🤔

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/14/politics/republicans-5000-checks-trump

Speaking of this promised $5000 cheque...

Many Republicans are clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Trump unilaterally shelling out more than $1 trillion when the national debt just crossed $40 trillion, and doing so as part of a readily apparent quid pro quo. But it’s not fun to actually say that. So they’ve tried to dress it up.

On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson told host Jake Tapper that it was a “creative idea.” He signaled Congress would be needed, even though Trump has cast doubt on that.

Then Johnson put on his Trump translator cap — talking as if this very specific proposal was just Trump making a broader point.

“But I think what he was articulating there, Jake, is that he’s saying that, if you want more money in your pocket, you have to keep Republicans in charge,” Johnson said. 

I must admit it is quite funny watching the orange buffoon twist his minions into trying to explain what he said (which I suspect was purely on-the-fly and not thought through at all!)

The NY Times - Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Restrictions on Mail Voting

breaking

The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a Trump administration plan to dramatically change how Americans vote by mail in the lead-up to the midterm elections, a major loss for President Trump, who has long claimed without evidence that fraud is rampant in mail voting.

 

The ruling was a resounding win for Democratic-led states and voting rights groups, which had argued that the plan was unconstitutional and an existential threat to the democratic process.

 

EDIT:  Trump slammed the decision as “horrible, highly political.”  Pot. Kettle. Black.

The NY Times - Trump’s Name Must Stay Off Kennedy Center, Judge Rules

15 Sep 2026

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could not honor President Trump with an inscription on the institution’s exterior, blocking an effort by the center’s board to restore the president’s name to the building.

 

Judge Christopher R. Cooper of Federal District Court in Washington wrote that such an addition would violate his previous order that blocked the board from renaming the center after Mr. Trump.

 

“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Cooper wrote. “The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”

 

EDIT  Trump Tantrum - Trump threatens to cancel a $257 million renovation of the performing arts venue if the judge’s ban was not overturned.   🙄

And now, evidence (including photos) Trump Jr's island wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch, Putin's friend, who was present at the wedding.

freitasm:

 

And now, evidence (including photos) Trump Jr's island wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch, Putin's friend, who was present at the wedding.

 

So friends always pay millions of dollars for another person's wedding? I have a sign-up sheet if anyone wants to be my friend...

Satire (although gospel to any diehard MAGA follower):

Handsomedan:

 

freitasm:

 

And now, evidence (including photos) Trump Jr's island wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch, Putin's friend, who was present at the wedding.

 

 

And the comment from the bride that there's nothing to see here...he's just a dear, dear friend. 

 

And a sanctioned friend at that. 

Another tantrum. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court".

Perhaps some of those justices on the Supreme Court might be finally starting to rule on the basis of law rather than what their interviewer expects them to do.

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117275286602582454

The NY Times - Democrats Gain Edge as Trump Drags Down G.O.P.

15 Sep 2026

New York Times/Siena poll of 1,503 likely voters nationwide conducted Sept. 8 to 13. 

geek3001:

 

Another tantrum. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court".

 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117275286602582454

 

Says the guy who voted by mail-in ballot.

freitasm:

 

geek3001:

 

Another tantrum. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court".

 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117275286602582454

 

 

Says the guy who voted by mail-in ballot.

 

But by his logic that would be OK as he was away playing golf or doing something else we probably can't mention, and he voted for himself or a GOP candidate so his mail-in is OK.

Any votes for the Dems well, of course, they need to be delayed / stopped / destroyed / not counted, otherwise they'll impeach me waaaah 😭

freitasm:

 

And now, evidence (including photos) Trump Jr's island wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch, Putin's friend, who was present at the wedding.

 

Must admit I wasn't 100% caught up with the story behind these shenanigans, luckily The Bulwark brought me up to speed:

DO THESE WEDDING GUESTS LOOK LIKE RUSSIANS TO YOU?: We’re entering Mad Libs territory with these Trumpworld personal-corruption scandals, they’re so frequent, varied, and strange. Like, be serious: Are you really trying to tell me that [Donald Trump Jr.] had his [private-island wedding bash] bankrolled by [a Putin-friendly Russian oligarch who runs the International Boxing Association]?

Yesterday, ProPublica reported that Donald Trump Jr. had his private-island wedding bash bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a Putin-friendly Russian oligarch who runs the International Boxing Association. Kremlev, who attended the days-long party but has been oddly absent from the happy couple’s many, many online pictures documenting it, shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for the shindig. How friendly!

