Latest news with #AlphonseCapone
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump diverts military valor to himself
Over the Memorial Day weekend, Trump spent some time with the people he called suckers and losers of both the future and the past. He delivered the commencement address at West Point, and rambled on for a good hour reprising the trophy wives and yachts story he told the Boy Scouts back in 2017 and boasting about his felonies, saying, "I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I'm talking to you as president, can you believe this?" This was his lesson in perseverance to the graduates: no matter how many crimes you commit, you too can become president. He said he didn't have time to do the traditional handshake of the graduating seniors because he's dealing with important national security issues in Russia and China. Luckily, he is able to do that from the golf course where he was seen later that afternoon. The next day, he delivered a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in which he shared with all the people who were there mourning their loved ones that he was glad that he hadn't won his second term until now because he "got the World Cup and the Olympics." I'm sure that was very comforting. I know all Americans were very moved by his Memorial Day message to the country: Trump is very interested in military pomp and circumstance these days. A couple of weeks ago, he declared May 8 a holiday, celebrating the Victory in WWII as they do in Europe and Russia, stating that it "was only accomplished because of us." No one advised him, I guess, that America also fought the Japanese in WWII and they didn't surrender until August. But, whatever. I guess we'll just change that. Nobody will notice. He also declared that Nov. 11 would be called Victory in WWI Day, but was later told that we already celebrate it as Veterans Day. Apparently veterans are very touchy about changing that and Trump seems to have dropped it. We've never been a country that ritually staged big military parades yearly, although it's not unprecedented to do it in the wake of specific military victories. Certainly, we've never done it to show off military gear to impress our adversaries and allies with our massive manly equipment. There's no word on whether we'll be doing that every May 8 going forward, but we're going to be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Army on June 14, which just happens to land on Trump's 79th birthday. How serendipitous? The New York Times reports: The current plan involves a tremendous scene in the center of Washington: 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks (at 70 tons each for the heaviest in service); 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers; more than 100 other vehicles; a World War II-era B-25 bomber; 6,700 soldiers; 50 helicopters; 34 horses; two mules; and a dog. It's estimated to cost somewhere in the vicinity of $45 million, not counting the clean-up and repairs of the streets that the tanks are likely to destroy. I'm sure they can cut some more children's health care somewhere in the budget to pay for it. There are no plans for the soldiers to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," but the Golden Knights, a paratrooper team, will land in front of the reviewing stand and present him with a flag. And who knows, maybe they're planning a surprise. The lore has it that Trump saw the Bastille Day celebration in France in 2017 and has been agitating for one ever since. According to the Times, in his first term, the Pentagon pushed back with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quipping that he would 'rather swallow acid," but this time, everyone figures they'd better give Trump what he wants. I think Trump's desire for the big military parade goes back much farther than that. Trump's father sent Donald to military school because he was spoiled and out of control. But he still made sure that his son had plenty of privileges that other students did not have. He even got him a big promotion to one of the top ranks despite not having done anything to earn it. According to the great book "Lucky Loser" by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig, he failed in that job but not by being belligerent and abusive, as you might imagine. He failed because he was negligent and didn't do the job, locking himself in his room and letting the lower ranks run roughshod over the younger kids. After one of his charges roughed up a lower-classman and Trump was nowhere to be found, he was finally removed from his post. But Daddy intervened again. According to this excerpt of the book in Vanity Fair, he actually ended up leading the parade. Literally. The cadets marched every year in the Columbus Day parade and somehow the orders came down that Trump would be leading it, despite the fact that it was traditionally given to the top officer in the school, which he certainly was not: Whatever the reason, on October 12, 1963, Donald led the specially assembled company of cadets down Fifth Avenue, past some of