Today in Politics, Bulletin 107. 4/7/25 Ron Filipkowski Apr 7 ∙ … Trump is planning to hold a military parade in DC on June 14, which is his birthday. Trump attempted to do one in 2018 but he angrily and begrudgingly canceled it after military leaders said it would cost $92 million and after DC officials complained that tanks and large vehicles would tear up the roadways, but this time he is determined to go ahead with it. … Washington City Paper reported that the tentative plan is for the parade to go from the Pentagon in Arlington to the White House, which is 4 miles. … It was a bizarre day on Wall Street as stocks tanked early as every overseas markets were way down with Japan the hardest hit, then they rallied sharply mid-morning after CNBC reported a false rumor that Trump was going to announce a 90-day pause on tariffs. Then they went back down when the WH said the story was “fake news,” then rallied again on a rumor that the EU was willing to zero-out all tariffs on the US. The markets then drifted back down for a 3rd consecutive negative day. … The false rumor was started after Fox’s Brian Kilmeade asked WH Econ Advisor Kevin Hassett this morning if Trump would consider a 90 day tariff pause: “I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide - even if you think there will be some negative effect from the trade side, that's still a small share of GDP.” … Somehow that got reported as Trump agreeing to pause tariffs. … The White House social media account responded to the CNBC report: “Wrong. Fake News. Not only did Director Hassett not say this, POTUS has been clear - ‘it all has to change, but especially with CHINA!!!’” … MAGA propagandist Rogan O’Handley, who goes by ‘DC Draino’ on X: “Markets are reversing and going up (for now). Trump just played economic chicken with the most powerful countries in the world and they all blinked. MAGA!” … On his way back from Palm Beach to the WH after three days of golfing, Trump was asked if there is there a threshold of pain in the market that would cause him to back down on tariffs: “I think your question is so stupid. Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” … Fox host Maria Bartiromo: “It is going to have an effect on Main Street. Some things will become higher priced. We will see some products be raised in price because companies will pass on the costs of tariffs to consumers.” … Pro-Trump CNBC host Joe Kernan to Trade Advisor Peter Navarro: “The methodology that was used has been universally derided as being non-serious. The tariffs are much higher than anyone anticipated. This has caused what you’re seeing in the stock market and a lot of head scratching and head shaking on whether anyone really knows what they’re doing.” … Right-wing talk show host Trish Regan: “It’s pretty shameful. Trump surrounded himself with self-interested idiots that don’t care about HIS legacy and are illiterate at math. This is not what America voted for. Trump shouldn’t have to check their dumb math — THEY NEED to do their jobs. Unless it was deliberate sabotage? A mole within hopping to take down markets, the economy and thus MAGA? Crazier things have happened.” … Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks to Bloomberg: “We’ve gone from free trade and world trade and globalization to this system, which implies significant restrictions on trade in every direction and a step toward isolation for the US.” … Goldman Sachs’s Tony Pasquariello: “Liberation Day was a knock-down, drag-out affair. There was a harshness that surprised even the most hawkish people I know.” … JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: “Whatever you think of the legitimate reasons for the newly announced tariffs or the long-term effect, good or bad, there are likely to be important short-term effects. We are likely to see inflationary outcomes, not only on imported goods but on domestic prices, as input costs rise and demand increases on domestic products. Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.” … Goldman Sachs raised the probability of a recession up to 45%. … Trump was asked if he spoke to industry leaders and CEOs about his tariffs: “I've talked to the biggest in the world. I talked to the biggest of them all, many of them. You know what they said? We don't blame you.” Reporter: Who did you talk to? Trump: “I don't want to say.” … The Dow was down another 349 points (0.91%). Tesla stock dropped another 6.14 points (2.56%). … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ): “The stock market is a reality check on government decisions — a million minds pricing the future. Right now, it’s screaming: DONALD TRUMP HAS LOST HIS MIND!” … CNN’s Kasie Hunt asked Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) if this was Trump’s economy now: “Oh, I think it is. No question. I think once he decided to add the tariffs, clearly he will be held responsible, as he should.” … WH Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett was asked for some specifics on Fox about Trump’s claim that he has at least 50 countries ready to make a deal with him to eliminate their tariffs: “When he does, he's gonna sign with that big long beautiful signature and he will have made a great deal for America.” … Trump posted on Truth Social: “If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the US