
Trump's Wrestling Skills Meet the Reality of Tariffs
President Donald Trump has a long history of showing up at and participating in pro-wrestling events. And he's been known to use a few of its tropes in his political career. Daniel Flatley writes today about how that might affect tariff negotiations (really!). Plus: 100 Trump moments you might have missed, and the viral Labubu dolls will have to contend with tariffs. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.
Donald Trump has made no secret of his fondness for combat sports. He regularly attends mixed martial arts bouts and has been known to sit ringside at boxing matches. But it's professional wrestling where his ties run deepest, and he has adopted the rhythm and rhetoric of the sport's bombastic milieu to enhance his appeal to voters.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Smithsonian affirms independence after Trump says he fired head of Portrait Gallery
The Smithsonian tried to affirm its autonomy from outside influences in a statement on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he fired National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet for being a "highly partisan person." The institution, which is the world's largest museum, education and research complex, sent the statement after a Monday Board of Regents meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, according to a document the Smithsonian sent ABC News on Monday. Board of Regent meetings are held at least four times a year. Vance and Roberts are both ex officio members, meaning they act in advisory roles. "All personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the Secretary, with oversight by the Board," the Smithsonian said in its statement. "Lonnie G. Bunch, the Secretary, has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian." MORE: Trump signs executive order targeting monuments at parks, museums, zoo The panel is also comprised of senators appointed by the president, including Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI); Representatives selected by the Speaker of the House, including Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL); and nine Citizen Regents, according to a document the Smithsonian sent ABC News on Monday. The Smithsonian's statement comes after Trump's May 30 announcement on social media that he fired Sajet, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery director. He described Sajet as "a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position." Sajet rejected artist Julian Raven's 2016 Trump painting for submission in the National Portrait Gallery, according to a statement from a Smithsonian spokesperson on Tuesday. She is still reporting to work at the Portrait Gallery, the spokesperson noted. "While the vast majority of our content is rooted in meticulous research and thoughtful analysis of history and facts, we recognize that, on occasion, some of our work has not aligned with our institutional values of scholarship, even-handedness and nonpartisanship. For that, we must all work to do better," Bunch, the board secretary, said in a message to Smithsonian staff on Monday after the board meeting. "Our institution must be a place where people feel inspired and challenged, but most importantly feel welcome. ... As always, we thank the President and Congress for their steady commitment to the Smithsonian and to preserving it for our visitors and our country." The museum also appeared to address the Trump administration's concerns about biased content and staff at the institution in its statement on Monday. "To reinforce our nonpartisan stature, the Board of Regents has directed the Secretary to articulate specific expectations to museum directors and staff regarding content in Smithsonian museums, give directors reasonable time to make any needed changes to ensure unbiased content, and to report back to the Board on progress and any needed personnel changes based on success or lack thereof in making the needed changes," the Smithsonian said in its statement Monday. The museum did not respond to ABC News' questions regarding deadlines for museum directors to make changes and report back to the board, and the vice president's office did not immediately reply to a request for a statement. MORE: Concerns at national parks ahead of spring break Trump signed an executive order last month placing Vance in charge of supervising efforts to "remove improper ideology" from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology," according to the Associated Press. The president also fired members of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' board of trustees and installed himself as chairman of the institution in February. ABC News' Kyra Phillips, April Williams, Molly Nagle and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this story.

Associated Press
27 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Trump's actions in LA spur debate over deportation funds in his 'big, beautiful' bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' in Congress includes more than tax breaks and spending cuts — it also seeks to pour billions of dollars into the administration's mass deportation agenda. Republican leaders capitalized Tuesday on the demonstrations in Los Angeles, where groups of protesters are demonstrating against Trump's immigration raids at Home Depot and other places where migrants congregate, to make the case for swift passage of their sprawling 1,000-plus-page bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act delivers 'much-needed reinforcements,' including 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, $45 billion to expand migrant detention facilities and billions more to carry out at least 1 million deportations 'every single year.' 'All you have to do is look at what's happening in Los Angeles to realize that our law enforcement needs all the support that we can possibly give them,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. The focus on some $350 billion in national security funding comes as action on the massive package is lumbering along in Congress at a critical moment. Trump wants the bill on his desk by the Fourth of July. But Senate Republicans trying to heave it to passage over the objection of Democrats are also running up against objections from within their ranks over the details. At the same time, Democrats are warning that Trump's executive reach into California — sending in the National Guard over the governor's objections and calling up the Marines — is inflaming tensions in what had been isolated protests in pockets of LA. They warned the president's heavy-handed approach has the potential to spread, if unchecked, to other communities nationwide. 'We are at a dangerous inflection point in our country,' said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who represents the Los Angeles area. 'Trump created this political distraction to divide us and keep our focus away from his policies that are wreaking havoc on our economy and hurting working families,' he said. 