Pardon the interruption, but it seems pretty late in the day to ignore threats like this, don’t you think? “Trump shocks with threat he could take over sanctuary cities and arrest unruly mayors under martial law.”
Donald Trump suggested he could impose martial law to take control of sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws.
The president's post to Truth Social Wednesday morning also implied that he could take action to arrest 'insurrectionist' mayors in those cities that uphold policies making it harder for federal immigration enforcement agents to do their jobs.
Sounds bad. Because it is. But, you ask, is he serious? Or just trolling us? Or is this just another distraction from his other failed distractions? And the Epstein files. We can’t possibly say, but — after six months of Trump 2.0 — it seems more than a tad naive not to take this both literally and seriously.
Because, in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve seen one Trumpist fever-dream after another come to life.
Sweeping pardons for J6 insurrectionists. Check. Troops in the streets of American cities? Check. Full-scale attacks on universities, media companies, and law firms he doesn’t like? Check. Masked brute squads snatching people off the street? Check. Appointment from the bottom-shelf of hell? Check. Check, Check.
The list, as readers of this newsletter know all too well, goes on. And now this:
The wild suggestion came in the form of a meme that Trump reposted to his social media account.
A pro-MAGA account posted a black-and-white image of Abraham Lincoln surrounded by words meant to come from the perspective of the 16th U.S. president.
''Sanctuary City' mayors are defying federal law,' it reads. 'They are insurrectionists just like the southern governors during the Civil War.'
'President Trump should declare martial law in those cities, arrest the mayors, appoint military governors, and restore the rule of law, just like I did,' the Lincoln-voiced meme reads.
Here’s Trump’s re-post:
And here’s the original post that tickled the president’s autocratic fancy:
Exit take: Trump is no Abe Lincoln. FFS. But you knew that.
Happy Thursday.
Kinzinger-Sykes. The Podcast.
In today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, I’m joined by Adam Kinzinger for a lively discussion of the Trump-Epstein saga, congressional cowardice, and the erosion of democratic norms. Don’t miss the last part: From enemies lists to media capitulation, Kinzinger argues this is the defining test of our generation—and we’re failing it. And, as you might expect, I radically agree.
Subscribers can listen to an ad-free version right here… or you can watch on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed.
Some highlights of our discussion:
The challenge of our generation…
(You can read Adam’s Substack post here: “We Are Not the Generation That Lets This Die.”
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Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon meltdown.
Nota Bene:
Republicans Want to Redraw America’s Political Map - The Atlantic (Gift link)
Texas Republicans are planning to redraw their congressional districts this year, five years ahead of schedule. As with most other recent examples of norm-breaking behavior in American politics, the reason for this involves Donald J. Trump.
Earlier this summer, the president asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott to dabble in a little gerrymandering to produce five more Republican-leaning districts in his state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In July, Abbott answered the call, summoning state lawmakers back to Austin for a 30-day special session, in part to begin working on a new district map. (The Texas legislature is in session only once every other year.) The state has been holding public hearings about the redistricting plan; this morning, state lawmakers released a proposed new map that could give the GOP 30 of the state’s 38 House seats and help pad the party’s slim majority.
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The EU made two sort-of pledges to Trump. First, that it would invest $600 billion in the United States. Second, that it would buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy, mainly oil and gas, over the next three years. The first promise was empty, while the second was nonsense.
About those investments: European governments aren’t like China, which can tell companies where to put their money. And the European Commission, which made the trade deal, isn’t even a government — it can negotiate tariffs but otherwise has little power. On Sunday Politico spoke with Commission officials, who effectively confirmed that the investment pledge was meaningless:
[S]peaking Monday, two senior European Commission officials clarified that money would come exclusively from private European companies, with public investment contributing nothing.
“It is not something that the EU as a public authority can guarantee. It is something which is based on the intentions of the private companies,” said one of the senior Commission officials. The Commission has not said it will introduce any incentives to ensure the private sector meets that $600 billion target, nor given a precise timeframe for the investment.
So what the EU actually promised on investment was nothing, Nichts, rien.
The pledge to increase U.S. energy exports was a lot more specific and gave a timeframe. But it’s not going to happen. In fact, it’s going to not happen on three levels.
First, the European Commission, which can’t tell the private sector where to invest, is equally unable to tell the private sector where to buy oil and gas. How would that even work?
Second, the promised level of EU imports is probably physically impossible….
Thursday dogs
When Eli was a puppy, Auggie thought, ‘What fresh hell?”
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