@Daily Kos

Washington Post staff are expressing anger that billionaire owner Jeff Bezos has not spoken out publicly after the Department of Justice raided the home of one of its reporters earlier this week. In an escalation of the Trump administration’s sustained attack on the truth, the FBI raided the home of reporter Hannah Natanson Wednesday morning, seizing her personal and work-related devices as part of a purported investigation into leaks from the Pentagon. Jeff Bezos is seen attending the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025. Many legitimate journalists abandoned their jobs covering the Pentagon after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded to review all reporting before it’s made public. Now, they’ve been replaced by right-wing propagandists who are happy to comply with the Trump administration’s censorship. Bezos, who is ranked by Forbes as the fourth wealthiest person in the world, has owned the Post since 2013. He has made no public comment about the federal government’s action against his employee. One journalist told Status that it’s “nauseating and irresponsible to have our owner remain silent given this unprecedented event.” “If there is a moment to stand up for our journalistic values, this would be it,” another source said. Multiple organizations supporting press freedoms have slammed the FBI’s action against Natanson. “Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take,” said Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press President Bruce D. Brown. Similarly, Knight First Amendment Institute Executive Director Jameel Jaffer said in a release, “Any search targeting a journalist warrants intense scrutiny because these kinds of searches can deter and impede reporting that is vital to our democracy.” People walk past the Washington Post building in downtown Washington, D.C. Bezos has spent the last few years cozying up to President Donald Trump. He was a donor to Trump’s inaugural committee, and Amazon spent more than $40 million to acquire the rights to a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The Post announced last year that it was shifting its opinion section to the right, following up on its 2024 decision to shelve an endorsement of Kamala Harris in the presidential race. In response, the paper lost several key contributors, including columnists and members of its editorial board. But Trump has been effusive in his praise of the Post’s pivot to becoming MAGA media. “Jeff Bezos is trying to do a real job with the Washington Post,” he said in a 2025 interview. The paper followed this up by providing space in its editorial pages for propaganda from key administration figures, including U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, who penned a piece justifying Trump’s deployment of military forces to the nation’s capital. Despite Bezos’ policy of appeasement, the recent FBI raid shows that Trump still feels unrestrained when it comes to using force against the press—even toward an outlet that’s already under his thumb.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/15/2363629/-Bezos-infuriates-Washington-Post-staff-with-silence-after-FBI-raid?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

As if we weren't already convinced that running Kyrsten Sinema out of office and replacing her with Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego wasn't the right choice, a lawsuit filed in federal court this week confirms how awful the former Arizona senator allegedly is. The ex-wife of a member of Sinema’s security detail sued her under North Carolina's so-called "homewrecker law," which allows people to sue the person with whom their spouse had an affair. The lawsuit alleges that Sinema and the security detail member, Matthew Ammel, carried on a lengthy affair that led to the destruction of Ammel's marriage. Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, shown in 2023. Among the sordid details alleged in the complaint is that Sinema sent Ammel raunchy photos, discussed having sex, and encouraged Ammel to do drugs. Sinema has publicly spoken of Ammel numerous times as she lobbies for the use of psychedelic drugs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder—an affliction Ammel suffers with after serving in the military. The complaint alleges that Sinema and Ammel remain together to this day. If the allegations are true, having an affair with a married member of her staff is just one of the latest shitty things Sinema has done in the past few years. Having grown up in poverty, Sinema used stories of her hardship to help her rise to power. “There’s really no other country in the world where a little girl who grew up homeless living in a gas station could ever dream of serving in the United States Congress and run for the United States Senate,” Sinema said during her 2018 Senate campaign. Yet, once she got to the Senate, Sinema then turned on low-income Americans by infamously voting against raising the minimum wage with a thumbs-down gesture and a pop of her hip. YouTube Video Sinema also fought against Democratic efforts to nix the Senate filibuster, which Republicans have used to block progress in this country, such as passing voting rights legislation. And she was a major roadblock as Democrats sought to pass former President Joe Biden's agenda, complaining that the price tag of the bills was too high. Now, after leaving office, she is cashing in on her former title, racking in the dough to push policies that will hurt the people she used to represent. Recently, she has fought for a data center in Arizona that could jack up energy prices. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, slammed Sinema earlier this week, praising the Democratic voters who "chased her out of the Senate." "[Sinema] is cashing in from the industry she protected. The Wall Street Journal recently marveled at the sheer number of projects Sinema has taken on from crypto, AI, and other wealthy corporate clients. And meanwhile, millions of working Americans who have not seen a minimum wage increase in almost two decades are still waiting for Democrats to deliver on one of our most basic promises," Warren said. Seriously, good riddance.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/15/2363616/-Kyrsten-Sinema-still-sucks?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