'It's a deliberate attempt by Trump to incite unrest, test the limits of executive power and distract from the lawlessness of his administration.' At its core the bill extends some $4.5 trillion in existing tax breaks that would otherwise expire at the end of the year without action in Congress, cutting some $1.4 trillion in spending over the decade to help offset costs. The Congressional Budget Office found the bill's changes to Medicaid and other programs would leave an estimated 10.9 million more people without health insurance and at least 3 million each month without food stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. At the same time, CBO said the package will add some $2.4 trillion to deficits over the decade. One emerging area of concern for Republican leaders has been the bill's status before the Senate parliamentarian's office, which assesses whether the package complies with the strict rules used for legislation under the so-called budget reconciliation process. Late Monday, Republicans acknowledged potential 'red flags' coming from the parliamentarian's office that will require changes in the House bill before it can be sent to the Senate. Leaders are using the reconciliation process because it allows for simple majority passage in both chambers, were GOP majorities are razor-thin. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Republicans are preparing to address the concerns with a vote in the House, possibly as soon as this week, to change the package. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer seized on the House's upcoming do-over vote as a chance for Republicans who are dissatisfied with the package to reassert their leverage and 'force the bill back to the drawing board.' 'They say they don't like parts of the bill — now is their opportunity to change it,' Schumer said. On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance was dispatched to speak with one GOP holdout, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has pushed for deeper spending reductions in the bill to prevent skyrocketing deficits from adding to the nation's $36 trillion debt load. Other Republican senators have raised concerns about the health care cuts. But Republicans are in agreement on border security, deportation and military funding, over the objections of Democrats who fought vigorously during the committee process to strip those provisions from the bill. The package includes about $150 billion for border security and deportation operations, including funding for hiring 10,000 new ICE officers — with what Johnson said are $10,000 hiring bonuses — as well as 3,000 new Border Patrol agents and other field operations and support staff. There's also funding for a daily detention capacity for 100,000 migrants and for flights for 1 million deportations annually. The package includes $46 billion for construction of Trump's long promised wall between the U.S.-Mexico border. Additionally, the bill includes $150 billion for the Pentagon, with $5 billion for the military deployment in support of border security, along with nearly $25 billion for Trump's 'Golden Dome' defense system over the U.S. Separately, the bill adds another $21 billion for the Coast Guard. Democrats have argued against the deportations, and warned that Trump appears to be stirring up protests so he can clamp down on migrant communities. Rep. Nanette Barragan — whose district represents the suburban city of Paramount, where the weekend Home Depot raid touched off protests — implored Americans: 'Listen to the words of this administration: They're using words like insurrection. They're using words like invasion.' She warned the administration is laying the groundwork for even steeper actions. 'That's a concern,' she said. 'That is dangerous. It's wrong.' ___ Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fact-check: Trump's speech at Fort Bragg contained lies and conspiracy theories about LA
As Los Angeles braced for the arrival of new federal troops, Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated a slew of falsehoods and misleading statements about the tensions in the US's second-largest city. In an address to troops at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina, Trump spread conspiracy theories, maligned California's Democratic leaders and misleadingly portrayed protesters as part of a 'foreign invasion'. The comments came as the city of angels prepared for the arrival of hundreds of new troops tasked with protecting immigration enforcement officials, after protests against immigration raids kicked off on Friday. The initial deployment of 300 national guard troops, federalized by Trump over the objections of California leaders, is expected to quickly expand to 4,000. An additional 700 marines began arriving on Tuesday. Here are some of Trump's claims, fact-checked. In his deeply partisan speech at Fort Bragg, Trump made the baseless claim that the protests against immigration raids in LA are being led by paid 'rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion'. The comments echoed accusations by top Trump adviser and speechwriter Stephen Miller, who on Sunday wrote on social media that 'foreign nationals, waving foreign flags' were 'rioting', and an unfounded allegation by Kristi Noem, Donald Trump's homeland security secretary, who earlier this week accused Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum of 'encouraging violent protests'. Sheinbaum on Tuesday said the allegation is 'absolutely false'. Some protesters in recent days have waved the flags of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador – as well as flags that combine the banners of those nations with the US flag – in a show of ethnic pride and solidarity with immigrants in their community now targeted by immigration officials. Trump also referenced a viral conspiracy theory that pallets of bricks were left out for protesters to hurl at police officers in LA. 'They came in with bricks,' Trump said. This claim was made repeatedly in 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. In June 2020, the week after Floyd was murdered, the Trump White House boosted the viral conspiracy theory by releasing a compilation of video clips posted on social media by people who believed, wrongly, that piles of bricks they came across had been planted there by 'Antifa and professional anarchists' to inspire violence at protests. Related: How can Trump use the national guard on US soil? Within hours, after reporters showed that those clips had been of piles of bricks from construction projects that were in process before the protests started, the White House deleted the video from its official social media accounts, without apology or explanation, but only after it had been viewed more than a million times on Twitter alone. Trump also claimed California's Democratic elected officials paid protesters to attack federal officers, something for which there is no evidence at all. 'In Los Angeles, the governor of California, the mayor of Los Angeles, they're incompetent and they paid troublemakers, agitators and insurrectionists. They're engaged in this willful attempt to nullify federal law, and aid the occupation of the city by criminal invaders,' the president said without reference to reality. That conspiracy theory was later repeated as fact in a social media post from the department of homeland security with the text: 'California politicians must call off their rioting mob.'