Wednesday, May 20, 2026

the 40 days of trumpmas - a surreal serial poem

 

the 40 days of trumpmas - a surreal serial poem


Remember, remember! The fifth of trumpvember

 the 40 days of trumpmas - a serial poem

 

for 40 days the trumpeter reigns,

his lies and hate on whom he disdains,

but election day will come so soon,

we'll no longer hear the orange baboon;

 

in 39 days full of world wide problems.

we could elect him to get rid of the muslims,

but as he'll rant on trivialities of his presidential life,

what could be worse? - you could be his wife;

 

in 38 days just what will you do?

the donald has said he likes lgbtq,

but as he bullies his women and all his men too,

if youre questioning, what stops him from bullying you?

 

in just 37 days, some people are saying,

(or pleading or hoping or some even praying)

the duke of prunes will dye his forelock purple my friend,

and thus make america grape again,

 

our days are down to just 36,

before our problems the don will fix,

he will on day one do what hes said - true,

he'll wall out our enemies - and fat women too!

 

on the 35th day of trumpmas

yes just seven weeks remain!

will the polls and tallies deliver us

donald with his golden mane?

 

34 days and the vice-pipers have piped,

though pence didnt say why donalds suit shouldnt be striped,

he wouldnt defend his master's string pulling,

to make america great? - who do they think they're fooling?

 

just 33 days till the macho tornado,

unless its blown away by hurricane machado,

with women and voters he has so much to loose.

keep your mouth shut donald (unless youre changing your shoes)

 

32 days and we’ve been hit by the big blowhard,

donald spoke here in fla (oh, we had a hurricane too)

this administration gives us playing the race card, a weak economy, and unemployment

but if you want a job you could be donald’s campaign manager (unless youre a jew)

 

31 days, just a month, remains;

will the donald say hes sorry, and his baser impulses restrain?

or keep blaming bill clinton for our moral demise;

when trump speaks to us, our NO votes must be our replies!

 

election comes this time (in 30 days) each 4 years,

time for praise and tears and fears;

as polls will open in many states,

vote early, please dont vote late!

 

down to 29, just a leap february,

and theres still the donald quite

contrary;

donald donald, how does your garden grow?

quoth the master debater, "with pretty maids groped in a row"

 

just 28 days - later or soon,

and the zombies will rise, led by the big goon;

unless everyone gets a reality inoculation,

i might have to move to canada for a well deserved vacation; 

 

now just 27, less than 4 weeks,

no time for you to say 'yikes!' or 'eeeks!'

obama wants to go to mars and colonize it for man,

lets send trump tomorrow! and colonize it for orangutan!

 

26 days are all that remain,

will our democracy and economy go down the drain?

if we all keep listening to the blustering oaf,

will he give jobs and prosperity? - or just half a loaf

 

25 days - will more women speak?,

of the antics of donald who the presidency seeks,

dating 14 year old girls or groping their mothers,

how did the gop pick him over the others?,

 

24 days - were down to two dozen,

the next woman who speaks just might be your cousin,

or mother or sister, aunt, niece, even daughter,

describing the circumstance in which donald caught her,

 

23 days left and trump doesnt yet have as many accusers,

as cosby, but he assures us that they are all really losers,

sent by bankers or hillary with secret agendas,

to disrupt our election of him - our defender!,

 

22 days and we know charity begins at home,

but donalds attention is so prone to roam,

his gift that disappeared to 911 survivors from his foundation?,

oops! maybe donald spent it on a vacation,

 

21 days and trump says the election may be rig-ly,

if hes not the winner and his total's not big-ly,

tremendously higher than hillary gets,

he warns his supporters may all lose their wits,

 

20 days left and while george zimmerman still walks free,

the man who shot at HIM got 20 years - while trayvon got eternity,

trump wants us to support our cops and maintain law and order,

he'll put all the inner city dwellers in jail, and send the immigrant criminals far across the border,

 

19 days left till we all go to pretend,

to elect someone to lead us, as if on it our lives depend,

but wise man, donald trump, already really knows,

who we really voted for - a wolf in president's clothes?,

 

