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‘Someone Who Says Tap Water Turns Kids Gay’: House Dem Slams ‘Insane’ Trump Cabinet Picks

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A top House Democrat is leveling strong criticism against Donald Trump for what he mockingly referred to as the president-elect’s “dream team” of cabinet nominees.

Democratic Rules Committee Vice Chair Jim McGovern of Massachusetts told his colleagues Tuesday afternoon (videos below) that the incoming Trump administration “is leaking plans to court martial military officers who are not sufficiently loyal.”

“Isn’t that usually how things go in authoritarian dictatorships? Purge the military of anyone who might have a spine and refused to obey an unlawful order? I mean, what the hell is going on here?” he asked.

“And their cabinet picks so far? I mean, these are like beyond insane,” McGovern declared. “Someone who is credibly accused of having sex with an underage girl. Someone who sucks up to foreign dictators and has attracted major concern that they can’t be trusted to protect America’s secrets from our adversaries. Someone who paid hush money to cover up a sexual assault accusation, you know, to lead our military, he’s picked because Donald Trump likes him on Fox News? Someone who says that tap water turns kids gay? I mean, this is the dream team? This is the dream team? Really?”

McGovern appeared to be referring to Attorney General presumptive nominee Matt Gaetz, Director of National Intelligence presumptive nominee Tulsi Gabbard, Defense Secretary presumptive nominee Pete Hegseth, and HHS Secretary presumptive nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

READ MORE: ‘Damaging’: Unredacted Sealed Sworn Testimony in Gaetz Case Accessed by Alleged Hacker

“I mean, seriously, it would be funny if it weren’t so sad. And hopefully, you United States Senate has a backbone and insists on a thorough confirmation process. Look, the truth is this. The truth is that this is not what people voted for. They voted for their pocketbooks, and frankly, I don’t blame them.”

Congressman McGovern also declared, “every decision that has been made by this incoming administration so far has not been about the American people. It has been about them.”

“I’m reading the newspaper again this morning that they want to issue blank pardons to those who committed crimes on January 6th,” he said, referring to the 2021 insurrection. “Republicans call them ‘political prisoners.’ I mean, these are people who were arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted by juries and judges and courtrooms across this country for violently attacking our brave law enforcement officers people who smashed cops in the heads with metal barricades, who jammed them indoors until blood was coming out of their mouths. And the incoming administration is thinking about pardoning them.”

According to the U.S. Dept. of Justice, as of August 5, over 1,488 defendants have been charged, including approximately 547 defendants who “have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees,” and, “including approximately 163 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.”

McGovern continued, adding, “I do not believe any of what my Republican friends are talking about on the floor today is in line with what the American people voted for. They voted for cheaper groceries, not whatever the hell this stuff is. They are asking us to vote for a bill, my Republican friends, that we give the incoming administration the ability to revoke the nonprofit status of any advocacy group they want, just by labeling them as a ‘terrorist sympathizer.’ A bill that would give President-elect Trump a new power to just unilaterally accuse an American group of terrorism and then shut them down.”

READ MORE: Nancy Mace Slammed for Trying to Ban First Trans Member of Congress From Restrooms

The Massachusetts Democrat also went on to say that he blames, “the billionaires who have rigged our country against working people and spent the last four decades squeezing every penny they could out of people. I blame the politicians, including the incoming administration, who have abandoned workers and who have and who have done nothing while the rich get richer and everyone else gets screwed.”

“My friends on the other side, they want to blame trans people. Guess what? Trans people aren’t the ones raising people’s grocery prices. Big corporations are. They wanna blame immigrants. And here’s the deal. Immigrants aren’t the ones denying health insurance claims, Mr. Speaker. It’s the billion dollar insurance companies that do that on a daily basis. And they want to blame woke this and woke that, what’s woke about thinking special interests should not be able to buy tax breaks?”

Watch the short clips below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump’s Plan to Defy 14th Amendment: No Passports for Children of Undocumented Parents

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White House and Eric Trump Mocked Amid Dueling Tariff Tactics

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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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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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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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