Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Democrats Accuse Trump of Targeting Blue States

President Donald Trump has expanded federal authority to target Democratic-led states during an ongoing government shutdown, prompting Democratic backlash for reallocating funds. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Trump has closed five regional offices in Democratic states while keeping four open in Republican states. Critics argued the measures are a result of partisan favoritism and raised concerns over a lack of equitable access to federal services.

Trump said, “We’ll be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly, because that’s the way it works. They wanted to do this, so we’re going to give them a little taste of their own medicine.”

The administration has blocked energy projects in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts while allowing projects in Republican-led Virginia. Funding cuts also include $18 billion for New York infrastructure and $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for states who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said, “This has been true of Donald Trump’s whole approach to politics — he doesn’t want to unify America. He governs by division, he stokes anger, and obviously in a perverse way that has worked for him in the past. But I think it is one thing to do that in a campaign, and another to govern through division.”

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) said, “It quacks like a duck and it walks like a duck — and it sure looks like he’s targeting blue states. I’m not sure what they are after, other than he is a retaliatory, vindictive kind of guy. I do think there may be an effort to shift the focus from health care costs that Democrats have linked to the government shutdown.”

Several Democratic states have sued the federal government, alleging that funding cuts violate equitable grant practices. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, “He is targeting Democratic cities, blue cities — and especially blue cities in blue states. There are blue cities in red states, but he’s targeting blue cities in blue states — and particularly blue governors, Democratic governors.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-accuse-trump-of-targeting-blue-states/ss-AA1P9VXD

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: Trump Sparks Backlash with False Jan. 6 Claim

President Donald Trump has come under scrutiny for claiming that former President Joe Biden had FBI agents present during the January 6, 2021, insurrection, despite the fact that Trump was in office at the time. Critics have argued the claim wrongly shifts responsibility for the U.S. Capitol attack from Trump’s administration. Analysts warned the misstatement could further legitimize debunked conspiracy theories on the matter. Numerous outlets have fact-checked Trump’s false claim.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-sparks-backlash-with-false-jan-6-claim/ss-AA1PaWAj


Dementia Boy Trump can’t keep track of who, what, when, where!

Charlotte Observer: Treasury Investigates Antifa Funding in New Crackdown

The Trump Administration is ramping up investigations into the funding and organization of groups like Antifa, labeled as domestic extremists. President Donald Trump held a roundtable with cabinet members and experts to discuss strategies for addressing such organizations. White House officials have hinted at new measures aimed at identifying their networks and financial backers.

Without providing evidence, Seamus Bruner of the Government Accountability Institute alleged that left-wing groups have funded violent protests.

Bruner said, “It’s not just Antifa, but there is a whole ecosystem of radical, professional protesting organizations.” He added, “Such organizations also provide left-wing extremists with PR services, marketing, and in some cases additional boots on the ground.”

Bruner proposed using RICO statutes and reviewing tax-exempt statuses to target organizations suspected of funding criminal protest activities, urging federal authorities to act swiftly for accountability.

Bruner stated, “They can absolutely cancel any future grants if they deem that the charitable purposes are less than charitable.” Bruner added, “We found a network of NGOs … And, it’s also big left-wing funders — some of them are not citizens of this country.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/treasury-investigates-antifa-funding-in-new-crackdown/ss-AA1PbhOF


Tune in next week when King Donald and his sycophants try to get Whimsy under control!

Slingshot News: ‘Not Responsible’: Billionaire Linda McMahon Shrugs Her Shoulders Over Trump Taking Aid Away From Low-Income Students In Hearing [Video]

During a House Appropriations Committee hearing in May, Education Secretary and billionaire Linda McMahon showed indifference to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defunding the Head Start program, which is an initiative to provide education-based support for young children from low-income families. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/not-responsible-billionaire-linda-mcmahon-shrugs-her-shoulders-over-trump-taking-aid-away-from-low-income-students-in-hearing/vi-AA1Pbyir

Vox.com: What a pastor saw ICE do to protesters outside Chicago

Officers shot his friend and fellow pastor with a pepper bullet. He kept going back to protest.

