Trump demands wartime sacrifices — just not for himself
President Donald Trump has opened a multifront trade war with every jurisdiction on Earth (including some uninhabited islands). So, perhaps it was inevitable that he would start demanding wartime sacrifices from his fellow patriots. Other countries have done so already. Chinese officials, for instance, suggest they have the upper hand given their populace's willingness to endure hardship for the greater good. (The expression is 'chī ku,' which means 'to eat bitterness.')
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Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
America Is Finally Getting A Fascist Dictator Parade, Courtesy Of Donald Trump
WASHINGTON — After years of admiring autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping and envying the sort of military parade they get to enjoy, President Donald Trump is finally getting one of his own. America's capital city will resemble Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow's Red Square on Saturday evening, with tanks and missile launchers rolling down the street, thanks to Trump's $45 million birthday gift to himself at taxpayer expense. 'I don't really think the symbolism of tanks and missiles is really what we're all about,' Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul told HuffPost. 'If you ask me about a military parade, all the images that come to mind, the first images, are of the Soviet Union and North Korea.' Trump and his administration claim that the parade was actually organized for the U.S. Army's 250th birthday, not Trump's 79th. Both the Navy and the Marines also have founding date anniversaries this year, however, and there has been no discussion about holding $45 million celebrations for either. White House officials did not respond to HuffPost queries on the matter. Democracy advocates warn that Trump's use of the military to honor himself should not be downplayed as harmless, particularly given his deployment of thousands of troops in Los Angeles to put down protests against his deportations, his repeated attacks on judges, his use of his executive power to attack critics and his willingness to defy a Supreme Court order for months. 'The military parade is a blatant adoption and celebration of authoritarian power display,' said Amanda Carpenter, a former aide to Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz who is now with the group Protect Democracy. 'Given this is coupled with the deployment of U.S. troops to police American streets, by no means should it be considered as only optics.' John Bolton, Trump's third of four national security advisers during his first term, said Trump has been infatuated with the idea of his own parade after attending France's Bastille Day celebration in 2017 at the invitation of that country's president, Emmanuel Macron. Bolton said Trump's advisers were able to talk him out of ordering one back then. 'He was dissuaded by a number of factors, not the least of which was how much it would cost, and how bad that would appear, and what damage the tank treads would do to the streets of Washington,' he said. Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, reportedly told Trump that a military parade was 'what dictators do.' The United States has had few military parades in its history, the last one taking place in 1991 during the presidency of George H.W. Bush after U.S. forces successfully pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, which he had invaded. 'It was a parade to celebrate winning the war, which is a good reason to have a military parade,' Bolton said. 'That's not what this is about. It's about Donald Trump.' Patty Murray, a Democratic senator from Washington state, said during a hearing Wednesday that Trump's casual use of the military should alarm Americans. 'President Trump is promising heavy force against peaceful protesters at his D.C. military parade. Those sorts of actions and that sort of rhetoric from a president of the United States should stop every one of us cold. Threatening to use our own troops on our own citizens at such scale is unprecedented,' she said. 'It is unconstitutional and it is downright un-American. We should all be speaking out against this and demanding accountability now.' Despite his frequent claims of support for the armed forces and service members, Trump has a decades-long history of disrespect, even disdain, for both. As a young man, Trump had the opportunity to fight in the Vietnam War but instead avoided service with a diagnosis of 'bone spurs' from a doctor who was a friend of his father. In 2015, running for president, Trump declared that Arizona Sen. John McCain, who spent nearly six years in a Hanoi prison undergoing routine torture, was not a war hero just because he was captured. Trump said he preferred those who were not captured. During his first term in office, when he was unable to get fellow Republicans running both chambers of Congress to approve billions of dollars for a border wall he had repeatedly promised Mexico would pay for, Trump instead raided a Pentagon fund for service members' housing and schools to pay for it instead. Also in those years, Trump disparaged those in the military who had died for the United States as 'suckers' and 'losers,' according to his own chief of staff. And just months into his second term, Trump broke the tradition of the commander-in-chief shaking the hand of every graduating cadet at a military academy by immediately leaving West Point after his speech and returning to his golf resort in New Jersey. Trump's predecessor Joe Biden spent 70 minutes congratulating each graduate last year, as Trump himself had done five years earlier, although he later complained about how many times he had to raise his arm to salute. To this day, Trump still does not seem to understand military protocol. On his recent trip to the Middle East, Trump saluted Saudi military officials, just as he had saluted North Korean officers during his summit meeting with Kim in 2018. Protect Democracy's Carpenter said Americans need to take Saturday as a warning of things to come. 'Americans should see this plainly for what it is: Troops in the streets are troops in the streets, whether it's a parade or a raid,' she said. Trump Says Protesters At Weekend Military Parade Will Face 'Very Heavy Force' GOP Senator Says Trump's Military Parade Reminds Him Of North Korea Trump's Real War Is Against America
