Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Chump wants to use the troops as a prop to prop
his fading popularity, he's gunning to kill Social Security, while
business giants stay silent a small business owner in Florida is
fighting back and taking him to court, and much more.
President
Donald Trump's approval rating has turned negative in a new poll
conducted by his campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio for The Wall Street
Journal.
Just 46 percent of people approval of
Trump's overall job performance, while 51 percent disapprove, according
to the poll, which Fabrizio conducted with Democratic pollster John
Anzalone.
Presidential approval ratings provide insights into how the public believes the president is performing.
A
shift in Trump's numbers could influence support from Republican
lawmakers, affect his ability to push through his agenda and shape the
political landscape, heading into the midterm election cycle.
Cry baby Chump thinks he knows how to solve his dissolving popularity -- stage a parade!!!! David Badash explains:
President
Donald Trump is trying to get the military parade his “generals”
blocked him from having during his first term, reportedly planning to
spend millions of taxpayer money to honor himself on his 79th birthday
in June.
In 2018, “Trump angrily and
reluctantly canceled his plans after military leaders said it would cost
$92 million and after District officials complained that heavy military
equipment—tanks and planes included—would tear up the roadways and cost
$21 million just for parade public safety,” Washington City Paper reports. “Now, second-term Trump apparently won’t be denied.”
Citing
a D.C. source, the paper reports that “Trump has commandeered Saturday,
June 14—the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and, as it happens,
Trump’s 79th birthday—for his military parade. It would stretch almost
four miles from the Pentagon in Arlington to the White House, according
to the source, who stressed that local officials are just learning of
it.”
The
erectile dysfunctional illiterate just refused to be present at Dover on Friday
when the bodies of
Americans Pfc Dante D. Taitano, Staff Sgt Edvin F. Franco, Staff Sgt
Jose Duenez Jr., and Staff Sgt Troy S. Knutson-Collins returned to the
US. But he thinks he can
use the military as a prop? He's disgusting. Vile and disgusting. And
that's before we address the fact that he's firing people and
cancelling programs but wants to waste nearly a billion dollars on a
parade for his birthday.
Chump,
I know you live on top of an economic house of cards. But what do you
think the stupid people who still believe in you are going to think when
they find out that -- as with E Jean Carroll's law suit -- you don't
have the money to pay your own bills? As William S. Becker (THE HILL) points out, "Much
of what we know about President Trump’s leadership is revealed by his
personal behavior. For example, during his first month in office, while
Elon Musk conducted mass firings and canceled government services to cut
spending, Trump spent nearly $10.7 million of taxpayer money to play
golf at his properties."
It's
very important to the Trump administration that the government spend
huge taxpayer dollars on ads that repeatedly thank Donald Trump while
warning immigrants to leave or stay out of America.
There
was such "an unusual and compelling urgency" for this propaganda
campaign that it could not be subject to competitive bidding rules,
Trump officials say. Records show they also exempted the ads from review
by Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump's
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has budgeted up to $200 million
for these ads so far. Speaking at a Conservative Political Action
Conference dinner in February, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
said the ad campaign was Trump's idea, and that he specifically asked
her to thank him in the ads, which she does. "I want you to thank me. I
want you to thank me for closing the border," she says Trump told her.
As
the Associated Press has reported, the Trump administration quietly
bypassed a competitive bidding process as it selected contractors for
the lucrative ad campaign, because the president declared a national
emergency at the southern border upon taking office.
"To
aid in responding to this emergency, DHS requires an immediate domestic
and international campaign to direct illegal aliens within the U.S. and
its territories to leave immediately, and to discourage illegal
immigration into the country," Trump officials wrote. They claimed that
"any delay" in starting the ad campaign "will allow illegal border
crossings to continue to rise."
Some
presidents want to help the American people, Chump just wants to help
himself to all the tax dollars he can while pretending to be fiscally
conservative. It's why the Senate is having to fight right now to
protect Social Security. From Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
During Senate Vote-a-rama,
Democrats fight back against cuts to Social Security services, benefits;
privatization; DOGE data access
Senate Democrats launched Social Security War Room earlier this week
Washington, D.C. – In the midst of the Trump
administration’s efforts to gut Social Security, Senate Democrats have
proposed numerous amendments to protect Americans’ Social Security
during tonight’s consideration of the Republican budget resolution in
the Senate. The amendments mark the latest push from Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to fight back against Trump, Musk, and DOGE’s attacks on Social Security.
Senate Democrats proposed new amendments to:
Protect against disruptions to and reductions in Americans’ Social Security benefits.
Prohibit cuts to Social Security Administration services, including
preventing field office closures and preserving phone service.
Reduce wait times for Americans trying to access Social Security Administration services.
Protect Americans’ private data at the Social Security Administration from Elon Musk’s DOGE.
Reverse DOGE’s existing cuts to the Social Security Administration.
Prevent the privatization of Social Security.
Prohibit cuts to Social Security benefits.
Sustain and expand Social Security benefits.
Specific amendments include:
An amendment filed by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),
Chris Coons (D-De.), John Hickenlooper (D-Co.), and Raphael Warnock
(D-Ga.) to sustain and expand Social Security.
An amendment filed by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to prevent the privatization of Social Security.
An amendment filed by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to protect against reductions in Social Security
Administration customer service.
President Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE have gutted the Social Security
Administration in recent weeks, creating chaos and threatening
Americans’ benefits. Last month, the Social Security Administration
announced plans to cut about 7,000 employees, or about 12% of its
workforce. 78% of these employees were working in field offices,
directly serving Social Security recipients. SSA is reportedly planning to enact even deeper cuts to the agency’s workforce, crippling Americans’ ability to access their benefits.
