Trump 47

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said: "We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins."
 
After losing nearly 600 employees to layoffs and retirements as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal work force, the National Weather Service is planning to hire additional staff members to “stabilize” the department, a spokeswoman said. https://trib.al/CMhphLA
 
Stephen Miller lit into 50 top ICE officials for not deporting enough people—demanding arrests at Home Depot, 7-Eleven, anywhere.

When told by an ICE agent they were targeting criminal illegal immigrants,

“Miller said, ‘What do you mean you’re going after criminals?’

‘That’s what Tom Homan says every time he’s on TV: ‘We’re going after criminals,'” the ICE official told Miller.

Noem said, "...you're not doing enough. You need to do more."

 
Not sure it fits in this thread, but these data points are a huge disparity between political parties.

Since I suspect that conservatives think it's a bigger disgrace to society to be mentally ill than do liberals, of course, they would be more likely to think of themselves as mentally stable even it not. With that in mind, I wonder since committing suicide has to do with inability to deal with severe, agonizing mental issues too often without first seeking help, that the rate of suicide is higher with conservatives than it is with liberals.
 
Staff of FEMA were confused and dispirited on Monday after the acting head of the agency said during a daily briefing that he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to three sources familiar with the meeting. https://cbsn.ws/4kkAbrj
Republicans want to wean people off of government assistance, so having an acting FEMA chief who's unaware that there is a hurricane season is one great way to do it on the way of getting rid of FEMA. If I'm wrong, then he will be fired. If I'm right, don't be surprised if he is promoted to head.
 
Last edited:
"the US Department of Veterans Affairs have ordered that VA physicians and scientists not publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump"
 

MAGA rhetoric backfires as influential Far-right activist suggests violence against Trump admin officials


A far-right Pennsylvania activist and podcaster has suggested Donald Trump should be executed and FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino tortured, in both cases for failing to provide evidence in support of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

“Donald Trump, along with every other president since John F. Kennedy, is a traitor to their country,” Matthew Wakulik wrote on X last month. “This is just another example of why 95% of all federal government employees should be tried for treason and given the maximum penalty.”


Wakulik was angered by Trump’s failure to declassify government files on the Israeli military’s 1967 attack on a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Liberty, which was determined to have been a mistake.

In May, on The Berm Pit Podcast, which he co-hosts with Scott Siverts, a former U.S. Marine, Wakulik responded to a Fox Business interview in which Patel and Bongino discussed the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex trafficker who died by suicide in August 2019, in a New York jail.

Angered because Patel and Bongino failed to say Epstein was an agent of the Israeli intelligence services, Wakulik advocated “torture to get information, to extract information … whether it’s waterboarding or sleep deprivation.”

Wakulik has also advocated shooting Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House chief of staff.

The FBI and the Department of Justice declined to comment.


‘Show of force’​

Since Trump entered politics in 2015, conspiracy theories wielded against political enemies have been a defining trait of his movement.

Wakulik, a Pittsburgh-area resident who regularly disgorges violent antisemitic rhetoric, recalled in the most recent episode of his podcast that in 2020, during Trump’s first term, he attended a rally in Richmond, Va. while armed with an AR-15 rifle that was meant as a “show of force,” to dissuade the then-Democratic controlled state legislature from passing gun control measures.

Days before the protest, Trump tweeted: “Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. That’s what happens when you vote for Democrats, they take your guns away.”

Wakulik recalled in a video posted to X on May 29 that he and his “militia” showed up at the rally “armed, full body armor, AR-15s and everything” at the rally. He attributed the legislators’ ultimate decision to vote down the gun-control measures to an “armed show of force.”


“There is nothing that works — and the government knows this — other than the threat of violence or violence itself,” Wakulik said.

While steeped in conspiracy theories familiar to the MAGA base, Wakulik appears to have become increasingly disdainful towards Trump.

Much of his ire appears to center on the Epstein case, which Trump aides have used to feed supporters’ appetite for conspiracy theories. For mainstream Trump followers, the case taps into suspicions about an ill-defined global elite, usually linked to Democrats. For hardliners inclined towards white nationalism and antisemitism, links to Israel or a mythical Jewish cabal are also common.

Before he became the FBI director, Patel promoted the idea that the U.S. government was engaged in a cover-up to protect powerful allies.

In December 2023, Patel told conservative media figure Glenn Beck that Epstein’s “black book” of contacts was “under the control of the director of the FBI.”

