Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has the temerity to disagree with Trump on whether Iran is actively developing a nuclear weapon, and Trump not happy with her.
AP: US spies said Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Trump dismisses that assessment.
Tulsi Gabbard left no doubt when she testified to Congress about Iran’s nuclear program earlier this year.
The country was not building a nuclear weapon, the national intelligence director told lawmakers, and its supreme leader had not reauthorized the dormant program even though it had enriched uranium to higher levels.
But President Donald Trump dismissed the assessment of U.S. spy agencies during an overnight flight back to Washington as he cut short his trip to the Group of Seven summit to focus on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
“I don’t care what she said,” Trump told reporters. In his view, Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear bomb.
Trump’s statement aligned him more closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described a nuclear-armed Iran as an imminent threat, than with his own top intelligence adviser. Trump met with national security officials, including Gabbard, in the Situation Room on Tuesday as he plans next steps.
The Independent: Trump is ‘losing confidence’ in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as he mulls removing her entire office, senior official says.
As he weighs joining Israel’s war against Iran, President Donald Trump reportedly finds himself at odds with his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, with one White House official saying that he has “just been kind of down on her in general” of late.
Tulsi Gabbard
The president was recently incensed, according to Politico, by Gabbard’s decision to post a three-minute video on X in the early hours of June 10 in which she warned that “political elite and warmongers” are “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers,” placing the world “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.”
Trump is said to have been angered by the video, accusing Gabbard of going “off-message” and rebuking her for it in person.
One of the senior administration officials, quoted anonymously by Politico, said there is a growing perception within the West Wing that the former Hawaii Democratic congresswoman, who once ran for that party’s presidential nomination, “doesn’t add anything to any conversation.”
“I don’t think [Trump] dislikes Tulsi as a person,” said another. “But certainly the video made him not super hot on her… and he doesn’t like it when people are off message.” They added that “many took that video as trying to correct the administration’s position.”
More News and Opinion:
You undoubtedly heard that Kristi Noem has been hospitalized for an “allergic reaction.” People on social media have suggested this had something today with Botox or fillers, but that’s just mean.
CNN: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem transported to DC-area hospital after allergic reaction, DHS says.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was transported by ambulance on Tuesday to a hospital in Washington, DC, after an allergic reaction, the Department of Homeland Security said.
“Secretary Noem had an allergic reaction today. She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
CNN observed several Secret Service agents posted at several entrances outside the emergency room at the hospital where the secretary was admitted.
Noem, 53, who previously served as the governor of South Dakota and represented the state in Congress, was tapped to serve as President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security secretary just days after he was elected for a second term, positioning her as a critical member of his cabinet after he made immigration a major part of his campaign. She was confirmed for the role by the Senate in late January.
Since returning to office, Trump has pushed for an aggressive crackdown on immigration — ranging from deploying troops to the border to evoking wartime authority to deport undocumented migrants — and Noem has carried out the president’s agenda.
Josephine Harvey at The Daily Beast: ICE Barbie Visited Biohazard Lab With RFK Jr. Before Hospitalization.
Kristi Noem was hospitalized for an allergic reaction one day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared a photo of them both visiting a biosafety lab that was temporarily shut down due to safety concerns.
Kristy Noem at the Biohazard lab at Ft. Detrick
“With @Sec_Noem and @SenRandPaul inspecting the biological hazard labs at Fort Detrick,” the Health and Human Services Secretary posted, sharing an image of himself with Noem and GOP Sen. Rand Paul at the Integrated Research Facility in Frederick, Maryland.
On Tuesday, Noem was taken to the hospital by ambulance for an “allergic reaction,” DHS’ Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Beast in a statement.
“She was transported to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. She is alert and recovering,” McLaughlin said.
It’s not clear what prompted the allergic reaction, and there’s nothing to suggest the incident was anything more than a bizarre coincidence.
More destruction from RFK Jr:
Apoorva Mandavilli at The New York Times: Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C.D.C.: ‘Americans Are Going to Die.’
In 13 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Fiona Havers crafted guidance for contending with Zika virus, helped China respond to outbreaks of bird flu and guided safe burial practices for Ebola deaths in Liberia.
