Tag Archives: President Donald Trump

Atlantic: The Shame of Trump’s Parade

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Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

Today—250 years since the Continental Army officially formed to fight for the independence of the American colonies against the British monarchy—marks a milestone in President Donald Trump’s effort to politicize the U.S. military. Though they are rare, military parades have happened before in Washington, D.C. For the most part, these have been celebrations of military achievements, such as the end of a war. But today is also Trump’s birthday, and what he and his supporters have planned is a celebration of Trump himself.

A mark of a free society is that its public institutions, especially its military, represent the body politic and the freedom-enabling equal rights that structure civic life. If service members and the public begin to believe that the military is not neutral but is in fact the servant of MAGA, this will threaten the military’s legitimacy and increase the likelihood of violent conflict between the military and the public. Today’s events bring us one step closer to this disaster.

And a few lies, none of which are true:

The organizers have made it abundantly clear that today’s purpose is to directly laud Trump and his politics. In promotional materials, they tell us, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Army has been restored to strength and readiness.” They credit his “America First agenda” for military pay increases, enlarged weapons stockpiles, new technologies, and improvements in recruitment, declaring that he has “ensured our soldiers have the tools and support they need to win on any battlefield.”

As the Trump-aggrandizing bullshit piles up:

Monica Crowley, the State Department’s chief of protocol and a former Fox News host, went on Steve Bannon’s podcast WarRoom to say that the concurrence of the U.S. Army’s anniversary and Trump’s birthday is “providential.” She called it “meant to be. Hand of God, for sure.” She added, “It is really a gift, and we want to be sure that we celebrate in a manner that is fitting, not just of this extraordinary president but of our extraordinary country.” She also expressed hope that the crowd would serenade the president with “Happy Birthday.” Clearly, Trump isn’t merely the guest of honor; he is the reason for the party.

The Shame of Trump’s Parade
Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/250th-anniversary-army-parade/683162

ESPN: Mexico President Sheinbaum calls for no ICE action at Gold Cup

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday urged U.S. authorities not to conduct immigration enforcement targeting attendees of a Gold Cup soccer match in Los Angeles on Saturday, where Mexico‘s team is due to play the Dominican Republic.

Her comments followed recent raids by immigration authorities in Los Angeles targeting undocumented migrants, under policies associated with the President Donald Trump’s administration, which have sparked protests across major cities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a now-deleted post to social media, had also promised to be “suited and booted” at the first round of Club World Cup soccer matches, the curtain-raiser event for next year’s World Cup.

“We don’t believe that at any soccer match there will be any [immigration] action … we call for none to be taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Sheinbaum said in her morning press conference.

Hope she’s not disappointed. I’d never trust either CBP or ICE to keep their word.

Mexico prez calls for no ICE action at Gold Cup
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged U.S. authorities not to conduct immigration enforcement targeting attendees of a Gold Cup match in the Los Angeles area.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45508088/mexico-president-sheinbaum-ice-gold-cup-los-angles

Variety: Trump Lawyers Confirm They Are in ‘Active Settlement Discussions’ With Paramount Over President’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit

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Attorneys representing President Trump in his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over the allegedly deceptive editing of a “60 Minutes” segment have requested an extension of court deadlines, citing the fact that the parties “are engaged in active settlement discussions.”

Multiple news outlets including Variety have reported that Trump and Paramount have been engaged in ongoing settlement talks. In a filing Friday on Texas federal court, lawyers for Trump and co-plaintiff Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas – together with attorneys for Paramount Global – said they were requesting an extension to court deadlines “because the Parties are engaged in active settlement discussions, including continued mediation.”

No doubt millions more $$ are finding their way to our Grifter-in-Chief!

The corruption continues unabated.

Trump Lawyers Confirm They Are in ‘Active Settlement Discussions’ With Paramount Over President’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
Lawyers for Trump confirmed they are in ’”’active settlement discussions, including continued mediation.”“The Parties are not seeking to extend any deadlines regarding the pending motions to dismiss, and Defendants intend to file their reply on or before June 23, 2025,” the filing said.

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/trump-lawsuit-cbs-60-minutes-active-settlement-discussions-1236430937

Law & Crime: ‘Doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes’: DOJ attorney offers mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills during Abrego Garcia hearing

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An attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice offered some mixed praise of President Donald Trump‘s communication skills during a previously secret hearing in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case.

A transcript of the hearing was recently released, in redacted form and limited fashion, by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, a Barack Obama appointee, in response to a motion to unseal several documents in the case filed by multiple news organizations.

