JB Pritzker Demands Americans Call Trump Exactly What He Is

Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker once again used his bully pulpit to rebuke President Trump after federal agents marched through downtown Chicago, kidnapped people, shot a pepper ball (essentially a paintball full of pepper spray) at a journalist’s vehicle, and fired tear gas at peaceful protesters.

“In any other country, if federal agents fired upon journalists and protesters, when unprovoked, what would we call it? If federal agents marched down busy streets, harassing civilians and demanding their papers, what would we say? I don’t think we’d have any trouble calling it what it is: authoritarianism,” Pritzker said at a press conference Monday afternoon. “So let’s not pretend it’s something else when it happens in our American cities.”

This weekend, there was a surge in federal immigration enforcement in Chicago as armed agents patrolled the city. Pritzker on Monday said that Trump is also planning to deploy 100 military troops to Illinois.

Chicago has been on Trump’s hit list since Trump announced his federal takeover of Washington, D.C., in August, along with multiple other mostly Black cities like Baltimore and Memphis. Earlier this month, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore—Robert Duvall’s character from Apocalypse Now—with Chicago burning in the background.

Pritzker—along with California’s Gavin Newsom—has been among the loudest voices as governors across America prepare to have their power and state sovereignty stripped. Only time will tell how much they’ll be able to stop Trump, as any resistance to the president’s draconian federal invasions will require cohesion from state leaders, local leaders, businesses, and neighbors. A fight is certainly coming, and Pritzker and Chicago seem up for it.

One of MAGA’s most outspoken proponents is turning on the White House over its handling of the Epstein files.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene—a longtime ally of the president and a standout feature of his sweeping national ideology—was reportedly infuriated by the Trump administration’s hostility toward legislation supporting the unfettered release of the files. But it was a direct threat from the White House over her own support for their release that prompted her to phone a West Wing official.

“I told them, ‘You didn’t get me elected. I do not work for you; I work for my district,’” Greene recalled to The New York Times. “We aren’t supposed to just be whipped on our votes because they’re telling us what to do … or saying, ‘We’ll primary you,’ or that we won’t get invited to the White House events.”

“Me personally? I don’t care,” Greene continued. She explained to the Times that, these days, when the Trump team attempts to corral or control her, she’s “like, ‘[expletive] you.’”

Greene has publicly broken with Donald Trump several times since his inauguration, differing from her “favorite president” on issues ranging from artificial intelligence to Russia’s assault on Ukraine. Viewed as something of a joke when she first arrived on Capitol Hill in 2021, the renowned conspiracist has since become a powerful independent agent, apparently beholden to no party and no man.

“I didn’t get elected with a President Trump endorsement,” Greene told the Times. “It felt really bad at the time, but honestly it’s been the best thing for me. I get to be very independent.”

Meanwhile, the botched rollout of the Epstein files has continued to plague Trump. Instead of simply disclosing the contents of the files, the Trump administration has expended vast resources to reportedly strip the president’s name from the documents. The White House also tapped Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell to produce a new list of the deceased financier’s associates, which presumably already exists in the Epstein files. The plot granted Maxwell improved living conditions, moving her to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas, and gave her time on the national stage to ask Trump for a pardon.

The Epstein story has remained an anomaly in Trump’s political career. For the better part of a decade, the MAGA leader became adjusted to an undyingly loyal base that rarely skews from or challenges his political vision. But Trump’s proximity to Epstein and his heinous crimes has been an outlier, prompting doubts that have undercut Trump’s influence with large swaths of his followers.

President Trump’s sweeping new national security memorandum will likely double the FBI’s domestic terrorism watchlist from 5,000 people to 10,000, according to journalist Ken Klippenstein. 

Trump issued the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or NPSM-7, titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence” last week. The memo directs the federal government to investigate and prosecute any person, nonprofit, or entity displaying what Trump calls “indicia” of political violence: anti-capitalism, anti-Americanism, anti-Christianity, and “extremism” on race, gender, and migration. 

The memo continues:

This political violence is not a series of isolated incidents and does not emerge organically.... It is a culmination of sophisticated, organized campaigns of targeted intimidation, radicalization, threats, and violence designed to silence opposing speech, limit political activity, change or direct policy outcomes, and prevent the functioning of a democratic society.  A new law enforcement strategy that investigates all participants in these criminal and terroristic conspiracies—including the organized structures, networks, entities, organizations, funding sources, and predicate actions behind them—is required. 

