Today in Politics, Bulletin 388. 5/28/26

May 28, 2026

∙ Paid

… DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin continues to advance his insane plan to pull all US Customs agents out of intl airports of “sanctuary cities” who refuse to assist ICE with their local law enforcement on deportations. Mullin first made this threat on Fox on April 6, but now says he has “approval from the WH” to move forward after police in NJ refused to clear out protestors outside a DHS detention facility.

… The idea behind the threat is to force airlines to divert all intl flights to red states. Cities that would be affected include NYC, Newark, BOS, CHI, LA, SF, DEN, PHI, SEA among many others. Airlines will never agree to that and will simply cancel flights if this threat ever happens, which would cripple the US economy.

… Mullin on Fox today: “This may affect intl flights coming in and out of their airports because I’m gonna have to pull CBP officers out of being able to process intl flights and put them helping our ICE agents. If CBP isn’t there processing intl flights, then those individuals when the airlines land won’t be permitted into the US. If things don’t change, we’re gonna have to make this step pretty quick.”

… Mullin said the people protesting conditions for detainees at the ICE facility in NJ were wrong: “This isn’t a Holiday Inn. We’re not providing luxury housing. What we’re doing is providing a sanitary place for them to be detained. We’re providing 3 meals a day, we’re meeting the calorie standard.”

… Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) to Fox: “I think Markwayne is onto something here, this is a good idea, it’s one way to crack down on what these sanctuary mayors have created. It benefits states like Indiana, Texas and Florida, Republican red states that are playing by the rules.”

… Fox host Harris Faulkner: “Sanctuary cities includes Boston, Chicago and Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco - all of those airports handle 1,100 international flights per day. They're not just gonna not fly. They're going to go to red states and cities. A boon for red states. People will hate living in blue states.”

… It's really hard to understand how people can be this monumentally stupid. This will never, ever happen. Flights are not going to be diverted by airlines to red states. Idiocracy.

… Fox Business: “1st quarter GDP coming in with a read of 1.6%. So this is a revision down. The first read was 2%, now we’re coming in with a second read of 1.6%, and that is actually below the expected range.”

… Economist Heather Long reacting to today’s putrid economic numbers as they were announced:

“PCE Inflation in the US jumped to 3.8% in April – the highest in 3 years. Core PCE (excluding food & energy) rose to 3.3% - the highest since fall 2023. People are facing the highest inflation in 3 years and having their wage gains wiped out by inflation.”
“Keep an eye on this - 50% of items in the CPI inflation report are growing at 3% or higher right now. It’s a telling metric - it underscores that this is more than just an ‘energy shock.’ The inflation problem is deeper and wider than that.”
“Yikes. You can see how Americans are getting squeezed financially right now. Personal incomes in the US fell in April (after adjusting for taxes). The savings rate fell to 2.6% in April - one of the lowest readings in the past 20 years outside of the 2022 ‘revenge spend’ era. This is not sustainable. People continue to spend, but their incomes are not keeping up.”
“This is stunning. Personal savings rate April 2025: 5.5% Personal savings rate April 2026: 2.6% That’s a sharp plunge. It underscores how squeezed Americans are right now with higher prices and incomes not keeping up.”

… Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a tough time at his press conference today:

Q - “Data that shows that Americans are now saving a smaller share of their incomes than at any time over the past 4 years. Does data like that concern you right now? Bessent: That can mean one of two things. The kind of the doomer view that you took or that people have more confidence.”
Q - “Trump has said that we can expect interest rates to come down very quickly. The market at the moment does not expect any rate cuts this year. So who is right, the president or the market? Bessent: It's a new day at the Fed. I had my first breakfast with the chair this morning, and I believe that he will do the right thing to balance inflation and growth.”

… There is no way the Fed is going to lower interest rates with the current inflation numbers, regardless of the new Chair. It will be interesting to see how long of a honeymoon Trump has with Warsh when nothing happens on rates.

Q - “Trump said Oman will behave just like everybody else or we will have to blow them up. Are you guys making plans for a new war with Oman? Bessent: I think the president wanted to punctuate freedom of navigation.”
Q - “Is it in the US interest to waive some sanctions on Iran or to unfreeze some of their assets before Iran has made concrete, promises about getting rid of their nuclear program? Bessent: I'm not going to preview the deal. We’ll see.”
Q - “Can the US economy work for the average American without a deal with Iran? Bessent: These are short term challenges that we will get over.”
Q - “There’s a report that Justice Alito's son is working in your dept. Can you confirm that that's the case? Do you believe that that means that he should recuse himself from cases that involve your dept? Bessent: I am sure that Mr. Alito follows all legal and ethical guidelines. And I can assure you that at Treasury, we follow all the legal and ethical guidelines.”
Q - “About the $1.8 billion fund. Is it accurate that the General Counsel of the Treasury Dept resigned over that? Bessent: I will not be taking any other questions.”

