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Saturday, September 12, 2026

Category: Politics
18 minutes ago
News
Politics
World

Top German Politician Floats Banning Populist AfD After Its Election Win.

The political establishment of Germany is considering a ban on the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after a crushing defeat for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s establishment Christian Democratic Union party in a recent state election.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A top German politician has suggested banning the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after its recent victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election.
📺 DETAIL: On Sunday, the anti-mass migration populist AfD party won its first-ever state election. The party secured approximately 44 percent of the vote while support for Chancellor (Prime Minister) Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, formerly led by Angela Merkel, dropped to just 17 percent, coming in a distant second place. Following the announcement of the result, senior CDU politician Hendrik Wüst proposed a ban on the AfD. The North Rhine-Westphalia Premier, roughly equivalent to a U.S. state governor, said that federal and state officials, as well as constitutional experts and members of the country’s intelligence services, should work together to ban the insurgent party. Wüst justified a potential ban as necessary to protect Germany’s constitution. This proposal comes after European Union (EU) officials proposed withdrawing funds from Saxony-Anhalt in response to the election result.
🎯 IMPACT: A potential ban would be very controversial and widely regarded as highly undemocratic, especially by AfD supporters. The willingness to openly float a ban on a major political party underscores the fragility of Germany’s establishment. This is also likely to push the AfD to pursue the abolition of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s increasingly weaponized domestic intelligence agency. “In no other Western democracy are political parties monitored by intelligence agencies… That creates an obvious conflict of interest,” said Hans Georg Maaßen, former BfV president.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Not with the politically predetermined goal that you now have to examine a ban, but to examine this party and the possible legal consequences. That could be a ban, but it could also be something else.” – Hendrik Wüst as reported in Die Welt, a German newspaper.
📺 FLASHBACK: President Donald J. Trump congratulated the AfD on their recent win. “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night… THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!” posted the President on Truth Social. In contrast, the German political establishment was far more downbeat. “It is the most severe election defeat the CDU has suffered in years, indeed in decades,” said Chancellor Merz.

Image by Olaf Kosinsky.

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The political establishment of Germany is considering a ban on the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after a crushing defeat for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's establishment Christian Democratic Union party in a recent state election.

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1 hour ago
News
Politics
UK

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Receives Largest Donation in British Political History.

British crypto billionaire Ben Delo has donated over £30 million to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the single largest donation to a British political party ever.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has received the largest ever donation to a British political party.
📺 DETAIL: On Friday, it was reported that Ben Delo, a British cryptocurrency entrepreneur, donated £36 million (~$48.7 million) to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. The amount donated by Delo is worth £1 million ($1.3 million) per month to Reform UK until the next general election, which is scheduled for August 2029. “Labour and the Conservatives have occupied the commanding heights of British politics for a combined total of more than 300 years. Reform UK has been around for less than eight. One of the reasons why the old parties have lasted so long is that they have made it very expensive to challenge them,” wrote Delo in an op-ed in The Telegraph explaining the donation. The amount donated by Delo breaks the previous record of £10 million (~$13.5 million), which was left to Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch’s nominally Conservative Party as a bequest. Meanwhile, the ruling Labour Party receives millions every year from the country’s trade unions. “I am honoured and humbled that Ben Delo has shown such confidence in Reform. Ben knows that we are the only party that can turn the country around and reverse Britain’s rapid decline,” said Farage in response to the donation.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “I believe it is the duty of people with broad shoulders and deep pockets to step up and help Reform to win and govern, rather than allow the British people to be trapped in the political monoculture that is driving this country off a cliff. Labour and the Conservatives have built vast infrastructures using hundreds of millions of pounds. They have entrenched advantages that Reform cannot hope to match.” – Ben Delo.
🎯 IMPACT: This follows a cap imposed by the Labour-controlled government on party donations worth over £100,000 (~$135,000) from foreign-based Britons. The cap is widely viewed as an attempt by the British government to cut off Reform’s financial support, as Delo was based in Hong Kong until recently and Harborne is currently based in Thailand. The cap followed a collapse in donations to Labour and the Conservatives, Britain’s two main establishment parties. In early August, figures showed that the Labour Party secured £6.4m (~$8.6m) in donations over the course of 2025, while the Conservatives received £15.2m (~$20.5m) over the same period, an 84 percent drop and a 47 percent drop, respectively. As a result of this donation, Reform has raised five times as much as the Conservatives and roughly six times as much as Labour. Specifically, during the first half of 2026, Reform raised £14.9 million (~$20.1 million), whereas the Conservatives raised £10.2 million (~$13.7 million) and Labour raised £7.7 million (~$10.4 million).

