Today in Politics, Bulletin 204. 9/11/25 WHAT A WEEK!

Today in Politics, Bulletin 204. 9/11/25 Ron Filipkowski Sep 11 ∙ … Right-wing politicians, media and influencers continue to fan the flames against “the Left” in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The inciter-in-chief posted a video last night: “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today. Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” … Trump made no mention of violent attacks against Democratic political figures or his own rhetoric over the past decade demonizing his political opponents by calling them Marxist, communists, baby killers who hate God, hate America, hate Christianity, want crime, steal elections, on and on and on. Nobody has injected more toxic and inflammatory rhetoric into the body politic of the US than Trump in this country’s history. … After they emerged from budget talks, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries were asked for their reaction to Trump blaming the left. Schumer: "Coming together is what we ought to be doing. Not pointing fingers of blame." Jeffries: "This moment requires leadership that brings the American people together as opposed to trying to further divide us." … Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was asked by a reporter if Democrats need to tone down their rhetoric: "Oh, please! Why don't you start with the president of the United States? And every ugly meme he's posted and every ugly word." … Author and former Republican Jennifer Erin Valent: “The man who has stoked more strife and violence than any politician in my lifetime is using this tragedy to stir up more strife and violence. My friends, America is without moral leadership. We must join together to rise above and lead communally. We must be better than this.” … Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) on CNN: "Actually calling for political violence - we're hearing that a lot from the right, right now. Democrats across the board are saying we need to come together. We need to turn down the rhetoric. Trump, who's just trying to blame this on Democrats, maybe he should start by rescinding the pardons for all the domestic terrorists who came to the Capitol on J6." … Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) got into a shouting match with House Dems after a moment of silence was concluded on the House floor for Kirk, when she then insisted that a prayer be read. Democrats objected to that which caused Boebert to yell back, “silent prayers get silent results!” One Democrat (unknown) yelled back that a school shooting also happened that day but no Republican called for any prayers about that. … Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) has been unhinged pretty much nonstop: “This was the most disgusting moment I have witnessed on the House floor. House Democrats showed their true colors last night. You cannot claim to be a person of faith and associate yourself with that party without condemning that display.” … The venom and vitriol from Republicans on social media yesterday and today was pretty vicious. I’m not going to quote all of it, but I did collect just these screen shots over a one hour time period from MAGA influencers and media to give you an idea of the kinds of things being said. … Here are some quotes from elected officials or people with huge followings. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): “Democrats own what happened today. Democrats embolden domestic terrorism. They want it. They like it. If they win they will dismantle our country and every God-given rights bestowed from our Creator.” … Van Orden: “I am not sure these people understand what they have done. We are done letting the Brown Shirts terrorize us. The Gloves are Off. The Democratic Party has been fostering a 21st century Civil War. I would encourage them if you look at the results of the last one that they started.” … Elon Musk: “The left is the party of murder. If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is to fight or die.” … Eric Trump on Fox: "I'm sick and tired of seeing the bullets that are only going one way. When is there accountability from people who just foster this hate every single day?" … Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK): “When are the Democrats going to stand up and apologize for the hatred and the lies that they have fed their base that has led to these actions?” … Sean Hannity: “The left has given us 10 nonstop years of rage and hatred and a vile language. It is undeniable it is poisoning the minds of many people in our country.” … Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO): “There is no longer any middle ground. Some on the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people but their ideology is pure evil. They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false, and the ugly.” … Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): “I’m going to use Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk. If they ran their mouth with their smartass hatred celebrating the heinous murder of that beautiful young man, those profiles must come down. So, I’m going to lean forward in this fight, demanding that big tech have zero tolerance for violent political hate content, the user to be banned from ALL PLATFORMS FOREVER.” … Higgins: “I’m also going after their business licenses and permitting, their businesses will be blacklisted aggressively, they should be kicked from every school, and their drivers licenses should be revoked. I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Kirk’s assassination. I’m starting that today. That is all.” … There has been an ongoing, energetic, and organized effort from MAGA influencers to track down people who posted anything negative about Kirk after the shooting so they can contact their employers. Many people all over the country were fired today as a result of social