"Donald Trump’s introduction of his long-threatened 25 percent trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada has caused global stock markets to drop sharply, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all falling."

~ Oliver O'Connell, Joe Sommerlad, Ariana Baio

#Musk #Trump #Putin #StockMarket #economy #Dow #Nasdaq #SandP #tariffs #recession
/3

the-independent.com/news/world…

Trump speech live updates: President unveils surprise terror arrest as he doubles down on tariffs and DOGE cuts

President delivering address to joint session of Congress

^{Oliver O'Connell (The Independent)}

"Also today, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecast a dramatic contraction in the economy in the first quarter of 2025. Evaluating current data according to a mathematical model, it moved from an expected 2.9% growth in gross domestic product at the end of January to –2.8% today."

#Musk #Trump #Putin #StockMarket #economy #Dow #Nasdaq #SandP #tariffs #recession
/2

"Today, the stock market dropped dramatically upon news that Trump intended to go through with his tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 650 points, down 1.48%. The S&P fell 1.76%, and the Nasdaq Composite, which focuses on technology stocks, fell 2.64%."

~ Heather Cox Richardson

#Musk #Trump #Putin #StockMarket #economy #Dow #Nasdaq #SandP #tariffs #recession
/1

heathercoxrichardson.substack.…

March 3, 2025

As seemed evident even at the time, the ambush of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday was a setup to provide justification for cutting off congressionally approved aid to Ukraine as it tries to fight off Russia’s invasio…

^{Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American)}

#Trump outlined a vision of American #expansionism: building up our naval capacity, reclaiming the #PanamaCanal, & pledging to “get” #Greenland, “one way or another.”

He didn’t mention his aim to make #Canada the 51st state. But that may be because he doesn’t want to get into the horribly idiotic & disastrous #tariffs he placed on Canada & #Mexico today.

Okay, now #trump is claiming to be tackling #toxic #chemical exposure & heralding #RFKJr as the #health secy. This will be very difficult for me to watch. #Liar.

Holy shit, he’s claiming a kid received #transition #medical procedures at school during the school day. Literally impossible.

He says #transgender care is mutilation.

#POS

#PublicHealth #science #medicine #ConspiracyTheories #hate #bigotry #heterosexism #LGBTQIA #HumanRights #CivilRights #FactCheck #TrumpLies

#Trump is praising a bill that Sen John Thune, the majority leader, has pushed to criminalize online “#RevengePorn.” Then he says that he could make use of such a bill himself, because no one is treated worse online that he is.

He has no idea what he’s talking about.

If anything, Trump would be the #criminal offender in this scenario, not the freaking victim.
Jackass.

Note #Democrats all applauded this bill.

#Trump claimed that his #trade policy will be “great” for the American #farmer because they won’t have to compete w/foreign producers.

Actual #farmers point out that the #US #agriculture industry produces far more corn, soybeans, pork, chicken, cattle etc. than Americans could possibly consume. Farmers say they need foreign markets, but other countries impose #tariffs on their goods in #retaliation for Trump’s tariffs. That cuts them off from the foreign customers they need.

#USpol #idiocracy

Most #Republicans stood up to applaud #Trump’s announcement that he would impose reciprocal #tariffs on April 2, but several remained seated, including Sens #LisaMurkowski (Alaska), #SusanCollins (Maine) & #RogerWicker (Mississippi).

I don’t care if they sit or stand. I want them to vote for the US interests & stop kowtowing to Trump.

#Trump trashes the federal work force for not being at work in person since the pandemic, & says those who “resist this change will be removed from office immediately.”

The days of being ruled by “unelected bureaucrats” are over, Trump says.

#Democrats scoff & point up at the gallery where #Musk is sitting.

#USpol #FactCheck #TrumpLies

#Trump falsely stated that #DOGE has found “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.” DOGE has claimed to have cut $9 billion thus far.

Trump is talking about firing federal workers & “reclaiming power from bureaucrats.” His efforts to expand presidential power by firing workers and removing independent agency leaders have been largely blocked so far in federal courts.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies #Musk #USpol

A lot of boos as #Trump praised #ElonMusk & #DOGE.

