Today in Politics, Bulletin 126. 5/8/25 Ron Filipkowski May 8 ∙ … Cardinal Robert Prevost is now the first American Pope, and he has posted articles critical of both Trump and JD Vance in recent years. Prevost shared an article in February titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others,” challenging Vance's interpretation of Christian teachings to justify MAGA's restrictive immigration policies. … In April 2025, Prevost retweeted a post highlighting Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjívar's condemnation of the deportation of a US resident, questioning, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?” … He also retweeted Sen. Chris Murphy’s post calling for stricter gun control laws, made a post calling for people to pray for George Floyd, and another calling for an end to the death penalty. … Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist: “The newly selected pope trashed Trump, trashed Vance, trashed border enforcement, endorsed DREAMer-style illegal immigration, repeatedly praised and honored George Floyd, and endorsed a Democrat senator’s call for more gun control.” … MAGA activist Laura Loomer: “MARXIST POPE!” … MAGA activist Catturd: “This is so bad.” … Charlie Kirk: “There is cause for great concern.” … Fox host Larry Kudlow: “One of the things I love most about Trump is he's putting religion back into play. He's putting God back into play. There's a whole religious revival going on which I think it's authentically being sponsored by President Trump. I just love that.” … Trump made a post to commemorate Victory Day in Europe. Except he posted the flag raising on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in the Pacific, which happened in February 1945. … In the last 24 hours, Trump has fired his FEMA Director, Surgeon General, and pulled the nomination of DC US Attorney Ed Martin today, as the Trump admin continues to be in complete disarray. … Politico reported that FEMA Dir Cameron Hamilton was fired by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem one day after he testified to a House Appropriations subcommittee: “I do not believe it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate FEMA.” … It is now 3 weeks before the start of hurricane season. … Literally the exact time that Noem was firing Hamilton and he was being escorted out of the building, Rep. Mark Green was posting this: “Cameron Hamilton’s service at the helm of FEMA has been nothing short of amazing. Since taking the helm at FEMA, thousands of Americans have seen FEMA’s promises fulfilled, from housing to disaster relief. President Trump made the right choice!” … I guess nobody told him. … Trump also withdrew the nomination of Ed Martin for DC US Attorney: "I have to be straight. I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that's the way it works. Sometimes, that's the way it works. And he wasn't rejected, but we felt it would be very it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we'll be announcing over the next two days.” … Then, as Martin was doing an interview with Newsmax about it outside his office this afternoon, a woman walked by, cursed at him, and then spit on him. Tough day. … ABC then reported that the frontrunner to replace Martin as US Attorney is Fox host Jeanine Pirro. Pirro did not appear for her regular spot on The Five tonight, which seems to indicate something is happening. … Trump’s post firing his Surgeon General: “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Casey Means, will be nominated as our next Surgeon General. Casey has impeccable “MAHA” credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of HHS, RFK Jr. Secretary Kennedy looks forward to working with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat in another capacity at HHS.” … MSNBC on the new nominee: “While US surgeons general tend to have extensive experience in medicine and public health, Means was described as a ‘wellness influencer’ who dropped out of her surgical residency program and has no experience in public health admin. The same report noted that Means has supplemented her income by selling ‘dietary supplements, creams, teas and other products sponsored on her social media accounts.’ Means’ political profile received a significant boost after she taped interviews with Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.” … The Independent: “President Trump has selected a conspiracy theorist and self-styled Make America Healthy Again ‘wellness influencer’ who is not currently licensed to practice medicine to be the nation’s next Surgeon General.” … According to a newsletter that Means publishes, she believes in using spiritual mediums, praying to ancestor shrines, doing full moon ceremonies to amplify her dreams, asking the trees in the forest to deliver advice on men, and dabbles in hallucinogenic mushrooms. … Trump was asked about his latest nominee. REPORTER: You just announced a new nominee for US Surgeon General who never finished her residency, and is not a practicing physician. So can you explain why you picked her to be America's top doctor? TRUMP: Because Bobby thought she was fantastic. I don't know her.” … RFK Jr’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan isn’t happy with the pick: “Doesn't make any sense. I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in his Senate confirmation that Means would not be working under HHS or in an appointment. I don't know if RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on. It has been clear in recent conversations that he is reporting to someone regularly who is controlling his decisions (and it isn't President Trump). There is something very artificial and aggressive about her, almost like she was bred and raised a Manchurian asset.” … Lots of MAGA influencers are not happy with Means. Loomer: “A TOTAL CRISIS! It’s crazy how many Republicans make excuses for some of the absolute whack jobs RFK Jr has brought into the Trump admin. Some of these people are full blown Marxists. I will be doing my own personal vet of HHS Marxists to show people who has infiltrated MAGA under the guise of MAHA. It’s incredibly disturbing. And mark my word it’s going to backfire miraculously. You’ll see.” … She wasn’t done: “This is arguably Witch Craft. I want to know which one of President Trump’s geniuses chose a woman who literally talks to trees and spiritual mediums and who doesn’t even have an active medical license to be