While the transcript is not yet available on the public court docket, The New York Times’ Alan Feuer obtained a copy of the document and posted a notable snippet of an exchange between the judge and DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways, but he also doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes,” the government lawyer said. “And I think that this might be one of those situations where perhaps his comments were based on what he was recalling may have been the state of play previously.”

While the transcript is not yet available on the public court docket, The New York Times’ Alan Feuer obtained a copy of the document and posted a notable snippet of an exchange between the judge and DOJ attorney Jonathan Guynn in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways, but he also doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes,” the government lawyer said. “And I think that this might be one of those situations where perhaps his comments were based on what he was recalling may have been the state of play previously.”

The DOJ lawyer’s remarks came amid a discussion about the 45th and 47th president’s ability to have Abrego Garcia brought back stateside.

Until the Maryland man was abruptly returned earlier this month, the official position of the government was that the U.S. simply no longer had control of the situation. Attorney after attorney, in courtroom after courtroom, insisted the decision rested with officials in El Salvador.

Xinis appeared suspicious of this claim, based on an April 29 interview of Trump by since-fired ABC News anchor Terry Moran. During that interview, Trump said he “could” just pick up the phone and have the Salvadoran president return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. But, Trump added, “we have lawyers that don’t want to do this.”

The hearing was the very next day — and part of Guynn’s job was cleaning up Trump’s statement, which flatly contradicted the DOJ’s position.

Xinis was not, however, the only judge to be struck by Trump’s admission about Abrego Garcia during the ABC News interview.

During a May 7 hearing in the initial Alien Enemies Act case before U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, a jurist who got his start under George W. Bush and was then promoted by Barack Obama, the president’s words were put directly to DOJ attorney Abhishek Kambli.

“Is the president not telling the truth, or could he secure the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia?” Boasberg asked the government lawyer.

The DOJ attorney tried to sidestep the question by launching into a broader argument about the government’s case. But he was quickly brought back on track by Boasberg, who interjected to say he wanted his questions answered first….

Click the links below for more mumbo jumbo from Trumpski & his attorneys:

‘Doesn’t speak with precision’: DOJ attorney has mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills
“President Trump is you know, is a master messenger in many ways,” the DOJ lawyer said.
‘Doesn’t speak with precision about things sometimes’: DOJ attorney offers mixed praise for Trump’s communication skills during Abrego Garcia hearing

The Hill: Homan says Trump administration to ramp up workplace immigration enforcement

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The Nebraska business owner whose facility was raided by ICE on Tuesday said he’s worked to ensure that employees are legally in the United States by checking their identity with E-Verify, a system managed by the Department of Homeland Security. 

However, officials told him the system was “broken” after the raid, which left him clueless on how to properly process individuals who’ve applied for employment.

“I mean, what am I supposed to do with that? This is your system, run by the government. And you’re raiding me because your system is broken?” Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods, told The Associated Press. 

ICE officials told him they’d help him figure out the best method for hiring …

“Best method” until the next raid? ICE could probably care less.

Homan says Trump administration to ramp up workplace immigration enforcement

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5347195-homan-says-trump-administration-to-ramp-up-workplace-immigration-enforcement

Rolling Stone: ‘L.A. Was Not on Fire’: Angelenos Speak on Trump’s ICE Raids and ‘Escalation’

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Several Angelenos talked to Rolling Stone to dispel Trump’s bluster about the recent protests against ICE and his militarized crackdown

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers swarmed Southern California in concentrated raids of undocumented citizens that are still ongoing. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Los Angeles (and in solidarity nationwide), giving President Donald Trump an excuse to send National Guard troops last weekend and move to deploy Marines to L.A.. 

Trump baselessly implied the protesters are “paid insurrectionists” during a press conference where he revealed he told California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that “He’s doing a bad job, causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death. If we didn’t send out the National Guard – and last time, we gave him a little additional help – Los Angeles would be burning right now.” (No one has died during the L.A. protests.) 

Newsom has said the “chaotic” sweeps “to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel,” and that, “Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.” On June 10, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) instituted an 8 p.m. curfew in downtown L.A. 

Rolling Stone spoke with several on-the-ground Angelenos, who dispute the notion that L.A.’s “on fire” or being overrun by vandals. 

Katharine Shropshire is the board chair of the grassroots organization Community Coalition. She says the Trump administration and allied politicians are spewing propaganda that inflames tension between citizens and law enforcement. 

“When you have federal national leaders from this administration talking about arresting our mayor, arresting our governor, when you have the president himself using the kind of rhetoric describing a reality that is nothing like what is happening on the ground right now, it just increases the tension,” she says. “Nothing here that they’re doing is about de-escalation. It is all about escalating a confrontation with the people of Los Angeles.”

