Look Forward

Look Forward opens with Senator Eric Schmitt's attempt to catch former special counsel Jack Smith in a perjury trap, which fell apart in real time when Schmitt mixed up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes. We break down the collapse and why his "I'm just asking questions" follow-up made it worse.Ken Paxton is heard on a recording published by the New York Times telling donors that Trump's midterm convention hurt Republicans. His campaign calls the recording "manipulated nonsense." James Talarico leads in most recent independent polls. ProPublica reports an FBI probe into donations tied to Susan Collins ended in 2025 after the Trump administration purged the unit handling it. The FBI says it found nothing implicating Collins, and she denies wrongdoing though the facts in Pro Publica paint a different story.Trump calls a voluntary AI safety pledge "morally binding," even though it carries no enforcement. Meanwhile, an OpenAI agent accessed an Australian government health portal. Hegseth names Elon Musk, Pa

Look Forward breaks down AI companies actively pushing for federal regulation and Trump dismissing the entire need as a "hoax," even though the real story is far more complicated than either side is letting on. Rep. Thomas Massie pulls off a genuinely clever procedural move forcing a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Speaker Mike Johnson responds exactly as predicted.Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate in what can only be described as a pathetic, diminished appearance, raising real questions about his ability to continue to serve. Things get bizarre during a Kash Patel Capitol Hill visit when an specific regulation that was changed at the FBI unexpectedly becomes a topic of discussion. Gas stations across the country are running out of diesel entirely as prices hit all-time highs, worsened by Houthi disruptions to the critical Bab-el-Mandeb shipping corridor. The Fed raises interest rates for the first time in three years.In corruption news: Trump's administration plans a $2.8 billion sale of

Trump is once again telling a fake 9/11 story with no evidence behind it, this time claiming two firefighters carried him to safety near Ground Zero after hearing a nearby building creak. He wasn't at the World Trade Center on September 11th and has told wildly different, ever-changing versions of his "hero" story for over two decades, with no witnesses ever corroborating any of it. We break down the fabrication, line by line.Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani is the one facing backlash; not for lying, but for exposing the truth. Republicans are accusing him of using a 9/11 air quality report as a political "distraction," when in reality that reporting confirms what many have long suspected: city officials knowingly lied to New Yorkers about air quality during recovery efforts. Mamdani didn't create a controversy. He exposed one that already existed. This is a blueprint that many people don't realize, we break down what it signals.We also finally get to the bottom of Trump's confusing "mystery meat" import policy, wha

Look Forward covers the deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos, a rare ICE action even critics of the agency find themselves agreeing with. A federal judge ruled that AI-generated child sexual abuse material is protected under the First Amendment, a genuinely alarming decision we break down in full. New reporting suggests Trump is secretly planning to extend the Iran war timeline specifically to influence November's midterms and somehow, the administration is already positioning this as something that will end up being blamed on Democrats. Meanwhile, 33 Democrats joined with Republicans to push through a bill in the House to smash down free speech on college campuses if the college refuse to work with Israel because of the Gaza genocide.In corruption news: a whistleblower reveals the Trump administration is attempting to implement it's mail-voting scheme despite an active court stay blocking USPS from carrying it out. The DOJ blocked an ICE agent from facing charges in a shooting death despite prosecutors' own obje

Look Forward breaks down Trump escalating his trade war with Canada by signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America;" a genuinely bizarre 400 year old naming dispute born entirely out of tariff spite. Meanwhile, Trump's beef import plan is already causing real problems: 30,000 pounds of Argentine beef just got recalled in Texas and Florida, raising real questions about the plan's quality controls even as ranchers and consumers alike push back.Hakeem Jeffries met privately with Jared Kushner weeks before midterms that could make him Speaker of the House, a decision that's drawing serious criticism from the leftwing of the Democratic Party. SCOTUS handed Trump a technically favorable but ultimately inconsequential ruling on mail voting. A Republican midterm convention is shaping up to be an expensive, tone deaf disaster, with House members reportedly paying up to $100,000 to attend.In corruption news: the State Department is trying to sell a Kehinde Wiley painting because it's "too woke," t

