Trump’s Braggadocios Birthday Bash is Being Brought to You By a Former Fox News Producer

On Saturday Donald Trump will be headlining his latest reality TV extravaganza. Like everything else that the huckster and former game show host does, Trump’s charade …er… parade of military assets and soldiers ordered to march in his “honor” will be dedicated to the exaltation of Trump.

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Donald Trump, Military Parade

The event that is being billed as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army will waste the valuable time of thousands of Army personal, and an estimated $45 million that might have been better spent on the welfare of active duty soldiers, veterans, and their families. And it won’t even fulfill Trump’s primary motivation in the scheduling of the affair: maximizing attention on himself…

SEE THIS: UH-OH: ABC, NBC, and CBS News are ‘Unlikely to Preempt Programming’ for Trump’s Birthday Parade

This cavalcade of conceit has been critiqued by many patriots as a grossly inappropriate effort on Trump’s part to wrap himself in glory. And as evidence of the purposefully partisan procession’s aims, it has now been revealed that it is being produced by someone who perfectly fits the prerequisites for any Trump production. As reported by The Atlantic, former Fox News producer, Ariel Abergel…

“…has been tasked by President Donald Trump with overseeing the nation’s 250th birthday celebration as executive director of America250. The congressionally authorized festivities, which kick off tomorrow with a Washington parade to honor the Army, are backed by more than $100 million in expected congressional appropriations and are supposed to be a nonpolitical, nonpartisan affair.”

“But Abergel’s new role has prompted concerns even from some Trump loyalists, as well as a backlash among participants who worry that his installation portends a bid by Trump to channel the patriotism surrounding the nation’s semiquincentennial into a celebration of himself.”

The notion that Trump might be channeling the event into “a celebration of himself” is a no-brainer. It’s what he does with everything. And at the same time, he endeavors to funnel as much cash into his own pockets as possible. Which may explain why there have been special provisions made for “top donors [who] have been promised a ‘dedicated VIP experience.'”

This is all monkey business as usual for Trump. And it isn’t the first time that the Trump regime looked to Fox News to fill an official function. They recently considered hiring a Fox News producer to make video versions of the president’s daily intelligence brief because they couldn’t get Trump to pay attention. So where else but Fox News would he turn to recruit a producer for the parade? He has already hired 21 people from Fox News to work on his staff in the White House.

SEE ALSO: Trump’s Nominees Are Largely Fox News Alum, Mar-a-Lago Patrons, and Billionaires

The organization putting on the allegedly non-partisan parade, America250, is hardly politically neutral. The Atlantic also reports that “the group has been functioning in recent weeks as an arm of Trump’s White House operation.” And that Abergel “has brought over others from Fox News to help the organization, and added top campaign advisers to Trump.” Even Trump’s White House chief of protocol, and former Fox News contributor, Monica Crowley, “has been appointed the ‘principal media representative’ of America250.”

So the American people who lower themselves to watch the parade should prepare for a brazenly biased tribute to Dear Leader Trump, with all the bells and whistles that decorate a typical Fox News Alert. Everyone else should either watch – or attend in person – one of the hundreds of NO KINGS demonstrations being held around the country. They don’t cost taxpayers a dime, and they might just speed up the end of Trump’s reign of terror.

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Trump’s Cabinet Spends More Time Spreading Lies on Fox News than Working for the American People

Now that Donald Trump is four months into his second occupation of the White House, it’s easy to forget that his prior experience for the job was having been a failed businessman with multiple bankruptcies who resurrected his tawdry reputation by becoming a reality TV game show host. But all that anyone needs as a reminder is a quick look at the horrible results of his self-serving agenda.

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Donald Trump Fox News

Trump’s television past is evident in his governing style that consists primarily of staging photo-ops and developing melodramatic scenarios that seem more like the sort of cheesy plots of daytime soap operas than the serious work of government. Contriving conflict has always been a basic component of entertainment, and Trump has adapted it to his White House communications strategy. Even to the extreme of manufacturing hostilities with beloved celebrities.

SEE THIS: What’s Keeping Snowflake Trump Awake at Night? Springsteen, Beyoncé, and Oprah, Oh My!

Keeping with his fixation on television as a governing and propaganda tool, Trump has deployed some of his most senior staff and Cabinet officials to essentially be on TV duty every day. Which is easy for him since there are so many former Fox News folks (21 so far) in his White House. High ranking members of past administrations would be at a loss to explain how Trump’s staffers can do their jobs while preening for Fox News constantly. Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News squawking head himself, even had a makeup studio built at the Pentagon for him to prepare for his TV appearances.

