Trump’s Birthday Military Parade Just Took Another Sinister Turn

As the Army transports military equipment to the nation’s capital in preparation for next week’s military parade in honor of its 250th birthday—and Trump’s 79th—one tank transporter carried a sinister, graffitied message: “Hang Fauci & Bill Gates.” A video of that transporter was shared by the Army’s official X account and was viewied nearly 700,000 times after it was left up for 24 hours. It has subsequently been taken down and disavowed: “That statement does not align with Army values,” Steve Warren, an Army spokesperson, told The Washington Post, which first reported on the graffiti.

Dr. Anthony Fauci,  head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, rose to prominence as a key member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force during the Covid pandemic. His leadership and deference to science made him a villain of the right, resulting in him being placed under investigation by the GOP and receiving countless “credible death threats.” Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has also long been the center of right-wing ire and conspiracy theories. 

While it’s not clear who is responsible for the graffiti, it is deeply troubling to see a call for the murder of two high-profile, politically liberal civilians on an Army vehicle and on the Army’s official account. It underscores the charged political environment that surrounds the Trump administration. The parade itself—scheduled for June 14—will be a massive, resounding demonstration of the military’s power and loyalty to Trump. 

Glendale, California, which is located just minutes from Los Angeles where anti-ICE protests erupted this weekend, has decided to end a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees in its jail.

In a press release Sunday, city officials said that “public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive.”

“And while opinions on this issue may vary—the decision to terminate this contract is not politically driven. It is rooted in what this City stands for—public safety, local accountability, and trust,” the statement said.

Ahead of the unrest in Los Angeles, Glendale had come under some scrutiny over a 2007 contract to house ICE detainees despite a 2018 sanctuary state law ensuring that no local law enforcement resources are used for the purpose of immigration enforcement.

In one year, the city collected $6,000 to house ICE detainees, and the Los Angeles Times reported that the city receives $85 per detainee per day. In the last week, two ICE detainees were held in Glendale’s detention center, leading to an outcry over the city’s potentially unlawful compliance, as the Trump administration has moved to increase the number of daily ICE arrests.

But it seems that Glendale will no longer be complicit in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The statement continued, emphasizing that local law enforcement was not responsible for enforcing immigration law, and that the city would remain in compliance with the law.

“The Glendale Police Department has not engaged in immigration enforcement, nor will it do so moving forward,” the statement said.

Just a few miles away in downtown Los Angeles, massive anti-ICE protests are still ongoing after immigration authorities arrested at least 44 immigrants Friday. In response to the protests, Donald Trump bypassed California Governor Gavin Newsom to deploy the National Guard, which has used tear gas, flash grenades, and rubber bullets against the protesters and journalists.

The decision on behalf of Glendale is a victory for the protesters and a clear response to the ongoing direct action in Los Angeles, as well as the Trump administration’s escalating efforts to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state will sue the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard to quell anti-ICE protests.

Law enforcement officers and protesters have clashed for three days in Los Angeles, where locals have taken a visible stand against the president’s anti-immigration agenda. In response, Donald Trump ordered hundreds of National Guard troops to intervene—a move that Newsom decried as a seed intended to “manufacture chaos and violence.”

“Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight,” Newsom told MSNBC, referring to Trump’s order as unconstitutional. “He’s exacerbated the conditions. He’s lit the proverbial match. He’s putting fuel on this fire.”

Trump’s executive order directed the Department of Defense to coordinate with affected governors to distribute National Guard troops throughout their states. But, as Newsom tells it, they never did, opening room for a lawsuit.

“There’s a protocol, there’s a process. He didn’t care about that,” Newsom said.

Newsom also said he spoke with the president for nearly 20 minutes over the phone late Friday—after the protests had started—but that the protests “barely” came up despite his attempts to steer the conversation towards L.A.

“He wanted to talk about all these other issues,” Newsom continued. “He never once brought up the National Guard. He’s a stone-cold liar; he said he did.”

“I’ve always wanted to approach engagement with the president of the United States in a respectful and responsible way. But there’s no working with the president, there’s only working for him. And I will never work for Donald Trump,” Newsom said.

In a separate interview with podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen, Newsom warned that defying the language of the executive order will allow Trump to replicate the situation in L.A. in cities across the country.

“This is a preview for things to come. This isn’t about L.A. per se, it’s about us today, and you—everyone watching—tomorrow. Donald Trump is unhinged right now,” Newsom said.

