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500 Worst Things Trump Did in 2025, Part 5

#401-500. Sept-Dec.

Ron Filipkowski Jan 1

This is a comprehensive list of the worst things the Trump Admin did in 2025, in chronological order. This final part concludes with the 100 worst things from the last quarter of the year.

You can find part 1 (#1-100) here. Part 2 (101-200) is here. Part 3 (201-300) is here. Part 4 (301-400) is here. If you missed my weekly podcast Uncovered where I do a deep dive into the Top 10 stories of the week, you can find that here.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and subscribing to my work.

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SEPTEMBER 2025

401. CNN: “Trump's new nominee to run the BLS ran an anonymous Twitter account filled with sexually degrading attacks on Kamala Harris, anti-gay slurs, and far-right conspiracy theories. EJ Antoni tweeted, ‘You can’t run a race on your knees,’ in response to a tweet of a doctored campaign poster that depicted a sexually explicit AI image of Harris.” The WH would withdraw his nomination two weeks later.

402. WSJ: “S. Korean workers were arrested in an ICE raid at a Hyundai Motor battery plant under construction in GA, weeks after the carmaker pledged $26 billion in US investments. Around 450 people were arrested.” Economist Paul Novosad: “How stupid is this? Hyundai is building an $8 billion factory in Georgia, and ICE is imprisoning company staff who are on business trips from S. Korea. So much for investing in manufacturing!”

403. Vance responding to someone stating bombing boats is a war crime: “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” Sen. Rand Paul responded: “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”

404. NYT: “Signs bearing Trump’s name have gone up at major construction projects financed by the Biden infrastructure law, which he strenuously opposed ahead of its passage.” Trump removed signs from the sites and switched out his name on the projects even though he told Republicans in Congress to vote against the bill that funded them.

405. Energy Secretary Chris Wright: “Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and the wind is not blowing.” His post was hit with a fact-check Community Note: “Solar and wind aren’t ‘worthless’ when it’s dark or calm. Their output is variable but very predictable. Grid-connected renewables use storage, geographic diversity, and backups to stay reliable. All generation types face downtime for maintenance, fuel, and safety.”

406. WaPo: “The number of Americans missing work for Nat Guard deployments or other military or civic duty is at a 19-year high, adding disruption to a labor market that’s already under strain. Between Jan-Aug, workers reported 90,000 instances of people missing at least a week of work because of military deployments, jury duty or other civil service. That is more than double the number of similar absences in the same 8-month period last year.”

407. Raphael Rashid, who covers Korean politics: “S. Korea's entire media establishment across political spectrum has united in unprecedented editorial consensus expressing profound betrayal, outrage, national humiliation, and fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance re: mass arrest of Korean workers at Hyundai's GA plant. While Korean media occasionally unite on domestic issues, these are usually severely politicized. Here, the level of scorn spanning from conservative establishment to progressive outlets is extraordinarily rare. They are furious.”

408. Trump: “Our great West Point has smartly cancelled the Award Ceremony for actor Tom Hanks. Important move! We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! One X user responded: “Tom Hanks was instrumental in raising funds for DC’s WWII Memorial when Congress appropriated only 10% of the funds needed. He also raised funds for the National WWII Museum, narrated documentaries on WWII and co-produced Band of Brothers. Naturally, Trump hates this.”

409. Trump’s FEMA Dir Cameron Hamilton after he was fired for testifying that it shouldn’t be abolished: “That’s when the divide started to happen between myself and DHS leadership, which was saying, ‘No, we don’t want it. We want it cut, shut down.’ My argument was, ‘This is extremely irresponsible.’ I didn’t think they were going to let me testify, but they did. So, before I go to the testimony, I packed up my whole office.” He was fired the next day.

410. RFK Jr was asked why the US has so many mass shootings compared to other countries: “There are many things that happened in the 1990s that could explain these. One is the dependence on psychiatric drugs. There could be connections with video games, and number of things. And we are looking at that.”

411. CNN: “DNI Tulsi Gabbard directed the NSA in recent months to recall a classified report about Venezuela – despite agency staff affirming it was accurate and complied with all NSA policies – in a move that has raised major questions inside the intel community. The classified report related to Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell. It included conversations that Grenell had with Nicolas Maduro, the leader of Venezuela whom the US has accused of drug trafficking, as well as info about Grenell collected by the NSA.”

412. NYT: “Hopes for the fast capture of the person who shot 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 fed officials for taking into custody ‘the subject for the horrific shooting today.’ The backtrack was a source of significant embarrassment for the FBI director.” Right-wing activist Christopher Rufo: “I think it is time for Republicans to assess whether Patel is the right man to run the FBI. He performed terribly in the last few days, and it’s not clear whether he has the operational expertise to investigate, infiltrate, and disrupt the violent movements—of whatever ideology—that threaten the peace in the US.”

