Trump: Making International Thuggery Great Again

Trump with fellow coup-plotter, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro.

“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” George Orwell

If only Orwell could see us now. Happy Friday.

Let’s start with an update on the ambitions of Donald J. Trump, who is, apparently, not content with undermining the rule of law and fomenting sedition merely in this country.

ICYMI: He is taking his advocacy of anti-democratic thuggery to a global stage.

To be sure, Trump’s fetish for foreign autocrats is hardly new: He has made no secret of his admiration for gangster regimes like the Philippine’s former president, Rodrigo Duterte, whose enthusiasm for extra-judicial murders won Trump’s admiration. Trump’s creepy man-crushes on Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and ChiCom boss Xi Jinping are hardly state secrets.

But this week, the American president took his international mob-boss-shtick to a whole new level, when he threatened a 50 percent tariff on Brazil because that country is trying to hold the “Trump of the Tropics” accountable for attempting a coup to remain in office.¹

Trump obviously identifies deeply with Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was defeated for re-election in 2022, lied about the results, and then orchestrated a plot to overturn the election and murder his political enemies.

Brazil’s prosecutor general Paulo Gonet accused Bolsonaro not only of trying to overturn the election result, but also of being part of a plot known as “Green and Yellow dagger,” which involved poisoning the country’s new president and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

Brazil’s Supreme Court is expected to convict Bolsonaro of at least some of the charges later this year.

But Trump remains a YUGE fan of Bolsonaro. “LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, lashing out at what he called Brazil’s “witch-hunt” against his seditionist buddy.

“The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.” In a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Trump wrote that the new tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1.

Trump clearly feels a bond of solidarity with the Brazilian coup-plotter and the projection is strong. “It happened to me, times 10,” Trump posted Monday. “I’ll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely.”

Even in the Age of Trump When Nothing Matters — this is gobsmacking.

Notes the NYT: “Trump's effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he wields levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel — and how they can yield economic destruction as a result.”

Brazil’s response to Trump’s attempts to bully their legal system? Essentially, they’ve told him to fuq off:

“Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being abused by anyone,” President Lula said in a statement, noting that the case against Bolsonaro “is the sole responsibility of the Brazilian Judiciary.”

Good.

Justin Wolfers: Why Economics is Like Sex

This is Real

Really. The White House actually posted this. Really. In real life.

FFS.

MAGA’s Katrina

Via the incomparable Ron Fournier:

You knew it would happen.

The first time you heard the Trump White House wanted to eliminate or at least financially curb FEMA, you knew lives would be lost in a disaster made worse by an ill-equipped emergency response agency. You knew you'd one day read a lede like this one in today's Washington Post:

Two days before torrential rains turned the Guadalupe River into a raging flood, a veteran official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency told The Washington Post that one of the main concerns for this disaster season was the agency’s ability to quickly deploy specialized search and rescue teams. The Trump administration’s new rules mean disaster specialists can no longer “make decisions on their own.”

The official then watched it happen in real time in Texas.

You knew the details would boggle your mind and break your heart.

Deployments of critical resources, such as tactical and specialized search and rescue teams, were delayed as a result of a budget restriction requiring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem to approve every purchase, contract and grant over $100,000, according to a dozen current and former FEMA employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

When rapidly responding to billion-dollar disasters, that “is basically everything,” said one current official.

More than 120 dead in Texas Hill Country, including tiny campers ripped from their bunks and spat into the killer churn of the Guadalupe River.

You knew it would happen. Anybody with half a damn brain knew it.

Ken Paxton’s terrible day

You might remember Ken Paxton, the man who was almost too corrupt for MAGA.

But, no. He was acquitted by Texas Republicans and is now mounting a serious challenge to incumbent GOP senator John Cornyn. Until Thursday, when his wife dropped this:

But Paxton’s day got worse. Via Chris Cillizza:

In the mid-afternoon, as the shock over his wife’s statement began to dissipate, came this absolute bombshell of a quote from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” said spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez. “No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.”

HOLY SHIT.

I have worked in political journalism for a very long time. And I cannot recall that brutal a quote ever coming from the official Senate party committee. I mean that is an absolute dagger.

Nota Bene

An American Light Goes Out - by Jay Nordlinger

“To the applause of the Chinese Communist Party, the United States has turned off the Cantonese service of Radio Free Asia, which has been a lifeline to Hong Kongers, in particular.”

The hat says “Make America Great Again.” Leaving aside the question of “again,” we could have a long, contentious discussion of what makes America great.

In the first weeks of his second term, Trump moved to abolish many institutions and programs, including Radio Free Asia, PEPFAR, and the National Endowment for Democracy. RFA is one of our broadcasting services, of course. PEPFAR is the anti-AIDS program instituted by President George W. Bush in 2003. NED was founded at the instigation of President Reagan in 1983.

As some of us see it, these are jewels in the American crown, things that reflect a national greatness. Elon Musk, President Trump’s senior adviser, declared NED an “evil organization.” Americans have wildly different ideas of good and evil, right and wrong.

**

A warning to Democrats. Will they listen? “Poll reveals Democrats' struggle to regain trust”

The poll, which was conducted between May and June by Unite the Country, a Democratic super PAC, showed voters perceived the Democratic Party as “out of touch,” “woke” and “weak.”…

Unite the Country’s latest poll, which was conducted with voters in 21 battleground counties across 10 battleground states, revealed that Democrats have not escaped the shadow of their loss in 2024. And voters’ perceptions of the party remain the same.

Democrats have had opportunities to hit back at the Trump administration, including on tariffs, immigration deportations and, most recently, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

But political observers say those moments were wasted.

“I was frustrated during the ‘one big beautiful bill’ stuff,” said Steve Schale, Democratic strategist and CEO of Unite the Country. “We missed an opportunity to really define a different kind of vision.”

The super PAC’s poll revealed that Democrats’ prime emphasis on fighting for democracy — while still popular within the party — is no longer going to cut it with the general electorate, and soft-on-immigration policies turn too many voters away.

**

Trump Administration Is Forcing Prosecutors to Ignore Law, Whistle-Blower Says - The New York Times

“If they can do this sort of thing to Abrego Garcia, to 238 people that nobody knows, and send them to CECOT forever with no due process, they can do that to anyone,” said Mr. Reuveni. “It should be deeply, deeply worrisome to anyone who cares about their safety and their liberty, that the government can, without showing evidence to anyone of anything, spirit you away on a plane to wherever, forever.”

He filed his complaint shortly before Emil Bove III, a senior department official, appeared before lawmakers over his nomination to become a federal appeals court judge. Although the administration’s approach has been broadly clear, Mr. Bove and his boss have denied the thrust of Mr. Reuveni’s account. But text messages, phone records and emails viewed by The Times appear to bolster the whistle-blower’s version of events, offering a behind-the-scenes recounting of private meetings and conversations that show Justice Department leaders pressing to take audacious legal risks.

“The Department of Justice is thumbing its nose at the courts, and putting Justice Department attorneys in an impossible position where they have to choose between loyalty to the agenda of the president and their duty to the court,” Mr. Reuveni added.

Friday dogs

After a day of swimming, we actually had tired dogs yesterday.

1. Via NYT:

“Mr. Trump also incorrectly said the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil. The two countries had about $92 billion in trade together last year, with the United States enjoying a $7.4 billion surplus in the relationship. The top products traded are aircraft, oil, machinery and iron.”