Kimberly Guilfoyle is threatening to bring the Trump family down with her following her shock ouster this week, insiders say.
The White House said Tuesday that Guilfoyle, 57, had been asked to resign as ambassador to Greece after claims that she threatened foreign officials, gave lobbyists privileged access, and tried to solicit payments for political favors.
But the former attorney and Fox News personality, who was previously engaged to the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., 48, has no plans to go quietly into the night. Advertisement
Administration insiders claim Guilfoyle has been keeping a secret "burn book" on the first family and that she's now threatening to tell all when she returns to the U.S., the Daily Mail reports.
Those sources have apparently nicknamed her diary "The Devil Wears MAGA."
"Having her back in America would be a nightmare," one person familiar with the behind-the-scenes furor said.
"Kimberly knows where the bodies are buried. She knows the people, the secrets, the fights, the relationships," they went on. "Nobody wants an angry Kimberly back with nothing to lose."
Another insider told the Mail that "Kimberly knows everything" because she was "way inside that family and political operation for years."
Insiders reportedly begged Trump not to fire Guilfoyle. / Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images Republicans are more generally having a hard time blaming anyone other than Trump for voters' woes. / Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images A third added: "Keeping Kimberly happy keeps Kimberly quiet."
It is not clear at this stage what Guilfoyle's alleged diary may contain.
Ad But its contents are apparently explosive enough that allies of the president set out on a desperate last-minute dash to save her job before she was effectively fired on Tuesday.
Her ouster comes after reports that Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were "extremely p—d off" by the snowballing claims of misconduct leveled against Guilfoyle over the past several weeks.
Before she took office, Guilfoyle allegedly asked a MAGA donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card bill in exchange for connecting him with officials who could help with his tax and legal troubles once she was confirmed, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.
Those accusations came after the newspaper's earlier revelations that she told Greek officials during a formal dinner earlier this year that the U.S. could destabilize "any country we want."
She allegedly also used diplomatic engagements to lobby for a private Greek company and gave one of that firm's lobbyists privileged access to senior officials and foreign leaders.
The inspector general at the State Department, where Guilfoyle worked before her departure on Tuesday, has since opened an investigation into those and other allegations, including what's said to have been a hard-partying lifestyle during her diplomatic deployment.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the State Department for comment on this story.
The Browns announced RB Dylan Sampson has been designated for return and is eligible to return to practice. Sampson was originally placed on injured reserve on Sept. 15 after he sustained a knee injury in the season opener against the Jaguars on Sept. 13.
Sampson, a fourth-round pick in 2025, has appeared in 16 career games. He has recorded 175 career rushing yards on 65 attempts, while adding 33 receptions for 271 yards with two touchdowns.
Ukrainian officials and military units on Wednesday accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of throttling a technology at the heart of their battlefield communications and drone operations.
Ukraine has accused Elon Musk’s SpaceX of undermining its ability to defend itself by limiting Starlink internet services, as the country reeled from intense Russian ballistic missile attacks that it said came without the usual advance warning from allies.
Facing pressure from President Donald Trump to halt strikes on Russia’s energy industry, Kyiv and its backers have worried Washington could cut off battlefield support to try and force it into concessions at the negotiating table.
Ukrainian officials and their European partners were already scrambling to understand the status of U.S. intelligence sharing after the lack of alert ahead of two Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv this week, two Ukrainian and two European officials told NBC News.
Trump insisted the U.S. was still sharing intel, but with relations spiraling Ukrainian officials and military units were on Wednesday accusing SpaceX of throttling a technology essential to their battlefield communications and drone operations.
It was not immediately clear what might be behind the Starlink interruptions, though some Ukrainian officials said the timing could not be a coincidence given that Musk is a close Trump ally.
The Ukrainian government has yet to receive a response from SpaceX, a Ukrainian official told NBC News, and Ukrainian units are already reporting issues with performance even at lower UAV speeds.
