Tag Archives: President Donald Trump

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: Trump Targets ‘Un-American’ Books at Military Academies

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Former U.S. military academy faculty are alleging that Trump-era political pressure has influenced curriculum changes, leading to course cancellations and book removals. Topics deemed “un-American” including diversity and critical race theory, have been especially targeted under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. West Point has canceled gender and race history classes, ended its sociology major, and barred works by controversial authors James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghait wrote, “A small purge was orchestrated, to make sure the Naval Academy fell into line when Trump got back into office and the real purges could take place.”

Ben-Ghait added, “It was a loyalty test for the Naval Academy, and they passed it, but Trump and Hegseth will surely be back for more.”

Identity-focused student groups have been disbanded, and the U.S. Naval Academy reportedly removed hundreds of diversity-related books. Faculty, including Dr. Graham Parsons and Brian Johns (R-CO), warned the purge undermines graduates’ critical thinking.

Administrators removed selected humanities courses and abolished several student clubs, according to reported faculty accounts. A speech policy now requires approval for publications and media, though a civilian law professor has reportedly challenged it as unconstitutional.

Parsons said, “These were brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate.” Following Parson’s departure, Hegseth said, “You will not be missed Professor Parsons.”

These changes have raised concerns over a cultural shift in military education. Faculty noted similar censorship trends pre-dating the Trump administration, such as canceling a fascism lecture after conservative objections.

Trump Targets ‘Un-American’ Books at Military Academies
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-targets-un-american-books-at-military-academies/ss-AA1LZkKW

Slingshot News: ‘It’s Actually Difficult’: Trump Admits To His Incompetence, Realizes It’s Hard Being President During Meeting With European Leaders

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‘It’s Actually Difficult’: Trump Admits To His Incompetence, Realizes It’s Hard Being President During Meeting With European Leaders
During a multilateral meeting with European leaders, Donald Trump had a rare moment in which he faced reality and admitted that stopping the Russia-Ukraine War was much more difficult than he thought it would be. “I thought this was gonna be one of the easier ones,” Trump lamented.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/it-s-actually-difficult-trump-admits-to-his-incompetence-realizes-it-s-hard-being-president-during-meeting-with-european-leaders/vi-AA1M0i0S

Daily Beast: ‘Homie’: DHS Ridicules Dad They Plan to Deport to Tiny African Nation

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia has received a letter about where the DHS plans to send him next.

Maryland dad Kilmar Abrego Garcia has learned where the Department of Homeland Security has decided to deport him next.

In an email obtained by Fox News, lawyers for the DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Abrego Garcia’s legal team on Friday that his new intended destination is the tiny African nation of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

Ridiculing Abrego Garcia’s legal claim of fear of persecution or torture—a core asylum principle—in many of the nations the government has considered deporting him to, the DHS wrote on social media that “Homie is afraid of the entire western hemisphere”.

The derisory use of the term “homie” sparked outrage on social media.

Abrego Garcia, who is currently in ICE custody in Virginia, became the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in March after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The government admitted to an “administrative error” following his return from the Central American nation, but is still intent on removing him from the U.S. over charges of human smuggling.

His lawyers claim such charges are a “preposterous and vindictive” punishment for challenging ICE policy.

Eswatini is the fourth potential destination for Abrego Garcia, who was taken into ICE custody for a second time on Aug. 25, and prepared for processing to Uganda.

A federal judge blocked the plan, accepting his lawyers’ concerns over fear of persecution or torture, ruling that it is “absolutely forbidden” to remove Abrego Garcia from the U.S. until further legal processing can be carried out. However, the DHS has stated it is not buying his legal defense.

“That claim of fear is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries,” the legal letter reads.

“Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa.”

The letter does not elaborate on how the DHS chose the country for Abrego Garcia’s intended removal.

The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.

DHS boss Kristi Noem has made it a personal mission to see Abrego Garcia deported. She has previously claimed her department is going after “the worst of the worst” and, in August, claimed the man is a “monster.”

