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Donald J. Trump White House 2nd Term Page 11
Story by George Chidi

As Donald Trump threatens to deploy national guard units to Chicago and Baltimore, ostensibly to quell violence, a pattern has emerged as he describes which cities he talks about.

Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Baltimore.

But not Jackson, Birmingham, St Louis or Memphis.

An analysis of crime trends over the last four years shows two things. First, violent crime rates in America’s big cities have been falling over the last two years, and at an even greater rate over the last six months. The decrease in violence in America is unprecedented.

Second, crime in large cities in the aggregate is lower in states with Democratic leadership. But the president focuses his ire almost exclusively on large blue cities in blue states, sidestepping political conflict with red Republican governors.

The four cities of populations larger than 100,000 with the highest murder rates in 2024 are in Republican states: Jackson, Mississippi (78.7 per 100,000 residents), Birmingham, Alabama (58.8), St Louis, Missouri (54.1) and Memphis, Tennessee (40.6).

On Tuesday, Trump called Chicago “the most dangerous city in the world”, and pledged to send military troops there, as well as to Baltimore. “I have an obligation. This isn’t a political thing,” he said at a press conference. “I have an obligation when 20 people are killed over the last two and a half weeks and 75 are shot with bullets.”
Story by Josh Fiallo

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog has obliterated President Donald Trump’s claims about the efficacy of the United States’ strikes on Iran.

Rafael Grossi said American B-2 bombers did not cause total damage—or “completely and totally obliterate,” as Trump said—to the Iranian nuclear program. Instead, he estimates Tehran can restart enriching uranium again “in a matter of months.”

Grossi’s remarks are a blow to Trump and his administration, which has dismissed a leaked attack assessment from U.S. intelligence—which reached a similar conclusion as Rossi—as incomplete and untrue since CNN first reported on it Wednesday.

“The capacities they have are there,” Grossi told CBS News’ Face The Nation about Iran’s nuclear program. “They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that. But as I said, frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there.”
Story by David Gilmour

An Iran-linked hacker group is claiming to be in possession of a trove of stolen emails from President Donald Trump’s inner circle and is now threatening to publish the material in what U.S. officials describe as a politically motivated “smear campaign.”

The group, operating under the alias “Robert,” said it has over 100 gigabytes of emails from key Trump allies, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, longtime confidant Roger Stone, Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, and even adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Reuters broke the story Tuesday after direct communication with the hackers, who hinted at potentially selling the material, though the group offered no specifics.

The threat comes just days after Trump abruptly reversed a tentative effort to ease sanctions on Iran, following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s downplaying of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A top Iranian cleric has issued a fatwa against Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling the pair “enemies of God.”
The president's post comes amid the latest blow-up between the two men after a public feud last month.
By Megan Lebowitz

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened to have the Department of Government Efficiency re-examine government support for Elon Musk's businesses, saying in a Truth Social post shortly after midnight that there was "big money to be saved."

"Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa," Trump said in the post. "No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE."

"Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?" the president added.

Neither Musk nor a spokesperson for the super PAC he created, America PAC, immediately responded to a request for comment. In the hours after Trump's post, Musk reposted several graphics on X depicting a climbing national debt, which currently sits at more than $36 trillion, according to government data.

Trump's post marks the latest blow-up in the feud between the president and the tech mogul, who spearheaded government cost-cutting efforts at DOGE before leaving his special government employee post in May. The public split is a steep downfall from their previously close-knit relationship, which saw Musk spend at least an estimated $250 million to help elect Trump.
Story by Ailia Zehra

President Donald Trump seemed to stumble when responding to a reporter’s question during a press conference in Florida on Tuesday, where he had traveled for the opening of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a controversial detention facility designed to accommodate migrants.

When asked how long detainees are expected to remain at the detention center, the president replied, "I'm gonna spend a lot. This is my home state. I love it. I'll spend a lot of time here," sidestepping the actual question.

The president’s unexpected answer sparked concern, prompting political commentators to question his cognitive well-being.

