Tag Archives: White House

Washington Post: The states where Trump, Republicans plan to bring redistricting fights next

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After Texas and California, the legislative action is set to move to Missouri and three other states. Trump and his allies are pressuring red state Republicans to act.

President Donald Trump and his allies are charging ahead with plans to try to redraw the congressional map in red states beyond Texas, pressuring GOP lawmakers to act and setting up an all-out push for political advantage that will be difficult for Democrats to match ahead of the midterms.

Republican state lawmakers early Saturday approved an unusual mid-decade redraw of the U.S. House districts in Texas, adding five red seats on a new map that Trump advocated. Democrats in California retaliated by passing bills that will ask the liberal state’s voters to add five blue seats in a November special election. Now the legislative action in a nationwide redistricting battle is set to move to Missouri and three other Republican-controlled states.

Democrats have repeatedly promised to “fight fire with fire,” relying on the states they control. But they face more obstacles — and have taken few concrete steps toward redrawing blue-state maps outside California.

Many state Republicans balked at redistricting outside the usual census-driven schedule, reluctant to shake up existing lines and use their political capital on such a divisive move. But Trump’s team — backed up by activists threatening primary challenges — have pushed forward. Changing the maps could help Republicans maintain their narrow control of the U.S. House in 2026, paving the way for Trump’s agenda and preventing Democrats from using the House to launch investigations or impeachment proceedings.

“Our more moderate members in both the House and Senate — this is not something they would be inclined to do,” said Gregg Keller, a Republican strategist in Missouri, the next red state expected to redraw its maps. “However, when it became clear that these calls were coming directly from the president, directly from the White House, that this was part of a larger national strategy, they realized they were going to need to go along with it whether they liked it or not.”

Federal law restricts the political activities of federal employees. But White House staff have been acting in a personal capacity while discussing redistricting with state Republicans, said a person familiar with the effort, who like some others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, has been leading the effort.

Missouri is expected to add one more red seat — likely after state lawmakers return to the Capitol on Sept. 10, according to people familiar with the plans. Trump got ahead of state Republican officials on Thursday, saying on Truth Social that Missouri “is IN.”

Trump has spoken directly with Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) about redistricting, two people familiar with the discussions said. White House staff, acting in a personal capacity, have discussed the matter with members of the state’s congressional delegation and also called state lawmakers — including the openly skeptical Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, according to Perkins and others told about the outreach.

State leaders are assessing “options for a special session” to redraw the maps, Kehoe spokesperson Madelyn Warren said after Trump’s social media post. Warren said the governor “regularly speaks with the President on a variety of topics” but has not discussed “any specific or potential maps” with him.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

In Indiana, state Republicans also face mounting pressure to get on board with a redraw that would be likely to give the GOP one additional red seat. Vice President JD Vance discussed the issue with state leaders in person this month, and White House staff have been calling state legislators, according to Republicans in the state.

“The pressure from the White House is intense,” said Republican state Rep. Ed Clere, who said he has not been contacted but knows others who have. Clere has previously said special sessions “should be reserved for emergencies,” and that Trump’s “desperation to maintain a U.S. House majority by stacking the deck in favor of Republicans does not constitute an emergency.”

Every member of Indiana’s congressional delegation got on board with redistricting this past week. Recorded calls from a group identifying itself as Forward America have urged Indiana residents to call their legislators in support, according to the Indianapolis Star and other news outlets. The Washington Post could not reach Forward America for comment.

Trump ally Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, said his organization would back primary challenges to state lawmakers “who refuse to support the team and redraw the maps.”

The White House is hosting Indiana Republicans in Washington on Tuesday — part of a series hosting various states. Cabinet secretaries, senior White House officials and members of the Domestic Policy Council will join and take questions, according to an invitation. Clere said he is not attending.

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston (R) has also been reluctant to redraw the map, according to a person familiar with the matter. A spokeswoman for Huston said he has not taken a position. Gov. Mike Braun (R) recently said he has not decided whether to call a special session.

