This Weekend in Politics, Bulletin 138 Ron Filipkowski May 25 … Trump gave a bizarre, rambling, slurring, often incoherent speech at the West Point graduation. In addition to the huge military parade scheduled in DC for his birthday next month, Trump continued to politicize an institution that is supposed to be apolitical by wearing one of his red MAGA campaign hats during the speech. … Here were some of the things he said to the young graduates: On a wealthy real estate developer friend who retired: “He ended up getting a divorce. Found a new wife. Can you say a trophy wife? It didn't work out too well. That doesn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives don’t work out. It made him happy for a little while at least. He found a new wife. He got a big yacht.” (Sound like someone whose wife hasn’t been sleeping at WH) “I was investigated more than the great, late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone. Now I am talking to you as President. Can you believe this?” (No, we can’t) “I proposed a $1 trillion military budget. $1 trillion. People say, ‘could you cut it back?’ I said I'm not cutting 10 cents. We can cut plenty of other things.” (Like health care and food for the poor) “I did this recently at Ohio State. They really liked it. I gave them a little advice as to what I see for what you want to do. Some tips.” (It was Alabama not Ohio St) “The whole stealth thing - I'm sort of wondering. We shape a wing this way, they don’t see it, but the other way they see it? I’m not so sure. But that’s what they tell me.” (Of course, he knows more about stealth tech in jets than anyone) … Trump then left without shaking the hands of any of the graduates. Joe Biden and Barack Obama shook the hands of every single one when they spoke there. But Trump headed to Bedminster for golf, where he later posted a photo of his playing partner getting attacked in the genitals by the swan guarding Ivana’s grave near the 16th hole. … Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.), former Commanding General of US Army Europe, on Trump wearing a campaign hat: “What a rotten example for these new Officers. How are any of the Academies or ROTC programs going to teach Cadets about Duty, Honor and Country with him and Secretary Hegseth as their Leaders?” … Tom Nichols, retired Prof at US Naval War College: “Trump has been actively trying to politicize the US military since his first campaign. Those cadets have been taught that this is inappropriate, but now the Commander-in-Chief is telling them that rules are for other people.” … Richard Stengel, former Undersecretary of State: “1. He disrespects West Point by wearing his MAGA hat. The cadets all remove their hats out of a tradition of respect. 2. He disrespects them by talking about trophy wives and yachts. 3. He disrespects them by saying he ‘rebuilt the military’ in 4 months. The military he inherited is larger than the next top 10 nations combined. 4. He disrespects the military by erasing the memory of soldiers of color who fought for freedom even when they did not have it.” … This was the headline from the The Independent (UK) about the speech: … And here is the NYT headline sanewashing the speech for Trump, very similar to many other legacy media headlines about it: … Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on MSNBC: “It is time for Republicans to start calling him out and start questioning his mental acuity, and whether or not he is equipped to serve mentally. We know when it comes down to his criminality, he is not qualified to serve, but this is just absolutely deplorable.” … Crockett also said when Democrats take the House after the 2026 midterms, she wants to run for Oversight Chair: “I am hoping an praying that my colleagues see that I can provide what we need as a team moving forward, hoping we can instill some confidence in the America people knowing they have a real fighter who won’t back down - and I get death threats every day. But I will fight fearlessly and ferociously for the American people.” … She was asked what she would do as Chair: “We will investigate. We will look at whether this president has violated the emoluments clause. We will make sure we look into all these business deals they have going on. Think about how much money they’re raking in, whether we’re talking about the next golf resort they’re setting up in Qatar or this crypto scam. There is no shortage of things for us to dig into.” … Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has parlayed a 5th place finish at the NCAAs into a career as a MAGA social media influencer, was on Sean Hannity’s show complaining about Kermit the Frog’s commencement speech to Univ of MD grads: “Imagine being a 22 year old student who is graduating with a degree in aerospace engineering, and a fraud from the Muppets is on stage telling you to stay connected with your people. I mean, you can’t even make this stuff up. Instead of honoring entrepreneurs, or veterans or innovators they picked Kermit the Frog!” … “We have students who are drowning in debt, struggling to find jobs, and universities are handing the mic to puppets. Not puppets like many Democratic elected leaders, a real puppet. It’s all theater. I see this as the same institutions who have been pushing political agendas and cancel culture now want to use a puppet to inspire students. It’s unserious, it’s out of touch, and frankly it’s insulting.” … Legendary Muppets creator Jim Henson came up with the Kermit puppet character when he was an 18 year old student at Maryland. Henson’s wife also graduated from Maryland. That is why Kermit gave the speech, which the graduates loved. Kermit did not mention trophy wives in his speech, otherwise maybe Gaines would have liked it better. Reminder that we make the entire Weekend Bulletins available to free subscribers, with about the first 30% of the daily ones during the week available for free. Everyone is also able to post comments to the weekend ones. If you missed