America
has entered an “era of real masculinity” thanks to President Donald
Trump’s “muscular leadership,” a Trump administration official told Fox
News’ Jesse Watters on Monday.
U.S. Chief of
Protocol Monica Crowley told Watters, “What a difference a presidency
makes,” calling the Biden administration a “destructive, stupid era of
toxic masculinity.”
That
is hilarious. Chump looks like an old woman. There's nothing
masculine about him. He has no testosterone left in his body. He can't
get an erection. He's a dried up old man.
I have a problem with the report itself, though. Monica Crowley "told"? So she said it. Well who said it first?
We all know she's a serial plagiarist, right. WIKIPEDIA here:
Crowley has been shown to have committed extensive plagiarism, which she has to a column on Richard Nixon she wrote for The Wall Street Journal[12] which contained "striking similarities" (according to the Journal) to a piece written 11 years earlier by Paul Johnson.[6][31] When contacted by The New York Times for comment, Crowley responded, "I did not, nor would I ever, use material from a source without citing it."[31]
On January 7, 2017, CNN published a report documenting numerous instances of plagiarism in Crowley's 2012 book, What the (Bleep) Just Happened? The book includes about 50 examples of copying freely from published sources with no attribution given, including from Wikipedia.[32] In a statement, the Trump transition team called the plagiarism report "nothing more than a politically motivated attack" and stood by her.[33]
Two days later, on January 9, 2017, Politico
reported that a dozen additional instances of plagiarism were in
Crowley's 2000 Ph.D. dissertation on international relations at Columbia
University.[6][34]
In December 2019, an internal Columbia University investigation
concluded that Crowley had engaged in “localized instances of
plagiarism” but that the plagiarism did not meet the level of "research
misconduct."[35]
Shortly after reports emerged that she plagiarized the book What the (Bleep) Just Happened?, the publisher of the book, HarperCollins, announced:[36]
The book, which has reached the end
of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase
until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise
the material.
On January 16, 2017, Crowley withdrew from consideration for the role
of senior director of strategic communications at the National Security
Council in the Trump administration. "I have decided to remain in New
York to pursue other opportunities," she said in a statement.[37]The Washington Times,
where she served previously as online opinion editor, said the same day
that it would be investigating her work at the paper for possible
incidents of additional plagiarism by her.[38]
Crowley subsequently told Fox News host Sean Hannity, "What happened to me was a despicable, straight-up, political hit job" and said that it had been "debunked."[39]Andrew Kaczynski,
the CNN reporter who first reported instances of plagiarism in
Crowley's book, called her claims of innocence false and "complete BS,"[39]
stating: "No one has yet to point out a single inaccuracy in our
reporting or asked for a correction on it. Monica Crowley v. reality."[40]
An apology appeared in the Wall Street Journal regarding a 1998 article written by Crowley, with regards to apparent plagiarism:
There
are striking similarities in phraseology between "The Day Richard Nixon
Said Goodbye", an editorial feature Monday by Monica Crowley, and a
1988 article by Paul Johnson in Commentary magazine... Had we known of
the parallels, we would not have published the article.
In 2017, CNN found 50 convincing incidents of plagiarism stemming from a variety of sources, in Crowley's 2012 book.
Crowley is now a conservative commentator on FOX News.
In 2009, she noted that Obama used his full name, Barack Hussein
Obama, during his swearing in as president (which presidents typically
do[citation needed]), had early in his presidency ordered the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, and granted an interview to the media outlet Al Arabiya, saying this "tells you where his head is and, possibly, his sympathies. Just sayin'."[41]
In 2015, she shared an article which described Obama as an
"Islamic community organizer" who was "conforming US policy to Islam and
Sharia."[41]
Comments on the article:
Sage Brush
9 hours ago
The masculine men I knew in past decades did not need to tell you how manly they were. Their actions spoke louder than words.
William Pierce
6 hours ago
Being
masculine and being a control freak are two entirely different things.
I'm happy to hear that Steven Miller has graduated from playing with
dolls.