Asked about the importance of the technology, Ukraine’s Charge d’Affaires to the U.S. Denys Sienik said Starshield is live saving. “The technology helps us save the lives of civilians and prevent more destructions in Ukraine caused by Russian side.”
Drone disruptions
SpaceX had introduced speed limits on the operation of its Starlink satellite internet terminals overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defense tech adviser, Serhii Beskrestnov.
“Our defence forces received no warning of such a restriction, and this led to the failure of a number of missions,” Beskrestnov said on Telegram. “It is obvious that this action cannot be a coincidence and is connected to the current political situation,” he added.
An army unit fighting in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said Wednesday it had been forced to cancel some planned operations.
The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Ukrainian air assault forces said it began “noticing Starlink connectivity problems caused by data transfer speed limits” overnight, adding that the changes directly affected drones that use the service for in-flight control.
“The drones kept flying, but the interruptions made them harder to control,” it said in a statement.
Beskrestnov said that restrictions were specifically put on the operation of the military-grade version of Starlink at speeds above 100 mph.
Starlink was also key for Ukraine’s aerial defenses as it was used to intercept the jet-powered drones that Moscow has unleashed on Ukrainian cities in recent months, he added. Asked about the importance of the technology, Ukraine’s Charge d’Affaires to the U.S. Denys Sienik said “the technology helps us save the lives of civilians and prevent more destruction in Ukraine caused by the Russian side.”
Ukraine has reached out to the U.S. government and SpaceX for clarification on the rationale for the new restrictions but has yet to receive a response, according to a Ukrainian official.
Ukraine’s armed forces learned about the limitations from customer support after filing a complaint regarding operational issues, the official said, adding that SpaceX had not warned of the move.
Ukrainian military units were already reporting issues with drone performance at even lower speeds, the official added.
The White House, SpaceX and Starlink did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.
The disruption follows days of mounting tensions between Kyiv and Washington, as Trump pushes to lower gas prices ahead of the midterm elections. Trump’s latest reversal in his bid to settle the war saw him stun Kyiv by striking a diesel deal with Russia that upended years of U.S. sanctions.
He then demanded that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil refineries and called for Zelenskyy to be replaced. Trump also announced an “energy ceasefire” that neither warring side appears to have agreed to.
Kyiv said it had refrained from striking Russian energy targets to respect Trump’s wishes, but the Kremlin has continued to hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in its annual effort to leave its neighbor in the freezing dark as winter sets in.
Intel uncertainty
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine had not received any early warning from its partners about “a particularly vile ballistic missile strike on Kyiv” a day earlier. Explosions rang out before an alert was issued, according to an NBC News producer in the capital.
“Intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches helps save lives, and this is one of the most critical issues,” Zelenskyy said, without singling out the U.S.
Later Tuesday, he reported another strike on Kyiv was “the second time Ukraine was not warned.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago, the U.S. has provided significant satellite and eavesdropping intelligence to Kyiv. European partners also share intelligence with Kyiv, but Ukrainian officials see the U.S. intelligence assistance as crucial to their fight against Russia.
Trump denied withholding information critical to Ukraine’s defense, despite reported threats to cut off U.S. intelligence if Kyiv failed to stop its attacks on Russian refineries.
“We are helping them and we are sharing intel,” the president told reporters Tuesday.
After the first Russian attack Monday, when five ballistic missiles were able to strike civilian infrastructure without advance notice from the U.S., two Ukrainian officials told NBC News it was the result of a technical issue, or glitch, in U.S. intelligence sharing.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also reassured the audience that U.S. intelligence sharing continued, blaming the delayed alert on a “special type of the weaponry” used by Russia.
But after the second attack Tuesday, Ukrainian and European officials said the reason was less clear.
“We didn’t receive warning for a second time, and this doesn’t look like a coincidence,” one of the Ukrainian officials said.
