Many media types and Dems continue to operate as if Trump is a politically invincible figure, or "Teflon Don." But in truth he's become a weak, failing, diminished, unpopular, naked-emperor figure, and it's time to treat him as such. 1/
(new piece) newrepublic.com/article/200096…
Trump's jobs report fiasco is a case in point. He knows his mystique depends on perceptions that he always wins/wields mastery over foes. So last month he fired the data person to appear strong/decisive. Then it blew up in his face w/awful new report. 2/
As you watch the extraordinary spectacle of Trump's government attempting to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda, let's not lose sight of just how lawless and indefensible Trump's misconduct has been all throughout.
Here's a thread recapping all of it. 1/
DHS Sec Kristi Noem's announcement of this states AS FACT numerous charges against Abrego. But the admin couldn't produce real evidence of MS-13 ties despite trying for MONTHS. He has been convicted of NONE of the criminal charges lodged here. Guilty until proven innocent. 2/
Aug 23 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has been released, have been informed by ICE that he could now be subject to deportation to Uganda, and he's been told to report to ICE next week, a source confirms to me.
A few points about this, b/c there will be a lot of BS about it. 1/
What this confirms is how deeply corrupt and indefensible Trump and Stephen Miller's handling of this has been all throughout.
Those of us commenting on this have argued all along that Trump *always* had the option of bringing him back and proceeding through lawful channels. 2/
Aug 2 • 7 tweets • 5 min read
NEWS --> An internal DHS memo suggests Trump's use of military for domestic enforcement is about to get worse. It details top-level talks between Defense Department and DHS on what this should look like. Experts say it's alarming.
We obtained the memo: newrepublic.com/article/198708…
The DHS memo lays out the agenda for a July 21 meeting among top level officials from DHS and Defense Department. It was authored by Philip Hegseth (yes, he's Pete Hegseth's brother), a top adviser to DHS Sec Kristi Noem and liason to the Pentagon.
Striking: Zohran Mamdani's video about returning to Uganda racked up 4.5 million Instagram views, 56% among nonfollowers, per data given to me.
He's offering a new answer to Dem digital woes. I talked to his team in depth about it. Fascinating. 1/
(link) newrepublic.com/article/198482…
Zohran's campaign provided me with data on the reach of a number of his most recent videos on Instagram. We're talking millions and millions of views on content about things like traffic and city council bills impacting street vendors.
NEWS --> Sen Ron Wyden writes to Pam Bondi, urging DOJ to probe $1.5 billion in Epstein financial transactions that banks flagged for Treasury Dept. He lays out roadmap for DOJ to examine money flow related to sex trafficking. Calls Bondi's bluff.
Read: newrepublic.com/article/198247…
“I am convinced that DOJ ignored evidence found in the Treasury Department’s Epstein file [involving] mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent businessmen...to finance his criminal network,” Wyden says.
The real story behind the new DOJ referral for Adam Schiff is *Trump's* corruption. It's based on the findings of an inspector general, but experts and a former IG looked at the details and they tell me the whole process is highly suspect.
New piece: newrepublic.com/article/198074…
Trump's claim of fraud rests on a Fannie Mae memo resulting from an IG request for info on Schiff's loans. It's not clear what drove any of this or how WH got it.
“From beginning to end, this process is highly irregular,” former IG Michael Bromwich says.
Awful: Stephen Miller is urging red states to build their own versions of "Alligator Alcatraz." And buried in the budget bill is funding that states can try to tap for exactly that.
This could become a route to MAGA glory for young GOPers. 1/
(new piece) newrepublic.com/article/197899…
“We want every governor of a red state: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state,” Stephen Miller said on Fox.
Gubernatorial offices contacted by Fox were eager to boast of their plans for new detention centers. 2/
BREAKING: Emails given to Congress by DOJ whistleblower reveal new details about Abrego Garcia fiasco. They show how Trump officials searched for ways to paint him as dangerous criminal & gang "leader" and couldn't find any. But smears continued.
New: newrepublic.com/article/197793…
DOJ insider Erez Reuveni filed whistleblower complaint in June which you read about. Buried in complaint is also damning info on Abrego Garcia case
Reuveni has now supplied emails. Here's an exchange about admin's effort to paint Abrego as MS-13 "leader"
We keep hearing credulous pundits say MAGA is "antiwar." So how many MAGA Republicans will support the new resolution requiring Trump to get congressional authorization for war with Iran?