Michaelmas 46
4 hours ago
That
made my coffee come out of my nose in laughter. Seriously, I will give
Trump credit if he can resolve the Hamas-Israel conflict but, beyond
that, he has no shown ‘muscular’ leadership. He has done little with
Putin and he has actually created pain with his tariffs making them as
sweeping as he did to our economy. While companies ate them at first,
they are passing it along to consumers now which is why we are seeing
prices rise, inflation rising (though still below 4% but the target is
2%) and robbing 15 million people of their healthcare assistance. That
isn’t muscular leadership-that is either gross in competence or bullying
to get tax breaks that we can’t afford. I say that as someone who would
benefit from those tax breaks.
Susan Obijiski
18 minutes ago
This
man desperately wants to be perceived as tough and masculine and he is
so far from any role model of masculinity or humanity that he may as
well be another species.
M 344
46 minutes ago
Once
again, as in his first administration, magas keep getting it wrong,
real men don't need to overcompensate, real men have integrity, they are
decent, they are faithful, earn their money honestly, take care of
their families, keep their word, don't sweat the small stuff, stay calm
and poised but they are also ready to strike in full force when
necessary, real men don't start fights, they end them.
Real
men don't self-describe as "alphas" or the like, they don't need to tell
you how manly they are because they let their actions speak for them.
Summing
up, dudes like Stephen Miller (the beta of the betas), JD Vance, Donald
Trump (including his sons), Pete Hegseth, just to name a few, are
anything but what I initially described, why? because of their behavior
and actions.
The actual maga/republican party is composed by a
bunch of highly insecure, loud, attention-seeking schoolboys trying to
see who the biggest baddie is.
My
third point on the article would be: What does Monica Crowley know about
masculinity? She's like 57 and never married. What does she know
about femininity? Doesn't her party believe her to be "a childless cat
lady"? Have we all forgotten what JD Vance said about them during the
2024 campaign?
Former
Labor Secretary Robert Reich on Monday warned the United States could
be heading toward “either martial law or civil war.”
In his latest Substack newsletter,
the former Bill Clinton Cabinet member noted President Donald Trump’s
talk of invoking the Insurrection Act could see him deploying troops
domestically “despite any court orders stopping him.”
Reich
outlined how he believes how the chilling situation could unfurl, and
suggested it is a plan that’s already been thought out by top Trump
henchmen.
First, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) agents use aggressive tactics in targeted
Democratic-run cities, sparking demonstrations, as happened in Los
Angeles. Trump exaggerates the unrest to justify deploying National
Guard troops, before his final play of invoking the Insurrection Act to
assert total control.
“I hope we don’t come near to
this,” Reich wrote. “I don’t want to unduly alarm you, but you need to
be aware of this imminent danger. It’s unfolding very rapidly. Please
share.”
Tuesday, October 7, 2025. The Supreme Court hears another case from the
ADF which lied to them previously, the plaintiff has no standing and
that might be more apparent if the press could stop calling her a
therapist (she's a counselor, there's a huge difference) and would
actually examine her (lack of) training, Chump signals he'll consider a
pardon for his pedophile friend Ghislaine Maxwell, his shutdown
continues and why wouldn't it -- look at the dysfunctional cabinet he
assembled, and much more.
The hate
group Alliance Defending Freedom is yet again attempting to lie to the
Supreme Court. You'd think you pull that stunt once and you're banned.
That's how it should be at any rate. Justin Jouvenal (WASHINGTON POST) reports:
As
a licensed therapist and evangelical Christian, Kaley Chiles said she
wants to help religious teens who struggle with sexual orientation and
gender dysphoria “live a life consistent with their faith” and the
identities God has laid out in the Bible.
Nonetheless, she turns them away.
Chiles
says a state law banning conversion therapy for minors — treatment
intended to change the identity or behavior of gay and transgender
people — silences her and deprives young people of help many desperately
seek to reconcile their faith and feelings.
Not
far from Chiles’s practice, which sits near the foot of the Rockies,
Silas Musick tried to take his life in 2010. The transgender man said
the conversion therapy he underwent in Colorado Springs left him
distraught. He later testified in support of Colorado’s ban and calls
conversion therapy bad medicine.