Journalist Mike Rothschild said: "He's obviously losing his cognition and coherence in a way that's becoming impossible to cover up or work around. And the more he declines, the more his sycophants prop him up as doing 'better than ever.' It's an unsustainable situation that could easily end in chaos."

MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoye said: "Clear sign of cognitive decline here."

Author Jennifer Valent said: "And in today's episode of 'If Joe Biden Had Done This'..."

"We're at the point where he's unable to understand the simplest of questions," wrote a user.
Story by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said he would look at having Elon Musk deported to his native South Africa as their rift reignited and reached new heights amid the billionaire tech entrepreneur's latest wave of criticism of Trump's tax and budget bill.

Trump made the threat while speaking to reporters on July 1, hours after the president in an early morning post on Truth Social said he might order the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk previously led to review the billions in contracts that his companies receive.

"We'll have to take a look," Trump said when asked whether he will deport Musk. "We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies."

Trump's attacks came after Musk, the world's richest man, resumed his vocal opposition to Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" in a flurry of X posts on Monday while the bill entered a fourth day of debate in the Senate. It included a warning from Musk that he would boost midterm primary challenges to defeat Republican lawmakers who vote for the legislation.

"Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa," Trump wrote in a 12:34 a.m. July 1 post on Truth Social. "No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. "Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!"
Story by Sara Dorn, Forbes Staff

President Donald Trump’s pardons and commutations have cost more than $100 million in fines owed to the federal government and another $1.5 billion in restitution to victims.

Key Facts
Trump has pardoned or commuted the sentences of 16 people or companies whose sentences included fines ranging from $50 to $100,000,000 and total $102,647,458, according to a Justice Department list, though the figure is likely even higher as the DOJ list omits some previously reported fines and restitution payments.

Meanwhile, Trump has granted clemencies and commutations to people who owe more than $1.3 billion in restitution money, combined, to victims of white collar crime, according to the former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer, who tallied the money using court records.

Fines are paid to the Treasury Department, while restitution is paid to crime victims.

Oyer’s tally does not include $2.6 million in restitution payments the 1,270 pardoned Jan. 6 defendants owed, according to a report by House Democrats.

Trump issued the pardons at the same time his administration has lamented the size of the federal government’s debt.
Trump’s bill gives him vast new law enforcement resources. Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg reflects on what the coming wave of militarized arrests will do to America—and how Democrats should fight it.
The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent | The New Republic

In today’s episode, Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg makes a crucial point: During months of debate about President Trump’s now-signed budget bill, there was very little public debate about what its explosion in Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding will inflict on America. Rosenberg chalks this up in part to Democrats’ failure to engage on the matter.
Story by Ailia Zehra

El Salvador has informed the United Nations that it holds no legal responsibility for the more than 200 Venezuelan men whom President Donald Trump ordered to be sent to its maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) prison earlier this year — a claim that directly contradicts repeated assertions from the Trump administration.

Lawyers representing the Venezuelan detainees presented a document Monday, showing that El Salvador had informed the UN it does not hold legal authority over the men.

In March, following Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, these Venezuelan nationals were removed from the United States without due process and placed in El Salvador’s CECOT. The administration justified its action by maintaining that they are legally bound by Salvadoran authority.
Story by David McAfee

Donald Trump on Saturday seemed to show enthusiasm for "prosecuting Obama" as the president is reeling from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The president took to his own social media site over the weekend, first to pressure a GOP leader and then to highlight a Fox News panel all about the former president.

"Great job by young and talented Harrison Fields on FoxNews," Trump wrote. "The Panel was fantastic on prosecuting Obama and the 'thugs' who have just been unequivocally exposed on highest level Election Fraud."
Story by Brad Reed, Common Dreams

A Friday report from Reuters claims that a senior Trump administration official recently informed diplomats in South Africa that a refugee program set up by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year was explicitly intended for white people.

According to Reuters, American diplomats in South Africa earlier this month asked the U.S. State Department whether it was allowed to process refugee claims from South African citizens who spoke the Afrikaans language but who were of mixed-race descent.

The diplomats received a response from Spencer Chretien, the senior bureau official in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, who informed them that "the program is intended for white people," writes Reuters.

