President Donald Trump has unleashed his massive $400 million war chest for the first time this year in a hotly contested GOP primary as party officials worry the president has yet to focus on key battleground races. On Monday, Trump Super PAC MAGA, Inc. made its first significant spending since November 2025, pouring $827,711 into GOTV calls and text messages for Darline Graham in Tuesday’s South Carolina Senate GOP runoff. The group last reported more than $403 million cash on hand. The South Carolina race appears personal to the president, who hand-picked Darline Graham to fill the shoes of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, telling a tele-rally audience that he “got her into this whole thing” and “has to make sure she gets in.” The last-minute push for Graham marks the first time Trump has tapped into his hundreds of millions since coming to the rescue of Rep. Matt Van Epps in Tennessee’s closer-than-expected 7th Congressional District special election. The money dump in South Carolina highlights Trump’s increasing involvement in divisive and hotly contested GOP primaries as he continues to withhold money from key battleground states and races with just 70 days to go until Election Day.  “Well, I’ve raised a lot, and nobody knows what it is, but I will tell you it’s about $850 million,” Trump said, teasing his financial involvement in the midterms. “I’ll be spending a lot of that money, and my own money, for candidates that I think are good — Republican candidates that I think are good.” MAGA, Inc. may be calculating that voter engagement will intensify closer to Election Day, making a larger spending push in late September and October more effective. “When you add the $850 million to all of the other money that we’ve raised, we’re in very good shape,” Trump added in an August 21 gaggle with reporters. Perhaps no candidate is more eager for Trump’s financial firepower than Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight Senate race with Democrat James Talarico. Over the weekend, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott downplayed fears that Democrats could flip the Lone Star State blue this year and seize control of the U.S. Senate. “Well, let’s put it in context where Ken Paxton is in his campaign, and that is he was in a three-month-long runoff that demanded capital, it demanded campaigning, demanded his attention, and so he’s just now catching up in the campaign process with Talarico,” Abbott told ABC News. “Talarico got away with something, and that is with Ken Paxton campaigning against John Cornyn as opposed to Talarico,” he added. The Senate GOP’s fundraising arms have continued to withhold money from Paxton’s campaign after Trump led the effort to oust incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, The Daily Wire reported. Since then, Talarico has dominated the airwaves while Paxton has struggled to raise money in one of the nation’s largest and most expensive states for statewide campaigns. The RealClearPolitics polling average gives Talarico a nearly two-point advantage. With control of both the House and Senate up for grabs, Republicans face significant headwinds heading into Election Day, including elevated gas prices, the lingering war with Iran, and President Trump’s low approval ratings. The latest RealClearPolitics polling average gives Democrats a roughly 6.4-percentage-point lead on the generic congressional ballot.