413. After Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, Denmark responded by announcing it will make its purchases in Europe for construction of their new missile defense system. Portugal announced they are buying from a French jet manufacturer instead of American F-35s. Denmark MP Rasmus Jarlov: “It pays to be a good ally. Denmark yesterday announced our biggest defense investment ever. We will buy air defense for 8 billion euros, and it will all come from European producers. It has been a strong political desire to buy from reliable and non-threatening partners.” GOP Rep. Don Bacon: “The ugly and foolish diplomacy this Admin showed towards our great ally, Denmark, is costing us money. It should not surprise us.”

414. NYT: “Steve Witkoff met with Sheikh Tahnoon, who controls $1.5 trillion of the Emiratis’ sovereign wealth. Witkoff and Tahnoon have become both diplomatic allies and business partners, testing the limits of ethics rules while enriching the president, his family and his inner circle. In May, Witkoff’s son Zach announced the first of the deals at a conference in Dubai. One of Sheikh Tahnoon’s investment firms would deposit $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency start-up founded by the Witkoffs and Trumps. Two weeks later, the WH agreed to allow the UAE access to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips, a crucial tool in the high-stakes race to dominate AI.”

415. Pam Bondi said she agreed with Vance and Stephen Miller’s comments that Democrats should be prosecuted for comments made about Charlie Kirk after his death: "There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society. We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech." Fox political analyst Brit Hume: “Someone needs to explain to Bondi that so-called ‘hate speech,’ repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amend. She should know this.”

416. MSNBC: “Roughly 20% of FBI agents - 2,840 out of around 13,800 - have been diverted to work on immigration enforcement. The impacts have been significant. Nearly every agent on Baltimore’s domestic terrorism squad was reassigned this year to work full time on immigration enforcement, forcing them to walk away from investigations of a network of violent predators that targets and exploits children online.”

417. Marco Rubio was asked how much longer Trump is going to give Putin before he moves forward with the sanctions that he has threatened numerous times: “There are still countries in Europe that are buying Russian products, including Russian oil. And what the President has challenged our European partners is to impose the sanctions themselves that they’re asking us to impose.” European economist Anders Aslund: “What a disgrace! The two EU countries that buy Russian oil are Trump’s favorites Orban (Hungary) and Fico (Slovakia). Trump should talk to them. The US has eased its sanctions on Russia, while the EU has imposed more sanctions, which Rubio omits. How can anybody deal with the Trump lies?”

418. Jimmy Kimmel’s show was briefly taken off the air by ABC after Trump called for his firing and FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened the network with revocation of their broadcast license and other govt penalties. Carr made the threat hours before ABC sadi they were canceling the show: “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead. We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.” Rolling Stone: “Multiple execs felt that Kimmel had not actually said anything over the line, but the threat of Trump admin retaliation loomed.”

419. Trump: “I am pleased to inform our many Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.” Malcolm Nance: “You cannot designate an idea as a terrorist group. There is no organization called ANTIFA. There is no leadership or funding path. There is no membership. What he is doing is setting the stage to designate ANY American as a terrorist. That’s Fascism.”

420. Mike Pence criticized Trump for having the US take ownership in companies: "State ownership of business is very common in China and Russia. Taking a percentage of the sales of Nvidia, taking a percentage of the stock of Intel is inconsistent with free market principles, and I think it's taken our country to a very perilous place and I think we need to resist that very strongly."

421. ABC: “Trump fired his US attorney for the E. District of VA Erik Siebert after he was unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against NY AG Letitia James. Prosecutors in VA uncovered no clear evidence to prove that James had knowingly committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home in the state in 2023, but Trump officials pushed Siebert to nevertheless bring criminal charges against her.”

422. WaPo: “FCC Chair Brendan Carr has criticized nearly every major media company. He launched an investigation of NPR and PBS, demanded answers from YouTube parent Alphabet over allegations that it discriminated against faith-based programming, threatened to block mergers of companies engaged in DEI practices, and approved Skydance’s $8 billion merger with Paramount with an ombudsman - who has been a Trump donor - installed at CBS News as a concession.” Frank Sesno: “It’s not just Kimmel. It’s a $15B lawsuit against NYT. It’s a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register because he didn’t like a poll. It’s settlements with ABC or 60 Minutes because he didn’t like an edit.”

423. Trump posted on Truth Social: “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’ There is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so. We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” It was later reported by WSJ that Trump intended this to be a private DM to Bondi but he posted it publicly by mistake.

424. NYT: “Tom Homan was recorded in Sept 2024 accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash in an undercover FBI investigation, which was later shut down by Trump admin officials. The cash payment was made inside a bag from the food chain Cava. Homan’s encounter with the undercover agents, recorded on audiotape, led him to be investigated for potential bribery and other crimes, after he apparently took the money and agreed to help the agents - who were posing as businessmen - secure future govt contracts related to border security.”

