Americans are Tiring of Trump

In two months in office, Donald Dumb has upended the lives of Americans and of countries around the world. He is a man without conscience and without a plan other than to be talked about, to be the center of attention, and for this he does anything without an ounce of thinking. During his first term, he had normal people around him who quickly slammed the door after they discovered he is a harmful moron. Now he has surrounded him with equally abnormal morons who do not dare stand up to him.

That is why he is enjoying the moment. But that is also why people are getting tired of him: Three and a half more years to go with his antics, his threats to the daily lives of average Americans, the chaos and the uncertainty, the ups and downs, one-day tariffs and their exemptions the next day, the backless threats to friend and foe, the cavorting to fellow criminal autocrats like Putin, Netanyahu, Orban ... Forgive the image, but Trump is like a limp dick that easily wags in all possible directions.

One thing is for certain: Donald Dumb's shelf-life is nothing short of miraculous for a convicted criminal who led a sedition against the US constitution to be re-elected. But his star will inevitably sink, the damage he would have done will be immeasurable.
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Opinion

Trump’s downward trajectory
Mark Mellman, opinion contributor
Wed, March 5, 2025



The worm is beginning to turn on President Trump.

His dishonest blathering notwithstanding, Trump never earned particularly strong support from American voters.

Though he frequently praises himself for winning the popular vote, Trump’s victory was thin by historical standards. Fewer than 50 percent of voters cast their ballots for him while his margin over Vice President Harris was less than 1.5 percentage points.

Only nine presidential elections in our history were won by lesser margins. Nineteen presidential elections yielded true landslide victories of 10 points or more. Trump’s advantage was nowhere close to that.

And he’s still not particularly popular. Using Gallup data, on average, going back to President Eisenhower, presidents earned approval from 60 percent of Americans in their first February. Trump’s February approval rating — 45 percent — is the lowest on record, except for his rating in February of his first term.

More important, the president’s approval rating is deteriorating. Days after his inauguration, the number approving of his performance was 8.5 points higher than those disapproving, according to the RealClearPolitics’ aggregation of all the polling. By Monday, that advantage had narrowed to just 1 point.

538.com, another aggregator using somewhat different methodology, posted nearly identical numbers — an 8.2-point approval margin just after Trump took office, which declined to 7/10ths of a point Monday.

Make no mistake, two things are true at the same time. A narrow plurality approves of Trump’s performance. But that plurality is shrinking as fewer voters approve and more disapprove.

A president’s approval rating is significant because it is one of the most important weapons he wields in political combat. A president’s political power is directly proportional to his approval rating. Members of Congress fear crossing a president with 70 percent approval and fear being seen with a president sporting a 30 percent approval rating.

Trump’s power will diminish less as his numbers fall because he remains extraordinarily popular with Republicans and, for several reasons, Republican legislators mostly don’t worry about general elections, only primaries against fellow Republicans.

Why are Trump’s numbers falling?

Several reasons.

First, his persona is back on daily display. Since he appeared on the presidential stage, voters have been turned off by his demeanor. These days his demeanor makes big, negative news almost daily.

A February YouGov poll found 45 percent disliked Trump personally compared to just 37 percent who liked him. Among political independents, 50 percent disliked him, while just 30 percent liked the president.

Second, one of the strongest findings in public opinion research is that while Americans favor cutting government spending in general, they adamantly oppose cuts in most specific areas. Republicans have moved from the generic to the specific with the GOP supporting massive cuts to education and health care to fund more tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

(Of course, the cuts to health care, education and other programs don’t fully fund the tax breaks. While Republicans claim to be deficit hawks, they voted to increase the deficit to fully fund the tax breaks.)

We’ve seen this movie before, and it ends with Republicans in deep political trouble.

According to an AP/NORC poll, some two-thirds of Americans say we are spending too little, not too much, on education, health care and Social Security. As Republicans move to make massive cuts to these programs, ratings for Trump and congressional Republicans, will worsen further, assuming Democrats keep the pressure on and the focus clear.

Third, Trump is ignoring the public’s priorities.

According to a CNN poll, just 40 percent believe Trump has had the right priorities, while 52 percent think he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems. By 45 percent to 39 percent, Americans say Trump’s policies will move the country in the wrong direction rather than in the right one — worse than the response for Joe Biden at the beginning of his term.

Voters remain fixated on rising costs, and they see Trump’s policies increasing prices, not lowering them. IPSOS found 70 percent of Americans, including most Republicans, saying tariffs will lead to higher prices.

Only 37 percent of Americans accept the Trump rationale that “even if prices increase because of tariffs, it’s worth it to get what we want as a country.” Just 32 percent believe tariffs will lead to more American jobs.

Let’s be clear: For most voters, Donald Trump is far from the dangerous monster Democrats see. But if he doesn’t alter his course, his downward trajectory will continue, with his image, and that of his party, continuing to deteriorate.

Mellman is president of The Mellman Group a political consultancy. Mellman served as pollster to Senate Democratic leaders for over 20 years. He is also president of Democratic Majority for Israel.

Netanyahu's Failure to Control Palestine Prompts him to Violate Ceasefire Agreement

Just as Israel has violated every single peace agreement and UN resolution - except the one in 1947 that created it out of colonial nothinghood - Netanyahu is now facing his and his country's own monumental failure at achieving stated objectives in its genocide against the indigenous population of Gaza.

It took several months to reach the ceasefire agreement between the two religious fundamentalist and ultra-violent entities of Israel and Hamas. Despite setbacks, the Phase 1 of the agreement has been implemented.

But the agreement deeply unsettles Israel's barbarity and expansionism. The October 7, 2023 was a golden opportunity for the Zionist settler state to put into execution its long-held plan from 1897 to take ownership of the land from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean sea, void it of its indigenous population and declare the re-birth of a divided barbaric Kingdom from the Bronze Age (circa 2800 BC). 

No one should forget that Palestine is under an illegal and violent occupation by a foreign colonial entity. Palestinians fighting this occupation are not terrorists; they are resistance fighters, just like the French were against Nazi Germany, or just like Algerians were against French colonialism, or the Vietnamese Vietcong were against American occupation, etc.

Having been forced by Trump's desire to score an election campaign victory, Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to the ceasefire to help Trump win the election. His reluctance was because it forced him to pause the systematic ethnic cleansing by his European Jewish settlers of the indigenous Palestinian population. The fact that the West Bank, from which there had been no October 7 attacks for several years, is being subjected to the same Jewish savagery as Gaza should be ample proof of the colonial expansionist plan by the Zionist government. All other pretexts - fighting terror, defending Israel, etc. - are fake slogans.

Now that Phase 1 is over, Netanyahu is facing a choice he really does not want to make but which he had to agree to: To withdraw his own terrorists from Gaza and see Gaza rebuilt. A restoration of Gaza would be a fatal blow to Zionist settlers' plan to annex the territory, as much as it signals that Hamas is still alive and in control, that Hamas may have won and Israel may have failed, and that Netanyahu may have to face his own corruption demons and the wrath of his people. Phase 2 calls on the colonial Jewish army to withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the liberation of the Israeli prisoners still held by Hamas.

So what does he do? He violates the ceasefire agreement. He declares that he wants an extension of Phase 1, i.e. he does NOT want to withdraw his terrorists from Gaza. With the demented moron in the White Outhouse backing him, the objective of the Zionist-American duo is to scuttle the agreement and return to the savage bombing and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank. On the horizon are 1- the much desired prophetic objective of "purifying" Palestine of its filthy Palestinian human animals, 2- establish a pure Jewish "democracy", and 3- wait for the Messiah to descend and usher the end of times. Meanwhile, Donald Dumb can dream of the beautiful Middle East Riviera he wants to build in Gaza where he, Netanyahu, and their billionaire corrupt oligarch friends can sip martinis and lounge on the beach.

French Senator Malhuret on Trump and European Security

 [English translation. French original follows.]

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04-March-2025

Claude Malhuret, Senator in the French Senate
Speech on Situation in Ukraine and European security
March 4, 2025

Mr. President,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers 

Dear colleagues,

Europe is at a critical juncture of its history. The American shield is shirking its responsibility, Ukraine runs the risk of being abandoned, and Russia empowered.

