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When Will Trump Focus On Inflation? Aides Say Just Wait Till New​ Year

When Will Trump Focus On Inflation? Aides Say Just Wait Till New​ Year

President Donald Trump, who did not appear interested in changing his messaging when he spoke to Republican senators Wednesday morning after a big night at the polls for Democrats, is now expected to respond to the message voters sent Tuesday night, next year.

One of the White House’s “main takeaways from last night’s miserable performance for the Republican Party,” Politico reported, “is that President Donald Trump isn’t focused enough on the issues that matter most to the voters the party needs.”

The president, a White House advisor told Politico, will talk about the cost of living — one of the top issues he ran on last year — “as we turn … into the new year.”One of the White House’s “main takeaways from last night’s miserable performance for the Republican Party,” Politico reported, “is that President Donald Trump isn’t focused enough on the issues that matter most to the voters the party needs.”

“The President hasn’t talked about the cost of living in months,” another person close to the White House told Politico. “People are still hurting financially and they want to know the White House is paying attention and trying to fix the problem as quickly as possible.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who served as Trump’s political director for the 2024 election, also weighed in.

“You’ll see the president talk a lot about cost of living as we turn … into the new year,” Blair told Politico. “The president is very keyed into what’s going on, and he recognizes, like anybody, that it takes time to do an economic turnaround, but all the fundamentals are there, and I think we’ll see him be very, very focused on prices and cost of life.”

“People don’t think he’s lived up to his promises,” a White House ally told Politico. “You won on lowering costs, putting more money back into people’s pockets. And people don’t feel that right now.”In a speech Wednesday afternoon at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump told attendees, “After last night’s results the decision facing all Americans could not be more clear. We have a choice between communism and common sense. Does that make sense to you? Common sense. It’s common sense or communism. Look back 1,000 years. It hasn’t worked.”

In a speech Wednesday afternoon at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump told attendees, “After last night’s results the decision facing all Americans could not be more clear. We have a choice between communism and common sense. Does that make sense to you? Common sense. It’s common sense or communism. Look back 1,000 years. It hasn’t worked.”

“Our opponents are offering an economic nightmare, we are delivering an economic miracle,” Trump declared. “The biggest investment of funds in a country in history by many times.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Ignoring Red State Data, Trump Claims SNAP Beneficiaries Are 'Largely Democrats'

Ignoring Red State Data, Trump Claims SNAP Beneficiaries Are 'Largely Democrats'

Amid the administration’s refusal to tap contingency funds to sustain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — and with two federal judges now ordering it to do so — President Donald Trump came under fire Friday for claiming that most SNAP recipients are Democrats.

Forty-two million Americans may lose their benefits starting on Saturday if the Trump administration does not act.

While there are no exact statistics on party affiliation, large numbers of SNAP users reside in deep red states.

According to WIRED, data collected by the USDA “shows that deep-red states like Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana are among those with the highest percentage of food stamp recipients.”

And according to Philip Bump, the former Washington Post columnist, “more members of vulnerable populations who receive SNAP benefits … live in districts that also voted for Trump.”

President Trump, however, offered a different perspective while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Mar-a-Lago.

“And, you know, largely, when you talk about SNAP, you’re talking about largely Democrats, but I’m president. I wanna help everybody,” he said. “I want to help Democrats and Republicans, but when you’re talking about SNAP, if you look, it’s largely Democrats, they’re hurting their own people.”

Critics pushed back against the President’s claim.

“Florida has nearly 3 million SNAP recipients. Texas has 3.5 million. All those deep red Southern states have huge SNAP populations,” noted Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan.

“This is not true at all. The loss of SNAP funding will hit red America hard, too,” observed MSNBC deputy managing editor of news Zack Stanton. “Even if it was true, it’s weird to be ok with Americans going hungry because they live in blue states.”

“He’s trying to say—of course—that SNAP is for poor non white people, mostly living in the cities he wants to militarily occupy. But, as it happens, SNAP is also for lots of poor white people living in the rural/small town areas Trump claims to care about,” wrote Dissent magazine’s Richard Yeselson.

“And there it is. Trump openly reveals why he and other Republicans are cutting SNAP. The irony is that a lot of poor people in America who are on SNAP are rural Trump voters,” noted Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA).

“Trump is refusing to fund SNAP during the shutdown (something every other administration has done) because he wrongly believes that all families who rely on it are Democrats, and Democrats deserve to starve,” wrote The Lincoln Project.

