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Mitt Romney: Keeping Federal Disaster Relief Agency Is ‘Immoral’

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Mitt Romney believes FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is unnecessary, and it would be “immoral” to keep it. The Republican presidential candidate made his comments first last year during a GOP debate, and re-affirmed his comments yesterday.

Media outlets have picked up on this in the face of Hurricane Sandy, which has already killed dozens of people and is estimated to cost billions in damage.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=oqXk5XxHKx8%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US

The Atlantic obtained this transcript via CNN:

KING: You’ve been a chief executive of a state. I was just in Joplin, Missouri. I’ve been in Mississippi and Louisiana and Tennessee and other communities dealing with whether it’s the tornadoes, the flooding, and worse. FEMA is about to run out of money, and there are some people who say do it on a case-by-case basis and some people who say, you know, maybe we’re learning a lesson here that the states should take on more of this role. How do you deal with something like that?

ROMNEY: Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.

Instead of thinking in the federal budget, what we should cut — we should ask ourselves the opposite question. What should we keep? We should take all of what we’re doing at the federal level and say, what are the things we’re doing that we don’t have to do? And those things we’ve got to stop doing, because we’re borrowing $1.6 trillion more this year than we’re taking in. We cannot…

KING: Including disaster relief, though?

ROMNEY: We cannot — we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.

It’s vital to remember that a hallmark of President George W. Bush’s administration was its handling of Hurricane Katrina, and FEMA director Michael Brown, whose immediate prior experience was as the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association, (IAHA), which he was forced to resign from. “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job,” was George Bush’s praise given publicly that reflected the sheer incompetence of Bush.

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White House and Eric Trump Mocked Amid Dueling Tariff Tactics

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April 3, 2025

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The White House has been adamant: President Donald Trump’s sweeping mass tariffs, which he is imposing on nearly every country across the globe, are a line in the sand—non-negotiable, not up for discussion, debate, or deviation.

“This is not a negotiation,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN on Thursday, “emphasizing that the tariffs are part of a national emergency response to countries that have, in her view, harmed American workers for decades,” according to Newsweek.

“Trump administration officials insist that the sweeping tariffs are not a negotiation tactic, and that Trump “is not going to back off,” CNBC reported Thursday afternoon.

CNN’s Brian Stelter reported, however, “While the Trump White House says the tariff rates are not the start of a negotiation, Wall Street thinks they are, because otherwise the markets would be down ‘like 30%’ today.”

READ MORE: Trump Fires Three National Security Officials for ‘Disloyalty’ After Multiple Crises

The Dow closed down almost 1700 points on Thursday, or almost 4%, with Barron’s reporting: “The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq had their worst day since 2020 after President Donald Trump announced global tariffs.”

But according to the President’s former White House and campaign press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who called it “posturing” on Fox News, she believes there’s definitely room for negotiation.

“You heard the White House there saying, you know, ‘this is not part of a negotiation, this is here to stay.’ I firmly believe that is posturing,” she told her Fox News co-hosts. “Trump is the great dealmaker, a great negotiator. And he’s someone who understands how to get to the, to a good end result. And with that in mind, you set the posture ‘that this isn’t going away, these are here to stay, you’ve had 70 years to negotiate.’ That’s what I think this is.”

“We’ll see what happens,” she added, “but I would not be surprised if the great negotiator has an endgame and mine here.”

Trump’s son, Eric Trump, took a similar stance.

“I wouldn’t want to be the last country that tries to negotiate a trade deal with @realDonaldTrump,” wrote Eric Trump on Thursday. “The first to negotiate will win – the last will absolutely lose. I have seen this movie my entire life…”

Fox Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino replied, “I agree.”

NBC News Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilation responded: “Wait, so this IS a negotiating bid? Because the White House said it isn’t.”

READ MORE: ‘Indescribably Crazy’: Trump Heads to Golf Tournament After ‘Blowing Up’ World Trade

Possibly more telling than the President’s son appearing to give the game away, the President’s political operation, via his “War Room,” responded with the “eyes” emoji, promoting Eric Trump’s post and suggesting interest.

Meanwhile, both the Trump White House and Eric Trump were mocked.

“How many of those movies ended in bankruptcy, honey?” asked national security and civil rights journalist Marcy Wheeler.

