Not ‘Even a Little Bit’
President Trump told reporters this week that he does not care about Americans’ financial situations “even a little bit” when it comes to ending the war he launched with Iran earlier this year.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” Trump told reporters Tuesday, before diving into a screed about how much he does care about making sure Tehran does not have nuclear capabilities.
It was the perfect sound byte for Democrats who are already not having to do too much to remind Americans that Trump’s economy, and his decision to launch another endless war in the Middle East, is ruining their financial prospects, at a time where record high inflation and Trump’s own tariffs are making it difficult to afford anything. But the gaffe — a generous take for a billionaire president — was even more tone deaf than we initially realized.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that Trump actually made the remarks after a handful of Republican senators visited the White House on Monday and begged him to help them message to the American people about how the party will address their concerns about … not being able to afford basic necessities. Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) made the pilgrimmage to implore Trump to support a bill that they think will help address the high costs of homeownership, according to the WSJ.
Trump publicly announced his support for the legislation after the White House meeting with the senators. He posted on Truth Social urging Congress to pass the legislation and reportedly got on the phone with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) during the meeting to press him to get his caucus in line to pass it (there is reportedly some opposition in the House over build-to-rent rules for new rental home developers that are included in the bill).
But then a day later, he reminded everyone he is, in fact, an out-of-touch billionaire, focused, yes, on his war no one wants, but also much more on the ballroom no one wants to pay for.
Dem Shows Some Righteous Anger
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) remarks have been making the rounds today.
“We’re going to win in November, and then we’re going to crush their souls as it relates to the extremism that they are trying to unleash on the American people,” Jeffries said Wednesday, per Politico Playbook, with an accompanying piece out today headlining the fact that “ruthless partisan tactics are in” for Dems. 🫠
While the fire from Democrats is welcome, the focus on “partisan tactics” is just one of the many ways in which the mainstream media, in the wake of the Callais ruling, has spoken of what’s unfolding in the language of politics-as-usual, sidestepping historical context and normalizing the rage-inducing fact that southern state legislators and officials did not pause to take a breath for even a second before leaping to erase Black political representation in the South.
Least Surprising Headline of the Week
Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
The Associated Press is out with a new piece today on FBI Director Kash Patel’s luxury snorkeling adventure in Hawaii while he was there touring the FBI’s Honolulu field office and meeting with local police. Patel reportedly went swimming near the USS Arizona, which is almost entirely off limits with a few exceptions for things like placing remains of passed members of the USS Arizona crew who wanted their ashes with their crewmates among the wreckage. It fits the pattern with the FBI director, as the AP notes:
Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.
The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.
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Morning Memo: Big Round of New Trump Administration Smackdowns From Federal Judges
New edition of The Franchise, from Khaya Himmelman, out this afternoon: Even the Initially Hesitant Southern States Have Now Joined GOP Race to Eliminate Black Political Representation
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Rubio is banned from China, but Beijing may have found a way around it
When Kash gets back to DC he is going to get on his dirt bike and do brodies on the lawn at Arlington National Cemetery.
When running for President in the 2015/2016 campaign for President, it was stated that Donald Trump “lacked the required temperament to assume the office of President of the United States.” That was true then, it is true now. He is a tone-deaf buffoon.
It’s incredible that LGBTQ+ activists joking about using Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher’s graves as open-air, gender neutral bathrooms are still more respectful than actual Trump appointees. When will Laura Trump release her erotic interpretive dance video filmed on the beaches at Normandy?
Way to push the envelope.