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Nicole LaFond

@nicolelafond.bsky.social

34K followers 128 following 897 posts

I do my little walks & I edit TPM

Posts Replies Media

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Raskin joined other Dems in demanding investigations into Trump's narcissistic taxpayer funded midterms ad blitz in a letter to the GAO & OSC. He suggests several federal statutes may have been violated in the creation of the ads & also fact checks them lol talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) has some major data center skeletons in his closet from his time as lieutenant governor of Ohio.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Dems Block Data Center Bill Designed to Boost Husted’s Campaign: ‘A Proxy for Corruption’

‘They Are the Party of Data Centers’ Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) has...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Congress’ top Democratic appropriators demanded answers from the Department of Homeland Security and threatened investigations Tuesday as more details of the egregious shuffling of taxpayer dollars surfaced.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Dems Vow to Investigate Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded Midterms Ads Promoting Himself

‘Shockingly Corrupt’ PSAs House and Senate Democratic appropriators are unleashing on the...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We’ve got a new example of a vulnerable Republican trying to put some daylight between himself & Trump’s political toxicity this weekend — it also converges on a theme that TPM has been focused on during Trump’s second term, as he weaponizes the executive branch for his own political aims.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Vulnerable GOPer Breaks With Trump’s Retribution Crusade Against Blue States

‘I Will Challenge Anybody Who Gets in My Way’ My colleagues and...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

TPM @talkingpointsmemo.com · 28/09/2026

@joshkovensky.bsky.social joined @jaredlholt.bsky.social and @michaelehayden.bsky.social of the Posting Through It podcast to talk about the influencer grifters boosting the Trump admin's agenda open.spotify.com/episode/59Tb...

open.spotify.com

144: Content Creators for the Authoritarian State feat. Josh Kovensky

Posting Through It · Episode

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

By all measures, Bianco is an election denier w/ extremist views & connections. After he seized the ballots this spring, he told WaPo that he’d consider seizing ballots again if there were any questions raised about the "integrity" of the primary election that he was running in at the time.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Extremist Sheriff’s Seizure of Ballots on California Redistricting Was Illegal, Court Rules

‘I Would Underscore the Seriousness Of the Violation Here’ Riverside County Sheriff...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It’s a bipartisan issue that elected officials are rushing to be on the right side of. Except Trump, who has actively insulted ppl who are suspicious of the new projects & whose admin is actively trying to change fed policy that allows for community input at the onset of new data center construction

talkingpointsmemo.com

Chicago Mayor Bets on Political Potency Of Data Center Resistance

‘We Are Not For Sale’ Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson officially kicked off...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Curtis is not up for reelection until 2030, so he does not fit neatly within the (minor) trend of Republicans gently bucking the president ahead of what polls say could be a dismal midterm election for the GOP.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Durbin Responds to GOP Sen’s Request for Don Jr Probe: ‘Corruption Must Never be Tolerated’

‘A Toaster Is a Wedding Gift’ A Republican member of the Senate...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Trump managed to silence himself.

talkingpointsmemo.com

News Organizations Band Together in White House Boycott

Trump Manages to Silence Himself The news outlets that make up the...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

@sarahposner.bsky.social has a new piece out on TPM today about border czar Tom Homan's speech before an evangelical crowd in Georgia last week that was heavy on profanity & an overall celebration of Trump's anti-immigrant brutality:

talkingpointsmemo.com

Homan Stumps for Georgia GOPers by Promoting ICE Brutality in Speech to Evangelicals

In Church, Merch, and State, Sarah Posner writes about the intersection of religion and...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

While Salazar’s district is not considered competitive, her latest vocal condemnation of the Trump administration’s inhumane mass deportation campaign is a sign that Republican candidates are wary of how they will fare in districts with heavy Latino populations, like south Florida and across Texas.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Florida GOP Rep Up for Reelection Says Voters ‘Feel Betrayed’ By Trump’s Immigration Assault

A Republican member of Congress who is running for reelection in a...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This guy is a trip. Husted spent his tenure as Ohio Lt Gov championing data center construction in the state. Here's a press release I dug up from 2019, where he's celebrating Google building a new $600 million data center in Ohio. talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The reason Dems routinely press Patel & other Trump admin officials about whether armed federal law enforcement officers — whether it’s FBI agents, ICE or others — might be deployed to the polls this fall is because Trump has been agitating around the idea for years.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Patel Won’t Rule Out FBI Agents At the Polls Because … He Got Tired of Dems Asking About It?

