Charles Payne: 'THE FACTS': A Brief History of Tariffs in The US

"Making Money' host Charles Payne discusses the truth and history of tariffs." 

Source:FOX Business anchor Charles Payne.

From FOX Business

I'm going to start this off by paraphrasing something that Charles Payne said. He said something like: 

"Of course American corporations don't like tariffs because they think it will hurt their bottomline. We shouldn't measure the strength of the American economy based on how American corporations are doing." 

And my response to that would be: I didn't know that Charles Payne was a graduate of the Robert Reich School of Economics. Which of course would be located at Harvard, or Berkeley, if such school even existed. I say that half-jokingly, because that's what tariff supporters or people who feel the need to kiss Donald Trump's feet (to put it mildly) every time that he does anything controversial, sound like. Regardless of what their real-life politics might be because they feel that they have to do that to stay in business and to keep their careers going. They're forced to make asses (to be frank) out of themselves on national TV and say things that they simply don't believe, in order to appease their dear leader.

I'm in my late 40s now, so I remember Ronald Reagan being President in the 1980s. He was a Conservative Republican in almost every real sense of the term. This is what he said about the "free market economy" back in 1981 during his first year as President: 

"We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and, ultimately, human fulfillment are created from the bottom up, not the government down.  Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefiting from their success – only then can societies remain alive, dynamic, prosperous, progressive and free.

Trust the people.  This is the one irrefutable lesson of the entire post-war period, contradicting the notion that rigid government controls are essential to economic development.  The societies that have achieved the most spectacular, broad-based progress are neither the most tightly controlled, nor the biggest in size, nor the wealthiest in natural resources.  No, what unites them all is their willingness to believe in the magic of the marketplace." 

From AEI

Yes, I'm old enough to remember when Republicans were Conservatives (by-en-large) and not seen as old school political dinosaurs, that Conservative Republicans are seen as today. You will almost never hear any MAGA member (who are the real RINOS) ever quote Ronald Reagan when it comes to the "free market", law and order, the U.S. Constitution, limited government, etc, because they know their dear leader Donald Trump simply doesn't believe in conservative values. 

So as a JFK Democrat, (the people who are called the New Democrats, that became popular in the 1990s, people who I call the real Liberals) I'm going to give you my own position on tariffs. 

When you raise the costs of goods and doing business in America, the costs of those goods and business goes up. It doesn't get paid for by corporations or government's (domestic or foreign) but by the consumers themselves, because businesses just pass those new costs onto their consumers. We already saw the stock market take a big hit today even with the President's announcement of his tariffs that he's planning this weekend. Tariffs and tax hikes on goods and business simply makes those things more expensive in this country. Other terms for tariff are national sales tax, or national consumption tax. 

And Charles Payne can talk all he wants about the "facts" that Americans will be paying less in taxation under President Trump, which would offset the tariffs. But according to Econo Fact, 60% of Americans only got 500 bucks back in tax relief under President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. So 10 bucks a week is supposed to pay for a 25% increase in food and milk? I don't think so. The wealthy won't be hurt by this, they may even like it. But the overwhelmingly majority of American voters are middle class Americans, who can't afford tax hikes right now. And putting tariffs on their goods and services, is giving them a 25% tax increase.

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The Hill: President Trump's Controversial Nominees Yesterday

"Drew Petrimoulx chats with The Hill’s Alexander Bolton as three of President Trump’s cabinet nominees face an uphill battle for confirmation. Alex gives his take on what’s next for Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

 

Also in your Debrief: Trump looks to kill New York City’s congestion pricing program, and Israel bans a key aid organization ahead of another hostage release this weekend." 

Source:The Hill with a look at National Intelligence Director nominee Tulsi Gabbard's bad day in front of Congress.

From The Hill

Also from The Hill: 

"Atop Gabbard’s to-do list on Thursday was winning over a pair of Senate Republicans who are believed to be on the fence about her nomination: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Todd Young (Ind.). She cannot afford to lose even a single GOP vote on the committee.

Young, a former Marine intelligence officer, pressed Gabbard hard about Snowden, seemingly unimpressed with her answers.

He asked about a House Intelligence Committee report that found Snowden “caused tremendous damage” including “to military, defense and intelligence programs of great interest to America’s adversaries.”

Gabbard reiterated her oft-used line that Snowden “broke the law” and that she would push to avoid a repeat instance in the future. The answer did not appear sufficient for Young. 

“It’s notable you didn’t say, ‘Yes, he clearly hurt, in various ways, our national security,’” Young responded. 

Young went on to ask about how she thinks rank-and-file members of the intelligence community will receive her given her past comments about Snowden and whether he “betrayed the trust of the American people” — adding that marks the definition of a “traitor.”

Gabbard once again said Snowden broke the law and repeated similar lines she peppered members with on Snowden-related questions.

Young finally retorted that Snowden was watching the hearing and declared it would do her a world of good “if you would at least acknowledge that the greatest whistleblower … harmed national security by breaking the laws of the land around our intel authority... 

From The Hill

From The Economic Times: 

"During the tense Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar grilled Kash Patel over his past controversial statements about the FBI. Klobuchar pressed for more time, clashing with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who reminded her of the rules." 

Source:The Economic Times with a look at the heated exchange between FBI Director nominee Kash Patel & U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota)

From The Economic Times

I think I'm agreement with The Hill right here. Not often have I said that in the last 6 months where a lot of their email alerts has looked very soft-MAGA, if not pro-MAGA. But I don't think Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy JR., will get out of committee. The margins or just too tight there and with no Democrats on either the Senate Intelligence or Finance Committee saying they'll vote for either nominee. Which means President Trump can only lose at most 2 votes. And he can't lose a single vote on the Intelligence Committee. And Senator Todd Young looks like a no right now for Gabbard. 

