Daily Beast: John Oliver Dismantles MAGA’s Best Defense of Trump Budget Bill

The late-night host argued why the Trump administration’s claims make no sense.

As the U.S. Senate continued to debate late into the night Sunday over President Donald J. Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, John Oliver poked massive holes in claims by the president and his Republican loyalists.

In Oliver’s monologue during his final episode of Last Week Tonight before his annual summer break, the Emmy-winning HBO host played clips of House Speaker Mike Johnson alleging on Meet The Press that the bill actually “strengthens Medicaid for the people who actually need it and deserve it,” a talking point echoed by, among others, Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Mitchell on Newsmax. Trump, for his part, said in a February interview with Sean Hannity while sitting alongside Elon Musk that: “Medicare, Medicaid, none of that stuff is going to be touched.”

“But there’s a few problems there,” Oliver said. “Starting with the fact that following through with a promise not to touch something has never exactly been one of Trump’s strong suits. Also the math just doesn’t support those claims.”

Oliver cited congressional budget analysis estimating more than 16 million Americans would become uninsured by 2034 should Congress pass Trump’s bill, and that rural hospitals and community services also would lose their funding as a result.

The Republican bill, which would still need to go through reconciliation procedures with the House should it pass the Senate, would force low-income Medicaid recipients to prove they’d worked, volunteered or attended school for 80 hours a month. Oliver cited a November 2024 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, however, that found two-thirds of people on Medicaid already work, while most of the remainder are busy in school, functioning as family caretakers or living with a disability.

“And yet Republicans won’t stop painting lurid scenarios of Medicaid freeloaders,” Oliver said. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-oliver-dismantles-magas-best-defense-of-trump-budget-bill

People: Trump Threatens to Arrest 2 Political Opponents in Same Press Conference, Hours After Entertaining Elon Musk Deportation

President Donald Trump went on several tirades about former friends and political opponents alike on Tuesday, July 1, even threatening to jail a rising political star and a former Biden Cabinet member.

After touring a new detention facility for detainees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida, Trump sat down with reporters at “Alligator Alcatraz” to answer a few questions.

Asked about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — who had just officially earned the Democratic nomination on Tuesday — the president said, “A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally.”

Mamdani, 33, was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a major election upset as a self-described Democratic Socialist, which also earned Trump’s ire.

“We don’t need a communist in this country,” he said. “But if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation… We’re going to look at everything.”

Trump was also asked about Mamdani’s campaign promises to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors.”

His response? “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him.”

Bubba is deranged, needs to be put out to pasture.

https://people.com/trump-threatens-arrest-2-political-opponents-in-same-press-conference-11764784

Daily Beast: Musk Accuses Trump Aide of Federal Crime as Feud Explodes

The former boss of the Department of Government Efficiency has ramped up his attacks on White House staffer Sergio Gor.

Elon Musk has accused one of President Donald Trump’s top aides of committing a federal crime.

Weeks after the epic breakup between the president and the world’s richest man, Musk has continued to snipe at Sergio Gor, the director of the presidential personnel office, who he believes fueled his falling out with Trump.

Earlier this week, Musk described Gor as a “snake” after the New York Post reported that, even though Gor is in charge of vetting thousands of executive branch employees, he himself hasn’t been fully vetted.

But on Friday, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency ramped up his attacks, writing on X: “He deliberately lied about where he was born on Federal forms. That’s a serious crime.”

“Gor is breaking the law,” Musk later added.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House about Musk’s latest comment, which came in response to a series of posts by Ukraine-born American race car driver Igor Sushko accusing Gor of being a “Russian spy.”

Sushko had posted a series of articles relating to the White House aide, including a New York Post story questioning where Gor was born; details of a fact-finding trip he took to Russia while working for Senator Rand Paul; an archive of Gor’s high-school email suggesting it referred to him as “Russian-Maltese”; and a now-retracted investigation by former Washington Post reporter-turned-independent journalist Brian Krebs.