the premiere addresses in the city of his birth. Some of the cadets marching behind him wondered how it could be that Trump was in front and Witek, the highest-ranking cadet in the school and the senior class president, marched behind him. Trump arrived first at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he met Cardinal Francis Spellman. Donald would always claim marching in the front of the parade was evidence of his 'elite' status at the academy. Trump famously avoided the Vietnam War and the rumors are that, once again, his father paid for a doctor to say he had bone spurs. Years later, he told Howard Stern that avoiding STDs during the 90s was his personal Vietnam. He said he felt "like a great and very brave soldier." So it's not as if he never served. As president, he doesn't much care for underachievers in the ranks and has no respect for military leadership. He's not interested in history, tradition or what the armed services really do. He once marched down 5th Avenue leading the cadets and to him, that's real military service. He just loves a parade, and now he's going to get one on his birthday. Maybe they'll surprise him with the Medal of Honor he was talked out of giving himself in the first term.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jasmine Crockett: ‘It's Time for Republicans to Question Trump's Mental Acuity'
Following Donald Trump's bizarre speech to West Point graduates, where the president opined on topics ranging from yachts and trophy wives to drag shows and golf, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is calling on Republicans to 'start calling him out and start questioning his mental acuity, and whether or not he is equipped to serve mentally.' 'I don't think that those who have gone through West Point expected to have their commander in chief address them and start talking about trophy wives or start talking how he has so many investigations,' she said. 'What a great reminder that you are not qualified to be the person that potentially will command troops to go into war. That is not instilling confidence whatsoever.' 'It is time for Republicans to start calling him out and start questioning his mental acuity, and whether or not he is equipped to serve mentally,' Crockett added. 'We know when it comes down to his criminality, he is not qualified to serve, but this is just absolutely deplorable.' At West Point, when talking about real estate developer Bill Levitt, Trump said: 'He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife. Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. But that didn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives, it doesn't work out, but it made him happy for a little while at least.' Trump added, 'But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht.' At a time when there is much reporting and hand-wringing about former President Joe Biden's cognitive status, thanks to a recently released book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, who have been criticized by Jon Stewart for not publicly reporting the facts in the book earlier. Meanwhile, others have pointed out that Trump's mental state seems comparably worse than Biden's was last term. Here are some other gems of wisdom the president imparted on West Point's class of 2025 during his speech: 'The job of the U.S. armed forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun.' 'The whole stealth thing — I'm sort of wondering. We shape a wing this way, they don't see it but the other way they see it? I'm not so sure.' 'We have liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings. There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto the brave men and women in uniform — or on anybody else for that matter — in this country. We will not have men playing in women's sports.' 'I was investigated more than the great late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse Capone was a monster. He was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I'm talking to you as president. Can you believe this?' 'To be successful, you're always going to have to work hard. A great example is a great athlete, Gary Player, great golfer. He wasn't as big as the other men that were playing against him — great, big strong guys — Gary was a smaller guy. He's a friend of mine, he gets a little angry at people. He hits the ball just as far.' Trump broke with tradition and refused to stay at the ceremony to shake the hands of the West Point grads. Crockett also criticized the spending bill House Republicans passed last week, saying the 'cruel bill' does nothing for regular Americans while ensuring 'those top earners being able to have their next trophy wife or buy their next yacht, or get their next plane.' 'That doesn't work for me. And that obviously does not work for my constituents,' she said. More from Rolling Stone Mike Johnson Insists It's 'Moral' to Throw People Off Medicaid Trump's Crypto Grift Is the Latest Corruption Mike Johnson Says He's Too 'Busy' to Care About Judges Consider Managing Their Own Security Force Due to Rising Threats Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alcatraz, taco bowls and foreign films are on Trump's mind