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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British crypto billionaire Ben Delo has donated over £30 million to Nigel Farage's Reform UK in the single largest donation to a British political party ever.

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21 hours ago
News
Politics

WATCH: RFK Jr Accuses the Democrats of ‘Obliterating’ the Bill of Rights.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a scathing critique of the Democratic Party at the 2026 Texas Republican convention, accusing it of abandoning constitutional principles and embracing censorship.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sharply criticized his former party during a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, accusing the Democrats of abandoning the principles that once defined the party of his father and uncle. Kennedy said the Democrats had “obliterated the Bill of Rights,” particularly the First Amendment, during the COVID-19 pandemic under the former Biden regime.
📺 DETAIL: Kennedy accused the Democrats of suppressing speech they deemed misinformation, closing churches, shutting down businesses, requiring Americans to disclose medical information, and pressuring people to receive COVID-19 vaccines. He also criticized what he described as a focus on protecting the interests of pharmaceutical corporations, and said his own social media accounts were censored during the pandemic. He contrasted the current Democratic Party with the one associated with his father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., and uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, saying they had supported free speech, competitive markets, and meritocracy, and opposed both crony capitalism and socialism. He recalled launching his 2024 presidential campaign as an effort to bring Democrats back to their traditional values, but said he ultimately concluded that the party had lost faith in voters and American democracy.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “The Democratic Party became a party of elites, labeling working Americans as deplorable.” – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
🎯 IMPACT: Kennedy’s speech underscores how his break with the Democratic Party has become part of the Republican effort to define the 2026 midterms around the Democrats’ lurch to the left, with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) figures such as Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now among its most prominent elected officials. 

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a scathing critique of the Democratic Party at the 2026 Texas Republican convention, accusing it of abandoning constitutional principles and embracing censorship.

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September 10, 2026
News
Politics
UK

Trump-Hating Politician Planning Bid to Follow Sadiq Khan as London Mayor.

Anti-Trump former Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is allegedly planning to run for London Mayor if current Mayor Sadiq Khan stands down.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Anti-Trump Labour Member of Parliament (MP) David Lammy is reportedly floating a run for London Mayor.
📺 DETAIL: On Thursday, it was reported that David Lammy, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is considering a run for London Mayor. This follows reports earlier this month that Lammy could seek the Labour Party nomination if the incumbent, Sadiq Khan, stands down before the next mayoral election. Lammy allegedly hosted a SME4Labour (Small and Medium Enterprises for Labour) fundraising dinner on Wednesday night as a testing ground for a future mayoral bid. However, when pressed on the purpose of the event, Lammy claimed that the funds would go towards defending his Tottenham seat at the next general election. The former Deputy Prime Minister did not officially rule out running. “I am not sure he can even count on support from his local party in Tottenham for his future ambitions in London,” said a Labour Party source. Lammy is known for his extreme opposition to President Donald J. Trump. Lammy has characterized the U.S. President as a “neo-Nazi sympathizing sociopath” and a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathizer.” He has also referred to the MAGA movement as a “cult of white supremacists.”
🎯 IMPACT: If Lammy decides to run, this will be his second run for London Mayor, having first sought to become the Labour candidate for the 2016 mayoral election. Lammy ultimately lost the nomination to Khan and placed fourth. In the event that Khan does stand down and Lammy manages to get the Labour nomination, there is a good chance that he will be elected as the next Mayor of London in 2028. This could further drive a wedge between the British capital and the U.S. President, who has repeatedly criticized Khan’s leadership.
📺 FLASHBACK: Prime Minister Andy Burnham endorsed Khan for a historic fourth term as London Mayor earlier this month. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of Londoners want him to resign. Specifically, according to a recent poll by YouGov, 56 percent of Londoners believe that Khan should step down as Mayor, including 31 percent of Londoners who voted for him in 2024. “He’s a disaster. He’s got a totally different ideology to what he’s supposed to have,” said President Trump regarding the Mayor last year.

