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Items tagged with: trump
#Lukashenko has denied there are #PoliticalPrisoners in #Belarus & described the people in question as "bandits". As recently as Aug, he asked why he should free people he sees as opponents of the state who might "again wage war against us"
#Trump has publicly described Lukashenko as "the highly respected president of Belarus", a description that jars with the opposition who see him as a #dictator. Yet, he has urged him to free up to 1,400 prisoners whom Trump described as "hostages".
#Sanctions were tightened again under President #Biden after #Lukashenko allowed #Belarus to serve as a staging ground for #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine in 2022.
The exiled Belarusian opposition expressed gratitude to #Trump [š] & said the fact that Lukashenko had agreed to release prisoners in return for the concessions on potash was proof of the effectiveness of [Bidenās] sanctions [again, not #tariffs. Tariffs are idiotic].
Trump's envoy, John Coale, had earlier told reporters in #Minsk: "Per the instructions of President Trump, we, the United States, will be lifting sanctions on potash." [as if #trump even know what potash is]
The #US under President #Biden & the #EU imposed wide-ranging #sanctions on #Belarus after Minsk launched a #violent crackdown on #protesters following a disputed #election in 2020, jailing nearly all opponents of Lukashenko who did not flee abroad.
#Sanctions not #tariffs, tyvm. Tariffs hurt the US people too.
#Belarus President Alexander #Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners on Saturday including #Nobel Peace Prize winner #AlesBialiatski & leading opposition figure #MariaKalesnikava after 2 days of talks with an āenvoyā for #Trump, a US stmnt said.
In return, the US agreed to lift sanctions on Belarus #potash. Potash is a key component in fertilizers, & the fmr Soviet state is a leading global producer.
"Spread the word about
@marcorubio."
~ Sarah Connell Campbell
#Republicans #MarcoRubio #Trump #cruelty
/6
threads.com/@s.connell.campbelā¦
"Pope Leo XIV has insisted Europe must have a role in any Ukraine peace deal and criticised what he said was the Trump administrationās effort to 'break apart' the US-European alliance. Leo spoke after meeting with Ukraineās visiting president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy."
~ Warren Murray and Guardian staff
"So as Trump tries to woo Latino voters by wrapping himself in Our Lady of Guadalupe's mantel:
"Thatās why, as we end a terrible year and Trump vows to escalate his cruel anti-immigrant campaign in the next one, Catholics and non-Catholics alike need to remember who Our Lady of Guadalupe is like never before. Sheās more than just an iconic image; this dark-skinned MarĆa stands against everything Trump and his brand of Catholicism preaches."
#Trump #Republicans #immigrants #Catholics
/6
"Now that Catholics are at the top, theyāre the ones pushing policies that persecute the new generation of immigrants, Catholic and not. They mock the exhortations of church leaders to follow the Bibleās many commands to protect the stranger, the meek, the least and the poor by arguing that deporting the undocumented is somehow righteous."
"Thatās the sad irony of seeing Catholicism have such a prominent role in Trumpās second term. The main defamers of Catholics in the United States have been Protestants since the days of the founding fathers. They cast successive waves of immigrants ā Irish, Italians, Poles, Mexicans, Vietnamese ā as evil, stupid immigrants beholden to Rome. They wrongly predicted each group would ruin the American way of life."
"A study released earlier this year by a coalition of evangelical and Catholic groups found that 61% of immigrants at risk of deportation in this country identify as Catholic, while nearly one-fifth of U.S. Catholics 'would be impacted' by someone being deported. The latter figure is nearly three times the rate that evangelicals face and four times the rate of other Christian denominations."
As a result:
"Members of my faith are in positions of power in this country like never before. Vice President JD Vance is a convert. A majority of the Supreme Court are practicing Catholics. Names of past Catholic diasporas like Kennedy, Bondi, Loeffler and Rubio dot Trumpās Cabinet."