Others have been openly skeptical. “Please help me understand the push to pick up MAYBE 1 Congressional seat while putting many good state elected officials at risk because of a political redistricting stunt!” state Rep. Jim Lucas (R) said on social media.

Trump’s team is optimistic they will persuade Indiana Republicans and have not “put their back into it” yet, said one person familiar with the redistricting effort. “I think they will all come to the realization this isn’t going away,” the person said of state Republicans.

In Trump’s home state of Florida, top Republicans have expressed support for a redraw and gone further by asking the federal government to grant Florida an extra U.S. House seat.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier recently sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the census, arguing that the state should have gotten more representation after 2020 and that Florida “should not have to wait” for the next one. The Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment about the letter.

“Obviously we’d love to do it before the midterms next year,” Uthmeier said this week at a news conference.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has said he supports redrawing the map even without a census revision. And Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) moved this month to create a “select committee” on congressional redistricting.

The states where Trump, Republicans plan to bring redistricting fights next
After Texas and California, the legislative action in a nationwide redistricting battle is set to move to Missouri and three other Republican-led states.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/23/trump-gop-redistricting-missouri-indiana

No paywall:

The states where Trump, Republicans plan to bring redistricting fights next
After Texas and California, the legislative action in a nationwide redistricting battle is set to move to Missouri and three other Republican-led states.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-states-where-trump-republicans-plan-to-bring-redistricting-fights-next/ar-AA1L52br

Guardian: Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia – report

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Wall Street Journal says move is part of Trump administration’s effort to get Putin into peace talks

US defense officials have blocked Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia since late spring as part of a Trump administration effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks , according to a report on Saturday.

Worked really well, didn’t it, King Donald, you f*ck*ng Surrender Monkey. Your chum Putin continued doing what he was doing and just blitzed the sh*t out of Ukraine, including destroying an American factory.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from using US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms.

Two US officials told the outlet that on at least one occasion, Ukraine had sought to use Atacms against a target but was denied under a “review mechanism” developed by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, that governs how US long-range weapons or those provided by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components can be used.

The review process also applies to Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missile because it depends on US targeting data, according to two US officials and a British official, the Journal said.

The review system reportedly gives US defense secretary Pete Hegseth approval over the use of the Atacms, which have a range of nearly 190 miles (305km). Ukraine was previously given authority by the Biden administration to use the missile system against targets inside Russia in November after North Korean troops entered the war.

Before the inauguration in January, Trump told Time magazine that the decision to allow Ukraine to use US weapons systems to attack targets inside Russia had been a mistake.

“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” he said.

It is unclear whether the US defense department’s review process amounts to a formal policy change. But it comes alongside increasing control of munitions to Ukraine as US stocks are themselves depleted.

In a statement to the Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. There has been no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time.”

But last week, amid efforts to broker talks between the Russian president and Voldomyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that Ukraine couldn’t defeat Russia unless it could “play offense” in the war.

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning.”

Last month, the US agreed to supply Ukraine with new weapons systems but only if European nations paid for them. While Trump has said that the US is “not looking” to provide longer-range weapons that could reach Moscow, US officials told the Journal that the administration has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition air-launched missiles, or Erams, which have a range of 280 miles (400km).

Not surprising that Ukraine is developing its own long range drone (code name “Flamingo”) with a range of 3,000 km. to reduce their reliance on the buffoon Trump.

Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia – report
Wall Street Journal says move is part of Trump administration’s effort to get Putin into peace talks

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/23/pentagon-ukraine-russia-missiles

The Grio: Trump calls D.C. neighborhoods ‘slums’ as critics say comments show bias against Black residents

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D.C. residents and leaders warn that President Donald Trump’s “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital signals an authoritarian tough-on-crime approach to public safety that will be replicated in other cities.

Residents of Washington, D.C., are continuing to push back against the narratives about their city as military troops and federal officers swarm the streets as part of the Trump administration’s declared 30-day crime emergency.