“This illegal alien… is a MS-13 gang member, human trafficker, serial domestic abuser, and child predator,” Noem wrote on social media.

Abrego Garcia’s legal team has repeatedly denied all these allegations, including the often-trotted out line about his membership of the notorious MS-13 gang. Multiple judges have said there is no evidence to suggest he is gang-affiliated, while noting he has no prior criminal history.

In April, President Donald Trump insisted that Abrego Garcia had the gang name tattooed on his knuckles, challenging a reporter in an interview that an image of Abrego Garcia’s hand with “MS-13″ clearly superimposed over it was real.

At roughly 120 miles long and 80 miles wide, Eswatini is one of the smallest nations in Africa. It is the last absolute monarchy on the continent, and has a population of 1.2 million people. The country, which is bordered by South Africa and Mozambique, changed its name from Swaziland in 2018 to avoid confusion with Switzerland.

Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, says the Trump administration is “weaponizing the immigration system in a manner that is completely unconstitutional.”

‘Homie’: DHS Ridicules Dad They Plan to Deport to Africa
Kilmar Abrego Garcia has received a letter about where the DHS plans to send him next.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dhs-ridicules-kilmar-abrego-garciawho-they-now-plan-to-deport-to-eswatini

The Dispatch: No, President Trump’s Tariffs Haven’t Generated $8 Trillion in Revenue

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 5, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Labor Day, a post on the White House’s official X account lauded President Donald Trump for having generated $8 trillion in revenue for the federal government and celebrated his “protectionist trade policies” for creating $8 trillion in U.S. investment. The text of the post highlights the trade policies, while an accompanying graphic touts the tariff revenue.

Trump also claimed Tuesday that the U.S. has “taken in almost $17 trillion in investment … most of it has come in because of tariffs.”

None of the claims is accurate.

A Bipartisan Policy Center analysis of the Treasury Department’s daily statements shows that the federal government has taken in $158.4 billion in tariff revenue since January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration. On August 22, the Congressional Budget Office updated past projections and now estimates that Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico, and several other countries will reduce deficits by $4 trillion—over the next decade. Each year, the United States on average takes in $3 trillion in imported goods, which makes the claim of $8 trillion in tariff revenue just in 2025 nearly impossible. 

The White House maintains on its website a list of pledges of investment by various companies and countries, most recently updated on September 2. The list includes private sector projects such as a “$600 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and workforce training” by Apple, $500 billion by Nvidia to update its U.S. infrastructure, and $200 billion by Micron to boost its U.S. production of memory chips. And it includes pledges by foreign nations such as the United Arab Emirates ($1.4 trillion), Qatar ($1.2 trillion), and Japan ($1 trillion) to invest in the U.S. 

Add up those amounts, and you get roughly $7.5 trillion. But there are several reasons not to take these pledges at face value. As Dispatch contributor and Cato Institute vice president Scott Lincicome has written, companies like Apple, Amazon, or the chip manufacturer TMSC often seek to gain favor with a new administration by promising multibillion-dollar investments. These often involve either expansions of projects already in the works or vague pledges that lack concrete time frames. 

“Oftentimes companies that are actually pledging new investment will say they’re going to do it based on market conditions,” Lincicome told The Dispatch. “Well, market conditions change, and suddenly what looks like a good investment isn’t a good investment, and it never happens. Or, the timeline is hilariously drawn out, and so it might take 10 years to hit that number.”

Trump’s first term, Lincicome continued, featured a collection of multibillion-dollar pledges from manufacturing giants—ultimately, with mixed successes. “Some of it certainly happened, but a lot of it didn’t, and some of it that did happen actually ended up collapsing. Look at [Magnitude] 7 Metals, this big aluminum company. [Trump trade adviser] Peter Navarro went out there and claimed this was the future of American aluminum, and it’s closed down two years later.”

When asked to clarify, the White House did not offer further explanation for their Labor Day post or for Trump’s remarks. 

