Newsweek: Why do MAGA Republicans hate Europe?

In May 1988, Republican President Ronald Reagan spoke from the Oval Office in an address not targeted at the American people, but the citizens of Western Europe. The president was planning a trip to meet with Soviet Union General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and wanted to make his commitment to Europe clear.

Staring directly at the camera, Reagan said: “Shared [moral] standards and beliefs tie us to Europe today. They are the essence of the community of free nations to which we belong.”

Thirty years later, in July 2018, while sitting for an interview with CBS at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Republican President Donald Trump was asked to name America’s top global foe. “Well, I think we have a lot of foes,” Trump said. “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.”

https://www.newsweek.com/maga-republicans-donald-trump-jd-vance-europe-2071814

Explicame: Trump proposes $50 tax on every $1,000 sent in remittances

Also billed as the Republican’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and bullshit like this subtitle:

… the bill actually continues tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of the working poor, those living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Buried starting at page 327 of 389 is a new 5% tax on remittances sent to family & friends overseas. This 5% tax is on top of the income taxes and the 15.3% (yes, the actual amount is twice the deduction that appears on your check stubs!) social security and medicare taxes that the sender has already paid, plus 2-4% in currency exchange fees.


Amidst the buzz surrounding the ambitious fiscal plan revealed by Republicans this week, a particular proposal has flown under the radar yet holds the potential to severely impact millions of workers and their families both within and outside the United States: a new tax on remittances sent abroad, costing up to $50 each month.

This initiative is part of the ‘ways and means bills,’ as termed by lawmakers aligned with President Donald Trump. The legislative package seeks to extend and expand tax exemptions implemented during his first term while introducing a series of public spending cuts. However, among the numerous provisions, the remittance tax stands out for its immediate and silent social impact.

The proposal specifically calls for a 5% tax on remittances sent from the United States. This levy would fall on the sender, meaning the worker in the U.S. who sends money to their home country to support loved ones, with an amount of $50 for every $1,000 sent.

With this tax, a monthly transfer of $300 could cost the worker an additional $15 in taxes, a figure that may seem small in macroeconomic terms but represents a significant expense for households living paycheck to paycheck.

https://www.explica.me/en/News/Trump-proposes-50-tax-on-every-1000-sent-in-remittances-20250516-0016.html


https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/05/14/gops-big-beautiful-bill-would-tax-payments-that-many-immigrants-send-back-home


Apparently there are a few Republicans who think the bill is not so big and beautiful.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5304927-trump-agenda-shaky-congress

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

Guardian: Trump tariffs prompt slump in shipments to US ports

Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic trade war has triggered a slump in shipments to the US’s most important ports, amid the growing risk of a recession in the world’s largest economy.

In the latest sign of the US president’s tariff policies rattling the economy, figures show the number of vessels scheduled to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles next week is down by almost a third on the same period a year earlier.

Analysts said the latest shipping figures, which are updated on a daily basis, indicated the fallout was escalating.

Highlighting that it typically takes between 20 and 40 days for a sea container to travel from China to the US, Sløk said there would be a knock-on impact on demand for US trucking from the middle of next month, which could lead to empty shelves and layoffs in the distribution and retail industries.

This could lead to a recession by the summer, he added.

Thank the narcissist in the White House! Does he care? No!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-tariffs-prompt-slump-in-shipments-to-us-ports/ar-AA1DLit0

Daily Mail: Colombian president stunned his US visa has been revoked… and reveals nickname for Trump in response

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is seemingly no longer welcome in the United States.

Petro, a former member of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group and Colombia’s first leftist president, claimed the Trump administration revoked his visa to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

He is instead be replaced by the Minister of Finance Germán Avila, who is in Washington, D.C. this week.

The major international snub comes after Donald Trump threatened ‘decisive retaliatory measures’ against government officials over Colombia’s refusal to let two US Military flights full of migrants land in January. 

‘I can’t go anymore because I think they’ve revoked my visa,’ Petro said during a Council of Ministers meeting on Monday.

‘I didn’t need a visa, but hey, I’ve seen Donald Duck several times. So, I’m off to see other things.’

King Donald is like a child in a school yard who can’t bear to lose a marble.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14635611/colombian-president-visa-revoked-donald-trump-gustavo-petro.html