DOGE has also tried to significantly limit Americans’ access to
services by shutting down regional offices and requiring new and
existing beneficiaries to go in-person or online for a variety of
services, including applying for benefits and changing direct deposit
and other banking information—posing a challenge to many seniors who
rely on benefits.
Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room is
a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s
attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging
across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders;
encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for
Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates
Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’
agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services
and benefits.
###
US House Rep Eric Swalwell has told a billionaire supporter of Chump, "If
you enabled him in becoming president may I suggest you shut the
[expletive] up?" I would agree but there's a bit more we need to note
on that.
It's got nothing to do with Eric -- I agree with him.
It
does have everything to do with the way DSA tricked and used students. Some of you are young
and that's your excuse. Some of you are older and are just lying whores and you have
no excuse. You damn well knew, at your age, that the US was not going
to get behind Gaza. You knew but you lied like the closet case
Socialists you are. You lied to the kids and you put Chump back into
the White House. And you egged the kids on -- Nina Turner, you're such a
clever whore -- with the lie that we just had to get louder and things
would change tomorrow.
No.
Kids, you were played.
The
push for the rights of Gaza at the end of 2023 and through the spring
of college 2024 was like nothing this nation had ever seen. If your
elders has been honest brokers, they would have explained that to you
and some of you wouldn't have made fools of yourself by voting for Jill
Stein, or Chump or not voting. They wanted to 'flex' their muscle, your
whorish elders, and all they did was blow the growing support for
Gaza. And now, as Gaza residents are attacked by both Hamas and the
Israeli government, you might notice that the whores are silent.
They
could have been honest with you. Another reason they weren't?
Jealousy. Part of what took place was luck, yes. We were finally at a
place where we could honestly discuss it -- or a lot of us were. But
even so, you -- high schoolers and college students -- moved the needle
more than anyone ever did in this country before your generation. So be
proud of that, be proud of what you accomplished in that regard.
But beware liars, tricksters and whores. In the end, a lot of you bought into that.
What does that have to do with Eric?
Phillip Kolb (2 PARAGRAPHS) reports
on Bill Ackman -- that's the billionaire Eric is calling out. Bill's
trying to defend Donald Chump and to minimize Chump's actions with
regards to destroying the economy.
Bill
got in bed with Chump because of Gaza. He was a lifelong Democrat and a
lifelong Democratic donor. And he jumped ship over Gaza. He was not
the only one. The Democratic base was never unified behind Gaza. But
the Phylly Bennis and the Normy Solomons and the garish and whorish
Rashida Tlaib and Jill Stein and so many others didn't want to explain
that to you.
They
wanted to defeat the Democratic Party -- they just knew that would give
them an upper hand in the next election* -- and they lied to you and
they tricked you.
The
Party and its leadership moved closer to Gaza than it has ever been
before. And if people had been honest, you would have known that.
Instead, you were tricked into believing that there was no motion
towards Gaza. Bill Akman left the Democratic Party over Gaza.
Ask
those of us in the US who protested apartheid in South Africa and we'll
tell you what your whorish advisors didn't: Equality is a long road
and a long struggle. You were on the right road and you got distracted
by trash that wanted to put a convicted felon back into the White House
so that the Democratic Party would fear them.* *Reality, that has
never happened and it won't in 2028. As the laughable James Zogby how
popular he is within the Democratic Party today and he'll tell you not
at all. Instead, he's Kay (Diane Keaton) in THE GODFATHER and doors
have closed in his face.
A
number of e-mails coming in saying that Hands Off! is a DSA project.
No. They are one part of it, but there are many other components. You
saw them leafleting last Saturday? I hope you saw the litter that
resulted. In Oakland, for instance, no one left with a DSA pamphlet.
Some did throw them away in designated trash bins. But many of them
just dropped the nonsense on the ground.
They're
desperate for donations but even more so for new members. So some of
you encountered the free offer to join DSA and you rejected it.
That's what generally happens.
DSA is a joke and will remain a joke. They were working to oust Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries a month ago.
Didn't happen.
Beyond
whining and fighting with one another, they have no real power. They
do have a media closet cases who spin for them and lie for them.
[Deleted
before posting about the celebrity who works overtime to destroy the
Dems via third parties and other things who had pornographic photos of
their own children that the drug store developing them should have
called the police about. Instead, because they are something of a name,
they got a call and went to pick up photos but were just handed the
film and advised not to bring those type of photos in again or they'd
have to report it to the police.]
The
Democratic Party is larger than the DSA. We have over 70 million
Democrats in the US. DSA is lucky to have 80,000 and we will not let
these Socialists hide in closets again.
DSAers
have gotten away with so much in the past. You work for SLATE and they
need an article on the DSA so you write it. But you don't reveal to
the reader or your editor that you're DSA. If you had revealed that,
SLATE wouldn't have let you write the article, would they? You're
Circle Jerk rests on quick sand, never forget that.
President
Donald Trump said that he hopes to erase the U.S. trade deficit with
other countries—but anyone who understands economics knows that wouldn’t
be a good thing.
“I spoke to a lot of
leaders—European, Asian—from all over the world. They are dying to make a
deal, but I said, ‘We’re not gonna have deficits with your country,’”
Trump told reporters on board Air Force One Sunday. “We’re not gonna do
that, because to me a deficit is a loss. We’re gonna have surpluses or
at worst we’re gonna be breaking even.”
The
economy is falling apart before our eyes. And as Stephanie Ruhle noted
in the video at the top of the snapshot, business leaders who would
normally be very vocal are instead rolling over. On her show last
night, MSNBC's THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE (which MSNBC has yet
to post). she had on one real leader being destroyed by the tariffs who
was taking the matter to court.
COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE notes,
"A small business in Florida has sued the Trump administration,
accusing the president of violating the Constitution by imposing tariffs
on all imports from China. The company says Trump improperly bypassed
Congress using a statute that "does not even mention tariffs, nor does
it say anything else suggesting it authorizes presidents to tax American
citizens." Issie Lapowsky (FAST COMPANY) reports:
Business
owners around the world are still reeling from the sky-high,
globe-spanning tariffs President Donald Trump has announced since taking
office. Last week, Emily Ley became the first to take her concerns to
court.
In a lawsuit
filed in a federal court in Florida last Thursday, lawyers representing
Ley, a small business owner in Pensacola, argued that Trump’s tariffs
on China are “unlawful,” “unconstitutional,” and risk having devastating
consequences on businesses like Simplified, the 10-employee stationery
company Ley founded in 2008. The suit, which is the first known case to
challenge Trump’s tariffs, has, almost overnight, turned Ley into the
very public face of a high stakes legal battle that could have sweeping
consequences for the global economy.
“My company is like my fourth child,” Ley tells Fast Company. “I’m going to go down swinging if this is the end of it.”
It
was never Ley’s intention to file a suit. A few weeks ago, as Trump’s
tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada went into effect, and the White
House warned of more to come, Ley simply wanted to give people a better
understanding of the tangible impact that rising tariffs would have on a
small business like hers, which sells, among other things, day planners
that are made in China. “I was seeing so much misinformation and
misunderstanding about who pays the tariffs, and what they’re for,” Ley
says. “I just felt like I needed to share a small business perspective
that came from a real person, a real human.”
“These unlawfully implemented tariffs cause harm to American businesses,
American jobs, and American consumers, and will be the end of many
American dreams,” Ley said in a post on social media the day after Trump announced a series of steep tariffs on nations around the word that sent global stock markets plunging.
The suit specifically targets Trump’s 20 percent tariff on goods from
China he imposed early last month. Ley’s Florida-based small business
purchases products from China to sell, including planners.
The
lawsuit is challenging Trump’s use of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), which requires extensive
investigations before sanctions can be imposed. Trump has used opioid
trafficking from China as a reason for the “emergency” tariffs against
the country.
Ley told Stephanie that it was
unnerving bringing the lawsuit but that she has to save her employees
jobs and her business. She's not hiding behind a Tweet of praise.
She's standing up. It's appalling that more are not doing the same.
How bad does it have to get for business leaders to find their voices? Harry Enten and Matt Egan (CNN) note, "The
S&P 500 had lost 15% of its value since Inauguration Day as of
Sunday night. And that doesn’t even count the massive losses set for
Monday’s opening bell." And the political storm clouds begin to drift
over the White House. Amethyst Martinez (THE DAILY BEAST) reports:
Republicans are starting to back away from the president after major fallout from his new tariffs.
MAGA
favorite Ted Cruz over the weekend spoke out about the devastating
effects of Donald Trump’s disruptive economic policies, predicting a
“bloodbath” in next year’s midterms if the current market collapse
worsens.
“If he leaves
them in place and we just have constant tariffs, that is a massive tax
increase on the American people,” Cruz dished on his podcast, Verdict.
“I worry there are voices within the administration that want to see
these tariffs continue forever and ever and ever.”
Chump
has no idea what he's doing. He never has. As Rachel Maddow detailed
last week on MSNBC, Chump's financial guru is a liar that Don Junior
found by chance on AMAZON -- six minutes and thirty-four seconds into the video below.
Donald
Trump made clear on Monday that he is not pulling the reins on his
potentially recession-inducing tariff plans - or giving up control of
implementing them. As markets went on a roller coaster, the president
threatened to veto proposed bipartisan legislation that would seek to
limit his tariff authority.
In
a Monday statement, the White House wrote that if Congress passed a
bill submitted by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa) - which now has support from at least six other Republican
senators - Trump "would veto the bill."
"The
Trump Administration is enacting policies to put America First on trade
by opening new market access for U.S. farmers, raising wages for
American workers, pursuing reciprocal trade, and reshoring the
manufacturing essential to our national security. Tariffs are a critical
component of that policy and this legislation runs contrary to those
aims," the White House wrote. "If passed, this bill would dangerously
hamper the President's authority and duty to determine our foreign
policy and protect our national security."
The
legislation, titled the "Trade Review Act of 2025," would require the
president to notify Congress within 48 hours of implementing a tariff,
while offering an explanation justifying the necessity of the tariff and
an economic impact analysis. Congress would be required to approve the
tariff within a 60-day period in order to make it permanent, and could
repeal it with a resolution of disapproval.
Offered
a chance to respond, Rep. Scholten, who had been smiling and shaking
her head, tuned to her colleague and explained, "A jobs report that that
came out before the market started crashing and Americans lost $4
trillion in savings."
"You can't ignore, you
know, you're talking about giving subsidies to farmers because you know
how bad this is going to be," she continued. "You know America is losing
under Trump. The American people are losing under Trump."
Again,
is the mutiny beginning? Are Republicans in office finally starting to
see the troublesome signs that others have noticed for weeks and weeks
and weeks?
Meanwhile, the only thing plunging faster than Chump's approval rating and the US economy would be Aline Musk's TESLA stocks. Lauren Lewis (THE DAILY BEAST) explains:
Tesla’s
stock has plummeted to a new low only three weeks after Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick advised Americans to buy it because “it’ll
never be this cheap again.”
Elon Musk’s
company’s shares dropped 10 per cent in early trading on Monday,
leveling out at $214.80 down from $235.86 when Lutnick made his remarks.
Lutnick,
speaking in an interview with Fox News on March 19, called Tesla’s CEO,
Elon Musk, “probably the best person to bet on I’ve ever met.”
“I
think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, it’s buy
Tesla,” Lutnick told host Jesse Watters, urging viewers to put their
money in the company of a Trump administration employee.