Friday’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. … Fortune interviewed Nicholas Pinto, who secured a spot at Trump’s crypto dinner after buying $360,000 of his tokens. He was asked about the food: “Trash. Walmart steak. Everyone at my table was saying the food was some of the worst food that they ever had. I was hoping for either Big Macs or pizza. That would have been better than the food that we were served. The only good part was the bread and the butter.” … Pinto text to Fortune from the event: “Most of the people here are sketchy, I’m not gonna lie.” … What did Pinto think about Trump’s speech? “Pretty much, like, bullshit.” … Speaker Mike Johnson was asked on CNN why he wasn’t saying anything about Trump’s crypto dinner scam: “Look, I don't know anything about the dinner. I was a little busy this past week, so I'm not going to comment on something I haven't even heard about.” … Apparently, the Speaker of the House is the only one in DC who hasn’t heard about it. He must just watch Fox News. … Retired AF Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax that Trump’s Palace in the Sky jet from Qatar is going to cost taxpayers plenty: "It's going to cost a lot of money to take the skin off the aircraft, to reinforce it where it needs to be, find any surveillance items that may be lingering around the airplane. All the electronics, communications gear, everything else involved that goes into that. Probably going to run a few dollars.” … NYT published a lengthy story detailing how Vietnam broke some of their own laws to rush approval of a Trump golf resort and a Trump Tower Ho Chi Minh City because they believe that’s what they have to do to get new US tariffs lifted: “To fast-track the Trump development, Vietnam has ignored its own laws, granting concessions more generous than what even the most connected locals receive.” … Le Van Troung was coerced into signing a consent form to allow a burial site with 5 generations of his ancestors to be plowed over to make room for the golf course, as well as rich farmland that has sustained local families for centuries: “There’s nothing I can do. Trump says it’s separate — the presidency and his business. But he has the power to do whatever he wants.” … “Vietnamese officials, in a letter obtained by NYT, explicitly stated that the project required special support from the top ranks of the Vietnamese govt because it was ‘receiving special attention from the Trump admin and Trump personally.’ Vietnamese officials have waved the development along in a moment of high-stakes diplomacy. They face intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.” … “The process usually takes 2-4 years. But records show that initial planning documents were filed only 3 months before Wednesday’s event, which was held on newly leveled land under an archway announcing ‘THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF TRUMP INTERNATIONAL, HUNG YEN.’ Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not respond to questions about the legality of the project.” … WH response to the story: “All of the president’s trade discussions are totally unrelated to the Trump Organization.” … Sen. Rand Paul was on Fox today complaining about the House budget bill: "Somebody has to stand up and yell, 'the Emperor has no clothes!' Everybody is falling in lockstep on this - 'Pass the big beautiful bill. Don't question anything.' Well, conservatives do need to stand up and have their voices heard. If we don't stand up on it, I really fear the direction the country is going." … Paul: "If you increase the debt ceiling $4-5 trillion, that means they're planning on $2T this year and more than $2T next year. That's just not conservative. So I've told them if they strip out the debt ceiling, I'll consider even with the imperfections voting for the rest of the bill." … They aren’t going to do that. Because the only way to do that is to take out Trump’s massive tax cuts or dramatically cut Social Security and Medicaid even more, and take out the $150B in new defense spending. Not happening. … Elon Musk’s X has been a technical disaster over the weekend, with the site going completely down for over an hour with a number of other glitches and problems continuing unabated. Users across the ideological spectrum have been complaining bitterly about it, including Musk’s biggest fan in the Senate, X-addict Mike Lee: “Something is terribly wrong with X.” … Bloomberg: “Elon Musk said he needs to be ‘super focused’ on his companies, pointing to issues at X as evidence of a need for ‘major’ improvement at the social network. Users reported problems with X Friday and Saturday, according to DownDetector. A post from the company’s engineering team also said it was facing issues from a data center outage.” … Musk posted this about it: “I’m back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on X/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out. As evidenced by the X uptime issues this week, major operational improvements need to be made.” … This was the guy Trump brought in to make govt more efficient. … WaPo: “Politics has been central to Musk’s identity over much of the past year, but his latest obsession has faded into disenchantment over the personal costs and difficulties in producing results, said 2 people familiar with his thinking. Musk has also become deeply concerned for the personal safety of himself and his family. [WHAT FAMILY?] He also did not anticipate the level of backlash against him personally or against his companies, including incidents of violence at Tesla facilities. Along with that push is a pull for renewed involvement in his 2 main businesses, Tesla and SpaceX.” … The white nationalist group Patriot Front marched in KC this weekend. When this well-documented group did this during the Biden Admin, people like Elon Musk, Sen. Mike Lee, Joe Rogan and many others claimed it was a false flag operation by the FBI to try and discredit right-wingers. Rogan told Musk