Category: Authoritarian

Trump Orders Federal Probe of Climate Science Academy Over ‘Fraudulent’ Guidance

President Donald Trump ordered federal officials to investigate the National Academy of Sciences, accusing the organization of publishing "fraudulent, biased, and misleading" climate guidance that he claimed influenced federal court decisions and cost the country billions of dollars. Trump directed federal suspension and debarment officials to examine the academy's conduct, characterizing its work as "Climate Fraud" and asserting that taxpayers should not fund the institution.

The directive targets the Federal Judicial Center's Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, a publication developed jointly with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help federal judges evaluate scientific evidence in court. The manual's fourth edition, released in December, included a new chapter on climate science designed to assist judges assessing expert testimony in climate-related cases. That chapter was later withdrawn after Republican attorneys general argued it was biased against fossil fuel companies.

Trump claimed the academy has been "run by Radical Left Dumocrats" and that the organization's materials shaped major legal rulings across the country. In his Truth Social post, he stated that judges used these "bogus Manuals" to decide significant climate litigation cases, which he characterized as creating "huge losses across our Country."

Trump's order follows his broader assault on federal institutions, including his demand that NBC and ABC have their broadcast licenses revoked for declining to air his primetime address. The action represents his continued weaponization of federal power to punish institutions that do not align with his political agenda and to suppress scientific consensus on climate change.

The directive also came after Trump pressured Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over wildfire management, demanding that Canada pay "damages" to the United States for smoke pollution drifting across the border. Trump claimed he raised the issue while attending the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/totally-discredited-trump-orders-probe-of-national-academy-of-sciences-over-bogus-climate-guidance/)

Trump Demands Canada Pay Damages for Wildfire Smoke

President Trump demanded Canada pay financial damages or face tariffs for wildfire smoke reaching U.S. cities, claiming the air has been “poisoned” and citing business closures in Michigan. Trump stated he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and told him to stop fires from “poisoning our air,” but indicated the conversation yielded insufficient action. He proposed Canada either compensate the United States or face tariff threats, framing the wildfires as Canada’s responsibility rather than a natural disaster.

Trump cited specific economic harm, noting that Ford’s Michigan assembly plant experienced thick smoke forcing dozens of workers to seek medical attention and requiring the closure of car plants and other businesses. The president claimed he had never witnessed such widespread wildfire smoke impacts in his lifetime, stating the phenomenon only began occurring over the previous 4-5 years. These assertions contradicted established climate science documenting decades of wildfire escalation tied to warming temperatures and changing weather patterns.

The wildfire situation reflects Trump’s history of weaponizing natural disasters and federal authority against states and nations he opposes. Earlier, Trump denied federal disaster assistance to Colorado following wildfires and flooding, accusations he was punishing Democratic Governor Jared Polis. Trump has simultaneously eliminated the EPA’s scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment, stripping the agency of authority to regulate greenhouse gases and rejecting decades of peer-reviewed research.

Trump’s demand for payment or tariffs exploits environmental destruction to advance his trade agenda while refusing to acknowledge the climate emergency driving increased wildfire severity. His simultaneous erasure of climate science and blame-shifting to Canada exemplifies his strategy of using governance crises to consolidate executive power and attack adversaries rather than address root causes. The pattern extends to using disaster denial and aid weaponization against Democratic officials, subordinating disaster response to partisan loyalty tests.



(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-wants-canada-to-stop-poisoning-the-usas-air-maybe-they-should-pay/)

Trump Golfs as Iran Attack Kills Two U.S. Service Members

President Donald Trump spent Saturday golfing at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort while news broke that two U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan, with a third missing in action. Trump’s only public response was a brief phone call to a NewsNation reporter in which he called their deaths “a very sad thing” and stated, “I couldn’t care less” about Iran’s declaration that a ceasefire deal had been broken. His Truth Social account remained silent on the attack, instead posting about the SAVE America Act and pushing for Iran sanctions.

The deaths mark the first U.S. casualties since a ceasefire began in early April, signaling the collapse of Trump’s second failed agreement with Iran in months. Trump and his administration had repeatedly insisted since February that the conflict would last only weeks, yet the breakdown of two separate ceasefire agreements has left the White House and Pentagon without a coherent strategy. Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains contested, and commercial shipping traffic continues to avoid the region due to attack risks, disrupting global trade and energy markets.

Trump celebrated prematurely last month when he declared “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” following a 60-day extension of the ceasefire in May. That optimism has evaporated with the resumption of hostilities, contradicting his claims of strategic success. The administration’s stated objectives, including securing Iran’s enriched uranium, weakening Iran’s government, and ending its capacity to launch rockets and drones, have been abandoned or remain unachieved.