The second Ukrainian official attributed the issue to bad weather. Two European officials told NBC News they were still trying to understand why there was no advance notice.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Col. Yurii Ihnat said Wednesday that after the second ballistic strike on Kyiv without a warning, “in the next three waves of attacks, notifications from partners about the use of ballistic weapons did come through.”
Later, Zelenskyy admitted that he felt betrayed by what was happening with the U.S.
But the situation went beyond his personal emotions, Zelenskyy said during an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
“It’s a little bit more complicated than just my emotions or my feelings,” he said. “I mean, our country has to survive.”
“It’s a pity that we are losing strong partner,” he added, referring to the U.S.
The Kremlin noted the confusion Wednesday, but said it was “too early to draw any systemic conclusions.”
Zelenskyy said that at least 600,000 people across Ukraine were without power Wednesday after the latest wave of Russian attacks, adding that President Vladimir Putin was in clear violation of the energy truce announced by Trump. “Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States,” he added.
Like Trump, Musk has repeatedly oscillated in his stance on the war.
The billionaire turned on the Starlink satellite internet service over Ukraine shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
It has become a lifeline for war-torn parts of the country, but has also facilitated battlefield communications and enabled the use of longer-range drones, given its resistance to signal jamming.
Musk agreed to turn off thousands of Russian-used Starlinks in Ukraine this year, causing problems for the Kremlin’s forces. But in recent days, Musk has echoed Trump’s criticism.
So trump does a complete 180 on Russia oil sales which hampered their ability to help fund the war with Ukraine and now this. Are they trying to Make Russia Great Again? This would tend to cause some to question which side of this war they are on. Or is it just becoming more clear by the day?
Ramaswamy campaign puts convicted child sex offender in TV ad, removes him after reporters expose past
His sexual predator registry photo appears to show the same patriotic shirt Ramaswamy complimented at a county fair before the ad was produced.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign featured a convicted child sex offender in a television advertisement, despite public court records documenting his guilty pleas for sexually abusing his niece, who was younger than 13, and an eight-year prison sentence. The campaign removed the man from the commercial after a news organization confronted it with his criminal history.
Vernon Edwards, an Amherst resident classified by Ohio authorities as a sexual predator, appeared repeatedly alongside his wife in Ramaswamy’s advertisement about rising property taxes. His criminal record was not difficult to find: A nearly 20-year-old Ohio appellate court ruling documents his conviction, while the state’s public sex offender registry lists his offenses, photograph and identifying information. According to The Bulwark, which exposed Edwards’ appearance Wednesday, his registry photograph even shows him apparently wearing the same patriotic shirt Ramaswamy personally complimented when they met at a county fair.
Rather than discovering the conviction before producing and distributing the commercial, Ramaswamy’s campaign acknowledged it had been unaware of Edwards’ history after The Bulwark asked about it. Campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said the man had been removed from the advertisement. The campaign also deleted an earlier social media video showing Ramaswamy interacting with Edwards, according to the publication.
Eight-year sentence for sexually abusing a child
Edwards’ criminal history is documented in a November 15, 2007, decision from Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals, which upheld his eight-year prison sentence.
According to the ruling, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Edwards on four counts of gross sexual imposition involving his niece, who was younger than 13. Edwards pleaded guilty to two counts under an agreement that dismissed the remaining charges and required him to stipulate to classification as a sexual predator. A judge imposed two consecutive four-year prison terms, totaling eight years.
The proceedings also revealed allegations involving additional children in Edwards’ family. The appellate court recounted that evidence presented at sentencing indicated Edwards had molested several other nieces. Those incidents were never separately prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.
Edwards appealed his sentence, arguing that the trial judge improperly considered conduct for which he had not been charged. The appellate court rejected that argument, finding that the additional conduct was not the sole basis for his punishment. The court noted that the sentencing judge considered the lasting harm inflicted on the victim, the impact on both families and Edwards’ risk of committing another offense.
The appellate judges upheld the sentence. Edwards’ conviction remains documented in the court’s published opinion, and the Ohio Attorney General’s offender registry continues to identify him under the state’s former sexual predator classification, which carries lifetime registration requirements.
