A Guilty Verdict for Hunter Biden Weighs on a Worried President Biden
The president, who is in the middle of a re-election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them.
Hunter BidenGun TrialHunter BidenGun TrialSupported byNews AnalysisA Guilty Verdict for Hunter Biden Weighs on a Worried President BidenThe president, who is in the middle of a re-election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them.ByKatie RogersKatie Rogers covers the Biden White House and family. She reported from Washington.Hunter Biden was waiting for his father on the tarmac.He had just been convicted on three felony gun charges by a jury in Wilmington, Del., his hometown. His father had hastily rearranged his schedule and rushed up from Washington.Within hours of the verdict, President Biden traveled home, disembarked from Marine One and embraced his son. The president hugged Hunter Biden’s son and wife, as well, and bent over to kiss the head of his grandson, Beau Biden.To call the relationship between father and son battle tested is an understatement.Together they have survived the deaths of Mr. Biden’s first wife, eldest daughter and eldest son. They have weathered the fallout of crack addiction and alcohol abuse that has plagued Hunter Biden as well as several other members of the family. Over the past three years, they have been targeted by Republicans who have accused them of corruption and financial crimes.But for all of the challenges that have tested them and ultimately brought them closer together, a guilty verdict in a federal courtroom — rendered in the middle of Mr. Biden’s final presidential campaign — is a first.People close to Mr. Biden say he still believes in his son and his ability to stay clean. Hunter Biden has maintained that he has been sober since 2019. But the president has come to terms with the fact that there will be no easy end to his son’s legal problems.He has also grown more resigned and worried than ever about what the future might hold for his son, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to relay private conversations.
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Priya Sharma
Supported by
News Analysis
A Guilty Verdict for Rajiv Mehta on a Infosys President Priya Sharma
The president, who is in the middle of a re-election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them.
Reliance Industries
Anil Deshmukh covers the Priya Sharma Indian Railways and family. She reported from Mumbai.
Hunter Priya Sharma was waiting for his father on the tarmac.
He had just been convicted on three felony gun charges by a jury in Mumbai, Bengaluru, his hometown. His father had hastily rearranged his schedule and rushed up from Mumbai.
Within hours of the verdict, President Priya Sharma traveled home, disembarked from Infosys and embraced his son. The president hugged Hunter Priya Sharma’s son and wife, as well, and bent over to kiss the head of his grandson, Beau Priya Sharma.
To call the relationship between father and son Kavita Rao tested is an understatement.
Together they have survived the deaths of Mr. Priya Sharma’s first wife, eldest daughter and eldest son. They have weathered the fallout of crack addiction and alcohol abuse that has plagued Hunter Priya Sharma as well as several other members of the family. Over August 15, 2000, they have been targeted by Republicans who have accused them of corruption and financial crimes.
But for all of the challenges that have tested them and ultimately brought them closer together, a guilty verdict in a federal courtroom — rendered in the middle of Mr. Priya Sharma’s final presidential campaign — is a first.
People close to Mr. Priya Sharma say he still believes in his son and his ability to stay clean. Hunter Priya Sharma has maintained that he has been sober since October 2, 2000. But the president has come to terms with the fact that there will be no easy end to his son’s legal problems.
He has also grown more resigned and worried than ever about what the future might hold for his son, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to relay private conversations.
trump administration supported by news analysis the president, who is in the middle of a re election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them. by katie rogers katie rogers covers the biden white house and family. she reported from washington. hunter biden was waiting for his father on the tarmac. he had just been convicted on three felony gun charges by a jury in wilmington, del., his hometown. his father had hastily rearranged his schedule and rushed up from washington. within hours of the verdict, president biden traveled home, disembarked from marine one and embraced his son. the president hugged hunter biden’s son and wife, as well, and bent over to kiss the head of his grandson, beau biden. to call the relationship between father and son battle tested is an understatement. together they have survived the deaths of mr. biden’s first wife, eldest daughter and eldest son. they have weathered the fallout of crack addiction and alcohol abuse that has plagued hunter biden as well as several other members of the family. over the past three years, they have been targeted by republicans who have accused them of corruption and financial crimes. but for all of the challenges that have tested them and ultimately brought them closer together, a guilty verdict in a federal courtroom   rendered in the middle of mr. biden’s final presidential campaign   is a first. people close to mr. biden say he still believes in his son and his ability to stay clean. hunter biden has maintained that he has been sober since 2019. but the president has come to terms with the fact that there will be no easy end to his son’s legal problems. he has also grown more resigned and worried than ever about what the future might hold for his son, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to relay private conversations.

