A weird Taylor Swift trick that Trump doesn’t want you to know about
ALSO INSIDE: Mississippi senator sells votes for cheap—anyone want to start a GoFundMe?
Hi all 👋 Cam here, COURIER’s National correspondent.
I write this newsletter every day to help you see and understand what’s happening – including the things that don’t make the traditional media’s headlines – and how you can use your power to take action. Here’s what you can expect in each of the sections of today’s newsletter:
(In)sane Washing: How people are attempting to normalize absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – which the mainstream media has completely become a victim of.
Do Something (Literally Anything): What courts, elected officials, and everyday people are doing to effectively take a stand
The Examination: Things that members of Congress don’t want you to know about
From the Front(lines): A spotlight on how Trump’s policies are impacting people in your communities, from slashed government services to empty shelves to abducting your friends and neighbors off the street.
You can also find me on X/Twitter and Bluesky if you want to connect there!
And one last note: You may have noticed that my newsletter is taking the place of the From the Frontlines newsletter. I’ll be covering a lot of similar ground, and I think if you enjoyed From the Frontlines, you’ll feel right at home here. However, if you are not interested in receiving this newsletter, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.
What Happened
President Donald Trump suffered a major blow to his quest for unchecked power from an unlikely source: Congressional Republicans.
Trump had loudly promoted a package of bills that would kill spending for crucial public services, like Medicaid and SNAP, in order to fund a tax cut for the top 1%, and he seemed confident it would pass.
But it didn’t – a signal that his iron grip over Republicans might be slipping, particularly with the more fiscal-minded conservative faction. Despite Trump’s repeated lies that the spending cuts would not only subsidize the tax cuts he’s promised to wealthy donors but also create $3 trillion in savings, four Republican senators did the math.
“This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” said Texas US Rep. Chip Roy. “That’s the truth. Deficits will go up in the first half of the 10-year budget window, and we all know it’s true. And we shouldn’t do that. We shouldn’t say that we’re doing something we’re not doing.”
But what’s the main story in the news that anyone who doesn’t have C-SPAN bookmarked will be paying attention to?
Almost immediately after Trump’s bill failed, he pivoted to an attack on Taylor Swift—and threw a jab at Bruce Springsteen too, for good measure. His years-long, one-sided feud against Swift has been his go-to tool to dominate the news cycle and hide his failures since 2018.
And it looks like it still works. While legacy media, pundits, and others spin themselves into a frenzy, far-right media outlets make almost no mention of the fabricated Trump/Swift feud. Instead, they are taking advantage of the focus shift by painting Republicans who voted against the bill as anti-Trump, anti-tax cuts, and anti-American.
Attempts to Sanewash
Far-Right Spin
Fiscal hawks throw House budget vote into limbo as Trump urges agenda unity
House Budget Committee Rejects GOP Bill to Enact Trump’s Agenda
*Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced Chip Roy as a US Senator.
Protests erupt nationwide over attack on birthright citizenship
From the Bay Area to Boston—and even on the steps of the Supreme Court—people rallied Thursday to protest the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. The protests drew in immigrants, activists, elected officials, and even people who had never attended a political event before but were jolted into action by what they saw as a threat against citizenship.
"This is not only unlawful action by the president,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said at the Boston rally. “But he does not have the power through an executive order to dismantle the 14th Amendment and especially birthright citizenship.”
As I wrote about yesterday, birthright citizenship isn’t the goal: it’s the first step in giving the Trump administration the authority to grant or revoke citizenship based on loyalty.
Protests are planned this weekend in every state across the country. Find one near you.
Mississippi US Sen. Roger Wicker
Since taking office in 2007, Sen. Wicker has:
Sponsored 664 bills
Number of bills signed into law: 14
Believes the US should execute a preemptive nuclear strike against Russia
Opposes humanitarian aid of any kind to Palestine
Opposed President Obama nominating a Supreme Court Justice during an election year: “American people should have the opportunity to make their voices heard before filling a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court."
Supported President Trump nominating a Supreme Court Justice during an election year: “Republicans promised to confirm well-qualified, conservative judges and justices to the federal courts. We should continue to fulfill this promise.”
Fun Facts
Sen. Wicker is a loyal representative for his campaign donors—and the return on investment is well worth it. One of his first successes in office was to guarantee $6 million in spending to Aurora Flight Science, a defense contractor whose president donated $8,000 to his first Senate run in 2006. He’s continued to fight for the private company’s bottom line, securing Aurora Flight Sciences another $48 million contract in 2018.
Opposition to addressing climate change appears to have financial motivations as well. Wicker was quiet on the subject until the oil and gas industry began donating to his campaign in 2012. Two years later, he was pushing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. In 2015, Wicker was the only senator to vote against formal recognition of climate change, and in 2017, he was one of the primary voices that convinced Trump to leave the Paris Climate Agreement.
For this, Wicker was rewarded: he received $200,000 from the oil and gas industry before the Paris pullout and another $1 million in the years since.
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Republicans lose six-month battle to steal NC Supreme Court seat
In what may be one of the most cathartic judicial moments in recent North Carolina history, Allison Riggs was sworn in this week as a state Supreme Court justice. The ceremony ends a cynical, six-month attempt by Republicans in the state to overturn Riggs’ victory.
Far from being rooted in election integrity, the challenges to Riggs’ election hinged on the hope that Republicans overseeing the case would side with their party, will of the people be damned. After a trial judge dismissed the case, it was taken up by a Republican-majority appeals court panel, then appealed to the Republican-majority North Carolina Supreme Court.
But in the end, the courts sided with the voters, and Riggs was finally sworn in as the state’s second Democratic justice.
The reason Rigg’s victory was fought against so intensely wasn’t simply because of her party affiliation; it was because of her history fighting against gerrymandering. You can get the full breakdown from Billy Ball, senior editor at COURIER’s Cardinal & Pine newsroom in North Carolina, on TikTok or Instagram.
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Hi Cameron - Fact Check: Chip Roy is a Congressman from Texas, not a Senator as indicated in this post. Please make sure your facts are correct before posting. I'm a strong supporter of Courier. It's absolutely critical that our new media sources are accurate. Thank you.
I get it :) It’s so easy to do something like that. Welcome to substack. May your work thrive in this vibrant community!