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OPINION

‘Team Fight’: Democrats Call for Schumer to Resign

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Democrats across the political spectrum—liberal, moderate, and progressive—appear united in their outrage over Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to back the Republican-led bill to fund the government and prevent a shutdown. They argue that the legislation enables President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to continue dismantling the federal government while jeopardizing health care and veterans’ benefits. Without a signed bill, the federal government will shut down at 12:01 AM on Saturday.

Calls are mounting for Leader Schumer to resign. There appears to be a movement on social media demanding his resignation, across platforms including X, Bluesky, and TikTok.

Protestors in New York City are chanting, “Vote no, it’s time to go,” while some hold up signs that read, “Schumer — Be a fighter not a collaborator,” and, “Don’t be a Schumer chicken s—.”

SENATOR AOC?

Some are calling for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the popular progressive Democrat from New York, to primary the 74-year old Schumer, who was first elected to Congress in 1981.

“I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Thursday. “And this is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the board. The entire party. There are members of Congress who have won Trump-held districts in some of the most difficult territory in the United States, who walked the plank and took innumerable risks in order to defend the American people, in order to defend Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. Just to see some Senate Democrats even consider acquiescing to Elon Musk, I think it is a huge slap in the face, and I think that there is a wide sense of betrayal if things proceed as as currently planned.”

READ MORE: ‘Basically Underwater on Everything’: Trump in Big Trouble With Majority of Voters Poll Finds

Some House Democrats “are so infuriated with Schumer’s decision” that they have begun encouraging Ocasio-Cortez “to run against Schumer in a primary,” CNN reported Thursday night. “Multiple Democrats in the Congressional Progressive Caucus and others directly encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to run on Thursday night after Schumer’s announcement.”

One member said that Democrats were “so mad,” CNN added, “that even centrist Democrats were ‘ready to write checks for AOC for Senate,’ adding that they have ‘never seen people so mad.'”

SCHUMER’S ‘STRATEGY’

When in the minority, Democrats for years have handed Republicans enough votes to help pass numerous “continuing resolutions,” bills that keep the federal government’s lights on, but this time it’s different. Right now, Democrats are aching for a leader who will fight the Trump/Musk/MAGA machine.

Their anger erupted Thursday night.

Leader Schumer on Wednesday had announced that it did not appear there would be enough Democratic votes to help Senate Republicans pass the House bill, and instead that they would filibuster it. But on Thursday afternoon he declared he would support the legislation, suggesting there would be enough votes to pass it.

Schumer’s reasoning is not wrong, many are willing to admit. Elon Musk reportedly wants the shutdown because if the government stays closed for 30 days, he can then mass fire even more government employees.

But Democrats are saying Schumer’s rationale does not meet the moment. They want someone to fight, not cave.

Adam Jentleson is a writer, political commentator, and the former deputy chief of staff to the late U.S. Senator Harry Reid. Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, was an extraordinarily successful Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015.

READ MORE: ‘Entire World Ripping Us Off’: Trump Quotes FDR in Angry Tariff War Meltdown

“There is a lot of ‘what would Harry Reid have done?’ and sadly we will never know,” Jentleson wrote late Friday morning. “But I can say that we won the 2013 shutdown because we spent months laying track on a clear message about health care. The terms of the shutdown were well-defined before it happened.”

Critics say that’s what’s missing — that Leader Schumer hasn’t bothered to do that.

Pointing to a late Friday morning report indicating that Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune said that he and Leader Schumer have not even spoken, Democratic strategist Matt McDermott writes, “The problem here is that all evidence suggests @SenSchumer has no strategy whatsoever. Absolutely stunning that he hasn’t talked to the Senate Majority leader, even to attempt to negotiate concessions.”

McDermott also offered this insight:

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday night sat down with Schumer, and summed up the situation for him.

“I’ve seen a lot of House members, and across an ideological range, interestingly enough, urging the Senate to filibuster this, saying, look, this is existential about whether we control the power of the purse or not. We cannot essentially sign off on this DOGE unilateral arrogation of this power,” Hayes explained.

