The Conversation -- June 17, 2025
Every president* seems to think he needs a war. Now, the person who described himself as a "man of peace" seems to want his, too: ~~~
New York Times liveblog: Donald “Trump on Tuesday called for Iran’s 'unconditional surrender,' cited the possibility of killing Iran’s supreme leader and referred to Israel’s war efforts with the word 'we' — all apparent suggestions that the United States could enter the war against Iran. Mr. Trump’s comments, in social media posts, came as Israel has been pressing the White House to intervene militarily in the conflict with Iran to put an end to that country’s nuclear program. The president has long professed opposition to getting involved in foreign wars and has expressed hopes for a negotiated agreement with Iran. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wants the United States to drop its largest bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, which lies deep underground. Israel has neither bombs that big nor warplanes big enough to carry them. In a post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump wrote, 'we know exactly where' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, 'is hiding,' but added, 'we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.' Boasting of Israel’s air superiority, which he suggested was based on American technology, he wrote, 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,' associating himself with Israel’s war effort.” ~~~
~~~ An NPR story is here.
~~~ Here's the G-7 leaders' statement on Middle East peace, released by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Roger Cohen of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Tuesday that President Emmanuel Macron of France 'always gets it wrong,' as simmering tensions between the two leaders over the Israel-Iran conflict blew up into insults. As he made an early exit from the Group of 7 meeting in Canada and flew back to Washington, Mr. Trump called Mr. Macron 'publicity seeking.' In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump said the French leader 'has no idea why I am on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire.' Mr. Macron had told reporters covering the G7 meeting in Calgary, Alberta, that the United States had given assurances that 'they will find a cease-fire, and since they can pressure Israel, things may change.' The speculation about his intentions clearly infuriated Mr. Trump, who said, without elaborating, that the real reason for his departure was 'much bigger than that.' In an earlier Truth Social post, he had said that 'everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.'” MB: I'm shocked at the idea of a world leader's being “publicity seeking.” ~~~
~~~ Besides, Trump knows all ~~~
~~~ "I Don't Care What She Said." Avery Lotz of Axios: Donald "Trump on Tuesday said Iran was 'very close' to having a nuclear weapon, despite March testimony from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Tehran was not building one.... His comments, which critics see as shirking his DNI's own assessment, came after he sent shockwaves through the Middle East with a Monday Truth Social post calling for the evacuation of Tehran.... When pressed on Gabbard's assessment by reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump replied, 'I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having' a nuclear weapon. Trump has repeatedly stressed the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. Israel wants the administration's help by joining the war against Iran to destroy its nuclear program."
Ali Watkins of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said that he had no plans to call Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota after a man assassinated a state lawmaker there and wounded another over the weekend, calling Mr. Walz 'whacked out' and 'a mess.' 'I don’t really call him,' Mr. Trump told reporters during his flight back to Washington after making an early exit from the Group of 7 summit in Canada late Monday. 'I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out, I’m not calling him. Why would I call him?' It is a well established custom for presidents to call state leaders to express sympathy and offer support after deadly shootings and other calamities. But after the shootings in the Minneapolis suburbs over the weekend, which left one Democratic lawmaker and her husband dead and another lawmaker and his wife gravely wounded, Mr. Trump seemed perplexed when asked by reporters if he intended to call Mr. Walz....” The U.S. attorney and FBI agents already have been helping Minnesota apprehend and charge the alleged assassin, so I can't see what Trump's problem is, other than than he's a boor who doesn't know how to behave in polite society. ~~~
~~~ Steve M: "Pundits don't feel moral outrage in response to Trump's contempt and the [Brevard County, Florida,] sheriffs' bloodlust because, at least subconsciously, they feel the president and the sheriffs are punching up -- snooty lefties deserve to be taken down a peg. Trump and the sheriff are seen as avengers speaking on behalf of the downtrodden working class, not as power-mad fascists. I wouldn't say that contempt for liberals and leftists is 'the last acceptable prejudice' -- in Trump's America, there are many, many acceptable prejudices -- but this one has been acceptable all our lives."
Trumpelthinskin Lashes Out at Drunk Pete. Adam Nichols of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump unleashed his rage on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after last weekend's military parade failed to project the intimidating image the president craved, according to explosive new revelations from biographer Michael Wolff.... 'He's pissed off at the soldiers,' Wolff revealed, explaining that Trump was livid his troops appeared to be 'having a good time' rather than displaying the 'menacing' military face he had wanted. As thousands of soldiers and tanks paraded past largely empty bleachers on Constitution Avenue, social media erupted with mockery over the out-of-sync marching and dreary atmosphere.... The sparse crowds and lackluster energy clearly got under Trump's skin." MB: Gosh, Donald, maybe the lack of enthusiasm is a reflection of the fact that most people despise you.
Phil Williams of WTVF Nashville: “An armed man arrested Saturday during Nashville’s 'No Kings' protest has a long history of fascination with Nazis and mass murderers, and he was already on the FBI's radar.... Elijah Millar, 19, of Murfreesboro, was arrested Saturday after he 'brandished' a handgun while clashing with a few of the thousands of protesters who attended the peaceful rally in downtown Nashville, according to the arrest warrant taken out by Metro Nashville police. Millar was later released on bond.... For much of his time wandering around the protest at the Bicentennial Mall, Millar was livestreaming, declaring on X that he was going to be 'counter-protesting these commies.' He shouted at protesters, 'Commie scum! No f***ing commie, commie scum in America, motherf***er.'”
Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: “Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller who is running for mayor, was arrested on Tuesday by federal agents at an immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan as he tried to escort a migrant out of the building to prevent his arrest. Mr. Lander, a Democrat, was observing proceedings at the city’s main immigration courthouse, at 26 Federal Plaza, where an increasing number of migrants who appear for court have been arrested in recent weeks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Videos taken by reporters at the courthouse show Mr. Lander standing by a migrant man in a crowded hallway when several men who appear to be law enforcement officers, some wearing masks, walk up to the pair in an apparent attempt to arrest the migrant. Mr. Lander repeatedly asks the agents whether they have a judicial warrant and walks behind them, according to one of the videos, which was posted on social media by a reporter from The City, a digital news outlet.... Agents can be seen trying to pry Mr. Lander away. They ultimately separate Mr. Lander from the man, push him against a wall by the elevators and place handcuffs on him.... A spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office, said Mr. Lander was being held on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants apprehended by ICE are typically detained.” AM New York's story is here.
Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: “Former President Barack Obama will gingerly step into the public fray on Tuesday night, after weeks of quiet grumbling from some demoralized Democrats for what they say is his silence in the face of a frontal assault on liberal America by the Trump administration. Mr. Obama will participate in a discussion in Hartford, Conn., with Heather Cox Richardson, a popular liberal writer and historian, at a moment of deep uncertainty and volatility for his party, the country and the world.” MB: I can just hear President Obama's hesitant, stammering remarks now, but I'm hoping he embraces the fierce urgency of now and metaphorically knocks Trumpolini on his fat ass.
A Senator Goes to Jail. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: “For decades, Robert Menendez had the ear of presidents and prime ministers. He controlled the flow of military aid as the Democratic leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A son of Cuban refugees, he was a go-to authority on immigration policy. But on Tuesday, just after 9 a.m., Mr. Menendez became a ward of the same government that he had once helped to lead when he entered a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin an 11-year sentence for political corruption. He will be known as prisoner No. 67277-050 at Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Minersville, Pa., roughly three hours away from the home he has shared in New Jersey with his wife, Nadine Menendez, who is expected to be sentenced in September for her role in the scheme.”
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Peter Baker of the New York Times: “It has been 10 years now, as of Monday, since Donald J. Trump descended to the lobby of his namesake tower to announce his campaign for president.... In those 10 years, Mr. Trump has come to define his age in a way rarely seen in America, more so than any president of the past century other than Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, even though he has never had anywhere near their broad public support. Somehow the most unpopular president in the history of polling has translated the backing of a minority of Americans into the most consequential political force of modern times, rewriting all of the rules along the way.” MB: Notwithstanding his recent forays into reality, Baker seems pretty impressed with Trump, and he literally returns to both-siderism: Trump's politics, Baker writes, “have transformed America for good or ill in profoundly fundamental ways.” Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)
You've heard this story before: Donald Trump attends international summit, embarrasses U.S. ~~~
~~~ Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Monday avoided the personal attacks on U.S. allies that have defined many of his past international summits, but his remarks at the opening of this year’s Group of Seven meeting did not mask the sharp divide between his worldview and that of the other heads of state at the gathering in the Canadian Rockies. Former leaders made a 'big mistake' in 2014 when they booted Russian President Vladimir Putin from what was then called the Group of Eight, Trump said. The war in Ukraine would never have happened if Russia had not been indefinitely suspended after invading and then annexing the country’s Crimean Peninsula. 'You know you have your enemy at the table,' Trump said. 'He wasn’t really an enemy at that time. There was no concept — if I were president, this war would have never happened.'” ~~~
~~~ This Story Has Been Updated Because TACO: “... Donald Trump will leave the Group of Seven summit a day early to attend to the conflict between Israel and Iran, the White House announced Monday, hours after he declined to join a statement at the meeting calling for de-escalation by both sides. 'I have to be back,' Trump told reporters Monday night while posing for photos.... Trump posted a statement on his Truth Social platform declaring that 'everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!,' referring to Iran’s capital, which has a population of almost 10 million. 'AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' he wrote in a separate post.” (Also linked yesterday.) See links to related stories under Israel/Iran, et al. ~~~
~~~ This Story Has Been Updated AGAIN Because TACO Again: “... Donald Trump left the Group of Seven summit a day early to attend to the conflict between Israel and Iran, the White House announced Monday, after he called for 'a broader de-escalation of hostilities' in the Middle East in a statement with other global leaders. Trump initially declined to sign the G-7’s statement, but reversed his position following discussions with other leaders in the group and changes to the initial draft, according to a U.S. official.... The official declined to say what changes secured Trump’s sign-off, but the statement omitted language that called for both Iran and Israel “to show restraint,” which appeared in an earlier draft of the agreement viewed by The Washington Post.” ~~~
~~~ He's an old man. He gets confused. He drops things. He plays favorites for no reason: ~~~
~~~ Kevin Schofield of the Huffington Post: “Speaking at the G7 summit in Canada after holding talks with [British Prime Minister Keir] Starmer, Trump said: 'The UK is very well protected, you know why? Because I like them. That’s their ultimate protection.'... Bizarrely, at one point Trump appeared to confuse the UK with the European Union. He said: 'We have our trade agreement with the European Union, and it’s a fair deal for both, and it produces a lot of jobs, a lot of income.' The president also dropped a sheaf of papers on the deal, forcing Starmer to bend down to pick them up and give him them back.”