Those clashing
perspectives will square off Tuesday at the Supreme Court in one of the
highest-profile cases of the new term, one that crosses multiple fault
lines in the nation’s culture wars: gay and transgender issues,
religious liberty, medical practice and First Amendment rights.
Don't
believe her, she's a F**KING liar, a piece of garbage trash. Any
self-respecting person would not associate themselves with the group of
liars about to lie to the Court yet again. Lie to the court? Sam Levin (GUARDIAN) explains:
Lawyers
from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has opposed abortion and
LGBTQ+ rights in high-profile litigation, are representing a woman
challenging a 2019 Colorado law that prohibited conversion practices for
youth under age 18. The ban applies to licensed clinicians who seek to
change a patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity, tactics
medical groups have discredited as harmful and ineffective.
That woman is Kaley Chiles. Back to the article:
ADF’s
petition in the case, Chiles v Salazar, cited several scholars to
support its argument that conversion practices should once again be
permitted. Two of those experts, however, told the Guardian that ADF had
“profoundly” misrepresented their research, which discussed the
“psychological damage” of conversion therapy.
The family of a deceased researcher, also quoted by ADF, said they were “deeply disturbed” by the “distortion” of his work.
“This
is the most upsetting use of my scholarship that has ever happened in
my career,” said Clifford Rosky, a University of Utah professor of
constitutional law and civil rights. He has worked to ban conversion
practices, but ADF nonetheless cited his research on sexual orientation
and LGBTQ+ rights, co-authored with renowned sexuality researcher Dr
Lisa Diamond, to bolster its petition. “It’s upsetting because this is
lethally dangerous to LGBTQ+ kids,” he said.
When Smith's suit was filed at the federal district court in 2016,
she had not begun designing websites, nor had she received any requests
to design a wedding website for a same-sex couple. In 2017, her lawyers
from the ADF filed an affidavit from Smith stating that she had received
such a request several days after the initial filing, and appended a
copy of the request.[6] Smith never responded to the request, and has stated that she feared she would violate Colorado's law if she were to do so.[6]
However, the name, email, and phone number on the online form belong to
a man who has long been married to a woman, and who stated that he
never submitted such a request, as reported by The New Republic on June 29, 2023, a day before the Supreme Court's decision was released.[30]
The ADF stated on June 30 that they believe the name was submitted to
Smith's website by "a third party or a troll" using the man's personal
details; neither they nor their client attempted to verify the
requestor's identity.[31][8]
Colorado did not consider the claimed website submission as an actual website and dismissed the request as evidence.[8]
The federal district judge, Judge Marcia S. Krieger dismissed the
website request claim as there was no indication that the request
actually involved a gay couple.[6]
Legal experts did not see the request having a decisive impact on the
way the Supreme Court ruled on the matter, although constitutional law
scholar Erwin Chemerinsky
suggested that if the falsity of the request had come up in litigation,
the court could have sent the case back to the district court to
resolve the factual issue.[8][6]
The discovery of this claim in the ADF filings had led to questions of
why this information was not discovered before the case was decided by
the Supreme Court.[8] It was later discovered by The New Republic
that Smith had made a wedding website for a heterosexual couple in
2015, which had been removed from her business's profile prior to her
filing the case but remained visible in the Wayback Machine archives. Kate Redburn, a fellow and lecturer at Columbia Law School, stated to The New Republic
that the discovery of this website "could seriously undermine [Smith]'s
story by revealing a fourth option", as Smith appeared to have offered
wedding website services before filing the case without repercussions
related to free speech.[32][33]
The New Republic article notes that, "[Smith's] website six
months prior to the lawsuit being filed in 2016 does not include any of
the Christian messaging that it did shortly afterward...archived
versions of the site show."[34]
The controversial ruling sparked widespread criticism from
prominent legal theorists and law reviews regarding the plaintiff's lack
of standing.[35][36][37][38] ADF's president and CEO called it "a critical ruling affirming all Americans' free speech".[39][40]
Now Kaley Chiles 'counselor' joins them. Kaley went
through high school hating gay people in part due to the fact that
everyone called her a "d**e" and thought she was a lesbian. At one
point, in the locker room after gym class, it's said that she was pelted
with tampons and called a "carpet biter."