As my colleague Fred Schneider said yesterday about Tulsi Gabbard's hearing: 

"This is what Senator Michael Bennet (Democrat, Colorado) was trying to get at here by simply asking Tulsi Gabbard whether or not she thinks Edward Snowden who illegally declassified classified U.S. military and intelligence secrets, so even rogue states like Russia, Syria, and Iran could have that information... was a traitor or not. And she knows about this story because she was in the U.S. House from 2013, 2021 and was in the U.S. Army before that. 

Imagine being a teacher and you have a class of students of just party girls and boys, who never do any homework, never study for anything (other where the next party is going to be and how much alcohol they can get away with) and every time you give them an assignment or test, they all fail the assignment and test. That's what it must be like for these senators to try to interview Bob Kennedy, Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth. (A couple weeks ago) They can't, or won't answer the most basic of questions, because they don't either know the answers, or are worried about offending their dear leader." 

From The New Democrat

It's not just Senator Michael Bennet (Democrat, Colorado) who has real issues about Tulsi Gabbard when it comes to her commitment to America's national security. And not 1 Democrat on the Intelligence Committee is going to vote for her in committee. Its Senator Todd Young (Republican, Indiana) who is a Marine veteran, who also has serious problems with Gabbard on Edward Snowden as well. And perhaps her statements in favor of the Russian government and the Syrian government. 

As far as Senator Amy Klobuchar's (Democrat, Minnesota) exchange with Kash Patel who is President Trump's nominee for FBI Director... she was just repeating his statements that he made in public and wondering if he still stands behind them or not. 

The best questioners in Congress tend to be lawyers, generally prosecutors because they know not just what to ask, but how to ask the questions. Kamala Harris proved that when she was in the Senate and made most of her very brief time in Congress about her ability to question witnesses in committee. Senator Adam Schiff did the same thing when he was in the House. Senator Klobuchar who is also a former prosecutor, is doing the same thing here. 

Senator Klobuchar was simply trying to see if Mr. Patel stands by his past statements and record or not, especially his anti-FBI and anti-law enforcement statements. And he refused to give yes or no responses to these simple questions and basically claimed that he was taken out of context. Good thing for him that the Senate Judiciary Committee is not a court of law. Because the lawyer would've just showed him his statements and perhaps provided the video of them and he would've been forced to answer yes or no on most of them, or be held in contempt.

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PBS NewsHour: WATCH: Senator Bennet Questions Tulsi Gabbard in Confirmation Hearing

"Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., questioned former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday in her confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence.

Gabbard appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Gabbard is a veteran of the Army National Guard of more than two decades who deployed to Iraq and Kuwait during her service. She does not have a background in intelligence and has come under fire as a nominee for her past positive stances on Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Gabbard was the first American Samoan and the first Hindu elected to Congress. A former Democrat who ran for president in 2020, she became an independent in 2022 before endorsing President Donald Trump’s comeback campaign... 

Source:PBS NewsHour showing U.S. Senator Michael Bennet's (Democrat, Colorado) questioning of President Trump's choice for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

From the PBS NewsHour

"The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial,[1][2][3][4][5] free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia.[6][7][8][9] PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States,[10][11][12][13] distributing shows such as Frontline, Nova, PBS News Hour, Masterpiece, Sesame Street, This Old House and American Experience.[14] Certain stations also provide service to Canada.[15]

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[16] PBS has over 350 member television stations,[17] many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government." 

From Wikipedia

From TIME Magazine: 

"In 2013, Snowden fled the country after removing 1.5 million classified documents about military and intelligence programs, initially traveling to Hong Kong to share some of the files with journalists and eventually seeking asylum in Russia. Snowden leaked thousands of documents that revealed a broad collection of American telephone records by the U.S. government and other secret programs, prompting a national debate about civil liberties. Gabbard has called Snowden “brave.” Senators suggested Gabbard’s support for someone who so famously leaked classified documents would undermine her credibility as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.

Asked repeatedly on Thursday if she stood by that compliment, Gabbard wouldn’t back away from it. “Edward Snowden broke the law,” she said. “He also exposed information that revealed the United States’ government’s illegal activities.” Snowden’s leaks prompted Congress to pass the USA Freedom Act in 2015 that was designed to curtail the collection of American phone records.

A bipartisan House intelligence committee investigation concluded in 2016 that Snowden’s theft caused “tremendous damage” to national security and quoted a Russian official saying Snowden did share intelligence with Moscow. 

Multiple senators pressed Gabbard to call Snowden a traitor. She steadfastly refused... 

From TIME Magazine

I hate to put this in terms like this because it sounds somewhat cheesy and nationalistic today, but there are times when the American people, especially members of Congress need to know which side you are on. Do you play for our team or another team. Meaning America, or for some other leader or country.  

This is what Senator Michael Bennet (Democrat, Colorado) was trying to get at here by simply asking Tulsi Gabbard whether or not she thinks Edward Snowden who illegally declassified classified U.S. military and intelligence secrets, so even rogue states like Russia, Syria, and Iran could have that information... was a traitor or not. And she knows about this story because she was in the U.S. House from 2013, 2021 and was in the U.S. Army before that. 

Imagine being a teacher and you have a class of students of just party girls and boys, who never do any homework, never study for anything (other where the next party is going to be and how much alcohol they can get away with) and every time you give them an assignment or test, they all fail the assignment and test. That's what it must be like for these senators to try to interview Bob Kennedy, Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth. (A couple weeks ago) They can't, or won't answer the most basic of questions, because they don't either know the answers, or are worried about offending their dear leader. 

