MSNBC: The giant Trump banner at the USDA is another sign the U.S. is sliding into autocracy

It may be small and petty, but these changes are part of the erosion of democratic norms, softening people up for potentially more authoritarian behavior.

Many strongmen also love to display giant photos of themselves wherever they can. If you ever go to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, you’ll be greeted with a portrait of Mao Zedong. Mao founded the People’s Republic of China, and he served as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party for more than 30 years. His portrait is about 19½ feet tall and 15 feet wide, and it weighs about 3,000 pounds. It’s been hanging over the gate leading into the Forbidden City since 1949.

If you travel farther to the east, you’ll find something similar in North Korea. In the country’s capital of Pyongyang, there’s an area called Kim Il Sung Square, where you’ll find large portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the great leader and the dear leader, respectively, overlooking the plaza at all times as people go about their daily lives.

When Putin visited the country last year, North Koreans gave him a warm welcome by plastering his photo everywhere. They even temporarily put up a humongous portrait of Putin next to one of Kim Jong Un during a welcome ceremony.

Neither China nor North Korea invented this idea. They’ve taken their cues from Joseph Stalin, the former brutal ruler of the Soviet Union. He liked to have portraits of himself displayed in public and lofted by his supporters during parades.

That practice continues in many other countries where strongmen rule today. You see it in places like Egypt, where the face of its president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, is inescapable. His mug is on billboards and banners, plastered on buildings and hanging along the roadside. That’s especially true ahead of an election, and it’s no wonder he’s been able to easily win three terms in office. (Not to mention the fact that Egypt doesn’t exactly have free and fair elections in the first place.)

In Iran, you’ll find an abundance of murals, posters and portraits of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He’s often depicted with the country’s late leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah KhomeiniTheir images are displayed everywhere — at mosques, in malls and even on the sides of some buildings.

And now, something like that is happening in the United States, too. Last week, a giant banner with Donald Trump’s official portrait was displayed on the United States Department of Agriculture building in Washington, D.C., alongside a similar banner featuring Abraham Lincoln.

Hail, Donald! Long live the King!

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-usda-portrait-road-from-to-authoritarianism-rcna207709

Daily Beast: Pope Leo Snubs JD Vance After Inaugural Mass

The pope gave the vice president short shrift after the ceremony.

Pope Leo XIV spurned JD Vance on Sunday, offering him a quick greeting after his inaugural mass while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders.

The first American pope shook Vance’s hand during a brief, 17-second exchange during the procession line after the mass.

Leo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra on Sunday after celebrating his inaugural Mass, which included world leaders from Canada, Italy, Germany, and other European Union officials in the audience.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-leo-xiv-snubs-jd-vance-as-he-meets-with-world-leaders

Independent: Trump puts white South Africans on citizenship fast track while rejecting all other refugees: ‘As subtle as an air raid’

President claims Afrikaners are victims of ‘genocide’ while denying entry to refugees fleeing famine and war

Since taking office, Donald Trump’s administration has virtually shut down refugee admissions and blocked funding for resettlement groups, stranding thousands of people who were granted entry to the United States for humanitarian protections only to have those offers rescinded.

But the president has singled out one specific group of people who will be allowed entry into the United States and appear to be on a fast track to citizenship: white South Africans.

A group of 59 white South Africans admitted to the United States as “refugees” have been “essentially extended citizenship,” Trump said on Monday.

They were greeted by State Department officials on Monday after landing at Washington Dulles International Airport on a taxpayer-funded flight following their fast-tracked refugee vetting process under the administration’s radically reshaped admissions program.

King Donald is welcoming white racists from South Africa as he terminates the refugee status of 530,000 legitimate refugees already in the U.S.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-south-african-citizenship-refugees-b2749548.html

Daily Mail: Another politician’s visas revoked by Trump administration

The petty little children in the White House have revoked the visas of the governor of Mexico’s Baja California state and her husband.

The dramatic move to revoke her and her husband’s visas comes just weeks after Pilar Avila took a trip to San Diego to promote tourism in Mexico, according to KUSI. It remains unclear what may have provoked the US State Department to suddenly revoke their visas. But the Trump administration has been cracking down on who can obtain visas in recent weeks.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14701489/Baja-California-governor-Marina-del-Pilar-Avila-husband-visas-revoked.html

MSNBC: Rubio’s new role is a dangerous step in Trump’s effort to consolidate power

Whatever the reasons for Waltz being marginalized, Trump is rearranging the deck chairs on a badly listing ship and trying to do it in a way that doesn’t look bad for him. Part of that involves him consolidating two of the most important roles in the federal government — secretary of state and national security adviser — and giving them to Rubio. 

