Continuing his never-ending quest to make Trumpistan sicker, Doctor Dementia on Monday pushed discredited links between Tylenol pain management during pregnancy and autism. “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it. Fight like hell not to take.” Trump told expectant mothers in what the Associated Press called a "rambling announcement" at an "unwieldy" news conference.

Health officials in the U.S. and around the world rejected the Moron King's recommendations. In the words of the British Health Secretary, "Don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine." After all, Trump is the "stable genius" who suggested injecting disinfectant to eradicate COVID.

Art Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University, dubbed The Don's performance "the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority." (AP)

Meanwhile, another large U.S. measles outbreak is centered in border areas of southwestern Utah and Arizona, which are seeing the highest number of cases since the 1990s. When a highly infectious, vaccine-preventable disease drops into a community with low vaccination rates, the outcome is predictable. (NBC)

A New York Times investigation found that Sheikh Tahnoon, who controls $1.5 trillion of the United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth, and Steve Witkoff, Trump's golf buddy and Middle East envoy, combined their diplomatic and business interests, breaking ethical boundaries to enrich Mafia Don, his family, and the inner circle of Trump Pirates.

Their partnership centers on two multibillion-dollar deals. In Dubai last May, Zach, the son of Mr. Witkoff, in cahoots with Don Jr., revealed the first of the deals. The Witkoffs and Trumps launched World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency start-up, with a $2 billion investment from the Sheikh. The cash influx expanded World Liberty's profile, providing it with potentially tens of millions of dollars in revenue per year.

Two weeks later, the White House agreed to give G42, a technology company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon, access to hundreds of thousands of AI computer chips. The White House ignored concerns that the Chinese might gain access to them. The finalized deal would provide the UAE with a crucial tool in the high-stakes race to dominate artificial intelligence.

In the middle of both deals is Don the Con, the most corrupt president in US history. Ruling families blending moneymaking and governance is the norm in Trumpistan and the Persian Gulf. According to Zach Witkoff, the Emirates "are just an amazing example of how you can lead with innovation while also maintaining your family values." (NYT)

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the MAGOP budget reconciliation bill, or the Butt-Ugly Bill, will add $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. These deficits will trigger the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (S-PAYGO), which requires automatic cuts to government programs if legislation increases the budget deficit. S-PAYGO will set off $491 billion in cuts to Medicare from 2027 to 2034 in addition to the trillion dollar cuts to Medicaid. All to give the richest 1% a tax cut. (CBO)

The combination of that weird summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin and the only slightly less bizarre gathering of NATO leaders in Washington, was the latest reminder that U.S. President Donald Trump is a terrible negotiator, a true master of the “art of the giveaway.” He doesn’t prepare, doesn’t have subordinates lay the groundwork beforehand, and arrives at each meeting not knowing what he wants or where his red lines are. He has no strategy and isn’t interested in the details, so he just wings it.

With no mandate from the people or God, the Moron King has ginned-up emergencies to rule by fiat.  In the first six months of his second term, Trump has signed 186 orders, compared to a four-year total of 162 for Biden or 147 by Obama. He is on pace to break the average per year record held by FDR during the Great Depression.

Don the Con signed another executive order making it easier to part fools from their money by allowing workplace retirement plans, like 401(k)s, to invest in alternative assets such as private equity, cryptocurrencies, and real estate.

"These funds are high-fee, risky, and opaque," said Helaine Olen of American Economic Liberties Project. "Private equity consistently underperforms the S&P 500. This is a windfall for billionaire fund managers and a disaster in the making for regular Americans trying to save for retirement.”

The lords of finance have been on a losing streak lately and needed to get creative, so they joined Don the Con's pay-to-play, self-enrichment scheme. The Don's 2024 campaign slush fund was heavily funded by both private equity and the crypto bros, with private equity nearing $200 million and the crypto sector exceeding $245 million. For that meager investment, they gain access to the $12.2 trillion Americans held in all employer-based DC retirement plans, of which $8.7 trillion was held in 401(k) plans. (Common Dreams|Lever Podcast)

Following a May 23 executive order from Trump, a Department of Governmental Energy (DOGE) representative told Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) leaders that the agency will be expected to give “rubber stamp” approval to new nuclear reactors tested by the Departments of Energy or Defense. The order undermines the NRC’s traditional authority as the sole safety regulator for commercial nuclear projects. The move aligns with Trump’s goal to quadruple U.S. nuclear power by 2050, amid criticism from Republicans, tech allies, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright that the NRC’s slow approval process has hindered industry profits. (Politico)

The big ass ugly bill contains a provision that allows private jet owners to write off the full cost of their aircraft in the first year of purchase, rather than spreading the deduction over many years. A corporation buying a $50 million private jet could potentially deduct the entire $50 million from their taxes in the year of the purchase. (Common Dreams)

The National Business Aviation Association lobby shop celebrates the MAGOP tax bill for "incentivizing aircraft purchase." The 100% bonus depreciation, according to Forbes, "is often associated with big-ticket luxury items, such as private aircraft, and its institution last decade led to a boom in jet sales." (Forbes)  The CBO estimates the permanent establishment of 100% bonus depreciation would cost taxpayers $378 billion over 10 years. (Bipartisan Policy Center)

Vladimir Putin: “President Trump is a very bright and talented man.”
Viktor Orban: “The most respected, the most feared person is Donald Trump.”
Jair Bolsonaro: “We do have a great deal of shared values. I admire President Trump."
Kim Jong Un: “Your Excellency.” A “special” relationship. “The extraordinary courage of President Trump.”

1. Many things reported with confidence in the first hours or days will turn out not to be true.
2. Whatever they say, most people who start wars are thinking about domestic politics.
3. The rationale given for war will change over time making the gaining of any objective less important than one might think
4. Wars are unpredictable.
5. Wars are easy to start and hard to stop. (Bluesky)

Well that didn't take long.

On June 12, Nosferatu Goebbels suffered a temporary setback to his plan to “Make America White Again” when the Department of Homeland Security issued an internal communication advising ICE agents to refrain from arresting immigrants working on farms, in hotels, and in restaurants. Trumpistan's Agriculture Secretary explained economic reality to the Mad King: Key industries in the U.S. rely heavily on workers living in the U.S. illegally, many of them for decades. (Reuters) Least we think he's motivated by mere political expediency, the Mad King staffs his golf clubs and Virginia winery with foreign workers, ordered ICE to concentrate on Blue cities that protest against him. (Forbes)

Goldman Sachs looked at statistics from the 2023 census and found that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally make up about 4.4% of the U.S. workforce. However, the study found that they make up a much larger part of the workforce in some fields: 19% in landscaping services, 17% in crop production, 16% in killing and processing animals, and 13% in construction. Farmers and meatpackers say that if existing policies stayed the same, there would be a shortage of workers, which might lead to higher food prices. (WSJ)

Four days later, TACO lifted the “exemption” and told ICE agents they were free to resume the Deportation Games at farms, hotels, and restaurants (Reuters) and to concentrate on Blue cities that protest against him.  Trumpistan's Mad King is, as always, petty, vengeful, capricious, and uninformed.

The Mad King has ordered a halt to raids and arrests in agriculture, hotels, and restaurants. The shift in focus suggests mass deportation is hurting MAGA constituencies and his own golf hotels. On his vanity social media platform, The Don whined that his own deportation policies were "taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace."