will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” … As with all things Trump, his words/promises/claims mean absolutely nothing. Until it is in black and white and signed, it is all BS as far as I am concerned. … Reuters reported that the EU will impose reciprocal tariffs of 25% on U.S. goods effective May 16. … Fox host Jesse Watters: “What Lutnick is saying is that American workers are not going to be screwing in little screws to iPhones. He is saying the future is AI, automation, and robotics. You’re going to need blue collar workers to service these robots.” … Trump on Truth Social: “The US has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” … Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who went all-in on Trump in 2024, made a series of posts on social media showing that he is rapidly getting disillusioned with the direction of the Admin. He said Trump’s tariff policies were causing “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter. We are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital.” … Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to Ackman: “If you enabled him in becoming president, may I suggest you shut the fuck up?” … Ackman: “I just figured out why Howard Lutnick is indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing. He and Cantor are long bonds. He profits when our economy implodes. It’s a bad idea to pick a Secretary of Commerce whose firm is levered long fixed income. It’s an irreconcilable conflict of interest.” … Ackman, 12 hours later: “It was unfair of me to lash out at Howard Lutnick. I don’t think he is pursuing his self interest. I am sure he is doing the best he can for the country while representing the President as Commerce Secretary. It is not an easy job and we don’t know how the sausage was made. I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs. I would love to be proven wrong and watch this approach to tariffs and/or their resolution be enormously beneficial to our country and the global economy.” From Financial Times: … Trump was asked if he was concerned that his tariffs might drive big US trading partners like Japan and South Korea into the arms of China: “I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it. The Chinese have turned out to be not very good at that.” Amazing response from everyone to the Top 15 Signs post from the protests on Saturday that I made on Substack yesterday. Over 789,000 people checked it out, with over 9,000 comments. It also got 8.1 million views on X with 228,000 likes, and another 50,000 likes on Bluesky. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. The Top 15 Signs post is here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. … After making a dozen or so posts a day for years on X, JD Vance strangely hasn’t made a single post in over 5 days. … Punchbowl: “STEEL YOURSELF for a week of chaos. Futures tanking. On track for biggest 3-day drop in nearly 4 decades. House and Senate Republicans are beginning to panic about the trade war. But the leadership - principally Speaker Johnson - is telling Republicans to trust Trump. Do NOT expect any major pushback from the Hill. Lawmakers are asking for briefings from admin. But no one has any idea what the admin truly wants, because the messaging is a mess.” … Mike Johnson to Punchbowl on whether the House will take up the Senate bill to repeal Trump’s tariffs and revoke this authority to impose new ones: “We have to give the president space. His strategy is playing out. It’s been less than a week. I think he’s owed that.” … Axios reported that Trump will veto any bill passed by Congress that repeals his tariffs. … After wrapping up three days of golf in Miami, Trump hosted the LA Dodgers in the White House today: “Seeing the World Champion LA Dodgers at 11:00 AM. Exciting!!!” … WH Chief Policy Advisor Stephen Miller wants to defund federal district courts: “Congress has the authority to break the inferior courts. They have the authority to fund or not fund these courts. Congress has to step up here.” … Former NH Gov. Chris Sununu hasn’t announced yet whether he is running for Senate in 2025, but Trump endorsed him anyway giving this rationale: "He's been very nice to me over the last year or so.” … I’m not so sure a lot of Republicans in swing states trying to run as moderates want Trump’s endorsement or help. … Trump was asked whether he was concerned about the measles outbreak in Texas that just resulted in another death of a child: “They’re doing reports on it. So far it's a small number of people relative to what we’re talking about. Something that people have known about for many, many years. This is not something new. If it progresses, we’ll have to take action.” … Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: “HHS is not doing enough. The fact that we are even having a measles outbreak is stunning.” … Trump was also told that President Bukele of El Salvador said he would be willing to take American citizens in his hard-labor prison camps. Trump: “I would love that.” … The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied DOJ’s attempt to overturn a federal court order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US from the prison in El Salvador by midnight tonight. Then Justice Roberts later stepped in after DOJ petitioned the Supreme Court and issued an