“Protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles have triggered a flood of falsehoods and conspiracy theories online, and Russia has sought to exploit and amplify them,” NBC News reports.
“Russian media and pro-Russian voices have embraced right-wing conspiracy theories about the protests, including one that alleged the Mexican government was encouraging the demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.”
“This is the stuff of dictatorships. I have never ever, other than Jan. 6, been so outraged at the conduct of an administration.”
— Sen. Brian Schwartz (D-HI), quoted by Punchbowl News, on Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being handcuffed by federal agents.
“The Senate confirmed former Republican Rep. Billy Long to run the Internal Revenue Service, placing a consistent and vocal supporter of President Trump in charge of the tax agency,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Long, a former auctioneer who represented southwestern Missouri in the House for 12 years, takes over an IRS that expanded substantially during the Biden administration before shedding thousands of workers this year.”
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“Israel is prepared to attack Iran in the coming days if Tehran rejects a U.S. proposal that would place tough limits on its nuclear program,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A senior Israeli official warned that a strike could come as soon as Sunday unless Iran agrees to halt production of fissile material that can be used to make an atomic bomb.”
“Israel’s high-stakes brinkmanship is aimed at pressuring Iran to give up its ability to enrich uranium.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slammed the removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a press conference Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, The Hill reports.
Said Newsom, on X: “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.”
He later added: “If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”
“The Republican-led House voted 214-212 on Thursday to pass a proposal from President Donald Trump to cancel $9.4 billion in previously approved federal funding,” NBC News reports.
“The ‘rescissions’ package would claw back $8.3 billion for foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding to NPR and PBS. It is part of an effort by the White House to codify cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency, which was helmed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told the New York Times that President Trump did not discuss sending the National Guard to Los Angeles when the two recently spoke to each other before Trump’s announcement.
Said Newsom: “He lied, he lied. On my mother and dad’s grave. I don’t mess around, when I say this, he lied. Stone cold liar.”
“It’s looking more and more like a fascist state out there every day.”
— Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), quoted by Politico, on Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being detained in California.
A new AP/NORC poll shows 60% of Americans don’t think President Trump’s military parade this Saturday is a good use of government funds.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to say whether he would follow the courts if they ruled against President Donald Trump’s deployment of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles,” Politico reports.
Said Hegseth: “What I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country.”
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was physically removed on Thursday from a Los Angeles press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Additional video showed Padilla being handcuffed and detained in the hallway outside the room.
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sold off 23 stocks ahead of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement and the ensuing stock market plunge in early April,” NOTUS reports.
“Hegseth reported selling between $100,000 and $550,000 in stocks on March 24. Those stocks included Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Lowe’s and about 20 other companies — almost all of which saw stock prices plummet after Trump’s April 2 announcement.”
President Trump indicated that he doesn’t want aggressive deportations to target the workforce of the hospitality and farming industries.
But border czar Tom Homan told Semafor “worksite enforcement operations are going to massively expand.”
“I don’t feel like a king; I have to go through hell to get stuff approved.”
— President Trump, quoted by The Hill.
A new Yale study find the combined economic policies of the Trump administration results in 80% of households paying more in taxes, while the richest 10% actually pay less.
“The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday told hundreds of thousands of migrants that their permission to live and work in the United States had been revoked and they should leave the country,” CNN reports.
“The termination notice was addressed to nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who came to the United States through a Biden-era parole program.”
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused Thursday to answer a simple question about the Trump administration’s plans for Greenland, implying that the U.S. military has drawn up plans to take the country by force,” the New Republic reports.
Anne Applebaum: “The logic of revolution often traps revolutionaries: They start out thinking that the task will be swift and easy. The people will support them. Their cause is just. But as their project falters, their vision narrows.”
“At each obstacle, after each catastrophe, the turn to violence becomes that much swifter, the harsh decisions that much easier. If not stopped, by Congress or the courts, the Trump revolution will follow that logic too.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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