“SNAP helps feed children, including one in four kids in America. Are children Democrats or Republicans? I don’t know BECAUSE THEY ARE CHILDREN. SNAP also helps veterans, seniors and people with disabilities,” commented Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Top Senate Republican Blows Up Over Democratic Bill To Fund SNAP, Then Blocks It

Top Senate Republican Blows Up Over Democratic Bill To Fund SNAP, Then Blocks It

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) launched into a diatribe attacking Democrats when one — Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico — asked unanimous consent to pass legislation to pay the 42 million Americans who use SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Later, Thune apologized — to reporters, not Sen. Luján, for his remarks.

Despite having about $5 to $6 billion in emergency funds for SNAP, the Trump administration decided to reverse its previous policy to pay recipients during a shutdown. That policy, which was removed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, had stated the “Congressional intent” was to make the funds available.

Experts have said there is a legal requirement to fund SNAP via its contingency reserves during the shutdown.

“Senate Republicans blocked legislation on Wednesday that would help low-income households afford groceries during the government shutdown, despite bipartisan support for providing nutrition aid to tens of millions of Americans,” Bloomberg News reported.

Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio described Thune’s remarks as a “blowup,” and said he went “nuclear.”

“The senator from New Mexico was absolutely right,” Thune said on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon. “SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food.”

Republicans’ position is that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown, now in its 29th day. But polling shows that more Americans blame Republicans and President Trump for the shutdown than Democrats, whom they believe are trying to reopen the government more than Republicans.“People should be getting paid in this country. And we’ve tried to do that 13 times. And you voted no, 13 times,” he said, pointing to Democrats who have refused to vote to reopen the federal government until Republicans agree to reinstate the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Obamacare premiums are expected to skyrocket without the subsidies.

“This isn’t a political game,” Thune said, angrily. “These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about. And you all just figured that out?”

“Twenty-nine days and, ‘Oh, there might be some consequences.’ There are people who are running out of money. Yeah, we’re 29 days in.”

“Thirteen times, people over here voted to fund SNAP, thirteen times, they voted to fund WIC,” he said of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

“My aching back,” Thune said, expressing frustration.

The Majority Leader then went on to charge that Democrats want the shutdown to continue, long term.“So are they making plans to end the shutdown and reopen the government?” he asked. “Nope. They’re gonna propose a bill to fund food stamps during their shutdown.”

“This bill is a cynical attempt to provide political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown for the long term.”

After his remarks, and after leaving the floor, Politico reported that Thune told reporters, “Sorry I channeled a little bit of anger there.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

New Poll: Public Anger At Republicans Deepens As Shutdown Drags On

New Poll: Public Anger At Republicans Deepens As Shutdown Drags On

Most Americans know the federal government is shut down — and they’re not shrugging it off. Most expect it to hurt them personally, fear it will damage the country even more, and increasingly blame Republicans and President Donald Trump — whose low approval rating has taken a strong hit — for the crisis.

That’s according to an extensive Navigator poll released on Wednesday.

Overall, Americans blame Trump and the GOP for the shutdown by a 14-point margin — up four points from last week. And Trump and Republicans in Congress are increasingly seen in a negative light over what they’re fighting for in the shutdown.

At the same time, President Trump is now seeing his lowest approval rating since 2018, according to Navigator. Other polls have produced similar results.

Three out of four Americans have heard some news of the shutdown. And about two-thirds (66 percent) have heard a lot or some about it.

It’s having a massive impact.

“64 percent believe the shutdown will have a negative impact on them personally, up from half who thought the same last week. Even more (77 percent) believe it will have a negative impact on the country,” Navigator reported.

Nearly half of Americans, 47 percent, blame President Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, an increase of four points over last week.

“Since last week, independents increasingly blame Trump and Republicans more than Democrats for the government shutdown,” according to Navigator. “When forced to choose between Trump and Republicans or Democrats, a majority say Trump and Republicans have the power to end it (52 percent – 21 percent).”

Americans also see Trump and the GOP as trying to keep the government shut down, and give Democrats “more credit” for trying to keep the government open.

A plurality, 42 percent, know Democrats are fighting for health care and see that as a positive.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) want Trump and the GOP to compromise with Democrats, and by a strong margin (39 points).

Overall, according to Navigator’s graphics, when asked about nine issues, Americans’ top concern (76 percent) currently is the shutdown and it having no clear end in sight.

That’s closely followed by the rising cost of health care and Americans losing coverage without congressional action (74 percent).

Food stamp funding (SNAP) running out on November 1, leaving about 42 million people without federal nutritional assistance, comes in a close third (73 percent).

All this appears to be having an impact on President Trump’s popularity.

