Latest news with #Trump-centric
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: Trump's ‘Big Beautiful' Bill Is a Big Brutal Breakup With His MAGA Base
Donald Trump has never made a promise he has not broken. He has never encountered a trust he did not violate. He has never had a close relationship that he did not betray. Ask his wives. Ask his business partners. Ask his children. For many of us, it comes as no surprise when he lies or steals or violates his oath of office. It is what those of us who have observed him for years have come to expect. In fact, it is what we warned would happen. If he were elected the first time. If he were elected again. Trump is a despicable human being. Despicable human beings behave despicably. Due to his charm or his brand; to their gullibility or their ambition, there have throughout Trump's life always been those who dropped their guard—even if just for a moment. Despite the philandering, the bankruptcies and the many thousands of suits filed against him, the lies that have been counted in the tens of thousands and those have yet to be revealed, there are always dupes, stooges and suckers who think somehow he will do something to benefit them. (In reality, he will have he wanted or needed them to satisfy some base urge or fulfill some grand inevitably Trump-centric, Trump-benefiting, twistedly Trumpian plan.) During the 2024 elections, just over 77 million Americans ignored this president's flawed character and miserable track record. Now, less than six months after they helped him re-take the presidency, they are the ones who are discovering what happens when Donald Trump has used you and no longer feels he needs you. Trump's supporters are discovering that they have become 77 million Ivanas. They are 77 million Marla Maples. They are 77 million customers of Trump steaks or Trump universities, 77 million of the creditors he left high and dry. The domestic policy bill that passed the Senate Tuesday, thus inching closer to being signed into law, is many things. All of them are bad. But for the vast majority of his supporters, what he calls the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' is really just his latest big brutal betrayal. And among those most hurt by it will be Trump voters. The $1.1 trillion in healthcare cuts will result in an estimated 12 to 17 million people losing their health insurance in the decade ahead. Not only will those people be impacted, but so will their families, their neighbors, their businesses and their employers. With one fifth of Americans receiving Medicaid, it is clear the damage will be sweeping. Hospitals and clinics will close across America. Drug prices will go up. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost. Trump voters who supported the president because he decried the economic policies of the Biden Administration will find that their man has pushed through a bill that will increase the national debt by between $3 trillion and $5 trillion—according to conservative estimates. If the Trump cuts are extended into the future, that number will go up. Trump will lie about this. His supporters already are. But soon, the lies will be revealed as they always are by the truth of the lives that those he is betraying are leading. More national debt means more expensive mortgages, slower growth, fewer jobs even as cuts to healthcare and to other vital services like SNAP food aid programs will hurt the most vulnerable in our society. Surely then, it means that Trump is really only screwing his poor supporters, his rural supporters? Well, the bill's massive increases in spending on his militarized round-ups of immigrants will target many among or adjacent to Latino communities who supported him. When the bill is signed, ICE will get more funding than the Marine Corps. (And of course, under Trump, it will have the benefit of direct support from the Marine Corps.) Not only will he not just be targeting the very bad people he promised would be his priority, his plans go much farther. Indeed, on Tuesday, at the ribbon cutting for his newest concentration camp, Alligator Alcatraz, Trump mused about denaturalizing American citizens, rounding up those he sees as enemies. Already, his gestapo-like operations have many major sectors which once supported him—agribusiness, hospitality and construction—crying for help. In the same way, the fat cats who think Trump is bringing them big pay days with tax cuts are being forced to contend with the economic consequences not only of his increases to the national debt but of his wildly erratic and unsuccessful trade policies, which will slow growth and cost U.S. jobs. Remember 90 deals in 90 days? Trump is on track for zero real trade deals in 90 days. Nothing but a couple of band-aid measures and one feeble framework agreement with the U.K. And if your industry depended on brainpower, Trump's attacks on immigrants and universities are driving away the kind of smart, talented people upon whom our growth has depended for decades. Even big donors and prominent supporters are feeling the burn. Just ask former #1 Trump fan Elon Musk, who just yesterday had to endure more speculation by Trump that he might be deported and see his big federal grants canceled. It may well be that Trump has taken things so far that America finally rejects the winner-take-all economics of the super-rich. At least we can hope so. And we can work for those outcomes. The people Trump used to get elected are now being abused and discarded just like everyone else he has taken advantage of and ditched during his life. Why? Because the 79 year-old Trump is not running in any more elections. The schmucks on Capitol Hill who are putting their careers on the line by backing the bill, the most unpopular piece of big legislation in modern U.S. history, are about to find out the cold hard truth themselves. Trump is about Trump. Which means three things now: monetizing the presidency through the kind of corruption that will stain the GOP for decades, advancing his personal legacy even if it means political disaster for his party (and its followers) and enacting retribution against his enemies even if it means that, once he is gone, the backlash will be felt by those who once made the huge mistake of defending him. Not that we should have one droplet of sympathy for Trump's enablers. They are the co-authors of the disaster that is befalling this country. They deserve what they have coming. In the very near future, they will come to feel the pain to which so many who trusted Trump in the past can relate. Which means that forever afterwards they, like the country, will not view this bill as a triumph for Trump but rather they will recognize it as the latest and largest scale betrayal of those who made the enormous mistake of investing their trust in the world's least trustworthy man.
