Today in Politics, Bulletin 151. 6/13/25

… The ‘No Kings’ protests of Trump are gearing up around the country tomorrow as millions are expected to be a part of the largest demonstrations yet against the authoritarian MAGA movement. Organizer Ezra Levin told CNN they expect 1,900 protests in all 50 states: “Even conservative estimates say that 3.5 million people turned out for the Hands Off mobilization in April. No Kings is on track to exceed that by millions more. This is historic.”

… The stated purpose of the protest is to reject “authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.”

… Even God is angry about Trump’s military parade. The weather forecast for DC tomorrow calls for a 90% chance of thunderstorms.

… Meanwhile, Republicans are in full panic mode over the protests and are rolling out a show of force to intimidate citizens from exercising their first amendment rights. Gov. Greg Abbott said he is deploying 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 state police to assist local law enforcement in policing the protests.

… Gov. Mike Kehoe called up Missouri’s National Guard “as a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country. We will not tolerate violence or lawlessness in our state.”

… Gov. Henry McMaster: “South Carolina’s law enforcement will not tolerate lawless behavior associated with this weekend’s nationwide planned protests.”

… Gov. Glenn Youngkin: “There are several planned demonstrations for this weekend in VA. There will be absolutely zero toleration for the destruction of property, looting, vandalism or violence of any kind. Disrupting traffic or distracting drivers is not only unacceptable, but also dangerous.”

… Brevard County (FL) Sheriff Wayne Ivey: “If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains because we will kill you. We will kill you graveyard dead."

… Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said she thinks the Chinese govt is funding the protests and her committee will investigate. She also posted this: “Do NOT attend the No Kings protests. I have screen shots circulating that leftists are going to wear MAGA gear in an attempt to cause chaos.”

… Seen near the White House today:

… This was also outside the White House today.

… New Reuters poll on Trump’s response to LA protests: Approve-35%, Disapprove-50%

… Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin: “The Army parade tomorrow is also a nightmare security scenario for authorities following the increased threat from Iran following Israel's airstrikes.”

… That is because it appears we are now at war with Iran, despite the fact that the only statement we have received from the Trump admin about it is from Sec of State Marco Rubio denying any US involvement. Fox: “The US is assisting Israel to shoot down Iranian missiles. An official said, ‘There are hundreds of thousands of American citizens and other American assets in Israel and the U.S. is working to protect them.’”

… Rubio released this statement shortly after Israel’s launched their attack last night: "Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Admin have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”

… But after initial reports came in that Israel’s initial strikes appeared to be successful in decapitating the leadership of Iran’s military, Trump woke up wanting to claim credit for all of it. He put in phone calls in a few hours to Bret Baier, Dana Bash, Jonathan Lemire, Lawrence Jones, and Jonathan Karl to say that he was with Israel every step of the way on the planning and execution.

… Trump also posted this on Truth Social, which contradicted Rubio’s statement that we had nothing to do with it: “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!”

… And then this: “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done. I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the US makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse! Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”

… I have no idea what he is talking about when he says they need to save the “Iranian Empire.” Is he talking about the Persian Empire that Alexander the Great conquered 2,500 years ago?

… But Israeli officials were telling Axios that Trump has been involved all along by pretending to engage in peace talks just to lull Iran to sleep before Israel struck: “Even as President Trump pursued a nuclear deal, Israel was preparing for this strike - gathering intelligence, positioning assets and eventually conducting drills. Those preparations alarmed some in the WH, who worried Netanyahu might move even without a green light from Trump.”

… “Netanyahu assured Trump he wouldn't. The WH told Netanyahu that if Israel attacked Iran, it would do so alone. Trump himself said several times in recent days, including several hours before the strikes, that he opposed an Israeli strike that could ‘blow up’ the negotiations. But in the hours after the attack began, Israeli officials briefed reporters that this was all coordinated with Washington. Two Israeli officials claimed to Axios that Trump and his aides were only pretending to oppose an Israeli attack in public - and didn't express opposition in private. ‘We had a clear US green light,’ one claimed.”

