Trump on Vance 2028: "No." Ally Sammarco Feb 11 Happy Monday, friends, and welcome back to Today’s American News, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment. We hope you enjoyed your weekend. Judge blasts Trump Admin for violating order, continuing to freeze funds… NPR reports, “A federal judge in Rhode Island has found that the Trump administration has continued to freeze some federal funds, despite a temporary restraining order issued late last month blocking the administration's efforts to pause payments for grants and other federal programs. In a five-page order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. wrote that the administration, in several instances, has continued ‘to improperly freeze federal funds and refused to resume disbursement of appropriated federal funds.’ This is the latest in a series of court reprimands of Trump and his team, showing that the best avenue for stopping Trump is in the courts… just not the Supreme Court. Today's American News with Ally Sammarco is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Trump, major buyer of Chinese steel, imposes 25% tariff on steel imports… NBC News reports, “President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the United States. ‘This is a big deal,’ Trump said while signing the proclamations in the Oval Office. ‘The beginning of making America rich again.’ The proclamations impose a 25% tariff on steel imports on all countries, and raise his 2018 aluminum tariffs from 10% to 25%, without exceptions or exemptions.” We can’t help but note that Trump constructed nearly all of his buildings out of Chinese steel. But now he’s paying lip service to American steel manufacturers. Oh, and here’s the problem: Tariffs don’t work, especially across-the-board tariffs. Multiple meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in the works… Politico reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previewed high-level meetings to take place between Ukrainian and American officials before the Feb. 14 Munich Security Conference in Germany. “‘This week, some serious figures from President Trump's team will be in Ukraine, even before the Munich Conference,’ Zelenskyy said according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. Zelenskyy is set to attend the conference himself, and said Monday he would meet with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on the sidelines of the event. The Ukrainian leader also said Kyiv was ‘working on’ organizing a meeting with Trump. Last week, Trump said he would ‘probably’ meet with Zelenskyy in the coming days.” Meanwhile, Senate Republicans showed they have no spine and no standards by advancing Kremlin favorite Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s intelligence chief. Ouch! Trump, asked if he’s ready to support Vance as successor, says “No”... Well this is a fun one. HuffPo reports, “If JD Vance was hoping Donald Trump would anoint him as his successor, he probably wasn’t thrilled by the president’s comments during his Fox News interview on Sunday. After Brett Baier asked Trump if he saw Vance as his heir, the president quickly said, ‘No,’ though he conceded his second vice president was ‘very capable.’ ‘I think you have a lot of very capable people,’ Trump told Baier. ‘So far I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early. We’re just starting.’” Relax, JD. Trump didn’t gleefully stood by as his supporters wanted to hang you… not yet, anyway. Today’s Buzz Super Bowl LIX is in the books… The Super Bowl is an American tradition, and if football (or at least good appetizers and drinks!) is your thing, we hope you enjoyed yourself and didn’t place any money on the Kansas City Chiefs. The game didn’t deliver the storybook magic of last year, when Taylor Swift embraced her victorious boyfriend, Chiefs cornerback Travis Kelce, after the game. In fact, it wasn’t much of a game at all, with the Philadelphia Eagles up 24-0 at halftime. Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance feat. SZA got mixed reviews, as did Lamar’s implicit potshots at Drizzy. Blabbertok’s breakdown of the show’s symbolism was very powerful. Jon Batiste offered an original take on the national anthem to his native New Orleans. Stick with Today’s American News as we continue to help make sense of the chaos. We’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow evening. Today's American News with Ally Sammarco is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.