None of those records were confidential. The criminal case, the eight-year sentence and Edwards’ sex-offender registration were publicly documented long before Ramaswamy’s campaign selected footage of him for its television advertising.
Ramaswamy complimented the same shirt visible in sex-offender registry
The encounter that eventually put Edwards in a gubernatorial campaign commercial began at the Lorain County Fair in Wellington, which ran August 23 through 30, according to the fair’s official schedule.
Footage subsequently published by Ramaswamy’s campaign showed Edwards greeting the candidate and shaking his hand. Ramaswamy complimented Edwards’ patriotic shirt. Later, Edwards’ wife, Patricia “Patty” Edwards, approached Ramaswamy and became emotional while describing her struggle with rising property taxes and her fear that the family could lose its farm.
According to The Bulwark, the patriotic shirt Ramaswamy admired appears to be the same one Edwards wore in the photograph displayed on Ohio’s sex offender registry. The registry also listed identifying information matching the Amherst address associated with the family.
The interaction became the foundation of a professionally produced campaign advertisement. Ramaswamy’s team contacted Patty Edwards about recording the commercial, which featured her speaking directly to the camera and sitting at a kitchen table while discussing the financial pressures facing her family.
Although Patty Edwards was the principal spokesperson, the campaign incorporated several shots of her husband into the television spot. The original advertisement was publicly circulated before the campaign acknowledged Edwards’ conviction and announced his removal.
The distinction between the two appearances is central to the episode. Ramaswamy’s initial handshake with Edwards was an encounter with a member of the public at a county fair. The subsequent television advertisement was a campaign production, assembled from selected footage and distributed to promote Ramaswamy’s candidacy for governor. At that stage, his campaign had the opportunity to check the identities and backgrounds of the people it chose to feature.
Campaign claims ignorance, then removes Edwards
When The Bulwark confronted Ramaswamy’s campaign with Edwards’ criminal history, spokesperson Evan Machan said the campaign did not know about the conviction and was changing the commercial.
“We had no knowledge of the circumstances now being reported,” Machan told the publication. He added: “The man has been removed from the ad.”
Machan defended the advertisement’s central message, arguing that high property taxes were forcing Ohio families to consider leaving their homes and that Ramaswamy would address the issue.
The campaign’s explanation did not account for how Edwards passed through the production process without his publicly documented criminal history being identified. His conviction was available through Ohio’s court system, his sexual predator classification was listed in a searchable state registry, and his photograph provided another means of identifying him.
After supplying its statement to The Bulwark, the campaign also removed the earlier social media video of Ramaswamy’s interaction with Edwards. The publication reported that at least one Republican state representative who had shared the footage also deleted the post. The removals followed the news organization’s inquiry, although the reporting did not establish whether those accounts independently decided to delete the footage.
Wife disputes allegations despite guilty pleas and upheld sentence
Patty Edwards, whose concerns about property taxes were the focus of the commercial, defended her participation in an interview with The Bulwark. She said Ramaswamy’s campaign had approached her about telling her story, not her husband, and emphasized that she was not accused of any wrongdoing.
She also disputed the accusations underlying her husband’s criminal case, alleging that prosecutors had withheld evidence favorable to his defense. She argued that he had served his punishment and had since been an exemplary citizen.
Her account does not change the disposition of the criminal proceedings. Vernon Edwards pleaded guilty to two felony sexual offenses involving a child younger than 13, received an eight-year prison sentence and unsuccessfully challenged that sentence before an Ohio appellate court. The separate allegations concerning other nieces were considered during sentencing but did not result in additional convictions.
Nothing in the reporting indicates that Patty Edwards committed a crime or was involved in her husband’s offenses. The campaign’s vetting failure concerns its decision to place Vernon Edwards in the advertisement without identifying a criminal history that had been publicly documented for nearly two decades.