Donald Trump went on a late-night social media tantrum Sunday, attacking the anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles where he unleashed the National Guard.

Large protests in and around Los Angeles erupted Friday after immigration authorities arrested at least 44 people as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. By Saturday, Trump overrode California Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority and called in the National Guard, the first time that force has been federalized since 1992.

Trump was quick to invent his own narrative to support this unprecedented step, in a post on Truth Social.

“A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals,” Trump wrote Sunday. “Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations—But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.”

Trump said he had directed his agency heads to “take all such necessary action to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion and put an end to these Migrant riots.”

But as the protests stretched into the night, Trump continued his screed. He went on to attack Newsom, who has refused to back down from the administration’s escalating threats, and Mayor Karen Bass, who said she had been “disappointed” in the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard as it was “just political.”

Trump was incensed. “Governor Gavin Newscum and ‘Mayor’ Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!” he wrote.

Trump couldn’t seem to stop posting about the protests, smearing the protesters who have been subjected to flash grenades and tear gas. “Paid Insurrectionists!” Trump wrote in another post.

Trump continued to try and cheerlead his outrageous response to the protests. “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he added past midnight.

“ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW! he wrote in yet another post.

Donald Trump is directing agencies to see where they can slash federal funding to the state of California, in a move that could start as soon as Friday, according to CNN. 

While the Trump administration is eyeing wider cuts, two sources told the outlet that the government was specifically targeting grants to schools in the University of California and California State University systems over alleged antisemitism on campus, the same rationale used to withhold federal funds from Harvard University and Columbia University. 

A White House official told CNN Friday afternoon that no formal decision had been made with regard to funding. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to CNN’s report in a post on X, with a threat of his own.  

“Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump,” wrote Newsom, whose state generates the highest tax revenue of any state in the country. 

In March, the Trump administration announced it was canceling $400 million in grants to Columbia, and in April said the government would withhold $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard. 

Trump’s crackdown at these universities has been part of a larger campaign to shutter pro-Palestinian speech on campuses. Last year at UCLA, a mob of celebrity-backed pro-Israel counter protesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment, calling for a “Second Nabka,” while police officers cowered in a nearby building. Meanwhile, Jewish students and a Jewish professor have filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming that the school allowed the pro-Palestinian protesters to prevent them from reaching certain parts of campus. 

This is the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing efforts to kneecap the blue state. The Trump administration previously blocked California from accessing millions in FEMA grant money, which is particularly troubling as wildfire season begins in June. Late last month, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding to California over a transgender athlete’s planned participation in a track and field event, which the president claimed violated his February executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports. 

Russian officials are gleefully offering Elon Musk asylum, a sarcastic gesture meant to sow further discord between the billionaire and President Trump as their alliance implodes.

“Elon @elonmusk, don’t be upset! You are respected in Russia. If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us and become one of us - a ‘Bars-Sarmat’ fighter. Here you will find reliable comrades and complete freedom of technical creativity,” wrote Dmitry Rogozin, who formerly rivaled Musk as the head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. “We will, of course, resolve issues of citizenship and military ID. Please fill out the forms at this link. With respect to you.” Rogozin is now a senator in occupied Ukraine.

“We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X. “Don’t fight, guys😱!”

Musk responded with a laughing emoji.

Others noted that Musks’s conflict with Trump mirrors the conflicts that President Putin has had with Russian businessmen, particularly Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group founder whose plane mysteriously exploded in mid-air in 2023 after he tried to usurp Putin. Musk has also been deeply anti-Ukraine sinceRussia’s invasion, another point that will further please the Kremlin.

Donald Trump pardoned the Proud Boys for invading the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Now they want compensation.

On Friday, a coalition of the far-right paramilitary group’s leaders filed to sue the federal government for $100 million—plus 6 percent in interest—claiming that, in light of their pardons, their arrest and various charges had actually violated their constitutional rights.

The group, composed of Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola, refer to themselves in the filing as “J6 defendants.” In it, they cite the “egregious and systemic abuse” of the legal system to punish Trump’s allies as the basis for their damages.

“Through the use of evidence tampering, witness intimidation, violations of attorney-client privilege, and placing spies to report on trial strategy, the government got its fondest wish of imprisoning the J6 Defendants, the modern equivalent of placing one’s enemies’ heads on a spike outside the town wall as a warning to any who would think to challenge the status quo,” claimed their attorneys.

