Good evening. I’m British Chris, and this is Raw America.
Kentucky’s governor isn’t buying Mitch McConnell’s latest photo, and is demanding proof he can still serve or resign. Psychologists say Trump’s unhinged rants are looking a lot like what’s called a “narcissistic collapse.” Newly released pages from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary show him privately calling Trump an “obnoxious adolescent” over his response to the Covid-19 pandemic. And a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee is publicly saying there’s no deal to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, putting his nomination in real jeopardy.
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Kentucky Governor Responds to McConnell’s Latest Photo with Ultimatum
Andy Beshear, Kentucky’s two-term Democratic governor, has had enough of the office of Senator Mitch McConnell keeping constituents in the dark about the 84 year-old senator’s health. The Kentucky senator has been hospitalized since June 14, with his team attributing his extended absence to a fall and a bout of pneumonia.
According to a statement his office released this week along with a new photo of McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, the octogenarian has still not been medically cleared to leave rehab. He’s going to miss Kentucky’s biggest annual political event, along with major upcoming Senate votes.
Beshear has already asked the senator to be more transparent with Kentuckians. On Tuesday, he escalated his attempts to get to the truth, sending McConnell a letter demanding the senator either verbally address the people of Kentucky and prove he’s still fit enough to serve out the remainder of his term, or resign.
The term-limited governor also wrote to Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, asking him to investigate McConnell’s condition if the senator still refuses to show up to work.
As of Tuesday evening, neither senator’s office responded.
Beshear’s point is simple: a little bit of honesty from McConnell’s team could have avoided all the speculation about his health. According to state law, Kentucky’s governor can declare a special election in the event of an unexpected Senate vacancy, with the estimated deadline to do so rapidly approaching on August 3.
Psychologists Say Trump Is Experiencing a ‘Narcissistic Collapse’
The president’s own mental state is prompting new scrutiny from psychologists as his public and social media rants become increasingly more deranged and nonsensical.
In April, Trump posted a lengthy tirade attacking former allies like SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly, former Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson, far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and right-wing influencer Candace Owens over their criticism of his war with Iran. The president called them losers and nut jobs, and even went after their intelligence and appearance.
Various psychologists and experts in human behavior recently told Huffpost this all part of a pattern known as “narcissistic collapse.”
Tina Swithin, who wrote a book about how to divorce narcissists, explained that a collapse happens when a narcissist’s self image is threatened by criticism or a loss of control. They typically respond with rage, personal attacks and lashing out at multiple parties simultaneously. The loss of strategic discipline is typical of a narcissistic collapse.
Marie-Line Germain, who studies corporate leadership and personality disorders, said evidence of this can be seen in how many people Trump targeted in just one Truth Social post. People who used to be regarded as his most loyal allies instead were treated as traitors the moment they disagreed with him.
The experts made clear they aren’t making a clinical diagnosis, as Trump hasn’t been formally evaluated for narcissistic personality disorder. But the behavioral patterns they describe closely align with what they’ve documented in other cases. This includes Trump refraining from attacking ideas in favor of attacking someone’s intelligence and looks. Another key indicator is the propensity for narcissists to double down instead of show vulnerability, and framing themselves as victims despite holding all the power.
Therapist Wendy Behary told Huffpost that the intensity of Trump’s attacks shows something important is being triggered by the criticism. And when the person lashing out holds the nuclear codes, that becomes a significant national security issue.
Fauci Called Trump an ‘Obnoxious Adolescent’ in His Private Diary
Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky just released more than a thousand pages of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s private diary from December 2019 through December 2022. Paul wanted to prove his theory that the Covid pandemic originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. While he didn’t get his smoking gun, he did unearth a detailed record of how badly Trump botched the government’s pandemic response.
Early on, Trump and Fauci got along well. In January 2020, Trump told Fauci he was famous, that his friend, former Fox News host Lou Dobbs, called him one of the smartest people around. Fauci wrote that he was pleased and surprised. But that didn’t last long.
By March, Fauci was frustrated that Trump used a press conference meant to focus on pandemic relief funds to instead attack his predecessors in the White House. By August, Fauci was struggling to explain to Trump that more testing doesn’t lead to new Covid cases. He wrote that Trump appeared increasingly desperate, and still failed to understand the nature and the threat of the pandemic.
Then in November, Fauci told the Washington Post that then-candidate Joe Biden’s campaign was taking a serious approach to public health as the pandemic dragged on. Trump unloaded on him in a profanity-laced tirade, complaining that people wanted Fauci fired, adding that he’d defeat Biden in a landslide.
By March of 2021, when Biden’s administration was tackling the pandemic, Fauci was calling Trump an “obnoxious adolescent.”
These pages show Fauci actually tried to do his job well under a chaotic administration, disproving the conspiracy theories that he was running some grand plot as Trump’s allies have claimed for years. But now that Trump is in office until 2029, the bigger worry is what will happen if another pandemic hits on his watch.
GOP Senator Says ‘No Deal’ on Confirming Todd Blanche as Attorney General
Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas says there is currently no deal that clears the way for Todd Blanche to be confirmed as attorney general. Cornyn posted on social media that any reports of an agreement are fake, and that the administration knows exactly what it needs to do.
Cornyn’s post is in reference to Trump’s proposed $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund for MAGA loyalists and January 6 rioters, tucked deep into a settlement that resolved Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax records. Blanche told senators the fund is dead, but Cornyn noted the fund still exists on paper, which means it could resurface at any time to pay off the people who attacked the Capitol.
Cornyn, along with his fellow Republican Thom Tillis want it confirmed in writing that the proposed slush fund is actually dead, and for the language to match what Blanche told the Judiciary Committee under oath. The committee is set to vote on Blanche’s nomination Thursday, and right now he doesn’t have the votes.
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Thanks for watching. I’m British Chris, with Raw America. We’ll see you next time.
Here are several stories you may have missed:
Trump Struggles to Stay Awake at Lindsey Graham’s Funeral. During the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died suddenly this month at the age of 71, President Donald Trump was seen nodding off while sitting next to Vice President JD Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and various other administration officials and members of Congress. First Lady Melania Trump was noticeably absent from the service. Some of the president’s critics pointed out on social media that Trump may have not gotten a full night’s rest due to his propensity to post increasingly unhinged rants on his Truth Social site well into the early morning hours.
Trump’s Approval Rating Hits New Record Low. A new poll conducted by the Economist and YouGov between July 25-27 finds that President Trump’s approval rating has plummeted to just 34 percent, while 62 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Trump’s job as president. That puts Trump’s approval at -28, with YouGov noting that at this same time during Trump’s first term in 2018, his approval rating was just -9. The president’s approval rating tanked the most among Gen X respondents, white Americans and independent voters.
Plurality of Americans Support Arresting Benjamin Netanyahu. The Economist and YouGov also found in that same poll that 49 percent of Americans support the United States enforcing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Only 27 percent were opposed, while 23 percent were unsure. The ICC called for Netanyahu’s arrest in 2024, accusing him of intentionally using starvation of Palestinian civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza. The ICC also alleges Netanyahu intentionally targeted civilian non-combatants in multiple strikes.
Venezuelan Men Sue Airlines That Flew Them to Notorious El Salvador Prison. Several Venezuelan men recently filed a lawsuit against the companies CSI Aviation and GlobalX, accusing them of violating their civil rights, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other violations by flying them to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in 2025. The men say they were regularly beaten and tortured by guards for four months after the companies flew them to El Salvador in violation of a court order demanding the flights be turned around back to the U.S.
