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We are asking a group of our readers to weigh in on how they feel about their American identity this Fourth of July. We know that people experience American identity very differently — through community events or church, through dinner table discussions, by keeping up with politics — and this prompt is purposely broad to reflect this. Above all, we want these memos to be honest and genuine to the experience of the people writing them.
If you're interested in participating, please complete the prompt below and we'll be in touch in the coming weeks.
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Don't underestimate Donald Trump — he and his goals will survive without Elon Musk
Among other things last week, President Trump played host to Germany's chancellor in the Oval Office, issued a travel ban against 12 countries whose citizens routinely violate their visas, had a 'very positive' conversation about tariffs with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and twisted arms to push his 'one big beautiful bill' across the congressional finish line. Meanwhile, a stream of good economic news sent stock markets higher, with a jobs report beating expectations while inflation fell and wages rose. Oh, and Trump also had a brutal falling out with Elon Musk. Advertisement 3 Elon Musk attends news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP No need to guess which of the above dominated the news. Bad news travels fast and predictions of calamity win eyeballs, but I've learned a few things knowing and covering Trump for a decade. Rule No. 1 is always to remember to take a deep breath when it feels as if the end of his days is near. Advertisement Whatever the sensational event of the moment, the smart play has been to realize that this too shall pass — and to feel sorry for cats because they only have nine lives. Rule No. 2 is to be prepared for the next big end of days event, which is coming soon, and to expect another one after that. The 47th president is a human machine full of pride and plans, but only rookies still attempt to define him by a single event. If a stream of nasty Democrat prosecutions and threats of jail didn't derail him, the end of a partnership with the world's richest man won't either. Advertisement While Trump often appears to be courting disaster, reports of his imminent political demise still remain premature. That's not to say he is impervious, only that he is the closest thing to it on the American scene today. The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. Advertisement So long, Elon, it was nice knowing ya. Need for speed Another thing to remember about Trump is that he's in a hurry to get big things done and is determined not to get sidetracked by anything. He's well aware of how Dems used the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax to win the House in the middle of the first term and showed no compunction about impeaching him over a nothing-burger phone call. He's not going to squander his second chance with a GOP-controlled Congress to engage in wild goose chases or pout over setbacks, even when they involve an important ally such as Musk. The clock in his head is always ticking. 3 The Musk-Trump feud sparked the day after the DOGE head left the White House. NY Post Despite his occasional talk of a possible third term, he knows that's not going to happen. Besides the constitutional prohibition, the reality is that he turns 79 next Saturday, and the last thing Trump wants to do is stay too long at the party and repeat Joe Biden's decrepit decline in office. Thus, Trump's need for speed is what makes the Musk divorce important. It ends, or at least interrupts, an iconic alliance that was good for both men and was paying big dividends to America. Whether Musk is right that his support and his extensive financial contributions made the difference in last year's campaign is impossible to know. But there is no doubt that the addition of Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to the Trump train broadened his appeal well beyond traditional GOP circles and MAGA diehards. Advertisement Consider, for example, that Kamala Harris foolishly tried to counter Trump's moves by adding former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney to her team and claiming they were evidence she had bipartisan appeal. The advantage to Trump wasn't a close call. As for Musk, most critical was his commitment to DOGE and to the idea that spending cuts are not only possible but essential to the nation's future. He used his soapbox to set a new standard for Washington, even if the results fell short of the promise. Advertisement Whatever started his break with Trump, it was complete when he attacked the tax cut and spending legislation the president helped to craft, saying at one point, 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both.' No damage to agenda The oddity is that the break came after Musk officially left his temporary DOGE post, complete with a happy sendoff in the Oval Office where Trump praised him and gave him a ceremonial key to the White House. Given the nasty nature of the rupture, attempts by others to forge a reconciliation are not likely to succeed. Yet even if the break is final, I don't believe it will do serious damage to the president's agenda, despite the hopes of media doomsayers. As even The New York Times ruefully conceded in a Saturday headline, 'Elon Musk May Be Out. But DOGE Is Just Getting Started.' Advertisement 3 President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP Another mistake many Trump observers are making is seeing him through the eyes of his chaotic first term. As I have noted before, Trump 2.0 is a very different person. Being on the sideline for four years served him well in that he better understood Washington, and was smarter about what he wanted to achieve and who could help him do that. Advertisement In raw political terms, Biden's spending-palooza that drove inflation to 40-year highs and the inexplicable decision to open the southern border were gifts that helped pave the way to a Trump return. And then came the brush with death from a would-be assassin's bullet in Pennsylvania. 