Andrew Tate’s lawyers are arguing that the social media influencer’s carefully cultivated image of extreme wealth was largely an act — as many of the supercars and luxury yachts he repeatedly flaunted online were rented or borrowed for content. The extraordinary admission came in a court filing as Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where they face dozens of criminal charges that both men deny. The brothers’ attorneys told a federal court that Tate’s business model “depends on online attention” and that the outrageous lifestyle portrayed on social media was deliberately exaggerated to generate views, engagement, and ultimately income. “The outrageousness of the posts by them and about them is the point,” the lawyers wrote. “The more hyperbolic and outlandish the post, the more likely it will generate views and likes, which in turn generates income. In short, they are playing a role.” His lawyers now say much of that imagery should not be taken at face value. Cars advertised in Tristan Tate’s videos, including a $2.1 million Aston Martin and two Bugattis worth a combined $12 million, were rented, according to the court filing. The brothers also did not own a superyacht featured prominently in their online content. Instead, their lawyers said, the yacht belonged to someone else and the Tates were paid to promote it on social media. “A promotional video filmed aboard a yacht is not evidence of title to the yacht,” the lawyers wrote. The filing also pushed back on claims about Andrew Tate’s watch collection, saying valuations circulating online were based on a “third-party enthusiast publication” rather than proven ownership of the watches. The explanation for the deception was straightforward: the Tates were selling an image. “Further, the Tates are engaged in several businesses ‘teaching’ men how to earn money,” their lawyers wrote. “It is in their interest to portray themselves on social media as uberwealthy.” That business model has long relied on convincing followers that the Tates possess the secret to extraordinary financial success. Their online courses, including Hustlers University, marketed lessons on making money and adopting the Tates’ approach to business and life. The lawyers also sought to explain away other extravagant claims made by the brothers online, including suggestions that their social media posts generated enormous amounts of money and that they possessed essentially unlimited cryptocurrency and cash. “All of these posts are hyperbole,” the lawyers said. The admissions are particularly significant because prosecutors have cited the Tates’ own public claims about their wealth as evidence that they have substantial resources and could pose a flight risk. The government has argued that the brothers have “significant resources available to them,” as well as extensive social media networks. Tate’s lawyers are now arguing that prosecutors should not take those boasts literally because the men deliberately cultivate an exaggerated online persona. The distinction could prove important as the brothers fight extradition. Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Miami in July after British prosecutors brought an additional 38 charges against them, bringing their combined total to 59. Andrew Tate faces allegations including rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and offenses involving child sexual abuse material. Tristan Tate faces rape, sexual assault, and sex trafficking allegations. Both brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and characterized the British case as politically motivated. The brothers are currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami while the extradition proceedings move forward.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman might want to trade in his black hoodie for an elephant badge if he wants to keep his seat in the Senate: New polling suggests that he could find friendlier terrain on the Republican side of the aisle than among the Democrats who elected him. According to a shocking poll from The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena College, Fetterman has become a complete outcast in his own party. The survey reveals Fetterman is underwater at a brutal -41 approval rating with Democrats, while boasting a staggering +52 favorability rating with Republicans. Fetterman is -41 with Democrats and +52 with Republicans, per the new NYT/Philly Inquirer/Siena poll. pic.twitter.com/mIcEUqQnbc — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 25, 2026 The jaw-dropping numbers come as Fetterman continues a high-profile, scorched-earth streak against his own party’s hard-Left wing, positioning himself as a moderate willing to lock arms with Republicans on key national security, energy, and foreign policy battles. Fetterman’s rift with the Left was on full display when he slammed “AI doomsdaying” last week, aligning himself with President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance on artificial intelligence and data centers to counter China. Fetterman publicly rejected “political pandering and hyperbole over data centers,” taking aim at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who wants a stop on AI development, which Fetterman blasted as a “China First” policy. Fetterman has also ripped into Sanders over his support for controversial figures. In July, he referred to Sanders’ support for former Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, snapping, “I would really call Bernie Sanders to apologize for pushing this kind of predator — more than anyone he helped [to] elect — and now apologize to the victims, especially the woman that she claimed that he raped her, so I don’t know why you want to keep pushing these kinds of people. Maybe he should consider [sitting] a few out and stop pushing these kinds of communists, and now people like P. Hustle. Now he has been credibly accused of rape — and that’s fairly recent, too, that was only less than five years ago.” Fetterman’s willingness to cross party lines isn’t new. He previously made waves by backing Republicans in carving out the filibuster to end a government shutdown. Fetterman also noted that Left-leaning networks like MS NOW stopped booking him once he began speaking out against his party’s consensus, while conservative outlets welcomed his no-nonsense style. The biggest breaking point, however, remains foreign policy. Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Fetterman declared there was one thing that could push him straight out of the Democratic Party: if anti-Israel hostility officially becomes part of the party platform. Fetterman warned that “rank antisemitism” is being allowed to flourish on the far-Left and on college campuses. He remains the only Senate Democrat to vote against every Iran war-powers resolution this year. In July, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was asked, “Senator Fetterman has indicated that if Democrats officially become anti-Israeli, he would leave the party. Have you had any conversations with him about maybe joining the GOP conference, and would you welcome him if he were to follow that path?” Thune replied, “Yes, we would welcome him. I haven’t talked to him recently. I have had conversations with him in the past, as have many of my colleagues, about the challenges he faces in his caucus. There are many of us who I think would welcome the opportunity to have him join the Republican conference but you know ultimately that’s a decision that’s left up that’s up to him.” “I mean, this is a party that’s moving further and further, more radically, and to the more extreme Left on a lot of issues,” Thune added. “And I think people like John Fetterman, who have views that probably reflect a more moderate or at least historically moderate Democrat position, are really kind of people without a home. So if he ever comes to the conclusion that he’s ready to move, we would certainly welcome it.”