White House deputy chief of staff Nosferatu Miller has pushed for a minimum of 3,000 arrests per day, telling ICE officials to "just go out there and arrest illegal aliens." (Guardian) The immigration policies of the reality TV star faux business genius is hurting companies as Hispanic customers - the second largest demographic group in the US - cuts back on spending.  (CNBC)

Make White-Collar Crime Great Again. Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, criticized The First Felon for granting pardons and clemency to a rogue's gallery of felons convicted of crimes such as wire, bank, and securities fraud, campaign finance violations, money laundering, bribery, tax evasion, and drug offenses. The convicts, many echoing TACO's bogus claims of political persecution, paid millions to swampy lobbyists or directly to the First Felon. The Justice Department has set standards for considering pardons and commutations that Trump and his lickspittle Pardon Attorney, Ed "No MAGA(t) left behind" Martin, disregarded. "The new criteria for granting pardons appear to be: showing absolute personal and political loyalty to President Trump; giving substantial financial contributions to MAGA and the President's political network; and engaging in forms of political corruption and violence that promote MAGA power and authoritarianism," Raskin wrote. (CBS)

The purported settlement of Trumpelthinskin's $20B suit against Paramount may be subject to federal and California state bribery statutes. TACO filed the suit in Texas for "mental anguish" caused by the editing of a promo of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Although the suit is completely without merit, Paramount has reportedly offered a settlement in the range of $15M. TACO wants more money and an apology, or his FCC henchman, Brandon Carr, will reject the $8B merger of Paramount and Skydance. The California state Senate has launched an investigation as to whether this quid pro quo violates California bribery and unfair competition laws. This follows a warning to Paramount Chair Sheri Redstone from Senators Warren, Sanders, and Wyden that a settlement may violate federal bribery statutes. (Deadline)

The regime pardoned a South Florida nursing home executive who had pled guilty to tax crimes after his mother paid $1M to Trump's campaign PAC for facetime with The Don. Between 2016 and 2019, Paul Walczak skimmed $10M off the paychecks of nurses, doctors, and others who worked in his nursing homes, falsely claiming it was going to Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes. Walczak faced 18 months in prison and $4.4 million in penalties at the time of his pardon. (NY Times)

Since the start of the Fifth Reich, MAGA Inc. has hosted more than half-dozen influence-peddling dinners. Trump is term-limited, but that has not stopped him from amassing a $600 million war chest or releasing Trump 2028 hats. (AP)

Elizabeth Fago, Walczak's mother, kissed the Don's ring at a Mal-a-Lago function in March. Fago also has a history. She served as intermediary between the shakedown artists who had Ashley Biden's diary (since convicted) and the 2020 Trump campaign, which, having not gone full-Jonestown, rejected it and informed the FBI. Fago's daughter then tipped off Project Veritas, the right-wing gaslighters best known for doctoring videos, which purchased the stolen diary for $40,000. Eventually, the diary was published by MAGA scum known as The National File. The Fifth Reich shut down the federal investigation into "obtaining, transporting, transferring, disseminating, or otherwise disposing of Ashley Biden's stolen property," sparing the co-conspirators: Project Veritas, Elizabeth Fago and her daughter.

Trump also pardoned a Virginia sheriff convicted of accepting $75,000 in bribes from businessmen who he appointed as auxiliary deputy sheriffs. Finding Scott Jenkins guilty of twelve counts on different offenses, the court sentenced him to ten years in jail. (Fox) What's in it for The Don? Jenkins is a member of the right-wing Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which asserts that "sovereign sheriffs" have supreme legal authority and power based on Christian supremist ideology. The group is a front for white nationalists and election subverters. (SPLC)

Trump pardons his committed cultists, abusing the pardon power and negating justice.  Hours after taking office, he cleaned the records of some 1,500 insurrectionists who rioted in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump pardon attorney, Ed Martin, is expected to grant full pardons to 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were convicted of forceable resistance to the transfer of power and seditious conspiracy. Trump originally commuted their sentences, freeing them from prison but leaving their convictions in place.

Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison for facilitating well over a million narcotics transactions valued more than $183M. He too was pardoned. (AP) Trump's pardon reflect "another blatant abuse of power aimed at shielding corrupt loyalists. ... It's a green light for criminal activity and corruption, so underlines Trump's protection of his enforcers independent of the crimes they carry out." (Tyranny Tracker)

In response to Trump's dystopian vision of Gaza-a-Lago, the administration is developing a plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Libya is also a potential destination for the deportation of undocumented US immigrants. The U.S. Department of State's Travel Advisory for Libya is at Level 4: Do Not Travel "due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict." Instability and warring political factions have plagued Libya since Muammar al-Qaddafi's ouster and death in October 2011. Two rival governments—one in the east and one in Tripoli—are actively and violently fighting for control. Forcible population transfers are considered war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Geneva Convention and other international law. (NBC)

Just like Season One of "The Kleptocracy," Trump's first foreign trip of Season Two is to Saudi Arabia—the absolute monarchy propped up by oil wealth, repression, and Sharia law. Trump really loves the regal fluffery, the red carpet ceremonies, the state dinners with autocrats and oligarchs, and the private business conflicts of interest. Trump is a king-wannabe who installed tacky gilded knickknacks throughout the Oval Office, posted Long Live the King on Xitter, and who covets a $400M "Palace in the Sky" from Qatar. Trump will brag about some big-ticket investment deals with the autocrats in Riyadh, which will be a payoff to defense industries, his son-in-law, and other cronies. Trump and Mohammed bin Salman will cohost a banquet for oligarchs, including the world's richest asshole, Elon Musk; BlackRock's Larry Fink; Amazon's Andy Jassy; Nvidia's Jensen Huang; OpenAI's Sam Altman; and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Trump's next royal visit, following a handwritten invitation from King Charles III, will be to Britain in September. (Politico)

“The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
Dick the Butcher in Henry VI, Part II

Don the Butcher has successfully shaken down a third white-shoe law firm – Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Their offence: Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff is a partner. This follows anticipatory obedience by Paul, Weiss and Skadden, Arps. In each case, Trump’s Gangster Government threatened to revoke security clearances and terminate federal contracts. To appease Mafia Don FOR NOW, the firms pledged to stop combating racism and provide a combined $240 million dollars in pro bono legal services to the Don’s authoritarian obsessions.

