Trump Critic

US president writes ‘vote the bum out’ as congressman faces close race against Trump-endorsed RepublicanWith two days to go before the next big test of Donald Trump’s iron grip over his party, the president went head-to-head on Sunday with his nemesis, Thomas Massie the Kentucky congressman who is in a fight for his political life in Tuesday’s Republican primary.Over an eight-hour period starting in the early hours of Sunday, Trump took to his bully pulpit on Truth Social to taunt Massie, one of very few senior Republicans who has dared to defy him. Massie is the “worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country”, the rant began, followed by a mid-morning exhortation to Kentucky voters to “vote the bum out on Tuesday”. Continue reading...

• Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly stated on CBS's Face the Nation that the Trump administration's $1.5 trillion Defense Department budget request is outrageous. • Kelly highlighted that the proposed amount is nearly equal to what the rest of the world collectively spends on defense. • The criticism underscores Democratic concerns over excessive military spending amid fragile ceasefires and other national priorities.

• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV and Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the Vatican on Thursday for 2½ hours to discuss Middle East peace efforts. • The visit aims to mend fences following President Donald Trump's recent public criticisms of the Pope over Iran policy. • Rubio focused on achieving a durable peace amid ongoing U.S. pressures on Tehran, including a naval blockade and peace proposal.

Agriculture secretary claims without evidence Snap recipients included owners of luxury cars The Trump administration’s attack on the 87-year-old food aid program that supports tens of millions of low-income Americans escalated last week as the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, claimed that 14,000 Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (Snap) recipients included owners of luxury vehicles such as Ferraris, Bentleys and Teslas.Critics charge that the broadside is part of a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining a benefit relied on by some of the most vulnerable people in the US. Continue reading...

Workers wrote ‘Katrina declaration’, warning that funding cuts made US dangerously unprepared for natural disastersFourteen employees with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency returned to work this week, after spending eight months on administrative leave for signing a public letter criticising the Trump administration.The so-called “Katrina declaration”, sent last August to members of Congress and a federal council formed to help determine Fema’s future, was written as a rebuke from the workers about the dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Continue reading...

US president’s statement follows comments by German chancellor that the US was being ‘humiliated’ in conflictUS president Donald Trump threatened to reduce the number of troops deployed in Germany last night, after chancellor Friedrich Merz said this week that the US was being “humilitated” by Iran.Trump said the US was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP” Continue reading...

• The FCC announced it will review eight broadcasting licenses owned or managed by Disney due to the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. • The move came one day after President Trump called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over a controversial joke likening First Lady Melania Trump to an 'expectant widow.' • Kimmel faces backlash amid debates on whether his late-night monologue could incite political violence following recent assassination attempt charges.

Members will plan how to come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack as Nato faces worst crisis in its historyBrussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU’s little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack, as Donald Trump’s criticism of Nato intensifies.EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission “will prepare a blueprint” on how the bloc will respond if the mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks. Continue reading...