The Democratic Leader’s response was that “it’s different in the Senate,” because voting against the bill in the House would not have led to a shutdown. But that’s incorrect. If the House bill failed, and no other passed, that would have absolutely led to a shutdown.

“I felt so strongly that the shutdown would be the greatest disaster we face with these arrogant, arrogant autocrats that we had to avoid the shutdown and fight and many of the other things, every other issue that we have,” Schumer added.

‘TEAM FIGHT’ — ‘MISREAD THIS AT YOUR OWN PERIL’

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker issued a statement explaining his opposition to passing the continuing resolution, but his chief of staff late Thursday night served up an analysis of what Democrats are feeling.

“The fight going on in the Democratic Party right now is not between hard left, left and moderate,” explained Anne Caprara. “It’s between those who want to fight and those who want to cave. And Team Fight stretches across all ideological aspects of the Party. Misread this at your own peril.”

Right now, it appears there might be enough Senate Democrats willing to vote in favor of the continuing resolution, or at least, vote for “cloture,” meaning to allow debate on the bill.

One who is not voting yes is U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), largely considered a moderate Democrat.

“When I saw the House bill on Sunday, I said, ‘Hell no,’ because I just was not interested in voting for something that was going to enable these guys to fire more veterans and cut education and health programs, screw up air safety, tank the economy,” Senator Kaine said Thursday morning on MSNBC. “Why would I do it?”

Kaine noted that during an Armed Services Committee,”the Pentagon looked us in the face and said, this House CR will hurt national security, will weaken our ability to maintain ships and subs. It’s going to do damage to us. And then my Republican colleagues on the committee said, we agree with you, this is going to hurt national security, but it’s better than a shutdown.”

He criticized Speaker Johnson f0r sending House members home after passing the continuing resolution this week, because there’s now little means to alter the bill.

“And I decided then, when the Republicans are trashing this, but acting like they have to go along, I’m not going along.”

“I went back to my days in living in Honduras,” Kaine shared, “when it was a military dictatorship, and I learned something very important. That a bully can take something from you but you shouldn’t hand it over to him, so I’m voting no.”

Kaine also said, “we’re winning cases in court right now against things that Trump is doing. But if we vote for this bill and sort of say, ‘Okay, we’re going to put our imprimatur on some of this,’ I even worry it might make it harder for us to prevail in court on some of these battles.”

PRAISE FROM TRUMP

Critics from across the Democratic spectrum continue to blast Senator Schumer.

“Schumer’s decision is an unconscionable surrender that shows he does not have what it takes to meet this moment,” explained MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas on Thursday night. “Time for new leadership in the Democratic Party.”

“It is clear that some of us understand the present danger & some don’t! I stand by the NO vote on the blank check for Trump & Elon,” wrote U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “I’ve got no explanation nor agreement with Senate Dems being complicit in Trump’s Tyranny.”

SiriusXM host Qasim Rashid, Esq. wrote: “Schumer thinks he’s smart to vote with GOP now because ‘in 6 months Trump will be unpopular.'”

“What’s Schumer smoking to think THIS time is different? Schumer—resign & retire.”

“How badly do you have to f— up being the Democratic leader that Trump is praising and congratulating you????” an astonished Elie Mystal, the justice correspondent for The Nation, asked on Friday.

Indeed, President Trump is praising Leader Schumer.

“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took ‘guts’ and courage!” Trump wrote on Friday morning. “The big Tax Cuts, L.A. fire fix, Debt Ceiling Bill, and so much more, is coming. We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights. Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. This could lead to something big for the USA, a whole new direction and beginning! DJT.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Not Above the Law’: Fist-Pounding Democrat Explodes Asking ‘Where’s Elon Musk?’

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OPINION

‘Strategically Disastrous’: How JD Vance Is Harming America’s Foreign Relations

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1 week ago

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April 16, 2025

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In the realm of foreign policy, Vice President JD Vance has drawn sharp criticism, with critics branding him as “extremist,” the “Malicious American,” and the “Brutal American“—labels sparked by what they describe as his “naked hostility,” his “morally wrong” and “strategically disastrous” posturing, and a demand to interchange “truth for trade.” If alienating allies is the objective, critics say, he’s well on his way to achieving it.