Herr Trump is making concrete plans to make his wet dream of lebensraum a reality. Reports say that the First Fascist has told the US military to plan ways to send more troops to Panama as part of his plan to “reclaim” the canal. The US Southern Command is in charge of operations and security cooperation in Central America. They have come up with ideas like working with the Panamanian military, i.e. staging a coup, or sending US troops to take the canal by force. (NBC) Sources tell the Quisling Post that Herr Trump is requesting estimates of how much it would cost to run Greenland as a territory. These steps are part of concrete effort yet to turn Trump’s wish to forcibly acquire territory into government policy. (WaPo)

The regime has removed a clause from federal contracting rules that had been in place since the 1960s, allowing companies to have segregated facilities. The process used to institute these changes, without a typical public notice or comment period of 45 to 90 days, is usually reserved for national emergencies. “The way that they’re implementing this in the contracting field is essentially subverting democracy,” said one federal worker. “By doing this, they’re essentially ramming things through hoping no one’s going to notice.” Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion repealed an executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination. All businesses, including those with government contracts, still need to follow federal and state laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes segregated facilities illegal. “It’s symbolic, but it’s incredibly meaningful in its symbolism,” says Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at New York University. “These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government’s efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.” (NPR)

After reconfirming his man-crush on Putin and betraying Ukraine, Trump has (illegally, unconstitutionally) silenced the Voice of America (VOA), thereby killing another piece of American soft power. Established to fight Nazi propaganda, the VOA’s mission is to spread US values throughout the world. VOA transmitted unbiased, albeit government-backed, news into authoritarian countries, who are now the regime’s allies. No wonder Krasnov hated the agency. Trump’s flunky, Kari Lake, served as the Grim Reaper. She checked all of the MAGAT boxes—synthetic, former local news anchor, election denier, and two-time election loser. The shutdown of VOA delighted Russian and Chinese propagandists. Vladimir Solovyov, a Putin supporter, wrote on Xitter, “Die, b*stards, because you are traitors to the Motherland who lie and are disgusting.” “Die behind the fence.” (Kyiv Post) The Chinese Communist Party newspaper, The Global Times, denounced Voice of America as a “frontline propaganda tool” and a “lie factory.” “The actions of the Trump administration are cause for enthusiastic celebration,” said David Bandurski, the director of the China Media Project, a research organization. “In a matter of weeks, Trump seems to have slit the throat of American influence.” (NY Times)

Keeping up with the First Toddler’s tariff mayhem is a bootless task, though it follows a pattern. Impose a tariff deadline; back off without achieving anything; lie about its success. The latest U-turn occurred after a flattering phone call from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that yielded the usual Trumpspeak. Government by gaslighting and greased palms. Avenues of corruption include industries being able to pay off MAGOP grifters to achieve tariff carve-outs. Trump’s perpetual grifting machine has eliminated government watchdogs and placed MAGA profiteers at all the pressure points. It’s installed propagandists in the White House pool. Meanwhile, in the reality-based world, tariff whiplash is roiling the markets, destroying consumer confidence, and upending business planning. “The Yale University Budget Lab has estimated that the tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico would increase inflation by a full percentage point, cut growth by half a percentage point and cost the average household about $1,600 in disposable income.” (AP)

Candidate Trump said he’ll “never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.” (ABC) If his lips are moving …  Now the First Felon’s Regime is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people of the 60,000 people who work at the Social Security Administration as a down payment on a 50% reduction in force. (AP) Leland Dudek, the acting SSA commissioner and DOGE apparatchik, sent an email to staff entitled “Our Road Ahead,” which promised to “outsource non-essential functions to industry experts.”  Dudek also demanded Social Security management produce a plan that eliminated half of the workforce at SSA headquarters in Washington and in regional offices. (The Bulwark) According the DOGE’s Wall of Deceits, leases have been canceled for 45 field Social Security field offices in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina – all Red States that swallowed The Don’s Con. (Common Dreams) The Trump/DOGE is the Fire Fighter Arsonist who sets a fire that only they can put out.  They plan is disrupt and destroy essential services at all Federal agencies so Americans accept Wall Street’s offer to privatize because with the MAGOP it’s always profits over people.

In the latest episode of blatant corruption, Don the Con has launch a pay-to-play scheme that turns the presidency into his own private slush fund. Business leaders are ponying up as much as $5 million to meet one-on-one with Trump at his Florida golf club, while others are paying $1 million apiece to eat hamburgers and drink Diet Coke with him in a group setting.

The $5 million one-on-one meetings have become a “hot ticket” in the business community. Latecomers to the “Great Capitulation,” particularly from the tech sector, have been scrambling to kiss up to Dear Leader. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Uber, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman all donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration fund. (Wired)

Trump remains in a snit because Zelensky didn’t bow down to his mineral rights extortion scheme. Signing away Ukrainian mineral rights deal would have left the country unable to rebuild after having been hit by over 11,000 Russian missiles. (CSIS) It likely would have also ended Zelensky’s political career, which is probably what Putin’s White House strategists wanted. Trump’s extortion racket involves forcing the country that was invaded to pay reparations, which would have gone into the pockets of American extraction industries chosen by the Regime. The Regime has stopped financing new weapons sales to Ukraine and is considering freezing weapons shipments from U.S. stockpiles, further damaging a country that has endured three years of murder, rape, kidnapping, and massive destruction. We are so far a passive member of the Bad Guys Club, or Axis of Evil, joining Putin, North Korea, Iran, and China. One has to ask: “How long before the U.S. will be actively fighting for Mother Russia?” National Security Viper Mike Waltz wants Zelensky – the Winston Churchill of Ukraine – to grovel before Cadet Bone Spurs and hand over the goods. “What we need to hear from President Zelensky is that he has regret for what happened, he’s ready to sign this mineral deal, and that he’s ready to engage in peace talks. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.” (ABC) In addition to mineral reparations, the Regime is calling for territorial concessions and even replacing Zelensky – views that align with the Big Boss in Moscow. Trump said the Oval Office melee was “great television,” which is true if you’re idea of good television is never rises above WWE.

Welcome to Trumpistan where corruption is Job One. According to the WSJ, X CEO Linda Yaccarino pressured the large advertising firm Interpublic Group to funnel customers to ad money to X.  IPG is planning a merger with rival Omnicon, which might require regulatory approval. If Interpublic Group didn’t comply with the demand, Yaccarino’s boss, Co-President Musk could veto the merger.  “Now we’re looking at a world where the president’s allies could get special treatment, too. And people or companies who don’t bow to those allies could face retribution on government decisions that should be made on their legal merits.” (Business Insider)

DOGE abruptly fired 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, depriving them of access to email and locking them out of their offices.  Thirty percent of the cuts occurred at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, where employees work on reassembling warheads and managing radioactive material. The DOGE made up the story that only 50 “probationary employees” in “primarily administrative and clerical roles” at the National Nuclear Security Administration were sacked. The MAGAts reversed course after finally figuring out they’d mucked up big time, but couldn’t get in touch with them. 2,000 workers across the Department of Energy were terminated as part of the regime’s plan to hasten global warming.  Sacked workers include those who manage radioactive waste sites and to prevent contamination of nearby communities. (Reuters)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture accidentally fired agency employees who are working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. The virus has decimated poultry flocks and has sent egg prices soaring. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 68 cases among humans in the U.S. so far.  Not to worry, the DOGE has also whacked the CDC, and Brainy Worm Bobby is gonna shake up the HHS.

It takes an engineer to build a bridge and a damn fool to blow one up.

When Trump says he is above the law, we must assume he means it. He has never shown regard for judicial independence or constitutional order. And now he is more emboldened than in his first term, having surrounded himself with legal advisers who embrace a radical theory of unconstrained executive-branch power. Last year, when the Supreme Court ruled that presidents are entitled to substantial immunity for actions undertaken while in office, Chief Justice John Roberts said the presidency requires an “energetic executive.” Energetic maybe, but not unaccountable. It may soon fall to the Supreme Court to enforce that critical distinction. If it can’t, or won’t, Trump won’t just test the Constitutional limits on his power but try to eliminate them altogether.