Ramaswamy’s campaign has said it removed Edwards from the commercial, but its response did not disclose how widely the original advertisement aired or what background checks, if any, had been performed before its release.
The footage was not merely an unplanned encounter captured on the campaign trail. Ramaswamy’s team selected it for a television advertisement intended to influence Ohio voters, distributed that advertisement and only announced Edwards’ removal after journalists brought his conviction to its attention. By then, the public records establishing his crimes had been available for almost 20 years.
While this mistake seems to clearly be accidental and not purposeful to me, it does make an interesting point. Wrapping yourself up in the flag or proclaiming you are patriotic, or even Christian for that matter, doesn't mean you're actually a Christian, a Patriot or even so much as a decent human being.
The way a package is wrapped tells you nothing about what's inside.
It seems as if in this case Ramaswamy and his team were fooled solely based on the packaging. Don't be a Ramaswamy......
Victor Marx, the Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado in the 2026 election, has drawn national attention and divided his own party over a series of dramatic, uncorroborated, and controversial personal claims:
• Childhood Killing Claim: Marx has repeatedly stated that he was forced by an abusive stepfather to shoot and kill a man at age seven.
• Voodoo Ritual and Early Trauma: He claimed to have survived a voodoo ritual involving a beheaded cat at age three and an abusive Mississippi childhood where he once put a pistol in his own mouth.
• Combat and Airstrike Exploits: He claims to have coordinated a U.S. military airstrike as a civilian that killed 70 ISIS fighters, completed 150 high-risk international missions, and refused to state how many people he has killed as an adult.
• Phone Exorcisms: He asserts that he performs prayer exorcisms—including over the phone—and claims to have cast a demon out of a teenage girl.
• Global Rescues: He maintains that he has rescued tens of thousands of women and children from human traffickers and conflict zones, though critics and journalists have challenged the scale and verifiability of these assertions.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has hired an agent, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Sanders has signed with Adie von Gontard, CEO of Young Money APAA Sports, to represent him. Sanders previously did not have an agent, going through the NFL Draft and the first part of his career self-represented.
Sanders’ former Colorado teammate, Jacksonville’s Travis Hunter, also signed with the same agency.
This change for Sanders calls to mind now-Texans receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who also had been self-represented until recently. Harrison hiring an agent helped facilitate a trade from Arizona to Houston.
While the Browns have not shown an interest in moving Sanders — with recent reports noting the team would like to keep and continue developing him — Sanders hiring an agent now could streamline the process for any potential transaction down the line.
The Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court ruling on January 21, 2010, decided that government restrictions on independent political expenditures by corporations and labor unions violate the First Amendment.
What the Decision Changed
• Unlimited Independent Expenditures: Corporations and labor unions can spend unlimited amounts of general treasury funds on ads, media, and other efforts to advocate for or against political candidates.
• Rise of Super PACs: The ruling helped establish Super PACs and empowered outside spending groups, leading to a massive increase in political campaign costs.
• Dark Money: It accelerated the growth of "dark money" (secret political spending where original donor identities are hidden through non-profit and shell structures).
Trump debates calling off livestream of firing squad execution after learning Fort Hood shooter was paralyzed
President Donald Trump and his advisers are debating whether to call off plans to livestream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, with Trump having remarked privately that he did not initially know that Nidal Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
The president was not aware that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was announcing last week that the administration planned to let the public watch the execution, the sources said, and was not sure what to make of it at first. Trump was, however, firmly behind the decision to execute Hasan via firing squad, multiple officials told CNN, and he’s often defended it in public.
And even after Hegseth posted on X on Thursday confirming that the Pentagon planned to livestream the execution, Trump polled several of his advisers and allies about how to proceed.
It was during the those conversations that Trump learned Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down — he was shot in the back by law enforcement during the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood — and that he now uses a wheelchair, the sources said, which made showing the execution publicly less palatable to the president.
