Today in Politics, Bulletin 231. 10/17/25… Meidas spoke to the organizers of No Kings who told us that the number of people signed up to attend the nationwide rallies tomorrow has doubled since Speaker Mike Johnson first called them “Hate America” rallies on Oct. 10. They will also be held in over 2,600 locations this time compared with 2,100 in June. A link to find one year you is here. … Johnson was at it again today: “We refer to it by its more accurate description - the Hate America Rally. You’re gonna bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far left Democrat Party. That is the modern Democratic Party. That’s where they’ve gone. The Hate America Rally is the common theme among all those groups.” … Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ): “Segregationist George Wallace about the 1963 March on Washington: ‘I do think the March under the leadership of men who are in the Communist Party and have been is not good for the country - citizens being used by communists to disrupt and destroy internal peace.” … Johnson: “They hate capitalism. They hate our principles. They hate the idea of the rule of law, they fight against it all the time.” … House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain: “We’ll see mobs of radicals at the ‘I Hate America’ rally.” … Trump was asked about No Kings: “They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”
… Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA): “Now they’re proclaiming how great this No Kings rally is going to be, this anti-America protest that’s going to take place where they claim there is going to be hundreds of thousands of people. We shall see.” … CA Gov. Gavin Newsom: “I urge our nation to use this weekend’s No Kings marches as a Declaration of Independence against the tyranny and lawlessness currently running this country. Use your voice. ACT PEACEFULLY. Protect yourself and your community. THERE ARE NO KINGS IN THE UNITED STATES.” … Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: “You’ve got Karoline Leavitt, who’s sick, she’s out of control. And I’m not sure if she’s just demented, ignorant, a stone cold liar, or all of the above. But the notion that an official WH spokesperson would say that the Democratic Party consists of ‘terrorists, violent criminals, and undocumented immigrants’ - this makes no sense that this is what the American people are getting from the Trump admin in the middle of a shutdown.” … Organizer Chip Gibbons told NOTUS that he is concerned the Trump admin will try to provoke violence with fed agents: “We have a very volatile situation in which these federal forces are not wanted in these cities, and they’re behaving very aggressively towards the people there - being very provocative, attacking or arresting people who are filming them or protesting them. There is some belief that Trump wants incidents like this to occur, because then it can justify what he’s doing even further. I would be very concerned about these forces trying to provoke one of the protests.” … Organizer Hunter Dunn: “Trump can call us violent all he wants. The American people aren’t stupid. The No Kings coalition is aware that far-right agitators may sometimes try to disrupt our non-violent demonstrations, which is why we are prioritizing safety by making sure that volunteers are trained in de-escalation and community care.” … Johnson was asked about the lawsuit being filed to force him to swear in Adelita Grijalva: “It’s a publicity stunt by a Democrat attorney general in Arizona who sees a national moment and wants to call me out. She has nothing whatsoever to do with what’s happening in Congress.” … AZ AG Kris Mayes on CNN: “Time is up. I gave him two days, and he continues to refuse to swear her in. And Arizona’s 7th congressional district 813,000 Arizonans are now being taxed without representation. I have lawyers downstairs right now drafting the litigation.” … Q: What is your reaction to Marjorie Taylor Greene saying this is a serious situation with regard to Cory Mills? Johnson: I try not to react to what Marjorie Taylor Greene says every day. I don’t know what she’s talking about.” … Mills has charges pending before the Ethics Committee, which include accepting money from foreign entities, failing to report money he received on his campaign finance reports, his side business illegally entering into contracts with federal agencies, and his former girlfriend just got a restraining order for domestic violence. … Greene to Axios: “They expelled George Santos, Mike Johnson did. He was Speaker and oversaw Santos being expelled. Why isn’t he doing anything about Cory Mills? There’s clearly proof behind her accusations that a judge is issuing a restraining order. So I would say to Speaker Johnson, this is a serious matter, and it needs to be taken seriously.” … Jeffries: “On vacation for 3 consecutive weeks. They are in the legislative witness protection program. No one can find them here in the Capitol and no one can find them in their districts. They’re not holding town hall meetings. They’re not visiting federal employees. They’re not engaging with their constituents. They’ve been on vacation in the middle of a shutdown. What we need is for them to come back to work so we can work this out.” … Johnson has had the House adjourned for 74 of the last 86 days. … House Committee Calendar for the month of October. Zero hearings or business being conducted:
… Greene: “One good thing to come from this govt shutdown - CLEAR SKIES! No taxpayer-funded weather modification experiments Americans never asked for. My Clear Skies Act will BAN geoengineering and weather modification. No more spraying chemicals in our skies. It’s time to end this dangerous and unregulated practice!” … Every time you think she starts making sense on a lot of things, she always reminds you who she is. … JD Vance: “President Trump and I are closely tracking the storm devastation that resulted in over 1,000 citizens being airlifted out of Alaska villages. Alaskans, our prayers are with you and your federal government is working closely with Sen. Dan Sullivan and Gov. Dunleavy to get you the help you need.” … The NYT reported that the EPA canceled a $20M flood protection grant for this region in May, which includes Alaska’s native village of Kipnuk, calling it “wasteful DEI spending.” Kipnuk was devastated by the floods that destroyed homes and left residents stranded. … Vance also conspicuously omitted Sen. Lisa Murkowski from the people he is “working closely with.” … A major story is brewing after the latest US military strike off the coast of Venezuela. CNN’s Zachary Cohen: “The US military is holding 2 survivors on a Navy ship. Unclear at this point what the US is going to do with the detained survivors.” … Reuters: “The US military staged a helicopter rescue to pick up survivors from Thursday’s strike and is holding them on a Navy ship.” … This is potentially a massive story. Did DOJ plan for survivors? Do they have sufficient evidence to prosecute? What is US jurisdiction to prosecute? Where will they go next? When is their court date? Will they be indicted? Held at Gitmo? Returned to Venezuela? Be Epsteined? … Sec of State Marco Rubio was asked about it today: Q - “There are survivors from the latest boat strike. What happens to them? Rubio: We are not prepared to announce details.” … Trump was also asked about Maduro today during his meeting with Zelensky: “He doesn’t want to fuck around with the United States.” … NYT: “The military commander overseeing the Pentagon’s escalating attacks against boats in the Caribbean said he was stepping down. Adm. Alvin Holsey is leaving his job as head of the US Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South 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.” … “It was unclear why Admiral Holsey is suddenly departing, less than a year into what is typically a 3-year job, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career. But one current and one former US official said that Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.” … Rep. Adam Smith, senior Dem on the House Armed Service Committee: “Prior to Trump, I can’t think of a combatant commander who left his or her post early, ever.” … Sen. Jack Reed, senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee: “At a moment when US forces are building up across the Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela are at a boiling point, the departure of our top military commander in the region sends an alarming signal of instability within the chain of command.” … Reed: “Any operation to intervene militarily in Venezuela - especially without congressional authorization - would be unwise and dangerous. Admiral Holsey’s resignation only deepens my concern that this administration is ignoring the hard-earned lessons of previous US military campaigns and the advice of our most experienced war fighters.” … “Admiral Holsey, who is Black, becomes the latest in a line of more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women, who have left their jobs this year. Most have been fired by Pete Hegseth or pushed out. While Holsey has been the highest-ranking military officer overseeing the air strikes, the decision to carry them out has been driven by the WH, and the strikes themselves have been conducted by Special Ops forces, with Holsey largely cut out of the decision-making.” … CNN’s Zachary Cohen: “Tensions were simmering between Hegseth and Holsey for weeks. Hegseth did not believe Holsey was moving quickly/aggressively enough to combat drug traffickers in Caribbean, and complained about not being given info he needed about ops. But SOUTHCOM was concerned about ops not being lawful.” … Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT): “If you’ve got the capability to blow a boat out of the water, you’ve got the capability to interdict it, arrest everyone on board, interrogate them, and find out where it was going, where it came from, who the bosses are, and what the distribution networks look like. When you turn a bunch of people into a smoking wreck, you don’t get any of that. All you get are a bunch of testosterone-fueled WH aides pounding on their chests. … After the mass walk out by members of the Pentagon press, these were the only ones who signed the pledge. Meet your new Pentagon press corps: The Federalist, OAN, Akşam, AWPS News, Epoch Times, India Globe, Anadolu, The Australian, and the USA Journal Korea. … Guardian: “But after we asked The Australian’s editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, why they agreed to the rules imposed by Hegseth, the publication backflipped. Spokesperson: ‘The Australian has reviewed the Pentagon’s new press rules and requirements. They raise serious concerns and place undue limits on press freedoms. Because of The Australian’s long-held position on independent journalism and press freedom, we have advised the Pentagon that we have revoked our