As Pride Month kicks off, here’s five questions for extreme MAGA Republicans from the halls of Congress to the presidential campaign trail on just how far they’re willing to go to rip away freedoms from the LGBTQ+ community — and how they could double down if Trump retakes power.
1. Should every American have the freedom to marry who they love?
CNN: “Homosexuality was a frequent topic for Johnson, which he has called ‘inherently unnatural’ and a ‘dangerous lifestyle.’ In addition to suggesting he hopes the Supreme Court will reverse its decision allowing same-sex marriage, he also wrote in support of Texas’ anti-sodomy laws, which said gay men caught having sex could be fined.”
Project 2025, Trump’s second term policy playbook team, doesn’t think so, either.
PBS NewsHour: “And so, throughout this blueprint, there’s some pretty striking language where government — saying that government officials should only recognize marriages between a man and a woman and that a man and a woman are the ideal natural family structure.”
2. Should every American have the freedom to start a family, no matter who they love?
Trump’s Project 2025 cronies want to restrict access to IVF, ripping away LGBTQ+ couples’ freedom to start a family.
Politico: “Anti-abortion advocates worked for five decades to topple Roe v. Wade. They’re now laying the groundwork for a yearslong fight to curb in vitro fertilization. Since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children, the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups have been strategizing how to convince not just GOP officials but evangelicals broadly that they should have serious moral concerns about fertility treatments like IVF and that access to them should be curtailed.”
3. Do you believe all people, including LGBTQ+ people, should be afforded civil rights protections when it comes to their health care?
New York Times: “The Trump administration on Friday finalized a regulation that will erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies, a move announced on the four-year anniversary of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando and in the middle of Pride Month.”
All signs point to Trump doing the same if he retakes power.
Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership, pg. 475: “The redefinition of sex to cover gender identity and sexual orientation and pregnancy to cover abortion should be reversed in all HHS and CMS programs as was done under the Trump Administration.”
4. Do you believe every American who is able to serve our country in the military should be permitted to, including transgender people?
Trump banned transgender people from the military, which President Biden reversed as soon as he took office.
Project 2025 wants to bring the ban back if he gets a second term.
And Trump’s MAGA minions in the House are hellbent on ripping away care, too.
The 19th News: “Seven of the 12 appropriations bills include provisions to restrict federal funding for gender-affirming care — which would cut gender transition care for people who receive Medicare, Medicaid or a subsidized plan under the Affordable Care Act.”
As Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt head to Pennsylvania today to spin Donald Trump’s disastrous record that failed Black Americans, DNC Senior Spokesperson Marcus W. Robinson released the following statement:
“Today, Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt will continue their pathetic attempts to cover for Donald Trump’s broken promises and failed outreach to Black communities. As president, Trump gave handouts to the ultra-wealthy and tried to rip away health care and slash affordable housing programs — all at the expense of working-class Black Americans. Donalds’ and Hunt’s desperate lies might help them pass Trump’s extreme MAGA litmus test, but it won’t make up for his disastrous agenda to put Black Americans last.”
Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt are bending over backwards to defend Donald Trump’s disastrous record.
The Floridian: “House Republicans are heading to Philadelphia where they’ll attempt to sway Black voters with conservative principles over ‘cognac and cigars.’ As President Joe Biden (D) unleashes his Black Voters for Biden effort, Black Republicans are making the case for President Donald Trump (R). Though black voters still largely support the incumbent, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R) assures that ‘everything is in play.’”
Fox News: “Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is spearheading an initiative to recruit Black voters, particularly Black men…”
Washington Examiner: “Byron Donalds defends Trump’s comments about black voters”
NBC News: “Donald Trump took the stage here Friday night, surrounded by some of the nation’s most well-known Black conservatives, with a message: He can secure a historic share of the Black vote for Republicans…
“Trump was on stage with officials including Reps. Wesley Hunt of Texas and Byron Donalds of Florida, as well as Ben Carson, who led the Department of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term in office.”
Reality check: Trump’s tax handouts for the ultra-wealthy, attempts to repeal the ACA, and moves to gut affordable housing programs disproportionately left behind and threatened Black communities.
New York Times: “White Americans Gain the Most From Trump’s Tax Cuts, a Report Finds”
“As a result, the average tax cut going to a white American household is more than double one going to a black or Latino one.
“White Americans earn about 77 percent of total income in the United States, but they are getting nearly 80 percent of the benefits of the individual and business tax cuts generated by the new law, the analysis found. African Americans received about 5 percent of the benefits, despite earning 6 percent of the nation’s income.”
KFF: The number of uninsured Black Americans increased by nearly 300,000 during the first two years of Trump’s administration, which marked the first increase in the Black uninsured rate since 2013.
New York Times: “The Tax Break for Children, Except the Ones Who Need It Most”
“While Republicans say the increase shows concern for ordinary families, 35 percent of children fail to receive the full $2,000 because their parents earn too little, researchers at Columbia University found. A quarter get a partial sum and 10 percent get nothing. Among those excluded from the full credit are half of Latinos, 53 percent of [B]lacks and 70 percent of children with single mothers…
“By enriching the credit and including the affluent, the Trump expansion itself has brought attention to the poor children it excludes. While the 2017 law made millions of upper-income families eligible for the $2,000 credit (in part to offset the loss of other tax benefits), it gave a boost of just $75 to most full-time workers at the minimum wage.”
The Hill: “Overall, Trump’s budget would cut $8.6 billion from housing programs, a 15 percent reduction. Deeper cuts, to the tune of 43 percent, would hit public housing funds while also eliminating programs such as the National Housing Trust Fund, Home Investment Partnerships, Community Development Block Grant and Choice Neighborhoods.”