Washington has become the court of Nero. An incendiary emperor, enslaved sycophants, and a buffoon sedated with Ketamine and put in charge of the cleansing of public function. It’s a tragedy for the free world, but it is foremost a tragedy for the United States.

Trump’s message is that there is no point being his ally since he will not defend you, he will impose more tariffs on you than on his enemies, and he will threaten to seize your territories while backing the dictatorships that are invading you.

The king of the deal is demonstrating to us the art of the deal on one’s knees. He thinks he can intimidate China by laying flat before Putin. But at the sight of this shipwreck, Xi Ji Ping is undoubtedly accelerating his preparations to invade Taiwan.

Never in the history of the United States has its president capitulated before the enemy. Never has a president backed an aggressor against an ally. Never has a president trampled on the US Constitution, or issued so many illegal orders, or dismissed the judges who could prevent him from doing so, or fired in one sweep the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the military, or weakened all the checks and balances, or taken control of the social media. This is not an illiberal abuse; this is the beginning of the confiscation of democracy.

It took one month, three weeks and two days [for Hitler] to bring down the Weimar Republic and its constitution. I have faith in the resilience of the American democracy, and the country is already protesting. But in a mere one month, Trump has caused more harm to America than during the four years of his first term.

We were at war against a dictator [Putin], but now we are fighting this dictator backed by a traitor [Trump]. Eight days ago, when Trump was patting Macron on the back at the White House, the United States was voting with Russia and North Korea against the Europeans. Two days later, in the oval office, the coward draft dodger Trump was lecturing the war hero Zelenskyy on strategy before dismissing him like a stable boy and ordering him to submit or resign.

What to do in view of this treason? The answer is simple: Confront.

But before all else, not make a mistake. The defeat of Ukraine will be the defeat of Europe. The Baltic states, Georgia, Moldavia are already on the list. Putin’s objective is to return to Yalta where half the continent was conceded to Stalin. The countries of the South are watching the outcome of the conflict before deciding if they should continue to respect Europe or if they are now free to trample it.

What Putin wants is an end to the world order put in place by the United States and its allies and whose first principle is to prohibit the acquisition of territories by force. This idea is the very foundation of the United Nations where the US nowadays votes for the aggressor and against the victim because Trump’s vision coincides with Putin’s: A return to the spheres of influence, where great powers dictate the fate of smaller countries. To me Greenland, Panama and Canada, to you Ukraine, the Baltic states and Eastern Europe, and to him Taiwan and the China Sea. In the evening parties of the Mar-a-Lago Gulf oligarchs, they call this “diplomatic realism”.

We are therefore alone. But to say that one cannot resist Putin is erroneous.

Contrary to Kremlin propaganda, Russia is not well. In three years, the so-called second army in the world has managed only to nibble crumbs from a country three times less populated. Interest rates are at 25%. Currency and gold reserves have collapsed, just as its demography. All of this shows that Russia is facing the abyss. The salvatory American nudge is by far the greatest strategic error ever to be committed during a war.

The blow is certainly violent, but it has a silver lining: The Europeans are walking out of denial. In one day in Munich they have understood that the survival of Ukraine and the future of Europe are in their own hands and that they have three imperatives:

Accelerate military aid to Ukraine to compensate for the American retreat. So that it holds the line. But also to impose its presence and that of Europe in any negotiation. It will be costly. We will have to break through the taboo of using the frozen Russian assets. We will have to go around Putin’s accomplices right here inside Europe, through a coalition of only those willing countries with, of course, the United Kingdom.

Second, demand that any deal include the return of the kidnapped children and the prisoners of Ukraine, and absolute security guarantees. After Budapest, Georgia and Minsk, we know the value of these deals with Putin. Those guarantees must rest on a sufficient military force to deter a new invasion.

Finally, and this is the most urgent because it will take time, we must rebuild the defense of Europe, neglected because of the American umbrella in place since 1945, and undermined since the fall of the Berlin wall.

It’s a herculean task. But it is on its success or failure that the history books will judge the leaders of democratic Europe.

Friedrich Merz has just declared that Europe needs its own military alliance. Which is to admit that France has always been right for decades in pleading for a strategic autonomy. Now we must build it.

We will have to invest massively, boost the European Defense Fund outside of the framework of the Maastricht sustainability criteria, rationalize armaments and munitions systems, accelerate the entry into the Union of Ukraine whose army is the first European army, rethink the role and terms of the nuclear deterrent on the basis of French and British capabilities, and relaunch the programs of anti-missile shield and satellites.

More will be needed. Europe will not regain its military power unless it becomes an industrial power. Simply put, we must implement the Draghi report. For good.

But the real rearmament of Europe is its moral rearmament. We must convince public opinion against wariness and the fear of war, and most of all against Putin’s sidekicks, namely the extreme right and the extreme left. Only yesterday at the National Assembly they were pleading against European unity, against European defense. They say they want peace. But what they or Trump do not say is that their peace is capitulation, the peace of defeat, the replacement of De Gaulle-Zelenskyy by a Ukrainian Petain under the jackboot of Putin. The peace of collaborators who for three years have refused any assistance to Ukraine.

Is this the end of the Atlantic Alliance? The risk is great. But for the past few days, Zelenskyy’s public humiliation and all the mad decisions taken over the past month have finally moved the American people. Polls are heading downwards, elected GOP representatives are shouted down by hostile crowds in their districts. Even Fox News has become critical. The Trumpians are no longer in the forefront. They control the executive, Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the social media, but throughout American history, the partisans of freedom have always overcome the odds and are now beginning to hold their heads up.

The fate of Ukraine will be determined in the trenches, but it also depends on those in the United States who want to defend democracy and our own capacity here to unite the Europeans, to find the means of their own common defense, and to remake of Europe the power that it once was but which it is hesitating at reassuming. Our parents vanquished Fascism and Communism but paid the price of all sacrifices. The task of our generation is to vanquish the totalitarianisms of the 21st century.

Long live free Ukraine. Long live Democratic Europe. 

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[French original]

04-Mars-2025

Monsieur le Président,
Monsieur le Premier ministre,
Mesdames et Messieurs les Ministres,

Mes chers Collègues,

L'Europe est à un tournant critique de son histoire. Le bouclier américain se dérobe, l'Ukraine risque d'être abandonnée, la Russie renforcée.

Washington est devenue la cour de Néron, un empereur incendiaire, des courtisans soumis et un bouffon sous kétamine chargé de l'épuration de la fonction publique.

C'est un drame pour le monde libre, mais c'est d'abord un drame pour les États-Unis. Le message de Trump est que rien ne sert d'être son allié puisqu'il ne vous défendra pas, qu'il vous imposera plus de droits de douane qu'à ses ennemis et vous menacera de s'emparer de vos territoires tout en soutenant les dictatures qui vous envahissent.

Le roi du deal est en train de montrer ce qu'est l'art du deal à plat ventre. Il pense qu'il va intimider la Chine en se couchant devant Poutine, mais Xi Jinping, devant un tel naufrage, est sans doute en train d'accélérer les préparatifs de l'invasion de Taïwan.

Jamais dans l'histoire un président des États-Unis n'a capitulé devant l'ennemi. Jamais aucun n'a soutenu un agresseur contre un allié. Jamais aucun n'a piétiné la Constitution américaine, pris autant de décrets illégaux, révoqué les juges qui pourraient l'en empêcher, limogé d'un coup l'état-major militaire, affaibli tous les contre-pouvoirs et pris le contrôle des réseaux sociaux.

Ce n'est pas une dérive illibérale, c'est un début de confiscation de la démocratie. Rappelons-nous qu'il n'a fallu qu'un mois, trois semaines et deux jours pour mettre à bas la République de Weimar et sa Constitution.

J'ai confiance dans la solidité de la démocratie américaine et le pays proteste déjà. Mais en un mois, Trump a fait plus de mal à l'Amérique qu'en quatre ans de sa dernière présidence. Nous étions en guerre contre un dictateur, nous nous battons désormais contre un dictateur soutenu par un traître.

Il y a huit jours, au moment même où Trump passait la main dans le dos de Macron à la Maison-Blanche, les États-Unis votaient à l'ONU avec la Russie et la Corée du Nord contre les Européens réclamant le départ des troupes russes.