~~~ Proud to Be Putin's Puppet. Erica Green Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: At the G-7 meeting in Canada, Donald Trump pimped for Putin, He blamed “former President Barack Obama and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada for kicking Russia out, and argued that its inclusion in the group would have averted the war in Ukraine. (Mr. Trump was wrong — it was not Mr. Trudeau, but rather Stephen Harper, who was the Canadian prime minister at the time of Russia’s expulsion.)... Mr. Trump’s argument on Monday was even more remarkable given that he returned to the summit three years after Russia escalated the aggression that got it ejected in the first place — launching an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with similar goals of seizing its territory. The scene on Monday illustrated how even more aligned Mr. Trump has grown with the Russian autocrat since his first time in office, and how alienated Mr. Trump has become from American allies who have rallied around Ukraine.... On Monday, Mr. Trump ... boast[ed] about his close relationship with Mr. Putin. 'Putin speaks to me; he doesn’t speak to anybody else,' Mr. Trump said, 'because he was very insulted when he got thrown out at the G8....'”
~~~ Maddow included a humorous cameo for "Bella Ciao," the Italian resistance song, in her segment, but it appears to have been edited out in the video above. Maddow made clear that the brass players subdued the Proud Boys by playing "Bella Ciao," but you can't really tell that in this video. Begins at about 1:40 minutes in. It's perfect that a song meant to celebrate the opponents of Mussolini should be used to celebrate opponents of Trumpolini.
Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “... what really made No Kings feel like a potential turning point was the juxtaposition with Trump’s anemic parade in Washington, which fell on his birthday.... The Wall Street Journal, no left-wing rag, described the crowd as 'sparse' and 'subdued.' A display that was meant to be bombastic and menacing instead looked pathetic.... Trump will keep trying to tear this increasingly fragile and beleaguered nation apart. But as Saturday showed, if and when he does so, he may not end up with the biggest piece.”
Marie: For those of us pleased or excited that millions of Americans stood up to Donald Trump, Saturday's very successful "No Kings" protests are but one skirmish in a long war Trump and his ilk are ready to fight. Already Trump has warned he will prioritize deportations in cities run by Democrats -- cities that, not coincidentally, were sites of some of the largest demonstrations Saturday. And there's this: ~~~
~~~ Gustaf Kilander of the Independent: “Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that states that don’t cooperate with the federal government’s deportation efforts may not receive any funding to rebuild their infrastructure. 'The @USDOT will NOT fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,' Duffy wrote on X on Monday. 'And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding.' Duffy’s comments come after ... Donald Trump issued a directive for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target Democratic-run cities to deport unauthorized immigrants.” (Also linked yesterday.) AND this: ~~~
~~~ Aaron Glantz of the Guardian: “Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump. The new rules ... also apply to psychologists, dentists and a host of other occupations. They have already gone into effect in at least some VA medical centers. Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion and sex, and all veterans remain entitled to treatment. But individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not explicitly prohibited by federal law. Language requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Still, Trump remains popular at Fox "News," even when they have to work at it ~~~
~~~ Fox Adds Indoor Applause Track to Outdoor Trump Speech. Maryam Khanum of the Latin Times: "Social media users are ridiculing ... Donald Trump and Fox News after the network was accused of adding fake applause sounds to footage of the President's military parade last weekend. Users pointed out that footage of Trump's remarks during the event which aired on Fox News was accompanied by applause sounds that didn't sound correct for the setting. Furthermore, they pointed out that the footage of the same point in the event aired on other networks, such as PBS, was not accompanied by the same cheering. 'Sound engineers pointing out in the comments that the applause is from an indoor audience on an outdoor event,' wrote one user who reposted the video on Bluesky." Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. See his commentary in Monday's thread. And, yes, adding an applause track to Trump's speech is both hilarious and a journalistic taboo. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Justin Baragona of the Independent: “Four months after giving Ariel Abergel a warm on-air sendoff when he left the network, the Fox & Friends crew praised their 25-year-old former producer for his role in overseeing Donald Trump’s much-hyped but sparsely attended military parade, insisting he did a 'fantastic' job producing the event. With the president’s parade coming across as a 'medium-sized town’s July 4th celebration' while the 'No Kings' protests drew millions of demonstrators across the country, the hosts of Trump’s favorite morning show also made sure to draw a contrast between the events and frame the demonstrations as anti-American.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Can You Hear Me Now? Sharon LaFraniere & Ben Protess of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s family business announced Monday that it was launching a mobile phone and cellular service in the first family’s latest attempt to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s political base. The announcement by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest sons, who run the Trump Organization, left some basic questions unanswered. The new $499 gold-toned Android phones would be designed and manufactured in the United States, but it was not clear how or where. The country lacks much of the necessary infrastructure to produce smartphones. One member of the new Trump phone team also said a $47 monthly cellular service plan would include 24/7 telemedicine. But the health services that the company says would be included typically cost much more than the entire monthly fee.... Although the Trumps are merely lending their name to the venture, the deal could still pose conflicts of interest as the president’s family moves into an industry regulated by his administration.” ~~~
~~~ “The Trump Family's Latest Grift Is a Cheap Phone that May Not Work.” Macolm Ferguson of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: “This family just cannot stop coming up with these modern snake oil salesmen side hustles that likely work on a good chunk of their base.... The Verge’s David Pierce noted that it would be 'utterly unfathomable' for the Trump Organization to produce a good, working phone [for $499], with multiple contradictory specs, in the next three months.”