The First Fascist has proclaimed the US will ‘take over’ Gaza in a ‘long-term ownership position’ and create the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The Palestinians in Gaza are to be move “permanently.” (Guardian) The man who hates immigrants wants Egypt and Jordan to take 2 million of them. The Mad MAGA King sanctioned ethnic cleansing, which is a violation of international law, as U.S. policy with Netanyahu seated beside him like the cat who ate the canary. Secretary of State Little Marco Rubio, moving quickly to brown-nose Dear Leader, wrote “Make Gaza Beautiful Again” on Xitter.

• The future president is a billionaire.
• The future shadow president, charged with cutting $2T from the U.S. budget, is the world’s richest man.
• The future secretary of commerce is a billionaire.
• The future secretary of the treasury is a billionaire.
• The future secretary of the interior is a billionaire.
• The future secretary of education is a billionaire.
• The future administrator of the Small Business Administration
• The future director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) is a billionaire.
• The future AI and Crypto Czar (WTF?) is a billionaire.
• The future Middle East envoy is a billionaire.
• The future NASA administrator is a billionaire.
• The deputy secretary of defense is a billionaire.
• The future head of Social Security is an almost billionaire.
• The future ambassador to France is a billionaire.
• The future ambassador to the United Kingdom is a billionaire.
• The future ambassador to Turkey is a billionaire.

PolitiFact announced it’s lie of the year and in no surprise it went to His Lieness DonOLD Trump and Swarmy What’s-His-Name-Now. With so many to choose from PolitiFact opted for the lie about the diet of Haitian immigrants. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said while losing the debate to Harris. “The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.” Swarmy Vance even admitted his dishonesty, saying “I have to create stories” to get the media’s attention.  In the fifteen year history of the award, the Lying GOAT has won the laurels four times, while figuring prominently three other years.  (PolitiFact)

To implement his populist agenda, Don the Con has assembled an administration worth over $360B, higher than the GDP of Finland, Chile, or New Zealand. Excluding Shadow President Elon Musk, DoGE Bro Ramaswarmy, and The Don himself, there are 11 billionaires in Trump’s Reich Chancellery. Their total net worth is about $23B. The total net worth of Biden’s Cabinet was about $118 million. The Don’s government is pay to play. Business Insider lists 40 Trump megadonors who will want return on investment. Musk spent $44B to buy the failing Xitter but only $278M to buy the presidency. Much of Musk’s wealth was abetted by government help. If he can convince The Don to send undocumented immigrants to Mars via SpaceX, Musk could reap upwards of $250B.

Well, that didn’t last long.  Within days of victory, Trumpist reactionaries were gloating about implementing Project 2025.  One example of many: right-wingnut pod boy Matt Walsh wrote on Xitter, “Now that the election is over I think we can finally say that yeah actually Project 2025 is the agenda. Lol.”  Trump wasted no time appointing creatures from the rightwing swamp associated with the plan to “rescue the country” by creating an Imperial Presidency, replacing a professional civil service with a spoils system, and weakening independent media.

It was naive to assume that Amerika would elect a black woman. MAGA came for the racism and misogyny; stayed for the fascism. The flimflam man expanded his vote totals among the good country people so full of anger and grievance by the oldest trick of the southern oligarchy. As Lyndon Johnson said, “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” To Hell with democracy, what about the price of eggs? – Citizen

Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

A second Trump term will make us nostalgic for the small-change corruption of the first. An emergent Trumpist oligarchy would differ from the cruder form practiced in Putin’s Russia. It would be a “partnership with the most powerful technologies in the world,” seeking monopoly control of aerospace to control the heavens; cryptocurrency to supplant Treasury; and artificial intelligence to control information and commerce. Trump’s partnership with Big Tech billionaires will threaten democracy and capitalism.

[Big Tech billionaires] don’t simply want to insulate themselves from regulators and courts. Ultimately, they want to exploit their relationship with the government in order to supplant it. They want to be the ones who gain control of programs and systems that were once the purview of the state.

The unfunny comedian’s distasteful joke about Puerto Rico is a feature, not a bug of Trumpistan.  When Toddler in Chief, Trump speculated about swapping the America territory for Greenland.  He even got another nepo baby, an Estee Lauder heir, to serve as back channel negotiator and then threw a hissy fit, cancelling an official visit when Denmark’s PM called the idea “absurd.” After Hurricane Maria killed nearly 3,000 people on Puerto Rico, Trump delayed $20B in aid according to an Inspector General‘s report.  The always transactional Trump thinks federal aid should to be contingent on political fealty. Pictures of Trump tossing papers to Puerto Rican first responders captured his insensitivity. “They had these beautiful, soft towels,” Trump said in lieu of an apology. “Very good towels.”

That’s Mitch McConnell’s assessment according to an upcoming biography, The Price of Power. Another of the MAGOP who knows DonOLD best gives an unvarnished view of his character. McConnell thinks Trump is a “sleazeball,” a “narcissist,” and “just about every quality you would not want somebody to have.” Regarding Trump Big Election Lie and the January 6th Insurrection, McConnell minces no words. “I think it was the single most—in a category by itself—of how wrong all of it was, and there’s no doubt who inspired it, and I just hope that he’ll have to pay a price for it,” said McConnell. “If he hasn’t committed indictable offenses, I don’t know what one is.” (CNN)

Another of the military officers who Trump called “my generals” has spoken up after Trump’s recent threats to use the military against a domestic “enemy within.” Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, said Trump meets the definition of a fascist and, if re-elected, would govern as a dictator because he has no understanding or appreciation of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law. “He’s certainly the only president that has all but rejected what America is all about, and what makes America America, in terms of our Constitution, in terms of our values, the way we look at everything, to include family and government,” Mr. Kelly said. (New York Times) While in the White House, Trump groused about the American military’s fealty to the Constitution. “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” he said. “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.” At another time, Trump said to Kelley, “Hitler did some good things.” (The Atlantic)

An NPR study has found that since 2022, Trump has made 100 threats to “investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish” those he deems his enemies. Biden, Harris, Obama, and Lynn Cheney are among those targeted by Trump for his “retribution presidency.” “Once he’s in office with no guardrails, no reason to worry about reelection, and only the most fervent, loyal people surrounding him,” says former Trump press secretary Grisham, “he will absolutely make sure his enemies pay for what he perceives to be their crimes.” For MAGOP flunkies who falsely claim he failed to prosecute his enemies during his first term, Just Security has a “Chronology of a Dozen Times Trump Pushed to Prosecute His Perceived Enemies.” (NPR)

Gavin Newsom is developing contingency plans to Trump-proof California in case the Orange Menace returns to power. He aims to establish an account for disasters if DonOLD refuses to provide federal funds for emergencies like fires and floods. Newsom’s budgetary plans are a response to Trump’s threats to withhold federal disaster relief as a political vendetta against the blue state. At a so-called news conference in Southern California in September, Trump threatened to hold disaster money if California rebels on water rules for environmental reasons. “If he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires,” Trump said. “And if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.” (Politico) In response to deadly California wildfires in 2018, Trump initially refused to approve aid due to the Democratic state. He changed his mind after aides pointed out that Orange County, California, had more Trump supporters than Iowa. In 2019, Ron DeSantis asked Trump to order FEMA to pay 100% of recovery costs, rather than the usual 75%, after Hurricane Michael swept through the Florida Panhandle. “They love me in the Panhandle,” Trump said. “What do they need?” FEMA ended up paying $350M more due to Trump’s intervention. Two months later, Trump threatened to veto a disaster-aid measure in Congress that would have FEMA pay 100% of all disaster costs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria killed more than 3,000 people. “There’s no empathy for the survivors. It is all about getting your photo op, right? Disaster theater to make him look good,” said Mark Harvey, a former Trump NSC official, in response to DonOLD’s recent politicization of Hurricane Helene. (Politico)

