Book Released, Red Wave, Chief Twit, and Blueberry Cream Cheesecake

WTF Happened This Week?

A newsletter from Win the Future Strategies, LLC, on politics, policy & pairings (Food & Drink) Sign up today!

See below for:

1. what’s going on with us,

2. the top political stories we’re following,

3. the top policy and business developments we’re watching,

4. the recipe and drink of the week, and

5. the “WTF Moment of the Week"

Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions, comments, or content suggestions by visiting our website or by emailing us at Victory@wtfstrategies.com.

Follow us on social media:

• Teresa's Instagram / Teresa's Twitter
• Brian's Instagram / Brian's Twitter
  

(1) Top WTF News

We’re continuing to promote our new book, Vignettes & Vino: Dinner Table Stories from the Trump White House with Recipes and Cocktail Pairings!

• Book Released: This week, our book was released! We have received many kind and enthusiastic notes from our family and friends whose copies were delivered. Thank you! We shot back to the top of the Amazon Wine Pairing chart right off the bat, which is great news. On that note...
• Buy Our Book!: Our book can be purchased in print and online at several stores including Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.
• Spicer & Co.: Today, catch us in the 5pm hour on Spicer & Co. on Newsmax--if you can't catch it live, you can watch it afterwards on their website.
• John Bachman Now: On Wednesday, we appeared on John Bachman Now on Newsmax with the lovely and talented Bianca de la Garza. Our segment is in the last 15 minutes of the show. Brian cheered on Lee Zeldin's performance in his debate against Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Teresa and Brian shared some of their favorite parts of Vignettes & Vino.
• Monica Crowley Podcast: You'll hear us soon on the Monica Crowley Podcast with our dear friend and Brian's former boss Monica--we recorded a great conversation, so stay tuned.
• Rudy Giuliani Show: Brian also spoke with his friend and former client, America's Mayor on the Rudy Giuliani Show for a very warm and fun conversation.
  

(2) Top Political News of the Week

A Red Wave Appears on the Horizon

A slew of closely watched and contested races have begun breaking decidedly to the right, making it more and more likely that both the House and Senate will be in Republican control in January.

• Pennsylvania is moving firmly in the direction of Dr. Oz for its Senate seat with a new poll revealing Oz leading by 3 points. This comes after Democrat John Fetterman's health came into serious question after his performance at their debate this week, where viewers observed disturbing signs of the stroke he suffered before the primary election.
• Other GOP candidates have momentum in several key races, according to some right-leaning pollsters:
• Georgia where Herschel Walker is moving into the lead, as even Sen. Chuck Schumer admitted.
• Ohio where J.D. Vance is expanding his lead.
• Nevada where Adam Laxalt is moving ahead.

Let's Talk About the Governors -- GOP candidates are surging in unexpected places:

• Deep Blue Oregon is poised to elect Republican Christine Drazan, who is leading virtually every recent poll.
• Michigan's race is tightening significantly with Real Clear Politics ranking it as a tossup (with a projection for the GOP) between Republican Tudor Dixon and incumbent Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
• New York has a surprisingly competitive race with friend of WTF Lee Zeldin bringing the heat in his debate with Gov. Kathy Hochul excoriating her for being soft on crime and out of touch.
• Nevada is likely to elect Joe Lombardo. He now leads by 7 in the tossup state.
• Arizona's Kari Lake is highly likely to defeat Katie Hobbs.
• Wisconsin typically leans blue, but has a tossup race where Republican Tim Michels could win the governor's race (Note: Sen. Ron Johnson appears likely to win as well).
  

The House is almost certainly to flip to the Republicans--it's only a matter of by how much. Dan Conston, who runs soon-to-be Speaker McCarthy's Super PAC, feels comfortably in the 20+ pickup range and is focusing on winning districts that Biden carried by 8-10 points.

(3) Top Policy & Business News of the Week

Chief Twit Takes the Helm

In (hopefully) a victory for free speech and conservatives who have been silenced in recent years, Elon Musk closed his deal to take over Twitter. He promptly fired the CEO, CFO, policy head and general counsel. Don't feel too bad for them. They'll likely receive multi-million-dollar payouts as Musk is the only thing between their stock trading at $54 per share and the market conditions, which would have it closer to $15 per share, given what others in the industry like Meta and Snap are doing these days.

GDP & Interest Rates

The economy grew at 2.6% annualized in Q3, though a recession is still expected. The Fed will probably raise interest rates by another 0.75%. Mortgage rates are up over 7% and a major contraction in the housing market is materializing.

Labor Force

This statistic is stunning: 100 million Americans in the U.S. are not working. About half are retired. Many more are dealing with Covid, and about 6.8 million "don't want to be employed."

(4) Recipe & Drink Pairing of the Week

Mom’s Blueberry Cream Cheesecake & Irish Coffee

(Another favorite from Vignettes & Vino)

To Eat: Mom’s Blueberry Cream Cheesecake

Serves 10

½ cup (1 stick) butter

¼ cup (half a stick) margarine

⅓ cup brown sugar

Half an egg, slightly beaten

1½ cups pecans or walnuts, chopped

12 oz. cream cheese

½ cup sugar

⅓ cup milk

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 can blueberry pie filling

Fresh blueberries (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix the butter, margarine, brown sugar, egg, and nuts. Once mixed well, spread into a 9-by-12-inch buttered baking dish. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

While the crust is cooking, create the icing by blending the cream cheese, sugar, and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer. Add the Cool Whip to the icing when it’s creamy.

Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool. Once cooled, spread the icing over the crust. Then spread the blueberry filling over that. Serve and store the remainder in the refrigerator.

Tip: Add fresh blueberries to the pie filling for a special touch.

To Drink: Irish Coffee

6 oz. brewed coffee

1 Tbsp. sugar or sweetener

2 oz. whiskey (typically Jameson)

1½ oz. Irish cream (typically Bailey’s, but there are other good ones out there)

Pour the coffee into a glass, keeping it hot or pouring it over ice. Add the sugar or sweetener and whiskey. Stir. Pour the Irish cream on top in a circular motion and let it swirl in.

(5) WTF Moment of the Week

We have multiple contenders this week. Crime, unfortunately, hit home for the Pelosis with the House Speaker's husband Paul experiencing a violent home invasion. Thankfully, the suspect is in custody, and Mr. Pelosi is being treated and is expected to recover.

In less dire, but still very bad news, A NY Post employee posted fake, offensive headlines to the paper's online accounts. The person was caught and quickly fired--a victory for all of us who love the Hamilton-founded best paper in America.

As always, you can reach us by visiting www.winthefuturestrategies.com or by emailing us at Victory@wtfstrategies.com. Have a great week!

‍