Image via House of Commons.

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Anti-Trump former Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is allegedly planning to run for London Mayor if current Mayor Sadiq Khan stands down.

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September 10, 2026
News
Politics
World

European Union Mulls Punishing German Region for Electing Populists.

The European Union is contemplating withholding funds from Saxony-Anhalt following Alternative for Germany’s win in its regional elections, alleging potential breaches of EU principles.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The European Union (EU) is considering freezing funds allocated to Saxony-Anhalt after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s election victory in the region.
📰 DETAIL: On Sunday, the AfD won its first state-wide victory ever in Saxony-Anhalt, as support for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s notionally center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) plummeted. The AfD won almost 44 percent of the vote but fell three seats short of a majority in the Landtag, equivalent to a U.S. state legislature. Saxony-Anhalt is set to receive €2.95 billion (~$3.4 billion) from the EU’s 2021-27 budget. However, Daniel Freund, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Greens, a left-wing European party, has pushed to withhold the funds from the region. Freund argued that funds should be withheld from the region if an AfD-controlled state government legislates in a way contrary to so-called EU values. The EU has previously withheld funds from Hungary and Poland under similar circumstances.
🎯 IMPACT: Freezing EU funds could significantly affect Saxony-Anhalt’s regional development, impacting public infrastructure and services. The AfD has dismissed the EU’s potential actions as undemocratic, characterizing the idea as punishing the voters of Saxony-Anhalt. If the EU opts to freeze funds to the region or attempts to override state government decisions through financial pressure, this could increase hostility towards the EU and bolster support for the AfD. It is also possible that the EU goes ahead with defunding the region in order to slight President Donald J. Trump, who congratulated the AfD on their win earlier this week. “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night… THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!” wrote President Donald J. Trump on Truth Social
💬 KEY QUOTE: “We laugh at our partisan opponents, who are now also seeking to disadvantage us undemocratically at EU level.” – Bernd Baumann, AfD parliamentary managing director.

Image CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2023– Source: EP.

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The European Union is contemplating withholding funds from Saxony-Anhalt following Alternative for Germany's win in its regional elections, alleging potential breaches of EU principles.

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September 9, 2026
Data
News
Politics

Radical Democrat Abdul El-Sayed Trailing GOP Candidate in Senate Poll.

A new poll has given Republican candidate Mike Rogers a slight lead over his far-left Democrat rival, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan’s closely contested United States Senate race, signaling a toss-up.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Republican Mike Rogers is leading far-left Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, according to a new poll.
📺 DETAIL: Conducted for Detroit News and WDIV-TV, the poll showed Rogers ahead on 45.8 percent of support, with El-Sayed closely behind on 44.4 percent. The same poll revealed that nine percent of voters are undecided. The poll surveyed 600 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus four points. Support for Rogers is primarily concentrated among conservatives and voters over 40, with strong support among independents, leading his Democrat rival by roughly 14 points. By contrast, support for El-Sayed is strongest among younger voters, college graduates, and black voters. However, despite Rogers having a slight lead overall, El-Sayed voters are most committed to turning out in November. Specifically, El-Sayed polled at 46.7 percent among voters most likely to turnout on polling day, while Rogers secured 44.4 percent among the same group. The poll noted a ten-point enthusiasm gap between committed Republicans and committed Democrats.
🎯 IMPACT: The strong showing among independents for Rogers appears to affirm suspicions that El-Sayed’s far-left positions could alienate swing voters. The data also suggests that the outcome will be heavily determined by voter enthusiasm.
📺 FLASHBACK: Back in August, it was reported that El-Sayed was open to considering reparations for black Americans. This echoed other polarizing social positions taken by El-Sayed, such as calling for the cancellation of Thanksgiving and July 4 celebrations. El-Sayed has also voiced support for abolishing the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms.