The State Department told Reuters that the scope of the program is actually broader than what was outlined in Chretien's message and that its policy is "to consider both Afrikaners and other racial minorities for resettlement," which lines up with guidance posted earlier this year stating that applicants for refugee status under the program "must be of Afrikaner ethnicity or be a member of a racial minority in South Africa."
Story by Carl Gibson

Emil Bove — who President Donald Trump has nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals — is now being accused by a second Department of Justice (DOJ) whistleblower of instructing employees to ignore the judiciary.

HuffPost's Jennifer Bendery reported Friday that an unnamed whistleblower has since confirmed a previous whistleblower account that Bove, in his capacity as principal associate deputy attorney general (the 3rd most powerful official in the agency), instructed employees to defy a federal judge's orders. Earlier this month, Erez Reuveni publicly came forward as the DOJ employee behind the first whistleblower account alleging that Bove told staffers to say "f--- you" to the courts in response to an order prohibiting the deportation of immigrants to a notorious maximum security mega-prison in El Salvador.

"Our client and Mr. Reuveni are true patriots – prioritizing their commitment to democracy over advancing their careers," Whistleblower Aid chief counsel Andrew Bakaj told HuffPost.
Opinion by Sabrina Haake, Raw Story

Walmart, Apple , and Amazon, the most successful companies in the U.S., base their corporate strategies on data: consumer behavior data, market research, financial, product, and competitive analysis data.

Any CEO who deliberately relied on falsified data, or who demanded cooked books, would be fired immediately — and likely sued by the Board of Directors.

Any CEO of any company who tried to manipulate the appearance of short-term success for his own personal gain, at the expense of long-term viability for the company, would also be fired and likely sued for malfeasance, and worse.

A successful CEO knows that falsifying economic or financial data can lead to charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and other financial crimes, because false data can ruin investors, corporations, and markets overnight.

Enter Donald Trump, whose self-proclaimed governing philosophy is “running the country like it’s a business.” Debunking the lie of his own manufactured image as a “successful businessman,” last Friday Trump angrily fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner because he didn’t like her data — even as he wears 34 felony convictions for falsifying records.
Story by David Badash

A leaked Department of Homeland Security memo reveals a plan to dramatically increase the use of the U.S. armed forces on American streets in domestic law enforcement roles, especially in immigration, for “years.”

The memo “provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in these domestic operations, and it has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation,” The New Republic reported.

“The memo is alarming, because it speaks to the intent to use the military within the United States at a level not seen since Japanese internment,” Carrie Lee, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told TNR’s Greg Sargent. “The military is the most powerful, coercive tool our country has. We don’t want the military doing law enforcement. It absolutely undermines the rule of law.”

TNR reports that the “administration seems to be supercharging immigration ‘invasion’ agitprop to manufacture a sense of national trauma similar to the one that arose after the September 11 attacks. That led to another type of ‘war on terror’ hyper-militarization at home (as well as abroad). The administration seems determined to outdo that—this time against the new internal enemy.”

Joseph Nunn, counsel for the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center told Sargent, “Normalizing routine military support to law enforcement could create a kind of domestic ‘forever war,’ but one that is uniquely dangerous.”

Secretary Kristi Noem said the quiet part out loud, admitting that she plans to deport American citizens during a recent House testimony. Noem has already deported several American children, some of whom were being treated for cancer.
Dave Lawler

President Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a constructive summit on Friday but "we didn't get there" on a ceasefire or peace deal for Ukraine.

Why it matters: Trump set a ceasefire as the target for this summit, but said that while he and Putin agreed on most of the relevant issues they did not come to an agreement on "the biggest one." He added: "There's no deal until there's a deal."

Putin did claim an "agreement" was reached, however, without offering any details. He urged "Kyiv and European capitals" to "perceive that constructively" and not "torpedo the nascent progress."

Speaking alongside Putin, Trump said the next step was that he would brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders. But it appears his hope of a swift follow-up summit involving Putin and Zelensky has not come to fruition.