“And that’s the thing I think President Trump should run on,” Patel said. “On day one, roll out the black book.”

The same day, Patel told conservative influencer Benny Johnson the FBI was protecting Epstein “because of who’s on that list,” adding: “You don’t think [Microsoft founder] Bill Gates is lobbying Congress night and day to prevent the disclosure of that list?”

Patel added: “Put on your big-boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are. We have an election coming up, and we need to adjudicate this matter at the polls.”

After Trump’s victory, Patel was nominated as FBI director but did not stop pushing Epstein conspiracy theories. Speaking to Johnson in November 2024, Patel predicted Trump would “come in here and maybe give [the American people] the Epstein list.”

The political establishment was “terrified” at the prospect, Patel claimed.

In February, with Trump in power, Attorney General Pam Bondi attempted to placate supporters’ hunger for revelations by inviting conservative influencers to the Department of Justice to receive binders of Epstein case files. However, the stunt was widely ridiculed by Trump supporters who noted that it brought little new information to light.

This month, in a joint interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Patel and Bongino appeared to close the book on the Epstein case. As a lawyer with prosecutorial and defense experience who had visited detention facilities, Patel said, “you know a suicide when you see one, and that’s what that was.”

Bongino said: “He killed himself. I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.”

The next day, Wakulik and Siverts took stock.

Siverts said: “As a government, why can’t we just say, ‘Hey look, this guy, he was Mossad, and what he was doing here was this.’ Will we ever hear that from a government official here?”

Wakulik responded that the solution was for people to “demand by whatever means necessary that the truth comes out.”

“People are mad, but they don’t do anything about it,” he complained. “How would one pressure anyone into getting the truth out of them?”

“Through physical force,” Siverts said.

“Yes,” Wakulik said. “This is why they call [it] torture, right? Torture to get information, to extract information. This is why you apply physical violence or any type of, like, uncomfortability when it comes to torture techniques, whether it’s waterboarding or sleep deprivation.”

Raw Story reached out to the FBI National Press Operations unit in Washington, D.C. to request a comment from Patel. The FBI declined to comment on Patel’s behalf.

In fact, Wakulik soured on the Trump administration long before Patel and Bongino talked to Bartiromo.

Following the 2024 election, Wakulik suggested grading Trump’s appointees “on a scale of how many bullets I put in their heads,” according to video archived by a pseudonymous researcher tracking his statements and provided to Raw Story. Asked by his co-host to rate Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, Wakulik responded: “Five bullets.”

In posts to X, Wakulik has equated supposed Israeli influence over the U.S. government with British colonial rule in North America, while calling for “1776 style action” against “ZOG,” a white supremacist acronym that stands for “Zionist Occupied."

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has made antisemitism its central rationale for deporting international students who support Palestine and defunding universities deemed improperly liberal. Such efforts include a Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which the administration pledges will “eradicate antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.”

The Department of Justice did not respond to an inquiry from Raw Story about whether Wakulik’s statements deserved attention from the task force.

‘Go kinetic’​

Wakulik has suggested he might be willing to act on his violent beliefs.

In a May 2 X post, Walkulik suggested “the militia” should go to Rochester, Minn. to hold a rally in support of a white woman widely condemned for calling a child the N-word in a public park. When another X user suggested the time wasn’t ripe for such a display, Wakulik replied: “I admit I am in a different position than most: I have no children and I really don’t have much to lose. In that aspect I’m more eager to go kinetic.”

In late April, the researcher tracking Wakulik’s statements submitted a report to police where Wakulik lives, in Washington County, southwest of Pittsburgh.

“We were previously unaware that Mr. Wakulik resided within our jurisdiction, and the information you have shared will be valuable in allowing us to maintain a vigilant watch,” Sgt. Gary Scherer of the North Strabane Township Police Department wrote in an email reviewed by Raw Story.

“As part of this, we will conduct a threat assessment, consult with our local FBI office, and likely speak to Mr. Wakulik.”

The following day, Wakulik posted a video reporting that his landlord told his wife a police officer visited their house to confirm that he lived there and that the officer “said it was for another agency.”

Wakulik said, “We are being surveilled currently, probably followed by either the FBI or [the Department of Homeland Security] or both.”

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Pittsburgh office told Raw Story the agency was unable to provide additional information.

