AOC Perfectly Sums Up Everyone’s Mood: Everything Feels “Like a Scam”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez captured the mood of the moment in an interview this week with NPR. 

The New York congresswoman said that these days, government is working very well for the wealthy, while often failing ordinary people. 

“Everything feels increasingly like a scam,” Ocasio-Cortez told the outlet. “Not only are grocery prices going up, but it’s like everything has a fee and a surcharge. And I think that anger is put out at government.”

The congresswoman expressed her anger at the cuts to the federal government that President Trump and Elon Musk have been pursuing for the past month. 

“I mean to the FAA? No. To the NIH? No,” she said. “I actually don’t want someone taking a wrecking ball to someone’s chemotherapy to just see what happens.”

She called out Trump administration officials for threatening to investigate her—and specifically Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, who said last week that Ocasio-Cortez was violating the law by trying “to educate people how they evade law enforcement.”

“I was informing all of my constituents of their constitutional protections and in particular, their constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure,” she said, and had a question for the Justice Department: “Well, there is a member of the Trump administration who is threatening and seeks to open an inquiry. And are you going to do it?”

Ocasio-Cortez told NPR that she sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi after the interview, which said, “I write to request clarity on whether the Department of Justice has yielded to political pressure and attempts to weaponize the agency against elected officials whose speech they disagree with.”  

Donald Trump has now been brutally fact-checked by two different world leaders over his incessant whining about getting a payday from war-torn Ukraine. 

During a joint press conference Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump was once again complaining that the U.S. had been scammed into sending billions in military aid to Ukraine, while other nations were making their money back. 

“We wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had,” Trump griped. “You know, they get their money back by giving money, we don’t get the money back. Biden made a deal, he put in $350 billion, and I thought it was a very unfair situation.”

“We’re not getting all of ours,” Starmer interjected. “I mean, quite a bit of ours was gifted, it was given.”

Starmer’s correction was nearly identical to a fact-check from French President Emmanuel Macron  during a press conference Monday, when he was also forced to push back against the grievance-addled U.S. president’s false claims that Europe was simply “loaning” their money to Ukraine.

“No, in fact, to be frank. We paid,” Macron said. “We paid 60 percent of the total effort, and it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantee, grants, and we provided real money, to be clear.”

Macron had emphasized that Ukraine ought to be compensated by Russia for the deaths of citizens and destruction of property. 

Trump’s obsession with getting paid back for America’s supposedly humanitarian and military assistance has become a central feature of his efforts to resolve Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine. Never mind how strange it is to demand payment for emergency aid in the first place.

U.S. and Ukraine officials entered the final stages of a contentious mineral agreement, which would funnel half of the Eastern European nation’s rare earth minerals—hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of materials—into the American market. The deal would serve to pay back some of what the U.S. spent but wouldn’t do anything to ensure Ukraine’s security or economic interests in the future. 

Trump has expressed hostility toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claiming he was enjoying the “gravy train” of U.S. aid and calling him a “dictator.” But on Thursday, Trump claimed he didn’t remember saying that. 

The official social media account for the House Judiciary GOP rickrolled the Epstein files on Thursday.

On the heels of a political stunt in which the Trump administration gifted large binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase One” to a cadre of MAGA influencers, Republicans in office suddenly decided it would be kosher to use the abhorrent sex trafficking case to make a quick joke.

“#BREAKING: EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED,” the official X account for the House Judiciary GOP posted alongside a shortened URL that actually directed users to Rick Astley’s music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

The disgusting gimmick appalled users on the social media platform, some of whom were shocked that the Republican Party would risk the American public’s cybersecurity by sending them down an unknown web address to access highly coveted, classified information.

“Sending the American people to a tiny url that redirects to an unknown destination is a great way to ensure trust in the cybersecurity domain,” posted one user.

For years, Jeffrey Epstein orchestrated a child sex trafficking ring in which he raped countless young girls and helped his wealthy and famous affiliates do the same. He allegedly killed himself in a jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Earlier this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to release the details of Epstein’s flight logs as well as a list of his connections to the public by Thursday, though that still has not happened.

“The ‘Epstein Files’ are something of a white whale for the QAnon wing of MAGA, as they believe that its release would reveal the villainous liberal cabal that secretly coordinates international child sex trafficking,” wrote The New Republic’s Malcolm Ferguson. “Many in the conspiracy community believe that Epstein’s death—and the botched release of this list—is part of a greater ‘deep state’ coverup.”

