Today in Politics, Bulletin 139. 5/26/25 Ron Filipkowski May 26 ∙ … Trump posted a Memorial Day message with this moving tribute to the men and women who paid the ultimate price serving their country in the military: "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS, WHO ALLOWED 21,000,000 MILLION PEOPLE TO ILLEGALLY ENTER OUR COUNTRY, MANY OF THEM BEING CRIMINALS AND THE MENTALLY INSANE, THROUGH AN OPEN BORDER THAT ONLY AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT WOULD APPROVE, AND THROUGH JUDGES WHO ARE ON A MISSION TO KEEP MURDERERS, DRUG DEALERS, RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS, AND RELEASED PRISONERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, IN OUR COUNTRY SO THEY CAN ROB, MURDER, AND RAPE AGAIN — ALL PROTECTED BY THESE USA HATING JUDGES WHO SUFFER FROM AN IDEOLOGY THAT IS SICK, AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR COUNTRY." … He then made a post telling people to “ENJOY!!!” his speech at Arlington National Cemetery: “I will be making a Memorial Day Speech at Arlington at 11:00 AM. ENJOY!!!” … Trump voter and former talk show host John Cardillo: “Sorry, but this is grossly inappropriate. There is nothing happy about Memorial Day. And the rest of it on this day is just unbecoming for a Commander-in-Chief. Sad part is pretty much everyone feels the same, but too many are terrified to speak up.” … In his speech at Arlington before Trump, SecDef Pete Hegseth, who repeatedly expressed hostility in the past to women serving, refused to acknowledge them: “The American soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. We honor his sacrifice, his courage, his duty, and his love. The young men with hopes and dreams and loves is called by his country, leaves behind his hometown, his parents, his siblings, his sweetheart, all that he knows to go fight a war that he may or may not understand.” … Trump went about as far as he has ever gone towards criticizing Putin a little bit when he was asked about recent bombings after Ukraine signed the cease fire agreement: "I'm not happy with what Putin is doing. He's killing a lot of people and I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. We're in the middle of talking and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all. I'm surprised." … If he really is surprised, he’s the only one who is surprised. … Fox Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume: “Glad to hear President Trump say this, but Putin hasn’t changed. He’s always been a brutal tyrant.” … About an hour later, Trump posted this: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!” … But that was not the end of his post, because he also felt compelled to blame the victim again: “Likewise, Zelensky is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelensky’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s,’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred.” … Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) to Fox: “The first half of this message is perfect, the rest is dumb. Trump is attacking President Zelensky while Putin bombs Ukrainian cities and it is misguided. Moral ambiguity while one nation invades another is hurting Trump’s credibility. Putin is making a mockery of Trump, and Trump keeps attacking Zelensky.” … In other words, Trump promised repeatedly during the campaign that he had a secret plan to end the war in 24 hours and he was just bullshitting everyone because he doesn’t have the first clue what to do, he gave away all negotiating leverage months ago when he agree up front to most of what Russia was asking for before negotiations even began, and his special envoy Steve Witkoff is a dope. … Witkoff, the man Trump entrusted to negotiate an end to the war, has never been a diplomat, never served in the military, never worked in govt at any capacity, and is not a historian or expert on affairs in the region. He got the job because he is a wealthy real estate investor pal of Trump’s from NYC and Witkoff’s son is a major player in the crypto industry, which is now Trump’s largest source of revenue. … Witkoff has also not taken a single person from the State Dept with him during any of his 4 meetings with Putin and even used a Kremlin translator because he didn’t bring his own. Why has this been a disaster? Because Trump and Witkoff are incompetent clowns. … Former GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich: “Putin will not be convinced by talk. He will have to be coerced by economically and militarily eliminating his ability to wage war. As long as he can wage war he will. This is his legacy and he recently pointed out Russia fought Sweden for 21 years. He wants to conquer all of Ukraine and then push forward (Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Moldova and Finland next on list). The time to stop him is now and the