Donald Trump wants to crush The Swamp. The leaks, the sneaks, and the secrets are all there. Our writers, David Gardner, Farrah Tomazin, Sarah Ewall-Wice, and Laura Esposito, are sifting through the ooze so you don’t have to. Don’t miss out.
In this week’s news from the ooze: Karoline Leavitt, Milo Yiannopoulos, Salena Zito, August Doricko, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Wayne Erkkinen, Leon Black, Henry Bacon, Casey Wasserman, Piers Morgan, and Zohran Mamdani.
Why Susan Collins Should be Getting Very, Very Concerned
Susan Collins can’t catch a break. When Democrat firebrand Graham Platner was forced out of the Maine Senate race over a series of abuse allegations, the veteran Republican could have been forgiven for thinking her re-election campaign had just gotten a whole lot easier.
Instead, it’s been one headache after another: billionaire donors with ties to Jeffrey Epstein; a campaign begging supporters for gas money to fuel her re-election tour after she voted to uphold the conflict in Iran; and Donald Trump launching a trade war with neighboring Canada.
Now comes the latest bit of campaign baggage: a former Oath Keeper.
In June, Collins, 73, announced county commissioner Wayne Erkkinen as her town chair in Greenville, which puts him in charge of grassroots campaigns and voter outreach as Collins fights to hold on to her Senate seat at November’s midterm elections.
The problem? Erkkinen, 81, was previously identified by the Anti-Defamation League as a member of the Oath Keepers, the far right extremist group that played a major role in the January 6 attack at the Capitol, with some later convicted of seditious conspiracy.
The group’s leaked membership roles included more than 38,000 names and Erkkinen was among them. He told The Swamp he joined the group in 2010 thinking it was for law enforcement and military veterans like him, who had sworn to defend the constitution. He also said he quit the group “years ago”—before the storming of the Capitol—because he didn’t want to be part of something violent.
“It wasn’t what I thought it would be,” he said.
But his presence is giving Democrats fresh ammunition to argue that the Senator is supported by Donald Trump’s “most extreme backers.” Collins’ camp argues the campaign can’t be expected to keep tabs on every grassroots volunteer on its books. Maybe so, but it’s a somewhat awkward look for a senator who claims to be right in the weeds of Maine’s issues, and whose re-election campaign is already facing questions about the company it keeps.
As we revealed on Monday, Collins has accepted donations from a string of wealthy figures linked to Epstein, including Bill Gates, Leon Black, Casey Wasserman and Peter Thiel. No one has been accused of any wrongdoing, but the optics aren’t great for a Senator who initially voted against releasing the Epstein files.
It’s almost enough for Sen. Collins and her supporters to be, well, very concerned.
Trump’s Reflecting Pool Blues May Be Almost Over
Five months after Donald Trump drained the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to give it an American Flag Blue makeover, things are looking up for those who hope to see the full glory of architect Henry Bacon’s 1922 work transformed for the age of MAGA. The Swamp recently inspected the latest works on the pool—i.e. we peered through the fence and saw work going on.
We are not pool experts, but it appeared that damaged lining was being removed, the basin was yet again being cleaned, and workers appeared to be checking pipes and surfaces. But there, just at the edges, were tiny traces of blue. Could this be a sign that Trump’s most botched vanity project is coming together at last? If you are Doug Burgum, look carefully at our photos, and you will find hope.
But All His Pretty Horses Are Still Not Ready
Behind the Lincoln Memorial, Trump has quietly unveiled yet another statue gussied up in 24-karat gold - the third of four Arts of War and Arts of Peace sculptures. All four of the statues were supposed to be covered in gold for July 4. This epic saga of waste and delay was first revealed by The Swamp in July, when we disclosed the project was late and over-budget by millions. The Arts of War sculptures finally made their appearance late in July.
Valor and Sacrifice have now been joined by the first of The Arts of Peace: Literature and Aspiration. The gold is eye-catching, showing two nude males on each side of Pegasus, the Greek mythical flying horse. Sadly, the fourth and final sculpture—Music and Harvest—remains under covered scaffolding, well past deadline and millions of dollars over budget. The statues are meant to symbolize aspiration, literature, music and harvest. Trump has never been big on any of those things...,
Salane Zito is Ready For Her Close-Up, Mr. Director
There’s an age-old rule in journalism that reporters should never become the story. Salena Zito, however, seems to be exempt from it. The Swamp has obtained a leaked casting notice circulating in Appalachia seeking background actors for a movie titled Butler, based on The Washington Post columnist and (alleged) MAGA whisperer’s experience at Trump’s 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally—where a would-be assassin fired shots at the now-president, killing a volunteer firefighter behind him and wounding two others. “A seasoned journalist covering a political rally finds herself in the crosshairs of a national crisis when an assassination attempt on the President unfolds, forcing her to navigate the treacherous waters of media sensationalism, personal ethics and the entrenched political divide uprooting the nation,” the ad reads. The thrill! But should Zito, 66, or her big screen alter ego, really be lecturing on personal ethics and media sensationalism? The Swamp merely notes that she has been accused of plagiarism, not to mention tweeting QAnon. And she egged on Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, in his doomed lawsuit against the Daily Beast. Sadly, Zito isn’t taking our calls to explain more about her brush with stardom. Lights, camera, action!
Leavitt Shows Trump What He’s Missing
Karoline Leavitt appears relieved to be far away from Washington, D.C. The “machine gun lips” former White House press secretary put a telling update on her Instagram story showing her two young children, Niko and Vivi. The caption: “Exactly where I need to be. Thank you God.” While Leavitt will be joining Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., she is getting in family time for now after the constant demands of an 80-year-old president calling at all hours.
In another post, the New Hampshire native reshared an image of her with friends on a golf course with the caption: “Home sweet home with my hometown girls.” And pictured swinging a golf club, she wrote: “We are so back, baby!” Will Trump’s now #1 blond Natalie Harp dare to put these pictures in his printout pile?
MTG Takes Her War on Weather to Tech Bros
Back when she was Trump’s favorite conspiracist in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene made waves by declaring Democrats “control the weather” after Hurricane Helene smashed through the Southeast. Now, the MAGA rebel is back with a follow-up claim. Apparently, it isn’t the liberals controlling the weather: It’s the tech bros.
Actually, it’s one tech bro in particular: August Doricko, the 25-year-old CEO of cloud-seeding company Rainmaker and El Segundo’s startup sweetheart. Doricko, who is known to quote “Elon Musk and the Bible in the same breath,” took to X to announce that Rainmaker had become the first to produce precipitation in Alaska.
Upon hearing the news, MTG climbed back onto her soapbox. “Man is not God,” she wrote, warning that no one could guarantee “flooding or damage or deadly outcomes.”
But this time around, Doricko, who sparred with Greene last year after she raised concerns that his company could be connected to last summer’s deadly flooding in Texas, wasn’t looking for a fight.
“Hello again Congresswoman!” he wrote. “Would you be willing to talk?” He added that he thinks they both want what’s “best for America.”
The startup wunderkind might want to be careful about saying that too loudly. Greene might believe “man is not god” but The Swamp would like to remind her that she did once compare Trump to Jesus.
Milo, We Have A Way For You To Return Legally
British citizen Milo Yiannopoulos’ dramatic deportation at the hands of ICE ends a remarkable few years in the MAGA media firmament. Or does it? Milo (as he is known) intriguingly confirmed to Piers Morgan that despite having renounced being gay, he has an American husband. Could the solution to his problems be a new media career… as the star of 90 Day MAGA Fiancé?