Trump is lying about something that he & #Musk have said before: that there’s massive “fraud” in #SocialSecurity being paid out to deceased Americans still in the system.

Analysts & watchdog groups have thoroughly DEBUNKED this crap.

The problem is neither new nor a sign of widespread fraud, but a technological issue w/Social Security’s tracking system & does not represent a source of significant spending.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies

Side bar: Rep #AlGreen’s official twitter account has spent the last few days tweeting about people who committed acts of defiance: #NatTurner. #HarrietTubman. The #Democrat from #Texas’s pinned post is of the late congressman #JohnLewis.

#GoodTrouble

#JointSession #Trump #USpol

Rep. #AlGreen (D-Texas) stood up & shook his cane at #Trump & told him, “You don’t have a mandate!” Republicans almost immediately drowned him out with “USA, USA, USA” chants.

Mike Johnson just had security remove Re Green.

#resist

I have watched dozens of these speeches & that was the least engagement with the opposition party I have ever seen.

There was none.

#trump #JointSession

Watch (if you dare) #Trump’s address to the #JointSession to #Congress:

youtube.com/watch?v=Z6zaAzNXc5…

[this soooooo gonna suck]

President Trump Addresses Joint Session of Congress

President Trump makes his first address to a Joint Session of Congress (1:18:20) since beginning his second term. Michigan freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin ga...

^YouTube

🧵 reportedly, #Trump going to blame #Biden [shocker 🙄] for inflation, including egg prices specifically. The price of a dozen #eggs in US cities hit a record $4.95 in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as millions of hens have been slaughtered in the hopes of containing a bird flu outbreak.

Not for nothing, #Musk fired the folks working on #BirdFlu & Trump has an #antivaxxer, #RFKJr, in charge of the #HHS.

Some #Democrats will be wearing stickers saying #ElonMusk is stealing #SocialSecurity.

Several Dems will boycott #Trump’s speech altogether.

Me? I am having a martini to gird myself against the terror.

And that’s what I’ve decided Trump has been up to in his first 50ish days, a campaign of #terror against the citizens of the US & the citizens of planet earth.

#TrumpIsATerrorist.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus [#CBC], including Illinois Rep #LaurenUnderwood, plan to wear black to the speech to "capture the party's somber mood," according to her & to reports from Axios.

Other members are planning to wear blue & yellow to show solidarity with #Ukraine, just days after #Trump ordered a pause on military #aid to the country.

#USpol #geopolitics

Tonight, at #Trump’s speech, members of the #Democratic #Women’s Caucus — will be dressed in a bright pink.

New Mexico Rep Teresa Leger Fernández, chair for the 96-member caucus, explained to Time that the pink is meant to “signal our protest of Trump’s policies which are negatively impacting women & families.”

[it’s also the color of the #WomensMarch]

#USpol #tyranny #MaleSupremacy #sexism #Rapist #SexualAssault #law #accountability
time.com/7264001/trump-congres…

Exclusive: Dozens of Democratic Congresswomen Plan To Wear Pink to Trump’s Joint Address to Congress

Dozens of Democratic congresswomen will wear pink to President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress Tuesday night, organizers tell TIME

^{Nik Popli (Time)}

Anxiety Mounts Among Social Security Recipients as DOGE Troops Settle In
—

Elon Musk’s team has descended on an already understaffed Social Security Administration, which now faces further workforce cuts and closures of vital local offices. The consequences could be significant for millions of the most vulnerable Americans.
propublica.org/article/doge-so…

#News #DOGE #SocialSecurity #ElonMusk #Trump #Musk

What Are DOGE’s Plans for the Social Security Administration?

^ProPublica

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that a US President who is a known rapist helps guys accused of rape to escape justice, but it's still pretty sickening to see

bbc.co.uk/news/live/c70wq044zn…

#AndrewTate #TateBrothers #Rapists #Trump

Tates getting seized cars and properties back, says spokesman, as they fly to Florida - live updates

The social media influencers are still under investigation and face trial on allegations of rape and trafficking minors, all of which they deny.

^{BBC News}

"How does Elon Musk use the word 'fraud' to dismantle the US federal government?

The term is not as an attempt to describe the world, but to change it. It is a political tool, used by a politician to justify a political action: regime change to oligarchy."