assent.’” … Hegseth spokesman Sean Parnell: “The self-righteous media chose to self-deport from the Pentagon. That’s their right - but also their loss. They will not be missed. The Dept of War will make an announcement soon regarding the next generation of the Pentagon press corps. Stay tuned. The best is yet to come!” … Russia analyst Olga Lautman: “It’s going to be like Russia’s Defense Ministry. Propagandists receiving state talking points and scripted questions while covering up for war crimes. Interesting timing of kicking out the press as Trump prepares to take US into another war. This time in Venezuela. For oil fields?” … IL Gov. JB Pritzker on MSNBC: “The people who serve for the President can be held accountable when there’s a change of admin. Stephen Miller is clearly ordering people to break the law. He should know that it may be 3 years from now that he is held accountable.” … In his meeting with Zelensky today, Trump was asked if he was interested in building a ‘Putin-Trump Tunnel’ to connect Russia and Alaska: “I just heard about it. A tunnel from Russia to Alaska. I just heard about that one. That’s an interesting one. We’ll have to think about that. This came up yesterday. What do you think about that, Mr President? Zelensky: I’m not happy about this.” … This tunnel project was pitched to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) by the Kremlin when they delivered documents earlier this week with their conspiracies on who assassinated JFK. Naturally, as she always does, Luna immediately started pushing the joint tunnel project as a great idea yesterday on social media. … This also comes two days after Trump announced he was canceling funding approved by Congress for the tunnel between NY and NJ with construction already underway. … Karoline Leavitt was asked today who pitched Viktor Orban’s Hungary as the meeting place for the next Trump-Putin summit. She responded to the reporter: “Your mom did.” … Classy as always. … Punchbowl: “John Thune tells me the Russia sanctions bill’s ‘time has come’ and he’s ready to tee it up for floor action. He met with Lindsey Graham this morning. ‘I think the time’s right… We need to move.’” … Speaking to reporters at the WH, Trump said he plans to discuss the matter with congressional Republicans, including Thune and Johnson: “I’m not against it, I’m just saying it may not be the perfect time. It could happen in a week or two.” … Financial Times with new reporting on Trump’s last meeting with Putin: “Putin was greeted in AK with a handshake and a broad Trump grin, and momentum seemed on his side. But once behind closed doors, the warmth quickly faded. With just a handful of advisers present, Putin rejected the US offer of sanctions relief for a ceasefire, insisting the war would end only if Ukraine capitulated and ceded more territory in the Donbas.” … “Putin then delivered a rambling historical discursion spanning medieval princes such as Rurik of Novgorod and Yaroslav the Wise, along with the 17th century Cossack chieftain Bohdan Khmelnytsky — figures he often cites to support his claim Ukraine and Russia are one nation. Taken aback, Trump raised his voice several times and at one point threatened to walk out.” … The NYC mayors debate last night basically ended the race, with Dem nominee Zohran Mamdani surging even more in the polls today after his performance. Andrew Cuomo was battered all night by both Mamdani and Republican nominee and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who put on quite a show of his own. … Cuomo tried to claim he was the only one tough enough to handle Trump: “He will back down. Sliwa: The president is going to back down to you? I know you think you’re the toughest guy alive, but you lost your own primary. You have a difficulty understanding what the term ‘no’ is. Mamdani: I agree.” … Sliwa in his answer combining the fact that Cuomo already lost to Mamdani once with the other fact that Cuomo was forced to resign as governor because of a sexual harassment scandal. Ouch. … Q - How do you get around when you can’t take the subway? Mamdani: Cab or bike. Cuomo: Cab or Uber. Sliwa: I try to avoid yellow cabs, as you know I was shot in the back of a yellow cab in 1992 by the Gottis and Gambinos. But I find my way around. If I have to, I Uber. … Q - Have you ever bought weed? Mamdani: Yes. Cuomo: No. Sliwa: Look, I was shot 5 times and I have Crohn’s Disease. … NYC politics is just different than any other place. Big day tomorrow! I hope most or all of you are able to make it out to a No Kings rally. Besides all the other reasons to go, a massive turnout of peaceful protesters of all ages and races, rural, suburban and urban, will make Trump and Johnson look like asses after all their predictions about what it was going to look like. I will return with my 3rd installment of the hugely popular ‘Top 15 Signs at No Kings’ on Substack Sunday morning. I post photos of the most original and outstanding hand made signs that I have seen after looking at thousands of submissions to me on social media. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. … Former Fox host now DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro continues to lose cases like the Washington Generals lost basketball games to the Harlem Globetrotters. This time it was the case of Sydney Reid, who was accused of assaulting an ICE officer while filming him. She presented the case to 3 separate grand juries. They each refused to indict Reid for a felony. So Pirro filed misdemeanor charges. A jury then acquitted Reid of the misdemeanor. 