Look Forward breaks down Trump threatening Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, having backed himself into a corner with no diplomatic exit. Trump's tabloid style "not-mistress" saga gets a new chapter as his rumored companion lands in the spotlight thanks to John Ossoff. Meanwhile, the administration quietly signals a scale-back of joint military exercises with South Korea, raising fears of history repeating itself in the region. Republicans, once skeptical of data centers, suddenly need voters to love them ahead of the midterms; we break down the political reversal and why this is a horrible move for them and a great win for Democrats.In corruption news: the Lakers may be heading to be owned by a Kushner, conveniently easing federal pressure on the team's current owner. Trump Media's latest earnings report shows the company floundering just as badly as the rest of Trump's business ventures. In a stunning court admission, the Trump administration confirmed it's been withholding federal dollars from blue states sp

Look Forward breaks down Abdul El-Sayed's hugely contentious primary win in Michigan's Democratic Senate race, a victory for the progressive wing that raises the question of whether centrist Democrats will actually rally behind him or quietly work against their own nominee. Trump is furious at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aka "Whiskey Pete" over a missile shortage exposed by the ongoing Iran war, with the military burning through stockpiles faster than they can be replaced.In a stunning diplomatic snub, Iran and Oman are negotiating the future of the Strait of Hormuz entirely without US involvement  after Trump spent months treating the region as America's little playground. Medicare Part D subsidies are conveniently set to expire right after the midterms, a timing decision that speaks for itself. Trump is pursuing a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia despite the kingdom's well-documented terror financing history. Trump Media plans to paywall its API access for Wall Street traders to legalize insider trading.A

This week on Look Forward, we cover Graham Platner finally withdrawing from Maine's Senate race following a sexual assault allegation and Trump, of all people, is questioning the credibility of the woman making the accusation. Mitch McConnell has not cast a Senate vote since June 11th and has been hospitalized for over three weeks with almost no details released. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear formally demanded a health update, revealing conflicting accounts about whether McConnell suffered cardiac arrest. With Republicans holding a razor-thin 53-47 majority, his absence carries real consequences.The Iran war ceasefire has collapsed again. Russia may be planning a "provocation" in the Baltics or Poland. Trump's new "Freedom Fuel" gas stations are being promoted as a patriotic price-cutting miracle except nobody can explain how 25 stations are selling gas 50 cents below wholesale cost, and taxpayers may be quietly footing the bill for his own PR stunt.Plus: Mamdani gets attacked for suggesting a reasonable the

This week on Look Forward we break down the political earthquake in New York; all three Mamdani-backed DSA candidates swept their congressional primaries, unseating establishment Democrats Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman. Attendees at Claire Valdez's victory party chanted "You're next" as Hakeem Jeffries appeared on screen. House Democrats are now in open panic over whether the socialist wing is taking over the party, while Mamdani declared "this was not the end of a political movement, it was the beginning." We also cover DSA member Melat Kiros' win in Colorado and her reason for unseating a long standing progressive Democrat.The Supreme Court barely upheld the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship guarantee while simultaneously ruling states can exclude transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports and barely preserving vote-by-mail against a GOP challenge. Senator Thom Tillis declared the SAVE Act dead, even as Republicans privately fear Trump will weaponize it after a possible midterm election l

Look Forward breaks down the Iran deal in detail:  the 14-point MOU signed June 18th that ends three months of war, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, and begins a 60-day countdown to a final nuclear agreement. Iran commits not to acquire nuclear weapons, halts enrichment, invites IAEA inspectors back, and the US immediately lifts oil export sanctions. What's NOT in it: ballistic missiles, proxy networks, final enrichment status, and critically Israel was shut out of negotiations entirely. This is a perfect storm of poor negotiation work and sheer incompetence which is why the right and left are pushing back hard on the proposed deal.Israel's reaction? Ben Gvir says Trump's agreement "does not bind us" and calls for "all of Lebanon to burn" a post restricted by X for violating platform rules. Netanyahu admitted he didn't even know the deal's details when it was signed. JD Vance fired back directly at Ben Gvir and Smotrich: "You can't just kill your way out of every national security problem." A rare moment of actu

