National

“And just thinking to myself right now, we should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right? What are we even having it for? What are we having it for?” — Donald Trump, quoted by Politico. Talking about himself in the third person? Check. Wanting to be a dictator? Check.

Via TPM: PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -The leaders of an armed group that took over a national wildlife refuge in rural Oregon have been found not guilty of conspiracy and possession…

Is there anyone left? We received this tip:

TNJ has laid off planning editor & columnist Jeff Gentry and watchdog editor Chris Coates. Part of a Gannett-wide slashing of 350 jobs, or 2% of the workforce.

Businessweek on how Trump will dominate GOP politics after the election: “Almost every public and private metric suggests Trump is headed for a loss, possibly an epic one. His frustrated demeanor on the campaign trail suggests he knows it. Yet even as he nears the end of his presidential run, his team is sowing the seeds of a new enterprise with a direct marketing effort that they insist could still shock the world on Election Day.” “Beginning last November, then ramping up in earnest when Trump became the Republican nominee, Kushner quietly built a sprawling digital fundraising database and social media campaign that’s become the locus of his father-in-law’s presidential bid. Trump’s top advisers won’t concede the possibility of defeat, but they’re candid about the value of what they’ve built even after the returns come in—and about Trump’s desire for influence regardless of outcome.”

The New York Times says Trump's biggest fear is losing status: “The intense ambitions and undisciplined behaviors of Mr. Trump have confounded even those close to him, especially as his presidential campaign comes to a tumultuous end, and he confronts the possibility of the most stinging defeat of his life. But in the more than five hours of conversations — the last extensive biographical interviews Mr. Trump granted before running for president — a powerful driving force emerges: his deep-seated fear of public embarrassment.” “The recordings reveal a man who is fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status and contemptuous of those who fall from grace. They capture the visceral pleasure he derives from fighting, his willful lack of interest in history, his reluctance to reflect on his life and his belief that most people do not deserve his respect.” “In the interviews, Mr. Trump makes clear just how difficult it is for him to imagine — let alone accept — defeat.”