curated news excerpts & citations
Trump: “We’re not supposed to be seduced that way, right? But I am. When somebody’s nice to me, I love that person. Even if they’re bad people. I couldn’t care less, I’ll fight to the end for them.” pic.twitter.com/cJ30S7M5qW
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 2, 2026
Heather Delaney Reese: Trump fights for bad people
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But most telling about the whole event was what happened after. Because shortly after the luncheon had ended, the White House made a move not often seen. They deleted the video recording of his entire speech. And we have to imagine that they did this because what he said was such a disaster that even they knew it would be a struggle to contain it. How do you explain the president saying, “When somebody’s nice to me, I love that person. Even if they’re bad people, I couldn’t care less. I’ll fight to the end for them.” And how do you make sure that the United States is safe from both domestic and foreign adversaries when the president says you can be “bad” as long as you are nice to him? Where does that leave us as a country?
(Heather Delaney Reese more…)
Jennifer Rubin: Trump Is Serious About Accepting a Humiliating Defeat
David Gardner @ Daily Beast: Trump’s War Address Proves He Hasn’t Got a Clue What He’s Doing
John O’Sullivan @ Daily Express: Iran lashes out at Trump’s ‘insane’ speech as it makes defiant Strait of Hormuz decision
Thom Hartmann: Trump Is Unraveling: Isn’t it Time to Act Before He Destroys the World?
His escalating contradictions are forcing a question about congressional and cabinet powers designed for moments like this…
Matt Davies @ Daily Express: Neuroscientist claims Donald Trump has health condition that presents ‘horrific danger’
He observed that the psychologist seemed “adamant” that, contrary to earlier claims, the US President “does not have Alzheimer’s”, but rather suffers from a “different type of dementia”, specifically frontotemporal dementia.
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – April 2, 2026
This afternoon, President Donald J. Trump posted on social media a video of the theme song of the Davy Crockett TV series from 1954–1955 starring Fess Parker. Over the clip, he wrote: “Davy Crockett, obviously a distant relative of Jasmine Crockett, and a very High IQ Frontiersman, would be proud of the legacy that he began long ago, and especially Jasmine’s Great Success as a Politician from the Great State of Texas! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
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It feels frighteningly appropriate for a 1950s television western to seem more important to Trump right now than the real world of April 2026 does. …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Jennifer Jacobs, Eleanor Watson, James LaPorta @ CBS: Hegseth ousts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George
… sources said Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth’s vision for the Army.
…Two other Army officers were removed from their roles, according to three sources familiar with the matter: Gen. David Hodne, who led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, who headed the Army’s Chaplain Corps.
(Jennifer Jacobs, Eleanor Watson, James LaPorta @ CBS more…)
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Bart Jansen and Terry Collins @ USA Today: Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi after criticism over Epstein docs
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When questioned about not prosecuting Epstein accomplices, Bondi said lawmakers should appreciate that stock markets were rising under Trump.
(Bart Jansen and Terry Collins @ USA Today more…)Borowitz: Iran Says It Has Started to Achieve Regime Change in US
Liz Dye: DOJ payout to Mike Flynn has J6-ers lining up at the trough
Adam Kinzinger: Going Deeper: Trump’s Corrupt Pardons, Cash, and Favors
Corruption as repayments to friends and allies
Steve Benen @ MSNBC: Another blow to White House transparency: Trump’s DOJ rejects Presidential Records Act
Ken B. Morales and David Armstrong @ ProPublica: Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration
Ryan Grenoble @ HuffPost: Are Native Americans Citizens By Birthright? Government Lawyer Can’t Say.
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Apoorva Mandavilli @ NY Times: C.D.C. Pauses Testing for Rabies and Pox Viruses
The diseases were removed from a list of tests the agency conducts for state and local health departments. Experts worry that with drastic staff reductions, the testing may not resume.
(Apoorva Mandavilli @ NY Times more…)
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Noel Sims: Using water to combat ICE
Across the country, local and state officials are fighting to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from turning local warehouses into sprawling detention centers to support the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
The most powerful weapon in their arsenal? Water.
(Noel Sims more…)
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Decoding Fox News: Fox News: Let’s Pretend There is No War in Iran
A condensed overview of 15 hours of Fox News for the week ending 3/29/26
Al Jazeera Death toll and injuries live tracker
ICE Accountability Project
ICE deaths 2026 – They deserve remembrance and justice.
- March 16: Royer Perez-Jimenez
- March 14: Naseer Paktiawil
- February 25: Nurul Amin Shah Alam
April 1 – Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz @ AP: Death of a refugee left at a Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide - January 24: Alex Pretti
- January 14: Heber Sanchaz Dominguez
- January 14: Victor Manuel Diaz
- January 9: Parady La
- January 7: Renée Good
- January 6: Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz
- January 5: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
- January 3: Geraldo Lunas Campos
- December 31, 2025: Keith Porter
Suffering Under President Obama
NACDL Criminal Case Tracker
Texas Tribune: A Walk for Peace: photos of Fort Worth monks’ journey to Washington
Walk for Peace – Dhammacetiya – The Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas
Margaret Chase Smith: Declaration of Conscience
NPR: January 6, 2021: A visual archive
Accountability Initiative ICE List
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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