“This entire family appears to see every relationship as a zero sum game,” observed HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte. “Explains a lot.”

Journalist Jack Schlossberg also mocked Eric Trump:

“Grand strategist eric trump — brilliant !! Negotiation 101: 1) Fire all your ammunition in every direction 2) Give up your leverage to the first at the table 3) Have nothing left to bargain with 4) declare victory.”

It appears that the “first to negotiate” may be Trump’s “favorite” president—besides himself.

“The day after President Trump antagonized world leaders across the globe with his most sweeping set of tariffs yet, he was scheduled to fly to Florida and potentially see the one leader he has called his “favorite president’,” The New York Times reports. “That leader, President Javier Milei of Argentina, had flown overnight to receive an award on Thursday at a right-wing gala at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump was scheduled to also be there late Thursday — Mr. Milei said Mr. Trump would receive an award, too — and Mr. Milei said he hoped the two would meet.”

President Milei responded to Eric Trump’s post:

See the social media posts and video above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

 

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Trump Fires Three National Security Officials for ‘Disloyalty’ After Multiple Crises

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April 3, 2025

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After multiple Trump administration national security crises including SignalGate, GmailGate, the passwords scandal, and new revelations that the National Security Advisor’s team set up at least 20 Signal chats to handle crises, President Donald Trump reportedly has fired three national security officials for “disloyalty.”

“President Donald Trump has moved to fire several senior White House National Security Council officials soon after he was urged by far-right activist Laura Loomer to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently committed to his Make America Great Again agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter Thursday,” the Associated Press reports.

Loomer, who promotes conspiracy theories and appeared to be close to the President near the end of the 2024 campaign, met with Trump, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, according to the AP. Loomer reportedly presented her “research” to the President.

It does not appear Trump has fired anyone for the growing list of national security breaches that experts say have put the nation, the military, and other nations at risk.

READ MORE: ‘Indescribably Crazy’: Trump Heads to Golf Tournament After ‘Blowing Up’ World Trade

CNN reports the three fired officials include “Brian Walsh, a director for intelligence and a former top staffer for now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Senate Intelligence Committee; Thomas Boodry, a senior director for legislative affairs who previously served as Waltz’s legislative director in Congress; and David Feith, a senior director overseeing technology and national security who served in the State Department during Trump’s first administration.”

A fourth, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong,”was not among those who had been dismissed on Wednesday, however, one White House official speculated to CNN Thursday that Wong could be out as soon as today, though a final decision remains to be seen.”

Many, including some Republicans, have expressed concern over National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who admitted to setting up the Signal chat that mistakenly included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

Waltz was not fired on Thursday, despite reports of bipartisan calls for his dismissal or resignation. Those calls included Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, and top personnel official Sergio Gor, in a private meeting, according to Politico.

“The president agreed that Waltz had messed up,” Politico reported, “but Trump ultimately decided not to fire him for one reason — for now: Like hell he’d give the liberal media and pearl-clutching Democrats a win.”

President Trump has repeatedly bragged that his administration would be “merit-based” only.

“President Trump believes in a new approach to hiring and workplace matters. This emerging movement advocates for ‘Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence (MEI),’ which emphasizes selecting candidates based solely on their qualifications, abilities and intelligence,” Forbes reported in February.

READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

Meanwhile, The New York Times, which detailed Loomer’s meeting with the President, reported that “Ms. Loomer’s rhetoric and actions have been so extreme that she has alienated even others on the far right. She has shared a conspiracy theory on social media calling the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks an ‘inside job.’ During the 2024 campaign, Ms. Loomer said that ‘the White House will smell like curry’ if Kamala Harris were elected, a jab at her Indian heritage. During the Republican primary campaign, in which she served as Mr. Trump’s online attack dog against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Ms. Loomer floated the baseless notion than Mr. DeSantis’s wife, Casey, had lied about having breast cancer.”

However, the Times reports, “on Wednesday afternoon, she sat with the president in the Oval Office, plying him with claims about staff members whom she insisted he should dismiss. News of her attendance was first reported by the newsletter Status, but the details of what was discussed had not been revealed.”