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C-SPAN: President Trump on DCA Helicopter-Plane Crash

"President Trump on DCA helicopter-plane crash: "Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capitol and in our nation's history and a tragedy of terrible proportions." He discusses the NTSB investigation and safety: "I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first...my administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety." He also talks about the on helicopter in crash: "The turn it made was not the correct turn, obviously...For some reason it just kept going...They shouldn't have been at the same height."

Source:C-SPAN showing President Donald J. Trump's (MAGA, Florida) DCA press conference. And no, this is not an SNL parody. That's the real Donald J. Trump. 

From C-SPAN

"President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said investigators were looking at potential mistakes made by pilots of a military helicopter on a training mission when it crashed into an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River near Washington, DC." You had a confluence of bad decisions that were made," Trump said during his news conference. He also said diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by the Biden administration had run the department "right into the ground." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also briefly spoke to reporters.Show." 

From C-SPAN

From TIME Magazine: 

"The collision quickly raised concerns about the state of air traffic control and oversight and sparked questions about recent leadership changes within the federal agencies charged with regulating air travel.

Just days before the crash, President Donald Trump enacted a sweeping shake-up of the federal agencies responsible for aviation oversight, removing the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), David Pekoske, and eliminating all the members of a key aviation security advisory group. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates airlines and aircraft manufacturers and manages the nation’s airspace, was also without permanent leadership at the time of the crash, as its top official, Michael Whitaker, stepped down ahead of the new administration’s transition after clashing with Trump ally Elon Musk. Whitaker became the agency’s administrator in October 2023." 

From TIME Magazine

From NBC News: 

"In his first news conference since the aircraft collision over the Potomac River, President Donald Trump on Thursday implied that diversity, equity and inclusion programs could be the cause, although an investigation has only just begun into the fatal disaster.

“We have to have our smartest people” as air traffic controllers, Trump said Thursday morning. “It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. ... They have to be talented, naturally talented. Geniuses. Can’t have regular people doing their job. We can’t have regular people doing this job. They won’t be able to do it, but we’ll restore faith in American air travel.”

Trump spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Federal Aviation Administration's DEI initiatives, particularly under Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. He cited the FAA's acknowledgment of the underemployment of employees with disabilities.

A week before he took office, Trump said the FAA website said "people with severe disabilities are the most underrepresented segment of the workforce, that they want them" to be "air traffic controllers. I don’t think so."

Trump also railed against former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served under Biden, calling him a “disaster.” But under questioning from reporters, Trump stopped short of outright blaming the programs for the midair... 

From NBC News

Just to start this off with a couple points about President Trump and then I'll get into what I really want to say after that.

I would be the last person that you would think is some metrosexual hipster who's always thinking about my personal experience and always making sure I look as cool as possible and everything about my personal appearance is perfect. But as soon as the President starts his press conference, you can see that something is obviously not right with him physically. And then from the image that The New Democrat has of the President here, his right eye almost looks swollen, like he was just in a fist fight. And this is well before his Rambling Don character returns and he's essentially trying to give a lecture about transportation safety (a subject he's knows very little about) off the cuff, in front of a live national TV audience. 

And then the President's hair and lips are sort of yellow, while his skin is orange. And he looks like he didn't go to bed at all last night as well. And this is how he presents himself to the American people as President of the United States, in front of a national TV audience. 

And then my 2nd point here and this gets to even why Republicans and Independents who voted for this man, do not like him. 13-14 hours after this tragic airplane crash over the Potomac River in Washington, he's already looking for anyone else in the world, that he can blame for it, besides himself and anyone who is currently connected to him, for this horrible crash, before the Federal Aviation Administration can even start their investigation for why and how this happened. 

Donald J. Trump is obviously not Harry S. Truman. (Also in the news: Roseanne Barr is not Michelle Obama) President Truman was famous for saying "The buck stops here". Meaning that the President of the United States is responsible for everything that happens in his administration. They get the credit when things go well in their administration, or generally do. And then they're responsible when things go badly in their administration. 

With President Trump "The buck stops with anyone else when things go badly". And when things go well "The buck stops with me and only me". 

According to the National Transportation Safety Board: 

"The last fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 in New York, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, 2 pilots and 2 flight attendants." 

I'm not a fan of what's called affirmative action or DEI either. I think the best jobs and education slots should go to the best available people possible, regardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds, or their gender. And that we have the best civil rights law enforcement possible, as well as the best education possible, especially for people who come from lower education and low-income communities, regardless of their racial and ethnic backgrounds. 

And you can talk about DEI all you want... we didn't have a major plane crash during the entire presidency of Joe Biden. We had 1 during the first year of Barack Obama's presidency, before DEI became a well-known political term and President Obama didn't have another 1 after that. During President Trump's 1st week back as President, he ends all DEI hiring. And the 2nd week, we have this horrible plane crash on his watch.

I think it's obvious why President Trump is jumping the gun and already looking to blame anyone else and anyone who isn't connected to his administration for last night's plane crash. He knows how bad this makes him and his administration look and how it could hurt him politically. Sean Duffy was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation literally yesterday and this plane crash happens just hours later. Which I guess is sort like buying a new house and you go to that place that night to spend your first night there, but there's just 1 problem: the house is already on fire. 

Intelligent, competent, responsible, well-qualified people in power, wait for the investigation to at least get started and for real facts to come out, before they look for someone to blame for whatever the tragedy is. But I guess that's not what American voters were looking for in 2024 when they voted for President of the United States. They were looking for someone to "shake things up, who won't be boring". And that's what they're getting. They're getting what they voted for. 

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Michele Tafoya: Is This Project 2025?

"Democrats were in lock step in their campaign messaging against President Trump: “Project 2025.” “Democracy is facing an existential threat!” “Journalists will go to jail!”

Well, we’re only about a week into the second Trump Administration, and Joy Reid and the View are still on the air, free to say whatever it is they say. We are still a democratic republic. And I have not heard a word about Project 2025.