Image by Conlan Houston.

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A new poll has given Republican candidate Mike Rogers a slight lead over his far-left Democrat rival, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan's closely contested United States Senate race, signaling a toss-up.

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September 9, 2026
Bonkers Britain
News
Politics

British Police Arrest Over 62,000 People for Speech Crimes Across Five Years.

A new report has revealed that tens of thousands of Britons have been arrested for speech crimes over the past five years, raising concerns about free speech and the country’s censorship laws.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Over 62,000 people in the United Kingdom have been arrested for speech crimes over the past five years, according to a new report.
📺 DETAIL: According to a new report by Big Brother Watch, at least 62,199 people were arrested in the United Kingdom for speech crimes between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2025, averaging 34 arrests per day. The report was based on Freedom of Information Act request data from 38 of 45 territorial police forces. This suggests the actual number of arrests is much higher. If the missing data aligns with the national average, the actual number could be around 73,000, or one arrest for every 940 people in Britain. These arrests were made under Britain’s censorship laws, such as the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Communications Act 2003, and the Online Safety Act 2023. “Why are the authorities spending so much time policing our tweets when they could be policing our streets? Shoplifting, mobile phone theft and sexual offences are all on the rise, yet the police seem increasingly obsessed with catching thought criminals. The sheer number of people being arrested for online offences, even though only one in five end up being convicted, cannot help but have a chilling effect on free speech,” commented Lord Toby Young, founder and director of Free Speech Union. 
💬 KEY QUOTE: “People up and down the country daren’t say what they think about a whole range of issues for fear they’ll get a knock on their door at four in the morning by a couple of plainclothes officers wearing rainbow lanyards,” wrote Lord Young.
🎯 IMPACT: The findings suggest that Britain is heavily backsliding on freedom of speech. The report aligns with previous findings showing that Britons are worried about the state of free speech in their country. Specifically, back in August, a poll conducted by Deltapoll and commissioned by Liberty, another civil liberties organization, revealed that 51 percent of Britons believe that freedom of speech has worsened under the current Labour government. Significantly, Vice President JD Vance has previously spoken out against the erosion of free speech in Europe, warning that American troops will be reluctant to go to war to defend countries that do not uphold basic rights.

Image by Joshua Hayes.

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A new report has revealed that tens of thousands of Britons have been arrested for speech crimes over the past five years, raising concerns about free speech and the country's censorship laws.

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September 9, 2026
Data
News
Politics

DATA: Most Americans Do Not Trust the Election Certification Process.

A new poll has revealed growing skepticism among Americans toward federal government information, especially when it comes to the certification of election results.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Approximately six in ten Americans do not trust information from the federal government, according to a new poll.
📺 DETAIL: According to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts, trust in federal government information has declined significantly. The poll revealed that six in ten Americans have little or no trust in federal government information. Specifically, the poll showed that only 29 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Democrats expressed a significant degree of trust in election result certifications. Only 34 percent of Americans overall trusted the process of certifying elections “a great deal” or “quite a bit.” This represents a decline from the 40 percent recorded in 2024. The poll surveyed 1,036 U.S. adults between July 29 and August 10, with a margin of error of ±4.1 percentage points.
🎯 IMPACT: The erosion of trust in federal government information could have significant consequences for public policy, especially during crises. The survey reflects similar findings published earlier this month. According to a recent Gallup poll, 89 percent of Americans believe that corruption is widespread in the federal government. The poll found that belief in widespread government corruption in the U.S. currently stands at a 30-year high. “Democrats’ perceptions appear closely linked to which party controls the administration. Republicans’ greater consistency on this measure—despite the 2024 election delivering them the White House and Congress—suggests a more underlying view of government corruption that depends less on the party in power,” Gallup noted. The findings offer justification for the Trump administration’s push for new election integrity measures, such as the SAVE America Act, to improve oversight and prevent voter fraud and boost public confidence.