425. Time: “The Pentagon released new restrictions for journalists covering DOD, requiring them to sign a pledge not to gather or report on info that has not been authorized for release—even if it is unclassified. Those who do not obey the new rules risk having their press credentials revoked.” Kevin Baron who covered the Pentagon for 15 years: “It’s 100% an intimidation tactic. It’s 100% an attempt to kill transparency and funnel all public information through the govt, which goes against every constitutional principle of free speech you can imagine.”

426. The Mirror: “Child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell strolls to a yoga class in the cushy new lock-up where she is serving a 20-year stretch. The images have infuriated her victims – who were already angry at her move to the soft jail dubbed Camp Cupcake. The decision broke US prison rules which state that a sex offender cannot serve their time in a min-security facility. Her transfer came just 7 days after she spoke favorably of Trump’s notorious friendship with her pedophile ex Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell now takes morning strolls to her clerical job or to work out.”

427. Trump and RFK Jr gave a press conference claiming that pregnant women taking Tylenol is the cause of autism: Trump: “With Tylenol, don’t take it. Don’t take it. And if you can’t live, if your fever is so bad, you have to take one because there’s no alternative to that, sadly. First question, what can you take instead? Actually, there’s not an alternative to that. As you know, other of the medicines have been proven bad with the aspirins and Advils and others, right?”

428. Forbes reported that the Trump family’s net worth has doubled since the 2024 election: “Crypto is the big driver, but additional funds have come from advising right-wing companies in America and partnering with cash-rich firms overseas, especially in the Middle East. Family members who have never had significant fortunes of their own - Eric, Don Jr, Melania and Barron - have accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars. All told, the family is now worth an estimated $10 billion, having nearly doubled its net worth since the election.”

429. Scott Bessent announced the US is going to bail out Trump’s friend Javier Milei: “Argentina is a systemically important US ally in Latin America, and the Treasury stands ready to do what is needed within its mandate to support Argentina. All options for stabilization are on the table. These options may include, but are not limited to, swap lines, direct currency purchases, and purchases of US dollar-denominated govt debt.”

430. Forbes: “Trump’s $100,000 H1-B fee is a ‘blessing in disguise’ for European AI startups that need more senior level talent, founders say. The ‘human tariff’ will likely impact early stage US startups that use equity for compensation.” One EU tech CEO: “We almost say thank you to Trump, in a way. He’s really helping us keep our talent.”

431. Trump claimed the UN tried to assassinate him: “A REAL DISGRACE took place at the UN - Not one, not two, but three very sinister events! First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt. It stopped on a dime. It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster. This was absolutely sabotage. The people that did it should be arrested!”

432. Kristi Noem on CNN: Q - “Stephen Miller called the Democratic Party a domestic extremist organization. As the head of the DHS, would you agree with that characterization? Noem: We certainly have seen Democrats out there take extreme positions and and support radical criminal organizations. Q - But as the DHS Secretary, would you say that Democrats are a domestic extremist organization, yes or no? Noem: Their views are extreme and they don’t align with the American people at all.”

433. CNN: “Jeremy Carl, top Trump State Dept. nominee, deleted 1000s of social media posts, many with inflammatory commentary, including incendiary posts about race, claims that ‘peaceful coexistence’ with Democrats is impossible, even a call for teacher’s union president Randi Weingarten to be executed. One deleted tweet said Capitol rioters on trial had it worse Black people in Jim Crow Mississippi. He mocked George Floyd’s death and said he was ‘looking up from hell’ and called celebrating Juneteenth a ‘surrender’ for white people.”

434. After his newly appointed US Attorney Lindsey Halligan indicted James Comey, Trump posted: “JUSTICE IN AMERICA! One of the worst human beings this Country has ever been exposed to is James Comey, the former Corrupt Head of the FBI. Today he was indicted by a Grand Jury on two felony counts for various illegal and unlawful acts.” Ken Dilanian: “What I am hearing from DOJ sources: The Comey indictment is among the worst abuses in DOJ history. Shocking. It’s hard to overstate how a big a moment this is.” The illegal indictment was later dismissed by the court.

435. Trump: “At the request of Kristi Noem, I am directing Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary.” Gov. Tina Kotek: “There is no insurrection, there is no threat to national security and there is no need for military troops in our major city.”

436. ABC: “Dar Global said it plans to launch a Trump Plaza in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The announcement by the company said the $1 billion development is to rise in the heart of the city. It is the second collaboration in the coastal Saudi city with Trump Org and Trump Plaza Jeddah will represent the second Trump-branded development in Saudi Arabia, following the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah in Dec last year.”

437. Fox reported that Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine, is frustrated that Trump has authorized long-range strikes into Russia but Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby keep blocking them. GOP Rep. Don Bacon: “The WH authorized long-range Ukrainian strikes into Russia. But, the Pentagon routinely blocks. Who is the Commander in Chief? We want freedom to win.”

