The Final Countdown: MAGA’s Racist Blitz and Trump’s Next Big Lie – Mother Jones

As this episode shows, the GOP—from Donald Trump to JD Vance to Cabinet secretaries to senators and representatives—has made hateful bigotry a central element of its final midterms push. 

Those assaults have primarily targeted Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, with Vance calling him a “cancer” with “zero attachment” to America’s land or history; Sen. Ted Cruz falsely labeling El-Sayed a “theocratic zealot” and lifelong Muslim Brotherhood supporter; and Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno declaring El-Sayed doesn’t belong in Washington, DC, because he doesn’t believe “Jesus came here for our salvation”. Pointing out that Moreno appeared to be establishing a religious test for service in Congress, David says, “That’s not what the Constitution says. That is what Christian nationalists say.” The race-baiting doesn’t stop there: Donald Trump warned that El-Sayed and Democrats will invite “hordes of jihadists” until Americans “cannot even have a Christmas.” …

 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/10/maga-campaign-midterms-racism-stress-test-black-voters-podcast-video/

 

Maya Wiley: the enduring influence of white ethno-Christian nationalism (video from the 2026 National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation)

Maya Wiley, a prominent civil rights attorney and activist, recieves our Champion of Human Rights Award. 

In her acceptance speech, Wiley reflects on the enduring influence of white ethno-Christian nationalism in the United States, highlighting its historical roots in racial segregation, genocide, and slavery. 

She discusses how this ideology has resurfaced, manifesting in alarming ways, including recruitment and participation of extremists in the military post-January 6th. 

Wiley emphasizes the importance of unity and coalition-building among diverse groups to combat this resurgence and protect civil liberties, including the freedom of religion and non-religion.

Interview: 

https://freethought-tv.maz.tv/apps/846/3135159-3236191?mode=details#3135159-3236191/f7e90d9405c12540676b2c5b4657399f-3386461-3488138/59877387c271d941cb09635a08420c06-4546392-4665247

RFK Jr assailed over ‘wildly racist tirade’ about Arabs at Michigan campaign stop

“There’s 500 million Arabs in the world, and yet they don’t produce science, they don’t win the ⁠Nobel prize, they don’t win the Fields prize, they don’t win the Wolf prize, they don’t produce literature,” Kennedy said. 

A factcheck published on Tuesday by the Associated Press showed that Arabs have won, or been shortlisted, for all those awards in recent years. 

The ⁠Council on American-Islamic Relations called Kennedy’s Islamophobic remarks “a ⁠textbook display of ​unvarnished racism and bigotry”, and the US healthcare advocacy organization Protect Our Care condemned his “wildly racist tirade”…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/28/rfk-jr-michigan-arabs-comment

 

The Bible has been foundational in the western world to justify racism

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tm7ylSl481Y

 

Trump targets El-Sayed with anti-Muslim rhetoric at Michigan rally

El-Sayed, who would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected, has called attacks on his loyalty to the country “shameful” and repeatedly denied any ties to extremist groups. The Republican president's remarks were condemned by Bishara Bahbah, a founder of Arab Americans for Trump, the group that helped lead the president’s outreach to Arab American voters in 2024. 

 “The president’s statements are out of line," he said in a phone interview. "They are crossing a red line. They are racist.”…

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-10-25/trump-escalates-anti-muslim-attacks-against-el-sayed-in-michigan-drawing-arab-american-rebuke

 

Student Essay Award Winners (video from the 2026 National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation)

This video captures the voices of three outstanding students who have won essay and activism competitions hosted by FFRF. 

• Isaiah Lopez Ruiz, a first-generation student from Paradise Valley Community College, discusses how white supremacy and Christian nationalism intersect and threaten the principles of a secular democracy. 
• Nyla Woods, a visual communications student from the University of Kansas, explores the historical use of Christianity to uphold white supremacy and the ongoing impact on American democracy. 
• Ash Bu, a Harvard sophomore, shares her efforts to promote atheist visibility on campus and the importance of creating affinity groups for non-religious students to explore their beliefs and values openly. 