Central to Musk’s attack is the claim that Gor failed to file his own SF-86, the critical vetting form required for permanent U.S security clearance. This was despite Gor being responsible for vetting thousands of executive branch employees.

Among other things, the form covers citizenship, employment history, relatives, foreign contacts and travel, financial activities, and drug use. The White House, however, insisted earlier this week that Gor filled out the form, has the relevant clearance, and is a “trusted adviser to President Trump.”

Underpinning Musk’s accusation is a long-standing rift with Gor, who says the 38-year-old fueled his spectacular falling out with Trump earlier this month.

Things got particularly messy when Gor encouraged Trump to rescind his nomination for Jared Isaacman—Musk’s personal friend—to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) just days before his Senate confirmation vote. Trump at the time cited Isaacman’s “prior associations”—a reference to Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats—as the reason for withdrawing his nomination.

And that last tidbit is probably the real issue here — F’Elon Musk’s buddy won’t be running NASA, which would have removed a lot of regulatory obstacles from Musk’s path, not to mention helping to ensure a steady stream of lucrative government contracts.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-accuses-trump-aide-sergio-gor-of-federal-crime-as-feud-explodes

Raleigh News & Observer: Trump’s Approval Rating Plummets in New Poll

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 38%, according to Quinnipiac, amid a public clash with Elon Musk over the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” A CBS/YouGov poll earlier this month showed 45% approval and 55% disapproval, underscoring the growing public scrutiny he faces.

Republican lawmakers … are viewed unfavorably by 61% of the general public. This disparity comes amid ongoing challenges Republicans have faced in appealing to a wider audience beyond their base.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-s-approval-rating-plummets-in-new-poll/ss-AA1GVnKX

Washington Post: Many here wanted Trump to enforce immigration law, but ‘it’s going overboard’

Interviews with more than four dozen people in this swing region encompassing northern Los Angeles County show how much tactics matter in the immigration debate.

Jesus Martinez, a 36-year-old aerospace worker, said he initially supported President Donald Trump’s decision to send the military to quell immigration protests in California. But he has grown increasingly uneasy after seeing images of ICE raids near schools and at workplaces where families are being separated.

“It’s going overboard. It’s too much,” said Martinez, a former Democrat who supported Trump in 2020 and sat out the 2024 election.

“They said only criminals, and now they’re saying, ‘Well, they did come in illegally, so they are criminals,’” he added. “Hispanics or Latinos that voted for Trump, they didn’t think he was going to go after kids.”

In this working-class and heavily Latino area known for its wildflower blooms, a region that moved toward Trump in the 2024 election, voters from both parties voiced support for Trump’s promises to deport immigrants who are here illegally, especially those with criminal records. But they drew lines — some over the scope of those deportations and, to a lesser extent, over his decision to crack down on immigration protesters with the military.

“When you already have aggressive people and then you’re sending in people like that, I feel like it just makes it kind of worse,” said Christian Strand, a 19-year-old EMT from Palmdale, a majority-Latino city, referring to the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines. “It’s creating more of a pushback, because the aggression is rising.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/17/trump-california-immigration-voters

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/many-here-wanted-trump-to-enforce-immigration-law-but-it-s-going-overboard/ar-AA1GUEAR

Mediaite: Stephen Miller’s Wife Demanded Government Agency Lie to Cover Up a Bogus Elon Musk Fraud Claim: NY Times

Katie Miller — a top Trump administration aide who is married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — ordered a government agency to lie in an effort to cover up a bogus claim by Elon Musk, according to a blockbuster New York Times report.

According to a piece Monday co-authored by Times reporters Alexandra BerzonNicholas Nehamas and Tara Siegel Bernard, employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) were told to confirm Musk’s claim — made at a rally in March — that 40 percent of all calls to the agency’s service lines were scams.