18 days and we bad hombres demand a rebate,

on the ill feelings left since the comments of one candidate,

the debaters have met in their final grudge match,

but only donald can say from whose hands victory will be snatched,

 

17 days and our government is corrupt with quid pro quo,

did you take latin at wharton? is that how you know?,

donald wants us to fire at them all - the bureaucrats lined up in rows,

and believe me, corruption is a subject. that donald really knows,

 

16 days - lets set term limits on all our office holders,

and put all our women in binders - or maybe in folders,

donalds endless complaints are becoming a sour whine,

have a little cheese with that, from wisconsin, where 

hillary's doing fine,

 

15 days and on stocking covered thighs did linger,

two miniature hands with two thumbs and eight tiny fingers,

they belonged to the donald who believed that he owned,

any thing that he wanted - or anyone he got alone,

 

14 days yes only two weeks,

till the duke of orange assends to the throne he seeks?,

to rule all americans, the strong and the weak?,

and dominate the globe with power that's peak?,

 

the 13th day to go - does that seem unlucky?,

not for donald whos lately been appearing quite plucky,

claiming media, polls, and parties are against him,

and rallying his multitudes with wit waxing dim,

 

on the 12th day of trumpmas donald awoke with a jerk,

promptly fired his latest campaign manager (who considered that a perk),

if youre "AAAfroAAAmurikan" and unemployed i can put you to work,

barked donald the businessman from behind his sly smirk,

 

it's the 11th and engineer casey trump is in the caboose,

i hear some of you saying oh no! what's the use,

our campaign will probably just go off the tracks,

but donald says its ok - cause he's got "the blacks",

 

just ten days left yes only one-zero,

til donald is hoping that he'll be your hero,

as new hillary emails come under investigation,

donald hopes to rename camp david to camp donald for

his vacations,

 

like a cat has nine lives we're left with only 9 days,

till we're subject to donald? and his old wicked ways,

on foreign affairs he says he'll save us from isis,

but his domestic affairs are misogyny and crisis,

 

our days are numbered - yes only eight,

till once again we make america great,

by getting rid of candidates who have nothing to add,

goodbye donald you wont make america sad,

 

just one week to go - its day minus seven,

till america's lifted above - to trumpty dump heaven?,

where for rich folks like donald opportunity abounds,

and we keep the working poor with a wall that surrounds,

 

how the time it does fly its already day 6,

till americans problems the donald will fix,

his solutions begin on trumpday number one,

dont you like them? they'll come at the barrel of a gun,

 

Five days to go, baby, One in five,

No one here gets out alive, now,

david dukes not opposed to all jews,

he backs trump - who are you going to choose?,

 

only 4 days left till the armaged-don,

he'll seize power by the horns once he has won,

and donnie will be what he longs for - a winner,

using the FBI to wreak havoc on hillary the sinner,

 

only three left, just a triad of days,

and the donald his supporters continues to amaze,

with hoopla and folderoll made up in his head,

his winning temperament will leave us all dead,

 

just a pair of days - 2 - till trump paradise,

since these words you're reading please heed my advice,

the creatures that surround us are beginning to bite,

'blacks for trump' fear the Illuminati so lets turn out their light,

 

just a single day left till our thanksgiving,

deliver us from donald and preserve the living,

forget sanity and disgard your misgivings,

but pray hard to your gods that they'll be forgiving,

since we've got the nukes why can't we use'em?,

on the road to 2016 why couldn't we lose HIM?,

 

and trumpmas now has finally come,

the tallies will count up to a winning sum,

unless the earth is struck soon by a cataclysmic comet,

to elect a candidate who just makes you want to vomit?,

we wish you a merry trumpmas at this time each 4 years,

if you have'nt voted you've lost the chance to mitigate your fears,

cause donald duck is ready to lead, forget your crocodile tears,

so you'd better get the vaseline and lubricate your rears!

stay informed 1

 

stay informed 1

 https://5calls.org/

 https://www.buildtheresistance.org/

 https://indivisible.org/resource/guide 

https://choosedemocracy.us/

https://choosedemocracy.us/resist-list/ 

https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/ 

https://accountable.us/home/trump-accountability-war-room/ 

https://deptofpeoplewhowork.org/ 

https://www.citizen.org/ 

 

 

 

 

 

MAGA Voter Demolishes Trump’s Major Iran Claim on Live TV

MAGA Voter Demolishes Trump’s Major Iran Claim on Live TV

https://newrepublic.com/post/210704/maga-voter-donald-trump-iran-claim-strait-hormuz 

 

Donald Trump’s (apparently former) supporter made the explosive comments while calling in to the far-right network Real America’s Voice.