“It’s offensive, it’s dangerous, and it’s discriminatory to look at the part of the city, that is majority Black and has been so historically, and define them as slums and crime ridden when we’re communities and every neighborhood is different,” said Gregory Jackson, a longtime public safety advocate who lives in Ward 8.

Despite local police data showing a 30-year low crime rate throughout D.C., Trump announced a federal crackdown in the city on Aug. 11, describing the state of crime in the nation’s capital as a “situation of complete and total lawlessness.” He told reporters that day, “We’re getting rid of the slums.”

When asked on Tuesday to clarify whether Trump is referring to homeless encampments or residential buildings as “slums,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president was referring to “the most dangerous communities, neighborhoods and streets in this city where, unfortunately, violence has ravaged these communities and taken the lives of…far too many law-abiding D.C. residents.”

On Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters that D.C. was a “hellhole” before his federal crackdown, declaring “now it’s safe.” The president said of out-of-town visitors: “They’re not going to go home in a body bag. They’re not going home in a coffin.”

Jackson, who served as deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention under President Joe Biden, said painting a broad brush of the city is “extremely harmful” to Black communities in D.C.

“It’s disrespectful to the families that are there, to the working professionals. On my street, there are young families, there are folks in the military, I served in the White House–we are made up of very diverse family folks and community-centric folks,” he told theGrio.

Courtney Snowden, a sixth-generation Washingtonian and former D.C. deputy mayor, said D.C. neighborhoods are comprised of “amazing” residents who are “committed to the success of the city.”

“[They’re] doing what people do in neighborhoods all across the country. They get up and they go to work every day, they contribute and pay their taxes, and they’re raising families,” Snowden told theGrio. “So to have the president of the United States and his cabinet members talking about American citizens and District residents and the communities in which they live in that way is appalling.”

On Wednesday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s anti-DEI agenda, said the surge of law enforcement and the National Guard is for the “safety” of the city’s majority Black residents.

Critics who spoke to theGrio said they don’t believe the Trump administration’s stated concerns about crime, and caring about the safety of its residents are “genuine.”

Jamal Holtz, president of the D.C. Young Democrats, noted D.C. “isn’t even among the top 10 most dangerous in the nation.” In fact, three of the top ten cities are in Ohio, which sent additional National Guard troops to D.C. in a show of political support for Trump’s D.C. crackdown.

“This isn’t about a need for public safety. Autocrats have used false pretenses and narratives to take over local matters and take over local law enforcement as a first step towards a broader power grab,” Holtz told theGrio.

“If he’s willing to overturn democracy in D.C. over the false narrative of a crime emergency here in the District of Columbia, I think it should scare all Americans that this will likely happen to communities across the nation,” said Markus Batchelor, political director at People For the American Way and D.C. native.

Critics of the Trump White House say that rather than working with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and local officials to continue the progress already made in making D.C. streets safer, they’ve turned to a tough-on-crime approach to public safety that has proven ineffective without other community intervention programs and investments.

Several mayors of inner cities have touted Biden-era investments and support in community violence intervention strategies as part of the success of reducing crime. However, the Trump administration slashed those funds and programs. The Department of Homeland Security also slashed a $20 million security grant for D.C. earlier this month. Additionally, a bill that would restore a $1 billion deficit in D.C.’s budget, which includes public safety funding, remains stalled in the Republican-controlled Congress.

“Does Washington, D.C., like every other major city in America, have this problem with crime? Absolutely. Are some of those issues exacerbated by, quite frankly, politicians like Trump, who are disinvesting in the inner city, public education, housing, and good-paying jobs? Yes,” said Batchelor.

Jackson, the former White House official, said of Trump’s D.C. crackdown, “A lot of this is a reaction rather than looking at the real strategy that we know can save lives and prevent violence, and really doubling down and supporting a city that does need support.” He said the city “does have work to do,” emphasized it “does not need military forces patrolling communities that don’t even have a grocery store.”

