Today in Politics, Bulletin 393. 6/4/26
… Trump fell asleep again today at a press event in the Oval Office as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was speaking. His last few Truth Social posts were just after 1:00 AM where he was raging that the CA election was being stolen.
… From Trump’s 1:00 AM posting rampage:
“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???”
“The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.”
… Ron Desantis, who continues to angle for a job in the Trump admin, chimed in: “California keeps dumping votes. Odds are shifting because the vote dumps always seem to go one way. Count until you get the result you want?”
… Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins got destroyed today in a hearing before House Ag Committee:
Ranking Dem Angie Craig: “Do you know how many farms we lost in US last year? Rollins: You’re talking about bankruptcy? About 315 farms. Craig: We lost 15,000 farms. Some 3rd, 4th generation family farms, because of bad policy from this admin.”
Craig: “Do you know how much money farmers lost last year? Rollins: (Long pause, blank stare, smile, no answer). Craig: It was $28 billion. Rollins: It depends how you calculate that because you aren’t counting all the programs that went into supporting our farmers. Craig: Right, and if it wasn’t for the policies of this admin we wouldn’t need all that govt support for farmers because we’d have export markets still left. “
Craig: “What is the national avg for farm diesel? Rollins: Well, diesel has increased because of the Iranian conflict. Under the last admin - Craig: Madam Secretary, Joe Biden is no longer the president. Trump is. Your party controls Congress. You own these numbers. Since you don’t know the answer, in May the avg price of diesel was $5.41 a gallon. That’s up 95% from a year ago.”
Craig: “Do you know what percentage of farmers now say they can’t afford fertilizer as a result of Trump’s war in Iran? Rollins: Well, it depends on the geographic location. An exasperated Craig: Oh my God. 70% is the answer.”
Craig: “You bragged on TV about kicking 4 million people off SNAP benefits. Rollins: The righteousness of work is not - Craig: 700,000 kids. Rollins: Getting back to work is the goal of these welfare programs.”
Rep. Jim McGovern: “Do you stand by your comment that kicking people off food assistance is somehow ‘good news’? Rollins: Most of those were fraudulent. McGovern: I’ve talked to people who lost benefits. They were kicked off of SNAP. Hunger is getting worse in the US. We all should be ashamed of that.”
McGovern: “Do you believe pesticide companies deserve liability protection? Rollins: We cannot destroy our farmers’ ability to plant. McGovern: So even though you say glyphosate is safe, you believe they should have some sort of liability protection?”
Rep. Shontel Brown: “So this is what a golden age of agriculture looks like? Because if rising bankruptcies, falling farm income, and worsening financial conditions are a sign of a golden age, I’d hate to see what a downturn looks like.”
… Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before House Ways and Means:
Rep. Mike Thompson: “What should I tell my constituents when they ask about these costs? Farmers who are being hit by high costs of fuel and fertilizer, who can’t get their product to market because of the War in Iran - should I tell them it’s ‘golden’? Bessent: You should tell them we’ve had 2.6% GDP growth since Trump took office. Thompson: These farmers are pretty smart, and they’re not gonna fall for that line.”
Rep. Loretta Sanchez: “Do you believe that all Americans should follow our tax laws? Bessent: Yes. Sanchez: So why is it you are allowing Trump to have complete immunity from being audited? Bessent: I am unable to comment on any ongoing litigation. Sanchez: Can you name the ongoing case? Bessent: I will get you the names of the cases and get back to you.”
Bessent: “Trump cares about Americans’ financial situation. Rep. Judy Chu: Well, he actually said that he doesn’t. Bessent: No, that is a truncated thing like everything is. He is future-proofing - because Americans financial situation would be devastated if Iran got a nuclear weapon.”
Chu: “Was your prediction that Americans would face only 50 days of elevated prices because of the war wrong? You said Americans would face only 50 days. We’re at 100 days now. Bessent: How much has gasoline prices come down from the peak? That’s an inconvenient fact. Chu: Gas prices are up by 50% since Trump’s war started.”
… Financial Times: “Trump’s Iran war has driven US oil stocks to their lowest level in two decades as his admin drains stockpiles to contain surging prices and exporters capitalize on the drop in Middle Eastern supply. US govt data shows stocks of crude and petroleum products fell by 10.6M barrels last week to 1.57B barrels - the lowest level since 2004. The sharp fall triggered new warnings from industry analysts that oil prices are poised to move sharply higher again within weeks.”
… Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, warned prices could reach $200 per barrel this summer unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened: “You start to raise the risk of spillover into other sectors, the economy and financial system. It detonates fragilities in the broader economy and financial system.”
… WSJ: Senators Privately Ask Graham Platner Whether New Allegations Will Emerge. Maine Senate candidate tells Democratic lawmakers, “The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true” and denied credible allegations of assault are forthcoming.
… Democratic campaign consultant Michael Trujillo: “Umm yeah, not trying to disclose everything I do, but YES there is more on Platner and anyone saying there isn’t is 100% gaslighting you. NYT was expected to publish last night, was delayed by Platner’s lawyers. Story is about his ex GF alleging some kind of assault. He would block her from exiting rooms with his size, she would be frightened. Uncontrollable fits of anger. She called friends and family, documented.”
