Chinese newspaper cartoon
(Today... 😂 )

Done.  The power of the pen. Here's the real deal behind the scenes, the actual point of all the shenanigans.


The addendum, signed by Blanche and dated Tuesday, contains a sweeping release under which the IRS is “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing “examinations” of Trump, “related or affiliated individuals,” and related trusts and businesses. The waiver specifically covers “tax returns filed before the effective date” of the settlement — which was Monday. Every tax return Trump has ever filed is now beyond the reach of the IRS.

Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said he was “unaware of a single precedent where the IRS has agreed in advance to permanently forgo examination of previously filed tax returns for a specific person or business.”

The Trump Phone is exactly the bad deal you expected
We called it "hard to recommend" two years ago

https://www.the-independent.com/arts-en … 78683.html

My favorite, so far.

BorderCountess wrote:

So, as always, one would be paying for the name.

It's more than just a name, it's a golden sheaf you can wrap your enthusiasm in. (Made and assembled in China)


They will be all the rage next month over at the pool bar in Trump's rebranded resort on Cuba.

John Cornyn’s defeat raises a new question: Will he join the Senate Republicans rebelling against Trump?

By Patrick Svitek, CNN
Updated: 8:20 AM EDT, Wed May 27, 2026
Source: CNN

See Full Web Article

Sen. John Cornyn’s landslide defeat immediately raises a pressing question for his GOP colleagues: Will he join the ranks of other Republicans recently vanquished by President Donald Trump and begin bucking the president more?

Cornyn suggested prior to Tuesday’s loss that he will continue to be a team player, but that has not stopped Republicans from speculating about whether he will go the way of Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Tillis abandoned his reelection campaign last year after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger, while Cassidy lost reelection earlier this month after Trump endorsed against him. Both have since become more outspoken against Trump, complicating his legislative agenda.

While Trump took a victory lap after defeating Cassidy, celebrating the end of his Senate career, the president struck a more conciliatory tone in response to Cornyn’s loss.

“Congratulations to Ken Paxton on such a tremendous win, and to John Cornyn for having run a strong and powerful race but, more importantly, having had a truly great career,” Trump wrote Wednesday morning in a social media post. “John will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all.”

Already, a small and eclectic bloc of Republicans has been increasingly outspoken against key Trump policies, from the war in Iran to a government settlement fund that could benefit MAGA loyalists.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas’ junior senator, said on his podcast recently that it is “fair to expect John’s going to be less than thrilled” if he loses reelection — and could become more of a problem for GOP vote-counters.

“Bill Cassidy, Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Rand Paul,” Cruz said, counting the Kentucky senator who is also sometimes critical of Trump. “Those are four senators. We have a 53-47 majority. If you lose four senators, you’re below 50 and you can’t get anything done. That is going to be a complicating factor for the rest of the year.”

But it’s not just that group that’s posing problems for the White House. Tensions between Trump and Hill Republicans have spiked in recent weeks as lawmakers have grumbled that his recent decisions — from endorsing Cornyn’s opponent to pushing politically toxic projects like funding for his East Wing ballroom to that “anti-weaponization” settlement fund — could cost them control of Congress.

Trump still needs to get at least one major legislative package through the Hill this year: A package of tens of billions of dollars to fund US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border enforcement that Democrats rejected in the most recent spending deal.

But that immigration measure is now roiled by so many internal problems that some in the party aren’t completely convinced it can be done by the midterms.

Cornyn has long been a party stalwart. He has held multiple roles in Senate leadership, including majority whip and chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

On the campaign trail, he regularly spoke about his passion for the state Republican Party and wanting to protect the brand from someone like Paxton, who has a history of criminal and civil cases, allegations of official misconduct, and a nasty and public divorce.

Still, for all his criticism of Paxton, Cornyn always promised to support the Republican ticket in November, even if he would not be on it, and reiterated that in the first lines of his concession speech.

In the days before the runoff, he was asked if a “different John Cornyn” would return to the Senate if he lost.

“I don’t think so,” Cornyn told NewsNation. “I think I would certainly do what I always try to do, is pick my fights on a case-by-case basis.”

In the days after his defeat in Louisiana, Cassidy bucked Trump on three major issues — including backing a measure to rein in the president’s war powers in Iran — as he made clear he was not a guaranteed “yes” on any White House-pushed bill.

Paxton had long argued that Cornyn’s support for Trump was only motivated by his desire for political survival. He did not hesitate to compare Cornyn to Cassidy after the latter lost reelection two days before early voting began in Texas.

“I think there’s nothing different about John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy,” Paxton said in a radio interview on May 18. “As soon as this race is over, one way or the other, John Cornyn will go back to being John Cornyn, which is very liberal, not supporting Trump. He’ll be a thorn in his side.”

Cornyn had argued in the final days of the runoff that he was no Cassidy, who, unlike Cornyn, voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment. Rather, Cornyn argued that he was a casualty of Trump’s frustration with a lack of progress on his agenda in the Senate.

Paxton was far more gracious toward Cornyn in victory Tuesday night, thanking him for his long record of public service in Texas. At the same time, Paxton made clear he was prepared to align more with Trump if elected in November.

“In the Senate,” Paxton said, “I’ll support Donald Trump’s America First agenda.”

In his concession speech, Cornyn spoke only generally about how he plans to navigate the rest of his term, saying he would “continue my work to help make this nation a better place for all Texans and all Americans.” Yet when reporters tried to ask questions after the speech, Cornyn declined to answer and raised intrigue for the future.

“I’ll have more to say later,” he said.

CNN’s Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.

Just another Saturday.
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article- … elvis.html

The next day. 
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/ … n-johnson/


[I am some what elated to be living here.]