One of the sources familiar with the discussions pointed to Trump’s deep understanding of imagery as a key reason why he may decide to ditch plans for the livestream. The president has also listened to the argument that a public execution by firing squad could serve as propaganda for foreign adversaries and terrorists to try to paint Hasan as a martyr, a Trump adviser told CNN.
The White House on Tuesday referred CNN to the president’s comments on Saturday in which he acknowledged “two thoughts” about what to do and said he’d make the ultimate decision.
“He was vicious. He was violent,” Trump told reporters about Hasan over the weekend. “There are two thoughts: Don’t show it and show it. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So, I’ll make a decision ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”
The Pentagon is also reevaluating plans to fully livestream the execution, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Even if there is a broadcast of the event, the source said, it will likely be cut before shots are fired, in part, due to concerns that the moment could offer a propaganda opportunity for terrorist groups.
Hegseth’s office has not responded to additional requests for comment about whether plans to livestream the execution have changed.
The plan to livestream the execution has faced bipartisan backlash, and people across the Pentagon and the Army were caught off guard, CNN has previously reported.
Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not involved but said, “I understand the decision,” adding that some people “want to set an example” by livestreaming the execution.
Hegseth had initially recommended death by firing squad for Hasan — who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others — and Trump approved it.
The execution, which is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, would be the US Army’s first such execution of a soldier since World War II and its first imposition of any death penalty on an armed service member in 65 years.
A US-born citizen of Palestinian descent, Hasan said he was targeting soldiers he was set to deploy with to Afghanistan and wanted to protect the Taliban and its leaders from the US military.
Bro, I think the data shows we're seeing more because they are paying for a lot more of them. I mean, we are absolutely flooded to comical levels. Mailers, too. I never remember my mailbox being so insanely flooded like it is right now. Yesterday, when I opened it up, I had three of the same flyer.
It's absurd, and I think the spending contributions, especially after Citizens United is waaaaaay outpacing inflation, although I wouldn't even know what index "political contributions" would fall under. That being said, it's so far above the mean inflationary average and we're all suffering as a result.
I think this was a segue from how much Musk has contributed toward campaign funding. I do think he has blown the doors off in terms of how clandestine it used to be. His dog and pony show BS last year demonstrated how harmful it can be. I was on the frontlines for that...still dealing with the fallout as well. And all for what? They saved nothing. They're in depositions admitting to saving nothing. Our deficits and debt are still careening off a cliff. Russ Vought said the admin has no plans to issue a closing or after-action report discussing their findings or assertions. I think it was the GAO that also came out with a report talking about the inaccuracy of assertions already made. I mean, we have to admit the whole thing was silly from the get-go. Cutting $2T from the federal budget means that you have to either cut all non-defense discretionary funding, or that you have to cut social security medicare which is mandatory - and requires an act of Congress.
He's billions of dollars richer, though, and the Spacex investigation never went through.
I'm just tired of all the grifting. That's not just a Musk thing either. I'm tired of any politician coming in and saying platitudes and rah-rah'ing up a bunch of nonsense while only delivering to special interests or self-dealing, and I'm sure as hell tired of the dark money and puppet string-pulling elites having an outsized share in controlling our government.
I’m not making excuses for Judkins but it’s possible he may not be 100% back from his injury or it could be the new O system. Either way he does have talent and he did look good before the injury last season
I think Peen responded to me in the other thread so I’ll put my reply here:
has the number of political ads per network increased over time
Yes, the total volume and financial expenditure of political advertising have increased significantly over time, driven by record-breaking election budgets and expanding media channels, though the distribution across traditional broadcast networks versus digital and streaming platforms has shifted.