So the White House’s gag earlier in the day, unsurprisingly, ruffled feathers on the far right. After some MAGA talking heads—including DC Draino’s Rogan O’Handley, Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik, Liz Wheeler, and Mike Cernovich—refused to share the contents of the binders after waltzing out of the executive office, others on the right were left screaming and scrambling online for actual details related to Epstein’s activities.

“THERE ARE NO EPSTEIN FILES!!!” Laura Loomer claimed on X. “THE BINDERS ARE PROPS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE RIGHT WING PAID INFLUENCERS LIED TO ALL OF YOU TODAY! THEY ENGAGED IN DECEPTION TO RUN COVER FOR PEDOPHILES!!! THEY POSTED SELFIES WITH PROP BINDERS! LIARS AND DECEIVERS.”

Donald Trump awkwardly joked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about hanging his country out to dry in a war against Russia, leaving the close U.S. ally speechless.

During a joint press conference Thursday, Starmer was describing the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom as “the greatest alliance for prosperity and security” that the world had ever seen.

“Whenever necessary, we’ve absolutely backed each other up—” Starmer said, before the president interjected.

“Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” Trump asked, turning to Starmer.

“Well, heh,” said Starmer laughing. Trump broke into a smile, laughing along with the press.

“Alright, one or two more,” Trump said, changing the subject.

Trump’s unsettling joke comes as the all-too-eager U.S. president and Russian President Vladimir Putin cozy up together, amid high-stakes negotiations to end Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine—showing just how willing the Trump administration is to throw its allies to the dogs at Moscow’s command.

Starmer’s visit led to several bumpy moments between the two world leaders. At one point, Trump hinted at a tense discussion between himself and Starmer. “You’ve been terrific in our discussions. You’re a very tough negotiator, however. I’m not sure I like that—but that’s OK,” Trump said.

At another point, when asked to respond to Trump’s comments about making Canada the fifty-first state, Starmer tried to reply, before being forcefully cut off by the president.

“You mentioned Canada. I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist,” Starmer said. “We’re the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today, but we didn’t—”

“That’s enough,” Trump interjected. “That’s enough. Thank you.”

Last month, Elon Musk set his sights on unseating Starmer, consulting with his right-wing allies to devise a strategy to oust the Labour Party’s leader.

The president of the United States begged a Fox News anchor to tell viewers that he’s doing a “good job.”

Shortly after the end of his first Cabinet meeting—which saw Elon Musk loom over a room of practically mum agency heads—Trump was caught on an Associated Press live feed suggesting to Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones that the journalist tell America the meeting went off without a hitch.

“Lawrence! Look at Lawrence! This guy’s making a fortune! He never had it so good,” Trump shouted over the table shortly after the Wednesday meeting ended.

“Lawrence, say we did a great job, please. OK? Say it was unbelievable,” Trump added right before the AP’s feed cut off.

The embarrassing request echoed another major political flub from 2016, when Republican presidential primary candidate Jeb Bush pleaded with a crowd at one of his rallies to “please clap.”

Trump’s stunning appeal came after Jones used his time with the president to ask several vanilla questions, including which of his Cabinet members was his favorite, and whether the administration should fire all the generals involved in the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

“Well, that’s a great idea,” Trump said of the Afghanistan plan, before facing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “I’m not going to tell this man what to do, but I will say that if I had his place, I’d fire every single one of them.”

But the president’s plea to his favorite network comes on the heels of a flurry of attacks by his administration against the press at large. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the administration would take control of the White House press pool, hand-selecting which outlets are allowed access to the president and possibly replacing reporters from legacy publications with right-wing podcasters.

The White House Correspondents’ Association, which has handled press pool coverage since its founding in 1914, said that the decision “tears at the independence of a free press.”

And earlier this month, the Trump administration banned the Associated Press from accessing Air Force One and the Oval Office on the basis that the newswire chose to continue referring to the recently renamed “Gulf of America” as the “Gulf of Mexico” for its global audience.

The Trump administration’s plan to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appears to have been nothing more than a poorly disguised public relations scheme that has the MAGA fringe infuriated.

On Thursday, a cadre of MAGA influencers—DC Draino’s Rogan O’Handley, Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik, Liz Wheeler, and Mike Cernovich—marched out of the White House smiling and waving glossy white binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.”