China is experiencing a boom in education, trade, and other businesses while President Donald Trump’s policies hobble America in these same areas, undermining his promise to “Make America Great Again.” The latest Leiden Rankings, which measures the research output of colleges and universities, show China holding eight of the top 10 slots. Only one American school, Harvard University, is in the top 10. Though American schools’ relative decline is part of a trend that predates Trump, his policies are expected to turbocharge the problem. Notably, the Trump administration has singled out Harvard, launching numerous, politically motivated investigations of the university. The Harvard attacks are symptomatic of the Trump administration’s approach toward American higher education, which it has lambasted for holding up pro-diversity ideals that conservatives deride as “woke.” As a result of Republican attacks, American education is facing a brain drain as experts leave the U.S. or avoid immigrating to it. And nations like China have been the beneficiaries. American schools have also seen fewer international students vying to attend, lest they come under attack by the administration for dissenting from its world view. Naturally, the administration has dismissed these concerns. People walk on the campus of Harvard University in 2024. At the same time its education rankings are surging, China is also excelling in trade. Economic data released Wednesday shows that China had a trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025. Trump launched his slate of tariff policies that same year, arguing that it would allow America to win a trade war with China. Overall, the U.S. still maintains a trade deficit with China. Trump’s tariff policies have also hurt American employment, while China’s business booms. The Trump administration has claimed that the president’s actions have caused the Chinese government to make concessions, but the opposite is often the case. For instance, a recent deal for China to commit to purchasing U.S. soybeans again included the Trump administration heavily easing tariffs on the nation. He has even allowed China to purchase advanced chips needed for artificial intelligence. Trump’s attacks against innovations like clean energy have also opened up avenues for China, which is now on a path to becoming the world’s top producer. China is even experiencing a boom in selling its electric cars abroad, while Trump doubles down on enabling more carbon pollution. Trump has shown more interest in constructing a golden ballroom at the White House than in meeting the challenge of China. His push for divisive and outlandish policy goals like stealing or buying Greenland—purportedly as a national security bulwark against nations like China and Russia—have made America more of an international pariah than a global leader. After years of Trump arguing his “America first” ideas would boost the U.S., perhaps no nation is benefitting from his policies more than China. They certainly haven’t been good for America.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/15/2363587/-Who-benefits-most-from-America-first-China?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

The doomsday scenario former Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats warned about has arrived. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to sic the military on American citizens in Minnesota, which is already under siege by armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are brutalizing citizens in the streets and even killing them in cold blood. In a Truth Social post, Trump falsely accused Minnesotans—who have been racially profiled and violently beaten by immigration agents—of being paid protesters. Trump said that if Minnesota's leaders don't "obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State." Of course, the protesters are not paid. Here's how one Minneapolis resident put it in an interview with Status Coup News: I've never protested in my life. ... You know what really pisses me off is the fact that they detain people, cuff ’em, and then still beat the shit out of ’em. They tell you it's immigrants, only immigrants—it's fucking anybody. I have friends that got detained and all they were doing was fucking driving home from work. What the fuck? I'm not fucking paid to be here lik e everybody fucking says. What the fuck is that? I gotta work in the goddamn morning, just like everybody else. I'm just here trying to stand up for community, dude. 🚨"This is nuts! What the f*ck is going on, this is insane! ICE is just trying to scare people; they tell you it's only immigrants—it's f*cking anybody!" -furious Minneapolis resident tells our @ZDRoberts after ICE shot a man in the leg tonight. LIVE NOW ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7edvCRpDNk— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) January 15, 2026 In fact, many of the people getting beaten and arrested aren’t even protesters. They were just people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time who filmed the horrifying behavior of agents—as the First Amendment gives them the right to do. For example, one woman said she was trying to get to a doctor’s appointment when masked ICE agents broke her car window, ripped her from her vehicle, and arrested her as she screamed. Here's how The Minnesota Star Tribune’s editorial board described what is going on in the city: Heavily armed and masked government agents are prone to confront any American they encounter in the street but especially people of certain colors, accents or styles of dress. The encounters are often violent. The federal agents operating under the insignia of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Homeland Security, functioning largely anonymously, have disrupted the life of large swaths of a state. Deploying the military in an American city already under siege by ICE and other federal immigration agents will do nothing but further inflame a volatile situation. But that is exactly what Trump wanted all along. He relishes in seeing those who may not have voted for him suffer. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Harris had warned this chaos and violence was what Trump wanted. "He considers anyone who doesn't support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country," Harris said at an October 2024 rally in Pennsylvania. "This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous." Former Vice President Kamala Harris, shown in 2024. A few days later, she made that warning again. “Yesterday, we learned that Donald Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star general, confirmed that while Donald Trump was president, he said he wanted generals like Adolf Hitler had," Harris said in a speech, referring to a then-recent report in The Atlantic. “He does not want a military that is loyal to the United States Constitution. He was a military that is loyal to him.” Sadly, it is unlikely Minnesota politicians can stop Trump's invasion. Trump wanted this violence and chaos, and he is probably watching it unfold on cable news with glee as he sips a Diet Coke. But there is hope for us yet. While Trump derives pleasure from the horrific images we’re seeing, Americans do not. Polls show ICE’s conduct is overwhelmingly unpopular. A Yahoo News/YouGov survey released on Tuesday shows that 54% of Americans think ICE’s actions have done more harm than good, while just 34% think ICE has done more good than harm. Overall, 54% view the agency unfavorably. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave a powerful speech Wednesday night, saying that "[n]ews reports simply don’t do justice to the level of chaos and disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down upon our communities." But Walz also tried to give residents hope and an action plan to combat the nightmare that we all knew was coming if Trump ever took office again. He implored residents to record ICE's actions "to bank evidence for future prosecution." "We will not have to live like this forever. Accountability is coming at the voting booth and in court," Walz said. "We will reclaim our communities from Donald Trump. We will re-establish a sense of safety for our neighbors and we will bring an end to this moment of chaos, confusion and trauma. We will find a way to move forward and we’ll do it together. And we’ll not be alone."
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/15/2363578/-The-nightmare-scenario-Democrats-warned-about-is-here?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States. The State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges” in the U.S. Related | No fatties, libs, or poors: Trump's visa restrictions are garbage The suspension, which will begin Jan. 21, will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant visas, or temporary tourist or business visas, who make up the vast majority of visa seekers. Demand for non-immigrant visas is expected to rise dramatically in the coming months and years due to the upcoming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics both of which the U.S. will host or co-host. “The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the department said in a statement. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.” Cubans line up for appointments at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 8. President Donald Trump's administration has already severely restricted immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for citizens of dozens of countries, many of them in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The November guidance on which Wednesday's decision is based directed U.S. Embassy and consulate officials to comprehensively and thoroughly vet visa applicants to demonstrate that they will not need to rely on public benefits from the government any time after their admission in the U.S. While federal law already required those seeking permanent residency or legal status to prove they wouldn’t be a public charge, Trump in his first term widened the range of benefit programs that could disqualify applicants, and the guidelines in the cable appear to go further in scope. Immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. already undergo a medical exam by a physician who’s been approved by a U.S. Embassy. They are screened for communicable diseases, like tuberculosis, and asked to disclose any history of drug or alcohol use, mental health conditions or violence. They’re also required to have a number of vaccinations. The new directive expanded those with more specific requirements. It said consular officials must consider a range of specific details about people seeking visas, including their age, health, family status, finances, education, skills and any past use of public assistance regardless of the country. It also said they should assess applicants’ English proficiency and can do so by conducting interviews in English. Experts said at the time it could further limit who gets to enter the country at a time when the Republican administration is already tightening those rules. The countries affected by the suspension announced on Wednesday are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/14/2363450/-US-to-suspend-immigrant-visa-processing-from-75-countries?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

