Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Daily Mail: Court rules on Trump’s birthright citizenship plan

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A federal appeals court delivered a blow to Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, deeming it unconstitutional. It’s the latest step in an ongoing battle between Trump and various judges in states far over his plan to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal migrants.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Trump´s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit decision keeps a block on the Trump administration enforcing the order that would deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily. ‘The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order´s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,’ the majority wrote.

The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump´s effort to end birthright citizenship and decried what he described as the administration´s attempt to ignore the Constitution for political gain. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The Supreme Court has since restricted the power of lower court judges to issue orders that affect the whole country, known as nationwide injunctions. But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under one of the exceptions left open by the justices.

…

The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment says that all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, are citizens. Justice Department attorneys argue that the phrase ‘subject to United States jurisdiction’ in the amendment means that citizenship isn´t automatically conferred to children based on their birth location alone. The states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon – argue that ignores the plain language of the Citizenship Clause as well as a landmark birthright citizenship case in 1898 where the Supreme Court found a child born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a citizen by virtue of his birth on American soil.

Appeals court finds effort to end birthright citizenship illegal
It’s the latest step in an ongoing battle between Trump and various judges in states far over his plan to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal migrants.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14934995/Court-decision-Donald-Trump-birthright-citizenship.html

Alternet: Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

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A new report is shedding light on the truly massive trove of evidence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has amassed on Jeffrey Epstein — most of which has yet to see the light of day.

The New York Times reported Thursday on what went on behind the scenes during an extensive review of the Epstein files that the DOJ conducted for several months earlier this year. According to the Times, DOJ staff combed through “more than 100,000 pages of documents” pertaining to the 2019 federal investigation into the convicted pedophile.

DOJ attorneys reviewed the trove of evidence four times between February and April, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed staff to flag any mention of President Donald Trump, along with any other prominent public figures, “including former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.” Then in May, Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed to Trump that his name was in the Epstein documents, as the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The Times reported that senior Trump administration officials like Blanche, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have maintained there is no evidence implicating anyone outside of Epstein in the evidence. However, Trump’s MAGA base has continued to harp on the issue, believing that a full release of the evidence may reveal the names of previously unknown co-conspirators and associates of Epstein.

ABC News reported earlier this month on the FBI’s indexing of the Epstein evidence, and what has yet to be made public. This reportedly includes “40 computers and electronic devices, 26 storage drives, more than 70 CDs and six recording devices,” which “hold more than 300 gigabytes of data.”

“The evidence also includes approximately 60 pieces of physical evidence, including photographs, travel logs, employee lists, more than $17,000 in cash, five massage tables, blueprints of Epstein’s island and Manhattan home, four busts of female body parts, a pair of women’s cowboy boots and one stuffed dog,” the ABC report continued.

The network further reported that the FBI is sitting on logbooks of visitors to Epstein’s “Little Saint James” island — which housed his private compound — along with a log of boat trips to and from the island. The famed “client list” may also be among those items, as ABC reported that the FBI had a “document with names” among its Epstein-related evidence.

Trump DOJ sitting on ‘more than 100,000 pages’ of unreleased Epstein materials: NY Times

https://www.alternet.org/trump-doj-epstein-materials

MSNBC: Maddow Blog | Investigators in Signal chat probe reportedly found damaging evidence on Hegseth

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It’s been nearly three months since the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General started looking into the Signal chat leak scandal, specifically examining Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s alleged use of a commercially available messaging app to discuss foreign military strikes. As NBC News reported in early April, “In addition to looking at whether Hegseth complied with rules governing classified information, the inspector general will also look at whether rules about record retention were followed.”

According to new reporting from The Washington Post, the scrutiny isn’t going especially well for the beleaguered secretary.

By now, the basic elements of the “Signalgate” controversy are probably familiar: Top members of Donald Trump’s national security team participated in an unsecured group chat about sensitive operational details of a foreign military strike — and they accidentally included a journalist, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, in their online conversation.

