Today in Politics, Bulletin 262. 12/2/25
… After posting a blizzard of deranged QAnon content, threats, and conspiracies on Truth Social past midnight last night, Trump was back at it again starting at 5:48 AM. Then he held another “Cabinet meeting” in front of the press and TV cameras where his sycophants praised his greatness as he continued to fall asleep. The last hour, his eyes were closed 80% of the time as he sat there with two Band-Aids on his hand.
… Mediate: “Trump unleashed a frenetic, late-night posting binge, flooding Truth Social with more than 160 posts in less than 5 hours, in a wild spectacle that saw him teeing off on political opponents and policies. The president reposted an endless stream of clips, some of which were duplicated in what appeared to be an automatic loop, amplifying MAGA-friendly pundits and conspiracy theories.”
… “The torrent swung between nostalgia – including a ‘Make Christmas Great Again’ video featuring Trump’s cameo in Home Alone 2 – and a parade of attacks on his usual Democratic targets, from Gavin Newsom and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and former President Barack Obama.
… “Among them was a clip of Alex Jones, featuring Bed, Bath and Beyond founder Patrick Byrne, whose video carried the bizarre caption: “Michelle Obama may have used Biden’s autopen in the final days of his disastrous administration to pardon key individuals.” Other posts lauded his vow to nullify all of Biden’s Autopen orders.
… “He also posted what appeared to be an AI-generated video of Elon Musk discussing Trump’s vow to ‘immediately’ revoke temporary protections for Somali migrants. Despite the late night, the president was awake by 5:48 a.m. Thursday to proclaim: ‘TRUTH SOCIAL IS THE BEST! There is nothing even close!!!’”
… Then Trump held his Cabinet meeting. These were some of his quotes before he fell asleep:
“There’s this fake narrative that the Democrats talk about - ‘affordability.’ They just say the word. It doesn’t mean anything to anybody. They just say it. ‘Affordability.’ The word ‘affordability’ is a con job by the Democrats. The word ‘affordability’ is a Democrat scam.”
“The fat drug. F-A-T for fat people. Anybody use it at the table? Don’t answer. We have it down to $150 or something, right Bobby? A pretty low number.”
“I believe that at some point in the not too distant future you won’t even have income tax to pay, because they money we’re taking in from tariffs is so great.”
“Is Trump in good health? I sit here, I do 4 news conferences a day. I ask questions from very intelligent lunatics - you people. I give the right answers. There’s never a scandal. There’s never a problem.”
“But right now, I think I’m sharper than I was 25 years ago. I took my physical. I got all As. Everything. But they said to me, ‘would you like to take a cognitive test?’ I said, ‘Is it hard?’ They said, ‘yes.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m a very smart person. Who was the last president to take one?’ ‘No president has ever agreed to take one.’ I aced it.”
On Somali immigrants in MN: “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you.”
“I just want to wish everybody a great holiday week.”
“Pete didn’t know about the second attack having to do with 2 people. I guess Pete would have to speak to it. I can say this. I want those boats taken out. And if we have to, we’ll attack on land also. As far as the attack is concerned, I still haven’t gotten a lot of info because I rely on Pete. I didn’t know about the second strike. I wasn’t involved in it.”
… Pete Hegseth then also denied having any involvement or knowledge of the second strike that killed survivors in the water, throwing his military commanders under the bus:
“I watched that first strike live. At the Dept of War, we got a lot of things to do so I did not stick around. A couple of hours later, I learned that commander had made - which he had the complete authority to do, he made the correct decision to sink the boat and eliminated the threat. And it was the right call. We have his back.”
Q - “So you did not see the survivors after that first strike? Hegseth: I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is what is called the fog of war. This is what you in the press don’t understand. You sit in your air conditioned offices and you plant fake stories in WaPo not based in any truth at all.”
… Long-time CNN national security correspondent Barbara Starr: “Sit in our air conditioned offices? Finally I have to say it. How dare you sir. Close to every member of the press corps you despise has made multiple reporting trips to combat zones, been under fire, some reporters wounded, some killed. Some today still with PTS. Mr. Hegseth should we indeed finally accept it’s just not possible for you to show any basic respect? I guess it in fact is not possible.”