More recently, she was a senior adviser on vaccine policy, leading a team that produced data on hospitalizations related to Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. To the select group of scientists, federal officials and advocates who study who should get immunizations and when, Dr. Havers is well known, an embodiment of the C.D.C.’s intensive data-gathering operations.
On Monday, Dr. Havers resigned, saying she could no longer continue while the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dismantled the careful processes that help formulate vaccination standards in the United States.
“If it isn’t stopped, and some of this isn’t reversed, like, immediately, a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases,” she said in an interview with The New York Times, the first since her resignation.
Dr. Havers, 49, cited an escalating series of attacks on federal vaccine policy by Mr. Kennedy. Three weeks ago, the health secretary announced in a minute-long video on X that the agency would no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children or pregnant women.
Last week, he fired all 17 members of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, saying without evidence that the group was beset with conflicts of interest and that a clean sweep was needed to restore public trust.
Mr. Kennedy went on to name eight new members, at least half of whom appear to share his antipathy to vaccines. Two have testified against vaccine makers in trials.
Trump appears to be winning his case against California over the National Guard.
The New York Times: Appeals Court Seems Inclined to Let Trump Control National Guard in L.A. for Now.
A federal appeals court appeared inclined on Tuesday to allow President Trump, against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom, to keep using California’s National Guard for now to protect immigration enforcement agents and quell protesters in Los Angeles.
Throughout a 65-minute hearing, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit signaled skepticism of the idea that the judiciary should second-guess Mr. Trump’s determination that deploying the state militia to Los Angeles is necessary to protect federal agents and buildings.
The hearing came at a time when local organizers have vowed to continue protesting against immigration raids, though demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles have quieted since the weekend.
A district court judge, Charles Breyer, determined last week that Mr. Trump’s use of the National Guard was illegal and temporarily ordered the president to return control of the forces to Mr. Newsom.
But the Trump administration immediately appealed the ruling, and the Ninth Circuit panel stayed the lower court decision while it considered the matter. It seemed likely on Tuesday that the panel, which consists of two appointees of Mr. Trump and one of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., would keep that stay in place.
The two Trump appointees, Judges Mark J. Bennett and Eric D. Miller, did the bulk of the talking. Both appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s argument that courts have no ability to review Mr. Trump’s decision to invoke a statute allowing him to call up the Guard. But they also seemed inclined to find that the sometimes violent protests in Los Angeles were enough to defer to Mr. Trump’s decision.
Another Democratic politician was violently arrested by ICE yesterday.
Andrew Egger at The Bulwark: Trump’s Goon Squad Strikes Again.
Last Thursday, California Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security news conference, pushed to the ground, and handcuffed by authorities. If you thought the ensuing backlash might make federal agents more cautious about manhandling opposition politicians, you thought wrong.
Brad Lander being arrested by ICE goons
Yesterday, federal agents in New York City handcuffed another Democratic official: Brad Lander, the city comptroller and a current candidate for mayor. Video taken inside a New York immigration court showed Lander standing next to someone who ICE agents—some in plainclothes, some masked—were trying to take into custody. Lander repeatedly demanded to see a warrant, and kept an arm locked with the man as agents tried to take him away, walking in a scrum with them down the hallway. Moments later, agents placed Lander under arrest as well.
In a statement released after the encounter, the Department of Homeland Security preposterously claimed that Lander had been arrested “for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.” The latter claim was true; the former laughably false.
“No one is above the law,” the DHS statement went on, “and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.” The U.S. attorney’s office in New York seemingly disagreed. Lander—like Padilla last week—was released without being charged.
…the White House’s immigration enforcement mooksplainly haven’t been instructed to avoid further high-profile clashes with Democratic officials. Lander—who, as we noted, is currently running for mayor—might well have been angling for a photo-op. But ICE agents were also all too happy to give him one, and DHS leadership was all too happy to lean into the story….on a similar note, the story continues the pattern of Trump’s federal law enforcement agencies publicly accusing people of criminal conduct that goes beyond what they’re willing to actually charge in court….