The final paragraph of Goldberg’s piece on the fiasco read, “All along, members of the Signal group were aware of the need for secrecy and operations security. In his text detailing aspects of the forthcoming attack on Houthi targets, Hegseth wrote to the group — which, at the time, included me — ‘We are currently clean on OPSEC,’” referring to “operations security.”

In other words, the defense secretary was certain that he and his colleagues — while chatting on a free platform that has never been approved for chats about national security or classified intelligence — had locked everything down and created a secure channel of communication.

Of course, we now know that Team Trump was most certainly not “clean on OPSEC,” Hegseth’s confidence notwithstanding.

What’s more, while there was some discussion about the nature of the shared details, there’s no denying the chat did include highly sensitive information about times and targets, much of which was put there by Hegseth himself.

“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth told his colleagues in the chat. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME) — also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).” At one point, the defense secretary literally wrote, “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP.”

Now the Post, with a report that has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, tells readers that the strike plans shared by Hegseth originated from a classified email written by Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the top commander overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East. The article added:

CBS News ran a related report pointing to the same revelations.

Despite all of this, a Pentagon spokesperson told the Post, “The Department stands behind its previous statements: no classified information was shared via Signal. As we’ve said repeatedly, nobody was texting war plans and the success of the Department’s recent operations — from Operation Rough Rider to Operation Midnight Hammer — are proof that our operational security and discipline are top notch.”

The second part of this defense doesn’t seem to make logical sense — the success of the mission doesn’t necessarily mean that Hegseth was responsible with sensitive national security secrets — and the first part appears to be at odds with the available information about what transpired.

Complicating matters, this is not the only area of potential trouble for the former Fox News host who was confirmed despite bipartisan opposition. Politico published a report last week, which also hasn’t been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, that noted two related IG investigations that are also ongoing.

It’s worth noting for context that the existence of these reports suggests not only that Hegseth is facing serious scrutiny, but also that some officials within the Pentagon want the public to know that Hegseth is facing serious scrutiny. Watch this space.

Would somebody please just fire Hegseth’s sorry ass and get it done!!!

Maddow Blog | Investigators in Signal chat probe reportedly found damaging evidence on Hegseth
The Pentagon inspector general’s investigation into Pete Hegseth is ongoing, and new reporting suggests it’s not going well for the defense secretary.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/maddow-blog-investigators-in-signal-chat-probe-reportedly-found-damaging-evidence-on-hegseth/ar-AA1JdsxH

Ken Klippenstein: VIDEO: Troops Question Los Angeles Deployment

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Thousands of troops, National Guard and active duty Marines are being withdrawn from Los Angeles, the ill-fated mission quietly ending, the objective so confused that even the Defense Department’s official news service is publishing stories about soldiers questioning the point.

I’ve also been talking to those soldiers, and they affirm that so much of the Trump-Hegseth show of force was little more than an unnecessary and politically-motivated publicity stunt. So much so that I’m told that the Pentagon has ordered the California Guard to preserve all records related to the deployment, just in case the military is sued.

“Turns out there could be reasonably foreseeable litigation regarding the mobilization in the future,” one Guard source tells me, adding wryly: “Shocked.” (Asked about any such order, spokespersons for the California National Guard did not respond to my request for comment.)

“I’d say a lot of the action, quote unquote, has died down quite a bit; so a lot of … [what we’re doing] is just us showing our presence,” says Nicolas Gallegos of the Guard’s 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery Regiment.

Gallegos is referring to the anti-ICE protests and civil unrest in LA that precipitated the military deployments last month. Almost since the deployment began, troops on the ground saw that “unrest” had mostly dissipated.

“I think we all feel a little bit anxious about what, why, why we’re here,” says Private First Class Andrew Oliveira, an electronics repairman with the 578th Brigade Engineer Battalion told the defense news service.