During the first Trump administration, the President repeatedly came under fire for promoting a brand of foreign relations that was seen as entirely transactional. Turning a blind eye to decades of presidents promoting democracy and human rights as critical components of their foreign policy, Trump forged friendships with authoritarian dictators, invited terrorists to Camp David, and delivered “extensive damage” to “the United States’ international interests and global security.”

In this new, second Trump administration, the President appears to have gone all in on that transactional approach. In what is seen as an effort to upend the world order, Trump is on the offensive, attacking friend and foe alike, distancing America from the rest of the world on the premise that the rest of the world needs America more than America needs the rest of the world.

But Vice President JD Vance appears to have taken Trump’s foreign policy to a far different place: an attempt to create a political and cultural reshaping of foreign nations into the far-right realm. Where Trump wanted trade and military deals, Vance seeks to promote the far right and encourage attacks on minorities.

His efforts, to some, were first noticed during the infamous Oval Office meeting with the President of Ukraine. When Vance took the lead in publicly berating Volodymyr Zelenskyy on live television, many saw it as the moment the United States pivoted—from supporting Ukraine to effectively siding with Russia.

The Vice President is now fully engaged in the role of President Trump’s attack dog.

READ MORE: ‘Willful Disregard’: Judge Finds ‘Probable Cause’ to Hold Trump Admin in Criminal Contempt

But the costs are high.

Vance’s assault on a world leader seen as a hero to Western democracies effectively killed what was billed as a wildly lucrative rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine, and with it, a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia that President Trump campaigned on—stating that he could bring peace in just one day.

The Greenland imbroglio was another embarrassing event—not only for Vance, but for the Second Lady, and for America. What was supposed to be a week-long charm offensive turned into a few offensive hours.

Now that Trump has imposed his worldwide tariffs, Vance appears to be the one attempting to negotiate country by country.

It is not going well.

Last week, Vance told Fox News that America is borrowing money from “Chinese peasants” to “buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.”

Robyn Dixon, Moscow Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, reports that the “JD Vance comment about ‘Chinese peasants’ was taken in China as deeply offensive, and it is now a hurdle to trade talks. Trump administration’s approach appears tone deaf on this.”

READ MORE: Secret Musk Pentagon Briefing Nixed by Trump Led to Ouster of Longtime Hegseth Associates

Spencer Hakimian, the founder and chief investment officer of the hedge fund Tolou Capital Management, one week after the Vance “peasants” comment, posted that “Chinese purchases of American oil are down -90% Y/Y, while Chinese purchases of Canadian oil are up +700% Y/Y.

“That’s a $20B annual loss for the United States at $60/barrel.”

Bloomberg News reports that “China wants to see a number of steps from President Donald Trump’s administration before it will agree to trade talks, including showing more respect by reining in disparaging remarks by members of his cabinet, according to a person familiar with the Chinese government’s thinking.”

It’s not just China, Greenland, Ukraine, or Germany that have had to experience the American Vice President.

According to The Independent, Vance wants the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to repeal hate speech laws “in order to get a trade deal over the line.”

The UK-based news outlet adds that “a senior Washington figure, who has provided advice for the administration, claimed he is ‘obsessed by the fall of Western civilisation’ – including his view that free speech is being eroded in Britain – and that he will demand the Labour government rolls back laws against hateful comments, including abuse targeting LGBT+ groups or other minorities, as a condition of any deal.”

“’No free speech, no deal. It is as simple as that,’ the Washington source said.”

That may come as a surprise to some, but taking a walk back to just a few months ago, it shouldn’t.

In February, Vance traveled to Germany to declare support for its growing neo-Nazi party.

“After berating European allies, Vance met with the leader of the far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel,” The Washington Post’s European Affairs columnist Lee Hockstader wrote.

