Regime Change by Way of Palm Beach

Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕️

Even the outbreak of war can’t stop the social season at President Donald Trump’s private Florida beach club, Mar-a-Lago. In fact, just before launching the wave of attacks against Iran last weekend, Trump made a cameo appearance at a gala where he hinted to guests that some very presidential activity was about to go down. 

TPM’s invite was somehow lost in the mail, but we combed social media to get a sense of the scene. It was a mix of caviar, conspicuous consumption and corporate sponsorship before the bombs began to fall.

The event in question was an anniversary bash for Place of Hope, a “faith based” organization that works on foster care and other services for children. Based on various photos and videos posted by party guests on Instagram, the evening’s entertainments were sponsored by Lexus and featured massive replica Rolexes and other luxury watches (one emblazoned with the photo of Trump after he was shot in 2024). There was also a giant backdrop featuring a letter First Lady Melania Trump wrote last year praising the charity, intense portraits of the slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, plates stacked with osetra, and flaming bottles of champagne. Real classy stuff. 

A dance team hyped up the crowd and, for some reason, the flag of Israel, which joined America in the attack on Iran, was on display. Based on photos released by the White House, Trump oversaw the strikes from a draped-off war room somewhere at the beach club. This raised questions about potential security risks — as did the fact that the pictures included sensitive details. Security procedures were in place for the party guests that evening. They had to be screened to enter the president’s wartime headquarters after boarding shuttles that came every few minutes from a nearby hotel. 

Based on the videos, before heading off to his war room to let loose the missiles that have kicked off a wave of civilian deaths, regional violence, and global uncertainty, Trump stopped by the party. Footage shows him entering the ballroom to the strains of Lee Greenwood’s patriotic anthem “God Bless The U.S.A.” Trump, who seemed to be wearing the same “USA” ballcap he would sport a short time later as he announced the new war, gave a little dance to the music and shook one guest’s hand. 

“Good song huh?” the president declared, adding, “Have a good time everybody.”

As the partygoers implored him to stay and enjoy the festivities, Trump hinted that he had pressing matters to attend to. With a guest appearance at the black tie bash out of the way, “Operation Epic Fury” was set to begin. 

“We’ve got to go work,” Trump said. “I’ve got to go work.”

— Hunter Walker

DOJ Hopes to Convince Majority-GOP Panel to Be the First to Buy Into Trans Fishing Expedition 

The Trump administration is 0/7 in its attempt to whack hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for minors with broad and invasive subpoenas. 

So far, every district court has either quashed or narrowed the subpoenas, finding them overbroad. TPM’s own reporting has shown that the subpoenas, under the guise of investigating drug manufacturers and distributors for mislabeling, have sought such sensitive information as patient diagnoses and Social Security numbers. 

“I think they’re intent on prosecuting someone with regard to the provision of gender-affirming care, and they’re fishing for someone to prosecute,” a lawyer involved in one of these cases told TPM.

On Friday, one of those cases got up to a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel composed of one Democratic appointee and two Republican ones. 

“In the states that we’re dealing with here, there’s nothing improper about the gender affirming care that is taking place, correct?” asked Judge Richard Paez, a Clinton appointee. “In the state of Washington, they don’t have any laws against it, do they?” 

The Trump administration has been fairly transparent outside the courtroom that its goal is to intimidate hospitals into stopping providing the care rather than risk criminal prosecution; it’s often been successful in that effort.

Inside the courtroom, though, the DOJ’s Sarah Welch took great pains to feign that the fishing expedition is really to enforce the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which guards against mislabeled drugs flooding the markets. That’s in large part because the Trump administration, even with its Republican trifecta, has failed to pass legislation banning gender-affirming care and instead has to depend on lawsuits, executive orders and intimidation. 

— Kate Riga

Words of Wisdom

“The president had a feeling, again, based on fact, that Iran was going to strike the United States, was going to strike our assets in the region, and he made a determination to launch Operation Epic Fury based on all of those reasons.”

As I’m sure our loyal Weekender readers are aware, it’s been a while since we have done a Words of Wisdom. Things have felt more alarming and chaotic than funny and satirical in the past year. Not to undermine the seriousness of this topic, but this quote this week made me feel like maybe it was time to dust off the Words of Wisdom corner.

Not sure if anyone ever tried to explain away bombing another country because they had a feeling … but here we are. That’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answering questions about President Donald Trump’s decision to enter the U.S. into a war against Iran — though since then every high level official in the Trump administration and Republican leadership in Congress have tried to claim it’s not a war, even while Trump keeps calling it one.

Not to state the obvious, but can you imagine if we had a woman president and anyone in their administration had dared to say the president had a feeling to strike another country … I can already imagine the Fox News chyrons for the next three months. Might have been a bigger scandal than Obama’s tan suit.

— Emine Yücel

Trump Doubles Down on SAVE America Act 

President Trump is doubling down on efforts to get Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, a restrictive election bill that mandates documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

The bill, as TPM has reported, will disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and helps perpetuate the long-standing myth that non-citizens are voting in federal elections. 

The U.S. House passed the SAVE America Act in a 218-213 vote last month, but due to the filibuster, the bill is now stalled in the Senate. Trump has urged Republicans to change filibuster rules in order to pass the measure, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has, until this point, not caved to Trump’s pressure. 

This week, Trump posted a series of Truth Socials once again urging Republicans to pass the bill. 

“The Republicans MUST DO, with PASSION, and at the expense of everything else, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT – And not the watered down version. This is a Country Defining fight for the Soul of our Nation!” Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social Post. 

About an hour later Trump did another Truth Social post, outlining what he believes to be some of the most important provisions of the SAVE America Act and other anti-trans priorities? Studies have shown that the SAVE America Act could make registering to vote more difficult for trans Americans.  

“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT! 1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!). 2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE,” he wrote. “3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!). 4. NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. 5. NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION SURGERY FOR CHILDREN, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN APPROVAL OF THE PARENTS.”

Trump doubled down on the passage of the SAVE America Act in the wake of a bloody Republican primary in Texas, where Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded to reports that Trump plans to endorse Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) by posting on Twitter that he would only drop out of the race if the SAVE America Act passed the Senate. It was a post designed to pressure Thune to change filibuster rules to pass the legislation — and remind Trump he has beef with the majority leader, who has been publicly pressuring Trump to endorse the incumbent Cornyn.

— Khaya Himmelman