Over 100 Republican National Security Leaders endorse Vice President Harris. Former national security and foreign policy officials, including those in the White House, Departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, and other agencies, believe that the President of the United States should be a principled, serious, and steady leader. They support Kamala Harris’ election as president, despite disagreements on domestic and foreign policy issues. They oppose Donald Trump’s election, citing his promotion of chaos, praising enemies, politicizing the military, and betraying the Constitution and democracy. Trump’s susceptibility to manipulation, contempt for ethical behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making make him unfit for a public trust office. (reaganbushmccainromney) Find here an extensive list of Republicans, including his vice president, Cabinet-level officials and White House officials who, knowing him best, oppose Trump. (Wikipedia)

In Trumpistan, the six-time bankrupt, former game-show host could limit, if not eliminate, the independence of the Federal Reserve.  What could possibly go wrong?  The damage ranges from the creation of a “shadow” Fed, undercutting Chairman Powell, to the Project 1887 2025 notion of retrying failed policies from a hundred years ago.  The Project 2025 chapter on the Reserve, penned by Trump deputy assistant for domestic policy, calls for taking “the monetary steering wheel out of the Federal Reserve’s hands and return it to the people.”  Trump has disavowed Project 2025, and everyone knows his word is gold.  (Yahoo Finance)

The the waning days of Trump’s campaign to stay out of jail, his Hitleresque rallies have gone into full Fascist mode.  WaPo describes the call and response – “Ka-MAL-a sucks!” “Tampon Tim!” “She’s a ho!” – from the cretinous misfits decked out in Trump merch. This is NOT normal. Each day a new outrage. Trump and his hate-filled mobs have no decency. DonOLD suggests that a heckler should get “the hell knocked out of her;” CBS should lose it’s broadcast license; undocumented immigrants have “bad genes,” they’re “animals,” “stone cold killers,” the “worst people.” Trump lies about gang activity in Aurora, CO or legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH and his MAGOP henchmen lie to cover up the lies. Trump declared he would use the Alien Enemies Act to round up, imprison and deport anyone he deems undesirable, prepping the Orange Cult for the atrocities of a second Trump regime.  (WaPo, Politico)

That’s how the Trump-appointed Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired U.S. Army General Mark Milley, characterizes Trump in Bob Woodward’s newly published War.  “He is the most dangerous person ever,” Milley is quoted as saying. “I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country.”  During his first term, Trump expressed a desire to recall and court martial retired officers as part of a plan to purge the military and install loyal henchmen.  Milley, former defense secretary Mark Esper and others provide the much touted guardrails for that first term.  During the Fourth Reich, the last people in room will be pushing Trump, to paraphrase his third wife, Be Worst.  (The Independent)

Following up on his vow to be a dictator from “day one,” Convicted Felon, DonOLD Trump, called for a day of police brutality that is supposed end crime.  “One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately.”  When asked to clarify, a liar-for-hire trotted out the standard, feeble excuse for DonOLD’s sadism, claiming it was “clearly just floating it in jest.”  Trump’s accusation that the country is undergoing a crime wave is a projection of his last year in office.  According the annual “Summary of Crime in the Nation,” violent crime dropped about 3% from 2022 to 2023 and property crime drop 2.4%.  (Politico)

The title says it all “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.”  A juicy NY Times article focusing on the “Apprentice” years is adapted from the book. Trump’s “smoke and mirrors” success of the 1980’s based on “his unsupportable borrowing on casinos, an airline shuttle and a hotel [had] pushed him to the brink of financial collapse.”  To rehabilitate his image, the show invented the “measured, thoughtful and endlessly wealthy” Trump and perpetuated the facade for 14 seasons.  “The Apprentice” earned Trump $400M through “product integration” and another $400M from endorsements and licensing. (NY Times)

The former game-show host certainly has a gift for grift – tacky and shameless grift. Who else would hawk pieces of his mug shot suit?  The latest scheme is the “Tourbillion” watch, which offers Trump Chumps a chance to “Join President Trump’s Watch Community” for the low, low price of $100,000.  A down-market versions retails for a mere $499.  Before that, it was “Trump Coins” costing $100 a piece for $30 worth of silver.  There are the $299 assassination-theme sneakers because nothing says “Fight, Fight, Fight” like gold lame.  For digital collectors, there are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sold for $99 a piece. One picturing Trump dancing is sure to be a popular item.  Evangelicals can buy “the only bible endorsed by Trump,” a repackaging of the King James version for $59. Like his lies, Trump merch comes fast and furious.  Here’s a useful list of dreck on offer from America’s first for-profit presidency. (Newsweek)

DonOLD boasted to MAGOP gaslighter Sean Hannity that he wouldn’t be a dictator, “Except for day one.  I want to close the border and drill, drill, drill.”  According to WaPo, DonOLD has made 41 day-one promises, which he has mentioned 200 times during his whackadoodle campaign speeches.  Greatest hits include the promise to begin the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and to unilaterally repeal the birthright citizenship as enshrined in the 14th Amendment.  Besides updating of the Madagascar Plan, DonOLD Dictator promises to take a wrecking ball to education, energy and transgender issues.  Trump tried and FAILED to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and evoke the Muslim travel ban through executive orders during the early days of his first term.   “A lot but not all of what Trump says he wants to do on day one is going to be illegal or impractical,” said Steve Vladeck, a Georgetown Law constitutional law and Trump critic, angling to make the Trump Justice Department Enemies List.  (WaPo)

The title says it all “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.”  A juicy NY Times article focusing on the “Apprentice” years is adapted from the book.  In 2004, Mark Burnett, fresh off the success of “Survivor” approach Trump about the “Apprentice” gig.  Producers found a run-down Trump dump with chipped furniture and a “musty carpet odor.”  Trump’s “smoke and mirrors” success of the 1980’s based on “his unsupportable borrowing on casinos, an airline shuttle and a hotel [had] pushed him to the brink of financial collapse.”  To rehabilitate his image, the show invented the  “measured, thoughtful and endlessly wealthy” Trump and perpetuated the facade for 14 seasons.   The show was a hit after one season, averaging 20.7 million viewers.  A success due in part to Trump’s “charisma,” which boils down to a lifetime of shameless attention seeking, a moth to the tabloid-media spotlight.  “The Apprentice” earned Trump $400M through “product integration” and another $400M from endorsements and licensing. (NY Times)

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?’ If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

In the always keen competition for DonOLD’s most godawful lie, two whoppers really shine. Speaking to the Mom’s for Book Banning, DonOLD claimed “the transgender thing is incredible. think of it: your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. the school decides what’s going to happen with your child — and you know many of these childs, fifteen years later, say, ‘what the hell happened? who did this to me?’” Parents, be very afraid for you “childs.” Proving once again that he is the Shakespeare of Shit, DonOLD told Faux News, “Hard to believe, they have some states passing legislation where you can execute the baby after birth. It’s crazy.”  There’s a term for that: murder, which is illegal EVERYWHERE.  CNN recounts DonOLD’s Golden Oldies.  (CNN)