The escalation directly contradicts Trump’s 2024 campaign promises to end U.S. involvement in endless foreign conflicts and prevent resource depletion through limitless entanglements. Trump has rejected claims that he betrayed those commitments, instead insisting that the threat from Iran’s nuclear program justified continued military engagement. The conflict now threatens to consume significant Pentagon funding and congressional attention as Republicans in the Senate express skepticism about defense spending bills needed to sustain operations.

Trump was scheduled to attend the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, maintaining his weekend leisure schedule despite the military escalation. His detachment from the immediate crisis mirrors patterns of taxpayer funds subsidizing his private golf activities, revealing a persistent prioritization of personal interests over national emergencies.



(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-us-troops-killed-golf-b3017670.html)

Markwayne Mullin Threatens ‘Prison Time’ For State Officials

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened criminal penalties including “prison time” against state election officials who decline to participate in the Trump administration’s SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements). During a Friday press conference, Mullin stated that non-compliant state officials could face fines, penalties, and imprisonment if they refuse to implement the program after receiving federal guidance on election security.

The SAVE program is tied to the SAVE America Act that Trump has pressured Republicans to advance, despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s statement that insufficient support exists to pass it. Mullin’s threats follow Trump’s Thursday primetime address, in which he selectively cited documents his aides published online to insinuate that U.S. elections have been compromised for years and that officials suppressed evidence, according to The New York Times.

Mullin framed state participation as mandatory for election security, declaring that states choosing non-participation would become priority targets for federal scrutiny of voter rolls. He linked cooperation with the SAVE program directly to accountability measures, warning that election officials who received federal information but refused implementation would face legal consequences.

The Trump administration published a web page Friday outlining its “election integrity” stance, incorporating Trump’s election vulnerability claims. The threats represent an escalation in federal pressure on state officials over election administration, a function traditionally managed by states under the U.S. Constitution.

The statement came during a conservative Daily Caller reporter’s question about securing midterm elections, with Mullin framing federal coercion as necessary for building public confidence. By conditioning cooperation on penalty avoidance, the administration weaponized federal authority against state officials exercising their constitutional election management responsibilities.



(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/just-in-mullin-threatens-prison-time-for-state-officials-not-cooperating-with-trump-admin-on-elections/)stration weaponized federal authority against state officials exercising their constitutional election management responsibilities.

Trump’s Truth Social Sells Wall Street Early Access to Presidential Posts

President Donald Trump’s media company announced Thursday a paid service called Truth PSI that will provide Wall Street trading firms expedited access to Truth Social posts, including those from Trump himself on topics affecting national security and financial markets. The service enables institutional investors to see posts from the platform’s highest-ranking accounts, with Trump commanding 12.9 million followers, ahead of other users, potentially allowing traders to profit from market movements triggered by his announcements. Trump Media & Technology declined to disclose pricing or whether the president’s posts would be excluded from the offering.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University School of Law, characterized the arrangement as “brazen corruption” and “improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself,” noting that Trump is selling direct access to information about his presidential decisions. Conflict-of-interest law bars federal officials from owning companies that profit by selling access to their office decisions; however, presidents and vice presidents are statutorily exempt from this restriction. Every president since the law’s passage has voluntarily complied by divesting stock holdings or placing assets in blind trusts, but Trump has refused.

Trump has used Truth Social to announce major policy decisions including military actions against Iran, tariff implementations, and immigration enforcement operations. Iran-related posts are particularly significant because investors fear oil price increases will intensify inflation and potentially trigger Federal Reserve interest rate increases. The president stands to benefit directly as the largest shareholder in Trump Media & Technology, the publicly traded parent company.

Trump Media’s stock has collapsed more than 70 percent since Trump took office, erasing $6 billion in shareholder wealth, yet Trump’s annual financial disclosures show he extracted more than $1 billion in revenue from the same companies and ventures last year. The company recently replaced longtime CEO Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media executive, who described Truth PSI as part of a strategy to “monetize proprietary assets” and predicted it would generate “meaningful, ongoing source of revenue.” Trump Media stated it plans to launch the service next month after already securing customers.