The Star
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Analysis: NATO summit highlights internal tensions amid Trump's defense spending push, says experts
By Zhao Xiaona, Larry Neild LONDON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- As NATO leaders gather this week in The Hague for the alliance's first-ever summit hosted by the Netherlands, attention is shifting toward the alliance's cohesion and internal dynamics, rather than facing external policy challenges. According to the agenda, although the summit officially runs for two days, from June 24 to 25, the key discussions are expected to take place over the course of a single day. The agenda is narrowly focused on U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to raise defense spending targets to 5 percent of GDP - a plan that has received a mixed response from European capitals, highlighting deeper concerns about NATO's unity, military capabilities, and long-term strategic direction. "This summit is highly Trump-centric," said Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham. "It's been compressed to a single day, with a single agenda item, designed to limit unpredictability. That reflects NATO's institutional anxiety - a defensive effort to retain the U.S. as a participant, even at the cost of long-term planning." Wolff added that the summit's tightly controlled structure underscores fears that Trump might exit prematurely or withdraw support if discussions stray beyond his specified terms. "The structure of this meeting is intentionally risk-averse," he said. "It's not about building consensus - it's about avoiding disruption." Although Trump's demand for higher defense spending dominates the agenda, recent unilateral U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have further diverted NATO's focus from its foundational mission - strengthening Europe's defense architecture. "The U.S. acted alone, and Europe simply wasn't part of that conversation," Wolff said. "Europe still lacks strategic enablers - intelligence, long-range transport, rapid deployment, and command systems. These aren't just budget issues - they are structural gaps." Wolff warned that even if NATO members meet the proposed 5 percent target, without prioritization and coordinated defense-industrial development, such spending risks becoming "financial inflation without strategic output." Internal divisions further complicate the alliance's ability to act cohesively. While some member states push for a more proactive collective defense role, others remain reluctant to commit to common strategies or timelines. "If NATO cannot agree on its main purpose, then even well-funded forces will lack shared direction," Wolff said. "Without unity, the 5 percent target becomes just another political gesture to buy time." John Bryson, chair of Enterprise and Economic Geography at Birmingham Business School, the University of Birmingham, described the summit as a crucial test for Europe's defense ambitions. "This is a test of whether Europe can grow beyond its dependency on the United States and shape a credible defense model of its own," he said. Bryson noted that raising defense spending is not a panacea for NATO. "This is the paradox of deterrence - you spend vast sums on weapons that may never be used, and that doesn't automatically translate into security. " He emphasized that NATO should be a stabilizing force. "It is not a war-fighting alliance, but a war-prevention structure. The moment it loses its cohesion, it loses its meaning." Both Bryson and Wolff agreed that the alliance faces fragile internal conditions. Trump's influence, they said, has driven NATO toward short-term reassurance at the expense of long-term strategic development. Bryson also noted that Washington's growing involvement in Middle East conflicts risks further distracting NATO from its core European focus. "Venturing beyond its geographic scope could dilute NATO's identity as a defensive pact - and that, above all, must be safeguarded," Bryson said.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Stephen Miller describes Trump-heavy family life days after wife leaves administration to work with Musk
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, has described his Trump-centric family life days after his wife left her administration post to work for Elon Musk. After discussing Trump's construction of the MAGA movement, his immigration stance, and Democrats' 'unsellable ideology,' Miller explained his personal ties to President Donald Trump in a softball Fox News interview with Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law. The Saturday evening interview comes days after his wife Katie Miller reportedly left her role as an adviser at the Department of Government Efficiency to work full-time for Musk, who once led the cost-cutting arm. It's unclear when the interview was recorded, and his wife's departure from the administration wasn't discussed. But Miller's appearance seemed to serve as a counter to any rumors that there's a rift between Musk and Trump. The world's richest person left DOGE after a turbulent few months taking a chainsaw to federal agencies; his 130-day special government employee status came to an end last week. The deputy chief of staff emphasized how large a role the president and his White House have played in his family life. Miller described meeting his wife during the first Trump administration. 'When I first met her, she was the communications director at the Department of Homeland Security, so it's very on-brand, the relationship, because we were on conference calls every day on border security.' The pair even got married at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, according to the New York Times. Miller is considered the architect of the controversial family separation policy in Trump's first term. His wife, then a spokesperson to Vice President Mike Pence, was sent to a child detention center at the southern border to make her more compassionate, but 'it didn't work," she told reporter Jacob Soboroff. Miller then told Lara Trump about his own children. Asked about whether his children have met Trump, Miller said he has a photo of his daughter with the president when she was just a newborn. He claimed: "My daughter is always asking to see the president again…She's always desperate for any chance to get face time with the president.' He added that the president is 'great with kids,' describing him as a 'kid magnet' and a 'child whisperer.' Under Trump, apparently, children are always welcome at the White House. 'This is the most family-friendly work environment. You can bring your kid to work any time you want,' he added. He's been in Trump's orbit for a decade, but to him, 'sometimes it only feels like it's been a year.'