… “The goal, they say, was to convince Iran that no attack was imminent and make sure Iranians on Israel's target list wouldn't move to new locations. Netanyahu's aides even briefed Israeli reporters that Trump had tried to put the brakes on an Israeli strike in a call on Monday, when in reality the call dealt with coordination ahead of the attack, Israeli officials now say.

… The Spectator Index: “JUST IN: Revolutionary Guards commander says that the US 'tried to deceive us through negotiations'.”

… Middle East expert Dennis Ross to WSJ says he thinks the Steve Witkoff negotiations were a ruse: “There is no question that the Witkoff mission was a major contributor to the surprise. The Iranians would have assumed that Israel would not attack while the talks were under way and a meeting was about to take place.”

… Michael Weiss, Editor of The Insider, said he received this text from a Ukrainian friend: "Whatever happens, I hope this doesn't mean Witkoff has more time to spend on us again."

… Many in Trump’s MAGA movement are not happy. A big chuck of them are very isolationist who believed Trump would end all wars, and another chunk is anti-Israel. Tucker Carlson: “This could be the final newsletter before an all-out war. US says it was ‘not involved.’ That’s not true. Trump is complicit in an act of war.”

… Tucker: “The real divide isn’t between people who support Israel and people who support Iran or the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it — between warmongers and peacemakers. Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran. On that list: Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Rupert Murdoch, Ike Perlmutter and Miriam Adelson. At some point they will all have to answer for this, but you should know their names now.”

… Tucker also posted this in March: “It’s worth pointing out that a strike on the Iranian nuclear sites will almost certainly result in thousands of American deaths at bases throughout the Middle East, and cost the US tens of billions of dollars. The cost of future acts of terrorIsm on American soil may be even higher. A bombing campaign against Iran will set off a war, and it will be America’s war. Don’t let the propagandists lie to you.”

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): “Israel doesn’t need US taxpayers’ money for defense if it already has enough to start offensive wars. I vote not to fund this war of aggression.”

… MAGA activist Bryan Berg: “I voted MAGA. Instead I got Bush 3.0.”

… Steve Bannon: “We don’t oppose Israel being Israel first, but we have to be America first. The bottom line is we cannot be dragged into a war on the Eurasian landmass or in the Middle East.”

… Charlie Kirk says if anything bad happens because of Trump’s policy on Iran, it will be Joe Biden’s fault: “Keep your head on a swivel. Biden let millions of people into America. Iran might activate some sleeper cells against Americans. Stay armed.”

… Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): “Talks to address Iran’s nuclear program were planned for Sunday. Instead Netanyahu launched illegal strikes on Iran, killing a top ceasefire negotiator, undermining U.S. diplomatic efforts, and putting countless innocent lives at risk. We can’t be dragged into another Netanyahu war.”

… Trump supporter Vincent Scardina is upset that ICE just grabbed a third of the workers from his roofing company in the Florida Keys for deportation. To NBC6: “It’s quite a shock. You get to know these guys, you become their friends - not just an employer but a friend. We’re not able to just replace people as easily as, say, a big city, with very limited people to pull from. Then you would have to train them, and that takes sometimes years.”

… Attorney for the 6 men Regilucia Smith to Daily Beast: “They are legally here. Valid work permit, not even close to expired, no criminal records here - and not in Nicaragua.”

… Scardina was asked if he now regrets voting for Trump: “Buyer’s remorse? I don’t know, a little bit. I know of one landscaper that lost 9 or 10 of his whole crew he had and he’s just totally out of business all of a sudden, just like that.”

This week was like a month, and tomorrow could end up being the craziest day yet. But I am off on Saturdays as usual and am going to take an old narrow gauge train from Wiscasset through the forrest to a lavender farm for a barbecue. Nothing too exciting, but good time for Maine!

Next column will wrap up the entire weekend on Sunday night, so I expect I will be very busy all day on Sunday putting that one together. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… Pro boxer Ryan Garcia, who hung out with Trump at Mar-a-Lago: “I may have voted for Trump, but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening with ICE in LA. These aren’t