place is Ukraine.” … Rep. Don Bacon post on X: “It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin. His goal is to dominate Ukraine and he won’t stop until he realizes he cannot win. The US and Allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth, sanction Russia to the max, and confiscate the $300B in overseas Russian assets.” … Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA): “I’ve had enough of Putin killing innocent people. President Trump - take action. AT LEAST SANCTIONS.” … Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that Trump was just being too emotional: “We are taking the decisions that are necessary to ensure the security of our country. We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process. Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated with the emotional overload of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions.” … French President Macron: “President Trump now realizes that when Putin said on the phone he was ready for peace, or told his envoys he was ready for peace, he lied. We have seen once again in recent hours Trump express his anger. A form of impatience. I simply hope now that this translates into action.” … I wouldn’t count on it. … German Chancellor Merz announced that a major restriction on Ukraine is finally being lifted: "There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, not from the British, not from the French, not from us, not from the Americans either. This means that Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia. It couldn't do that until some time ago, and with very few exceptions, it didn't do that until some time ago. Now it can.” … Merz: “Equipping Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the rear - that is the decisive qualitative difference in Ukraine's warfare. Russia attacks civilian targets absolutely ruthlessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals, and old people's homes. Ukraine does not do that. And we attach great importance to keeping it that way. But, a country that can only defend itself against an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself adequately. And this defense of Ukraine is now also taking place against military infrastructure on Russian territory." … Michael Weiss, Editor of The Insider: “Interesting on two levels. This suggests the US is consenting to unrestricted deep strikes with American weapons (let’s see if this admin’s confirms that). Also strongly hints that Germany will send Taurus cruise missiles.” … Putin’s spokesman Peskov responded to the range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine being lifted: “This contradicts Moscow’s aspirations for a political settlement.” This was the first slow-ish news day in quite a while - likely because of the holiday. I will take it. That likely means that all hell is about to break loose tomorrow of course. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Trump also announced he was surrendering on EU tariffs again while declaring victory: “I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the EU. I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so. The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly.” … Trump reduced the tariffs on China in exchange for nothing. He paused the tariffs on Canada and Mexico in exchange for nothing. He postponed tariffs on EU in exchange for nothing. He threatened Russia with sanctions multiple times if they didn’t sign ceasefire and did nothing. Art of the Deal. … Mens fashion journalist Derek Guy: “Just spoke to the head of a large menswear brand this morning. He said he likes the chaotic jumps between tariffs hikes and pauses. The old system certainty was making business predictable and thus boring. He also likes doing cocaine.” … Economist Justin Wolfers: “He’s like a toddler with a TV remote control. My young Matilda, she used to pick up the TV remote and she’d start to push buttons and something would attract her attention for a couple minutes, then she’d push a few more. Trump raised the tariffs, then he paused that raise, then he paused that pause. Then he paused that pause at the pause.” … Trump said the quiet part out loud on Harvard - that the goal is to expel foreign students so more Americans can get in: "Part of the problem with Harvard is that there are about 31% of foreigners coming to Harvard. But they refuse to tell us who the people are. It shouldn't be 31%. It's too much. Because we have Americans who want to go there. We want a list of those foreign students.” … Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “He already has this info. When you apply for a student visa you have to tell the State Department where you are attending school.” … Trump later posted this on Truth Social: “I am considering taking 3 billion dollars of grant money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land. What