… “Yes she’s a former GOP operative. Partisanship isn’t the reason she is finally coming forward. Felt the public and Maine should know what they are voting for - this is a rough summary.
… Then the story from NYT: “On Tues evening, after a whirlwind day in Washington, Graham Platner rushed home. Rumors were spreading from Portland to the Potomac about Platner’s messy personal life, after news reports that he had sent sexual messages to women while married. Democratic senators were pressing him about whether more damaging revelations were coming. Journalists were swarming, staking out his hometown.”
… “Amid the turmoil, Platner worked the phones, rolling through calls to ex-girlfriends who might publicly acknowledge that while he may have been a bad boyfriend, he was, in fact, a decent guy. In extensive conversations over the past two months, 3 women who had been romantically involved with Platner offered a complicated assessment, describing volatile and ‘toxic’ relationships that were unsettling and at times emotionally wrenching.”
… “Platner could be charming and charismatic, they recalled in interviews, but also demeaning to women and, in at least one case, even physically threatening. He drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.”
… AOC was asked today if Dems should drop Platner after the latest story: "Um you know, I haven’t waded into that primary. I don’t believe the primary has occurred yet. So I will kind of, you know, again, I don’t wade in on that. I haven’t weighed in on that right now.”
… She then walked away from reporters.
… Trump’s name is now officially coming off the Kennedy Center. CBS: “Lawyers for what is currently called the Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are instructing staff to immediately begin switching the name of the facility back to its original title.”
… “The instructions, laid out in a memo sent Thursday by the center’s general counsel and obtained by CBS News, are the first official signal the national arts hub is complying with a federal court order to drop Trump’s name and reconsider plans to close for two years of renovations. Changes to interior and exterior signage and any furniture carrying the current name must be switched back by next Friday.”
… We are going to do our very best to have someone on scene to film that moment if we get any notice of it from anyone.
… Lawfare: “At least 97 of the more than 1,500 individuals granted clemency by Trump for their roles in the January 6 Capitol attack have been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of crimes separate from J6 since their participation in the J6 riot.”
… “A Lawfare study reveals that almost 1 in 16 insurrectionists subject to the president’s clemency order has been arrested for and charged with—and in the vast majority of cases convicted of—other crimes, at least some of which were actively enabled by the clemency actions.”
… “The alleged crimes by J6 defendants since Jan. 6, 2021, run the gamut from relatively low-grade offenses like property damage, possession of drug paraphernalia, and trespassing to serious felonies like grand larceny, stalking, planning to assassinate law enforcement officials and prominent politicians, and defrauding govt agencies. One J6 pardonee was convicted in Feb. 2026 of child molestation and sentenced to life in prison. Another was convicted in 2025 of reckless homicide.”
… “At least 14, meanwhile, have been charged with sex crimes or crimes related to child sexual abuse material, and at least 6 have faced domestic violence charges. Others have faced charges for physical assaults, illegal firearms possession, or other violent crimes. At least 20 have been charged with DUI or public intoxication.”
… AP: “Former Trump NSA John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified info under a deal with DOJ that could allow him to avoid prison time. The deal would resolve a criminal case that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified info. Bolton would also face a $2.25 million fine. Any prison sentence would be capped at 5 years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.”
… Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) to Fox: “Q - It sounded like the other night that the president didn’t think that this, weaponization fund had been put to bed. Does Todd Blanche need to clean this up again? Tillis: The right hand and the left hand need to figure out what the hell they’re doing, because I heard a guy who just got put forth as AG say it’s dead. And if it’s dead, we should be able to codify that and be done with it.”
… House Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Meidas that he doesn’t believe Blanche that Trump’s slush fund to pay criminals is dead: “We believe it is imperative for Congress to act. We need to bury it into the ground and ensure it can never rise again. We can claw back anything that has been done in January, and we are prepared to do that.”
I completely unplugged yesterday because my daughter was in town from FL and we took a ferry out to an island here in Maine for the day. It certainly looked like it was a pretty crazy day when got caught up on the news this morning, but since this is “today in politics” I focused this Bulletin on what happened today. Today certainly had more than enough news and drama.
I did do my weekly podcast Uncovered before that, which you can find here. You can find the last Bulletin here.
… WaPo’s Dan Diamond: “For years, Trump took a hair-loss drug - Propecia (finasteride). Now it’s no longer on his medical reports. I asked the WH if Trump still uses it, and officials said they’re not obligated to disclose all his medications. Of course, it’s just a hair-loss drug. And Trump’s allies have mocked the ongoing focus on the president’s health. But physicians and medical ethicists say - if the WH won’t be transparent about Propecia, will they be honest about bigger health matters?”
… Dr. Jonathan Reiner: “Since WH won’t disclose if he’s taking finasteride we don’t know why his PSA has risen 10x from last yr’s 0.1 to 1.0 now. Did he stop taking the drug, or is he still taking it and now there’s something going on with his prostate? That’s why it’s important. An incomplete medical report is not a credible report. They