Even some democrats have had to admit that all the fear they were being sold by the Kamala Harris campaign was based on lies.

Some people are still full of fear and anger over the election. But until I have evidence that President Trump is “dangerous,” I’m going to remain optimistic.

Meanwhile, here’s what happened on the podcast last week (SUBSCRIBE!!):

Liberation Day in America

During his Inaugural Address, President Donald Trump called today “Liberation Day.” As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris looked on, 47 didn’t hold back on his criticism of the last four years. Indeed, it was liberation day for the entire Biden family, all of whom were preemptively pardoned by the outgoing president just moments before he left office. I thought no one was above the law...

Source:Michele Tafoya from national TV sports reporter, to MAGA cheerleader.

From Michele Tafoya

Since all we get now from The Heritage Foundation about Project 2025 is: 

"The Left has spent millions fearmongering about Project 2025, because they’re terrified of losing their power. And they should be. Project 2025 offers a menu of solutions to the border crisis, inflation, a stagnant economy, and rampant crime. It shows how we can take on China, fix our schools, and support families. But most importantly, it dismantles the unaccountable Deep State, taking power away from Leftist elites and giving it back to the American people.

Project 2025 is a historic movement, brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement, to abolish the Deep State and return government to the people. Project 2025 is not partisan, nor is it secret. Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign, in any capacity. It was stood up in 2022, before any major candidate announced a campaign, to assist the next conservative president.  

We are an open book, with our materials available online. 

Project 2025’s policy book is nothing new. Mandate for Leadership has been published regularly since the 1980s. In it, respected conservative authors espouse conservative policy ideas for incoming administrations to consider. Progressive organizations do the same thing. As just one example, the far-left Center for American Progress prepares policy recommendations for liberal presidents, including President Obama in 2008. We will not stop offering ideas to reverse America’s decline. Our aim is to restore American democracy “of, by, and for the people,” not of, by, and for the elites who currently control Washington...

From The Heritage Foundation

If you go down further on the Project 2025 website, it will lay out some policy objectives, like securing the border, education reform, etc, but it won't tell you how Heritage and its MAGA allies would accomplish that. So I had to get "what is Project 2025" from Wikipedia: 

"Project 2025 envisions sweeping changes to economic and social policies and the federal government and its agencies. The plan proposes taking partisan control of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Commerce (DOC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), dismantling the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and abolishing the Department of Education (ED), whose programs would be transferred or terminated. 

It calls for making the National Institutes of Health (NIH) less independent, stopping it from funding research with embryonic stem cells, and reducing environmental and climate change regulations to favor fossil fuels.

The blueprint seeks to institute tax cuts,[25] but its writers disagree on protectionism.

The project seeks to cut Medicare and Medicaid,[27][28] and urges the government to explicitly reject abortion as health care.[29][30] It seeks to eliminate coverage of emergency contraception[27] and use the Comstock Act to prosecute those who send and receive contraceptives and abortion pills.

It proposes criminalizing pornography and imprisoning those who produce it, 

Removing legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs while having the DOJ prosecute anti-white racism instead. 

The project recommends the arrest, detention, and mass deportation of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. 

It proposes deploying the military for domestic law enforcement. It promotes capital punishment and the speedy "finality" of those sentences. It hopes to undo "[al]most everything implemented" by the Biden administration." 

From Wikipedia

During the summer, Project 2025 was available to the public. But then Democrats and the mainstream media actually read the damn thing and reported on it. And it became so unpopular that Donald Trump ran as fast as he could away from it (you know, politically) that he could've lost 50 pounds (you, know politically) and Heritage took this document offline and have acted like they never wrote it. 

So, yeah, Michele Tafoya, (who I used to have a crush on when she worked for CBS Sports, ESPN, and later NBC Sports and to a certain extent I still do physically have a crush on) she can now say since she's nothing more than a MAGA cheerleader at this point, that Project 2025 no longer exists. At least not the unpopular, big government, authoritarian aspects of it: 

Like putting every Federal agency under the control of the President 

Going past Congress to even amend the U.S. Constitution, etc. Which is what President Trump has been doing in his first nine days back at The White House by trying to end birthright citizenship, which is in the 14th Amendment. 

Unilaterally, freezing Federal funds without Congressional approval, and now paying Federal employees off (without actually paying them) to retire, so he can replace them with either MAGA loyalists, or just eliminate those positions all together. 

And I guess Michele Tafoya could now say, or anyone (for that matter) that what President Trump has been doing for the last 9 days, is what he ran on and all these proposals are his. He simply just dreamed them all up. Perhaps Steve Bannon and Steve Miller were part of those American nightmares. But if you know anything about Donald Trump, you know he's not a visionary and a big fan of facts and details. Except when he needs to sleep. So someone obviously has given him these ideas that he's now trying to implement all by himself. The safe bet is that this is part of Heritage's Project 2025. 

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CBS News: White House Reacts To Federal Funding Memo Reversal

"President Trump's White House is commenting on a decision to rescind the memo calling for a freeze in some federal funding after a court ruled to block the action. CBS News' Olivia Rinaldi reports." 

Source:CBS News with a look at President Donald J. Trump (MAGA, Florida) the 47th President of the United States and 1st wannabe dictator.

From CBS News

"In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday. "The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments. This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the president's orders on controlling federal spending."

She said Mr. Trump will take more action in the coming weeks and months to address federal funding.

The White House sent shockwaves when it issued the guidance late Monday that requested agencies temporarily pause "to the extent permitted by law" grant, loan or federal financial assistance programs that were implicated by Mr. Trump's executive orders. The executive orders listed include those involving immigration, energy, diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs, and gender ideology." 

