Good morning! I hope this morning dispatch, focused on the latest updates about ongoing TPM storylines, has been useful. Starting this week, TPM members will receive it as an email. If you’re not a member, consider becoming one!
New Revelations About an Accidental Candidate
Earlier this month, I flagged in the Editors’ Blog an odd situation that had emerged from Michigan’s primaries: the Trump-endorsed candidate in a central-Michigan congressional district that includes the cities of Flint, Saginaw and Midland was a former Guantánamo guard named Amir Hassan. He lost — by a considerable margin — to a little-known former auto industry executive named Tom Smith who had dropped out of the race, but whose name was still on the ballot.
(Speculation abounded that Hassan’s Muslim-sounding name may have had something to do with it. Hassan actually seemingly converted from Islam to Christianity mid-primary race, first describing himself as a “proud Muslim” and later a Christian, which is a whole other story we won’t get into in depth here. A third candidate in the race, Al Lemmo, speculated to the New York Times that Smith beat Hassan because of his “plain-Jane American name.”)
So anyway, who is Tom Smith? An article TPM’s Hunter Walker published yesterday reveals some striking, never-before-reported details.
In his retirement, Smith helps run his family salsa company, Jar Head Salsa, and spends a lot of time on pro-Trump activism. That activism is detailed on Jar Head Salsa’s social media accounts. Hunter writes:
The page is filled with various right-wing memes and takes, including posts comparing Dr. Anthony Fauci to Nazis, calling former First Lady Michelle Obama a man, and one describing “Liberals/Deep State” as the biggest threat to the country. “Jar Head Salsa” also cheered on the Proud Boys and sought blessings for Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of their meeting last year.
Even more surprising, perhaps, is the salsa company X account’s narration of a visit to D.C. for Jan. 6. Hunter asked Smith about this, and we were given a statement from Smith acknowledging he traveled to D.C. that weekend and listened to the president’s speech. “I did not enter the Capitol or trespass on restricted grounds,” it read.
This revelation from TPM follows earlier reporting last month — from TPM’s Josh Kovensky — that one of two prosecutors leading Trump’s assault on political activism at DOJ also marched on January 6. While the fact that these figures traveled to the National Mall in the run up to an attempted self-coup may not be surprising in today’s Republican Party — the president and many of his current allies were at the center of it, after all — we still think it’s important to keep track.
A New Reporter Joins TPM
Next month, prolific chronicler of the American right Christopher Mathias will be joining TPM.
You may be familiar with Chris from his years of reporting at HuffPost, including impactful pieces revealing the early, white supremacist writings of conservative pundit Richard Hanania and the way in which an extreme faction of the GOP has taken over Idaho and used its power to target its enemies.
Chris is the author of the book To Catch a Fascist, which we ran an excerpt of earlier this year, and has also recently written for TPM as a freelance contributor:
- once on Greg Bovino’s visit to a far-right conference in Europe,
- and once on the concept of “remigration” — a white supremacist idea that the second Trump administration swiftly incorporated into government.
We’re very excited about this. If you aren’t already, you can follow Chris on Bluesky and X.
Some Farmers Are Starting to Get Really Mad at Trump
As polls suggest more and more rural states are shifting away from Trump, and that voters overall are turning toward Democrats on economic issues, the new trade war with Canada is likely to make things even worse.
- Farmers have becomes increasingly frustrated about rising costs associated with Trump’s ever-shifting tariff regimes and the Iran war, including the cost of fuel and the cost of fertilizer. Canada, aware of these political dynamics, is aiming to target its tariffs on the U.S. accordingly.
- Particularly incensed are cattle farmers, who have seen Trump make various moves to undercut the price of American beef — including increasing imports of Argentinian beef last October, a seeming favor to his friend, Argentina’s president Javier Milei.
- Now Trump says he has a new plan to import beef, though details are scarce. “This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again,” he said in a social media post that explained little, including where the beef would come from.
- TPM’s Layla A. Jones has a great piece on all of this today. “He took a lot of value out of that market, just because he said something,” one Iowa beef farmer told her of Trump’s October Argentina announcement. “It’s just really hard to stomach the fact that he can say something off the cuff, clearly doesn’t understand the life cycle of an animal.”
- “It’ll be interesting, that’s all I know,” he added about the November midterms, when Iowa has a Senate seat and the governor’s mansion in play.
Tabs
- Trump’s blunders on beef, and his trade war with Canada more generally, are making Republicans in Congress squirm, NOTUS reports.
- Mike Lindell, after demanding a recount of the primary for Minnesota governor that he lost by a wide margin, is now refusing to pay for it, the Star Tribune reports. He is required by law to foot the bill.
- A State Department effort to substantiate a long-running right-wing conspiracy theory claiming widespread censorship of conservatives has collapsed in a confusing spectacle. MS Now’s Brandy Zadrozny and the Bulwark’s Will Sommer each have pieces.
Man of the Hour
It’s Dan Sullivan. The other Dan Sullivan. The AP recently determined that the retired school teacher did well enough in Alaska’s nonpartisan Senate primary last week that he’ll be on the November ballot. While he’s unlikely to become a senator, the current incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan (R) has been furious that the shared name may confuse some voters.
Are We at War?
Trump has grown tired of the Iran war. The administration is trying to backburner it for now, Axios reports, characterizing conversations Rubio has had with other foreign governments, and wants it deprioritized for now. “This is expected to be the policy at least until after the midterm elections, when a new military campaign could again be on the table,” Axios reporter Barak Ravid writes.