Donald Trump speaks while standing in front of the White House ballroom construction site
Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg/Getty Images

MAGA voters are becoming more and more disillusioned with the president’s performance.

“Matt from Las Vegas” tore into Donald Trump during a call-in segment on Real America’s Voice Tuesday, furious with the White House about how it has handled the Iran war—and the narrative the administration has packaged and sold to its voter base in the interim.

“If we so decimated Iran’s Navy and Air Force, how come we can’t get a ship through the Strait of Hormuz?” asked the caller. “Whose intelligence are they insulting?

“If they don’t have a Navy, how can they stop ships? What are they using to stop ships and redirect ships?” the caller continued. “I’m being lied to by my own government and, I hate to say, Mr. Trump. And I love Donald Trump. But you know, all this—they’re annihalating—they’re full of shit.”

“Iran won this round, as far as I’m concerned,” he added.

The cost of oil and gas has gone through the roof since the war began, a fact that has only been aggravated by Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the region’s trade.

The average cost of gas nationwide is $4.53 per gallon, with large swaths of the U.S. pushing $5 a gallon, according to the AAA’s price tracker. That’s about 50 percent higher than prices were before the war started. In some areas of California, such as Mono County, fuel costs are above $7 per gallon.

The situation has become so dire that Trump’s Cabinet members have stopped speculating as to when prices will actually go back down. Analysts, meanwhile, have projected that gas and oil costs will likely continue to climb—potentially even after the midterms.

The strait has largely remained closed, despite several attempts to reopen the trade point amid rocky peace negotiations.

The war itself—which has so far lasted roughly 12 weeks—is costing the U.S. about $1 billion per day, according to early estimates by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Matt from Las Vegas further claimed that Iran had Trump “by the short hairs” over the economic disruption, and had put the White House in a position in which it had to beg China for help.

“And I kind of think that we’re a paper tiger, just like Russia,” the caller concluded.

The show host, Eric Bolling, pushed back, claiming that Iran’s “mosquito boats” and underwater mining operation were sufficient to keep the area on lockdown.

“We didn’t lose, they got crushed, they’re clearly the losers on this,” Bolling said desperately.

Greenland Gives Trump Envoy the Literal Middle Finger

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry didn’t get quite the welcome he was expecting.

People raise a Greenlandic flag in Nuuk, Greenland
Florent VERGNES/AFP/Getty Images
People raise a Greenlandic flag in Nuuk, Greenland.

Call it a Nordic hello.

When Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry—who is, for some reason, President Donald Trump’s new special envoy to Greenland—touched down in the capital city of Nuuk on Sunday, he got a frosty reception, including a middle finger from one resident, The New York Times reports.

Landry’s weird ideas of diplomacy probably didn’t help much. The governor went around offering local children MAGA hats—a few politely declined—and telling them that if they visited his Louisiana mansion, he’d give them “all the chocolate chip cookies you can eat.”

In response, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told Landry to relax.

“We have our red lines,” he told the Denmark public broadcasting service. “No matter how many chocolate cookies we get, we are not going to change them.”

Landry was asked about the response by reporters. “There’s only one line and it’s red, white, and blue,” he shot back.

This isn’t the first time a Trump official has tried and spectacularly failed to charm the island. Vice President JD Vance toured a Greenland military base with his wife, Usha, for just three hours in 2025. He had reportedly planned a longer visit before being cold-shouldered by locals.

The people of Greenland clearly haven’t taken a liking to the Trump administration, which has repeatedly mocked their status as an autonomous territory with comments about making it the fifty-first state. Trump has an ongoing obsession with acquiring Greenland for supposed military and trade purposes, publicly musing about buying or just straight-up annexing the island.

