Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
The White House on Wednesday took another step toward consolidating power through the Insurrection Act during a public meeting with some of its closest propaganda media affiliates.
The gathering was billed as a roundtable discussion on protecting the Trump administration’s brand of fascism through the prosecution of political opponents and the creation of a vast guerrilla propaganda network. In attendance were more than a dozen far-right media personalities, including several who have been appointed to run the country’s top law enforcement agencies.
President Donald Trump centered the discussion around ramping up far-right media coverage of immigration raids, and promised the group, which he loosely categorized as journalists, that they had the full protection of the United States government — as long as they portray him in a positive light.
“Radicals associated with the domestic terror group, [anti-fascists], that you’ve heard a lot about lately,” said Trump. “They’ve used armed gangs to assault local police in cities nationwide, and they have attacked journalists reporting on their crimes. So the journalists that report on their crimes, don’t worry, you’re very safe.”
The group was made up almost entirely of media loyalists, representing a collective online audience of over 10 million followers:
Jonathan Choe, Instagram personality for the Discovery Institute
Katie Daviscourt, reporter for The Post Millennial
Savanah Hernandez, content creator for Turning Point USA
Cam Higby, TikToker for Today is America
James Klug, YouTuber
Brandi Kruse, host of the UnDivided podcast
Andy Ngo, editor-at-large for The Post Millennial
Julio Rosas, creator for Blaze Media
Nick Shirley, YouTuber
Nick Sortor, independent creator for Twitter
Many of those in attendance have embedded themselves within anti-ICE protests in Portland with the goal of provoking attendees, eager to have their content shared by the White House. The result is a growing number of stylized, heavily edited, and provably misleading videos portraying the relatively calm protests as violent, dangerous war zones that the administration has used to justify military deployment against civilians.
The gathering of approved propagandists by the Trump administration signals its laser focus on exerting its power over populations it views as enemies of the state. Kash Patel, host of the podcast Kash’s Corner and Director of the FBI, further explained the administration’s goal for control of the media by protecting approved media sources while deplatforming and seizing funding from those who publish unfavorable coverage.
“What we are doing at the FBI is simple; it does not require rocket science. We are following the money. Money never lies. And that’s what it’s going to take to bring down this network of organized criminal thugs, gang bangers, and yes, domestic terrorists, because that’s what they are,” Patel said at the roundtable. “And the folks you see here on the right and left [of me], they’re some of the bravest men and women we have today. They’re reporting the stories live time, because the mainstream media won’t cover it.”
The focus on an increased, controlled media presence comes after Trump, 79, was confused by footage from protests in Portland from 2020. As there was no current footage of violence in the city, the conservative outlet resorted to playing years-old footage while discussing present-day protests. An aging Trump was unable to distinguish the difference and ordered the deployment of the National Guard to quell a protest that ended during his first term.
“Am I watching things on television that are different from what’s happening?” Trump told Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek. “My people tell me different. They are literally attacking and there are fires all over the place…it looks like terrible.”
The deployment of far-right influencers has provided fresh, curated footage now being used by conservative broadcast networks, and provides a befuddled Trump with the evidence he needs to use military forces on domestic soil.
Attempts to Sanewash
Trump takes aim at Antifa — and the press — in White House roundtable
President Trump discusses efforts against Antifa in roundtable
Far-Right Spin
5 highlights from Trump’s Antifa roundtable: ‘Protest industrial complex’
Trump hosts roundtable accusing ‘sick’ media of backing Antifa
President Trump’s Antifa roundtable moment where journalist pulled out burnt US flag
It’s easy for individual members of Congress to get overlooked by national outlets as they quietly skate to reelection again, and again, and again. The following is an overview of different congressional representatives you may not have heard of, with fun facts about their origin stories they’ve tried to keep out of the public narrative.
Since taking office in 2015, Rep. Norman has:
Seen his net worth increase from $53M to $57M
Taken out over $300,000 in PPP loans that he never paid back
Sponsored 168 bills
Authored one bill that has been signed into law, to rename a post office
Privately pressured Trump to invoke martial law—or as he called it, “marshall law” — to prevent Biden from being sworn in as president in 2021
Admitted that he’s “not concerned” about US citizens detained by ICE agents
Sued Nancy Pelosi over House rules that required Members to wear a mask on the Floor and refused to wear a mask while he had COVID-19
Tried to reinstate disgraced white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer Rep. Steve King
Fun Facts
While Rep. Norman campaigned on preventing economic hardship, he returned to his multimillionaire roots when his term began in 2025. Two months after being sworn in, he cosponsored a bill to create a new $250 bill with Donald Trump’s face on it.
During the 2018 confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh for US Supreme Court Justice, which revealed a troubling history of alleged sexual assault, Norman dismissed the allegations. He tried to make a joke out of them, including facetiously claiming that fellow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been sexually assaulted by Abraham Lincoln.
A few months before Norman “accused” the sixteenth US President of sexual assault, he met with a group of parents who were concerned about gun safety. Norman responded by pulling a gun on them. Those involved tried to press charges, but the first prosecutor recused himself due to his personal friendship with Norman. The request made its way to the Republican state attorney general, who dismissed the charges.
They were sexually assaulted in the military. They say Hegseth’s new directives will make the problem worse.
Excerpts from a report by Sahara Sajjadi, political correspondent for COURIER’s The Copper Courier in Arizona
Editor’s note: This story includes references to sexual assault and abuse within the military. It may not be suitable for all readers.
The first time Selina Cardenas was sexually harassed in the military, she was just 19 years old.
A new Marine Corp enlistee, the Arizona native from Phoenix was chatting with a master gunnery sergeant—a senior enlisted advisor who provides leadership and technical expertise—when he made an inappropriate comment. He told Cardenas to consider prostitution to earn money, she said.
On other occasions, she’d wake up to drunk service members banging on her door in the middle of the night. She said this happened almost weekly. As a new Marine, her fellow female soldiers advised her to get used to it, as it was a regular occurrence for the women.
The harassment Cardenas endured ultimately escalated.
A year later, at just 20 years old, she was “violently” raped by a staff sergeant after a night out with friends, she said. The group went back to the barracks, and the staff sergeant forced himself onto her, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.
She recalled trying to push him off, but he was much larger than her physically and her attempts were futile.
“I’m telling him he’s hurting me, I don’t want to do this. He’s telling me that ‘it’s faster, easier to just go through with it and get it over with,’” she recalled. “I just laid there. I was like 115 pounds, [he’s] like 250 [pounds], there’s no way I was gonna fight him off.”
She had to work with him the next day as if nothing happened. By then, she understood the deeply rooted culture of sexual violence in the military and chose not to report her rape.
Cardenas worries the crisis of sexual assault of women in the military will only worsen after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month terminated the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), which provides advice and recommendations on policies relating to the recruitment, retention, employment, integration, well-being, and treatment of women in the military.
The committee in recent years had increasingly focused on the prevention of sexual assault and harassment, better gender equality and integration, advancing career progression, and addressing concerns related to women’s health and wellbeing.
“To see Hegseth do away with this committee, [which] has done so much for women, and basically say it causes all these lies and division, is absolute bullshit,” Cardenas said.
Read Sajjadi’s full story here.
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