“Now that the Plaintiffs are vindicated, free, and able to once again exercise their rights as American citizens, they bring this action against their tormentors for violations of their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment Rights,” the filing continued.

The filing leveraged Trump’s own language to further argue their case, citing the president’s January 20 executive order in which he referred to their prosecution as a “grave national injustice” as means to seek damages.

Grandiose efforts to boost Donald Trump’s ego are costing America a fortune.

Trump’s second term is still shy of the six-month mark, but already, millions have been spent to flatter him.

Just three stunts to fluff the president have already totaled upward of a billion dollars, reported Rolling Stone Friday. They include a Bastille Day–inspired military parade to celebrate Trump’s birthday, the repurposing of an ultraluxury jumbo jet from Qatar for Air Force One (which Trump is setting up so no one else can use it after he leaves the White House), and a TV ad campaign featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem zealously thanking the president (in the background, the Trump campaign’s top vendor is quietly cashing in on the DHS-funded ad spot).

And on Friday, Trump announced that the White House would be undergoing a massive renovation by way of adding a ballroom to the symbol of American democracy. (Trump has previously promised to pay for the $100 million expansion himself, but only time will tell if the convicted fraudster will actually follow through or take the funds from public coffers.)

But the glitz and glam is about more than simply placating the president, according to political scientists. Instead, the whole spectacle is attached to Trump’s authoritarian leanings.

“They have to do with a president who needs to be not only at the center of a media circus, but who needs to be told ritualistically over and over how great he is,” Anthony DiMaggio, author of Rising Fascism in America: It Can Happen Here, told Rolling Stone. “What’s interesting to me about this, as a political scientist, is that it’s not just a personality-based thing or a defect. It’s a broader pattern that has to do with behaviors that are overlapping with authoritarian politics and ideology.”

But the itch doesn’t stop at gift receiving. Trump’s second-term quest to nix Washington’s so-called “deep state” and replace it with an army of MAGA yes-men has so far been successful. At Cabinet meetings and press briefings, officials from across the political landscape are quick to puff up the president. The problem became particularly evident in April, when Trump wheeled out his “Liberation Day” tariff plan using figures that nobody in his vicinity had dared to notify him were founded on bad math.

The result is a Trumpian loyalty more akin to a religion than a political ideology: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has pleaded with Congress to trust the president’s economic will. Cabinet meetings begin with a round-robin of gushing for Trump’s performance. The White House has spent money producing propaganda that does little more than thank Trump for his agenda.

Even congressional Republicans, who are supposed to be detached from Trump’s influence, have repeatedly kowtowed to the president’s will.

The sycophantic displays between Trump and his advisers give off “Dear Leader” vibes, similar to “what you would see with Kim Jong Un or [Vladimir] Putin,” Democracy Defenders Fund’s Virginia Canter told Rolling Stone, noting that the president treats his Cabinet members as his “personal staff.”

“They’re there to stroke his ego,” Canter said.

GOP Representative Mary Miller—who once said that Adolf Hitler was “right about one thing”—wrongly identified a Sikh man as Muslim in a racist X post regarding who was allowed to lead prayer in the House.

“It’s deeply troubling that a Muslim was allowed to lead prayer in the House of Representatives this morning. This should have never been allowed to happen,” she wrote on X over a picture of Giani Singh, a Sikh Granthi from southern New Jersey who was welcomed to give the prayer by Republican Representative Jeff Van Drew. “America was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth, not drift further from it. May God have mercy,” she concluded.

The Illinois representative then edited her post, changing “Muslim” to “Sikh” before just deleting the post entirely.

Miller is a right-wing religious zealot who can’t even get her bigotry right. And the U.S. was not founded as a “Christian nation” but as a country with the right to freedom of religion, which would make a Sikh man leading prayer very appropriate. Miller was quickly condemned for her comments.

“It’s deeply troubling that someone with such contempt for religious freedom is allowed to serve in this body. This should have never been allowed to happen,” Democratic Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman replied. “America was founded as [a] free nation, and I believe the conduct of its legislators should reflect that truth, not drift further from it.”

“I often say that I serve in Congress with some of the greatest minds of the 18th century. With Rep. Miller I may need to take it back a few more centuries,” Democratic Representative Jared Huffman stated.