indefinite stay of that decision pending further review. Good chance this is going to SCOTUS on a emergency basis. … ABC reported that Christopher-James DeLorenz, a former law clerk to Judge Aileen Cannon, is working for Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer now Deputy AG Todd Blanche at DOJ. DeLorenz served for 10 months as a law clerk for Cannon, during the time she presided over the classified documents case, which she ultimately dismissed on a novel legal theory. … CNN announced it will be hosting a bipartisan Town Hall on Thursday with 4 swing-district members of Congress: Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Derek Tran (D-CA). It will be moderated by Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins. … Politico reported that Democrats are going to use the same strategy in the huge VA elections this year that they used in WI - make Elon Musk the central focus. That strategy should be even more effective in a state with a huge number of fed employees and contractors. The DLCC is launching millions in ads now in key parts of the state featuring Musk. President Heather Williams: “This is where DOGE is on display. VA is sort of an epicenter for the DOGE destruction and its impact on workers and communities.” … Del Helmer, candidate for VA House of Delegates: “Between now and November, there will be lots of ads featuring Musk as he takes a chainsaw to our economy and our democracy, and the Republicans who are too terrified to stand up to him and Trump.” … Politico reported that Sen. Jon Ossoff raised $11 million in Q1 of 2025, the most ever raised by an incumbent in the first quarter of an off-year. Ossoff is going to be facing a very tough re-election fight in 2026, so he is out early working hard. … Texas Gov. Greg Abbott finally set a special election for the vacant seat Sylvester Turner. But he set it for November 4 to keep the seat vacant for another 7 months, which is completely ridiculous. … Swing-district Rep. John James (R-MI) announced he is running for Gov of MI, which means there will be an open seat in a key district in 2026 that Dems are targeting. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the favorite to win the Dem nomination among the current candidates in governor’s race. … House Dems Comms Director CJ Warnke to Punchbowl: “John James knows House Republicans are doomed thanks to their disastrous policies, and he's fleeing the sinking ship. House Democrats are flipping MI-10 in 2026.” … Reuters reported that DOJ was about to send US Marshalls to the home of Liz Oyer to serve her with a warning letter before her testimony today to Congress. Oyer was the career pardon attorney who was fired after she refused to restore actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights despite his domestic violence conviction. … Michael Bromwich, attorney for Oyer: “This highly unusual step of directing armed law enforcement officers to the home of a former DOJ employee who has engaged in no misconduct, let alone criminal conduct, simply to deliver a letter, is both unprecedented and completely inappropriate.” … They called it off after Oyer acknowledged that she received the letter by email. … Oyer in her testimony today: “Perhaps the most personally upsetting part of the story is the lengths to which the leadership of the department has gone to prevent me from testifying here today. On Friday night, I learned that the Deputy Attorney General’s office had directed the department’s Security and Emergency Planning Service to send two armed Special Deputy U.S. Marshals to my home to serve me with a letter. The letter was to be served between 9:00-10:00 that night. I was in the car with my husband and my parents when I got the news that the officers were on their way to my house, where my teenage child was home alone.” … “Fortunately, due to the grace of a very decent person who understood how upsetting this would be, I was able to confirm receipt of the letter via email, and the deputies were called off. At no point did Mr. Blanche’s staff pick up the phone and call me before they sent armed deputies to my home. The letter was a warning to me about the risks of testifying here today. But I am here, because I will not be bullied into concealing the ongoing corruption and abuse of power at DOJ.” … The Atlantic reported that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been given the moniker “Doug the Diva” by his staff for expecting them to do odd personal favors for him. Staffers are expected to bake chocolate-chip cookies for Burgum since they are his favorite, served to him and his guests freshly baked and warm from the oven. One staffer had to make a second batch since Burgum rejected the first one. … Burgum also instructed staff to work as servers for a multi-course dinner, and used a US Park Police helicopter for personal transportation. … Axios reported that Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) is placing holds on 50 new Trump nominees and blocking 9 bipartisan bills. He is now holding more than 300 Trump nominees. The latest batch includes former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito to be IG for the Dept. of Labor: “Their lawlessness is escalating and they are intentionally destroying the economy, and so I don't think we should make anything easy going forward."

