Sunday, November 09, 2025 |
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Good morning,
Welcome to MSNBC's Sunday Spotlight, where you can find a selection of the week's most interesting and important stories. One of the most powerful vice presidents in history died an outcast from his own political party. Meanwhile, Democrats' across-the-board wins on Tuesday showed voter disenchantment with Republicans, the Supreme Court considered limiting one of President Donald Trump's favorite powers, and the White House's tacky decorations highlighted a depressing truth. Plus, a conservative influencer tried to call in a favor from the president on social media.
Don't forget to check out more top columns and videos from the week below. |
Dick Cheney, RIP: Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who died on Monday at age 84, had a complicated relationship with the Republican Party in the last decade of his life. A onetime power player who served in the administrations of three GOP presidents, he was not a moderate in any sense of the word, writes GOP strategist Susan Del Percio. But with Trump, he had his differences, which blew up after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, as one of his daughters, then-Rep. Liz Cheney, was thrust into the spotlight as one of the few prominent Republicans willing to condemn it. This week, Republican leaders issued only tepid statements to remember him. Read more.
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Blue Tuesday: The most important takeaway from Tuesday's elections was that Democrats won everywhere and improved on their 2024 performance by striking margins. They didn't just win marquee races in Virginia, New Jersey and New York — they also won downballot races in Mississippi and Georgia, writes Paul Waldman. These kinds of wins by notably different campaigns can only be attributed to widespread opposition to the party in charge of the country, and Republican attempts to downplay them will only hurt them in the future. Read more.
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Tariffs question: The Supreme Court heard a challenge to the president's broad tariffs, and it did not go well for the Trump administration. The Constitution clearly gives Congress the power to set tariffs, the law cited by the administration's attorney does not explicitly give the president tariff authority, and the high court's own past rulings indicate that this is an area where the president's inherent powers are at their lowest ebb, writes Albany Law School professor Ray Brescia. But despite facing tough questions from conservatives and liberals on the court, the Trump administration could still prevail, which could confirm the worst fears of those who believe the high court plays by different rules for Republican presidents. Read more.
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Fool's gold: Trump is redecorating the White House — again. After demolishing the East Wing and covering the Oval Office in gold leaf, he's added the words "The Oval Office" in golden ink and a flowing font on the wall outside, writes Hayes Brown. The president has long had a questionable sense of style, and lately he seems determined to add his own visual stamp on the White House. But his focus on 24-karat luxury and a $300 million golden ballroom is increasingly disconnected from policies that are raising prices for families and leaving millions of Americans without food stamps. Read more.
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'Dilbert' favor: Scott Adams, the "Dilbert" cartoonist who became a conservative influencer, posted on social media that he was having trouble getting his next doctor's appointment for cancer treatment. Donald Trump Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the president himself then asked how they could help, writes Jarvis DeBerry. At the same time, Trump has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer-related grants. But the fight against cancer can't be won by doling out favors to the president's allies — it demands a systematic approach to studying its causes and treatments. Read more.
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Since Trump won a second term, the Democratic Party has faced pressure from pundits and strategists who argue it should give up the fight for trans rights in order to win. The results of Tuesday's elections were a resounding repudiation of that view, writes Katelyn Burns, the first openly transgender reporter to cover Capitol Hill. In Virginia, more than half of Republican ads fearmongered over trans acceptance in schools, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger said those questions should be left to parents, not the government, and won big. In many other races, Republican candidates who tried to distract from kitchen table issues by talking about the so-called trans threat lost. Democrats now have multiple successful playbooks to borrow when facing similar attacks in the future. Read the column here.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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