the US Surgeon General. I would call her a Witch Doctor, but she doesn’t even have a valid active medical license. You have no idea how many texts I have received from doctors who are members of Mar a Lago and Bedminster who are like WTF IS THIS. This is honestly insane. I do not believe for one second that Donald Trump made this decision. I refuse to believe it.” … FBI Director Kash Patel showed up to testify today at a hearing on the FBI budget, and said he still doesn’t have one done yet. Sen Patty Murray: It was due last week. By law. PATEL: I understand. MURRAY: You're not gonna follow the law? And you have no timeline? PATEL: No.” … Patel was also asked when he will release the Epstein files: “In the near future.” … Trump attempted to make a big deal about a trade agreement with the UK in the Oval Office today, but with all things Trump you have to wait a bit for the details. Bloomberg: “UK providing a polite reality check to Trump’s posts about a ‘full and comprehensive’ deal. UK-US deal will set out general terms of agreement. Will set framework for further negotiations. Focused on specific sectors, not a traditional free trade agreement.” … UK official: “Despite Trump’s language, any agreement is likely to be limited. The UK-US deal has never been billed as a full-scale free trade pact, which typically take years to negotiate.” … Economist Justin Wolfers: “It’s a framework, not a deal. The UK is our 11th largest trading partner. The average tariff the UK charges countries around the world is 1%. so the best we can do is knock the UK from 1% down to 0, and it’s already clear we didn’t get them down to 0. And along the way, Trump is imposed a 10% tariff on the UK making it harder for Americans to do business with trading partners in the UK. It’s a photo op with very little macroeconomic significance.” Today was a crazy news day with a lot of twists and turns, and I did my best to keep up. There was no Bulletin yesterday since I did my podcast Uncovered where we do a deep dive into the Top 10 stories of they day. If you missed it and wanted to check it out, link is here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … Brendan Duke, Center on Budget: “The Liberation Day reciprocal tariff on UK imports was 10% and it's now going to be 10%. Art of the Deal folks. Populism is now reducing tariffs on British steel and aluminum imports in exchange for the UK lowering taxes on Google and Facebook.” … Bloomberg reported that the EU is planning to target US cars, planes and alcohol with $108 billion in tariffs if they are unable to reach a trade deal soon. … Reporter to Trump: We're seeing as a result of tariffs that at ports here in the US the traffic has really slowed and now thousands of dockworkers are truck drivers are worried about their jobs. TRUMP: “That means we lose less money. When you say it slowed down, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.” … Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick: “The Arizona high tech manufacturing boom is here! Local community colleges, Universities and vocational schools have designed new training programs to fill these thousands of new jobs. Thanks to this $165 billion massive semiconductor fab construction project and others, this admin is delivering high-paying wages for great Americans and strengthening our national security.” SOME OF US REMEMBER!  HOWARD LUTNICK: JUST ANOTHER LIAR! … The program Lutnick is taking credit for was funded by Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s CHIPS Act. … Melania Trump made one of her rare contractually obligated appearances under her 3rd amended prenuptial agreement, flying in to DC to present a new postage stamp honoring Barbara Bush, who hated Trump with a passion. Melania has spent 12 total days at the WH since Trump was inaugurated. … Former ABC political director Mark Halperin: “There’s literally no one, I think, who’s ever lived on this planet, who detested Donald Trump more than Barbara Bush. I feel comfortable in saying that. And yet they're honoring her in the WH tomorrow. It’s incredible.” … Sen. Rand Paul on Fox Business on the GOP budget negotiations: “The bill they put forward will allow the debt ceiling to rise $5 trillion over two years. This is the largest increase in the debt-ceiling ever in our country, and it indicates that not only will the deficit this year exceed $2 trillion, that they're planning on it exceeding $2 trillion next year, which to me means they're not really cutting. That's not fiscally conservative. And as long as that's in there, I can't support the bill.” … Newsmax asked Sen. Ron Johnson if he was confident they will pass a budget by the 4th of July like Trump wants. “No, I’m not. That bill’s not going to pass. I’ve been trying to make everyone aware of it. So no, I'm not particularly optimistic right now, because at those spending levels, I'm not going to vote for it." … Trump continued to blame the Biden admin for air traffic control problems, which only started after he became president: “Air Traffic problems caused by the incompetent Biden Administration, as headed by, in this case, a total novice and political hack, Pete B. I WILL FIX IT!!!” … Fed Chair Jerome Powell explained why they are not lowering interest rates right now: "If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they are likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and an increase in unemployment." … Trump responded on Truth Social: “Too Late” Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn’t have a clue. Other than that, I like him very much! Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and “eggs”) down, virtually NO INFLATION, Tariff Money Pouring Into the U.S. — THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF “TOO LATE!” ENJOY!” … Reuters reported that SecDef Pete Hegseth has issued a memo calling for all active duty service members who have self identified with “gender dysphoria” to resign from the military by June 6 or they will be involuntarily discharged. … The State Dept and US embassies are now pushing countries to buy Elon Musk’s Starlink if they want tariffs lifted. WaPo: “Sect of State Marco Rubio has increasingly instructed officials to push for regulatory approvals for Musk’s satellite firm at a moment when the WH is calling for wide-ranging talks on trade. In India, govt officials have sped through approvals of Starlink with the understanding that doing so could help them cement trade deals with the admin. … WaPo source briefed on the matter by Indian leadership: “It’s not likely to be an explicit element of the trade negotiations with the US, but the Indian side sees this as an important lubricant that facilitates a deal.” … State Dept responded to the report: “Starlink is an American-made product that has been game-changing in helping remote areas around the world gain internet connectivity. Any patriotic American should want to see an American company’s success on the global stage, especially over compromised Chinese competitors.” … Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who drafted the bipartisan border bill that Trump killed during the campaign, told CBS that he thinks the US would be better off today if it had passed: “Some form of that, eventually, we will get done. It should have passed. It would have fixed a lot of loopholes in the law that would have made it easier to do enforcement now.” The bill included additional funding for detention beds, border security and immigration judges. … Ryan Calkins, Commissioner of the port of Seattle, on CNN: “I'm looking out at the port of Seattle right now, and we currently have no container ships at berth. And that happens every once in a while in normal times. But it is pretty rare. And so to see it tonight is, I think, a stark reminder that the impacts of the tariffs have real implications.” … MN Gov Tim Walz: “So many Americans thought, ‘We need to hire a businessman to run government like a business.’ Two things about that are wrong. First, no—we don’t need to run govt like a business, because we’re not in the profit-making business. We’re in the business of improving lives and looking toward the future. And second, this guy has a proven track record of being an absolute failure.” … Bloomberg: “President Trump will have an ‘intimate private dinner’ with top 220 buyers of his crypto memecoin at his DC-area golf club. The coin skyrocketed on the news, at one point up 49%. The top 25 Trump coin holders will also be invited to a reception before the dinner with the president, and will be given a tour of the White House.” … Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel asking them to investigate suspicious pizza deliveries to judge’s houses: “The targeted individuals reportedly include Supreme Court justices, judges handling legal cases involving the Trump Admin, and the children of judges. Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl, who was murdered at the family’s home by a former litigant who posed as a deliveryman.” … After whining about Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda backing out of their performances at the Kennedy Center, Trump’s new Director Ric Grenell is now complaining about a new protest by the cast of Les Misérables, who are planning to boycott Trump’s scheduled appearance next month. … Grenell issued a statement to the NYT: “Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed. In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire — and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.” … Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda: “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center.” … Rep. Buddy Carter announced his candidacy against Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia. Carter has been waiting for Gov. Kemp to decide if he was going to run, and with Kemp out that means Carter is in. He launched his campaign with a new TV ad where he touts himself as a pro-Trump “MAGA warrior.” … Fox5 Atlanta: “Earlier this year, Carter introduced a bill authorizing President Trump to negotiate the purchase of Greenland from Denmark, proposing that the island's name be changed to ‘Red, White, and Blueland.’ … It’a a big day for flat-earther and former candidate for governor Kandiss Taylor, who is now running for Carter’s open seat in Congress. She put her previous campaign slogan of ‘Jesus, Guns & Babies’ on the side of her campaign bus: “Happy Day to me! Open Primary. Congress will never be the same again. I cannot wait to do the will of the people and fight for our Constitutional Republic.” … Rep. Marge Greene’s bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico passed the House with all Dems and one Republican (Don Bacon) voting against it: “Democrats are FURIOUS that we want to permanently rename the Gulf of America, but they had no problem renaming military bases and tearing down statues of Lincoln and Washington. They don’t hate the name. They just hate America.” … Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) responded to Greene on the floor: “Republicans think this juvenile legislation is the best use of this House's time. This is the only thing we're doing today, folks. What a sick joke this is. Very frankly, my self-confidence in America does not need that. I don't need Canada to be the 51st state. I don't need to invade Greenland. And I don't need the Gulf of America to have confidence in the greatest country on Earth. Are we so small? Do we feel so belittled by the rest of the world that we have to do this silly, silly, silly step?” … The problem for Greene is that the Sen Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t seem interested in her nonsense. He was asked by CNN if he will bring it to the floor for a vote: “Does it take Congress to do that? I suppose. I don't know. I haven't have thought that far ahead. We have got a lot of other work directly in front of us at the moment.” … WSJ reported that Trump’s attempt to separate Greenlanders from Denmark has had the opposite effect. In recent weeks, Greenland and Denmark have moved closer together as officials in Nuuk and Copenhagen sought to reinvigorate their relationship and to look with fresh eyes at outstanding problems. … Pipaluk Lynge, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of Greenland’s parliament: “We know it’s not about the people, it’s never been about the people. It’s about our land, our resources, our oil, our minerals. Trump sees us as real estate that you can buy, and we are really offended by that. The relationship with Denmark will always be complicated because they were the colonial nation, but we can’t get through this without them.” … Mike Bird with The Economist: “Trump is a transformative nationalist figure on the global stage, in the sense that only he has the power to make Greenlanders warm to Denmark and Quebecers plant Canadian flags on their land.”