“President Trump is right: tariffs are bringing in historic revenue for the federal government, revenue that will amount to trillions of dollars in the coming years,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Dispatch in an email. “Tariffs made America rich once before, and tariffs will Make America Wealthy Again.”

Simply bullshit! “The federal government has taken in $158.4 billion in tariff revenue since January 2”, not $8 trillion. Liars!

And they probably haven’t taken into account the changes in spending habits that occur when taxes and prices increase.

No, President Trump’s Tariffs Haven’t Generated $8 Trillion in Revenue
The federal government has taken in roughly $160 billion through tariffs in 2025.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/no-president-trump-s-tariffs-haven-t-generated-8-trillion-in-revenue/ar-AA1LZYLT

Reuters: Trump administration drops defense of ban on employee ‘noncompete’ agreements

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  • Rule barred agreements commonly signed by workers
  • Judicial rulings had blocked the Biden-era rule

 President Donald Trump‘s administration abandoned on Friday the U.S. government’s legal defense of a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden that had banned agreements commonly signed by workers not to join rivals of their employers or launch competing businesses.

The U.S. Justice Department filed motions in federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Atlanta to dismiss separate appeals of rulings by two judges that struck down the 2024 U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule concerning “noncompete” agreements. Republicans and business groups have criticized the rule.

The move was expected after FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed to the post by Trump and had previously criticized the rule, said in February that the agency was reviewing it. The appeals involve legal challenges to the rule by a marketing firm and a real estate developer, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Dropping the appeals means the courts will not have a chance to address the novel question of whether the commission, which enforces federal antitrust laws, can adopt sweeping regulations such as its nationwide ban on “noncompete” agreements.

More than 20% of U.S. workers have signed noncompete agreements, according to the FTC. The agency, in adopting the rule, had said the agreements limit worker mobility and suppress wages and competition for labor.

Ferguson and other Republicans on the commission have said the FTC has limited rulemaking powers and cannot adopt blanket bans on what it views as anticompetitive conduct.

During Trump’s first term as president, his administration had argued in court that while specific provisions of noncompetes can be unlawful, the agreements themselves were not.

The FTC on Thursday announced its first legal action of Trump’s second term related to noncompete agreements, a settlement barring the largest U.S. pet cremation business from enforcing these agreements with 1,800 workers.

The agency in that case, opens new tab said that the company’s broad agreements, signed even by low-level employees, unlawfully suppressed competitors’ entry into the pet cremation market.

Regressive! Non-compete agreements often unfairly make it all but impossible for many people to find jobs.

Trump administration drops defense of ban on employee ‘noncompete’ agreements
President Donald Trump’s administration abandoned on Friday the U.S. government’s legal defense of a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden that had banned agreements commonly signed by workers not to join rivals of their employers or launch competing businesses.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-drops-defense-ban-employee-noncompete-agreements-2025-09-06

L.A. Times: Postal traffic to U.S. down 80% after Trump ended exemption on low-value parcels

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  • Postal traffic to the United States plunged 80% after the Trump administration eliminated tariff exemptions for imported goods valued under $800.
  • Eighty-eight postal operators worldwide suspended services because carriers cannot collect the newly required customs duties on low-value parcels.
  • The change ends a duty-free exemption that existed since 1938, with tariffs now ranging from 10% to 50% on previously exempt goods.

Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday.

The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate and collect duties, or taxes, after the U.S. eliminated the “de minimis” exemption for lower-value parcels.

Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the United States until a solution is implemented with regard to U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or less, which had been the cutoff for imported goods to escape customs charges.

“The global network saw postal traffic to the U.S. come to a near-halt after the implementation of the new rules on Aug. 29, 2025, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency-approved qualified parties,” the UPU said in a statement.

The UPU said information exchanged among postal operators through its electronic network showed traffic from its 192 member countries — nearly all the nations in the world — had fallen 81% on Aug. 29 compared with a week earlier.

The Bern, Switzerland-based agency said the “major operational disruptions” have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren’t willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to CBP-qualified companies.