Look Forward breaks down the Big Lie 2.0 arriving right on schedule. Trump is claiming California's June 3rd primary was stolen — no evidence, same playbook — after Trump-endorsed reality TV star Spencer Pratt lost the LA mayoral race to progressive Nithya Raman once mail ballots finished counting. The House of Representatives majority sitting at a razor-thin 218-213, Trump is pre-seeding election fraud claims before November.Trump goes on video saying "I love inflation." Al Jazeera debunks his claim that the US secretly smuggled 100 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran war is back on and Trump announces plans to seize Kharg Island, which handles 90% of Iran's oil exports. Gas prices will go nuclear if this happens. New York Times Magazine reveals Trump's top advisors held an emergency meeting on the Epstein Files last July in the Situation Room. Nancy Mace comes in fifth place in her primary. Trump is assessed by 22 doctors at his medical visit. Democrats block FISA reauthorization t

Look Forward breaks down the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization slush fund collapsing in spectacular fashion. Ted Cruz said GOP senators literally "screamed" at Acting AG Todd Blanche in one of "the roughest meetings" of his Senate career. The fund is officially dead per Blanche, but Trump called it "a beautiful thing" and refused to commit to permanently scrapping it. Dead but not buried.The House passes a war powers resolution 215-208 in which four Republicans (Barrett, Davidson, Fitzpatrick, Massie) finally joining Democrats to push back on Trump's three-month unauthorized Iran war. Thirteen US service members dead, $25 billion spent, $5 gas and Congressional Republicans are just now getting on board to end this. A federal judge orders Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center. Debbie Wasserman Schultz primary challenge debate: obligation to step aside or are critics targeting the wrong person?Exxon warned this would happen and now oil inventories are depleting as the Strait of Hormuz stays disrupted. DO

Look Forward breaks down the Texas Senate race turning ugly fast: Ken Paxton's first general election ad calls Democrat James Talarico "too Low-T for Texas," Stephen Miller falsely called the straight, cisgender Talarico Democrats' "first transgender senate candidate." GOP nicknames include "Tofu Talarico," "Six Gender Jimmy," and "Tala-freako." Talarico raised $600,000 in the two hours after Paxton clinched the nomination.The Iran war may be nearing its end, NYTimes reports the deal is 95% complete with the final 5% oddly being the entirety of the reason the conflict is continuing. But Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is threatening Oman, raising fears of a new front in the conflict. The Trump administration is considering disrupting international airline travel for passengers from sanctuary cities. Hawaii finds a clever constitutional workaround to limit Citizens United's corporate campaign finance dominance. A North Carolina GOP lawmaker pulls their name from a radical abortion bill after social me

This week Look Forward exposes what may be the biggest presidential scandal in American history: the DOJ is creating a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who claim they were "targeted" by investigations. Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 are suing to block the fund from being established. The scandal is so egregious that some Republicans are reportedly furious enough to abandon support. Plus: new WSJ reporting on Trump's suspicious stock trades.Trump endorses Ken Paxton for Texas Senate, proving it's still his party no matter how many Republicans wish it wasn't. Colorado Democrats censure Governor Jared Polis for commuting sentences of an election "denier," finding a "third way" to piss off his own party. The long-awaited DNC autopsy of the 2024 election loss turns out to be completely useless, offering no real answers or accountability.A Tennessee man who posted a meme gets an $800,000 payout after spending a month in jail for a Facebook post. Trump says he might skip hi

Look Forward breaks down Virginia's Supreme Court rejecting the voter-approved redistricting map in a major blow to anti-gerrymandering efforts. Inflation is skyrocketing: April 2026 data shows prices surging as Trump's Iran war continues to devastate the economy. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani passes his first major test, balancing the city budget without major cuts in his first months in office.The Trump administration threatens to withhold Medicaid funds from ALL states over so called compliance disputes. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announces plans to gerrymander the state's congressional map AFTER the midterms to eliminate the majority-Black district. RFK Jr.'s HHS is pushing to limit or ban widely-used SSRIs (antidepressants) for Americans.Utah approves massive new data centers despite backlash. FCC Chair Brendan Carr picked a fight with Disney/ABC over The View and Jimmy Kimmel while threatening broadcast licenses. Trump plans to use his presidential library as a hotel, sparking lawsuits. The Justice Dep

