Day: March 26, 2021

Trump Defends Capitol Rioters

Buck Banks

“Some of them went in and they’re — they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards. You know, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out.”

— “Former President Trump defended some of his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol, saying Thursday that they posed ‘zero threat’ to the lawmakers who had assembled to confirm President Biden’s victory in the November election,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Trump also complained that law enforcement was now “persecuting” the Capitol rioters, hundreds of whom have been arrested, while “nothing happens” to left-wing protesters.

Republicans Are Not Deficit Hawks

Buck Banks

“What Republicans want is to spend at levels they think appropriate (more on defense and some domestic programs, less on others) and to tax at levels they think appropriate (generally less, especially for the wealthy). They are consistent in those preferences. They don’t care — at all — about how the revenues the government receives from those taxes compares to overall government spending. Republican preferences don’t add up, which is why deficits leap up every time they get to control policy.”

— Jonathan Bernstein

Less than 1% of the Trump Admin’s Coronavirus Farm Aid Went to Black Farmers

Buck Banks

0.1%

“We saw 99 percent of the money going to White farmers and 1 percent going to socially disadvantaged farmers and if you break that down to how much went to Black farmers, it’s 0.1 percent.” — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the Washington Post that a tiny fraction of the Trump administration’s coronavirus relief for American farmers — just 0.1 percent of the overall package — went to Black farmers.