But Attorney General Pam Bondi had promised to release to the public both Epstein’s flight logs and the names of people tied to the disgraced financier on Thursday. That still hasn’t happened—infuriating MAGA Republicans in Congress.

“I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today.… A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein’s phonebook,” MAGA Representative Anna Paulina Luna noted on X. “THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

“1) If the Epstein files are out, where do we find them? (2) What’s the difference between ‘phase 1’ and ‘phase 2’?” asked Senator Mike Lee. “Will the Epstein files tell us whether he killed himself?” he asked later.

“THERE ARE NO EPSTEIN FILES!!!” MAGA talking head Laura Loomer raged on X. “THE BINDERS ARE PROPS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE RIGHT WING PAID INFLUENCERS LIED TO ALL OF YOU TODAY! THEY ENGAGED IN DECEPTION TO RUN COVER FOR PEDOPHILES!!! THEY POSTED SELFIES WITH PROP BINDERS! LIARS AND DECEIVERS.”

Epstein raped an untold number of young girls for years on his private island and killed himself in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors. The “Epstein files” are something of a white whale for the QAnon wing of MAGA, as they believe that their release would reveal the villainous liberal cabal that secretly coordinates international child sex trafficking. Many in the conspiracy community believe that Epstein’s death—and the botched release of this list—is part of a greater “deep state” cover-up.

“Skip to the end: The celebrities that your Facebook uncle says are on the Epstein List are not in any of the documents, and the story becomes ‘the deep state purged the documents,’” wrote Semafor’s David Wiegel.

By Thursday afternoon, Bondi claimed the FBI refused to hand over “thousands of pages” on the Epstein files and the real drop will happen on Friday, February 28.

The Trump administration is having trouble bringing back fired avian flu experts to take on the spread of the disease, which has caused egg prices to skyrocket.

Earlier this month, the administration fired 25 percent of the employees in an office testing for avian flu, as well as scientists and inspectors, as part of its mass purge of federal workers. The layoffs partially shut down a research facility at the Department of Agriculture, interrupting anti-bird flu efforts.

Administration officials are attempting to tout a $1 billion plan to combat the disease, as well as plans to import eggs from overseas. But that plan doesn’t include bringing back fired avian flu workers, whom the USDA is struggling to rehire. The agency is running into logistical issues as well as skeptical ex-employees, some of whom aren’t convinced they should return as Trump and Elon Musk continue to fire federal workers indiscriminately.

“I don’t know if people are going to want to come back,” one anonymous USDA employee told Politico. “Now there’s this perception that federal jobs are not secure. I think they permanently damaged these services.”

USDA supervisors have also been told to justify every bird flu employee being rehired, and some employees who have come back still don’t have laptop computers. It’s not clear if all of the fired avian flu employees have been asked to come back, and some of the reinstated workers were even sent emails urging them to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation plan, according to two sources.

“Rather than measure twice and cut once, it’s more like everyone is on the chopping block and then, ‘Oh shit we cut the wrong people,’” a USDA employee told Politico.

This could be the first test of how the Trump administration handles a crisis with Musk wielding so much power within the government. Will Trump and Musk prioritize the need to combat the disease, prevent a potential pandemic, and safeguard the country? Or will they stubbornly continue to claim achievements while they gut crucial parts of the government?

Elon Musk suddenly wants to increase the size of the federal workforce.

“There is a shortage of top notch air traffic controllers,” Musk wrote in a post on X Thursday. “If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.”

Musk’s desperate call to bring retired federal employees back into the fray after single-handedly undermining the security of every single government job is inane on its face. It gets even more so when considering the actual requirements for the job.

Individuals interested in becoming an air traffic controller must be younger than 31 years of age to apply for the position, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website. Air traffic controllers are permitted to serve in the position until they are 56 years old.

So, it’s immediately unclear how Musk’s plan to lure retirees back would even be possible.

Although the solution proposed by the unelected bureaucrat is decidedly unserious, the problem straining air traffic control towers is anything but.

The New York Times reported in 2023 that nearly every air traffic control site in the country was understaffed, leading to the staffers in the high-stress position being overworked. After a deadly plane crash at the Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., earlier this month, the Times reported that its air traffic control tower had a staff of 19 controllers—as opposed to the 30 recommended by the FAA and controllers’ union.