A viral photo of an ICE agent at the site pepper spraying a pastor in the face has come to exemplify the aggressive and violent tactics federal officers are using to corral the demonstrations.

The Rev. Quincy Worthington was there the night his friend, the Rev. David Black, was shot in the back of the head with a pepper bullet and pepper-sprayed in the face, and has returned every weekend since. He’s seen ICE agents hit protesters with batons, shoot pepper balls and rubber bullets, and deploy flash-bangs into the crowd. Worthington says his faith is what keeps him going back after some of the scariest nights of his life.

https://www.vox.com/policy/465969/ice-protests-chicago-broadview-pastor-pepper-spray

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-a-pastor-saw-ice-do-to-protesters-outside-chicago/ar-AA1PauFz

L.A. Times: Arellano: As Trump blows up supposed narco boats, he uses an old, corrupt playbook on Latin America

Consumer confidence is dropping. The national debt is $38 trillion and climbing like the yodeling mountain climber in that “The Price is Right” game. Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling and the U.S. is getting more and more restless as 2025 comes to a close.

What’s a wannabe strongman to do to prop up his regime?

Attack Latin America, of course!

You might ask: Who cares? Cartels are bad, drugs are bad, aren’t they? Of course. But every American should oppose every time a suspected drug boat launching from Latin America is destroyed with no questions asked and no proof offered. Because every time Trump violates yet another law or norm in the name of defending the U.S. and no one stops him, democracy erodes just a little bit more.

This is a president, after all, who seems to dream of treating his enemies, including American cities, like drug boats.

Few will care, alas. It’s Latin America, after all.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-25/trump-drug-boats-latin-america

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/arellano-as-trump-blows-up-supposed-narco-boats-he-uses-an-old-corrupt-playbook-on-latin-america/ar-AA1Par3T

Newsweek: Donald Trump suffers another blow in National Guard deployment

The Trump administration suffered a legal blow on Friday afternoon when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed an order issued on October 20 by a federal appellate court ruling it could deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, under federal control.\…

On October 20, a three-judge appeals court ruled that Trump could federalize 200 National Guard troops for deployment to Portland, with two Trump-appointed judges in favor, while one Bill Clinton appointee was opposed.

However, on Friday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay preventing this from coming into effect until 5 p.m. on October 28 at the earliest, while the court decides whether to reconsider the case. The matter could now appear before a so-called en banc review, made up of 11 judges.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-suffers-another-blow-national-guard-deployment-10938250

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/donald-trump-suffers-another-blow-in-national-guard-deployment/ar-AA1PalT3

Alternet: Trump ambassador nominee won’t say if he believes Black Americans should be allowed to vote

“We wouldn’t have this process if your personal views were not relevant,” Murphy said. “That is pretty stunning that you will not share your views, not only on whether we should have a refugee admissions process that is race-based, but you won’t share your personal views on whether we should reimpose discriminatory treatment against Black Americans. That is absolutely relevant to your qualifications to serve. And your refusal to answer it, I hope, is something that every member of this committee will think about.”

https://www.alternet.org/trump-black-americans

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-ambassador-nominee-won-t-say-if-he-believes-black-americans-should-be-allowed-to-vote/ar-AA1PamBL

Newsweek: US Citizen Dragged From Car By Border Patrol In Chicago [Video]

A Chicago woman has told Newsweek she was “forcibly removed” from her vehicle by immigration agents. Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen and paralegal, said her car was struck by an unmarked government vehicle at the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in Chicago on the morning of Friday, October 10, while she was on her way to get coffee before work. 

A Chicago woman has told Newsweek she was “forcibly removed” from her vehicle by federal immigration agents.

Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen and paralegal, said an unmarked government vehicle struck her car at the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in Chicago on the morning of October 10, while she was on her way to get coffee before going to work.