OCTOBER 2025

438. Trump-supporting TV host David Brody weighed in on his deal to give a NATO-style security guarantees to Qatar: “Sorry if I don’t understand ‘Ten dimensional geopolitical chess’, but shedding AMERICAN BLOOD in defense of Qatar is a HARD NO. This ain’t America First. Not by a long shot. Establishing a working relationship with Qatar is one thing. I get that (to a degree) but this is a whole other level. This makes the gifted Qatari plane look like small potatoes. MAGA should be infuriated by this move.”

439. Politico: “The Trump admin is planning to roll out the first tranche of bailout payments for farmers, likely using billions of dollars in funding from an internal USDA account. But it won’t be enough: USDA’s Commodity Credit Corp fund - which Trump previously tapped to provide $28 billion in farm aid during his first-term trade war with China - has just $4 billion left in the account. Some Republicans estimate they will eventually need to provide $35-$50 billion in aid to farmers hit by Trump’s tariffs.”

440. Trump gave an outrageously partisan political speech to Navy sailors and cadets, crossing a bright red line that no president before him has ever done so blatantly: “I was president in 2016. And then they rigged the election on me. And then we caught ‘em, didn’t we?” Trump later: “We have to take care of this little gnat on our shoulder called the Democrats. They want to give all of our money to illegal aliens who pour into the country.” National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem: “‘Take care of’ is not subtle. The ground has shifted and no person can deny what the president, unpopular and unfit, intends. To remain silent is to welcome this. They can both sides or claim they didn’t hear, but there is no wiggle room about his plans now.”

441. RFK Jr claimed there is a connection between circumcision and autism: “There are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It’s highly likely because they are given Tylenol.” RFK Jr said he is determined to prove his theory: “It is not proof. We’re doing the studies to make the proof.” Dr. Michelle Au: “Ah yes, the scientific method famously instructs us to predetermine a conclusion and then do studies to ‘make the proof.’”

442. Pete Hegseth announced that the Qatari Air Force will now have a base in Idaho and their military fighter pilots will be training over the US: “We’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari AF facility at the Mountain Home Airbase.” Right-wing talk show host Dana Loesch: “I feel like if you sponsor Hamas you shouldn’t get a base in the US. What am I missing here?” Jessica Tarlov: “You are missing how much Qatar is paying the Trump family in real estate deals and personal gifts.”

443. MSNBC: “RFK Jr. moved one step closer to his goal of dismantling the nation’s premier public-health agency by dismissing more than 1,000 scientists, doctors and public health officials from HHS.” Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former director of CDC’s Center on Immunization and Respiratory Diseases: “CDC is over. It was killed. This admin only knows how to break things. They have made America at risk for outbreaks and attacks by nefarious players. People should be scared.” Infectious Disease Dr. Neil Stone: “The CDC has been gutted. I’m telling you now. The US will NOT be ready for the next pandemic.”

444. SA Today: “The Dept of Ed fired nearly everyone in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in a wave of new layoffs. Most employees below the leadership level were part of the workforce reduction. Separately, employees involved in the college access program known as TRIO were also let go. An Education Dept staffer said the agency laid off just about every employee who works to administer funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. He was unsure how those programs will exist moving forward.”

445. Kristi Noem released a partisan political video to be played in US airports: “It is TSA’s top priority to ensure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience possible while we keep you safe. However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal govt, and because of this most of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay. Our hope is that Democrats soon recognize the importance of reopening the govt.”

446. WSJ: “The Trump admin is preparing sweeping changes at the IRS that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily. A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors. The undertaking aims to install allies of Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations.”

447. WSJ: “More than three dozen organizations and individuals, including companies with business before the govt, attended a dinner with Trump after opening their checkbooks to support the new $250 million ballroom under construction at the WH. Companies that sent reps included Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, and Palantir. The guest list also featured wealthy individuals and families, such as oil billionaire Harold Hamm and Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman. Trump said is planning to build a large white arch across from Arlington National Cemetery. He expects that project will also be funded by corporate donations. It is unclear how much the project would cost.”

448. NYT: “Adm. Alvin Holsey is leaving his job as head of the US Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and S. America, even as the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region in what it says is a major counterdrug and counterterrorism mission. Officials said that Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.” CNN’s Zachary Cohen: “Hegseth did not believe Holsey was moving quickly/aggressively enough to combat drug traffickers in Caribbean. But SOUTHCOM was concerned about ops not being lawful.”

449. Politico: “The Trump admin is preparing to allow oil and gas leasing across the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, a wilderness landscape that has been protected for more than 4 decades.” AK Wilderness League Dir Kristen Miller: “This is the crown jewel of our public lands system. Opening the entire Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge to drilling would destroy one of the most ecologically significant landscapes on Earth - the birthing grounds of the Porcupine Caribou herd, vital habitat for polar bears and migratory birds, and sacred land for the Gwich’in people who have stewarded its resources for millennia.”