This week, because everything in the country is running so perfectly, Trump’s Cabinet was able to report for duty at Fox News en masse. It began with Trump’s Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who was on Sean Hannity’s program where she admitted that all she does every day is hate-watch other news networks. Which is something that Trump himself likes to do.

Trump's Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, "watched CNN all day," and is doing Fox News hits all night.Because everyone in the Trump administration thinks their job is to appear on Fox News and spread bullsh*t.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T09:20:29.106Z

Trump’s utterly unqualified FBI director, Kash Patel, was on Fox News complaining about having to neglect the real work of the Bureau because he and his agents were too busy chasing bullsh*t “threats” triggered by an innocent meme posted by former FBI Director, Jim Comey…

“Do you know how many copycats we have had to investigate as a result of that beach side venture from the former director? Do you know how many agents I’ve had to take offline from chasing down child sex predators, fentanyl traffickers, terrorists, because everywhere across this country people are popping up on social media and think that a threat to life of the president of the United States is a joke?”

Patel’s deputy director at the FBI, former podcaster Dan Bongino, was also on Fox News whining about how hard his job is. Aside from also complaining about Comey, and confessing that he doesn’t like his new job, Bongino threw himself a pity party, kvetching about how tough it is to have a real job. Perhaps he should go back to podcasting…

“I gave up everything for this. I mean, you know, my wife is struggling and I’m not a victim. I’m not Jim Comey. Fine. I did this and I’m proud I did it. But if you think we’re there for tea and crumpets…I stare at these four walls all day in D.C. You know, by myself, divorced from my wife, not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it’s hard.”

Dan Bongino has a nice cry on Fox & Friends: "I gave up everything for this. I mean, my wife is struggling… I stare at these 4 walls all day in DC, you know, by myself, divorced from my wife. Not divorced, but I mean, separated. And it's hard." (Note that Brian Kilmeade has to encourage him lol)

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-29T15:02:17.580Z

Then there was Trump’s incompetent Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, who is both a former reality TV goofball, and a former Fox News hack. He was on Fox News complaining about public transportation, which is something that he is responsible for. But he thinks that only liberals want you to use it. Also…

Trump's Reality TV Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy on Fox News: "If you want people to ride a subway, make it clean. Make it safe. It's very, very simple."Then DO IT! That's your damn job, Bozo. And, by the way, millions of people use public transportation with no problem every day.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-29T15:54:20.691Z

Joining the Trump Brigades was his Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, who has pledged to shut down the department she runs, because who needs education. She was on Fox News attacking foreign students who come to America and implying that they, and their teachers, are subversives. Because the best and brightest young people in other countries just can’t wait to get into an American university and burn it down.

That was all in just two days. When do any of these people have the time to work on anything related to their actual job titles? Although, it may actually a blessing in disguise that these phonies are so wrapped up in media appearances. The more time they spend on television, the less time they have to screw up the country.

However, it would be nice if the American people could have some faith that their public servants were actually working on their behalf. We’ll just have to wait until Trump and Company are gone for that. 8647!

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Marco Rubio Bans Visas for Officials Who Censor Americans – Such as Marco Rubio and Trump?

After nearly two and half centuries, the American Constitution remains one of the most revered documents of independence and liberty ever written and adopted as the legal foundation of a democratic republic. It defines the basic governing principles for a free society that is truly made of, by, and for the people.

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Donald Trump, Censorship

That said, if there is one thing for which Donald Trump has distinguished himself throughout his occupation of the White House, it is his fervent aversion to the Constitution and especially its prohibitions on abridging freedom of the press and free speech. He has literally taken control over the once independently managed White House Press briefings in order to transform it into a pro-Trump puppet show of pure propaganda.

SEE THIS: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

On Wednesday Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, accelerated the autocratic aspirations of the Trump regime by issuing a new decree aimed at foreign government officials and other diplomats seeking to visit the United States. Rubio tweeted that…

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights.

“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

Paging Mr Orwell, Mr George Orwell. Please come to the White courtesy phone.

digby (@digby56.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T18:15:01.190Z

Rubio’s policy specifically references foreign nations and/or persons engaging in the moderation of social media in order to mitigate hate speech, disinformation, and efforts to incite violence. It’s the sort of responsible moderation that was practiced in the U.S. until Trump coerced American tech platforms to discontinue it so that Trump and his cult followers could rabble-rouse uninterrupted.