The highly anticipated Michigan Democratic Senate primary was close. Moderate Democrat Haley Stevens lost by a slim margin to progressive, democratic socialist-leaning candidate Abdul El-Sayed. After multiple prominent DSA and DSA-adjacent victories across the country, it is worth examining this movement that is gaining traction in America, especially among my university-aged peers. With El-Sayed winning over 60% of Washtenaw County’s vote (home of Ann Arbor), the DSA has clearly made a splash with young minds on the University of Michigan’s campus. It is no coincidence that El-Sayed swept my college town of Ann Arbor, where far-Left progressivism is encouraged as the norm by both professors and students. While he denies holding socialist views, El-Sayed attended fundraising events where organizers referred to him as “a longtime friend of Detroit DSA.” Being a college town, the only path to winning was through impressionable young voters flirting with Marxism. Last semester, El-Sayed successfully campaigned on campus with Hasan Piker, the popular, far-Left radical Maoist on Twitch who justifies 9/11, mourns Stalin, and denies and downplays the October 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. While on campus, El-Sayed and Piker promoted the unsubstantiated, anti-Israel genocide accusation and described the biggest Jewish American lobbying group as using “dark money.” In a way, I get it. We arrive at college bright-eyed idealists ready to charge ahead and change the world. But the duality of idealism is where the trouble starts. Idealism is attractive because it’s easy and seems righteous. At the same time, we have little experience dealing with real-world problems. Instead of modulating our understanding of the world to see what creates effective change, some keep trying to impose idealistic solutions to solve real-world issues. “Collective” control over the government and economy is an attractive universal solution to those who have not studied or experienced the injustices it produces. While DSA’s socialism may seem innocuous in theory, all arguments fall apart when confronted with the horrors produced by these systems. From what I’ve observed, the basic socialist pitch boils down to offering a cure-all for accountability. You are no longer at fault for your situation — you are now a victim of a rigged “system.” Things will get better once the corrupt system is torn down. Tell me this illusory promise doesn’t sound familiar, and I will tell you about the North Korean asylum seekers, Refusnik Jews, and Cuban refugees who risked their lives to escape. The Democratic Socialists of America is dedicated to replacing our free-market system with government-run collectivism. They use campus and community chapters to spread grassroots influence, with the University of Michigan’s chapter boasting over 1,000 followers on Instagram. By comparison, College Democrats at U-M has roughly double that following, with about 2,600 followers on Instagram. I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, so many of my friends came from families that escaped Cuba and Venezuela. These countries were doing very well — especially in the context of the region — before their respective 20th-century socialist revolutions. The imposed government takeovers of their economies led to their current impoverished status. Cubans and Venezuelans are now prisoners of their failed systems and suffer from a lack of resources, opportunities, and personal efficacy. At a recent Young America’s Foundation student leadership conference, I heard from Venezuelan refugee and economist Daniel Di Martino, who recounted how even shopping for food became an exercise in making do under dire circumstances. At grocery stores, “the government beans [rations] literally had rocks inside that you had to clean up … that is what happens when you have no profit motive.” Despite the dismal quality, he still had to bring piles of cash to cover costs because of extreme inflation. Not to mention that without real market prices, grocery stores could not respond normally to what people were actually buying and running out of. Shortages did not send the same signal to produce more, move goods where they were needed, or find alternatives, leaving shelves empty even when demand was obvious. DSA leaders have yet to produce any viable solutions to these problems. Although the DSA hasn’t gotten to the point of crimes against humanity, they are on the path that the Castro and Chavez regimes once took. This time, instead of armbands and pamphlets, they have beaded bracelets and TikTok. Students need to be willing to look past political popularity and examine what the systems they support actually do. That means studying not only their stated goals, but their incentives, trade–offs, and historical consequences. A movement should earn our support because its ideas survive scrutiny, not because its language appeals to our good intentions. We cannot let this rebranded poison be sold under a new name. If we swallow that pill, it will only contribute to the downfall of our great country. *** Addison Stone is a senior at the University of Michigan pursuing War and Conflict Studies and a 2026-27 CAMERA Fellow. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CAMERA.

‘going to need a bigger boat’

‘We got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry’

The 25 percent estimate is on the “low end”

‘Conduct unbecoming an officer’

Wild, wild horses

A Porsche “Sally Special” vehicle is slated to tour across the U.S.