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As Los Angeles Burns, Trump and Musk Play Politics

As Los Angeles Burns, Trump and Musk Play Politics

While Democrats are focused on safety and federal assistance, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are unsurprisingly making the fires rampaging Los Angeles all about political squabbling.

In an unhinged post on Truth Social, Trump blames California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the fires rapidly spreading across the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Pasadena, and Sylmar.

“Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way. He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is the blame for this. On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

Musk also posted on X, saying that the fires “are easily avoidable, but nonsense regulations in California prevent action being taken, so year after year homes burn down and more people die.”

This was in response to reports of fire hydrants in the Palisades drying up due to what officials blame on “tremendous demand.”

Newsom said he was too busy overseeing firefighting and rescue efforts to engage with Trump, but his press office declared that his posts were pure "fiction."


While Democrats are focused on safety and federal assistance, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are unsurprisingly making the fires rampaging Los Angeles all ...

Trump has often abused his power during natural disasters by withholding federal aid to score political points. During his first term, Trump refused to provide California wildfire aid until he was told how many people in the state voted for him, an ex-aide told Politico. He did the same thing to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, ignoring the Democrat's request for $37 million in federal assistance to contain the wildfires in September 2020.

The three raging fires have consumed more than 5,000 acres, have zero percent containment, and are spreading at unprecedented levels due to winds of up to 100 mph. So far, 85,000 residents have been impacted and five people were killed, and that number is expected to rise.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, a California native, announced that they have been briefed on the fires and that FEMA has already approved assistance.

“My team and I are in touch with state and local officials, and I have offered any federal assistance that is needed to help suppress the terrible Pacific Palisades fire,” Biden said in a White House statement. “Earlier tonight, FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant to support areas that are impacted and help reimburse the state of California for the immediate firefighting costs. My Administration will do everything it can to support the response. I urge the residents of the Pacific Palisades and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles to stay vigilant and listen to local officials.”

Harris added, “Doug and I are praying for our fellow Californians who have evacuated, and we are thinking of the families whose homes, businesses, and schools remain in harm’s way,” said Harris. “As a proud daughter of California, I know the damage that wildfires have on our neighbors and communities. I also know that the impact is often felt long after the fire is contained. As we respond and as Californians recover, I will ensure that our administration is in constant contact with state and local officials.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed his support and condolences for “everyone in the path of the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles County.”

“We are grateful to the firefighters and first responders who are putting themselves in danger while working to save lives and communities under extremely difficult conditions … May God watch over Los Angeles and everyone in harm’s way,” he wrote in a statement shared on X.

Meanwhile, Republicans have refused to take any meaningful action to mitigate fires, like addressing climate change. In fact, many of them are outright climate change deniers.

How could anyone deny this?

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

Chris Murphy

Progressive Democrats Say 'Big-Tent Populism' Will Renew Party

In a political era defined by economic disparity and class anger, Democrats are reckoning with the political ideas that Donald Trump hitched his ride to and landed him successfully in front of the White House.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is calling for a break from the economic neoliberalism of the past. He joins a growing list of progressives who argue that Democrats must prioritize the needs of working-class Americans to stay relevant in today’s political climate of staggering economic inequality.

Do Murphy’s comments signal a growing divide in the party or does he represent a fresh voice on more significant, bolder steps than the party ever considered before?

Murphy recently sparked attention after making a bold proposal on MSNBC: He suggested breaking up concentrated monopolies, raising the minimum wage, and placing greater emphasis on issues that resonate with the working class.

His comments took aim at the billionaire class and the economic institutions propped up by neoliberalism. He suggested a series of institutional reforms—including health care price caps—and critiqued his own party for failing to fully embrace these populist positions. Murphy argued that the way forward for Democrats lies in what he calls “big-tent populism.”

“Attacking power is not easy for everybody in the Democratic party because we have become a party that is dependent on high-income elites,” said Murphy to anchor Katy Tur.

He also highlighted what he sees as a false choice between unfettered market capitalism and socialism, proposing a middle ground: “common-good capitalism.” This vision, according to Murphy, would ensure that economic rules value workers just as much as shareholders and that certain sectors—such as health care—should not be commoditized for profit. “I think that’s the winning argument for Democrats,” Murphy concluded.

He isn’t the only one embracing a populist, working-class Democratic agenda.