However, the flaming hypocrisy of Rubio’s decree is impossible to ignore. The Trump administration is the most censorious regime to assume power in America since the 1950’s blacklisting and McCarthyism. Trump has been persecuting Harvard University and other academic institutions who refused to kiss his… let’s say ring. He has been pressuring law firms (not always successfully) to kneel down before him, and even pledge the support of hundreds of millions of dollars in free representation for his MAGA agenda.

Perhaps worst of all, Trump has been threatening the media with billion dollar lawsuits and revocation of broadcast licenses unless they kowtow to him and his fixation on getting the press to lavish him with unflinching adoration.

What’s more, Trump has installed himself as the chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he has banned the Associated Press from presidential media avails; he appointed Kari Lake to head the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which manages Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA). And Lake has already made some preposterous decisions…

FOR INSTANCE: Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

On the same day that Rubio issued his decree, Trump’s Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, told CNBC that universities must be “in sync” with the Trump administration in order to receive government grants. That will prohibit funding for life-saving research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other devastating illnesses.

Trump's Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, says that universities must be "in sync with the administration."In other words, they must abandon academic freedom and submit to their government overlords. Because that's what cult leader Trump demands.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T15:41:30.011Z

If Rubio’s decree were to be fairly enforced, Trump and most of his Cabinet would be unable to get visas to enter the U.S. Their blatant and shameless acts of censorship would fail to meet Rubio’s criteria. So while Rubio and Trump are whining about what they imagine to be censorship by foreigners, they are the worst practitioners of it. Now, if we could only get them to self-deport.

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Trump Admits that He Has Been Protecting Vladimir Putin and Russia From ‘Really Bad Things’

The evidence that Donald Trump has been perhaps the best investment that Vladimir Putin ever made is difficult to dismiss. Throughout his political life, Trump has frequently lambasted America’s allies, while he has conspicuously declined to criticize Putin or condemn his abhorrent activities, including war crimes in Ukraine and elsewhere.

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Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

Until recently. This week Trump has diverted from his notoriously pro-Putin stance to offer some mild rebukes following Putin’s failure to heed Trump’s impotent demand that he stop bombing civilians in Ukraine. Instead, Putin escalated his attacks, proving how little respect for, or fear of, Trump Putin has. Never mind Trump’s promise to end the war in 24 hours with a single phone call before he was even inaugurated. Or his claims that the war would never have happened if Trump were in office at the time Putin invaded. Which Trump doesn’t even believe…

SEE THIS: Trump Destroys His Own Claim that Russia Wouldn’t Have Invaded Ukraine if He Were President

On Tuesday morning Trump posted a comment on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, wherein he made an unexpected confession. He wrote that

“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!”

And there you have it. Trump is admitting that he has been been protecting Putin and Russia from some unspecified “really bad things.” So while Putin was massacring innocent Ukrainian civilians, destroying the nation’s infrastructure, and insisting that it doesn’t have any right to exist, Trump was shielding Russia from any harm that might have come its way.

That’s been noticeably true as Trump halted America’s military and intelligence support for Ukraine. He also refused to impose any new sanctions on Russia, or to seize the billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets in U.S. control. And Trump has been Russia’s strongest advocate to reenter the world community in organizations such as the G7.

This latest missive by Trump follows his complaint that Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY.” Is Trump pretending to be surprised by this transformation in his Russian BFF? If not, and he truly believes it, that’s even worse. In another Truth Social post Trump yammered that…

“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people.”

Trump says that Putin "has gone absolutely CRAZY."But Putin is doing exactly what he's done since he invaded Ukraine 3 years ago. And Trump, who said he would end the war in 24 hours, is responsible for prolonging it by halting the support America was giving to Ukraine.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-26T08:02:15.663Z

However, Putin hasn’t changed one bit. His brutal slaughter of Ukrainians has been going on for three years. But Trump saw fit to abandon and betray our ally by cutting off aid. The only person with more Ukrainian blood on his hands than Putin is Trump. And yet, Trump is still deferential to Putin, while he attacks and insults President Zelenskyy as a “dictator” who doesn’t really want the war to end.

If Trump were genuinely interested in ending what he has called “a bloodbath” (he isn’t), Trump could simply restore military support for Ukraine and slap more sanctions on Russia. But neither Ukraine, nor concerned Americans, should hold their breath waiting for Trump to do something decent and humane. As the old saying goes, you can’t squeeze decency from a malignant narcissist.

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Trump Warns West Point Graduates About the Troubles with ‘Trophy Wives’ – No, REALLY!