“The number is 40 percent,” Katie Miller reportedly told the acting Social Security Administrator Leland Dudek in an April 1 call. “Do not contradict the president.”

Daily Beast: Dem[ocrat] Assassin Is ‘Strong Trump Supporter’ Best Friend Reveals

The suspected assassin who ambushed a Minnesota state senator and lawmaker in a deadly attack was a “strong” supporter of President Donald Trump, his roommate revealed.

David Carlson told reporters Saturday that suspected killer Vance L. Boelter voted fro the MAGA president last year. The revelation came after Republicans such as Elon Musk painted Boelter, who was appointed to Governor Walz’s Workforce Development Board in 2019, as a violent leftist—despite his pro-life views and his plans to target dozens of Democratic leaders.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dem-assassin-is-strong-trump-supporter-best-friend-reveals

MSNBC: Elon Musk’s bad-faith response to the Minnesota shootings risks encouraging political violence

In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of Democrats.

The shootings of two Minnesota state legislators and their spouses this weekend — resulting in the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and grievous injury to Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who were shot multiple times — is the latest horrific episode of political violence across the country.

It won’t be the last.

In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of victims and Democrats. After reports surfaced that Gov. Tim Walz had appointed the Minnesota shooting suspect, who was taken into custody Sunday, to a state workforce development board, right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich asked on X whether Walz had unleashed an “assassin” and “ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.” Elon Musk was swiftly mocked online after he blamed the “far left” for the killings in a post on X.Expand article logo  Continue reading  Back to Home

These conspiracy theories are patently wrong. The suspect in custody for Saturday’s killings has reportedly voted for Trump and is a supporter of the president, according to a close friend of his who spoke with NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis, and he appears to have deliberately targeted progressive and liberal candidates and causes. Police discovered a list of other targets, including Democrats who support abortion rights and Planned Parenthood clinics. He was an ordained Christian minister who had taken several trips to proselytize overseas.

When political leaders use rhetoric that demonizes their opponents, declaring them enemies who are worthy of revenge or pledging retribution, their supporters may feel emboldened or empowered to take violent action.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/minnesota-shootings-suspect-elon-musk-response-conspiracies-rcna213152

Irish Star: ‘Repugnant’ Eric Trump slammed for using vile slur to describe LA protestors

Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, recently appeared on the Benny Show podcast. During the episode, he commented on the protesters from the “No Kings Day” demonstrations, which took place over the weekend alongside his father’s military birthday parade. He shamelessly described the Americans who took to the streets in protest of the Trump regime as “mongoloids.”

Jr. has no class and no clue, just like Daddy.

https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/repugnant-eric-trump-slammed-using-35402554

Axios: Sen. Mike Lee called to resign for “disgusting” posts about Minnesota shooting

Utah Sen. Mike Lee is facing outrage and calls for his resignation over social media posts that baselessly claim the man charged with targeting Minnesota lawmakers in shootings during the weekend has ties to the political left.

Prominent right-wing figures, including Elon Musk, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, spread now-debunked claims that leftist politics motivated the shooting spree that left one Minnesota state representative dead and another wounded.

The lawmakers’ spouses also were shot, one fatally.

Lee on Sunday morning wrote two posts on X featuring an FBI-released surveillance camera image of Vance Luther Boelter, whose car contained a hit list targeting many Democratic Minnesota officials such as Gov. Tim Walz and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

  • One of Lee’s posts read, “This is what happens (w)hen Marxists don’t get their way.”
  • “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” the next stated, in an apparently-misspelled reference to Walz, who ran for vice president last year.
  • Lee called Marxism a “deadly mental illness” in a Saturday post about the shootings.

Walz and the previous governor had appointed Boelter to a civilian economic board, leading to a blitz of rightwing speculation this weekend that Boelter, who was arrested late Sunday, had Democratic ties.

Boelter’s friends say he held deeply conservative religious and political views, the AP reported.

https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2025/06/16/minnesota-shooting-mike-lee-twitter-posts-resign