I’m getting a late start today after a night of tossing and turning. The news is depressing, as usual. Crazy Grandpa Trump is making an complete ass of himself on his Asian trip, where he’s temporarily left behind all the messes he’s left us with here.
People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, on Tuesday. Matias Delacroix AP
Before I get to the politics news, here’s a brief update from CNN on the devastation Hurricane Melissa is leaving in her wake.
• Severe damage: Melissa hit Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, caused major damage to public infrastructure and left most of the island without power. The full extent of the devastation there is unclear with some areas inaccessible.
• Deadly storm: Twenty five people have died in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, after a river flooded by Melissa burst its banks, the local mayor said. Three people were killed in Jamaica during storm preparations, and one person died in the Dominican Republic.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday as the strongest storm in the island’s history. The Category 5 hurricane tore a path of destruction across the island, causing major flooding and power cuts. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a “disaster area.”
The massive storm swept through Cuba early this morning as a Category 2 hurricane. Over 750,000 residents were evacuated ahead of the storm. Melissa is now carving a path towards the Bahamas.
The intense winds have diminished in Jamaica, but the National Hurricane Center warns that heavy rains and flooding might continue.
And this is a monster of a storm that meteorologists say will be in the history books. Only six other Atlantic storms have done that since record-keeping began.
Click the NPR link to see more photos.
We’re expecting stormy weather from Melissa here in Massachusetts on Thursday night and Friday. I hope it won’t interfere too much with kids’ Halloween plans.
Some lowlights from Trump’s embarrassing foreign trip:
You probably saw this video of spaced-out Trump being guided around by the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Trump in Japan.He has no idea what's going on, just wanders off.His brain is cooked.This is insane.
President Donald Trump treated his time in Japan on Tuesday as a victory lap — befriending the new Japanese prime minister, taking her with him as he spoke to U.S. troops aboard an aircraft carrier and then unveiling several major energy and technology projects in America to be funded by Japan.
By the end of the day, Trump — by his administration’s count — came close to nailing down the goal of $550 billion in Japanese investment as part of a trade framework. At a dinner for business leaders in Tokyo, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced up to $490 billion in commitments, including $100 billion each for nuclear projects involving Westinghouse and GE Vernova….
It was not immediately clear how the investments would operate and how they compared with previous plans, but Trump declared a win as he capped off a day of bonding with Takaichi.
Because they are probably fake “investments.” There’s more at the link.
President Donald Trump rarely has anything negative to say about the men and women of the U.S. military, but he made an exception on Tuesday to offer a rare criticism of America’s fighting forces: They may be too “good-looking” for his tastes.
Trump was in the midst of an address to sailors aboard the U.S.S. George Washington, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that is semi-permanently based at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, when he paused an attempt to praise the assembled service members to rant about their excessive attractiveness.
Speaking on the second day of a multi-day, multi-country trip through Asia that will conclude after a planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, Trump said the Navy’s “ultimate strength” comes from “the men and women of the rank and file,” calling his uniformed audience “incredible people” and “good-looking people.”
After a beat, he said there were “too many good-looking people” present.
“I don’t like good-looking people,” he continued, as the sailors laughed at their commander-in-chief’s bizarre remark.
“I never liked good-looking people, I’ll be honest with you … never admitted that before,” he said.
Trump: You take a little glass of water and you drop it on magnets. I don't know what's going to happen.
Donald Trump went on a deranged rant about the power of water to destroy magnets during a rambling address to the U.S. Navy just off the coast of Japan.
Speaking aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his tour of East Asia, the president appeared to suggest—in a largely incoherent speech—that he is pushing for aircraft carriers to use “steam for the catapults” and hydraulics for elevators, while wrongly claiming that water can disable magnets.
The elderly president was talking about the magnetic catapults used to launch planes from the latest Navy super carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford class, and the electromagnetic elevators used to move weaponry to the flight deck. Both systems double the speed with which planes can be armed and launched but slowed the delivery and commissioning of the $13 billion flagship of the class.
“You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it’s fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Trump said.
“So, you know, the elevators come up in the new carriers—I think I’m going to change it, by the way—they have magnets. Every tractor has hydraulic, every excavator, every excavating machine of any kind has hydraulic. But somebody decided to use magnets.”