Before the measure took effect, the postal union sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to express concerns about its effect.

The de minimis exemption has existed in some form since 1938, and the administration says the exemption has become a loophole that foreign businesses exploit to evade tariffs and criminals use to get drugs into the United States.

Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs now require vetting and are subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.

While the change applies to the products of every country, U.S. residents will not have to pay duties on incoming gifts valued at up to $100, or up to $200 worth of personal souvenirs from trips abroad, according to the White House.

The UPU said its members had not been given enough time or guidance to comply with the procedures outlined in the executive order President Trump signed on July 30 to eliminate the duty-free eligibility of low-value goods.

Postal traffic to U.S. down 80% after Trump ended exemption on low-value parcels
The U.N. postal agency says postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after a Trump administration move to end a tariff exemption for low-cost imports.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-09-06/postal-traffic-to-us-sank-80-after-trump-administration-ended-exemption-on-low-value-parcels

Reuters: In Chicago, ICE fears turn Mexican parade into a ghost town

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A normally raucous, colorful parade to mark Mexican Independence Day in Chicago turned quiet and nervous on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he intended to ramp up deportations in the nation’s third-largest city.

In a break from traditional celebrations, twirling folklorico dancers decked in glimmering jewelry and billowing, multi-colored dresses distributed “know your rights” pamphlets to sparse crowds in the city’s historically Mexican Pilsen neighborhood. Horses wore the colors of Mexico’s flag in their tails, while their riders wore neon-orange whistles around their necks in case they needed to alert attendees of Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Along the sidelines, volunteers also kept watch for ICE.

“This place would normally be packed,” Eddie Chavez, a lifelong Pilsen resident, said while waving a Mexican flag in a lone row of lawn chairs along the parade route. “Now it’s empty, like a ghost town.”

Trump alluded to immigration raids in Chicago in a Truth Social post that echoed the movie Apocalypse Now.

“I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” his post said, opens new tab, above an image of Trump in a military uniform juxtaposed against flames and Chicago’s skyline. “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”

Illinois Govornor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and vocal critic of Trump, said on Tuesday he believed ICE raids would coincide with Mexican Independence day festivals scheduled for this weekend and next weekend. Some Mexican festivals in the Chicago area were postponed or canceled, opens new tab amid fears of immigration raids.

“We’re scared, but we’re here,” said Isabel Garcia, a dancer in Saturday’s parade wearing a marigold-yellow dress and multi-colored ribbons and flowers in her hair.

“We’re Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they’re not going to stop us.”

ICE has not responded to requests for comment on whether it sent more agents to Chicago, and residents said they had not seen significantly stepped-up immigration enforcement so far.

A large protest against ICE was expected later on Saturday in Chicago, after thousands turned out for a Labor Day protest on Monday.

Trump last month deployed National Guard troops to Washington, saying they would “re-establish law, order, and public safety.” In addition to Chicago, he has suggested the possibility of deploying troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland.

In Chicago, ICE fears turn Mexican parade into a ghost town
“We’re Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they’re not going to stop us.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chicago-ice-fears-turn-mexican-parade-into-ghost-town-2025-09-06

Slingshot News: ‘Was That Part Of The Deal?’: Sen. Dick Durbin Torches GOP Colleagues Over Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ In Scathing Remarks

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‘Was That Part Of The Deal?‘: Sen. Dick Durbin Torches GOP Colleagues Over Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ In Scathing Remarks
On the Senate floor several days ago, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) addressed Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and his lies about Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.” Durbin discussed the real impacts of Trump’s bill (now law) on American families.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/was-that-part-of-the-deal-sen-dick-durbin-torches-gop-colleagues-over-trump-s-big-beautiful-bill-in-scathing-remarks/vi-AA1M0UBR

Daily Beast: Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi Takes Aim at Boston Citing Crimes From Elsewhere

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The attorney general suggested Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is somehow responsible for an alleged crime that occurred 100 miles outside city limits.