“It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap.”
The
car manufacturer has seen its shares plummet over 40 percent since the
beginning of the year in reaction to Musk’s role in the Trump
administration and concerns that Tesla is losing ground to competitors
in the electric vehicle market.
He has destroyed Tesla. People aren't buying them and those that have them are getting rid of them.
This is no hocus-pocus: Bette Midler is the latest celebrity to sell her Tesla.
The
veteran star of stage and screen has become the latest public figure to
offload her Tesla over CEO Elon Musk's politics and support for
President Donald Trump's administration.
"What a
joyful day! I sold my (gulp) Tesla! No longer do I have to drive a
symbol of racism, greed and ignorance! Life is suddenly so much
better!!" Midler wrote in a recent Instagram post.
Alien
is said to have last a fortune and the tariffs aren't helping. He and
the administration are now sniping at one another in public.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior
member and former chair of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the
following statement regarding the ongoing debate and consideration of
Senate Republicans’ modified budget resolution.
“I take my votes on the Senate floor very seriously. While,
tonight, I needed to be with my husband while he receives care at the
hospital—I am in close touch with my colleagues and I am ready to return
to the floor at a moment’s notice if any vote should hinge on my
attendance. I strongly oppose Republicans’ pro-billionaire,
anti-middle-class budget blueprint, and I will continue to fight this
legislation every step of the way as Republicans draft a final bill for
consideration.
“Let me be clear about the path Republicans have chosen to go
down: they are going to light more than $5 trillion on fire—not to
protect Social Security or make child care more affordable, but to
shower billionaires with tax cuts they don’t need, pushing our country
into an unprecedented level of debt. And in a move that shows they truly
must think the American people aren’t watching, Republicans are trying
to use magic math to pretend trillions of dollars in tax cuts for
billionaires cost nothing. Budgets aren’t magic—they’re math, and even
my former preschool students would know the difference between zero and a
trillion.
“No billionaire left behind—that is the Republican agenda.
The message Republicans are sending folks back home is that there is
always more money for billionaires, but it’s tough times for everyone
else—which means kicking kids off Medicaid and choking off cancer
research.
“No one is asking Congress to pass a bill that slashes
Medicaid and closes hospitals just so Elon Musk can line his pockets
with a big tax break; instead, we should be working together to reverse
Trump’s tariff taxes on everyday goods.
“Make no mistake, as Trump runs our economy into the ground,
Republicans are handing money to billionaires hand over fist, while
raising prices—raising taxes—on virtually every working American.
Republicans are cheering Trump as he drives America towards a painful
recession—but Democrats are fighting back to stop them. At every turn, I
will keep fighting to protect Medicaid, Social Security, and the
programs that help families and keep us all safe. I will keep fighting
to bring economic sanity back to this country and make government work
better for working people—and I will continue to strongly oppose
Republicans’ pro-billionaire, pro-recession agenda.”
The budget blueprint Senate Republicans unveiled this week sets
Republicans up to dole out more than $5.3 trillion in new tax cuts that
will disproportionately benefit billionaires, the ultra-rich, and
largest corporations. But to help allow themselves to make the tax cuts
permanent without making even more devastating cuts to, for example,
Americans’ health care under the Senate’s strict budget reconciliation
rules, Republicans want to use a gimmick known as “current policy baseline”
to pretend that extending $3.8 trillion in tax cuts won’t cost the
country a cent—and to try to make them permanent in clear violation of
the longstanding Byrd rule that enforces reconciliation in the Senate.
The budget resolution also sets Republicans up to make massive cuts to
Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other critical domestic programs.
Today, budget experts from across the political spectrum wrote in part,
“Using fabricated scorekeeping renders much of the Congressional Budget
Act pointless and acts to evade responsibility for the resulting bottom
line numbers. Congress cannot budget responsibly if it refuses to ever
consider what policies actually cost. There is no point of budget
enforcement if Congress gets to pick the score it wants.”
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget issued a new report today that made plain Republicans’ budget resolution would enable unprecedented deficit increases. It would:
Equal more than all spending programs except for the Social Security retirement program, Medicare, Medicaid, and defense.
Add as much to deficits as the American Rescue Plan, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, CARES Act, and bipartisan infrastructure law combined,
including more than three times as much as the American Rescue Plan and
over 14 times as much as the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Cost as much or more than a large social welfare program,
specifically five times as much as all Affordable Care Act health
insurance subsidies, 4.5 times as much as Medicare Part D, three
times as much as the Social Security Disability Insurance program, and
more than three-quarters of all federal Medicaid spending.
I cover the grifters. Nina Turner is a grifter. On BlueSky, someone made that charge and linked to this Politico article:
Nina
Turner is keeping her personal consultant on the Our Revolution payroll
despite complaints from current and former board members and staff that
the woman has made anti-immigrant comments that compromise the Bernie
Sanders-inspired political group’s values.
In a
statement out Tuesday, Turner, the group’s president, noted that the
comments by Tezlyn Figaro are not held by Turner, or by Our Revolution.
On Fox News last year, Figaro cited President Donald Trump‘s
“leadership” on the travel ban and said, “We are sick and tired of
immigrants coming into the country and getting benefits that Americans
do not get … what I’m seeing is not paying taxes, what I’m seeing is
getting a lot of freebies that Americans do not get.”