That’s the kind of loyalty Trump rewards. In order to cover the incompetence of his administration, the president is now consolidating power even further, giving two powerful positions to one sycophantic subordinate.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rubio-s-new-role-is-a-dangerous-step-in-trump-s-effort-to-consolidate-power/ar-AA1E4kyv

Mediaite: Marco Rubio And JD Vance Open War of Words With Germany, Accusing Ally of ‘Tyranny in Disguise’

Our wannabe dictators are upset that Germany is clamping down on their neo-Nazis. Keep up the good work, Germany:

The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), which would be Germany’s equivalent of the FBI, released a statement summing up their investigation that led to the new classification for the AfD.

“Following its statutory mandate, the BfV was required to assess the party’s actions against the central fundamental principles of the constitution: human dignity, the principle of democracy, and the rule of law. In addition to the federal party’s platform and statements, the review particularly examined the statements and other behavior of its representatives, as well as their connections to right-wing extremist actors and groups,” read the statement.

The AfD won some 20% of the vote in Germany’s last parliamentary election, but remains isolated politically as none of the other parties will work with its members.

The German Foreign Office hit back at Rubio’s statement, saying, “This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/marco-rubio-and-jd-vance-open-war-of-words-with-germany-accusing-ally-of-tyranny-in-disguise/ar-AA1E4Jzg

Western Journal: Disturbing Discovery: Biden-Era Dossier on Official Now Serving Trump

Some self-aggrandizing drivel from Marco Rubio, our pathetic excuse for a Secretary of State:

“Freedom of speech and expression have been a cornerstone of what it means to be an American citizen. For centuries, the United States served as a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world,” he said in a statement.

“Over the last decade though, individuals in America have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions,” Rubio said.

“That is not an America our Founding Fathers would recognize,” he added. “It is the responsibility of every government official to continuously work to preserve and protect the freedom for Americans to exercise their free speech.”

So how do you explain the arrests and deportations of college students who’ve dared to express their support for the Palestinian people, who are being relentlessly slaughtered and abused by the Israeli military?

The First Amendment is for EVERYONE, students, citizens, immigrants, legal or not, regardless of visa category or status.

You, Marco Rubio, and your ilk are a disgrace to the American Constitution and way of life.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/disturbing-discovery-biden-era-dossier-on-official-now-serving-trump/ar-AA1E0TU6

Mediaite: Trump Was Reportedly Pissed at Ousted Mike Waltz Even Before ‘SignalGate’ Fiasco – Over Private Meetings

One of those moves, per the Post’s sources, was private discussions between Waltz and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Donald Trump’s decision to oust National Security Adviser Mike Waltz this week came after months of growing tension, according to a report published Saturday by The Washington Post.

While Waltz’s inadvertent addition of a journalist to a Signal group chat discussing military plans reportedly triggered the final decision, two sources told the Post that Trump had been frustrated with Waltz over foreign policy for months.

It’s a dog eat dog world!

NBC News: Trump, asked if he has to ‘uphold the Constitution,’ says, ‘I don’t know’

Trump said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he’s following lawyers’ advice as he tries to execute rapid deportations, arguing that giving immigrants due process is time-consuming.

President Donald Trump argued in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that fulfilling his ambitious campaign promise to rapidly carry out mass deportations may take precedence over giving immigrants the right to due process under the Constitution, as required by courts.

A central part of Trump’s agenda has been implementing the “largest deportation operation” in U.S. history, as he vowed during the 2024 campaign. In service of that goal, his administration has pressed the courts to allow the immediate removal of immigrants it accuses of being members of a Venezuelan gang, without giving them a chance to plead their case before a judge.

In an interview last month with “Meet the Press,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “Yes, of course,” when asked whether every person in the United States is entitled to due process.

Trump, however, isn’t so sure.

Does he remember his Oath of Office? Did he understand it when he took the Oath? What a total dufus!!!

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna204580

UK Daily Mail: Trump team sparks fury with ‘sickening’ choice of emojis while describing their war plans in leaked Signal chat

The use of emojis in a leaked Trump administration group chat discussing strikes on Houthi targets has sparked outrage, with accusations that officials made light of the sensitive topics being discussed.

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, revealed on Monday that Trump’s national security advisor Michael Waltz had – seemingly inadvertently – added him to a group chat called ‘Houthi PC small group’.

The chat appears to have served as a virtual war room for some of the President’s top team, including Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Goldberg said that Hegseth shared the war plan with the group at 11.44am eastern time on Saturday March 15, two hours before the bombs began dropping on Yemen.

As news broke of the strikes, the journalist checked the group chat where he found a flurry of emojis and congratulations flooding the text chain.

Waltz updated the group at 1.48pm, saying the operation had been an ‘amazing job’ before sending three emojis a few minutes later – a fist, an American flag, and fire.

Trump team sparks fury with ‘sickening’ choice of emojis while describing their war plans in leaked Signal chat | Daily Mail Online