Bloomberg: “The Trump administration will introduce a new rule on Monday that may reshape the way the government enforces fair housing law, making it harder for people to bring forward discrimination complaints under the Fair Housing Act.”
Donalds and Hunt can’t change the fact that Trump and Republicans have scrapped minority outreach plans and shuttered community centers across the country.
NOTUS: “As the Biden campaign ramps up its efforts to shore up the Black vote, former President Donald Trump’s appeals to Black voters are still more about rhetoric than action.
“The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices in battleground states have mainly been closed since Trump’s team took over in the spring, and plans for reopening have yet to be announced…
“Trump and his allies have spoken plenty about Black voters but have yet to make heavy investments.”
Associated Press: “Five months before the first general election votes are cast, the former president’s campaign has little apparent organization to show for its ambitious plans. [Trump’s] campaign removed its point person for coalitions and has not announced a replacement. The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices across the country have been shuttered and replaced by businesses that include a check-cashing store, an ice cream shop and a sex-toy store.”
“In Michigan… [the RNC] has yet to set up any community centers for minority outreach.”
“Since taking over the RNC in the spring, however, Trump’s team has dramatically scaled back such [minority outreach] efforts.”
Newsweek: “Republican Outreach Center Shuts Down, Turns into Sex Shop”
The Nevada Independent: “GOP minority outreach centers in Nevada quietly shuttered after 2022 election cycle”
Copper Courier: “Republican outreach offices are still closed”
Following yesterday’s historic verdict in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, RFK Jr. wasted no time in parroting MAGA talking points. Joining with extreme GOP voices, RFK Jr. spent the evening sowing doubts about our criminal justice system and making excuses for Trump’s criminal behavior. His running mate, campaign manager, and the MAGA funded super PAC propping up his candidacy were quick to join the chorus.
In response, DNC Senior Advisor Mary Beth Cahill released the following statement:
“RFK Jr. was recruited to run by MAGA Republicans, is being propped up by Trump’s largest donor, and his own staff has said their goal is to hurt President Biden. Now, RFK Jr. is taking his spoiler candidacy a step further by proving himself to be Trump’s useful idiot. With no path to victory for himself, RFK Jr. is parroting MAGA talking points and carrying Trump’s water – further proving that he is in this race for one reason and one reason only: to throw the election to Donald Trump. There’s only one way to beat Donald Trump, and that’s by voting for Joe Biden.”
New polling from Navigator shows that the majority of Americans are taking Donald Trump’s threats for his dangerous second term agenda seriously — and they strongly disapprove of his extremism, from abortion to pushing pardons for insurrectionists. Let’s be clear: Americans overwhelmingly reject the extreme MAGA, anti-worker, anti-middle class policies of Trump and his MAGA minions. From banning abortion to ripping away affordable health care and rigging the economy against the middle class for the ultra-wealthy, MAGA Republicans’ extreme agenda is too dangerous and out of touch with what Americans want — and Republicans will pay for it at the ballot box this November.
NEW: The vast majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s MAGA minions in Congress who are too focused on pushing an extreme agenda and getting into drama to actually deliver for their constituents.
Navigator: “Congressional Republicans remain underwater in their job approval. Only one in three Americans approve of how Republicans in Congress are handling their jobs (33 percent approved – 61 percent disapprove).”
And vast majorities of Americans believe that Trump would follow through on the extreme MAGA policies he laid out in a TIME interview last month, where Trump doubled down on his extreme, dangerous, and deeply unpopular plans for a second term — from anti-abortion extremism to pardoning insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
Navigator: “At least three in five expect Trump to follow through on the things he said he would do in the TIME Magazine interview.
“More than three in five Americans find a number of former President Trump’s statements in his recent TIME Magazine article concerning, and similar or greater shares expect Trump to follow through on his comments in a second term.”
Interviewer: “So just to be clear, then: You won’t commit to vetoing the bill if there’s federal restrictions—federal abortion restrictions?”
Trump: “I won’t have to commit to it.”
[…]
Interviewer: “Would you veto [the Life at Conception Act]?”
Trump: “I don’t have to do anything about vetoes, because we now have it back in the states.”
TIME: “Trump also tells TIME he might pardon the more than 800 men and women charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, most of whom have pleaded guilty. The assault left more than 140 law enforcement officers injured and sent lawmakers into hiding. More than 120 people have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, and members of extremist groups were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
“Trump has sought to recast the insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. ‘I call them the J-6 patriots,’ Trump tells TIME. When asked whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says: ‘Yes, absolutely.’”
MAGA Congressional Republicans’ policy proposals are deeply unpopular with most Americans, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to push their plans through.
Bloomberg: “Republicans Call for Retirement Age Hike in Clash With Biden”
Bloomberg: “The conservative Republican Study Committee is out with a 2025 budget proposal to extend individual and corporate breaks from the 2017 Trump’ tax law.”
Rolling Stone: “House Republicans Endorse National Abortion Ban”
Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Semafor: “The House GOP Study Committee (largest House GOP bloc) released a budget endorsing the Life at Conception Act, which would provide 14th amendment legal protections at every stage of life. Amounts to near-total ban on abortions with no IVF exceptions”
Matthew Yglesias, Bloomberg: “They’re also backing a bill to ban mifepristone (again, something you could achieve through judicial or executive branch action as well)”
Axios: “RSC budget revives conservative health priorities”
“The health care section … calls for killing the Inflation Reduction Act and its drug price provisions. … It would remove many of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for pre-existing conditions.”
Daily Caller: “The RSC supports defunding the ‘red flag’ provisions from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, according to the budget proposal.”