I
was unaware of that. Nina's a Socialist, by the way. In fact, if you
want to know who's DSA, just go to her Twitter feed -- like most
grifters, she's on Twitter and not Blue Sky. She hates immigrants and
made it clear as far back as 2018. She's a fake ass. This is from her Wikipedia entry:
A
May 2018 article in Politico described Our Revolution as "flailing" and
"in disarray".[31] According to the article, by May 2018 the
organization's monthly fundraising totals were one-third of what they
were in May 2017.[31] Moreover, the article noted internal conflicts and
tensions within the organization, such as that board members and
Sanders 2016 presidential delegates questioned Our Revolution president
Nina Turner's actions and motives.[31] Specifically, they questioned
whether Turner was using the organization as a springboard for a
presidential run of her own and whether she was "settl[ing] scores with
the Democratic National Committee from 2016".[31] Turner attempted to
hire Tezlyn Figaro—who frequently appeared on Fox News to praise Trump
and has made anti-immigration comments—as the chief of staff, but was
overruled by the board's executive committee.[31] Additionally, Lucy
Flores resigned from the board in April 2018 due to what she claims was
the organization's lack of outreach to the Latino community. Our
Revolution also endorsed Dennis Kucinich for governor in Ohio in 2018,
which some Ohio Democrats questioned because of Turner's close
relationship with Kucinich's running mate, even though he was widely
considered the most progressive candidate in that race.[31]
A
subsequent article in The New Republic concurred with the Politico
report and suggested that change may be necessary at Our Revolution for
it to succeed at its goals.[32] After Politico reported the discontent
with Figaro's position in the organization, Turner announced that Figaro
would still be part of the organization and noted that Figaro's
anti-immigrant and pro-Trump commentary was not endorsed by Turner or
Our Revolution.[33] Figaro said that she "offer[s] no excuse" for her
comments and questioned the motivations of those who spoke to Politico
about her.[33] Erika Andiola, an undocumented immigrant who was a former
political director at Our Revolution, said that Turner fired her after
her activism in favor of the DREAM Act.[33]
The
Young Turks, a progressive American news and commentary program on
YouTube, discussed the Politico article on their May 21 show, calling it
an "attack piece".[34] Cenk Uygur strongly objected to its claims and
denied its accuracy, including its assertions that the group "has left
many Sanders supporters disillusioned" and that the group has "fueled
doubts about Sanders' organizational ability heading into 2020".[33][34]
Our
Revolution board member James Zogby disputed the Politico report in a
series of tweets, calling it a "hit piece fueled [by] a few disgruntled
souls out to harm [Nina Turner]."[35] The Politico article has also been
criticized by others on similar grounds,[36][37] as well as for its
anonymous sourcing and lack of quotes.[36] An article published by
Common Dreams also broadly disputed the Politico article,[36] as did a
Naked Capitalism piece.[37]
They're
all Socialists in that group. One after another. And Socialist
outlets -- Common Dreams. But they're all so scared to step out of the
closet.
Monday, April 7, 2025. Chump hides out in Florida while Americans
across the country stand up, 60 MINUTES reports on the reality of
Chump's deportations, Chump again disrespects US troops, and much more.
Last
night, 60 MINUTES (CBS) explored the 300 Venezuelans deported to an El
Salvador Gulag -- 75% of which (179) have no prison records here or in
Venezuela. .
Three weeks ago, 238 Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
That
country's president offered to take them and the Trump administration
used a law not invoked since World War II to send them -- claiming they
are all terrorists and violent gang members.
The government has
released very little information about the men. But through internal
government documents, we have obtained a list of their identities and
found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal
convictions or even criminal charges.
They are now prisoners.
Among
them: a makeup artist, a soccer player and a food delivery driver,
being held in a place so harsh that El Salvador's justice minister once
said the only way out is in a coffin.
The shackled men were forced to lower their heads and bodies as they
were unloaded from buses and taken to El Salvador's mega prison, known
as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
Andry Hernandez Romero was among them.
Lindsay Toczylowski:
Andry is a 31-year-old Venezuelan. He's a makeup artist. He is a gay
man. He loves to do theatre. He was part of a theatre troupe in his
hometown.
Lindsay Toczylowski, Andry's attorney, says he does not
have a criminal record in the United States or Venezuela. She says he
left his home country last year because he was targeted for being gay
and for his political views.
Last May, Andry made the long trek north through the Darien Gap to
Mexico, where he eventually got an appointment to seek asylum in the
United States. At a legal border crossing near San Diego, he was taken
into custody while his case was processed.
Cecilia Vega: Did he have a strong asylum case?
Lindsay
Toczylowski: We believe he did have a strong asylum case. He had also
done a credible fear interview, which is the very first part of seeking
asylum in the United States. And the government had found that his
threats against him were credible, and that he had a real probability of
winning an asylum claim.
But last month Andry did not appear for a court hearing.
Lindsay
Toczylowski: Our client, who was in the middle of seeking asylum, just
disappeared. One day he was there, and the next day we're supposed to
have court, and he wasn't brought to court.
Cecilia Vega: You use the word "disappeared."
Lindsay Toczylowski: Yeah, I use that word because that's what happened.
But Andry did appear in photos taken by Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger, who was there when the Venezuelans arrived at CECOT.
Holsinger
told us he heard a young man say: "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a
stylist." And that he cried for his mother as he was slapped and had
his head shaved.
By comparing Holsinger's photographs to photos of
Andry's tattoos taken by the government, we were able to confirm that
this is Andry. His lawyer, who is representing him pro bono, had never
seen these photos before.
Lindsay Toczylowski: It's horrifying to see someone who we've met and
know as a sweet, funny artist, in the most horrible conditions I could
imagine.
Cecilia Vega: You fear for Andry's safety in there?
Lindsay Toczylowski: Absolutely. We have grave concerns about whether he can survive.
If
you're on US soil, this should alarm and frighten you. This is not how
our country historically acts. And Convicted Felon Donald Chump would
love to expand on the deportations. Billal Rahman (NEWSWEEK) explains:
President Donald Trump has signaled his support for sending American citizens to El Salvador's notorious super prison.