FBI At the Polls Bc I’m Annoyed FBI Director Kash Patel appeared...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It's my official first day as a reporter at @talkingpointsmemo.com! Hit me up with tips/ideas: chrism@talkingpointsmemo.com. & join me and @jragazzo.bsky.social at 2pm to hear us discuss my story abt the Charlottesville marcher poised to take office in Florida talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/youtu...

talkingpointsmemo.com

YouTube Live at 2 PM ET: Chris Mathias on the Charlottesville Marcher Poised to Take Office in Florida

ICYMI, TPM’s new reporter Chris Mathias just published a new investigation revealing...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

“The $5,000 is gonna happen. 100%,” Trump said. Experts have pointed out that the $1.25 trillion it would cost to give $5,000 checks to every adult American through tariff refunds is more or less the equivalent of the revenue that the new tariffs are projected to bring in over the next decade. 🤔

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Doubles Down on His Midterms Bribe

Hello, Where Things Stand readers! Starting today, while you will still be...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

@letsgomathias.bsky.social first official day w/ TPM is tomorrow & he's kicked off his first week at @talkingpointsmemo.com with a major exclusive about the GOP nominee for the FL legislature who is expected to win in a few weeks. He marched during Charlottesville, but that's not all. More here ⬇️

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This latest episode with Kimmel is representative of the FCC’s effective chilling of press freedoms during a time when the federal government is using its might to shut down both dissent and stifle journalism that it does not like.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Jimmy Kimmel, James Talarico and the FCC’s Muzzling of the Media

The ‘Campaign of Censorship and Control’ Will the Federal Communications Commission ever...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

State officials and elected leaders who once championed tax exemption deals with the executives of companies like Amazon, Google and Meta for the development of data centers in their states are now having second thoughts.

talkingpointsmemo.com

States Second Guess Tax Breaks for Data Centers As American Uproar Spreads

Rethinking a Deal With the Devil State officials and elected leaders who...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The House GOP resolution could be read as a Republican Party’s 2026 policy platform: it stokes outrage about something that is not happening — a socialist takeover of America just bc a few left-leaning progressive populists won Dem primaries — while tossing a little bit of the SAVE Act into the mix.

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Layla A. Jones @laylaayanna.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

ICYMI: How the Trump administration might be taking cues (and making actual policy!?!) from a right-wing conspiracy theory rooted in complete misinformation about a wonky statistical method. The policies stand to disenfranchise voters, eliminate data, etc etc talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-a-b...

talkingpointsmemo.com

How a Baseless, Right-Wing Social Media Panic Led to Dramatic Changes at the Census Bureau

When longtime Indiana politician Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) lobbed a powerful allegation...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

This is a fascinating story about a kind of wonky, census corollary to Trump's 2020 big lie. Republicans are claiming bureaucrats used the 2020 census to hand seats in Congress to Democrats. That is, of course, not true — but the myth is now making its way into Census Bureau policy.

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Democrats are taking a convoluted, complex provision that was included in Republicans’ Big Beautiful bill to pin the blame for the national boom in data center construction squarely on Republicans ahead of the midterms. I attempt to explain all that here:

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Cleared the Way for More Data Centers. Dems Are Hoping You Know That.

Democrats are taking a convoluted, complex provision that was included in Republicans’...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It appears that both Thune and Vance are trying to give vulnerable Republicans a reasonable message to share with voters on an issue that could be an easy win for them — if Trump cared about Republicans winning the midterms more than maintaining the Big Tech oligarchy he’s enabled.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Thune Tries to Carve Out Lane for GOP on Data Centers Beyond Trump’s ‘Poor’ People Bombast

Trump Is Making It Impossible President Trump has made it impossible for...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In independence, Missouri, hometown of Harry Truman, tonight city councilman John Perkins got absolutely rocked, losing a recall election with 68% voting to end his term immediately over his vote to approve a big data center. www.kmbc.com/article/inde...