The newly appointed chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, echoed similar sentiments in an interview with NBC News. Casar reminded Democrats that they must focus on returning to their roots as the party of the working class “without throwing vulnerable people under the bus.”

Casar said he believes the average voter stands to the left of the Democratic Party on economic issues but admitted that social issues could be a losing issue due to American voters being more “culturally conservative” than his party.

"The members of the Progressive Caucus know how to fight billionaires, grifters, and Republican frauds in Congress," Casar said at a recent press conference. "Our caucus will make sure the Democratic Party stands up to corporate interests for working people."

According to Gallup data, the number of Americans who see economic issues as the most important issue facing the country has been steadily rising since 2020. Meanwhile, the middle class is steadily decreasing.

After President Joe Biden was elected, Republicans pounced on the opportunity to cite the administration’s failures amidst persistent inflation and unlivable wages—although they’ve long been a party that has legislated against raising the minimum wage. At the same time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out how “global headwinds because of the COVID-19 pandemic” led to disruptions in supply chains—a phenomenon not only within the U.S. but the sharpest downward economic trend in the global economy since the Great Depression.

At its core, populism claims the system is rigged against the average, working-class citizen in favor of wealthy “elites.” Defining features of populism are a disdain for the ruling class and a focus on the working class, critiques of government and corporate institutions, nationalism and identity politics, and perhaps, most importantly, an overall sense of economic discontent.

Democrats like Murphy are right to assume Americans feel economic discontent. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, wealth inequality has steadily increased for those at the top, with the wealthiest 5% of Americans owning a staggering two-thirds of the wealth distribution. Meanwhile, wages have remained stagnant, and home ownership is unattainable.

While Democrats were still heeding the twilight of Obama-era neoliberalism, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, were ahead of their time, calling for the party’s focus on an economic agenda that prioritized Medicare for All, livable wages, and breaking up Big Oil, Big Banks, and other monopolies.

Only a month ago, in the days after the Democrats' defeat to MAGA, Warren reminded the party in her TIME op-ed to act urgently to address wealth inequality and a dysfunctional system stacked to benefit the rich if they want to get back in the game.

“Good economic policies do not erase painful underlying truths about our country,” she, a long-time populist, wrote. “For my entire career, I’ve studied how the system is rigged against working-class families. On paper, the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world. But working families are struggling with big expenses like the cost of housing, health care, and childcare.”

According to a New York Times report, some voters who can reasonably be deduced as populists are those upset about the “status quo " who went from voting for Sanders to electing Donald Trump.

However, party leaders like outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, who is Black, believe it’s not wise to veer away from “identity politics,” which draws much of the party's voting bloc from African American or LGBTQ+ voters. He recently rebuffed criticism that the party had become too reliant on “identity politics” or had gone “too woke” instead of focusing on kitchen-table economic issues.

“When I look in the mirror when I step out the door, I can’t rub this off,” he said, pointing to his face. “This is who I am. This is how the world perceives me. “That is my identity,” he said. “And it is not politics. It is my life.”

However, other party leaders, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, said in his postmortem press conference after Election Day that Democrats must focus on the “economic challenges” facing Americans.

“Far too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck,” said Jeffries. “And we’re prepared to work with the incoming administration to decisively deal with that issue.”

During that time, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used her Instagram platform to reach out to her 8 million followers. She asked them if they backed her during her election and then also voted for Trump in November to explain why. The majority of responses were about the economy. On Nov. 11, Ocasio-Cortez’s Communications Director Sidney D. Johnson, posted some of the answers on X.

"You are focused on the real issues people care about. Similar to Trump populism in some ways,” one responder said.

“It’s really simple … Trump and you care about the working class,” another user wrote.

Democrats like Murphy, Casar, and Ocasio-Cortez are beginning to align more closely with the economic populism that has long been associated with Sanders and Warren. They are increasingly pushing the Democratic Party to tackle wealth inequality, challenge corporate power, and, as Murphy put it, move toward a “common-good capitalism” that values workers as much as shareholders.

As the hindsight conversation about where the Democratic party steers itself evolves, the demand for a political system that works for all Americans—not just the wealthy—will continue to drive political fervor among its constituents. The question is, will Democrats seize on it or not?

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Gavin Newsom

As Trump's Health Quacks Flock To Washington, Newsom Acts To Stop Bird Flu

The Centers for Disease Control reported the first person hospitalized with a severe illness linked to the H5N1 bird flu in the United States, according to a Wednesday press release. The patient, who is reportedly in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms, is being treated in Louisiana.