“That Vance took up the cause of the AfD, a party polling at around 20 percent which many Germans regard as beyond the pale, is heedless of history and contemptuous of the transatlantic alliance,” Hockstader said. “In doing so, he managed to transform Europe’s old stereotype of the Ugly American into something more grotesque: the Malicious American.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘This Is a Big Deal’: Top Hegseth Advisor ‘Escorted’ Out of the Pentagon Amid Leak Probe

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OPINION

‘Dangerous’ New Trump Drug Tariffs Would Lead to Shortages, Soaring Costs, Death: Critics

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 9, 2025

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In his 2023 State of the Union Address, then-President Joe Biden vowed, “Make no mistake: if Republicans try to raise the cost of prescription drugs, I will veto it.” Democrats cheered and applauded, while Republicans remained mostly silent.

But Republicans cheered and applauded as President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday night he would impose “major” tariffs on pharmaceuticals—prescription drugs, some life-saving, taken by nearly two out of every three Americans, including nine out of every ten seniors aged 65 or older. Over-the-counter medications like pain relievers such as Advil and Tylenol, and allergy medications, for example, could also be included.

“We’re gonna tariff our pharmaceuticals, and once we do that, they’re gonna come rushing back into our country, because we’re a big market,” Trump declared in remarks (video below) at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner, a black tie event for the NRCC, which works to elect Republicans to the House of Representatives.

READ MORE: Noem Slammed for Pointing Assault Rifle at Law Enforcement Officer

The contrasts were striking: one President pledging to keep prescription costs down; the other, in black tie, announcing major tariffs on medications—many of them used daily by Americans, including seniors and low-income individuals who depend on them to manage serious conditions or even to stay alive.

“The advantage we have over everybody is that we’re the big market,” President Trump went on to say, “so we’re gonna be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals, and when you and when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places, because they have to sell most of their product to [be] sold here, and they’re going to be opening up their plants all over the place in our country.”

According to NBC News, “Pharmaceutical imports were initially exempt from Trump’s first set of reciprocal tariffs last week,” but upon hearing the President’s announcement, global pharmaceutical manufacturers’ stocks took a tumble.

Late last month, the Brookings Institution warned that tariffs on pharmaceuticals will not provide incentive for U.S manufacturing of “off-patent generic drugs, which represent over 90% of the volume” of prescriptions dispensed. It also warned that tariffs on pharmaceuticals could lead to “product discontinuations or cost cutting that erodes quality.”

“Any production disruptions in the already fragile generic injectable markets are likely to result in shortages,” Brookings added.

Backlash to Trump’s announcement was swift, as many Americans, already under stress from the President’s massive tariff program, have seen markets in the U.S. and across the globe decimated.

Critics warn the tariffs could lead to deadly consequences

“Donald Trump wants to slap tariffs on pharmaceuticals, most of which are made outside the States, including the raw ingredients that go into almost every pill we take? That’s not being tough on China—that’s playing politics with people’s lives,” commented political strategist Shea Jordan Smith.

READ MORE: ‘Answer the Question!’: Dem Berates Trump Official Over Worst Policies ‘In My Lifetime’

“Make no mistake—this will kill Americans,” warned 314 Action, which says it is “the only organization in the nation focused on recruiting, training, and electing Democrats with a background in science to public office.” “Trump is gambling with people’s lives through his tariffs. This is why we need more doctors in Congress—to be able to stand up to Trump and protect our health care from weak spined Republicans.”

Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, lamented: “President Trump wants to tax low-income families’ and seniors’ prescription drugs at accelerating rates until they can no longer afford the medications they need to survive and function. Sadistic. And Congress does nothing about it.”

Middlebury College political science professor Gary Winslett, who focuses on politics around trade and global business writes, “This has got to be one of the absolute dumbest product classes you could ever tariff.”

Robert Tyler, a senior policy advisor at a conservative European think tank, observed: “It’s one thing to disrupt global supply chains for the auto industry (because frankly people just aren’t buying that many cars at the moment anyway) but pharmaceuticals is dangerous. A lot of the world don’t have the capacity to fill a shortfall.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: DOJ Accused of ‘Abuse of Power’ After Sending Armed Marshals to Whistleblower’s Home

 

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OPINION

‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

Published

4 weeks ago

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March 27, 2025

By

Concerns are mounting over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked President Trump, “Have you been briefed about the soldiers in Lithuania? Who are missing?”

The Commander-in-Chief, appearing both uninformed and unconcerned, simply replied, “No I haven’t.” And moved on to take a question from another reporter.