The Danish military reportedly began preparing for a ground invasion of Greenland in January, shipping blood supplies to the island and cooking up plans to blow up its own runways if attacked.

Trump’s threat of invading the chilly territory has abated as the weather has warmed, but it’s good to see the people of Greenland continue to give his administration the reception they deserve.

Feds Blame Ebola as They Refuse to Bring Back Wrongly Deported Woman

The Department of Homeland Security sent a woman to a country with Ebola, and is ignoring a court order to bring her back.

ICE agents wear their badges on a chain around their necks
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The Trump administration is fighting a court order to bring back a Colombian immigrant it deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, claiming it can’t do so because of the country’s Ebola outbreak.

Gothamist reports that the Department of Homeland Security is arguing that Adriana Zapata, 55, can’t come back to the U.S. even though she was deported to the country a month ago.

On Monday, DHS cited a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order preventing anyone from traveling to the U.S. from areas affected by the outbreak. Zapata’s lawyers say that she was deported to Congo well before the outbreak was announced, and she’s staying in the capital, Kinshasa, which hasn’t had any cases. On Tuesday, her lawyers pointed out in a court filing that Zapata already had medical conditions before being deported to a country that said it couldn’t care for her, and now she is particularly vulnerable in the midst of an Ebola outbreak.

At the time of Zapata’s deportation, Congolese officials said that they couldn’t care for her medical issues, which include “diabetes accompanied by black spots on her foot and back, peeling skin, blackened nails, and other manifestations consistent with severe vascular and metabolic disease.” In the U.S., she would get medical care with help from relatives in New Jersey. A federal judge ruled in 2024 that Zapata could not be returned to the country of her birth, Colombia, because she faced the likelihood of torture from her former intimate partner.

Last Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, appointed by President George W. Bush, ruled that the U.S. government had to bring Zapata back to the U.S. Zapata had sued the federal government, and described how her ex-partner, who has connections to the Colombian National Police, had physically and sexually abused her, including stabbing her in her genitalia, repeatedly raping her, breaking her teeth, and cutting cross-shaped scars into her chest.

On Friday, lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security responded to Leon’s ruling and claimed that they didn’t know where Zapata was and were working “diligently” to find her in Congo, claiming that Zapata’s attorneys hadn’t told them her location.

The next day, Zapata’s lawyers responded in their own filing, saying that DHS had not even reached out to them, pointing out that Zapata’s address in Congo was mentioned in earlier court filings and was shared with DHS in court the day before. On Monday, DHS lawyers tried another tactic, filing a status report asking for Leon to pause his order because the country’s Ebola outbreak, announced last week by Congolese officials, made it unsafe to bring her back to the U.S.

“The premise of plaintiff’s request for conditions upon her return is for her to receive medical monitoring in the United States,” Zapata’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

DHS claims that the Democratic Republic of Congo had sent documentation saying that it could care for Zapata, prompting skepticism from Zapata’s lawyers on Tuesday. They pointed out that as recently as last Wednesday, Congo hadn’t said it could care for Zapata and that the U.S. government was using its agreement with the country as its justification for deporting her.

Sending a woman with serious medical issues to a country she has no ties to is cruel enough. But refusing to obey a court order to allow her back into the U.S. because of an outbreak that arose after she was deported is an obscene act of callousness, even for this administration. It seems clear that they are grasping at legal straws to keep Zapata from returning, ignoring her own safety.

Leaked IRS Memo Proves How Blatant Trump’s Slush Fund Theft Really Is

The IRS knew Trump’s lawsuit could be easily thrown out in court. The Department of Justice didn’t listen.

Donald Trump speaks at a podium
Kent NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

The Internal Revenue Services’ own lawyers wanted to convince the Justice Department to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion case against them, outlining several massive issues with the lawsuit that could have served as defense against the suit, according to The New York Times. The DOJ instead chose to settle with the president, awarding him a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a slush fund for his supporters and friends.