Axios
28-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
D.C.'s private clubs surge with demand — and big names
Washington's private club landscape — both the old guard and the new guard — is booming, per a new New York Times article. Why it matters: Four prominent D.C. clubs — newcomers the Executive Branch and Ned's Club and the old-school Metropolitan Club and Cosmos Club — all are expanding, have waitlists, or a combo of the two, the newspaper reports. This comes during an increasingly partisan moment in Washington, when many people are looking for familiar retreats. State of play: Executive Branch, a Trump-centric private club opening in Georgetown next month, will run you as much as $500,000 to be a member. It'll be in the underground space once home to Clubhouse and Church Hall, with design nods to the Aman New York. And don't expect to find typical Beltway figures there, White House crypto czar David Sacks tells the Times — think "a fake news reporter" or "a lobbyist," aka people "we don't know and we don't trust." "You have to know the owners," one club spokesperson told the Times while on a private plane returning from overseas. "This is not just for any Saudi businessman." Donald Trump Jr. is a lead investor, and founding members include Sacks and crypto twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. President Trump, meanwhile, is expected to make appearances now that the former Trump Hotel is no longer available as a hangout. Meanwhile, at Ned's Club, which opened downtown in January, members include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, MSNBC's Symone Sanders Townsend, CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Phil Rucker, and the Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey. Also spotted on the Ned circuit: Mark Cuban and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Fees at the club start at $5,000 to join, with annual dues of $5,000. It's $1,000 for federal workers.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA truck driver who toppled powerful Democrat drops bid for New Jersey governor
Ed Durr, the truck driver who landed one of the largest political upsets in New Jersey history by beating the state's longest-serving Senate president, announced Monday that he will drop his bid for governor. He immediately endorsed conservative former radio host Bill Spadea, who is one of the leading Republican candidates. Durr said he was dropping out because his campaign was not able to meet the threshold to qualify for matching funds under the state's public financing programs. 'While there are two of us carrying the conservative message of the MAGA movement only one has the financial resources necessary to carry that message through to November,' Durr said in a statement. 'I am ending my campaign so Bill Spadea can use all his campaign resources to defeat the two never-Trumpers in this race and carry a conservative message to November.' Durr's departure sets up what is likely a two-man race between Spadea and former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, both of whom are trying to court President Donald Trump's support. Over the weekend, Trump met with Ciattarelli and Spadea separately, according to social media posts and media reports — and the president's decision to weigh in is viewed as make-or-break in the GOP primary. Another GOP candidate, state Sen. Jon Bramnick who is a frequent Trump critic, is also running. A trucker from South Jersey, Durr catapulted to national attention after unexpectedly ousting then-Senate President Steve Sweeney in 2021. Beating Sweeney — who is now also a candidate for governor — briefly made Durr a political hero on the right: A MAGA trucker, on a shoestring budget, toppled one of the most powerful Democrats in New Jersey. It was a rise to power that seemed made for Hollywood. Last spring, Durr entered the governor's race on the theory that he could launch a similar upset to take over the governor's mansion — although it was ultimately not meant to be. On nearly all fronts, Durr ran a campaign lacking structure. He severely lagged in fundraising — there is still no filing from the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission showing how much he raised, if anything. Durr cited his dearth of funds as the primary reason for dropping out. 'We will not qualify for matching funds,' Durr said in his statement. 'Without matching funds we are out of the debates, making it difficult to get our message beyond those who already support this campaign.' He also struggled to find a lane. Spadea is courting the most conservative parts of the Republican party — who would appear to be among Durr's base of supporters. And while support for Trump has become the paramount focus in the GOP primary for governor, Durr — who is an ardent Trump supporter — said that his campaign was not Trump-centric and that he was focused on affordability. 'I think there needs to be more substance behind the candidates than just saying you're for Trump,' Durr told POLITICO earlier this year. Some of Durr's campaign promises would have been nearly impossible to fulfill, like eliminating the state's sales tax as well as property taxes for homeowners. But on the campaign trail — and as a state senator — he carried an Everyman appeal. He remained a full-time truck driver while running for governor, often doing interviews and social media videos while trucking. 'I think he talks like a real person,' Bramnick said in an interview. 'I actually like him — I don't agree with him on everything. But I like him.' After ousting Sweeney in the 2021 election, Durr became a minor celebrity among Republicans, doing the interview circuit on conservative media and even getting a phone call from Trump. Durr said he ran for office because he could not get a gun carry permit. But his fame fizzled out once he entered Trenton — as well as his perceived power. He proposed conservative measures like scaling back New Jersey's strict gun laws and abortion rights, although none of his bills became law. He also became something of a pariah among his fellow Republicans. After his upset victory, some of Durr's old online comments resurfaced that became politically damaging, such as 'A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed.' While Durr represented a district that Trump won, he was ousted in the 2023 election by South Jersey Democrats seeking to reclaim the Senate post in large part because of his old comments. It is unclear what comes next for Durr's political career. He is listed on the state's campaign finance database as being a 2027 candidate for state Senate, although that does not necessarily mean he will run. 'Forever he'll be the David that beat Goliath,' state Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco said in an interview. 'People will always remember Ed the truck driver.'