The four soldiers went missing on Tuesday during a training mission in Lithuania, near the border of Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia. On Wednesday, as Axios reported, their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged. Hours before Trump was asked, NATO and numerous media outlets had reported the soldiers were dead, only to walk that back later. They currently remain missing.

But President Trump said he was unaware of any of this.

“Is Trump just totally out of the loop?” asked journalist Matthew Yglesias. “Why wasn’t he briefed on the soldiers in Lithuania?”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Declaring President Trump “clueless” on “basic intel,” The New Republic on Thursday morning noted that “the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear.”

Also Wednesday afternoon, President Trump was asked about his Secretary of Defense’s involvement in Signalgate. Pete Hegseth has been identified as the one who shared classified information in an insecure channel—seen as the greatest violation within the entire scandal. But the President appeared unaware of his Defense Secretary’s role in the massive nation security breach when asked by a reporter.

“Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. Look, it’s all a witch hunt,” Trump told the reporter. He then went on to try to blame Signal, saying he thought it could be “defective.”

Attorney and former Biden White House senior presidential speechwriter Dan Cluchey, responded to the video of Trump’s remarks on Hegseth and Signal.

“This is stronger evidence of cognitive decline than anything Joe Biden has ever said in his life, ever,” he wrote, and warned: “Something tells me the press will breeze right past it.”

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Journalist James Surowiecki observed, Trump is “so checked out of his job that he doesn’t even know Hegseth needlessly disclosed the weapons packages and times of the attack on the Houthis.”

On Monday, Trump had told reporters when asked about the Signal scandal, “I don’t know anything about it.” Appearing as if he had not been briefed, he then asked a reporter for more information about it.

“Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach,” the Associated Press reported.

The Signal texts that The Atlantic had published also reveal the President’s apparent lack of awareness, on numerous fronts.

On Wednesday, asked by a reporter if he believed the information shared in the Signal chat was not classified, the Commander-in-Chief told reporters, “That’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know. I’m not sure, you have to ask the various people involved.”

The White House has repeatedly insisted it was not classified, but countless experts, including lawmakers, say it was classified.

Vice President JD Vance in the texts says, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this [military strike] is with his message on Europe right now.”

The Washington Post, citing a person with knowledge of Vance’s intentions, reported on Wednesday that “Vance wanted to ensure that Trump had been given all the facts about the potential attack, including that European nations stood to benefit more from it than the U.S.” That would suggest the Commander-in-Chief was not aware of “all the facts.”

Also of concern is that the 18 participants in the Signal chat appeared to be unsure of the President’s directive.

Calling him “President Bystander,” MSNBC’s Steve Benen writes, “Trump appears out of the loop in his own White House.”

Pointing to the Signal texts, Benen says one text “chain featured the White House’s Stephen Miller adding, in apparent reference to the attack plan, ‘As I heard it, the president was clear: green light.'”

“The problems should be obvious,” Benen added. “Vance was uncertain about Trump’s knowledge of the relevant details, and one of the president’s right-hand loyalists added an ‘as I heard it’ qualifier to the commander in chief’s directive about a deadly military operation abroad.”

The Commander-in-Chief appears to have been uninvolved in important portions of the planning of the military strike. Based on the Signal texts, it appears likely that he was absent from key portions of the decision making process.

Jared Ryan Sears, who writes The Pragmatic Humanist, offered this observation.

“Trump didn’t know about the Signal group chat or that a reporter was included. Trump says he didn’t sign the authorization to use the Enemy Alien Act to deport people without due process. His signature was on the document. Trump didn’t know that US service members went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania,” he noted. “What kind of leader knows nothing about what his administration is doing, what he himself is doing, and what is happening with the military he is in charge of?”

Attorney, Republican, and former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock on Wednesday shared her concerns via social media.

“There is no adult supervision at the White House. Grandpa does not know what is going on except on the Golf Chanel or if someone takes a bad picture of him. Where’s Melania? Does he have a COS or caretaker?”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Quite a Bit of Perjury’: Texts Shatter Trump Admin’s ‘Bungled Coverup’ of Classified Leak

 

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