Tag Archives: White House

The Atlantic: Trump’s Inevitable Betrayal of His Supporters

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On Sunday, Donald Trump went on TV and told Americans that their children should make do with less. “They don’t need to have 30 dolls; they can have three,” the president said on Meet the Press. “They don’t need to have 250 pencils; they can have five.” Critics were quick to point out the irony of America’s avatar of excess telling others to tighten their belt. But the problem with Trump’s remark goes beyond the optics. It’s that his argument for austerity contradicts his campaign commitments—and exposes the limits of his transactional approach to politics.

Throughout his 2024 run, the president promised Americans a return to the prosperity of his pre-COVID first term. “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods,” he told a Montana rally in August. “They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast,” he declared days later in North Carolina. But at the same time, Trump also promised to impose steep tariffs on consumer goods—dubbing tariff one of “the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard”—even though the levies would effectively serve as a tax on everyday Americans.

These two pledges could not be reconciled, and once elected, Trump was forced to choose between them. The results have disillusioned many of those who voted for him. Trump’s approval on the economy has plunged since he announced his “Liberation Day.” A former strength has become a weakness. “If you look at his economic net approval rating in his first term, it was consistently above water,” the CNN analyst Harry Enten noted last month. “It was one of his best issues, and now it’s one of his worst issues.”

Trump’s Inevitable Betrayal of His Supporters
Trump never meant to keep his promises. His voters are starting to notice.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-s-inevitable-betrayal-of-his-supporters/ar-AA1EosZ3

The Atlantic: The Disturbing Rise of MAGA Maoism

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Trump seems to be ceding the future to China while emulating its past.

China may well come to dominate the next century—because President Donald Trump is taking a page from the most famous Chinese leader of the previous one.

The United States remains the world’s preeminent soft power. It’s a financial and cultural juggernaut, whose entertainment and celebrities bestride the planet. But as an industrial power, the U.S. is not so much at risk of falling behind as it is objectively behind already. A recent essay in the journal Foreign Affairs by Rush Doshi and Kurt Campbell, both China experts who served in the Biden administration, made the case with alarming specificity. China makes 20 times more cement and 13 times more steel than the U.S. It makes more than two-thirds of the world’s electric vehicles, more than three-quarters of its electric batteries, 80 percent of its consumer drones, and 90 percent of its solar panels. China’s shipbuilding capacity is several orders of magnitude larger than America’s, and its navy will be 50 percent larger than the U.S. Navy by 2030.

The Trump administration clearly recognizes the need to rebuild industrial capacity. In its executive order published on “Liberation Day,” the White House suggested that, without high tariffs, America’s “defense-industrial base” is too “dependent on foreign adversaries”—a clear allusion to China.

But …

But Trump’s approach to countering China has been so scattershot, so inept, so face-smackingly absurd, that it sometimes seems like covert policy to destroy America’s reputation. Rather than build a global trading and supply-chain alliance to match the scale of China, we’ve threatened to invade Canada and slapped new tariffs on our European and East Asian allies. Rather than invest in scientific discovery, which is the basis of our technological supremacy, the administration threatens to decimate the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation while attacking major research universities, including Harvard and Columbia. Rather than compete on clean energy, the White House has targeted solar and wind subsidies for destruction. Rather than invest in nuclear power by expanding the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, which provides billion-dollar loan guarantees for nuclear projects, the administration dismissed 60 percent of its staff. Rather than secure our reputation as the world’s premier destination for global talent, we’re driving away foreign students.

https://archive.is/j0lGD#selection-673.0-708.0

AFG: Web archivists scrambling to save US public data from deletion

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As President Donald Trump’s administration purges public records since storming back to power, experts and volunteers are preserving thousands of web pages and government sites devoted to climate change, health or LGBTQ rights and other issues.

Resources on AIDS prevention and care, weather records, references to ethnic or gender minorities: numerous databases were destroyed or modified after Trump signed an executive order in January declaring diversity, equality and inclusion programs and policies within the federal governmentto be illegal.

More than 3,000 pages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site were taken down and more than 1,000 from the Justice Department’s website, Paul Schroeder, president of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, told AFP.