on his show that we would not see them again once Trump took office, and Musk agreed: “I bet when Kash gets in they disband.” … But Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have been running the FBI for months, and PF is still marching. Is MAGA now going to finally admit these are white nationalists? Nope. … Former FBI Director James Comey was asked about right-wingers who are upset with Kash Patel for yet not arresting anyone connected to Jeffrey Epstein and Deep State political enemies of Trump: "He's found himself now in a reality-based world where statements have to be under oath in front of judges and there are severe consequences for lying — not the case with a podcast." PARDON MY INTRUSION! HARVARD ACCEPTS THE BEST & THE BRIGHTEST! LIVING WITHIN PROXIMITY OF THE  BEST TEACHING FACILITIES IN THE NATION, WE SOMETIMES TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED....EXCEPT WHEN LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS EXIST!  A FRIEND WAS IN THE VA HOSPITAL OVER THANKSGIVING WEEK WITH AN UNRESOLVED PROBLEM & A 'CONSULT' WAS REQUESTED...ONE WOULD THINK THE 'CONSULT' WOULD BE AFTER THE HOLIDAY..NO!  I WAS THERE! A GAGGLE OF DOCTORS ARRIVED ON THANKSGIVING DAY, EACH WITH A DIFFERENT LAB COAT IDENTIFYING THEIR AFFILIATION...THEY OFFERED A QUICK, SIMPLE RESOLUTION, EASILY EXPLAINED!  NOT ONE OF THOSE DOCTORS WAS WHITE!  AMERICANS ARE LAZY & PROVE IT REPEATEDLY!  A FRIEND'S DAD LIVING IN MAINE HAD A LIFE THREATENING CONDITION THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT. HE WAS SENT TO MASS GENERAL WHERE A DOCTOR WEARING A BURKA IMMEDIATELY DIAGNOSED HIS CONDITION & TREATED HIM.  IT DOESN'T MATTER WAS GOD YOU WORSHIP. IT ONLY MATTERS WHAT'S IN YOUR BRAIN & YOUR ABILITY TO EXCEL!   … Trump posted: “Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the US, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to. NOT TRUE! Nobody told us that! We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries!” HARVARD IS A PRIVATE INSTITUTION!  … JD Vance made it clear with an X post that the Trump admin is using govt power to coerce a right-wing takeover of major universities: “The voting patterns of university professors are so one-sided that they look like the election results of N. Korea. And on top of all of this, many universities explicitly engage in racial discrimination (mostly against whites and asians) that violates the civil rights laws of this country. Our universities could see the policies of the Trump admin as a necessary corrective to these problems, change their policies, and work with the admin to reform. Or, they could yell ‘fascism’ at basic democratic accountability and drift further into irrelevance.” … Netflix is out with a new documentary about former NFL QB Brett Favre, which included his sexting scandal where he made unwanted advances to a NY Jets employee while he was married, and his welfare fraud scam in Mississippi. Favre complained that Netflix is only targeting him because he is “an outspoken Trump supporter.” … Another MAGA victim. … NBC: “Mexican singer Julión Álvarez announced the postponement of his Sat concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, saying his work visa had been revoked. Álvarez, show promoter CMN and management company Copar Music said the show had been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances and that Álvarez was ‘unable to enter the US in time for the event.’ Alvarez said they were formally notified on May 23 that the work visas for his band were canceled ahead of the May 24 concert. 50,000 tickets were sold for the show.” … Alvarez said he will refund the money and cancel the show if the visa issue can’t be straightened out quickly so he can do the show on another date. … NYT: “Under intense scrutiny about his mental health and his ability to function in his job, Sen. John Fetterman has been in damage control mode, attending hearings and votes that he had been routinely skipping over the past year. Fetterman does not enjoy participating in these hearings that he has sat through in recent weeks as he seeks to prove that he is capable of performing the job he was elected to do until 2028. In fact, at a critical moment for the country, he appears to have little interest in the day-to-day work of serving in the Senate.” … “In an interview, Fetterman said he felt he had been unfairly shamed into fulfilling senatorial duties, such as participating in committee work and casting procedural votes on the floor, dismissing them as a ‘performative’ waste of time. Instead, he said he was ‘showing up because people in the media have weaponized’ his absenteeism on Capitol Hill to portray him as mentally unfit, when in fact it is a product of a decision to spend more time at home and less on the mundane tasks of being a senator.” … “Fetterman has also foregone events in his state. He has avoided hosting town halls with his constituents because he does not want to get heckled by protesters. ‘I just want to be in a room full of love,’ he has told people. At the same time, Fetterman has shed staff. And he has grown more isolated from his Democratic colleagues. Despite attempts from his friends in Congress to draw him out, Fetterman still does not attend the weekly Democratic caucus lunch in the Capitol.” … Kierstyn Zolfo, with the progressive grass roots group Indivisible, who lives in Bucks County: “The regrettable fact is that John Fetterman is not doing the job he was elected to perform. It makes me very sad, because I have supported him for so long, and I worked so hard to get him elected. But he’s just not getting the job done.” … El Pais: “Both the Miami Herald and FL public radio WLRN dedicated editorials to the country’s first Latino Sec of State. ‘Rubio used Venezuelans in his hometown for political gain. Now, he’s betrayed them,’ read the article in the Herald headline. ‘Venezuelans and other migrant groups see leaders like Marco Rubio no longer have their backs — because today, boosting