But on the other hand:
#Trump #Republicans #immigrants #Catholics #evangelicals #JDVance #SupremeCourt #PamBondi #MarcoRubio #RFKJr #KarolineLeavitt
/2
On the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Gustavo Arellano writes about the "sad irony" of the role Catholics are playing in the Trump administration and American society under Trump: as he notes, "2025 will go down as one of the best and worst years ever to be a Catholic in the United States."
On the one hand:
#Trump #Republicans #immigrants #Catholics #evangelicals
/1
latimes.com/california/story/2ā¦
In Trump's regime, Catholics are among the most powerful ā and deported
Her brown face, green mantle and forgiving gaze is a mainstay of Southern California: In front yards.Gustavo Arellano (Los Angeles Times)
"In Trumpās case, there is little relief in the fact that he himself is checked out and prefers to spend his dotage garishly remaking the White House and accepting gifts that are transparently bribes. Thatās because, while Trump may be inactive, his minions certainly arenāt. Heās surrounded himself with a crew of extremists, notably Stephen Miller, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio."
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia #media
/8
"Itās bedtime for Bozoāand youāre paying the price. ā¦
Even the mainstream media, which has been negligently reluctant to raise questions about Trumpās physical and mental well-being, has started to take note."
~ Jeet Heer
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia #media
/7
thenation.com/article/politicsā¦
Sleepy Donald Snoozes, America Loses | The Nation
Itās bedtime for Bozoāand you're paying the price.The Nation
"When Trump starts crashing out, When he starts getting mad, you know where he's going to go. He goes racist and he goes misogynist. Now, to set up this next clip that I'm going to play for you of Trump crashing out, because he's starting to feel the limits of his bucket list adventure that he's having."
~ Joy-Ann Reid
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia
/6
joyannreid.com/p/jasmines-runnā¦
Jasmineās Running! And Trump Is Crashing Out | The Joy Reid Show Live!
A recording from The Joy Reid Show's live videoThe Joy Reid Show (Welcome to Joy's House!)
Robert Reich's doctor tells him that, at nearly 80 years of age, he should be relaxing more. He replies,
ā'Iām sorry that Iām not going to take your advice,' I told her.
'Why not?' she asked, impatiently.
'Because Donald Trump is 10 days older than I am,' I almost shouted. 'And if he can cause this much mayhem every day, for this country and the world, the least I can do is cause a bit of good trouble for him.'ā
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia
/5
"Trump appears to be dazed and confused about the substantive aspects of the presidency, and has been for every day of his two terms. At this point, Trumpās only interest in the presidency is continuing the grift that is making his family obscenely wealthy by monetizing US relationships, prestige, and resources."
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia
/4
"On Wednesday, the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. When asked why the US seized the ship, Trump claimed there was 'a very good reason,' but did not appear to know what that reason was. When asked what would happen to the oil on the tanker, Trump replied, 'We keep it, I guess.'ā
~ Robert B. Hubbell
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia
/3
"At a time when Trump is pushing the country toward criminal wars of aggression and global pariah status abroad while simultaneously immiserating Americans at home with senseless and self-destructive economic policies, itās fair to wonder whether heās of sound mind and body. Thereās undeniable evidence that something is wrong. And if it wasnāt a big deal, youād think the White House would come forward with an explanation more plausible than what theyāve offered so far."
"The Epstein files and illegal boat strikes arenāt the only coverups taking place right now in the White House. Thereās also something clearly wrong with the presidentās health that the administration is trying to conceal from the public."
~ Aaron Rupar
#Trump #health #MentalDecline #dementia
/1
publicnotice.co/p/trump-hand-bā¦
A band-aid on a festering hand wound
Something's up with Trump's health and we should really find out what it is.Aaron Rupar (Public Notice)
"Trump and the oligarchs are killing corporate media. The oligarchs only care about money. The dictator only cares about power. They can make that arrangement work. ā¦
The oligarchs want political power to advantage their businesses. The autocrat wants key businesses to be controlled by allies in service of strengthening his regime."