“It has been determined that the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks,” said the CDC. “This is the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. that has been linked to exposure to a backyard flock … No person-to-person spread of H5 bird flu has been detected.”

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., anti-vaccine advocate and raw milk connoisseur Robert F Kennedy, Jr. met with Capitol Hill lawmakers starting Monday as part of his bid to become Health and Human Services secretary. President-elect Donald Trump, who promoted the disproven link between autism and vaccines at a Monday press conference, also nominated TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—even though Oz notoriously pushed debunked “health” products like weight loss supplements to make a quick buck on his talk show.

“While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures,” the CDC press release said. Aside from widespread outbreaks among wild birds worldwide, the spread of the virus is so far limited to outbreaks among cattle and in poultry farms.

On the West Coast, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California on Wednesday in the face of an uncertain federal response to a potential bird flu outbreak. Those worries are not unfounded; a vengeful Trump and his goons tried to withhold FEMA aid to California during his first administration in 2018 and 2020.

Newsom acknowledged bird flu’s significant risks to public health and the state’s vital agricultural industry. This comes after 33 dairy herds were reported as sources of exposure in California, with many of the confirmed human bird flu cases linked to farm workers, particularly in the poultry and dairy industries.

To mitigate the risk, Newsom announced that California has launched a collaborative effort with local farms to reduce workers’ exposure to the virus.

“This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” Newsom said. “Building on California’s testing and monitoring system—the largest in the nation—we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agriculture industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information.”

Bird flu was first detected in the wild bird population in South Carolina in January 2022, followed by California a few months later. On March 25, 2024, an outbreak of bird flu among dairy cows was first reported in Texas and Kansas. According to CDC estimates, 61 human infections have been reported so far.

However, with federal leadership during Trump’s first administration widely criticized for its lack of preparedness and promotion of disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, state-level efforts may be the first—and most reliable—line of defense in the coming months.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Trump Touts Polio Shot, Then Falsely Links Vaccines To Autism

Trump Touts Polio Shot, Then Falsely Links Vaccines To Autism

During a Monday press conference, President-elect Donald Trump told reporters that despite concerns over Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his anti-vaccine pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, the polio vaccine is safe.

“You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine. That’s not going to happen,” Trump said. “I saw what happened with polio. I have friends that were very much affected by that. I have friends from many years ago, and .. they’re still in not such good shape because of it,” the 78-year-old added.

The topic was raised due to reports that Kennedy’s lawyer filed a petition for the Food and Drug Administration to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. The deadly viral disease has impacted 12 million people worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease control, and an estimated 300,000 Americans are still living with mild to severe symptoms including fatigue, muscle weakness, and pain.

Kennedy will be on Capitol Hill this week to meet with senators and shore up support for upcoming confirmation hearings for his proposed role in Trump’s Cabinet. According to The Wall Street Journal, the notorious vaccine skeptic plans to downplay the topic entirely despite his public, controversial, and debunked views on vaccines and their effects. Kennedy will reportedly also promote Trump’s views on abortion and “talk up healthy food preventing chronic disease.”

Trump did express his long-standing skepticism about vaccine mandates during Monday’s press conference and promoted the false claim of a link between vaccines and autism.

“I don’t like mandates. I’m not a big mandate person,” Trump said. “You take a look at autism today versus 20, 25 years ago, it’s like, not even believable. So we’re going to have reports.”

When Time magazine named Trump “Person of the Year” on December 12, the accompanying interview noted that he and Kennedy Jr. would have a “big discussion” about child vaccines, and he claimed that “the autism rate is at a level that nobody even believed possible.”

Scientific research has debunked any association between vaccines and autism numerous times over the years.

Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus, the supposed link between vaccines and autism remains a prominent point of contention for some crunchy to alt-right talking heads, with Trump and Kennedy among the most high-profile proponents of the debunked theory. Trump’s newest comments are likely to fuel the debate further, especially as vaccine hesitancy continues to rise.

