritated by what he dubs unfair and innuendo-laden coverage of his health.
What can I say? People magazine could break Watergate, but Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein could never tell you that Kim Kardashian stuns in newly shared photos.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
The very first dog to defeat two human opponents and win election as mayor served his town for 13 years in office. What was his name?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
🇵🇸 Don’t Forget Gaza
Israel violates ceasefire, again: Heavy shelling by Israeli forces was reported in the eastern part of Khan Younis, while Israeli quadcopter fire killed at least one in Gaza City. Israel's genocidal war has killed more than 68,860 Palestinians, including at least 238 people since the so-called ceasefire began last month.
Israel blocks UK aid: UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper visited a warehouse in Jordan that’s holding thousands of tonnes of UK aid that’s about to spoil as Palestinians starve. She called on Israel to open a safe route for the supplies to get to Gaza.
US stabilization force plan: The US began circulating a draft resolution to UN Security Council members that would establish an international force in Gaza that would operate with a broad mandate through at least 2027, Axios reported. The language in the draft resolution suggests the force would be responsible for disarming Hamas – something analysts say would be difficult for Arab and Muslim-majority countries to commit to.
And in the West Bank… Israel is moving forward with a settlement plan in Hebron on the land of the city’s former Palestinian market, according to Hebron Municipality officials. The municipality came out in rejection of the plan, saying that the move unjustly takes away and exploits Palestinian land.
📊 Chart of the Day
Things aren’t looking so great for Donald Trump, because according to the latest polling from YouGov and The Economist, his second-term net approval rating has fallen across the board.
What’s more, CNN’s latest poll shows Trump’s disapproval rating at 63%, the highest of either term and one point above his previous high of 62% as he left office in the wake of the 2021 Capitol insurrection. WOWZA!
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇸🇩 Famine in Sudan: The authority on global hunger reported yesterday that about 375,000 people in two regions of Sudan, including El Fasher in western Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan province, are facing famine. Both areas had been besieged by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who blocked food and other aid from reaching civilians. The RSF last week gained control of El Fasher in a bloody takeover. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that other parts of Sudan could be pushed into famine, with more than 6.3 million facing emergency levels of hunger.
🇸🇦 Saudi royalty at the White House: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to visit the White House on Nov. 18. A likely agenda item is the Abraham Accords, as Trump pushes for the Gulf kingdom to normalize relations with Israel.
🇦🇫 Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan: At least 20 people were killed and hundreds more were injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Mazar-e Sharif, a northern Afghan city of about 680,000 residents.
🇹🇿 Tanzania elections: Following violent protests after last week’s election in Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in for her second term, having earned 98% of the vote. Many are still frustrated with the election outcome as two of Hassan’s opponents were disqualified, leading to deadly clashes between demonstrators and police over the past week.
Israel’s Military Rape Scandal
Have you heard the latest scandal out of Israel? Zeteo’s Minnah Arshad has the details:
According to Israel and its supporters, the scandal over a leaked video showing evidence of soldiers gang-raping an imprisoned Palestinian man is not the vile assault that took place – it’s that someone released the tape.
“This is perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the state of Israel has experienced since its establishment,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a wanted war criminal, said in a statement on Sunday.
Israeli police on Sunday night arrested two former top military lawyers for their alleged role in the leak. One of the prosecutors, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, resigned on Friday after admitting that she approved the video’s release. The response in Israel, following Sunday night’s arrests, is more focused on the leak of the video rather than what it depicts.
Netanyahu’s right-wing defense minister, Israel Katz, accused Tomer-Yerushalmi of “blood libel” against Israeli soldiers. Pro-Israel activist and influencer Hillel Fuld wrote on X: “She is a traitor and anyone else involved in this story should join her in her cell where she should spend the rest of her life.”
You can read more of Minnah’s reporting on this harrowing story here.
🤦 WTF
“Bari Weiss walked into CBS News and started texting Bibi Netanyahu…”
H/T to Dylan Byers over at Puck News for this unbelievable line in his latest report on Weiss’s antics as the new head of CBS News. Beyond. Parody.
🧠 Trivia answer: Bosco Ramos, a Black Labrador and Rottweiler mix, of Sunol, California!
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl, Akshay Gokul, and Minnah Arshad contributed to this newsletter.
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Good stuff
Never forget that without Dick Cheney’s massive campaign for the corrosion of civil liberties, his destruction of our constitution, his promotion of “unitary executive theory”, packing courts with federalist society hacks, his Halliburton-fueled destruction of our environment, the entire war on terror, Trump and MAGA would not exist and be able to do the damage they have done in the last 10 months.
This country is one of Cheney’s making. He was the driving force that led us here. Just because he and his daughter came out against Trump does not exonerate him from his crimes against humanity, and our country.
Also, don’t forget that without Obama’s fateful decision to not try Cheney and his cohorts with these crimes, instead “looking forward”, Trump would not have gotten away with all he did. We would’ve had a strong history of those involved in corruption and war crimes facing real consequences. Instead we have this. Rest in hell, Dick.