'God spared me' I had previously arranged to interview Trump the next day on his flight to the GOP convention in Milwaukee, and to my everlasting surprise, he kept his schedule. It was during that interview that he first raised the idea of divine intervention, saying, 'I'm not supposed to be here . . . I'm supposed to be dead.' His wry sense of humor remained intact, as he noted that people were already calling the photo of him standing up, pumping his fist and shouting 'fight, fight, fight,' with his face streaked with his own blood, an 'iconic' scene. 'They're right and I didn't die,' Trump said. 'Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.' Although he was never an especially religious man, Trump began to embrace the idea that 'God spared me for a purpose, and that purpose is to restore America to greatness.' It's a fat target for haters, but the important thing is that Trump himself believes it to be true. One result is that he is a much calmer and more gracious president. Even his demeanor last week reflected a 'what, me worry?' approach, as he demonstrated in a series of quick phone interviews with media outlets, including The Post, where he insisted he was not rattled by the blowup. His explanation was simple: Musk suffers from 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.' Woof, woof, and the caravan moves on.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Elon Musk body-checked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ‘like a rugby player' during fiery clash at White House: report
Elon Musk aggressively body-checked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the White House after being called a fraud – igniting a fiery clash that sparked the billionaire's messy falling-out with President Trump, a new report claims. The heated scuffle broke out in mid-April after both men pitched rival plans for the Internal Revenue Service to Trump in the Oval Office, with the president ultimately backing Bessent's choice, the Washington Post quoted former White House official Steven Bannon as saying. The pair left the meeting hurling insults at each other within earshot of the president's office, Bannon told the outlet. Advertisement 3 Elon Musk reportedly hurled his body into Scott Bessent's rib cage during a heated scuffle in the White House. Getty Images 'Scott said, 'You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,'' Bannon said, referencing the-then Department of Government Efficiency honcho's attempt to slash $1 trillion in federal spending. The verbal spat turned allegedly physical when the world's richest man rammed his shoulder into Bessent's rib cage 'like a rugby player,' prompting the treasury chief to fight back, the paper said Bannon claimed. Advertisement Bannon told the outlet it took multiple people to break up the playground tussle, before the SpaceX and Tesla founder was quickly removed from the West Wing. 'President Trump heard about it and said, 'This is too much,'' said Bannon, who has long been critical of Musk and his involvement in Trump's campaign and presidency. 3 The fiery clash started when Bessent called Musk a 'fraud.' Francis Chung/UPI/Shutterstock The latest details on Musk's dramatic White House exit emerged just days after the X owner went on a multi-day social media rampage against the commander in chief over his support of the 'big, beautiful' bill making its way through Congress. Advertisement Their breakup has unfolded in real time on social media and escalated after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he was 'disappointed' in the ex-DOGE chief, noting, 'I've helped Elon a lot.' 3 The latest details on Musk's dramatic White House exit emerged just days after the X owner went on a multi-day social media spiral against Trump. FRANCIS CHUNG/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Musk proceeded to lash out against the president, accusing the Trump administration of withholding documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein because the president would be mentioned in them. Trump charged that Musk has gone 'crazy' and threatened to cancel the 'Billions and Billions' of dollars in contracts and subsidies the entrepreneur receives from the federal government. Advertisement Bannon also demanded a federal investigation into Musk's immigration status, pressing that he should be deported 'immediately.' Musk, who hails from South Africa, is an American citizen, according to reports. The White House and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reps for Musk couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Riots over immigrations raids wreak havoc in LA for second day on Saturday, as ICE pledged to call in National Guard