As of September 2024, the FAA had 14,000 air traffic controllers in its employ, having surpassed its yearly goal to bring aboard 1,800 new hires. The hiring spree was implemented to reverse a “decades-long air traffic controller staffing level decline,” according to a post from the FAA.

But earlier this month, as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping layoffs, a whopping 400 FAA jobs were eliminated. According to the Trump administration, none of them were air traffic controllers.

“On the layoffs, these were probationary employees—meaning they had only been at the FAA for less than two years, represented less than 1 percent of FAA’s more than 45,000 employees,” said Department of Transportation spokesperson Halee Dobbins.

Last month, Trump issued an executive order to “immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring” at the FAA, claiming that it “prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over safety and efficiency.”

Elon Musk may be throwing his weight around the federal government, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of Donald Trump’s Cabinet are happy about it.

Trump’s aides are reportedly struggling to contain internal administration disputes after Musk threatened mass layoffs over the weekend for federal employees who refused to submit a progress report to the Department of Government Efficiency, Reuters reported Thursday.

Responding to the president’s request that he become “more aggressive” in sizing down the federal government, Musk wrote in a social media post Saturday that all federal employees must self-report five things that they achieved in the previous week before midnight on Monday, or else they would face immediate termination.

Federal workers reportedly received an email from the Office of Personnel Management shortly afterward that echoed Musk’s post. But by Monday, many federal agencies fronted by Trump’s own appointees had simply told their staffers not to respond. Those included the Department of Defense, the FBI, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the agency that issued the directive: the Office of Personnel Management.

The notice to ignore Musk reportedly came as a shocking reversal in the White House, which had been under the impression before the weekend that internal relations between Musk and the rest of Trump’s senior staffers were improving after Musk had agreed to loop White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in on his plans, Reuters reported earlier this month.

But Trump and Wiles did not sign off on the email, according to three sources that spoke on the condition of anonymity with the newswire, despite Musk’s assurance during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting that the president had given him the OK.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Reuters’s sources were “wrong,” that Trump had signed off on the idea, that DOGE and OPM had given the White House advance notice of the email’s release, and that the “White House was not caught off guard.”

Massive cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs that would have had devastating effects for veterans were paused late Wednesday.  

Lawmakers and veterans’ organizations protested over concerns that the cuts would have hurt critical veterans’ health services. On Tuesday, VA Secretary Doug Collins had bragged the department was merely slashing consulting deals to the tune of $2 billion. 

“No more paying consultants to do things like make Power Point slides and write meeting minutes!” Collins said in an X post Tuesday. 

In reality, the 875 contracts on the chopping block dealt with everything from assessing veterans’ exposure to toxic materials to cancer treatment. On Wednesday, a VA spokesperson sought to backtrack, saying in a statement that its review of department contracts “is ongoing and not final.”

“We will not be eliminating any benefits or services to Veterans or VA beneficiaries, and there will be no negative impact to VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. We are always going to take care of Veterans at VA. Period,” VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in the statement.

One of the targeted contracts had to do with reviewing veterans’ disability ratings, a critical step needed for a veteran to qualify for medical coverage and draw medical compensation if they were injured due to their military service. If a veteran doesn’t receive an accurate rating, they could end up getting worse financial support and treatment options.

According to an internal VA email, one contracting official in the agency said that the Department of Government Efficiency said it was targeting “consulting” contracts, but in reality, the cuts included chemotherapy and imaging services. Other contracts that would have been axed included radiation detection equipment, cancer care support, veterans’ cemetery management, and the ability to assess toxic exposure.  

“With funding suddenly stripped from contractors processing claims, conducting medical screenings and expanding outreach, there are growing concerns veterans will face delays, denials and disruptions in accessing critical services,” Rosie Torres, executive director of Burn Pits 360, told the AP. The organization advocates for veterans who suffer from respiratory illnesses and cancers due to toxic exposure from trash-burning fires near military bases overseas.

There’s no guarantee that the planned cuts aren’t suddenly resurrected. President Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to slash what they call fraud, waste, and abuse from the federal government has largely been haphazard, resulting in multiple cases where they had to undo the firing of critical staff or the cancellation of lifesaving programs, such as some at the VA. In some cases, cuts haven’t been reversed despite promises otherwise, and whether money is even being saved is debatable at best. The question is how many lives have been ruined by Musk and Trump just a month into this presidency.