DonOLD Trump reposted crude, sexist, misogynistic posts featuring sexual explicit images on the tanking Truth Social platform about Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.  During a 30-minute period on Wednesday morning, Trump reposted 30 posts that referenced Q-Anon conspiracy theories and prosecuting Democrats and members of the House Jan. 6 committee.  (The Spokesman Review)

‘A lie travels round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.’ NPR breaks down the “162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies” Delusional Don told in his bizarro 64-minute news conference. Besides obsessing over crowd size, Trump claimed he and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown had a near-death experience during a helicopter flight. And Brown said “terrible things about” Kamala Harris.  Whether before, during or after the near crash is unclear.  Brown denied both claims. “You know me well enough to know that if I almost went down in a helicopter with anybody, you would have heard about it!” When fact-checked by the NY Times, an angry Trump phoned in claiming to “have the flight records” and threatening to sue.  The Times clapped back, “Mr. Trump has a history of claiming he will provide evidence to back up his claims but ultimately not doing so.” (NPR, Mediate, NY Times)

The US Army issued a statement defending an Arlington National Cemetery staffer who it said was “abruptly pushed aside” and berated when she tried to prevent Trump aides from filming political content in Section 60, where recent U.S. casualties are buried. According to the Army, members of the Trump campaign “were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.”  Trump shared a TikTok video that shows several clips of his visit to the cemetery accompanied by a guitar and Trump voiceover slamming the Afghanistan withdrawal, which, in reality, fulfilled a commitment Trump negotiated with the Taliban the previous year.  After the incident was reported by NPR, Trump liar-for-hire Stephen Cheung accused the cemetery staffer of having a “mental episode” and Trump co-campaign manager Swiftboat LaCivita called her a “despicable individual.”  The A.N.C. staffer declined to press charges for fear of retaliation.  (WaPo)

“Christians, get out and vote! Just this time! You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It will be fixed, it will be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians. You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you don’t have to vote.”

Trump speaking at Turning Point Action

Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him. He is, quite simply, …

(New York Times)

Ostensibly a proposal to help service workers, Trump’s proposal to end Federal taxes on tips would only make customers subsidize wait staff to the benefit of people like Trump who own hotels and restaurants.  Moreover, the majority of service workers earn so little that they don’t pay Federal income taxes.  As for consequences – intended or unintended: “Ending federal taxation of tips could prompt more industries to shift from paying wages to soliciting tips. In addition to potential tax benefits for employees, it would transfer some of the responsibility for paying workers from the business to its customers. … If there is a significant shift to tipping over wages, it would also increase the cost of the proposal. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that incentivizing more tipping by ending federal taxation could the federal government cost up to $500 billion over 10 years.” (Popular Information)

When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal – Richard Nixon

Justice Sotomayor
In dissent of Trump v. United States

Biden’s debate performance was worse than Nixon’s.  So was Trump’s.  News orgs (ABC, CBS, Politifact, WaPo, AP, Guardian) fact-checked Trump’s Vesuvius of lies with terms like pants-on-fire, poppycock and absurd. They paint a portrait of a man allergic to, if not at war with, reality.  When it comes to something called the Gish gallop, Trump is a natural.  He spews a firehouse of “lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to say them.” The confused opponent doesn’t “know where to start grappling with the flood that has just hit them.” (Heather Cox Richardson)

Dear Leader returned to the scene of his Jan 6 crime for a MAGOP birthday-cum-bootlicking party. Trump was just being Trump, which is “like talking with your drunk uncle.” (NOTUS)  The 78-year old went off on “lots of tangents.”  Drunk Uncle rambled on about Taylor Swift and Hannibal Lecter – who he seems to think is a real person.  He went at the “dirty, no-good bastards” at the DoJ who seem to resent Trump’s crime spree.  He fantasized “If only things were different, Nancy (Pelosi) and I would be perfect together.”  And Milwaukee, where the MAGOP will coronate the birthday boy, “is a horrible city.”  You’re in good company Milwaukee because Trump hates America.

Russ Voight is one of the grifters set to implement Trump’s post-democratic order. (WaPo) Voight, a Christian supremacist, wrote the chapter on executive powers in Project 2025, the 1000-page, right-wingnut supplement to Mein Kampf.   On Day One of the Fourth Reich, Trump will:

• Invoke to Insurrection Act to quash civil unrest
• Begin Justice Department prosecution on Trump’s enemies list
• Begin the impoundment of Congressionally authorized money

Voight is the type of Washington insider who make up the real Deep State.  He’s been sucking at the teat of rightwing-nut dark money since he graduated from Bible college.  He currently oversees something called the Center for Renewing America, a tax-exempt group that raised $4.75M in 2023.  The Center also employs insurrectionist and Trump toady Jeffrey Clark. As one of God’s elect, Voight is accountable only to the voices in his head, not American democracy.  Anyone willing to overturn democracy will never peacefully cede power.  VOTE as if it’s your last time because it may very well be.

To be hospitalized for heat-related illness at a Trump rally is apparently a badge of honor among Cult. At a Phoenix rally, 11 people had to be hospitalized.  Temperatures at the jump-the-shark Las Vegas rally topped 110, and 24 people received on-site medical attention.  Trump showed contempt for those Woke qualities of sympathy and empathy. “I don’t want anybody going on me,” he said. “We need every voter. I don’t care about you; I just want your vote.”  “You know they were so worried. Everybody was so worried yesterday about you,” Trump added. “And they never mentioned me. I’m up here sweating like a dog.” (Newsweek)

To the big three of the Trump-ocalypse – Chaos, Cruelty and Corruption-  Crazy was always a close fourth.  In 2024, Trump is even less tethered to reality.  His malignant narcissism is coupled with rapidly developing dementia.   Or as the Deplorables describe it “Trump Being Trump.”  Trump jumped the shark at a MAGA rally in Las Vegas.  He went on this shambling detour about death at sea by battery or shark.  While Trump aired his shark obsession (see Daniels, Stormy) the rally crowd took their cue to check their social media feeds.  Many of the base know far more about batteries and sharks than Trump will ever know but display “motivated ignorance” where people willfully ignore the facts. “It’s choosing not to know. In many cases, for many people, knowing the truth is simply too costly, too psychologically painful, too threatening to their core identity.” (The Atlantic)

Donald Trump, Dictator from Day One, plans to usurp Congressional spending powers during the Second Reich.  Potential targets include WHO, international aid, the Education Department, the EPA.  Trump’s first impeachment occurred  after he threatened to withhold Congressional funding in a shakedown of Ukraine.  That  extortion scheme relied on pressuring Volodymyr Zelensky to open a bogus investigation of Biden that Trump and his pirates could weaponize.  One thing we’ve learned is that Trump never learns and never changes.  The guardrails are off.  (WaPo)

Trump’s vengeance tour promises “revenge, retaliation and retribution against his political enemies” according the CREW – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Biden alone has been threatened 25 times with FBI raids, investigations, indictments and jail. Halfwit Hitler holds a special animus towards that long, long list of justice officials holding him to account for his many crimes.  After Donald’s hush money conviction, the GQP falsely attacked Biden for politicizing the DoJ.  They are planting the seeds of justification once Trump, during a Second Reich, releases the MAGA hounds on his many enemies.  These show trials will stoke the MAGA bloodlust, while cowing the opposition.