deportations matters more than bolstering democracy,’ wrote WLRN Americas editor Tim Padgett.” … Groups have filled billboards in recent days targeting Rubio and other Republicans in FL who have supported Trump’s immigration policies. One billboard: “Little Marco sold out all Venezuelans. He told Trump to end TPS. He’s a traitor to all those fleeing dictatorships.” … The Trump admin has adopted a strategy to try and bypass the EU to negotiate directly with member countries who they perceive as being more friendly to them like Hungary, Italy, and Poland. It isn’t going to work, but as with all things the Trump strategy is divide and conquer. … Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller was on GB News: “You have to separate out Brussels from the rest of the European countries - from the member countries. President Trump has had his greatest success with bilateral trade agreements. The EU is controlled by these bureaucrats in Brussels. They’re putting up a resistance fight. The president is sending a very clear message that if they don’t come to the table there is going to be ramifications.” … When asked about which bilateral trade agreements Trump has reached that were so successful, Miller cited the BS deal with UK and concepts of deals with some Asian countries that they are still working on. … Economist Justin Wolfers: “Maybe men are just too emotional to run trade policy.” … President Zelensky: “Today, rescuers have been working in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and villages following Russia’s massive strike. Nearly 300 attack drones were launched by Russians overnight. In addition, almost 70 missiles of various types were fired, including ballistic ones. Each such terrorist Russian strike is a sufficient reason for new sanctions against Russia. Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored.” … “The silence of America, silence of others around the world, only encourages Putin. Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now – the determination of the US, of Europe, and all those around the world who seek peace. The world knows all the weaknesses of the Russian economy. The war can be stopped, but only through the necessary force of pressure on Russia. Putin must be forced to think not about launching missiles, but about ending the war.” … Oliver Carroll, foreign correspondent for The Economist: “Another heavy night of Russian air strikes on Ukraine. At least 8 dead and 15 injured. Three kids were killed in their beds in Zhytomyr region. The capital was targeted by ballistic missiles and drones again. I still remember the ‘VLADIMIR, STOP!’ phase of Trumpian diplomacy.” … UK journalist Theo Mullis in Kviv: “It amazes me how much the psychology of this echos that of a domestic violence case. I was a police officer for 7 years. I seen a lot of that stuff, and the most dangerous moment is when the survivor tries to break away. That’s what we see from Russia - the impotence, the violent rage, the spitefulness. The sense that if I can’t have you no one will. These attacks on Kviv over the last couple of nights are spiteful outbursts. Exactly the same as when a domestic violence abuser gets drunk and attacks their partner - the psychology is the same.” … Independent journalist ‘Jay in Kviv’: “Russia is merely the broken down, alcoholic wife beater that just cant let go. Sadly, the US now plays the part of the corrupt cop that looks the other way for a small bribe.” … Trump has threatened additional sanctions by Truth Social post on 4 separate occasions over the past 4 months if Russia didn’t stop the bombing, starting with his first day in office. Putin has ignored him, and Trump has done nothing. He played golf yesterday and today with zero statement or response to this weekend’s bombings. … Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA): “The US cannot fail to respond as Putin escalates his barbaric assault on innocent Ukrainians. Congress must act immediately and decisively. Peace through strength begins with action. We need full, crippling sanctions targeting Putin, his regime, and those bankrolling this campaign of terror until the Russian war machine collapses in on itself." … Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected Pope Leo XIV's offer to mediate peace talks with Ukraine at the Vatican: "It would be a little inelegant for Orthodox countries to discuss issues related to eliminating the root causes of the war on Catholic ground. It would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from Orthodox countries in these circumstances." … As usual, everything that comes out of the Kremlin is a lie. Just like our government now. … Rudy Giuliani surfaced on Steve Bannon’s podcast, where he wanted to talk about Jake Tapper’s Biden book. Rudy said he was lobbying Trump and AG Pam Bondi to appoint him as special counsel to prosecute Joe Biden and his family. … Kayleigh McEnany seemed to like the idea of a special counsel, but maybe not Rudy leading the charge. … Joe Exotic, the subject of the Netflix documentary Tiger King, continues to look for new and creative ways to lobby the Trump admin to give him a pardon. His husband was recently deported to Mexico, and he promises Trump that if he lets him out of prison he will go to Mexico and earn $5 million to buy US citizenship for him from Howard Lutnick: “President Claudia Sheinbaum, call President Trump and tell him to release me so I can go to Mexico and work to buy Jorge a Trump Gold Card.” Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