"We really made some great progress today. I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir," Trump said. "Next time in Moscow," Putin quipped in English at the end of the joint appearance. They did not take questions.
Story by Aurora DeStefano

Retired U.S. Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps, as well as the first to pilot the F/A-18 on a combat mission, responded to the image of airmen fixing a red carpet laid out to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Alaskan summit with President Donald Trump this week.

McGrath wrote: “I'm sorry but it's hard to get over the picture of the airmen on their knees, in front of the Russian jet, rolling out the red carpet for a mass murderer. Just never thought I'd see that.”

Matthew VanDyke, founder of Sons of Liberty International, a nonprofit organization that has been providing military training to the Ukrainian military since the Russian invasion in 2022, replied to McGrath: “They certainly don't make Republicans like they used to.”

Social media influencer and self-described “Democrat for life” Janice Hough also replied to McGrath — with a photo of former President George W. Bush (below). Hough wrote: “This picture SHOULD be as damaging to Trump’s presidency as that picture of George W Bush looking out the window of Air Force One at Katrina damage in New Orleans was to his… Except then we had a real media and a GOP who weren’t all in a cult.”
Story by Peter Rubinstein

As the dust settled following President Donald Trump's failed Friday rendezvous with Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to a concrete agreement on a path toward an end to the war with Ukraine, private White House documents revealed an odd gift that Trump had intended to bestow on Putin before cancelling scheduled post-meeting events.

Discovered by three guests inside a business center printer at Alaska's four-star Hotel Captain Cook, the eight pages of potentially sensitive documents included mention of an "American Bald Eagle Desk Statue" that Trump was slated to offer Putin.

They also laid out the seating arrangement, location and menu of a planned luncheon between U.S. and Russian officials. The lunch was cancelled on Friday, however, as a dejected Trump appeared to make little progress in his effort to broker peace.
Story by Noel King

President Donald Trump’s administration is scrutinizing higher education. Last week, the White House issued a memorandum requiring all universities receiving federal funds to submit admissions data on all applicants to the Department of Education. The goal is to enforce the 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended race-based affirmative action.

Days before the memo was released, Columbia and Brown agreed to share their admissions data with the administration, broken down by race, grade point average, and standardized test scores. The administration suspects that universities are using “racial proxies” to get around the ban on race-based admissions. The Department of Education is expected to build a database of the admissions data and make it available to parents and students.

Amid this increased federal scrutiny, an alternative idea from Richard Kahlenberg, director of the American Identity Project for the Progressive Policy Institute, is gaining attention. Kahlenberg, who testified in the Supreme Court cases against Harvard and UNC, advocates for class-based affirmative action instead of race-based admissions. He argues that this approach will yield more economically and racially equitable results.
Story by Sarah K. Burris

President Donald Trump made a few gaffes during his news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then again during his larger meeting with European leaders who support Ukraine over Russia.

The flubs were not lost on observers who watched on as Trump made unusual statements and reactions before ultimately losing the president of Finland, who was sitting directly in front of him.

Podcast host and SiriusXMProgress co-host Bob Cesca called Trump "Mr. Magoo."

"An embarrassment every f--ing day,"grumbled Kristi Nychole on X, sharing a video of Trump struggling to locate President Alexander Stubb.

"Imagine if this were Biden. But the Orange Dotard gets a free pass, every f---ing time. No one in the MSM will report that Hitler McTaco couldn't even find the President of Finland, sitting right across the table from him, in a group of less than a dozen people," said an X account that goes by Dr. Red Bison, Ph.D.
Story by Alana Loftus

President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today at the White House, and boasted about his ability to end wars, making one major slip in the process.

The two world leaders met at the White House on Monday afternoon, along with a delegation of European leaders from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union, and NATO. The leaders showed up to support Zelensky at the high-stakes meeting that could determine the future of his country. Discussing the possibility of a ceasefire, Trump bragged about his track record of "ending wars."

“I’ve ended six wars. I thought maybe this would be the easiest one. And it’s not. It’s a tough one," Trump claimed. It comes amid alarming fears over the president's health due to an injury being spotted.