And a Win for Stephen Miller. Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff that it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants — a decision that stood at odds with President Donald Trump’s calls for mass deportations of anyone without legal status. Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.... [Stephen] Miller, an architect of much of Trump’s aggressive immigration policy, had privately opposed carving out exceptions for certain industries that rely heavily on workers without legal status....”
David Lynch of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's “trade barriers may damage the larger and faster-growing part of the economy: the services industries that employ more than 80 percent of American workers. Since January, manufacturing payrolls have increased by 6,000 jobs, a fraction of the 470,000 new providers of services such as financial advice, health care and education, who generally escape presidential notice.... Unlike its merchandise trade, where the United States buys more from the world than it sells abroad, providing services such as financial advice, health care, education and travel to foreign customers is an American strength. The United States last year ran a surplus in services trade of $293.4 billion, which the president rarely acknowledges.... Trump’s [trade] demands risk expanding the global trade war to ensnare U.S. services providers.” ~~~
~~~ Worse Than Tariffs. Gene Sperling in a Washington Post op-ed: “Ever since Alexander Hamilton established the full faith and credit of the U.S. government as ironclad, generations of Americans have benefited from exceptional trust in our country’s economic integrity.... A major component of this American economic exceptionalism has been our demonstrated fidelity to serious economic norms, nonpolitical economic institutions and the rule of law. While ... Donald Trump’s tariffs, and his indifference to mounting deficits, are causing zigzags in the stock and bond markets, it is his disregard for rigorous economic decision-making and the rule of law that may create the most long-term damage to the country’s economic reputation.... Trump has backed off on some of his most extreme tariff threats, but his disregard for serious economic decision-making, independent economic institutions and the rule of law has continued.... Trump’s increasingly aggressive criticism of Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has created harmful uncertainty about whether Powell’s eventual successor will operate with full independence.... The White House is now engaging in unprecedented attacks on the credibility of the ... Congressional Budget Office.... And in August, Trump repeatedly and baselessly attacked the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 'fraudulently manipulating job statistics,' when it was simply conducting standard benchmark adjustments.”
Niha Masih of the Washington Post: “The NAACP will not invite ... Donald Trump to its national convention this year — the first time in the civil rights organization’s 116-year history that it has excluded a sitting president — citing what it described as his attacks on American democracy. 'The president has signed unconstitutional executive orders to oppress voters and undo federal civil rights protections; he has illegally turned the military on our communities, and he continually undermines every pillar of our democracy to make himself more powerful and to personally benefit from the U.S. government,' NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said Monday, announcing the group’s decision.”
Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “The American Bar Association is suing the White House to stop ... Donald Trump’s use of executive orders to punish and pressure law firms. The ABA — a voluntary professional organization for lawyers — alleged in its complaint filed in federal court in Washington Monday that the executive orders pursued by the Trump administration, as well as the deals it has reached with some of America’s top law firms seeking a reprieve from federal sanctions, have cast a 'blizzard-like chill' across the legal industry.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “The Trump administration is ordinarily quick to appeal its losses.... But administration lawyers have done nothing to challenge a series of stinging rulings rejecting Mr. Trump’s efforts to punish prominent law firms for what he called 'conduct detrimental to critical American interests' by representing clients and causes not to his liking. The administration’s unconventional litigation strategy is telling, said W. Bradley Wendel, a law professor at Cornell.... 'They knew that these were losing positions from the beginning and were not actually hoping to win in court, but rather to intimidate firms into settling, as many firms did,' he said. 'Now that they have racked up the four losses in district courts, it is not surprising that they are not appealing, because I don’t think they ever thought these were serious positions.'... Harold Koh, who is a professor at Yale Law School and its former dean, said the administration’s lawless attacks had been rewarded[:] 'The Trump administration ... never expected such capitulation. Through blatantly unconstitutional actions, it extracted deals from nine leading law firms for approaching $1 billion in coerced pro bono legal services and has chilled litigation and public opposition from law firms nationwide.'” (Also linked yesterday.)
Reagan Judge Overrules Trump/Musk Discriminatory Cuts. Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday declared the Trump administration’s move to cut hundreds of grants issued by the National Institutes of Health illegal, accusing the government of discrimination against minorities and L.G.B.T.Q. individuals. Ruling from the bench, Judge William G. Young of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered the government to restore much of the funding. Judge Young, a Reagan appointee with 40 years of experience as a federal judge, said the Trump administration’s rationale for canceling the grants, which support research into topics such as gender identity and equity in health care, appeared to be rooted in prejudice. He noted the administration’s efforts to eliminate any trace of diversity and equity initiatives from the federal government, as well as its attacks on transgender people. He said that throughout his career he had 'never seen government racial discrimination like this,' and that he felt duty bound to state his conclusion about the government’s intent.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP report is here.