Deux jours plus tard, dans le bureau ovale, le planqué du service militaire donnait des leçons de morale et de stratégie au héros de guerre Zelensky avant de le congédier comme un palefrenier en lui ordonnant de se soumettre ou de se démettre.

Cette nuit, il a franchi un pas de plus dans l'infamie en stoppant la livraison d'armes pourtant promise. Que faire devant cette trahison ? La réponse est simple : faire face.

Et d'abord ne pas se tromper. La défaite de l'Ukraine serait la défaite de l'Europe. Les Pays-Bas, la Géorgie, la Moldavie sont déjà sur la liste. Le but de Poutine est le retour à Yalta où fut cédée la moitié du continent à Staline.

Les pays du Sud attendent l'issue du conflit pour décider s'ils doivent continuer à respecter l'Europe ou s'ils sont désormais libres de la piétiner.

Ce que veut Poutine, c'est la fin de l'ordre mis en place par les États-Unis et leurs alliés il y a 80 ans, avec comme premier principe l'interdiction d'acquérir des territoires par la force.

Cette idée est à la source même de l'ONU, où aujourd'hui les Américains votent en faveur de l'agresseur et contre l'agressé, parce que la vision trumpienne coïncide avec celle de Poutine : un retour aux sphères d'influence, les grandes puissances dictant le sort des petits pays.

À moi le Groenland, le Panama et le Canada, à toi l'Ukraine, les Pays-Baltes et l'Europe de l'Est, à lui Taïwan et la mer de Chine.

On appelle cela, dans les soirées des oligarques du golfe de Mar-a-Lago, le "réalisme diplomatique".

Nous sommes donc seuls. Mais le discours selon lequel on ne peut résister à Poutine est faux. Contrairement à la propagande du Kremlin, la Russie va mal. En trois ans, la soi-disant deuxième armée du monde n'a réussi à grappiller que des miettes d'un pays trois fois moins peuplé.

Les taux d'intérêt à 25 %, l'effondrement des réserves de devises et d'or, l'écroulement démographique montrent qu'elle est au bord du gouffre. Le coup de pouce américain à Poutine est la plus grande erreur stratégique jamais commise lors d'une guerre.

Le choc est violent, mais il a une vertu. Les Européens sortent du déni. Ils ont compris en un jour à Munich que la survie de l'Ukraine et l'avenir de l'Europe sont entre leurs mains et qu'ils ont trois impératifs.

Accélérer l'aide militaire à l'Ukraine pour compenser le lâchage américain, pour qu'elle tienne, et bien sûr pour imposer sa présence et celle de l'Europe dans toute négociation.

Cela coûtera cher. Il faudra en terminer avec le tabou de l'utilisation des avoirs russes gelés. Il faudra contourner les complices de Moscou à l'intérieur même de l'Europe par une coalition des seuls pays volontaires, avec bien sûr le Royaume-Uni.

En second lieu, exiger que tout accord soit accompagné du retour des enfants kidnappés, des prisonniers et de garanties de sécurité absolues. Après Budapest, la Géorgie et Minsk, nous savons ce que valent les accords avec Poutine. Ces garanties passent par une force militaire suffisante pour empêcher une nouvelle invasion.

Enfin, et c'est le plus urgent, parce que c'est ce qui prendra le plus de temps, il faudrait bâtir la défense européenne négligée, au profit du parapluie américain depuis 1945 et sabordée depuis la chute du mur de Berlin.

C'est une tâche herculéenne, mais c'est sur sa réussite ou son échec que seront jugés dans les livres d'Histoire les dirigeants de l'Europe démocratique d'aujourd'hui.

Friedrich Merz vient de déclarer que l'Europe a besoin de sa propre alliance militaire. C'est reconnaître que la France avait raison depuis des décennies en plaidant pour une autonomie stratégique.

Il reste à la construire. Il faudra investir massivement, renforcer le Fonds européen de défense hors des critères d'endettement de Maastricht, harmoniser les systèmes d'armes et de munitions, accélérer l'entrée dans l'Union de l'Ukraine, qui est aujourd'hui la première armée européenne, repenser la place et les conditions de la dissuasion nucléaire à partir des capacités françaises et britanniques, relancer les programmes de boucliers antimissiles et de satellites.

Le plan annoncé hier par Ursula von der Leyen est un très bon point de départ. Et il faudra beaucoup plus.

L'Europe ne redeviendra une puissance militaire qu'en redevenant une puissance industrielle. En un mot, il faudra appliquer le rapport Draghi. Pour de bon.

Mais le vrai réarmement de l'Europe, c'est son réarmement moral.

Nous devons convaincre l'opinion face à la lassitude et à la peur de la guerre, et surtout face aux comparses de Poutine, l'extrême droite et l'extrême gauche.

Ils ont encore plaidé hier à l'Assemblée nationale, Monsieur le Premier ministre, devant vous, contre l'unité européenne, contre la défense européenne.

Ils disent vouloir la paix. Ce que ni eux ni Trump ne disent, c'est que leur paix, c'est la capitulation, la paix de la défaite, le remplacement de de Gaulle Zelensky par un Pétain ukrainien à la botte de Poutine.

La paix des collabos qui ont refusé depuis trois ans toute aide aux Ukrainiens.

Est-ce la fin de l'Alliance Atlantique ? Le risque est grand. Mais depuis quelques jours, l'humiliation publique de Zelensky et toutes les décisions folles prises depuis un mois ont fini par faire réagir les Américains.

Les sondages sont en chute. Les élus républicains sont accueillis par des foules hostiles dans leurs circonscriptions. Même Fox News devient critique.

Les Trumpistes ne sont plus en majesté. Ils contrôlent l'exécutif, le Parlement, la Cour suprême et les réseaux sociaux.

Mais dans l'histoire américaine, les partisans de la liberté l'ont toujours emporté. Ils commencent à relever la tête.

Le sort de l'Ukraine se joue dans les tranchées, mais il dépend aussi de ceux qui, aux États-Unis, veulent défendre la démocratie, et ici de notre capacité à unir les Européens, à trouver les moyens de leur défense commune, et à refaire de l'Europe la puissance qu'elle fut un jour dans l'histoire et qu'elle hésite à redevenir.

Nos parents ont vaincu le fascisme et le communisme au prix de tous les sacrifices.

La tâche de notre génération est de vaincre les totalitarismes du XXIe siècle.

Vive l'Ukraine libre, vive l'Europe démocratique.

JD Vance: We are Working with Putin on a Ukraine Plan

There you have it. Dumb morons Trump and Vance are upset that Zelenskyy turned down their plan to exploit his country's mineral resources without giving him any assurances that the US will seriously confront further Russian annexation of his country's territories. Zelenskyy is not some GOP-MAGA weasel who does not dare oppose Trump. He is a wartime leader who must insure his country's interests and survival first before signing a piece of shit contract with Trump and signing his country's surrender to Putin.

Vance is offering Zelenskyy the protection that American corporations supposedly somehow provide by simply being on the ground in Ukraine. Not sure, but can US mineral extracting companies withstand Russian drone attacks or retaliate? Since when have greedy American corporations become a substitute for the US military? 

Even the US military has repeatedly failed in accomplishing its missions since 1945: Vitenam, Korea, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan... have all been disasters. Perhaps, Trump and Vance know that their troops, despite all the technological wizardry they muster in killing hundreds of thousands of people, will flunk a war with Russia and, as the cowards that they are, don't want another military humiliation. Hence, they claim that an American mineral extracting company is the "perfect" substitute for the US military. If that is the case, why waste a trillion dollars each year to fund a bloated and largely ineffectual US military? The answer: The corporations - Trump's billionaire buddies - that manufacture the weapons make lots of money off the back of the US taxpayer.

The imbecile dumb Americans running the White House are so full of themselves that they genuinely believe that theirs is the only worthy country and everyone else - all countries around the world - are SHITHOLE countries they can bully and blackmail to make money: Like the Mafia.

So Trump and Vance are now "working with the Russians" on a Ukraine plan, just as Chamberlain worked with Hitler on a plan to dismember Czechoslovakia in 1938. Moronic weaklings who would sell their own mother for profit if they find a buyer.