Sgt. Scherer’s email said it appeared that Wakulik’s statements fell under First Amendment protections, but he would consult with the district attorney’s office to obtain a legal opinion. The Office of the Washington County District Attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Wakulik could not be reached for comment.

In recent weeks, Wakulik and Siverts have discussed their plans to attend a reunion of USS Liberty veterans, scheduled to take place in Norfolk, Va. this weekend. Siverts said Wakulik was scheduled to speak at the event, and that both men had been issued press passes.

Moe Shafer, executive director of the Liberty Veterans Association, told a local news outlet that “any agenda for antisemitism or Jew hating… will not be allowed.”


Emails to the Liberty Veterans Association from Raw Story seeking clarification on Wakulik’s participation went unreturned.

Stew Peters, a podcaster with a history of antisemitic statements, has also said he plans to speak at the event. But last week an event organizer told WTKR News 3 that Marriott Bonvoy, the owner of the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel, where the event will take place, banned Peters from the premises.

Siverts expressed concern on the podcast last week that he and Wakulik's statements might put them in legal jeopardy, especially in light of the fatal attack on two Israeli embassy aides in Washington, D.C. on May 21. Siverts said he worried that “the FBI can come back from an incident that’s a violent incident where somebody was harmed or somebody was killed, and they go, ‘Well, he watched this podcast, and we need to hold this podcast accountable, too.”

Wakulik was unrepentant.

“They come and try to get me, I’m going to defend myself from violent criminals trying to commit an act of violence — a violent crime against me,” Wakulik said.

“But they’re police, Matt,” Siverts replied.

“If they break the law and use violent force to break the law against me, I’m going to defend myself from violent criminals,” Wakulik insisted.
 

DOD official urged Trump administration not to end grant for biological threat research at Harvard​


A Defense Department official told others in the Trump administration that a $12 million biological threat research grant at Harvard shouldn’t be terminated because of national security risks, according to the school’s latest court filing.

The disclosure is part of a trove of internal Trump administration documents reviewed by Harvard lawyers. Harvard says the records show the White House directed the abrupt freezing of more than $2 billion in federal funds headed to the university’s research programs, in violation of federal law.

“Harvard is currently the top performing team on the … program,” which helps the Defense Department stay abreast of emergency biological threats, wrote the official from DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to the filing.

“Inadequate knowledge of the biological threat landscape poses grave and immediate harm to national security,” the official added.

The Defense Department told Harvard it was ending the grant in mid-May.

“Despite the clear public and national benefit,” the contract was canceled, Harvard’s attorneys wrote.

“In the Government’s view, so long as Harvard is punished for exercising its First Amendment rights, the ends justify the means,” the school added. “Nothing in the Government’s administrative record indicates that the Secretary of Defense yielded to the contracting official’s plea.”

CNN has reached out to the Defense Department for comment.


Harvard’s vice provost for research John Shaw wrote in a sworn statement to the court that the grant cuts to the university would irreversibly disrupt several research projects, especially in scientific labs.

“Sensitive equipment would sit idle and degrade. Perishable samples would spoil. Live specimens would be euthanized … Many labs rely on continuous processes, so interruptions would render years of work useless.”

Even with its endowment of billions of dollars, Harvard “cannot cover the funding gap itself,” Shaw wrote.

“Harvard’s effort is at a pivotal juncture in Phase 1 as they are just starting the microfluidic experiments that will give first indications of whether the program goal is achievable,” the person wrote. “They are also a critical integrator of multiple technologies that enable this effort and could not be readily reproduced.”


More filings are due in the case over the next month. Oral arguments are scheduled for July 21.
 

Joe Walsh was elected to Congress as a Tea Party Republican in 2010


'Stakes are too high': Trump drives former Tea Partier into the Democratic Party​

Joe Walsh long ago left the Republican Party, but his time as a political independent has come to an end.

The former Republican congressman, who was swept into office as part of the Tea Party wave in 2010, and long-shot GOP challenger to Donald Trump in 2020, announced Tuesday that he had formally joined the Democratic Party.


"The stakes are simply too high to NOT become a Democrat," Walsh wrote on his Substack page. "Let me explain why."


"Let’s start with the obvious — a tyrant sits in the White House," Walsh added. "The very thing our Founders feared most is here. Throw in the fact that one of our two major political parties is a real and direct threat to democracy and the rule of law. These are unprecedented, dangerous times in America. I know it. You know it. There are even Republicans who know it."

