Today in Politics, Bulletin 266. 12/8/25

… Trump has been asked multiple times if he would release the tape of the second boat strike. He said that he would. But today he was asked about it by a reporter who happened to be a black female, so it went much differently: Q - “You said he would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike. Trump: “I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news. Whatever Hegseth decides is ok with me. Let me just tell you, you are an obnoxious reporter. Actually, a terrible reporter. And it’s always the same thing with you.”

… CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale: "Five days ago: Trump says “no problem,” he’ll certainly release whatever video they have of the Sept 2 boat strikes. Today: Trump says he never said he had no problem releasing the full video, launches personal attack against reporter who reminded him of his prior comment.”

… Alina Habba has finally agreed to leave after her illegal appointment as US Attorney for NJ: “As a result of the 3rd Circuit’s ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down. But do not mistake compliance for surrender. This decision does not weaken the Dept and it does not weaken me. You can take the girl out of NJ, but you cannot take the NJ out of the girl.”

… Meanwhile, Lindsey Halligan is still trying to hang on. Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche issued this statement today in response to judges in the district refusing to recognize her as legitimate and stating they may void any actions taken by prosecutors in the office under her name:

… “Certain district court and magistrate judges in the E. District of VA are engaging in an unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility against US Attorney Lindsey Halligan and her line AUSAs. Lindsey and our attorneys are simply doing their jobs: advocating for DOJ’s positions while following guidance from the Office of Legal Counsel. They do not deserve to have their reputations questioned in court for ethically advocating on behalf of their client.”

… “This DOJ has no tolerance for undemocratic judicial activism. We will continue fighting for public safety in courtrooms across the country, and we will not be deterred by rogue judges who fail to live up to their obligations of impartiality because of their own political views.”

… Trump was asked about Habba leaving and Halligan refusing to leave, and he complained about not being able to get the votes for them in the Senate: “I’m telling you. I put up great people, top people, highest education, the best lawyers to be US Attorney. The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. If I put up George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to be US Attorney in NJ or to be US Attorney in VA, they will not approve them.”

… MS NOW: “WH officials have grown frustrated with Kristi Noem’s leadership of DHS, leading to calls for a new secretary to more aggressively support key parts of the president’s deportation agenda. Trump is considering removing Noem as secretary as early as Jan, according to a WH official, a current federal official and two former DHS officials.”

… “Noem is on ‘very thin ice,’ a WH official said, adding she will likely be replaced early next year. The WH official added that Stephen Miller is leading the charge to remove Noem. Frustrations from Miller and other senior WH officials are that Noem isn’t moving fast enough to build out more detention centers with the money approved in Trump’s big summer spending bill. Multiple governors have also called Trump personally and voiced frustration with Noem’s handling of FEMA and disaster relief funds.”

… Trump announced another bailout for farmers who have been crushed by his tariff policies. This time $12 billion more: “We are going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance. Farmers like me, based on voting trends. So we are going to use that money to provide $12 billion in economic assistance to American farmers. $12 billion is a lot of money.”

… Scott Lincicome with Cato Institute: “It’s ANOTHER $12 billion. Via the OBBBA, farmers have already received tens of billions in emergency aid this year.”

… Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins: “You signed an executive order on looking into the reason so much of these costs have been driven up over and over - equipment, fertilizer, seed, etc. We have to understand why that is.”

… We already understand it. Every economist and farmer in America said at the time tariffs were imposed the cost of each of those things was going to go up. Chuck Grassley was bitching about it every day. But Grassley is going to be the first one in line for his farmer welfare check.

… Trump: “This money would not be possible without the tariffs. The tariffs are taking in hundreds of billions and we’re giving some of that up to the farmers because they were mistreated by other countries. Because of the tariffs, this is possible.”

… Because of the tariffs, this is happening!

… Trump: “We will give the tractor companies, John Deere and all of the companies, we will take up a lot of the environmental restrictions they have on machinery. It does not do anything except it makes the equipment much more expensive and much more complicated to work, and it is not as good as the old days. And we are going to take a lot of that nonsense off of the equipment, which is going to reduce the prices. In many cases, you need about 185 IQ to turn on a lawnmower.”