“I was in shock and terrified,” Figueroa told Newsweek. “Instead of handling the situation as a routine traffic incident, the masked agents, armed in hands, forcibly removed me from my car without questions and without informing me that I was under arrest.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that Border Patrol was making a targeted arrest when Figueroa’s vehicle blocked agents and struck an unmarked government vehicle.

Footage obtained by Newsweek appears to show armed federal agents detaining Figueroa, dragging her by the legs to remove her from her vehicle. Some agents brandish guns, and bystanders can be heard shouting, “You hit her,” as the situation unfolds.

Additional video obtained by Figueroa’s family from another witness provides a different angle of the encounter. The bystander who is filming tells federal agents: “You hit her. We all saw it.”

“You guys are f*****g scumbags, f*****g Nazis. They hit her car. You guys hit her, and you f*****g know it,” the bystander is heard saying.

“As agents were departing, the driver, a U.S. citizen, struck an unmarked government vehicle,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

“In fear of public safety and of law enforcement, officers attempted to remove her from the vehicle. She violently resisted, kicking two agents and causing injuries. This agitator was arrested for assault on a federal agent,” McLaughlin added.

Figueroa disputes DHS’s account, denying that she crashed into agents and accusing the immigration enforcers of using excessive force.

“The video evidence is clear: Agents crashed into me. I was not involved in any protest or related activity, and I intend to seek justice for how I was treated. I am confident the facts will speak for themselves,” she said.

Chicago has emerged as a focal point in the national conversation over immigration enforcement as federal authorities step up operations under the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz. The initiative has included increased ICE activity across the city, with arrests and targeted actions in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Critics say the operations have heightened fear among residents and strained community relations, while federal officials maintain that the measures are necessary to enforce immigration laws and detain individuals with criminal records.

Amid the Trump administration’s hard-line mass deportation push, there have been dozens of reports of U.S. citizens being questioned or detained by immigration authorities, raising concerns over racial profiling, the agencies’ practices and enforcement criteria. Multiple federal agencies—including Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—are being mobilized to carry out coordinated immigration operations as the administration pursues its goal of removing millions of migrants without legal status.

Figueroa described the experience as physically and emotionally distressing, saying the manner in which she was removed from her vehicle left her traumatized and injured. She said she was treated “like cattle.”

The paralegal said she was transported to multiple undisclosed locations and was not allowed to contact her family or legal counsel. She said she was never charged with a crime or informed of a legal reason for her detention.

“These actions constitute serious violations of federal civil rights law and multiple provisions of the United States Constitution,” Figueroa said.

She said she had recently undergone kidney surgery. “I am presently receiving ongoing medical treatment and attending numerous appointments to rehabilitate from recent kidney surgeries and from multiple new injuries directly caused by this assault,” Figueroa said.

Her family is now raising money on GoFundMe for legal and medical fees following the incident.

https://www.newsweek.com/us-citizen-dragged-car-border-patrol-chicago-10924948

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-citizen-dragged-from-car-by-border-patrol-in-chicago/vi-AA1P8Uln

Daily Beast: Trump Goon Schooled Over Oval Office Screwup

Harmeet Dhillon made an embarrassing mistake while sharing a photo of herself in the Oval Office.

A top Donald Trump loyalist at the Department of Justice has been mocked online for sharing a photo confusing the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution.

Harmeet Dhillon, a 2020 election denier who Trump picked as assistant attorney general for civil rights, posted a photo on X on Thursday showing her holding hands with the president in the Oval Office.

“I love the Constitution AND my favorite President!” Dhillon wrote. However, as many social media users pointed out, Dhillon was actually standing in front of the Declaration of Independence, not the historic document that outlines how the federal government operates and guarantees the rights and freedoms of U.S. citizens.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-goon-schooled-over-oval-office-screwup

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-goon-schooled-over-oval-office-screwup/ar-AA1P6xWJ