From CBS News

Don't you just love it when the Trump White House first accuses the media of lying and then responds with a lie themselves by saying: 

"In light of the injunction, OMB has rescinded the memo to end any confusion on federal policy created by the court ruling and the dishonest media coverage," said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday. " 

OK, love is too strong of a word here. How about "entertained", how about "intrigued", or "humorous" would be a good word as well. They know that the executive order to freeze Federal funding unilaterally by the President of the United States, is at best on hold because a Federal judge temporarily blocked it the other day to review the order as it's being challenged in court and yet they say: 

"The executive orders issued by the president on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments." 

I think the real question is why The White House is seriously backtracking here. And I think there are some solid possibilities like the President's political team seeing numbers and getting complaints from their own supporters about it and how freezing Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Food Assistance, agriculture subsidies, affects their  own constituents. Because those folks are heavily dependent on those services, because their voters tend to be elderly, rural, and poor. But that's just an educated guess on my part as why President Trump had retreated on his own order here. 

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Jessica Tarlov: Donald Trump Doesn't Like To Share Power With Anyone Else

Jessica Tarlov: “What’s going on is that Donald Trump doesn't like sharing power with anyone else. He thinks that Congress is irrelevant and he wants to run all over us. He doesn't believe in separation of powers, he doesn't care that Congress appropriates money.”

Source:FOX News political commentator Jessica Tarlov.

From Vince D. Monroy

From Congress.Gov: 

"The amendment that grants Congress the right to appropriate is the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically 

Section 5, also known as the Enforcement Clause, which gives Congress the power to pass legislation to enforce the other provisions of the amendment, including ensuring equal protection under the law. 

Key points about the Fourteenth Amendment and appropriation power:

Section 5:

This section states that "The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

I hate to break it to any of the left-wing readers of The New Democrat, but I'm not hear to talk about the human costs of what President Trump is doing here. I'm only focused here on the constitutional costs. 

FOX News commentator Jessica Tarlov hit it on the head on the point about the constitutional costs when she said: 

“What’s going on is that Donald Trump doesn't like sharing power with anyone else. He thinks that Congress is irrelevant and he wants to run all over us. He doesn't believe in separation of powers, he doesn't care that Congress appropriates money.”

This is why it's so important to do your homework in school, especially in social studies (if you have any dreams about serving in Congress or becoming President of the United States, or a government lawyer) because you might be President of the United States someday. Even if you know or care as little about the U.S. Constitution and the American form of government, as goldfish know about NASCAR racing and hip hop. Or care as little about our Constitution and form of government, as football fans in Cleveland care about the Super Bowl, an event they've never been part of. 

This point about Donald Trump has been made about Donald Trump on The New Democrat before. He simply picked the wrong country to be President of. His style of leadership and governing is simply not suited for our separation of powers. You can see why the Trump Organization never had a board of directors, because that would have meant the President of company would've had to report and share information, even get clearance from the board to do things of the company's behalf. 

You want to eliminate a permanent government department or agency, you have to go to Congress and both the House and Senate have to approve of it, before the President can sign that. Because only the Congress can add and eliminate Federal funds and authorization or elimination of agencies and departments. And only they can freeze funds as well. 

Remember the Barack Obama Administration? Because I'm old enough to remember when Republicans called themselves "constitutional conservatives". But then Donald Trump becomes President of the United States and now they see Congress and the Constitution, even the Federal court system as annoyances because they put checks on Dictator Don's power. And Jessica Tarlov (who is beautiful and adorable, even with nerdy glasses) was damn right to call them out on that. 

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Chris Cillizza: A Major Donald Trump Critic is Out At CNN!

"The face of aggressive Trump coverage is headed for the exits as the president begins his 2nd term." 

Source:Chris Cillizza talking about Jim Acosta leaving CNN.

From Chris Cillizza

More from Chris Cillizza and Oliver Darcy:

"The anchor, I'm told, signaled to associates in private conversations over the weekend that he intends to depart the network after its chief executive, Mark Thompson, booted him from the morning programming lineup — a move that conspicuously coincided with Donald Trump's return to power.

CNN brass, as we first reported earlier this month, decided to strip Acosta of his 10am show, which he has anchored to great ratings success over the last 11 months, at times even seeing higher viewership than programs in the channel's prime time bloc. Acosta was instead offered the less-than-desirable option of anchoring a show from midnight until 2am ET. CNN pitched the gig to Acosta as anchoring during prime time on the West Coast and said he could move to Los Angeles to host the program. But the reality is the program would have aired at a time in which cable news viewership is at its lowest levels.

When Mark Thompson made this “offer,” it was clearly aimed at either sidelining Acosta within the CNN firmament or, effectively, firing him without saying those words... 

From Chris Cillizza

From what my colleague Fred Schneider wrote about CNN 3 weeks ago: 

"If you remember the 1990s and are were watching CNN back then, you remember hearing James Earl Jones narrating CNN's trademark slogan: "This is CNN". And that meant something back then. They were seen as basically the 60 Minutes, or the broadcast network nightly newscasts, of news. In some cases they were probably better than those shows, because they had more time to fill and more resources to use just covering current affairs and real news. 

Now, the CNN slogan could easily be something like: "CNN: we offend the least", because they are worried about hitting someone or something too hard, because they're worried about losing viewers, regardless of what their facts and information from their reporters is reporting about the situation or individuals that are involved in the story.  As if what they're doing now (whatever it is) is not costing them viewers... 

From The New Democrat

I just want to respond to 1 of the final points that Chris Cilliza made on his video today before I get into what I really want to talk about here. 

Cillizza said he doesn't know Jim Acosta well. He didn't even know him well when he was at CNN with Acosta. But that Acosta always stuck Cillizza as a tough but fair reporter. And then he went on to say that he wished Acosta well and would hope that Acosta would get into independent journalism and start his own YouTube channel. And there would be plenty of room for him. 