This resolution is important. Pay attention to it. 1/
(new piece) newrepublic.com/article/196919…
In 2024, Trump slammed Kamala for campaigning with Liz Cheney, claiming she wants “war with every Muslim country known to mankind.” This was always a scam, and now it looks like Trump is rushing into war with Iran. This has deeply split MAGA. 2/
Remarkable: Vulnerable House Republicans are quietly urging Trump to refocus deportations away from noncriminal migrants and only target criminals.
With Trump admitted deportations hurt farmers, Rs know this is becoming a big problem for them. 1/
(link) newrepublic.com/article/196817…
Six House Rs, many from vulnerable districts, sent a letter to ICE explicitly saying deporting non-criminals makes us less safe.
Strikingly, it undercuts Trump's rationale for mass deportations and reveals deep political vulnerability on the issue. 2/
Awful: News orgs are credulously amplifying the idea that sending troops into LA is good politics for Trump. This gives his lawless abuses of power the aura of conventional politics, obscuring how extraordinarily dangerous this moment truly is. 1/
(link) newrepublic.com/article/196674…
Over the last few days, Trump has goaded servicemembers into booing a sitting Dem governor, called for his arrest, needlessly sent troops into an American city, and spewed wildly absurd lies about that city. This shows political weakness, not strength. 2/
Stephen Miller is in a rage over deportation numbers he deems too low. So he's shifting huge amounts of law enforcement resources away from fighting serious crimes and into his immigration crackdown.
If voters knew about this, they'd recoil. 1/
(link) newrepublic.com/article/196154…
Miller recently erupted at ICE officials, demanding 3,000 deportations a day. He's now redeploying thousands of agents from other agencies like Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, and DEA.
This is already hampering other crime-fighting, per NBC. 2/
Unreal: To sustain his "genocide" of "white farmers" lie while meeting with the South African president, Trump used a photo of war deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
I looked into this a bit more. It's worse than it first appeared. 1/
(link) newrepublic.com/article/195699…
First, note that the printout Trump used to humiliate Ramaphosa came from a conservative blog post, which used an image from a Reuters video about DRC. Perhaps an aide Googled "white farmers" and "South Africa," found this, and gave it to Trump. 2/
Amazing: Trump grew angry over a Biden-era program with the word "equity" in its name, so he ended it. But a key part of the program was sending money to red states to expand internet access in rural/MAGA country. Now they might not get it.
New from me: newrepublic.com/article/195097…
Trump saw the word "equity" in the name of this Biden-era program, so naturally he decided it must be serving undeserving minorities, giving him an opening to demagogue about it.
The dumbest thing about Trump's desire to manufacture dolls in the US is that many of the jobs would be bad ones: Connecting plastic body parts to torsos, attaching nylon hair, etc.
I talked to toy industry people who laid this all out. Striking stuff: newrepublic.com/article/194938…
Everybody is talking about Trump's doll lunacy from the consumer side of the equation. But we should also talk about it from the labor side. Are doll manufacturing jobs something we want at massive scale? No, not really. Here's what this would look like:
Now that Trump has openly admitted he could bring back Abrego Garcia whenever he wants, his lawyer tells me he will use discovery to determine which officials are advising Trump to defy the Supreme Court.
“[Trump] has now said...he could easily bring Abrego Garcia back...but he’s been told not to...we’re going to...find out exactly which government officials gave him that instruction."
Trump is trying to bludgeon us into accepting the tactics and imagery of fascism: Forced disappearances, renditions to foreign gulags, the ritual humiliation of hated enemies within.
That's why it's so crucial that the middle is rejecting it.
New piece: newrepublic.com/article/194424…
Anyone watching Stephen Miller on TV for 5 seconds can see that he and Trump are trying to acclimate voters into accepting rampant lawlessness as a fundamental feature of American life. That's why it's so good to see independents/moderates rebelling:
Remarkable WaPo poll: Trump sinking fast on immigration among independents.
56% disapprove of handling of issue
62% oppose removing foreign students
52% oppose renditions to El Salvador
Only 21% want Abrego Garcia left there
Engage, Dems.
New piece: newrepublic.com/article/194424…
What's crucial here is that Trump is bleeding independents on immigration *both* in terms of generalized disapproval *and* on the lawless specifics. Look at these numbers:
JD Vance's arguments on Abrego Garcia are imploding. His latest absurdity reveals that he knows the admin has the option of returning him and retrying him for removal in a lawful way. So why not do that? He won't say.
New piece responding to Vance here: newrepublic.com/article/194169…
It's just so galling. The admin always has the option of bringing Abrego Garcia back and challenging his "witholding of removal" order. In his latest tweet, Vance unwittingly shows that *he knows* they have this option. Yet they simply refuse to take it.