Web archivists scrambling to save US public data from deletion
As President Donald Trump’s administration purges public records since storming back to power, experts and volunteers are preserving thousands of web pages and government sites devoted to climate change, health or LGBTQ rights and other issues.EDGI, a consortium of academics and volunteers, began safeguarding public climate and environmental data after Trump’s first election in 2016.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/archivists-scrambling-save-us-public-191322244.html

Fox News: JB Pritzker rips Trump as ‘authoritarian,’ responds to president calling out his weight

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., a possible 2028 White House candidate, took aim at President Donald Trump on Thursday in a late-night appearance, calling him an “authoritarian” leader and mocking his weight.

Pritzker made the comments during an interview on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Egged on by the anti-Trump late-night host, the governor argued Trump was a major threat to the American people.

“I think everybody understands that, at this point, we’ve got an authoritarian in office. He’s essentially tearing apart the things that really matter to working families across the United States, and nobody’s stopping him,” he told Kimmel.

JB Pritzker rips Trump as ‘authoritarian,’ responds to president calling out his weight
Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker slammed President Donald Trump during interview with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jb-pritzker-rips-trump-as-authoritarian-responds-to-president-calling-out-his-weight/ar-AA1E6hn3

The i Paper: Democrats waited for Trump to crumble. Now they’re starting to fight back

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Democrats are suffering because most of their supporters deem the party’s response to Trump insufficient, and not commensurate with the threat he poses to the country’s future. After spending the best part of 2024 insisting that “democracy is on the ballot”, and that the US system of government could not survive a second Trump administration, for the most part Democrats have licked their wounds and sat on their hands in the months since the President’s victory.

That is partly deliberate, with many Democrats heeding the advice of veteran party strategist James Carville. In February, he urged the party to engage in what he conceded was “the most daring political manoeuvre” in its history. Writing in the New York Times, he advised Democrats to “roll over and play dead. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us”.

The dangers of heeding that advice are now plain to see. A growing number of voters tell pollsters that the party is failing in its civic duty to identify a path out of Trump’s America, to corral public protests, and to demonstrably lead the way.

Democrats waited for Trump to crumble. Now they’re starting to fight back
The party is craving leadership, which is giving Democrats the courage to act

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/democrats-waited-for-trump-to-crumble-now-they-re-starting-to-fight-back/ar-AA1E5Awb

MSNBC: As Trump blames Biden for the shrinking economy, here’s who really owns this crisis

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During the campaign, there were repeated warnings about what would happen if Donald Trump went through with his promise of sweeping global tariffs. Just over 100 days into his second term, we’re seeing those warnings come to life.

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first quarter, marking the first quarter of negative growth since Q1 of 2022. In a Truth Social post, Trump quickly tried to pass the blame for that number onto Joe Biden. “This is Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th,” Trump wrote.

But the truth is, Trump isn’t the only one who deserves blame here. If I’m a Democrat, I’m not blaming this all on Trump. Republicans in the Senate had a chance on Wednesday to take a stand against these tariffs and terminate the “national emergency” the president used to implement them. There’s no national emergency that could justify what the president has done. Republicans know that.

Before Trump took the White House, the U.S. economy was the envy of the world. Republicans needed to protect that economy, and they had the opportunity to do that with Wednesday’s vote. But, in the end, only three Republican senators were brave enough to take a stand against Trump. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans to tell the administration that they refused to forfeit all of their power on tariffs to the White House.

The American people will feel the impact of Trump’s tariffs — if they haven’t already. When the next election comes around, the same Republicans who refused to stand up to the president can’t go on the campaign trail and point their finger at Trump. Those Republicans own this. The Republican senators who refused to join their colleagues on Wednesday own it. Republican House members who have stood idly by as Trump wreaks havoc on the economy own it.

Under Trump, elected Republicans have given up their power. They had a chance to take back their constitutionally mandated power on Wednesday — all but three said “no” and effectively told the American people that they wrap their arms around this economy, around a possible recession, and they take full credit for it.