The 79-year-old president then stumbled over his words and failed to complete a coherent sentence before moving on and asking the watching troops whether they preferred hydraulics or magnets.
Trump then called out to a “top-ranking general” in the crowd for his opinion before continuing his tirade against the 2,000-year-old technology.
“I’m going to sign an executive order. When we build aircraft carriers, it’s steam for the catapults and it’s hydraulic for the elevators. We’ll never have a problem,” Trump said. “He agrees. Everybody agrees. But, ahh, these people in Washington.”
President Trump told American troops assembled in Japan on Tuesday that he was prepared to send “more than the National Guard” into cities to enforce his crackdowns on crime and immigration, further escalating how he has talked about using the military at home and abroad.
Trump “dances” for the troops in Japan.
Speaking to thousands of military service members aboard an aircraft carrier at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan on Tuesday, Mr. Trump delivered a partisan speech that resembled the raucous rallies that made him an ascendant force in U.S. politics.
But throughout his nearly hourlong speech, his usual ramblings about the physical appearances of audience members and steam-powered catapults were laced with dark warnings about how he might choose to deploy military forces.
“We have cities that are troubled, we can’t have cities that are troubled,” Mr. Trump said. “And we’re sending in our National Guard, and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re going to have safe cities.”
Legal disputes over what troops under federal control may be used to do on domestic soil — like a bar on using them to enforce the law, except when there is an insurrection — treat National Guard troops under federal control and active-duty troops as the same.
Mr. Trump also defended the U.S. military’s strikes against what the administration has said are suspected drug smugglers. The tactics have drawn widespread rebuke from experts who have said it is illegal to use the military to target civilians — including criminal suspects — who are not directly participating in hostilities.
Mr. Trump has increasingly used speeches to the military to air his grievances and bolster his accomplishments. Still, the scene was striking: an American president defending war and military deployments on U.S. soil, and employing partisan talking points on the global stage.
It’s a lot more than “striking,” IMHO.
Next stop for Trump: South Korea.
They all know how to play him. It isn’t difficult. bsky.app/profile/acyn…
GYEONGJU, South Korea, Oct 29 (Reuters) – South Korea welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday with a replica gold crown and awarded him with the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa”, the country’s highest decoration, the presidential office said.
Trump landed in South Korea on the final leg of a trip through Asia that also saw stops in Malaysia and Japan, with high-profile trade talks expected with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
U.S. and South Korean warplanes escorted Air Force One on approach, and on the tarmac a South Korean military band greeted Trump with a rendition of “YMCA” and guns fired a salute.
Lee is hoping to win concessions from Trump in drawn-out negotiations aimed at lowering U.S. tariffs on South Korea, and has wooed the U.S. president by praising his outreach to North Korea.
Lee’s office said that in recognition of Trump’s role as a “peacemaker” on the Korean peninsula, he was awarded the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa”, which is named after South Korea’s national flower, a pink hibiscus also known as the Rose of Sharon in English.
They really know how to suck up to Trump.
Trump was gifted a replica of the golden Cheonmachong crown. The delicate original, which was found in a tomb in Gyeongju, features towering gold prongs and dangling leaf shapes.
“This symbolizes the history of Silla, which maintained a long-term era of peace on the Korean Peninsula, and a new era of peaceful coexistence and common growth on the Korean Peninsula that the United States and South Korea will work together for.”
The leaders had a working lunch that included Thousand Island salad dressing, in what Lee’s office said was a nod to Trump’s “success story in his hometown of New York.” The meal also included local specialties “according to President Trump’s preferences.”
On the menu were “mini beef patties with ketchup”, a “Korean Platter of Sincerity” featuring U.S. beef and local rice and soybean paste, and grilled fish with a glaze of ketchup and gochujang, a red chilli paste.
The lunch was capped by a “Peacemaker’s Dessert” consisting of a brownie adorned with gold.
A gold crown, junk food and being lauded as a “peacemaker.” What more could Trump ask for?
Donald Trump gushed over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the most cringeworthy way possible on Wednesday, describing the leader as “the nicest-looking guy” and then attempting to impersonate him.
The elderly president went there at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, during his tur of East Asia. He was bragging again that he single-handedly brought a swift end the four-day armed conflict between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan earlier this year by allegedly threatening both nations with 250 percent tariffs.