a great investment that would be for the USA, so badly needed!!!” … Financial Times: “Trump Media & Technology Group aims to raise $2 billion in fresh equity and another $1 billion via a convertible bond to invest in the crypto market. TMTG’s capital raising could be announced ahead of a big meeting of crypto investors and advocates in Las Vegas this week, where JD Vance, Trump’s sons Donald Jr and Eric, and Trump’s crypto tsar David Sacks are expected to speak.” … Trump Media responded to the story about how they are raising $3B from unknown investors for crypto with a statement: “Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources.” That was it. … The White House and Don Jr. declined to comment on the story. … Trump announced he is approving the purchase of US Steel by the Japanese giant Nippon Steel, but called it ‘Nissan’ Steel: “They're going to invest billions of dollars in steel. And it's a good company. Nissan is a very good company.” … Trump announced a new pardon for a Sheriff who was convicted of taking bribes to sell law enforcement badges to people who used them to drive in emergency lanes, bypass TSA lines, and other abuses. He posted this: “Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ. He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and ‘left for dead.’ This is why I, as President of the US, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon. He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.” … ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic wasn’t happy about being passed over again: “Everyone is like, Joe, he just has a lot on his plate. Bullshit, he hands pardons out like it's Easter candy. But never does he pay attention that the government witnesses in my case have admitted to perjury on world television. But yet he leaves me here. Why? Go to Ed Martin’s post and put: ‘Free Joe Exotic’. … Sen. Ron Johnson said on CNN that there are enough Republican votes against the House budget plan to block the current version of the bill in the Senate: "I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit. The big, beautiful bill - I think that's the Titanic." … Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) responded to right-wingers calling for Congress to do DOGE cuts with legislation so they can’t be blocked by the courts. He said the issue is Trump: “Congress can’t cut spending through DOGE without the President sending a formal ‘rescission’ bill. That’s the law. It only takes a simple majority to pass—but so far, no bill has been sent. In this case, Congress is waiting on the White House.” … Dep. FBI Director Dan Bongino continues to try and calm down right-wingers demanding arrests. He posted this: “Shortly after swearing in, the Director and I evaluated a number of cases of potential public corruption that, understandably, have garnered public interest. We made the decision to either re-open, or push additional resources and investigative attention, to these cases. These cases are the DC pipe bombing investigation, the cocaine discovery at the prior admin’s WH, and the leak of the Supreme Court Dobbs brief. I receive requested briefings on these cases weekly and we are making progress. If you have any investigative tips on these matters that may assist us then please contact the FBI. … Republicans are getting nervous that Trump and Witkoff are about to make a really bad deal with Iran. Fox host Mark Levin: “ANY U.S.-IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE SENATE ARTICLE II, SEC. 2, CL. 5 is referred to as the Treaty Clause of the Constitution. It states, in relevant part: ‘The President ... shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur ...’ … Levin: “It should not matter who the president is as we are talking about the application of the Constitution not who sits in the Oval Office. The shared power compelled by the Constitution should not be feared or avoided. Moreover, I believe the Constitution demands it. Nobody better understands this than our current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who prudently insisted on this and more as a senator in 2015.” … Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT): “Treaties must be ratified by the Senate, including any Iran nuclear deal. Mark Levin is right.” … Jake Tapper’s apology book tour continued, this time on Piers Morgan’s podcast: “I wish I had covered this story better. Lara Trump was right and I was wrong. I feel tremendous humility. I will try to do better.” … X user Candidly Tiff: “When it boils down to it, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson accumulated a bunch of gossip and hearsay, wrote it all up in TMZ-style salacious book, went on an F Biden tour, claimed it was a ‘cover-up’, and now they are ones who look petty, vengeful and like gossip-queens. All for the grift.”