So my point here is that Chris Cillizza could have been really tough on 1 of his former employers which is CNN. But instead held back and basically offered a man that he admits to not knowing very well, career advice. Which suggests to me that maybe Cilliza sees an opportunity for him to get back on CNN. Or is at least holding out hope on that. 

According to Oliver Darcy who also used to work for CNN as a media reporter and who is now doing that independently, Jim Acosta was 1 of the highest rated anchors that they had there. And as Chris Cillizza said so himself, Acosta is a very "tough, but fair" reporter. 

I would add to that, Jim Acosta is the Ted Koppel or Mike Wallace (for anyone who reads this who is old enough to remember the 1980s and 90s) of CNN. Someone who brings people on his show, or interviews them in his pieces, to find things out that are important to the American people. And when he thought 1 of his guests was trying to dodge his questions, he would break in and say something like: 

"Excuse me, Sir, that's not what I asked you", and then would just repeat the question. Which is what Ted Koppel did almost every night on ABC News Nightline, when he had a guest who wasn't friendly and he had that person on to give them a tough interview. And that's why Jim Acosta was demoted by CNN because he was not  just doing his job, but did it very well, which is why his ratings were solid. And he was demoted for doing a good job, because the management at CNN is worried that the Trump Administration doesn't like Acosta and people watched his show and didn't like Acosta reporting negative facts and information about The White House and Trump Administration as a whole. 

The First Amendment, which covers not just free speech, but free assembly, freedom of religion, and of course freedom of the press, is a beautiful thing and extremely important in our liberal democracy: 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances... 

From Congress.GOV

But similar to a news organization that can only be as good as the people who work there, the freedom of the press can only be as good as our journalists. When they don't utilize their free rights, especially since they're worried about what the party in power would do if they do their jobs well, the free press is much weaker. The free press becomes like a car without an engine or wheels. Jim Acosta wasn't demoted by CNN because his ratings were bad or he didn't do a good job. He was demoted for doing a good job and getting good ratings as a result. And because of that, the free press in America is weaker, thanks to CNN. 

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Real Time With Bill Maher: New Rule: Eat The Rich

"It wasn’t that long ago when liberals thought shooting people who don’t share your politics was bad – or at least a micro-aggression." 

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher I guess is very hungry, politically.

From Real Time With Bill Maher

From what my colleague Rik Schneider wrote about Luigi Mangione back in December: 

"If you are let's say a Baby Boomer (someone born in the 1940s or 50s) like a Bernard Goldberg, or older than that, or you are just someone with a solid understanding of American history, but are younger than a Boomer, then you are familiar with the militant far-left in America. Groups like The Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army, Students For a Democratic Society, and others from the 1960s and 70s. 

These groups have always believed that progress is not enough and sometimes democracy is not enough to achieve their political objectives. And sometimes you need violence and undemocratic means to achieve their goals and you need to "take a strike at The Man", even if that means murdering people, to bring attention to the issues that these groups care about. 

That's what Luigi Mangione was doing when he murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson a few weeks ago. He was "striking out against The Man" to bring the attention to what the far-left sees as problems with the American health care system. They hate the facts that our health care system is private and for-profit. 

So when a Luigi Mangione, or some other militant leftist comes along and does what this guy did and he also looks like he could be a Hollywood actor, or a boybander, they celebrate him as some type of a rockstar, doing what they only had the guts to do themselves... 

From The New Democrat

As I wrote about Luigi Mangione back in December: 

"But there's only 1 political faction in America that could possibly believe that killing a CEO of a health insurance company, simply because they are a health insurance CEO, and the killer thinks that person is part of the problem... if not a good idea, is perhaps justifiable homicide, or something. 

And there's only 1 political faction in America that would make a murderer of a CEO a pop culture, rockstar, or something, and celebrating this man online and on social media and trying to profit off him with all the videos and the merchandise. And that would be far-left in America, which are made of of some Democratic Socialists, but militant Socialists, the WOKE Left, who believe that progress is never enough. Because it's the system that's the problem itself, who believe that we'll never achieve a "just and fair society", until we take down the system. Or as they would put it: "The Man". 

To the WOKE Left in America, Luigi Mangione is a "totally awesome rockstar", who took a brig strike at "The Man". So they've been celebrating him, at least since he's been the news and they read his manifesto. But for the rest of the country, including people who also don't approve of our health care system, but who believe in the rule of law and who are pro-life in the real sense, (meaning people who believe in protecting innocent lives) Luigi Mangione is just another famous murderer in America. And unfortunately we've had too many famous murderers in America... 

From The New Democrat

I guess I have a couple reactions to Bill Maher's monologue here. He basically said that: 

"I remember a time when Liberals believed it was wrong to shoot people and use violence against people, simply for disagreeing with them". 

Guess, what, Mr. Maher, Liberals still believe that. He called himself an "Old School Liberal" in the same monologue. What is an "Old School Liberal"? Someone who believes in liberalism. (In case that isn't obvious enough) Someone who believes in liberal values which comes from liberal democracy. Liberal values are free speech, personal autonomy, property rights, the rule of law, the Constitution, and in law & order in the real sense. Not the made up Nixonian sense. 

So Maher calls himself an "Old School Liberal", but then makes the classic mainstream media mistake of equating Liberals with everyone and everything that is considered to be politically left, including left-wing militantism, whether it's Luigi Mangione or some other WOKE militant. 

And my other reaction here has to do with fast food and Bill Maher essentially blaming fast food chains and perhaps even grocery stores for the obesity problem in America. Unless you've been kidnapped and were forced fed whoppers, big macs, candy bars, packaged cookies, etc, and then someone poured nothing but soft drinks and chocolate milk down your throat to wash the junk food down, you don't have anyone else to blame except for the person you see in the mirror (assuming you are small enough to be seen in your mirror) for being a fat ass. 