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The FBI raided Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home Wednesday morning to seize her personal and work-related devices in the latest horrifying development in the Trump administration’s war on the truth. Natanson has been reporting on President Donald Trump's decimation of the federal government. During the raid, agents reportedly took her cellphone, personal and work laptops, and smartwatch. "This past week, at the request of the Department of War, the Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor," Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. "The leaker is currently behind bars. I am proud to work alongside Secretary Hegseth on this effort. The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country." Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to reporters while President Donald Trump stands beside her in June 2025. The raid is a clear escalation of Trump’s war on the press. Already, Trump barred The Associated Press from the White House because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” He’s also launched multiple baseless lawsuits against major media outlets, resulting in them bribing and paying him off. What’s more, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forced Pentagon reporters to sign a pledge vowing not to publish anything that he hasn’t personally signed off on. After multiple reporters staged a walkout in protest, the Pentagon is now filled with pro-Trump outlets. Similarly, job applicants for the government-owned Stars and Stripes military outlet are now being asked during interviews how they would support Trump’s policy priorities—a move that has left reporters at the outlet fearful that its congressionally granted independence is at risk. But raiding a journalist's home and taking her personal devices goes a step further; it’s a clear effort to scare federal employees out of speaking to reporters and to stop reporters from publishing sensitive or classified information out of fear of being prosecuted. “This extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work,” the Post’s Executive Editor Matt Murray said in a statement. “The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms. The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work." Related | Trump praises CBS’ rightward shift as network’s ratings plummet Of course, federal law clearly states that journalists can legally publish classified information. According to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, it is "unlawful for a government officer or employee, in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense, to search for or seize any work product materials possessed by a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication." But that didn't stop Bondi and the FBI from seizing Natanson's work—something that past administrations refused to do. "I, personally, had to sign off on any investigative step involving a reporter when I was at DOJ. But there were very strict guidelines: we would not subpoena reporters for their sources. Period," former President Joe Biden’s DOJ Office of Public Affairs Director Xochitl Hinojosa wrote on X. "The Department in modern history has never charged a journalist for unlawfully publishing or receiving classified information, and it’s scary to think that this might change." A cartoon by Nick Anderson. Bondi rescinded that Biden-era policy in April, saying that the DOJ would subpoena journalists' records—but only after other investigative efforts had failed. But according to the Post, "the search warrant and seizures appeared to be Natanson’s first interaction with investigators,” meaning that Bondi appears to have violated her own policy. “That is really astonishing,” Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland told Politico. "And over the line. Normally, even in a criminal investigation, you would just start with touching base with the lawyer, and asking for, like a document production to jump straight to a search warrant is really dramatic. And for the media—a reporter—I just think that’s outrageous. That’s crazy.” Even more despicable is the fact that the raid of Natanson’s home could be an effort by Bondi to get back into Trump’s good graces, following reports that Trump may be turning on her. Given Trump’s penchant for attacking the media, a good raid on a reporter’s home could be a great way to make him happy. But no matter the reason, the seizure of Natanson's devices is just the latest example of the United States' quickening descent into autocracy.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/14/2363427/-FBI-raids-reporter-s-home-as-Trump-ramps-up-war-on-the-truth?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

A top Danish official said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with President Donald Trump after talks in Washington with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The two sides, however, agreed to create a working group to discuss ways to work through differences as Trump continues to call for a U.S. takeover of Denmark’s Arctic territory of Greenland. “The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after a highly anticipated meeting in which Greenland’s foreign minister also participated Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14. Trump is trying to make the case that NATO should help the U.S. acquire the world's largest island and says anything less than it being under American control is unacceptable. Denmark has announced plans to boost the country's military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic as Trump tries to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover of the vast territory by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their designs on Greenland. Vance and Rubio met with Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt for roughly an hour to discuss Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. But a few hours before the officials sat down, Trump reiterated on his social media site that the U.S. “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” He added that “NATO should be leading the way for us to get it” and that otherwise Russia or China would — “AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” “NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.” In