Trump official gets RUDE AWAKENING as ANGRY CROWD TURNS ON HIM

 

HOWARD NUTLICK NEEDS TO GO! 

LISTEN TO JAMIE DIMON CEO OF JPMORGAN CHASE PROJECTING 

INFLATION/STAGFLATION & MARKET UNCERTAINTY

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Donald Trump's Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick turned the crowd against him during an event with Axios in D.C. earlier this week. Dina Doll reacts. Produced by Francis Maxwell. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! MeidasTouch relies on SnapStream to record, watch, monitor, and clip the news. Get a FREE TRIAL of SnapStream by clicking here: https://go.snapstream.com/affiliate/m... Support the MeidasTouch Network:   / meidastouch   Add the MeidasTouch Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Buy MeidasTouch Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Follow MeidasTouch on Twitter:   / meidastouch   Follow MeidasTouch on Facebook:   / meidastouch   Follow MeidasTouch on Instagram:   / meidastouch   Follow MeidasTouch on TikTok:   / meidastouch  

Harvard Says Not Today, Satan 5.23.24 Ally Sammarco May 24 Happy Friday! Welcome back to Common Sense, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment. Judge halts Trump attempt to unenroll Harvard students… NBC News reports, “U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs granted the temporary restraining order after the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday terminated the university’s international student certification. The move barred the school from not only admitting international students, but also ordering current foreign-born students to transfer or lose their legal status. Under the order, international students can remain enrolled at the school. The next hearing for the case will take place next week. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday, a day after the federal government said it would block the nation's oldest university's ability to enroll foreign students.” In latest attack on due process, Trump moves to stop immigration court cases to expedite deportations… CBS News reports, The Trump administration has launched an operation to terminate the immigration court cases of certain migrants, in order to arrest them and place them in a fast-tracked deportation process instead, government officials and attorneys told CBS News. Lawyers and advocates this week reported arrests of migrants outside of immigration courthouses across the U.S., saying teams of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had detained individuals whose cases in front of immigration judges had just been terminated at the request of the government. Two Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News that ICE is conducting an operation to expedite the deportation of migrants with court hearings scheduled in the near future.” Common Sense with Ally Sammarco is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Trump fails to negotiate trade deals as promised… Politico reports “Trump promised he could cut more than 50 trade deals in just 90 days when he pressed pause on high tariff rates in early April. But as the administration closes in on the halfway point for talks, it has little to show for it. After reaching a preliminary trade agreement with the United Kingdom earlier this month to lower some tariffs on both sides, the White House continues to tout progress in its negotiations with more than a dozen other major trading partners. But according to conversations with ten foreign officials, U.S. business leaders and others familiar with the talks, disagreements are mounting in many of those talks and foreign governments are digging in, even those eager to cut deals, like some in Asia — a reminder of just how slow and complex traditional trade negotiations can be.” THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY LOBBIED TO GET REGULATIONS AMENDED TO EXEMPT THEM FROM ANY LIABILITY! CAPITOL MARKETS WILL NOT LEND TO NUCLEAR, KNOWN FOR COST OVERRUNS...SO RATE PAYERS GET STUCK WITH THE COSTS!  THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY'S FIASCOS: South Carolina Spent $9 Billion to Dig a Hole in the Ground and Then Fill It Back In Cost is often raised as a critical objection to combating climate change. But South Carolina shows what's possible. THE INTERCEPT Trump signs executive order to expand nuclear power and cut regulations… NPR reports, “President Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at boosting nuclear power and restructuring the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission during an Oval Office event on Friday… One order calls for major reforms at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the independent agency that oversees America's nuclear reactors. The order calls for approvals of new nuclear reactor designs to be completed in no more than 18 months. It also asks the agency to reconsider strict radiation standards that are currently used to ensure safety for workers and the public. Finally, it would require restructuring of the NRC itself and a wide-ranging revision of regulations to be conducted in conjunction with the White House and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.” Today’s Furry Friend Meet Dumbo, who initially distrusted people too much to leave a drain. After some love, he decided human friends are the best friends. Today’s Buzz Trump’s attacks on Springsteen draw parallels to Nixon’s attempt to have John Lennon deported… The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Before Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rage against Bruce Springsteen — calling him a ‘dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker’ and threatening ominously that ‘we’ll all see how it goes for him’ — another American president once tried to silence a politically outspoken rock star. But Richard Nixon didn’t just tweet insults at John Lennon. He tried to deport him. That 1970s-era culture war — now resurrected in a new doc, One to One: John & Yoko — echoes eerily in Trump’s latest feud with American music royalty. Lennon, a British citizen with a U.S. green card living in New York at the time, had aligned himself with the radical left and spoken out forcefully against the Vietnam War and Nixon’s re-election. The Nixon administration responded by weaponizing immigration law, trying to boot Lennon back to the UK over an old pot bust. It was a thin pretext, and everyone knew it.” Thank you for relying on us this week to bring you headlines. Have a restful weekend, and check back in Monday for the next edition of Common Sense.

 

Today in Politics, Bulletin 137. 5/23/25

Ron Filipkowski May 23 ∙

… Corruption King Trump hosted his crypto dinner at his country club near DC, which was advertised as a competition where the people who paid the most money for his scam got invites. He flew there in a government helicopter with secret service and used the presidential seal on his podium at the event.