Attorney General Pam Bondi cited crimes that occurred outside of Boston to criticize the city’s mayor in a head-scratching interview with Fox News.

Bondi, 59, told Sean Hannity that Boston—one of the safest major cities in America—is actually “not” safe, citing a trio of grisly crimes. She singled out Mayor Michelle Wu, claiming the 40-year-old Democrat has lost control of the city.

“A Haitian national was charged with raping a child in a migrant center,” she said. “An 18-year-old illegal alien from Haiti molested a 10-year-old child. An illegal from El Salvador, 11 counts of rape against a child … I could go on and on about the crimes in the Boston area. So, if she’s not going to protect the people of Boston, we are.”

As Mediaite first noted, the alleged migrant center incident took place 20 miles from Boston, the alleged molestation took place 30 miles outside city limits, and the incident involving the Salvadoran national took place on Nantucket, an island about 100 miles south of the state capital.

Wu, of course, has zero jurisdiction over crimes that take place well outside Boston’s city limits. It would be the equivalent of blaming President Donald Trump for something that occurred over the border in Mexico or Canada.

The Trump administration, which has already deployed the National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., has signaled plans for similar actions in other Democrat-controlled cities, including Boston.

Reached for comment, Wu’s office said in a statement: “For months, the Trump DOJ, DHS, and ICE have been spreading blatant lies and threatening to ‘bring hell’ to cities like Boston who refuse to bow down to their authoritarian agenda, so this unconstitutional attack is not a surprise.”

It continued, “This country was born facing down bullies, with Bostonians leading the way. Today, Boston is the safest major city in the country because we have worked to build trust in the community, so that everyone feels safe seeking help or reporting a crime. We will not be bullied or intimidated into abandoning the efforts that make Boston a safe home for everyone.”

The administration sued Boston and Wu on Thursday over an ordinance that limits local police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

Wu responded that same day, “This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise. Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country—but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda.”

Boston is not suffering from a crime spike. It reported its lowest homicide rate since 1957 last year, and other violent and property crimes are on a “downward trend.”

Bondi refused to let those facts get in the way of her talking point.

“Michelle Wu is one of the worst offenders in the entire country,” she told Hannity. “She says Boston is safe. It’s not.”

Pam Bondi Takes Aim at Boston Using Crimes From Elsewhere
The attorney general suggested Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is somehow responsible for an alleged crime that occurred 100 miles outside city limits.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pam-bondi-takes-aim-at-boston-citing-crimes-from-elsewhere

CNN: Trump says Chicago ‘will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR’ ahead of planned crackdown

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President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown.

“I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. Trump signed an executive order Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”

The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.”

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday called Trump’s post “not normal.”

“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most-populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and that officials there were bracing for it to begin as early as Friday.

In recent days, personnel from Immigration and Border Protection as well as Customs and Border Protection have begun trickling into the city, White House officials told CNN.

The Trump administration has also reserved the right to call in the National Guard if there is a reaction to the operation that warrants it, the officials said. The Chicago operation is being modeled off of a similar operation carried out in Los Angeles in June. A judge ruled this week that the June deployment broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on US soil in most cases; the Trump administration has appealed.

White House officials have made clear the Chicago immigration crackdown is distinct from the idea the president has floated to use federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to carry out a broader crime crackdown in the city, similar to the operation in Washington, DC.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday about sending National Guard troops into the city, Trump said, “We’re going,” adding, “I didn’t say when. We’re going in.”

Democratic officials who represent Chicago and Illinois also condemned Trump’s post Saturday.

“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” wrote Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on social media. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Trump’s post on X as “Stolen valor at its worst,” writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it.”

Rep. Mike Quigley, who represents part of Chicago, said Saturday afternoon on CNN that the post is an example of Trump “edging more and more toward authoritarianism.”

“This is a scary time. For those who haven’t paid attention, it’s time to watch what this president is doing,” Quigley said.

Trump says Chicago ‘will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR’ ahead of planned crackdown | CNN Politics
It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most-populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/06/politics/trump-chicago-war-meme-post