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

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Less than two weeks ago there was SignalGate, the Trump administration’s national security scandal that potentially endangered the lives of U.S. service members, and risked exposing military plans, by using an insecure channel to discuss, map out, and announce progress of an attack in Yemen. Then there was the Trump administration’s passwords scandal, where passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers of top Trump national security officials were easily found online. And just yesterday, GmailGate, the Trump administration’s use of the even less-secure commercial email app, to conduct government business.

All three crises involved President Donald Trump’s national security team, including White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who admitted to setting up the insecure Signal chat.

On Wednesday afternoon, Politico reported that Waltz’s team actually had set up 20 or more different Signal group chats, for national security crises.

“National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, Middle East policy, Africa and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats,” according to Politico. “Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.”

READ MORE: ‘Significant Political Rift’: Trump Faces Possible Defeat in First Tariff Test

“Waltz built the entire NSC communications process on Signal,” said one of the four sources.

Experts have warned that the use of Signal in certain circumstances may violate national security regulations, as well as federal law surrounding retention of government communications.

The use of Signal on personal cell phones is also problematic because those mobile devices can easily be compromised, experts say. CISA, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has recommended the use of Signal instead of less secure platforms, but not for classified or sensitive communications.

“None of the four individuals said they were aware of whether any classified information was shared, but all said that posts in group chats did include sensitive details of national security work,” Politico noted.

Additionally, on Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported more concerning national security lapses.

“Two U.S. officials also said that Waltz has created and hosted multiple other sensitive national-security conversations on Signal with cabinet members, including separate threads on how to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as military operations. They declined to address if any classified information was posted in those chats,” the Journal reported. It was not clear if these were among the 20 or more chats Politico reported on Wednesday.

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

“In under 10 days, we’ve heard about journalists added to unclassified chats and sensitive data being shot around on personal emails,” lamented U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “And now we’re hearing there’s dozens more chats. It’s a never-ending parade of sloppy, reckless incompetence.”

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), also responding to the latest news from Politico, wrote: “President Trump must put our troops and national security first. Waltz must step down. If he won’t, President Trump should fire him.”

Democratic congressional candidate Cait Conley is a former National Security Council official who “spent nearly 20 years in the military, including a stint working on counterterrorism for the National Security Council under former President Biden,” The New York Times has reported. She also worked at CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“This is not an Administration that’s serious about protecting America. Every person on those (20!) group chats should have known better,” Conley observed.

“The national security advisor continues to put our country at risk by using chats to discuss sensitive issues, allowing our adversaries to potentially intercept these messages,” commented former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary and former Special Assistant to the President Sabrina Singh. “This is not putting America First – it’s the opposite.”

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), a former Air Force JAG officer, wrote: “National Security Adviser Waltz should resign for repeatedly playing fast and loose with OpSec. Signal should not be used to discuss sensitive information. The Pentagon warned against using Signal even for unclassified information.”

MSNBC host Symone Sanders Townsend snarked, “Amateur hour at the OK Corral and that’s even offensive to the amateurs.”

“This is Trump’s CLOWN CAR CABINET!,” charged CNN commentator Maria Cardona. “Incompetent, unqualified, unserious. AND these massive national security blunders, put US all is SERIOUS danger! They need to go!!”

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

Image via Reuters 

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‘Significant Political Rift’: Trump Faces Possible Defeat in First Tariff Test

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President Donald Trump’s midnight rant attacking four top Republican Senators appeared to reveal the President’s first big tariff test—on “Liberation Day” Wednesday, the day he is unveiling what is expected to be a highly unpopular global tariffs package—is off course, and may ultimately fail.

Democrats have proposed legislation to block Trump’s tariffs on Canada, one of America’s largest and oldest trading and military partners, by declaring Trump’s stated “national emergency” to have ended.

It appears Trump may lose this battle, at least in the Senate.

In his overnight tirade, Trump attacked four GOP Senators by name: Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, who, reports suggest, will join with Democrats to support the legislation to block his Canadian tariffs.

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

Last year, even before Trump won the election, McConnell was a staunch “no” on tariffs.

“I’m not a fan of tariffs. They raise prices for American consumers. I’m more of a free trade kind of Republican that remembers how many jobs were created by the exports that we engage in,” the then-Senate Minority Leader told reporters.