This could have lasting implications on future public health policy, especially in the context of emerging diseases and the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Many Such Cases: Fox Host Barred From Holiday Dinner By Democratic Mom

Many Such Cases: Fox Host Barred From Holiday Dinner By Democratic Mom

Many Americans are making it clear that they’re cutting ties with family and friends who voted for President-elect Donald Trump—and don’t count them in for this year’s holiday gatherings either. In the days following Nov. 5, videos on social media, especially TikTok, started flooding in, showing people either devastated, angry, or defiantly speaking out about feeling betrayed by family and friends.

“The family wants to know what I’m doing for the holidays,” TikTok user translovingmama shared. “I’m going to be here with my dogs and my daughter, who’s of childbearing age and now has to get an IUD at 17 years old. And I’m going to be here with my son, who is a political target. And that should really tell you all you need to know about why I’m not going to be hanging out with y’all for the holidays. So, fuck off.”

#happyholidays

@translovingmama

#happyholidays

As Thanksgiving approaches, many Americans are vowing to spend it away from their MAGA family members.

“The threat is real”

Finn, a 27-year-old trans person in Colorado, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said when his parents asked about his holiday plans he said he wouldn’t be going back to Texas.

Finn said his conversations with his Republican parents, both Trump supporters, have become increasingly strained since 2016. His father claimed he didn’t believe that Trump would actually harm trans people, even though Finn insisted that Trump would and has harmed his community since being elected president—remember the transgender ban, preventing them from serving in the military?

Now, Finn has not only distanced himself from his family, but in 2024, he’s questioning whether he wants a relationship with them at all.

“I just don’t feel like being around my family is something I can safely or comfortably do right now,” he said in an interview with Daily Kos. “The harm is real. The threat is real. With all the anti-trans legislation passed recently, and knowing how this election has emboldened people in Texas to be even more hateful toward the queer community, I don’t feel safe.”

He expressed deep grief over the growing distance between him and his family.

“I feel really angry and sad about how things have shifted,” he said. “The upcoming administration, the media on the far-right—it's all turned my family into people who vote for awful, shitty things. I can’t even recognize them anymore.”

The straw that broke the camel’s back

For Finn and many others, 2024 feels different. Trump being elected again, after years of watching his dangerous rise, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Back in 2016, there were still questions about what Trump actually meant or could do. But after years of destruction, including his Supreme Court picks, it’s clear: his intentions are much darker this time. “If you’re voting for him now, after everything that’s happened in the last eight years, you have to know what he’s capable of,” Finn added.

Navigating overwhelming emotions around Trump and how to come to terms with family and friends who support the MAGA movement is something that social worker and JustAnswer.com psychology expert Jennifer Kelman said she sees more frequently now among her patients.

“Some have ended friendships and are struggling with sitting down at a table to celebrate the holidays with those that are part of the MAGA movement or support the agenda. Sometimes these views and agenda feels like a personal attack, and they aren't able to remain in contact with family members that voted in a way that harms them,” Kelman said.

Those who voted for Trump have argued that “politics” shouldn’t come between friendships or family. But those who are choosing to cut ties aren’t buying it.

”The election transcends politics”

“This election transcends politics,” said psychotherapist Renee Zavislak, who specializes in trauma and hosts “Psycho Therapist: The Podcast.”

“The polarization is deeper this year, as the incoming administration presents a real and present danger to marginalized people. For those people who love a queer person, or an undocumented person, or a woman of childbearing age, tolerating MAGA means tolerating abuse and torture—and most of us don't like torture around the Christmas tree.”

TikTok user lazialeinez chimed in: “Now that the election’s over, are we supposed to just go back to being friends? So even if you voted for Trump, I’m still supposed to be your friend? Yeah, in your fucking dreams,” he said. “You voted for a racist. A man who mocks disabled people. A man who took away women’s rights and is taking away gay rights. So no, you’re not my friend.”

life goes on and I travel#italianinelmondo #linguaitaliana #fyp #italians #fy #arizona #myamericaisgreat #readytotravel #LifeIsGood #italianiinamerica #itravel

@lazialeinaz

life goes on and I travel#italianinelmondo #linguaitaliana #fyp #italians #fy #arizona #myamericaisgreat #readytotravel #LifeIsGood #italianiinamerica #itravel

Even Fox News host Jesse Watters shared his own family drama. “Apparently, there wasn’t enough room at my mom’s house for me this year,” he said on his show Jesse Watters Primetime after being disinvited from Thanksgiving by his Democratic mother.