Taking a day off from his busy schedule of staged executive order signings, dinners with buyers of his meme coins, and golfing at his own resorts, Donald Trump ventured off to the United States Military Academy at West Point. The five-time draft dodger who called fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers” was there ostensibly to deliver a commencement speech to inspire the cadets on their graduation.

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Donald Trump Baby at Podium

Unfortunately, Trump’s speech was just another one of the rabidly partisan campaign style rants that he disgorges at his cult rallies. Consequently, it was filled with lies, insults, and narcissistic exaltations of himself. It was indistinguishable from the self-serving propaganda that he unloads during the staged press avails where he reveals how ignorant he is about pretty much everything.

SEE THIS: What Trump Admits He Doesn’t Know: 13 Examples of His Failing Mental Acuity – or Blatant Lying

Commencement speeches are supposed to be events that will inspire graduating students in advance of the life journeys that they will shortly embark upon. But true to form, Trump’s speech hardly conformed to that grand tradition. Instead, he tainted the entire affair with his radical, far-right, MAGA-fied politics, and flattery of himself and his imaginary achievements in office.

Among Trump’s egomaniacal glorifications was one that was particularly appropriate. He told the story of his friend, real estate magnate William Levitt, who “lost momentum” and became a wretched loser who died bankrupt and alone. According to Trump…

“He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife — could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn’t work out too well. And that doesn’t work out too well, I must tell you, a lot of trophy wives. It doesn’t work out. But it made him happy for a little while, at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat, he got a big yacht.”

In a pathetic commencement speech at West Point, Trump rambles about someone's trophy wife:"That doesn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives."How inspiring, coming from an expert on trophy wives that don't work out well, who cheated on all of them.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-24T16:52:46.800Z

Trump’s tale of Leavitt sounds awfully familiar. Trump himself was divorced – twice. Each time he remarried someone that could be described as a “trophy wife.” It didn’t work out well. He cheated on all three of them. His current wife Melania – a former model – rarely spends any time with him. She lives in New York, not at the White House or Mar-a-Lago. She probably made him happy for a little while, at least. But now she’s probably just trying to hold on until the will has been read.

Most of the rest of Trump’s speech wasn’t any better. Rather than imparting any gems of wisdom for his young audience, Trump battered them with political bullsh*t that they couldn’t care less about. They rarely applauded his raving madness that included the following…

We are making deals with other nations that were not even –nobody thought it would be possible.”
Trump hasn’t made a single trade deal to mitigate his ludicrous, inflationary tariffs. He just has a framework with the UK, and some discussions with China. Nothing finalized with them or the nearly 200 other countries that he tariffed.

We won 2750 districts against 505. 2750 against 505. We had a great mandate and it gives us the right to do what we want to do.”
The districts he won were mostly sparsely populated rural areas. The districts won by Kamala Harris were densely populated cities. And winning an election does not give you the right to violate the law or the Constitution, as Trump does every day.

I was investigated more than the great, late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse Capone was a monster.”
Trump loves to brag that he is a worse “monster” than the notorious mob boss, Al Capone. Which is true. Trump has a couple of dozen more felony convictions than Capone, and is responsible for more death.

The job of the U.S. Armed forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun.”
So Trump thinks that it’s his job to threaten all other countries to accept his perverse brand of democracy at “the point of gun.” That’s the rhetoric of a mad tyrant who wants to rule the world. And it’s consistent with his talk of invading and/or annexing Mexico, Canada, and Greenland.

Hopefully the West Point Cadets can shake this off and get on their lives without this staining their day of accomplishment and pride. It’s too bad they didn’t have the far better, more inspirational, more intelligent, commencement speaker that the University of Maryland was lucky enough to get…

“Life is better when we leap together.” Kermit the Frog delivered a commencement speech at the University of Maryland on Thursday, the alma mater of his creator, Jim Henson. nyti.ms/4dwMuhQ

The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-05-23T15:28:14.784Z

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Trump’s Propaganda Secretary Lies to Children on ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day’

On Karoline Leavitt’s first day on the job, she told reporters in the White House press briefing room that she was committed to “telling the truth from this podium every single day.” That may be the first official lie of Leavitt’s tenure as Donald Trump’s press secretary.