… AGCO CEO Jon Lonsky was asked on Fox Business about food prices going up as a result of the Iran war: “Price of wheat is up by more than 20%, soybeans are up by 11%. One-third of the world’s fertilizer comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the start of the Iran conflict, the price of fertilizer is up by 44%. It’s also diesel - farmers use diesel. The price of diesel is up 74% - my goodness!”

… Punchbowl: “Trump made a startling admission on Wed as he met with his Cabinet. ‘I don’t care about the midterms,’ Trump told reporters when asked about the Iran war. What Trump doesn’t seem focused on enough is restoring Americans’ faith in the US economy. And that’s a huge political problem for both GOP congressional leaders and vulnerable Republicans as they try to save their endangered majorities.”

… “Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune don’t say it publicly. But privately, it alarms the Republican leadership. Trump’s poll numbers on the economy - by far the top issue this year - have collapsed. Some recent polls had him under 30%, an absolute disaster for Republicans.”

… But Stephen Miller predicted a Republican victory in the midterms on Fox: “The American people understand the hell that we inherited and the extraordinary paradise that President Trump is building.”

… CBS: “Trump made time to visit with US service members during his trip Tues to Walter Reed, but he did not see any of the 14 troops injured in the war he started with Iran who are also recovering at the hospital. The WH said Trump met with service members during his 6-month checkup at the Army’s flagship medical center, but repeatedly declined to say whether the president saw soldiers injured in Operation Epic Fury.”

… “Trump has previously faced scrutiny for his descriptions of wounded service members. During his first term, he said the soldiers injured in a 2020 Iranian airstrike on a US base in Iraq weren’t worth mentioning because they had suffered ‘headaches,’ which he described as ‘not very serious.’ A CBS investigation later found dozens of soldiers who had suffered brain injuries were denied the Purple Heart as part of an effort to downplay their wounds and avoid undercutting Trump. One later took his own life.”

… NYT: The National Park Service is using at least $67 million worth of park entrance fees to help pay for beautification projects in DC, ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. At the direction of Trump, the city has undergone expensive renovations ahead of summer travel to the nation’s capital for the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. $7 million of the money was used for the Reflecting Pool paint job.

… NOTUS: “4 massive bronze horses positioned along the roads surrounding the Lincoln Memorial still shine in the sun from their first restoration in the 1970s. The Trump admin wants them glittering with a fresh coat of gold in time for America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. So in mid-April, the National Park Service handed a $5 million contract to a gilding studio in MD to repair the statues and cover them with a thick layer of 23.75-karat gold leaf.”

… “In total, the Interior Dept is spending at least $95 million in taxpayer funds for new DC beautification projects. All of the projects identified by NOTUS were initiated between December 2025 and April of this year.”

… ‘Freedom 250’ announced the artists who will be performing at Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’ on the National Mall June 25 through July 10:

… Young MC later issued this statement: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed.’”

… Morris Day: “Contrary to the rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing.”

… Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told AP that neither she, her sister Linda Rocco nor any of the other group members knew anything about it: “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’, as one of the performers.” They said they will not be attending.

… Commodores: “The Commodores will not be performing at the Great American State Fair. Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans.”

... But Vanilla Ice confirmed to AP that he will be there.

… WaPo: “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to Nationals Park on Wed night on the penultimate date of the Land of Hope and Dreams American tour - an apt venue for a tour that has largely doubled as a political call to action against Trump and his admin.”

… “But the Boss will be back. During his show, the artist announced the first Power to the People Festival in DC on Oct. 3, exactly a month before the midterm elections, featuring Springsteen, Morello, Foo Fighters, Dropkick Murphys, the Dave Matthews Band and more.”

… “Springsteen gave few details about the Oct. 3 festival, which he said would be announced officially on Thursday. But he promised ‘another night of music and resistance,’ calling on the crowd to ‘make a goddamn ruckus along with us.’”

… ProPublica: “When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small NC startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism. The president’s eldest son said through a spokesperson that he wasn’t involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. played no role in the record-setting deal. And the startup’s founder told reporters that his company, Vulcan Elements, received no political favoritism.”

… “But interviews and DOD records show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a WH adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s. Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan’s was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president.”

… “After defense officials got the WH request, they asked Pentagon staff to move at an unusually rapid pace, said another person who was involved in the deal at the Pentagon but not authorized to speak about it. The staff worked late nights and with little sleep to get the loan through in a matter of weeks.”

… Source: “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done.”

It seems like from tariffs to the Iran War to now wrecking international travel, these morons come up with one dumb scheme after another to destroy the economy. We talked quite a bit about that and many other topics yesterday on Uncovered. If you missed this week’s show, you can find it here.

That concert in DC organized by Springsteen sounds like something I would want to attend, even though it is right in the middle of fall foliage season in New England. But I think if we have a massive turnout at that right before the midterms it would really energize the grass roots and get a lot of attention. Maybe we will have a Meidas booth there for all our people to congregate.

Thank you to everyone who watches the podcasts, reads the articles, shares them with others, and subscribes.

… NYT: “Iran said it had retaliated on Thursday against the US by targeting an unnamed American base in response to strikes in southern Iran, escalating tensions amid negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war. In recent days,

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