Today in Politics, Bulletin 287. 1/16/26

… Trump took Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize medal with a big grin on his face. She gave it to him framed with this caption: “To President Donald J. Trump. In gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength, advancing diplomacy, and defending liberty and prosperity. Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”

… Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting: “It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”

… Trump was asked today why he would want someone else’s medal: “She offered it to me. She said nobody deserves this prize more in history than you. And I think she is a very fine woman and we will be talking again.”

… Machado was on Fox & Friends this morning: Q - “In spite of the Nobel Prize Committee saying you couldn’t transfer your Nobel Prize to anyone, especially to Trump, you did. Why did you do that? Machado: Because he deserves it. It was a very emotional moment.”

… My prediction is, now that Trump has taken possession of her medal he will never meet with her again. He will do nothing whatsoever to put her in power or push the Maduro regime, which is still running Venezuela with Trump’s backing, to hold free and fair elections. In short, Machado gave Trump the only thing she had that he wanted, and now he will never think about her again.

… Machado gave a speech today to the Heritage Foundation in DC: “Delcy Rodríguez is a communist. She is the representative of China, Iran, and Russia in Venezuela. But she does not represent the Venezuelan people, or the armed forces.”

… But Delcy Rodriguez is running Venezuela, backed by Trump, who now has Machado’s medal. Maybe she can buy some Trump crypto.

… Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA): “If you invade a foreign country, sideline the democratically-elected opposition, and take control of its oil reserves, you are probably the last person that deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”

… WSJ: “CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Caracas to meet with Delcy Rodríguez yesterday. In the two-hour meeting, he told her the Trump admin wants to strengthen its working relationship with the government and discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration.”

… Financial Times: The first US sale of the Venezuelan crude oil was to a company whose senior member had donated to Trump’s re-election campaign. The sale was conducted last week to a company called Vitol. John Addison, a senior trader at Vitol, donated $6 million to PACs backing Trump’s re-election campaign.

… Addison also attended the meeting Trump had with oil executives at the WH and was also involved in his company’s efforts to secure a $250 million deal for Venezuelan crude. The deal kick-started the president’s controversial plan to sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.

… WH spokesperson Taylor Rogers was asked about it: “President Trump always does what is in the best interest of the American people, such as brokering this historic energy deal with Venezuela immediately following the arrest of narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro. The media’s continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are a tired attempt to distract from the incredible work only this president is capable of achieving.”

… So Trump has agreed to let the Maduro regime remain in power without Maduro, in exchange for a massive amount of oil, then a Trump mega donor is selling that oil on the international market to whoever, then the proceeds of that are being deposited in a Qatari bank account, then Trump decides how he wants to spend that money, and Congress is not involved in any of it. Nothing to see here.

… Rolling Stone: “Jimmy Kimmel has a tempting opportunity for Trump. After Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize to the president yesterday, Kimmel attempted to bribe Trump with his choice of any of the awards Kimmel has won over the years.”

… Kimmel: “Trump loves awards. Giving him an award seems like the only way to get him to do anything. And with that said, Mr. President, I have an offer I think you’ll find difficult to refuse. If you, and only if, you agree to pull ICE out of Minneapolis and put them back at the borders where they belong, I am prepared to offer you one of the following trophies that I have been honored with over the years.”

… Kimmel showcased a red velour stand lined with numerous awards, including a Daytime Emmy, a Clio, a Webby, and a Writers Guild Award. “Or,” Kimmel added, “best of all, I’m willing to hand over my 2015 Soul Train Award for White Person of the Year. The choice is yours. I will personally deliver any or even all of these to the Oval Office in exchange for leaving the people of Minneapolis alone.”

… Guardian: “Some CBS News employees expressed concern after the network cited two anonymous ‘US officials’ on Wed to report that the ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis ‘suffered internal bleeding to the torso’ after the incident, citing ‘two US officials briefed on his medical condition.’ But there was also internal skepticism at the network about the report. It was met with ‘huge internal concern’ by some, one CBS News staffer said.”

… “Before the original report was published, a medical producer at the network suggested in an email to colleagues that ‘it would be helpful to ask what type of treatment he received’, and whether the officer received surgery or any other type of procedure.”

… CBS senior VP David Reiter wrote in another email: “I’m no doctor, but internal bleeding is a very broad term and can range in severity. A bruise is internal bleeding. But it can also be something serious. We do know that the ICE agent walked away from the incident – we have that on camera.”

… “The network’s top editor, Bari Weiss, expressed a high level of interest in the story on an editorial call Wed morning, according to staffers who listened.”

… A CBS staffer: “There was big internal dissension about the ‘internal bleeding’ report here last night. It was viewed as a thinly-veiled, anonymous leak by [the Trump admin] to someone who’d carry it online. Felt to many here like we were carrying water for the admin’s justifying of the shooting to keep our access to our sources.”

… CBS is now the go-to media outlet for the Trump regime to launder their propaganda to a mainstream audience, although I’m not sure how much longer they will have a mainstream audience.

… Axios: “Trump’s team recently reviewed private GOP polling that showed support for his immigration policies falling. The results, reflected in public surveys, bolstered internal concern about the admin’s confrontational enforcement tactics. Now, as the chaotic scenes from MN play out around the clock on TV and social media, some Trump advisers quietly are talking about ‘recalibrating’ the WH’s approach - though it’s unclear what changes Trump would embrace, if any.”

… “The worries in part of Trump’s brain trust are the first signs of internal second-guessing his controversial ICE enforcement tactics. The private polling suggested a rupturing of the coalition of independent, moderate and minority voters who were key parts of Trump’s victory in 2024. To the degree they support a more constrained approach, some advisers are playing to the president’s occasional misgivings about the optics of some ICE tactics.”