The
dumb idiot has a number of certificates but she majored in Bible
studies for her bachelor degree and supposedly she got a MA in Clinical
Mental Health from an online diploma mill.
As
a psychologist, I would recommend anyone seeking counseling of any kind
to be very wary of a charlatan with those 'qualifications.'
Were
I a Supreme Court Justice, I would want to note what specific courses
she has taken that give her insight and information on LGBTQ+ teens.
Because she hasn't taken any.
----------------------
End of Elaine's post.
With
fat and ugly Lori Smith, this group lied to the Court. There ws no
request for request for her to design a website for same-sex couple.
They lied to the court. Lori also didn't have standing and the case
should never have made it before the Court. Are we aware of the
whispers that two sitting Justices on the Court have relationships with
ADF?
That would explain why they're being
allowed to appear before the Court again despite lying, that would
explain why the Court agreed to hear the case despite a lack of
standing.
THE WASHINGTON POST doesn't help anyone with sloppy reporting.
She's not a therapist.
She's a licensed counselor.
It makes a difference.
And she's a quack wanting to what? Conversion therapy.
Legal
or not, she can't do it. She's not licensed or trained for therapy.
She's a dumb ass counselor. That's maybe a step above "life coach."
She's not trained to do therapy.
She has no standing and the Court should never have agreed to hear this garbage suit.
Does THE WASHINGTON POST honestly not understand the difference between a counselor and a therapist?
Counselors
focus on specific issues with solution-oriented support; therapists
apply psychotherapy to address ongoing patterns; and psychologists use
advanced diagnostics and testing to treat complex mental health
disorders.
Education and experience requirements for
counselors and therapists typically take 7-9 years, while requirements
for psychologists take 10-13 years.
Even
counting her stupid certificates, she does not have seven yeas of
education for this role. And she has no training with regards to LGBTQ+
people.
And this quack's wants to be allowed to 'treat'?
Ann
E. Marimow gets it wrong at THE NEW YORK TIMES as well. Does no one
proof the copy anymore? Even online, Kaley Chiles doesn't claim to be a
therapist. Doing so would risk her losing her licensing to be a
counselor. To the idiot general studies majors who went on to become
(bad) journalists, let me explain it to you, this is not unlike an LVN
being passed off as a doctor. She is not a therapist. Her training is
insufficient. Stop being so sloppy and get the facts right.
And
let's note one more damn thing. She's not licensed and/or trained to
counsel teenagers. You have to be at least 16 for her to counsel you.
She lacks the training to work with anyone younger on a one-on-one
basis and, yet again, that's on her damn resume that she's posted
online.
Does no one do the damn work required?
Last night on MSNBC, Lawrence O'Donnell revealed shocking news about Chump that was also shocking news about the media.
Donald
Chump, the mn QAnon and Rosanne Barr and many, many others have spent
years insisting was a protector of children, was someone secretly
fighting global sex rings, on camera says yesterday that he will
consider pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and
pedophile. Where re you? Hey, Roseanne, did they suck out your
courage when they sucked out your fat?
And not
the media just going along wit Chump's statements? What does he man he
has to look into the case? He sent Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche
to speak with Maxwell on two consecutive days and now he doesn't know
about the case? She's supposed to be in maximum security prison. But
Chump authorized her to be moved to Club Fed in Bryan, Texas. And he's
telling the press he's knows nothing about the case and they're just
silent and letting him get away with it instead of peppering with
questions?
Donald
Trump has been accused of either "lying through his teeth" or being
"legitimately senile" after suggesting he'd forgotten who convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is.
While Chump toys
with releasing Maxwell, Congress remains shut down for two reasons --
first, Democrats are attempting to protect the healthcare of millions of
American and, second, Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson is attempting
to bury a bipartisan resolution in the House to release the Epstein
files. J.D. Wolf (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) reports:
Rep.