Far from the North Korea-style “Everything’s great!” public relations exercise I expected, soldiers who deployed to LA are shockingly open about not just the nature of the mission but their own unease with it.

“At first it was a little scary, not knowing what I’m jumping into,” says Specialist Nadia Cano, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist with the 149th Chemical Company.

If the Defense Department sees fit to quote these soldiers in official media, imagine what they’re saying privately.

What’s striking is how young and inexperienced many of the soldiers are, a concern flagged early on by Army sources I was talking to. Many barely have a year of military service under their belts.

“ I’m still sort of new to the Army … It’s my second activation,” says Specialist Carlos Vasquez, a combat medic with the 143rd Field Artillery Regiment.

Vasquez is the only soldier mentioned by the Guard’s own public affairs apparatus I could find who seemed enthusiastic about the mission. He cites Michael Bay movies and the Call of Duty video game series as his inspiration for joining. 

For me, I love being activated. It’s my second activation … It’s really fun to be out supporting what’s supposed to be, you know, an important mission, making sure everything’s safe or making sure the civilians are safe, making sure we’re safe and everything, you know.

I just, I love wearing this uniform … I enlisted with the Army ’cause I saw all the fun stuff when I was growing up. All the ads, the Michael Bay movies, the Call of Duty. And so I still have pride in this uniform. I’m still sort of new to the Army though, so it’s two years. So everything still has its gold wrapper to it really.

Staff Sergeant Zachary Shannon, a squad leader with the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, alludes to his efforts at reassuring soldiers that the deployment involved  “doing the right thing,” as he put it, and of the importance of not listening to the protesters.

“I have advised my service members to just keep it professional, keep it military, military professionalism in one ear out the other in a sense that if they say something, my soldiers know who they are and they know why they’re here and they know. That they’re doing the right thing and if there is a protestor saying otherwise, they should know that that’s not true.”

If you’re confused about the point of the deployment, you’re not alone. The term “show of presence” originally appeared in an operations briefing leaked to me. A story I published in this newsletter about that admission precipitated an internal Army investigation almost as farcical as the deployment itself.

The soldiers I’ve talked to often expressed puzzlement as to what their orders are, which they said seemed to change at a moment’s notice with plans starting and stopping seemingly every day. In one case, the Guard arrived for an operation late and just turned around and went back to base without having done anything.

Is the withdrawal of 2,000 Guardsmen and 700 Marines, what’s been announced so far, the end of the mission, or is it just the Pentagon’s way of reorganizing for the next phase?  I don’t know yet. Guard sources tell me that most of the remaining troops on the streets will be military police, troops who in theory are trained and ready to engage in crowd control and similar missions in the future.

I welcome help from Guard, Army, and Marine Corps soldiers who can further shed light on the tangled mess. And of course to you readers whose subscriptions make my work possible!

VIDEO: Troops Question Los Angeles Deployment
An inside look at the ill-fated mission in soldiers’ own words

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/video-troops-question-los-angeles

Daily Mail: Pete Hegseth hit by deeply embarrassing allegations as leaked letter calling for his removal rips through the Pentagon

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An effort is under way among some Pentagon officials to denounce Pete Hegseth as unfit to serve as Defense Secretary, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Since May, drafts of a letter have been circulating among high and mid-level military brass and civilian workers to ‘Let the American public know this guy has no clue what he’s doing,’ one of them told DailyMail.com.

Sean Parnell, the department’s chief spokesman, came to his boss’ defense characterizing the letter as ‘palace intrigue’ or ‘sensationalized mainstream media gossip’ that he said Americans ‘don’t care about.’

‘They care about action,’ reads his statement.

Three Pentagon officials — two military and one civilian, and each with at least 20 years in the department — spoke on the condition of anonymity. 

Aside from losing their jobs, they fear prosecution by Donald Trump‘s administration, and being replaced by people with less experience who would be less apt to challenge some of Hegseth’s decisions.