Tony Romm of the New York Times: “The Trump administration broke the law when it withheld funding for the nation’s libraries, a nonpartisan government watchdog said on Monday, a finding that inches the White House another step closer to a legal showdown over its powers to reconfigure the country’s spending. The decision by the Government Accountability Office was the second time in two months that oversight officials have found fault in the ways that ... [Donald] Trump and his top aides have tried to circumvent lawmakers in their quest to reshape the federal budget so that it conforms with their political views.... The accountability office, an arm of Congress that keeps watch over the nation’s spending, concluded on Monday that the library agency ultimately “ceased performing” its functions after the president’s directive, and withheld funding that lawmakers had previously appropriated to carry out its mission. Ethics officials ultimately classified the interruption in aid as an illegal impoundment, which is prohibited under a 1970s law meant to restrict the president and his ability to defy Congress on spending. The White House maintains that those limits are unconstitutional....” (Also linked yesterday.)
Alexandra Berzon, et al., of the New York Times: “Throughout the early months of this Trump presidency, [Elon] Musk and his allies systematically built a false narrative of widespread fraud at the Social Security Administration based on misinterpreted data, using their claims to justify an aggressive effort to gain access to personal information on millions of Americans.... Their work has led to the departures of thousands of employees, thinning an already overstretched work force.... At Social Security, Mr. Musk’s efforts amount to a case study in what happened when his team of government novices ran a critical government agency through misinformation and social media blasts.... Mr. Musk’s deputies became so intent on their work at Social Security that they pushed employees to continue giving them access to sensitive agency data even after a federal judge demanded that DOGE’s access be cut off.... The Supreme Court ruled this month that DOGE’s access can resume. The Times also reviewed previously unreported emails that showed how DOGE members used the agency for political aims, directing Mr. Dudek to cancel important contracts in Maine after the state’s governor, a Democrat, clashed with Mr. Trump.” The story provides details of the Musk-led subterfuge. The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Catie Edmondson, et al., of the New York Times: “Senate Republicans on Monday released legislation that would cut Medicaid far more aggressively than would the House-passed bill to deliver ... [Donald] Trump’s domestic agenda, while also salvaging or slowing the elimination of some clean-energy tax credits, setting up a fight over their party’s marquee policy package. The measure, released by the Senate Finance Committee, contains the core provisions of that chamber’s version of the legislation that Republicans muscled through the House last month and are hoping to speed through the Senate and deliver to Mr. Trump's desk by July 4. But its differences with that bill are substantial and are all but certain to complicate the measure’s path to enactment....” Politico has a brief story here. ~~~
~~~ The House Bill Is Already Lethal Enough. Kaitlin Sullivan of NBC News: "The proposed Medicaid cuts in the House Republicans’ sprawling domestic policy bill could cause an estimated 7.6 million Americans to lose health insurance, leading to thousands of preventable deaths, according to an analysis published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study estimated the cuts could cause nearly 2 million people to lose their primary doctor, 1.3 million people to not fill medications they need and 380,270 women to skip a mammogram. More than 16,600 people could die as a result of losing access to or forgoing care, the researchers estimated."
Holly Bailey, et al., of the Washington Post: “The man charged with shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses this weekend went to the homes of at least two other Minnesota elected officials as he carried out the attacks, authorities said on Monday. Joseph H. Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, said Vance Luther Boelter extensively stalked his victims and posed as a law enforcement officer during the attacks. He allegedly stopped at the homes of a state representative in Maple Grove and a state senator in New Hope in between shootings that killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and left state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, seriously injured.... Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office filed initial charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder over the weekend to secure a warrant for Boelter’s arrest. She intends to pursue a first-degree murder case once state prosecutors can present their case to a grand jury.... Boelter researched his targets, looking up their addresses and other personal information on publicly available websites and compiling a list of potential elected officials, most of whom were Democrats, the complaint says. He allegedly purchased flashlights, a 'hyperrealistic silicone mask' and materials authorities said he would later use to disguise his car as a police vehicle.” The story goes on to report some details of Boelter's alleged actions. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Hayley Miller of NBC News: "The Justice Department on Monday announced six counts, including federal murder charges, against Vance Boelter, the Minnesota man accused of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses on Saturday.... A 20-page federal criminal affidavit released Monday provided the clearest timeline yet of Boelter’s alleged plot to assassinate Democratic politicians in Minnesota." The page includes a copy of the full affidavit. The federal criminal complaint is here. State charging documents are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jordain Carney & Calen Razor of Politico: “Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was confronted by a Senate colleague Monday over his social media posts that blamed the Minnesota shootings over the weekend that killed a former Democratic legislative leader on 'Marxists.' Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, a friend of murdered state Rep. Melissa Hortman, spoke to the Utah Republican in a hallway off the Senate floor during evening votes. 'I wanted him to know how much pain that caused me and the other people in my state, and I think around the country, who think that this was a brutal attack,' Smith told reporters afterward.... Smith’s personal confrontation was among a wave of criticism directed at Lee from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday demanded he remove the posts and apologize to the victims and their families, calling them 'reckless and beneath the dignity of his office.'... Separately, a top aide to Smith wrote an email to members of Lee’s staff lambasting the senator for having 'exploited the murder of a lifetime public servant and her husband to post some sick burns about Democrats.... Using the office of US Senator to post not just one but a series of jokes about an assassination — is that a successful day of work on Team Lee?... Did you come into the office Monday and feel proud of the work you did over the weekend?'” (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here.
