Today in Politics, Bulletin 311. 2/19/26
… RFK Jr’s MAHA disciples were fuming today after the Trump admin announced that it was ramping up production of glyphosate. NYT: “Trump issued an executive order late Wed aimed at spurring the domestic production of glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller that has figured in health lawsuits. The move immediately set off alarms among supporters of RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement.”
… “Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, which has been the target of tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim it causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2018, as a plaintiff’s lawyer, Kennedy helped win a landmark $289 million jury verdict against Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, in a case contending the company knew the weedkiller caused cancer. But in a statement issued through a spokesman, the health secretary said he supported the president.”
… Vani Hari, a healthy eating advocate and supporter of Kennedy’s nutrition agenda: “MAHA voters were promised health reform, not chemical entrenchment. This is a direct assault on MAHA and a gift to pesticide and chemical industry lobbies at the expense of human health.”
… Ken Cook, the president and co-founder of Environmental Working Group: “I can’t envision a bigger middle finger to every MAHA mom than this.”
… This is what RFK Jr. said on June 14, 2024: “The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. Much more widely used here than in Europe. Shockingly, much of our exposure comes from its use as a desiccant on wheat, not as an herbicide. From there it goes straight into our bodies. My USDA will ban that practice.”
… RFK Jr. at a conference last month: “I believe that glyphosate causes cancer.”
… Statement from Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee: “FOOD SECURITY IS NATIONAL SECURITY: Thank you, President Trump, for acknowledging the importance of glyphosate-based herbicides in American agriculture. This is a vital step forward in ensuring a domestic supply of this critical crop input remains available for our producers.”
… MAHA activist Kelly Ryerson: “Just as the large MAHA base begins to consider what to do at midterms, the President issues an EO to expand domestic glyphosate production. The very same carcinogenic pesticide that MAHA cares about most.”
… Mike Adams, one of the leading national MAHA activists: “Trump and the Republicans want you to die from herbicide saturation of the food supply, achieved with chemicals that molecularly resemble VX nerve gas and sarin gas chemical weapons. Here I was, worried that Trump was going to bomb Iran, and instead he chemically bombed all of us first. It feels like the Epstein admin is at war with the American people and wants mass extermination as quickly as possible.”
… Most polls showed that RFK Jr’s MAHA movement was about 4% of the electorate in the 2024 election, which is why Trump offered Kennedy the HHS job to persuade him to drop out the race and endorse him. Consultants and pollsters wondered whether these voters would show up to support Republican candidates in the midterms. This certainly doesn’t help.
… Trump held his first meeting of his ‘Board of Peace’ at the new ‘Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace’, and the scene was about as crazy as you might expect. The meeting dragged on for over 3 hours with most of that time taken up by Trump rambling for over an hour followed by sycophants praising him. From Trump’s speech:
“I want to thank Gianni and FIFA. They gave me their first peace prize. They saw that I got screwed by Norway and they said let’s give him a peace prize.”
Then a shout-out to Hamas for digging up bodies: “Every last remaining hostage living and dead has been returned back home. They dug dug dug - Hamas did a lot of that work, you got to give them credit for that.”
“His majesty the King of Bahrain. He is so rich he can sit there. He can sit wherever the hell he wants. He might take a piece of this building, Marco, take 25% of the building for about $6 billion.”
“I’ve had a good relationship with the UN other than at my last speech they did turn off my teleprompter. I got up there - my teleprompter didn’t work! First I had an escalator that stopped. I was lucky my movie star first lady was in front of me. Because I put my hand on a certain part of her body and I was able to stop my fall.”
On Melania’s movie: “She has a successful movie. It’s number one. She’s a big movie star. We can’t have two stars in one family. I don’t know what that means but it is not good. Theaters are all packed. Women especially go back and see it two or three, four times.”
Trump to Steve Witkoff: “Everybody likes him. Ukraine loves him. Russia loves him. Europe loves him.”
“Where is President Milei? I endorsed him. I’m not supposed to be endorsing people, but I endorse when I like people. Now I endorse foreign leaders, including Viktor Orban who is here.”
“The President of Paraguay is here. A young, handsome guy. Always nice to be young and handsome. It doesn’t mean we have to like you. I don’t like young, handsome men. Women I like. Men I don’t have any interest.”
“This building was built for peace. Nobody knew what to name it, and then Marco named it after me. I had nothing to do with it. I swear. They said, ‘There’s a surprise coming.’ I thought they were gonna give me a lot of money or something. Maybe cash. I can always use some extra cash.”
… Then a few other people finally got a chance to speak. The Kazakstan dictator: “I’d like to propose to establish a special President Trump award to recognize his special peace keeping efforts.”
… Jared Kushner: “People are not personally profiting from this, they are doing this for their children and grandchildren.”
… Steve Witkoff: “Mr President, it is my greatest honor to work for you. It is the blessing in my life. I’ve had many blessings. But this is my greatest blessing.”