450. Hegseth and Vance had the Marine Corps fire artillery rounds over I-5 so Vance could make a TikTok video. Gavin Newsom responded by closing that section of the highway, saying that the admin was acting irresponsibly. Vance denounced that move as unnecessary. Turns out it wasn’t. NBC: “The Marines Corps has launched an investigation after the CA Hwy Patrol said shrapnel from an artillery shell struck a law enforcement vehicle which was on hand to help stop and divert traffic on I-5.” CHP Chief Tony Coronado, who was also a Marine: “This was an unusual and concerning situation. It is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway.”

451. Financial Times on a Trump meeting with Zelensky: “Trump urged Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms for ending its war in a volatile WH meeting, warning that Putin had said he would ‘destroy’ Ukraine if it did not agree. The meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a shouting match, with Trump cursing all the time. Trump insisted Zelensky surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier.”

452. Trump said he is willing to settle his lawsuit against DOJ for $230 million claiming malicious prosecution. The DOJ supervisors who have to decide whether to approve the settlement offer from Trump’s current lawyers also happen to be Trump’s former lawyers: “They owe me a lot of money. They rigged the election. That decision would have to go across my desk. It’s strange to make a decision where I am paying myself. One of those cases where you have to decide how much you are paying yourself in damages. I was damaged greatly.”

453. The Atlantic: “Trump’s plan to double the size of the ICE workforce has met a foe more powerful than any activist group. It is the ICE personal-fitness test. More than a third have failed so far, impeding the agency’s plan to hire, train, and deploy 10,000 deportation officers by Jan. To pass, recruits must do 15 push-ups and 32 sit-ups, and run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. ‘It’s pathetic,’ one career ICE official said, adding that before now, a typical class of 40 recruits had only a couple of candidates fail, because the screening process was more rigorous. The academy’s standards have already been eased to boost recruitment. He told me that agency vets are concerned about the quality of the new recruits being fast-tracked onto the street to meet Trump’s hiring goals.”

454. Washington Times: “Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders. Numerous high-ranking officers painted Hegseth’s speech to hundreds of generals and admirals as a turning point in how his leadership style, attitude and overall competency are viewed in the upper echelons of the US armed forces. A current Army General: ‘It was a massive waste of time. If he ever had us, he lost us.’ The speech - described by other sources as ‘embarrassing’ and theatrical to a degree that ‘is below our institution’ - seemed to crystallize beliefs about Hegseth that had taken root among some senior officers - that the secretary operates with a junior officer’s mentality.”

455. Politico: “John Thune urged Trump to pull his nomination of Paul Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel after blockbuster revelations of a text chain that showed offensive messages Ingrassia sent last year. Ingrassia told a group of fellow Republicans that the MLK Jr. holiday should be ‘tossed into the 7th circle of hell’ and said he has ‘a Nazi streak’. Ingrassia made the ‘Nazi’ remark in a chat with a half-dozen Republican operatives in 2024 after a participant wrote, ‘Paul belongs in the Hitler Youth with Ubergruppenfuhrer Steve Bannon.’ Ingrassia replied: ‘I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.’”

456. Fox host Sean Hannity had former Rep. George Santos on his show, fresh out of prison after Trump commuted his sentence. He pointed out that Santos is now no longer obligated to make restitution to the many victims he defrauded: Q - “As part of this commutation, you don’t have to pay back anything. Even though you’re not compelled with this commutation to pay it back, you think you should? Santos: We have a lot to process. I’ll look into the best I can, best efforts.”

457. Trump demolished the entire East Wing of the WH. NYT: “The scope of the demolition, and Trump’s repeated promises that the WH itself would not be affected by the work, were in many ways symbolic of how he has conducted his presidency. On a variety of issues, Trump has blown past norms and traditions, often moving so quickly that it can be too late for courts, Congress or the public to catch up. He is also leaving his mark on the Oval Office, which now features many gilded flourishes. He also paved over the Rose Garden; erected huge flag poles on the WH grounds; and is planning to build an arch in the style of the Arc de Triomphe.”

458. WSJ: “Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company.” CBS: “In its sentencing memo against Zhao, DOJ argued his company ‘critically undermined the effectiveness of US sanctions against Iran by providing its Iranian customers the ability to transact with the US customers.’” NYT: “To spearhead his clemency push, Zhao hired Teresa Guillen, who also represents Zach Witkoff, son of special envoy Steve Witkoff. Guillen’s co-counsel was Ches McDowell, a longtime hunting companion of Donald Trump, Jr.”

459. Financial Times: “A little-known drone company backed by Donald Trump Jr has won its largest contract from the Pentagon, as the US govt expands its procurement of the drones. FL-based Unusual Machines, in which Trump Jr has held a $4 million stake, said the US Army had contracted it to manufacture 3,500 drone motors, alongside various other drone parts. The company added the Army indicated it planned to order an additional 20,000 components next year. Unusual Machines brought Trump Jr on as an adviser in Nov 2024. Shares in the company tripled in price in the weeks leading up to its disclosure of the move.”