~ Jonathan V. Last
#Trump #oligarchs #EconomicElites #TechBros #broligarchy #media
"Truth bomb moment: Republicans do not, and have never had, a healthcare plan. And now theyāre out of time. ā¦
The hard truth is this: Republicans are fully prepared to let the ACA subsidies expire and send healthcare soaring for everyone. Why? A solid number of them absolutely hate Obamacare, and they believe that making it unaffordable will ultimately kill it."
~ Jay Kuo
#Trump #Republicans #healthcare #ACA #EconomicElites #TaxCuts
/3
statuskuo.substack.com/p/stillā¦
Still Just Concepts of a Healthcare Plan
With the deadline looming to come up with a fix, the GOP comes up empty once again.Jay Kuo (The Status Kuo)
"Millions of people are now facing the prospects of drastically elevated premiums at a time when affordability concerns are already paramount. Itās also a calamity for Republicans politically, who are now set to be blamed for those skyrocketing premiums all while proving, yet again, that they are incapable of finding a health care plan that doesnāt ultimately make the system even worse and more chaotic."
#Trump #Republicans #healthcare #ACA #EconomicElites #TaxCuts
/2
"More than fifteen years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) into law, congressional Republicans are still squabbling with each other and struggling to put together a coherent replacement. And proving incapable of actually getting anything passed."
~ Joe Perticone
#Trump #Republicans #healthcare #ACA #EconomicElites #TaxCuts
/1
thebulwark.com/p/senate-house-ā¦
Concepts of Health Care Plans ā Humiliation Trying to Pass Them
They still havenāt figured out this health care thing. Donāt hold your breath.Joe Perticone (The Bulwark)
"The Danish Defense Intelligence Service released a new report that warns the United States can no longer be counted on not to use military force against its own allies.
'The United States uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to enforce its will, and no longer rules out the use of military force, even against allies,' the report said."
#Trump #Europe #NSS #tourists #travel #NATO
/9
morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.ā¦
Pam Bondi Is Low-Key Defying Federal Judges Over DQād US Attorneys
INSIDE: Alina Habba ... Lindsey Halligan ... Abrego GarciaDavid Kurtz (Morning Memo)
"Nobody is coming here. Canadian tourism to the US has gone down 18 percent, and those staying in the Western Hemisphere are going to South America, Central America, or the Caribbean instead. Europeans arenāt coming here. Asians are going to Europe. As of September, we were set to lose out on somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 billion in tourism bucks this year. ā¦
Shithole country status: activated."
#Trump #tourists #Europe #Asia #LatinAmerica
/8
~ Evan Hurst
wonkette.com/p/nobody-wants-toā¦
Nobody Wants To Come To Donald Trumpās Sh*thole Country
Not anybody who matters, anyway.Evan Hurst (Wonkette)
"In a notice published on Tuesday, the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said it would also require any telephone numbers used by visitors over the same period, and any email addresses used in the last decade, as well as face, fingerprint, DNA and iris biometrics. It would also ask for the names, addresses, birthdates and birthplaces of family members, including children."
#Trump #visas #tourists #FreeSpeech
/7
"Tourists to the United States would have to reveal their social media activity from the last five years, under new Trump administration plans.
The mandatory new disclosures would apply to the 42 countries whose nationals are currently permitted to enter the US without a visa, including longtime US allies Britain, France, Australia, Germany and Japan."
~ Chris Michael
#Trump #visas #tourists #FreeSpeech
/6
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dā¦
Tourists to US would have to reveal five years of social media activity under new Trump plan
Plan would apply to countries not currently required to get visas to the US, including Britain and FranceChris Michael (The Guardian)
"An official government webpage promises US residency 'in record time' with the new 'Trump Gold Card' ā once applicants have paid a $15,000 processing fee to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), passed a background check and paid up $1m."
#Trump #immigrants #visas
/5
"Donald Trump launched a new program that will allow wealthy foreign individuals to buy a US 'golden visa' for $1m, and trailed a 'platinum' version for $5m.
'A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,' Trump wrote on Wednesday on social media."