Protests over federal immigration raids continued to wreak havoc on Los Angeles Saturday with agents wearing riot gear reportedly using flash-bang grenades to clear crowds — as the federal government moves to mobilize the National Guard after claiming the LAPD didn't respond for two hours. 'We're going to bring the National Guard in tonight. We're going to continue doing out job. We're going to push back on these people and we're going to enforce the law,' Tom Homan, Acting Director of US Immigration and Custom Enforcement, said on Fox News, Saturday. 7 A protester places debris in a fire as Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stand guard outside an industrial park in the Paramount section of Los Angeles, on Saturday. AP Images and video showed a chaotic scene on Saturday as hundreds of protestors filled the streets and clashed with federal agents in riot gear attempting to impede apprehensions by Border Patrol in Paramount, California, near a Home Depot. The dystopian scene showed the heavily armored agents firing teargas cannisters in order to disperse demonstrators who raged for hours on Saturday in a messy and tumultuous street takeover. One violent protestor in a face-covering helmet hurled rocks at the windows of cars right outside the super store — cracking some Border Patrol pick-up trucks in the windshield, according to viral video. 7 A protestor appears to kick a teargas cannister across the Paramount, California street back at a federal agents, on Saturday. ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Video circulating online showed an American flag on a fire in the middle of the street across from the home improvement store which was mired by demonstrators, Saturday. Other protestors during the day stood in front of a federal bus to stop in from carrying off alleged illegal immigrants, video on social media showed. Violent protests began on Friday with federal agents have raided multiple workplaces in LA's fashion district and other locations, with the conflagrations continuing at the Paramount Home Depot Saturday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. 7 Border Patrol agents were armed in riot gear as they were met with intense and violent resistance from LA County locals. ALLISON DINNER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The Trump Administration ripped lefty Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after a violent mob swarmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting immigration raids in the city — while the Department of Homeland Security claimed Saturday local cops waited two hours to help push back the agitators. Lefty pols like Bass are 'villainiz[ing] and demoniz[ing ] ICE law enforcement,' leading to the violence that saw roughly 1,000 agitators attack law enforcement officers, deface buildings, slash tires and committing other crimes, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. 7 ICE agents who've been rounding illegal immigrants in Los Angeles have become the subject of vile graffiti in the city's downtown. 'The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable, and Mayor Bass and [California] Governor [Gavin] Newsom must call for it to end,' she added in a statement Saturday. 'The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.' There's been a 413% increase in assaults on ICE agents since President Trump took office in January, compared to the same period last year, McLaughlin said. 7 Roughly 1,000 rioters on Friday surrounded a federal law enforcement building in Los Angeles and assaulted ICE officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings, the feds said. Images released by DHS Saturday show parts of downtown Los Angeles covered in vulgar graffiti, including 'F–K ICE' and 'KILL ICE' spray-painted on fences and buildings — as well as a flyer handed out by the Communist group saying 'The Trump Fascist Regime MUST GO NOW!!!' 7 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called rioters 'despicable' in a statement Saturday. Getty Images Helmeted LAPD cops in riot gear faced off Friday evening with protestors after a day of federal immigration raids in the city. At least 44 people were arrested. The Los Angeles Police Department did not return messages. 7 Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blamed Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom. AP New York Mayoral candidate and former-governor Andrew Cuomo weighed in on the ICE raids and the protests in both Los Angeles and New York on Saturday. 'The recent ICE crackdowns in Los Angeles and New York City are a deeply troubling escalation in immigration enforcement tactics that undermine community trust and the principles of due process,' Cuomo said in a statement. 'I believe in upholding the rule of law and maintaining secure borders, but these operations — marked by military-style raids, the use of flash-bang grenades, and the detention of individuals, including those attempting to document the events — cross a line into cruelty and unnecessary fear mongering,' Cuomo said in the statement. Hundreds of migrants, including children, were detained by ICE agents Friday, the ACLU said. The DHS, however, said operations in LA this week have resulted in the arrest of 118 illegal migrants – including five gang members and others with past criminal charges that include drug trafficking, assault, cruelty to children and robbery, according to the DHS. Bass condemned the ICE raids in a statement, saying these 'tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city… We will not stand for this.' Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the California National Guard responded to The Post's request for comment.