Look Forward exposes how Southern Republicans are systematically destroying Black voting rights because the Confederacy never died, it just rebranded as the modern GOP. We break down the ongoing assault on Black political representation nationwide, especially in former Confederate states. Gas prices are up 50% on average since Trump launched his illegal Iran war, devastating American families while the conflict drags on. CIA intelligence suggests the "excursion" is going exactly as poorly as predicted.Chief Justice John Roberts is reportedly sad that being a corrupt hack will define his lasting legacy on the Supreme Court. Rudy Giuliani, even on death's door, continues his grifting lifestyle. Kamala Harris demands the DNC release its 2024 election autopsy report. The GOP's White House ballroom price tag keeps mysteriously increasing, now potentially costing taxpayers over a billion dollars. The FBI raids the office of a top Democratic leader in Virginia who led the state's anti-gerrymandering effort.Ivermecti

Look Forward breaks down the third apparent Trump assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner—and why conspiracy theories immediately flooded social media questioning if it was staged. Cole Tomas Allen stormed the Washington Hilton with guns and knives, but his defense argues the DOJ case is "built entirely upon speculation." Trump is using the incident to push his controversial White House ballroom project while blaming Jimmy Kimmel for "inciting violence."The Supreme Court chips away at the Voting Rights Act AGAIN in Louisiana v. Callais, green-lighting extreme gerrymandering. AOC calls for blue states to fight back harder. Louisiana's governor suspends an active election to allow GOP gerrymandering, and Alabama rushes to redistrict. Federal courts ban mailing abortion pills in certain states. Trump announces plans to "take over" Cuba before finishing his Iran war. Janet Mills drops out of Maine's Senate race, giving Democrat Graham Platner a clear path to take on Susan Collins in the ge

Look Forward breaks down Virginia voters' narrow victory approving a Democratic redistricting map despite a Republican judge's attempts to block it, which is a major counter to Trump's national GOP gerrymandering push for more House seats. House Oversight Committee Republicans are reportedly split on pardoning convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for Epstein testimony, with Chairman James Comer admitting "a lot of people" support the deal. Donald Trump's approval ratings are cratering fast, hitting historic lows as his Iran war drags on, and the American economy gets worse because of it.Another Trump cabinet member is out, this time Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer becomes the latest woman forced from his administration. Navy Secretary John Phelan resigns after butting heads with Pete Hegseth over military policy. California's Attorney General lays out evidence of Amazon's alleged price-fixing scheme. The Onion completes its satirical hostile takeover of Alex Jones' Infowars empire.

Look Forward breaks down the week Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus then claimed "I'm a doctor, and the news is fake," escalated his unprecedented feud with Pope Leo XIV by calling him "WEAK on Crime," and slashed Catholic Charities funding in apparent retaliation. Plus: Viktor Orban loses Hungary's election despite JD Vance flying to Budapest to campaign for him days before the vote, while Trump secretly conducts performance reviews of his VP and shops for 2028 replacements.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reads a prayer at a Pentagon worship service that turns out to be the fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction to justify the Iran war. FBI Director Kash Patel faces explosive allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences, prompting a $250 million defamation lawsuit. A new whistleblower book reveals DOGE officials thought USAID "just did abortions" before gutting the 10,000-person agency. Trump promises preemptive mass pardons for his staff, FIFA asks him not to arrest World Cup attendees,

The Iran ceasefire collapses with catastrophic economic consequences as fertilizer prices surge 35% and oil hits $112/barrel, threatening global food security. Vice President JD Vance travels to Hungary to openly interfere in their election just days before voting, campaigning for authoritarian Viktor Orbán while accusing the EU of election meddling. In an unprecedented rift, Pentagon officials allegedly threatened the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV, demanding the Catholic Church "take America's side" while invoking medieval papal subjugation. The Supreme Court appears poised to reject Trump's birthright citizenship order after oral arguments where even conservative justices expressed deep skepticism. Trump even walked out during the ACLU's rebuttal. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, fired amid Epstein files criticism, is now dodging a congressional subpoena for her scheduled deposition, with the DOJ claiming she's no longer obligated to testify. Meanwhile, forensic analysis finds no conclusive link between the bu