Why It Matters
The
White House administration sent hundreds of people onboard two flights
in March to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador,
despite a judge ordering the government to halt the planes. The Trump administration claimed the men were suspected of being part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
U.S.
District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order temporarily halting
the government's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act while its actions
were being challenged in court.
Photographer Philip Holsinger was at the gulag when the deportees arrived and he shared with 60 MINUTES what he saw and heard.
Hands
Off immigrants! That's one of the demands some taking part Saturday in
the Hands Off protestes around the country demanded.
John Yang (PBS NEWSHOUR) explaineds, "People across the country and around the world turned out on Saturday
for what organizers say has been the single biggest day of protests
against President Trump and his second-term actions. In the U.S., more
than a thousand rallies were planned in small towns and major cities
from coast to coast." NPR has a photo essay here and THE GUARDIAN's photo essay is here.
In
DC, US House of Representative members Ilhan Omar, Jamie Raskin and
Eric Swalwell joined thousands to speak out and stand up. Robert Tait (GUARDIAN) reports:
Demonstrators estimated to be in the tens of
thousands gathered in Washington on Saturday in a display of mass
dissent against Donald Trump’s policies that organizers hoped would
snowball into a rolling cycle of protests that could eventually stymie
the US president in next year’s congressional elections.
Anger with Trump and his billionaire lieutenant, the SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk,
was expressed in a sea of placards and banners on the Washington mall,
in the shadow of the Washington monument. Multiple messages denounced
the two men for shuttering government agencies, cutting jobs and
services and – in often graphic terms – for threatening the survival of
US democracy.
“Resist
like it’s 1938 Nazi Germany” and “Fascism is alive and well and living
in the White House”, read two slogans at the Hands Off gathering,
organized by the civil society group Indivisible and featuring speeches
from a host of other organizations as well as Democratic members of
Congress.
ABC NEWS quotes US House Rep Jamie Raskin pointing out, "Our founders wrote a Constitution that did not begin with 'We the
dictators'," NBC NEWS quotes
American Federation of Government Employees President Everett B. Kelley
declaring, "We
will not be silenced. We will not bow down. We'll stand up and say,
'Hands off our union.' We'll stand up and say, 'Hands off our contract.'
We'll stand up and say, 'Hands off our democracy, hands off our
freedom'." BBC NEWS quotes
US House Rep Maxwell Frost telling the DC crowd, "When you steal from
the people, expect the people to rise up. At the ballot box and in the
streets."
According to a permit with the California Highway Patrol, organizers
initially expected at least 1,000 people at the Capitol. One organizer
told KCRA 3's Andres Valle that there were at least 3,000 attendees at
one point.
"Having a picnic provided us to do what we're planning, which is to get
the community to interact more with each other. To get people who even
aren't sure where to start in this kind of work involved in small little
ways," said Nancy Culpepper the event organizer.
Also
in California, thousands marched in Oakland and hundreds in San Jose.
Thousands turned out in San Francisco where we gathered at Civic Plaza.
Signs bored messages such as "Putin Owns Trump," "Stop Fascism Support
Love," "Make America Think Again," "I Didn't Elect DOGE, did you?,"
Dump Trump," "We Support Federal Workers," "HANDS OFF our future our
rights our democracy our healthcare social security our public library
our schools . . .," "No Teenie Weenie Mussolini," "Healthcare Is A
Human Right," "Hands Off Our Immigrants," "Trump Is A Nazi," "The Musk
Stinks In Here," "Good Trouble" a drawing of Musk with a black mask
and the term "Grifter" and "Republicans, You Can Fight This Coup Too." Molly Burke and Danielle Echeverria (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE) report:
As
a marching band played and cars passing on Polk Street honked
repeatedly, burlap-clad protesters calling themselves the Climate
Lamenters stood with an effigy labeled “Climate Chaos.” Other lamenters
wore signs decrying melting glaciers, tornadoes, forced migration, heat
domes and other climate disasters. “We express the grief and anxiety
many of us hold over the impacts of climate change,” the group’s flyer
said.
A longtime San Francisco resident in her 70s, who
declined to give her name for fear of jeopardizing funding for a
nonprofit she founded, said she “had to” show up to this protest. She
has not demonstrated since the Women’s March during Trump’s first term
and, before that, protests against the Vietnam War.
“It’s a mess,” she said. “A lot of us are going to be OK, but there are a lot of us that are not.”
[. . .]
State
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, celebrated the turnout of the
protest, saying the mobilization against the Trump administration is in
full force, contrary to “narratives” of complacency he said were common
when Trump was sworn in for his second term. Wiener called on
institutions to stand strong together, rather than conceding to the
Trump administration’s demands. “Don’t bend the knee,” he said.
Wiener
also called for “broad-based realignment” of the Democratic Party to
not give right-wing leaders the chance to reclaim offices every two or
four years. “It’s not enough to just get them out of office,” Wiener
said.
As he left the stage to loud applause, one person in
the crowd turned to another and said she couldn’t wait until Wiener runs
for Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s seat when she retires from the
House.
Sam Phillips decided it was not too soon to set an example for her 15-month-old son, who rolled alongside her in a stroller.
“It’s
really important to both stand up for his future and to also show him
that in our family, we stand up to bullies,” said Phillips, who attended
an anti-Trump rally Saturday with her husband in downtown Los Angeles, a
gathering that also was strongly critical of Elon Musk — the
billionaire advisor that President Trump tasked with slashing government
spending.
The crowd easily numbered in the tens of thousands,
starting with an afternoon kickoff in Pershing Square, followed by a
march to City Hall and a sunset rally there that filled the street and
adjacent Grand Park.
The demonstration was peaceful, colorful and
creative, but there also was a palpable and diverse sense of outrage as
participants cataloged a wide range of the Trump administration’s
actions, including government downsizing, attacks on the rights of
immigrants and transgender people, and tariffs that are roiling
economies across the globe.
