Today in Politics, Bulletin 202. 9/8/25

… Trump’s birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein was released today by Oversight Dems, who posted a photo of the card which Trump and Vance said didn’t exist: “HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist. Trump talks about a ‘wonderful secret’ the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files!”

… WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “The latest piece published by the Wall Street Journal PROVES this entire ‘Birthday Card’ story is false. As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”

… Trump supporters widely claiming on social media that the signature is not his since he only signed his first name. Dep. WH Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich: “Time for Newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!”

… Charlie Kirk: “Does the below from the WSJ look like this actual signature from the President? I don’t think so at all. Fake.”

… Trump is suing WSJ and their parent company Newscorp owned by Murdoch for defamation when the story was published months ago, claiming that there was no card signed by him and they made up the entire story.

… JD Vance posted this on July 17: “Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullshit. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?”

… But several reporters pointed out that over 20 years ago when this was signed that Trump often signed only his first name - particularly in notes to friends and close acquaintances.

… They also pointed out that this card has been locked away with Epstein’s estate papers and would have had to have been forged over 20 years when there would have been no incentive for anyone to forge Trump’s signature.

… Several women pointed out that this drawing appears to be a girl, not a woman.

… CNN reporter Aaron Blake: “A bunch of Trump allies are claiming the Epstein birthday letter contains a signature that doesn't match Trump's. But there are a bunch of ‘Donald’ signatures from the same era that look very much like the one on the Epstein letter.” He then posted letters Trump signed to Rudy Giuliani and Larry King during that time period with the same signature.

… Keith Olbermann also posted a note Trump sent him during the same period with the exact same signature.

… So did George Conway.

… And many others.

… WaPo: “Speaker Mike Johnson backed off his claim that President Trump was an FBI informant in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Last week, Johnson told reporters that Trump cares deeply about the crimes Epstein committed and said that Trump ‘was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down.’ On Sunday, his office released a statement modifying that claim.”

… “The Speaker is reiterating what the victims’ attorney said, which is that Donald Trump — who kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago — was the only one more than a decade ago willing to help prosecutors expose Epstein for being a disgusting child predator.”

… “During the event, Brad Edwards, an attorney who represents many of the victims, told reporters that Trump has done an ‘about-face’ on Epstein since 2009. Edwards said that when he spoke to Trump in 2009, Trump was ‘friendly’ to the victims’ plight, and ‘did not think that it was a hoax and was trying to help. And now it seems like all of a sudden somebody is in his ear, and he’s not. So I’m hoping he’ll come back to where he was back in 2009, be on the side of the victims and stand with us.’”

… At no point in time did Edwards ever say Trump was an “FBI informant.” Johnson just lied about that.

… The Supreme Court ruled that racial profiling is now legal when conducting immigration detentions. Justice Kagan’s dissent noted that ICE in LA was stopping individuals based solely on 4 factors: 1. Race; 2. Whether they were speaking Spanish or English with an accent; 3. Location where they were found; 4. Type of work they were doing. The District Court ruled that was illegal racial profiling. 6 Justices disagreed.

… Kagan: “The 4th Amendment protects every individual’s right to be free from arbitrary interference from law enforcement officers. After today, that may no longer be true for people who look a certain way, speak a certain way, or work a certain type of legitimate job that pays very little. Because this is unconscionably irreconcilable with our nation’s constitutional guarantees, I dissent.”

… Immigration lawyer Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “It is not hyperbole to say that thanks to today's decision, every Latino citizen in Los Angeles should consider carrying their passport or birth certificate with them at all time. The Supreme Court has now essentially greenlit Trump's DHS demanding their papers at any point.”

… It’s actually any person of color with an accent everywhere in the US since this decision now applies nationwide. Unless you want to sit in an ICE detention center in shackles waiting for a friend or relative to bring it down there.

… Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): “SCOTUS is out of control. It is abusing the shadow emergency docket by reversing well-considered lower court opinions without full briefing, oral argument, or even any explanation whatsoever. Now ICE will continue to make unconstitutional arrests based solely on race.”

… AG Pam Bondi: “Another massive victory at the Supreme Court. Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in CA without judicial micromanagement.”

… And this decision come a day AFTER a new poll is out showing Trump underwater with Latino voters by a whopping 34 points. Latino voting expert Mike Madrid: “Hispanics went from -6 to -34 for Trump since Feb. The shortest political honeymoon in history.”

… The number of Latino voters who flipped from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024 was the difference in the election. It was the single biggest move of any demographic between the two elections by far. Obviously a lot of buyer’s remorse now according to the polls. With good reason.

… US Navy veteran James Brown says he "100%" regrets his vote for Trump after his wife was taken into detention by ICE. To Newsweek: "Trump advertised that he was getting criminal illegal immigrants and deporting them—which I agree with. They're not telling the truth about what's actually happening to a lot of legal immigrants.”

… Donna Hughes-Brown has lived in US as lawful permanent resident for 37 years. But she wrote a bad check for $25 in 2015—she paid it back and got probation. So she is a “criminal illegal alien” according to Trump. She is now separated from her 4 kids and 5 grandkids and locked up at an ICE detention center in KY.

… Raphael Rashid, a journalist in Seoul who covers S. Korean politics: “S. Korea's entire media establishment across political spectrum has united in unprecedented editorial consensus expressing profound betrayal, outrage, national humiliation, and fundamental breach of US-ROK alliance re: mass arrest of Korean workers at Hyundai's Georgia plant. The general sentiment: while Korean media occasionally unite on domestic issues, these are usually severely politicized. Here, the level of scorn spanning from conservative establishment to progressive outlets is extraordinarily rare. They are furious.”