Artists are bailing on a Trump-backed concert series for America’s 250th. Now he’s hosting his own ceremony

By T.M. Brown, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN
Updated: 11:19 AM EDT, Tue June 2, 2026
Source: CNN

See Full Web Article

President Donald Trump is now hosting the opening ceremony for the Great American State Fair after several performing artists pulled out of the event’s concert series.

“As the visionary behind the Great American State Fair, we are excited to announce that President Trump will personally kick off this historic celebration on Wednesday, June 24 in an opening ceremony celebrating America’s 250th birthday,” Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told CNN in a statement.

The announcement comes after a majority of the artists booked to perform at a marquee concert series for the event dropped out this week. The Commodores, Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, Poison frontman Bret Michaels, and rapper Young MC have all publicly distanced themselves from the string of performances scheduled to take place on the National Mall in Washington, DC, from June 25 through July 10.

“I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride, the country star, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday announcing her decision not to perform.

Freedom 250 is a White House organization launched by executive order to create Trump-driven alternatives to the events planned by the nonpartisan United States Semiquincentennial Commission, America250. The announced concert lineup was heavily tilted toward legacy acts like Morris Day and Vanilla Ice, and many of them share the same booking agent in Jeff Epstein of Universal Attractions. Epstein did not respond to repeat requests for comment.

Trump mocked performers who have withdrawn from the event, saying on social media Saturday that they were getting “the yips” and suggesting he could replace them as the featured attraction.

”We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” he posted later Saturday, adding, “Cancel it.”

All of the artists who have pulled out suggested they were misled about the event’s political associations. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” Young MC said in a statement on Instagram. The rapper told Rolling Stone that the concert was a “bait-and-switch.”

Bret Michaels, who won “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010 and who has been complimentary of Trump in the past, cited a similar issue. “Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram on Friday. He also said that he and his crew have received threats due to his potential participation in the event.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Sunday pushed back on accusations of partisanship over the Freedom 250 events.

“The president plays a key figure in helping to again celebrate, kick off and be at the opening of these events. It’s very appropriate,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

Not everyone has dropped out. The “Ice Ice Baby” rapper Vanilla Ice, a vocal Trump supporter who has performed at Mar-a-Lago several times, said that “I’m super honored to do this concert” in a TikTok video. “We don’t take anything too serious, man.” The rapper Flo Rida, of the blockbuster late aughts dance hit “Low,” has not made a statement about whether he will still perform.

Fab Morvan, of the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli, said Monday that he was also dropping out. “This is not what I signed up for,” he said, saying the event had turned into a “circus.”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with the circus because I know how stories can be distorted,” Morvan said. “I was in the middle of several storms and I know what it feels like. So I think it’s time for me to get away from the storm and keep it simple.”

Milli Vanilli won a best new artist Grammy in 1990 before it was revealed that Morvan and his fellow frontman Rob Pilatus, who died in 1998, had not sung on the recordings credited to them. Jodie Rocco, one of the artists who provided the real vocals for the group and who performs with other singers from the sessions under the name “The Real Milli Vanilli,” told the AP that she was “shocked” that Milli Vanilli had been a listed act.

Freedom Williams, a rapper from the group C&C Music Factory, said in an Instagram reel filmed from an odd angle — one commenter said Williams looked like he was sitting on the toilet — that he “doesn’t f**k with Trump.” But he said he was more irritated by people who were attempting to “cancel” him over his performance, indicating that he’s planning to go through with it. “The day I let you motherf**kers tell me what to do is the day I die.”

Williams left the original group in the early 1990s but acquired the trademark for C&C Music Factory in 2005. Robert Clivillés — one of the “C’s” and a co-founder of the group — said Williams was “disguising himself as C&C Music Factory” and that Clivillés “was neither involved in, consulted regarding, nor have I endorsed the event.”

CNN reached out to representatives for all of the artists who were slated to perform. Many declined to comment or didn’t respond. Young MC reiterated that Freedom 250 had touted itself as a nonpartisan organization when he originally agreed to perform, and that he didn’t find out about its affiliation with the Trump administration until later.

Rachel Reisner, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, said the organization “remains fully committed to delivering a once-in-a-lifetime experience that brings every corner of this country together on the National Mall.”

“We respect the rights of any artist to make their own decisions, and our doors remain open to any performer who wants to be part of honoring 250 years of American freedom, culture, and unity,” Reisner said in a statement. “There is far too much to celebrate about this great nation to let noise and division distract from the incredible moment ahead.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional information.

This is not satire. 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-p … fluencers/ 
Context:
https://www.military.com/white-house-ta … in-website

Last edited by MSG Tripps (2026-06-09 07:54:06)

Required reading?
https://slate.com/culture/2026/06/donal … ism=please

Every sentence being a new fucking clip was incredibly distracting.

But yes, at this point, Trump supporters have made Trump support such a core part of their identity that nothing can back them down from the ledge.

Imagine being so thoroughly despised that thousands of people were willing to tune in to a live stream of your name being removed from a building.

I imagine that, as someone who is so ego-driven as Trump, that's gotta sting.

It seems be the case that people with  certain mental makeups or antisocial conditions feel things quite differently than others. Maybe he just experiences it as vengeance without the sting, self reflection on ego disappointments or other social guardrails that allow for attachment to our human interactions and cooperative behaviors.

Is it possible that the whole Trump thing of creating his political world was sustained by him because of some jokes Obama made  at his expense during a White House correspondence dinner long, long ago?

Last edited by Johnny_Rotten (2026-06-14 22:32:15)

Need a score card?
https://apnews.com/article/trump-g7-ins … 13f3ce6b05

MSG Tripps wrote:

Need a score card?
https://apnews.com/article/trump-g7-ins … 13f3ce6b05

The only score that matters is "American People: 0"