Pro Publica has publish a report that documents a pattern of witness tampering by white-collar crime boss Donald Trump.  Nine potential witnesses in the criminal cases against Mafia Don appear to have been rewarded to testify in his favor.  Financial benefits included “large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company.”  (Pro Publica)  These extra-judicial stunts – witness tampering, obstruction of justice – are not the mark of an innocent man.

During a heavily-edited taped interview with the lickspittles at Fox and Friends Weekend, the GLOAT (Greatest Liar of All Time) claimed to have never said “Lock her up” about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. “Hillary Clinton, I didn’t say ‘Lock her up,’ but the people would all say ‘Lock her up.’” That’s bull shit.  Moreover, Halfwit Hitler seems to think he could have summarily locked up a a political opponent.  No Donald, that requires a grand jury indictment, trial in open court and judgement by a jury of your peers.  Just like you had.

Jan 6 was a mere hiccup for plutocrats eager to extend the Trump tax cuts (at a cost of $4T over the next decade), roll back Biden environmental, health, economic and consumer protections, and shred the social safety net. Fat Cats for Trump include Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, Activist investor Nelson Peltz. Israeli-American Miriam Adelson will pour millions of her gambling fortune into Trump PAC Preserve America (for the Rich). (Axios) She and husband Sheldon gave $90M in 2020 for which Trump gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Thanks to Citizens United, what Sheldon called a “gift from God,” the Adelsons have donated one-half billion dollars to right-wing causes. Adamantly opposed to a two-state solution in Israeli, Miriam’s ask this election cycle will be American recognition of Israel annexing the West Bank. (New York)

At a Mar-a-Lago dinner, WaPo reports, Trump made Big Oil execs and lobbyist an offer they could not refuse.  Pony up $1B and if elected, Trump promised to kill environmental rules and legislation.

Climate change? Super storms, coastal flooding, heat waves and drought? Bring ’em on.

The  shakedown by the Fake Populist shows that Trump is the avatar of the corrupt, big-money politics, i.e., a creature of the Deep State. The fossil fuel industry has seen record profits under Biden. The US is now producing more oil than any country every has.  It’s the leading exporter of natural gas and expects to double capacity by 2027. But too much is not enough. A return of the Trump regime means a return to oil industry writing environmental policy and reaping windfall profits.

On environmental issues, the choice is clear. Biden considers global warning an existential threat. His administration has promulgated regulations that cut air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and toxic chemicals and preserve public lands and waters. The Inflation Reduction act pumps $370 billion into incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles – much of it in Red States. Trump calls climate change a hoax. His administration at the behest of the extraction industries cut more than 125 environmental rules. At the Big Oil shakedown, Trump rants about windmills, falsely claiming they cause cancer and drive whales crazy.

A very British take-down of the “Shakespeare of shit.” “God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.” (London Daily)

Long-time Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is headed back to Rikers.  The first time he spent 100 days for dodging income taxes.  This time for perjury after pleading guilty to lying under oath three times in a transparent attempt to protect his protector during the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization.  The one where Judge Arthur Engoron penalized Trump $455 million and ordered Weisselberg to pay $1 million.  Trump paid Weisselberg $2 million in severance and continues to pay his legal bills.  As part of his plea, Weisselberg doesn’t have to testify against the Don in Trump’s upcoming hush money/election interference trial.  CBS has a handy timeline of perjury.  (CBS)

Trump owns 79 million shares of the most overvalued company on Nasdaq. Trump Media is a meme stock – it’s price dependent on The Cult and super-rich cronies – not market fundamentals. On the day it went public, Trump Media was valued at $8B – on paper. According to regulatory filings, it brought in only $4 million last year, while losing $58 million. The company refuses to divulge the number of active users, but it is estimated to be around 5 million, having lost 39% over the past year. Its highest daily traffic is 300,000 visitors. By comparison, Reddit, saw 32 million visitors when it went public a few days before Trump Media. Reddit generated $800 million in revenue last year yet is trading at a similar stock price. “It’s a scam,” said Barry Diller on CNBC Squawk Box, “just like everything [Trump’s] ever been involved in is some sort of con.” (WaPo)

Donald Drumpf is making the bloody January 6 siege and the Big Election Lie central to his 2024 bid to stay out of prison for the presidency.  His praise of the January 6 insurrections as “patriots” and “hostages” show Trump’s continued willingness to use violent extremism to advance his own interests.  Right on cue, the MAGOP has embarked on a revisionist history that means to erase Trump’s multi-part conspiracy to steal the 2020 election.  Liz Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!” Trump posted on social media. “When a coup against the democratic regime happens and it’s not punished,” said Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, “that is a very strong indicator of the end of the rule of law and the victory of that authoritarian movement.” (AP, Guardian)

MAGOP is again trying to score political points off a tragic death.  Remember J. Christopher Stevens?  It’s ghoulish.  Laken Riley is dead.  Brutally murdered.  The human response is outrage, sadness, respect for the dead.  What is Trump’s response?  Another photo-op for the malignant narcissism.  Say Her Name?  Trump can’t even spell it.  (Jeff Tiedrich/Substack)

Target of January 6 rioters says he cannot “in good conscience” support a wannabe dictator who summoned the rioters and sent them on a rampage of the Capitol in support of his election lies.  NBC News reached out to 44 former Trump Administration officials.  Bill Barr, Mike Pompeo and John Kelly are among those refusing to endorse Trump.  Mark Esper believes he is “unfit for office.”  After January 6, James Mattis said Trump “will deservedly be a man without a country.”  Rex Tillerson called him a “fucking moron.”  (NBC)

Target of January 6 rioters says he cannot “in good conscience” support a wannabe dictator who summoned the rioters and sent them on a rampage of the Capitol in support of his election lies.  At Trump’s prompting, the angry mob erected gallows and chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” because Pence for refused to illegally reject Biden states’ slate of electors while carrying out the ceremonial duties of Vice President.  Pence joins a list of former cabinet officials who, knowing Trump best, refuse to endorse him.  NBC News reached out to 44.  Only four supported Boss Baby – two Acting Pirates and fellow conspirator Mark Meadows.  Bill Barr, Mike Pompeo and John Kelly are among those refusing to endorse Trump.  Mark Esper believes he is “unfit for office.”  After January 6, James Mattis said Trump “will deservedly be a man without a country.”  Rex Tillerson called him a “fucking moron.”  Why do so few endorse the man for whom loyalty is never reciprocated.  Ask Kelly Craft, former U.N. Ambassador, about Trump’s idea of loyalty.  He endorsed a rival candidate when she ran for governor of Kentucky.  (NBC)

“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.” (CNBC)