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Vance says US working on Ukraine plan ‘with the Russians’ after Trump cuts defense aid to Kyiv
Andrew Feinberg
Tue, March 4, 2025

Vice President JD Vance on Monday said Trump administration officials are already in talks with Russia to end the years-long war Russia launched against Ukraine, and warned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky needs to accept Donald Trump’s terms for a mineral rights deal and enter negotiations with Moscow.

Vance’s demand that Zelensky accept the U.S.-backed mineral rights deal follows the Ukrainian leader’s ejection Friday from the White House after an Oval Office shouting match with Vance and Trump.

It also comes just hours after the Trump administration announced it was halting some defense aid to Kyiv at a crucial time in the war as Zelensky’s forces have fought to repel Russian invaders since 2022.

Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Vance said the idea of having American economic interests “on the ground” in Ukraine would provide a superior security guarantee to putting American or European troops on the ground to guarantee any future ceasefire with Moscow.

“If you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” he said.

“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years. The security guarantee, and also the economic guarantee for Ukraine, is to rebuild the country,” Vance said. “You're not going to do that if you come to the Oval Office, insult the president and refuse to follow his plan for peace.”

Asked whether Trump would welcome Zelensky back to sign the deal that was left on the table last week, Vance told Hannity that the Ukrainian leader would be allowed back if he “had a serious proposal for how he was going to engage in the process.”

“There are details that really matter, that we're already working on with the Russians. We've already talked to some of our allies, he needs to engage seriously on the details,” he said.

Vance also told Hannity that Trump has “set a very clear goal for his administration” regarding Ukraine, which is simply wanting “the killing to stop” without regard for whether any peace deal he brokers allows Russia to get away with changing European borders by force for the first time since the Second World War.

Vance claimed that Zelensky had “showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump has said is the policy of the American people and of their president” by refusing to accept Trump’s desire to negotiate a peace plan on his country’s behalf.

Vance added: “I think Zelensky wasn't yet there, and I think, frankly, now still isn't there, but I think we'll get there eventually. He has to.”

Trump-Musk Back-date Docs to Claim Biden, not them, Ordered $400 Million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks

Elon Musk is firing dedicated federal civil servants to save money, but then takes that money to help himself and his companies.

For example, selling his Tesla trucks to the government and securing a $2.4 billion telecommunications contract for his Starlink satellite telecommunications company for the Federal Aviation Administration.

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US senator asks Rubio to answer questions on planned Tesla Cybertruck purchase
David Shepardson
Updated Tue, March 4, 2025


Senator Richard Blumenthal speaks to press on Capitol Hill in Washington

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal on Monday asked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to answer questions about a reported plan to spend $400 million to purchase armored versions of Tesla Cybertrucks to transport diplomats.

The State Department said Monday the contract was planned during the Biden administration and the Trump administration canceled it. But the senator, who is the top Democrat on a Senate investigations subcommittee, said that account has been questioned.

"The question has been raised whether, after significant public blowback, the Trump Administration created and backdated government documents to make it appear that the idea to spend $400 million in taxpayer money on Tesla Cybertrucks originated with the previous administration," Blumenthal wrote.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close adviser to Trump and help lead an effort to drastically shrink the federal government and cut numerous government contracts. Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The State Department told Reuters Monday under President Joe Biden it was asked "to explore interest from private companies to produce armored electric vehicles" and said in response to a request for information in May 2024 only Tesla expressed interest.

"As a next step in that process, an official solicitation would be sent out to vehicle manufacturers to bid. However, the solicitation is on hold and there are no current plans to issue it," the department said, declining to answer questions raised by Blumenthal.

Blumenthal said if the State Department sought to backdate a document it would raise serious questions.

"If that occurred, the Trump administration not only recognizes the tremendous conflicts of interest inherent in Mr. Musk’s dual roles, but is also taking active steps to hide the fact that it is ensuring that Mr. Musk’s position is benefiting his companies," Blumenthal wrote.

Other questions have been raised about other potential conflicts of interest for Musk, including at the Federal Aviation Administration over a $2.4 billion telecommunications contract with Verizon and the potential that the contract could be given to Musk's Starlink satellite telecommunications company, which is part of SpaceX.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)

Trump Supports North Korea's Troops Fighting for Russia in Ukraine

With his blind support to the criminal dictator in the Kremlin, not only is Donald Dumb trying hard to emulate Putin and make America as totalitarian as Russia, but he also indirectly backs North Korea's dispatch of thousands of troops - against their will - to Russia to fight against Ukraine.

But read below about how North Korea and Russia deal with their soldiers - just as Trump has repeatedly said that soldiers in general, and American soldiers in particular, are suckers and losers: According to this jackass moron, fighting and dying for one's country is stupid! Even John McCain, the Vietnam hero and POW, was berated by Trump because "you're not a hero if you get caught", implying you might as well kill yourself instead of getting caught by the enemy, just like the North Korean soldiers below.

To those veterans who voted for this criminal asshole and have not regretted their vote, F-U-C-K YOU!
====================================================

Families of North Korean troops captured in Russia 'will be executed,' former Pyongyang soldier tells ABC News
BRITT CLENNETT and HAKYUNG KATE LEE
Tue, March 4, 2025

A former sergeant in the North Korean military says that few of Pyongyang's soldiers have been captured fighting against Ukraine because they're told their families will be executed if they are caught alive. "Most soldiers will kill themselves before they're killed by the enemy, it's the biggest shame to be captured," the former soldier, Ryu Seong-hyeon, told ABC News.

Ryu defected to South Korea in 2019, running across a minefield in the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.

Pyongyang has deployed more than 12,000 soldiers to Russia to fight in the Ukraine war, according to US estimates, with experts claiming Russian forces have also used North Korean weapons.

An estimated 300 North Korean soldiers have died in the fighting, and over 2,700 have been wounded, Seoul's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed briefing in January.

South Korea's spy agency told journalists Thursday that an unknown number of additional North Korean soldiers have been sent to the frontlines in Russia's western Kursk region since early February, after a near month-long lull in fighting against Ukrainian troops, who launched a surprise offensive across the border last August.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in January that his forces had captured two North Korean soldiers, marking the first time that Ukraine had captured Pyongyang's troops alive.

In a nearly 3-minute video released by Ukraine following the capture of the two North Korean troops, one of the soldiers says he wants to remain in Ukraine when asked if he wishes to return home. The Korean translator asks, "Did you know you were fighting in a war against Ukraine?" The soldier shakes his head.

South Korean intelligence assessed that the two soldiers were with the Reconnaissance General Bureau, a key North Korean military intelligence agency.

"If the soldiers are captured and tell information to the enemy, their families will be punished, go to a political prison camp, or worse, they will be executed in front of the people," said another North Korean defector, Pak Yusung.

'They just die like a dog'

Pyongyang's soldiers have struggled to adapt to the modern battlefield, the North Korean defectors suggested, as videos released by the Ukrainian military appear to show North Korean soldiers being chased down by attack drones.

Ryu and Pak defected long before the fighting that's underway in Russia, but they said that, in their experience, most of the soldiers would not have seen a drone in their life.

PHOTO: North Korean defector Pak Yusung in Seoul, South Korea. (ABC News)

"Before they go they don't have any practice in how to defend against a drone or how to fight Ukrainians, that's why they just die like a dog," Ryu said. "They don't have the skill, the language or the information."

Pak and Ryu's analysis lines up with information released by South Korean intelligence, which said North Korea has clearly instructed the soldiers to kill themselves to avoid being captured alive.

Seoul's spy agency also said it attributes the "massive casualties" of North Korean soldiers to their "lack of understanding of modern warfare," including their "useless" act of shooting at long-range drones, based on the agency's analysis of a recent combat video.

Ryu, who was about 110 lbs. at the time of his defection, said if he were still a North Korean soldier, he would also want to go: "If I went to Ukraine, I could eat food, and I could see another country." He said there are also big financial incentives, and the soldiers would have no idea that their chances of dying were so high.
Selling lies

Ryu and Pak said North Korean soldiers were being sold a lie. "From a young age they're told to hate the American 'wolves', and now they are told they are finally killing Americans," the defectors said.