Walsh called out Republicans who have appeased Trump or opposed him as he attacks what the former lawmaker called "fundamental values. [including] the rule of law, democracy [and] pluralism," and he urged them to unite – as Democrats – in a broad coalition that includes even conservatives.


"Without freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, America ceases to be," Walsh wrote. "And currently, only the Democratic Party is on the side of all three of these core American values. There isn’t a third party coming to the rescue any time soon. Right now, the Democratic Party is democracy’s lone defender and best hope."

Walsh admits he's changed in the seven years since he first publicly spoke out against Trump, and while he still considers himself a "border hawk [and] unabashed gun rights advocate," he's softened his views on social issues.

"I’ve opened my eyes and listened to people who don’t think like me," he said. "And by doing so, I gained a greater understanding of and appreciation for LGBTQ issues, structural racism, the need for empathetic immigration reform, the dangers of climate change, and the role government must play to help care for the neediest and most vulnerable among us."


"Most importantly, I’ve changed how I behave as a public figure," Walsh added. "I went to Congress on a mission to get our debt under control and to shake up the political establishment. I was passionate about my cause — so passionate that I said and did things I regret, so passionate that I became, way more than I’m proud of, a divisive political assh*le. That’s no longer who I am.

Walsh said he finally changed his party registration because the first four months of Trump's presidency have angered him even more than he imagined, and he marveled that the Democratic Party could be home to a conservative like himself and a progressive like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

"From the Tea Party to the Democratic Party, all in the past 15 years," he said.

"What a wild, crazy, unprecedented political journey it’s been," Walsh added.
 

We already know the outcome here. He is going to claim that everything Biden did is Null and Void and going to try to arrest and convict the Jan 6th Committee.


Trump launches investigation into Biden’s use of autopen to pardon family and inmates and those who investigated Trump.

A senior Justice Department official has reportedly been instructed to investigate clemency decisions made by President Joe Biden towards the end of his time in office.

According to an email seen by Reuters, Ed Martin, the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, stated the investigation will look into whether Biden “was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means.”


The investigation, launched at the behest of a senior official appointed during Donald Trump’s presidency, will focus on pardons granted to Biden family members and inmates on death row.

The email stated that Martin’s investigation is focused on preemptive pardons Biden issued to several members of his family and clemency that spared 37 federal inmates from the death penalty, converting their sentences to life in prison. Just before he relinquished the presidency to Trump on January 20, Biden pardoned five members of his family, saying he wanted to protect them from future politically motivated investigations. The pardons went to Biden’s siblings James Biden, Frank Biden and Valerie Biden Owens as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden. Biden on December 1 pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.



What is an autopen?​

An autopen is a device used to automatically affix a signature to a document. Trump and his supporters have made a variety of unfounded claims that Biden’s use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions. It is not known whether Biden used autopen on pardons.


Martin’s email did not specify which pardons of Biden family members were being investigated. It also did not make clear who directed Martin to launch the investigation.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Biden spokesperson did not immediately provide comment.

The U.S. Constitution gives the president broad power to issue pardons to wipe away federal criminal convictions or commutations to modify sentences.


Trump himself has made extensive use of executive clemency. For instance, he granted clemency on January 20 to all of the nearly 1,600 of his supporters who faced criminal charges in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was a failed attempt to prevent congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump. Martin previously served as the interim U.S. attorney in Washington before his nomination for that post foundered in the Senate.


Martin told reporters last month that he viewed the presidential pardon power as “plenary,” meaning it is absolute.

“If you use the autopen for pardon power, I don’t think that that’s necessarily a problem,” Martin said during a May 13 press conference, adding that he still felt the Biden pardons warranted scrutiny. The investigation appears designed to use the Justice Department to amplify questions about Biden’s health and mental acuity, a conversation that has intensified in recent weeks following his cancer diagnosis and a new book revealing Democratic concerns last year about Biden’s condition.

Biden, who is 82, last year dropped his reelection bid amid questions about his mental acuity after a disastrous presidential debate performance. Biden was the oldest person to serve as U.S. president, and Trump is the second oldest.

Biden’s closest aides have dismissed those concerns, saying Biden was fully capable of making important decisions.


No evidence has emerged to suggest that Biden did not intend to issue the pardons. In addition, a Justice Department memo from 2005 found it was legitimate for a subordinate to use an autopen for the president’s signature.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.
 