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Donald Trump and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

The torrent of falsehoods emanating from Leavitt ever since has affirmed Trump’s choice to hire her as his media mouthpiece. She has been more than able and willing to disseminate his shameless distortions and deceit no matter how distant from the truth or even reality. Leavitt has proven to be the perfect redistribution vehicle for Trump’s daily delivery of garbage. And she made sure that the press corps that is permitted to attend briefings was cleansed of troublemakers who dared to ask real questions that challenged her or Trump.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Pledges to Plant Pro-Trump Crackpots in the White House Press Room

That atmosphere of contrived pro-Trump bias was inspired by the authoritarian regimes of Trump’s idols, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un, who are staunchly opposed to freedom of the press. The result has been that many of the press briefings in the White House have been dominated by ultra-rightist partisans, some of whom have actually been affiliated with Russian media.

Leavitt’s commitment to dishonesty was on display again on Tuesday when the White House observed “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” The press briefing room was filled with kids in the seats that were ordinarily reserved for journalists, or what the Trump regime considered to be journalists. It was actually kind of adorable, until Leavitt began to answer the questions posed by the children. What follows are a few examples of how Leavitt retained her determination to lie, even to kid “reporters.”

Question: How many people has he fired?
Leavitt: Thus far we have not had anyone fired with the exception of one individual who did leave their job.

FACT: The Trump administration has had thousands of honest, hard working staffers fired from dozens of government agencies. Many of those people were responsible for preserving the health, safety, and lives of Americans, and others around the world.

Question: What is Trump’s favorite room in the White House?
Leavitt: I think his favorite room in the White House is definitely the Oval Office because it’s so beautiful and he has decked it out in gold. It’s now MAGA gold in there.

FACT: Leavitt explains that Trump’s favorite room in the White House is the Oval Office. Not because it’s where important decisions are made that impact the nation and the world. But because he has turned it into a gaudy replica of his Mar-a-Lago home/hotel with faux gold that resembles a tasteless king’s palace. And plastering the Oval Office with a partisan “MAGA gold” further politicizes the People’s House.

Question: What is Trump going to do about climate change?
Leavitt: That’s a very good question. The President cares very much about our environment. He says all the time he wants to have the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest environment for the world. He also cares very much about our energy independence and ensuring that we can keep the lights on in our homes at a very cheap rate. So we want to make energy here in the United States because we do it cleaner and better than everyone.

FACT: Notice that the question asked was about climate change, but Leavitt never mentioned that in her response. She referred only to the environment. Maybe that’s because Trump has called climate change a hoax manufactured by China. And his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, bellowed that the Department of Defense does not do climate change crap.” And Trump’s remarks about the environment are just cover for his advocacy of fossil fuels that exacerbate climate change, make the environment (and people) less healthy, and produce dirtier air and water.

It’s bad enough that Leavitt and Trump lie so brazenly to adults. But this performance for kids is a nauseating example of how bereft they are of any morality or decency. The parents of those children – presumably the reporters who are usually in those seats – should make a point of admonishing Leavitt for lying to their kids.

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EAT THE TARIFFS? Trump Admits that His Tariffs Will Raise Prices, But Blames it on Walmart

On April 2, Donald Trump declared that it was “Liberation Day” as he imposed a broad set of devastating tariffs on virtually every country around the world. Ever since then he has staggered like a drunken toddler between clawing back his ill-considered economic scheme and doubling down when it suited some indiscernible purpose that resided only in his twisted imagination.

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Donald Trump, Stock Market

The stock market responded with a certainty that it rarely exhibits by proceeding to crash more than it had in five years. It has since regained some of that decline due to Trump’s wavering and caving on alleged deals with the UK and China that don’t really resolve the problem, but generate some positive press. Although even his Ministry of Propaganda, Fox News, has not been sold on his tariffs/taxes…

SEE THIS: UH-OH: Fox News Trump-Fluffer Admits that Trump’s Tariffs Will Fuel Higher Prices and Recession

For the most part, Trump has been insisting that everything he does is golden and that he is incapable of making a mistake. But that seems to have hit a speed bump on Saturday morning when he posted a comment on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, wherein he actually admitted – although likely inadvertently – that he is indeed responsible for the rising prices that the American people are all too familiar with, and the likelihood that the worst is yet to come. He wrote that

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

Trump’s threat aimed at Walmart to “EAT THE TARIFFS” is an outright admission that the tariffs he is imposing would be paid by American businesses and the consumers who patronize them. That’s a complete contradiction of his prior claims that the foreign governments would pay the tariffs. And his accusation that Walmart is “trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices” is actually Trump trying to blame Walmart.