President Donald Trump's feed on his Truth Social platform, like his Twitter feed of yore, is a real-time window into the mind of the most powerful man in the world. Who does he want to offend? Who has offended him? What are his most out-there ideas? When is the right time to buy stocks? It's where you can find him reminiscing on his infamous post about the taco bowls in Trump Tower to commemorate, or troll, Cinco de Mayo. 'I love Hispanics!' he wrote back in 2016. Now he has resurfaced the post on Truth Social at a time when cities like Chicago have canceled celebrations out of concern they would become targets for immigration authorities ramping up deportations on Trump's orders. There's no doubt he was trolling with the AI-generated image of himself as the pope, but it's not clear who is the target as the Catholic Church, still officially in mourning, begins the process of picking its next leader. On Sunday, Trump posted video of his appearance on 'Meet the Press' where he compares himself to a notorious gangster. 'I've been investigated more than the late, great — as they say at my rallies — Alphonse Capone,' he told NBC News. 'Alphonse Capone was a nasty man. He was a — the highest-level gangster. And I have been investigated more than Al Capone.' Capone served part of his federal sentence for tax evasion as inmate #85 at Alcatraz. Who knows if that bit of trivia helped inspire Trump's latest outrageous policy proposal, announced on Truth Social. Trump wants to close Alcatraz as one of the country's most popular tourist destinations and reopen it as a prison. 'The Rock' is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the most-visited US national park in 2024. 'The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE,' he wrote after complaining about judges who don't want him to remove undocumented immigrants without a hearing. Then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced the closure of the prison in 1962 because it was too expensive, too impractical and too small. A group of American Indians occupied Alcatraz in the late 1960s, but were removed after 19 months. The ordeal helped push Congress to make the Rock a national park in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon, who visited San Francisco for a campaign stop in September 1972 before winning California in his landslide reelection victory. Ronald Reagan, a former California governor, briefly considered housing Cuban refugees on Alcatraz in the early 1980s, but it was later given some protection as a National Historic Landmark during Reagan's second term. Trump's idea — which seems not fully baked quite yet — was described by former House speaker and longtime California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes most of San Francisco, as 'not a serious one.' But aggravating San Franciscans might be a side benefit of the idea for Trump, who has also tried to eliminate a special trust Congress set up to oversee another park, the Presidio of San Francisco. Perhaps his idea about Alcatraz got Trump thinking about movies like 'The Rock,' which could have inspired his subsequent Truth to declare the foreign production of films as a national security risk and threaten 100% tariffs 'on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' Later he encouraged people, again, to buy the $Trump meme coin. Those who hold the largest quantities of the coins, which are described as an expression of support for Trump, will be invited to a gala dinner, he said. Inflating the value of the coin could also enrich Trump. The White House has said there is no conflict of interest since Trump's children control his assets in a trust. Trump's Truth Social feed can also have valuable information, such as when he tipped off supporters that 'THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT' just before he hit pause on some tariffs for 90 days and sent markets soaring in early April. Hawk-eyed crypto traders might have been able to profit when Trump announced intentions to stockpile cryptocurrency back in March and included what CNN's report referred to as relatively obscure tokens: Solana, XRP and Cardano. Trump frequently retweets bits of video in which he or his policies are praised, but he will also single out critics. Republican strategist and Fox News analyst Karl Rove was in Trump's sights over the weekend after Rove criticized the Trump-as-pope post. 'Things like tweeting out a picture of you as the pope is deeply offensive to a great many people,' Rove said on Fox News. He also criticized Trump's tariff policies, saying they will drive up prices and make Trump 'Mr. Scrooge.' Rove said Trump should give a White House address to explain tariffs to Americans and reach deals to drive them down. Trump was apparently watching, because he responded on Truth Social. 'I don't need to have Karl Rove of Fox News to tell me what to do,' Trump wrote. 'The guy's a total Loser who's been wrong about almost everything!'
