The fallout continues to grow following the Trump regime’s murder of Alex Pretti, and that fallout only intensified today. Today’s developments cut across human rights, international relations, culture, and domestic repression, all pointing to the same reality: this regime has lost legitimacy at home and credibility abroad.
If you don’t mind, let me dive right into it.
A major development this morning came from federal court. Family members of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. military boat strike last October have sued the U.S. government, accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings. According to the lawsuit, the men were not drug traffickers, as Trump claimed, but fishermen and farm workers traveling home when their boat was struck off the coast of Venezuela. Trump publicly labeled the victims “narcoterrorists,” a claim their families say was false and reckless.
Are you noticing the pattern? This is the Trump regime’s move. They kill, then justify their actions by labeling their victims “terrorists.”
This is the first lawsuit of its kind filed against the Trump regime over its violent campaign in Caribbean waters, and it carries enormous implications. Discovery alone could expose how these operations were authorized, what intelligence was relied upon, and whether basic legal standards were ignored. The families are demanding answers, and they deserve them. Killing civilians on fishing boats and retroactively justifying it with propaganda is not law enforcement. It is a crime.
As the legal pressure builds, the regime is also facing growing humiliation on the cultural front. Another major artist has withdrawn from the Kennedy Center in protest. Legendary composer Philip Glass announced he is pulling the premiere of his Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” citing a direct conflict between the work’s message and the values now represented by the institution’s so-called “leadership.”
Glass explained that the symphony is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and that presenting it under the current conditions would betray its meaning. His decision follows a growing exodus of performers and artists who want no association with Trump’s desecration of a once-respected cultural institution. Trump’s illegal and self-aggrandizing rebranding of the Kennedy Center has turned a profitable, beloved venue into a symbol of authoritarian vandalism.
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Back to my report.
The isolation extends far beyond the arts. While Trump lashes out at allies and invents grievances, the rest of the world is moving on without the United States. Today, the European Union and India finalized a massive trade and security agreement in New Delhi. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as the “mother of all trade deals,” creating a free trade zone encompassing nearly two billion people. It was framed explicitly as a partnership between the world’s largest democracies.
At the same time, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and other European nations signed a major clean energy pact in Hamburg, committing to deliver 100 gigawatts of offshore wind power through joint projects. These are the kinds of global initiatives the United States once helped lead. Under Trump, America is being sidelined while others collaborate, invest, and plan for the future.
“America First” has quickly become "America Alone.”
Instead of confronting that reality, Trump chose to lie. His regime claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had called to apologize for remarks he made at Davos and had walked them back. Trump’s cabinet allies dutifully went on television to repeat the fiction. Carney then publicly shut it down, making clear that he stood by his Davos comments and told Trump exactly that during their call. The Canadian prime minister did not blink, did not hedge, and did not indulge Trump’s fantasy. Shoutout to the Maple Meidas!
This pattern is now routine. Trump lies about conversations with foreign leaders, and the lies unravel almost immediately. Each time, the damage compounds. Allies do not forget being misrepresented, and they do not reward dishonesty.
Back at home, the regime continues to double down on cruelty and defamation. Senior officials are still smearing Alex Pretti, the Minnesota nurse killed by federal agents. The talking points remain unchanged because admitting the truth would expose the scale of their criminality.
At the same time, regime spokespeople are insisting that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is not going anywhere, even as pressure grows for accountability. Calls for impeachment are becoming louder and more explicit. Members of Congress are finally speaking up and making clear that weaponizing a federal agency to terrorize communities, kill Americans, deport veterans, and repeatedly lie about it meets the constitutional standard for impeachment. The Department of Homeland Security was theoretically created to make people safer. Under this leadership, it has done the opposite. It has terrorized people.
While Americans struggle with rising costs, housing insecurity, and long-term unemployment, Trump’s biggest focus right now appears to be…promoting Melania Trump’s movie. The numbers tell the story. Tens of millions of dollars were poured into production and promotion by Jeff Bezos, thousands of theaters were booked, and audiences stayed away. Check any social media app right now and you’ll see people sharing images of ticket websites showing completely empty theaters. Sad!
These people, detached this operation has become from reality, governance, and the lives of ordinary people.
The cruelty of the system is perhaps most visible in what the regime is doing under the guise of immigration enforcement New reporting confirms that ICE is arresting refugees in Minnesota who are in the country legally, flying them to Texas, interrogating them, and then releasing them without resources or a way home. Images from outside the Dilley detention center show people protesting conditions that are dystopian and dehumanizing. Deaths inside detention facilities are occurring at an alarming rate, with reports of fatalities every few days. These are not isolated incidents. They are the predictable outcome of a system built on punishment and indifference.
Throughout all of this, MeidasTouch remains on the ground. Our cameras are still in Minneapolis through our partnership with Status Coup. Katie Phang is reporting directly from Minnesota. Ken Harbaugh is in Nuuk, Greenland, documenting how Trump’s behavior is reshaping global perceptions of the United States. Our DC team is at the Capitol, tracking the actions of lawmakers as they develop.
Later today, Ron Filipkowski will publish his Tuesday news bulletin so you can catch up on everything you may have missed as these stories continue to break.
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