Tag Archives: President Donald Trump

USA Today: Tourists detained by ICE say they were treated like ‘the worst criminal’

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Uncommon detainees are bringing new attention to the U.S. immigration detention system

A British backpacker. A Harvard researcher. A Canadian actress. An Australian mixed martial arts coach. Dozens of international college students.

The Trump administration’s sweeping immigration-and-visa crackdown has begun ensnaring a class of people long-accustomed to being welcomed with open arms into the United States.

And those uncommon detainees are bringing new attention to the often-harsh U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention system, where people can be held without charge indefinitely, sometimes in shocking conditions, or abruptly removed from the country.

This type of treatment has long been the case in ICE detention, but the people held by the government often didn’t have the resources ‒ the access, language or middle-class expectations ‒ to denounce the conditions.

Now, with President Donald Trump’s crackdown, native English speakers, people with PhDs, and others are getting the word out to a broader public about a system they describe as arbitrary and punishing ‒ although ICE detention is not supposed to resemble prison.

“It’s insane how easily someone can take away your freedom, lock you in a federal prison, without a clear reason. No explanation. No warning,” ….

Tourists detained by ICE say they were treated like ‘the worst criminal’
Uncommon detainees are bringing new attention to the U.S. immigration detention system

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/ice-tourist-detention-border-trump-immigration/82740260007

CNN: It’ll be tough for Trump to dig his way out of this one

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With his chaotic trade policy, President Donald Trump is digging himself into an economic and political hole so deep, it may prove impossible to climb out.

On Wednesday morning, just after markets spent a day reeling from Trump’s on-again-off-again threat to levy extraordinary energy, steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and to destroy the country’s auto industry, Trump placed tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported from every country around the world, a policy that could drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans. Europe immediately retaliated, adding pressure on a variety of American industries.

Wall Street has grown nervous about the damage Trump’s policies could inflict on America’s still-strong but increasingly wobbly economy. Stocks have plunged, with the Nasdaq falling into correction (a decline of 10% from its recent high) and the S&P 500 flirting with that inauspicious territory.

It’ll be tough for Trump to dig his way out of this one | CNN Business
With his chaotic trade policy, President Donald Trump is digging himself into an economic and political hole so deep, it may prove impossible to climb out.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/12/economy/recession-tariff-trump/index.html

CNN: Trump targets two first-term critics, a law firm and the American Bar Association

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President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would use the power of the Justice Department to go after two officials who were highly critical of him during his first term in office, including one whose anonymously written New York Times op-ed claiming he was part of the “resistance” to Trump’s presidency captivated the nation for years.

The announcement by Trump that he was targeting former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who penned the op-ed, and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, whose rejection of Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election led to his ousting, comes as the president continues to seek retribution on his perceived enemies in ways big and small.

Executive orders signed by Trump on Wednesday strip Taylor and Krebs of any existing security clearance they may still hold since leaving office and orders the Justice Department to probe both former officials.

The president did not specify any alleged wrongdoing by the men that necessitated investigations by the department. But, speaking in the White House, Trump made clear he thinks he knows what the results should be.

“I think what he did, and he wrote a book, ‘Anonymous,’ said all sorts of lies, bad things– and I think it’s, I think it’s like a traitor, like, it’s like spying,” Trump said of Taylor. “I think it’s a very important case, and I think he’s guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth, but we’ll find out.”

King Donald is an illiterate bumpkin who apparently doesn’t even understand how treason is defined in the U.S. Constitution.

Trump targets two first term critics, a law firm and the American Bar Association | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would use the power of the Justice Department to go after two officials who were highly critical of him during his first term in office, including one whose anonymously written New York Times op-ed claiming he was part of the “resistance” to Trump’s presidency captivated the nation for years.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/09/politics/trump-critics-executive-orders-taylor-krebs/index.html

Washington Post: They fled authoritarian countries. Here they’re experiencing déjà vu.

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All had left authoritarian countries to build new lives in the United States, a place they believed would be different. But they now see ominous patterns repeating and democratic norms eroding — and feel a duty to warn Americans.