Mayenakpan, another TikTok user, delivered a blunt message for those who may rely on their Democrat-voting relatives or friends for emotional stability.“Those of you who are so upset about people no longer being in your life over political differences, what you do know is happening is that your shock absorbers are leaving in droves,” said Mayenakpan in a post with the caption FAFO, which stands for “f-ck around and find out.”

“Your emotional regulators are saying, ‘You don’t have an invitation anymore.’ All that energy that you were siphoning from them, all that kindness, all that intimacy, all the solutions that they gave to you freely because they made space for you, that’s gone,” she said, erupting in laughter.

Save yourselves! We don’t GAF anymore! 😂 #fafo #fyp #election2024

@mayenakpan

Save yourselves! We don’t GAF anymore! 😂 #fafo #fyp #election2024

“I need space”

And she’s not alone. Take Andrea Tate, for instance. She wrote in an essay for HuffPost after her husband posted “God Bless America. God Bless #45, 47” on social media, she didn’t hold back. “I love you,” she texted, “but out of respect for me and all my liberal writer friends, can you please take that down? Also, tell your family I love them, but I won’t be coming to Thanksgiving, and I won’t be hosting Christmas. I need space.”

Tate’s response reflects what perhaps many Americans are feeling this holiday season: disillusionment. They’re coming to grips with those they once thought cared about their well-being, now swept up in the anti-democratic rhetoric, conspiracies, and draconian policies of Trump and his MAGA ilk.

“I will not give thanks and hold hands with people who voted for a party that wants to take rights away from LGBTQ people,” Tate wrote. “I won’t pass the turkey to someone who supports a party that targets disabled people or takes away reproductive rights. I won’t sit by the Christmas tree celebrating Jesus while so many are at risk of losing their lives because they can’t get the care they need. I won’t unwrap gifts from people who voted for a party that talked about internment camps and mass deportation.”

TikToker maamcrayons added, “They’re trying to gaslight you, telling you not to unfriend them just because they voted for Trump. It’s their own fear and trauma coming through. They’re too scared to stand up for what’s right, so they’re projecting that fear onto you.”

Weak people will tell you to accept others for their lack of courage to stand against the patriachy. Do not enable them. #gaslighting #politics #intuition

@maamcrayons

Weak people will tell you to accept others for their lack of courage to stand against the patriachy. Do not enable them. #gaslighting #politics #intuition

And for those still braving it with their MAGA relatives? Some users are turning the tension into humor. “What am I making for Thanksgiving?” TikTok user Erin Monroe asked. “I’ll be making a commotion, a mess, a scene … using my special recipe of sarcasm, dark humor, and a heaping scoop of female rage.”

#thanksgiving #recipeideas #makeascene #fyp

@erin.monroe_

#thanksgiving #recipeideas #makeascene #fyp

For many this holiday season, it’s not about who’s sitting around the dinner table—it’s about who won’t be there and why.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Directors of 'The Apprentice' Delighted As Trump Erupts In Fury

Directors of 'The Apprentice' Delighted As Trump Erupts In Fury

Former President Donald Trump railed against the new movie The Apprentice in a caps-locked tirade in a post on Truth Social, calling it “a politically disgusting hatchet job” that’s trying to hurt “the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country.”

He added, “My former wife, Ivana, was a kind and wonderful person, and I had a great relationship with her until the day she died. The writer of this pile of garbage, Gabe Sherman, a lowlife and talentless hack, who has long been widely discredited, knew that, but chose to ignore it. So sad that HUMAN SCUM, like the people involved in this hopefully unsuccessful enterprise, are allowed to say and do whatever they want in order to hurt a Political Movement, which is far bigger than any of us.”

Let’s just say it doesn’t seem like Trump is a fan.

The film’s director, Ali Abbasi, weighed in, extending a conversational olive branch to the Republican nominee. In a post on X, Abbasi said, “Thanks for getting back to us @realDonaldTrump. I am available to talk further if you want. Today is a tight day w a lot of press for #TheApprentice but i might be able to give you a call tomorrow.”

Then the film’s official account responded on X on Monday, “We couldn’t think of a better endorsement @RealDonaldTrump. #TheApprentice is Now Playing in Theaters nationwide!” Then, they posted a link to the film.

The official trailer, released in September, shows a mid-20s Trump as a protégé of big-time lawyer Roy Cohn in New York City in the early ’70s. The film chronicles his rise from slumlord to real estate mogul and his relationship with ex-wife, the late Ivana Trump.