Ryu said in his experience with the North Korean air force, about 50% of the pilots were only trained in theory, and did not have experience flying a fighter jet.

Pak, who is a researcher at the North Korea Institute, said North Korean leader Kim Jon Un would be receiving critical technology in exchange for the manpower, in what should be a deeply worrying sign for the world, Kim also gets more real combat experience in case of a war on the peninsula.

"If Russia wins the war, it will empower the dictator alliance," Pak said.

PHOTO: ABC News Foreign Correspondent Britt Clennett, right, speaks with North Korean defectors Ryu Seong-hyeon, center, and Pak Yusung in Seoul, South Korea. (ABC News)

"This is just the start. If the Ukraine war keeps going, Kim will keep sending soldiers. Inside North Korea more people will start knowing and that could be a threat to Kim."

When asked what they could possibly do about it when living in a dictatorship controlled by fear, Pak said, "Think about it: your sons died on the battlefield and not for your own country."

Ryu added, "You cannot send so many people to the labor camps."

Pak and his team of four North Korean defectors, Voices of North Korean Youth, have been trying to push the international community to condemn Russia and North Korea with one voice, and also called for the International Criminal Court to hold North Korean leader Kim accountable.

ABC News' Karson Yiu contributed to this report.

True Heroes like Lech Walesa Are Horrified by Trump

Lech Walesa is a Polish hero who stood up against the Soviet Union's imperial rule over his country. He was a simple dock worker who led the Solidarity protest movement against the pro-Russian occupation Communist regime in Warsaw and won.

Walesa says he is horrified by Trump's behavior and submission to the Russian dictatorship's annexation of Ukraine. If you were to choose between, on one hand, the words of a convicted felon, a serial adulterer, a coward draft dodger like Trump who thinks soldiers are suckers and losers for risking their lives for their country, and who has turned the US into an ally of the neo-imperialist Russian criminal dictatorship and its impending annexation of Ukraine, and on the other hand, the words of a real fighter against the Communist regime in Poland who liberated his country from Soviet rule and who earned the Nobel Prize for his life's accomplishments for peace and freedom, which would you choose to believe in good conscience?

The coward or the hero?

=======================================================



Polish democracy hero Wałęsa says Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy filled him with 'horror'
Associated Press
Mon, March 3, 2025


FILE - Poland's former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lech Walesa, is greeted at parliament in Warsaw, Poland, Dec. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)


WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's democracy hero Lech Wałęsa and dozens of other former political prisoners in Poland have written a letter to President Donald Trump, telling him that his treatment of Ukraine's president at the Oval Office last week filled them “with horror and distaste.”

Wałęsa, who served as president soon after Poland embraced democracy, and the others tell Trump that they found it offensive that he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance the United States has given Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's invasion.

“Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defense of the values ​​of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines," they say.

The White House has demanded that Zelenskyy show more openness to potential concessions in order to bring the fighting to an end, but Zelenskyy has been resistant, saying Monday that any deal with Russia is still “very, very far away," while seeking greater security guarantees from Washington.

Wałęsa posted the letter on Facebook on Monday along with a photograph of himself with Trump. It was signed by himself and 38 other former democracy activists who were imprisoned by Poland's Moscow-backed communist regime before 1989. Among the others who signed are Adam Michnik, Bogdan Lis, Seweryn Blumsztajn and Władysław Frasyniuk.

“We were also terrified by the fact that the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation reminded us of the one we remember well from interrogations by the Security Service and from the courtrooms in communist courts," they wrote.

"Prosecutors and judges, commissioned by the omnipotent communist political police, also explained to us that they had all the cards in their hands, and we had none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people were suffering because of us. They deprived us of freedom and civil rights because we did not agree to cooperate with the authorities and did not show them gratitude. We are shocked that you treated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a similar way,” they wrote.

Starting in 1980, Wałęsa spearheaded Poland’s pro-democracy Solidarity movement that nine years later led to the peaceful ouster of communism from Poland and inspired other countries to shed Moscow’s domination.

In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1990-95 he served as democratic Poland’s first popularly elected president.

DOGE Actions to Cause Collapse of Social Security System in 1-3 months

According to former commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Martin O'Malley, DOGE cuts to SSA staffing will trigger the collapse of the Social Security system “within the next 30 to 90 days.”

Over 72.5 million Americans, including 56 million elderly, rely on their monthly social security benefit payments for their daily life expenditures. O'Malley recommended that “people should start saving now”.

The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency DOGE was invented by Trump and Musk with the aim of reducing "wasteful spending" within federal government agencies. Butb the slash and burn approach to making such cuts have thrown the entire federal system in disarray, with significant damage to experienced leadership. The Acting SSA Commissioner, Michelle King, has stepped down because she could not allow DOGE to access the confidential and personal information of millions of American citizens.

SSA employees have received notice of "significant workforce reductions” in an “agency-wide organizational restructuring” that could result of the layoff of thousands of employees. This will substantially reduce the timely processing of benefits and could cause major disruptions in the benefits payment system.

American citizens are recalcitrant savers and a majority of older Americans do not have significant savings by the time they retire, so they rely essentially on their social security benefits as a safety net for their retirement. Unfortunately, older Americans were swayed by Trump's lies and fantasy promises that he knew he could not keep, and a majority of them did vote for him. Now they are reaping the fruit of their credulity: Trump said he would not touch Social Security, but now he is undermining its ability to continue serving America's older population.

For more, read: [ https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2024/election-analysis-older-voters.html  ]

[Update]: 

Commentary: Trump, the GOP and DOGE have launched their attack on Social Security. You should start worrying now

Michael Hiltzik

Tue, March 4, 2025

Perhaps the most frequently cited quote from Donald Trump relevant to his purported efforts to root out government waste has been "we're not touching Social Security," or variations thereof.

I expressed skepticism about this pledge shortly after the election by listing all the oblique ways the Trump administration could hack away at the program. It gives me no pleasure to update my observation with the words, "I told you so."

Donald Trump makes a false promise

Among the weapons Trump could wield, I wrote, was starving the program of administrative resources — think money and staff. Sure enough, on Friday the program, which is currently led by acting Commissioner Leland Dudek, announced plans to reduce the program's employee base to 50,000 from 57,000.

Its press release about the reduction referred to the program's "bloated workforce." To anyone who knows anything about the Social Security Administration, calling its workforce "bloated" sounds like a sick joke. The truth is that the agency is hopelessly understaffed, and has been for years.

In November, then-Commissioner Martin O'Malley told a House committee that the agency was serving a record number of beneficiaries with staffing that had reached a 50-year low. I asked the Social Security Administration to reconcile its claim of a bloated workforce with the facts. I got no reply.

Nearly 69 million Americans were receiving benefits as of Dec. 31, according to the agency. That figure encompassed 54.3 million retired workers, their spouses and their children, nearly 6 million survivors of deceased workers and more than 8.3 million disabled workers and their dependents. Agency employment peaked in 2009 at about 67,000, when it served about 55 million people.

"Without adequate staff at the agency," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said at a news conference Monday, "there will be people who can't get their benefits, period."

Not only beneficiaries could be affected by Trump's raid on Social Security. About 183 million people pay Social Security taxes on their earnings. Their right to collect what they're entitled to based on their contributions is dependent on the system recording those payments and calculating their benefits accurately, to the last penny. Any incursion by DOGE into the program's systems or the scattershot firings that Dudek forecasts puts all that at risk.

In his testimony, O'Malley talked about how the agency had struggled to establish an acceptable level of customer service. In 2023, he said, wait times on the program’s 800 number had ballooned to nearly an hour. Of the average 7 million clients who called the number each month for advice or assistance, 4 million “hung up in frustration after waiting far too long.” The agency had worked the wait down to an average of less than 13 minutes, in part by encouraging customers to wait off the line for a call back.

Disability applicants faced the worst frustrations, O'Malley said. The backlog of disability determinations, which often require multiple rounds of inquiries, hearings and appeals, had reached a near-record 1.2 million. The program estimated that about 30,000 applicants had died in 2023 while awaiting decisions.

O'Malley had asked for a budget increase in fiscal 2025 to add at least 3,000 workers to the customer-service ranks, but it wasn't approved.

