Matt McGrath

📍Mountainview Baptist Church, Greenville, SC Thank you to Pastor Stacey Mills and two dozen faith leaders from across the Greenville-Spartanburg area for welcoming me into an important conversation about the future of their communities. The work Pastor Mills and First Lady Jacqueline Mills are doing to revitalize the Newtown community is inspiring. I came to listen, and I left with a lot to think about. My faith has guided me throughout my life, and it teaches that we're called to show up for one another. That's exactly what I saw in that room today. When we have honest conversations about the problems we face and work on them together, we can start restoring our shared faith in America.

The cost of doing business with the Trump Admin 2.0 really adds up… $70,000: the cost of the fireworks at Don Jr.’s wedding, courtesy of a Russian oligarch. $100,000: the amount that Kimberly Guilfoyle asked a man seeking federal favors to wire to her AmEx. $35,000 a month: the payments that Republika Srpska makes to the lobbying firm where the White House chief of staff’s daughter is a partner. $4,000,000+: the total that Republika Srpska has paid Trump allies, including the two men running his $415 million super PAC. At this point, the Kremlin should really consider asking the Trump Admin if they have a loyalty program. nytimes.com/2026/10/06/us/po…

Because of Louisiana, we actually know what to do.

Trump has made more stock trades than every member of Congress combined. Not more than any one of them. More than all of them put together. And he's pushing a stock trading ban for Congress that exempts himself. His sons cash Pentagon checks and run scuzzy crypto ventures. His Middle East peace envoy's sons work the Gulf royals. Everyone in this White House is cashing in, and you're the one footing the bill. Ban stock trading for Congress? Great. Now extend it to the President, the Cabinet, the courts, all of it. Washington needs a power washing. Trump pumps his portfolio while your paycheck gets pinched. bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-…

Listen to Kiara. Now, it’s time for America to act to fix our broken education system.

What’s wrong with this picture? After a major tech firm says in their IPO that their technology might eradicate civilization, Trump treats them to a celebratory lunch in the White House and then lip syncs big tech’s pleas for zero regulatory oversight. How about an emergency meeting in the Situation Room instead?! (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington needs a good power washing top to bottom. Five things I would do today to end corruption in Washington across all three branches of government: 1. Ban all stock trading. 2. Ban all participation in prediction markets. 3. Mandatory retirement at 75 years old. 4. Mandatory blind trust for individuals with a net worth more than $1 million. 5. Ban all foreign gifts to public officials, including foreign investments in their businesses or other entities.

Now that he won’t stop talking, the folks who told us Hasan Piker is a serious voice who should be listened to ought to let us know which of these positions we’re supposed to take seriously: 1. That “pound for pound,” America is worse than al-Qaeda - a ridiculous statement on a normal day, but particularly vile the same week we’re reflecting on the loss of 3,000 Americans on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. 2. That Communist China’s repressive regime is the “model” for America. 3. That Mao was “a great man of history” while the collapse of the Soviet Union was "one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century." The great thing about America is that everyone is entitled to their opinions and free to express them, however dumb or immoral. That includes ‘Comrade’ Piker. The rest of us are just as free - obligated even - to call out this vile, hateful speech that only divides America. axios.com/2026/09/17/hasan-p…

Growing up, on our family room wall hung my grandmother's little purse that held her and my two great aunts passports from 1914, and on either side, photographs of relatives who never made it to America. It was my parents' daily reminder: you are the fortunate few — and you don't get to be frivolous with your opportunity in America. Being an American is winning the lottery ticket of life. But for too many, the path to the middle class dream is broken. My full conversation with @costareports on CBS Sunday Morning.

Another Election Day, another result the pollsters and the conventional wisdom misread. The DSA and the far left get the press while the pragmatists notch key wins: WI, MO, HI, VA. The turnout surge across the South has been driven by the party's most reliable voters, not its loudest online voices. Each wing of the party knows the game's rigged for insiders at the expense of those trying to stretch every paycheck; we just disagree on the fix. Give progressives credit for bringing ideas to the table. Pragmatists haven't been as good as we need to be about offering our own ideas and agenda. You can't beat something with nothing, and too often we're prisoners of the moment. But what these elections are showing is that the pragmatic wing isn't a faction of this party. It's the majority, it's awake now, and it's exerting itself. nbcnews.com/politics/2026-el…

The only jobs Trump is interested in creating are in constructing monuments to himself.

What’s in Trump’s wallet? Dirty cash that even Capital One won’t touch. 300+ Trump Organization accounts shut down after a money laundering review. What did they see? Unmarked bills? Yuan? Rubles? Sovereign wealth proceeds? This discovery should be illuminating.

DOGE cut the lab that detects fecal parasites. How symbolic because that's exactly what the Trump Administration’s been spreading. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Great discussion with @AspenGermany and @BertelsmannSt on NATO’s future and moving from common defense to collective deterrence. The NATO alliance is one of America's significant strategic advantages to deter Russian aggression. In a more competitive world, we need to strengthen our partnerships, renew our economic strength, and prove that democracies can still deliver.