Trump is clinging to a kernel of truth when it notes that Walmart makes billions of dollars. However, he is ignoring that they make that money on narrow profit margins that will be erased if tariffs are implemented. He’s also ignoring the fact that consumers are already holding back on spending due to the economic strife that Trump has caused, and that will only continue to decline going forward.

Trump’s solution is to coerce Walmart to set prices lower at his demand. How is that different from the communist price-fixing of totalitarian regimes where the state decides what companies can charge for their products? Apparently Trump is abandoning capitalism in favor of the economic model employed by his hero, Vladimir Putin. And the CFO of Walmart recently acknowledged as much in an interview on CNBC…

Trump cranked up tariffs against China to 145%. Then, to "fix" the problem he created, he walks it back to 30%.But according to Walmart's CFO, even that is too high. A $300 microwave oven would cost $390.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T16:01:41.532Z

Trump sees – or has had it explained to him – that his policies will cause serious harm and likely a recession or worse. So he wants to force Walmart to rescue him from his own economic incompetence. That’s not gonna happen. But even if Walmart were to nibble on some of Trump’s tariffs, rather than eat them whole, it wouldn’t solve the problem. Walmart isn’t the only retailer in America that would suffer the consequences of his tariffs. Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Costco, and others would also have to comply. And then there are the thousands of small stores that don’t have the pricing power of the big box stores, and would probably have to shut down.

Trump’s attempt to bully Walmart is a desperation move on his part. It can’t possibly work. It will only create more problems for retailers of all sizes across the country. And those are problems that will result in bankruptcies, job losses, and forced austerity for the American people, who are already complaining that that is not what they voted for. And it’s why Trump’s approval rating is at a record low.

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Trump and Fox News Crybabies are Blowing Up a Phony Controversy Over James Comey’s 86 47 Meme

The snowflakes in MAGA World are freaking out again. This time over a contrived controversy that is rooted in their blind worship of Donald Trump, and their ignorance of the English language and cultural idioms. And naturally their Ministry of Propaganda, Fox News, is hotwired to the rapidly exploding story.

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James Comey, Donald Trump

On Thursday, Former FBI Director James Comey posted a picture of some seashells on the beach that he saw while talking a walk. They were laid out to spell the message “86 47.” and that was all it took to trigger the fragile sensitivities of the MAGI. Their short fuse quickly burned to the end as they set off some wild speculation that Comey was threatening to assassinate the president. They should probably get their new top prosecutor on this right away.

SEE THIS: The Choice of Fox News Trump-Fluffer Jeanine Pirro as Interim US Attorney May Be Illegal

The problem with the outpouring of outrage by the right is that “86” doesn’t mean to kill or otherwise physically harm anyone. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means (a) to refuse to serve (a customer); (b) to eject or ban (a customer); or (c) to eject, dismiss, or remove (someone). Which are all perfectly reasonable feelings that many Americans share about Trump.

However, that didn’t stop the whiners from winding up their whimpering. For instance, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, went on Fox News to complain about Comey with Fox’s Senior Dumbass, Jesse Watters…

Watters: Do you believe Comey should be in jail?
Gabbard: I do. Any other person with the position of influence that he has, people who take very seriously what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be– I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts. I’m very concerned for his life and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.

Trump's snowflake DNI Director, Tulsi Gabbard, whines to Senior Fox News Dumbass, Jesse Watters, that James Comey should be jailed because he posted a meme saying "86 47" and thinks it's a threat to Trump.But 86 means to ban or throw out. As from a from bar. Not to kill. You big babies.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-16T10:39:11.629Z

They weren’t alone in this effort to twist Comey’s message into an unrecognizable pretzel. Trump’s FBI director, Kash Patel, weighed in saying that “We are aware” and that he was deferring to the Secret Service. Trump’s son Don Jr also commented saying that it’s “Just James Comey causally calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”

Who wants to tell Junior that Democrats don’t worship Comey? In fact, they hold him responsible in part for Trump’s election when he unloaded a bunch of Hillary Clinton’s emails – that later proved to have no evidence whatsoever of wrongdoing – a week before election day.

For his part, Comey responded to this media madness by saying that…

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

However, that wasn’t enough for Trump, who was determined to exploit the crackpot controversy for as much as he could get out of it. Trump whined that…

“He knew exactly what that meant. A child would know what that meant. If you were the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant – that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear. Now, he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant. And he did it for a reason. And he was hit so hard because people like me and they like what was happening with our country. And our country has become respected again. And all this – and he’s calling for the assassination of the president.”