“We’ve only just begun striking narco boats and putting narcoterrorists at the bottom of the ocean. President Trump said we’re taking the gloves off. That’s exactly what we’re doing. We have had a bit of a pause because it’s hard to find boats to strike right now.”
“I will just end by saying as President Trump always has our back, we always have the back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations. All these strikes, they’re making judgement calls ensuring they defend the American people. They’ve done the right things. We’ll keep doing that.”
… Then it was time for his Cabinet officials to take turns glazing Dear Leader while he slept through most of it:
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: “This is the greatest Cabinet ever for the greatest president ever. I can’t be more proud of how you did it, sir. You created the greatest Cabinet. It is a joy to be at this table.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: “We’ve asked Americans to bring their better selves, to bring the civility back to travel. To say please and thank you, and maybe not wear pajamas or slippers on the airplane.”
VP JD Vance: “Why did homes get so unaffordable? Because we had 20 million illegal aliens in this country taking homes that ought by right go to American citizens.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem: “Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. You kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that.”
Noem: “You have saved hundreds of millions of lives with the cocaine you’ve blown up in the Caribbean.
(Approximately 187 million people combined have died in all the wars on planet earth since the year 1900. But Trump apparently saved more than that by blowing up the boats).
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin: “President Trump is willing to take a bullet for all of you tuning in at home. I’m grateful this holiday season for you.”
HUD Sec Scott Turner: “When I played in the NFL, we had this thing called game film. You know all about film. We had a saying that said, the film don’t lie. The film tells a real story. And I hope that the American people when they watch the film that’s going on now, they will see America is greater today than it ever has been.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “Even as we sit here right now, Steve Witkoff is in Moscow trying to save lives. The war never would’ve happened if you had been president.”
AG Secretary Brooke Rollins: “Joe Biden increased food stamp program funding by 40%. Now, we continue to roll that back. Just gratitude and joy for this work. So, so grateful to you, President Trump.”
AG Pam Bondi: “Our attorneys are working on terrorism, TDA, Antifa. We have charged more than 500 defendants with assault on federal officers thanks to your directive. And also we have dropped countless cases against Americans that were prosecuted under the Biden admin.”
… Yes, while our Secretary of State stayed home to kiss Trump’s ass, the US was represented at the meeting with Putin today at the Kremlin by the brilliant and seasoned diplomats Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
… Gavin Newsom: “Donald Trump has fallen asleep in his own Cabinet meeting.”
… Hegseth posted this on X: “Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made - on the Sept 2 mission and all others since. America is fortunate to have such men protecting us. When this Dept of War says we have the back of our warriors - we mean it.”
… Bradley better hire a good lawyer.
… Conservative columnist George Will wrote an OpEd in WaPo titled, ‘A Sickening Moral Slum of an Administration’. This is a quote from it: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement.”
… WaPo: “Officials in Congress and the Pentagon said they are increasingly concerned that the Trump admin intends to scapegoat the military officer who directed US forces to kill two survivors of a targeted strike on suspected drug smugglers in Latin America, as lawmakers made initial moves to investigate whether the attack constituted a war crime.”
… Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Hegseth had authorized Bradley to conduct the strikes. Adm Frank Bradley, she added, “worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed.”
… “Her scripted remarks at a news briefing elicited a furious backlash within DOD, where officials described feeling angry at the uncertainty over whether Hegseth would take responsibility for his alleged role in the operation - or leave the military and civilian staff under him to face the consequences.”
… One military official: “This is ‘protect Pete’ bullshit!”
… Another: “It’s throwing us, the service members, under the bus.”
… Another on Adm. Bradley: “Whether he takes the blame or not, his reputation has been marred by this forever, just by that statement.”
… “Another person said some of Hegseth’s top civilian staff appeared deeply alarmed about the revelations and were contemplating whether to leave the admin. The Pentagon has declined WaPo’s request to interview Hegseth about his role in the strikes.”