As Trump rambled about the wars he has claimed credit for ending, he made a major slip, calling the Democratic Republic of Congo, the "Republic of the Condo." It comes after the Prime Minister of Italy mocks Trump with a brutal eye roll.

On X, a viewer pointed it out, writing, "Yes, he just said 'Republic of the Condo.' Can't get his mind away from real estate!"
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been captured on camera showing camaraderie as they meet in Alaska for talks on Russia's war in Ukraine

Donald Trump seemed to demonstrate immediate backing for Vladimir Putin during their critical meeting in Alaska this evening, with a lip reader revealing the instant he murmured, "I'll help you".

The two global leaders were beaming as they arrived in Alaska's capital, Anchorage, for Ukraine ceasefire discussions. The duo appeared like close companions while walking along the red carpet toward Mr Trump's waiting Presidential vehicle. Their demeanor created a favorable impression in Russia, where government-friendly media praised the "cordial" reception despite Trump sparking health concerns on the red carpet.
Story by Alex Henderson

After his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House Oval Office three days later, U.S. President Donald Trump talked foreign policy when he called into Fox News' morning show, "Fox & Friends," early Tuesday morning, August 19. And he appeared to forget the name of an ocean.

Trump told the hosts, "You know we have an ocean that's separating us, right? A thing called.... an ocean. A big, beautiful ocean. And, uh, they don't, they're right there. So it's a different kind of a thing for them."

Trump, the Daily Beast's Jack Silvers notes, "appeared to be referring to the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on Earth."
Story by David Badash

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller lashed out at Washington, D.C. residents protesting President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and his deployment of more than a thousand federal agents — including FBI, DEA, DHS, ATF, and ICE — to patrol the Capital’s streets. In striking remarks, Miller cast the demonstrators as white and the victims of crime as Black. His charges conflict with a new survey just released that shows the vast majority of D.C. residents oppose the Trump administration’s takeover and feel safe in their neighborhoods.
Bolton’s home reportedly part of investigation into classified documents as FBI director warns ‘no one is above law’
Adam Gabbatt and agency

The FBI raided the home of Donald Trump’s former national security adviser turned critic John Bolton on Friday morning.

The federal search of Bolton’s house in the Washington DC area was part of an investigation involving the handling of classified documents, the Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

A government source confirmed the raid to the Guardian, but did not disclose further details.

The FBI director, Kash Patel, posted a cryptic message on X on Friday morning, saying: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”

JD Vance, the US vice-president, reposted Patel’s message, as did Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI. Bongino added: “Public corruption will not be tolerated.”

Donald Trump signs an executive order to end cashless bail in the Oval Office today. During his remarks, Trump shows off the solid gold trophy he received from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. "They know how to get to me," he says.
Trump, 79, Invents Fake Governor in Embarrassing Senior Moment
Story by Laura Esposito

President Donald Trump, 79, confounded his audience during an executive order signing Monday in the Oval Office, rambling about an imaginary governor named “Kristi Whitman.”

“You know, I did a favor for Kristi Whitman,” Trump said, seated behind the Resolute Desk.

“Whitmer,” he added moments later, in what seemed like a fleeting moment of self-correction—though he still appeared to be referring to a nonexistent “Kristi Whitmer.”

The president was likely trying to name Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, especially as he soon invoked the Great Lakes.

“A good favor, I think. With the fish, the carp, the China carp—you ever hear of it?” he asked, addressing the silent room. He continued: “China carp, and it’s taking over your Great Lakes.”

Story by Greg Wehner

President Donald Trump ousted Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Monday, alleging she lied on mortgage forms by declaring two primary residences.

In a letter to Cook, Trump said the Federal Reserve Act provides that she can be removed at his discretion.

"As set forth in the Criminal Referral dated August 15, 2025, from Mr. William J. Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to Ms. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States…there is sufficient reason to believe you may have made false statements on one or more mortgage agreements," Trump wrote. "For example, as detailed in the Criminal Referral, you signed one document attesting that a property in Michigan would be your primary residence for the next year.
The result, legal experts say, is an escalation in the way Trump officials seek to penalize, remove or even jail adversaries.
By Rachel Siegel

President Donald Trump’s move to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook on Monday was the latest illustration of his administration’s surprising new weapon against its enemies: their own mortgages.