Thomas Massie (R-KY) accused House Speaker Mike Johnson of working
behind the scenes to block a bipartisan bill that would force the
release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. In a tweet, Massie said Johnson
has delayed the swearing-in of the newest member of Congress, Democrat
Adelita Grijalva of Arizona (who would be the final signature needed),
and spread misinformation about the legislation to prevent a vote,
contradicting Johnson’s recent public statements favoring “maximum
disclosure.”
Massie’s
remarks came in response to a clip of Johnson on MSNBC insisting he
wants “every page of this out” and claiming former president Donald
Trump is “not implicated.” Massie dismissed those comments as
misleading, saying Johnson’s actions show the opposite.
Today on MSNBC's MORNING JOE finds a third reason Johnson's keeping the House closed.
Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has urged her supporters to "laugh" at what
she described as the "insecure masculinity" behind the MAGA movement —
singling out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as an
example.
During an Instagram Live session on
Sunday, the New York Democrat argued that mockery could be an effective
tool to counter authoritarian tendencies she pins on the Trump
adminitration. "One of the best ways that you can dismantle a movement
of insecure men is by making fun of them," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Laugh at
them!"
She then pivoted to
Miller, calling him "a clown" and commenting on his appearance. "I've
never seen that guy in real life, but he looks like he's, like, 4 feet
10 inches," she said. "And he looks like he is angry about the fact that
he's 4 feet 10 inches. And he looks like he is so mad that he's 4 feet
10 inches, that he has taken that anger out on any other population
possible."
Public records list Miller's height
as 5 feet 10 inches. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, continued to tell her viewers
that humor was a key part of resistance. "Yes, the resistance to
authoritarianism is very real. The risks of abuse of power are very
real," she said. "But one of the most powerful cultural things you can
do to a political movement predicated on the puffery of insecure men —
that's what this is about."
AOC
is correct. We've noted that here for years. Take those Proud Boys.
MAGA loves to hug on that MAGA group. Have Black Pride or Latino Pride
or Gay Pride and watch MAGA hiss, "Pride is a sin!" But never at their
Proud Boys. And, as we've noted for years, why would a group of men call
themselves "boys"? There's some really messed up about that. MAGA men
are notoriously insecure -- especially the really young ones. That's
why they are so angry at women and at the notion that women have
rights. If you caught Cyndi Lauper's special Sunday on CBS, didn't you
love how she and Cher did their "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" duet and
adlibbed "Girls just want to have fundamental rights"?
MAGA
boys don't like that. They're the original "hide her away from the
rest of the world" boys. Not that they can support a wife that they
made stay at home. And while I'm sure that some males and females can
handle home schooling, the sad reality is that one reason MAGA boys are
so disconnected from the country that they live in is due to home
schooling. Most often it's due to the fact that they are behavioral
nightmares whose uneducated parents never taught them how to behave.
They
are overcompensating for their tiny little egos and they can't handle
laughter -- especially not when it's aimed at them and their
underwhelming life 'accomplishments.'
Grasp
that big bad Stephen Miller has a wife who went to work for Alien Musk
and did so, supposedly, after Stephen socked Alien in the eye. He may
have punched out Alien but clearly Stevo doesn't rule the house the way
he and other MAGA men like to pretend.
He's a little, impotent boy. And as he tries to act big and in control, he looks more pathetic. Author Stephen King reminds him:
"Sorry,
Steve--The Constitution isn't far left or far right," he wrote. "It's
the basis on our democracy, and you're playing the terror card to try
and overturn it. Won't work."
Trump's
administration has been deploying national guard troops to certain
democratic-run cities in recent weeks under the guise of fighting crime,
but a recent effort to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon has been
blocked by a federal judge.
Stephen Miller is a joke. He shrieks and screams in that shrill manner of his and no one takes him seriously anymore. Cameron Anderson (DAILY BEAST) reports:
White
House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was called out for MAGA’s
violent rhetoric after a fire tore through a South Carolina judge’s
house.