… Constitutional lawyer George Conway made an excellent point about Trump’s crypto scam - which is the single largest fraud and conflict of interest by far in American political history. Since Trump has now personally involved himself in it during his presidency, and since Karoline Leavitt said that this was on his “personal time” not related to his job as president, that means he will not qualify for presidential immunity for anything related to this scam.

… NBC reported that the 220 guests spent a combined $394 million on the Trump coin, which is an average of $1.78 million per person. Trump and the WH refused to disclose the guest list, although we have learned about some from their social media posts. Crypto billionaire Justin Sun is the biggest purchaser at $75 million. Sun was under investigation by the SEC for market manipulation, but that was magically “put on hold” in Feb. I wonder how that happened?

… Christoph Heuermann, who is from Germany, posted about the dinner on IG: “I got to see some very rich crypto billionaires. But the majority of the crowd were young professionals from the crypto space hailing mostly from Europe. A fair share of Chinese and a few Americans, but a great diversity of most European countries. People working mostly for crypto exchanges, funds, market makers or just trading themselves. Very nice networking.”

… The dinner they got looked overcooked, unimaginative and under seasoned - but I’m admittedly a foodie snob so maybe it’s just me who thinks that. This may seem trivial to you, but I pay attention to these things because they are a window into the soul. This was it.

… Bloomberg: “Already since the early days of his reelection campaign, Trump has more than doubled his net worth to about $5.4B. The approach is clear, the Trump’s are selling the family name - and doing it at scale. They are doing things they did not do the first term. They’re licensing their name to billions of dollars in projects around the world, and the deals include foreign govts. But Trump pledged going in that there would not be any new deals with foreign govts.”

… WH Spokesperson Anna Kelly: “President Trump is working to secure good deals for the American people, not for himself. President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public – which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.”

… Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on CNN: “This might be close to the top of the most corrupt things that the president has done. There are 200+ anonymous individuals who paid their way to meet with Trump. Because they know their names wouldn’t be disclosed, it is likely there are probably a bunch of corrupt people in the room who don’t want their audience with the president to be public. This is corruption, old fashioned corruption but out in the open for everybody to see. I wish we knew who was there, I wish they would release that list.”

… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to Meidas: “Trump’s dinner is an orgy of corruption. That’s what this is all about - corruption in its ugliest form. Maybe you’re the guy who really needs a pardon, maybe you’re the one who really needs a criminal investigation dropped, maybe you’re the country that needs your tariffs lowered. Trump says he’s the decision maker for all of this. How do you get his ear? Well, you could offer him a $400 million jet or you could buy a bunch of his Trump coins. He’s showing the ways to buy influence with him.”

… Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR): “There is a big ‘For Sale’ sign on the WH lawn - ‘US Policy For Sale’. Anyone who thinks those 220 people attending the dinner tonight who paid about $150 million for those seats just really craved to have a digital equivalent of a baseball trading card, well, you’re a little off the mark. They absolutely want to buy influence over US policy.”

… Even Republican Rep. French Hill (R-AR) was a bit squeamish about it on CNBC: "The Trump family activity in the memecoin space makes my work in Congress more complicated. I view the dinner last night as, you know, whatever - that's to me a distraction."

… Before heading off for 3-day weekend of golf this afternoon, Trump created more economic chaos and sent markets into another panic with early morning posts on Truth Social that he was looking to impose a 25% tariff on Apple’s iPhones and a 50% of all products from the EU.

TARIFF LUNACY!

… Trump at 7:43 AM: “The EU, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the US on TRADE, has been very difficult to deal with. Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the US of more than $250B a year, a number which is totally unacceptable. Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the EU, starting on June 1.”

… Treasury Sec Scott Bessent was asked on Fox if he was close to a trade deal with Japan. He isn’t. So he was asked if there are any deal imminent: “We're far along with India. There are 18 important trading partners. With the exception of the EU, most are negotiating in very good faith. We're gonna have to see.”