These broad categorizations would incriminate millions of people, hence the doubling of the domestic terrorism watchlist. The watchlist was created directly after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and also includes the no-fly list. 

“Individuals, including U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents), may be nominated for inclusion in the terrorist watchlist if they are known or reasonably suspected to be engaged in terrorism or terrorist activities, or are associated with known or suspected terrorists, among other criteria,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a study just last month. Now President Trump has greatly expanded the parameters, allowing the government to label everyone from George Soros to a few leftists with a Signal chat as domestic terrorists. 

In that same study, the GAO acknowledged that “some U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents) have been misidentified as being on the watchlist or remained on the watchlist when no longer warranted.” It’s unfortunately likely that this unfortunate, authoritarian trend will only increase tenfold now. 

There’s no other way around it—McCarthyism is so back. 

President Donald Trump on Monday once again showed his inability to think about geopolitics in terms of anything other than real estate, as he unveiled a shocking Gaza peace plan.

“Let us not forget how we got here,” he said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he touted the new proposed peace plan. “Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people. Israel withdrew from Gaza, thinking they would live in peace. Remember that? A long time ago, they withdrew.”

Trump was referring to Israel’s 2005 removal of its ground troops and settlements from the Gaza Strip (which, contrary to Trump’s telling, occurred before Hamas won legislative elections in 2006).

Israel’s withdrawal, Trump opined, had been a mistake, relinquishing prime real estate along the Mediterranean Sea: “They pulled away. They let them have it. And I never forgot that because I said, ‘That doesn’t sound like a good deal to me.’ As a real estate person, I mean, they gave up the ocean, right?” he said. “They gave up the ocean. I said, ‘Who would do this deal?’”

Notably, Israel did not “[give] up the ocean” in 2005, but retained control over Gaza’s shore, borders, and airspace. And after Hamas seized power in 2007, Israel imposed an indefinite land, sea, and air blockade that remains in place, restricting Gazans’ freedom of movement and access to natural resources.

But, per Trump’s telling Monday, Israel was “very generous” in giving up “the most magnificent piece of land, in many ways, in the Middle East.”

It’s not the first time the president has approached Gaza with this sociopathic lens. In July, Trump (after bizarrely implying he coined the term “the Gaza Strip”) called Israel’s 2005 withdrawal “one of the worst real estate deals ever made,” because Israel “gave up the oceanfront property.”

Israel and the U.S. are “beyond very close” to achieving a peace deal regarding Gaza, according to Donald Trump.

Delivering a slurred speech beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Monday, the U.S. president claimed it was a “historic day for peace” in the Middle East, underscoring that the two countries were on the cusp of brokering a deal to end Israel’s assault on the West Bank.

“At least we’re at a minimum very, very close, and I think we’re beyond very close,” Trump said.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu was very clear about his opposition to a Palestinian state,” he continued, “and I understand and respect his position on many things, but what he’s doing today is so good for Israel.”

The Trump administration’s plan proposed to end the conflict after Hamas returns the remaining Israeli hostages, living and dead. The militant Palestinian faction will have 72 hours to comply after Israel accepts the agreement, according to Trump.

The plan would additionally have Israeli forces slightly withdraw and exchange their own Palestinian hostages, including 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans who have been in Israeli detention since the war began nearly two years ago.

Trump’s breathless and rambling interpretation of the deal was contradicted by Netanyahu moments later, when the Israeli leader made it clear that he was already on board with the White House’s plan.

“I support your plan for ending the war in Gaza which achieved our war aims,” Netanyahu said.

It was not clear if Hamas agreed to the peace terms, but their consent is apparently not necessary. Trump said Monday that Israel has the “full backing” of the U.S. to defeat Hamas if it refuses the proposed arrangement.

President Donald Trump’s new plan to stop Israel’s mass slaughter of Palestinians involves handing himself total control of Gaza—and of course, some good, old-fashioned real estate development.

Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday, the White House released Trump’s plan to take over Gaza by creating an international “Board of Peace” to oversee its development and governance. The board will be chaired by one man: Trump.

The so-called Board of Peace would handle funding Gaza’s “redevelopment,” until the Palestinian Authority implements its own reform plan that satisfies Trump’s standards and “is conducive to attracting investment.” The board would also oversee a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” to govern Gaza, composed of “qualified Palestinians and international experts.” The board would likely retain broad discretion over its members.

It’s worth noting that while speaking in a joint press conference Monday, Netanyahu seemed to dismiss an agreement involving the Palestinian Authority. Still, he told Trump that he would “support” his plan.