Image by Ted Eytan.

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A new poll has revealed growing skepticism among Americans toward federal government information, especially when it comes to the certification of election results.

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September 9, 2026
News
Politics
World

Trump Escalates War on Narco-Fleets.

The United States military has intensified its campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America by striking a number of large refueling vessels used by smugglers off the Ecuadorian coast.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. military has sunk six large fishing vessels accused of refueling drug-smuggling boats off the coast of Ecuador.
📰 DETAIL: United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported that the vessels were acting as refueling stations for smaller boats transporting drugs for the cartels. The large vessels have been linked to the refueling operations of the Los Choneros gang, a crime syndicate based in Ecuador, designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The strikes came on Tuesday night as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on Latin American drug-smuggling networks. The strikes came ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip to Ecuador on Wednesday. The trip is expected to focus on facilitating military cooperation in South America to tackle drug-trafficking groups. U.S. officials have argued that targeting the larger refueling vessels is a more effective way of destroying the drug-trafficking networks, rather than focusing on the smaller boats importing drugs. “These interdictions cut off critical nodes in the narcotics logistics network,” read a statement from U.S. Southern Command. “Total systemic friction: The [Department of War], [SOUTHCOM], and the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition remain unwavering in their mission to defeat narco-terrorists in the Western Hemisphere and defend our homeland,” SOUTHCOM announced on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in September. “The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narcoterrorism,” the Department of War added.
🎯 IMPACT: These recent strikes represent the culmination of two weeks of U.S. operations in the region. This comes approximately a month after Abelardo de la Espriella, the new President of Colombia, requested cooperation with the U.S. in conducting military operations against drug traffickers in Latin America. “Through the newly inaugurated… President El Tigre, Colombia has already requested that the Department of War join Colombia in its fight against narco-terrorism,” said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the time. This represents an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on Latin American drug-trafficking, expanding its focus from drug boats to the wider infrastructure of the illegal drug trade.

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The United States military has intensified its campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America by striking a number of large refueling vessels used by smugglers off the Ecuadorian coast.

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September 9, 2026
News
Politics
World

Trump Celebrates Populist Surge in German Election.

Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surged to a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt’s regional elections, drawing praise from President Donald J. Trump.

PULSE POINTS
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump praised Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) after the populist-right party won a major victory in Sunday’s state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, attributing its surge to its stance on immigration.
📺 DETAIL: The AfD won 43.8 percent of the vote and 39 of the 83 seats in the state parliament, more than doubling its 2021 vote share and finishing well ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which received just 17.2 percent and 15 seats. The result was the AfD’s strongest showing in a German state election and left it only three seats short of an outright majority. AfD officials have pointed to public dissatisfaction with the political status quo, particularly over immigration, but the CDU and other establishment parties have maintained that they will not form a coalition with the AfD. The AfD’s regional branch has been classified as extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, a controversial designation the establishment parties have cited in maintaining a political “firewall” against the AfD.
💬 KEY QUOTE: “Wow! The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night… THEY ARE ON THE RISE, and not going to take it anymore! MGGA!!!” – President Donald J. Trump, writing on Truth Social
🎯 IMPACT:  The AfD’s 43.8 percent showing strengthens its position as a major force in German politics and increases pressure on Chancellor Merz and the CDU to respond to voter concerns over immigration, poor economic conditions, and dissatisfaction with the political establishment. Trump’s public praise also adds an international dimension to the result, potentially straining relations with Germany’s government but also highlighting the growing political influence of populist-right parties across Europe.

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Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surged to a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt's regional elections, drawing praise from President Donald J. Trump.

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