460. Reuters: “Eric Trump was in Dubai on family business. Meeting with a Chinese businessman and his associates on the sidelines of a cryptocurrency conference in May this year, he urged them to buy at least $20 million of ‘governance tokens’ in the Trump family’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial. On June 26, an obscure entity called Aqua1 Foundation, which said it was based in UAE, announced it was buying $100 million of cryptocurrency tokens from WLF. The Chinese businessman was Guren “Bobby” Zhou, who is under investigation in Britain for money laundering. In the first half of this year, the Trump Org’s income soared 17-fold to $864 million from $51 million a year earlier. Of this total, $802 million – more than 90% – came from Trump crypto ventures, including sales of World Liberty tokens.”

461. Trump announced that the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in 33 years: “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Dept of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.” Nuclear proliferation expert Tom Nichols: “No nation except North Korea has tested nuclear weapons since the 1990s.”

NOVEMBER 2025

462. Bloomberg: “The FBI forced out a senior official overseeing aviation shortly after Kash Patel grew outraged about revelations of his publicly-available jet logs indicating he’d flown to see his musician girlfriend perform. Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, became the third head of the critical incident response group to be fired in Patel’s short regime, adding to a year filled with retributive terminations. Patel was angered this week by social media posts and news stories calling attention to his use of an FBI jet that arrived in PA, where his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins sang the national anthem at a wrestling match.”

463. NYT on the DC US Attorney’s Office since Fox host Jeanne Pirro took over: “The office is in crisis, distrustful of its leadership and demoralized by waves of dismissals, demotions and resignations that have slashed its head count by as much as a third since Trump returned to the WH. The departures have fallen particularly hard on the office’s fraud, public corruption and civil rights unit, which has lost nearly half of its prosecutors. That has damaged the office’s ability to make the big-ticket white-collar cases it has long been known for.”

464. Trump: “Walmart just announced that prices for the Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Biden in 2024. AFFORDABILITY is a Republican Stronghold. Hopefully Republicans will use this irrefutable fact!” Trump’s post was hit with a Community Note fact check: “The 2025 Walmart Thanksgiving meal used in this example contains 15 items while the 2024 meal contained 21 items. Additionally, most of the brand name items in the 2024 meal were replaced with Great Value items in this comparison.”

465. CNBC: “The US saw a huge spike in announced layoffs in Oct, reaching levels not seen in 22 years. Companies cut 153,074 jobs last month—an increase of 183% from Sept and 175% higher than Oct of last year. It’s the largest number of cuts for any Oct since 2003 and adds to what has become the worst year for layoffs since 2009.”

466. NBC: “Trump pardoned former TN House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, who were convicted on corruption charges. Casada, a Republican, was sentenced in Sept to 36 months in prison after being convicted on 17 charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.”

467. US District Judge Mark Wolf: “In 1985, President Reagan appointed me as a federal judge. I resigned Friday. My reason is simple, I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly. Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing friends and donors from investigations, persecution, and possible punishment. This is contrary to everything that I stood for in my more than 50 years in DOJ and on the bench. The WH’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out.”

468. Trump’s housing finance director Bill Pulte: “Thanks to Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage - a complete game changer.” Former GOP Rep. Bob Good: “50-year mortgages would prevent people from earning equity, or true home ownership, and essentially create lifelong renters. This is a terrible idea.” Kobeissi Letter: On a $400K Mortgage at 7% Interest: 30Y Mortgage - $558,000 in lifetime interest; 50Y Mortgage - $1,116,000 in lifetime interest. With a 50Y mortgage, you pay DOUBLE the amount of interest compared to a 30Y mortgage.”

469. Guardian: “Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski recently arranged to buy 10 Boeing 737 aircraft from Spirit Airlines. They intended to use the jets to expand deportation flights – and for personal travel. ICE officials cautioned them that buying planes would be far more expensive than simply expanding existing flight contracts. Complicating matters further, Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time, did not own the jets and their engines would have had to be bought separately. The plan has since been paused.”

470. NYT: “Trump has pardoned Troy Lake. Lake, who owned a diesel servicing company. Lake had pleaded guilty to disabling emissions controls on hundreds of heavy-duty commercial trucks, causing increases in carbon monoxide and pollutants known to cause lung cancer.”

471. WSJ: “Fannie Mae watchdogs who were removed from their jobs had been probing if Trump appointee Bill Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democratic officials, including Letitia James. Fannie Mae’s ethics and investigations group received internal complaints alleging senior officials had improperly directed staff to access the mortgage documents of James and others.
About a dozen members of the ethics and internal investigations unit of Fannie were fired.”

472. Trump after the Epstein petition got the required signatures: “The Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again. Some Weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish. Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem! Don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!”