~ Marina Dunbar
#Trump #immigrants #visas
/4
theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dā¦
Trump launches $1m āgold cardā visa scheme amid immigration crackdown
Wealthy immigrants will be able to buy residency, and $5m āplatinum cardā will exempt holders from some US taxesMarina Dunbar (The Guardian)
"Per a draft for an action memo outlining options for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the administration is weighing a move to revoke the visas of Former European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton and Imran Ahmed, CEO and founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate."
#Trump #immigrants #visas #Europe #NSS #ElonMusk #FreeSpeech
/2
"Donald Trumpās administration is in high-level talks to revoke the visas of two European green card holders, according to documentation seen by Zeteo. Both are prominent critics of Twitter (also known as 'X'), the social media site owned by on-again-off-again Trump pal, Elon Musk."
~ Prem Thakker and Asawin Suebsaeng
#Trump #immigrants #visas #Europe #NSS #ElonMusk #FreeSpeech
/1
zeteo.com/p/trump-revoke-visasā¦
Trump May Revoke Visas of Critics of Elon Muskās Twitter
Donald Trump may try to revoke the visas of former European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton and Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.Prem Thakker (Zeteo)
Landry Ayres offers a "collection of clips on the White House's brutal boat strikesāand what they reveal about this president's governing ethos."
#Trump #Hegseth #WarCrimes #Murder #DoubleTap
/5
theunpopulist.net/p/the-trump-ā¦
The Trump Administrationās Killing Rampage on Open Seas: A Video Roundup
Our mid-December collection of clips on the White House's brutal boat strikesāand what they reveal about this president's governing ethosLandry Ayres (The UnPopulist)
"Hereās what weāve been reminded of by yesterdayās [seizure of a Venezuelan vessel]: The U.S. government has the ability to seize boats, sailors, and cargo without killing anyone. The Coast Guard does this routinely and has for years. The military is able to coordinate with and support law enforcement in such efforts. Steps can be taken ahead of time to ensure such efforts are legal."
~ William Kristol
#Trump #Hegseth #WarCrimes #Murder #DoubleTap
/4
thebulwark.com/p/the-caribbeanā¦
The Caribbean Killings Were Unnecessary. Trump Just Proved It.
If we can seize an oil tanker, why did eighty people have to die?William Kristol (The Bulwark)
"If Pete Hegseth believes the strike was lawful and necessary, why is he so afraid to let the country see the video? Until that question is answered, his refusal will worsen his standing, if that is even possible."
~ Mark Mansour
#Trump #Hegseth #WarCrimes #Murder #DoubleTap
/3
mmansour.substack.com/p/why-coā¦
Why Congress Must Compel Hegseth To Release The Entire Video
he is literally getting away with murderMark Mansour (Americaās Fractured Politics)
"Defense Department officials were keen to make sure survivors didnāt end up in a U.S. court where the administrationās insistence that the men were an immediate danger to the U.S. because they were trafficking drugs would come under legal scrutiny.
Shocked, lawyers for the State Department refused, and the two men were sent back to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador."
"Yesterday, Damien Cave, Edward Wong, and Maria Abi-Habib of the New York Times reported that lawyers for the Pentagon proposed sending two survivors from an October strike against a small boat in the Caribbean to the notorious CECOT terrorist prison in El Salvador, where prisoners previously rendered there reported widespread torture and abuse."
~ Heather Cox Richardson
#Trump #Hegseth #WarCrimes #Murder #DoubleTap
/1
heathercoxrichardson.substack.ā¦
December 10, 2025
Today is Human Rights Day, celebrated internationally in honor of the day seventy-seven years ago, December 10, 1948, when the United Nations General Assembly announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)
"You are locking up and deporting children with cancer, mothers with babies in the NICU. There are many problems with your leadership, but the biggest problem is this you donāt seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.ā
Then Noem ran out of the hearing claiming she had somewhere else to be.
#Trump #KristiNoem #DHS #immigrants
/2