Judge Diane Goodstein, who had a record
of anti-Trump rulings, had been walking her dogs on a beach when her
$1.1 million Edisto Beach home went up in flames around midday on
Sunday.
Goodstein had reportedly been receiving death threats for a few weeks, the local FITSNews reported.
Three people were hospitalized after the blaze, which is being investigated by authorities.
Last month, Judge Goodstein issued a temporary restraining order
to block the Trump administration’s Department of Justice from getting
access to the South Carolina Election Commission’s voter registration
data.
Democratic Congressman and attorney Daniel
Goldman, who served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of former
President Donald Trump, was quick to tag Miller on X with footage of the
fire.
“Stephen Miller and MAGA-world have been
doxxing and threatening judges who rule against Trump, including Judge
Goodstein,” Goldman wrote on X.
“Today, someone
committed arson on the Judge’s home, severely injuring her husband and
son. Will Trump speak out against the extreme right that did this??”
Speak
out? Based on Chump's past actions, he'll probably immediately move to
pre-emptively pardon the arsonist. And it's not just the country
turning on Stephen Miller, it's also his own family. Hannah Broughton (THE MIRROR) reports:
Notorious Trump political advisor Stephen Miller has been called out by a member of his own family in a scathing post on social media, that claimed he was the "face of evil".
Kasmer
wrote on Facebook that she needs to "grieve" for her once "harmless"
relative, Stephen Miller. She also shared pictures of herself and Miller
as children, while urging him to stop supporting Trump's hardline
crackdown on immigration.
She wrote, "I am
living with the deep pain of watching someone I once loved become the
face of evil. I grieve what you've become, Stephen.
"I will never knowingly let evil into my life, no matter whose blood it carries—including my own."
Chump
chose the worst and the dimmest when building his cabinet. No one of
integrity wanted to work with him. It is the wort cabinet ever.
Attorney General Pam daBimbo Bondi is drawing her own boos and hisses. Josephine Walker (AXIOS) reports:
More
than 275 former Justice Department employees are demanding Congress
increase oversight of the department following a mass exodus of career
officials who question the integrity of the department's work.
Why
it matters: The letter comes a day before Attorney General Pam Bondi
testifies in front of Congress for the first time since her
confirmation, and amid widespread questions about the department's
decisions to target President Trump's political foes such as former FBI
director James Comey.
It also comes after roughly
4,500 employees officially departed the DOJ following the DOGE-sponsored
"fork in the road" buyout offers.
What they're saying: "For
decades, the guiding tenet for those working at the department was to do
the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. Many believe
that's no longer possible," Stacey Young, executive director and founder
of Justice Connection, which organized the letter, said in a news
release on Monday.
"They're being asked to put
loyalty to the President over the Constitution, the rule of law, and
their professional ethical obligations," she said.
"We're
seeing the erosion of the Justice Department's fabric and integrity at
an alarming pace. Our democratic system cannot survive without the
primary institution that enforces the law."
The department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
What's
inside: The letter is signed by a wide variety of former employees,
including prosecutors, special agents, intelligence analysts,
immigration judges and grant managers who slam the DOJ for "failing" in
three main areas.
The Trump
appointee accusing the president’s political foes of mortgage fraud
skipped over his agency’s inspector general when making criminal
referrals, according to seven people familiar with the matter, bypassing
rules meant to ensure that federal officials don’t abuse their power
for partisan purposes.
It's just one development after another, one exposure after another.
The
Trump appointee accusing the president’s political foes of mortgage
fraud skipped over his agency’s inspector general when making criminal
referrals, according to seven people familiar with the matter, bypassing
rules meant to ensure that federal officials don’t abuse their power
for partisan purposes.
Bill
Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, earlier this
year made criminal referrals against targets including Lisa Cook, the
Federal Reserve governor whom President Donald Trump has tried to
dismiss, for alleged crimes related to their mortgages. Breaking with
standard procedures, Pulte circumvented that agency’s internal watchdog,
typically the office that would make such referrals, by asking the
Justice Department to investigate Cook and two other prominent
officials.
