Telegraph: ‘It’s open season for corruption’: How Trump turned the White House into a cash cow

Naked profiteering by the US president and his family has triggered alarm bells in the Maga movement

Most.

Corrupt.

President

Ever!

Donald Trump caught his first sight of the so-called “palace in the sky” in February as he climbed the red-carpeted steps of the Boeing 747-8.

The Qatari plane was parked at Florida’s West Palm Beach International Airport, and offered a chance for the president to see what a newly refitted Air Force One could look like, easing his frustration with the long-delayed Boeing project.

In the event, it appears to have been more of a test drive. His administration’s plan to accept the $400m (£300m) luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, which he is expected to use after his presidency, is the latest example of what many view as an increased disregard for ethics in Washington under his second term.

During his first term in the White House, foreign governments buying meals and block-booking rooms at Trump hotels set alarm bells ringing.

Yet now the president has created even more opportunities for those looking to curry favour with him – and his children. From pay-to-dine cryptocurrency schemes, a new social media platform that carries advertising and the expansion of their property empire, it has never seemed easier for the Trump family to line their pockets.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/05/18/trump-turned-white-house-cash-machine

Bloomberg: Iran’s Khamenei Brands Trump a Liar in Escalation of Rhetoric

“Some of the remarks made during the US president’s trip to the region aren’t even worth responding to,” Khamenei said. “The level of the statements is so low that they are a source of shame for the speaker and a source of shame for the American people.”

Even the world’s worst ogre gets one right every now & then!

https://archive.is/IUjpG#selection-1509.0-1509.254

Explicame: Trump proposes $50 tax on every $1,000 sent in remittances

Also billed as the Republican’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and bullshit like this subtitle:

… the bill actually continues tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of the working poor, those living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Buried starting at page 327 of 389 is a new 5% tax on remittances sent to family & friends overseas. This 5% tax is on top of the income taxes and the 15.3% (yes, the actual amount is twice the deduction that appears on your check stubs!) social security and medicare taxes that the sender has already paid, plus 2-4% in currency exchange fees.


Amidst the buzz surrounding the ambitious fiscal plan revealed by Republicans this week, a particular proposal has flown under the radar yet holds the potential to severely impact millions of workers and their families both within and outside the United States: a new tax on remittances sent abroad, costing up to $50 each month.

This initiative is part of the ‘ways and means bills,’ as termed by lawmakers aligned with President Donald Trump. The legislative package seeks to extend and expand tax exemptions implemented during his first term while introducing a series of public spending cuts. However, among the numerous provisions, the remittance tax stands out for its immediate and silent social impact.

The proposal specifically calls for a 5% tax on remittances sent from the United States. This levy would fall on the sender, meaning the worker in the U.S. who sends money to their home country to support loved ones, with an amount of $50 for every $1,000 sent.

With this tax, a monthly transfer of $300 could cost the worker an additional $15 in taxes, a figure that may seem small in macroeconomic terms but represents a significant expense for households living paycheck to paycheck.

https://www.explica.me/en/News/Trump-proposes-50-tax-on-every-1000-sent-in-remittances-20250516-0016.html


https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/05/14/gops-big-beautiful-bill-would-tax-payments-that-many-immigrants-send-back-home


Apparently there are a few Republicans who think the bill is not so big and beautiful.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5304927-trump-agenda-shaky-congress

Daily Beast: Now ICE Barbie [Bimbo #2] Wants Her Own Brand New $50M Private Jet

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem [Bimbo #2] appears to have taken her cue from President Donald Trump with a new request for her own private jet.

The U.S. Coast Guard made a last-minute change to its 2025 budget to secure a $50 million new plane for Noem, Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood revealed in a Wednesday hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

“I was horrified last Friday when we received a last-minute addition to your spend plan for Fiscal [Year] ‘25: A new $50 million Gulfstream 5 for Secretary Noem’s [Bimbo #2’s] personal travel coming from the Coast Guard budget,” Underwood told acting Coast Guard Chief Admiral Kevin Lunday. “She already has a Gulfstream 5, by the way. This is a new one.”

One Gulfstream 5 isn’t enough for this leech, who already has a U.S. government Gulfstream 5 at her disposal. This spoiled brat needs a new one to go along with her $60K Rolex, presumably so she can travel in style the next time flies home to South Dakota to murder another family goat.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/now-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-wants-her-own-brand-new-50m-private-jet

ABC News: Dems want investigation into whether Trump admin helping Musk make Starlink deals

As President Donald Trump continues his first foreign trip through the Middle East, a group of Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into whether the Trump administration is clearing hurdles for Starlink, a company led by White House senior adviser Elon Musk, to strike foreign deals.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3], acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Jamieson Greer, acting Inspector General of the State Department Arne Baker and White House ethics official Scott Gast, the senators called for an investigation into whether the administration is “intervening” to benefit Starlink as it “negotiates tariff agreements and other matters with foreign governments.”