Each said the letter calling for his ouster won’t be made public until next week at the earliest. 

They described its contents in the meantime – with complaints ranging from politicized decision-making to department-wide dysfunction, low morale, and a climate of paranoia driven by what they describe as Hegseth’s obsession with rooting out dissent.

They also pointed to his preoccupation with optics, citing his installation of a makeup studio inside the Pentagon, his staged photo ops lifting weights with the troops, and his new grooming and shaving policy for servicemen. 

‘He has branded himself the epitome of his so-called ‘warrior ethos’ that he’s always talking about,’ one insider said, adding that Hegseth appears to be reshaping the military into ‘a cross between a sweat lodge and WWE.’ 

They said the letter decries the Defense Secretary for issuing orders and setting policies without considering — or even hearing — input from intelligence, security and legal advisors.

As all three insiders told us, the letter also cites dysfunction and chaos in the department due to what they said are Hegseth’s inattention to, indecision on, and inconsistencies regarding several military matters, big and small.  

Those include defining the role the U.S. military should play in space and setting a realistic timeline for building the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system, a top military goal for Trump. 

They also include clarifying the channels by which Pentagon personnel should and should not communicate with each other. 

One insider said Hegseth’s top aides are clamping down on contact between workers, even when there’s no security, professional or ethical reason to do so.

The insiders described what they perceive as Hegseth’s extreme distrust of the military and civilian personnel who work in the Pentagon, especially senior staffers who speak out when best practices are sidestepped or institutional memory ignored. 

They said Hegseth’s preoccupation with sussing out leakers and critics in the department has caused bureaucratic logjams, brought some basic, but essential military business to a standstill and triggered a sense of paranoia throughout the building.

One of the officials said that some Pentagon personnel feel pressured to attend the Christian prayer services Hegseth has arranged during work hours, even though they’re supposed to be optional.

Two spoke of disdain among many Defense officials about the Secretary’s preoccupation with optics — token gestures they said have little to do with defense. 

They cited the makeup studio the former Fox News personality and fitness buff had installed at the Pentagon and his insistence on being photographed lifting weights and doing push ups with troops.

‘Sure, he wants everyone as fit as he is. But he also wants everyone noticing how he looks,’ an insider said.

Aside from Hegseth’s review of fitness standards, he also has focused on military grooming, including specific instructions on how members should shave. 

Under his new policy, soldiers with a skin condition that causes razor bumps and affects mainly Black men could be discharged from service.

One insider pointed to current tensions in Europe and Asia, and full-out war spanning from the north to the south of the Middle East, and said: ‘With everything that’s happening in the world, he’s choosing to focus on razor bumps. Seriously?’ 

One also cited last month’s mobilization of about 4,000 National Guard troops in response to protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles as an example of Hegseth ignoring his department’s advice.  

‘Nobody in the building thought that was a wise idea,’ one of the insiders said.

Few in the Pentagon also support Hegseth’s efforts to undo diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and eradicate what he calls ‘wokeness’ in the military by restoring the names of military bases that had previously honored Confederate generals.

That insider said Hegseth’s repeated criticism of diversity policies has led to ‘far more’ racist incidents than before the Secretary took office.

He noted that Hegseth’s anti-wokeness agenda also has prompted suspicions among many non-white service members and DOD staffers that their job performance is being scrutinized more closely than those of their white colleagues.

‘Some people are being looked at as if they don’t deserve their positions,’ he said. ‘The effect that has on productivity can’t be overstated.’ 

Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, credits Hegseth with ‘record-high’ recruiting numbers, European allies’ agreement to meet Trump’s 5% defense spending target, and what he called the ‘flawless success’ of the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites on June 22.

‘Secretary Hegseth has successfully reoriented the Department of Defense to put the interests of America’s Warfighters and America’s taxpayers first, and it has never been better positioned to execute on its mission than it is today,’ his statement reads. 