(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-truth-social-access-wall-street-b3016554.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcATHN09wZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKto0BXhlicEpxh4I4QKu6fTKhvAzWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6U4pURNaAFX11kgVjUKUzbnBIC0zeXX9TJzj-ZehGvKoWBhYIu1CcfvdZVUw_aem_0g_1ZKC2GOYkeTCIkhzw_Q)

Trump Demands NBC ABC License Revocation Over Primetime Speech

Donald Trump demanded that NBC and ABC have their broadcast licenses revoked for declining to air his Thursday night primetime address on their primary television channels, falsely characterizing the networks’ editorial decision as part of a “plot” to hide information from the public. Both networks carried the speech live on their streaming platforms (NBC News NOW and ABC News Live) and aired detailed summaries after Trump concluded, but Trump attacked them anyway for not broadcasting it on their main channels, stating that “fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.” White House communications director Steven Cheung amplified the demand, calling the networks “cowards” on social media.

Trump’s attack on broadcast licenses represents an escalation of his systematic pressure on media outlets through regulatory threats. Trump has previously weaponized FCC regulatory power against late-night hosts, calling for their termination and celebrating their departures, while FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, has threatened broadcasters’ licenses in response to presidential complaints about coverage. Carr is currently investigating whether ABC’s talk show The View qualifies as a “bona fide news program” under equal time rules, using regulatory authority to punish editorial independence.

In the 23-minute address, Trump made unsubstantiated claims about election security, alleging without evidence that China conducted “the largest compromise of election data in history” and that American elections remain vulnerable to foreign interference. He accused unnamed national security officials of concealing information about election security while offering no documentation to support these assertions. Much of the “stolen” election data Trump referenced is publicly available for commercial purchase by political campaigns, undermining his claims of a security breach.

CNN declined to air the speech live, with anchor Kaitlan Collins stating the network would “monitor” Trump’s remarks to fact-check statements given his “well-documented history of saying blatantly false things about elections,” while Fox News broadcast the full address. Trump’s demand for license revocation targets networks that exercised editorial judgment about primetime coverage, using the presidency to punish outlets for decisions that displeased him and demonstrating contempt for the independence of broadcast journalism.



(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-election-fraud-address-nbc-abc-licence-b3016842.html)

Trump Revives False Claims Election Systems Compromised

President Donald Trump delivered a primetime White House address Thursday night, reviving unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election he lost was compromised by foreign interference. Trump alleged that American election systems face widespread vulnerabilities susceptible to manipulation, an assertion contradicted by extensive evidence and prior official assessments.

Documents Trump referenced during his speech, reviewed by CNN, largely describe vulnerabilities known for years and reflected in the 2021 U.S. intelligence community assessment. According to a source with direct knowledge, these materials were compiled to capture all information the government possessed on potential election interference concerns, but the intelligence community determined them either insufficiently concrete or incorporated them into minority reports rather than treating them as consequential findings.

No declassified information Trump cited supports claims that any previous election results, including the 2020 contest, were manipulated by foreign interference or domestic fraud in ways that would have altered outcomes. The intelligence community’s analysis determined that verbiage within the documents themselves did not warrant treating the concerns as having material impact on election integrity.

Trump’s revival of election-integrity doubts occurs four months before midterm elections, continuing a pattern of amplifying unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about U.S. electoral systems. His assertions conflict with findings from election officials, security experts, and his own appointed Department of Homeland Security officials, who have consistently affirmed the security and integrity of American elections.

The address reflects Trump’s ongoing effort to sow doubt about election outcomes unfavorable to him while promoting baseless narratives about systemic vulnerabilities, despite declassified records and official assessments providing no evidentiary support for claims of election manipulation affecting results.



(Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sows-doubt-election-integrity-midterms-rcna587853)

Germany Warns Trump Against Election Interference Via $3M Grants

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz directly warned the Trump administration against interfering in German state elections scheduled for September, following the U.S. State Department’s announcement of a grants scheme offering up to $3 million to European charities, think tanks, and individuals. The funding targets organizations addressing “national sovereignty, migration, censorship, and lawfare challenges in line with shared political philosophy,” language former State Department officials describe as deliberately vague to obscure support for far-right groups across Europe.

Merz stated unequivocally that Germany does not interfere in American elections and expects reciprocal non-interference from the U.S. government and affiliated institutions in German affairs. He emphasized that German law prohibits foreign financing of political parties, directly confronting the Trump administration’s apparent strategy to circumvent restrictions on foreign aid by using ambiguous eligibility language that allows “individuals” and undefined “governmental institution[s]” to apply for grants without transparent criteria.

Former State Department officials characterize the initiative as a months-long effort to redirect U.S. government resources toward advancing far-right European movements and potentially political parties in violation of U.S. foreign assistance laws. One official stated bluntly: “There seems to be an effort by the state department to put the thumb on the scale of elections in Europe, giving an unfair advantage to rightwing parties with resources that they would ordinarily not get.” The scheme follows a broader pattern of Trump administration hostility toward European liberal democracies, including attacks by Vice President JD Vance on migration, abortion, and online safety policies across traditional Western allies.