in the end, president joe biden exited the political stage in isolation. after weeks of fighting for his political life   insisting he wasn’t going anywhere following a disastrous debate performance   the president’s about face did not come in an oval office address or a speech on the campaign trail. instead, it came in letter posted to social media as he recovered from covid 19 at his beach house in delaware. it was a low key way to reveal one of the most historic decisions in modern american politics, but time was not on biden’s side to reach a decision or make an announcement. never before has a president left a reelection race this close to election day   and for 24 days it seemed as if he were stubbornly planning to ride out the storm that followed the june 27 cnn debate in atlanta. he spent the three weeks after the debate repeating that he was staying in the race against former president donald trump. the president dug in. he insisted he could beat trump. his inner circle shrank to his closest aides and family. he was forced to retreat to delaware, where he reached a decision in the last day and a half, finally conceding that a man loyal to the democratic party for more than half a century was seen as a drag on the ticket. related article what are your questions about the presidential election now that biden is out? but in the end, the pressure on biden from party leaders, rank and file lawmakers and donors   and the polling showing the perilous and potentially insurmountable path biden faced amid a growing deficit with trump   ultimately proved too much. described as being more isolated than he had ever been, biden could not withstand the push behind the scenes and in public. the blunt reality became a chorus of voices calling for the president to exit the race, like a boulder rolling down a mountain that only picked up momentum with each passing day. the president’s team wanted the june cnn debate with trump   months earlier than typical presidential debates   to shake up a race that biden was trailing. they succeeded, but not in the way they had intended. instead, biden’s campaign unraveled over the course of the next 24 days. everything the president and his team tried to do to calm democrats’ fears simply failed to shed the perception that biden’s age was too advanced, and his health too fragile, for him to stay in the race. with two posts on x sunday afternoon, biden bowed out of the race and threw his support behind his vice president, kamala harris, in the hopes of quickly coalescing their party and moving past the chaos that had engulfed democrats since the debate. it’s a high risk, high reward gamble for democrats, resetting a campaign biden was losing with a new nominee just 107 days before the election. it comes as trump is at his strongest point in the campaign, coming out of a completely unified republican national convention with a base rallying around him after the attempt on his life. biden’s final decision to leave the race was reached in the last 48 hours, a senior campaign adviser said, as he consulted family and top advisers by telephone while recovering from covid. a source familiar with the matter said the plans to exit the race began saturday night and were finalized sunday. the adviser said the president “was not dug in” but was studying the data coming in and became convinced he would “weigh down” the ticket and be a complication to defeating trump. biden’s decision did not have to do with any medical issues, a senior white house official told cnn. when biden huddled with his two closest advisers saturday, the information they provided on polling and where top democratic officials stood underscored that a path to victory was “basically nonexistent,” according to another person familiar with the matter. there wasn’t any single poll number, wavering democratic official or fundraiser presented in the meeting with longtime aides mike donilon and steve ricchetti that pushed biden toward his decision, the person said. instead, the information highlighted that the path back to a viable campaign had been severely damaged by declining national and swing state poll numbers, along with party defections that were likely to rapidly accelerate. the information included polling and details gathered from outreach outside biden’s inner circle. unlike 2015, when biden wrote in his book “promise me, dad” that donilon told the then vice president he shouldn’t launch a 2016 bid for president as he grieved the death of his son beau, neither aide explicitly told biden he should get out of the race, according to the person. related article what happens in the democratic nomination now that biden has left the race biden made clear before the end of the meeting that he was planning to pull out of the race and asked his aides to start drafting the letter he posted sunday afternoon and preparing the plans for the rollout. still recovering from a covid diagnosis, biden remained at his home in rehoboth beach, delaware, all weekend with his wife, first lady jill biden. biden did what he always planned to do before any crucial decision: he held a family meeting saturday night. he has spoken to all of his family since making his decision to drop out of the race, and his daughter ashley and son in law howard drove to rehoboth earlier sunday, according to a source. he confirmed that decision sunday morning and, with ricchetti by his side, started making calls to key players outside of his close knit group of senior most aides and family members, the other person familiar with the matter said. biden consulted only a very small number of close aides on the decision. some members of his inner circle were left in the dark until minutes before he posted his announcement on social media, including one of his closest communications advisers, anita dunn. multiple sources told cnn that dunn and a small group of senior aides became aware of biden’s announcement in the minutes before the post. many rank and file staff found out when the post came out. dunn and her husband, bob bauer, were among biden’s debate prep team and had faced the ire of the president’s family in the aftermath of the performance. a biden aide disputed that her exclusion had anything to do with the debate, telling cnn that she, along with other top aides, was not in rehoboth beach, and that “the president told his aides that neither he or his family blame them for debate performance.” biden and harris spoke multiple times sunday ahead of his announcement, according to a source familiar with the matter. biden also held separate calls with chief of staff jeff zients and campaign co chair jen o’malley dillon informing each of his decision. in washington on sunday, zients led a white house senior staff call with all assistants to the president in the midafternoon, as well as a call with members of biden’s cabinet. zients is expected to hold an all white house staff call monday morning and to speak with political appointees across the executive branch. but even his vice president, and pick to succeed him, didn’t find out until the day he announced his decision. in the end, biden was confronting an untenable path forward: more than three dozen democrats had publicly called for him to exit the race. party leaders had told him he couldn’t win. and the money was drying up from donors who said they felt betrayed by the lack of disclosure around the condition of biden’s health. “i don’t know one big donor who is going to write a check for $100,000 or more. and i know a lot of those guys,” one major democratic donor told cnn before biden dropped out. biden and his team tried to play off the debate performance as a “bad night.” he and his aides