The 25-page IRS memorandum was given to top Treasury officials last month but it’s unclear if it ever made it to the DOJ. The memo stated that Trump’s lawsuit was filed two years too late. Federal statute requires that people suing the IRS for unfairly released tax information must do so within two years of the infraction. Trump claimed not to have known about the tax information leak until January 2024, but the memo notes that Alina Habba—one of Trump’s personal lawyers—was present at the trial of IRS leaker Charles Littlejohn in October 2023. Trump did not file a complaint until January 2026, over two years later.

The IRS also raised that it may not even be accountable for Littlejohn’s actions, as he was a contractor with Booz Allen with IRS access, not an IRS employee. Regardless of whether these arguments would have worked, it’s clear that the DOJ—controlled by another one of Trump’s personal lawyers—had no intention of making them.

Trump Gives Golf Club Manager Major Role in Reflecting-Pool Renovation

David Schutzenhofer does not appear to have any experience in engineering or architecture.

Workers paint the Reflecting Pool
Graeme Sloan/Getty Images

The general manager of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, has his hands in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s renovation.

David Schutzenhofer has run Donald Trump’s golf club since 2006, and is effectively consulting on the historic renovation as well as recruiting contractors to the job, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Schutzenhofer has no known training in engineering or architecture, according to the daily.

“Mr. Schutzenhofer is unpaid and is volunteering his time to offer suggestions on this project because he is an American patriot,” Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, told the Times in an email.

Martin specified that Schutzenhofer had provided guidance on the project without becoming a temporary government employee, which, she said, would have required additional ethics training and a pledge to avoid conflicts of interest. She added that Schutzenhofer did not “direct” any federal contracts.

The Interior Department did not elaborate on the specifics of Schutzenhofer’s role with the renovation, which is expected to cost upward of $13.1 million (Trump had initially promised the price tag would hover around $1.8 million).

The White House also dodged questions regarding Schutzenhofer’s involvement. In an email, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Times: “Thanks to President Trump, the Reflecting Pool will be restored to its proper glory!”

Fixing the Reflecting Pool is a headache that’s plagued pretty much every administration since its construction in 1923.

What makes the Reflecting Pool beautiful is exactly what makes it so difficult to maintain. The pool’s expansive length is possible due to the use of multiple large concrete slabs at its bottom. But those slabs are also prone to serious structural leaks, which requires the White House to replace roughly 16 million gallons of water each year.

But the pool’s shallow depth—which creates its mirrorlike appearance—also detracts from the pool’s health by creating a breeding ground for algal blooms that turn the water green.

The solution, according to Trump, is to paint the bottom of the pool a color that he has described as “American flag blue” ahead of the country’s semiquincentennial anniversary.

Unfortunately for taxpayers, the pricey makeover is unlikely to fix the pool’s fundamental problems.

Trump Gets DOJ to Ban IRS From Ever Investigating Him Again

The update to Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS shields him, his family, and their various businesses.

Donald Trump speaks
Kent NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

One of the first of Donald Trump’s many presidential scandals was in 2016, when he refused to release his tax returns as previous presidents and presidential candidates had done for 40 years.

On Tuesday, Trump’s Department of Justice essentially ensured his taxes would never be properly audited again.

As part of a settlement between the president and the IRS, the DOJ “forever barred and precluded” the IRS from pursuing Trump, his family members, and his companies over any unpaid taxes.

This key addition to the settlement was signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. It was not released as part of the publicly available settlement agreement on Monday. Instead, the details were unceremoniously posted to the DOJ’s website a day later. Readers may recall that Blanche took over after Trump reportedly grew frustrated with Pam Bondi’s ability to secure indictments against his political enemies.

Trump has been investigated by the IRS since he was just a humble casino owner. He even falsely claimed that a tax audit meant he could not release his tax returns during his first term (the IRS commissioner clarified that he totally could if he wanted).

Protection from future audits could save the president tons of money in fines. In 2024, The New York Times found one such audit could cost Trump over $100 million.

The settlement is a result of Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS after an employee leaked his tax returns to the Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020. Since the suit was dropped, the IRS has also agreed to create a slush fund worth nearly $1.8 billion to pay January 6 rioters and members of Trump’s own super PAC who are deemed to have been unfairly persecuted by the Biden administration.

