MAGA Republicans didn’t take off this holiday weekend from spouting more extremism, hypocrisy, chaos, and — as President Biden would call it — malarkey. In case you missed it: Donald Trump peddled his extreme MAGA agenda in South Carolina, Mike Pence doubled down on his support for rigging the economy for the ultra-rich and big corporations against hardworking middle-class families, Kim Reynolds is calling for a special session to pass extreme anti-abortion restrictions, and Will Hurd became the latest Republican presidential candidate to endorse an extreme national abortion ban. 

In South Carolina, Donald Trump once again tried to spin his shameful record of backing cuts to Social Security and Medicare — saying he would “protect” these essential programs despite proposing to slash them EVERY YEAR he was in office.

Washington Post: “His avowed stance, however, is at odds with Trump’s own record as president: Each of his White House budget proposals included cuts to Social Security and Medicare programs.”

CNN: “Former President Donald Trump once backed raising the retirement age to 70 and called for privatizing Social Security which he called a ‘Ponzi scheme’ – two positions he has hammered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting as a former member of Congress and congressional candidate. … but a CNN KFile review found Trump himself also once praised [Paul] Ryan on Medicare, along with the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, without praising their specific policy proposal, which called for similar changes to Ryan’s plan.”

Trump also BRAGGED about the influential role he played in opening the door for extreme abortion bans.

Bloomberg: “Speaking to supporters in Pickens in the state’s northwest corner, the former president pointed to his judicial picks, which include three Supreme Court justices he appointed as president, as well as last year’s ruling that overturned the constitutional right to abortion.

And Trump tried to spin his disastrous economic record again — despite being the WORST jobs president since the Great Depression and causing the deficit to SKYROCKET while he was in office. 

Fortune: “Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover”

Washington Post: “President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.”

Washington Post Analysis: “The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. … There were multiple culprits. Trump’s tax cuts, especially the sharp reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, took a big bite out of federal revenue. The CBO estimated in 2018 that the tax cut would increase deficits by about $1.9 trillion over 11 years.”

Mike Pence had the audacity to DOUBLE DOWN on his support for Trump-era trickle-down economics: rigging the economy for America’s wealthiest, gifting tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations, and shipping jobs overseas, all at the expense of hardworking middle-class families.  

Pence: “I’m somebody that, I don’t really buy into ‘the rich need to pay their fair share.’” 

Kim Reynolds called a special legislative session to pass extreme anti-abortion restrictions in Iowa — made possible by Donald Trump and the role he played in clearing a path for extreme abortion bans across the country.  

NBC News: “Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called Wednesday for a special legislative session that she said would be dedicated exclusively to enacting ‘pro-life legislation.’”

Trump: “Nobody has ever done more for ‘Right to Life’ than Donald Trump. I put three Supreme Court justices, who all voted, and they got something that they’ve been fighting for for 64 years, or many, many years.”

And Will Hurd became the latest Republican presidential hopeful to endorse an extreme national abortion ban — falling in line with other members of the GOP field.

The Hill: “‘Part of this is what is actually doable when [you’ve] been in office, and I don’t see 60 votes happening, right?’ said former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) in a brief interview with The Hill last week, noting the number of votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster.

‘But my personal position has always been 15 weeks sounds right,’ he continued.”

USA Today: “‘A vital role:’ Donald Trump endorses the idea of national abortion restrictions”

DeSantis: “Dobbs returned the issue to the elected representatives of the people. And so I think that there’s, there’s role for both the federal and the states.”

Wolf Blitzer: “Would you support a six-week ban nationwide?”

Pence: “Well, of course. Look — I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it. I believe that we’ve got to do everything in our power to restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law. And I’d support federal legislation in that regard if I was in the Congress or had any other job here in town.”

Newsmax: “Your colleague in the Senate — also your colleague from South Carolina — Lindsey Graham is pushing for a 15-week federal abortion ban, something that’s going to be an issue come the next election. Would a President Scott sign that bill into law?”

Scott: “Every day, I would sign that bill into law. I would sign the most conservative pro-life legislation you can bring to my desk.”

Meg Kinnard, Associated Press: “‘Yes of course I would sign’ federal ban, Haley says.”

USA Today: “Presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he would sign into law a 15-week national abortion ban if he were president, a departure from his previous stance when he said the issue should be left up to individual states.”

Wall Street Journal: “[Suarez] said he would support a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of mother.”