“As the shutdown continues, President Trump’s overall approval rating (-16) and economic job approval (-21) remain underwater, the lowest point both of these metrics have been since the beginning of our shutdown tracking.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Massive Conflict: Trump Enraged By Questions Over Pardon Of Binance Mogul

Massive Conflict: Trump Enraged By Questions Over Pardon Of Binance Mogul

Just after pardoning the founder of Binance, President Donald Trump struggled to explain his decision — appearing unfamiliar with both the recipient and the legal issues surrounding the case that led to his conviction.

“President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, “the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company.”

Asked on Thursday why he chose to issue the pardon, and if it had anything to do with Zhao’s involvement with the Trump family’s crypto business, the President responded, “Who is that?”

“The founder of Binance,” the reporter replied.

“The recent one, yes,” Trump said. “I believe we’re talking about the same person, ’cause I do pardon a lot of people.”

“I don’t know — he was recommended by a lot of people,” Trump continued. “A lot of people say that — are you talking about the crypto person?”

“Yes.”

“A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything,” the President declared. “He served four months in jail, and they say that he was not guilty of anything, that what he did —” Trump said before the reporter interjected.

“Well,” Trump responded, “you don’t know much about crypto, you know nothing about, you know nothing about nothing. You’re fake news.”

“But let me just tell you that he was,” Trump said, “somebody that, as I was told, I don’t know him, I don’t believe I’ve ever met him. But I’ve been told, a lot of support. He had a lot of support, and they said that what he did is not even a crime.”

“It wasn’t a crime, that he was persecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”

The Wall Street Journal also reported that a “pardon will likely pave the way for Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, to return to the U.S. after the company pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements and was barred from operating in the country.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Blatant Corruption': Trump Demands $230M In New Shakedown Of US Government

'Blatant Corruption': Trump Demands $230M In New Shakedown Of US Government

President Donald Trump is under fire after a New York Times bombshell revealed he wants $230 million from the Justice Department over two investigations targeting him during his campaign.

The Times explained that there is “no parallel in American history, as Mr. Trump, a presidential candidate, was pursued by federal law enforcement and eventually won the election, taking over the very government that must now review his claims.” The paper of record also called it “the starkest example yet of potential ethical conflicts created by installing the president’s former lawyers atop the Justice Department.”

Critics are blasting the president.

“It’s hard to think of an action more purely corrupt than a …. president ordering the executive branch to pay him hundreds of millions of dollars,” wrote David French, a New York Times opinion columnist. “I cannot wait to read the MAGA defenses of this (and there will be many). They’ll display Soviet levels of sycophancy.”Attorney Andrew Weinstein, a former Obama and Biden appointee, noted that “$230 million could feed every homeless veteran in America for more than 3 years.”

Jesse Lee, a former Obama and Biden official, remarked, “What a g– crook.”

Marlow Stern, who teaches at the Columbia Journalism School and is a former Rolling Stone senior editor, asked, “now he’s extorting… the u.s. justice department?”

Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman quoted the Trump White House Press Secretary: “’I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit,’ Karoline Leavitt said in May. ‘He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service.'”

Political historian Brian Rosenwald commented, “Like come the f– on, this is the most blatant corruption in American history. He’s just stealing from us the taxpayers.”

Derek Martin, founder and president of Pathfinder Research, wrote: “Trump is demanding taxpayers write him a check for $230 million while Republicans tell us they can’t afford to help ordinary Americans pay for health insurance. Cartoonishly evil.”

Jeff Hauser, who writes the Revolving Door Project on Substack, observed: “The dude is desecrating the White House and extorting the Treasury during a shutdown [after] several million Americans protested him. It’s kind of now or never for an opposition party to be provocative in attacking corruption. Trump is too busy enriching himself to govern.”

Media Matters’ Matthew Gertz wrote: “The president of the United States is attempting a smash-and-grab on the U.S. Treasury, and the people with the ability to say no are his former personal lawyers, this is insane.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Mike Johnson

Angry Over Shutdown, Speaker Slanders Democrats As 'Antifa' And 'Pro-Hamas'

Facing growing backlash from Democrats and even lawmakers from his own party — as well as GOP voters — for sending the House into recess during the shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson is turning his anger toward Democrats and the broader left.

As Politico reports, Johnson is “dead set on keeping the House out of session as long as it takes to pressure Senate Democrats” on the shutdown, to pass the House’s continuing resolution to fund the government.

The Speaker suggested tensions are so high in the halls of Congress right now that he thinks Democrats need to be “physically separated” from Republicans.

“Emotions are high. People are upset — I’m upset,” Johnson said on Thursday. “Is it better for them, probably, to be physically separated right now? Yeah, it probably is, frankly.”

Johnson, who was set to host a now-postponed private Palm Beach, Florida “retreat” and fundraiser this weekend, went even further on Friday morning.