… They said on April 11 there would be 90 deals in 90 days. That was 42 days ago. There is one weak deal with the UK that favors them more than us. But we have the concepts of lots of other deals. Any day now. Golden Era.

… Trump at 7:19 AM: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the US will be manufactured and built in the US, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank your for your attention to this matter!”

… Before flying off to Bedminster, Trump was asked why he would want to hurt an American company, and what gave him the authority to tariff an individual company. Trump: “It would be more. It would also be Samsung and any other company that makes that product or it would not be fair.”

… His brain is mush.  [THANK YOU RON! WELL SAID!]

… Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said that over 50% of iPhones sold in the US are made in India, and if they are all manufactured here they would cost $3,500 each: "We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible.”

… Economist Justin Wolfers: “It's on the tip of my tongue, but it still eludes me. Who was the great economic thinker who argued that decisions about what individual companies should produce, in which factory, and where, were choices best made by the government as part of their central plan?”

… Mao? Stalin? Mussolini?

… CNBC asked Rep. French Hill (R-AR) what Trump meant when he said he was going to "recommend" a 50% tariff on the EU, and who he was going to recommend it to. French: “I don’t know.”

… I guess Trump’s closest allies in Congress know as much as we do about all this.

PARDON MY INTRUSION, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND! 

LET'S SAY YOU HAVE A $1,000 BOND THAT PAY 4% 

BECAUSE THE 'YIELD' - THE INTEREST RATE GOES UP, YOUR BOND IS 

WORTH LESS BECAUSE BUYERS ARE SHUNNING U.S. DEBT!

… Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to Meidas: Moskowitz: “You’re seeing the bond market go down. The yields on those bonds are going up because no one wants to buy our debt. The stock market is down today because, guess what—we’re back to tariffs. I thought the president learned his lesson, didn’t you? Now we’re raising tariffs on the EU and on Apple again.”

… “This, unfortunately, is what happens when you lose elections. Elections have consequences. They have all of govt. They have no brakes. They’re drunk with power. And the only way we’re going to send a message to them—the only way we’re going to be able to put brakes on this and stop it—is to make Hakeem Jeffries Speaker.”

… Quartz: “Mortgage rates surged to 7.08% this week. That means housing, already unaffordable for millions of Americans, just got even less affordable. Adding to the turmoil, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he’s seriously considering re-privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While details remain vague, the move would almost certainly strip the agencies of their quasi-sovereign status, prompting a credit downgrade and likely pushing mortgage rates even higher. At a time when housing affordability is already straining household finances, that threat isn’t helping inspire confidence.”

… ABC published audio from Trump’s Social Security Administrator Frank Bisignano talking about how he got the gig: "So, I get a phone call and it's about Social Security. And I'm really not, I swear I'm not looking for a job. And I'm like, 'Well, what am I going to do?' So, I'm Googling ‘Social Security’. I'm like, 'What the heck is the Commissioner of Social Security?'"

… All the most qualified people. I feel better.

… US District Judge Allison Burroughs granted a temporary restraining order blocking DHS SecretaryDOG KILLER Kristi Noem’s order to revoke visas for foreign students at Harvard. A hearing on Harvard’s emergency lawsuit was set for Tuesday morning.

… In the lawsuit, Harvard alleged that Noem’s order will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders. With the stroke of a pen, the govt has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

… Harvard also said in the lawsuit that the order is already hurting them with “future applicants who may shy away from applying out of fear of further reprisals from the govt.”

… New Republican Rep. Randy Fine, who just won the special election in FL with Trump’s endorsement: "We should not be bringing people into America to get an education who hate us. They should be coming here to get an education, and frankly they should keep their mouths shut beyond that."

… Former Harvard President Lawrence Summers: “This is madness. I cannot imagine a greater strategic gift that we could be giving to China and Russia, the enemies of freedom around the world. If this is allowed to stand, it is going to be incredibly damaging to Harvard. But that is the least of it. It is much more profound in how damaging this will be to the standing, the role and the position of the US. We used to be a beacon to the world. We're now becoming a negative example. I imagine there must be great joy in Beijing and Moscow, seeing us implode with these kinds of policies.”