‘The DoD’s historic accomplishments thus far are proof of Secretary Hegseth’s bold leadership and commitment to the American people and our men and women in uniform.’

The three Pentagon officials we spoke with told us that a small group of their colleagues — including officers from all military branches except for the Coast Guard — and some civilian workers met at a private home in May to discuss how to get the word out about what they view as Hegseth’s incompetence. 

They agreed the message would be stronger coming from current rather than retired DOD personnel.

Attendees jointly decided to give themselves a few months to agree on the wording of a joint letter that they would either send to the news media, run as an ad in a major newspaper or launch online via social media or a newly created web site. 

They set a deadline for mid-July — this week — to finalize the letter so it could be made public by next Friday, the 25th, which marks Hegseth’s half-year in office.

The letter is written but, as the planned launch date nears, organizers are undecided about whether it should be signed only by the few people willing to jeopardize their careers, or if there’s a way to organize broader engagement throughout the military by protecting signers’ identities.

The group is in discussion with a public relations advisor, tech consultant and community organizers in hopes of finding a way to broadcast their complaints far and wide throughout the U.S. while limiting the risk of retaliation.

‘We need to believe it’s possible,’ one of the officials told us, adding that a solution, if one exists, may not be feasible before next week.

The effort comes after Hegseth — a former Army National Guard officer who had limited experience running large, complicated organizations — got off to a bumpy start leading the country’s biggest bureaucracy.

During his confirmation process, critics raised concerns about his treatment of women and issues with alcohol. 

Three Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell, voted against his appointment, and Vice President J.D. Vance cast a tie-breaking vote.

Less than two months into his tenure as defense secretary, a group of national security leaders discussed a planned military strike against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on a group chat using a nonsecure group chat on Signal that accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic magazine.

The ‘Signalgate’ scandal caused two of Hegseth’s top aides and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary to be booted from the Pentagon. Trump ultimately fired National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, who organized the chat. 

Meanwhile, several outlets reported that Hegseth shared sensitive information about the attack in a second Signal text chain with his brother, lawyer and wife.

Trump, at least outwardly, has been steadfast in supporting Hegseth, who arranged for the military parade the president long had wanted, but was denied by Pentagon officials in his first term in office. 

Hegseth also embraces Trump’s ‘America First’ ideas.

The Secretary’s willingness to carry out Trump’s isolationist goals was starkly clear this week when he abruptly pulled about a dozen high-ranking military speakers from the Aspen Security Forum. 

The four-day summit in Colorado has for years drawn officials from Republican and Democratic administrations to publicly share ideas with the world’s leading national security and foreign policy experts.

In a statement to Just the News, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson derided the event for promoting ‘the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.’

One attendee of the conference told DailyMail.com last Thursday that the Defense Department’s absence from the event is a ‘worrisome sign’ that Hegseth is sealing the military off from outside opinions and potentially helpful input.

Another called the cancellation ‘boneheaded.’

So by 25 July we should have a palace coup? Let’s roll!

Pete Hegseth hit by embarassing allegations in leaked letter
An effort is under way among some Pentagon officials to denounce Pete Hegseth as unfit to serve as Defense Secretary, DailyMail.com can reveal.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14925677/inside-revolt-pentagon-Pete-Hegseth-letter-defense-secretary-ouster.html

Daily Beast: Epstein Victim Twice Urged FBI to Investigate Trump

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The disgraced financier’s former employee recalled an alleged incident in which Trump stared at her bare legs.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s first accuser says she warned the Federal Bureau of Investigation on two occasions to look into Donald Trump’s conduct as an associate of the disgraced sex offender.

In an interview with The New York Times, Maria Farmer, who in 1996 was the first to report Epstein’s sexual offenses, recalled a 1995 encounter with Trump after she was summoned to see Epstein at his luxurious Manhattan offices.