“We’re so angry about it,” he told Fox News. “I mean, I’m a very patient guy, but I have had it with these people,” the Speaker said, emphatically, of Democrats. “They’re playing games with real people’s lives.”

“The theory we have right now — they have a hate-America rally that’s scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It’s the pro-Hamas wing and Antifa people, they’re all coming out. Some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event. ”

“And it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to re-open the government until after that rally, ’cause they can’t face their rabid base,” Johnson said, adding that he is “beyond words.”

Johnson appeared to be referring to the “No Kings” rally, a protest against authoritarianism, which is not only being held in Washington, D.C. on October 18, but nationwide.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Stark Raving Mad': Trump's UN Speech Did Not Go Well

'Stark Raving Mad': Trump's UN Speech Did Not Go Well

Shortly after concluding his widely panned 57-minute speech to the United Nations, President Donald Trump declared it was "very well received," but members of the foreign diplomatic corps and others appeared to disagree.

Calling his address to the UN "meandering," The New York Times wrote: "Boasting about his record and assailing the U.N. as ineffective in a nearly hourlong address, he sought to portray himself as the only leader who could solve the world’s problems."

The headline at Axios tells the tale: "Trump's middle finger to the UN: 'Your countries are going to hell'."

"With a few exceptions, Trump garnered very little applause from the leaders and diplomats in the room," the news outlet reported.

Indeed, some diplomats reportedly were angered by the American President's remarks.

Washington Post global affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor reported: "A senior foreign diplomat posted at the UN texts me: 'This man is stark, raving mad. Do Americans not see how embarrassing this is?'"

Former U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis Moreno, responded, writing: "I speak to a lot of foreign diplomats, journalists, officials and just plain folks. They are simply astounded and speechless on how one man has turned us into a punchline. A very dangerous and reckless one. Americans need to wake up."

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and professor of political science Michael McFaul remarked: "Trumps UN speech will appeal to his MAGA base, but no one else. Missed opportunity."

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, observed: "Trump just embarrassed our country in front of the entire world at the UN. We heard America in Retreat. For all our partners who still believe in the rule of law, freedom, human rights, and democracy, we need you to step up and lead. It will demand all our collective action."

The Atlantic's Tom Nichols, a retired U.S. Naval War College professor and Russia expert, added: "I would say that it's a dangerous thing to show the world that the American president is clearly suffering from some kind of disordered emotional issue, but by this point, there's not a country on the planet that didn't already know it."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Judge Blasts Troop Deployment As Trump Rants About 'Murder Capital'  Chicago

Judge Blasts Troop Deployment As Trump Rants About 'Murder Capital'  Chicago

President Donald Trump escalated efforts to broaden his “emergency” crime takeover of Washington, D.C. by threatening to send federal troops to Chicago, falsely branding the city the “Murder Capital of the World” in a Tuesday morning tirade. The remarks came just before a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of federal troops to Los Angeles was illegal and violated the Posse Comitatus Act, by effectively turning the military into a “national police force with the president as its chief.”

Decrying that eight people were killed in Chicago over the weekend, Trump falsely claimed, “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far.”

He insisted that Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker “needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, and soon.”

The president followed up those remarks by falsely declaring, in all-caps, “Chicago is the murder capital of the world!”

Other cities in the U.S. have a higher murder rate than Chicago’s 24 per 100,000 people, including Memphis, St. Louis, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Birmingham, and Philadelphia. Worldwide, currently, Colima, Mexico has been dubbed the “murder capital of the world,” with a rate nearly eight times higher than Chicago’s.

Just after Trump’s apparent bid to pave the way for a possible D.C.-style deployment into Chicago, a federal judge blasted the President.

“A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law by using the US military to help carry out law enforcement activities in and around Los Angeles this summer,” CNN reported. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer “concluded that Trump’s use of thousands of federalized California National Guard members and US Marines to provide protection to federal agents during an aggressive immigration crackdown in the Los Angeles area ran afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th Century law that generally prohibits the use of troops for domestic law enforcement purposes.”

Politico’s Kyle Cheney, one of the first to report on Judge Breyer’s ruling, wrote that “Trump billed his deployment of troops to Los Angeles, starting in early June, as a way of bolstering immigration enforcement efforts amid protests in the city against the president’s deportation agenda. Though Trump has now withdrawn all but 300 of those troops, he is mulling sending troops to other major cities, such as Chicago.”