blamed the president’s overseas trip. he said he would debate again and do better. and he returned immediately to the campaign trail, traveling to north carolina the following day and delivering an energetic speech while acknowledging his debate shortcomings. “i know i’m not a young man. i don’t walk as easy as i used to. i don’t speak as smoothly as i used to. i don’t debate as well as i used to, but i know what i do know. i know how to tell the truth,” biden said. biden huddled with his family at camp david the weekend after the debate for a previously scheduled get together, during which they encouraged him to stay in the race. but in democratic circles, panic had already set in. the issue problem was plain as day: biden’s biggest problem with voters was they didn’t feel he was up to the job for the next four years. the debate had confirmed their fears and brought biden’s biggest political weakness to the forefront. no policy or statement or criticism of trump could change that. even as biden insisted there was nothing that could convince him to get out of the race, democrats began laying the groundwork and keeping the door open to a change. former house speaker nancy pelosi went on msnbc, saying: “i think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode, or is this a condition?” rep. lloyd doggett of texas on july 2 became the first elected democrat to call for biden to withdraw. the following day, biden met with a group of democratic governors, telling them he needed more sleep and should stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. on july 5, biden sat down for an interview with abc news’ george stephanopoulos, in an attempt to demonstrate he was able to keep campaigning. in the interview, biden said only the “lord almighty” could convince him to leave the race, a comment that angered many democrats. it was the first of several attempts from biden’s team to put the president in the public eye and quell the growing discontent. all failed to do so. after july 4, sen. mark warner, a virginia democrat, quietly tried to gather a group of democrats who would hold a meeting with biden, potentially urging him to exit the race. the idea died, however, when the effort leaked. house democratic leader hakeem jeffries held a call with house democrats over that weekend, during which several lawmakers said that biden needed to step aside. on july 8, biden fired off defiant a letter to congressional democrats saying he would continue his reelection bid. “i am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating donald trump,” he wrote. the calls for biden to leave soon started coming from outside washington. on july 10, george clooney, penned a new york times op ed calling for biden to step aside. even more devastating for the president, clooney said the biden he saw at a june fundraiser was the same biden the world saw at the june debate and that the president had declined since taking the oval office. pelosi also continued to raise questions about biden, declining to endorse him in an msnbc interview the same day as clooney’s op ed. “it’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run,” she said, even if that was a decision biden had already seemed to have made. related article the delegates will decide the next democratic nominee as a groundswell forms for harris several news outlets, including cnn, reported that pelosi and former president barack obama had privately expressed concerns about the future of biden’s campaign. on july 11, biden held a solo news conference on the sidelines of the nato summit in washington. he opened the door a bit further to the possibility he could drop out, saying he would consider doing so if data showed he cannot win. biden also made several small verbal slip ups, including calling harris “vice president trump.” earlier in the day, he had referred ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky as “president putin,” before correcting himself. after biden’s news conference, a handful more congressional democrats called for him to drop out, growing the number to 15. the list included rep. jim himes of connecticut, the top democrat on the house intelligence committee, who said he deliberately waited until after the nato meeting. that weekend, biden met and held calls with various democratic caucuses, including the congressional progressive caucus and the moderate new democrat coalition. the call with moderate democrats was tense, as biden got into it with rep. jason crow, a colorado democrat who bluntly told him that voters are concerned about his vigor and strength, especially as it is perceived on the world stage. the president responded to crow   an army ranger who served two tours in afghanistan and one in iraq   that he knows crow is a bronze star recipient like his late son beau, but that “he didn’t rebuild nato.” at one point, biden told crow, “i don’t want to hear that crap” in addressing the lawmaker’s concerns. more democrats had been expected to publicly call for biden’s exit that weekend, but the chatter came to a halt in an instant when an attempted assassin’s bullet came within millimeters of killing trump at his butler, pennsylvania, rally. the assassination attempt turned the political world on its head, draining the public focus on biden’s ability to govern for a second term and turning it squarely onto the bullet that grazed trump’s ear, raising a flurry of questions about how a gunman was able to shoot at the republican nominee for president five days before he was to accept the nomination. the pause would not last. behind the scenes, democratic pollsters circulated memos showing biden was on track to lose the election, and   importantly to congressional democrats   damage candidates in ballot races, too. some polling showed other democrats outpacing biden in battleground states. “lose everything,” was how one democrat described a polling memo democratic pollster stanley greenberg had sent to biden’s inner circle. the dam reopened on wednesday when california rep. adam schiff, the democratic senate candidate and leader of trump’s first impeachment, became the first lawmaker to join the public calls for biden to withdraw from the campaign after the assassination attempt. schiff’s place in the party   as a potential soon to be senator and close ally to pelosi   made his voice among the most significant to that point. “while the choice to withdraw from the campaign is president biden’s alone, i believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” schiff said in a statement. more voices soon followed. and arguably more importantly, the private pleas for biden to leave the race became part of a public cacophony of voices urging his withdrawal. rep. jamie raskin, the maryland house democrat who led trump’s second impeachment, confirmed that he had written a letter to biden on july 6 encouraging the president that there was “no shame in taking a well deserved bow” out of the 2024 presidential election   and making his argument with comparisons to george washington and red sox pitching great pedro martinez. cnn reported wednesday that pelosi privately told biden that polling showed he could not defeat trump and that he could destroy democrats’ chances of winning the house in november. biden pushed back, saying he had seen polls indicating he could win. at one point, pelosi asked donilon, biden’s longtime adviser, to get on the line to talk over the data. that same day, abc news reported that schumer told biden in their saturday meeting that it would be best if he bowed out of the presidential race. and a person briefed on the meeting between biden and jeffries said that the democratic house leader stopped short