Today in Politics, Bulletin 232. 10/20/24

… Trump began the physical destruction of the East Wing of the White House today to make room for his Mar-a-Lago style ballroom monstrosity. He is literally taking apart America piece by piece while Republicans in Congress remain silent.

Photo - Washington Post

… Mike Johnson held his daily shutdown press conference today with his leadership team plus (for some strange reason) Chip Roy who ranted like an unhinged maniac (as usual). They spent most of the presser ranting about the massive No Kings protests this weekend. No, not to apologize for lying about being domestic terrorism. Just to lie about it some more.

… Johnsons: “Congratulations. They did you not burn any buildings down. That’s a big achievement for the left to have some kind of gathering where they don’t have a riot and burn a building down. But what those people are advocating for is un-American.”

… Maj Leader Steve Scalise: “This weekend we got to see on display what that hate America rally we’ve been talking about was really all about. You can see some of the signs. They actually went and celebrated with those people that are advocating for the death of Republicans.”

… Whip Tom Emmer: “It’s pure partisan politics in a desperate attempt to score points with the radical, pro-terrorist wing of their party. Now that their Hate America Rally is over, I hope that 5 Senate Democrats will finally do the right and responsible thing.”

… Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): “The truth is the marxist, radicals, and Islamists the Democratic Party promoted this weekend, they cannot handle the truth. The truth is that there is a king and that king is Jesus. And the president has been willing to say it, and Charlie Kirk was willing to say it and he got killed for it.”

… Perfectly normal stuff.

… Reporter: “Speaker Johnson, you say that Democrats had a hate America rally, but what does it say that the president released video of him pooping on the American people? Johnson: The president uses social media to make a point. You can argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that. He is using satire to make a point.”

… This was in reference to Trump responding to No Kings by posting on Truth Social an AI video of himself as a fighter pilot wearing a crown dumping shit from his plane onto the heads of protesters, including Gen Z activist Harry Sisson.

… “The Independent’s Eric Michael Garcia, who asked the question: “Something I never thought I’d get to do: ask the Speaker of the House about a video the President of the United States posted of himself in a king’s crown dumping shit all over American protesters.”

… Personally, I thought the video of Trump dumping shit all over America from a plane was metaphorically the most accurate piece of propaganda he’s put out this year.

… Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA): “I don’t like to do ad hominem attacks, but I’ve served with 4 different speakers. This is the fifth one. He is by far the weakest speaker, I think, in American history.”

… Trump used Kenny Loggins’ song “Danger Zone” from the movie Top Gun in his video. Loggins to Variety: “This is an unauthorized use of my performance. Nobody asked me for my permission, which I would have denied, and I request that my recording on this video is removed immediately. I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us.

… Loggins: “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us.”

… Trump was asked about No Kings: “I think it’s a joke. I looked at the people. They are not representative of this country. And I looked at all the brand new signs I guess paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics. It’s looks like it was. We’re checking it out. The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective. And the people were whacked out.”

… 50Plus1News: “After adding new data, our estimate of turnout for the No Kings Day protests yesterday has risen to 5.5 million, with an upper bound of 8.7, making it the largest single-day political protest in US history (excluding first Earth Day).”

… House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “Showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration, that’s as American as motherhood, baseball and apple pie.”

… Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA): “It seems that Speaker Johnson and House Republicans only believe that free speech matters if you agree with their speech.”

… Lara Trump on her Fox show about No Kings: “That’s all the Democrats have had to offer for quite some time: stunts. They don’t really have anything that they are bringing to the table. The No Kings did absolutely nothing.”

… They sure did seem pretty worked up about it though.

… No Kings really triggered nutjob Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who has been completely manic on social media since Charlie Kirk was shot. He posted 257 tweets on Saturday and Sunday - mostly about the protests. Two of them attacked me and said I was a disgrace to the Marine Corps. Like I care what he has to say about that - he was in the Navy.

… I hope you had a chance to see my Substacks of the Top 40 protest signs from No Kings. This a link to my Top 10. The one in Portland, Maine was packed. Maine is the oldest state in the country per capita but there were young, old and middle aged of all incomes. It was a great crowd and a lot of fun. I was a little surprised the Senate candidates skipped it - definitely was the biggest one in Maine.

… Today, Mike Johnson will have the House adjourned for 77 out of the last 89 days. House Republicans have worked 12 days in 3 months. All to prevent a vote on releasing the Epstein files. The House Republican Epstein Shutdown continues.

… Rep. Marge Greene (R-GA) continues to disagree with Johnson’s shutdown strategy: “The House should be in session working. We should be finishing appropriations. Our committees should be working. We should be passing bills that make President Trump’s executive orders permanent. I have no respect for the decision to refuse to work.”