Trump job cuts hobble NOAA team that reopens ports after hurricanes, sources say reuters

A Florida-based federal emergency response team that reopens U.S. ports after storms and accidents is unstaffed this hurricane season largely due to widespread federal workforce reductions driven by the Trump administration, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The closure of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Navigation Response Team in Fernandina, Florida – one of the network's six national locations - could mean slower response times and longer port closures if hurricanes slam into the U.S. Southeast this summer, the sources said.

The teams are charged with deploying survey vessels to ports to locate underwater hazards that must be cleared to reopen shipping, and have been crucial in the aftermath of major storms like those that struck the Gulf Coast in recent years, as well as disasters like the 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
"I know that the Florida navigation response team is completely out of commission for this hurricane season, in large part due to staffing cuts," said former NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, who has been in contact with the agency.
Retired rear admiral Tim Gaulladet, who served as deputy NOAA administrator during the first Trump presidency, also said he is aware that the Florida location is no longer staffed, and that other offices have less capacity.

NOAA did not respond to a specific question about the status of the Florida NRT and reduced NRT staffing but said the agency would be prepared this hurricane season.
"In the event that ports are impacted by a hurricane or maritime disaster, NOAA will mobilize one or more Navigation Response Teams to be on scene after receiving an official request from the U.S. Coast Guard or Army Corps of Engineers," NOAA spokesperson Jasmine Blackwell said. Other NRT locations include Connecticut, Maryland, Mississippi, Washington state, and Galveston, Texas - a major U.S. oil-industry port. The NRT’s home website was changed in March to remove both the Florida and Galveston, Texas locations, according to archived images of the site.
NOAA did not respond to queries about the status of other locations and employees.

The American Pilots Association did not directly comment on the cuts but said they will ensure that their members, consisting of harbor pilots who guide commercial ships in and out of U.S. ports, will continue to carry out this function and that its members who are ship captains and harbor pilots have the resources they need to protect maritime commerce.

ABOVE-AVERAGE SEASON​

NOAA’s National Weather Service in May forecast an above-average June 1-Nov. 30 hurricane season with six to 10 hurricanes. Its director, Ken Graham, said at the time he did not expect job cuts at NOAA to affect hurricane response.
But sources said staff cuts which have amounted to around 1,000 people or 10% of its workforce so far have stretched the agency thin.
Around 600 of the cuts are within NOAA’s National Weather Service, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization.
 
Since I suspect that conservatives think it's a bigger disgrace to society to be mentally ill than do liberals, of course, they would be more likely to think of themselves as mentally stable even it not. With that in mind, I wonder since committing suicide has to do with inability to deal with severe, agonizing mental issues too often without first seeking help, that the rate of suicide is higher with conservatives than it is with liberals.
Have no idea about suicide. But this really shows how the mental health issue really shows a significant delta between conservative/liberal among 18–30 years olds.
Now the timing of the this poll is also interesting (first week of COVID
lockdowns).
 
Have no idea about suicide. But this really shows how the mental health issue really shows a significant delta between conservative/liberal among 18–30 years olds.
Now the timing of the this poll is also interesting (first week of COVID
lockdowns).
I like how you are ignoring the study posted yesterday to further double down on the narrative you prefer.
 

Walmart Employees Sound the Alarm As Prices Soar by as much as 45%​


Walmart is raising eyebrows and prices, as shoppers and employees alike document noticeable price hikes on the retailer’s shelves. These increases come in the wake of tariffs, which have forced Walmart, and many other companies, to adjust costs to maintain margins.

Photos of price increases are circulating online, especially on Reddit, where users have posted images showing hikes of up to 45 percent. Newsweek reported one notable example includes a Jurassic World t. rex toy, which jumped from $39.92 in April to $55 by late May. “Just crazy to see happening in real-time,” wrote one user.

Another user shared a Baby Born doll that saw its price rise from $34.94 to $49.97, while a left-handed fishing reel spiked from $57.37 to $83.26—an increase of 45 percent. Even pantry staples haven’t been spared: a Reddit post noted cocoa powder that rose from $3.44 in May 2024 to $6.18 in April 2025.

Walmart’s leadership hasn’t shied away from acknowledging the impact. CEO Doug McMillon said last month, “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”

The toy industry, in particular, has been hit hard. Many manufacturers rely on imports from China, and the 10 percent tariffs are squeezing costs. When asked about the rising prices, Trump offered a characteristically blunt response: “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know.”
 
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