‘L.A. Was Not on Fire’: Angelenos Speak on Trump’s ICE Raids and ‘Escalation’
Angelenos dispute Donald Trump’s claim that L.A. “would be burning down,” amid anti-ICE protests, if he didn’t send in the National Guard.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/los-angeles-not-on-fire-trump-ice-protests-national-guard-1235363990

Raw Story: Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem called out over her ‘disturbing’ comments as Padilla was cuffed

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The day after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was manhandled by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s security team before being forced to the ground and being handcuffed, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin called out the Donald Trump appointee for her actions and comments as the lawmaker was dragged out.

Speaking with host Ana Cabrera, Rubin expressed her own disgust at the men who grabbed the lawmaker before taking aim at [Bimbo #2] Noem for continuing on as if nothing happened.

After watching footage of the incident, Rubin said she focused on what Noem complained about as the altercation took place.

Pointing out that Padilla “was escorted into that room DHS and an FBI agent flanking him, so clearly, somebody in the Department of Homeland Security was well aware that Alex Padilla was not only in the building, but in the room.”

“The idea that Alex Padilla was an attacker and was not recognized by people affiliated with Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem, or that Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem herself didn’t recognize Alex Padilla and stop herself to say, ‘Well, wait a second, that’s California’s senior senator, Alex Padilla, but instead continues on her way as he’s being escorted from the room and then pushed to the ground and handcuffed – that is an incredibly disturbing moment.”

“I don’t know if you could hear this,” she told Cabrera, “But as Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem is continuing at her press conference, she’s talking about the danger of DHS agents being doxxed. I imagine that she was talking about the reasons for their wearing masks on the streets of Los Angeles and other places.”

“The idea that her concern was, in that moment, more about DHS agents being doxed while a sitting U.S. senator is being forcibly removed for nothing disruptive is chilling to the bone,” she remarked. “I saw that yesterday. I thought that I was incapable of more hyperbole, and I just don’t know where to muster it from anymore.”

What do you expect from a psychotic liar who shot her own family’s puppy and goat? All she cares about are herself and her Rollex. U.S. Senators being abused and brown people being disappeared are of no consequence to her.

Kristi Noem called out over her ‘disturbing’ comments as Padilla was cuffed

https://www.rawstory.com/noem-2672365076

Tampa Free Press: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

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As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day, Florida officials are drawing a firm line against violence and the doxing of law enforcement, promising a stark contrast to recent unrest seen elsewhere.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons voiced grave concerns on a Friday podcast, fearing his agents could face violent attacks from “agitators” and “anarchists” who he believes will exploit the planned demonstrations.

“This is the perfect catalyst to jump on that,” Lyons warned on “VINCE,” expressing worry that “negative energy” fueled by anti-ICE rhetoric could be directed at his agents, potentially leading to fatalities.

“They’re going to get somebody killed, right? It’s only a matter of time because, even with throwing a rock or a Molotov cocktail, you can still kill somebody, right?” Lyons said. “And it’s just this fired up rhetoric that’s going viral.”

Who the hell cares? The problem is your ill-disciplined, ill-trained Gestapo thugs running around with masks, guns, and badges, as they snatch brown people off the streets and disappear them. Frankly I could care less what happens to your Gestapo Schweinen.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies
As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day,
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

Washington Post: ‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’

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In the hours before tanks barrel down the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump’s grand military parade Saturday, thousands of Americans will gather across the country in defiance of what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

The organized day of protests in over 2,000 cities — dubbed “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” — comes after a week of unrest and anger in Los Angeles and other cities following immigration raids in the L.A. area and the Trump administration’s move to federalize the National Guard and dispatch Marines to California.

No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said that interest has “skyrocketed” since those protests began — with individuals in 200 more cities signing up to host No Kings events just this week. He said more people are now expected to turn out than the estimated 3.5 million who participated in a similar nationwide day of action in April.

“We’re no longer talking to folks who are just paying attention to politics,” said Levin, the co-founder of the liberal advocacy group Indivisible. “People are seeing this overreach by Trump and saying, ‘I don’t like that — what can I do?’”

Images of immigrants being swept up at moments in their daily lives — at car washes and Home Depots, to name just two places — seem to have struck a chord with a wider swath of the public than was previously engaged, observers say, though the concept of deporting those in the country illegally still has broad support.

…

‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’
On the same day as the president’s military parade in D.C., thousands of people are expected to protest what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-anti-trump-army-parade

Find Your Local “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” Demonstration, Saturday, June 14

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No Kings
On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.

https://www.nokings.org

‘No Kings’ protest locations: See where demonstrations are planned
What to know if there’s a planned “No Kings” protest in your city on June 14? This map charts all the locations.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-locations-june-14/84185581007