You should really read the whole report, which is packed with remarkable details about Kremlev’s life, his relationship with the younger Trump, and former counterintelligence officials saying things like “This should be unthinkable for the son of the president. End of story.” But the most remarkable element of the story may have come from Bettina Trump, Don Jr.’s socialite bride. It was “fake news” that Kremlev had bankrolled the wedding, she insisted—in fact, “our dear friend Umar” had merely bankrolled a two-day party immediately after the wedding. I tell you what, you can’t trust these reporters as far as you can throw them.

https://www.thebulwark.com/i/215816720/quick-hits

As Trump’s popularity slides, his merchandise stores are closing down.

Hopefully these closures are spreading.

From https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/as-trump-s-popularity-slides-his-merchandise-stores-are-closing-down-20260910-p60vzp.html

 

Knoxville, Tennessee: The sign is hard to miss as you drive along the Interstate 40 leaving Knoxville. “Trump Superstore”, it booms. “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS.” Everything store wide: 50 per cent off.

 

I had heard about these places – great temples to Donald Trump, packed with merchandise and paraphernalia – but had never been inside one. Trump merch is usually sold by hawkers outside Republican events; this was a bricks-and-mortar shop, albeit on the barren side of a highway.

 

The range of gear is certainly broad. Caps feature phrases such as “Trump 2028”, “Make America Charlie Kirk” and “Relax, It’s Just A Red Hat”. Several T-shirts announce their wearer is proudly voting for a convicted felon. There are Trump baby clothes, fake Trump cash, Donald and Melania bobble-head dolls, beer holders and more. Most of the items, I note, are made in China or Bangladesh.

 

There are also some pretty spicy items condemning Democrat Joe Biden, America’s 46th president. “I could shit a better president,” one cap says. Another says, simply: “86 46”. (“86” is a slang term in restaurants for getting rid of something, and some say that in mob lingo, it means to kill someone.)

 

Behind the cash register, I meet Sharon Huskisson, who started working here when the store opened on April 1, 2024. It’s owned by her 80-year-old neighbour, Bill Hays, who offered her the job.

 

“I said, ‘Oh, that sounds interesting’. And, of course, I love Trump, so why wouldn’t I,” Huskisson says. “It’s been a big, wonderful ride for the last 2½ years, meeting some really cool, neat people, and everybody is of the same mindset.” She pauses. “We have a few of them that are not. But we tolerate them.”

 

Huskisson says the Trump Superstore was packed as soon as it opened, through to the 2024 election, and past Trump’s inauguration.
From our partners

 

“It was hard to even get in here. People were lining up all the way to the parking lot. When two left, we let two more in ... It was amazing, we were like little creatures running around just trying to appease everybody.”

 

It’s evident that’s no longer the case. Only three customers appear during my hour-long visit – including a local couple, Karyn and Bill Robbins, who are adding more T-shirts and stickers to their substantial stocks of Trump gear.

 

“We love to wear our shirts and hats out everywhere, showing our support for the president and for his cabinet,” says Karyn, 58. “I love everything he does. He is thinking about America. And they can say all the bad things they want about him, but if you look, he is doing great things for America. You just have to look at what he’s doing, and have your eyes open.”

 

Later, a woman enters the store and quickly buys a large “Gulf of America” flag, celebrating Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico early in his second term.

 

This store is not the only one that’s closing. Trump Town USA in Boones Mill, Virginia, is shutting down, with The Wall Street Journal reporting its sales were just a 10th of what they were in 2024. A store in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, closed its doors in July after six years. Another in Manchester, Tennessee, has also wound down.

 

When I ask Huskisson why the Knoxville store is closing, she puts it diplomatically. “I think everything runs its course. It’s not anything against Trump or anybody else. It’s just all good things come to an end.”

 

The owner, Bill Hays, was more forthright when he spoke to The Daily Beast last month: “Lack of business.”

 

Polls indicate that Trump is an unpopular president conducting an unpopular war – resulting in higher petrol prices, which are also, obviously, unpopular.

 

But that sentiment is not uniform across the country. In red states such as Tennessee, Trump-backed candidates have broadly been winning their primary races. His star may be waning in swing states, but in the heartland, Trump is still a force to be reckoned with.

 

“I think we’re all still behind him,” Huskisson says. “Something like [the Iran war] takes time. And he is a great negotiator. I hate wars, but they’re inevitable sometimes.

 

“You know, when you elect somebody, you elect them under the faith that they’re going to do the best for the country, and you just have to let them work at it.”

 

Before I leave, I ask Huskisson about the “86 46” caps regarding Joe Biden. She laughs and shrugs. But don’t they encourage violence against an American president?

 

“Kinda, sorta,” Huskisson says. It’s really just a restaurant term, she assures me.

 

Oh, no...

Anyway.