… Top Trump advisor: “I wouldn’t say he’s concerned about the policy. He wants deportations. He wants mass deportations. What he doesn’t want is what people are seeing. He doesn’t like the way it looks. It looks bad, so he’s expressed some discomfort at that. There’s the right way to do this. And this doesn’t look like the right way to a lot of people.”

… Tom Homan was on Laura Ingraham’s Fox show: “We’re going to create a database. Those people that are interfering, we’re going to make them famous and put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers and their neighborhoods and their schools know who these people are. I bet you a lot of their employers don’t know what they are doing.”

… Trump posted today: “In Minnesota, the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals. The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

… MN AG Keith Ellison responded: "It's just a lie. I think you could put it in the category of Haitians in Ohio eating pets. People are outside because they're upset. They're outside because their neighbors are being hauled off."

… Immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

… A new Quinnipiac poll shows that only 36% of Americans approve of the way Kristi Noem is handling her job. That is down from 39% in the same poll last July.

… Ingraham to Homan: “Are you concerned about the CNN and Quinnipiac polls that show declining public support for ICE and Trump’s approach to immigration enforcement? Homan: I think we need to better at messaging what we’re doing.”

… CNN: “58% say President Trump’s first year has been a failure. That includes two thirds of independent voters. Now, why is that? Across the board, Americans disapprove of how the president is handling every major issue.”

… The new CNN poll: 58% said Trump’s first year was a failure. 55% said Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions. 64% said he hasn’t gone far enough in trying to reduce the price of everyday goods. 36% say he has right priorities.

… The lowest poll numbers Trump got on the economy during his first term was a 44-49% approval. Now his approval on handling the economy is 39-61%.

… NOTUS: “Trump’s problem with Latinos might run much deeper than just their dissatisfaction with the economy. In a focus group of politically independent Latino men and women this week, all of whom supported the president in 2024 but said they now had regrets about their decision - expressed a deep concern about Trump’s handling of the economy and cost-of-living issues.”

… “But the session also revealed a growing fury at other aspects of Trump’s second term, especially his aggressive immigration enforcement and sudden eagerness to intervene in foreign affairs. Many of the participants said they’ve changed how they see Trump personally - no longer the crude-but-pragmatic leader of his first term but rather someone who is sinister and out of control.”

… One participant: “It just seems like the mask is off. That’s who he is. And it’s kind of crazy.”

… “An Oct survey from the Pew found that 70% of Latinos disapproved of the president, while 65% of them disapproved of his immigration policies specifically. Polling data also suggests that Latinos have had a negative reaction to ICE enforcement: 68% of them thought ICE had been too aggressive, while 69% disapproved of the agency overall.”

… Republican pollster Whit Ayres: “To the extent that ICE is targeting people beyond those who have committed crimes, it’s going to create significant pushback from the Hispanics who voted for Trump, as well as other Americans.”

… NYT on the latest Trump pardon: “Trump pardoned a porta-potty magnate Arie Eric De Jong III who was sentenced to 5 months in federal prison for illegally disposing of sludge in cities across southern California.”

… We will find out in a few days how much he paid. I’m going to estimate this one at around $2 million.

… Cook Political Report: “10 months out from Election Day, it’s increasingly clear that Democrats are in a strong position to win control of the House this Nov. 18 House race ratings change - ALL in favor of Dems. House Dems only need to flip 3 seats to win a majority. Even if Democrats lose some of their own members defending particularly difficult seats, the number of Republicans in peril should give Democrats more than enough opportunities to win 218 seats.”

… Kobeissi Letter: “Shocking stat of the day: The top 10% of US earners now reflect a record 49% of all consumer spending. This percentage has risen +13 points over the last 30 years, marking a dramatic shift in spending power. At the same time, the bottom 80% of earners represent just 37% of total consumer expenditures, down -11 percentage points since 1995.”

… “This means the top 10% account for a record 33% of US GDP, as personal consumer expenditures account for 68% of total economic output. Meanwhile, the bottom 80% account for just 25% of the US economy. Asset owners are the only winners in this economy.”

… WH economic advisor Kevin Hassett was asked on Fox Business why legislation hasn’t moved forward on Trump’s demand that credit card companies lower interest rates to 10% by Jan. 20: “Our expectations is that it won’t necessarily require legislation because there will be great new Trump Cards provided voluntarily by the banks.”

… Here’s what happened. Trump was getting beat up for not doing anything and not caring about affordability. So he fired off a late night post demanding that credit card companies lower their interest rates in honor of the anniversary of his inauguration. Credit card companies, naturally, either said no or just ignored him. So now he can say he tried, I guess. And, once again, Hassett knows he is lying through his smirk.

Another long week and I am looking forward to day off tomorrow. This time we are doing absolutely nothing - staying in, cooking and binging a period show and recovering. We’re getting old. You need these once in while. Supposed to be snow and nasty weather anyway.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. The next one will be the Weekend Bulletin out on Sunday night. Thank you to everyone who reads, shares and subscribes to my work.

… Ag Sec Brooke Rollins was asked on Fox about widespread mockery of her Marie Antoinette suggestion that Americans can buy a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, and a corn tortilla for $3 if they want an affordable meal: Q - “You’re getting heat all over social media for saying you can eat healthy for $3. Rollins: When you eat healthy, it actually is less expensive in many ways than a fast food meal.”

… WaPo: “When introducing the highest US tariffs since the Great Depression, Trump made a clear promise in the spring: ‘Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.’ They haven’t. Manufacturing employment has declined every month since Trump declared ‘Liberation Day’ in April, saying his widespread tariffs would begin to rebalance global trade in favor of American workers. US factories employ 12.7 million