North Carolina Supreme Court pauses ruling to disenfranchise voters

 

Monday, April 7 Stay ahead of the latest courtroom developments at the heart of Trump’s war on democracy with The Opposition, Democracy Docket’s latest premium weekly newsletter. Don’t miss out — upgrade today for $120/year! North Carolina Supreme Court pauses ruling to disenfranchise voters The North Carolina Supreme Court temporarily paused a lower court’s ruling, issued Friday, to disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters in the state’s Supreme Court election, unless they fix their ballots in 15 days.   Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs narrowly won last fall’s state Supreme Court race, even after two recounts. But her opponent, Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin, is seeking to overturn the result by having around 65,000 votes thrown out. Court condemns Trump over wrongful deportation The 4th Circuit rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a ruling requiring the return of a wrongfully deported Maryland father. The court described the deportation as "a path of perfect lawlessness." On Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court put a temporary stay on the 4th Circuit’s ruling. Appeals court reverses Trump firing two federal board members The D.C. Appeals Court reinstated two board members of independent federal agencies fired by Trump, setting up a potential Supreme Court fight over a 90-year-old legal precedent protecting officials from presidential dismissal. States continue to fight anti-voting order Washington and Oregon filed a lawsuit challenging several provisions of Trump’s anti-voting executive order. The states argued the order violates the Constitution and multiple federal laws, including the National Voter Registration Act. It’s the fifth lawsuit filed over Trump’s order, which election officials and voting rights advocates warn could disenfranchise millions of voters if it’s allowed to stand, in part by making registering to vote and voting by mail more difficult. Several of the earlier lawsuits have been consolidated into one. Nevada’s Election Worker Protection Law stands The 9th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a far-right challenge to Nevada's Election Worker Protection Law. The lawsuit was originally brought in 2023 by failed Republican attorney general candidate and now interim U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada Sigal Chattah. A win for South Carolina voters The ACLU of South Carolina announced the DMV fixed a policy preventing the processing of voter registrations of residents under age 18 even though they would be eligible to vote in the next general election. The ACLU sued over this issue last year, but withdrew the case. The DMV's general counsel sent a letter last month stating the department had fixed its software and now transmits voter registration information for individuals 16 and older.

 

Losing Confidence in the Con Man

Even MAGA is beginning to question Trump’s tariffs

Dan Rather and Team Steady Apr 7

Credit: Getty Images

The big story right now is the U.S. stock market roller-coaster ride, a dangerous time of Donald Trump’s own making. I’ll leave the deep dive into the economics of it all to those who cover the markets. Instead, let’s look at the rifts Trump’s tariffs are causing within MAGA-world.

Trump’s continued tone-deafness about the economy is doing him no favors. A lot of people, many of whom voted for him specifically to “fix” the economy, are feeling the effects of his tariff policy. The stock market, which 62% of Americans invest in, has lost $11 trillion in value since Trump took office, $6 trillion since his tariffs went into effect last week. Anyone with money in a 401(k) account has lost value — especially worrisome for people close to retirement who don’t have the luxury of waiting for the stock market to bounce back.

