Michael McDonald
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electproject.bsky.social
Michael McDonald
@electproject.bsky.social

Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida specializing in American elections

Michael P. McDonald is an American political scientist. He is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida where he focuses on the United States elections.

Source: Wikipedia
Political science 57%
Economics 20%

Today is the day we’re told not to panic. Should be fun!
🎧 Payrolls land on a Wednesday — and the data isn’t looking great. Layoffs are rising and retail sales just stumbled. We break down what it means for the economy on this week’s Reuters Morning Bid podcast reut.rs/4bODxS7
Job jitters
Main Street is wobbling, from layoffs to weak retail sales.
reut.rs

Departure from traditions and norms = Crimes
npr.org NPR @npr.org · 1h
The attorney general's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure, a period marked by a striking departure from traditions and norms at the Justice Department. n.pr/4qxOivM
Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ
The attorney general's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure, a period marked by a striking departure from traditions and norms at the Justice Department.
n.pr
🎧 Payrolls land on a Wednesday — and the data isn’t looking great. Layoffs are rising and retail sales just stumbled. We break down what it means for the economy on this week’s Reuters Morning Bid podcast reut.rs/4bODxS7
Job jitters
Main Street is wobbling, from layoffs to weak retail sales.
reut.rs
NPR @npr.org · 1h
The attorney general's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure, a period marked by a striking departure from traditions and norms at the Justice Department. n.pr/4qxOivM
Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ
The attorney general's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure, a period marked by a striking departure from traditions and norms at the Justice Department.
n.pr

His handlers manage Dotard Trump by giving him shiny objects to play with
Overhauling the Kennedy Center has become a fixation for President Trump—and no detail is too small for the real-estate-developer-turned-president.
Behind Trump’s Push to Remake the Kennedy Center in His Own Image
The venerated cultural institution is facing falling ticket sales and canceled performances.
on.wsj.com
At least two dozen U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and contractors have been charged with crimes since 2020 and the wrongdoing includes patterns of violence, sexual abuse and corruption, a review by The Associated Press found.
As ICE expands, an AP review of crimes committed by agents shows how their powers can be abused
Investigators say one immigration official abused his girlfriend for years. Another admitted he sexually abused a woman in his custody.
bit.ly
Overhauling the Kennedy Center has become a fixation for President Trump—and no detail is too small for the real-estate-developer-turned-president.
Behind Trump’s Push to Remake the Kennedy Center in His Own Image
The venerated cultural institution is facing falling ticket sales and canceled performances.
on.wsj.com

The only way Republicans have even a remote chance of winning in November is if they distract and gin up false outrage about cultural issues

Like Bad Bunny's halftime performance

This is their playbook. It's all they got
American Optimism Slumps to Record Low.
(Gallup)
More, via Opinion Today:
opiniontoday.substack.com/p/260210-top...
If you are a wealthy buddy of Trump’s, he uses American policy to help you out… to the detriment of the American public.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...
Bridge Owner Lobbied Administration Before Trump Blasted Competing Span to Canada
www.nytimes.com
CNN @cnn.com · 13h
The FDA has refused to accept an application from Moderna to review its first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, the company said, in another setback for the technology that’s been a target of some Trump administration health officials. https://cnn.it/4kt8iyn
Police in Bloomington, MN just announced that one of the guys they arrested in an underage sex trafficking sting was a **background checker for ICE agents.**

He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.
we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad
Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’
Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) revealed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's name appears in the unredacted Epstein files “more than a million times.” The post Jamie Raskin Reveals Trump’s Name Shows Up in Unredacted Epstein Files ‘More Than a Million Times’ first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
A stunning detail the ICE chief shared in this hearing that was supposed to be a brag, except it isn't: ICE has arrested 379,000 people between Jan. 2025-Jan. 2026 -- but only 8,700 were suspected gang members or known suspected terrorists.

That's 2%! www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
Congresswoman Uses Simple Math To Show How Broken ICE Is
www.huffpost.com
Habeas cases filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal have taken off to levels we have never seen before. Just look at that chart.

www.propublica.org/article/habe...
We are murdering people and it is basically just background noise at this point. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...
U.S. Boat Strike Kills 2 in Pacific, With One Survivor
www.nytimes.com
WATCH — @balint.house.gov on the unredacted Epstein files: “There’s a bunch of sick fucks… so many people knew…. Trump never kicked Epstein out of Mar-A-Lago. That’s a lie.”

(From @dropsitenews.com )

Yes, that is what is happening. Musk doesn't look like he's going to be able to deliver the moon lander for Artemis III bsky.app/profile/elec...

Unfortunately it's been given permission to shoot fireworks over my home

Why is Pete Hegseth squeezing Acting Venezuelan President Donald Trump?
U.S. military forces boarded a sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the ship from the Caribbean Sea as part of an oil quarantine meant to squeeze Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday. https://to.pbs.org/4r7gxCy
U.S. military boards sanctioned oil tanker after pursuit from Caribbean to Indian Ocean
Following the U.S. raid to apprehend then-President Nicolás Maduro in early January, several sanctioned tankers fled the Venezuelan coast, including the ship that was boarded in the Indian Ocean overn...
www.pbs.org

Also unfair to sinking ships to compare them to Trump

Exactly. And it is so obvious to NASA that Musk cannot deliver they've had to move on to Blue Origin
Prosecutors have dropped charges against nearly two dozen people arrested during a clergy-led protest outside the Broadview ICE facility last fall.
Cook County prosecutors drop charges against 19 arrested during clergy-led protest at Broadview ICE facility
chicago.suntimes.com

Prediction: adding voting burdens will depress turnout more among those least excited to vote, which is clearly Republicans right now. I don’t support making it harder for anyone to vote, but this could backfire spectacularly
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., tells me Senate Republicans are having a "big meeting tomorrow" to discuss the path forward for SAVE Act. He predicts the Senate won't nuke the filibuster but adds that he's "willing to listen" to ideas on how to proceed.

Musk bros are like time to buy more Tesla stock. He so smart

Troll Musk all you want about abandoning Mars. He earned it. But know he’s doing this to divert attention from a bigger failure
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., tells me Senate Republicans are having a "big meeting tomorrow" to discuss the path forward for SAVE Act. He predicts the Senate won't nuke the filibuster but adds that he's "willing to listen" to ideas on how to proceed.