McConnell is again a staunch no on tariffs, at least for Canada.

“I’m with you,” McConnell reportedly told U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), who is sponsoring the legislation, CNN’s Haley Talbot reported.

“Kaine says rock solid GOP with him are Collins Murkowski Rand Paul and McConnell,” she added — the four Trump targeted.

It gets worse for Trump.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned that Trump’s tariffs could cause farmers in his state “irreparable” harm.

“Anyone who says there may be a little bit of pain before we get things right need[s] to talk to my farmers who are one crop away from bankruptcy,” Tillis told CNN’s Manu Raju, as HuffPost reported.

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

“They don’t have time. So we’ve got to be crisp on this implementation,” he added. “Otherwise, we could do damage that is irreparable to farmers.”

While Tillis has not yet indicated how he will vote, there may be other Republicans supporting the Democrats’ legislation.

“At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Kaine said other Republicans are also reaching out to him to get information on the resolution, indicating the number of GOP supporters may grow,” Politico reports. “Kaine also said Trump’s announcement about a new wave of tariffs, which is expected to take place prior to the Senate resolution vote, ‘could increase pressure for more [Republicans] to join.'”

Politico earlier on Wednesday reported that GOP Senators “Chuck Grassley — one of many farm-state Republicans concerned about the Canadian tariffs — and John Cornyn were noncommittal Tuesday about how they might vote.”

Should things go south for Trump, Vice President JD Vance will be on hand to cast a vote if the resolution is a tie.

Importantly, Politico observes, “the GOP dissent on the Hill represents a significant political rift in the party about the sweeping economic consequences of his sometimes-unpredictable trade policies.”

House Democrats are also launching a concurrent resolution to declare that the national emergency with Canada is over, Punchbowl News reports. That version is believed to face stiffer odds. Should both pass, Trump has said he will not sign them into law.

Some are also mocking Trump, after the White House moved the announcement event time of his global tariff package from 3 PM to 4 PM — just after the stock markets close.

See the social media post above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Trying to Understand’: Senator Who Backed RFK Jr. Now on Defense After Massive HHS Firing

 

Image via Reuters 

 

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‘Humiliation’: Musk to Step Back From White House Role, Trump Reportedly Tells Aides

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Just months ago, a Trump White House advisor suggested that Elon Musk—a special government employee bound by law to step down after a limited tenure—was likely to overstay his term. Now, after a resounding defeat in Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court race, where voters overwhelmingly chose a Democrat—despite Musk injecting millions of dollars, his outsized persona, and million-dollar checks to voters—it seems the Tesla billionaire may have overstayed his welcome.

“President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man,” Politico reports in an exclusive. “The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.”

Politico also reports that “Musk’s looming retreat” comes as Trump’s allies — insiders and outsiders — increasingly are squawking at his “unpredictability, and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability.”

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

That “dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.”

The Politico report comes on “Liberation Day,” as Trump is calling Wednesday — the day he will announce his highly-controversial and some say, harmful, global tariffs.

Last week, Trump had already begun setting the stage for a smooth and face-saving exit, and on Monday he told reporters that “at some point Elon’s going to want to go back to his company.” (See video below.)

But Musk is unlikely to vanish from the scene entirely, according to Politico.

“They’re feeling the pressure,” U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) commented, in response to the Politico report. “Keep up the fight to Fire Elon Musk.”

Iconic tech and business journalist Kara Swisher remarked, “Trump does not like a loser. The cheesehead antic was repellent to voters, and now to Elon’s BFF.”

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

Eoin Higgins, author of the book, “Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left,” noted that “the dismantling of the agencies is in motion and will continue, but this is still a humiliation—all that money and power only to find out that people just don’t like you and you’re so unpopular you’re dragging everyone else down with you.”

Attorney, academic, and author Alberto Alemanno writes that “Musk’s political adventure is over (for now). He’s become a political liability and we can now ALL stop amplifying his omniscient takes.”

Chris Griswold, policy director at the conservative think tank American Compass, snarked, “When they do Liberation Day, they really do Liberation Day.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Trying to Understand’: Senator Who Backed RFK Jr. Now on Defense After Massive HHS Firing

 

Image via Reuters

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