Thanks to the MAGA House GOP, the 118th Congress is on track to be one of the most unproductive in American history.
NBC News: “When Congress began the new year, Rep. Andy Biggs gave a television interview and made a startling confession: House Republicans have done nothing they can run on.
“‘We have nothing. In my opinion, we have nothing to go out there and campaign on,’ the Arizona Republican said on the conservative network Newsmax. ‘It’s embarrassing.’
“Anchor Chris Salcedo responded with a bemused chuckle. ‘I know,’ he said. ‘The Republican Party in the Congress majority has zero accomplishments.’
“The exchange captured a dynamic that looms over Republican lawmakers heading into the 2024 election: They’ve passed little substantive legislation since winning the majority in 2022 and struggled to do the basics of governing with a Democratic-led Senate. Their first year was instead marked by fractiousness and chaos, complicating the party’s pitch to voters this fall. The challenge is accentuated by likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump making ‘retribution’ against his enemies, rather than shared policy goals, the centerpiece of his comeback bid as he continues to spread fabricated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.”
ABC News: “The 118th Congress is on track to being one of the least functional sessions ever, with only 34 bills passed since January of last year, the lowest number of bills passed in the first year of a congressional session since the Great Depression, according to congressional records.”
In response to Donald Trump and his Project 2025 allies plotting to gut access to contraceptives nationwide, DNC Spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement:
“Every day, Donald Trump and his Project 2025 allies take their plans to restrict access to contraception further. With Trump’s blessing, Project 2025 is creating an extreme and dystopian blueprint to ban abortion, gut access to contraception and IVF, and surveil women’s pregnancies if Trump gets back into office. Trump and his MAGA minions are telling us exactly how far they’ll go in implementing their dangerous anti-choice agenda if given the chance — and Americans should believe them.”
NEW: Donald Trump and his extremist Project 2025 allies are plotting to gut access to contraceptives.
Politico: “As president, Trump enacted several policies that made it more difficult for people, particularly the working class and the poor, to obtain contraception — from allowing more employers to opt out of birth control coverage in their workers’ health insurance to imposing restrictions on the Title X family planning program that triggered a mass exodus of clinics.
“Conservative allies want to reimpose those policies and go further if he wins in November. Their “Project 2025” blueprint includes proposals to require coverage of natural family planning methods and remove requirements that insurance cover certain emergency contraception.
“Taken together, the policies highlight the many ways a second Trump administration could hamper access to contraception, short of a blanket ban. The impact would also be much greater now that roughly one-third of states prohibit nearly all abortions…
“As part of their 2025 wish list, conservatives want to overhaul which forms of birth control insurance companies must cover for patients at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. For instance, they have drafted plans to allow insurers to drop coverage of emergency contraception, such as Plan B pills, which some on the right believe are abortifacients because they make it harder for fertilized eggs to implant in the uterus…
“During Trump’s four years in office, his administration slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which has allowed at least 58 million women to access birth control with no out-of-pocket costs.
“Federal health officials in Trump’s administration also issued rules allowing virtually any employer to refuse to cover contraception in their health plans, a policy supporters of the former president hope will be restored in 2025.
“The administration’s biggest impact on contraception access came from its overhaul of the federal Title X program, which provides free and subsidized birth control, STD screenings and other services to millions of low-income people.
Trump recently left the door open for restricting access to contraceptives like Plan B.
Interviewer: “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?
Trump: “We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting.”
Interviewer: “That suggests that you may want to support some restrictions? Like the morning after pill?
Trump: “You know, things really do have a lot to do with the states. And some states are going to have different policies than others.”
Trump and Project 2025 are collaborating to push an extreme anti-choice agenda to ban abortion nationwide, restrict IVF and contraception access, and allow states to monitor women’s pregnancies.
Rolling Stone: “Inside the MAGA Plan to Attack Birth Control, Surveil Women and Ban the Abortion Pill”
“The attacks on mifepristone and resurrection of Comstock stand out as particularly harmful proposals, but they are only two of the dozens of ways the Republicans behind Project 2025 envision restricting access to abortion and contraception if they win the White House next year. Elsewhere in the document, there are proposals to eliminate the morning-after pill from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate under the rationale that it is a ‘potential abortifacient.’”
Heritage Foundation: “Conservatives have to lead the way in … ending … senseless use of birth control pills.”
The Hill: “Trump: It’s up to states to monitor pregnancies, prosecute abortions”
Politico: “Organizations including Heritage, former Vice President Mike Pence’s group Advancing American Freedom, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s public advocacy-focused Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission have worked behind the scenes over the last few weeks to distribute talking points, circulate policy recommendations and educate Republican officials and their staff about their ethical concerns with how IVF is commonly practiced in the United States.”
Axios: “This is undeniably a Trump-driven operation. The biggest tell: Johnny McEntee — one of Trump’s closest White House aides, and his most fervent internal loyalty enforcer — is a senior adviser to Project 2025. One of the most powerful architects is Stephen Miller, a top West Wing adviser for the Trump administration.”
Politico: “On Tuesday, the Trump campaign sent a letter to pro-Trump, external organizations asking them to attend an ‘entirely off-the-record, private,’ and ‘invite-only’ meeting with senior campaign officials, according to a copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO. The sit-down, which the letter describes as a ‘meeting of the political minds,’ is aimed at discussing ‘collaborat[ion]’ and ‘priorities and plans’ for the general election. […]
“By holding the meeting, the Trump operation and the third-party entities could conceivably get on the same page about their plans. Two people familiar with the planning for the event said Heritage Action and Turning Point Action were among the pro-Trump groups invited.”