I mean people blaming fast food joints and grocery chains, for their own obesity... I mean next alcoholics will be able to sue liquor stores and liquor companies for their alcoholism. I mean again, unless you were kidnapped and your kidnappers poured nothing but alcohol down your throat during your capture... who's to blame for your alcoholism? And if that's the case that your kidnappers forced you to drink nothing but 1 bottle after another of alcohol during your capture, maybe you should thank them. It probably made that experience for you better. Not that I'm making fun of kidnap victims.

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Ben Meiselas: Donald Trump Supporters Have LIFE RUINED by HIM INSTANTLY

"MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s Muslim supporters finding out even more how much they have been screwed by him." 

Source:Meidas Touch talking about foolish American voters.

From the Meidas Touch

I don't agree with Ana Navarro very often. Come to think of it, it's hard for me to ever believe that she was even a registered Republican, let alone an active Republican who used to work for Republicans and help them get elected and reelected, based on how she's talked the last 8 years or so. But she has a great political sense of humor and political timing. And when she says something that I agree with, I take note of it. Here she was on The View today talking about President Trump's mass deportations in Chicago: 

"I've actually seen some video this weekend of Latinos who voted for Trump crying because now their abuelos and their tios are getting deported, I'm having a very hard time mustering up sympathy for those people," Ana Navarro said on the talk show." 

From The View

Apparently these Fox News commentators think the average American, is just some yuppy, coffee addict, who's addicted to their local coffee houses, who needs to spend more time at home making their own coffee. As well as perhaps buying their own farms and growing their own coffee beans, for their own personal use: 

"Fox News hosts suggests America could just adapt to Trump's trade wars by making our own coffee." 

From Barbara Sobel

My point here is, if Donald Trump and his supporters were talking like this back in.... I don't know, September and October, (just to name a couple of months from the calendar) and Mr. Trump and his backers were saying that life would be harder for average Americans if they got elected again, but it would be worth it in the end, do you think that would've cost Mr. Trump some votes? 

As President Obama said back in 2009: elections have consequences. 

To paraphrase the great political satirist George Carlin: we get the politicians that we voted for. The only qualification being there, is we get who we voted for when they win. 

Donald Trump ran on mass deportations and tariffs in 2024 and even admitted that he wouldn't be able to bring prices down very quickly after he was elected. 

As President Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Wednesday night: 

“Let me get to the economy,” Hannity interrupted. “I’m running out of time.”

“I don’t care,” Trump fired back as he continued to rail against Biden.

“They’re yelling at me,” Hannity said, presumably referring to his producers.

“This is more important,” Trump insisted.

“I agree,” Hannity replied.

“The economy’s gonna do great,” Trump said, then went back to attacking Biden.

Trump also hinted that he may have some time for retribution after all... 

From The Huffington Post

So, look, I'm with Ana Navarro on this 1. I would just expand to more issues and the economy as a whole. Latinos and Arabs who voted for Donald Trump for President in 2024, who are now perhaps regretting that... I have as much sympathy for those people, as people who buy a used Ford Escort, that has 25,000 miles on it, who thinks this car will be as good as a brand new Cadillac, because that's what the used car salesman told him. Only to see his Ford Escort break down on him a mile down the road from the car lot. When we don't do our homework and study for tests in school, we tend to fail.(I know that from personal experience) 

When we don't do our homework as American citizens and especially as voters, but vote anyway, we get screwed by crooks and liars who just say things to get elected and reelected, never even having any intention of doing what they said they would do in office.  

Kamala Harris and the Democrats offered American voters a clear alternative in who to vote for in 2024 and then the voters when the other way anyway. Even though they made it clear how criminal, dictatorial, corrupt, and dishonest that Donald Trump and MAGA is. So don't blame us for your bad decisions as voters. 

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Late Night With Seth Meyers: On The News - January 20-24

"All the news and jokes you missed from the week of January 20." 

Source:Late Night With Seth Meyers on the news of the week. In case the photo isn't obvious enough. But if it isn't, I suggest you contact an eye-doctor. Preferably before President Trump tries to write out the Affordable Care Act with an executive order.

From Late Night With Seth Meyers

No offense to Seth Meyers, (not that I worry about ever offending someone I don't even know personally) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had a much better line about President Donald Trump and his pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters: 

"House Republicans are celebrating pardons issued to a bloodthirsty mob that violently assaulted police officers on January 6, 2021.

What happened to backing the Blue?

Far right extremists have become the party of lawlessness and disorder.

Don’t ever lecture America again.

About anything." 

From House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Granted, it might not have been as funny. Not that Seth Meyers saying: Jan 6. Rioters: "We're on our way. We know how to get there, Chief", is a great line in any context. 

The other major party in America that competed with the Democratic Party (that I use to call the Republican Party) talked all the time about the importance of the rule of law, law & order, and the U.S. Constitution. As well as the importance of separation of powers. 

But then Donald Trump executes a political coup in what used to be the Republican Party back in 2015-16 and he essentially kicks out all the Conservatives in it and replaces the Conservatives with far-right, militant, political gangbangers (to paraphrase Joe Walsh) and the party of the rule of law and law & order, is now the party of: 

"It's not illegal when we do it. 

It's not unconstitutional when we do it. 

And the rule of law and law & order... just kidding. We don't need that when we're power. That's just there to protect us from the Democrats, the courts, and the mainstream media. And stop criticizing us about this and calling us hypocrites. Unless you wanted to be deported to Siberia, where Vladimir Putin would be happy to take care of you for free". 

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Brittany Page: AOC On Elon's Salute: In This Country, We Hate Nazis!

"Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez discusses the Elon Musk Nazi salute controversy." 