4 tries, 4 different juries. … At the trial, the govt only called one witness. It came out during the trial that the agent referred to Reid in a text message after the alleged incident as a “libtard.” The text messages were also withheld from the defense in discovery by Pirro’s office until they were finally handed over on morning of trial. … ARL News: “Stephen Miller is selling his Arlington home after it was repeatedly targeted by activists. The nearly 6,000-square-foot house, custom built with interiors that ‘embrace a refined Southern California aesthetic,’ is listed for $3.75 million. Located on a cul de sac adjacent to a park in a quiet northern Arlington neighborhood, it sold new in 2023 for $2.875 million.” … “On at least two occasions this year, including most recently in mid-Sept, activists have written messages of protest in front of his house and in the nearby park: ‘Stephen Miller is destroying democracy,’ ‘stop the kidnapping,’ ‘we love immigrants,’ ‘hate has no home in Arlington,’ ‘no white nationalism,’ and ‘trans rights are human rights’ are among the chalk messages seen last month before being washed away.” WOW! GOOD LIVING FOR A NAZI! … “During an appearance on The Sean Hannity Show, Miller and Hannity asserted that the messages amounted to ‘terroristic threats.’ The family was subsequently seen moving out a couple of weeks ago, neighbors said, and the home was listed for sale on Oct. 7. An elaborate set of Halloween decorations were also removed. It is unclear where the family moved to.” … The listing for Miller’s home includes this: “The home has 6 bedrooms and 6.5 baths, and features carrara marble kitchen countertops, a black leathered marble island, a boutique style dressing room, a spa inspired bath that includes radiant heated floors, a covered rear porch with retractable screens, and comprehensive security. This is luxury living at its finest.” … Daily Mail reported that the person who leaked the vile Young Republicans texts to Politico is a staffer for Marco Rubio: “The damaging leak exploded onto the national stage on Tues after Politico obtained 2,900 pages including texts which showed top brass at the NY Young Republican Club calling black people monkeys and praising Adolf Hitler. Gavin Wax, a State Dept staffer, allegedly orchestrated the takedown of his former colleagues at the Club.” … “An explosive affidavit from Michael Bartels, another Trump admin official, was delivered by Republican Party chiefs to the WH Office of Political Affairs on Oct 7. It accused Wax of blackmailing him to obtain the leaked group chat. 3 days later, the same office received a damning screenshot: a text conversation between Politico reporter Jason Beeferman and Wax, allegedly showing that he provided names, phone numbers and background on individuals featured in the group chat.” … “WH officials confronted Wax about whether he leaked the info and he denied the allegation. Wax, who ran a rival Young Republican club in NYC, serves in Trump’s State Dept as chief of staff to the under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Darren Beattie. Beattie worked in Trump’s first admin as a speechwriter, but was fired for attending a conference where two alleged white nationalist were present.” … “One of the three Republican sources said they had heard the WH, and others in Republican circles broadly, know that Wax was responsible for this and he is likely to face consequences: "‘Gavin operates everything like a mob boss. He’s an Italian mob boss. He is the don of the NY Republican scene. Everyone kisses Gavin’s ring.’” … Fox host Greg Gutfeld to Jessica Tarlov on the text message scandal : “I don’t care about some kids. You need to fix your party, your party is the danger. Your party is the one with these ideas. Tarlov: Are you denying the fact that the ‘kids’ to you are 35 years old and are people who work in the Republican party?” … The NY Republican Party disbanded the NY Young Republicans today. … JD Vance was asked on Newsmax when the admin plans to release their new healthcare plan that they have been promising. Again. Vance: “We do have a plan, actually. But it takes time - to pretend we can fix such a complicated system, that logic is probably what led to the original Obamacare disaster.” … National security attorney Mark Zaid on John Bolton’s indictment: “Everyone can read Bolton’s indictment and judge as they want, but this is far, far weaker (and more customary of conduct by senior govt officials) than allegations against President Trump in stealing and storing marked classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.” … George Conway: “Unlike the Comey and James indictments, which were bullshit on their face, this case looks real and substantial. We’ll have to see the actual evidence before we can assess how it may come out. But no matter how it comes out, it’s still an outrage. Not so much because it was brought (as with Comey and James), but because the man who almost certainly caused it to be brought - Trump - should himself be in prison (and certainly not the WH) for his very own violations of the Espionage Act (and obstructing the investigation into those crimes).” … NOTUS: “Members of Congress are growing incensed with DHS Sec DOG KILLER Kristi Noem, claiming that necessary govt contracts are being slow-walked and that her office has become difficult to communicate