Trump and other officials raised allegations of mortgage fraud last week against Cook, a prominent economist put on the Fed board by President Joe Biden. The Justice Department is investigating the claims now, and Trump says the allegations alone are enough for him to push her out of her seat. Additionally, the Justice Department also received a criminal referral over real estate records from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has filed multiple lawsuits against both Trump administrations. And in July, Trump publicly accused Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) — who led impeachment proceedings against the president as a House member — of mortgage fraud.

The result, legal experts say, is an escalation in the way Trump officials seek to penalize, remove or even jail adversaries. After referrals from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, a relatively small department run by a close Trump ally that oversees the mortgage market, all three individuals now face criminal probes from the Justice Department.
Story by Laura Esposito

A Social Security whistleblower says hundreds of millions of Americans are at risk after their personal data was recklessly uploaded to a vulnerable cloud server, which one of the most notorious DOGE operatives, “Big Balls,” could access.

Charles Borges, the Social Security Administration’s chief data officer, said DOGE members uploaded a database containing records of all Social Security numbers issued by the federal government, full names, addresses, birth dates and other details that could be used to steal their identities, according to the complaint obtained by the New York Times.

The move “potentially violated multiple federal statutes” protecting sensitive government data, Borges wrote, and could result in a “catastrophic impact” for Social Security beneficiaries and programs if compromised.

“Should bad actors gain access to this cloud environment,” Borges warned in the complaint, “Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft, may lose vital health care and food benefits, and the government may be responsible for reissuing every American a new Social Security number at great cost.”
Here's a list of those targeted so far by the Trump administration
Story by Peter Charalambous, Benjamin Siegel, Alexander Mallin, Katherine Faulders

President Donald's Trump's announcement this week that he was firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook made her the latest target in what critics call a campaign of retribution against Trump's perceived enemies.

Administration officials have insisted that any such actions are, as Vice President JD Vance said last week, "driven by law and not by politics." But they come after Trump vowed during last year's presidential campaign that he would seek retribution if reelected.

Trump's announcement regarding Cook follows months of the administration vowing investigations into perceived enemies, stripping individuals of security clearances, and removing protective details.

Here's a look at some of the actions that the president's critics have experienced, which many of them perceive as retribution.

A shocking revelation has emerged as a Pentagon official alleges that U.S. forces under President Donald Trump may have targeted civilians in a Venezuelan boat strike. The chilling details raise serious questions about Washington’s military operations in the region, fueling outrage in Caracas and sparking fears of further escalation between the U.S. and Venezuela.#Trump #Venezuela #Pentagon #USMilitary #BoatStrike #BreakingNews #VenezuelaCrisis #TrumpNews #USVenezuela #MilitaryStrike #TrumpLIVE #LatinAmerica #PentagonLeaks #WorldNews #TrumpBreaking
Story by Snigdha Gairola

President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, meant to boost American jobs and revenue, are driving major exporters in Brazil and India toward China while U.S. consumers face looming price hikes.

Brazil Coffee Exporters Turn To China After 50% US Tariff
Brazil, the world's largest coffee supplier, was hit with a 50% U.S. import tax, prompting exporters to redirect shipments to China's growing cafe market, as reported by BBC News on Friday.

"If the tariffs are meant to weaken Brazil, in reality, it is pushing sellers closer to China," said Hugo Portes, a global coffee trader.

More than 180 Brazilian coffee firms recently registered to export to China, an "unprecedented" shift, according to Portes.

India's Seafood And Tea Producers Diversify Amid US Trade Pressures
Indian exporters of tea and seafood are also adjusting after Washington imposed 50% tariffs and additional levies tied to New Delhi's oil trade with Moscow.

"It will be a difficult time," said K.N. Raghavan of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, while adding that he was optimistic about securing new markets.

China and Europe are emerging as top alternatives for Indian producers, though exporters warn they could lose ground to cheaper African suppliers.
Republicans were upset when they thought democrat’s weaponized the government. Trump has weaponized the government. Where is the republican outrage at Trump weaponizing the government?