All four corners of the intersection of Lynn Road
and Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks were packed to the brim with
protesters holding signs and chanting as part of the Hands Off! National Day of Action Saturday.
"I
honestly got emotional," said Bryan Stern, 40, from Thousand Oaks. The
turnout was more than Stern expected and seeing and hearing the way his
city turned out to protest recent actions taken by the Trump
administration made him proud, he said. Stern attended the rally along
with his girlfriend, Risa Middleton, 44, and her parents.
While the protest fell under the Hands Off! umbrella of demonstrations around the U.S. Saturday, the event was put together by local organizations Indivisible Simi Valley, Indivisible Conejo and Women United for Change, said Leanna Brand of Indivisible Simi Valley.
[. . .]
"I'm appalled by what they are trying to do to our democracy," said Lisa
Richardson, 69, of Thousand Oaks, referencing President Donald Trump
and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
About 8,000 people rallied and
marched at the Colorado Capitol in Denver for one of the many
volunteer-organized Hands Off! protests against the Trump administration
that took place around the country Saturday.
Several speakers including union
workers, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Democratic state Sen.
Jessie Danielson and Colorado state director of GreenLatinos Ean Tafoya
among other activists and concerned citizens addressed the crowd before
protesters embarked on a 2-mile march through downtown Denver. Attendees
held a variety of homemade as well as branded Hands Off! signs
highlighting Medicaid, Social Security, fair elections, LGBTQ+ rights,
public lands, veterans services, and other public services seen to be at
risk under President Donald Trump.
Weiser, a Democrat who is running for
governor in 2026, told the crowd that the Trump administration “didn’t
get the memo that immigrants make America great,” which is why he joined
a lawsuit challenging Trump’s “unimaginable step of thinking a Sharpie
could overrule the Constitution” when he issued an executive order to
end birthright citizenship.
“In America, when we stand together,
when we stand on our principles, we will always prevail,” Weiser said.
“We cannot be silenced.”
Staying with Colorado, AP notes, "Protesters also demonstrated in Arvada, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Loveland. "
Kicking off at Bryant Park, thousands of demonstrators gathered along
Fifth Avenue with signs in hand, marching to Madison Square Park.
Many of those who spoke to CBS News New York said the turnout was
bigger than anybody expected, and they are all marching for different
reasons, from government downsizing to economic inequality to threats to
human rights.
"I'm actually representing the United Federation of
Teachers, and we are very upset about the cuts to the Board of
Education," protester Stephanie Kim said.
"Women's rights, at the
moment. I'm pregnant," another protester said. "In case anything happens
to me, I want to make sure that I'm able to have the right care."
"Losing
our money, all our 401ks for retired people. We don't work anymore. You
just don't get that back," protester Elaine DeAngelis said.
Last
Tuesday, the state of Wisconsin sent a message of "We will not be
bought" to Chump and Musk. Today, they continued their fight to protect
our country. THE WISCONSIN EXAMINER reports:
Thousands of Wisconsinites joined
rallies in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay Saturday, taking part in a
national day of action with simultaneous events in more than 1,200
cities across all 50 states, according to the organizers of the “Hands
Off!” protests of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Trump
administration’s deep cuts to federal funding for health care, science,
the Social Security administration, education and other public goods.
Indivisible, one of more than 150 participating civil rights, labor,
LGBTQ and other groups, put out a statement saying the rallies were an
effort “to let Trump and Musk know they can’t intimidate us into submission.”
In Madison a
massive crowd filled the lawns, sidewalks and streets on the State
Street corner of the Wisconsin State Capitol, then marched the one-mile
stretch to Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin campus.
Organizers estimated more than 10,000 people participated.
Madison residents Jason and Aubrey,
who declined to give their last names, said they were looking for a
community with like-minded people. “We can be angry but it’s also fun to
be out with people and it’s important to have joy in your life,” Aubrey
said. She said she is concerned with rising income inequality and
billionaires having control over social media and society.
“I’m scared for democracy and for the
people I love who are going to be targeted by [Trump’s] immigration
policies, his hatred of LGBTQ+ people. I felt kind of powerless and I
think just being out here protesting, being in a really welcoming
community — it’s what I can do right now,” Jason said.
On
Saturday, I attended the Hands Off! rally in Novi, Michigan, a suburb
of Detroit where 55% of the vote went to Kamala Harris during the
election. Thousands of people showed up.
The crowd was
emotionally charged and united by the spirit of collective action. Many
attendees said they were first-time protesters. The Tesla Takedown protests I attended last weekend seemed somber by comparison. Protesters here got loud.
"Call me Old Lady Army Fighting for Democracy," one 66-year-old
woman, who didn't want to give her real name, told me. She held up a
sign she had made. It was a charcoal drawing of the Statue of Liberty,
whose hands covered her eyes in shame.
"I just copied this off of
Facebook," she said. But to her it symbolized that "everything that our
country stands for is being destroyed, and the world is looking at us."
Organizers said tens of thousands of people marched through the Loop after the Daley Plaza rally.
"There are so many
changes happening, and I think it's really important that she see that
we're trying to stand up and stop what's going on," said protestor Anika
Carlson, who came with her young daughter. "I'm really worried about
kids' access to education going forward."
The
demonstrations across the Chicago area were aimed at protesting the
Trump administration policies which have caused the firing of thousands
of federal workers, sparked deportation raids along with funding cuts to
education.
"I
teach at a school that's, like, 99% Black, that is 100% low income, and
my students are directly being threatened by the Trump administration,"
CPS middle school teacher Kobi Guillory said. "I have students who are
immigrants."