SignalGate is the Trump administration’s national security scandal that potentially endangered the lives of U.S. service members, and risked exposing military plans. GmailGate is the Trump administration’s use of the even less-secure commercial email app, to conduct government business. In the Trump administration’s passwords scandal, passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers of top Trump national security officials were easily found online. Wednesday brought revelations that the National Security Advisor’s team had set up at least 20 Signal chats to handle crises.

READ MORE: ‘Just Plain Dumb’: Trump’s Smuggled Fentanyl Tariff Mocked

 

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‘Indescribably Crazy’: Trump Heads to Golf Tournament After ‘Blowing Up’ World Trade

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7 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Declaring a “national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life,” President Donald Trump, after markets closed on Wednesday afternoon, announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every nation across the globe—tanking stock market futures in the U.S. and abroad, unleashing global “chaos,” and pushing the so-called “fear index” to “extreme.” Just 24 hours after what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” the President, on Thursday afternoon, will land at Miami International Airport and head straight to his Trump National Doral Golf Club for the LIV dinner, ahead of this weekend’s golf tournament, which he is expected to attend.

As global leaders prepare to make contact with President Trump to stave off what may become a “global trade war,” he will not be in the Oval Office, but in Florida—likely hitting the greens for the remainder of the week, something he himself accused federal workers of doing back in February. (At the same time, the House of Representatives has shut down, stalled by internal Republican divisions.)

Some critics are blasting Trump’s decision to head to his golf club during this “national emergency,” which he has a long history of doing.

And as Thursday morning unfolded, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter posted a screenshot of CNBC’s coverage of the “global selloff.”

READ MORE: ‘Parade of Incompetence’: Trump Security Adviser Set Up Numerous Signal Chats on Key Crises

Business media company Morning Brew offered this graphic of how the stock markets are reacting.

Economists and economic experts are stunned by Trump’s massive tariffs, deemed “worse than the worst case scenario,” according to multiple financial experts.

MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, who spent decades in finance and financial journalism, criticized Trump tariffs.

“Folks who were unhappy with the economy did NOT vote for tariffs. They voted for Trump’s promise to lower inflation. His choice of action – tariff implementation will INCREASE inflation,” she noted.

And calling it “another large step toward a new old era of trade protectionism,” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board blasted “Trump’s New Protectionist Age.”

“Blowing up the world trading system has consequences that the President isn’t advertising,” they warned, adding they could result in “shrinking world trade and slower growth, recession, or worse.”

They also declared that “Trump’s tariffs look ‘reciprocal’ in name only,” which brings up the question of how and why Trump imposed these tariffs.

“Economists and U.S. trade partners are raising questions about how the White House calculated the tariff rates it claimed other countries ‘charge’ the United States,” CNBC reports.

Meanwhile, economist Justin Wolfers explained why he says Trump’s thinking on tariffs is “bananas,” and “indescribably crazy.”

“Take a simple example,” offered Dr. Wolfers, a public policy scholar and professor of economics. “I run a trade deficit with Trader Joe’s buying their meals, while they buy none of mine. My trade deficit as a share of my imports is 100%. By Trump’s trade logic, this deficit is evidence they’re imposing 100% tariffs on the meals I try to sell them.”

RELATED: ‘Just Plain Dumb’: Trump’s Smuggled Fentanyl Tariff Mocked

“The White House ‘reciprocal’ tariff bears no relation to actual tariff barriers,” he adds. “It’s equal to half of the trade deficit (as a share of imports). This is indescribably crazy.”

Pointing to the “calculations” from the U.S. Trade Representative, Wolfers adds, “Obviously this is nonsense. Even crazier is that they’ve written what they think is a defense of this. I know not everyone speaks economist algebra, so lemme translate: This is muddled nonsense.”

Others, too, have criticized Trump’s method and calculations.

“Trump’s tariff chart was ‘illogical and absurd,’ full of ‘factually incorrect’ numbers about what other countries charge the U.S.,” tech analyst Dan Ives “of Wedbush Securities wrote to clients this morning,” Stelter also reported.

“Trump doesn’t seem to mind the optics of Trump abandoning the White House to skip town early for his golf club after setting the world ablaze with the tariff announcements,” MeidasTouch News writes.

See the social media posts above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Paralyzed’: Johnson Mocked for Shutting House Down After ‘Brutal’ Defeat

 

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