Today in Politics, Bulletin 134. 5/19/25 Ron Filipkowski May 19 ∙ … US taxpayers will pay the family of J6 insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt nearly $5 million after the Trump admin agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. The Biden admin previously opposed any settlement. 33% of the settlement will be paid out to Tom Fitton’s Judicial Watch and VA lawyer Richard Driscoll. … Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “Paying money to a terrorist’s family using US Tax Payer dollars. The hundreds of Police injured that day should be compensated.” … Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger to his staff per CBS: "I told them I was extremely disappointed, and I disagreed with the DOJ’s decision to settle." … A Trump supporter bought a limited addition Trump watch for $600 as a special gift for his MAGA wife, but was upset when it came in and was missing the ‘T’ in Trump. So she ended up getting a ‘Rump’ watch and he was unable to get anyone to send him a new one. To NBC10 (Cranston, RI): “I’m very disappointed. I wanted it to be a special thing for her. And we expected that it would have the integrity of the president. Someone has dropped the ball big time. An apology would be nice for making my wife cry.” … It does have the integrity of the president. And real MAGA never apologizes or admits a mistake. He should know that by now. This was the watch: … Naomi Biden after reading Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book about her grandfather: “Just read a copy of this silly book, and if anyone is curious for a review from someone who lived it first-hand: this book is political fairy smut for the permanent, professional chattering class. The ones who rarely enter the arena, but profit from the spectacle of those that do. Put simply, it amounts to a bunch of unoriginal, uninspired lies written by irresponsible self promoting journalists out to make a quick buck. It relies on unnamed, anonymous sources pushing a self-serving false narrative that absolves them of any responsibility for our current national nightmare. All of this at the expense of a man so completely good and honest that it is impossible for these people to ever understand the why or how of it all.” … I’m not going to fill up with Bulletin with all the nonsense that Republicans put out since Biden’s cancer diagnosis. Basically they have decided to add this with the stuff in the Tapper/Thompson book to claim that Biden insiders also covered up cancer along with cognitive decline. Here is just a few to give you the general idea of what they are saying: JD Vance: "Whether the right time to have this conversation is now or some time in the future, we really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job." Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH): "I feel terrible for anybody that would go through that, even someone who I really don't like much as Joe Biden. But they're not credible on anything they've done. The whole thing was a big coverup, and I suspect this cancer diagnosis is part of that whole scheme.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK): "It's interesting the timing of them releasing the cancer. It seems like since the Hur tapes were released, they're like, 'Hey wait, it might be a good time to distract the American people and talk about his cancer.' … Trump’s new DOJ Pardon Attorney Ed Martin says the stuff in the Tapper book may be used by him to try to nullify Biden’s pardons: “The integrity of the American Pardon system requires that we examine the Biden pardons and who did what. We will get the bottom of it. Count on us.” … Tapper is launching his book tour this week by going on Biden-hater Megyn Kelly’s podcast. She said they are friends. Plus she’s got a big audience of Biden-haters and he needs to sell books. … CNN’s Brian Stelter had to turn off the comments on his post suggesting that the news about Biden’s diagnosis may have been put out because of Tapper’s book and Axios releasing recordings of Biden. Obviously people weren’t happy about it. This is what he said: “Extraordinary timing – according to his spokesman, Biden received this cancer diagnosis on Friday, the same day audio clips of his Robert Hur interview were all over the news.” … Trump finally had his phone call with Putin today, and posted this after: “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. Russia wants to do large scale TRADE with the US when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED. Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately. Let the process begin!” … Trump has threatened Putin with sanctions 4 separate times if he didn’t sign a ceasefire immediately. Putin has refused and continues to make excuses and drag out negotiations while refusing to participate in them by attending himself or sending senior members of his govt. Meanwhile, Trump does nothing while continuing to claim that everything is going well. … WSJ Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov: “The ‘peace’ talks demanded by Trump are now the excuse why he is not imposing additional sanctions or Russia or supplying additional aid for Ukraine. A win-win for Putin. He has no costs for insisting on maximalist demands (an end of independent Ukraine) and no pressure from the US to stop bombing Ukrainian cities and killing Ukrainians while meaningless talks drag out, potentially for years.” … Fox Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume: “So Putin has agreed to talk. Isn't that what he did last week when he sent a delegation to Turkey?” … JD Vance on Air Force Two to CNN: “I think honestly that President Putin, he doesn’t quite know how to get out of the war.” … Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): "Vladimir Putin is to the point where he has taken so much land, he's making so much progress - why would he make a deal? He has got the cards in his hand. Putin is gonna want a lot from the Ukrainians. He's gonna want a lot in terms of land, possibly even Odessa, he's gonna want Crimea, but he's gonna want NATO to stay away from his borders, and I can't blame him for that." … Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, who just resigned in protest, on CBS: “I resigned because the policy of the Trump admin is to put pressure on the victim – Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor. Russia and Putin have invaded a sovereign, independent, democratic