“These reports indicate that Mr. Musk may be using his official role and his proximity to the President as leverage for his own personal financial benefit — even if it comes at the expense of American consumers and the nation’s foreign policy interests,” the senators wrote. “These actions raise questions about whether Mr. Musk or other administration officials may be violating ethics or other laws.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-democrats-investigation-trump-administration-helping-musk-make/story?id=121795283

Associated Press: Trump’s plan to accept free Air Force One replacement from Qatar raises ethical and security worries

For President Donald Trump, accepting a free Air Force One replacement from Qatar is a no-brainer.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” the Republican told reporters on Monday. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

Critics of the plan worry that the move threatens to turn a global symbol of American power into an airborne collection of ethical, legal, security and counterintelligence concerns.

But security is the primary concern when it comes to presidential travel. The current Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They are hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and include a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room. They are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.

A former U.S. official briefed on the Air Force One replacement project said that while it would be possible to add some features to the Qatari jet, there was no way to add the full suite of capabilities to the plane on a tight timetable.

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-qatar-air-force-one-2ef13d87b71185bde547abe6840b098c

Daily Beast: MAGA Stars Turn on Trump for Selling Out to Qatar

MAGA influencers are demanding President Donald Trump turn down a $400 million luxury jet the Qatar royal family is in talks to gift his administration, saying the emirate is “not our friend.”

They’re not concerned about the legality or ethics of a foreign country giving Trump a gift that’s been described as a “palace in the sky,” even though the Constitution expressly prohibits such gifts absent congressional approval.

They’re mostly upset that Qatar—specifically—would be the one donating the luxury Boeing 747-8, which the administration would use as Air Force One for most of Trump’s remaining time in office before transferring it to the Trump presidential library foundation.

“Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest—that is not America first,” conservative pundit Ben Shapiro said during the most recent episode of his show. “It just isn’t America first in any conceivable way.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-stars-turn-on-donald-trump-for-selling-out-to-qatar

New York Times: With Trump Visit, Qatar’s Image Makeover Scores Another Success

The emirate, once called “a funder of terrorism” by President Trump, has spent lavishly on overhauling its global reputation.

The president, who has described the emir as a “great gentleman” and a “friend of mine,” is granting Qatar the honor of hosting one of the first foreign visits of his second term. As for the plane, the president says he would be “stupid” not to accept such a nice gift despite loud objections, not only from Democrats but from some of his most fervent MAGA supporters.

It is a dramatic turnaround for a small Persian Gulf country that Mr. Trump derided eight years ago as “a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” At that time, he cooperated with Qatar’s bitter rivals in the region — who imposed a punishing blockade on Doha — in calling for an end to what he described as the country’s “extremist ideology.”

Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!

https://archive.is/5Xbf6#selection-727.0-738.0

Politico: US popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return

The world is more divided than ever, but there’s still something (nearly) everyone agrees on: The U.S. is unloved.

The United States is becoming less popular globally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to new data.

The 2025 Democracy Perception Index summarizes attitudes toward democracy, geopolitics and global power players, and canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries.

A majority of people surveyed had an overall negative perception of the U.S., marking a steep decline from last year. America’s reputation took a particularly massive hit in EU countries — perhaps unsurprisingly, as U.S. President Donald Trump has called the bloc “horrible,” “pathetic” and “formed to screw the United States.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/usa-popularity-collapse-worldwide-trump-return

AOL: White House: ‘Ridiculous’ to think Trump doing anything for his own personal wealth

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt [Bimbo #1] said Friday it would be “ridiculous” to think President Trump is personally benefiting from his time at the White House, calling out reporters for questions about his family’s business ventures while in office.

Ahead of Trump’s trip to the Middle East next week, Leavitt [Bimbo #1] pushed back on questioning over whether any family members are joining him and if the president has any plans to meet with people involved with the family businesses while in the region.

“Not to my knowledge, and let me just get to the premise of your question that both of you have raised. I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service, not just once, but twice,” [Bimbo #1] said.

“A life of running a very successful real estate empire”: Does that include the loser’s SIX bankruptcies?

And his THIRTY FOUR convictions on felony counts of falsified business records?

Dumb doesn’t come much dumber than Bimbo #1 Karoline Leavitt!

https://www.aol.com/white-house-ridiculous-think-trump-182511250.html