…put yourself in Lander’s shoes. Masked agents show up to whisk a migrant away. Maybe he’ll get to tell his family where he is, maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll have the opportunity to speak to a lawyer or plead his case to a judge, maybe he won’t. And you think to yourself: Will there be a legal process? Or am I the very last person who has a chance to intervene on this person’s behalf?
That’s it for me today. What’s on your mind?
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Sky Dancing 
I came across this piece about Trump’s declining mental and physical health by Dean Blundell at his Substack, and I think it’s worth reading. I really feel that Trump is not competent to make decisions about the U.S. going to war–or pretty much anything else.
Rumors of Decline: Trump’s Health Speculation Swirls Ahead of the G7 Summit.
Right from touchdown in Kananaskis, observers were struck by Donald Trump’s unusually disheveled, low-energy appearance and ongoing jackassery. And yes, there was “a smell.”
The former president looked pale and lethargic – “very unwell,” as one report bluntly put it, with speculation swirling about possible “dementia [and] serious physical and mental decline” in the background of his trip. Instead of the bombastic confidence he usually projects, a sickly-looking Trump shuffled into the summit, appearing anything but steady. Five minutes in, Trump’s decline, stupidity, and lies were on full display as he descended into a meltdown upon arrival, with White House staffers on site apparently exchanging worried glances; it was clear this would not be a normal G7.
— Slurred speech and fumbles: During his opening remarks, Trump spoke haltingly and slurred some words, at times trailing off mid-sentence. At one point, he dropped a stack of briefing papers, visibly fumbling to recover them as cameras rolled.
— He fell asleep less than an hour into kicking off the G7 meetings:
— Geographical mix-ups: The president even confused basic country names, at one moment referring to the United Kingdom as “the EU” while discussing trade – a gaffe that drew puzzled looks from other leaders.
— “Not all there” vibe: The overall impression, noted one attendee, was of a man not entirely in command of his faculties. This worrying start had insiders in a panic, with reports that Trump’s team was already strategizing how to limit his public exposure at the summit.
— And yes, according to insiders, there was an ‘odor’ coming from the President.
— Trump refused to participate in even basic discussions, appearing to ignore or misunderstand some proceedings altogether.
There’s much more at the link, and it’s interesting and troubling.
I guess the press only discusses decline when it’s Biden. They’re disinterested in the on-going mental health issues and physical issues with Trump. Are they afraid of him or what?
HuffPost: Supreme Court Deals Another Major Blow To Transgender Rights.
In a landmark ruling that could dramatically reshape how transgender rights and sex discrimination cases are handled by the courts for years to come, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors in a 6-3 ruling.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion while Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. In the ruling, the court held that the Tennessee ban was “not subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause,” allowing the ban to remain in place.
This decision allows states to more easily enact bans on care and could set a precedent for other challenges to laws barring transgender people from participating in sports, using bathrooms and accessing health care. It also marks the second blow the Supreme Court has dealt to transgender rights advocates recently, after the highest court allowed President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members in the military to take effect in May.
They can go after women’s rights next with this precedent.
Wired: Far-Right ‘Appeal to Heaven’ Flag Flown Above Government Agency in DC
A controversial “Appeal to Heaven” flag that has recently become associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement and Christian nationalism was flown above the Small Business Administration (SBA) agency last week in Washington, DC.
On June 11, Kelly Loeffler, the former senator from Georgia and current administrator of the SBA, participated in a ceremony where a new flag of the United States was raised over the agency’s headquarters. Just beneath that flag, on what appeared to be the same halyard, was an Appeal to Heaven flag. Sources tell WIRED that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was raised for less than a day.
Though the flag’s roots date to the Revolutionary War, in recent years it has become a popular symbol for the far right. The Appeal to Heaven flag was waved by January 6 rioters at the Capitol in 2021 and has become associated with President Donald Trump’s supporters who deny the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The flag has also been linked to Christian nationalists, who believe that the US should be a Christian nation rather than a secular one.
They’re so shameless and evil.
U.S. Treasury yields slide after retail sales tumbled in May, raising recession fears
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/17/us-treasury-yields-trump-hints-israel-iran-conflict-escalation.html