country in the heart of Europe with the help of N. Korea, Iran and China. This is fundamentally against US interests. The war needs to end, but peace at any price is not peace at all. It's appeasement. Appeasement only leads to more war.” … Brink: “Russia’s economy is hurting. They have 21% interest rates, 10% inflation. Now’s the time to increase the pressure on Russia to bring Putin to the table, not decrease it. My strong advice is not to give a single meeting, concession or legitimacy until Putin agrees to an unconditional verifiable ceasefire and moves toward just and lasting peace.” … Sec of Defense Pete Hegseth on Fox today: “If young men and women want woke garbage, then they can go to college. If they want to train to be a warrior and be a part of something bigger than themselves and raise their right hand and seek purpose and honor and duty, join the US military.” … CNBC on Moody’s lowering the US credit rating: “The debt downgrade pressured bond prices, sending yields higher, at a time when the economy is already awaiting the full impact of Trump’s unfolding tariff policy. The 30-year US bond yield traded above 5% on Monday and the 10-year yield topped 4.5%, levels that hurt equity markets last month and helped lead Trump to back off his stiffest tariff measures. Rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards track the 10-year yield.” … Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about it today: “When you look at the world, the world has confidence in the USA and our economy once again. People around the world have confidence in us again.” … She was also asked about the Republican budget bill exploding the deficit, which is a huge reason for the lower rating: “This bill does not add to the deficit.” … But WH economic advisor Kevin Haslett admitted to Fox host Maria Baritromo that it does. Maria: “Moody's downgraded the credit rating on the US, talking about higher deficits. What do you want to say about House Republicans who are complaining about raising the debt ceiling? HASSETT: “It's going to go up. So people should just be done with it and raise the debt ceiling.” … Former Treasury Sec. Lawrence Summers: “Scott Bessent dismissed Moody’s downgrade of the US as a lagging indicator. Can he seriously believe it has nothing to do with the failure of the DOGE to achieve significant cuts or the Admin’s sweeping tax cut proposals or Admin’s threats with respect to foreign countries who finance a sizable share of our federal debt? … Bartiromo to Haslett: There's still a lot of uncertainty on the part of corporate America. What do you want to say to companies who say, okay, we're in this 90 day pause, but this 90 day pause will end and we'll return to reciprocal tariffs? HASSETT: “What's going to happen is there's going to be a lot of trade deals and firms are going to lift off. All of America knows that the golden age is coming. I think you are going to look at a second half of the year will be way north of 3% growth, probably north of 4%.” … Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) was asked on CNBC what Trump will do if Walmart raises prices because of tariffs despite Trump saying he will be watching them: “I think they're going to be very careful about how they do this. I know they've received criticism from the president. I think they need to think hard about it.” … Reporter to Haslett outside the WH: You told us before "liberation day" that you had 15 countries that were on the brink of making a deal. It's been 2 months and you have one deal. HASSETT: “No. There have been a whole bunch of deals. So you don't think the deal with China counts as a deal? We have an agreement in principle with India.” … A total surrender on China and concepts of a deal with India. So much winning. … Reuters reported that Vietnam, who has been in intense negotiations with the Trump admin to get the 46% tariffs lifted that were recently imposed on their country, is now negotiating with Eric Trump to build a new Trump Tower in Ho Chi Minh City. Eric is going to Vietnam this week. Vietnam has already offered to reduce all tariffs on goods from the US to zero and authorize Elon Musk’s Starlink for their country. … Tariffs aren’t the issue for the Vietnamese buying US goods. The issue is cost - with or without tariffs. So that isn’t going to get a deal done. But a Trump Tower Ho Chi Minh probably will. … Rep. Ronny ‘Candyman’ Jackson (R-TX): “President Trump is BRILLIANT! EVERY country wants to make a deal. America is RESPECTED AGAIN!” … Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “No longer will we reluctantly settle for ‘Made in China.’ ‘Made in America’ is the new standard.” … In the middle of the night, Republicans on the House Budget Committee were finally able to pass the first hurdle by getting it out of committee, but only after 4 of them who voted ‘No’ two days ago agreed to vote ‘Present’ this time around. The next hurdle is the Rules Committee, which has scheduled their vote for Wed at 1:00 AM. Yes, that’s 1 in the morning. … Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Republicans are scheduling votes in the DEAD OF NIGHT on Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill.’ They advanced their bill last night at 10:30PM. The next vote is scheduled for 1AM on Wednesday. Why hide? Maybe because this bill rips away health care from babies, new moms, and seniors.” … Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): “If Trump’s big beautiful bill is so great, why not debate it when people are still awake? Why are you debating it at 1 AM?” … Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA): “It’s far from ready. Washington’s typical mantra, ‘spend now and save later’ (only the ‘save’ part never happens) doesn’t comply with the budget framework we agreed upon. I stand with my colleagues on the Budget Committee (Reps. Roy, Brecheen, Clyde, and Norman) who voted ‘present’ to move the bill forward out of respect for the Republican Conference and the President. Now we work harder this week to get the job done right – especially since America’s credit rating was just downgraded. We can and must do better for the American People.” … Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): “The bill does not yet meet the moment. We can and must do better before we pass the final product. I joined with 3 of my colleagues to vote ‘present’ out of respect for the Republican Conference and the President to move the bill forward. It gives us the opportunity to work together this week to get the job done in light of the fact our bond rating was dropped yet again due to historic fiscal mismanagement by both parties.” … Rep. Keith Self (R-TX): “Congress has more work to do. I remain a NO. Delaying spending cuts is Washington code for kicking the can down the road.” … Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) told CNN that he will not vote for unless serious changes are made to the current blueprint: “When it comes to debt and deficit, we're not being honest.” … Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX): “Let’s be clear, the bill still falls short, allowing our $36 trillion debt to keep growing. As it heads to the floor, negotiations must continue. We have a narrow window to get this right. We cannot afford to waste it.” … WSJ: “The plan won’t reduce federal budget deficits and would make America’s fiscal hole deeper. The current proposal would increase projected budget deficits by nearly $3 trillion through 2034, locking in tax cuts and spending increases that outweigh reductions in spending on Medicaid and nutrition assistance. While Republicans, who have vowed to reduce red ink, say higher economic growth will fill the gap, budget analysts across the political spectrum have panned the Republican plan, warning that it worsens the US fiscal picture.” … Romina Boccia, with the libertarian Cato Institute: “While Republicans were campaigning on reducing spending and controlling the growth in the debt, once they put pen to paper, their real priorities demonstrate that they care a lot more about cutting taxes.” Today was a crazy news day with things coming from lots of different places that were completely unrelated to each other. So it was hard to keep up, I did my best, and if anything it gave me a chance to show off my range! I’m afraid I have to warn you that things are only going to get a lot crazier as this Bulletin continues. If you missed the Weekend 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. … Karoline Leavitt invited right-wing conspiracy theorist ZEROHEDGE to attend the WH Press Briefing in the ‘New Media Chair’, and he got to ask the first question. This is the complete transcript of what he asked: "President Trump posted on Truth Social a video highlighting what most people call the Clinton body count, which is the strange number of suicides that seem to happen in Clinton circles. I have a headline here from the WaPo that said, 'Trump peddles false conspiracy theories tying the Clintons to several deaths. The death of Mark Middleton, who was a former Clinton WH aide, who was found dead on a Clinton Foundation property. I'll just quote from the Arkansas Times: Middleton apparently shot himself in the chest with a shotgun and also hung himself from a tree with an extension cord. So I have no idea how somebody commits suicide that way, but if the WaPo is here, maybe you can enlighten us as to how that was actually a suicide. That's just a lead in to my question about the most famous Clinton-related suicide, which is that of Jeffrey Epstein. There's still a lot of questions around that case. You've released phase one of the Epstein files. What was missing from that is any connection to his ties to intelligence agencies. And that's really the whole story, that not just trafficking young girls, but doing it on behalf of intelligence agencies, and even potentially as part of a blackmail ring with potential ties to the Israeli government. For phase two, when can we expect it? Will it have information pertaining to those aspects of the Epstein case?" … Leavitt responded to the insane clown show she created: "I know the Attorney General has committed to releasing those files. I would defer you to DOJ on her timeline, but when she has made a promise in the past, she has kept it, and I'm certain that she will in this case as well." ... Alex Jones isn’t happy with Kash Patel and Dan Bongino’s interview about Epstein on Fox: “This claim that Epstein’s death is not a cover-up I call bullshit. Epstein confirmed a suicide? Maria sits down with FBI's Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, who claim Epstein did, in fact, commit suicide. Now, let's get into why people do not believe this theory. We know the Comey's are corrupt. James Comey just sent out a dogwhistle to have our sitting president assassinated. Why do you think he would do that? What is Comey, the Clintons, and the Obamas all have to hide? Remember, there are no coincidences. Do you think they're telling the truth?” … Marge Greene’s boyfriend, RAV correspondent Brian Glenn, says MAGA is not happy about the fact that James Comey and other Deep Staters haven’t been arrested yet by Patel and Bondi: “People are angry. Forget about the Big Beautiful Bill - people want Big Beautiful Handcuffs on some of these people! I’m very disappointed in the progress of all of this. I have very little hope we will have any accountability.” … Comey was on MSNBC to talk about SeaShellGate: “86 to me means to leave a place, to ditch a place. People were saying it is some sort of call for assassination - which is crazy. I don't want to be associated with violence of any kind.” … Fox’s Pete Doocy had the next question at Leavitt’s presser, and he continued Very Serious Questioning from right-wing media: “What does President Trump mean when he says that Taylor Swift is no longer hot?” Leavitt: “Look, he is speaking about Taylor Swift's political views and how perhaps it has impacted