Critics had already labeled the fund one of the most blatantly fraudulent creations of Trump’s second term. Now Trump and his allies appear to have swindled the federal government for yet more financial and legal gain.

This story has been updated.

Republicans Panic About the Senate After Trump’s Texas Endorsement

Republicans are worried they’ll lose the Senate after Trump backed Ken Paxton.

Ken Paxton speaks into a mic
Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
Ken Paxton

President Trump’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race has left many Republicans fuming.

Paxton, Texas’s scandal-plagued attorney general, is in a runoff in the state’s Republican primary against incumbent John Cornyn, who has the support of many of his Senate colleagues. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reportedly told The Hill that she was “supremely disappointed” by Trump’s endorsement, adding, “I don’t understand it.”

Murkowski also said that Republicans will likely have a tougher time retaining the seat against Democratic nominee James Talarico, who is polling very well.

“Based on the numbers that I’ve seen, yeah,” Murkowski said, regarding the risk that the GOP will lose the Senate. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?”

Senator Susan Collins said that she didn’t understand why Trump endorsed Paxton, calling him an “ethically challenged individual” due to his many scandals, which include defrauding investors in a tech startup and an extramarital affair leading to his wife divorcing him on “biblical grounds.”

“John Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved in my judgment the president’s support. Obviously it’s the president’s call but I’m disappointed that he did it,” Collins told The Hill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who for months tried to lobby Trump to support Cornyn, had a serious expression when reporters asked him Tuesday about the president’s endorsement, only saying, “It’s his decision.” Senator Roger Wicker walked into a lunch meeting with his head bowed and ignored reporters’ questions about the endorsement.

“I’m speechless,” Senator Rob Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju when asked about Trump’s choice, taking a long pause before answering, adding that he “really [had] no comment.”

Unlike his colleagues, Senator Lindsey Graham was optimistic, telling Raju that “you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the pathway for Paxton is there, but it’s more uphill, and it will cost more.”

In Trump’s own words, “Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate.” In contrast, while Trump said Cornyn is a “good man, and I worked well with him,” the incumbent senator “was not supportive of me when times were tough” and “was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency, itself.”

If Trump’s endorsement propels Paxton to win in next week’s runoff, Democrats may have a better shot at winning the race, as Paxton’s scandals give him a lot in common with the president. But Texas is a strong Republican state that voted for Trump three times, so nothing is certain.

Epstein Survivors Blast Todd Blanche for Lying Under Oath

The acting attorney general appears to be lying under oath to Congress.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Eighteen survivors of millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of lying under oath on Tuesday during a Senate Appropriations hearing, claiming he met with the survivors and their lawyers when he never did.

“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not met with any of us. As survivors, we previously sought a meeting with former Attorney General Bondi and Department of Justice officials, but no meeting occurred,” the survivors said in a statement. “We should not have to be this persistent to engage with DOJ—the department responsible for handling the Epstein files, protecting their privacy, and answering for years of secrecy and failure.

“We have already reported abuse and allegations involving Epstein and associated perpetrators to the FBI and federal authorities many times over the course of years. We should not be asked to relive their trauma again and again because the system failed to act. The burden is not on us to keep making reports. It is on the DOJ to investigate credible allegations against perpetrators and co-conspirators, and to account for the government’s mishandling of these matters,” they continued. “Given Blanche’s comments, we are again asking DOJ to meet directly with survivors and their counsel not to ask survivors to start over, but to hear their concerns, explain how these failures occurred, and provide clear answers about the release, redaction, and withholding of Epstein-related records going forward.”

Blanche claimed to have met with the survivors and their lawyers, during an exchange with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen.

“I spoke to the representatives of some of the Epstein survivors yesterday. They are extremely frustrated that you keep calling for people to come forward with more evidence, but you have not met with them to hear their stories,” Van Hollen said. “So simple question: If I connect you with these survivors, will you meet with them?”

“Absolutely. And what you just said is false. I have met with them. I’ve met with many of the lawyers for the survivors of victims, as did Attorney General Bondi,” Blanche replied. “So whoever told you that unfortunately gave you bad information. I would encourage them to reach out to the Department of Justice.… We absolutely care for victims and we absolutely wanna hear from them and their lawyers.”