David Yaffe-Bellany of the New York Times: “The MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who spread baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, defamed a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems, a federal jury in Denver found on Monday. The jury awarded $2.3 million in damages to the former employee, Eric Coomer, after a two-week trial, according to one of his lawyers, David Beller. Mr. Lindell claimed without evidence that the vote had been rigged to prevent ... [Donald] Trump from winning re-election. Among his targets was Dr. Coomer, who is a former director of product strategy and security at Dominion, a Denver-based manufacturer of voting machines that was falsely accused of flipping votes from Mr. Trump to Joseph R. Biden Jr. Mr. Lindell called Dr. Coomer 'a traitor to the United States' and said he should turn himself in to the authorities, according to court filings. Dr. Coomer sued Mr. Lindell in 2022, arguing that those attacks had effectively ended his career in the election industry and led to 'frequent credible death threats.'” The AP's story is here.
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California. Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The Los Angeles Press Club sued the city of Los Angeles and its police chief, Jim McDonnell, over alleged police violence toward journalists covering the ongoing protests of immigration raids in L.A. The press club, which advocates for journalists in Southern California, filed its lawsuit Monday in federal district court in Los Angeles, saying that the defendants violated journalists’ First Amendment rights by using 'excessive force' against them.... Law enforcement officers at the protests have routinely shot less-lethal ammunition at demonstrators, in some cases hitting and injuring members of the press. Sergio Olmos, a reporter for CalMatters, told The Washington Post last week that he’s covered hundreds of days of protests in his career and has never seen the police use so many less-lethal rounds.”
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Israel/Iran, et al. Farnaz Fassihi, et al., of the New York Times: “Israel escalated its bombings across Iran on Monday, striking Iran’s elite military force and the nation’s state broadcaster and sending thousands fleeing from Tehran, as its offensive entered its fourth day and showed no signs of slowing. Some of Israel’s attack was televised. On Monday evening, an Iranian state news anchor was live on air when an explosion shook the scene, causing falling debris and the sound of screams and breaking glass. Iranian state media said the blast injured some employees, disabled its website and forced the broadcaster briefly off air. In what is likely to be a more consequential strike, Israel also bombed the Tehran command center of the Quds Force, one of the most important and covert arms of Iran’s military. The force largely runs Iran’s foreign operations — including training and arming its proxy groups, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza — and any disruption could be a significant blow to Iran’s military capabilities and regional reach.” ~~~
~~~ Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, is leading a push to curb ... [Donald] Trump’s authority to use U.S. forces to engage in hostilities against Iran, as the war between Israel and Iran raises fears of American entanglement in a broader conflict. A resolution Mr. Kaine introduced Monday would require explicit congressional authorization or a formal declaration of war before U.S. forces could take direct action against Iran. It faces long odds on Capitol Hill given Republicans’ reluctance to challenge Mr. Trump’s power, but it could prompt a vibrant debate as lawmakers in both parties warn against involving the United States in the escalating conflict. The measure is a direct invocation of the War Powers Resolution, a 1973 federal law intended to be a check on the president’s power to enter an armed conflict without the consent of Congress.”
Ukraine/Russia, et al. As Trump Embraces Putin. Lizzie Johnson & Serhii Korolchuk of the Washington Post: “At least 15 people, including an American citizen, were killed and 114 injured in a massive overnight attack on Kyiv, marking the deadliest strike on the Ukrainian capital this year. Russia pummeled Kyiv and its suburbs with 175 drones, 14 cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said in a post on Telegram. Across Ukraine, more than 440 drones and 32 missiles hit multiple cities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, including Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kropyvnytskyi, Mykolaiv and Odessa, where a 15th victim — a 60-year-old woman — died and another 17 were injured.”
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Reader Comments (26)
Oh yeah…About that Trump mobile phone…
Stoopid Eric sez “Eventually…those phones will be built in the United States…”
Soooo….until they (sometime in 2030?) this latest POS Trump scam phone will be built in…China?
Make China Great Again!
I thought the idea was to bring manufacturing back to the US. What’s that? Oh…after the Trump Crime Family cleans up on this latest grift?
Got it! Thanks, Eric, you fucking scambag.
Test…
The new “Heil Hitler!”, I mean “HEIL HITLER!”
Have you noticed how Fatty ends every manic post, no matter what it’s about, with “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”?
He’s like some autistic automaton.
“Buy my new phony phones! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“I hate Taylor Swift! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“Chunky peanut butter is better than the smooth kind. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“Oh shit! I crapped my pants! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“It is NOT shaped like a mushroom head! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
It’s the new “HEIL HITLER!” Take note, MAGAts!
“
Admit I don't understand crypto's appeal. If a so-called stable coin's value has to be loosely tethered to something more stable like the dollar, then what's its value? But then, 99% of the items offered for sale in our vast economy are things I don't wish to buy and hence have no value for me.