Politico: “Many of the authors of the blueprint are former Trump officials, and the Heritage Foundation has spent the past year-plus recruiting people to implement the plans within the administration, Scott said.
“‘So they don’t just have a long, sprawling policy document,’ he said, ‘they also have a growing list of staff who are being tested to see if they are loyal to Trump and if they are willing to administer this in his potential administration.’
New York Times: “Roberts told me that he views Heritage’s role today as ‘institutionalizing Trumpism.’ This includes leading Project 2025, a transition blueprint that outlines a plan to consolidate power in the executive branch, dismantle federal agencies and recruit and vet government employees to free the next Republican president from a system that Roberts views as stacked against conservative power. The lesson of Trump’s first year in office, Roberts told me, is that ‘the Trump administration… simply got a slow start. And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated.’”
As Donald Trump’s VP contenders support MAGA Republicans’ efforts to double down on Trump’s failed MAGAnomics tax scam, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are pushing to once again rig the economy for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations, and Trump’s VP contenders are all shamelessly lining up to support his failed MAGAnomics agenda that puts hardworking Americans last. Trump’s potential running mates have rushed to praise his disastrous and unpopular tax scam that allowed billionaires to pay less in taxes than the middle class for the first time ever, created new incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas, and caused the deficit to skyrocket. It’s a losing playbook that hardworking families cannot afford, and they’ll reject it again this November.”
NEW: Donald Trump’s MAGA allies are planning to fast-track an extension of Trump’s disastrous tax scam that rigged the economy for the ultra-wealthy while leaving the middle class behind.
The Hill: “Republicans are getting ready to fast-track the extension of the Trump tax cuts through the reconciliation process if they win big in November. Nearly seven years after the GOP used budget reconciliation to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the party is gearing up to use the same maneuver to renew key provisions set to expire in 2026…
“[Trump’s tax cuts] did not add substantially to economic growth. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated gross domestic product (GDP) expansion due to the law of 0.3 percent in 2018 and 0.6 percent in 2019 before the economic policies of the pandemic made its continued effects too difficult to measure accurately.
“The law also did not affect compensation levels for regular people… The CBO projected this month that extending the law through 2034 would cost $4.6 trillion, a substantial increase to the deficit after it already ballooned to new highs at more than 120 percent of GDP in the aftermath of the pandemic.”
Trump’s VP contenders have praised his MAGAnomics tax scam and supported Trump’s push to make it permanent.
Tim Scott: “We make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax cuts permanent.”
Doug Burgum: “I believe in these economic policies, I believe the tax bill is a great thing.”
Marco Rubio: “Overall, the Republican tax-cut bill has been good for Americans. That is why I voted for it.”
Tom Cotton: “Trump’s tax cuts helped deliver the strongest economy in recent history.”
CNBC: “Ben Carson leads prayer for tax cuts at Trump Cabinet meeting”
KOTA: “Republicans are calling President Trump’s tax plan the biggest tax overhaul in history. … Representative Kris[ti] Noem was a big part in pushing this bill.”
Fox Business: “Trump’s tax policies have worked out for all of America: Rep. Byron Donalds”
Vivek Ramaswamy on a suggestion to make permanent or expand the Trump tax cuts: “I’d go a little further, Larry, than that, to be honest with you.”
Alabama Political Reporter: “Katie Britt on Monday released a memo with her policy positions … [including] a bill to make permanent the individual tax cuts and extend the expanded standard deduction contained in President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. … a pro-growth tax reform bill reducing business tax rates, repealing the Death Tax, and making the expensing of capital assets permanent. … a bill to repeal the state and local tax deduction.”
Wesley Hunt: “I supported the 2017 Tax Reform bill.”
Trump is doubling down on his failed MAGAnomics agenda that puts billionaires and big corporations ahead of hardworking Americans.
Trump: “You’re all people that have a lot of money. … You’re rich as hell. … We’re gonna give you tax cuts.”
Trump: “I will never let the Trump tax cuts … I will never let them be taken away.”
Trump on whether his second term tax policies would echo those of his first term: “Yes, and I’d do even more taxes.”
Bloomberg: “[Trump] intends to center his economic plans on extending and deepening the Republican tax cuts from 2017.”
Vanity Fair: “Donald Trump Wants to Give His Favorite Corporations Another Giant Tax Cut in a Second Term”
Washington Post: “The former president’s closest economic advisers are plotting an aggressive new set of tax cuts to push on the campaign trail and from the Oval Office if he wins a second term. Trump and his advisers have discussed deeper cuts to both individual and corporate tax rates that would build on his controversial 2017 tax law … Trump’s advisers, though, have discussed proposals to make deeper cuts to the overall corporate tax rate, potentially to as low as 15 percent, or to use the revenue from the proposed tariffs to pay a dividend to U.S. households. Further cutting corporate taxes … would primarily benefit large firms.”
Bloomberg: “The conservative Republican Study Committee is out with a 2025 budget proposal to extend individual and corporate breaks from the 2017 Trump’ tax law.”
REMINDER: Trump’s tax scam gave massive handouts to the ultra-wealthy at the expense of working families and created new incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas.
Forbes: “Trump Tax Cuts Helped Billionaires Pay Less Taxes Than The Working Class In 2018”
Washington Post: “For the first time in history, U.S. billionaires paid a lower tax rate than the working class last year”
CBS News: “Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind”
The Guardian: “They were billed as a ‘middle-class miracle’ but according to a new book Donald Trump’s $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history.”
Washington Post Analysis: “One of President Donald Trump’s lesser-known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office…
“The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.”
Politico: “The nation’s fiscal outlook looks ever bleaker, thanks in part to deficit spending during President Donald Trump’s first term, Congress’ nonpartisan budget scorekeeper projected Tuesday.”
