Author: Buck Banks

Donald Trump’s Really Especially Bad Day

Buck Banks

In his “To the Contrary” Substack Charlie Sykes summed up Friday, Dec. 12, the worst day of Donald Trump’s second term:

“The House rejected one of his executive orders; another grand jury refused to indict Letitia James; a judge freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia and called out the Administration’s bullshit; Kristi Noem faceplanted in congressional testimony; his concept of a health care plan crashed in the Senate; and his poll numbers continued to crater.”

“But all of this was merely prologue to Trump’s humiliation by the sort of Republicans we are thought were utterly extinct.”

“Despite a vicious pressure campaign, the Republican-dominated Indiana Senate overwhelmingly rejected Trump’s demand that they gerrymander the state’s congressional map to benefit the GOP.”

“What happened yesterday — an outburst of Republican courage — was as rare as a sighting of Bigfoot, Lindsey Graham’s spine, or natural breasts at Mar-a-Lago.”

Trump’s War on the Federal Reserve Could Be His Most Damaging Economic Policy

Buck Banks

“There are many items on President Trump’s agenda that are hurting the U.S. economy: the pointless trade wars, the socialization of the private sector, the mass deportations, and much more. … But in the long run, the most damaging policy of all might be one that’s gotten scant attention, at least from non-finance-nerds: Trump’s quest to crush the Federal Reserve. If Trump succeeds, he may doom the United States to high inflation for years, if not decades, to come.”

— Catherine Rampell

Donald Trump: World’s Biggest Security Threat

Buck Banks

“To update Samuel Johnson, these days national security is the last refuge of a scoundrel. According to Donald Trump, anything he doesn’t like is a threat to national security. Question his clearly illegal tariffs? You’re a dark and sinister force trying to undermine America. When the New York Times reported on signs that age may be taking a toll on Trump’s stamina, he denounced the reporting as ‘seditious, maybe even treasonous.’ … But some of America’s allies — and many of us here at home — are becoming increasingly open about saying that the real danger is coming from inside the White House: Trump himself has become the biggest security threat facing the U.S. and, indeed, all the world’s democracies.”

— Paul Krugman

NRA Sells Off Investments to Keep Lights On

Buck Banks

$40 million

“The National Rifle Association is burning through its investment portfolio to pay its bills as legal perils increase and revenue from membership dues decline,” NOTUS reports. “In 2024, the 154-year-old gun rights organization liquidated nearly $40 million worth of stock, fixed-income securities and other holdings. By the end of 2024, the NRA’s investment portfolio had shrunk to less than $33 million, down from more than $72 million the year before.”

DeSantis Diverted Over $35 Million in State Funds to Fight Abortion, Pot Amendments

Buck Banks

$35 million

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration diverted more than $35 million in taxpayer funds — an amount far greater than previously known — as part of a brazen agenda last year to defeat two ballot amendments he staunchly opposed, a Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald investigation has found. Much of the state money was intended to assist needy Floridians, including children. Instead, it paid for political consultants, lawyers and thousands of advertisements that helped DeSantis and his supporters win at the ballot box.

South Carolina Measles Outbreak Worsens

Buck Banks

111

The South Carolina measles outbreak is “accelerating.” At least 111 people have contracted the contagious viral infection in South Carolina since October, and more than 250 people are quarantined, according to the state’s public health department. Officials blamed the outbreak on “lower-than-hoped-for” vaccination rates: Of the 111 cases, 105 were unvaccinated, the health department said. Measles, which is most common among unvaccinated children, was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona this year.