… Summers: “Harvard is doing just the right thing. This is extortion. It's a vendetta using all powers of the govt because of a political argument with Harvard. It is violating the First Amendment. It is also violating all the laws we have regarding administrative procedures. The consequences are real, whether it's students who are dissidents from tyrannies who are going to be sent home and possibly be imprisoned, whether it's labs that are fighting cancer or diabetes, that are going to lose key people - some small fraction of whom are going to go on to be Prime Ministers of countries who've now been turned into enemies of the US.”

… Zheng Fang, a 1996 graduate of Harvard Business School whose Keywise Capital Management oversees $2.5 billion in investments from Hong Kong, to Bloomberg: “I was shocked. This will not only jeopardize Harvard’s academic strength, but also hurt US competitiveness. While a lot of businesses start in the US, for them to be trillion-dollar companies they need to go global. If you don’t have the global market, your success is capped.”

… Michal Galek-Aldridge, co-founder of Amsterdam-based college admissions consultancy Think Smart: “A Harvard devoid of its international student population—who comprise 27% of the student body—would suffer a profound diminishment of its global influence.”

… Sam Cox, with London-based college consultancy A-List: “Not long ago, a US offer from an Ivy League school or MIT often trumped a place at Oxford or Cambridge. Today, we’re seeing those same students prioritize the UK, citing a more predictable and welcoming environment.”

Reminder that I am off on Saturdays so next Bulletin will recap the weekend, which will be out on Sunday night. We were going to go to opening day at the seaside amusement park on Old Orchard Beach here in Maine, but the weather isn’t cooperating. So we are going to see the new Mission Impossible in IMAX and go out to dinner. Nothing too exciting this weekend!

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, which was a long one that almost killed me, you can find it here. Btw, I do read all your comments every morning - I am sorry I don’t usually have time to reply but I appreciate all the kind words of support for my work very much. It is also helpful to me to hear about what matters most to you and what is most impactful in the news.

I am the one who decides what goes in here of course, but I also am very open-minded and listen to what everyone has to say because this is your column as much as it is mine. At least that’s how I look at it.

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

… There is one small problem for Trump on his dream of building a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense shield - he can’t build it without Canada’s cooperation. And right now, given how he has treated them, Canada isn’t exactly eager to just agree to anything Trump wants to do. Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar: “There’s a lot we just don’t know. There’s a lot that needs to be revealed about how the economic and security partnership with America and Canada will unfold.”

… Trump just assumed Canada would be thrilled with his plan: “They want to have protection also, so as usual, we help Canada.”

… But maybe he should have checked with Canada first before he decided to insult them again over this. PM Mark Carney: “It’s something that we are looking at and something that has been discussed at a high level. But one negotiates on this.”

… Politico: “Canada has nearly 4 million square miles of territory. That airspace offers a crucial line of sight for US sensors to shoot down missiles that Beijing and Moscow are developing to fly over the North Pole — a huge gap in American air defenses.

… Retired AF General Glen Van Herck, who was in charge of US Northern Command until last year: “What Canada really brings is terrain. If we can position, or Canada positions, over-the-horizon radars further north in the Arctic, that dramatically increases the US and Canada’s ability to see over the pole into Russia, into China and other places.”

… RFK Jr. is already walking back is promise that HHS will discover the cause of autism by September. To CNN: “We’ll have some of the information in probably 6 months.” (That’s November 23).

… Secretary Brainworm then had this enlightening exchange:

CNN: You said that people should not take your medical advice?

RFK Jr: People should not be taking medical advice from somebody who's not a physician. And they should also be skeptical about any medical advice, they need to do their own research.

CNN: You told Congress “we have a team on the ground in Milwaukee.” But the city said that's not true.

RFK Jr: CDC is giving them assistance with their labs, their analytics and advice.

CNN: They just said one technician was on the ground.

RFK Jr: I can't tell you how many are on the ground.

… US public health is in good hands. MAGA!

