… Trump told Salvadorian autocrat Bukele that he wants him to build more of his hard-labor torture prisons in El Salvador so he can send American citizens there next. Trump was speaking quietly and privately to Bukele in the Oval Office away from reporters during that conversation, but was captured on a hot mic from the Salvadorian govt’s livestream: "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about 5 more places. It's not big enough."
… Trump to the press: "I'd like to go a step further. I said to Pam Bondi, I don't know what the laws are, we always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways. I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country."
… Bukele also did not wear a suit, opting for a suit jacket, shirt without a collar, and no tie. Nobody in the Trump WH seemed to mind though. I guess they are only outraged when our closest allies do it.
… Since the Trump Admin claims that there is nothing they can do to get back from the Salvadorian prison since he is outside the US, Bukele was asked if he would agree to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia back: “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the US? Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous! Why do you want terrorists on the streets? I don’t have the power to return him to the US.”
… CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to AG Bondi, who was in the Oval Office for the meeting: Do you plan to ask to return the man who your admin says was mistakenly deported? Bondi: “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us.”
… Collins to Trump: You said if the Supreme Court said if someone needed to be returned, you would abide by that. Trump: “Why don’t you just say isn’t it wonderful that we’re keeping criminals out of our country? That’s why nobody watches you.”
… After the meeting, Bukele posted this. We traded our alliance with Europe for a partnership with a Central American dictator who builds concentration camps for profit. Donald Trump’s America.
… Trump then claimed the Supreme Court ruled they don’t have to bring him back: “The Supreme Court, it was 9-0?” Stephen Miller: “In our favor, against the district court ruling, saying no district court has the power to compel foreign policy.”
… Ed Whelan from Ethics and Public Policy Center: “Outrageous misrepresentation of Supreme Court ruling. The unanimous Court ruled that the district-court order ‘properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.’”
… Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “The Trump admin is claiming that they can pay El Salvador to imprison anyone, and once the person enters Salvadoran custody, no matter how illegal it was to get them there, there is nothing any judge in the US can do to order them to bring the person back.”
… Stephen Miller was asked on Fox what happened to sending migrants to Guantanamo Bay instead of El Salvador. Q - Is Gitmo sill open? MILLER: It's wide open. Q - Can you tell me how many immigrants are there? MILLER: No, I cannot. That's operationally sensitive information. But I want to be very clear. We've been living through a hoax. Nobody has been mistakenly sent to El Salvador. This was the right person sent to the right place.”
… There is nobody at Gitmo. They announced with great fanfare that was where they were going to send everyone, until they figured out it was cheaper to send them to Bukele.
… Anna Bower, Lawfare: “Trump admin officials who have conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was erroneously removed to El Salvador: 1. Solicitor General John Sauer, in a filing at SCOTUS. 2. ICE official Robert Cerna, in a sworn declaration. 3. DOJ lawyer Erez Reuveni, in court filings and at a hearing.”
… Miller outside the WH: "We're going to continue to send foreign terrorist aliens to El Salvador as well as to many other countries."
… Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): “It’s incredibly weird how many people around Trump seem to get an unhealthy pleasure from other people’s pain, distress, and humiliation. It seems abnormal. It’s weird and twisted how fixated they are on a brutal Salvadoran prison, and taking photos with people behind bars, and bent-over shaved men. (Even caging children at the border, back in Trump One.) It’s weird how they derive joy from firing perfectly harmless people and walking them out of their offices on short notice between security personnel.”
… “It’s weird how they cheer plainclothes, masked fed agents snatching college kids off the street and imprisoning them for exercising their freedom of speech. It’s weird how tyrants throughout history seem to attract people who have a taste for torture and cruelty. Is there some weird way people with those tastes recognize each other, that normal people can’t see? It’s just weird that any subset of humanity gets its kicks this way.”
… Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) sent a letter to the Salvadorian Ambassador requesting a meeting with Bukele while he was in the US to discuss Kilmar Abrego Garcia: "If Kilmar is not home by midweek – I plan to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release."
… AP said that despite winning an injunction hearing and obtaining a court order to regain press access to the WH after being banned for refusing to print ‘Gulf of America’, they still weren’t allowed in when the order took effect: "Our journalists were blocked from the Oval Office today. We expect the WH to restore AP's participation in the pool as of today, as provided in the injunction order."