with. This frustration among the Republican conference on the Hill has made its way to both GOP leadership and admin officials. It’s reaching a boiling point.” … “Most of the frustration centers around a rule Noem implemented that she must review and approve any expense over $100,000. At FEMA, this directive has significantly slowed the agency’s normally routine process of distributing much-needed funds to states trying to rebuild in the aftermath of natural disasters. Concerns among lawmakers continue to grow, both publicly and privately. Some members have taken their complaints to admin officials.” … One Republican Rep: “You would think a former member of Congress would have more fucking respect for the institution she used to serve in. She’s causing a lot of problems.” … A GOP Senate aide: “They’re very slow. Getting the secretary on the phone is basically impossible.” … Another: “The view among Republicans on the Hill is Secretary Noem is less interested in doing the blocking and tackling of her day job than she is with promoting herself in taxpayer-funded TV commercials.” … Graham Platner, the democratic senate candidate from Maine, has been dealing with revelations the past two days from CNN and Politico about his past posts on social media that were deleted just before he entered the race. One post: “If people expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history.” … Another: “An armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.” … CNN reported that Platner previously referred to himself in Reddit forums as a “communist” and said that “all police are bastards.” … Platner to Politico: “As I told CNN, I was fucking around on the internet at a time when I felt lost and very disillusioned with our govt who sent me overseas to watch my friends die. I made dumb jokes and picked fights. But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired shitposter.” … 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 four decades. The announcement, which is expected from the Interior Dept later this month is the latest move by the admin to ramp up fossil fuel production.” … Alaska 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.” … Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro had a tough time with the moderator at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Relations: Q - “If you look at the data right now, the US is losing manufacturing jobs, spending on factory construction is down significantly from last year, and manufacturing is still shrinking as a share of the economy. S&P Global had an estimate that tariffs would cost businesses upwards of $1.2 trillion in 2025. Navarro: The economists are wrong.” … Q: “In 2018, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Two years later, there were 1,000 more steel workers and 75,000 fewer manufacturing workers in the sectors dependent on steel. Navarro: I dispute those facts. Q: That’s a Ball State study.” … Navarro then said he didn’t want to take questions from the moderator anymore and asked if he could take questions from the audience instead. … US Marine Corps Colonel and combat veteran, Doug Krugman, who resigned from the military after 24 years to protest what Trump is doing, wrote on OpEd in WaPo: “US military officers take an oath to defend the Constitution without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. I swore or repeated that oath under 5 presidents, starting with former president Bill Clinton. I risked my life for it, serving as an infantry officer in two wars. I watched Marines die for it.” … “No commander in chief is perfect. President Clinton’s moral failures are well known. President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq might be one of the worst errors in US history. All recent presidents share responsibility for our failure in Afghanistan. I continued to serve despite all that because I believed the Constitution brought the country more success than failure, and I believed our presidents took their oaths to it seriously.” … “With President Trump, I no longer believe that. During his first term, his actions became increasingly difficult for me to justify, culminating with the J6 attack on Congress as it tried to execute its duties. I hoped he had learned from those errors, but it only took a few days of his second term for me to realize he had not. I could not swear without reservation to follow a commander in chief who seemed so willing to disregard the Constitution.” … “Worse than immorality, however, has been President Trump’s willingness to disregard the law and Constitution to achieve his goals. When asked in May about the Fifth Amendment requirements for due process and if he needed to uphold the Constitution as president, the first words out of his mouth were, ‘I don’t know.’ Instead of trying to work within the Constitution, or to amend it, President Trump is testing how far he can ignore it.” … “If voters and legislators cannot close the gaps in our laws to clarify the limits to presidential power, those who serve our govt will continue to struggle. The next president - of either party - may continue us down this path toward collapse. I voluntarily gave up my rank, but the future of our country is more important than any individual’s career, wealth or power. I have no regrets about my decision. I have given up the service I loved for the freedom to do the right thing, the freedom to speak my mind and the freedom to speak in defense of our country.” |