Interview: 

https://freethought-tv.maz.tv/apps/846/3135159-3236191?mode=details#3135159-3236191/f7e90d9405c12540676b2c5b4657399f-3386461-3488138/59877387c271d941cb09635a08420c06-4532882-4651579

Discovery of North Carolina police officers’ alleged racist texts prompts review of arrest records

Five officers resigned recently from a North Carolina police agency – and a sixth remained suspended – after they allegedly exchanged racist texts…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/20/north-carolina-police-officers-alleged-racist-texts

 

Satanic Invocations Provoke Backlash (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podcast #657)

— Texas school district cancels “Little Shop of Horrors” after girl is cast as Seymour. (0:15)

— The “pro-life” pastors who want America to watch a live-streamed execution. (19:22)

— Satanic invocation sends Iowa city council meeting into chaos. (34:48)

— A city overtaken by Christians wanted invocations. It got “Hail Satan” instead. (46:36)

— A pastor in an interracial marriage says he won’t let his daughter marry a Black man. (57:23)

— A Tennessee school board is putting Christian Nationalism ahead of students. (1:09:12)
Interview: 

• YouTube, with Jessica: https://youtu.be/w-7JqMpFqAM?si=NbNsAotet-yMWETU
• YouTube, without Jessica: https://www.youtube.com/live/o7EhdRDPkVE?si=sMU-p8wovxf58TTn
• Audio only podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/657-satanic-invocations-provoke-backlash/id888637335?i=1000796399592

Pastor: My daughter can’t marry a Black man!

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ozwyEZb4wDo

 

Ku Klux Klan leader claims rising support ahead of US midterm elections ...

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BOVfS0IkWlg

 

Trump’s racist politics BACKFIRE in Michigan GOP primary

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J2H1wSM3YbI

Trump ally Stephen Miller leads sweeping push to accelerate removal of migrant children

Stephen Miller is leading an unprecedented and intense White House drive across a host of government departments to accelerate the removal of undocumented immigrant children from the US, using tactics that critics say are cruel and racist and, in some cases, flout federal law, the Guardian has learned…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/19/stephen-miller-trump-migrant-children

 

Karl Rove Announces He Will Vote Democrat In Fiery Rebuke Of GOP: 'I'll Have No Part Of It'

"The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches—and not only in Texas," wrote Rove. "Conservativism and the party it dominates have an increasing number of bigoted advocates of a 'heritage America' composed of white descendants of the original European settlers." 

He continued, "There are 'just asking questions' Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won't differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots."

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/karl-rove-announces-vote-democrat-150338309.html

 

Bo French Sent a Tweet So Racist, His Own Party Finally Took Notice. It’s Just the Tip of the Iceberg. – Mother Jones

French has written that Trump should “denaturalize and deport all the third world savages who hate our country”—including some Native Americans. “Time to go round up all the Chinese and send them packing!” he wrote in July. (French has said the actual racists are Democrats who push DEI, not people like him.)…

 https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/bo-french-jon-rosenthal-texas-railroad-commission/

Yes, American Christianity Is Racist On Purpose (Drew McCoy/Genetically Modified Skeptic on YouTube)

American Christianity and racism share the same roots.

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/xFxhCZd9BUU?si=CI5bvMoqA0ZBmGzA

Charlie Kirk Said the Civil Rights Act Was a Mistake- Anatomy of a Racist argument, part 3

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UhpwUbpsxyE?is=wB-PpGv7AY0Ker28

 

He Dismissed Every Single Black Invention Named To His Face

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/blFair4kSH8

 

New IRS proposal threatens universities' tax-exempt status over diversity programs - POLITICO

“Weaponizing the IRS to attack colleges and universities that uphold and expand civil rights is outrageous,” Todd Wolfson, the group’s president, said in a statement. “This is blatantly racist political coercion intended to deny minority students reparative opportunities to further their education.” 

Mike Gavin, head of the Alliance for Higher Education, said the “administration’s latest rules changes are its most blatant attack to keep working class Americans and people of color from accessing higher education and a better life.”…

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/03/irs-universities-tax-exempt-status-01063478 

"Abdul, what is your plan to bridge the gap between the Black community ...

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tupJ8LBUGcM

Alzheimer’s research is latest casualty in Trump administration war against ‘DEI’

Grant cancellations at leading research institutions appear to target study of impacts of racism on brain health…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/17/alzheimers-research-grants-trump-administration