Make no mistake: The starving of Social Security's administrative resources, which is currently taking place under the guise of ferreting out fraud and waste, is no accident. It's part of a decades-long Republican project aimed at undermining public confidence in the program [with the objective of handing it to private banks that would gamble it in the financial markets]

Back in 1983, for example, the libertarian Cato Institute published an article by Stuart Butler and Peter Germanis calling for a "Leninist" strategy to "prepare the political ground" for privatizing Social Security on behalf of "the banks, insurance companies, and other institutions that will gain from providing such plans to the public." Political opposition, as it happens, resulted in the death of George W. Bush's push to privatize Social Security in 2005.

Germanis has since become a fierce critic of conservative economics and politics. Butler, who had spent 35 years at the right-wing Heritage Foundation before joining the Brookings Institution in 2014, told me by email he now advocates a private retirement system as an "add-on" private option rather than an alternative to Social Security. He also said he thinks "cutting staff and the claim that Social Security is rife with fraud and abuse are both ridiculous."

The Trump acolytes have already taken an ax to some Social Security operations, as announced by Dudek — a former mid-level agency worker who stepped into the vacuum created by the departure of several managers who had dustups with Elon Musk's DOGE outfit and by a delay in Senate confirmation of Commissioner-designate Frank Bisagnano, a banking and Wall Street veteran.

Last week, Dudek closed the agency's office of transformation, which he called "wasteful" and "redundant." The office was engaged in helping to keep the agency's website operational and to develop usable online resources for beneficiaries and applicants. He closed its office of civil rights and equal opportunity, certainly functions relevant to the program's operations. Employees in both offices were laid off or fired, and their pages on the website were removed.

On Monday, Dudek bragged about having "identified" some $800 million in cost savings, including through the cancellation of contracts that, for all he knows, may be crucial to the agency's functioning. The largest "savings" came from a freeze on hiring and overtime in disability determination services, worth $550 million, according to Dudek.

But that's an area where hands-on contact between applicants and the agency is indispensable. Academic researchers reported in 2019 that the closing of field offices dealing with disability applications led to "a persistent 16% decline in the number of disability recipients in surrounding areas, with the largest effects for applicants with moderately severe conditions and low education levels."

In an appearance Friday on Joe Rogan's webcast, Musk called Social Security "the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time," a repetition of an ancient meme that demonstrates only that he knows nothing about Social Security, and nothing about Ponzi schemes. The program boasts an 85-year unbroken record for paying beneficiaries what they're owed, and currently holds a reserve of nearly $2.8 trillion in Treasury securities, all publicly disclosed.

The GOP brain trust has accepted the claim that Social Security is rife with fraud without devoting a moment's thought to it. House Speaker Mike Johnson absurdly claimed Sunday on "Meet the Press" that Musk's "algorithms crawling through the data" are "finding enormous amounts of waste, fraud and abuse."

Musk's Ignorance and Lies

There's absolutely zero evidence for that. Can we trust Musk to find it? This is the guy whose claim that "millions" of people aged 150 or older were receiving payments was decisively debunked — the notion that benefits were going to people that old was merely an artifact of the software program used by the agency. No payments are going to anyone in that category; Social Security automatically ceases payments to anyone who has reached the age of 115. The chief bug in the system is Musk's ignorance.

By the way, the search for waste, fraud and abuse — call it WFA — has a long and discreditable history. Ronald Reagan pledged to ferret out enough WFA to cut the federal budget by more than 6% (sometimes he said 10%). One of his first steps, however, was to fire 15 departmental inspectors general, whose jobs involved finding WFA. Sound familiar? One of Trump's first orders upon taking office was to fire inspectors-general at 17 federal agencies.

Reagan impaneled the so-called Grace Commission, whose chairman, industrialist J. Peter Grace, promised to unearth billions of dollars of the elusive WFA. The commission’s eventual proposals included taxing Social Security benefits, adding soy meat-extender to school lunches ($84-million savings over three years), and eliminating the regulatory agencies that oversaw industries represented by the panel’s members.

The truth is that Social Security is one of the most efficient agencies in the federal government. Its administrative costs are one-half of one-percent of its total costs, which include benefit payments.

What's the goal of this raid on Social Security, the nation's premier anti-poverty program and one whose beneficiaries live by the tens of thousands in every congressional district in the land?

It's as if Trump and Musk are intent on staging a natural experiment on whether Republicans can tick off or terrify 69 million Americans at one fell swoop by taking away their sustenance in old age or disability — and still win election.

They're bound to learn, to the contrary, that there isn't a federal program that Americans value more than Social Security. Are they dumb enough to try killing it? We shall see.

 

 

Trump's Regime Bound to Collapse: Totalitarianism is Fundamentally Un-American

Recommended reading:

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5171000-why-trumps-regime-is-fated-to-collapse/

Barely Two Months Old, Trump's Mandate is Faltering

Trump (on his Truth Social platform): 

"We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country - So that we don’t end up like Europe!"

By 'migrants, rapes, drug lords, murderers...' Trump subliminally implies ALL non-white dark-skinned immigrants and US-born natives. Beneath the Make America Great Again mask is a white Christian supremacist ideology that seeks to prevent white-majority Americans from becoming the largest minority in three-decades time.

Anyone who thought that the violence embedded in Trump's doctrine would survive long enough to bear any fruit is an idiot, plain and simple. That is why out of a 340 million population, only  77 million idiots voted for him.

====================================

Trumpism Isn’t Working

Jason Linkins

Sun, March 2, 2025

Last November, voters elected a president who’d largely campaigned on an unrelenting hostility to trans people and a plan to let Silicon Valley oligarchs gut the civil service and turn government into a machine for the president’s self-enrichment and political revenge. Much of the political press either ignored this stuff or didn’t care enough to inform their readers—some were too busy trying to polish a mass deportation scheme into a sensible response to the housing crisis—but some of us, here at The New Republic and elsewhere, went hoarse trying to warn about the consequences.

And now here we are. While it’s early days, Trump’s second term has been going about the way you’d expect the presidency of an anti-trans, pro-oligarch, corrupt mass deporter to go: not well! Migrants are effectively being thrown into internment camps, a gang of child cybercriminals are heisting our personal data, and what’s left of the civil service is bogged down wondering whether or not they have to send busy-work emails to gang leader Elon Musk. Meanwhile, Trump has largely checked out, prompting Musk, on multiple occasions, to step in as the president’s emotional-support fascist during public appearances.

If you’re fond of certain social media memes—sowing/reaping, how it started/how it’s going, fuck around/find out—this is a real boom time. But here’s the bottom line: Trumpism isn’t working. This mostly portends pain for the country and the planet, but there’s a silver lining to be found in a president who has screwed up so royally this soon into his post-inauguration honeymoon period: His opponents have an unexpected advantage.

Right now, Trump’s biggest weakness is the very thing he believed was going to confer unprecedented strength on his return to power: his attempts to purge the federal government of its loyal workforce and replace it with subservient confederates. What Trump and his cronies misunderstand is that the civil service is essentially an extension of the people’s will. While this institution is too often castigated as a faceless bureaucracy, there’s an important material connection between those who serve the public and the public that’s being served. And when you rattle the cages in Washington, those vibrations spread outward. It’s no wonder that a recent Morning Consult poll found majorities of respondents rejecting the idea that the civil service was “too liberal,” as the Trump administration has tried to get people to believe. Nor is it surprising to find that the same set of respondents are not exactly “clamoring for DOGE cuts.” At the same time, public approval is trending against Trump’s Silicon Valley suck-ups, not to mention Trump himself, of whom half the country now disapproves.

People should be worried about the destruction that Trump is wreaking. The civil service is a collection of people doing the mostly invisible work of keeping daily life thrumming along and keeping us safe from a multitude of harms. Now, everywhere you look, Americans are getting anxious. People are suddenly less convinced that they can travel by air safely. Consumer confidence is nose-diving. The percentage of Americans who feel the economy is on the wrong track has risen 10 points in less than a month.

Reading the tea leaves, the administration is now desperately trying to finger Biden as the culprit for what could be an apocalyptic jobs report, which is pretty rich coming from the administration that’s cutting programs and putting people on the unemployment rolls. “It seems unavoidable that we are headed for a deep, deep recession,” former U.S. Labor Department economist Jesse Rothstein told The Telegraph this week. Apollo Global economist Torsten Slok said that “layoffs could approach 1 million after factoring in the likely chain reaction” that Trump’s cuts to the civil service will have; Slok went on to observe that “the US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index was now higher than at any time during the great recession.”

So it’s hardly shocking that people are already starting to react as if something has gone very wrong. Republicans are facing torrents of angry voters at their own town halls, where representatives from deep-red districts are getting earfuls of anti-Musk invective and chants of “Tax the billionaires!” Some Republicans even seem chastened enough to offer the first stirrings of anti-Trump defiance that we’ve heard from members of his own party in a while. (Naturally, it’s now being suggested that Republican members cancel their town halls entirely—a curious move for a party that claims to have a mandate to govern.)

I may not be as confident as The American Prospect’s David Dayen, who says “Trump’s cooked,” but the environment is certainly more favorable to such optimism than I imagined it would be a month ago—which makes this an apt time for Democrats to up the ante. As Senator Elizabeth Warren said during an interview on CNN this week, “Our best strategy is to make sure everybody knows exactly what the Republicans are trying to do.” That’s a plan that doesn’t require a congressional majority, just a commitment.

There really is a big opportunity here, to make some fundamental shifts in public sentiment on the value of the government that Trump is trying to burn to the ground. A 2019 study by the Niskanen Center found that Americans “mistrust services provided by the public sector, even though they increasingly rely on government programs.” The misalignment is so bad, in fact, that the public tends to “misperceive good services” rendered by the government as coming from the private sector. The biggest problem, according to the study, is that most of the good work the government does is invisible—we only notice when it’s being done poorly. Because of that, the study concludes, the public’s “views of government don’t become more positive even if they directly benefit.”

As Trump and Musk stampede through Washington, and the inevitable maladies of this destruction become more visible to the public, liberals might be staring at a historic opportunity to turn public opinion on the value of government around. And they can back up their case by showing some backbone in Washington, because the price of being associated with Trumpism is too high. This week, they passed an important test with flying colors when they voted in lockstep against the Republican budget plan, and with considerable aplomb: California Representative Kevin Mullin flew to Washington to cast his vote straight from being discharged from the hospital; his Colorado colleague Brittany Pettersen made a similar sojourn with her newborn son.

All in all, this was an instructive week of how an out-of-power party can offer a steely response to, and take advantage of, a stumbling Trump. So let the cheap clickbait merchants beat on about how Democrats would be better off rolling over and playing dead. With public sentiment riding against Trump’s designs and no end in sight to the chaos he and Musk foment, there’s never been a better time for the party that believes in government to defend that government, connecting the ruination of the civil service to the ruination that will be visited on ordinary people. Democrats might be locked out of power, but they don’t need a parliamentary majority to land damaging blows against a flailing president and party. Strike while the iron is hot.

This article first appeared in Power Mad, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Jason Linkins. 

 

Musk: American Recipients of Government Assistance are "Parasite Class"

Tech billionaire and Trump henchman Elon Musk posted a meme claiming that lower income Americans who benefit from federal programs' assistance are "members of the Parasite Class". Now Musk himself receives billions of dollars from federal programs to keep his faltering businesses alive. Hypocrisy? Elitism? Racism?

The South African illegal immigrant to the US fled South Africa after the end of apartheid. Apparently his superior "beautiful white skin" couldn't tolerate to live in a country ruled by the majority non-whites.

People reacted to his post:

He’s calling people who receive any kind of federal assistance “parasites” while profiting heavily from every single government benefit he can get. The only parasite I see is Elon Musk. I’m so tired and disgusted. pic.twitter.com/SV1PYqBHhj

— celia (@_celia_bedelia_) February 13, 2025

As the post spread across multiple platforms, the podcast "On With Kara Swisher" called Musk himself a parasite; Swisher claimed that by 2015, Tesla had received almost $5 billion in government support.

A Fact Check by Snopes confirmed that Musk did repost a meme that called those who benefit from federal programs the "Parasite Class".

 

Trump's Desperate to Earn Putin's Approval: Halts anti-Russia Cyber Operations

Update:

Today, Trump announced he is cutting off all aid to Ukraine in a petty retaliation against Zelenskyy who would not sell his country to Trump and Putin. Stupidity AND cruelty are such a toxic mix.

=====================================================

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders a halt to offensive cyber operations against Russia
Courtney Kube
Mon, March 3, 2025


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has halted U.S. Cyber Command offensive operations against Russia.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive cyber operations and information operations against Russia, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said.

Hegseth gave the order to the head of the command, Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh, in late February, the official said. It is unclear clear how long the order will last.

A senior U.S. defense official declined to comment on the decision "due to operational security concerns."

“There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations, to include the cyber domain,” the official told NBC News.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is housed in the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that its "mission is to defend against all cyber threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure, including from Russia. There has been no change in our posture."

Representatives for U.S. Cyber Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Russian Embassy also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Hegseth's order was first reported by The Record.

President Donald Trump has sought to re-establish diplomatic channels with Russia in recent days, including by restoring embassy staffing, as his administration works to quickly end the war in Ukraine. U.S. officials initiated peace talks with Russian negotiators last month in Saudi Arabia.

Trump's relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit a standstill Friday after an Oval Office clash between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President JD Vance. Trump after the meeting chided Zelenskyy for his persistent criticism of Putin.

“He’s got to say I want to make peace," Trump said before he departed the White House on Friday. "He doesn’t have to stand there and say about 'Putin this, Putin that,' all negative things. He’s got to say I want to make peace. I don’t want to fight a war any longer.”

The breakdown of the meeting delayed the signing of an agreement that would have granted the United States a significant ownership stake in Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals, which are used to create a variety of technological products.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Sunday called the administration's decision to pause offensive cyber operations against Russia a bid by Trump to earn Putin's favor.

“Donald Trump is so desperate to earn the affection of a thug like Vladimir Putin he appears to be giving him a free pass as Russia continues to launch cyber operations and ransomware attacks against critical American infrastructure, threatening our economic and national security," Schumer said. "It is a critical strategic mistake for Donald Trump to unilaterally disarm against Putin."

The the Biden administration last year labeled Russia "an enduring global cyber threat," pointing to the targeting of U.S. government agencies, think tanks, energy and aviation by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

"Moscow views cyber disruptions as a foreign policy lever to shape other countries' decisions and continuously refines and employs its espionage, influence, and attack capabilities against a variety of targets," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in its 2024 threat assessment. "Russia maintains its ability to target critical infrastructure, including underwater cables and industrial control systems, in the United States as well as in allied and partner countries."

The U.S. intelligence assessment said Russia continues to pose a global cyber threat "even as it prioritizes cyber operations for the Ukrainian war."

Microsoft said in November that Russia had recently intensified its cyber operations, primarily targeting Ukraine and NATO countries.

"Russian threat actors have focused on accessing and stealing intelligence from Ukrainian warfighters and the international partners that supply them weapons. The techniques employed have the potential to cause unintended damage by posing risk to computer networks globally," the company noted its 2024 digital defense report.

The report also highlighted Russian cyber operations aimed at influencing the 2024 presidential election, an effort that resulted in sanctions by the Biden administration.

Occasional Decent Israelis Speak out on US-Israel Genocide Collusion

This Oscar Winner Just Used His Speech To Call Out U.S. Policy On Israel
Kelby Vera
Mon, March 3, 2025



The co-director of “No Other Land” called out American foreign policy while accepting the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film during Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Israeli filmmaker and journalist Yuval Abraham began his speech by calling out apartheid-like conditions in Israeli-occupied regions of the Palestinian territories.

Referring to his collaborator, Palestinian activist Basel Adra, he said, “When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal.”

“We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law, and Basel is under military law that destroy his life and he cannot control,” Abraham continued. “There is a different path, a political solution. Without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.”

He then turned his attention to the United States, whose staunch military support for Israel and recent decision to freeze humanitarian aid across the world are having dire consequences in Gaza.

Basel Adra (from left), Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham accept the Documentary Feature Film award for "No Other Land." Kevin Winter via Getty Images

“I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path,” Abraham said.

“Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way.”

