Today in Politics, Bulletin 58. 1/27/25… Crybaby Ron Desantis melted down after he was smacked down by Republicans in the FL House and Senate today. He demanded a special session so he could enact a series of migrant deportation policies and secure funding to get in on the PR spotlight for his 2028 run for president. But the President of the FL Senate and Speaker of the House had other plans for Lame Duck Ron. … They rejected Desantis’s plan to play a lead role in migrant deportations in FL, said Trump has everything handled so they don’t need Desantis’s spotlight-hogging stunts, and instead moved to make pro-Trump Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson to essentially be the state’s deportation czar working with the Trump Admin. … Simpson and Desantis don’t especially like each other, and Simpson is a likely candidate for governor in 2026. This new role is something that will set him up perfectly for the Republican primary in FL next year, which doesn’t exactly thrill Desantis. … Former Republican State Rep. Anthony Sabatini: “The Florida Legislature just declared war against Ron Desantis.” … Desantis posted a whiny video on X where he ranted and raved about his Republican friends: “We got to work as a team. They bizarrely stripped immigration enforcement power from me and gave it to the Commissioner of Agriculture! Agriculture has not exactly been known for immigration enforcement. It’s the fox guarding the henhouse. It’s a sop to folks who want cheap labor.”
… Desantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw: "Florida Democrats, whose party was soundly rejected by the voters of our state, are thanking Republican legislative leaders for doing petty political stunts rather than passing laws to facilitate mass deportations right now. Definition of UniParty. Why does it sound like these legislators' priority is to ensure FL pays for more beds to comfortably house illegal aliens here? We voted for MASS DEPORTATIONS." … Sen. President Ben Albritton explained why he disagrees with Desantis: "Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, which deserves a new focus and energy. President Trump has the situation under control, and is leading from the Oval Office. I don't want to do anything to undermine President Trump's very good plan. Immigration must be handled on Trump’s terms, not the state’s.” … Speaker Daniel Perez told the House he is tired of Desantis trying to "bully" them, specifically noting that members’ personal cell numbers were sent out to voters in mass texts to get them exert pressure: "Attacks on this body, on all of you, are not acceptable. This House will never be moved by threats." (They have been moved in the past by threats, but now Desantis is a lame duck and Trump has their back if he goes after them). … What this is really all about is that some of the wealthiest, most politically connected donors in FL have huge companies that employ so many migrant workers in the construction, agriculture, landscaping, food service, and hospitality industries that they want to do everything they can to shield them from Tom Homan’s goon squad. They know Desantis likely won’t do that for them because all he cares about is the 2028 Republican presidential primary, and Simpson will. … Simpson has said in the past that he is concerned about the “unintended consequences” that mass deportations could have on Florida businesses and the state’s economy. That tells you right there what his mindset is and why Republicans in the legislature wanted him in charge instead of Desantis. … Trump’s DOJ fired every career prosecutor today who had anything to do with any of the investigations of him. DOJ Spokesman to NBC: “Acting AG McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. In light of their actions, the Acting AG does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government." … House Republicans had a retreat today in FL where Trump made an appearance to discuss their legislative agenda. What a surprise, Mike Johnson emerged saying that he now agrees with Trump that FEMA might need to be abolished: “Everything is on the table for reevaluation. This is a new moment for us to reevaluate everything that the federal government does, and FEMA is in the crosshairs.” … No state has gotten more out of FEMA than Johnson’s Louisiana and paid less in taxes. New Orleans was built below sea level surrounded by levees on the coast of an ocean with a massive river behind it, but I guess we don’t need to talk about his state’s policies and whether they invite natural disasters. … Johnson also said aid to CA from the wildfires will come with conditions: “We talked about conditioning the aid that will go there to policy changes. I think that is a common sense notion that is supported by the vast majority of the American people who do not want to subsidize crazy California leftist policies that are dangerous for people.” … I think that means they have to water the tumbleweed now or whatever Trump said on Saturday. … In his remarks to them, Trump reiterated his intent to start a global trade war since all the tariffs other countries will pay us will cover all our expenses so we won’t have to pay any taxes and everyone will be happy: "It's time for the US to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign nations, we should be tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens." … And Mexico will pay for the wall. … Russian Media Monitor Julia Davis posted a clip from Russian State TV where the host mocked Trump’s Ambassador to the EU: “The new US Ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, Trump has known him personally for a long time. But he has no diplomatic experience whatsoever. He spent his whole life developing fast food in the US. Puzder replaces a career diplomat who specialized in Central and Eastern Europe.” … Puzder was the CEO of Hardee’s. … The Russians also said they aren’t worried about Trump’s threat to hit them with tariffs, because they think he’s just playing to his MAGA base and it’s all a bluff: “Trump always postures as a strong man and a winner to avoid being criticized for talking to Putin. So he’s just working his audience. It’s not aimed at us. He always has to appear to be in a position of strength. But one week of talking is enough. It’s time to start doing something. We anticipate good things.” … Tucker Carlson’s son Buckley Carlson will reportedly be named Press Secretary to VP JD Vance. No DEI hires in this Admin - strictly a meritocracy.