… NY Post just did a story noting a key part of the Epstein files that is currently being concealed - the identity of his Epstein’s worst client, who happens to be a former Prime Minister: “In her posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Virginia Giuffre recalled begging Epstein to step in after the unnamed politician forced her to beg for her life. Giuffre referred to the deranged man as the ‘Prime Minister,’ saying she was afraid the brute would ‘seek to hurt’ her if she printed his name.”

… “In the past, however, she pointed to Israel’s PM Ehud Barak in court filings as one of the many elites who had raped her, a claim he has repeatedly denied. In her memoir, Giuffre said she first met the ‘Prime Minister’ on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands sometime in 2002, when she was just 18. She was ordered to escort him to a cabana, but the man made it clear as soon as they were alone that ‘he wanted violence.’”

… “He repeatedly choked me until I lost consciousness and took pleasure in seeing me in fear for my life. Horrifically, the PM laughed when he hurt me and got more aroused when I begged him to stop. I emerged from the cabana bleeding from my mouth, vagina, and anus. For days, it hurt to breathe and to swallow. He raped me more savagely than anyone had before.”

… She immediately rushed to Epstein and begged him not to send her back to the PM: “I got down on my knees and pleaded with him. I don’t know if Epstein feared the man or if he owed him a favor, but he wouldn’t make any promises, saying coldly of the politician’s brutality, ‘You’ll get that sometimes.’”

… This is an example of what Trump, Pam Bondi and Mike Johnson are covering up.

… WH Economic adviser Kevin Hassett on CNBC: “I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week. But I can tell you that if it doesn’t, the WH is going to have to look very closely at stronger measures that we can take to bring them to the table.”

… Which means more firing of govt employees and canceling of more projects in Democratic areas. Which most likely they were going to do with or without the shutdown.

… Semafor: “Chuck Schumer says on the podcast that John Thune hasn’t talked to him about guaranteeing an ACA subsidies vote as a condition of opening the govt: ‘He was supposed to offer it to me. He didn’t offer it. He said he might do it, but he never talked to me about that and didn’t have any concrete proposal either.’”

… Politico: “The Trump admin sent out furlough notices this morning to the vast majority of staff at a key agency that helps manage the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The admin plans to furlough 1,400 staff. 375 will remain for exempted work.”

… MarketWatch: “The ongoing govt shutdown, once widely viewed as a 2-3 week affair, is morphing into a Washington debacle that easily could extend into Nov. This month’s partial shutdown will have lasted 20 days as of Monday, while the record for longest closure is held by the 35-day shutdown that took place nearly 7 years ago, during Trump’s first term.

… Beacon Policy Advisors: “An end to the shutdown requires either WH engagement on a deal or Democrats to cave. As of now, there are no signs of either. The current shutdown could be in the running for the longest federal shutdown in history.”

… “Delays at airports because of staffing shortages also are viewed as something that could bring about the end of the shutdown, if the problems for travelers become acute or generate lots of headlines. Air-traffic controllers and TSA screeners are being told to show up for work even though they’re missing out on pay due to the shutdown, so some are expected to protest by not showing up.”

… Trump was asked about his $40 billion bailout of his friend Javier Milei in Argentina while they are helping to put American farmers out of business by selling to the Chinese while we tariff them: Q - “What do you have to say to farmers who feel that the deal is benefitting Argentina more than it is them? Trump: Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don’t know anything about it. You understand what that means? They are dying.”

… I probably didn’t have to include the “young lady” part for you to know it was a woman reporter, based on how he answered the question.

… He then said (unbelievably!) that he may import more beef from Argentina to get our prices down, which would then hurt US ranchers: “The only price we have that’s high is beef, and we’ll get that down. And one of things we’re thinking about doing is beef from Argentina.”

… Also, prices are up on everything.

… Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): “$40 billion to Argentina’s govt. Subsidizing Argentinian farmers. Meanwhile American farmers can barely afford to stay afloat and families are about to go hungry because Trump refuses to open the govt.”

… Trump then begged China to start buying soybeans from our farmers despite his trade war on them: “I want them to buy soybeans. They stopped buying our soybeans because they thought it was a punishment. And it is punishment to our farmers. We’re not gonna allow that to happen.”

… Marge Greene to Semafor: “I can’t see into the future, but I see Republicans losing the House if Americans are continuing to go paycheck-to-paycheck. Voters will definitely be going into the midterms looking through the lens of their bank account.”