Indian officials have publicly rejected Trump’s repeated claims that he mediated the ceasefire. Sources told Bloomberg that Modi skipped the entire summit in Malaysia this week because Indian officials were worried Trump would once again repeat his self-proclaimed role in ending the conflict. They probably didn’t anticipate the accent.
“I’ll tell you what, Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy,” Trump said, adding Modi looked like someone “you’d like to have as your father.”
“He’s tough as hell,” Trump said, before launching into a Modi impersonation, complete with what sounded like an attempt at an Indian accent: “No, we will fight!”
“I said, ‘Whoa, is that the same man that I know?’” Trump told the room.
Trump then took credit again for ending the escalating crisis, a claim disputed by officials in New Delhi. He said it wouldn’t have been resolved “if it wasn’t for the tariffs.”
“After a little while, and they’re good people, and after literally two days they called up, and they said we understand, and they stopped fighting—isn’t that amazing?”
The White House on Tuesday fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that had expected to review some of President Donald Trump’s construction projects, including his planned triumphal arch and White House ballroom.
“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts is terminated, effective immediately,” reads an email reviewed by The Washington Post that was sent to one of the commissioners by a staffer in the White House presidential personnel office.
The commission, which was established by Congress more than a century ago and traditionally includes a mix of architects and urban planners, is charged with providing advice to the president, Congress and local government officials on design matters related to construction projects in the capital region. Its focus includes government buildings, monuments and memorials. White House officials have traditionally sought the agency’s approval.
President Joe Biden appointed the six sitting commissioners to four-year terms, several of which would have extended through 2028. Their termination comes as the White House gears up for several Trump construction projects, including his planned $300 million White House ballroom, and seeks to install allies on key review boards.
A White House official confirmed that the Commission of Fine Arts members had been terminated.
“We are preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
I guess Trump will get approval for his tasteless ballroom and Hitler arch then.
Democrats are expanding their probes into President Donald Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and construction of his planned ballroom, with lawmakers pressing the White House and outside companies to explain the project’s finances and what was promised to contributors.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, is opening a probe into the president’s planned White House ballroom. (Demetrius Freeman, The Washington Post)
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) and colleagues on Tuesday demanded that the White House provide a “complete accounting” of how it is paying for the ballroom, including any terms for donors. Trump said Friday that he had raised more than $350 million to pay for the project, and the White House has said that at least three dozen companies and private individuals have helped fund it.
“The opaque nature of this scheme reinforces concern that President Trump is again selling presidential access to individuals or entities, including foreign nationals and corporate actors, with vested interests in federal action,” Schiff wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a letter shared with The Washington Post. Schiff, a frequent critic of the president, also sent his request to the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog that conducts oversight of the executive branch.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) separately sent letters Tuesday to contractors involved in the White House construction project, including McCrery Architects, Clark Construction and engineering firm AECOM, questioning the “rapidly changing and secretive terms” of Trump’s planned ballroom. The letters were also shared with The Post.
Trump said in July that the ballroom would cost about $200 million and hold 650 guests, estimates that he increased last week to $300 million and nearly 1,000, respectively. The ballroom donors include defense and tech companies including Amazon, Apple, Google, Lockheed Martin and Meta, which frequently have business before the administration. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.)
Lawmakers said they were frustrated that the White House had neither consulted Congress nor received approval from at least two relevant federal commissions before rapidly demolishing the East Wing last week.
Five Senate Republicans voted with Democrats on Tuesday night to pass a resolution terminating President Trump’s emergency authority to impose steep tariffs on Brazil, one of the biggest exporters of coffee to the United States.
The Senate voted 52 to 48 to pass the resolution sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to terminate Trump’s 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, such as coffee, oil and orange juice.
Paul, speaking on the Senate floor, called the tariff a tax on U.S. consumers.
The Kentucky Republican argued that the Constitution requires that “taxes must originate in the House” of Representatives.
“Yet, these taxes are originating with the White House,” he said.
McConnell, in a statement, said that Trump’s tariffs are hurting Kentucky businesses and farms.
It’s symbolic, but still could be a positive sign.
I guess this post is kind of disorganized–I’m just not that with it today. But that’s all I have for you. I hope there’s something here worth reading/watching.
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