Farmer, who was preparing to do some work for Epstein, said she was wearing running shorts when she turned up at the building to find Trump in a suit. Farmer told the Times that she started feeling scared as Trump allegedly stared at her bare legs, but Epstein came into the room and broke the tension. Farmer said Epstein reportedly said to Trump, “No, no. She’s not here for you.”

The incident left Farmer shaken, with her alleging that she could hear Trump tell Epstein in the other room that he thought she was a teenager, the Times reported.

The next year, Farmer told the FBI that she was sexually assaulted by Epstein and his alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, and warned that the two had “committed multiple serious sex crimes” against her and other girls, including her then-15-year-old sister, Annie.

Although Farmer, now in her mid-fifties, said she has not seen Trump engage in any inappropriate behavior and has had no other uncomfortable encounters with the MAGA figurehead, the incident was enough for her to tell the FBI to look into the people in Epstein’s orbit, including Trump.

According to Farmer, she was alarmed by what she saw working at Epstein’s mansion, including his pursuit of young girls and using them to gain favor with prominent people, including the likes of Alan Dershowitz and former President Bill Clinton.

Farmer also spoke to the Sixth Precinct of the New York Police Department in 1996, police records show, the Times reported.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung denied Farmer’s claims in a statement, saying, “The president was never in his office.” He added, “The fact is that the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep.”

Farmer filed a lawsuit against the federal government on May 29 on the grounds that it failed to protect her and other victims of Epstein and Maxwell. Farmer said she warned of Epstein’s associates again in a 2006 FBI interview, but nothing came of it, the Times reported.

Epstein was indicted in 2006, later pleading guilty to two felony charges, including soliciting a minor. Then in 2019, he was charged again and accused of trafficking dozens of girls as young as 14 years old. He was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, in what was said to have been a suicide.

As Trump looks to bury his alleged connections to Epstein in the press—filing a $10 billion lawsuit over a Wall Street Journal report on a lewd drawing he allegedly sent Epstein for his 50th birthday—Farmer’s testimony has picked up new steam as MAGA demands that the Trump administration unseal all Epstein files.

Previously, Trump referred to Epstein as a “terrific guy” in a 2002 New York magazine article, with one of Epstein’s exes also describing Trump as Epstein’s “bro.”

Yet in a lengthy Truth Social post on July 16, Trump ripped some of his followers for believing what he called the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”

“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,” he wrote. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support any more!”

Epstein Victim Twice Named Trump to Law Enforcement
The disgraced financier’s former employee recalled an alleged incident in which Trump stared at her bare legs.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/epstein-victim-twice-named-trump-to-law-enforcement

Mirror: Donald Trump’s niece reveals latest symptom of cognitive decline and says he’s ‘far gone’

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Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and author, has launched a scathing attack on her uncle, President Donald Trump, claiming his ‘cognitive decline’

“He has an actually quite decent ability to mix cognitive decline with narcissism. I mean that’s a twofer,” she said, reports the Irish Star.

Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, has made a biting remark about her uncle, stating that he “can’t tie his own shoes,” as concerns about Trump’s health continue to mount.

Mary Trump, a psychologist and the daughter of Donald’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr, lambasted the president’s “reign of idiocy” on her YouTube show, Trump Trolls Trump.

“We’re now 166 days into the Trump regime’s reign of terror, reign of confusion, reign of chaos, but also let’s call it what else it is, it’s a reign of idiocy,” she declared.

The 60-year-old author of the book ‘Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,’ continued to ruthlessly ridicule her uncle.

“Time flies when you’re having a horrible time and when democracy is slowly being strangled by a man who can’t tie his own shoes,” she said.

However, Mary did give credit where credit was due.

“Now, Donald is good at very, very few things but I’m going to give him credit for something,” she stated.

“He has an actually quite decent ability to mix cognitive decline with narcissism. I mean that’s a twofer,” she said, reports the Irish Star.