Washington Post: “Trump promised ‘America First’ would keep jobs here. But the tax plan might push them overseas.”
Trump owns the worst jobs record in modern American history.
Fortune: “Trump to leave office with the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover”
Washington Post: “President Trump took office at the crest of the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. He leaves presiding over the worst labor market in modern U.S. history, as an already-sputtering economic recovery has turned negative.”
Bloomberg: “Trump’s Jobs Record Fell Short of Promises Even Before the Virus”
As Donald Trump’s veepstakes contenders continue to stand by Trump, who has a disastrous record of failing and insulting veterans, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“When Donald Trump insulted veterans as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ tried to gut funding for disabled veterans, and left the Department of Veterans Affairs in turmoil, the MAGA minions vying to be his vice president shamelessly defended him. And when President Biden worked to deliver for veterans through the bipartisan PACT Act, Trump’s VP contenders tried to block it, bending over backwards to do Trump’s bidding at the expense of our service members. Trump and MAGA Republicans’ horrendous record of failing and disrespecting veterans will be remembered by the American people when they cast their vote in November.”
After Donald Trump called veterans “suckers” and “losers,” his MAGA minions rushed to his defense and denied the reporting.
Axios: “Former President Trump didn’t want to visit a cemetery near Paris for Americans who fought and died in World War I because it was filled with ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff, said in a statement to CNN on Monday.”
The Atlantic: “Trump said, ‘Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.’ In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as ‘suckers’ for getting killed.”
Spectrum News: “Sarah Sanders Denies Report That Trump Called Military Members ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’”
Politico: “‘I’ve never heard the president use the language that assertedly is said in that article, about him calling military suckers and losers,’ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News.”
WWNY: “The Stefanik campaign statement attacked The Atlantic’s article as ‘false reporting and yet another desperate smear from the media lying and tearing down President Trump.’”
West River Eagle: “Members of the South Dakota Congressional Delegation, including staunch Trump-ally, Governor Noem, have remained silent on the matter, resulting in criticism from South Dakota District 15 Senator Reynold Nesiba.”
VP contenders in the Senate delayed passage of the bipartisan PACT Act, a law that expanded VA health care and benefits for millions of veterans exposed to burn pits.
The Post and Courier: “Burn pits bill stalls in Senate as Tim Scott joins surprise effort to block it”
NPR: “The Senate finally was poised to pass a bill that would provide health care and benefits for millions of veterans injured by exposure to toxins, from Agent Orange in Vietnam to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, in a surprise move, 25 Republican senators blocked the measure on Wednesday — even though they had voted in favor of it just one month earlier…But those same spending concerns didn’t seem to pose an initial concern for the more than two dozen Republicans who voted for it last month only to abruptly change their stance. They are: Sens. John Barrasso, Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, Mike Braun, Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton.”
WBIR: “A vote that would have allowed a bill to continue through the legislative process failed in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. Senators mostly voted along party lines, with most Republicans voting to continue discussions on the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022. Senator Marsha Blackburn and SenatorBill Hagerty both voted against the cloture motion, for now preventing the bill from advancing through the Senate and ensuring debate continues on it.”
REMINDER: Trump has repeatedly disrespected and hurled insults at veterans.
Washington Post: “They stunned nearly everyone in the room, and some vowed that they would never repeat them. Indeed, they have not been reported until now. ‘I wouldn’t go to war with you people,’ Trump told the assembled brass. Addressing the room, the commander in chief barked, ‘You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.’”
Washington Post: “Trump unleashed his disdain, calling Afghanistan a ‘loser war.’ That phrase hung in the air and disgusted not only the military leaders at the table but also the men and women in uniform sitting along the back wall behind their principals. They all were sworn to obey their commander in chief’s commands, and here he was calling the war they had been fighting a loser war. ‘You’re all losers,’ Trump said. ‘You don’t know how to win anymore.’”
The Hill: “President Trump on Wednesday minimized the injuries of several U.S. service members who suffered concussions during an Iranian missile attack on two Iraqi bases that house American personnel.”
NBC News: “Trump asks about whereabouts of Nikki Haley’s husband, who’s serving overseas”
As president, Trump proposed slashing funds for elderly veterans, railed against the G.I. Bill, and left the Department of Veterans Affairs in turmoil after putting his MAGA allies at the helm.
ProPublica: “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans’ Medical Records”
“Former President Donald Trump empowered associates from his private club to pursue a plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs to monetize patient data, according to documents newly released by congressional investigators. As ProPublica first reported in 2018, a trio based at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort weighed in on policy and personnel decisions for the federal government’s second-largest agency, despite lacking any experience in the U.S. government or military. While previous reporting showed the trio had a hand in budgeting and contracting, their interest in turning patient data into a revenue stream was not previously known. The VA provides medical care to more than 9 million veterans at more than 1,000 facilities across the country.”
Military Times: “Trump’s ‘Mar-a-Lago Three’ had unusual, improper access on vets policy issues, VA now says”
ProPublica: “The Mar-a-Lago Crowd spoke with VA officials daily, the documents show, reviewing all manner of policy and personnel decisions. They prodded the VA to start new programs, and officials traveled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense to hear their views. ‘Everyone has to go down and kiss the ring,’ a former administration official said.”
Military.com: “Elderly Vets Could Face Benefits Cut Under Trump Budget”
“Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin defended Wednesday a proposal in President Donald Trump’s federal budget plan that would cut a benefit paying thousands of dollars annually to disabled elderly veterans.”
Chris Cuomo, CNN: “So is that a yes, ‘I do support the current G.I. Bill?’” Trump: “No.”