On Friday, Trump announced he will ask Congress for $2 billion to “rebuild” the District of Columbia, including updating roads and light poles. “This place will be beautified within a period of months,” said Trump, who did not indicate whether any of that funding would cover public safety.

Leaders say they’re also concerned about the physical and psychological impact of having troops, federal officers, and military tanks all across city streets.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered that the National Guard to be armed, escalating their presence in D.C.

“It reinforces a stereotype that Black and brown folks are seen as a threat first and a human second,” said Jackson, who recalled being treated like a suspect when he was shot by a stray bullet in 2013.

“Now you could just be walking home from school and be interrogated. Some folks are sitting on their porch and have officers running up on them,” he told theGrio. “It really just reinforces that Black folks in this country, especially in the eyes of the Trump administration, are seen more as a threat and a suspect than Americans or neighbors.”

What do you expect from an unrepentant racist who was sued several times for refusing to rent his New York City apartments to blacks?

Trump calls D.C. neighborhoods “slums” as critics say comments show bias against Black residents
D.C. residents warn Trump’s “crime emergency” signals a tough-on-crime approach to public safety to be replicated in other cities.

https://thegrio.com/2025/08/22/trump-calls-d-c-neighborhoods-slums-as-critics-say-comments-show-bias-against-black-residents

Alternet: Trucking industry in shambles as Trump crackdown threatens supply chains

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Newsweek reports a trade group representing the trucking industry is supporting Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pause of work visas for immigrant truckers, despite the halt potentially aggravating work shortages in the U.S. trucking industry.

Rubio’s announcement followed a fatal crash on a Florida highway earlier this month involving a trucker from India who officials confirmed was in the country illegally. Newsweek reports preliminary findings by the Department of Transportation (DOT) revealed the driver failed assessments on his English language proficiency and his understanding of U.S. highway traffic rules.

Rubio did not reference the fatal accident at the time of his announcement, reports Newsweek, but did claim in a post on X that the increasing number of foreign truckers was “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”

In a statement released Thursday, Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), said his group supported the move, and that the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) “needs serious scrutiny, including the enforcement of entry-level driver training standards.”

“At a minimum, we need better accounting of how many non-domiciled CDLs are being issued, which is why we applaud Transportation Secretary Duffy for launching a nationwide audit in June upon our request,” Spear told Newsweek. “… We also believe a surge in enforcement of key regulations — including motor carrier compliance — is necessary to prevent bad actors from operating on our nation’s highways, and we’ll continue to partner with federal and state authorities to identify where those gaps in enforcement exist.”

Industry reporters claims many employed in the trucking industry supported Trump for president.

As part of his crackdown on immigration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Duffy to tighten regulations on English proficiency for commercial drivers in April, despite English language requirements already being included in federal regulations.

In February, trucking industry newsletter Matrack reported The U.S. trucking industry faces a severe driver shortage, “with a projected shortfall of 160,000 by 2030, disrupting supply chains and increasing costs.” It added that the aging workforce and CDL licensing challenges, combined with low pay, health concerns and high turnover, plague the industry.

“Long-haul trucking has a turnover rate of over 90 percent in large companies, reported Matrack. “This means that almost every driver in the industry will leave their job within a year. Long hours, stressful working conditions, and time away from home make the job unattractive.”

Labor Department data said that the number of foreign-born truckers in the U.S. comprise around 18 percent of the total workforce, said Newsweek.

Read the Newsweek report at this link.

Trucking industry in shambles as Trump crackdown threatens supply chains

https://www.alternet.org/trump-trucking-supporters

Raw Story: ‘Resignations seem likely’: Economist predicts investigation of Trump’s $600 billion fail

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President Donald Trump’s administration has published the terms of the trade deal with the European Union, but some of the promises Trump claimed were coming didn’t materialize after all, according to one economics expert.

University of Michigan economics and public policy professor Justin Wolfers wrote on X that after perusing the deal, he discovered Trump’s promise of $600 billion being sent to the U.S. from the E.U. isn’t on the list.

