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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 7 November 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the weekend.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
🌧️ The weekend’s weather: Light rain, all weekend, for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, although Inverness might just be a bit grey. Tomorrow will be much the same - maybe a little less rain. London has a foggy start this morning but will enjoy sunny spells when that burns off: same again tomorrow. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Trump’s aggressive post-rout plan
🍸 Just after 5am on Wednesday morning, as I was typing away for that day’s Early Line, Donald Trump came on to Fox News for one of those extraordinary, rambling, utterly un-Presidential interviews he gives down the telephone line from time to time.
It was an odd spectacle: the two anchors, on edge as they attempted to guide the President’s thoughts with softball questions, the President represented only by a still picture. In the end, I thought, they were working subtly to get him off the line so they could get back to covering the election results. Trump, meanwhile, sounded beaten, deflated. He said he’d get on with being President, would work with Democrats, and only vaguely warned about his veto power.
Trump’s true response is taking shape now: his appointment of Stephen Miller as his new Chief of Staff, replacing Susie Wiles, is an extraordinary one. It points to a final two years of presidency which will be right-wing, combative and unpredictable. The appointment has brought trepidation in Washington, and anger and astonishment among those sectors already affected by his policies.
Miller is variously described as a “bare-knuckled political operative”, “aggressive”, and “galvanising” for the President’s opponents. He was already powerful within the White House. He is an architect of the ICE roundup of immigrants across the US, so is loathed by industries - construction and farming, in particular - who rely on migrant labour. He has also driven actions including the bombing of small boats in the Caribbean, which has raised international alarm.
Don’t expect him to soften now he’s next door to the Oval Office. “People close to Mr. Miller,” reports the New York Times, “said he had shown no interest in compromising with congressional Democrats and was ready for a fight over subpoenas and investigations that are expected to emanate from the Hill.” (New York Times)
With Stephen Miller pick, Trump readies for a battle (BBC)
Stephen Miller’s promotion angers industries reeling from immigration enforcement (Washington Post)
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including
Have China’s spies targeted one of the tech world’s most senior leaders?
A link between a corner of Scotland and Stonehenge, trumpeted two years ago, has been quietly dismissed
Emergency planners are talking about preparing for a ‘black sky’ moment when the power goes off
A new exhibition will tell us more about what the Romans did in Scotland
A beautiful “Good Life” home in Scotland’s most affordable area is this week’s highlight
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend.
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