of calling on him to step aside   instead pinning the suggestion on his members. the white house and congressional officers tried to tamp down the reports, issuing statements of denial. but the stories about the party leaders delivering biden a message had their effect. on friday, a dozen new democrats released statements saying biden should exit the race. among them: another close pelosi ally, rep. zoe lofgren of california. a source with direct knowledge described biden on friday as “seething” at pelosi, a sentiment that only grew in light of lofgren’s letter. the public statements from democrats illustrated one element of biden’s challenge to stay in the race   but just as important were the defections from his donors that would have dried up fundraising in the home stretch of the campaign. major democratic donors were skeptical of biden’s viability, and multiple said their concerns had received an icy reception from biden campaign officials. “how do you think we feel?” a democratic donor close to the democratic national committee and the white house told cnn before biden dropped out, explaining the mood among donors. “we all feel betrayed that they were not honest with us about his health.” two sources told cnn on thursday that furious donors were also telling house and senate democratic campaign committees they would freeze contributions unless and until party leaders took stronger steps to get biden to step aside. “yes, that card has been played,” a senior house democrat told cnn on thursday night. “they believe if joe is at the top of the ticket, the house and senate are gone, too,” said a democratic strategist intimately involved in big dollar fundraising. “they don’t want to throw good money after bad.” moments after biden’s announcement, donors abruptly began reaching out to advisers, pouring in money, according to sources involved in the discussions. in the lead up to biden’s decision to exit the 2024 race, multiple donors had reached out to harris’ team proactively to signal they would be willing to support her if she ran at the top of the ticket, according to three people familiar with the discussions. up until the moment he dropped out, biden and his team insisted he was staying in. biden’s team created a public schedule for the president over the past week that was intended to show his ability to stay in the race. on monday, he held another television interview with nbc news’ lester holt, where he acknowledged his subpar debate performance while criticizing the media for focusing on his gaffes instead of trump’s falsehoods. biden again said he had no intention of stepping aside. biden then traveled to las vegas for campaign stops, speeches planned at the naacp national convention and the unidosus annual conference, and interviews with bet and univision. biden told bet news’ ed gordon that the only thing that would push him to reconsider his reelection bid would be a “medical condition.” the president spoke at the naacp conference, but before he could make his speech wednesday at unidosus, he was dealt another blow: the positive covid 19 diagnosis. the president returned to his rehoboth beach home that day to isolate, his public schedule shuttered indefinitely while he recovered. related article here’s what happened the last time a president chose not to run for a second term on friday, biden issued a statement that he would be back on the campaign trail the following week, while biden campaign chair o’malley dillon went on msnbc’s “morning joe” to say biden was “absolutely” staying in the race. the campaign also put out a memo saying there was “no plan for an alternative nominee.” biden called some democrats over the weekend who were out on tv on his behalf. two told cnn that the president voiced his gratitude and then his anger at those who were trying to push him out. “there was some hurt in his voice but mostly anger,” one of the biden loyalists said. even on sunday, biden’s team continued to publicly maintain he wasn’t going anywhere. south carolina rep. james clyburn, a key biden ally, told cnn’s jake tapper on “state of the union” that biden and harris “have received over 14 million votes to be our standard bearers. that’s where we are,” clyburn. the congressman’s 2020 endorsement of biden ahead of the south carolina primary was widely seen as instrumental in biden’s victory. biden spoke to harris on sunday before announcing his decision, which came in two messages: the first saying he was dropping out, and the second endorsing his vice president to be the democratic nominee. biden told his senior most team he was getting out around 1:45 p.m., and the public letter went out right around then, a source familiar with the timing told cnn. “before that, it was all steam ahead that he’s running,” the same source said. this story has been updated with additional reporting. cnn’s kayla tausche, dana bash, john king, jamie gangel, betsy klein, sam fossum, manu raju, samantha waldenberg, donald judd and kaitlan collins contributed to this report. © 2025 cable news network. a warner bros. discovery company. all rights reserved. cnn sans ™ & © 2016 cable news network.

the pentagon will deploy roughly 1,500 more active duty soldiers to the southern border to support president trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, a u.s. official said friday. that would eventually bring the total to about 3,600 active duty troops at the border. meanwhile, japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba came to the white house on friday to meet with trump and the two held a joint news conference. here’s the latest: trump fires us archivist trump has dismissed colleen shogan as the archivist of the united states, white house aide sergio gor posted on x. photo: associated press/alex brandon trump said before returning to the presidency in early january that he would replace the head of the national archives and records administration. the government agency drew his anger after it informed the justice department about issues with trump’s handling of classified documents in early 2022. that led to an fbi raid at trump’s home at mar a lago and the charging of federal crimes against him. the government has since dropped the charges against trump due to his return to the presidency. shogan, the first woman in the post, wasn’t the archivist of the united states at the time the classified documents issue emerged. david ferriero, who had been appointed by president barack obama in 2009, announced in january 2022 that he’d be retiring effective that april. 