In fact if the majority of folks were like me, I'd guess our economy would crash.
So what do I know?
Do know I think this one is worth a read.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/opinion/genius-act-stablecoin-crypto.html
White House releases crowd shot from parade.
Ukraine
"North Korean losses exceed 6,000 in Russia's Kursk Oblast, UK intelligence reports"
HuffPost
"Trump Hasn’t Visited A Single Natural Disaster On His Watch As President
Trump, who politicized disasters during his campaign, is now slow-walking aid to victims of dozens of tornadoes, floods and wildfires."
Hospitals
"Trump's assault on rural hospitals hits the Senate
But the depths of how bad this bill are so deep and murky that there has been almost no exploration of one of the law’s most vicious effects—the starving of rural hospitals that are already teetering on the edge of solvency.
A recent study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, requested by Senate Democrats, finds that the bill threatens 338 rural hospitals and practically dooms 83 of them to imminent closure."
Criminals
"Worker arrested by ICE in Lynn, later released, says agents beat him in cemetery
Alejandro Reyes said he told immigration agents multiple times that he's a legal resident, and that he was brought to a cemetery where they assaulted him."
Where is RFK, jr when you need him? I saw this link to a substack named Clean Technica on Bluesky:
Texas Approves Use Of Fracking Wastewater To Irrigate Crops
The article points out that "Chris Wright, the head of Liberty Energy, a fracking company, ... is now head of the Energy Department
....
According to WFAA News in Texas, proponents argue the recycled water could supplement the state’s supply of fresh water and incentify the oil and gas industries to clean up their messes. Critics say it could contaminate the very land Texans depend on for food and survival."
Carlos Nogueras Ramos, in The Texas Tribune, describes the bill:
Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
"The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state’s rivers, lakes and streams.
State Rep. Drew Darby’s House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier to expanding the treatment of the brine it generates, known as produced water, and making it available for reuse.
The bill protects landowners, oil, treatment and transportation companies from liability should consequences arise after they sell or treat the liquid.In Texas, record oil and gas production is only outmatched by the backwash that surfaces with the fossil fuels. There are five barrels of produced water for every barrel of oil. Texas oil companies are increasingly using this liquid, which is trapped in the rock where drilling and fracking occur, to frack more.
Democrats are all murderers! Aieeee!
Screaming Mimi, Don Junior, aka Eight Ball, took his nose out of the coke pile long enough to go on News Nation, another Fox News wannabe, to join the liars chorus of PoT hacks singing from the same propaganda song book about how not only is the Minnesota murderer a left-wing loony, all liberals and Democrats are killers, thugs, liars, and purveyors of violence (talk about projection…sheesh).
But when the host pointed out, ever so gently, that the would be mass murderer in Minnesota is a Trump supporter who voted for his felon daddy, Junior refused to believe it.
As RAS pointed out yesterday, there are people who will believe certain false claims, no matter how wild, with zero evidence, but when presented with thr truth, won’t believe it despite a mountain of rock solid evidence.
Of course in Junior’s case, he probably just wanted to get the hell out of there to grab his crack pipe.
In a world of hideous liars and grifters, Fat Hitler’s idiot spawn stand out as prime examples of the worst sort,
Nothing like closing rural hospitals to burnish a bill that already rewards the rich at the expense of the poor....
As the administration expands its war against large cities, it's worth nothing that at this rate only cities will have hospitals.
Of course, the immensely wealthy don't tend to live in exurbia.
Way to go Repugnants.
Make that "noting." (Which you already did.)
And I see that our brave leader waiting until he'd left the conference before he attacked Macron, calling him! a showboat...
Take that projecting projectile!
Wait, wait, wait…
Texas is now going to further reward Big Oil and Gas by allowing them to make more money by selling poisoned water for use on FARMS???
What the actual fuck!
Greed is one thing, but greed plus this? Oh wait, I see. They’re gonna “process” the waste water, right? Clean it up a little?
Two things. First, I’m gonna go waaay out on a limb here and suggest that this sort of process is freaking EXPENSIVE, not to mention difficult. And in order to make any kind of a profit selling reused formerly poisonous waste water filled with sludge and chemicals and assorted minerals no one would think of using to grow a tomato plant, they’d have to charge an arm and two legs plus assorted internal organs when selling this muck to farmers.
Next…if the water treatment process was so great, why build in this indemnification against horrible outcomes? I mean, I know the poor dears who own Big Oil and Gas have to survive on billions in profits every year. We certainly can’t have some mooching farmer suing them because his corn has turned black and grown legs and his rice has mutated into some kind of alien species.
Just when you think MAGA connivers can’t get any more evil, you only need to look to FH Mini-Me, Greg Abbott.
Christ almighty!
Also…”incentify”? Is that even a word?
Criminals
"Worker arrested by ICE in Lynn, later released, says agents beat him in cemetery
Alejandro Reyes said he told immigration agents multiple times that he's a legal resident, and that he was brought to a cemetery where they assaulted him."
Akhilleus: his use of "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" evokes Cato the Elder's "Carthago delendum est," with which the Roman senator ended every speech-- "Carthage must be destroyed." They're both pretty chilling to me.