“The most important thing is what’s not there. Trump had boasted, ‘They gave me $600 billion, and that’s a gift.’ But guess what? They didn’t. He didn’t get a penny,” wrote Wolfers. “Bottom line: The final text of the EU-US trade deal delivers $5,000 less to the average American household than the handshake agreement Trump boasted of on August 5.”

“I expect there will be soul-searching, an investigation, and recriminations, as the White House explores how its negotiators fell $600 billion short of the deal the president thought he had struck. Resignations seem likely, and a re-think of the entire deal-making apparatus,” Wolfers added.

The deal mapped out on July 28 promised, “The EU will purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the United States, all by 2028.”

It explained, “The EU will invest $600 billion in the United States over the course of President Trump’s term. This new investment is in addition to the over $100 billion EU companies already invest in the United States every year.”

It appeared again toward the end of the July 28 plan: “The deal bolsters America’s economy and manufacturing capabilities. The EU will purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy and make new investments of $600 billion in the United States, all by 2028.”

The Aug. 21 deal changes the language significantly, shifting from a commitment to phrases like “make new investments” and “invest,” and now saying things like they’re “expected to invest.”

“In this context, European companies are expected to invest an additional $600 billion across strategic sectors in the United States through 2028,” the document says, removing the firm commitment. “This investment reflects the European Union’s strong commitment to the transatlantic partnership and its recognition of the United States as the most secure and innovative destination for foreign investment,” the new deal says.

The deal can be read here.

‘Resignations seem likely’: Economist predicts investigation of Trump’s $600 billion fail

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-eu-trade-deal-resignations

Raw Story: Aides left ‘helpless’ as they tried to stop ‘incoherent’ Trump rant to Putin: biographer

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Donald Trump displayed a breathtaking lack of understanding about the Cold War during his recent summit with Vladimir Putin — and left his own advisors “basically helpless” as he waved away their attempts to interject.

That’s according to the president’s biographer, who spoke to the Daily Beast on Wednesday.

On the podcast “Inside Trump’s Head,” Michael Wolff said that Trump’s version of Cold War history was so mangled that “it would appear that the U.S. and USSR are on the same side.”

Friday’s chaotic meeting in Alaska began with Trump launching into what Wolff described as “a combination of flattery” mixed with “things that he’s just pulled out of somewhere…observations, it’s both inconsequential and incoherent.”

When Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff attempted to redirect the conversation with an actual agenda, Trump simply “talked over them,” leaving the meeting rudderless after 20 minutes with “nothing clear about what anyone is doing there except that Putin is totally impassive.”

Putin eventually delivered what Wolff characterized as a “history lesson,” explaining “why [Russia] should conquer Ukraine.” Not to be outdone, Trump launched into his own historical dissertation on the Cold War that bore little resemblance to reality, Wolff said.

He said that Trump’s version of the long-running international crisis with the Soviets “didn’t seem much like a war at all.”

Trump aides’ attempts to stop him proved futile. “They sit there occasionally trying to interject, but you can’t really interject because Trump just talks all the time,” Wolff said.

He added that this worked “to Putin’s advantage” since Trump showed no interest in crucial details about territory or trade-offs.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed Wolff with the comment he usually gives the Beast, calling Wolff “a lying sack of s–t” with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Aides left ‘helpless’ as they tried to stop ‘incoherent’ Trump rant to Putin: biographer

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-putin-2673905305

Daily Beast: Vance, Hegseth and Miller Branded ‘Nazis’ in Botched PR Stunt

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Protesters heckled Trump’s top officials as they visited historic Union Station.

Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of StaffStephen Miller were met with a hostile welcome at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station on Wednesday.

Their visit came as the National Guard had been camped out around the iconic station as part of President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.

Bystanders looked on as the trio was met with hecklers in the station’s marble lobby as they came confidently strolling through with their entourage.

“You’re an embarrassment to Ohio,” one woman could be heard shouting as Vance kept a smile plastered on his face.