response, Greenland's representatives to the U.S. and Canada posted on social media, “Why don't you ask us?” and noted the low percentage of island residents who favor becoming part of the U.S. Denmark bolstering presence in Arctic In Copenhagen, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced an increase in Denmark’s “military presence and exercise activity” in the Arctic and the North Atlantic, “in close cooperation with our allies”. Poulsen said at a news conference the stepped-up military presence was necessary in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.” People walk along a street in downtown Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 13. “This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said. Other NATO allies were arriving in Greenland along with Danish personnel, he said. Poulsen declined to name the other countries contributing to increased Arctic presence, saying that it is up to the allies to announce their own participation. Earlier, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that “some officers from the Swedish Armed Forces are arriving in Greenland today” as part of a group from several allied countries. “Together, they will prepare events within the framework of the Danish exercise Operation Arctic Endurance,” Kristersson said. Two Norwegian military personnel also will be sent to Greenland to map out further cooperation with allies, the country’s Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik told newspaper VG. Greenlanders want the US to back off Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said Tuesday that "if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.” Asked about those comments, Trump replied: “I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t know anything about him. But, that’s going to be a big problem for him.” Related | Now Trump’s bribing Greenland—and he wants you to pay for it Greenland is strategically important because, as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport untapped deposits of critical minerals which are needed for computers and phones. Trump says Greenland is also “vital” to the United States' Golden Dome missile defense program. He also has said he wants the island to expand America’s security and has repeatedly cited what he says is the threat from Russian and Chinese ships as a reason to control it. But experts and Greenlanders question that claim. “The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market,” heating engineer Lars Vintner said. He said he frequently goes sailing and hunting and has never seen Russian or Chinese ships. His friend, Hans Nørgaard, agreed, adding “what has come out of the mouth of Donald Trump about all these ships is just fantasy.” Denmark has said the U.S, which already has a military presence, can boost its bases on Greenland. The U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland. For that reason, “security is just a cover,” Vintner said, suggesting Trump actually wants to own the island to make money from its untapped natural resources. Mikaelsen, the student, said Greenlanders benefit from being part of Denmark, which provides free health care, education and payments during study, and “I don’t want the U.S. to take that away from us." Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt, along with Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S., planned to meet later Wednesday with senators from the Arctic Caucus, A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers is also heading to Copenhagen this week to see Danish and Greenlandic officials.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/14/2363449/-Danish-official-says-there-s-a-fundamental-disagreement-with-Trump-over-Greenland?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

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Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is one of three sitting Republicans fighting for reelection as President Donald Trump has no immediate plans to endorse them—a notable omission for an incumbent in the race of his political life. According to Politico, Cornyn joins Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine in a small but telling group unlikely to benefit from Trump’s backing, at least for now. In a GOP increasingly shaped by loyalty tests, the president’s silence carries weight. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana The hesitation reflects Trump’s growing irritation with congressional Republicans who have pushed back against him in recent weeks. That frustration boiled over after a Senate vote blocking Trump from using military force in Venezuela without congressional approval, but it has been building for months. Earlier this month, 17 House Republicans voted to preserve Obamacare subsidies. And on Monday, outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina threatened to block Trump’s expected Federal Reserve chair pick in response to the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of Jerome Powell. Notably, Cornyn wasn’t part of that resistance. If anything, he has spent the last year trying to stay firmly in Trump’s good graces, which is why his current predicament feels less punitive than transactional. Cornyn is locked in a bruising primary against two challengers who are both eager to run to his right: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. With three major candidates in the field and Texas requiring a majority to secure the nomination, a runoff is all but guaranteed. After four Senate terms, Cornyn faces the very real possibility of finishing third, exiting early while his rivals limp toward November. Despite Paxton’s legal troubles and personal scandals—and despite Cornyn’s deep ties to GOP donors in Texas and Washington—the incumbent has struggled to separate himself. A December co/efficient poll found Cornyn narrowly leading with 28%, just ahead of Paxton at 27%, while Hunt captured 19%. But for a sitting senator, the numbers are ominous. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine Cornyn has responded by leaning harder into Trump’s orbit. He recently joined a group of GOP senators and hopefuls in the Rio Grande Valley to praise Trump’s border policies. And last year, he crisscrossed Texas promoting the extension of Trump’s first-term tax cuts and other provisions in the administration’s sweeping spending bill. So far, that effort has not yielded the endorsement Cornyn wants most. Cornyn even told the Houston Chronicle that he recently asked Trump for his backing, only to be denied. “They need Cornyn on good behavior,” a Trump ally close to the White House told Politico, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. According to the outlet, Trump’s broader strategy with non-endorsements in Texas, Maine, and Louisiana is rooted in leverage. The White House may still need votes from Cornyn, Collins, and Cassidy, and Trump has little interest in destabilizing a GOP Senate majority—even an imperfect one—before the midterms. “It’s math and the fear of mutually assured destruction,” someone familiar with the White House’s thinking said. “The president doesn’t end their careers, and these senators don’t end his congressional agenda.” That logic fits more neatly in Maine and Louisiana than it does in Texas. Cornyn is on far better terms with Trump than either Cassidy or Collins, who was the only Republican up for reelection who supported the Venezuela measure. At the same time, Cassidy drew Trump’s ire in 2021 by voting to convict him after the Jan. 6 insurrection—a move that Trump has repeatedly described as disloyal. GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas stands beside President Donald Trump during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019. Still, Trump has little incentive to intervene in a Texas primary where all three candidates are racing to prove their fealty. From the White House’s perspective, withholding an endorsement keeps Cornyn pliable while letting Paxton and Hunt tear into him from the right. “Senator Cornyn speaks to President Trump regularly and works closely with the White House,” Cornyn’s senior campaign adviser Matt Mackowiak told Politico. “He is proud to have voted 99.3% with President Trump while in office.” When asked late last year how the Trump administration viewed the Texas race, White House deputy chief of staff James Blair offered nothing more than a shrug. “Texas will definitely elect a Republican senator,” he told Politico. “Texas will be fine.” Cornyn is not alone in desperately waiting by the phone. The White House has also stayed neutral in Georgia, where Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins are competing in a Senate primary that includes former college football coach Derek Dooley. But Cornyn’s situation underscores a broader truth of Trump-era politics: Loyalty alone is no guarantee of protection. If backing an ally doesn’t clearly serve Trump’s interests, he is content to let even longtime supporters fend for themselves.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/14/2363382/-Trump-does-his-best-to-make-this-Texas-primary-even-crazier?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

In an interview on “CBS Evening News” on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump mocked anchor Tony Dokoupil for having a job due to the network’s rightward shift following the 2024 election. The exchange comes as it was revealed that the network’s ratings have collapsed under the new conservative regime. YouTube Video During the interview, Dokoupil discussed the ailing economy under Trump. Responding to growing concerns about rising prices as he imposes tariffs, Trump said, “A year and a half ago, our country was dead. We had a dead country. You wouldn’t have a job right now. If she [former Vice President Kamala Harris] got in, you probably wouldn’t have a job right now.” Trump went on to praise conservative David Ellison, chairman and CEO of CBS parent company Paramount, as “an amazing guy.” The president also reiterated to Dokoupil that he “wouldn’t have this job” unless Trump had won. On the same day that CBS aired the Trump interview, it was revealed that Dokoupil’s first week anchoring the broadcast has been a ratings disaster. Compared with a year ago, when Norah O’Donnell was anchoring the show, Nielsen ratings were down 23% in the first five days of Dokoupil’s run. Over the comparable five-day stretch, O’Donnell had an average of almost 5.4 million viewers. Dokoupil is averaging just under 4.2 million viewers. By contrast, ABC’s “World News Tonight” had roughly 8.1 million viewers and “NBC Nightly News” scored about 6.7 million viewers over the same period. Bari Weiss, the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, shown in 2019. Viewers may be tuning out due to segments like one that ran on last Tuesday’s broadcast, when Dokoupil said “we salute you” to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he praised as “the ultimate Florida man.” The fall for CBS comes after Paramount chose to pay out $16 million to Trump to settle a frivolous lawsuit, after which the Trump administration approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance. The action, characterized by many as a bribe, is under investigation by congressional Democrats. In another widely criticized pro-Trump move, CBS announced last July that it would cancel “The Late Show,” hosted by comedian and longtime Trump critic Stephen Colbert. A few months later, conservative activist Bari Weiss was installed as the editor-in-chief of CBS News. Even Trump had a laugh at the expense of the network’s drift to the right, noting in a November interview with “60 Minutes” that the network “paid me a lot of money.” Conveniently, the mockery was omitted from the show’s broadcast. A few weeks later, Weiss pulled a report from “60 Minutes” that highlighted the systematic abuse of inmates at El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, a Trump administration destination for migrants abducted from their families. Things have gotten so bad at CBS that the network was mocked during its own broadcast of the Golden Globes on Sunday. During her monologue, host Nikki Glaser described the network as “America’s newest place to see B.S. news.” Meanwhile, Weiss is reportedly enraged at the mockery and scrutiny of her stewardship of CBS News. Her wife, Nellie Bowles, complained about internal CBS criticism of Weiss in a piece for the right-wing Free Press, which Weiss still oversees. But when even Trump is noting the network’s subservience to him, the bad news is unlikely to stop.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/14/2363384/-Trump-loves-the-new-direction-at-CBS-but-nobody-else-does?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

A daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know. Trump: Actually, the Epstein scandal is great for me The man never polls better than he does in his own head. ‘Release the damn files’: Outgoing GOP senator slams Trump over Epstein At this point, we’ll take any criticism of Trump from the right. Secret memo reportedly reveals Trump doesn't actually care about the border Who needs borders when you can just deport anyone you don’t like? Trump deals another blow to American automakers Make America walk everywhere. Big Lie-boosting election clerk is begging for Trump to save her Tina Peters simply will not go away. Cartoon: Ozzy RIP to the Prince of Darkness. Conservative rich dudes think they'll Make Movies Great Again Ah, yes, a Palantir-Ayn Rand mashup. Just what literally no one wanted. Click here to see more cartoons.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/23/2334816/-The-Recap-Trump-doesn-t-care-about-border-security-and-even-the-GOP-wants-answers-on-Epstein-files?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

Conservatives in America control every lever of the federal government’s power, but they remain infuriated that they do not control the levers of culture and entertainment. Surely that cannot be because the type of entertainment they push is garbage no one wants to watch. No, it must be because the right studio, backed by the right multimillionaires, hasn’t come along. Enter Founders Films—ugh. Backed by high-level employees of Vice President JD Vance benefactor Peter Thiel’s Palantir Technologies, surely this will be the way that conservatives crack the entertainment market. Do Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar, early Palantir employee Ryan Podolsky, or investor Christian Garrett have any particular background that would make you want to give them money to run a studio? Not particularly, although Sankar is getting to play-act as a soldier, having been one of four tech executives that the Army invented a detachment for. Why? So that they could all pretend to be lieutenant colonels despite never having served a day. Shhh. No one tell Sankar, as he thinks it is real and did a wildly embarrassing piece about it for Bari Weiss’s Free Press for Eugenics Enthusiasts. Related |Army gives shady offer to tech bros so they can play soldier So, what do these big brains have planned once they sucker some other multimillionaires out of their not-actually-hard-earned money? Such blockbuster ideas as “Operation: Pineapple Express” about the “botched withdrawal” from Afghanistan; a 9/11 movie celebrating “courage”; and a yet-unnamed flick about the 2020 assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Surely all of those will be blockbusters. Move over, Marvel! There’s also a three-part adaptation of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” planned, because of course there is. Were the people demanding a new Ayn Rand trilogy? Couldn’t they just go watch the trilogy that came out like 15 years ago? Sure, the first part got mercilessly panned by critics, and the second part got mercilessly panned by critics, and the third part got mercilessly panned by critics. Actual moviegoers didn’t, well, actually go, particularly by the time Part III rolled around. But surely now America is ready for six to nine hours of Ayn Rand beamed into their eyeballs, right? Hopefully Founders Films will have better luck than the producers of the previous trilogy, who had to recall 100,000 DVDs because the jacket described Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged: as “a timeless novel of courage and self-sacrifice,” and Randians 100% do not believe in self-sacrifice. Perhaps Americans will rush to the cineplex to see some other Founders Films fixations, which will be “unafraid of offending Chinese audiences” and will use “American cultural power to spread skeptical views of the Chinese government.” Definitely what we are all looking for. Actor Gina Carano’s extremist views got her shunned by mainstream Hollywood producers. But Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire Studio gave her another chance to flame out. No matter how much money the Palantir dudes and their pals throw at this exercise, it’s likely just going to be Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire Studio 2.0. Did you know conservative gadfly Shapiro had a movie studio? Okay, be honest: Did you know Ben Shapiro had a movie studio because you were ever organically aware of one of his entertainment offerings, or only because of coverage of his failed attempts to break out of the right-wing ecosphere? Thought so. Shapiro’s studio already offers what Founders Films promises: jingoistic trolling starring a combination of fading stars and people that the rest of Hollywood doesn’t want to work with because it’s weird when people keep yelling about wokeness when you’re just trying to do your job. Who could have predicted that “Terror on the Prairie,” a 2022 Daily Wire joint starring Gina Carano after she went full anti-vaxxer transphobe, would have flopped? Everyone, actually. In the end, perhaps this isn’t such a bad thing. If conservatives want to light their money on fire by giving it to other millionaires to make bad, ham-handed movies that no one wants to watch, who are we to say no?