Responding to the Judge’s ruling, Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov noted, “Get ready for this to happen when Trump deploys the Guard to Chicago.”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere observed, “this is a court win for Newsom that could have a wider effect as Trump looks at more National Guard deployments.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'I Know A Lot About Grass': Trump Meanders In Bizarre Kennedy Center Remarks

'I Know A Lot About Grass': Trump Meanders In Bizarre Kennedy Center Remarks

President Donald Trump wandered through a litany of grievances and a long list of concerns during his announcement of the Kennedy Center honorees at the iconic Washington, D.C., venue on Wednesday.

During his lengthy remarks, Trump falsely claimed once again that he won the “rigged” 2020 election that he actually lost, he spoke about renovations to the White House and the Kennedy Center, he gave a lesson about the importance of grass, he praised U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for newly-released favorable poll numbers, he repeatedly attacked Democrats, talked about purchasing new seats rather than refurbishing the ones at the Kennedy Center, claimed trillions of dollars in tariffs are coming in from foreign countries all over the world, acknowledged accusations of being a “dictator” after taking over Washington, D.C.’s police force, claimed D.C.’s crime statistics are fraudulent, and warned that he may do the same to top Democratic cities across the nation that he did to the nation’s capital city — all before taking questions from reporters.

As he took questions, the President continued to veer off topic. He told reporters that Congressional Democrats are led by “insane” and “crazy” people, he called the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York a “communist,” he claimed that there are no taxes on Social Security payments, he complained about “potholes” in D.C.’s roads, called for a “very talented asphalt-type person” to repave the roads, and brushed off news Russia had hacked into U.S. federal court computer systems.

Trump continued talking to reporters, saying that he turned down “a couple of wokesters” who were nominated, talked about viewership for his Apprentice TV series, claimed he “finished” building the wall at the Southern border during his first term, complained about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s building renovations, talked about his nicknames for Powell — “Too Late” and for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — “Pocahontas,” U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) — “Shifty Schiff,” and Hillary Clinton — “Crooked Hillary.”

Some excerpts:

“The bones are so good,” Trump said of the Kennedy Center. “The bones of a building, you don’t have good bones, you might as well forget it. I’m working in another building, a thing, called the White House. We’re fixing it up so beautifully. It needed it.”

He also said, “we’re going to also fix up a place called Washington, D.C. We’re going to make it so beautiful again, we’re going to be redoing the parks, redoing the grass. You know, grass isn’t a lifetime like people have a lifetime, and a lifetime of this grass is long been gone when you look at the parks where the grass is all tired, exhausted, we’re going to redo the grass with the finest grasses. I know a lot about grass because I own a lot of golf courses, and if you don’t have good grass, you’re not in business very long.”

“Lindsey Graham. By the way, you have very good poll numbers. Lindsey, I just saw congratulations.”

“We ended the woke political programming, and we’re restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world.”

Trump also said, “we secured the critical funding necessary to rebuild the building and we’re gonna get all brand new, highest level seats magnificent seats, and it’s gonna be all new. We could have taken the existing ones and do it a little paint job, a little fabric, but it’s not the same thing. So we’ll be taking out next season, all of the seats will be taken out.”

“If we say, ‘We want to stop crime in this country, or, as an example, bail, we want to make it so that people if they murder somebody, they’re in jail, they don’t get out on no bail,” Democrats “say, ‘We don’t want that. We want people to murder somebody, and they immediately are released, and they go out and murder somebody else.”

Crime in Washington, D.C. “is the worst that’s ever been, but it started as of about yesterday. It started, you see a big change, and people are feeling safe already. I’ve had so many calls. ‘Thank you, sir, thank you.’ They were afraid to walk out. They’re not afraid anymore.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

- YouTube www.youtube.com


Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Reckless Gabbard Published CIA's Most Closely Guarded Secrets

Reckless Gabbard Published CIA's Most Closely Guarded Secrets

The minimally redacted classified report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released late last month contains information so sensitive that it could allow America’s enemies to detect top-secret spying techniques and human sources, and could result in America’s allies reconsidering the trust they place in the U.S. Intelligence Community, one top Democrat is warning.

The CIA and other intelligence agencies opposed the release of the 46-page report, according to The Washington Post, but Director Gabbard released it “with the blessing of President Donald Trump.”

“The document contains multiple references to CIA human sources reporting on Putin’s plans. Such sources are among the agency’s most closely guarded secrets,” the Post reported.

“Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Attorney General Pam Bondi have released a slew of intelligence and law enforcement reports over the last month that they claim — without evidence — prove that spy agencies’ finding that Moscow intervened in the 2016 presidential contest to help Trump is a ‘hoax’ concocted by the Obama administration,” according to the Post.

Indeed, the report Gabbard released, stemming from a 2017 Republican majority House Intelligence Committee review, disputes U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump in 2016, over Democrat Hillary Clinton, and made efforts to help him get elected.