Story by Jonathan J. Cooper

President Trump, once a casino owner and always a man in search of his next deal, is fond of a poker analogy when sizing up partners and adversaries.

“We have much bigger and better cards than they do,” he said of China last month. Compared with Canada, he said in June, “we have all the cards. We have every single one.” And most famously, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their Oval Office confrontation earlier this year: “You don’t have the cards.”

The phrase offers a window into the worldview of Trump, who has spent his second stint in the White House amassing cards to deploy in pursuit of his interests.

Seven months into his second term, he’s accumulated presidential power that he’s used against universities, media companies, law firms and individuals he dislikes. A man who ran for president as an angry victim of a weaponized “deep state" is, in many ways, supercharging government power and training it on his opponents.

And the supporters who responded to his complaints about overzealous Democrats aren’t recoiling. They’re egging him on.

“Weaponizing the state to win the culture war has been essential to their agenda,” said David N. Smith, a University of Kansas sociologist who has extensively researched the motivations of Trump voters. “They didn’t like it when the state was mobilized to restrain Trump, but they’re happy to see the state acting to fight the culture war on their behalf.”

How Trump has weaponized the government
Trump began putting the federal government to work for him within hours of taking office in January, and he’s been collecting and using power in novel ways ever since. It's a high-velocity push to carry out his political agendas and grudges.

This past month, hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops fanned out across Washington after Trump drew on a never-used law that allows him to take control of law enforcement in the nation’s capital. He’s threatened similar deployments in other cities run by Democrats, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and New Orleans. He has also moved to fire a Federal Reserve governor, pointing to unproven claims of mortgage fraud that she denies.

Trump, his aides and allies throughout the executive branch have trained the government, or threatened to, on a dizzying array of targets:

—He threatened to block a stadium plan for the Washington Commanders football team unless it readopted the racial slur it used as its team name until 2020.

President Donald Trump childishly attacked national security figure Chris Krebs for claiming that the 2020 Election was not stolen. This occurred several weeks ago

Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders days ago in the Oval Office, the most important of which is renaming the "Department of Defense" back to the "Department of War." During his gaggle with the press, Trump brazenly admitted that he relocated the Space Command from Colorado to Alabama because of mail-in voting. Trump stated, "Colorado just went to all mail-in voting. That means they cheat... that's a big reason why they just lost the whole Space Command situation that is going to Alabama."
Story by Nicole Duncan-Smith

President Donald Trump found himself at the center of an amusing mix-up this Friday when he seemingly mistook an American flag for a blanket during an Oval Office ceremony.

The incident occurred as Tennessee Rep. John Rose presented the 79-year-old president with a gift following the signing of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, legislation designed to shield Americans from harassment during the home-buying process by limiting how personal financial data can be shared.

The moment unfolded as Rose explained the significance of his bill, noting how difficult it had become for Americans to purchase homes “particularly after the last four years,” according to the Daily Beast.

He emphasized how the new legislation would protect citizens from unwanted phone calls and text messages that result from their private information being sold on the open market. Rose then reached into a clear plastic bag and presented Trump with what he described as “a gift from a constituent back in Tennessee.”

Trump’s response caught everyone off guard.

“Oh, I could use that at night,” the president replied, apparently believing the folded flag was a blanket. Rose, laughing at the confusion, gently corrected him: “It’s an American flag.”

Trump quickly recovered, responding graciously, “It’s very nice, I like that. Thank you very much.”

The exchange sparked immediate reaction when the Daily Beast posted about it on Threads.


“Grandpa is sundowning and can’t recognize a flag from a blanket,” one person commented.

Another user was more direct in their criticism, writing, “Derp. Grandpa’s getting worse. The rotting continues day by day. Just not fast enough.”

One other person questioned, “Why is he gifted an American flag, he’s far from being an American.”
Republican’s standard M.O. taking credit for things they opposed.