In honor of Memorial Day, DNC Deputy National Press Secretary Nina Raneses released the following statement:
“Every day, but especially today, President Biden and Democrats across the country honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. The Biden-Harris administration is supporting veterans and their families through the historic PACT Act, which has now helped over 880,000 veterans nationwide receive the care and services they deserve. President Biden has worked tirelessly to address veteran homelessness, improve access to child care and long-term care for our service members, and champion education and workforce opportunities for veterans and their families, unlike Trump, who repeatedly failed veterans and insulted fallen soldiers. President Biden and Democrats remain dedicated to providing support for those who have sacrificed their lives in service to our country as well as their loved ones — this is the respect they deserve for their service; not to be insulted by the commander in chief.”
Thanks to President Biden’s PACT Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs granted 1 million benefits claims to veterans and survivors, helping them to receive new benefits they deserve.
Associated Press: “About 111,000 veterans who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in VA health care since the law was enacted. In addition, more than 4.1 million veterans have completed toxic screenings, which are questionnaires to analyze their potential exposure and determine whether additional tests are required.”
NBC News: “According to the White House, 888,000 veterans have already received a combined $5.7 million in benefits under the PACT Act.”
The Hill: “The PACT Act is having a big effect across the VA. More than 440,000 veterans enrolled into VA health care last year, a 30 percent increase year-over-year. The VA has expanded its staff to meet the demand.
“‘The bottom line here is we are bringing more veterans in,’ the official said. ‘We are getting them the care that they deserve. And they’re currently reporting trust levels in the outpatient arena — nearly 92 percent, which is the highest ever.’”
The Biden administration has taken historic measures to expand services for veterans and their families.
White House Fact Sheet:“As part of the White House Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, VA announced it will establish an Office of Food Security to help tackle food insecurity among veterans, expand the clinical nutrition services it provides to veterans receiving VA health care, and pilot produce prescription programs, food pantries, and mobile food pantries to meet the needs of veterans.”
White House Fact Sheet: “Under the leadership of First Lady Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, the Hidden Helper Coalition supports the more than 2.3 million children and youth living with and serving wounded, ill, or injured service members and veterans.”
Associated Press: “Jill Biden honors kids of injured troops as ‘hidden heroes’”
White House Fact Sheet: “Thanks to efforts by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, and VA, as well as historic investments from the President’s American Rescue Plan, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined by 11% between 2020 and 2022 – the largest decline in the last five years – and our nation is on track to permanently house 38,000 veterans in 2022 alone. To further this progress, last month, VA awarded $130 million to support programs to help veterans and their families find stable housing.”
VA News: “How the American Rescue Plan aids VA in helping Veterans”
MAGA Republicans voted to BLOCK the PACT Act and other legislation created to support veterans and their families.
NPR: “The Senate passed a bill to help sick veterans. Then 25 Republicans reversed course”
“Tom Porter, the executive vice president for government affairs at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, noted that many of the 25 senators issued press releases touting their earlier votes in support of veterans, only to turn their backs on them.”
Business Insider: “President Joe Biden — who has blamed burn pit exposure for his late son Beau’s brain cancer — urged Congress to pass the bill during his first State of the Union address in 2022. The initial version of the legislation later passed the House in March 2022, and then a Senate-amended version passed the House again in July 2022.
“In both instances, Schweikert was among the Republicans who voted against the bill. Biden later signed the bill into law on August 10, 2022. Insider reached out to Schweikert’s office for comment on why he did not support the bill, but did not receive a response. According to the US Census, more than 41,000 veterans live in Schweikert’s Scottsdale-area district. It’s the latest example of Republican lawmakers touting programs created by legislation that they voted against.”
Military.com: “Here’s How New House Speaker Mike Johnson Voted on Veteran and Military Issues”
“On veterans issues, last year he voted against the PACT Act, considered the biggest increase of veterans benefits in a generation that expanded benefits and health care for those exposed to toxic substances during their military service.
“Johnson also voted against a year-end package of smaller veterans and military family measures last year. Among other provisions, the bill mandated that states recognize service members and spouses’ valid professional licenses from other states and ensured veterans won’t lose GI Bill benefits if schools have to close in a future emergency like they did for the COVID-19 pandemic.”
HuffPost:“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was captured on video Thursday fist-bumping Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) shortly after Republicans managed to block the PACT Act, which would allow soldiers, sailors and airmen exposed to pits of smoldering waste in combat zones to be covered by the Veterans Affairs health care system for linked illnesses. Many are suffering from cancer.”
Trump repeatedly bashed veterans, calling fallen soldiers “suckers” and “losers.”
Axios: “Former President Trump didn’t want to visit a cemetery near Paris for Americans who fought and died in World War I because it was filled with ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff, said in a statement to CNN on Monday.”
MSNBC: “In a 2020 report for The Atlantic, Goldberg quoted sources who said that, while planning a 2018 military parade, Trump wanted wounded veterans excluded because ‘Nobody wants to see that.’ Goldberg also reported that Trump’s decision not to visit American military interred in a French cemetery in 2018 wasn’t because the rain made it unsafe to fly, as Trump claimed, but because the cemetery was ‘filled with losers.’”
CNN Politics: “‘Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.’ During that same trip to France, the article reported, Trump said the 1,800 US Marines killed in the Belleau Wood were ‘suckers’ for getting killed.”
Trump appointed Mar-a-Lago associates who wanted to profit off of veterans, lining their own pockets over the needs of those who served our country.
The Hill: “Like other aspects of the Trump administration, the VA has been plagued with unnecessary instability caused by reactive personnel changes based largely on perceptions of loyalty related to Trump and his inner circle.”