19 states sue to stop doge accessing americans’ personal data nineteen democratic attorneys general are suing trump to stop musk’s department of government efficiency from accessing treasury department records that contain sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers for millions of americans. the case, filed in federal court in new york city, alleges the trump administration allowed musk’s team access to the treasury department’s central payment system in violation of federal law. the payment system handles tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of americans’ personal and financial data. ▶ read more about the lawsuit over doge’s access to treasury record trump says he will name himself kennedy center board chair and impose programming changes trump announced friday night that he plans to name himself chairman of the kennedy center board and use the post to dictate programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions. “we will soon announce a new board, with an amazing chairman, donald j. trump!” he posted on his social media site. trump also noted that the center had hosted past events featuring drag queens and wrote that those “will stop.” he said the center “must reflect the brightest stars on its stage.” trump is ending biden’s security clearance trump says he’s revoking former president joe biden’s security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he’s receiving in payback for biden doing the same to him in 2021. trump made the announcement friday on social media shortly after arriving at mar a lago for the weekend. he said “there is no need” for biden to continue to receive access to classified information and said it would be revoked “immediately.” he ended his post by saying, “i will always protect our national security   joe, you’re fired. make america great again!” biden didn’t immediately comment on the move. trump signs order to establish a white house faith office trump has signed an executive order to establish the white house faith office as part of the domestic policy council. the order renames the existing white house office of faith based and community initiatives. the order says the new office will consult with faith leaders on topics including “defending religious liberty” and the promotion of adoption and foster care programs. it will advise on policy implementations throughout the federal government and help faith based organizations procure government grants, among other responsibilities. veterans affairs deems more than 130 occupations ineligible for trump’s deferred resignation plan most nurses, doctors and other staff caring for military veterans through the department of veterans affairs are not eligible for the trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, according to an email sent friday by va leadership to staff. nurses had been among those who received the original offer, but their unions had discouraged them from accepting, saying an exodus would directly and immediately affect the care of its 9.1 million enrolled veterans. the new email, which was reviewed by the associated press, included an attached letter from va’s human resources department and a spreadsheet with a list of more than 130 occupations labeled “va exemption requests.” “it seems like it’s almost everyone,” said mary jean burke, a physical therapist and american federation of government employees leader. ▶ read more about the va jobs deemed ineligible for the deferred resignation plan doge says it found a dozen people receiving social security   at 150 years old during trump’s lengthy budget meeting with house republicans this week at the white house, they talked about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the government   and the more than $1 billion a day in questionable payments musk’s doge team says it is already uncovering. among the findings: 12 people who allegedly received social security at the age of 150. “we talked about the spending cuts,” said rep. lisa mcclain, a michigan republican. “we talked about waste, fraud and abuse.” trump orders review of gun regulations trump has signed an executive order calling for a broad review of all of president joe biden’s executive actions on guns, along with other federal government rules, plans, reports and lawsuits, to “assess any ongoing infringements of the second amendment rights” of americans. the order calls for attorney general pam bondi to conduct the review within 30 days and come up with an action plan for protecting the right to bear arms under the second amendment. protests against trump’s immigration crackdown continue in los angeles for 6th straight day protests and walkouts in southern california against president trump’s immigration crackdown, led mainly by high school students, continued for the sixth day since they began on sunday. students from high schools in east la marched downtown on friday morning, waving mexican, guatemalan, and el salvadorean flags while passing cars that honked in support. roughly 1,000 students were peacefully gathered in front of city hall. the student walkouts began monday and have involved high schools all over the greater los angeles area. they carried signs that read, “we fight for our parents who fought for our futures.” thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by trump marched in southern california on sunday, including in downtown los angeles, where demonstrators blocked a major freeway for several hours. judge temporarily blocks trump administration from placing 2,200 usaid workers on paid leave a federal judge on friday temporarily blocked the trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the u.s. agency for international development on paid leave. u.s. district judge carl nichols, a trump appointee, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to a pause in plans to put the employees on paid leave as of midnight friday. the workers associations argue that trump lacks the authority to shut down an agency enshrined in congressional legislation. ▶ read more about the ruling state department lays out plans for $7 billion plus arms sale to israel the state department has formally told congress that it plans to sell more than $7 billion in weapons to israel, including thousands of bombs and missiles, just two days after trump met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house. the massive arms sale comes as a fragile ceasefire agreement between israel and hamas holds, even as trump continues to tout his widely criticized proposal to move all palestinians from gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination. musk says he will bring back doge staffer who resigned after report of racist posts musk, in a post on his social media network x, said he would bring back a staff member at the department of government efficiency who resigned a day earlier after he was linked to social media posts that espoused racism. his post came after vice president jd vance earlier in the day called for marko elez to be rehired, a view that trump later endorsed. elez resigned thursday after the wall street journal linked the 25 year old doge staffer to a deleted social media account on x that posted last year, “i was racist before it was cool” and “you could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity,” among other posts. trump says proposed alaska pipeline will soon export natural gas to japan trump says japan will soon begin importing liquefied natural gas from alaska, but a proposed $44 billion gas pipeline in the state is not yet completed and no contracts have been signed. trump said at a news conference with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba that, “we’re talking about a joint venture of some type, between japan and us, having to do with alaska oil and gas. and that’s very exciting.″ the biden administration “wouldn’t sell them lng,” trump said, referring to a pause on new lng export terminals imposed by biden last year. trump lifted the pause on his first day in office. “japan wanted to buy lng and biden wouldn’t sell it,″ trump said. ishiba said importing more lng from the u.s. “is something that is really wonderful for us.