… Chosun Ilbo: Scathing language calling this a "merciless arrest operation" that represents something "that cannot happen between allies" and a "breach of trust." Notes Trump personally thanked Hyundai's chairman just months ago. Chosun calls the situation "bewildering" and emphasizes the contradiction: Trump pressures Korean companies to invest while simultaneously arresting their workers.

… Dong-A Ilbo: Delivers perhaps the most damning question in its headline: "How are we supposed to build factories?" while noting Korea was "specifically targeted" and describing this as "shocking" behavior between allies. Dong-A asks "who would invest" under these conditions when Korean workers are treated like a "criminal group." Notes this threatens 17,000+ jobs already created by Korean companies in GA. "The Korean govt must demand a pledge from the US to prevent recurrence."

… JoongAng Ilbo: Calls this an incident that "shook the values and trust of the ROK-US alliance" occurring at the very "site of economic alliance." Describes public being "appalled" at seeing Koreans dragged away in chains and cable ties. JoongAng characterises this as a "show-off style crackdown targeting an allied nation" and "an act that undermines the credibility of the alliance." Suggests this may have been Trump's political theatre ahead of midterm elections.

… Korea Economic Daily: Headlines this as an "absurd arrest of Koreans" incident. "It is hard to understand in terms of common sense why quotas for visas are given to Australia, Singapore and Chile, but not a single visa to Korea." KED notes that "this incident is a significant blow to the ROK-US economic alliance," warning that if this is used as "leverage" in trade negotiations, "it would be a behaviour of betraying the trust of the alliance."

… Maeil Business Newspaper: Uses headline: "When they told us to build factories, that was one thing... US arrests 300 Korean workers." Calls situation "shocking" and "absurd", notes you cannot supervise trillion-won investments without Korean personnel. Maeil states that it's "ridiculous that they would go after a company that has made a deliberate decision to invest in the US," ending with a simple but blunt message: "an alliance requires courtesy."

… Seoul Economic Daily: Calls this "shocking". "Our citizens' rights must never be violated again," describes the arrest footage as "horrifying". Uses particularly strong language, that the Korean workers were treated like "prisoners of war." “While we do not understand the political motivations of the far-right Republicans in the US in this reckless crackdown, it is also painful to see how our diplomacy failed to recognize a massive operation that had been planned for months."

… Rashid: “In Korea, public humiliation isn't just personal embarrassment, it's an attack on dignity that reverberates through society. The fact that the workers were filmed being shackled and footage was deliberately released by ICE makes it worse. Korea has deep historical memory of being humiliated by foreign powers and the visuals of Koreans in chains being paraded by a foreign power triggers collective memories of subjugation that go beyond this just being ‘unfair’. This is public humiliation of the nation itself.”

… Trump was is now trying to do damage control on the raid: “If you don't have people in this country right now that know about batteries maybe we should help them along and let people come in and train our people to do complex things. ICE was doing it because they were here illegally but we have to work something out where we bring in experts where people can be trained so they could do it themselves.”

… He also posted on Truth Social: “Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people, with great technical talent, to build World Class products, and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you to do so. What we ask in return is that you hire and train American Workers. Together, we will all work hard to make our Nation not only productive, but closer in unity than ever before.”

… Politico reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged another member of the admin to a fist fight for the 3rd time in the last few months. This time it was repulsive Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte at the new MAGA Executive Club in DC: “Bessent lashed out at Pulte in an expletive-laden diatribe. The Treasury secretary had heard from several people that Pulte had been badmouthing him to Trump.”

… Bessent to Pulte: “Why the fuck are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you. I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.”

… “Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene. But Bessent wasn’t having it - he sought to get him kicked out: ‘It’s either me or him. You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here. Or we could go outside.’ Pulte responded: ‘To do what?' To talk?’ Bessent: “No, I’m going to fucking beat your ass.’”

… “Malik separated the men, walking Bessent to another part of the club to calm down. During the seated dinner, Bessent and Pulte were placed on opposite ends of the table, and the party went off without further episode.”

… Elon Musk, who reportedly also had a physical altercation with Bessent when he worked in the WH, posted a link to the story to his 225 million followers with this caption: “Hmmmmmm”

The comments section to these Bulletins is becoming quite a raucous affair! I read them every morning and appreciate the fact that it has become quite a community with people sharing their own perspectives with each other on things in the Bulletin as well as other things in the news. Thank you also for so many kind words - I’m thankful you appreciate my work - I try to be consistent and never put out less than my best each day.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.

… AP: “President Trump was loudly booed at the men’s final of the US Open on Sunday, where extra security caused by his visit led to lines long enough that many people missed the start of play, even after organizers delayed it. Trump briefly emerged from his suite about 45 minutes before the match started and heard a mix of boos and cheers from a stadium that was still mostly empty. No announcement proceeded his appearance, and it was brief enough that some in the crowd missed it.”

… “Trump appeared again to more boos before the National Anthem. Standing in salute, the president was shown briefly on the arena’s big screens during the anthem, and offered a smirk that briefly made the boos louder. Trump was shown on the big screen again after the first set ended, and elicited a roar of louder boos and some piercing whistles.”

… Award winning photographer Andres Kudadacki caught Trump putting some kind of blue pill in his mouth: