Convicted Felon Donald Chump keeps showing his ass but I guess that is to be expected when you are an ass. Robin Abcarian (LOS ANGELES TIMES) observes:
I really appreciated Monday's unexpected call for unity in the Capitol rotunda, where MAGA insurrectionists mounted a deadly attack on Congress four years ago.
Unfortunately, it did not come from the petulant, vindictive President Trump, who sat on a dais crowded with Trump family members, former presidents and first ladies, and members of the new American oligarchy: tech billionaires who have bent the knee and opened their wallets to the man who has threatened to make life very, very difficult for them.
Rather, the call for unity came from Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose stirring words should not be forgotten amid Trump’s subsequent torrent of lies, threats and bravado. And although she was addressing the American people, I’d like to think she was speaking directly to Trump.
“What makes this moment more than a passing ceremony is all who are watching it across the country — the people of this nation, the ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” said Klobuchar, who chaired Congress’ bipartisan inaugural ceremony committee. “President Kennedy, who at one point worked as a senator in this building and would often walk through this very rotunda, once said, 'In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of interest in politics, holds office. Every one of us is in a position of responsibility.' With that responsibility of citizenship comes an obligation not to seek out malice, as President Lincoln once reminded us, but to view others with a generosity of spirit despite our differences.”
If the president gets his way, he’s going to make life miserable for many: people of color, people who are LGBTQ+, immigrants in search of better lives, the poor. In one of his first official acts, he reversed dozens of Biden administration executive orders designed to promote equity, protect public health and address climate change, among other aims.
“We will forge a society that is color-blind and merit-based,” he said, a worthy goal that is undermined by his history of racist behavior and statements.
My 14-year-old niece actually gasped when he announced, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.” The world, as even an American teenager knows, has moved beyond that limited view of gender, and nothing will change that — not even an order from a man who believes his presidency is divinely ordained.
This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has filed to run for reelection in 2030, when he would be 89 years old.
On Monday, Sanders, who has been vocal against what he sees as an oligarchy looming over the U.S. government, expressed his desire to fight back against the Trump administration and has opened the door to running for the Senate again at the end of this decade.
Matt Gaetz’s brand new show on the far-right wing One America News Network began with him looking absolutely bizarre.
It was unclear who had applied the disgraced congressman’s makeup, but the combination of very light concealer around his eyes and dark foundation on the rest of his face made for an odd look, like a sort of reverse Hamburglar.
Alas, that’s just the start. President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Pentagon has also never led a large organization, has written bizarre and conspiratorial books, did not attain a high rank during his tenure in the military, and has touted highly provocative ideas related to American women serving in combat and the Geneva Conventions. After Hegseth’s recent Senate confirmation hearing, The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank added that the nominee “also appears to have no idea what he’s doing.”
But just as importantly, the former television personality has most definitely not lived the life of a teetotaling and celibate monk. On the contrary, Hegseth has faced allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, which he has repeatedly denied.
Given the traditional norms of American politics, Hegseth’s odds of confirmation would be around zero. Given the state of American politics in 2025, Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee have already voted unanimously to advance Hegseth’s nomination to the full floor for final consideration.
It’s unclear if anything could convince senators in the GOP majority to think twice ahead of the confirmation vote, but as NBC News reported, Hegseth is facing new allegations that have reached Capitol Hill in the form of an affidavit.
Reed said in a statement, “As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation. I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this sworn affidavit confirms that fact.”
The Democratic senator, who voted to confirm Trump’s Pentagon nominees in the Republican’s first term, added that “the alleged pattern of abuse and misconduct by Mr. Hegseth is disturbing. This behavior would disqualify any service member from holding any leadership position in the military, much less being confirmed as the Secretary of Defense.”
NBC News’ report added that Danielle Hegseth’s affidavit described allegations “of volatile and threatening conduct by Hegseth that made his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, fear for her safety.” (She says she didn’t witness the conduct firsthand.)
- Hegseth's second wife sought refuge in a closet after Hegseth threatened her.
- She was so concerned about her safety that she shared a code word with her sister-in-law to alert her when Hegseth threatened her. She texted the code word to the sister-in-law in 2015 or 2016.
- The complainant witnessed Hegseth drunk on several occasions, including one Christmas when he vomited and passed out. In another instance, at a bar in 2013 in Minneapolis, Hegseth danced with drinks in both hands, broke glasses and was dragged out. On the walk home he made comments that implied he condoned non-consensual sex.