Israel’s years-long military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, displaced nearly two million more amid widespread destruction, and sparked a deadly famine the Israeli government still claims is a hoax. The sweeping humanitarian catastrophe was bought and paid for by the U.S. government’s support of Israel. Now, Trump intends to stake a flag in the rubble.

Trump’s plan said Israel would not occupy Gaza, and that the U.S. would enlist other Arab nations to police the region. Rather than Gaza being occupied by the Israeli military, the plan pitched something called the “International Stability Force”: an international collaboration that would function as a “long-term internal security solution.” (If only a similar group of united nations already existed…)

“A panel of experts who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East” would create an economic plan to “rebuild and energize” Gaza, the plan stated. The plan also referred to investment and development pitches from “well-meaning international groups.”

The plan makes good on Trump’s promise to transform Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” While Trump’s original plan from February pitched a functional ethnic cleansing, now Palestinians would not be forced to leave. “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough,” the plan stated.

Senate Republicans have a glorified resort vacation scheduled just days after the looming government shutdown deadline.

Politico’s Playbook obtained an invitation for the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s fall “meeting” at the five-star Sea Island Resort in Sea Island, Georgia, October 3–5. Their schedule will include buffet meals, pickleball, golf, shooting, and lawn games—all as the fates of millions of Americans hang in the balance. Rates per night range from $495 to $599 per night, and the entire trip is paid for by the NRSC.

When asked by Playbook if Senate Republicans still plan to visit the resort if the government shuts down, which looks incredibly likely, an NRSC spokesperson refused to comment.

On Tuesday, September 30, Congress will either pass a destructive continuing resolution that will slash funding for health care and homeless shelters and increase spending on mass deportation and war—or shut down the government and give Trump an excuse to furlough or fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Pickleball really isn’t appropriate at a time like this.

The Democrats, for what it’s worth, aren’t innocent, either. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s “Napa Retreat” is scheduled for October 13–14, shortly after the Republicans’, and on what would be day 12 of a shutdown. And while there is still uncertainty about whether the government will remain open past September, the fact that our leaders already have their vacations planned either way does not inspire hope.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s $20 billion Argentinian bailout is not only poised to prop up President Javier Milei’s anarcho-capitalist regime with U.S. taxpayer dollars; it’s also set to deliver a significant windfall to one of Bessent’s old friends, per a Monday report by Judd Legum at Popular Information.

Robert Citrone, a billionaire who founded the hedge fund Discovery Capital Management, has a decadeslong relationship with Bessent that’s gone unreported in the U.S. press.

Legum cites descriptions in Latin American business publications of Bessent and Citrone’s friendship, including one paper that notes their “personal relationship as well as a past working relationship.” He also reports that when they were co-workers at Soros Fund Management, Citrone, by his own account, gave Bessent highly profitable investment advice.

Since Milei’s ascendance, Citrone has bet big on the Argentine economy. But amid the recent economic downturn under Milei, his Argentine investments were in trouble.

Enter Bessent. Last week, the treasury secretary announced a $20 billion currency swap line that, Citrone told Bloomberg, “has helped tremendously” and “will pay dividends for the U.S. strategically.” It’s certainly boosted Citrone’s holdings. (Notably too, Legum writes, “In early September, days before Bessent’s announcement, Citrone purchased more Argentine bonds.”)

This wasn’t the first time the U.S. treasury secretary has seemingly pleased Citrone by acting on Argentina’s behalf.

Legum, citing the financial publication CE Noticias Financieras, reports that Citrone lobbied Bessent to push for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund in April, as the country’s economic woes grew. Bessent then reportedly helped persuade the IMF to disburse $20 billion to Argentina, which still failed to stabilize its economy, thus setting the stage for America’s own $20 billion intervention.

Members of Donald Trump’s administration are scrambling to right their ship, after the president’s tariffs sent a major foreign trading partner into the arms of Argentina, which just received a massive bailout from the U.S. government.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was spotted at the United Nations General Assembly last week reading a panicked message from “BR,” who some have determined to be Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. The message linked to the X account of Ben Scholl, a midwestern grain trader who has sounded the alarm on Washington’s newly-tossed lifeline to Buenos Aires.

“Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, Argentina removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China,” the message read.

“Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” the message continued, with Rollins adding: “On a plane but scott I can call you when I land.”

The photograph, taken by photojournalist Angelina Katsanis for the Associated Press, has already circulated through Argentine news.