A Republican majority U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report confirmed that Russian President Putin endeavored to help get now-President Donald Trump elected in 2016:

“The Committee found that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian effort to hack computer networks and accounts affiliated with the Democratic Party and leak information damaging to Hillary Clinton and her campaign for president. Moscow’s intent was to harm the Clinton Campaign, tarnish an expected Clinton presidential administration, help the Trump Campaign after Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the U.S. democratic process.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blasted Gabbard’s release of the 46-page House report.

“The desperate and irresponsible release of the partisan House Intelligence report puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods our Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia and keep Americans safe,” Senator Warner said in a statement, according to the Post. “And in doing so, Director Gabbard is sending a chilling message to our allies and assets around the world: the United States can no longer be trusted to protect the intelligence you share with us.”

Separately, on Tuesday, Sen. Warner wrote on social media, “Tulsi Gabbard is a threat to our national security and should be fired.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Kristi Noem

Leaked DHS Memo: Trump Officials Plan Domestic 'Forever War' On Migrants

A leaked Department of Homeland Security memo reveals a plan to dramatically increase the use of the U.S. armed forces on American streets in domestic law enforcement roles, especially in immigration, for “years.”

The memo “provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in these domestic operations, and it has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation,” The New Republic reported.

“The memo is alarming, because it speaks to the intent to use the military within the United States at a level not seen since Japanese internment,” Carrie Lee, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told TNR’s Greg Sargent. “The military is the most powerful, coercive tool our country has. We don’t want the military doing law enforcement. It absolutely undermines the rule of law.”

TNR reports that the “administration seems to be supercharging immigration ‘invasion’ agitprop to manufacture a sense of national trauma similar to the one that arose after the September 11 attacks. That led to another type of ‘war on terror’ hyper-militarization at home (as well as abroad). The administration seems determined to outdo that—this time against the new internal enemy.”

Joseph Nunn, counsel for the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center told Sargent, “Normalizing routine military support to law enforcement could create a kind of domestic ‘forever war,’ but one that is uniquely dangerous.”

The memo was written by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s brother, Philip Hegseth, who works for the Department of Homeland Security as a liaison officer to the Pentagon, as well as a senior advisor to Secretary Kristi Noem.

Philip Hegseth’s memo included an itinerary, and attendees for a July 21 meeting, “including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several of his top advisers, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, and NORTHCOM Commander Gregory Guillot. Staff include Phil Hegseth and acting ICE Commissioner Todd Lyons.”

The Daily Beast, reporting on the Hegseth memo, called it a “secret plan for years of troops on U.S. streets.”

Prominent attorney George Conway commented on Sargent’s reporting on social media, writing: “And here we go.” He said the plan seems to be “to turn the nation into a military police state. They’re telling each other to be careful what they write down, but they’ve already written down too much.”

“The point of calling illegal immigration an ‘invasion’ is to justify using the military domestically,” noted Cato Institute vice president Alex Nowrasteh.

“Things are going from bad to worse at terrifying speed,” wrote Matt Bennett, co-founder of the moderate think tank Third Way, calling the report “very alarming,”

“Fake the invasion to seize unprecedented power,” added the Cato Institute’s David J. Bier.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Raging Musk Now Threatens Members Of Congress Who Support Trump Budget

Raging Musk Now Threatens Members Of Congress Who Support Trump Budget

Billionaire Elon Musk is threatening to target members of Congress for defeat if they support President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after campaigning on promises to cut government spending. Although Musk did not specifically name a party, no Democrat is expected to back the budget measure.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” Musk wrote late Monday afternoon, as the Senate began voting on the legislation. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Musk’s threat comes after his numerous attacks on the bill—which is critical to Trump’s agenda—based largely on its massive increases to the federal debt.

“It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” Musk declared one hour earlier. “Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”

New York magazine’s Intelligencer reported on Monday that Musk is “not done” fighting Trump.

“How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a DEBT SLAVERY bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history?” Musk also wrote, lashing out at the far-right caucus, and mentioning two Members by name: Reps. Andy Harris of Maryland, the group’s chairman, and Chip Roy of Texas.

On Saturday, Musk had warned, “The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

“Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,” he also warned.

New York noted that “Trump, presumably, isn’t thrilled about Musk’s last-minute attempt to sink his signature legislative package. But so far he’s refrained from hitting back.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

'Nothing Is Sacred': Trump Vandalizes White House Rose Garden

'Nothing Is Sacred': Trump Vandalizes White House Rose Garden

First Lady Melania Trump’s renovation of Jackie Kennedy’s iconic Rose Garden during Donald Trump’s first term drew widespread criticism. Now, President Trump is renovating that space once again—this time transforming it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio—sparking a fresh wave of backlash from critics.