“Every time it is a 10 out of 10 for his performance in being a moron,” Mary pointed out.

She continued her blistering critique of the president, highlighting one of his latest embarrassing gaffes.

After his visit to a new Florida immigration detention center, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” last week, the president was asked twice if he knew how long detainees would be kept there.

In a response to a question, Trump veered off-topic discussing his affection for Florida, Oval Office decor, and New York taxes before saying, “I’ll be here as much as I can, very nice question.”

“The question, you idiot, wasn’t do you like Florida?” Mary exclaimed in frustration.

She reasoned that Trump couldn’t provide an answer because he didn’t have one.

Mary blisteringly criticized Trump, saying she is “sick of this thuggish lunk sitting there any denying the American people access to any truths about anything whatsoever.

“Donald is, quite frankly, increasingly far gone these days. He has an attention span of a toddler, although that’s actually nothing new,” she asserted regarding her uncle.

Switching focus to Trump’s recent entrepreneurial endeavor, Mary scrutinized Trump’s launch of a new “victory” fragrance on Truth Social the previous week.

Describing the scent, which retails at $249 per 100ml and features a golden statuette of Trump, Mary said, “It is grotesque for the sitting president of the United States to grift off of his office, but here we are,”.

Finally, she lamented, “The idea of having to guess what that horror smells like is deeply unfair to those of us who are still sane.”

Trump ‘can’t dress himself’ as niece says he’s ‘far gone’ amid cognitive decline
Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and author, has launched a scathing attack on her uncle, President Donald Trump, claiming his ‘cognitive decline’

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-cant-dress-himself-1251052

MSNBC: The demise of Trump’s lawsuit against Bob Woodward offers a reminder to his other targets

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The demise of the president’s case against the journalist offers a broader lesson about the benefits of fighting back — and the folly of appeasement.

Late Friday, Donald Trump announced a new lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, corporate parent and individual reporters who wrote an article about Jeffrey Epstein that the president didn’t like. The civil suit — which the Republican described as “a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit” for reasons unknown — marked a historical rarity: There’s no modern precedent for a sitting U.S. president suing a newspaper over an article.

But as it turns out, right around the same time that Trump’s lawyers were filing their WSJ case, their client received some related news. NBC News reported:

A federal judge on Friday dismissed President Donald Trump’s nearly $50 million lawsuit against the journalist Bob Woodward for publishing tapes from interviews for his 2020 best-seller ‘Rage’ as an audiobook. The decision by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan is a victory for Woodward, his publisher Simon & Schuster and its former owner Paramount Global.

In case anyone needs a fresher, it was in early 2023 when the Republican first filed a civil suit against Woodward and his publisher, claiming that the longtime journalist did not get his consent to release audio recordings of their interviews. Trump sought nearly $50 million in damages.

He’ll end up with nothing but legal bills. (The judge in this case was appointed by George W. Bush.)

The outcome was hardly unfamiliar. When Trump sued CNN and demanded $475 million, the case was thrown out; when he sued The Washington Post, the case was thrown out; and when he sued The New York Times, seeking $100 million, the case was thrown out.

In each instance, the Republican and his legal team filed highly dubious, politically motivated cases, each of which was based on claims that can charitably be described as “thin,” and in each instance, the journalists and their employers fought back — and won.

To be sure, there are some notable exceptions. When Trump filed a similarly weak case against ABC News, the network agreed to a controversial $15 million settlement with the president. More recently, in response to a bizarre lawsuit from the president, CBS News’ corporate parent agreed to an even more controversial $16 million settlement.

The broader lessons should be obvious. For one thing, those wildly unnecessary out-of-court settlements only emboldened Trump, effectively encouraging him to sue other news organizations that bothered him for one reason or another. Indeed, the president explicitly referenced the ABC News and CBS News payments when outing his new civil suit against The Wall Street Journal.