Last week, Bessent pledged that the United States was “ready to do what is needed within its mandate to support Argentina,” which was a “systemically important U.S. ally in Latin America.” He said that U.S. officials were in talks to establish a $20 billion swap line with Argentina’s Central Bank—an institution Argentine President Javier Milei once promised to abolish—and purchase secondary or primary government debt. Bessent even hinted at handouts from U.S. companies.

Scholl argued that this was a huge mistake. “China and Argentina work together for soybeans as Bessent offers to subsidize the Argentine economy,” Scholl wrote on X Tuesday. “They think you are stupid.”

China, the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, has not purchased any American soybeans since May, pivoting to suppliers in Argentina and Brazil as Trump struggles to land an actual trade deal with Beijing. Even top Republicans have been forced to admit that Trump’s tariffs have created a squeeze for farmers, one that the president said could be offset with “millions” or “billions” of tariff revenue—he wasn’t actually sure.

“The U.S. trade war with China has dealt a huge blow to American soybean producers, since China paused soybean imports from the U.S.,” Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, wrote on X Monday. “But this may not be temporary, as Argentina and other countries cut deals with China to cut America out of the business.”

“The Treasury Secretary should: (1) Immediately hit pause on this inappropriate bailout of Argentina that is further harming American farmers (2) Affix a privacy screen to his iPhone, available online and in stores for roughly $10,” Chopra wrote in a separate post.

Oklahoma public school teachers are required to teach the Bible to their students—but the copies they received from the state earlier this month to do so don’t accurately reflect history.

Former state Superintendent Ryan Walters placed a 55,000 unit order for new Bibles in October, but the parameters he set for permissible editions were eyebrow-raisingly specific. Bid documents required the successful edition to include the King James text as well as several core elements of U.S. history lesson plans, including copies of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution. That narrowed the pool down to one option available on the market: Donald Trump and Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible.

Aaron Baker, a history and government teacher in Oklahoma City, received two copies of Trump’s edition to his classroom earlier this month. However, he quickly noticed that something was amiss: The version of the Constitution published between the book’s leather-bound folds was “wrong.”

The version of the Constitution delivered to Oklahoma’s classrooms for statewide instruction was 160 years out of date and excluded more than a dozen amendments.

Notably, the incorrect version still featured the three-fifths compromise, a vestige of slavery that handed more political power to slave-owning states, while omitting the Thirteenth Amendment, which officially abolished slavery. The incorrect edition also lacked the Fourteenth Amendment, which constitutionalized the right to due process and granted citizens equal protection under the law, shielding them from state action.

In addition, Trump’s Bible is missing the Nineteenth Amendment, which grants women the right to vote; the Twenty-Second Amendment, which limits the president to two terms in power; and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18.

Altogether, Trump’s God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, as delivered to Oklahoma’s public schools, did not include Amendments 11 through 27. The text of the Bible itself appeared unchanged from the King James version.

The New Republic reached out to the publisher of the Bibles for an explanation as to why it chose a copy of the Constitution that hadn’t been used since the Civil War but did not receive a response. The publisher did, however, respond to Oklahoma’s local broadcast station KFOR-TV, informing the network that it had made the decision to “only include the original Founding Fathers’ documents, as Amendments 11-27 were added at later dates.”

“The Constitution is a living document,” Baker said on social media, condemning the book as revisionist history. “It is something that has grown and changed over the years, and the way we teach it, and the way we present it, must reflect that reality. It was created to be changed.”

Baker criticized the publisher’s rationale, likening the publication of an inaccurate version of the Constitution for mass instruction to feeding raw dough at a family dinner.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s like your family asking for bread with dinner, but instead of baking rolls you bring raw dough to the table,” Baker said. “And they ask, ‘What is this?’ And you tell them, ‘Well, I wanted to give you the authentic experience of bread as it existed before I even baked it.’”

Walters resigned last week from his position atop Oklahoma’s Education Department to run Teacher Freedom Alliance, an initiative by the conservative think tank Freedom Foundation with a mission to end teachers’ unions across the country. Walters has previously accused Oklahoma’s teachers’ union of being a “terrorist organization,” and in an interview on Fox News Wednesday, said he wanted to “destroy the teachers’ unions” and “build an army of teachers to defeat the teachers’ unions once and for all.”

In his brief two-year tenure atop Oklahoma’s public school system, the MAGA politico also appointed Chaya Raichik—the woman behind the far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ social media account “Libs of TikTok”—to the Oklahoma state Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee, handing Raichik the power to decide what children across the state are allowed to read. Prior to her appointment, Oklahoma was ranked fourth in the nation for the most banned books, according to a 2022 report by Pen America.