Throughout the trailer, Trump takes pointers, learning “the rules” from his right-wing mentor—and Joseph McCarthy lapdog—as Cohn instructs Trump to “Attack, attack, attack.” Other popular Cohn mantras were to “Admit nothing, deny everything,” and to “Claim victory and never admit defeat.” It’s an ominous map to what we now know has become part of Trump’s political playbook.

The film stars Avengers actor Sebastian Stan as Trump, and Succession actor Jeremy Strong as Cohn.

Due to Trump’s litigious history, including a direct threat of a cease and desist letter, Hollywood studios veered away from making the movie. According to Salon, the producers could not get a distribution deal despite playing to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Briarcliff Entertainment and Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg, who worked on the award-winning journalistic film Spotlight, stepped in and made sure the film would see the light of day.

Now, Trump has raised another potential legal battle for The Apprentice: “Do they even have the right to use that name without approval?” he wrote. Is Trump suggesting he may pursue the film for copyright infringement?

The movie was released on October 11. They say you are the company you keep, and this film shows quite the relationship between Trump and Cohn, who has often been described as “evil.” With only three weeks left until Election Day, here’s hoping the movie makes it even more clear who America should vote to put back into the White House.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

As Helene Toll Rises, GOP Governor Rebuts Trump's Hurricane Of Lies

As Helene Toll Rises, GOP Governor Rebuts Trump's Hurricane Of Lies

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida last Thursday, battering states like North Carolina and Georgia, leaving many areas without power or water, and claiming the lives of more than 120 people. And in the face of this disaster, Donald Trump has chosen to play politics.

Posting on his Truth Social platform Monday, he levied evidence-free attacks against both President Joe Biden’s administration and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina. “[I] don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas. MAGA!” he wrote.

Reports by whom? Trump himself?

As the Associated Press reports, “Asheville, which was devastated by the storm, is solidly Democratic, as is much of Buncombe County, which surrounds it.”

But Trump didn’t stop there.

After Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement on X that she had spoken with Cooper and FEMA regarding search-and-rescue efforts, Trump posted a screenshot of the statement and replied in a manner reminiscent of a scorned teenager.

“Another FAKE and STAGED photo from someone who has no clue what she is doing,” Trump wrote, referring to an image of Harris working that accompanied her statement. “Biden and Harris … sacrificed Americans to an Open Border, and now, they have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.”

After Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement on X that she had spoken with Cooper and FEMA regarding search-and-rescue efforts, Trump posted a screenshot of the statement and replied in a manner reminiscent of a scorned teenager.

“Another FAKE and STAGED photo from someone who has no clue what she is doing,” Trump wrote, referring to an image of Harris working that accompanied her statement. “Biden and Harris … sacrificed Americans to an Open Border, and now, they have left Americans to drown in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and elsewhere in the South.”

He even trotted his false claims out in person, telling reporters in Valdosta, Georgia, that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was “having a hard time getting the president on the phone. I guess they’re not—they’re not being responsive.”

However, that differs significantly from Kemp’s version of events. During a press conference on Monday, Kemp said that he’d spoken to Biden on Sunday. And according to the Georgia governor, Biden asked him, “Hey, what do you need?”

“I told him we got what we need, we’ll work through the federal process,” Kemp told reporters. “He offered that if there‘s other things we need, just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.”

The Biden-Harris administration is putting their heads down, working with government agencies and state governors to save lives and clean up the devastation, as Trump goes on typical social media outbursts, drawing divisive lines in the sand. And it’s the American people who suffer.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Clay Higgins

Ultra-MAGA Rep. Higgins Deletes Racist Social Post Slurring Haitians

A Louisiana congressman’s post on X claiming that Haitian people participate in “eating pets,” practice “vudu,” and come from the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere” sparked widespread outrage on Wednesday.

“All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th,” Rep. Clay Higgins’ post concluded. (Note: These immigrants from Haiti are in the United States legally.)

Two hours later, the racist post was deleted from the Republican House member’s official account, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus were calling for Higgins to be censured.

Higgins’ diatribe was sparked by a Haitian community group in Springfield, Ohio, filing criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, after they repeatedly—and falsely—claimed Haitian immigrants were kidnapping and eating cats and dogs.