For another, the recent pattern suggests the only way to lose in a fight against Trump is to pursue a course rooted in appeasement. It’s true when it comes to law firms; it’s true when it comes to higher education; and it’s true in his court fights against news organizations.

Since Rupert Murdoch is unlikely to roll over and pay bribe money in feasance to King Donald, this will be King Donald’s biggest legal flop yet.

The demise of Trump’s lawsuit against Bob Woodward offers a reminder to his other targets
The demise of the president’s case against the journalist offers a broader lesson about the benefits of fighting back — and the folly of appeasement.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/demise-trumps-lawsuit-bob-woodward-offers-reminder-targets-rcna219958

Daily Beast: JD Vance’s Idyllic Vacation in Foreign A-List Hotspot to Be Hijacked by Protests

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The Stop Trump Coalition said the vice president will “find the resistance waiting” on his English summer break, an ocean and almost 4,000 miles from DC.

Anti-Trump protesters have warned that they will derail JD Vance’s planned English countryside escape.

The vice president, his wife Usha, and their three children are expected to explore London in mid-August, rent a cottage in the Cotswolds, and then travel to Scotland, according to The Telegraph.

The Cotswolds is a stunning area full of rolling hills and quaint villages in southwest England, which is frequented by the wealthy elite, including Hugh Grant, David Beckham, and King Charles. But a serene stay is set to be hijacked by “a coalition of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, climate protesters and trade unions,” the British publication reported.

Ellen DeGeneres, who decided to move to the U.K. with wife Portia de Rossi after Trump’s re-election, is also a recent American expat living in the area. DeGeneres said over the weekend that she had found an oasis of calm. “We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” DeGeneres told the BBC. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”

The Stop Trump Coalition has pledged to ensure that Vance’s merriment falls as flat as it did when he visited Disneyland with his brood earlier this month. Demonstrators gathered outside the hotel he was believed to be staying at to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids in California.

The group, which helped mobilize mass protests against Donald Trump’s first state visit to the U.K. in 2019, warned that even in the heart of the English countryside, the vice president “will find the resistance waiting.”

A spokesman told The Telegraph that the group also plans to Trump’s visit to Scotland later this week, when the president will open a new golf course named after his Scottish mother, and a second full state visit planned for September.

“We are meeting Trump with protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh this month, and then in London and Windsor in September,” they said.

“J.D. Vance is every bit as unwelcome in the U.K. as Donald Trump. We remember how Vance cut short his ski trip in Vermont because he was so enraged by the sight of a few protesters.

“We are sure that, even in the Cotswolds, he will find the resistance waiting.”

In March, protesters in Vermont forced Vance and his family to flee a ski resort after demonstrations sprang up against the administration’s Ukraine stance.

He was told to “go ski in Russia,” and branded a “national disgrace.”

The Vances were also met with resistance at Disneyland earlier this month. Over 100 protesters turned up the day before he arrived to speak out against the Trump administration’s mass deportations in a demonstration outside the Grand Californian Hotel, where the Vances were booked.

A smaller crowd of protesters showed up the day he arrived, with the park reportedly shutting down certain rides for the Vances to enjoy privately, causing delays for other park guests.

Even California Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted Vance in an X post, writing, “Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t.”

The Stop Trump Coalition, meanwhile, has also said it will protest against the president’s visit. He will jet into Scotland, where he has business interests, meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, on the country’s northeast coast.

The group previously said it will hang anti-Trump banners and flags along roadsides and position a huge message on a beach to be visible from the sky.

The folks in Greenland wouldn’t stoop low enough to have lunch with J.D. Dunce. Hopefully the folks in the U.K. will show equally high standards!

JD Vance’s Idyllic Vacation in Foreign A-List Hotspot to Be Hijacked by Protests
The Stop Trump Coalition said the vice president will “find the resistance waiting” on his English summer break, an ocean and almost 4,000 miles from DC.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vances-vacation-plans-immediately-hit-with-protest-threats