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump juggles China framework trade deal, LA's anti-ICE riots and Israel's Iran strike in 21st week in office
President Donald Trump had a whirlwind 21st week back in the Oval Office, including securing the framework for a trade deal with China, continued handling of anti-ICE riots spiraling in Los Angeles, and putting a heightened focus on Iran after Israel launched a sweeping strike on the nation. Here's what happened during his 21st week in office: Highly anticipated trade talks with China were held in London this week and led to a preliminary agreement between the world's two biggest economic powers. "Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me," Trump posted to Truth Social Wednesday of framework for a trade deal. The Trump administration had leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president's reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement in May, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post at the end of May. Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping June 5 to discuss trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, before Trump's team of trade leaders — including Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer — headed to London to speak with Chinese counterparts. Read On The Fox News App Donald Trump Details 'Most Exciting Part' Of China Trade Agreement "We made a great deal with China," Trump celebrated from a red carpet event at the Kennedy Center Wednesday. "We're very happy with it," Trump added. "We have everything we need, and we're going to do very well with it. And hopefully they are, too." Trump said the deal includes China supplying rare earth materials to the U.S., and that Trump will "work closely" with Xi "to open up China to American Trade." "Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!" Trump said Wednesday. Trump's week started out largely focusing on the anti-ICE riots spiraling in Los Angeles, which also led to protests in other cities nationwide in rebuke of the administration's efforts to deport the millions of illegal immigrants who flooded the nation under President Joe Biden's White House tenure. Riots broke out in L.A. after federal law enforcement officials converged on the city to carry out immigration raids. Local leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly denounced the raids in public statements while offering words of support for illegal immigrants in the state. Protests over the raids soon devolved into violence as rioters targeted federal law enforcement officials, including launching rocks at officials, looting, fires and shutting down roads and highways. Fresh Wave Of Anti-ice Protests Threatens Uncertainty, Volatility Before Trump's Massive Military Parade Trump announced June 7 that he was deploying 2,000 National Guard members to help quell the violence, and the administration deployed hundreds of Marines to respond to anti-immigration chaos Monday evening as the violence continued. "If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now," Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday morning. California launched a lawsuit against the administration for activating the National Guard, which bypassed the governor who typically deploys the National Guard during a state of emergency. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer sided with Newsom and his administration's lawsuit in a decision Thursday ordering Trump to return control of the Guard to the state "forthwith." A federal appeals court on Thursday, however, issued an administrative stay of the lower court's order, handing the Trump administration a temporary win. "The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe," Trump posted to Truth Social Friday. "If I didn't send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!" Trump activated the National Guard as he and federal officials condemned rhetoric from local Democratic elected officials who publicly spoke out against federal law enforcement officials converging on Los Angeles to carry out immigration raids. Federal officials pinned blame for the violence on Democratic elected officials who have "villainized and demonized" ICE law enforcement, Fox Digital previously reported. "The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a June 7 statement. "The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.… From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end." Israel launched strikes on Iran Thursday evening, with Trump telling Fox News' Bret Baier that there were no surprises over the attacks and that he was aware they would unfold ahead of time. "Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table," Trump said Thursday. "We will see. There are several people in leadership in Iran that will not be coming back." Trump Says Israel's Next Iran Attack Will Be Even More Brutal: 'Make A Deal' The strikes led to the deaths of top Iranian military officials, including: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami, Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and Commander of Iran's Emergency Command Gholam-Ali Rashid. Trump warned in a Truth Social message Friday that Israel's next round of strikes on Iran would be "even more brutal," encouraging Iran to make a nuclear deal amid ongoing talks with the U.S. "There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end," Trump said. "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." Before Israel launched attacks on Iran, the U.S. and Iran were scheduled to hold another round of nuclear talks this weekend regarding whether Iran should have the capacity to enrich uranium. "The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it," Trump continued on Truth Social. "Certain Iranian hardliner's spoke bravely, but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" Trump held a meeting with his National Security Council Friday to discus the strikes. Trump's 21st week in office is slated to cap off with a military parade on the streets of Washington, D.C., in honor of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, which also falls on Flag Day and Trump's 79th birthday. The patriotic event is anticipated to garner protests, as critics of the president slam him over the immigration raids in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and claim he is operating like a "king." "If there's any protest once they come out, they will be met with very big force," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "I haven't even heard about a protest. But people that hate our country … they will be met with very heavy force." Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom, Diana Stancy and Greg Norman contributed to this report. Original article source: Trump juggles China framework trade deal, LA's anti-ICE riots and Israel's Iran strike in 21st week in office
CNN
10 minutes ago
- CNN
Anti-Trump protests cap a week of free speech stress tests across America
Virtually every flashpoint in American politics right now involves the First Amendment right to free speech and free expression. Some of this tension is due to President Donald Trump, who vowed in his inaugural address to 'bring back free speech to America,' but who keeps showing that he wants some forms of speech to carry a great cost. From arrests of Palestinian activists to blitzes against universities to threats against demonstrators in Washington, DC, the Trump administration's actions and words have alarmed free speech organizations — and have fueled Saturday's 'No Kings' protests across the country. 'Trump's retaliation campaign against free speech has entered a new and even more dangerous phase,' Nora Benavidez, a civil rights and free speech attorney at the group Free Press, told CNN Friday. Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. International human rights groups have taken notice. Amnesty International denounced Trump's recent claim that any protests during Saturday's Army parade would be met with 'very big force.' 'Now is a good moment to remind President Trump that protesting is a human right and that his administration is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly – not suppress them,' the group said in a statement. Between the military parade in DC and the anti-Trump demonstrations expected in all 50 states, Saturday is shaping up to be a huge show of — and test for — free speech rights. Ezra Levin, the co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive nonprofit, said Friday on CNN's 'Inside Politics' that 'we want to see people exercising their First Amendment rights, because when those rights are under threat, if you don't stand up in defense of them, you don't have those rights.' First Amendment freedoms — and concerns about whether they're being upheld — are a through-line of numerous legal battles and administration maneuvers. The editorial board of The Everett Herald in Washington state put it this way on Thursday: 'The First Amendment has been getting a workout in recent days. Even amid abuses of those rights, that's for the good.' It's also keeping advocacy groups very busy. Benavidez said the examples of Trump 'targeting perceived enemies and dissenting voices' with investigations and public intimidation are almost too extensive to list. 'This is all an escalation of the Trump administration's scheme to silence critics and weaken any institutional and societal checks against his abuse of power — all the while promoting a version of free speech that rewards capitulation and penalizes anything less,' she said. Trump officials and allies have repeatedly cited security risks while curtailing free speech rights, as in the case of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate at the center of a high-profile deportation fight over his pro-Palestinian views. Security concerns were also invoked when Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference on Thursday. Rep. Nancy Pelosi condemned the handcuffing of Padilla by calling it 'an assault on freedom of speech in our country.' Press groups have also warned about potential First Amendment violations during the anti-ICE protests in L.A. and other cities. On Friday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 60 media outlets, including CNN, sent a letter to federal, state, and local officials asking them to ensure that authorities uphold the rights of journalists to report on law enforcement activity without reprisal. These days, free versus restricted speech is not the relevant dividing line. Rather, it's favored versus disfavored speech — and Trump is very explicit about which is which. During his falling-out with Elon Musk, Trump said Musk would face 'very serious consequences' if he funded Democratic challengers to Republican candidates, a comment that many interpreted as a threat. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Trump boasted about 'getting rid of woke in our schools, our military, and just in our society,' claiming, 'You're not seeing woke anymore. It almost became illegal.' His recent assertion that masks are not allowed at protests was also seen, by civil liberties groups, as an infringement on the right to free expression. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's moves against media outlets like The Associated Press, Voice of America, NPR and PBS have spawned First Amendment lawsuits in recent weeks. Several of the targeted outlets cited Trump's claims about bias and 'fake news' to argue that the president committed viewpoint discrimination. Critics say various other actions — like deleting government websites and stripping books from shelves — have also been against the spirit, even when not against the letter, of the First Amendment. California Governor Gavin Newsom raised the subject in his address to the state on Tuesday night. Trump is 'delegitimizing news organizations and he's assaulting the First Amendment,' Newsom said. He concluded by telling residents, 'if you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully.'