… Trump then fell asleep at the 2 hour mark.
… The meeting finally adjourned after 3 hours as Trump concluded by stating that “these are the richest people in the world through their countries,” then banged a golden gavel as the Village People’s ‘YMCA’ started blasting from the speakers to play them all off the stage.
… NBC: “An executive jet the DHS has told the WH’s Office of Management and Budget it needs for immigrant deportation flights and Cabinet officials’ travel features a bedroom with a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, 4 large flat-screen TVs and even a bar, according to images of the aircraft obtained by NBC News.”
… “DHS recently began leasing the Boeing 737 Max 8, which DHS officials have described as a luxury jet, but now ICE is seeking approval from OMB to purchase it for $70 million. ICE told OMB that it would be used for deportations and travel for Cabinet officials. Some officials at ICE initially deemed the aircraft too luxurious in the way it was outfitted to be used for immigrant deportations.”
… “Kristi Noem recently flew on the jet for a trip to Tel Aviv, according to marketing materials provided to passengers on the trip that detailed the plane’s features. The materials featured images of its various rooms and highlighted its ‘exceptional interior design by renowned NY designer Peter Marino.’ ‘No expense has been spared and every detail has been meticulously executed,’ the brochure read.”
… This is a photo of what I am calling the Corey Lewandowski Suite at the DHS Mile High Club. I’m not sure if that is the infamous blanket that got the Coast Guard pilot fired, but it does appear to be equipped with a cuck chair for spouses.
… Kash Patel is heading to the Olympics in Italy on the FBI jet. MS NOW: “Kash Patel flew today on the FBI’s Gulfstream jet bound for a trip to the winter Olympics in Italy to watch one of his favorite sports: men’s ice hockey. Patel, an avid hockey player and fan, will be at the Olympic festivities and plans to attend the bronze medal competition in men’s ice hockey on Sat and the competition for the gold medal on Sun.
… Evita Duffy-Alfonso, who is the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, was on Newsmax to talk about criticisms of Trump from some members of the US Olympic Team: “I don’t know why we don’t start vetting these Olympians for their patriotism before they represent us overseas. The patriotic thing to do is root against these unpatriotic Olympians because they’re bashing us, so why should we cheer for them? Why should we want them to win?”
… Roger Sollenberger: “On Sunday, I reported that the FBI interviewed a victim who accused Trump of sexually and violently assaulting her when she was 13-15 years old. I also reported that some of DOJ’s case files for this woman - who later sued and reportedly received a settlement from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate for sexual abuse allegations in the same timeframe - appear to be missing from the govt’s publicly searchable Epstein database.”
… “However, I have now found DOJ records showing that the FBI did not just interview this woman once. The FBI interviewed this woman - who claimed that Trump forced her to give him oral sex when she was in her early teens, then punched her in the head after she bit his penis and kicked her out - at least four times. But the DOJ’s file associated with those records has apparently been removed.”
… UK’s former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested this morning. Thames Valley police issued this statement: “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.”
… “The man remains in police custody at this time. We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance. Please also remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court.”
… Asst Chief Constable Oliver Wright: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office. It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
… Metro (UK): “King Charles has broken his silence after his brother was arrested this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. It is understood that neither the King nor Buckingham Palace was informed in advance of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.”
… King Charles: “The law must take its course. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.”
… Epstein Survivor Marijke Chartouni: "If only DOj acted as decisively. It took British police less than three weeks from the release of the latest tranche of Epstein files to arrest Andrew, making Pam Bondi and Kash Patel look increasingly inept."
… Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) on CNN: “It offers a great contrast. Look what the British government is doing in light of the evidence, and look what the US govt is doing. Nothing. Our chief law enforcement officer Pam Bondi is defending and obstructing the investigation.”
… Trump said he felt terrible for his old friend Andrew: “I’m the expert in this because I’ve been exonerated. I think it’s a shame. To me, it’s a very sad thing. It’s very sad. It’s really interesting, because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive. But I’ve been completely exonerated. I did nothing.”
… Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) on Les Wexner’s deposition: “It is very hard to believe Les Wexner. There was a decades long relationship between Epstein and Wexner. He had power of attorney over his finances. I asked him were you guys friends? Did you consider yourself to have a personal relationship? Obviously, this is someone you trusted with so much of your life. He said ‘no’ and he took on the same sort of demeanor that we’ve seen from many other men like Trump who talk about the relationships with Epstein - like they barely knew each other.”
… House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia: “There’s a lot to investigate and report on from today’s stunning deposition of Les Wexner. But here’s something I can’t get over. I asked Wexner if the DOJ or FBI ever contacted him to ask him about Epstein and his crimes. He said NO. That’s outrageous and unforgivable.”
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… Politico: “The Trump admin acknowledged violating court orders issued by NJ’s federal judges more than 50 times over the past 10 weeks in cases stemming from