- On another occasion in 2009, Hegseth was found drunk at a strip club in downtown Minneapolis in his military uniform, drunk and getting lap dances. He had to be dragged out of the club.
- He disparaged Hispanic people and said Christian people needed to have more babies than Muslims to avoid being overtaken.
A Department of Defense scholar claimed that Trump nominee Pete Hegseth's objective to bring "warrior culture" back to the Pentagon is a "terrible idea."
"We need soldiers, not warriors," wrote Eliot A. Cohen in an article for The Atlantic.
Hegseth, who served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, said at his defense secretary hearing, "When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was—to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness."
President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders during the first day of his second term, including a single sweeping order revoking dozens of executive orders issued by the Biden administration.
Viral social media posts claim that one of the orders revoked was one that lowered prescription drug costs for people on Medicare and Medicaid. Several VERIFY readers asked us if these posts are true.
Yes, Trump did rescind a Biden order to lower prescription costs for people on Medicare and Medicaid.
WHAT WE FOUND
Trump rescinded an executive order that required the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and test ways to lower drug prices for people on Medicare and Medicaid.
Since former-President Joe Biden's 2022 order, CMS had been planning out and preparing to test three models to lower prices. None of them had fully gone into effect. Therefore, current Medicare and Medicaid enrollees will not see their drug prices go up. They will also not see some of the proposed price cuts scheduled to go into effect in the future.
Even before these latest actions, a significant number of Americans were worried about the U.S. becoming less of a democracy and more of an authoritarian state under Trump's second term. A Dec. 3-5 poll from Marist College found that 73 percent of adults thought there was a serious threat to the future of our democracy. And according to an Ipsos/Public Religion Research Institute poll from last August-September, 49 percent of Americans thought there was a real danger that Trump would use the presidency to become a dictator.
But when people think of Trump becoming a dictator, they're probably thinking of something akin to him going on TV one day and declaring himself president for life. (For instance, host Nikki Glaser memorably joked at the Golden Globes about there not being a next election.) There are a myriad of legal and practical reasons why that is extremely unlikely to happen — but that doesn't mean he won't pose a threat to democracy. Political scientists who have studied the erosion of democracy in other countries emphasize that it's a gradual, even subtle process that often leaves the trappings of democracy in place. In fact, those experts say, U.S. democracy was already eroded under Trump's first term — and the most serious danger is that his second will see more of the same.
President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. on Monday to withdraw once again from the 2015 Paris climate agreement — instantly isolating the country from the global campaign to stem catastrophic warming.
Language in Trump's executive order said the U.S. would consider the withdrawal to take effect "immediately." It didn't mention the one-year notice period that the climate pact spells out.
The order, which Trump signed with public fanfare just hours after taking office, collides with a rise in climate havoc around the world, including the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and revelations that last year was the hottest ever recorded. It marks the launch of an aggressive agenda to roll back U.S. climate policy, driven by an emboldened president who invites confrontation over the scientific underpinnings of climate change.
President Donald Trump has cancelled flights for 1,660 refugees from Afghanistan who were previously cleared by the government to come to the U.S., according to Reuters.
The 1,660 Afghan refugees who have been taken off flights include family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, unaccompanied minors flying to the U.S. to reunite with family, and those who fought for the former U.S.-backed Afghan government.
As more Americans reach retirement age — many without adequate savings — Social Security can be a financial anchor. The checks average $1,976 monthly, and thousands of older adults told Business Insider they rely on the money to pay for essentials. However, the checks often aren't enough to live on.
Trump's vow to carry out a mass deportation of people living in the US illegally could make matters more difficult because the Social Security fund is largely financed by payroll taxes from American workers. The Social Security Administration told BI that deportations could cut annual cash flow by $20 billion — potentially reducing retirees' benefits over time.
Immigrants living in the US illegally, about 8.3 million of whom work, also pay payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. They are ineligible to claim these benefits themselves.
Following President Donald Trump signing Day One executive orders, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement:
“Donald Trump ran on the promise that he would make life more affordable for hardworking Americans, but he spent day one of his presidency doing next to nothing to lower costs. Instead, he spent his time on an agenda of revenge, division, and cruelty with a side helping of cozying up to billionaires. If Day One is a sign of what a second Trump term will look like, it will be great for his billionaire donors and giant corporations, and pain and costs for everyone else.”
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