ProPublica: “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans’ Medical Records”
“Former President Donald Trump empowered associates from his private club to pursue a plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs to monetize patient data, according to documents newly released by congressional investigators.”
Business Insider: “Three associates of former President Donald Trump worked to persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs to sell veterans’ medical records for profit, according to emails released Monday by US lawmakers.”
Today, in response to RFK Jr. receiving less than 3% of the vote during the Libertarian Convention presidential nominating process, DNC Spokesperson Matt Corridoni released the following statement:
“RFK Jr.’s pathetic performance further demonstrates what we already know to be true: he has no real grassroots energy or support. It’s no wonder he sought out a running mate who could bankroll his campaign and buy ballot access. RFK Jr. has no path to victory — he’s just a spoiler for Donald Trump.”
In a newsy new interview with Brian Tyler Cohen, RFK Jr. for the first time committed to releasing his medical records. This commitment comes on the heels of a New York Times story that revealed a parasite had eaten part of RFK Jr.’s brain and that he suffered cognitive damage from years of mercury poisoning. RFK Jr. also for the first time discussed having talked with Timothy Mellon- his largest donor that he shares with Donald Trump- and spoke to why he’s backing his spoiler candidacy.
Elsewhere in the interview, RFK Jr. stumbled on questions about his abortion stance and false claim that many women seek elective abortions in the 8th and 9th months of pregnancy. He struggled to articulate a credible path to victory. And, like Donald Trump, he committed to pulling federal funding from schools that implement vaccine mandates.
Key excerpts are below.
KEY EXCERPTS:
On Releasing His Medical Records:
[22:34:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Well, you know, President Biden obviously released his medical records when when Donald Trump was president, he released his as well. Would you release your medical records to give the American public a full look at any cognitive problems?”
RFK JR.: “Yeah, sure I will. I’m happy to give my medical records to the same extent that the other candidates did.”
[22:47:00]
On Agreeing with Trump to Punish Schools that Require Vaccines:
[27:34:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Donald Trump has come out and said that he wouldn’t he wouldn’t fund schools that that mandated certain vaccines. Do you agree with that decision?”
RFK JR.: “Yeah I do.”
[27:41:00]
On Disparity in Polling Compared to Other Candidates:
[1:10:00- 2:04:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Well, let’s talk about the presidential run more broadly. Nationally, you are based on an aggregate of polling according to Decision Desk HQ. You’re at about 8.5% right now, down from 19% in September. In Texas, it looks like just below 10% right now, down from 12%. In Florida you’re at about 7.5%, down from 11%. Nevada, you’re at 9% down from 11. And in Michigan, you’re at about 8%, down from 26%. So what’s the path to victory here?”
RFK JR.: “Yeah. You know, we don’t, um, believe those polling results. And there’s actually, uh, a very good article in The Hill today that talks about how the polling companies, the polling establishments, have changed their methodologies to ask questions in a way that makes — that dampens our poll results.”
On His Path to Victory:
[03:51:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: Because obviously, if you are looking to actually win this presidential election, you need the support. You need to win one of at least the big states. You need to win California, Texas, Florida. Do you think that you have a path to victory to to win one of the states? Because right now, I mean, I’m looking at the polling. You’re you’re at roughly around 10% in Texas. Trump is at 46, Biden’s at 36. California, Biden’s at 48, Trump’s at 30, you’re at eight. Florida, Trump’s at 47, Biden’s at 38, you’re at seven and a half. So even if the methodology isn’t to your liking, I mean, there’s a massive disparity here between you and the other two candidates.”
RFK JR.: “Oh, again, you’re reading from a methodology that is not correct. If you look at my polling firm and you assume it’s 17 or 18%, I’m five and a half months out, all I have to do is get the 34% to win. So I’m thinking all I have to do is take a few points away from both the other candidates.”
[4:49:00]
On Dropping out of the Race if There’s No Path to Victory:
[07:18:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “But if he, but if he doesn’t sign the pledge and you don’t see a path to victory —”
RFK JR.: “Of course I’m not going to drop out if he doesn’t sign the pledge. You know, I’m more likely — he cannot beat President Trump. I can beat President Trump. I’m not a spoiler. If you — the spoiler is somebody who cannot win and who is going to disrupt the expectation of somebody who can.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “And with all due respect, I mean, there’s not a single there’s not a single national poll from any pollster — I know that you I know that you take issue with, with their methodology, but there’s not a single poll from a national poll, pollster that exists, that shows you even within, within striking distance. I mean, in most of these polls, even ones that are that, that aren’t friendly toward President Biden, I mean, there’s still a five-time disparity between you and him.”
RFK JR.: “Uh, well, you’re wrong about that.”
[07:41:00]
On Trump’s Largest Donor, Timothy Mellon, Being His Largest Donor:
[09:24:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “If he’s giving $25 million to Trump and to you, and this is a Trump-aligned donor and he’s your biggest donor to two superPACs right now, do you do you have any relationship with this person? Do you know why he’s giving you this massive amount of money? Because clearly this is having his support behind you. If he’s also supporting Trump at the same time.”
RFK JR.: “You would have to ask Timothy Mellon that with the superPAC, I’m not allowed to coordinate at all with the superPAC.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “But have you have had a relationship with him.?”
RFK Jr.: “With Tim Mellon. I met Tim Mellon twice.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Okay. And, and that was enough to — there’s, there’s no other inclination as to why he’s donating?”
RFK JR.: “I welcome money from everybody.”
[10:55:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “I think the point is obvious just from a layman’s perspective. If you have a Trump donor who’s also propping up the superPAC affiliated with you, that it would suggest that that person wants you on the ballot because he would perceive it as deriving benefit for Donald Trump.”
