Trump's 2nd Term Hits a Wall Called Reality - The Friday AM Quickie 4/25/25
George Santos goes to court for sentencing today. He used what could be his final day of freedom to pitch his Cameo account. Respect that hustle! Whitney's back Monday, peace. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Trumpocalypse: Smug Prick Eric Launches 2028 'Rewrite the Rules' Merch as Dad's Approval Rating Tumbles
- 'Vladimir, STOP!': Trump's Truth Social Pleading Shows How Little Leverage He Has Over Putin "'You have no idea what pressure I’m putting on Russia,' Trump snapped at a reporter in the Oval Office. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia.'" Volodymr Zelenskyy begs to differ. via NBC News, Politico, the New York Times, and the Guardian.
- 'It's a Free-for-All' at the Pentagon as Pete Hegseth's Chief of Staff Quits, Leaving His Wife and Lawyer as Advisors It also emerged that the hapless Defense Secretary used an unsecure "dirty" internet connection in his office to bypass military security protocols (so he could share classified war plans with randos). via Politico, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press.
- Failing Trade War Creates Opening for Democrats in Iowa Meanwhile on TikTok, Chinese manufacturers are telling Americans to buy cheap knockoffs direct from the factory, reducing the impact of Trump's tariffs by cutting out the retail middlemen. via the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News, and the AP.
- Trump Puts the Kibosh on Advisors' Talk of a Tax on Millionaires to Outflank Democrats Republicans instead plan to stick to their principles and move ahead with major cuts to the Meals on Wheels program. via Politico and the New York Times.
- Court Papers Show ICE Goons Did Not Have a Warrant When They Arrested Mahmoud Khalil Michigan Squad Rep. Rashida Tlaib, meanwhile, protested the pending deportation of a constituent from Guatemala and her children, who were detained for nearly a week by Detroit customs agents after making a wrong turn into Canada, saying "the erosion of due process is a threat to all of us — no matter your name, no matter immigration status." via the Washington Post and the AP.
- Trump Blows Up UN Treaty on Oceans with Order Permitting Commercial Seabed Mining in US and International Waters "Trump's order comes after a lobbying campaign by a Canadian firm called the Metals Co., which said in March it plans to pursue a permit from the administration through a US subsidiary." via the Washington Post and the New York Times.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi Threatens Doctors Who Provide Gender-Affirming Care, Drugmakers Who Supply Hormones The Defense Department, meanwhile, will resume gender-affirming care for trans service members in response to a court ruling. via NBC News and Politico.
- Judicial Smackdown: Bevy of Court Rulings Against Trump Include Deportation Reversal By a Judge He Appointed Yesterday alone, federal judges blocked Trump's order instituting a national poll tax, his ban on civil rights programs in public schools, his denial of federal funds to sanctuary cities, his abduction of Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk – and, in a stinging decision by a judge Trump himself appointed, ordered the return of another Venezuelan man disappeared to El Salvador. via the AP.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Trump Orders DOJ to Investigate Democratic Fundraising Platforms Like ActBlue
The deranged felon who campaigned with unhinged rants about the "weaponization" of the Justice Department and promises of revenge has now, predictably, ordered his former personal lawyer, Attorney General Pam Bondi, to carry out a brazenly political criminal investigation of his Democratic Party opponents. A memo from Trump to Bondi yesterday specifically singled out ActBlue for "schemes to launder excessive and prohibited contributions," accusations the group calls "baseless" and "unlawful," per the Washington Post. Even so, Democrats fear the investigation could be used as a pretext to freeze party fundraising accounts, Politico reports.
The bad news comes as America's nominal opposition party is struggling to get its act together. Former CIA analyst turned Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin is calling on the party to abandon civil rights and social issues, stop talking about fighting "oligarchy," and wrap itself in the flag. Meanwhile, more liberal and leftist leaders including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten declared their support for young Democratic National Committee member David Hogg's effort to force more competitive primaries and, in contrast to Slotkin's advice, encourage candidates that offer a "real alternative to the Republican Party."
India and Pakistan on Brink of War After Kashmir Terror Attack
After a Tuesday attack by gunmen on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region that killed at least 26 people, India immediately blamed the Pakistani government, although it has yet to provide evidence. Pakistani officials counter, also without evidence, that the attack was "a false flag operation." Over the past few days, India has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country, closed the land border, and suspended a vital water-sharing treaty between the countries. Pakistan, which has suspended trade with India and closed its airspace to its neighbor's airlines, yesterday said the threat to block its water supply constituted "an act of war" that will be met "with full force across the complete spectrum of national power." Both countries have nuclear weapons. Despite the cataclysmic risk, former Indian foreign ministry advisor Ashok Malik tells the Associated Press that his country's "military strategists believe there is a space for kinetic conventional action under the nuclear umbrella." May cooler heads prevail.
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Reversing Prior Denials, Israeli Military Admits Its Tank Fired on UN Guesthouse Meanwhile in New York, student protesters decided not to launch a planned Palestine solidarity encampment at Columbia University on schedule after their plans appeared in the press. via the Washington Post, the Guardian, and NBC News.
- Former Members of Neo-Nazi Terror Group 'the Base' Say Its Founder, a Former Pentagon Contractor, Is a Russian Spy The latest operations launched by the US-based group's leader, Rinaldo Nazzaro, involve "sabotage and assassination missions inside Ukraine to weaken the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy." via the Guardian.
- American Psycho: Manhattan Private Equity Lawyer Tortured Women With Cattle Prod Ryan Hemphill, 43, "boasted about connections to law enforcement and organized crime" to keep his victims quiet and forced some "to record videos in which they stated that they had consented to being abused." via the Associated Press and the New York Times.
- Florida GOP Investigators Say Gov. Ron DeSantis Mixed Up in 'Money Laundering and Wire Fraud' The Hope Florida Foundation, a charity overseen by first lady Casey DeSantis, allegedly funneled $10 million in Medicaid funds donated by a shady state contractor into DeSantis dark money groups that campaigned against marijuana legalization. via the New York Times and the Miami Herald.
SOME NUMBER
51.2 million
That's how many measles cases the US will face over a 25-year period if childhood vaccination rates fall by half, researchers estimated in a new study yesterday. "Our country is on a tipping point for measles to once again become a common household disease," Stanford physician Nathan Lo, the study's lead author, tells the Washington Post. MAHA!
ON THE SHOW TODAY
4/25: Happy Friday! The guest will be Krystal Ball from Breaking Points and Krystal Kyle & Friends.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Trump Killed the Most Important Women's Health Study in US History
Administration officials are now doing takebacks.
Democrat Tries Not Laugh When Asked if Biden Was 'as Sharp as You?'
Squelching an honest reaction: that's how you know it's Democratic.
PARTING WORDS
"This wasn't my favorite moment of our friendship."
-- Bill Maher, responding yesterday to Larry David's biting sendup of the reactionary centrist podcaster's friendly dinner with Donald Trump. Maher also said that by implicitly comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler, David's satire was "kind of insulting to 6 million dead Jews."
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