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Analysis: Alcatraz, taco bowls and foreign films are on Trump's mind
President Donald Trump's feed on his Truth Social platform, like his Twitter feed of yore, is a real-time window into the mind of the most powerful man in the world. Who does he want to offend? Who has offended him? What are his most out-there ideas? When is the right time to buy stocks? It's where you can find him reminiscing on his infamous post about the taco bowls in Trump Tower to commemorate, or troll, Cinco de Mayo. 'I love Hispanics!' he wrote back in 2016. Now he has resurfaced the post on Truth Social at a time when cities like Chicago have canceled celebrations out of concern they would become targets for immigration authorities ramping up deportations on Trump's orders. There's no doubt he was trolling with the AI-generated image of himself as the pope, but it's not clear who is the target as the Catholic Church, still officially in mourning, begins the process of picking its next leader. On Monday in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he didn't have anything to do with creating the image. But he defended it. 'Catholics loved it,' he said. On Sunday, Trump posted video of his appearance on 'Meet the Press' where he compares himself to a notorious gangster. 'I've been investigated more than the late, great — as they say at my rallies — Alphonse Capone,' he told NBC News. 'Alphonse Capone was a nasty man. He was a — the highest-level gangster. And I have been investigated more than Al Capone.' Capone served part of his federal sentence for tax evasion as inmate #85 at Alcatraz. Who knows if that bit of trivia helped inspire Trump's latest outrageous policy proposal, announced on Truth Social. Trump wants to close Alcatraz as one of the country's most popular tourist destinations and reopen it as a prison. 'The Rock' is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the most-visited US national park in 2024. 'The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE,' he wrote after complaining about judges who don't want him to remove undocumented immigrants without a hearing. Then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced the closure of the prison in 1962 because it was too expensive, too impractical and too small. A group of American Indians occupied Alcatraz in the late 1960s, but were removed after 19 months. The ordeal helped push Congress to make the Rock a national park in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon, who visited San Francisco for a campaign stop in September 1972 before winning California in his landslide reelection victory. Ronald Reagan, a former California governor, briefly considered housing Cuban refugees on Alcatraz in the early 1980s, but it was later given some protection as a National Historic Landmark during Reagan's second term. Trump's idea — which seems not fully baked quite yet — was described by former House speaker and longtime California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes most of San Francisco, as 'not a serious one.' But aggravating San Franciscans might be a side benefit of the idea for Trump, who has also tried to eliminate a special trust Congress set up to oversee another park, the Presidio of San Francisco. Perhaps his idea about Alcatraz got Trump thinking about movies like 'The Rock,' which could have inspired his subsequent Truth to declare the foreign production of films as a national security risk and threaten 100% tariffs 'on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' Later he encouraged people, again, to buy the $Trump meme coin. Those who hold the largest quantities of the coins, which are described as an expression of support for Trump, will be invited to a gala dinner, he said. Inflating the value of the coin could also enrich Trump. The White House has said there is no conflict of interest since Trump's children control his assets in a trust. Trump's Truth Social feed can also have valuable information, such as when he tipped off supporters that 'THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT' just before he hit pause on some tariffs for 90 days and sent markets soaring in early April. Hawk-eyed crypto traders might have been able to profit when Trump announced intentions to stockpile cryptocurrency back in March and included what CNN's report referred to as relatively obscure tokens: Solana, XRP and Cardano. Trump frequently retweets bits of video in which he or his policies are praised, but he will also single out critics. Republican strategist and Fox News analyst Karl Rove was in Trump's sights over the weekend after Rove criticized the Trump-as-pope post. 'Things like tweeting out a picture of you as the pope is deeply offensive to a great many people,' Rove said on Fox News. He also criticized Trump's tariff policies, saying they will drive up prices and make Trump 'Mr. Scrooge.' Rove said Trump should give a White House address to explain tariffs to Americans and reach deals to drive them down. Trump was apparently watching, because he responded on Truth Social. 'I don't need to have Karl Rove of Fox News to tell me what to do,' Trump wrote. 'The guy's a total Loser who's been wrong about almost everything!'