RFK JR.: “Well, that is what you say, I don’t think that is obvious. [CROSSTALK] Here’s what, here’s what I believe from talking to Tim Mellon. I think Tim Mellon would prefer me to be president of the United States because, he thinks that I would make a better president and that if he, if I’m not going to be president, that he would prefer President Trump to President Biden.”
[11:33:00]
On Abortion:
[16:30:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “In a recent podcast, I believe it was a week ago, uh, with Matt and Shane, you said that you support these restrictions because you learned of women having and this is a quote, ‘a huge amount of abortions up until you know what it would be at the late term.’ So days before birth. And this is a point that a lot of anti-choice Republicans make, but none of them have been able to substantiate it. So, my question is, what’s the proof here? Like, do you think that women who are in good health with healthy pregnancies are just walking into doctor’s offices asking for abortions two days before birth?”
RFK JR. “Yeah, my assumption was that that was not true, and that’s why I changed my position. My original position was that it should be a woman’s choice right up until the ninth month. And my assumption was that, um, that no woman is going to carry a baby for nine months and then get an abortion, unless there are extenuating circumstances.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “And you don’t believe that, and you don’t believe that.”
RFK JR.: “I mean, you want me to finish.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Yes.”
RFK JR.: “All right. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, for example, that the baby had a disease that would ensure that the baby would only live a couple of hours, or maybe a couple of weeks in agonizing pain, or if the mother’s, uh, life was at risk. And in those cases, the last thing that you would want is a bureaucrat or state government to come in and, and mess with that decision. What I learned was that, there are a tremendous number of elective abortions at the last stage, and I can’t tell you why that happens. But all I can tell you is the data that we’re looking at that was shown to me indicates that that is true. And therefore, you know, I changed my position, which I always say to people, I will never change the position because people are angry at me, or because people defame me. The one thing that will cause me to change my position is facts that show that my worldview does not account for, and my policies do not account for, the reality.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “Well, you know, on that point, I mean, do you know what percent of women are getting abortions after 21 weeks? And this isn’t a gotcha.”
RFK JR.: “I don’t know the exact percentage.”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “So the exact percentage is 0.9% of these of women who are getting abortions after 21 weeks. So a minuscule number of percentage of women, it’s 99.1% of women who are not. The most recent study from 2022 —”
RFK JR.: “And what percentage of those are elective abortions?”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “So the most recent study from 2022 of patients seeking these late term abortions found they fell into two buckets. It was either fetal anomalies or health risks to the mother or women who didn’t know they were pregnant. And then the other bucket is women who experience barriers to abortion services earlier in the pregnancy. So, the question then becomes, when you say that there are a huge amount of abortions that would necessitate some federal intervention. Where is the proof of that?”
RFK JR.: “Well, you know, I would have to look at the data again, which I’m happy to do. Um, but the data that we were shown was that there were, were a large number of abortions that were elective in the end, at the end of pregnancy. So, if there, you know, if there are any abortions at that point, it’s wrong. You know, it’s viable child at nine months. And, you know, let’s say nine months and one day should you be able to abort? I mean, do you think you should be able to abort a perfectly healthy child at nine months?”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “But there’s no evidence that women are doing that. That’s, that’s, that’s the whole basis for what I’m asking. When you impose federal interventions against women who, you know, the, the, um, the data show are dealing with fetal anomalies —” [CROSSTALK] “No government bureaucrat should be litigating that. That’s a decision between a woman and her doctor because these issues are personal.”
RFK JR.: “And so — here’s what should make you happy, is that the only abortions that I would limit at that time would be elective abortions. I would not abort — if there was a medical reason for the abortion. I don’t think it should be — I think that should be between the mother and the doctor. If there’s a lot and, you know, those would be, uh, regulated by the state if there are only 1 or 2 then those are the ones that would be regulated.”
On the Safety of the COVID-19 Vaccine:
[29:57:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “I think, I mean, I think I don’t have the numbers right in front of me, but the numbers are pretty clear in terms of the efficacy and the safety of this Covid vaccine. And it was it was it was it was it was used on the biggest, on the largest scale of any vaccine in America in the history of the world. And again, those numbers are pretty, pretty clear in terms of the efficacy of this vaccine, in terms of the number of hospitalizations and deaths for people who didn’t get the vaccine versus those who did get the vaccine.”
RFK JR.: “Okay, Brian, you know what? You’re, you’re talking about data that does not exist.”
[36:21:00]
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “So I have something here from the CDC. Vaccinated Americans are up to 14 times less likely to die from Covid. That was from the CDC and May 23rd.”
RFK Jr.: “Right. And, you know, those studies that CDC cranks out are modeling studies. They’re not data studies. They’re not they’re not observational studies. They’re not epidemiological studies. They’re studies that show that and start out with the premise, we think this is how many people are saved by the vaccine and they model that. But there’s no there’s no actual real world data. And they use that to hoodwink you, Brian. That’s how they hoodwinked the American press. They use these phony studies done by biostitutes, which are these emergent, you know, mercenary scientists, who you know what they say —”
BRIAN TYLER COHEN: “There’s there are a ton of there is a ton of, uh, data out there that shows from people who owe their who owe their lives to the fact that they were able to get that they were able to get vaccines. You have people who weren’t —”
RFK JR.: “How can you do that study? Explain to me how you do that study. How do you do a study when somebody says, oh, I got the vaccine, therefore I’m alive today. That’s not science. There’s plenty of people like me who didn’t get it and are alive today. Should I say that? I didn’t get it because I’m alive today. Because I didn’t get it.”