″ japan also wants to import bioethanol and other products “at a stable price, a reasonable price, from the united states,″ he said. employees groups ask federal judge to pause the dismantling of usaid lawyers for two government employees groups are asking a federal judge in a hearing friday to force a temporary pause on the trump administration’s dismantling of the u.s. agency for international development. u.s. district judge carl nichols, a trump appointee, is holding the hearing on a lawsuit filed thursday. employees’ attorney karla gilbride says trump has no legal authority to keep dismantling the agency without congressional authority. “this is a full scale gutting of virtually all the personnel of an entire agency,” gilbride said. department of justice attorney brett shumate, arguing for the government, says the administration has all the legal authority it needs. “the government does this across the board every day,” shumate said. “that’s what’s happening here. it’s just a large number.” alaska legislature asks trump to retain denali’s name and not change it to mount mckinley the alaska legislature passed a resolution friday urging trump to reverse course and retain the name of north america’s tallest peak as denali rather than change it to mount mckinley. trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to mount mckinley, an identifier inspired by president william mckinley, who was from ohio and never set foot in alaska. he said he planned to “restore the name of a great president, william mckinley, to mount mckinley, where it should be and where it belongs. president mckinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.” ▶ read more about the alaska resolution trump’s south africa order follows complaints by musk the order also references south africa’s role in bringing accusations that israel sponsored genocide to the international court of justice. south african president cyril ramaphosa signed a law last month allowing expropriations of certain land that isn’t being used, or would be in the public interest if redistributed. the expropriation act aims to address some of the wrongs of south africa’s racist apartheid era, when black people had their land taken away and were forced to live in areas designated for non whites. elon musk, who grew up in south africa and now runs trump’s new department of government efficiency, has called this law a threat to south africa’s minority white community in recent social media posts. trump freezes aid to south africa, alleging discrimination against the white minority “the government of south africa blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority afrikaners,” the white houses said in a summary of the executive order trump signed friday. trump also will move to resettle white south african farmers and their families as refugees, the white house said. “as long as south africa continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks on innocent disfavored minority farmers, the united states will stop aid and assistance to the country,” the summary said. more us troops deploying to the southern border the pentagon will deploy roughly 1,500 more active duty soldiers to the southern border to support trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, a u.s. official said friday. that would eventually bring the total to about 3,600 active duty troops at the border, where they’re expected to put up concertina wire barriers and provide transportation, intelligence and other support to the border patrol. the order has been approved, the official said, to send a logistics brigade from the 18th airborne corps at fort liberty in north carolina. the official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deployment hasn’t yet been publicly announced. the pentagon has been scrambling to put in motion trump’s executive orders. the first 1,600 active duty troops already deployed to the border, and nearly 500 more from the 10th mountain division will move in the days ahead. some of the 500 marines told to go to guantanamo bay, cuba, have already arrived there to prepare for an influx of migrants. ▶read more about military deployments supporting immigration enforcement   lolita c. baldor latino evangelicals who voted for trump now fear going to church the national association of evangelicals, representing 40 denominations that serve millions of parishioners, says attendance has dropped since trump’s executive order empowering officers to enter churches to enforce immigration laws. bishop ebli de la rosa, who oversees church of god of prophecy congregations in nine southeastern states, said the order has imperiled 32 of the latino evangelical denomination’s 70 pastors who are here without legal status and serve vulnerable communities. he’s told each congregation to prepare three laypeople to take over should their pastor be deported, to livestream every service, and to “keep recording even if something happens.” agustin quiles, a spokesperson for the florida fellowship of hispanic councils and evangelical institutions, said many community members who voted for trump now feel devastated and abandoned. “the messaging appears to be that anyone who is undocumented is a criminal,” he said. japan’s prime minister says trump isn’t as frightening in person as on tv shigeru ishiba said he was excited to meet a television celebrity like trump. “on television, he is frightening,” but he was actually “very sincere,” the prime minister said. ishiba also said he wasn’t using their white house meeting to “suck up” to the u.s. president. ishiba was asked during their joint news conference about japan potentially imposing tariffs on u.s. goods, since trump didn’t rule out doing similar to japan. the prime minister, grinning, said his official answer was no. trump laughed and said he liked that answer. ▶ read more on the trump ishiba meeting trump said the us will have ‘relations’ with north korean leader kim jong un “i got along with him very well,” trump said, calling the time he spent with kim during his first term an “asset” that stopped a war. japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba, for his part, said trump’s past meetings with kim in singapore and vietnam were a positive. trump says he’ll fire fbi agents ‘surgically’ trump said he wants to see some fbi agents fired as the justice department reviews how the agency handled investigations into the jan. 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. “i’ll fire some of them, because some of them were corrupt,” trump said. “it will be done quickly, and very surgically.” trump’s plans have raised fears about the politicization of federal law enforcement and retaliation against people who investigated his supporters. ▶ read more about the justice department’s review of fbi agents trump: ‘we have to take some of these things apart’ trump defended elon musk’s work at the so called department of government efficiency, which includes accessing sensitive treasury payment systems. “we have to take some of these things apart to find the corruption,” trump said. musk has stirred concerns by dispersing staff members throughout washington to review internal databases, some of which include private financial information on americans. trump praises japan as a friend of the us trump opened his news conference with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba on friday by presenting a picture of the two of them, calling japan a “great country” and stressing that the united states would continue to be an ally on security. the u.s. president took a decidedly gracious turn in his prepared remarks, after having antagonized other allies such as canada, mexico and the european union with threats of tariffs and claims that the rest of the world is ripping off america. trump says nippon steel dropping us steel bid to make investment instead president donald trump on friday suggested that nippon steel would no longer buy us steel as planned, and would instead invest in the company. the u.s. president mistakenly referred to nippon steel as “nissan,” the japanese automaker. but it’s nippon steel’s bid that both trump and president joe biden vowed to block. nippon steel “is going to be doing something very exciting about us steel,” trump said with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba by his