[Adding that] “I don’t want to take a position on it. It’s gonna be up to [Attorney General] Pam [Bondi] and all the great people. But I will say, I think it is a terrible thing. When you add his history to that, if he had a clean history, he doesn’t. He’s a dirty cop.”

Trump on Comey: "He knew exactly what that meant … it meant assassination. It says it loud and clear … he's calling for the assassination of the president … it's gonna be up to Pam … he's a dirty cop."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-16T13:13:22.753Z

We should probably avoid taking the opinion of Trump as to what words mean. He recently claimed to have invented the word “equalize,” and has been surprised to hear the word “groceries” because it’s so old-fashioned and no one uses it anymore. Furthermore, leaving the matter to Trump sycophant Pam Bondi isn’t any different than leaving it to Trump himself.

Finally, no one should be surprised that there is a boatload of hypocrisy in all of this yammering. Trump and others on the right have been calling Democrats traitors, including Biden, Clinton, and many members of Congress and journalists. And since the penalty for treason is execution, they have been, in effect, calling for them to be killed.

What’s more, the phrase “86 46” was frequently used about Biden, but none of these cretins cared about it then. Which is further proof that all they are interested in now is making a flagrantly phony fuss for purely political purposes.

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HUH? Fox News Makes the Most Bizarre Justification Yet for Trump Accepting a Free Jet From Qatar

The recent revelation that Donald Trump is preparing to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar to replace Air Force One has been leading the news cycle for three days now. For better or worse, it has taken precedence over his junket to the Middle East, his phony trade deals with the UK and China, his unlawful and unenforceable drug price reductions, and his efforts to defy the constitutional protection of habeas Corpus laws.

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Fox News Sad

Naturally, Trump’s always predictable reaction to the torrent of criticism that he has received for his latest self-enriching enterprise has been predominantly to deny, lie, and insult his critics, whether they be Democrats, Republicans, or journalists. Especially journalists…

SEE THIS: Scaredy Trump Attacks Reporter to Dodge Questions About His $400 Million Gift Plane from Qatar

Fortunately for Trump, he will always have Fox News to carry water for him as he seeks to flood the zone with bullpucky and gaslight his gullible cult disciples. To that end, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends embarked on a path of shameless Trump-fluffing to absolve him of any guilt for eagerly grabbing the gift of a flying palace from a Middle Eastern nation with whom he is doing business. Spinning furiously, they said that…

Brian Kilmeade: The question is the optics. What does Qatar want in return for a multi billion dollar plane?
Lawrence Jones: I think we would be crazy not to accept the plane. I think people have been watching way too many spy movies. And if you think the United States government and our Defense Department is not going to strip the plane – everybody is talking about technology. Could they be spying on us? Of course. We have foreign assets that want to spy on us. But they are not going to take the plane as is. They will break it apart. They will put the necessary military assets on there. The technology is there.
Kilmeade: Flip the couches to the other side.
Jones: I think it’s a gift. I think it’s totally okay.
Ainsley Earhardt: Look, the left is going crazy about this. But they have to be careful. They are fine with Harvard getting all these gifts from these Middle Eastern countries. And Bill Ackman says “the hypocrisy is staggering. If the Pentagon took a $400 million plane from Qatar, it would rightly spark outrage over foreign influence. Yet universities pocket billions from the same regimes and get a free pass.” American universities are getting billions in gifts from foreign countries and they are okay with that. Remember Barack Obama supported Harvard for going after Trump?

Jones is parroting Trump himself who said that “It would be stupid” not to accept the plane. His reasoning rested solely on the claim that it’s free. Let’s get back to that nonsense in moment. First, let’s note that free gifts are not permitted under the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. And it would be ridiculous to suggest that just because something is free that it’s okay. Would it be okay for someone with matters pending before a senator or a judge to give them a free Mercedes or Rolex?

As to whether the plane is actually free, NBC News reports that it could cost more than a billion dollars to “strip the plane” and then rebuild it with the added security enhancements that the president’s plane requires. Plus it could take years to complete the transformation. So the planes currently being built by Boeing to replace Air force One could be delivered first. And Trump would end up getting a free plane for his library that was never used as Air Force One.

Perhaps the most preposterous take in this Fox News segment is Earhardt’s comparison of Trump accepting a multimillion plane from a foreign government, to Harvard accepting academic donations. To begin with, Earhardt is actually agreeing that Trump’s acceptance of the plane is improper and “would rightly spark outrage over foreign influence.” Her complaint is only that Democrats might be hypocritical for not also being outraged about Harvard. Which is not even remotely similar.