Source:David Pakman Show- you would think U.S. Representative Alexandria O. Cortez (Democratic Socialist, Bronx, New York) would have better things to do with her taxpayer funded time, then to talk about MAGA troller Elon Musk. But that's me. 

From David Pakman Show

Did Elon Musk do the Nazi salute the other day? Of course he did. It doesn't take 20/20 vision to see that. I'm not sure you even need to be sane and sober to see and remember that. You just have to be familiar with German history and American history up to the point that you know what Nazism is and who Adolf Hitler was. So I guess that would cancel out a lot of Americans based on this country's ignorance when it comes to American and German history. 

That's not the point here. This is not my point, anyway. I'm not going to spend 1 of my 2 days this week on The New Democrat, debating whether Elon Musk did the Nazi salute or not. Debating facts is like jumping into an ocean over and over thinking this is the time you won't get wet. My point is what was Elon Musk's point in doing this. I'm a German-American myself, seeing the Nazi salute is perhaps more disgusting for me personally and the German community in America and Germany, that for any other ethic group in America, other than perhaps Jewish-Americans for obvious reasons. But that's not my point either. 

My point is why Musk did this. Elon Musk is essentially an oligarch without a country, who is loyal to no one other than himself and his company. If you are familiar with the film The Terminal from 2004... Musk is like the Viktor Navorksi character, but with a helluva lot more money. And because of this and the fact that Musk doesn't care about anyone else, other then himself and his company, that he's basically just the right-wing version of the political hipster (which is what MAGA Bros are) he's a professional troller who just pisses off people intentionally for the pure pleasure of doing that and to get them to freak out about it, about what he did and said and get the left-wing whether it's Representative Alexandria O. Cortez, or Brittany Page, to spend part of their days talking about how horrible and disgusting Elon Musk or whoever their current MAGA target is. 

During the 2024 presidential campaign, there was talk about how easy it was to bait Donald Trump. That every time someone would criticize him about anything from his orange skin spray, to his diet, how much debt he's in, how mush money he's lost since he was President the 1st time, etc, that DJT would automatically take the bait like a fish who hasn't eaten in days. If you are familiar with the debate he had with Vice President Kamala Harris, she baited him over and over and he fell for it over and over in that debate, completely throwing him off his game and making the whole debate about what people don't like about him, even people who voted for him. 

But guess what, Donald Trump is not the only political fish on a suicide mission, or who who looks like a political fish on a suicide mission. Every time whether it's either Elon Musk or someone other right-wing, MAGA troller, does something to piss off this minority group or that one, you have some left-wing U.S. Representative, whether it's Alex Cortez or some other wannabe Squad member, or some social media commentator or blogger take time from their day talking about how disgusting it was for the MAGA troller of the day to do or say what they did. And doing exactly what that MAGA trollers wants them to do which is give them attention, get them more followers, and raise money for them. 

As my colleague Ederik Schneider said about mainstream media and the opposition as far as how they react to everything bad that Donald Trump says and does last week on The New Democrat: 

"So what Mr. Trump does is knowing that he has a political base that sees him as God and therefor would never fault him for anything, regardless of the facts and evidence him and the stronger the facts and evidence against him, the more loyal MAGA to him... he simply takes advantage of that and lies his head off whenever he thinks it would benefit him. Knowing that the Democrats and the mainstream media will freak out about it. Which keeps him in the news and drives up his fundraising numbers. 

So my advice for Democrats and the mainstream media, is not look like a school of fish on an underwater suicide mission. When Donald Trump says something crazy like we should invade a NATO ally, whether it's Greenland or anyone else, don't take the bait and ignore him. It's when he does something crazy, irresponsible, illegal, and constitutional things, that's when the Democrats and the mainstream media need to be prepared to act." 

From The New Democrat

Whether you are 1 of the broadcast network news divisions like NBC News, or from 1 of the major national newspapers like The Washington Post or The New York Times, or a left-wing Democrat... "you don't have to act like a school of fish on a suicide mission" every time Donald Trump or 1 of his MAGA trollers does or says something that's disgusting. Every time they react to MAGA trolling, MAGA gains more followers and raises money off of how the opposition reacts to him. It's what Donald Trump and his administration does and what they try to do the next 4 years, especially the 1st 2, that good Americans of all backgrounds need to be concerned with. Not what he and his trollers say. 

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The Bulwark: BOMBSHELL! GOP Allegedly Won't Call J6 Witness Because They SEXTED Her!

"Sam Stein and Tim Miller discuss the new January 6th select committee's reason for not calling on former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is due to concerns over inappropriate texts messages from lawmakers." 

Source:The Bulwark's Sam Stein & Tim Miller talking about the MAGA House that Mike Johnson is the Speaker of.

From The Bulwark

The only thing that I disagree with The Bulwark on here, is "GOP" in the title of their video. What is the GOP? The Grand Ole Party. What's grand about having a party of right-wing, Anthony Weiner's? 

If you worked in Las Vegas, if you are a pornster in San Fernando, Los Angeles, being a political pornster, would be very grand. You would never have to worry about losing reelection in Las Vegas or San Fernando, if you were a member of the Las Vegas City Council, or the Los Angeles City Council, representing San Fernando Valley, even in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing 1 of those 2 communities. 

Look, this is not the GOP. This is not the party of constitutional conservatives and conservative libertarians. Most of those folks are probably not even registered Republicans anymore, because they don't think they have a home in the "Republican Party" today. The Adam Kinzinger's, the Joe Walsh's, the Liz Cheney's, etc. 

This is the MAGA Party. This is Donald Trump's own political, reality TV, political show, of political gangsters, who simply try to take apart good people like Cassidy Hutchinson, for doing their jobs and being honest and having the balls to disagree with Donald Trump or any of his allies. Nothing more. But perhaps a lot less. 

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