… Meidas broke the story that the Hegseth and Vance planned to have the Marine Corps fire artillery rounds over I-5 and was planning to close a section of the busy highway between SD and LA to accommodate the stunt so Vance could make a TikTok video. The WH denounced our story as fake news and said they were not going to close the highway - electing to just fire over cars driving by.

… Gavin Newsom then responded by closing that section of the highway while the live fire exercise was taking place, saying that the admin was acting irresponsibly and putting people’s lives in danger. The WH and Vance then denounced that move as unnecessary. Turns out it wasn’t.

… NBC: “The Marines Corps has launched an investigation after the CA Highway Patrol said shrapnel from an artillery shell, fired during a live-fire demonstration touted by the WH, struck a law enforcement vehicle. No injuries were reported when an artillery round ‘detonated overhead prematurely’. At least one of its patrol vehicles, on hand to help stop and divert traffic on I-5 through the base during the demonstration, was damaged.”

… CHP Chief Tony Coronado, who was also a Marine: “This was an unusual and concerning situation. It is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway.”

… Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis, spokesperson for the Marines: “We are aware of the report of a possible airborne detonation of a 155mm artillery round outside the designated impact area. Following established safety protocols, firing was suspended. No injuries occurred and the demonstration concluded as scheduled. An investigation has been initiated. We are committed to determining the incident’s root cause and applying findings to future missions.”

… “Pictures from a CHP incident report show a black-and-white unit with a hood apparently pierced by shrapnel, as well as multiple munition fragments. The report indicated that the fragment on the hood measured around 2 inches by 2 inches. According to a CHP map, the vehicle was at I-5 and Las Pulgas Road, nearly a mile north of the Red Beach demonstration along the coast of San Diego County, when it was hit.”

… Trump surprised me when he randomly told the press that India’s PM Modi assured him that were going to comply with his demands to stop buying Russian oil. I was surprised because Russia is their largest supplier of oil, we are still in an unresolved trade war with India, and their govt hadn’t said a word about it. Turns out it was another lie.

… Reporter: “You mentioned a recent call with Modi where he said India would stop purchasing Russian oil, but India said they were not aware of that happening. Trump: Then they’re going to just keep paying a lot of tariffs if they said that.”

… Kristi Noem was asked about her two new Gulfstream jets, which she had financed through the Coast Guard budget: “These aircraft are Coast Guard aircraft to replace 25 year old airplanes that are necessary for the mission of the Coast Guard. Congress appropriated the dollars and paid for them in the big beautiful bill and we’re grateful that we’re able to move forward.”

… She is the one who will be using them. Probably her special friend Corey Lewandowski also. They are basically her new taxpayer funded govt jets, to go with her taxpayer funded waterfront Coast Guard Commandant house that she has been living in.

… Journalist Ian Ellis: “Today, the US announced its 7th strike in SOUTHCOM, destroying a boat affiliated with a Colombian cartel. The US has massed 10,000+ troops in the region, with most in Puerto Rico and on 12 US Navy ships. Also: USAF B-52H bombers, USMC F-35B fighters conducted a bomber attack demo, special forces spotted near Trinidad and Tobago, and AC-130J Ghostrider gunships deployed to Puerto Rico.”

… “Additional ships arrived in theater: Military Sealift Command oilers USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187) and USNS Kanawha (T-AO 196), US Army landing craft utility USAV Wilson Wharf (LCU 2011), littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13) replaced USS Minneapolis-St. Paul (LCS 21).”

… “US installed a new long-range radar system (AN/TPS-75) in St. Croix, USVI, and built a new bunker to store ammunition and support drone ops at Rafael Hernández Airport - New Joint Task Force (JTF) under II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). SOUTHCOM Commander, Adm Holsey, retiring (reportedly in protest). Last week, POTUS acknowledged authorization for the CIA to conduct covert ops in Venezuela and previewed: ‘We are looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control.’”

… Sure sounds like we are going to war in Venezuela.

I hope everyone who attended No Kings was energized and motivated leaving there. I know I sure was. I was truly stunned at the turnout for our state, which doesn’t have many people. I think they are going to announce the date for the next one on a conference call tomorrow, so I will keep you posted.

We can really keep up the momentum by sweeping the NJ and VA governor elections in two weeks. Trump and Republicans in Congress can try and play off that they aren’t getting rattled, but the definitely are. This will reinforce that. We can also make my former longtime friend, new RNC Chair Joe Gruters, start his tenure off 0-2 in the job.

… NYT: “President Gustavo Petro of Colombia accused the US of murdering a fisherman in an attack on a boat that the American authorities claimed was carrying illicit drugs. President Trump responded on Sunday that he would slash assistance and impose new tariffs on the country. US forces have killed dozens of people in