“F***ing nazi,” another man wearing a backpack shouted while taking video on his phone as the group marched through.

“Get the f*** out of my city,” shouted a third man.

Others could be heard chanting “free DC” as video showed the group casually walking into Union Station’s Shake Shack restaurant.

Other protesters shouted about the war in Gaza and to “free Palestine.”

In another video taken of their entrance, a man could be heard shouting at Vance, “Oh look, it’s couch f—er. You going to f— a couch, buddy?” in a reference to the joke that plagued the vice president on the campaign trail.

Upon entering the restaurant, Vance mingled with some service members, many of whom said they were from South Carolina. He took a few pictures while thanking them for their service and joked that the visit was “a hell of a lot more fun” than what he did most days.

“We ought to be able to enjoy great American cities. That’s what we’re trying to do in the Trump administration,” Vance told reporters from inside the Shake Shack as protesters could still be heard in the background.

As they spoke, a box of burgers sat in front of them, and National Guard members surrounded them. Chants of “Free DC” could still be heard in the background.

“We’re committed to this mission just like the one at the southern border and in Los Angeles,” Hegseth said. “Our law enforcement officers deserve to be able to do their jobs safely.”

The defense secretary gestured to the box of cheeseburgers in front of him and declared he “always liked a good cheeseburger” when he was in uniform, so he was hopeful he could deliver a few of them.

The Trump administration announced earlier this month that it was deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to the nation’s capital to combat crime. Multiple Republican-led states, including West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee, have all rushed to send additional troops to D.C.

However, critics have observed that the service members have largely been stationed along the National Mall and at Union Station, two largely low-crime destinations visited by millions of tourists every year.

In an unhinged rant, Miller then said they were going to “add thousands more resources to this city to get the criminals and the gang members out of here.”

He argued they were going to ignore the “stupid white hippies” protesting, who he claimed should go home and “take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old,” despite the hecklers at Union Station appearing to be all different ages.

“It’s kind of bizarre that we have a bunch of old, primarily white people, who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they never felt danger in their entire lives,” Vance angrily added.

Recapping his field trip on Fox News later that night, the vice president deflected on host Laura Ingraham’s description of the appearance as “eventful,” claiming instead he had heard from “a couple of friends” who said the area now “feels safer.”

“Living with lawlessness and disorder,” he added, “is fundamentally a question of political will.”

“If you’ve got the political will to enforce the law, you can make even cities like D.C. safe again, and that’s what we are demonstrating. And I hope that the American people take an important lesson from this because, obviously, D.C. is a federal city. New York, L.A., these places are not,” he said.

“I hope the American people just recognize that you don’t have to live with lawlessness. You don’t have to live with third-world murder rates. If you just take control of these cities, you can make them save places to live again.”

Vance, Hegseth and Miller Branded ‘Nazis’ in Botched PR Stunt
Protesters heckled Trump’s top officials as they visited historic Union Station.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vance-hegseth-and-miller-branded-nazis-in-botched-pr-stunt

Mirror US: CNN halts for breaking news alert and it’s not good for Donald Trump

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Breaking news interrupted CNN’s regular programming to update viewers on Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the pressure Trump is under

Following a historic gathering at the White House, where President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with seven European leaders in an unprecedented show of solidarity, Trump suffered a significant setback.

CNN broke into regular broadcasting with urgent news, revealing that the US President is under enormous pressure as major hurdles emerge in his bid to bring the Ukraine war to an end. Reporter Kimberly Dozier observed, “The fact that he feels he’s got to check in with Putin right away and… we get news that Putin is saying, ‘By the way, no NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine. That is unacceptable,’ still feels like Trump needs Putin’s approval.”

This development followed reports that Trump had stepped out of discussions with European leaders to place a call to the Russian president. This came just days after a lip reader revealed the chilling 3-word promise (“I’ll help you.”) that Trump whispered into Putin’s ear at their Alaska summit.

The demonstration of backing for Zelenskyy included French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, reports the Express.

After the phone conversation, the Kremlin dismissed speculation about a potential meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, even as Trump continued pushing for the two leaders to hold a summit aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict. The US leader confessed that the conflict was “a tough one” to resolve, stating, “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal.”

On Monday, Putin expressed to Trump that he was “open” to direct talks with Ukraine. However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov diluted this already vague commitment the following day, suggesting that a meeting would need to be prepared “gradually… starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps.”

Meanwhile, Dmitry Polyanskiy, a Russian deputy representative to the UN, told the BBC that “Nobody [had] rejected” the chance for direct talks, but it shouldn’t just be a “but it shouldn’t be a meeting for the sake of a meeting.”

Kimberly, speaking on CNN, added, “It’s got to be very disturbing to Zelensky sitting there, but of course Zelensky was a good actor he’s playing it cool, he’s not biting on any of the questions he got.

“Hopefully, what’s going to happen is they’re going to go into this meeting with European officials and the Europeans are saying ‘We need to put these troops on the ground inside Ukraine and it’s not Vladimir Putin’s business.”

On Wednesday, representatives from 30 different countries will gather at the Pentagon for meetings aimed at finalizing what each nation is willing to commit to Ukraine’s national security.

This includes Tony Radakin, the chief of the defense staff and leader of the British armed forces. He is anticipated to inform his American counterparts that the UK is ready to deploy troops to defend Ukraine’s skies and seas, but not to the frontline with Russia.

On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a virtual call to brief over 30 other world leaders on the discussions that took place at the White House on Monday.

Following this, Downing Street announced: “The prime minister outlined that coalition of the willing planning teams would meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.”

It comes after an expert warned Trump is displaying “classic signs” of a horror disease that “will get worse..”

CNN halts for breaking news alert and it’s not good for Donald Trump
Breaking news interrupted CNN’s regular programming to update viewers on Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the pressure Trump is under

https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/tv/cnn-breaking-news-donald-trump-1341186

Daily Beast: Trump Loses the Plot After MSNBC Mocks Cankle Cover-Up

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“The Last Word” host Lawrence O’Donnell noted how the president and the White House are shielding the president’s swollen ankles.

Donald Trump has lashed out at MSNBC after the network suggested the 79-year-old president is taking steps to hide his cankles from public view.

In a typical all-caps rant on Truth Social, Trump attacked the liberal network as “fake news” while referencing its upcoming name change to MS NOW, or My Source News Opinion World, as part of a rebrand during its split from NBCUniversal.

“MSNBC IS DOING SO POORLY IN THE RATINGS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE THEIR NAME IN ORDER TO GET AWAY FROM THE STENCH OF THEIR FAKE NEWS PRODUCT,” Trump stormed.

“SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH THEIR WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE OWNER, ‘CONCAST,’ HEADED BY DOPEY BRIAN ROBERTS, HOPELESSLY AND AIMLESSLY FLAILING IN THE WIND IN AN ATTEMPT TO DISASSOCIATE ITSELF FROM THE GARBAGE THAT THEY CREATED! MSNBC IS A FAILURE BY ANY NAME!!!”

Trump, no stranger to attacking media outlets he doesn’t like, went after MSNBC after one of its star anchors, Lawrence O’Donnell, mocked him for shielding his swollen ankles, a symptom of the medical condition chronic venous insufficiency.

During a monologue on The Last Word, O’Donnell noted that Trump took the almost unheard-of step of sitting behind the Resolute Desk during a meeting with European leaders in the Oval Office on Monday, rather than the usual spot in front of the fireplace.

O’Donnell said Trump made the move to ensure that “no one was going to compare his ankles to a French president’s ankles or a German chancellor’s or a British prime minister’s.”

Trump wasn’t so lucky when he met Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, with the two were seated in chairs out in the open.

O’Donnell said Trump made the move to ensure that “no one was going to compare his ankles to a French president’s ankles or a German chancellor’s or a British prime minister’s.”