Independence Councilman John Perkins recalled after voting to approve multibillion-dollar data center

Independence voters recalled District 1 Councilman John Perkins following his vote to approve a multibillion-dollar data center project.

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Trump has singled out Welker and other journalists for years as enemies of the people for reporting information accurately, but in a way that does not line up with Trump’s version of events, his conspiracy theories or his delusions.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Calls on His Most Loyal Henchman to Shut Down Facts He Doesn’t Want Reported

‘The FCC Has No Authority to Punish Journalists’ President Trump has learned...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Trump is leading his administration full steam ahead in supporting his friends in the tech industry as he bulldozes his way through an issue that could’ve been a relatively easy bipartisan win for him and Republicans ahead of the midterms.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Picks Tech Friends Over Republicans This Election Cycle

‘Backwards and Poor’ President Trump is leading his administration full steam ahead...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

alternate headline: Trump to Communities Opposing Data Centers: Stop Being 'Backwards and Poor' talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I missed that Vance said this literally monday 🙃 talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Maybe Trump’s Fraud Czar Should Be Looking at Florida

‘A Sophisticated Scheme to Fund Political Activities’ As part of President Trump’s...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

No one really believed that Vance would actually target red states, even when the words came out of his mouth earlier this year.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Maybe Trump’s Fraud Czar Should Be Looking at Florida

‘A Sophisticated Scheme to Fund Political Activities’ As part of President Trump’s...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

There’s a reason his allies outside the administration are agitating around the idea.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Maine GOP Gov Nominee Tests Whether Trump’s Noncitizen Voting Delusions Are a Winning Strategy

Strange Bedfellows It’s a strange move for a Republican candidate running in...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

✨ we are so excited to have you @letsgomathias.bsky.social ✨

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Americans across the political spectrum are outraged and staunchly opposing the development of new AI data centers — and the fossil fuel-burning gas plants that run them — in rural and urban communities across the country alike.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump’s EPA Clamps Down on Public Outrage Over Data Centers — the One Issue Sparking Bipartisan Revolt

Americans across the political spectrum are outraged and staunchly opposing the development...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

John Light @johnalight.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

A House candidate - attended Jan. 6 - narrated the whole thing from the X account - of a salsa company he runs A salsa company.

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Demos appear to be banking on this messaging resonating with midterms voters, especially against the backdrop of the nation’s ongoing affordability crisis that Republicans and Trump have done nothing to address.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Dems Prepare for Trump Corruption Investigation Blitz Should They Take House

First Up: Qatari Jets and Crypto Schemes I received an email from...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Kate Riga @kateriga.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The America First Policy Institute — founded by members of Trump admin — seems to be closely collaborating with Enes Kanter Freedom, the anti-trans ex-NBA player who was tossed from the Chicago Sky game yesterday talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump-Aligned America First Policy Institute Backing Ex-NBA Player Tossed from WNBA Game

An organization closely tied to the Trump administration seems to be collaborating...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

For over two years now, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas has had facilities to accommodate the Muslim wudu ritual of washing hands, feet and face ahead of daily prayers. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is, just now, very concerned about it.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Greg Abbott Grasps At Anything to Stir Up Anti-Islam Panic for His Reelection

Abbott’s Only Campaign Strategy For over two years now, the George Bush...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This is all part of an ongoing and explicit effort on Carr's end to punish the mainstream media and do anything he can within his jurisdiction as FCC head to carry water for the president. It's more than other Trump sycophants like Jeanine Pirro can say for themselves at the moment.

talkingpointsmemo.com

New Report on Carr Communications With White House, Right-Wing Media Affirms What We’ve Know All Along

Meetings With Murdoch and Sinclair Chief I’ve been making the case in...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

When Slotkin tried to asked Hegseth back in April about whether it’s an action the Trump administration is weighing, Hegseth dodged, saying, “I’ve never been ordered to do anything illegal, and I won’t.”

talkingpointsmemo.com

Slotkin Asks Hegseth to Confirm He Won’t Send Troops to Polls

‘Laying the Breadcrumbs’ Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sent a letter to Defense...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

