* Another Day at the Orifice: The Trump-Vance-Rubio-Zelenskyy White House meeting turned into an embarrassing, counterproductive, testy exchange. It was more fit for a SNL cold opening than important, impactful international diplomacy.
* Has Pax Americana become Tax Americana?
* DOGE: aka Elon & the Muskateers.
* “(Canada) is not viable as a country” without U.S. trade. Another rhetorical affront from the U.S. president who treats despotic Russia with much more respect than neighborly Canada. BTW, Canada is the world’s largest national buyer of U.S. goods.
* Trump’s nationalistic suggestions for the redrawing of international borders have become a global concern. Foremost among those who are much less concerned: Vladimir Putin.
* Air Farce One update: The White House banned an AP reporter and photographer from the presidential plane–and various events—due to disagreements over references to the Gulf of Mexico.
* Where there is a barrage of controversial, agenda-driven executive orders, there is a bunch of lawsuits. In fact, more than 40 have already been filed to challenge the Trump Administration.
* The whole DEI/meritocracy contrast is blatantly and hypocritically undermined by a born-rich, uninformed, unread, pathologically lying, narcissistic felon.
* Trump, as we well know, has pushed hard to end birthright citizenship. The legality comes down to the 14th Amendment. For the record, it states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
* “Your past, undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments, concerns me.” That was Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, indicating his worry over the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. Cassidy is a physician. Dr. Cassidy, of course, ultimately voted for Kennedy.
* The Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed Trump in 2024, condemned his blanket pardon of J6 rioters.
* “If they (Iran) did that (assassinate him), they would be obliterated.”–Donald Trump. But then it would be VP Vance’s obliteration call or SOD Pete Hegseth’s. At least Curtis “Bombs Away” LeMay is no longer around.
* Trump has offered to rehouse white South Africans as refugees fleeing persecution. The rush is not yet on.
* Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna filed a bill directing the federal government to add Trump to Mount Rushmore. You can’t make this stuff up. Let’s just call it Mount RushNoMore.
* “The Riviera of the Middle East”: What the U.S. could, as proposed by Trump, ultimately build in Gaza. But, presumably, not the 52nd state.
* Greenland. Iceland. Newfoundland: Could Trump resist a naming rights offer?