Trump news at a glance: Republican turns ‘lowlife’ taunt back on president to raise campaign funds

Massie uses president’s insult to raise funds

On Christmas, Trump posted a rant on his Truth Social platform that dismissed Congress’s interest in Epstein as a “scam” while referring to Massie – the only lawmaker named in the post – as “one lowlife ‘Republican’”.

That prompted Massie to reply on X: “Imagine celebrating a blessed Christmas with your family … suddenly phones alert everyone to the most powerful man in the world attacking you … for fulfilling his campaign promise to help victims!”

Massie’s account cited the “one lowlife ‘Republican’” phrase in the post’s text, highlighted it in screenshots of Trump’s tirade – and asked X users to “please support me” while providing a link to his campaign donations site. More than 40 people had donated nearly $3,000 within the first two hours, Massie’s account said in separate follow-up posts.

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Republicans bracing for midterm trouncing

The omens for November 2026 are grim. Democrats appear galvanised and determined to curb Donald Trump’s power. Some Republicans are already deserting what they may fear is a sinking ship. Several Republican senators have announced they will not run for re-election next year.

The polls suggest that groups who moved towards Trump in 2024 – including young voters and Latino voters – are now deserting him and returning to the Democratic fold, animated by jobs, inflation and healthcare.

With the Epstein files also casting a long shadow, Trump appears increasingly out of touch. Last month a poll by Gallup showed Trump’s job approval rating down to 36%, the lowest of his second term, while disapproval had risen to 60%.

“What we’re seeing is voters expressing a sense of frustration, trying to send a signal, at least to the Republican party if not to the president: we’re not happy with the direction you’re taking us,” Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University, says.

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Kennedy Center president demands $1m from musician who canceled Christmas Eve show

The president of the Kennedy Center has demanded $1m in damages and fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment – explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure – is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with the Associated Press.

In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1m in damages “for this political stunt”.

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Trump urges Senate Republicans to ditch filibuster rule

Donald Trump has floated the idea of ending the filibuster – a procedural technique in Congress that allows a minority of senators to block legislation from passing – which would make pushing through his political agenda in 2026 much easier.

In an interview with Politico, the president urged Republicans in the Senate to scrap the filibuster, saying it had become an obstacle to effective governing and removing it would prevent another government shutdown and pave the way for his party to push through its legislative priorities.

“The filibuster is hurting the Republican party,” Trump told Politico. He called on Republican lawmakers to eliminate it “without question”.

If Congress were to get rid of the filibuster, Trump added, “you can do everything. You can do great health care if you get rid of the filibuster. We can do everything we want.”

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What else we’re reading today:

• When Las Vegas rolled out a new fleet of 10 Tesla Cybertruck tactical police vehicles in November, it became the first city in the US to grant its officers access to a battalion of the futuristic trucks. A police department post on Instagram said the fleet “was entirely donated by an anonymous supporter” and rumors swirled about who the donor could be. Read the full story: How Las Vegas police ended up with a fleet of free Tesla Cybertrucks

• A California family are celebrating their first holiday following the delivery of their latest child – a baby who had been growing outside of the mother’s womb. Suze Lopez, a 41-year-old emergency room nurse from Bakersfield, delivered baby Ryu via surgery in August. Doctors at Ceder-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles called the dangerous pregnancy extremely rare – occurring in just one in 30,000 pregnancies – and have plans to document the case in medical journals. Read the full story: California woman delivers healthy baby after ‘essentially unheard of’ ectopic pregnancy

• A mix of snow and ice bore down on the US north-east early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations even as the storm ebbed by mid-morning. More than 14,400 domestic US flights on Saturday were canceled or delayed as of mid-morning, with the majority in the New York area.
  Read the full story: Winter weather disrupts air traffic in New Jersey and New York