As Trump blames Biden for the shrinking economy, here’s who really owns this crisis
Joe Scarborough calls out Republicans for refusing to stand up to Trump over tariffs and says they deserve part of the blame for the struggling U.S. economy.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/as-trump-blames-biden-for-the-shrinking-economy-here-s-who-really-owns-this-crisis/ar-AA1E3o5z

Daily Express: CBS’ 60 Minutes to air segment ‘set to anger’ Donald Trump fueling media fallout

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60 Minutes is moving forward with a sharp report on President Donald Trump this Sunday, even as CBS remains embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute with him and faces internal upheaval following the resignation of its longtime producer.

The upcoming episode is expected to focus on Trump’s alleged attempts to use presidential power to punish legal adversaries.”On the campaign trail, President Trump vowed to wield the power of the presidency to go after his perceived enemies,” the segment’s description states.

“Now in the White House, Trump is using executive orders to target some of the biggest law firms in the country that he accuses of ‘weaponizing’ the justice system against him.”

CBS’ 60 Minutes to air segment ‘set to anger’ Donald Trump fueling media fallout
CBS’ 60 Minutes set to air President Donald Trump exposé Sunday despite legal fight.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cbs-60-minutes-to-air-segment-set-to-anger-donald-trump-fueling-media-fallout/ar-AA1E5ngZ

Latin Times: Trump Admin Laying Groundwork For Unilateral U.S. Military Action Against Cartels In Mexico: Report

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Throughout the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to crack down drug trafficking operations in Mexican territory, a plan that caused concern among experts and diplomats who warned would be illegal and dangerous. Now, an organization believes Washington is laying the groundwork for military actions anyway.

Some in the Trump administration are reportedly considering launching drone strikes on drug cartels in Mexico as part of an effort to combat the criminal gangs operating across the southern border.

In those discussions, the White House, Defense Department and intelligence officials were still at the early stages of sketching out potential plans. The administration has not made a final decision or reached a definitive agreement about countering cartels. Nonetheless, a unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, had not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort, NBC News reported.

Trump Admin Laying Groundwork For Unilateral U.S. Military Action Against Cartels In Mexico: Report
The Trump admin is considering military action to curb down drug operations in Mexico, with or without the consent of Sheinbaum’s government, according to the Crisis Group

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-admin-laying-groundwork-for-unilateral-u-s-military-action-against-cartels-in-mexico-report/ar-AA1E4leJ

Rolling Stone: Trump Suggests Republicans Start Expelling Dems From Congress

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President Donald Trump suggested that congressional Republicans should expel Democratic lawmakers from Congress in response to a so-far small impeachment push that has not been endorsed by party leadership. 

In a lengthy Truth Social post published late Thursday night, the president wrote: “The Democrats are really out of control. They have lost everything, especially their minds! These Radical Left Lunatics are into the ‘Impeachment thing’ again. They have already got two ‘No Name,’ little respected Congressmen, total Whackjobs both, throwing the ‘Impeachment’ of DONALD J. TRUMP around.”

“The Republicans should start to think about expelling them from Congress for all of the crimes that they have committed, especially around Election time(s),” Trump continued, calling Democrats “very dishonest people that won’t let our Country heal” and “total LOWLIFES, who hate our Country, and everything it stands for.”

“Perhaps we should start playing this game on them, and expel Democrats for the many crimes that they have committed,” the president wrote. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-suggests-republicans-start-expelling-dems-from-congress/ar-AA1E3PXf

Huffington Post: The Trump Administration Thinks You Should Be OK With Being Poor

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But even as the bad news piles up, the Trump administration has decided to reassure panicked consumers with a chilling talking point: Poverty is good, actually.

Last month, as economists warned of the harm Trump’s tariff policies could cause, including drastically increasing the price of goods, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted to dismiss those concerns by insinuating that being able to afford things is not important to Americans.

“Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream,” Bessent said to a crowd of economists. 

It turns out this assertion was only the beginning of the Trump administration’s vision for a new American dream.

From Trump telling reporters that he’s not worried about empty stores to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying during an interview that in his version of America, multiple generations will work in the same factories, it sure seems like the Trump administration is trying to prime Americans for accepting and even enjoying a drastically lower standard of living.

The Trump Administration Thinks You Should Be OK With Being Poor
As the country’s economic outlook bleakens, Trump officials are trying to convince us that actually, being poor is a good thing.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-trump-administration-thinks-you-should-be-ok-with-being-poor/ar-AA1E4kNp