… Attorneys for immigrants dismissed a complaint they previously filed without prejudice, which allows them to refile it at a later time or in a different court. Kristi Noem then posted a copy of the Voluntary Dismissal with this classy caption:

… NOTUS reported on the closed-door meeting this week when Trump went to Capitol Hill to bully conservative budget hawks to go along with his deficit-exploding budget. Trump got into it with Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, who ended up changing his vote from a No to voting Present: “At one point, Trump began pointing his finger and cursing at Harris, ‘You’re stupid if you vote against this bill!’”

… Fox to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the House budget: Q - This bill adds trillions to our debt. How is that acceptable to the admin? Bessent: “You're referring to the CBO scoring, which, I believe, is DC style scoring.”

… No, it is non-partisan, apolitical scoring. What Bessent wants is “dynamic scoring” of economic growth projections to unrealistic levels to create an artificially large amount of projected revenue coming in so his deficits don’t look so horrendous after their huge tax cuts.

… Despite House Republicans patting themselves on the back, Senate Republicans are saying that they do not intend to vote for their budget. Majority Leader John Thune: “We are going to write our own bill.”

… Thune was asked about the agreement that was reached in the House on SALT: “The House had to make a deal. But our members want to be heard on it and I assume we’ll have something to say.”

… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to CNN: “Somebody’s got to be the dad that says, ‘I know y’all want to go to Disney World, but we can’t afford it.’ I guess I’m going to be that guy.”

… I don’t want Ron Johnson as my dad, and I don’t want to go to Disney World with him. But neither does Mike Johnson in this case.

… Johnson was asked how he will react if Trump starts threatening him: “I couldn't care less if he's upset. I'm concerned about my children and grandchildren. $37T in debt and we're going to add to it? There is no way I'm going to vote for this bill in its current form.”

… Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has an issue with Medicaid cuts in the House bill: “There are provisions in there that are very, very, very challenging, if not impossible, for us to implement.”

… Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is concerned: “I have said and made clear that I do not want to take away Medicaid benefits.”

… Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) says the Senate isn’t going to pass the House plan, so the House is going to have to agree to theirs: “At some point, we have to send the bill back to them and they’ll have a binary decision to make. And it will be, ‘Is a yes vote in passage better than if it doesn’t pass?’ I hope that’s the way they’ll look at it.”

… This is going well.

… Cramer was asked by CNN about criticism of Republican Senators by right-wing House members on the budget: “It’s rich coming from the Freedom Caucus, who are supposed to be fiscal conservatives and end up with not that conservative of a bill to lecture us.”

… Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to the House: “You had your chance. There’s some of these cuts that are not real, and we’re talking about over a decade, if you do a trillion and a half in spending cuts, that’s like 1.5%. So, let’s don’t get higher on our horse here that we’ve somehow made some major advancement of reducing spending, because we didn’t.”

… Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): “Once the Senate weighs in on it, I think we’ll have a different opinion about what the bill looks like. We can negotiate about a lot of other things, except for spectrum, which has got to come out. We’re a long ways from the finish line.”

(Spectrum is Trump’s plan to put a chunk of band-width used by DOD up for auction, which is something wireless providers have been lobbying him about. Rounds said the Senate doesn’t want to do that).

… SecDef Pete Hegseth, constantly paranoid about someone in the Pentagon talking to the press about the crazy shit he’s doing on a daily basis, issued a new set of rules today for the media restricting their access to the building and banning them from common areas where DOD employees tend to congregate when they aren’t working. Why are they constantly trying to hide everything from the public?

… Post and Courier (SC): “A political strategist for Rep. Nancy Mace testified in a deposition that the congresswoman once asked him to pressure her former fiancé into giving her full ownership of their two jointly held homes and threatened to use images she'd found on her ex's cellphone as leverage if he refused. Strategist Wesley Donehue said he interpreted it as a blackmail threat.”

… Donehue also described Mace as someone prone to embellishing stories and "unstable - she sees black helicopters everywhere."

… I’m shocked.

… This photo is now hanging in the West Wing of the White House.