473. NYT: “Trump pardoned the husband of Rep. Diana Harshbarger last week amid a string of clemency grants to allies. Robert Harshbarger Jr., a licensed pharmacist at the time, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and distributing a misbranded drug, some of which came from China and were not approved for the purpose by the FDA. Medicare, Medicaid and other health benefit programs paid more than $845,000 for Chinese drugs that he falsely passed off as an FDA-approved American drug used to replenish iron in patients with chronic kidney disease.”

474. NBC: “Bill Pulte has referred Rep. Eric Swalwell to DOJ for a potential federal criminal probe, based on allegations of mortgage and tax fraud related to a DC home. He is the 4th Democratic official to face mortgage fraud allegations in recent months.” Swalwell: “As the most vocal critic of Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me.”

475. NYT: “Lauren Boebert has been the target of an unrelenting pressure campaign from the WH to remove her name from the Epstein petition. WH officials have issued vague threats, reminding her of the risks of crossing Trump. But the hardball tactics did not have their desired effect. Instead, people familiar with Boebert’s thinking said, it caused Boebert to dig in and more seriously entertain the possibility of a real conspiracy at play to cover up what is in the Epstein files.”

476. NBC: “Trump’s directive to change the name of DOD to the Dept of War could cost as much as $2 billion. The name change, which must be approved by Congress, would require replacing thousands of signs, placards, letterheads and badges, as well as any other items at US military sites around the world that feature the Dept of Defense name.”

477. ProPublica: “Kristi Noem has hailed a $200 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign as a crucial tool to stem illegal immigration. DHS invoked ‘national emergency’ as it awarded contracts for the campaign, bypassing the normal competitive bidding process. DHS has kept at least one beneficiary of the deal a secret: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser at DHS, has worked extensively with the firm. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin.”

478. Bloomberg: “A convicted Ponzi schemer whose 24-year prison term was commuted by Trump now faces as much as 50 years behind bars for an investor fraud that took place after his clemency. Eli Weinstein faces sentencing after being convicted of defrauding more than 150 investors out of $41 million. Investors believed their money was going to Covid-19 masks, baby formula and first-aid kits bound for Ukraine, but it actually went to gambling, real estate and luxury watches.”

479. CBS on another one of Trump’s pardon recipients: “Former J6 defendant John Banuelos - who was accused of pulling gun while amid the mob at Capitol - is back in court. He’s facing a new set of charges in Salt Lake City for aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault.”

480. Daily Beast: “The US reached a trade deal with Switzerland. The Swiss govt said that the deal cut its tariff rate from 39-15%. The relief is welcome for Switzerland, as the high tariff rate saw Swiss tech exports drop to the U.S. by 14.2% in Q3. Rolex CEO Jean Frédéric Dufour, Johann Rupert from luxury goods maker Richemont, and Marwan Shakarchi from gold refining company MKS visited the WH on Nov. 4. After the meeting, Trump had a gold clock and a bar of gold on the Oval Office desk.”

481. After multiple business deals were announced between the Saudi global wealth fund and Trump Org on everything from golf courses, to hotels, resorts and crypto, Trump announced that he is selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia despite concerns from the Pentagon that they will allow the Chinese to steal the technology. The Street: “Trump Org is planning to build a luxury resort in the Maldives. Trump Org and Dar Global announced the plan. Dar Global is a Saudi real estate development company. Called the Trump Intl Hotel Maldives, it is the group’s first property in the Maldives.”

482. The Atlantic: “In the morning after he won a second term as president, Trump placed an unexpected call to his top fundraiser, Meredith O’Rourke. ‘I want you to keep going,’ he told her. That message went out to donors, as well as to Fortune 500 companies and billionaire investors who typically avoided politics. Trump estimated that he had collected at least $2B since the election, more than all the money raised to support his 2024 campaign. Defense contractors, cryptocurrency investors, and tech companies have put in tens of millions of dollars as he has deregulated the industry or dropped enforcement proceedings.”

483. Trump called for the execution by hanging of 2 Democratic senators and 4 reps after they posted a video reminding members of the military that it is their legal obligation to refuse to follow unlawful orders. Trump responded with a series of posts on Truth Social: “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” He then reposted this: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” Another: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

484. NBC: “The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump admin’s position that the operations are lawful — and his views were sidelined. Marine Col. Paul Meagher, who serves as the senior JAG at US Southern Command, raised his legal concerns in Aug before the strikes began.”

485. Financial Times correspondent Christopher Miller on Trump’s latest peace plan : “The proposal pushed upon Ukraine from the Trump admin in its current form is one that so closely resembles the Kremlin’s maximalist demands that senior Ukrainian officials briefed on it called it a Putin wishlist and said it would essentially amount to Ukraine giving up its sovereignty.”

486. WaPo on a missile strike that killed 11 people: “Hegseth gave a spoken directive, ‘The order was to kill everybody.’ As the smoke cleared, they got a jolt: Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Ops commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions. The two men were blown apart in the water.”