… Politico: “Admin officials prepared to draw the $12 billion in bailout funds from USDA’s emergency fund months ago, even though Trump had pledged to tap tariff revenue for farmers. Lawmakers and agriculture officials expect the announcement to be just the first of more aid coming in 2026. Farmers are expected to start receiving the funds in Feb at the earliest.”

… “Up to $11 billion of the package will be allocated to producers of major row crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton. The remaining money will be reserved for growers of fruits, vegetables and other so-called specialty crops - after last-minute lobbying from agriculture groups and lawmakers asking for a carveout.”

… Marge Greene and CBS infuriated Trump when she appeared on 60 Minutes last night. Lesley Stahl: Q - “Behind the scenes, do Republicans talk differently about Trump? Greene: Yes. It would shock people. I watch many of my colleagues go making fun of him, making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him. Then when he won the primary in 2024, they all started kissing his ass and decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time.”

… Greene said she sent copies of death threats to JD Vance and Trump that both she and her son received from MAGA supporters after Trump called her a traitor. Stahl asked how they responded: “Vance replied back to me, ‘we’ll look into it.’ I got a response back from Trump that I will keep private, but it wasn’t very nice. It was extremely unkind.”

… Trump responded on Truth Social: “The only reason Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown (Green turns Brown under stress!) went BAD is that she was JILTED by the President of the United States (Certainly not the first time she has been jilted!). Too much work, not enough time, and her ideas are, NOW, really BAD - She sort of reminds me of a Rotten Apple! Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person. That was proven last night when washed up, Trump hating, 60 Minutes “correspondent,” Lesley Stahl, interviewed a very poorly prepared Traitor, who in her confusion made many really stupid statements.”

… “My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE! Oh well, far worse things can happen. P.S. I hereby demand a complete and total APOLOGY, though far too late to be meaningful, from Lesley Stahl and 60 Minutes for her incorrect and Libelous statements about Hunter’s Laptop!!!”

… Mehdi Hasan: “If you took Trump’s name off this statement and showed it to any Republican in the country, they would say this is a statement from a deranged, unhinged, megalomaniacal individual. You wouldn’t hire this person for any job on earth.”

… Jessica Tarlov: “Guess CBS didn’t learn its lesson. Gotta be 100% in Trump’s pocket or you’re in the line of fire. No middle ground.”

… Rep. Nancy Mace wrote an OpEd in the NYT: Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say. Women will never be taken seriously until leadership decides to take us seriously, and I’m no longer holding my breath. Since 2013, the Republican conference chair position has gone to a woman. It’s the token slot, the designated leadership role for the top woman in the conference, while the real power lies in other offices.”

… Axios: “Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, going directly to shareholders with an all-cash, $30-per-share offer. The counter move follows Paramount being bested by Netflix in a competitive bidding process to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump said there ‘could be a problem’ with the Netflix deal.”

… NY Post business columnist Charles Gasparino: “David Ellison was spotted at the Kennedy Center last night with his wife seated near Trump and Melania. Trump and Ellison were later seen having a ‘warm conversation’. As most people know, David Ellison, his dad, the long time MAGA supporter Oracle co founder, Larry Ellison, and their team are ‘pissed’ that they lost the bidding war for Warner Bros to Netflix.”

… “A government regulatory official tells me not to put too much on that budding ‘friendship’ I first reported on between Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Trump. More important: Netflix’s combined market share of streaming with Warner Bros. means the new company will control 30% of the streaming market, and that’s before you consider Trump’s ties to the Ellisons that are more significant than his Sarandos ‘friendship’.”

… Trump was asked about the Netflix deal: Q - “Should Netflix be allowed to buy Warner Brothers? Trump: That’s a question. They have a very big market share. I’ll be involved in that decision.”

… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Trump said he’ll ‘be involved in’ deciding if Netflix can buy Warner Bros. Is that an open invite for CEOs to curry favor with Trump in exchange for merger approvals? It should be an independent decision by DOJ based on the law and facts.”

… WH econ advisor Kevin Hassett on CNBC: Q - “Trump said yesterday he’s going to be part of making the decision about Netflix’s transaction with Warner Bros. Presidents prior have never publicly declared their involvement in these decisions. They’re usually left to the DOJ antitrust dept. Hassett: I don’t think it’s rare for presidents to have opinions about big society changing mergers. The president is just very interested in making sure there’s a lot of analysis to make sure we make the right choice.”