A chaos candidate has got to chaos.  Now Trump opposes a TikTok ban after proposing one when Angela Merkel was the leader of the free world.  According to a post on his underperforming social platform, Trump’s reversal grows from policy morality animosity toward Facebook’s Zuckerberg’s failure to promote Trump’s Big Election Lie.  Also, according to Axios, Trump is in a “newly repaired” fling with filthy-rich Jeff Yass who covered a “yuge” stake in ByteDance with millions in bribes lobbying.  This week a bipartisan House committee approved a bill to force the Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of the TikTok app.  Oops.  His MAGOP House minions will now assume the position. (Axios)  Lindsey Graham, China hawk and Trump lickspittle now says he is “deeply conflicted” about the bill and was unsure how he’d vote on it. (DealBook)

Trump’s dictator envy was on full display during a Mar-a-Lago love-in with Victor Orbán the anti-democratic Hungarian strongman who’s the darling of American neo-Nazis.  Afterward, Orban revealed the Trump had a “detailed plan” for the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Ukraine’s total defeat.  “He will not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war,” Orbán told state Hungarian media. “Therefore, the war will end, because it is obvious that Ukraine can not stand on its own feet.” Putin continues to get high return on investment in Donald Trump who has said he’ll let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies Trump deems to not contribute enough to the alliance.  In Trump’s mob-boss view, America is less arsenal of democracy than protection racket.  “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán,” gushed the guy who promises to be a dictator from “day one.”  “He’s fantastic, he’s a non-controversial figure because he says, ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ and that’s the end of it. Right? He’s the boss. No, he’s a great leader.” (Guardian)

A majority of RNC suckers members support paying Mafia Don’s hefty legal fees, thus limiting support of down ballet candidates.  According to an NBC News analysis of FEC filings, The Don’s political operation paid almost $50 million last year.  The Don faces 91 criminal indictments and owes $550 million from three NY civil cases.  (CNBC)

Speaking to the MAGA cult at CPAC, Herr Trump gave an oldies concert of his greatest rants.  His tirade included the usual school-yard insults, egomaniacal boosting and grotesque mischaracterizations of modern America.  (Guardian)  There were the usual word salads of rambling nonsense.  “We have languages coming into our country — we don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language. These are languages, it’s the craziest thing, they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of.”  If his lips are moving, he’s lying.  CNN counted 23.  (CNN)

Abe Lincoln’s party kowtows to a reality star-cum-politician who is “dangerously demented.”  Dementia Don’s incoherent babbling, word salad, use of non-words are signs of ” moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer’s.”  Trump’s energy is the “hypomanic” energy of someone in a “crazed state.” (Salon)

Donald Trump’s Debt: Live Counter keeps a running total on how much Trump owes to New York after he was convicted of lying about his wealth during a civil fraud.  Trump initially owed $355 million in penalties but is racking up $112,000 a day in interest.  He now owes close to $454 million with interest continuing to accrue until he pays up.

“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely,” said right-wing nut OANN anchor Jack Posobiec.  “We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this, right here,” he said, gesturing to the crowd and holding up his fist.  “All glory is not to government. All glory to God.” (New Republic)

Four days later, Trump finally responds to the death of Alexei Navalny, making it all about himself.  Trump compared his 91 criminal indictments to Navalny’s death.  The Putin critic died mysteriously while serving a 19-year sentence in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle.  Navalny was imprisoned when he returned to Russia after Putin’s agents poisoned him with nerve agent.  Trump still failed to criticize Putin. (The Hill)

Four days later, Trump finally responded to the death of Alexei Navalny, making it all about himself.  Trump compared his 91 criminal indictments to Navalny’s murder.  The Putin critic died mysteriously while serving a 19-year sentence in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle.  Navalny was imprisoned when he returned to Russia after Putin’s agents poisoned him with a nerve.  Trump still refuses to criticize Putin. (The Hill)

Move over James Buchanan, Donald John Trump is the worst president ever.  This according to the third Presidential Greatness Survey by the American Political Science Association.  Who’s to argue?  Trump mismanaged the COVID pandemic.  He had more impeachments (2) than legislative accomplishments (0).  He added $8.4 trillion to the national debt, while being to the only president to leave office having lost more jobs than he created.  He lost an election and tried to overthrow the government while in office.  (The Hill)

“Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.”  So responded Michael Haley to the latest sleazy insinuation Donald Trump has made about his marriage to Nikki Haley.  Speaking to a rowdy S.C. audience, Corporal Bonespurs asked “Where’s your husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone! He knew. He knew.” Michael Haley is an officer in the South Carolina National Guard deployed to Africa. (NBC)

Biden builds international alliances; Trump rips them apart.  After lying about NATO members current military contribution, Trump said he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to those who are “delinquent.” (AP)  Trump continues to favor war criminal Putin over traditional U.S. allies.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine, including deliberately targeting civilians, the rape of women and children and child obductions.  (CBC)

Trump has promised “the Largest Domestic Deportation Operation in History,” targeting up to 11 million people.  The devil in the details: “a private red-state army,” internment camps, invoking the Insurrection Act to send red-state Guardsmen into blue states.  Once this military-scale operation is set in motion, it can be wielded against all Trump’s enemies.  Once he no longer needs their support, will he toss the MAGOP base aside like Ronna McDaniel?   (The Atlantic)

The MAGOP tied Ukraine aid to border security believing Dems wouldn’t get tough on the border, killing Ukraine aid and handing them a campaign issue.  But Dems sacrificed the Dreamer’s path to citizenship to get critical aid for democratic Ukraine.  A bi-partisan, get-tough border deal emerged that had the endorsement of the WSJ, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Border Patrol union.  But Boss Baby, needing immigration as a campaign issue, attacked the compromise and the MAGOP folded.  “It’s time for Republicans in the Congress to show a little courage,” said Joe Biden, “to show a little spine to make it clear to the American people that you work for them and not for anyone else.”  (NYT)

Nikki Haley’s entire campaign raised roughly the same amount as the Trump campaign spent in legal fees alone.  Federal Election commission filings for 2023 show the Trump campaign spent approximately $50M to cover expenses for his four criminal indictments.  Ten percent of all Trump campaign contributions are funneled to the Save America PAC.  Its sole purpose is to keep Trump from stiffing the lawyers who represent him.  (NYT)

Nikki Haley defended the $83M verdict against Donald Fingers Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case.  “I absolutely trust the jury,” Haley said on Meet the Press.  “I think that they made their decision based on the evidence.”  (NBC)

“The fact that [Trump] would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told CNN.

Trump the chaos agent was abetted by a White House staff high on control substances.  A Defense Department Inspector General report issued in January found the Trump White House awash in uppers and downers.  Ignoring common procedures for control substances, go bags of Ambien or Provigil were passed out.  Ambien is a sedative for the treatment of insomnia, Provigil is a stimulant used to treat narcolepsy.  According to the report, the Trump White House “spent $46,500 for brand name Ambien, which is 174 times more expensive than the generic equivalent,” and “an estimated $98,000 for brand name Provigil, which is 55 times more expensive than the generic equivalent.” Trump White House Physician Ronny (Candy Man) Jackson is now a MAGOP representative from Texas.  (Rolling Stone)

In consultation with his Mac Daddy, Moses Johnson is working to support Putin’s Ukraine war. The MAGOP tied Ukraine funding to border insecurity, which they want to perpetuate as a campaign issue. (WaPo)

In his Iowa Caucus victory speech, the Lying Sack boasted “we had no terror” during his term and that the Iowa win was his third. In 2016, Trump lost to Cruz who he accused of stealing the election. (factcheck.org)