CNN
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Analysis: Alcatraz, taco bowls and foreign films are on Trump's mind
President Donald Trump's feed on his Truth Social platform, like his Twitter feed of yore, is a real-time window into the mind of the most powerful man in the world. Who does he want to offend? Who has offended him? What are his most out-there ideas? When is the right time to buy stocks? It's where you can find him reminiscing on his infamous post about the taco bowls in Trump Tower to commemorate, or troll, Cinco de Mayo. 'I love Hispanics!' he wrote back in 2016. Now he has resurfaced the post on Truth Social at a time when cities like Chicago have canceled celebrations out of concern they would become targets for immigration authorities ramping up deportations on Trump's orders. There's no doubt he was trolling with the AI-generated image of himself as the pope, but it's not clear who is the target as the Catholic Church, still officially in mourning, begins the process of picking its next leader. On Sunday, Trump posted video of his appearance on 'Meet the Press' where he compares himself to a notorious gangster. 'I've been investigated more than the late, great — as they say at my rallies — Alphonse Capone,' he told NBC News. 'Alphonse Capone was a nasty man. He was a — the highest-level gangster. And I have been investigated more than Al Capone.' Capone served part of his federal sentence for tax evasion as inmate #85 at Alcatraz. Who knows if that bit of trivia helped inspire Trump's latest outrageous policy proposal, announced on Truth Social. Trump wants to close Alcatraz as one of the country's most popular tourist destinations and reopen it as a prison. 'The Rock' is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the most-visited US national park in 2024. 'The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE,' he wrote after complaining about judges who don't want him to remove undocumented immigrants without a hearing. Then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced the closure of the prison in 1962 because it was too expensive, too impractical and too small. A group of American Indians occupied Alcatraz in the late 1960s, but were removed after 19 months. The ordeal helped push Congress to make the Rock a national park in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon, who visited San Francisco for a campaign stop in September 1972 before winning California in his landslide reelection victory. Ronald Reagan, a former California governor, briefly considered housing Cuban refugees on Alcatraz in the early 1980s, but it was later given some protection as a National Historic Landmark during Reagan's second term. Trump's idea — which seems not fully baked quite yet — was described by former House speaker and longtime California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes most of San Francisco, as 'not a serious one.' But aggravating San Franciscans might be a side benefit of the idea for Trump, who has also tried to eliminate a special trust Congress set up to oversee another park, the Presidio of San Francisco. Perhaps his idea about Alcatraz got Trump thinking about movies like 'The Rock,' which could have inspired his subsequent Truth to declare the foreign production of films as a national security risk and threaten 100% tariffs 'on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands. WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' Later he encouraged people, again, to buy the $Trump meme coin. Those who hold the largest quantities of the coins, which are described as an expression of support for Trump, will be invited to a gala dinner, he said. Inflating the value of the coin could also enrich Trump. The White House has said there is no conflict of interest since Trump's children control his assets in a trust. Trump's Truth Social feed can also have valuable information, such as when he tipped off supporters that 'THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT' just before he hit pause on some tariffs for 90 days and sent markets soaring in early April. Hawk-eyed crypto traders might have been able to profit when Trump announced intentions to stockpile cryptocurrency back in March and included what CNN's report referred to as relatively obscure tokens: Solana, XRP and Cardano. Trump frequently retweets bits of video in which he or his policies are praised, but he will also single out critics. Republican strategist and Fox News analyst Karl Rove was in Trump's sights over the weekend after Rove criticized the Trump-as-pope post. 'Things like tweeting out a picture of you as the pope is deeply offensive to a great many people,' Rove said on Fox News. He also criticized Trump's tariff policies, saying they will drive up prices and make Trump 'Mr. Scrooge.' Rove said Trump should give a White House address to explain tariffs to Americans and reach deals to drive them down. Trump was apparently watching, because he responded on Truth Social. 'I don't need to have Karl Rove of Fox News to tell me what to do,' Trump wrote. 'The guy's a total Loser who's been wrong about almost everything!'