Unlike Trump’s gift, there is nothing in the Constitution prohibiting Harvard from taking such donations. Harvard isn’t using those funds in any endeavor that would impact national security. In fact, as reported by The Harvard Crimson, they are used for financial aid, graduate fellowships, research funding, and related educational and operational expenses. And the donations they receive are fully disclosed as required by law.

Trying to equate Trump, a known felon with 34 convictions for financial fraud, and his breach of constitutional law, to Harvard’s commonplace and legal academic fundraising, is really just a demonstration of how desperate Fox News is to find any justification for an unjustifiable act by a criminal president. And that desperation only makes their failure more apparent and pathetic.

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Scaredy Trump Attacks Reporter to Dodge Questions About His $400 Million Gift Plane from Qatar

The most predictable response by Donald Trump to any question more probing than how handsome he is, will almost always be an attack on the reporter as “fake news” or simply a “low IQ” person. It’s his simple-minded method of avoiding having to justify the latest atrocity he has thrust onto the nation.

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Donald Trump Angry

Trump is seriously deluded if he believes that insulting journalists actually constitutes a rational reply to a substantive inquiry on subjects that the American people care about. But that’s how he operates, and he seems to be convinced that it satisfies the public. Never mind that most recent surveys show that the people are far from satisfied.

SEE THIS: Trump Marks His First 100 Days By Glorifying Why Most Americans See Him as ‘A Dangerous Dictator’

Yet another growing controversy of Trump’s own creation emerged over the weekend that reveals his intention to accept a gift 747 plane, from his dear friends in Qatar, that he can use to replace the current Air Force One. And naturally, the Qataris are doing this purely out of the kindness of their hearts with no ulterior motive whatsoever, because that’s just how they are.

There are numerous problems with such an arrangement, including the obvious ethical breach, the flagrant violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, and matters of national security related to a such a critical mode of transportation possibly being technologically compromised. So it it was not surprising that Trump would be asked about it in his next press avail, which took place Monday morning. He engaged in the following exchange with ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott…

Scott: What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?
Trump: You’re ABC fake news, right? Let me tell you – you should be embarrassed asking that question. They’re giving us a free jet. I could say “No, no, no. I want to pay a billion or $400 million” or whatever it is. Or I can say “Thank you very much.” […]

It’s not a gift to me. It’s a gift to the Department of Defense. And you should know better, because you’ve been embarrassed enough. And so has your network. Your network is a disaster. ABC is a disaster.”

Reporter: “What do you say to people who view that luxury jet as a personal gift to you?”Trump: “You're ABC fake news right?… You should be embarrassed asking that question. They're giving us a free jet.”

The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2025-05-12T16:16:02.317Z

There’s a lot of derp to unpack in that reply. Let’s begin with the fact that Scott wasn’t asking Trump to justify the gift, only what he would tell the American people who were concerned about it. But that was too much for Trump, who had no coherent answer, so he insulted the reporter.

What’s more, Trump lied that the plane would be a gift to the Department of Defense. He later admitted that, after he leaves the White House (if he does), the plane would be given to his presidential library. But presidential libraries are privately funded through non-profit organizations established by the former President or their supporters. So it is still a gift to the president.

Furthermore, Trump justifies accepting the gift because it’s free. So according to Trump, giving a free Mercedes to a senator before a vote would be okay? Or giving a free home to a judge before a ruling? What’s next? Vladimir Putin gives the U.S. a free building to use as its embassy in Moscow?

Trump’s Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was on Fox News Monday morning (as usual) to whitewash this sleazy transaction. She discussed the issue with Fox and Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade…

Kilmeade: Do you worry that if the Qataris give us something like this that they’ll want something in return?
Leavitt: Absolutely not. Because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind.

KILMEADE: Do you worry that if they Qataris give us something like this that they'll want something in return?LEAVITT: Absolutely not, because they know President Trump and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-12T13:43:36.991Z

Really? If Trump was the least bit concerned about “the best interest of the American public,” he wouldn’t have imposed his recessionary Trump Taxes (aka tariffs) on America’s international trading partners; he wouldn’t be dismantling critical government agencies and cutting services such as Medicare and Medicaid; he wouldn’t be aligning himself with authoritarian tyrants and alienating American allies.

If the world knows anything about Trump, it’s that he is relentlessly transactional, and is always in it for himself. This latest scam is just the most recent proof.

MORE HERE: SRSLY? WH Propaganda Secretary: It’s ‘Ridiculous’ to Say Trump Does Anything For His Own Benefit

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