… Then Trump’s pal Ellison came on CNBC after: Q - “Do you sense that the president is in your corner here? Ellison: What I would say is I’m incredibly grateful for the relations with the president, and I also believe he believes in competition.”

… “Paramount executives have waged an aggressive lobbying campaign against Netflix, trying to argue that its bid would be anticompetitive, as it would give one company too much dominance in streaming. Paramount was in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE to raise debt to support its bid.”

… Axios: “Affinity Partners, the private equity firm led by Jared Kushner, is part of Paramount’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, according to a regulatory filing. Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix, and Kushner’s involvement only strengthens that case.”

… “Affinity Partners was not mentioned in Paramount’s press release on Monday morning about its $108 billion bid, nor were participating sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.”

… What a surprise.

… Trump was asked about it today: Q - “Do you support the Paramount bid for Warner Bros? Trump: None of them are particularly great friends of mine. I want to do what’s right. It’s very important to do what’s right. Q - It was supported by Jared Kushner, would that impact your decision? Trump: I have never spoken with him about it.”

… Rep. Jasmine Crockett has entered the race for senate in Texas. Colin Allred then dropped out to run for Congress: “I am deeply moved by the personal stories and trust that so many Texans have placed in me. That’s why I’ve made the difficult decision to end my campaign for Senate and run to represent the newly drawn CD-33. I’ve come to believe a bruising Senate Dem primary and runoff will prevent the party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities by Trump.”

… Crockett: “When we ended up with the Trump phenomenon or even the Obama phenomenon, they were both able to bring out people that historically didn’t vote. I think that the only way we win in Texas is if we have a candidate that can add to the electorate. If the electorate remains the same electorate that we’ve had over the last 30 years, then I think we’re going to end up with the same result.”

… Crockett’s campaign launch video was excellent. It showed her sitting silently with a determined look on her face as audio clips play of Trump repeatedly insulting her as a person and mocking her as a serious Senate candidate. As the last clip of Trump ends with him saying she has no chance, Crockett folds her arms and smiles as the ad ends.

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

We had a brief lull of a few days there were things weren’t entirely batshit crazy, but I have a feeling that we are all going to have to buckle up from now until Christmas because all signs are pointing to a bumpy and insane ride over the next couple of weeks. Which brings me to my next story …

… After Charlie Kirk’s death, the MAGA podcaster with the largest audience at this point is probably Benny Johnson (who was previously busted taking money from the Russians to push anti-Ukraine propaganda). Over the past few days, former Marge Greene staffer Milo Yiannopoulos has accused Benny of being a closeted gay man who has lived a lie for many years pretending to be heterosexual in a traditional christian marriage.

… The whole thing blew up over the last 24 hours on social media after Benny Johnson posted that he is likely going to sue: “I am duty bound to take action to protect my family against those who maliciously defame and attack us. More to come on that soon. Pray for healing for some really sick and delusional people. Jesus is about redemption. The legal system is about justice.”

… Milo responded: “Dear free speech warrior Benny, A few notes for your consideration. I know more about defamation than any lawyer you will hire. Benny is a public figure. Malice is a nonstarter. I have receipts, and the truth is a total defense against any claim of defamation or libel. Do you want to lose a defamation case to MILO YIANNOPOULOS OF ALL PEOPLE about whether or not you are gay? Do you want to even fight one? The people who have poured money into making you a big deal are about to lose their entire investment.”

… “I know more about your marriage than you think I do, and I have evidence, and I have witnesses. I know who to subpoena. I know what questions to ask. About nocturnal liaisons dangereuses with chaps in assless chaps and about being caught in flagrante delicto at conferences attended by students, some of whom may have been under 18. (I guess we’ll find out!).”

… “Discovery will destroy your career beyond any possibility of redemption, Benny, which was never my intention and never in my heart because I believe that family is making you a better man, as I think it did Charlie Kirk, but this will be the inevitable result of your actions. I just want you to be honest because I believe that’s important and I believe that it is in the public interest to report on people who present one way