“The referrals did not come from the
OIG,” one of these people said, using shorthand for the office of the
inspector general. “It took people there by surprise.”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined NBC’s Meet the Press with
Kristen Welker for a wide-ranging discussion where he reiterated
President Donald Trump’s responsibility for the government shutdown, the
health care price spikes facing millions of American families, and
Congressional Republicans’ refusal to work with Democrats to lower
health care costs and stop millions from losing their health care.
Schiff also discussed President Trump’s ongoing attacks against his
political enemies, including Democratic-led cities across America,
highlighting Trump’s willingness to destroy the rule of law and
weaponize key nonpartisan arms of the government like the Justice
Department and the National Guard.
On Trump and Republicans refusing to negotiate an end to the government shutdown and lower costs for Americans:
I’m confident all Democrats
understand that millions and millions of their constituents are about
to be priced out of their health care. I was in California last
week, in Oceanside and in Anaheim, average families of four are going to
see the premiums go up by 900 to $1,000 a month. No one can afford
that, and that’s going to happen all across the country. So, I think all
my colleagues understand the crisis.
We need a president who can act like an adult, who can come to the
table and negotiate an end to their self-imposed health care crisis.
Right now, we don’t see that. We see Trump out on the golf course. We
see the Speaker telling his House colleagues not to even come to
session, that there’s no work for the federal government to do
apparently. That’s completely unacceptable. And
in addition to the need to restore health care affordability for
people, we need to make sure that any agreement that we reach with
Republicans, they will honor. Because right now, they’re telling
us, “You can reach an agreement with us, but we’re simply going to
withhold any money that’s important to you, any programs that are
important to you.” And as for the Speaker telling you, or not telling
you, his position on the president threatening mass layoffs of federal
employees, there’s no one forcing him to do that. He will do that
because he wants to do that. Because he and Russell Vought want to cause
even more pain for the American people. That is unprecedented. No other president during shutdown has sought to maximize the harms to people, but that’s where this president is coming from.
On Trump eroding the trust between the American people and the military:
[…] The president was being candid when he described these American cities as the enemy within. He views them as the enemy within.
That is unprecedented in its dangerousness. That is that the American
president who views cities that didn’t support him or states that didn’t
support him as the enemy, that he describes the opposite party as
beholden to Satan. That’s where this president is coming from. And the
idea that we will militarize these cities, that we will impose the U.S.
military on the mayors and governors of those cities and states should
be unthinkable.
And for Speaker Johnson to claim, as he did when you interviewed him,
that somehow these National Guard troops that, over the governor’s
opposition, are being forced to engage in policing or immigration
enforcement, are very happy to be doing it — I can tell you in
California, the National Guard were not happy to be doing it. It is, I
think, greatly impacting morale in the National Guard. And it is also
disrupting the trust that Americans have for their National Guard. We
have a particular bond in California where they come to our rescue
during fires and floods and other natural disasters. That is being
eroded as, I think, is also military readiness when we’re diverting
military resources for these improper purposes.
On Trump’s baseless quest for retribution and the need for Republicans to stand up to the corruption:
[…] He’s described me as the enemy within. He’s described other Democratic elected officials as the enemy within. He
is using the Justice Department to go after his political enemies, and
he’s using the Justice Department to protect his political friends,
like Tom Homan, the border czar, who reportedly took 50,000 in cash
from undercover FBI agents. And they made the case go away. This
should concern every American, not just those he’s tweeting about, like
myself, but anyone who cares about whether the Justice Department can
be used against people for expressing their views, or doing their job,
or holding the president accountable, anyone who cares about
whether the administration can go after late night comedians, or tell
corporations who they can hire, or tell law firms who they can
represent.
It is all part of the same attack on our democracy. And I will say,
if this goes on, if Republicans allow this to go on for four years,
there will be nothing left of our democracy. We
have an opportunity to stop this. It would require just a handful of
Republicans of conscience to oppose these lawless actions, this abuse of
the Justice Department and abuse of the [FCC] and everything else. We
need them to stand up and do their duty.