President Trump defended what Newsweek described as “bulldozing” part of the Rose Garden, saying the change was intended to make the space more accessible for women wearing high heels, according to The Daily Beast. The renovations also involve removing several trees, including a saucer magnolia reportedly planted to honor President John F. Kennedy.

“It’s supposed to have events,” Trump said of the Rose Garden. “Every event you have it’s soaking wet,” he complained.

“The women with the high heels, it’s just too much… the grass, it doesn’t work. We use it for press conferences. It doesn’t work.”

The White House has done little to inform the American people about the construction, leaving critics to ask questions including who is paying for the construction, and is there a federal agency or commission that approves changes to the White House, given its centuries-long history.

“The White House is a national symbol and not the personal property of any president. Permanent changes should be reviewed by preservation experts and consider public sentiment, not be made unilaterally for vanity or political messaging,” wrote Molly Ploofkins, a social media user whose bio says she is a retired Army medic.

“We’ve got money to bulldoze the White House Rose Garden and turn it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio, but we can’t pay for cancer research for kids or make sure veterans aren’t living off food stamps,” remarked Democratic strategist and former Harris senior advisor Mike Nellis.

“I love how people keep pointing out that private donations paid for it—not the government. I don’t give a s—,” Nellis added later. “The issue is this administration’s priorities. Trump thinks it’s fine to bulldoze the Rose Garden to build a patio so he can relax outside, while doing nothing to improve your life. That’s the criticism. He’s enriching himself, screwing everyone else, and not lifting a g------ finger to help you. That’s the problem.”

Journalist Jane Coaston remarked, “I am increasingly of the view that Trump wants to ‘be president’ so he can watch musicals and manage the rose garden and he just lets other people be co-president for periods of time so he has more time for musicals and rose garden management.”

“RIP to the White House Rose Garden,” observed former Obama White House photographer Pete Souza. “Today the Rose Garden is being ripped apart as construction begins to pave over the entire grass area. A sad, and unnecessary, day for what used to be the People’s House.”

“The White House rose garden was established in 1913,” noted WAMU’s Esther Ciammachilli, before lamenting, “Trump has just paved paradise and put up a parking lot. This is not his house. It belongs to the American people. He is just a tenant. Nothing is sacred anymore.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

'Changes Are Coming!': Trump Abruptly Admits Farms Rely On Migrant Workers

'Changes Are Coming!': Trump Abruptly Admits Farms Rely On Migrant Workers

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Thursday that his aggressive and controversial immigration policies are stripping undocumented immigrants from the farming and agriculture workforce. Now, he declares, “Changes are coming!”

Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, reportedly at the direction of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have been specifically targeting farms to detain and deport undocumented workers.

“The border is no longer the focus,” Reason maazine reported Wednesday. “Now, the administration seemingly believes that the [immigration] crisis extends to nail salons, hardware stores, farms, and restaurants across the country, where undocumented immigrants who are peacefully exchanging labor for dollars are being targeted.”

The Trump administration “is ramping up immigration raids across the country, and farm workers are no longer being spared. Almost half of the more than 850,000 crop workers in the US are undocumented, the Department of Agriculture estimates,” according to Bloomberg News.

One raid at an Omaha, Nebraska, meat plant reportedly netted 70 detentions this week, and now the facility is operating with just one-third of its staff, Bloomberg reported.

President Trump may be hearing some of the many stories.

In a cryptic message on Thursday, he wrote: “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

He did not provide any details.

Critics mocked Trump.

“The president of the United States is seemingly unaware that his administration recently ordered ICE to round up and deport immigrants who haven’t committed crimes … like those who work in tourism and agriculture,” observed MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies.

“Breaking News,” snarked Spencer Hakimian, a hedge fund chief investment officer. “The guy that spent the first 70 years of his life in construction, hospitality, and entertainment, accidentally finds out that our entire labor force runs off of illegal immigration. Oops!”

“Turns out,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “chasing hard working people through ranches and farms and snatching women and children off the streets is not good policy.”

But The New Republic’s Greg Sargent took a wider view.

“Trump just admitted that his mass deportations are bad for farmers and the economy, and crucially, also admitted that workers who are getting deported are ‘almost impossible to replace.’ That’s a massive repudiation of MAGA ideology,” Sargent wrote.

“It’s an enormous admission, both that his deportation policies are terrible *and* that he knows they’re awful politics for him,” he added.