… Sen Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) said he spoke to Hegseth and the Joint Chiefs chair, Gen. Dan Caine, and that he expects to speak with Bradley also. Wicker, whose committee opened an inquiry into the Sept. 2 operation, said he is seeking video and audio recordings of the strikes, and that once those materials are received he will decide how to proceed: “We’re going to find out what the true facts are.”
… Sen. Maj Leader John Thune to Punchbowl on Hegseth’s leadership at DOD: “I don’t have, at this point, I guess, an evaluation of the secretary. Others can make those evaluations.”
… Mike Johnson was asked if the House was going to hold any hearings on it and whether they would request the full video and audio of the incident: “I’m sure Congress has a right to look at it. I don’t know how much of the tape should be released, because I’m not sure how much is sensitive with regard to national security and all that. I haven’t had a chance to review it. So I’m not going to prejudge it.”
… It’s Epstein files all over again.
… Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on Fox: “If there was a second strike, it wouldn’t be to just simply take out the survivors. It’s because there was still a threat or opportunity for them to run.”
… Maybe get away by swimming to Jamaica?
… CNN’s Manu Raju to Mike Johnson: “If defenseless survivors were killed, would that constitute a violation of the laws of war? Johnson: I’m not going to prejudge any of that. I was pretty busy yesterday. I didn’t follow a lot of the news.”
… After stating yesterday that he thought the story about a second strike must be fake news because Hegseth would never do something like that, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) was back on CNN today changing his tune a little: Q - “If there were survivors clinging for their lives on that boat, was it legal to go ahead and kill them? Gimenez: If the mission was just to have a second strike to kill the survivors, that’s questionable.”
… Very courageous.
… Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) requested records from the Coast Guard on their boat interdictions for a 12 months period before the Trump/Hegseth policy went into effect. He posted a letter he received from the Guard in response, which was stunning: “Coast Guard records show that prior to the reign of ‘blow-them-to-smithereens’ 21% of boats stopped off the coast of Venezuela possessed NO drugs! Of the 212 total vessels interdicted in the year prior to the new policy who were suspected of trafficking drugs, only 55 had drugs on board.”
… Politico: “The publisher of children’s book series ‘Franklin the Turtle’ hit out at ‘unauthorized’ depictions of its main character after Pete Hegseth posted a mock cover of Franklin shooting at drug traffickers. Hegseth shared an image of a children’s book, titled ‘Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists,’ showing the eponymous turtle dressed in military gear, standing in a helicopter and firing a weapon at boats loaded with cargo and men with guns. ‘For your Christmas wish list,’ Hegseth captioned the picture.”
… Statement from publisher Kids Can Press: “Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity. We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values.”
… Grammy-award winning recording artist Sabrina Carpenter was fuming after the WH posted a video montage of ICE agents making arrests while using her music as a soundtrack: “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
… At the time this Bulletin was published at 6 PM ET, Carpenter’s post had received 24 million views on X in just 7 hours.
… Statement from WH Spokesperson Abigail Jackson to Axios: “Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
… These people pick the most unnecessary fights with celebrities and piss off millions of their fans in the process. Many of their fans don’t watch news, aren’t into politics, and may not even vote. But these fools sure do try and motivate them to start paying attention.
… Trump officially pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez today and he was released from federal prison while serving a 45 year sentence for drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic weapons into the US. He served less than 2 years of his sentence.
… Manu Raju asked Mike Johnson about the pardon: “I don’t know anything about that. I don’t have an opinion on it.”
… Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “Juan Orlando Hernandez isn’t just a drug lord, he’s a murderous drug lord. Among the things he was accused of doing was having a former ally hacked to death with a machete while in prison, because he was afraid the man would rat him out. Trump just freed him.”
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If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… CNN on the big election tonight: “Democrats have beaten their 2024 margins in US House special elections this year by an average of 16 points. A Democratic victory on Tues or even outperforming last year’s results would further embolden Trump’s