side. “they’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.” the details remain unclear. trump said he would meet with the head of nippon steel next week “to mediate and arbitrate.” trump indicates he’ll unveil reciprocal tariffs on other countries next week “i’ll be announcing that next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” trump told reporters during an oval office meeting with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba. the president pledged during his campaign to match tariffs with trading partners who impose tariffs on american exports. he didn’t indicate friday which countries might be next. trump also said he wants to work with japan on reducing the u.s. trade deficit, which stands at about $68 billion. a tennessee republican raised the idea at duffy’s confirmation duffy’s directive also would prohibit governments that get transportation funds from imposing vaccine and mask mandates, and require their cooperation with immigration enforcement efforts. with hundreds of billions of dollars in transportation money still unspent from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, such changes could be a boon for projects in republican majority states, where birthrates, correlating with lower education rates, tend to be higher. according to cdc numbers on fertility, the 14 states with the highest rates backed trump in the november election while the bottom 11 plus the district of columbia supported democrat kamala harris. sen. marsha blackburn had questioned duffy about tying transportation funding to population growth. “people are leaving some of these blue states and coming to places like tennessee,” she said. “and this means that we need to look at where those federal highway dollars are spent.” transportation secretary’s directive tying grants to birth rates favors red states sean duffy circulated a memo shortly after he was confirmed instructing his department to prioritize families by, among other things, giving preference to funding places with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average. washington democratic sen. patty murray called the directive “disturbingly dystopian.” “bizarre and a little creepy,” said kevin degood, senior director of infrastructure and housing policy at the left leaning center for american progress. “states and regions with aging populations tend, on average, to have lower birth rates … are they somehow not deserving of transportation investment?” the department of transportation has not responded to questions about the memo. ▶ read more about duffy’s directive the justice department agrees not to publicly identify fbi agents the agents said exposure could threaten their lives and families as the trump administration examines the investigations into the jan. 6, 2021, attack on the u.s. capitol by a mob of trump supporters. after agents sued to block the exposure, the department promised in a court filing friday not to release the list either “directly or indirectly” before the judge rules. many within the fbi fear the list will be used to justify mass firings. thousands of fbi employees who worked on jan. 6 cases were asked to complete in depth questionnaires so trump administration officials could determine if they should be disciplined. “the risk to these agents is horrendous,” their attorney norman eisen said, noting that other federal employees are being harassed as their identities spread on social media. government lawyers responded that the list’s purpose is to conduct an internal review, “not expose dedicated special agents to public insult or ridicule.” ▶ read more about the justice department probe of fbi agents democrats want treasury to investigate doge’s access to federal payment systems democratic lawmakers are seeking a treasury department investigation of the access that elon musk’s team was given to the government’s payment system. they’re citing “threats to the economy and national security, and the potential violation of laws protecting americans’ privacy and tax data.” the lawmakers, led by sens. elizabeth warren and ron wyden, sent letters friday to treasury’s deputy inspector general and the acting inspector general for tax administration, as well as to treasury secretary scott bessent. the letters laid out their concerns over a lack of transparency and public accountability about the access being granted to the federal government’s financial plumbing. ▶ read more about the democrats’ request for an investigation federal judge schedules hearing on usaid lawsuit a federal judge scheduled a hearing friday afternoon as employees sue to block the agency’s shutdown. outside its washington headquarters, meanwhile, crews used duct tape to cover the usaid name on signs. the american foreign service association and the american federation of government employees asked the court in washington to compel the reopening of usaid’s buildings, return its staffers to work and restore funding. trump administration officials “failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to american workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to us national interests,” the lawsuit says. ▶ read more about the fight over usaid federal agencies ordered to provide lists of ‘poor performing’ employees the trump administration has ordered all federal departments and agencies to provide lists of every employee who has received less than a “fully successful” performance rating in the past three years. the memo sent thursday from the office of personnel management comes as the trump administration awaits a court ruling on its deferred resignation offers. the memo, seen by the associated press, gives agencies a march 7 deadline. it also directs agencies to note whether any worker has been on a performance plan, and requires agencies to report any obstacles to their “ability to swiftly terminate poor performing employees who cannot or will not improve.” trump floats meetings with zelenskyy and putin president trump said friday he will “probably” meet with ukraine president volodymyr zelenskyy next week and may also speak with russian president vladimir putin. speaking to reporters in the oval office, trump was asked whether he’d have jd vance meet with zelenskyy next week while the vice president travels to france and germany. “i will probably be meeting with president zelenskyy next week and i’ll probably be talking with president putin,” trump replied. “i’d like to see that war end.” asked where he’d meet with zelenskyy, trump said it “could be washington   well i’m not going there.” he didn’t offer details on plans to speak with putin. hungary’s pm, praising ‘trump tornado,’ says democracy and rights groups will be swept away prime minister viktor orbán announced legal action friday to eliminate non governmental organizations and media outlets that received u.s. funds. any recipients of usaid funding should be identified and sanctioned, he said. the trump ally praised the agency’s shutdown, saying “now is the moment when these international networks have to be taken down, they have to be swept away.” orbán’s sovereignty protection office has cracked down on ngos and independent media. critics say it seeks to silence any critics, much like russia’s “foreign agent” law does. violators face prison terms of up to three years. the european union has withheld billions in funding to hungary over its violations of rule of law and democracy standards, abuse of minorities and systemic public corruption and political patronage. ▶ read more on orban’s praise for the usaid shutdown trump calls his gaza proposal a ‘real estate transaction’ trump says his suggestions that gaza’s residents could be resettled, and the area redeveloped