Key Trends Over Time
• Rising Total Spending Records: U.S. political ad spending has broken records across recent election cycles—climbing from roughly $8.9 billion in the 2022 midterms to over $11.2 billion in the 2024 presidential cycle, and projected to reach around $11.6 billion for the 2026 midterms according to AdImpact via Axios and video data. • Shift Toward Digital and Streaming: While traditional broadcast and cable television still capture a large share of spending, Connected TV (CTV) and digital/social media platforms (such as Meta and Google/YouTube) have grown exponentially. For instance, CTV political ad spending surged into the billions as campaigns target streaming audiences. • Network-Specific Fluctuations: Traditional cable and broadcast networks see massive influxes of spot-buying concentrated heavily in the final 30 days before major elections, though individual traditional news networks can experience cyclical dips or shifts depending on how heavily specific candidates lean into digital, podcast, or super PAC-funded outreach rather than direct network airtime.
That gets back to what i was saying in the other thread. We see more because we watch more, though I don't know it would be all that much given the time frame. Not much has changed in so far as watching habits over that period.
Two factors I can point to. First, simply inflation has increased the cost of ad spots. If higher costs hit at home, they hit the ad budgets as well.
More importantly, as the two parties dig into polar positions, the stakes increase, thus more ads are put out. This country is as divided as it has ever been and seemingly reaching a tipping point. Maybe it is past the tipping point. In my opinion we are far from being United States.
On a lighter note, I don't see how a thread talking about right wing nuts is the appropriate forum for this discussion, but given the options, I suppose it works.
I tend to agree. A little brutal to judge Bond based on that game. The body of work on Judkins being 'off' - or just not as good as we hoped before his injury is growing, we've seen multiple weeks of so-so running from him. Bond - one game in the wet isn't a good barometer of his ability.
He had one pass thrown at him at about 100 MPH in a pouring rain, and another thrown behind him on a crossing route. I suppose they were both catchable ....... but both were made far harder on the WR than they needed to be.
I think Peen responded to me in the other thread so I’ll put my reply here:
has the number of political ads per network increased over time
Yes, the total volume and financial expenditure of political advertising have increased significantly over time, driven by record-breaking election budgets and expanding media channels, though the distribution across traditional broadcast networks versus digital and streaming platforms has shifted.
Key Trends Over Time
• Rising Total Spending Records: U.S. political ad spending has broken records across recent election cycles—climbing from roughly $8.9 billion in the 2022 midterms to over $11.2 billion in the 2024 presidential cycle, and projected to reach around $11.6 billion for the 2026 midterms according to AdImpact via Axios and video data. • Shift Toward Digital and Streaming: While traditional broadcast and cable television still capture a large share of spending, Connected TV (CTV) and digital/social media platforms (such as Meta and Google/YouTube) have grown exponentially. For instance, CTV political ad spending surged into the billions as campaigns target streaming audiences. • Network-Specific Fluctuations: Traditional cable and broadcast networks see massive influxes of spot-buying concentrated heavily in the final 30 days before major elections, though individual traditional news networks can experience cyclical dips or shifts depending on how heavily specific candidates lean into digital, podcast, or super PAC-funded outreach rather than direct network airtime.
It’s all so nauseating. Musk is obviously at the top of my chit list but good lord all the special interest and PAC money poured into politics…this is not the form of government we were supposed to have. I don’t care if it’s Musk, Soros, Koch or Santa Claus. It’s awful.
They have supercharged their funding levels as well. Every time I watch a Browns game, my kids and I have to tolerate commercials about how one candidate wants us all to be transgender beastiality vegans and another about how that candidate wants to turn my basement into a data center.
When I talk about how exhausted I am, this is a big reason why.
More media sources means more money needed to put out the message. I don't know that politics is any more muck raking than it ever was. It's just that in the "old" days you had newspapers and 3 TV networks. That is all the public had, so the ads were concentrated there. Candidates didn't have to spread the message over dozens of channels. Since the ads were concentrated over 3 networks, they didn't have to buy as many spots because everybody was going to see them enough to meet saturation goals
People don't sit down and watch CBS all night long. They flip channels dozens of time per hour or two. Especially since people don't get up or order a kid to go change the channel. The number of Ads per station is probably about the same. It's just that we are watching many more stations a day, thus we are seeing the ads many more times a day.