“It honestly feels like I just switched rooms on the Titanic,” said Miguel Mendoza, a former political prisoner in Nicaragua who lives in Orlando.

The Washington Post spoke with 12 people from six authoritarian countries — some who fled left-wing regimes and others right-wing ones. They described an unsettling feeling of déjà vu in the initial months of the Trump administration: the attacks on courts and the press; the threats to universities and law firms; the hollowing out of agencies; the scapegoating and mass deportation of immigrants; the marginalizing of transgender people.

They fled authoritarian countries. Here they’re experiencing déjà vu.
Immigrants from six nations where democracy was eroded say they see the same patterns emerging during the Trump administration — and want to warn Americans.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/they-fled-authoritarian-countries-here-they-re-experiencing-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu/ar-AA1CJw4n

Mediaite: ‘Slouching Towards Tyranny’: Conservative Outlet Issues Rare Editorial to Rebuke Trump Over ‘Pursuit of American Decline’

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This is the editorial referenced in the Mediaite article:

Slouching Towards Tyranny
Slouching Towards Tyranny

Mediaite wrap-up:

The Dispatch, the conservative outlet founded by former Fox News contributors Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg, issued a rare editorial rebuking President Donald Trump over his “pursuit of American decline” on Thursday.

Under the headline “Slouching Towards Tyranny: On a dark hour for the American right,” the publication’s editors lamented that the “old rules” of “American global leadership, free markets, limited government, fidelity to the Constitution,” have been set aside in favor of “new and fresh ideas.”

“What are these new and fresh ideas? For some, they are literally monarchism or autocracy. For others, they are mercantilism and a division of the world into ‘spheres of influence,’” they continued. “In short, their foreign policy was ancient when Charlemagne was on the throne, and their economic philosophy was hatched in the 15th century.”

‘Slouching Towards Tyranny’: Conservative Outlet Issues Rare Editorial to Rebuke Trump Over ‘Pursuit of American Decline’
The Dispatch, issued a rare editorial rebuking President Donald Trump over his “pursuit of American decline” on Thursday afternoon.
‘Slouching Towards Tyranny’: Conservative Outlet Issues Rare Editorial to Rebuke Trump Over ‘Pursuit of American Decline’

Mediaite: The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’

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The Wall Street Journal continued its assault on President Donald Trump’s trade policy in a new editorial questioning if he even has a “China trade strategy.”

“It’s all going according to plan, says the White House, and you almost have to smile at this spin in trying to sell President Trump’s partial tariff reversal this week as a triumph,” began the Journal in its opening salvo. “The reality is that Mr. Trump is making it up as he goes, and it would help if he had an actual strategy to deal with China in particular.”

After noting that Trump has escalated his trade war with China, it went on to submit that it isn’t clear whether the administration seeks “complete decoupling” or a “trade deal” with the Chinese.

The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’
The Wall Street Journal continued its assault on Donald Trump’s trade policy in a new editorial questioning if Trump even has a “China trade strategy.”
The Wall Street Journal Torches Trump for ‘Hurting His Own Cause and Country’ Instead of China: ‘Making It Up as He Goes’

Mediaite: Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo

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Pure narcissism!

The White House removed a portrait of former President Barack Obama from a prominent spot and replaced it with artwork of President Donald Trump surviving last summer’s shooting attempt in Pennsylvania.

Just after 3 p.m. ET Friday, the verified White House X page posted a short clip of a photo of Trump bleeding from the ear and raising his fist in the air.

The image appeared to be a painting and was identical to one that went viral last July after Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo
The image appeared to be an oil painting and was identical to one that went viral after Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet last July.
Trump Boots Obama’s Portrait From Prominent White House Spot – Replaces It With Assassination Attempt Photo

Mediaite: FDA Staffers Dish on Unhinged Meeting With RFK Jr.: ‘The Deep State is Real’

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A meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Food and Drug Administration was intended to be an introduction between Kennedy and the agency staffers he oversees, but his remarks were so shocking that several people walked out, according to a report by Politico on Friday.