~ Timothy Snyder

#Musk #Trump #FederalGovernment #fraud #firings #workers #billionaires #EconomicElites #TaxCuts #Medicaid
/3

snyder.substack.com/p/the-frau…

The "Fraud" Fraud

How DOGE destroys

^{Timothy Snyder (Thinking about...)}

"Musk's 'fraud' rhetoric is presented as an anti-politics, as something fresh and exciting. But it is in fact a politics, a very old sort, the politics of oligarchy. As he himself has made clear himself, Musk is a politician with a program. It is to disable the rule of law, leaving no barriers to his oligarchical power. In this scheme, the only parts of government meant to function are the ones used to silence people who point out this obvious truth."

#Musk #Trump #fraud #LawandOrder
/4

"A recent poll suggests that 70% of Americans believe government expenditures are filled with waste, fraud, and inefficiency....

The GOP is now broadly using the fraud trope to justify cutting any popular program. Medicaid is up next."

#Musk #Trump #FederalGovernment #fraud #firings #workers #billionaires #EconomicElites #TaxCuts #Medicaid
/2

"Musk and Trump’s focus on fraud is nothing new. Fraud has always served as a powerful political trope, one that provides a rationale for cutting government. Accusations of fraud were used to discredit Black elected officials during Reconstruction. Ronald Reagan’s Welfare Queen was an especially effective trope directed against poverty-based policies."

~ Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan

#Musk #Trump #FederalGovernment #fraud #firings #workers #billionaires
/1

donmoynihan.substack.com/p/mus…

Musk’s Fraudulent Fraud Squad

A tired trope gets a new lease of life

^{Pamela Herd (Can We Still Govern?)}

"This is not about personal liberties or free markets. It’s about making the Post more amenable to the Trump administration so that Jeff Bezos’s businesses will not be punished."

~ Jonathan V. Last

#WashingtonPost #Bezos #MediaFailure #capitulation #EconomicElites #billionaires #Musk #Trump #oligarchy
/9

thebulwark.com/p/the-washingto…

The Washington Post and Autocracy’s Asymmetric Advantage

Liberalism is afraid to take its own side.

^{Jonathan V. Last (The Bulwark)}

"When billionaires take control of our communication channels, it’s not a win for free speech. It’s a win for billionaire babble.

When they talk of 'personal liberties and free markets' they mean their own liberties to become even richer and more powerful, as the rest of America slides into greater economic insecurity and fear."

~ Robert Reich

#WashingtonPost #Bezos #MediaFailure #capitulation #EconomicElites #billionaires #Musk #Trump #oligarchy
/8

robertreich.substack.com/p/its…

It's the oligarchy, stupid.

Friends,

^{Robert Reich}

"At key moments, Leavitt visibly seethed at the media. And we think we know why: On Tuesday, consumer confidence registered another big drop, and Leavitt was simply unable to defend the glaring Trump-Musk failures we’re seeing."

#Musk #Trump #media #KarolineLeavitt #economy
/7

"At Tuesday’s media briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House will now decide who attends briefings, an effort to insulate President Trump from tough scrutiny. She also offered awful spin about the developing Elon Musk fiasco."

#Musk #Trump #media #KarolineLeavitt #economy
/6

newrepublic.com/article/191984…

Trump Press Sec Seethes at Media over Musk as More Bad Econ News Hits

As press secretary Karoline Leavitt snaps at tough questions over the Elon Musk fiasco, an MSNBC writer discusses how Leavitt’s display pulled the curtain back on Trump’s hidden vulnerability.

^{The New Republic}

"The Opinions section is being told what their opinions are to be, from now on. And they seem to align with current thinking by the Trump regime’s current scumbag leaders. …

From a very quick survey by me of Wapo staffers: This is the worst thing to happen to The Washington Post ever in its 147 year life, including the Janet Cooke scandal."

~ Gene Weingarten

#WashingtonPost #Bezos #MediaFailure #capitulation #EconomicElites #billionaires #Musk #Trump
/5

geneweingarten.substack.com/p/…

(Heart) Breaking News

From Update (4:30 p.m.)

^{Gene Weingarten (The Gene Pool)}