While the claims were quickly debunked by city officials, that hasn't stopped Trump and Vance from continuing to spread the lie—and it hasn’t kept MAGA supporters from believing it. Springfield residents have faced tangible consequences as a result of the racist political rhetoric, with bomb threats forcing local children to evacuate from their schools.

Higgins, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, decided to pile on with his latest despicable tirade. The former cop and car dealership manager has a history of antidemocratic, racist, and violent behavior.

In 2016, Higgins resigned as captain of the St. Landy Parish Sheriff’s office after a viral video showed him threatening a group of Black gang members and calling them “thugs,” “heathens,” and “animals,” according to The Washington Post.

In 2020, during protests in response to the police murder of George Floyd, Higgins made alarming threats against black protesters in Louisiana.

"I'd drop any 10 of you where you stand," Higgins wrote in a post that was also quickly deleted. "Nothing personal. We just eliminate the threat. We don't care what color you are. We don't care if you're left or right. If you show up like this, if we recognize threat...you won't walk away."

The Acadiana Advocate reported that Facebook removed the post because it violated the site’s “violence and incitement” policy.

During a 2021 interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Higgins asserted that fraud was committed during the 2020 election. When prompted by Sciutto to “cite one example” of his evidence, Higgins couldn’t muster any answers other than repeating, “We have preponderance of evidence.”

In 2023, on the day Trump was indicted for his handling of classified documents, Higgins posted some vaguely threatening instructions on the site then known as Twitter.

“This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors,” he wrote. “Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Higgins’ post was “vile, racist, and beneath the House of Representatives” in a post on X.

“The extreme MAGA Republicans in the House are unfit to govern,” Jeffries said.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Trump

New FBI Statistics Destroy Trump's Constant Hyping Of Violent Crime

If you follow GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s social media account or watch Fox News, you might believe that stepping out of your house means you’re plummeting into a dangerous, post-apocalyptic world.

You’re probably paranoid that strolling down any major city street could result in being mugged, beaten, or murdered by the usual scapegoats—immigrants. Because according to the right-wing’s favorite talking points, immigration and homicide are wreaking havoc on major American cities.

But here are the facts: Violent crime fell 3% in 2023, while murder and manslaughter dipped by 11.6%, according to new data from the FBI. And as for those big cities that, according to Trump and his surrogates, are in anarchic free fall? Crime rates there are down for the second consecutive year.

Urban areas have long been a target for Republican ire and right-wing media criticism. But the FBI statistics show that cities with more than 1 million residents saw the most significant dips in violent crime, with a 7% decrease from 2022 to 2023.

While the homicide rate surged by 30% during the COVID-19 pandemic, that number has since fallen and violent crime rates overall are now back down to pre-pandemic levels from 2019—when Trump was in office.

The former president has made railing against “out of control” crime in deeply blue cities a 2024 campaign talking point, consistently blaming Democrats and their “soft on crime” policies as well as police reform efforts. That did not stop 100 law enforcement leaders representing the nonpartisan group Police Leaders for Community Safety from endorsing Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for president on Monday.

These new statistics won’t stop Trump’s torrent of lies. In fact, as Daily Kos’ Oliver Willis reports, the more lies Trump tells, the further his supporters become entrenched in them. A new study from Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review revealed that if one of Trump’s claims is labeled as ‘disputed,” his voters are more inclined to believe it.

“With crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump,” he said to thousands at a New York rally Wednesday. “What the hell do you have to lose?”

Trump reiterated this lie at the September 10 debate against Harris.

“We have a new crime. It’s migrant crime and it’s happening at levels that nobody thought possible,” he said. When ABC host David Muir fact-checked Trump’s statement and clarified that violent crime is actually down, Trump pivoted to another false talking point, claiming the FBI’s data was faulty because it didn’t include the worst cities.

The latest FBI data includes Democratic-majority cities like Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, and Los Angeles, to name a few.

Congressional GOP leaders are happy to echo Trump’s deceitful rhetoric.

“Make no mistake—this uptick in violence is the direct result of the radical Democrats’ soft-on-crime politics and the defund the police movement,” GOP Rep. Pete Stauber of Minnesota said at a GOP press conference during National Police Week in May.

The latest FBI data may not change the minds of MAGA supporters, but that doesn't mean that falsehoods shouldn’t be called out and refuted. Facts matter—especially because some of us still want to live in a world of truth, not paranoia and xenophobia.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.