State Department official Sarah B Rogers has become the public face of this intervention, pledging $500,000 to “promote digital freedom” in Ireland and appearing regularly at far-right and socially conservative conferences including the Prosperity Institute in Britain. The grants are administered by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, an agency originally established during the Cold War under President Jimmy Carter to challenge authoritarian regimes but now weaponized under Trump to support the authoritarian movements it was designed to oppose.

Potential beneficiaries include Britain’s Free Speech Union, organizations that lost funding under Viktor Orbán’s governance in Hungary, and similar conservative groups across Europe. The Trump administration’s systematic effort to finance and amplify far-right European parties and movements directly contradicts U.S. commitments to democratic integrity and election sovereignty in allied nations.



(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/15/germany-warns-against-election-interference-as-us-offers-funding-to-maga-aligned-causes-in-europe?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=fb_us&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwZnRzaATEziRwZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKm9nwMm-lJaDs1Z0NquaZJDJn5am2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR56qMrmUrWeU2ybDVY27M6uQijxjU9TF-zMzwdrB15NVoNGWSVd4V2N227zTw_aem_yFzQbvvmDsE-9iJXLoH_pA#Echobox=1784142197)

Trump Administration Violates Law With Presidential Gold Coin

The Treasury Department released a new $1 gold coin bearing President Trump’s face, violating federal law prohibiting living presidents from appearing on U.S. coinage. Under 31 U.S. Code § 5112 and the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, no living current or former president may be depicted on coins until at least two years after their death. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the coin would begin production immediately and release this fall, claiming the administration could circumvent the law by invoking commemorative coin authority tied to America’s 250th anniversary.

The decision exemplifies Trump’s use of executive power to aggrandize himself while dismantling institutional guardrails. Former GOP Representative Thomas Massie criticized the move as narcissistic, warning that grifters would exploit the decision by selling counterfeit versions to uninformed consumers. The coin contradicts longstanding federal restrictions designed to preserve the integrity of U.S. currency and prevent the politicization of national symbols through executive unilateralism.

This action follows Trump’s pattern of weaponizing government institutions to advance personal interests and cement his legacy through forced commemoration. The Treasury’s willingness to ignore explicit statutory language demonstrates how Trump administration officials prioritize loyalty over constitutional duty, effectively rewriting law through administrative fiat to serve their leader’s vanity.



(Source: https://newrepublic.com/post/213098/treasury-1-dollar-gold-coin-trump-face?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&fbclid=IwdGRjcATEpwVwZG9mA2ZkaWQWUKl9Vj2-Dm6Li0pwYGa1AI1us1z_jmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6B3LcI4-HSHz0XrV4f4aHZcutmIMAMvEYvJU-shfGr88Smentu7B7KiPoZQQ_aem_RkOj662TInt1BPlVZUf_KQ)

Trump Flat-Out Says ‘I Don’t Want To Negotiate’ End To War

President Donald Trump explicitly rejected negotiations to end hostilities with Iran during a Fox News interview on Tuesday, stating “I don’t want to negotiate now.” This declaration came amid renewed U.S. military strikes on Iran, which U.S. officials claim violated a memorandum of understanding designed to pause fighting while both countries negotiated terms.

The conflict centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has attacked and struck tankers transiting through Omani territorial waters. Iran asserts that Article 5 of the memorandum requires vessels to arrange safe passage through Iranian waters; the U.S. has resumed its blockade of Iranian ships in the Gulf of Oman in response. When Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst asked whether Trump was negotiating with the wrong Iranian leadership, Trump doubled down, saying “Three days ago, we had a deal” but refused further discussions.

Trump later threatened Iran with annihilation, stating the country should make a deal or “You’re not gonna have anybody left.” This escalation reflects the trajectory set in February when Trump launched the war in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly assured the president that military action could swiftly topple Iran’s government and that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open.

Trump’s refusal to pursue diplomatic resolution contradicts the framework of the existing memorandum and eliminates any immediate path to de-escalation. His explicit rejection of negotiation while simultaneously threatening annihilation demonstrates an intent to prosecute military conflict without diplomatic constraints.



(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/trump-flat-out-says-i-dont-want-to-negotiate-end-to-war/)rejection of negotiation while simultaneously threatening annihilation demonstrates an intent to prosecute military conflict without diplomatic constraints.

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