… Another court order they are ignoring, which Republicans in Congress assured us Trump would never do.
… New CBS News / YouGov Poll on Trump Job Approval just hit its lowest level this term: Approve 41%, Disapprove 54%.
… People who think the economy is getting worse: Nov-42%, Dec-49%, Mar-51%, Now-53%.
… CNN’s Harry Enten: “CBS' new poll is, I'd argue, the worst poll for Trump during his entire 2nd term: Most say the economy is getting worse - a huge shift from March with most now saying Trump (not Biden) is responsible for the economy. Trump's net approval goes negative in one of his best polls.”
… Cody Balmer climbed over a security fence at night and broke into the PA governor’s mansion where he used an incendiary device to firebomb the home while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were inside. He is charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault. Shapiro, his wife, and their 4 children were evacuated at 2:00 AM by state troopers.
… Shapiro: “We don’t know the person’s specific motive yet. But we do know a few truths. First: This type of violence is not OK. This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other, directed at one particular party or another or one particular person or another. It is not OK, and it has to stop. We have to be better than this.”
… AP reported that Balmer told police that he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him. Police report: “Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Gov. Shapiro.”
… After pontificating on Air Force One at length about the Masters golf tournament, Trump was asked about the attack on Shapiro 20 hours after it happened: “I haven’t heard about it. I’ll look into it.”
… He was then asked about it again later today during his meeting with Bukele: "The attacker was not a fan of Trump I understand. Just from what I read and what I've been told. Probably just a whack job."
… What a surprise that Trump made this about himself.
… NY Mag on Warner Brothers, which owns CNN: “WB confirmed that a company rep recently reached out to the Trump orbit seeking advice about how the company might advantageously interact with the WH and improve its Trump-age odor. The reported message was to look at the example of Amazon and Jeff Bezos paying Melania Trump $40 million to participate in a documentary about herself. Don Jr. might like a hunting and fishing show on the Discovery Channel, they were told, and that CNN could have more pro-Trump voices.”
At the end of today’s Bulletin is a lengthy quote from the producer of the The Apprentice about Bill Maher’s recent meeting with Trump. He gave what I thought was a very insightful analysis about how Trump manipulates people in these meetings based on things he observed behind the scenes on the show.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.
… WSJ reports that Trump’s personal attorney Boris Epshteyn has been the one shaking down law firms that Trump targeted with executive orders. So far he has negotiated almost $1 billion in free legal services from firms that have surrendered and caved to Trump. Epshteyn led Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election with Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.
… JD Vance fumbled and broke the college football National Championship trophy on stage as he was presenting it to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
… When asked about the Putin Palm Sunday massacre bombing that killed dozens in Ukraine including children, and injured over a hundred, Trump blamed Biden and Zelensky. On AF1: "I was told they made a mistake. But this is Biden's war - this is not my war."
… On Truth Social: “The War between Russia and Ukraine is Biden’s war, not mine. I just got here, and for 4 years during my term, had no problem in preventing it from happening. President Putin, and everyone else, respected your President! President Zelensky and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin.”
… Reporter: You mentioned last night that Russia's attack on Ukraine was a “mistake”. What is the is mistake? “The mistake was letting the war happen. If Biden were competent, and if Zelensky were competent - I don’t know that he is.”
… Sen. Tom Cotton was one of the few Republicans who dared put out a simple, truthful and honest statement, which is rare for him, while being careful not to criticize Trump by name as usual: “Russia’s horrific attack on Ukrainian civilians celebrating Palm Sunday—including children—is a reminder of Putin’s depravity, which the whole civilized world should condemn.”
… Zelensky gave an interview which aired on 60 Minutes last night which infuriated Trump, where he said that attacks on population centers could be prevented but the US is withholding weapons systems the EU is willing to pay for: “Honestly, I don’t understand why we can’t come to an agreement on additional Patriot systems. Especially since such an agreement was reached at the NATO summit in Washington. We still haven’t received these additional Patriot systems. I respect the decision of the US, but when the US didn’t give or sell us these systems, we said we’re ready for any format.”
… Zelensky: “Russia strikes Ukrainian cities daily. 1,700 attacks on schools, 600 children dead. 780 hospitals and clinics attacked. 13,000 civilians killed. And up to 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers dead, all for Vladimir Putin's vanity war to expand Russia to NATO's doorstep.”