Many also worry about changes Trump and Republicans want to make to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
"I
feel like it's an invasion," protestor Roberta Caruso said. "I feel
like all my rights have been stripped away from everything that I've
worked for all my life... I feel like I'm just getting ready to retire,
and now I have to worry about my social security, somethings I never
thought I'd have to worry about in my lifetime."
People
who rallied, Saturday, included civil rights organizations, labor
unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists.
"This
administration is using trans people as a cudgel, and let me tell you
it is pathetic," said Precious Brady-Davis, Metropolitan Water
Reclamation Chicago Commissioner.
Noel Brennan, Marissa Sulek and Sara Tenenbaum (CBS NEWS CHICAGO) add,
"The crowd couldn't fit into Daley Plaza, so hundreds had to stand in
the
middle of neighboring streets, as they protested President Trump and
billionaire White House senior adviser Elon Musk" and they quote
Maryanne Bowman declaring, "I am concerned about people being kidnapped
off the streets and shipped
to hellhole prisons. I am concerned about our economy tanking. I am
concerned about the fact that we have a president who doesn't care about
people."
Boston, the original US seat of resistance to a corrupt government, saw thousands turn out. WBUS reports:
Protesters started streaming into the Common and crowding
around the Parkman Bandstand well before the gathering was slated to
begin at 11 a.m. Many carried signs and flags representing the U.S.,
Palestinians and Pride. Attendees then marched to City Hall Plaza where a
slate of speakers addressed the crowd, including Sen. Ed Markey.
"We
will stand with Rümeysa Öztürk," Markey said, referring to the Tufts
doctoral student arrested in Somerville last month by immigration agents
and currently being held in a detention center in Louisiana. "Freedom
of speech is a right, not a crime. Release Rümeysa now, Donald Trump!
Release her!"
Among the protesters was 35-year-old Jeremy Zolan from
Connecticut. He said he used to study geology and but for financial
reasons has turned to working in a factory as a machinist. He said he
recently had an opportunity to return to his field and academia, but the
position disappeared amid the slashes to federal funding.
"We're
willing to just make our position as a research and innovation
superpower plummet just so a few people can strengthen their grip of
control — it is absolutely disgusting to me as a scientist," Zolan said.
"Seeing all these people losing their jobs in scientific research, all
these projects shut down. It is going to directly harm this country and
another country is going to take our place."
Per BOSTON.COM,
Senator Markey didn't just march and speak, he actually was one of the
physical leaders of the march and John Tlumacki's photograph in
BOSTON.COM's photos essay backs that up. WBZ NEWS quotes the senator stating that the Hands Off action was about "making sure our
voices are heard, that we are the national leader in 2025 the same way
that we were in 1775, when King George tried to take away our rights." WGBH quotes Claire Carl Miller stating, "We are here to protect our immigrant neighbors, to protect
transgender family kin, and to really say we believe in true democracy. It's
incredibly important to send a message to everyone across this nation
that we can come together, united, and be inspired, hold joy for a
vision of true democracy."
They turned out around the country in big locals and small, cities and towns to tell Convicted Felon Donald Chump Hands Off!
That's
Tyler, Texas. And they turned out for this action despite rain. It
rained Thursday and Friday and that was supposed to be the end of it.
However, it rained and sprinkled throughout Saturday -- it was still
sprinkling at 3:00 pm when the above action took place. But they turned
out.
While Americans were turning out in cities across
the country, Convicted Felon Donald Chump was hiding out in Florida.
He didn't wait around until Friday to go on 'vacation,' he started it
Thursday. That allowed him to avoid the return of four American troops
who died overseas. As Ruth noted Friday:
There was a time in Donald
Chump's first term as president that I gave him the benefit of the doubt
regarding his alleged hatred of U.S. troops. He quickly made clear
that the rumors were indeed true. We saw that further in his 2024
campaign and, of course, we have seen it since he was sworn in.
SignalGate, for example, put our military pilots at risk as they set out
on a mission he ordered and then Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, DNI
Director Tulsi Gabbard, and the rest do a non-secure discussion of the
mission before it starts and as it is being carried out. To this day,
he has refused to fire any of these people despite the fact that their
actions could have resulted in the deaths of the military pilots. That,
by the way, is a point Senator Tammy Duckworth has made strongly and
repeatedly.
Because
he is never done s**ting on our troops, Mr. Chump's actions are not
surprising but they are shocking, outrageous, and offensive. Jeremiah Hassel (THE MIRROR) reports:
Donald
Trump was slammed for missing the dignified transfer for four U.S.
soldiers who were killed in Lithuania during a training accident as he
was seen playing golf at his Trump National Doral Miami golf course for a
LIV Golf event.
Lithuania's president held a
ceremony honoring the fallen soldiers who drowned in a peat bog after
their tactical vehicle went missing about a week ago. Lithuanian, Polish
and U.S. soldiers and rescue teams searched through forests and swamps
at the Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, which is
about 6 miles west of the country's border with Belarus.
[. . .]
President
Gitanas Nausėda and other dignitaries were among those who stood in
respect as the hearses carrying the bodies to Vilnius airport in the
nation's capital paraded past. They were flown to Dover Air Force Base
in Delaware and will be buried this week.
Several
of the onlookers were reportedly in tears during the procession.
Nausėda said the reaction of the population and the military to the
disappearance of the soldiers was rooted in the country's own difficult
history.
Lithuania's
president showed them respect; however, Convicted Felon Donald Chump
did not. The Convicted Felon could not stop his golf game to honor
Americans Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, Staff Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, Staff Sgt.
Jose Duenez Jr., and Staff Sgt. Troy S. Knutson-Collins. Dante was the
youngest at 21, Troy was the oldest at 28, and Jose and Edvin were both
only 25. They are passed and they passed while doing a mission that
they were tasked with but the nation's commander-in-chief was too busy
-- yet again -- to honor them.
