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National Commentary

BARONE: Has Trump broken his McDonald’s promise?

The defining moment of the 2024 presidential campaign, it can be argued, came almost exactly two years ago, on Sunday, Oct. 20, when then-former President Donald Trump traded his suit coat for a yellow apron and worked the fry station and the drive-thru window at a McDonald's. His staff ...

RUGY: $2 trillion — and no excuse

The federal government just closed fiscal year 2026 with a deficit of nearly $2 trillion, according to figures the Congressional Budget Office released last Thursday. Only the two pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 were worse. Today, though, there is no recession and no emergency. These enormous ...

WILLIAMS: What voters see in the parties

The November midterm vote will be shaped less by party slogans than by the judgments voters make about their daily lives: whether prices feel manageable, whether their communities feel safe, and whether Washington is listening. Neither party can assume that frustration with its opponent ...

PARKER: Internet scammers need oversight

Americans lose billions of dollars every year to online scams, and the problem is getting worse. A recent report from the Consumer Federation of America found that Americans lost an estimated $148 billion to "online scams and crimes" in 2025, an increase of nearly 26% from the year ...

HARROP: MAGA masculinity: Protesting too much

We've seen Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lifting weights in snug Levis, sweat pouring down his naked muscled chest. Last February, the secretary of health and human services was "giving body" in the "Rock Out Workout" video. A jeans-clad Kennedy flexes alongside Kid Rock in black shorts, then strips ...

GARVEY: Let them eat cake — and candy, too

I fell into a net loop watching old commercials the other day, reminiscing with videos of escapist Calgon bubble baths, roving dog food chuck wagons and smiling folks settling into bed with "The Clapper." At one point, I stumbled on an ad more anachronistic than any of its contemporaries: a ...