As the U.S. inched closer to recession over the weekend, Trump went golfing. And then bragged about his handicap. In the same impromptu press availability on Air Force One on Sunday, a reporter asked if there was a level of market pain that would make him pause the tariff rollout? “I think your question is so stupid,” he chastised. “I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

What exactly is broken? A trade imbalance? Countries taking advantage of the United States? Maybe, but we have the largest and most robust economy in the world. He imposed a 46% tariff on Vietnam — Vietnam, which has a GDP that is 1.5% of the United States’s.

Trump has relied on Wall Street to line his pockets and support his policies. Not today. Goldman Sachs once again raised the probability of a recession, a prospect Kamala Harris repeatedly predicted a year ago.

Among Trump’s many longtime loyalists who are now vociferously voicing concern is billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. He called Trump’s tariffs “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.” In a long post on X, he went after Trump.

“[B]y placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital,” Ackman wrote.

He suggested Trump pause the tariffs for 90 days and halt the additional ones he plans to impose on Wednesday.

“If, on the other hand, on April 9th we launch economic nuclear war on every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocket books, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate,” he continued.

He ended his well-reasoned diatribe by saying, “This is not what we voted for” and wishing that “cooler heads prevail.” Trump 2.0 is conspicuously lacking cooler heads.

Just look at the administration’s differing explanation of tariffs. On one side you have Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior adviser Stephen Miller on the Sunday talk shows saying tariffs are here to stay, as they will supposedly bring back manufacturing and jobs to America. At the same time, on competing shows, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, were touting tariffs as a short-term negotiating tool to get countries to lower their tariffs. Which is it? It can’t be both.

Tariffs are driving a sharper, wider wedge between the White House MAGA faithful and Elon Musk. On Sunday, Musk directly contradicted his “boss” on tariffs. Musk said he wants a U.S.-European free market, no tariffs. Peter Navarro, Trump’s tariff henchman, assailed Musk, saying he is a car salesman who is trying to protect his own interests. I won’t quibble.

And then there’s the rift within Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire. One one side you have The Wall Street Journal melting down about the stock market meltdown. The paper’s editorial board has been upfront about its distaste for tariffs, saying, “Maybe Mr. Trump will claim victory and pull back if he wins some token concessions. But if a North American trade war persists, it will qualify as one of the dumbest in history.”

Just an elevator ride away is Fox News, where the pundits are still toeing the White House line.

Laura Ingraham told her audience to “ignore the Dow doomsdayers” as the exchange lost 10% by the end of last week. She suggested that “you have to think beyond the short run.” Easy to look down the road when you make millions a year.

Jesse Watters, another Fox host, suggested the tariffs would create small-town utopias where Americans make and purchase all goods and services. “These tariffs are for the children,” he said, apparently with a straight face.

Trump’s tariffs are even causing some of the Republican faithful in Congress to waver in their usually unassailable support for the president.

Seven Republican senators have signed on to bipartisan legislation that would allow Congress to end tariffs at any time with a simple majority vote. Trump said he will veto the bill.

Even ardent Trump supporters like Senator Ted Cruz have had enough. “Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I’m not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers, so my hope is these tariffs are short-lived, and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe,” Cruz said on Fox.

Cruz and company are reading the electoral tea leaves and worrying about the 2026 congressional elections. Cruz predicts the midterms will be a bloodbath for the Republicans if the tariffs cause a recession.

For a man who values loyalty above all things, these defections have to rankle. The question is, will Trump’s anger over the disloyalty cause him to change course or dig his heels in deeper?

To support my team’s efforts to protect our democracy through the power of independent journalism, please consider joining as a paid subscriber. It keeps Steady sustainable and accessible for all. Thank you.

No matter how you subscribe, I thank you for reading.

Stay Steady,
Dan