media posts they made about Kirk. … Scott Presler: “Find posts of every single teacher across America that celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Take screenshots. Take videos. Send us the evidence. I don’t care how long it takes. We will expose every single last one.” … Alex Jones: "We're in a war." … Steve Bannon: "Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war." … Fox host Jesse Watters: "They are at war with us. What are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate?” … Journalist covering media Matthew Keys: “After Jesse Watters declared ‘war’ on ‘them’ (progressives, the woke, etc.) during his broadcast, I rewatched the first episode of his show immediately after Democratic Sen. Melissa Hortman was assassinated. The first show did not cover Hortman's death. It covered the US Army birthday, anti-ICE protests and Trump's remarks on the Middle East. But not Hortman's assassination.” … Stephen Miller: “There is an ideology that has steadily been growing in this country which hates everything that is good, righteous and beautiful and celebrates everything that is warped, twisted and depraved. It is an ideology at war with family and nature. It is envious, malicious, and soulless.” … Christopher Rufo: “The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.” … Mehdi Hasan: “Here are the actual facts for those with conveniently short memories. The man who targeted and killed Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home in Minnesota in June was a Trump supporter. The man charged with the attempted assassination of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, in April was a Trump supporter. The man convicted of orchestrating a series of shootings at the homes of four Democratic elected officials in New Mexico in 2022 was a Trump supporter. The man who tried to kidnap then Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, Paul, in 2022 was a Trump supporter. The men who wanted to hang Mike Pence on Jan 6, 2021, were Trump supporters. The man who killed the son of Obama-appointed District Judge Esther Salas in 2020 was a Trump supporter. The men who were convicted of trying to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, in 2020 were Trump supporters. The man who sent pipe bombs to the homes of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and other top Democrats in 2018 was a Trump supporter. The man who killed left-wing activist Heather Heyer after driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville in 2017 was a Trump supporter.” … Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had troops assembled in uniform in formation and he addressed them with this political and religious message, which violates military regulations and guidelines: “We lost an incredible American today. His name is Charlie Kirk.” He then gave short speech to them about how wonderful Kirk was and asked them to bow their heads while he led them in a prayer for Kirk. … At the 9/11 commemoration ceremony, Trump announced he will be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kirk posthumously. He also appeared to fall asleep several times with the right side of his face drooping constantly. … Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posted a letter she sent to Speaker Mike Johnson: “I owe my entire political career to Charlie Kirk. I would quite literally not be in office today if it weren’t for him. Even when my own party was working against me, Charlie endorsed me and campaigned to help me win election. To honor this legacy, we call upon you to direct that a statue of Charlie Kirk be placed in the US Capitol.” … Boebert and Rep. Marge Greene (R-GA) later signed on to Luna’s letter. … A bipartisan law was passed overwhelmingly a long time ago mandating that a plaque be hung in the Capitol who honor the police officers who defended it on J6. Mike Johnson has steadfastly refused to comply with that law. We will see if Kirk gets a statue now. … Former George W. Bush senior strategist Matthew Dowd was fired by MSNBC from his contributor position after Republicans were furious about his reaction on air right after Kirk was shot: “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.” … Statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise." … Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): “Everyone at MSNBC needs to be fired.” Thank you again for your excellent questions submitted for the Ask the Editor show last night. It is becoming more difficult each week to pick the 5 questions to answer because we are getting so many good ones. I appreciate each of you for supporting everything we do at Meidas. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … The heat is getting turned up on Kash Patel and Dan Bongino as the suspect inexplicably remains at large 36 hours later. NYT: “Hopes for the fast capture of the person who fatally shot the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in UT evaporated when Kash Patel announced that the authorities had released a man he had described as a central subject of a multiagency manhunt.” … “Two hours earlier, Patel had stoked expectations of a fast end to the search by congratulating state, local and federal officials for taking into custody ‘the subject for the horrific shooting today.’ The backtrack was a source of significant embarrassment for the FBI director on a day when 3 former FBI agents filed a lawsuit against Patel that portrayed him as a partisan neophyte more interested in social media, and swag, than in the day-to-day operations of the nation’s flagship law enforcement agency.” … Patel fired the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI field office in Utah just a few weeks ago with no explanation given. … WSJ posted a report that got right-wing social media worked up into a frenzy, but it was later disputed: “Investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting. Kirk was onstage going back and forth with a student about mass shootings involving trans people when he was targeted.” … NYT: “A senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation cautioned that the report had not been verified by ATF analysts, did not match other summaries of the evidence, and might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted.” … CBS reported minutes before publication of this Bulletin that the FBI now has the name of the suspect but he is not yet in custody. … Jeet Heer with The Nation: “Two guys they detained were 1) local crank who is known to be pest by local police and; 2) An Arab-American conservative (works for Heritage Foundation) who was likely racially profiled even though he supported TPUSA. This tells me police don't have a clue or lead about actual killer, which is scary.” … Not to worry though, because late today Patel and Bongino left DC to fly to Utah to personally lead the investigation. … The UT field office posted photos of the suspect: … NBC: “Three former top FBI officials sued FBI Director Kash Patel and AG Pam Bondi, saying their firings were mandated by the WH and DOJ and that Patel followed their orders to keep his job: “Patel explained he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President. Patel explained that there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because 'the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.'" … “Patel also stated that the firings were retaliatory, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that he told Driscoll that ‘all FBI employees who they identified who had worked on the cases against President Trump would be removed from their jobs, regardless of their retirement eligibility status. Patel acknowledged that this would be in direct violation of internal FBI processes. He again commented that he knew the nature of the summary firings were likely illegal and that he could be sued and later deposed.’” … “The lawsuit was filed by Driscoll; Steven Jensen, former asst director of the DC field office; and Spencer Evans, former special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office. Driscoll said he was asked which candidate he had voted for in recent elections, including whether he had voted for any Democrats. He was also asked if he agreed that agents who searched Mar-a-Lago for classified documents should be held ‘accountable.’” … During certain briefings, "Jensen became alarmed at Dan Bongino’s intense focus on increasing online engagement through his social media profiles in an effort to change his followers’ perception of the FBI. Jensen was concerned that the emphasis Bongino placed on creating content for his social media pages could risk outweighing more deliberate analyses of investigations." … DNC spokesperson: “This afternoon, there was a bomb threat to DNC HQ that was determined to not be credible by the Capitol Police. Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol Police is conducting an interior sweep of the building. As DNC Chair Ken Martin has said, political violence in every form has no place in our country. We are grateful to the Capitol Police and DNC building security for responding quickly and professionally.” … CNBC: “Prices consumers pay for a variety of goods and services moved higher than expected in August while jobless claims accelerated, providing challenging economic signals for the Federal Reserve before its meeting next week. The consumer price index posted a seasonally adjusted 0.4% increase for the month, double the prior month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.9%.” … “On employment, the Labor Department reported a surprise increase in weekly unemployment compensation filings to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, higher than the 235,000 estimate and up 27,000 from the prior period.” … Economist Heather Long: “The middle-class squeeze from tariffs is here. Inflation hit 2.9% in Aug, the highest since Jan and up from 2.3% in April. It’s troubling that so many basic necessities are rising in price again: Food, gas, clothing and shelter all had big cost jumps. And this is only the beginning.” … “Here are some items directly impacted by tariffs: Coffee +21%. Audio equipment +12%. Living and dining room furniture +10%. Tools +6%. Jewelry/watches +6%. Women's dresses +6. Men's pants +4%. Toilet paper +5%. Musical instruments +5%. Photo equipment +5%.” … Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick then moved the goal posts back again. Way back: "I would say the first quarter of next year will be the best quarter of construction jobs this country has ever seen, and that's gonna roll all the way through 2026. So I think you're gonna see GDP growth next year over 4%." … Reuters reported that the flight home of Korean workers detained by ICE at the Hyundai plant in GA was delayed one day for Trump to try and persuade them to stay. It didn’t work. They’re pissed and S. Korea is outraged: “President Trump offered to allow hundreds of South Korean workers arrested during an immigration raid to stay in the US, but only one has opted to remain. Trump's overture sought to encourage the workers to stay and train Americans.” … WSJ: “In just a few weeks, US farmers will begin harvesting tens of millions of tons of soybeans. But they have a big problem on their hands: The world’s biggest buyer doesn’t want any. Over the years, China had become one of the biggest buyers of American agricultural products, as the country’s growing middle class developed a taste for pork and poultry that are fattened, in part, on soybean meal. US farmers in turn rushed to cash in on China’s ravenous demand.” … “But now, soy has emerged as a potent weapon that Beijing is wielding in its trade fight with Washington. Chinese buyers haven’t booked any US soybean purchases, turning instead to Brazilian suppliers. Around this time last year, American soy farmers had already booked large purchases from Chinese buyers. US farmers are feeling the pain. Nearly a quarter of the more than 4 billion bushels of soybeans American farmers grow each year are exported to China, which is by far the world’s biggest soy importer. The country imported nearly $13 billion of soybeans from the US last year.” …Farm trade groups are pressing the Trump admin for a bailout for farmers. US soybean farmers are projected to lose roughly $100 an acre this year. Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association: “We have a large number of farmers that won’t survive this.” … Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on his Epstein petition: “We have 217 of the 218 signatures required. We just need one more Congressman to sign the discharge petition in order to force a vote in the House on a bill to release the Epstein files. Victims deserve justice and Americans demand transparency.” … Maine Democratic candidate for Senate Graham Platner on Susan Collins’ vote to block release of the Epstein files: “Why is Senator Collins protecting pedophiles and abusers like Jeffrey Epstein and his associates? Whose bidding is she doing?" … Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) called on Chairman Jim Jordan to demand that Oversight Chair James Comer to retain a handwriting expert to find out who forged Trump’s signature on the Epstein birthday card 22 years ago, since Republicans are all claiming the signature was forged: “He is by far the best investigator in the Capitol. If there are forgers out there we should investigate it.” … AP: “UK PM Keir Starmer fired the country’s ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement in the House of Commons, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the decision came in the wake of the publication this week of emails Mandelson sent to Epstein in the 2000s, in which he gave his support to the disgraced financier even when he was facing jail for sex offenses.” … “Doughty said the emails showed that the ‘depth and extent’ of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein was ‘materially different’ from what was known when he was appointed ambassador to Washington last year in the wake of the Labour Party’s election victory.” … In this country we don’t fire those people, we make them president. … Reuters polled people on whether they would be willing to give up some checks and balances in the US democratic system to have a govt that can take action faster on things like crime. 39% of Republicans yes, compared to only 17% of Independents and 17% of Democrats.” … NYT on Russia sending drones into Polish airspace: “With Trump downgrading American financial and military support for Ukraine, Vladimir Putin may be trying to test American responses, too, said Max Bergmann, with the Center for Strategic and Intl Studies: “Russia is pushing buttons, to see what the Americans will do. Russia is trying to understand what the Trump presidency means and where is it headed. And if you want to undermine NATO and Europe’s security architecture in a few years, you want to test it.” … Piotr Krawczyk, former head of the Polish Foreign Intelligence Service: “This was a deliberate act by Russia to escalate tensions and increase pressure on Washington. The ultimate target of these provocations is the US. Moscow seeks to pressure Washington by testing NATO, knowing that the US will ultimately have to make the key decisions.” … Trump responded to the clear act of aggression against a NATO member with this post this on Truth Social: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” … Ok, where are we going? Well, Trump was asked that today: “It could have been a mistake, but regardless I’m not happy. But hopefully it’s going to come to an end.” … Sen. Chuck Schumer after emerging from a budget meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to Punchbowl: “We're totally united. The Republicans have to come to meet with us in a true bipartisan negotiation to satisfy the American people's needs on health care. Or they won't get our votes - they ain’t gonna get the votes, plain and simple.” … Jeffries said House and Senate Dems are on the same page: “We are together in defense of the health care of the American people.” … Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) reacted to their comments: “Good. Donald Trump has taken a wrecking ball to health care for working Americans. Any Senate Democrat who isn't ready to stand up and fight to protect health care might as well pack up and go home.” … Former NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who was on Capitol Hill talking with Republican leaders about running for the seat of Byron Donalds in FL where he now lives, was just arrested again. This latest incident was for not showing up to his court date on a charge of driving without a license. His last charge was for crashing his car into a state trooper. … Another Republican announced he is leaving Congress. Morgan Luttrell: “Over the July 4th weekend, standing in floodwaters alongside my neighbors, I had a moment of clarity. It reminded me that while the work in DC is important, my family, my community, and my state need me here closer to home. I’m choosing a different path – one that allows me to stay rooted in TX and focus on the people and places that matter most. Serving Texans in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime, and I will continue to do that until the end of my term.” … Every year on 9/11 I post the clip of Trump’s first interview with a local NY station on 9/11 after the towers went down where he bragged (falsely) that he now had the tallest building in lower Manhattan: “40 Wall Street actually was the 2nd tallest building in downtown Manhattan. Before they built the World Trade Center it was the tallest, but then it became the second tallest. But now it’s the tallest.”