“Well I’ve been told directly,” Van Hollen said. “They have not had a chance, at least this group, to meet with you.”

Now it’s the word of the president’s former personal lawyer against the word of 18 Epstein survivors.

Markwayne Mullin Has Depressing Advice After Islamic Center Shooting

The Homeland Security secretary more or less said places of worship were on their own.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In an interview on Fox News, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin blamed Democrats’ refusal to fund ICE for the mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday and said places of worship should “hire their own security.”

“President Trump has assemblied [sic] a great team in Kash Patel, myself, the White House,” Mullin stated. “We work together all the time to work with these religious establishments. We’ve had FEMA grants they can use to help protect themselves. Unfortunately, for the last 76 days we were shut down, so we’re just not getting those grants out, so they have to hire their own security.”

Mullin is twisting the truth here; FEMA, along with the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, was fully funded 19 days ago. FEMA could have been funded far earlier if congressional Republicans agreed to separate ICE funding from the rest of DHS, which was discussed as early as February.

More importantly, though, are grants for more guns and security around places of worship really the way to go to stop shootings? How about, you know, gun control? The thing that’s successfully curbed mass shootings in dozens of other countries around the world?

To stop shootings at Muslim centers, how about ending the Islamophobic, white nationalist rhetoric that Donald Trump and his Cabinet frequently espouse? Mullin himself is one of the most bellicose government officials in recent memory. He said he understood why a crazed neighbor attacked Senator Rand Paul in 2017, and has made public threats to kill journalists, which he downplayed as joking around after media backlash.

Unsurprisingly, Fox News sleazebag Sean Hannity did not question Mullin’s ridiculous comments on Monday night, nor did he point out that the Islamic Center actually had hired a private security guard, who was killed in the shooting. Amin Abdullah, a father of eight, was credited by local police with preventing more deaths.

Hannity instead opted to fearmonger and ignore the religious aspect of the shooting. “Let’s protect our homeland,” he sneered.

San Diego police say they are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

Todd Blanche Panics Over J6er Who Tried to Bribe Underage Abuse Victim

The acting attorney general struggled to defend Donald Trump’s decision to create a slush fund.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a Senate committee hearing
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche can’t handle the heat created by his own office.

The Justice Department chief immediately lashed out while getting grilled on Capitol Hill Tuesday, accusing Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of lying about a very real case in which a pardoned January 6er—Andrew Paul Johnson—was found guilty of child molestation shortly after Donald Trump freed him.

“That person actually tried to buy the silence of these children by saying that he would pay them some of the funds he was hoping to get from your slush fund,” Van Hollen said, referring to the Justice Department’s forthcoming $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a taxpayer-funded initiative to effectively give reparations to allies of the president, including riot defendants.

“Can you commit to making the rules so that that person is not eligible for a payout under this fund?” asked Van Hollen.

But Blanche could not provide a simple, affirmative answer.

“Well you’re obviously lying in your question, because there’s no way this person committed to that,” Blanche said. “The slush fund, as you call it, which is not—but I can’t commit—”

“Mr. Attorney General, don’t ever do that again,” Van Hollen interjected, pointing his finger. “I am reporting what he said. He said on the expectation that he hoped to get some of the funds from a payout.”

“But you said from the slush fund, senator, and that didn’t exist when he said that,” Blanche refuted.

“This is the fund that the president and all of you have been telegraphing, all along, would use to help the president’s friends,” Van Hollen clarified.

Later in the same exchange, Van Hollen accused Blanche of being ignorant and unaware of critical happenings under the purview of his office. Blanche, in turn, continued to deflect.

U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin and DOJ official Jonathan Gross are just two of the figures within the Trump administration who have advocated for financially compensating those that stormed the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

Last year, Martin told right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson that it would be “only fair” to make the rioters “whole.”

Gross said on a podcast in December 2024 that “there has to be compensation.”

“People’s lives have been destroyed,” Gross said at the time. “And the way they can do that is they can just let everybody file a lawsuit and settle the lawsuits.”

Democrats attempted to stave off such payments in January, when California Senator Alex Padilla introduced the “No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act,” but the bill has made no progress since.