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/23/2334693/-Conservative-rich-dudes-think-they-ll-Make-Movies-Great-Again?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main

@Daily Kos

President Donald Trump reportedly is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft. The Qatari government acknowledged discussions between the two countries about “the possible transfer” of a plane to be used temporarily as Trump’s Air Force One, but denied that the jet “is being gifted” or that a final had been decision made. ABC News reported that Trump will use the aircraft at his presidential plane until shortly before he leaves office in January 2029, when ownership will be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library. A 13-year-old private Boeing aircraft that President Donald Trump toured on Saturday to check out new hardware and technology features, and highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, takes off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida. The gift was expected to be announced when Trump visits Qatar, according to ABC's report, as part of a trip that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the first extended foreign travel of his second term. But hours after the news, Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attaché, in a statement said, "Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate." “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense,” the statement said. “But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.” Meanwhile, administration officials, anticipating questions about the president accepting such a large gift from a foreign government, have prepared an analysis arguing that doing so would be legal, according to ABC. The Constitution’s Emoluments Clause bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent. One expert on government ethics, Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, accused Trump of being “committed to exploiting the federal government’s power, not on behalf of policy goals, but for amassing personal wealth.” “This is outrageous," Clark said. "Trump believes he will get away this." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer poked fun at Trump's “America first” political slogan. “Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar," the New York Democrat said in a statement. "It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.” Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old. Boeing Inc. has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project. Delivery has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Trump’s final full year in office — for the second. Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president, with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it. But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One, as well as two other aircraft currently under construction, according to a former U.S. official. The official was briefed about the plane and spoke Sunday on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been made public. The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology. They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world. The official told The Associated Press that it would be possible to quickly add some countermeasures and communications systems to the Qatari plane, but that it would be less capable than the existing Air Force One aircraft or long-delayed replacements. Neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC-25B aircraft will have the air-to-air refueling capabilities of the current VC-25A aircraft, which is the one the president currently flies on, the official said. ABC said the new plane is similar to a 13-year-old Boeing aircraft Trump toured in February, while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport and he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump faced lawsuits for violating the Emoluments Clause during his first term, but those were ended by the Supreme Court in 2021, which found the cases moot because the Republican had left office. Clark said the reported Qatari gift is the “logical, inevitable, unfortunate consequence of Congress and the Supreme Court refusing to enforce" the Emoluments Clause. Trump's family business, the Trump Organization, which is now largely run by his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has vast and growing interests in the Middle East. That includes a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country’s sovereign wealth fund. Qatar, which is ruled by the Al Thani family, is home to the state-owned airline Qatar Airways. The country also has worked to have a close relationship to Trump after he apparently backed a boycott of Doha by four Arab nations in his first term. Trump later in his term applauded Qatar. Administration officials have brushed off concerns about the president’s policy interests blurring with family's business profits. They note that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children and that a voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organization in January bars the company from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement allows deals with private companies abroad. That is a departure from Trump’s first term, when the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting both foreign government and foreign company deals. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked Friday if the president might meet with people who have ties to his family’s business, said it was “ridiculous” to suggest Trump "is doing anything for his own benefit.” Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/11/2321736/-Trump-reportedly-getting-gift-of-luxury-jumbo-jet-from-Qatar?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main