The golden jet is literally Trump's latest shiny object
ALSO INSIDE: Before bragging about relatives that fought in WWII, maybe make sure they weren't a Nazi…
Today’s sleight of hand: While Trump’s golden jet took over the airwaves, DOGE’s new boss flew under the radar
Today’s hero: Thousands of North Carolina protesters holding the line at their 10th Tesla protest since March
Today’s villain: Maryland US Rep. Andy Harris’ fascist-friendly family tree
Today’s if/then: How lies about “border safety” mean children are banished and political opponents are exiled.
What Happened
Trump is pushing the news about the Qatari government gifting him personally a $400 million jet, a blatant act of corruption, sane-washed as merely an update on what aircraft will be used for Air Force One.
But this push is, as usual in Trump world, an attempt to distract us from the even more sinister actions that his administration is undertaking. Specifically, Trump wants to distract us from the fact that inefficiency czar Elon Musk has ceded authority over DOGE to Russ Vought, the Christian nationalist author of Project 2025, whose stated goal is to create such a traumatic workplace environment in the public service sector that civil servants quit to avoid a mental breakdown.
Vought has spent years developing the perfect methods to use in order to demolish the government and rebuild it as a theocracy. While Musk was the lightning rod of public opinion, Vought has been working nonstop to bring the technocratic dream of RAGE (Retire All Government Employees) to life.
Musk may have been able to slow down Vought in dismantling some sectors—specifically, the ones where Musk benefits financially—but now, all bets are off. His first target, according to The Wall Street Journal, is to cut out non-defense spending by the US Department of Defense.
While these efforts are likely to be sane-washed as an anti-war, isolationist move and Trump will continue to divert attention to his new private jet, the reality is that now spending for weapons will stay the same, while spending for initiatives like environmental conservation efforts, public health and medical research, social services, and veterans is what’s really on the chopping block.
Attempts to Sanewash
Trump to accept 747 from Qatar to use as Air Force One
READER POLL: Should President Trump be allowed to accept an Air Force One jet as a gift from a foreign country?
Qatar says it is reviewing giving luxury plane to U.S.
Trump’s Budget Hawk Takes Over the DOGE Agenda. First Up: The Military.
As I noted, inefficiency czar Elon Musk has made his exit from the Capitol as he needs to spend his time attempting to salvage Tesla’s reputation—and stock price—which has taken a major hit from Musk’s three months leading DOGE.
But if the consistent crowd of protestors outside his dealership in Matthews, North Carolina, is any indication, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
A group of volunteers from Indivisible Charlotte led the 10th consecutive Tesla Takedown last weekend. The number of protestors has fluctuated in the three months since they began, from a couple of dozen to thousands, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Despite Musk’s physical presence leaving DC, the shadow cast by his continued work at DOGE has created a sustained momentum against his electric car company. Tesla Takedown protests, like the one that has become a staple in Matthews, are planned regularly in every city that has a Tesla dealership, and organizers are determined not to let people forget Musk’s role in destabilizing the federal government.
US Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s 1st District
Since taking office in 2011, Rep. Andy Harris has:
Seen his net worth increase from $2.5M to $5.5M
Sponsored 34 bills
Authored one bill that has been signed into law, to rename a post office.
Fun Facts
Harris is an anti-immigration son of immigrants whose father served in World War II — alongside Nazis and Fascists in the Royal Hungarian Army.
He helped plan the Jan. 6 Insurrection, downplayed its severity after it failed, and tried to bring a gun on the House floor a few weeks later.
As an anesthesiologist (who has continued to practice after being elected to serve his district in Congress), Harris has played fast and loose with his doctor’s notes, prescribing the deworming drug ivermectin to patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
As a state legislator in 2001, Harris attempted a filibuster to block a bill to prohibit discrimination against same-sex couples. His filibuster lasted for two hours, when a supermajority in the state senate voted for him to shut up.
While his only successful legislation was naming a post office, he also failed to block the renaming of a different post office after Maya Angelou in 2019.
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We’ve gone from unconstitutional deportations to banishing kids to exiling political opponents in just a few months.
Deportation is when someone is forcibly removed from the country they’re currently and sent somewhere else. When a US citizen is forcibly sent away, they’re not being deported—they’re being banished.
Exile, on the other hand, is when someone is told to leave the country and does so by choice.
Which is what the Trump administration is attempting to do to some of their most successful political opponents—immigration attorneys (who are also US citizens).
Watch the full breakdown on Instagram or TikTok.
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