Trumpwatch 2.0

[Honeyman]

Everything this mother fucker does is wrong.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-opens- ... 49996.html

[TC Talks]

WSJ has turned on Trump. Although it's about Powell, it's really about Trump's stupidity.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board has Jerome Powell’s back following President Trump’s blistering social media criticism of the Federal Reserve chair this week after he offered negative economic predictions over Trump’s tariffs.

“The problem for Mr. Trump is that Mr. Powell spoke the truth,” the conservative-leaning board wrote in an editorial published Friday. “The main lesson from Trump vs. Powell is that the central bank can’t make up for the economic policy errors of politicians.”

Trump bashed Powell, whom he appointed to the position during his first term in 2018, in a Truth Social post early Thursday morning, writing “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

“If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” Trump told reporters later that day. “I’m not happy with him. I let him know it.”

Powell drew Trump’s ire after he offered a grim assessment Wednesday of the economic outlook in light of Trump’s massive tariff overhaul announced April 3. The remarks prompted a steep drop in securities markets.

“The level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated,” Powell told the Economic Club of Chicago. “The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”

Ahead of Powell’s speech, Trump pushed for the Federal Reserve to quickly lower interest rates, but Powell said the independent body needs “greater clarity” on the impact of Trump’s policies before it acts.

The Wall Street Journal board agreed with Powell’s assessment but wasn’t surprised Trump lashed out against him.

“President Trump’s tariff war isn’t going well, with market ructions and evidence of a slowing economy. So it was probably inevitable that Mr. Trump would demand that the Federal Reserve ride to his rescue by cutting interest rates,” the board wrote. “The hard decision for the Fed is whether to look past that one-time increase and assume it won’t become part of consumer inflation expectations.”

Trump accused Powell of being “too late and wrong” in the Fed’s interest rate decisions.

The editorial board acknowledged that the central bank, under Powell’s leadership, has been wrong in the past — notably fostering “a gusher of federal pandemic spending” that led to sky-high inflation, but cosigned Powell’s cautious approach this time.

“The Fed has been trying to claw back from that mistake, with some success,” the board wrote in its editorial. “But the Fed hasn’t reached its target inflation rate of 2%, so Mr. Powell is right to be wary of trying to offset the impact of tariffs by easing money too much or too soon.”

[Rate This]

Politico:
The chief of staff to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will leave his role.

Lawyers for Venezuelan immigrants rushed to the Supreme Court to prevent their ‘imminent’ deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

[TC Talks]

A federal judge in Boston on Friday ordered the Trump administration to issue passports that reflect the self-identified gender of six transgender people rather than requiring that the passports display the sex on the applicants’ original birth certificates.

The order from Judge Julia E. Kobick was a victory, at least temporarily, for the six plaintiffs, who she said were likely to prevail on their claim that a new policy by the Trump administration amounts to a form of unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Fifth Amendment, as well as the Administrative Procedures Act. The State Department adopted the new policy earlier this year to comply with an executive order from President Trump directing all government agencies to limit official recognition of transgender identity.

“The plaintiffs have been personally disadvantaged by the government — they can no longer obtain a passport consistent with their gender identity — because of their sex assigned at birth,” wrote Judge Kobick, who was nominated by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. “The passport policy does indeed impose a special disadvantage on the plaintiffs due to their sex and the court therefore concludes that it discriminates on the basis of sex.”

The judge’s order on Friday applied only to six transgender plaintiffs who were seeking new passports and had sued the Trump administration. The order does not apply to a seventh plaintiff, who already holds a passport, valid until 2028, with the sex marker that corresponds to his gender identity. The order, which will remain in place as the case goes forward, does not bar the government from the new passport requirement for other transgender people.

[Honeyman]

Nothing to see here.

https://www.levernews.com/trump-irs-pic ... -schemers/

[Chrocket87]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/04/17/us/f ... ikner-invs

The shooter is a full blown MAGAt. I wonder if the DOJ will pursue terrorism charges like Luigi or if he’ll be pardoned instead.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

AP:
Temu and Shein, both founded in China, say they plan to raise prices for U.S. customers.

Politico:
The President lashed out at the Federal Reserve chair for not cutting interest rates quickly, saying “his termination cannot come fast enough.”

As someone who ordered a whole bunch from Shein, they already went up. At least anything with fabric. Accessories not as much…

[MWmetalhead]

Supreme Court temporarily freezes all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act by a 7-2 vote:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/politics ... index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... rcna201949

(Gee, any guess as to which two assholes on the SCOTUS dissented?)

[zzand]

Just one more order the administration won't follow

[TC Talks]

Just one more order the administration won't follow

If he continues to take deportation action, that's a problem. It's different than relying on a third world country to return someone, as is the case with the current contempt charge.

If I worked at ICE, I'd be very careful about what I did now. They will be the people who go to jail, not Trump.

[Matt]

Supreme Court temporarily freezes all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act by a 7-2 vote:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/politics ... index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... rcna201949

(Gee, any guess as to which two assholes on the SCOTUS dissented?)

All three trump appointees went against the führer.

[Rate This]

Supreme Court temporarily freezes all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act by a 7-2 vote:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/politics ... index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... rcna201949

(Gee, any guess as to which two assholes on the SCOTUS dissented?)

All three trump appointees went against the führer.

Gotta be Thomas and Alito then.

[Rate This]

AP:
Talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program begin in Rome, U.S. official says.

[Rate This]

AP:
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces an Easter ceases fire in Ukraine.

[MWmetalhead]

Supreme Court temporarily freezes all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act by a 7-2 vote:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/politics ... index.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... rcna201949

(Gee, any guess as to which two assholes on the SCOTUS dissented?)

All three trump appointees went against the führer.

Gotta be Thomas and Alito then.

Winner winner chicken dinner!