… Fox is reporting that Trump is about to sign an executive order reinstating all 8,000 US service members who were discharged by the Biden Admin for refusing to get the covid vaccine. The order will also reinstate their rank and award back pay. That means that they will each be paid 4 full years of pay despite the fact that they didn’t serve during that time and worked in civilian jobs. … Adam Kinzinger: “So, the ‘no government handouts’ party is going to give, in some cases, up to $300,000 in one big check to people who didn’t do anything?” … WaPo is reporting that Trump is unhappy with the pace of migrant deportations and has told ICE he expects to see 1,200-1,500 people deported a day. It has only been 300-600 a day so far. Tom Homan was asked about this by NBC: “I don’t have a quota. My instructions to ICE is to arrest as many as you can.” … Homan was at an arrest in person in Chicago yesterday along with his guest Dr. Phil, who was playing honorary ICE agent I guess. … Brazil is outraged that 88 immigrants deported from the US arrived in their country by plane in handcuffs and leg shackles, calling it a "flagrant disregard" for their rights. The Justice Ministry said that passengers were subjected to “degrading treatment” and they demanded that handcuffs and shackles be removed immediately when the plane landed. Brazil now demands "explanations from the US government about the degrading treatment of passengers." …. AFP News spoke to Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was one of the immigrants on the flight: "On the plane they didn't give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom. It was very hot, some people fainted." … Luis Antonio Rodrigues Santos told AFP the flight was a "nightmare .. four hours without air conditioning" due to technical issues on the plane. Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights Macae Evaristo: "Immigrants are being treated like criminals. Children with autism who went through very serious experiences" were also on the flight. … Sen. Ruben Gallego says Trump threatening Colombia from the golf course was completely unnecessary: “This was resolved before the Trump administration issued their terror threat. Colombia has stopped millions of migrants from coming to the US. Trump’s strategy of antagonizing our allies is not smart policy—it just endangers decades of partnership with Colombia. We can’t act like this is some sort of 3D chess. This could’ve been handled with a simple phone call.” … The Miami Herald reports that there are 473,606 Colombian immigrants who live in FL who may not be entirely thrilled with Trump’s recent spat with their home country over treatment of deported migrants. Colombians have long been attracted to the state because of the similar climate to their home country and the large Colombian-America community that has been established there for many decades. … Bill Gates commented on Musk’s political activity to The Times: “It’s really insane that he can destabilize the political situations in countries. In the US, foreigners aren’t allowed to give money to campaigns. Other countries maybe should adopt safeguards to make sure super-rich foreigners aren’t distorting their elections.” … More Gates: “It’s difficult to understand why someone who has a car factory in both China and Germany, whose rocket business is ultra-dependent on relationships with sovereign nations, and who is busy cutting $2 trillion in US government expenses and running five companies, is obsessing about this grooming story in the UK. I’m like, what? You want to promote the right wing, but you say Nigel Farage is not right wing enough? This is insane shit. You are for the AfD?” … Reuters is reporting that Russia is still waiting for someone from the Trump Admin to call them to set up a meeting with Putin, since he promised to end the war in 24 hours. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov: "So far, we have not received any signals from the Americans." … The Telegraph reports that the EU’s top general Robert Brieger said the bloc should deploy troops to Greenland to send a “strong signal,” since Trump continues to talk about seizing the territory. … CNN reports that Trump will sign an executive order on Monday to begin the process of creating his “Iron Dome” missile defense shield over the US that he promised during the campaign. I’m sure that won’t cost much. And I’m sure that Musk won’t get any of the funding for it. … Sen. Rick Scott endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for Governor of Ohio: “I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Vivek Ramaswamy and he is totally focused on trying to save our country. He is a business guy who understands what’s needed to grow jobs, make government efficient and help families prosper. He would be a fantastic Governor and I hope he runs for Governor of Ohio. If he runs, he has my full support and endorsement.” He’s running. … NBC reports that Ramaswamy is hiring the same consultants that JD Vance used in his 2022 Senate race for his run for governor - Andy Surabian and Jai Chabria. Their source said he will announce in mid-February. Trump’s pollster Tony Fabrizio will also be hired by the campaign. There are several other prominent Ohio Republicans who are likely to challenge him. … Missouri’s MAGA AG Andrew Bailey is demanding that China pay his state $25 billion for the harm they caused with covid. He said today: “If they don’t pay up, we’ll start seizing Chinese assets - like farmland.” … CBS reports that the Trump Admin