David Hogg riles Democratic Party with plans to primary incumbents
David Hogg, a top Democratic party official, isn't backing off his controversial plan to fund primary challenges against Democratic members of Congress he deems 'ineffective' in reaching disaffected voters, particularly young ones.
'The fact of the matter is if you were doing your job and you're being effective, this should not concern you,' Hogg said in an interview with the Washington Post's Post Reports podcast. 'But if you are anxious from listening to this or hearing about this idea, you should ask yourself, if you're a member of Congress, why and how you can change.'
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump Issues Jaw-Dropping Authoritarian Threat to Elon Musk
As President Donald Trump works through the seven stages of grief that come with a big break-up, he's embracing anger—and directing at it his former ally Elon Musk. After two days of snapping at each other online, a historic public feud that pitted two of the world's most powerful men against each other, Trump decided to turn up the heat Saturday. Speaking with NBC News' Kristen Welker, he promised 'serious consequences' if Tesla billionaire Musk were to fund Democratic candidates in attempts to sabotage Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' The threat came after Musk begged Congress to vote down the legislation, which is estimated to add some $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit, calling it 'ugly' and 'pork filled.' 'If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that,' Trump told NBC News in a phone interview. 'He'll have to pay very serious consequences.' Musk, the world's richest man, claimed Thursday that he was the reason for Trump's re-election, having donating $288 million to his presidential campaign. He called the president out for 'such ingratitude.' The intense clash escalated so much that the former 'First Buddy' dropped a bombshell alleging that Trump 'is in the Epstein files.' He has since scrubbed the post from his page, although it originally told readers: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' (Trump dismissed the allegations about his connection with the now-deceased Jeffrey Epstein. 'That's called 'old news,' that's been old news, that has been talked about for years,' Trump said on Saturday. 'Even Epstein's lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It's old news.') But while Musk's move to delete the post could be a sign that he'd consider backing off, Trump has decided instead to launch a new assault. Trump told NBC that he had no desire to repair his relationship with Musk. 'I'm too busy doing other things,' he said, adding, 'I have no intention of speaking to him.' And when asked if the four-month bromance was completely over, a sullen Trump said: 'I would assume so, yeah.' Trump had previously suggested that his once-close adviser had developed 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.' 'I'm very disappointed with Elon. I've helped him a lot,' he said at the time. 'He knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here. He had no problem with it.' On Saturday Trump told NBC that Musk was 'disrespectful to the office of the President.' 'I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,' he added. Trump's ominous suggestion of 'serious consequences' isn't the first threat he's launched against Musk. On Thursday he warned that he was contemplating cutting the SpaceX CEO's government contracts. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' he posted on Truth Social. 'I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' On Saturday, he said that the move was still on the table: 'I'd be allowed to do that,' he said, 'but I have, I haven't given it any thought.' Trump also suggested that it was Musk who was reeling from the toxic breakup. 'I think Elon, really, I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken,' he said.
CNBC
2 hours ago
- CNBC
Trump deploys National Guard as Los Angeles protests against immigration agents continue
President Donald Trump's administration said it would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops on Saturday as federal agents in Los Angeles faced off against demonstrators for a second day following immigration raids. The security agents confronted around 100 protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where some demonstrators displayed Mexican flags and others covered their mouths with respiratory masks. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News that the National Guard would be deployed in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the decision "purposefully inflammatory." "If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can't do their jobs, which everyone knows they can't, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. The protests pit Democratic-run Los Angeles, where census data suggests a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, against Trump's Republican White House, which has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his second term. In the late afternoon, authorities began detaining some protesters, according to Reuters witnesses. There was no immediate official information of any arrests. Video footage showed dozens of green-uniformed security personnel with gas masks lined up on a road strewn with overturned shopping carts as small canisters exploded into gas clouds. "Now they know that they cannot go to anywhere in this country where our people are, and try to kidnap our workers, our people - they cannot do that without an organized and fierce resistance," said protester Ron Gochez, 44. A first round of protests kicked off on Friday night after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted enforcement operations in the city and arrested at least 44 people on alleged immigration violations. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner and the White House deputy chief of staff, wrote on X that Friday's demonstrations were "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." On Saturday, he described the day's protests as a "violent insurrection." The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement about Friday's protests that "1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer funded property." Reuters could not verify DHS's accounts. Angelica Salas, executive director of immigrants' rights organization Chirla, said lawyers had not had access to those detained on Friday, which she called "very worrying." Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, with the White House setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. But the sweeping immigration crackdown has also caught up people legally residing in the country, including some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges. In a statement on Saturday about the protests in Paramount, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said: "It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were in the area, and that members of the public were gathering to protest." Salas of Chirla said protesters gathered after an ICE contingent appeared to be using parking lots near a Paramount Home Depot store as a base. ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on the protests or potential immigration sweeps on Saturday. Television news footage on Friday showed unmarked vehicles resembling military transport and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. Raids occurred around Home Depot stores, where street vendors and day laborers were picked up, as well as at a garment factory and a warehouse, Salas of Chirla said. Bass, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, condemned the immigration raids. "I am deeply angered by what has taken place," Bass said in a statement. "These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this."
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.