Story by Peter Wade

Donald Trump is apparently trying to take credit for infrastructure projects funded by a bill former president Joe Biden signed into law - legislation that Trump vehemently opposed at the time as "a loser for the U.S.A."

Now, The New York Times reported, the Trump administration is taking down blue signs that once touted projects "funded by President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law" and putting up red signs that read, in all caps: "President Donald J. Trump" and "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure." Those signs have been showing up at several major infrastructure projects funded by Biden's bill, including bridges in Maryland and Connecticut as well as rail improvements in Seattle, Boston, and Philadelphia, and an Amtrak tunnel replacement project between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The signs also acknowledge (but in smaller font) that the projects are "funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" but do not mention Biden.

Not only did Trump oppose the infrastructure bill's passage before he became president for a second term, he signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration demanding federal agencies "immediately pause the disbursement of funds" under Biden's 2021 infrastructure law and 2022 inflation reduction act that invested in climate initiatives. A day later, the administration clarified that the order only applied to funds for programs that disincentivize investments in fossil fuels or encourage the use of electric vehicles.
Story by José Olivares

At least one of the Korean workers swept up in a huge immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor factory site in Georgia last week was living and working legally in the US, according to an internal federal government document obtained by the Guardian.

Officials then “mandated” that he agree to be removed from the US despite not having violated his visa.

The document shows that immigration officials are aware that someone with a valid visa was among the people arrested during the raid at the Hyundai factory and taken to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention for removal proceedings, where the people arrested remained on Tuesday before expected deportation flights back to South Korea.

The document in question reports on the man’s case and was leaked exclusively to the Guardian. It was written by an Ice agent. The Guardian is redacting the identity of the man in question, who arrived in the US in June, because it has not been possible to reach him directly and it is unclear whether he has any legal representation.

The document says that immigration agents from Atlanta “determined that [redacted] entered into the United States in [redacted], with a valid B1/B2 visa and [redacted] was employed at HL-GA Battery Company LLC as a contractor from the South Korean company SFA. From statements made and queries in law enforcement databases, [redacted] has not violated his visa; however, the Atlanta Field Office Director has mandated [redacted] be presented as a Voluntary Departure. [Redacted] has accepted voluntary departure despite not violating his B1/B2 visa requirements.”
Story by Evan Hummel

The Department of Education announced Wednesday it will halt $350 million in grants to hundreds of colleges that serve minority students, arguing the longtime programs are discriminatory. The department said it will stop funding eight grant programs that support Black, Native, Hispanic and Asian American college students nationwide and reallocate that money to new priorities.

However, about $132 million will still go to four of the grant programs because of congressional mandates. The Trump administration said only that money must be disbursed.

"Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. "The department looks forward to working with Congress to re-envision these programs to support institutions that serve underprepared or under-resourced students, without relying on race quotas and will continue fighting to ensure that students are judged as individuals, not prejudged by their membership of a racial group."

Background
The move comes after the Department of Justice declined to defend the constitutionality of an initiative that assists colleges where at at least 25% of undergraduates are Hispanic.

The state of Tennessee and a conservative nonprofit group, Students for Fair Admissions, eventually prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the initiative. The plaintiffs sought an end to the program, arguing it was discriminatory by denying federal funding to colleges that didn't meet the 25% requirement.
Story by Steve Kopack

Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook declared in financial forms that her Atlanta property would be used as a “vacation home” and not her primary residence, according to documents obtained by NBC News that appear to undercut allegations of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and President Donald Trump, who has moved to fire Cook, have accused the central bank board member of passing off the property as her main residence for financial gain. Cook has repeatedly denied the allegation, and administration officials have not provided definitive evidence supporting their claims.

A loan summary from the Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union in May 2021 reads: “Property Use: Vacation Home.” Additionally, public records in Fulton County, Georgia, reviewed by NBC News show that no tax exemptions available for a primary residence were sought by Cook.

A second document obtained by NBC News, Cook’s “questionnaire for national security positions," which was submitted to the Biden administration in late 2021 and later the Senate, lists a question that reads: “Please list all of your interests in real property, including additional homes, vacation homes, rental properties, and interests in trusts that may hold property.”
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