So far, not one single federal judge has sided with the Trump Justice Department’s legal argument for why it should have access to the data — and we’re talking about judges who have been appointed by Democratic and Republican administrations alike.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Blanche Hints Trump Admin Might Try to Take Voter Roll Fight to SCOTUS

‘We’re Not Going to Stop’ Newly-confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche made headlines...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Emine Yücel @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The OLC opinion "has more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese,” Charles Tiefer, professor emeritus at the University of Baltimore School of Law, told me. “It’s clearly a devious tactic to try to cover up the investigations into Trump’s corruption before they even get started.”

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Josh Kovensky @joshkovensky.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

NSPM-7 Watch: federal agents sent an undercover informant to a Sunrise Movement meeting, obtained years of financial records for labor unions, and spied on churches during and after Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dhs-spi...

talkingpointsmemo.com

DHS Spied on Churches, Libraries and Union Halls in Minneapolis Protest Crackdown, Defense Attorney Alleges

Federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security sent undercover agents to...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Today I learned from Politico that House GOPers think cutting Medicaid again under the guise of "rooting out fraud" will translate as a winning campaign message for how the party has addressed affordability. That's fine let them think that! talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Allegra Kirkland @allegrak.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Hong lost by ~3,000 votes but apparently it's a sign "the democratic socialist wave cannot reach beyond urban centers." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/u...

Hong’s Defeat in Wisconsin Shows the Limits of the Progressive Movement

Francesca Hong’s defeat in the Democratic primary for governor defied expectations and may have shown the democratic socialist wave cannot reach beyond urban centers.

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Raskin announced Tuesday that he was opening an investigation into the Trump Justice Department’s “bogus felony prosecution of three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who faced a decade in prison on baseless charges that he damaged the Reflecting Pool lining.”

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Admits to ‘Some Contractor Error’ As WH Asks DOJ to Consider New Charges: Catching Up on the Reflecting Pool Drama

WSJ Reports White House Wants DOJ to Try Again You may have...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

As @joshkovensky.bsky.social reported in April, Republicans in Texas carved out a path early in the midterms cycle to resurrect the George W. Bush-era Muslim panic as a winning strategy. Republicans in Congress have since taken the messaging strategy to a very dark place.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Inside Texas Republicans’ Effort to Make the Midterms About Islamophobia

GRAPEVINE, TX – On a cold spring morning in this tony Dallas suburb,...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The Trump administration's anti-immigrant agenda knows no bounds:

talkingpointsmemo.com

READ: A New Draft Rule for the Census Seeks Sweeping Changes to How Political Power Is Allocated

The Trump administration is planning to dramatically reshape the data the Census...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I looked through the company’s various statements stretching back to this spring. Greenland Energy has some ties to Trump and, perhaps, the various imperialistic goals that have fueled some of the most outrageous and dangerous decisions of his second term.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Dr. Phil and a Texas Oil Firm Go to Greenland With a Suspicious Agenda. Signs Point to Trump’s Imperialist Visions.

Of Course Dr. Phil Is Involved There hasn’t been a ton of...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I wrote about Rep. Steube labeling Medicare for All a "communist policy." Meanwhile America’s social policies are paltry compared to those in other wealthy nations — in part thanks to sweeping cuts that Steube and other GOPers made to Medicaid just last year. talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...

Reposted by Nicole LaFond

Emine Yücel @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

NEW piece from me @joshkovensky.bsky.social looking at instances of Trump admin admitting in court to terminating clean energy grants, in part or entirely, to punish the president’s perceived political enemies. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-a...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Administration Has Repeatedly Confessed in Court to Withholding Money From Blue States

Late last year, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials agreed to make a...

Nicole LaFond @nicolelafond.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The New York Times reported last month on one instance in which the Trump admin admitted in court that it withheld grant $$ from blue states, explicitly for political reasons. TPM's @emineirmakyucel.bsky.social & @joshkovensky.bsky.social have found many more:

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Administration Has Repeatedly Confessed in Court to Withholding Money From Blue States

Late last year, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials agreed to make a...