… Zelensky was asked what he thought when Trump called him a dictator: “I believe, sadly, Russian narratives are prevailing in the US. How is it possible to witness our losses and our suffering, to understand what the Russians are doing, and to still believe that they are not the aggressors, that they did not start this war? This speaks to the enormous influence of Russia's information policy on America, on US politics, and US politicians.”
… Trump then told the press that Zelensky started the war with Russia: "He's always looking to purchase missiles. Listen, when you start a war, you gotta know you can win a war. You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles."
… Former Fox host Brit Hume: “Russia started this war and President Trump knows it.”
… Trump posted that he wants to revoke the broadcast license of CBS because of the Zelensky interview: “Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend’s “BROADCAST” tops them all. They are not a ‘News Show,’ but a dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as ‘News,’ and must be responsible for what they have done, and are doing. They should lose their license! Hopefully, the FCC as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.”
… Nell Minow: “When my dad, Newton Minow, was chair of the FCC, President Kennedy called him at home while we were having dinner. He was furious about an NBC news report and told dad to cancel their license. Dad told JFK he would. The next morning, he called the WH and told JFK's aide Kenny O'Donnell, ‘Tell the President he is lucky to have an FCC Chairman who does not always do what he is told.’ A week later, JFK saw my dad at a reception and beckoned him to come over. He said, ‘Thank you.’”
… Financial Times reported that the European Commission is issuing phones and laptops to staffers who are traveling to the US for the IMF and World Bank meetings to guard against espionage. They have done this in the past for trips to China and Ukraine fearing surveillance from the CCP and Moscow, but never for the US. One official: “They are worried about the US getting into the commission systems.”
… NBC reported that Republican members of Congress have now decided to heed the advice from NRCC Chair Rep. Richard Hudson and not do any town halls in their districts during this two-week recess. A search of press releases and event notices shows almost no Republicans holding events in their districts open to the public.
… Republicans who are hosting events in their district are Rep. Marge Greene (GA), Rep. Byron Donalds (FL), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA). Greene and Donalds are both restricting entry to district residents. Donalds is running for Governor. Grassley just launched his 45th annual 99-county tour of Iowa.
… Democrats are holding more of their “People’s Town Halls” in key Republican swing districts during the recess currently represented by Juan Ciscomani (AZ), Rob Bresnahan (PA), Gabe Evans (CO), Richard Hudson (NC), and Ann Wagner (MO).
…. Spokesperson for the NRCC: “In a desperate attempt to distract voters from the chaos in their own party, Democrats are resorting to political theater that panders to the far-left radicals instead of addressing the concerns of everyday voters who have already rejected their out-of-touch agenda.”
… The AOC/Bernie tour continues during the recess with rallies in California, Utah, Idaho and Montana.
… Detroit News reported that MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was asked at an event today what she was thinking when she covered her face after she was brought into the Oval Office by Trump while he was signing executive orders directing DOJ to investigate people: "I don’t want my picture taken.”
… Five J6 prosecutors sent a letter to the DC Bar asking them to investigate Trump’s DC US Attorney Ed Martin: “Martin’s investigations into perceived opponents of this administration do not appear to be coincidental. In a since-deleted post on Twitter (X) copied below, Martin wrote that ‘[a]s President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities . . . that refuse to put America first.’”
… “Martin’s client is not President Trump; it is the United States. His assertion otherwise adds further evidence that his announced investigations are politically motivated. As such, his actions violate D.C. Bar Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(a), which directs that ‘In exercising discretion to investigate or to prosecute,’ a prosecutor may not ‘improperly favor or invidiously discriminate against any person.’”
… Reuters reported that Martin has hired former OAN reporter Neil McCabe as the director of external affairs. McCabe also previously worked as communications manager at Project Veritas, the right-wing undercover sting operation formerly run by James O’Keefe before it went out of business.
… Trump was asked why he just exempted iPhones from tariffs: “I spoke to Tim Cook. I helped Tim Cook recently on that whole business.”
… Former NYT reporter Nicole Perlroth on tariff changes: “Every one of these moves whiplashed America’s biggest corps. Take FedEx. Every single move forced FedEx to code in new rules into its tracking systems to reflect whatever Trump was feeling that day. These aren’t necessarily variables that are easy to code in. They cost companies six, in some cases seven, figures to adjust. And then the next day they have to do it all over again. This isn’t being covered well.”
… Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on CNN: “I see a lot of uncertainty, and I think to some extent it's intentional. If you listen to the president's aides, you don't have Einstein's cousin to figure out they were saying things that were inconsistent. I think the administration for whatever reason is obfuscating."
… CNN reported that Republicans now have to come up with a budget that reconciles Mike Johnson’s promise to cut spending by $1.5 trillion, with Trump’s huge tax cuts, while not increasing the deficit, despite just voting to adopt a Senate framework that contains almost no cuts. One GOP House Rep: “I’m not optimistic. When you get pen to paper and you see exactly what we’re doing, and then the hope that the Senate is gonna match us, you’ve got to be smoking dope. This is a pipe dream if you think that Thune in the Senate is gonna be about to get to $1.5T in cuts.”
… Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY): “I don’t really believe that the number will be $1.5 trillion. I think that it probably will come in a little lower.”
… Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) disagrees and says if the $1.5T in cuts aren’t there he won’t vote for it: “I promise you, you’ll not just have me, you’ll have 30 people that won’t vote for it.”
… But Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) says moderates in swing districts won’t vote for a budget that includes big Medicaid cuts, which is the only way to get to $1.5T: “Let me be blunt. If there are folks on the other side of this who want to hurt people, who want to cut to the bone, then we are not voting on this. We’re nice guys. By and large, we always roll over. But it’s not going to continue to happen.”
… Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME): “I don’t know how the instruction to the Energy and Commerce Committee of $880 billion can be met without cutting benefits from Medicaid, but I may be wrong. Maybe they have some magic formula.”
… Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): “I’m concerned about how we’re going to figure out how we do this between the two bodies. I’m gonna be worried about Medicaid until we get on the other side of this so I don’t have to be worried about Medicaid.”
… Senate Maj Leader John Thune: “We got folks on both sides of that issue. We’ll have to sort it out.”
… Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): “If it ends up being all tax cuts and no spending cuts, it’s not going to pass the House.”
… Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) announced he will be running for Senate again in 2026 for the open seat of retiring Gary Peters. Rogers just lost to Elissa Slotkin by less than half a point in 2024. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow is the clear favorite on the Democratic side after several other high profile potential opponents including Pete Buttigieg said they will not run.
… NYT investigative reporter David Fahrenthold: “A DOGE MYSTERY! I'm trying to find OPM request for proposal #47QFEA24K0008. Elon Musk's group says they saved $318,310,328 by cancelling it. I want to verify they're right. But OPM won't release this document, and it's not listed in govt databases.”
… Trump to reporters today: "I took my cognitive exam as part of my physical exam, and I got the highest mark, and one of the doctors said, 'Sir, I've never seen anybody get that kind of a score - that was the highest mark.'"
… Darryl Silver on Bill Maher saying nice things about Trump after his meeting with him:
“Having spent time around Trump when I produced The Apprentice this didn't surprise me. I have told anyone who will listen to me that Trump’s superpower is being whatever you want him to be when he is standing in front of you. If he's standing in front of coal miners, he's promising ‘clean coal’. If he's standing in front of environmentalists, 5 minutes later he will promise them whatever their dream scenario is.
Unlike Hillary, who gave people hard truths but had solutions, like retraining coal miners to work in solar. But people want to hear what they want to hear and he gives it to them. With regards to Bill Maher's visit, Trump's job was to lull him into a false sense that he cares and that he's not the insane person he appears to the rest of us. He put on a show so he can get the desired effect he is looking for. Maher saw a ‘show’ and reported back to the world what he saw. I can assure you Trump is laughing and telling everyone around him ‘see how easy it was to manipulate Bill.’”
I saw this time and time again on the set of The Apprentice. He was able to talk to people the show was screwing over and make them feel good about it. Again, it's his superpower and it is the only way he was twice elected as president. Think of the people who strap stuff on themselves and end their lives in a crowd of people. How does that happen? They are convinced time and time again that after it's over they are going to be greeted in heaven by 72 virgins. They are so convinced of this by their religious leaders they are willing to do the unthinkable. Trump does the same thing.
He knows if you just promise the people whatever they want, whatever their dreams are knowing it's all a lie, he will get what he wants. The power not to care what people think when all your lies blow up is why he is able to continue doing it. You and I would be crippled with stress if we did that to people.”
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