487. Trump pardoned one of the largest drug traffickers in history. Rep. Joaquin Castro: “Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted by a jury of conspiring to traffic 400 tons of cocaine into the US. DOJ estimated that this represents 4.5 billion doses of cocaine and that he was ‘at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.’ He is responsible for the deaths of countless American citizens, and will now be pardoned by Trump. Don’t tell me Trump is killing people in boats in the Caribbean to stop drug trafficking.”

488. NYT: “Trump set free a private equity executive who had served less than 2 weeks of a 7-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims. Over several years, David Gentile used private equity funds controlled by his company, GPB Capital, to defraud 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of the funds and the source of money used to make monthly distribution payments. More than 1,000 people submitted statements attesting to their losses, according to prosecutors, who characterized the victims as ‘hardworking, everyday people,’ including small business owners, farmers, veterans, teachers and nurses.” One of the victims: “I lost my whole life savings.”

DECEMBER 2025

489. TechCrunch: “Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth magnets startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s VC firm 1789 Capital, has secured a $620 million contract from DOD. Trump Jr. joined 1789 Capital as a partner in 2024. The firm invested in Vulcan Elements around 3 months ago. This govt contract represents the largest ever made by the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital. This year alone, at least four 1789 companies have received govt contracts.”

490. Estonian Toomas Hendrik Ilves: “After the publication of the US National Security Strategy, we all now know Europe is seen as America’s primary enemy. No other part of the world is treated with such overt hostility and bellicose ‘regime change’ threats. The US goal is a continent of Hungaries - a prewar patchwork of individual countries too weak to stand up to any security or economic threats. Easy to bully, invade, take over.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov: “The adjustments to the US NSS largely align with our own vision.”

491. Trump: “I have informed President Xi that the US will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security. President Xi responded positively! 25% will be paid to the USA.” Chris McGuire, head of China policy for CFR: “This is a sea change in US policy, and a significant strategic mistake. If the US sells AI chips to China that are 18 months behind the frontier, it negates the biggest US advantage over China in AI.”

492. Michael Glasheen, director of the national security branch of the FBI: “Antifa is our primary concern right now. What you look at the domestic terrorist threat that we’re facing, that’s the most immediate violent threat we’re facing. Rep. Bennie Thompson: Where is Antifa headquartered? Glasheen: We are building out the infrastructure right now. Thompson: What does that mean? How many members do they have? Glasheen: That’s very fluid. The investigations are active.”

493. Trump, hours after Rob and Michele Reiner were murdered: “Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. His obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Admin surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before.”

494. Daily Mail: “Kash Patel is at the center of another embarrassing fiasco after the FBI released a person of interest detained over the mass shooting at Brown Univ. The FBI had wrongfully detained a 24-year-old Army sniper whose name and photo was leaked to the press. 48 hours later, the FBI is back at square one and Patel is under scrutiny over the botched arrest.”

495. Karoline Leavitt: “The highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center have just voted unanimously to rename it to the Trump-Kennedy Center. Congratulations to President Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future!” Maria Shriver: “Some things leave you speechless, and enraged, and in a state of disbelief.”

496. NBC: “The CDC has logged 26,632 cases of whooping cough in 2025. The last time the US saw so many cases was more than a decade ago. Vaccination rates are plummeting across the country, as part of a larger, troubling trend of growing vaccine hesitancy that is fueling a resurgence of preventable diseases, including measles.”

497. NYT: “Since Trump was elected a second time, he and his allies have raised nearly $2 billion for his favored political causes and passion projects. A large portion of the funds raised - more than half a billion dollars’ worth - come from 346 donors who each gave at least $250,000. More than half of them have benefited from the actions or statements of Trump, the WH or fed agencies.”

498. Doug Burgum: “We’re sending notifications to the 5 large offshore wind projects that are under construction that their leases will be suspended due to national security concerns. The Dept of War has come back conclusively that the issues related to these large offshore wind programs create radar interference.” Foreign policy journalist Kevin Baron: “Bullshit. False flags like this undermine public trust in warnings about ACTUAL security threats. The truth: Trump has an obsession with wind and renewable energy conspiracy theories.”

499. Trump: “I am pleased to announce that I am appointing the GREAT Gov of LA, Jeff Landry, as the US Special Envoy to Greenland. Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests.” Landry responded on X: “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US.” Landy then posted a video: “All we’re gonna do is go up there and have a conversation with those folks in Greenland. They’re in the western hemisphere so they fit inside the Monroe Doctrine. And we’re going to bring them some great cajun food.”

500. CNBC: “The Trump admin will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default in early Jan. The US govt has extraordinary collection powers on federal debts, and it can seize borrowers’ federal tax refunds, wages, and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Student loan holders have been under pressure from a weakening labor market. More than 5 million student loan borrowers are currently in default, and that total could swell to roughly 10 million borrowers soon, the Ed Dept said earlier this year.”