the support of the American public for her work. I will leave it at that.” … Melania Trump had a cameo on the WH lawn, where she read a speech warning that social media can be used to brainwash people: “AI and social media are digital candy for the next generation — sweet, addictive, and capable of shaping beliefs, emotions, and even causing harm.” … Peter Navarro is upset that Mike Pence keeps ripping Trump: “Mike hereby completes his ex-communication from MAGA/Trump America. Now Mike's simply a useful idiot for the legacy media, RINOs, and Radical Dems who want to take down Trump. The saddest part is that Pence dreams of running for prez again in 2028 and thinks he has a chance.” … Pence said yesterday that he does not intend to run for president ever again. … CNN on Trump’s missile defense shield plan: “In January, Trump ordered SecDef Hegseth to present options for developing and implementing Golden Dome within 60 days. But the WH did not receive those plans until weeks after the President’s original deadline. Whatever option Trump opts for, it won’t be cheap: $25B has been carved out in next year’s defense budget for the system, but the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the US could have to spend more than $500B.” … “The project will also present a bonanza for private contractors as the govt won’t be able to build it alone, with companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the running for highly lucrative contracts related to the system. … JD Vance canceled his trip to Israel tomorrow. Axios: “Vance decided against traveling to Israel this week because he didn't want to be validating the Israeli decision to expand the war in Gaza. A senior Israeli official said today that as of Sat, Vance and his team thought a hostage and ceasefire deal was imminent and thus the timing would be good for a visit, but when it became clear the next day a deal was unlikely they decided not to travel to Israel.” … So when he thought he could show up and claim credit for something he was going to go. But since there is nothing but a US-sponsored humanitarian disaster he bailed. … The Gaza Govt Media Office: "Famine is worsening, and the Gaza Strip requires 500 aid trucks and 50 fuel trucks daily. Famine indicators and the humanitarian collapse are escalating at a terrifying pace, threatening the lives of over 2.4 million people. There is an urgent need to bring in 50 fuel trucks daily to operate bakeries, hospitals, and water and sewage pumping stations. The Strip is facing a full-scale humanitarian disaster as dozens of bakeries shut down. Hospitals are going out of service one after another, and residents are being deprived of the most basic necessities of life. Hunger and malnutrition are spreading, especially among children, the sick, and the elderly.” … Trump post at 1:43 AM: “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system.” … He then woke up and posted this later in the morning: “THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!” … President of CBS News Wendy McMahon abruptly resigned, stating “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” NYT reports it directly relates to the lawsuit filed by Trump against 60 Minutes that major shareholder Shari Redstone wants to settle: “Her embrace of Owens and ‘60 Minutes’ put McMahon at odds with Paramount executives who were anxious about the show’s reporting about the Trump admin.” … Politico did a study showing how Trump and Republicans have stopped talking about Musk: “Some Republicans have come to see Musk as politically toxic, which Democrats have been trying to leverage. The Tesla CEO’s approval rating has dropped across most groups, including independents and voters without college degrees. Polling from Data for Progress found most voters wanted Musk out of govt at the end of his 130-day period as a special employee that’s set to expire at the end of in May — or even sooner.” … A GOP operative: “He’s finished, done, gone. He polls terrible. People hate him. He’d go to Wisconsin thinking he can buy people’s votes, wear the cheese hat, act like a 9-year-old. It doesn’t work. It’s offensive to people.” … Residents in an area near Elon Musk’s new xAI facility in Memphis are being exposed to huge amounts of toxic pollution. CNN: “AI is immensely power-hungry, and Musk’s company installed dozens of gas-powered turbines, known to produce a cocktail of toxic pollutants. The company currently has no air permits, appearing to rely on a loophole for temporary turbines.” … “Gas-powered turbines produce pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, a key component of ozone pollution — also called smog — which can cause asthma attacks and chest pain and, in the longer-term, is linked to decreased lung function and premature death. They also generate the carcinogen formaldehyde and tiny air pollution particles so small they can pass through lungs into people’s bloodstream. Aerial images taken by the Southern Environmental Law Center and South Wings, an organization of volunteer pilots, in March showed xAI had 35 turbines at the facility.” … The Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump Admin has the authority to strip Venezuelans of the Temporary Protected Status. Immigration expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “Today's action is the single largest mass-illegalization event in US history. 350,000 people woke up this morning with legal status, living and working here with official permission. They'll go to bed as undocumented immigrants facing deportation.” … Kid Rock responded to the story that his restaurant sent migrant workers in the kitchen home early to avoid having them arrested in an upcoming ICE raid: “I do not have anything to do with day to day operations at my Honky Tonk. That being said, I 100% support getting illegal criminals out of our country no matter where they are.” … Kid Rock was out again Saturday night with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).