…

According to Politico, Kennedy delivered “largely off-the-cuff remarks” in a 40-minute meeting with FDA staffers Friday. Two employees who attended the meeting spoke anonymously to the reporters, who were provided with a transcript and audio of Kennedy’s comments.

“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”

…

Kennedy also accused FDA staffers of being swayed by “agency capture” and acting as a “sock puppet” for the industries subject to their regulatory oversight. He referenced human mind control experiments like the CIA’s Project MKUltra and the Milgram experiment, which tested participants’ willingness to inflict what they were told were painful, possibly fatal, electric shocks to others if an authority figure ordered them to do so — as part of a discussion that Politico described as “an apparent effort to encourage FDA employees to stay true to their mission of making Americans healthier.”

These comments from the boss “alarmed and disheartened” FDA staffers and several of them walked out of the rooms where Kennedy’s speech was being aired, according to the sources who spoke to Politico.

FDA Staffers Dish on Unhinged Meeting With RFK Jr.: ‘The Deep State is Real’
A meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Food and Drug Administration was intended to be an introduction between Kennedy and the agency staffers he oversees, but his remarks were so shocking that several people walked out, according to a report by Politico on Friday.
FDA Staffers Dish on Unhinged Meeting With RFK Jr.: ‘The Deep State is Real’

Mediaite: Sycophantic Pam Bondi [Bimbo #3] Falsely Tells Trump, ‘You Were Overwhelmingly Elected by the Biggest Majority’

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President Donald Trump and his cabinet met at the White House on Thursday where, as is customary at Trump cabinet meetings, the attendees took turns praising the president.

Perhaps no official was more obsequious than Attorney General Pam Bondi, who again vowed to prosecute Tesla dealership vandals “to the fullest extent of the law.” But before laying out her accomplishments and to-do list, she paid tribute to Trump.

“President, we’ve had some great wins in the last few days,” she began before falsely stating. “You know, you were overwhelmingly elected by the biggest majority.”

…

“Americans want you to be president because of your agenda,” Bondi continued. “And the courts are ruling that you have the authority to determine how the money of this country will be spent. That’s what the American citizens wanted and that’s what they’re getting.”

Meanwhile back on Earth at ground level, the truth rears its head:

Of the 59 winning presidential campaigns in U.S. history, Trump’s 2024 win ranks 49th in terms of the percentage of the popular vote margin.

You’re truly an incredible suck-up, Bimbo #3!

Sycophantic Pam Bondi Falsely Tells Trump, ‘You Were Overwhelmingly Elected by the Biggest Majority’
President Donald Trump and his cabinet met at the White House on Thursday where, as is customary at Trump cabinet meetings, the attendees took turns praising the president.
Sycophantic Pam Bondi Falsely Tells Trump, ‘You Were Overwhelmingly Elected by the Biggest Majority’

Mediaite: Marjorie Taylor Greene Scooped Up Tanking Stocks — and Made a Profit After Tariff Pause: Report

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Trumps cronies are racking in the bucks — illegal insider trading?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reportedly made a series of bold stock buys last week — right as the markets cratered under President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Greene, a vocal MAGA diehard, pounced on some of the market’s worst-hit companies, according to a newly filed financial disclosure seen by CBS News. Among her targets: Dell, Amazon, Lululemon, and RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) — all of which were down nearly 40% when she bought in.

It’s unclear how much Greene spent, since the required three-page report only offers ranges. But the timing is “working out so far” according to CBS News.

…

Hours before easing the tariffs, Trump told his supporters on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”

…

There is no evidence Greene traded on nonpublic information, which would constitute insider trading. However, the timing of Trump’s tariff announcement — paired with his recurring calls for supporters to “buy the dip” — has sparked criticism from opposition lawmakers.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Scooped Up Tanking Stocks — and Made a Profit After Tariff Pause: Report
Greene reportedly made a series of bold stock buys last week—right as the markets cratered under Trump’s tariff threats.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Scooped Up Tanking Stocks — and Made a Profit After Tariff Pause: Report