Saturday Morning Covfefe: 5 Things with Olivia

Where doomscrolling meets caffeine.

If only fascism took a day off, but here we are. Let’s dive in.

1. Karl Rove’s Glass Half Red

In the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove, longtime Republican strategist and former adviser to President George W. Bush, outlined GOP advantages for 2026: strong fundraising, a favorable Senate map, redistricting gains in Texas, and a 4.5 million net swing in party registrations since 2020.

But he also flagged risks: independents are the fastest-growing group (outnumbering both parties in North Carolina and nearly tied with them in Maine), Trump’s approval sits at 40%, Democrats show higher voter enthusiasm (72% vs. 50%), the economy remains a wildcard, and history rarely favors the president’s party.

Rove says Republicans have reason for optimism, but stresses that outcomes will depend heavily on independents, economic perceptions, and voter motivation. Nothing is guaranteed. My take: Some people already understand what’s at stake. Reaching independents means meeting them where they are: honest conversations, facts over spin, and a steady pushback against extremism.

🔮 Midterm Wishcasting: WSJ

2. MAGA’s New History Project: Hitler, the “Misunderstood” Villain

Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and a growing chorus on the right are working to rewrite World War II, suggesting America should have sided with Hitler, that Churchill was the “real villain,” and that the Holocaust wasn’t what we were taught. These aren’t footnotes, they’re headlines in today’s right-wing media. Carlson’s show ranks at the top of U.S. podcasts. Owens is booked on mainstream platforms. Their rhetoric is continuously bleeding into the bloodstream of Trump’s GOP.

This isn’t just provocation. It’s a coordinated effort to make Americans unlearn the lessons of history. After WWII, America changed: the Department of War was renamed the Department of Defense to reflect a national commitment to protect democracy from authoritarianism. MAGA’s revisionists are trying to undo that shift, to erase why those lessons mattered in the first place. Now Trump has flipped it back, officially renaming the Pentagon this week the “Department of War.” The Department of Defense’s website has already been updated. This isn’t coincidence, it’s symbolism.

It’s the same playbook behind Trump’s embrace of strongmen abroad, his push to censor independent media at home, his attacks on teaching slavery and civil rights in schools, and Project 2025’s attempt to recast democracy as an authoritarian state. The rehabilitation of Hitler isn’t happening in isolation. It’s part of a larger MAGA project to rewrite our past so they can control our future.

🥸 MAGA’s Hitler Rehab Tour: The Atlantic

3. Trump’s Budget Guy Says the Watchdog Shouldn’t Exist

Russell Vought, Trump’s budget director, and one of the architects of Project 2025, said this week that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) “shouldn’t exist.” GAO is Congress’s watchdog. It’s nonpartisan, audits government spending, exposes waste, and calls out illegal moves by administrations of both parties. It has saved taxpayers over $1.2 trillion. Its mission is transparency and accountability.

I worked with Vought during Trump 1.0. He’s not just extreme, he’s openly hostile to oversight, and this latest outburst is consistent with who he is. He has been dismantling accountability structures for years, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to outlining Project 2025’s plans to concentrate power in the executive branch. His attack on GAO isn’t about some abstract philosophy of government. It’s about making sure no one is left to call out corruption.

When Trump’s top budget adviser says the government’s watchdog “shouldn’t exist,” believe him. This is how corruption thrives and transparency dies: eliminate independent checks, silence auditors, and leave the public in the dark while power consolidates at the top.

🚫 Watchdog Killer at Work: Axios

4. Project 2025’s “Manhattan Project for Babies”

This one nearly made me spit my coffee. What in the 1950s fever dream is this?!

The Heritage Foundation, the architect of Project 2025, is preparing a comprehensive proposal to overhaul domestic policy centered on one goal: promoting a return to the “nuclear family.”

According to a draft obtained by The Washington Post, the plan would divert funds away from Head Start and child care programs to create government-seeded savings accounts for married heterosexual couples, designed to encourage one parent to stay home and raise children. Heritage calls it a “Manhattan Project to restore the American family.”

This is a radical departure from the group’s supposed commitment to limited government and free markets. Even some Heritage insiders are alarmed, comparing the proposal to “eugenics” and “social engineering” that would roll back 50 years of progress toward gender equality.

The push aligns with Vice President J.D. Vance, who declared in his first speech, “I want more babies in the United States of America”, and Heritage President Kevin Roberts, who wrote that the government should “use its power” to restore the family.

Project 2025 isn’t just about dismantling the government. It’s about using government power to enforce an authoritarian vision of who counts as a “real family.” That should set off alarm bells for anyone who values freedom of choice, equality, or privacy.

👶 Baby Manhattan Project, Courtesy of Heritage: The Independent

5. ICE Gets Dictator Tools: $2M Spyware Deal Greenlit

The Trump administration has revived a $2 million deal that gives ICE access to Graphite. This powerful Israeli-made spyware can hack phones, read encrypted apps like Signal, and even turn devices into listening devices.

The contract had been frozen under Biden over abuse and security concerns. Those guardrails are gone. Paragon’s spyware has already been linked to surveillance of journalists and activists abroad, and now ICE, an agency with a history of overreach, holds the keys.

This isn’t an isolated move. The U.S. has long condemned spyware like Pegasus in public while quietly trying to use it behind the scenes. If you want the full backstory, I highly recommend The Daily’s episode featuring investigative reporter Mark Mazzett—a clear-eyed look at how America banned spyware with one hand while reaching for it with the other: The U.S. Banned Spyware — and Then Kept Trying to Use It. (Gifted link!)

Paragon is the latest step in that arms race, except now, the powers once associated with repressive governments are in ICE’s hands. Trump’s DHS is arming ICE with the ability to secretly hack, track, and monitor anyone. With mass deportations underway, imagine who ends up in the crosshairs.

🕵️‍♂️ Dictator Tech, Now at Ice: The Guardian

🥒 Palate Cleanser & Weekend Fun

After five heavy headlines, here’s your reset: BuzzFeed pulled together the wildest “house rules” people grew up with. Think: buckets instead of toilets at night, no gum except on Saturdays, and a lifelong ban on Achy Breaky Heart.

My family’s version? Shower after getting caught in the rain, or else you’ll get sick and die. Yikes! I definitely recognize a few of these…Do you? What was the weirdest “normal” rule in your house growing up?

🛁 House Rules from the Twilight Zone

That’s enough doom for the weekend. Time for more coffee (or maybe an espresso martini later).

More soon,
Olivia