Francie,
And we all know what happened to Carthage.
Carthage was a pain in Roman butts for over 100 years. The fact THST they refused to knuckle under to Rome triggered the Punic Wars and ended with the so-called Carthaginian Peace.
The MAGAts, under Trump seek exactly that sort of end for all of us.
So yeah, chilling is the word.
Now where are my elephants?
The Pretender is one tough guy--when someone else is out front doing the fighting for him.
Reminds me of a story I might get to later. It ended with me getting a hefty sock to the jaw.
Fat Hitler is an impotent incompetent. He has been outplayed and maneuvered by everyone at every turn. He has no idea what to do so he resorts to his standard fallback when he’s afraid of looking like an idiot: bluster, braggadocio, and threats of BIGGEST BOOM BOOM EVER! Unless everyone does what I say! Cuz I’m the BOSS!!
Jesus. Just shut up and stuff another Big Mac in the pie hole.
No one cares what you think.
The more interesting sideshow here is the way MAGA world is tearing itself apart over whether or not Fatty should nuke Tehran.
But the worst possibility is that we get dragged into a shooting war because of Fat Hitler’s incompetence and ignorance.
Bibi is inveigling Fatty into seriously considering bombing Iran.
Trump, ever the blustering weakling is alone in a prison of his own making, and who does he have to turn to for advice? A drunk? A sniveling Sec of State with jello for a backbone, a shape shifting climber of a VP, and a seething fascist who lives to inflict pain on brown people?
He has a congressional contingent of vapid cowards and bootlickers. No help there. And because he’s not very bright himself, he can be easily led. Bibi has been pulling on his nose ring lately, and it’s getting to be decision time.
Surely diplomacy is called for, but from whom? The huckster real estate developer he sends off to “negotiate”? The only thing that guy has ever negotiated are bank loans for a new plot of condos.
So, you’re not very smart yourself. You surround yourself with lackeys, yes men, and drooling incompetents. That might work for a while, as long as you can hide in your MAGA bubble and lord it over the monkeys. But now the real world is knocking at the door. It doesn’t care that you have “all the best words” or fancy yourself a stable genius. It wants answers, not lies, schoolyard insults, obfuscations, scams, or covefe.
Nos it’s time to step up and lead, time to do more than brag and issue stupid threats.
But Trump Always Chickens Out.
Always.
Your president*, MAGAts.
Are we going to see a re-emergence of the brilliant folk like Paul Wolfowitz to tell us that a war with Iran will be easy-peasy? It's only one letter different from Iraq, and we learned so many helpful lessons there. Surely this one will be the two week war they promised us for Iraq?
A war with Iran, aside from being unnecessary and wrong, would be catastrophic in terms of the human and financial cost. AND WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IF THE FF HADN'T WITHDRAWN FROM THE IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT.
James Fallows, on BlueSky, links to info and maps of public lands eligible for sale in the senate version of the 'big beautiful bill'
James Fallows Bluesky post
(copying that link, i got an error indicating that users have to be logged in to view the post, so I added the links individually below):
from The Wilderness Society:
250+ million acres for sale in the senate big beautiful bill
A link to a map showing those areas:
Public land for sale
Faux News, even after a mountain of evidence that the Minnesota murderer is a Christian Nationalist, far-right wing Trump supporter who had a kill list of dozens of Democrats, still insists his politics are “unclear”.
These connivers never give up. Despite incontrovertible evidence of this guy’s politics, Faux must give comfort and aid to the MAGAts who have been fed the line that this MAGA killer is a Biden-Obama-Clinton creature who could not possibly come from their side.
I’m just wondering what must it be like to believe you are never wrong about anything, believe those you vote for are pure and without moral or ethical blemish and could never authorize, support, or encourage violence (unless it was against those who deserve to be punished: Democrats, liberals, gays and lesbians, academics, scientists whose findings don’t comport with Fat Hitler’s infallible views, librarians, reporters who believe in a free press that can report wrongdoing by Republicans, uppity women who think they control their own bodies, environmentalists, anyone who doesn’t believe Fat Hitler has been sent by Jesus to punish the wicked, and of course, trans people!)..
How is it that ALL those people are wrong, liars, haters of America, and outright evil?
I guess it’s the same as being delusional or brain damaged,
Akhilleus,
You, Francine, and the Punic Wars reminded me of those Harold Lamb books I read when I was in high school. Don't know how good the history was (not that it matters now to my aging brain) but do remember enjoying them. And they did give me a sense of history most of my schoolmates didn't have.
The Pretender is not the only one laking that sense.
Another Republican scofflaw:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article307693765.html
Breaking news!
Cosplay Kristi Gnome, the puppy killer, has been rushed to the hospital with an allergic reaction! She must have touched a copy of the Constitution!
Oh noes!
It’s well known that MAGAts are extremely allergic to laws, ethics, morality, decency, and truth, but nothing triggers their Wouldja-Woo MAGA immune system like the United States Constitution! The poor dear! Good thing she didn’t accidentally read a few words of it. She’d be picking out living quarters in the fiery hereafter!
Looks like she’ll live to murder more puppies and have more Democratic senators arrested for asking her a question, and don more leather play uniforms,
Woof. That was a close one.