Trump wasn’t so lucky when he met Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, with the two were seated in chairs out in the open.

O’Donnell also suggested Trump’s love of fast food may have accelerated the health problems of the president, who has also frequently been spotted with makeup patches covering a bruise on the back of his hand.

“That’s one of the ways a lifetime of McDonald’s junk food catches up with you,” O’Donnell said. “One of the places those Big Macs are going to show up is in the ankles hanging over the edge of your shoes.”

Trump Goes Off Deep End After MSNBC Mocks Cankle Cover-Up
“The Last Word” host Lawrence O’Donnell noted how the president and the White House are shielding the president’s swollen ankles.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-loses-the-plot-after-msnbc-mocks-cankle-cover-up

MSNBC: Maddow Blog | As Trump militarizes the nation’s capital, his ‘proof’ of success falls apart

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The president claims to have evidence that his deployments in Washington, D.C., are working. A closer look suggests his proof is entirely made up.

The week after Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to the streets of Washington, D.C., and placed local police officers under federal control, the president has expressed delight over the effects of his controversial power-grab. In fact, the Republican has already convinced himself that the militarization of the nation’s capital has been a great success.

“I’ve made Washington, D.C., just an incredible place in literally four days,” he boasted during his latest Fox News appearance. The comments came the day after the president wrote on his social media platform, “People are flocking to D.C. again,” pointing to a trend he appears to have made up.

Trump has even presented proof — or at least, something he perceives as proof — of his triumph. During an Oval Office event on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Republican told reporters, “The restaurants [in D.C.] the last two days were busier than they’ve been in a long time.” A day later, he repeated the claim on Fox News.

“Did you see what’s happening with the restaurants?” he asked rhetorically. “They’re bursting.”

It’s worth emphasizing that some might see room for a debate about the tradeoffs. Perhaps, some might argue, it’s worth tolerating authoritarian tactics and the militarization of the nation’s capital if it creates conditions for a more robust local economy.

But before that debate happens, it’s important to grapple with the fact that Trump’s boast is ridiculously untrue. The Washington Post reported:

Since President Donald Trump announced his takeover of the D.C. police force last week, restaurant reservations have dropped in the city by as much as 31 percent year over year for a single day, according to restaurant booking data. Business owners are concerned that the continued surge in law enforcement could impact their revenue during a vital period of the summer.

The Post spoke to Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld, co-owner of El Secreto de Rosita, which is about a mile and a half north of the White House, and across the street from a police station where he said federal troops have often assembled.

“Reservations are low, low, low” compared to last year,” Fraga-Rosenfeld said, adding, “The city is dead. … People are scared.”

WUSA, the local CBS affiliate, ran a related report, noting data that showed “reservations at restaurants in the district dropped by more than 30% just two days after Trump announced he would take emergency control of police.” WTOP, a local radio station, highlighted similar statistical evidence.

So why did the president claim the opposite? It likely has something to do with the fact that he routinely struggles to the tell the difference between what’s real and what he thinks ought to be real.

But, some might say, maybe it’s all worth it if the streets of D.C. really are significantly safer. Sure, the president is engaging in authoritarian tactics, and sure, local businesses are struggling, but if crime rates have shown a sharp improvement, maybe it’s worth paying the cost?

That’s a tough argument to take seriously for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that recent crime data for D.C. found only marginal differences from before and after the federal takeover.

So let’s take stock. Despite the fact that Trump has peddled some absurd claims, we’re left with a legally dubious deployment that (a) is hurting the local community’s economy; (b) isn’t making much of a difference on crime rates; and (c) is wildly unpopular with local residents.

This isn’t a triumph; it’s the latest in a series of fiascos.

As Trump militarizes the nation’s capital, his ‘proof’ of success falls apart
The president claims to have evidence that his deployments in Washington, D.C., are working. A closer look suggests his proof is entirely made up.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-militarizes-nations-capital-proof-success-falls-apart-rcna226025