“Every prominent Democrat in the country should jump on this immediately,” Sargent urged. “Enough b——- cowering on this issue. Get on this! Trump just handed you a massive weapon. Use it!”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Rambling Incoherently On War, Trump Threatens Protesters With 'Very Big Force'

Rambling Incoherently On War, Trump Threatens Protesters With 'Very Big Force'

President Donald Trump made a series of inaccurate claims in his remarks on Tuesday, conflating World War I and World War II, incorrectly suggesting he spoke with the governor of California on Monday when it was just after midnight Saturday morning, and asserting—contrary to the First Amendment—that protests, even peaceful ones, can be shut down with “heavy force.”

During remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked when he last spoke with California Governor Gavin Newsom. “

A day ago,” he said Tuesday afternoon, which was three and a half days after the governor confirmed his phone call. Trump also confirmed the call by sending a screenshot to a Fox News reporter. The screenshot read June 7, 1:23 AM.

“Recently, other countries celebrated the victory of World War I, France was celebrating, really,” Trump told troops at Fort Bragg on Tuesday afternoon. “They were all celebrating. The only one that doesn’t celebrate is the USA and we’re the ones that won the war. Without us, you’d all be speaking German right now. Maybe a little Japanese thrown in. But we won the war.”

The United States was part of a coalition during both WWI and WWII. Trump was speaking about WWI, but then claimed, “Without us, you’d all be speaking German right now. Maybe a little Japanese.”

That’s a reference to World War II—Japan was on the side of the Allies, with the U.S., in WWI.

Also on Tuesday, Trump declared that anyone caught protesting his controversial military parade on Saturday will be met with “very heavy force,” despite the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly protecting political protests.

“We won the war, and we’re the only country that didn’t celebrate it, and we’re going to be celebrating big on Saturday,” Trump claimed. Veterans Day was initially created as Armistice Day to honor those who died in World War I.

“And if there’s any protestor that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force. By the way, for those people that want to protest, they’re gonna be met with very big force. And I haven’t even heard about a protest, but, you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”

The First Amendment protects both political speech and the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Trump did not state “violent protestors,” or “rioters.” He said “any protestor.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

Senators Roast Trump's FDA Chief Over Fired Scientists

The Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary, came under strong criticism for his inconsistent remarks before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee after the accuracy of his claims related to terminated scientists and others was called into question by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

"You were asked on April 17th whether any of the personnel reductions had included personnel responsible for food safety or infant formula safety," Ossoff told Makary. "You said, quote, 'There were no cuts to scientists or reviewers or inspectors—absolutely none'. You were asked on April 23rd on CNN, and said, quote, 'Again, there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors'."

"But then just two days later, an HHS spokesperson confirmed that in fact, scientists had been fired, and that you were scrambling to rehire them," Ossoff continued. "Did you, in fact, say on April 23d, there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors? Just before we get into the details, is that an accurate quote?"

"No scientific reviewer was cut as part of the reduction in force," replied Makary.

"You said there were no cuts to scientists or inspectors. Didn't you say that?" Ossoff pressed.

"My understanding," Makary replied, "was that there were no cuts to the scientific staff, but specifically the scientific reviewers is what I was referring to."

"But you said there were," Ossoff responded.

A similar back and forth continued for several minutes, then Ossoff asked, "Had, in fact, scientists who study outbreaks of food related illnesses and the safety of infant formula been fired?"

"The reason it's not accurate, Senator, is that people were not fired, they were scheduled for the reduction in force, and when that was before I got there. When I got there, we did an assessment, and so some of those individuals out of the 19,000 were restored," Makary replied.

"Have all scientists responsible for food safety and infant formula safety, been rehired or reinstated?" Ossoff asked.

"Look, we have not reduced in force the scientific review staff. I know where you're going with this," Makary replied.

"You said there were no cuts to scientists, and then the HHS spokesperson said, actually, there were cuts to scientists, and now we're trying to rehire them. I mean, so it gives the impression you're not sure about the personnel actions ongoing in your own agency," said Ossoff.

After more back-and-forth, Ossoff wrapped it up: "You were very specific. You said there were no cuts to scientists. And then five days later, there were cuts to scientists. Those are your direct quotes. There were no cuts to scientists, but there were cuts to scientists."

Again, more back-and-forth and then Makary appeared to grow frustrated.

"I mean, this is the problem in government. Somebody has a fancy sounding name like, 'Infant Formula Safety,' and no one can ever touch them, even if they're not doing their job."

During his testimony, Makary also declared to another Senator, "By the way, America doesn't want COVID boosters."

And a third chastised him, saying: "You're prepared for a question that I didn't ask ... I'm asking you what are you doing about bird flu! Just answer that. Please. Don't give me a runaround about other stuff."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.