“No Other Land’s” win comes at a critical time for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The film chronicles the decades-long loop of destruction that has dominated life in the occupied West Bank.

Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of activists and journalists, the film earned widespread acclaim but [typical for the totalitarian Zionist-collared United States of America that is afraid of dissenting opinions] was unable to secure distribution in the United States.

“No Other Land’s” Oscar comes as Israel has once again halted aid to Gaza as it pressures Hamas to agree to extend the terms of the region’s tenuous ceasefire after the first phase of the pact expired on Saturday.

Hamas has called Israel’s actions a “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” on plans to progress to the next stage of the provisional arms treatise, which began in January.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority, which holds limited governing power within the West Bank, is in the midst of an aggressive crackdown on Islamic militants in the refugee city of Jenin.

While similar efforts by Israel recently displaced tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees, the Palestinian Authority’s campaign is being seen as a way to demonstrate its ability to control security in the West Bank on its own terms.

Republican Adam Kinzinger Speaks Truth on Trump-Zelenskyy

Adam Kinzinger Makes A Strong Case For Trump's 'Really Bad Day' After Zelenskyy Clash

Ben Blanchet

Updated Sat, March 1, 2025

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) weighed in on the “shameful” behavior by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday after the two blew up on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

Kinzinger, in an appearance on CNN, weighed in on the “embarrassing” clash as he pushed back at Trump and Vance’s claims that Zelenskyy hasn’t been “thankful” of the U.S. support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

“We should be thanking the Ukrainians for standing in the gap and fighting the Russian horde that’s coming into their country and that would come into NATO next,” Kinzinger told CNN’s Dana Bash.

He continued, “Today was very shameful and there’s a reason that every cabinet member under Donald Trump has had to tweet how strong he was today, because they got the memo from the White House that they better come out and support Trump because this is a really bad day for them and they know it.”

Kinzinger, in a post to X, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz “lose any of the little credibility they maybe had” if they don’t resign following the Trump-Vance meltdown.

“This was a purposeful ambush. There is no doubt about it. JD Vance is a vice president and shouldn’t even have spoken to Zelensky, a President,” he added in a separate post. “JD can eat a bowl of ass.”

Kinzinger, later in his CNN appearance, pressed that foreign leaders shouldn’t come to the U.S. and “bow” to the president, noting that Zelenskyy has to “stand strong” for Ukraine.

“If he comes here and grovels to a toddler that needs to be groveled to, like, what is that sending ― what message is that sending to his troops in the trench?” Kinzinger said.

“It’s sending a message that, ’Boy, our future really depends not on your ability to stay and fight but on whether or not I can grovel to a toddler that wants to be, that wants to be held and coddled.”

The former congressman went on to react to the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who declared that it’s now up to Europeans to take on the “challenge” of finding a “new leader” for the free world.

“They’re correct. I mean, I’m sorry, I hate to say this but the United States right now is not the good guys in this,” Kinzinger said.

MAGA-GOP Farting from Both Sides of their Caudal Apertures

US House Speaker Mike Johnson was trying yesterday to patch up the disastrous behavior of his Moron-in-Chief president Trump by continuing to lay blame on Zelenskyy.

As a typical puppet for Trump, Johnson repeated the demand made by Vance and Trump that Zelenskyy either "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that”. 

The "gratitude" thing reflects the narcissistic egomaniac Trump's personal cult he has developed in his MAGA-GOP entourage of cowards and yes-men. Acccording to Johnson, Zelenskyy should come back and kiss the ring of the Dear Leader and agree to Putin's demands. Otherwise, Zelenskyy should resign and "someone else" needs to lead the country, by which Putin's puppets in the US mean that Ukraine should be headed by someone who would submit to Putin's blackmail and annexation of his country.

BUT, just as they speak from both sides of their mouths, the MAGA-GOP imbeciles also fart from both sides of their caudal orifices. At the same time that he was digging the dagger deeper into Zelenskyy's brave and courageous stance for his country, Johnson criticized Russia and Putin, something that the idiot Trump has shied away from doing, particularly since returning to office. How can Johnson be criticizing Putin AND demanding that Zelenskyy submit to Putin's demands?

It is clear that Trump has some sort of a secret deal with Putin to break up Ukraine and exploit its resources, just as Hitler and Stalin did regarding Poland, and all Trump's behavior and statements reflect his association with the criminal dictator in the Kremlin. The only thing that might have riled up Trump during his meeting with Zelenskyy is that the latter required security guarantees in exchange for a deal on Ukraine's rare earth minerals, and stingy Trump doesn't want to give guarantees that include US soldiers on Ukrainian soil and continued arms deliveries because 1. they cost money, 2. they will upset his buddy Putin, and 3. he would be violating the isolationist streak in the GOP genome.

In his desperate attempt to cover up for Trump's thuggish behavior, the asshole Trump-ass-kisser Speaker Johnson went so far as to say, “I'd like to see Putin defeated, frankly,” in an interview on NBC. “[Putin] is an adversary of the United States”.

“Putin is the aggressor,” Johnson also told CNN. “It is an unjust war”. 

Can these morons make up their minds? If Putin is the aggressor, and if Putin needs to be defeated, and if Putin's war is unjust, and if Putin is an adversary of the US, why aren't the MAGA-GOP backing Zelenskyy even more? What the heck is Trump doing and saying the opposite, namely that Zelenskyy did start the war, that Zelenskyy is a dictator, and that he respects Putin, etc. 

The fact is that the MAGA-GOP Trump sycophants are too scared of Trump to say what they really think, so they go along with one fart for Putin and another fart against him. Playing it safe, so that when Putin invades all of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States and reneges on all the agreements he made, the MAGA-GOP numskulls can later quote themselves criticizing Putin to save their asses from the judgment of history. 


Trump-appointed sycophant Speaker Mike Johnson

Meanwhile, the other mindless Trump ass-kisser Marco Rubio, a long-time vicious opponent of Putin and current secretary of state, has toed the Trump line and has become a vociferous defender of Putin. But the poor soul is running out of mental and verbal acrobatics to explain his fence-sitting, which led him to become agitated in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News. 

In the interview, he kept dodging questions from Stephanopoulos and making contradictory statements. Just like Johnson, Rubio's defense of Trump's behavior centered on convicted seditious felon Trump's supposed humanitarian mission "to open peace negotiations with Putin". 

“The president is basically saying, there’s this horrible war,” the donkey-eared Rubio said. “It’s been going on for three years. It is a bloody stalemate, a meat grinder-type war, and [Trump] wants it to end. How does it end? It’s very simple. The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table.” It's like rewarding a courtyard bully for smashing the face of another student.

But not one minute later, Rubio admitted that the Trump administration had no idea what Putin’s demands were for a peace agreement, even though the MAGA-GOP administration has had several conversations with the Kremlin regime, including several phone calls between Trump and Putin, a long meeting between Putin and Trumps' Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow in February, and a meeting between Rubio himself and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia!!!!

“Maybe…their demands will be unreasonable,” Rubio said. “We don’t know, but we have to bring him to the table... I’ve said from the very beginning, maybe they don’t want to deal either. We don’t know, but we haven’t talked to them in three years,” he said.

And the cherry on the cake came when Rubio refused to say why Trump's men refuse to call Putin a “dictator”, when they had so readily made the same claim about Zelensky. Clearly, they have instructions from Dear Leader himself not to call Putin a dictator because Trump has a secret deal with Putin over Ukraine.

Then when Stephanopoulos quoted Senator Lisa Murkowski’s comments criticizing Trump for breaking up the Atlantic Alliance, saying “Even some of your Republican allies are puzzled by the steps that President Trump has taken to placate Vladimir Putin", Rubio became agitated and replied, “Which steps has he taken? ... Which ones? Are we arming the Russians?” to which Stephanopoulos replied by saying that America had voted with Russia and Belarus in a United Nations resolution that called for an end to the conflict and contained no criticism of Russia, and that the U.S. also voted against a European-drafted resolution that condemned Russia as an aggressor.

Bottom line: the "businessman" Trump is selling Ukraine and Europe, the EU and NATO for a money-making deal on Ukraine's rare earth minerals. It's really that simple, because the skull of the American moron-in-chief contains the brain of a grocery store owner bereft of any knowledge of human civilization.