directed officials to stop extending the status of immigrants from Ukraine with pending asylum claims, as well as Afghans who were evacuated during and after the US withdrawal. … Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “This confirms that USCIS is no longer granting re-parole to Ukrainians who came through the Uniting for Ukraine program or Afghans who were evacuated after the fall of Kabul. If they haven't transitioned to another status, they may be required to leave the US in weeks. Many in the veteran community are furious at Trump's decision to halt refugee flights for Afghans who worked with US forces in Afghanistan and who had to flee to US army bases to get processed for refugee status over the last couple years.” … Fox asked Pete Hegseth if he will ask Trump not to deport Afghans who worked with the US government: "We’re going to make sure there is accountability for what happened in Afghanistan and we stand by our allies." In other words, he’s not going to do anything. If they send any back, it will likely be a death sentence for them. … Hegseth referred to Ft. Moore and Ft. Liberty today by their old names - Bragg and Benning. That could signal that he intends to ask Trump to change the names of the bases back to failed Generals who fought for the Confederacy against the United States. Trump complained many times on the campaign trail about the names of the bases being changed. … NASDAQ took a huge nose dive today on news that Chinese startup DeepSeek developed a free AI assistant that uses cheaper chips and less data than American companies. It recently passed ChatGPT to become the top-rated free AI app on Apple's App Store. Tech reporter Deva Hazarika on Trump’s AI Czar David Sacks: “One week on the job and Sacks let the Chinese take over the lead in AI.” … Every Democratic Senator sponsored a resolution condemning the pardons for insurrectionists who assaulted Capitol Police on Jan. 6. It would be great to force Republicans to vote against it. … Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he will take his first international trip to Panama, where Trump has repeatedly talked about seizing their canal. … AP is reporting that Trump Admin is using a MAGA loyalty test in their written questionnaires to job applicants. They search people’s social media accounts to see how deep in the MAGA cult they are, applicants are required to provide all social media handles so their accounts can be reviewed, and they are asked to share their "MAGA revelation" moment. … One Trump Administration applicant said he even considered buying some of Trump's crypto meme coin to demonstrate loyalty. It is obvious that the first priority for this Administration is loyalty over competence. … The Hill reports that Tulsi Gabbard is the most likely Trump nominee to get voted down, and may not even be able to get out of the Intel Committee with their recommendation. Her hearing is this Thursday. Sen. John Cornyn was asked if she will be approved by the committee: “I think it remains to be seen. I think the jury’s still out.” … A second Senate Republican told The Hill that Gabbard’s “path continues to narrow.” … The Intelligence Committee is split 9-8 by party, so Gabbard can’t lose a single Republican vote. Sen. Susan Collins, who is on the committee and just voted against Hegseth, is concerned: “There are several questions I want to follow up on in the hearing. I want to hear her unpracticed responses. There are a lot of obvious issues. Her answers to the written questions were very hedged.” … PennLive reports that local Republican official Laura Smith resigned from multiple positions after posting a video on TikTok emulating Elon Musk’s Nazi-like salute at Trump’s rally. Smith was the Towamencin township supervisor and vice chair of the their Board of Supervisors. She said she “made a post to stir the pot - because I can.” But backlash forced her to resign and also to leave her position at a local library. Montgomery County Library: “The views expressed in the TikTok video are in direct conflict with the mission and principles upheld by the library, its Board of Trustees, staff, and the community it serves.” … Joe “Tiger King” Exotic says he is more deserving of a pardon from Trump than J6 insurrectionists. He told Entertainment Weekly: “Some of them really hurt some police officers. I'm a political prisoner in America, and I'm asking Trump to put an end to this and let me go home. I could take just time-served if somebody thinks I've done something wrong and I can move on with my life being a felon, because he's the President as a felon. And if you can become the president of the US as a felon, I can finish life happily as a felon.” When Joe Exotic starts making sense to me, it’s time to end the column for the day.
ADDED FOOTNOTE:'Tiger King' Joe Exotic gets one year knocked off his 22-year prison sentenceexcerpts: The former zookeeper was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in prison after he was convicted of trying to hire two different men to kill Baskin. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Maldonado-Passage that the court should have treated them as one conviction at sentencing because they both involved the same goal of killing Baskin, who runs a rescue sanctuary for big cats in Florida and had criticized Maldonado-Passage's treatment of animals. Maldonado-Passage, who maintains his innocence, also was convicted of killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records. |
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