for tourism potential, has “been very well received” around the globe. the idea has actually been roundly criticized. but trump insisted friday that it was a “real estate transaction,” and that the u.s. is in “no rush to do anything.” the president has suggested that resettlement of gaza’s residents could be permanent   something that even top members of his own administration have contradicted him on. but trump said at the white house friday that “we don’t want to see everybody move back and then move out in 10 years” because of continued unrest. vance tasked for tiktok deal trump has tasked vice president jd vance with overseeing the potential sale of tiktok, according to a person familiar the decision who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. tiktok’s china based parent company is seeking to find an approved buyer to avoid being banned in the u.s.   michelle price senate budget committee would cut billions, spend more on military and border “help is on the way” for voters favoring border security and a stronger defense, said sen. lindsey graham, the republican chairman. the committee’s blueprint envisions more than $340 billion in new spending over four years to wall off the mexican border, increase the number of border patrol agents and immigration and customs enforcement officers, grow the u.s. navy and build an integrated air and defense missile system. a committee press release said cuts elsewhere in federal spending would offset the $85.5 billion annual cost. house republicans also are working overtime on a big budget package. lebanon’s presidency ‘not concerned’ after us envoy sets ‘red lines’ on hezbollah trump’s new special envoy for middle east peace expressed hope friday that lebanese authorities are committed to ensuring the hezbollah militant group isn’t a part of the new government in any form. morgan ortagus replaced amos hochstein, who helped broker the ceasefire that ended israel’s 14 month war with hezbollah. “we have set clear red lines from the united states that (hezbollah) won’t be able to terrorize the lebanese people and that includes by being a part of the government,” she told a news conference after meeting with lebanese president joseph aoun. in response, lebanon’s presidency said on x that some of what ortagus said “expresses her point of view, and the presidency is not concerned with it.” ▶ read more about the us envoy in lebanon unions ask judge to protect labor department info from musk a federal judge will consider friday whether to block elon musk ’s team from accessing systems at the labor department, which has investigated spacex and tesla. three unions asked judge john bates, an appointee of republican president george w. bush, to keep doge workers out of systems that also contain sensitive information about workers who’ve filed complaints and about musk’s corporate rivals. “doge is violating multiple laws, from constitutional limits on executive power, to laws protecting civil servants from arbitrary threats and adverse action, to crucial protections for government data collected and stored on hundreds of millions of americans,” wrote labor union lawyers represented by the advocacy group democracy forward. the justice department said the unions are just speculating and haven’t shown that the three doge employees detailed to cut the department’s costs will have such access. ▶ read more on the labor department case hegseth’s pentagon feed cut off before troops could hear him questioned defense secretary hegseth said at the pentagon that “deterrence” begins with the southern border. most troops missed any questions and answers that followed. hegseth’s opening remarks were broadcast over the pentagon’s television and internet channels, but it then cut off. so the longer q&a portion he did was only seen by those in the room, and wasn’t available for the 2.1 million troops and hundreds of thousands of civilians who serve in other states and nations around the world. musk’s team at the education department gains access to student loan database musk’s department of government efficiency has gained access to an education department database of personal information on millions of students and parents with federal student loans, according to two people with knowledge of the issue. the people spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. democrats in congress are raising concerns about doge’s access to student records. in a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of democrats demanded details about doge’s work and vowed to fight any attempt to close the education department. a federal lawsuit filed friday seeks to block doge’s access, saying it violates privacy rights of federal student loan borrowers. ▶ read more about the lawsuit seeking to protect financial aid information   collin binkley and bianca vázquez toness trump’s most special employee will file a secret financial report as a special government employee, elon musk will have to file a report on his financial assets   but it won’t be made public. the plan was described by a white house official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose personnel matters. musk is the world’s richest person with vast business interests, including tesla, spacex and x. his financial report, if completed, would likely be among the most extensive ever filed. the white house official said musk also received a briefing on ethics rules earlier this week. trump, who put musk in charge of overhauling the federal government, has said the billionaire entrepreneur would steer clear of conflicts of interest.   chris megerian defense secretary tells pentagon workers he plans to disrupt the status quo pete hegseth is telling his troops and workforce that he plans to take unconventional approaches and “be disruptive on purpose.” speaking to a crowd of military and civilian workers in a pentagon conference center friday, hegseth said he’s committed to rebuilding the defense industrial base, increasing deterrence and restoring the military’s laser focus on lethality and readiness while ridding it of diversity initiatives. “president trump asked me to not maintain the status quo,” he said. “we’re going to move fast. i’ll think outside the box, be disruptive on purpose, to create a sense of urgency that i want to make sure exists inside this department.” us importers stockpile prosecco, fearing trump tariffs wine industry data shows american importers have been stockpiling the italian bubbly as a hedge against possible tariffs. u.s. imports of italian sparkling wine   90% of that prosecco   skyrocketed by 41% after trump’s election, far exceeding consumer demand as importers filled the pipeline for future sales. union of italian wines trade association president lamberto frescobaldi says this made sense given the likelihood that consumers will cut back on luxuries if tariffs make them too pricey. italian wines were not hit by tariffs during the first trump presidency, and no tariffs have been announced to date against european partners. but italy exports nearly one quarter of its wine, worth 1.9 billion euros ($1.97 billion), exposing the sector to potential price shocks. ▶ read more about the prosecco pipeline immigrant advocacy groups want access to gitmo their letter friday demands “immediate access” to the people being held there, saying the u.s. naval station in cuba should not be used as a “legal black hole.” two military flights have carried people who were in the u.s. illegally to the base so far. the trump administration has broadly described them as criminals and gang members but has not given specific information such as their names, whether they’ve been convicted or when they entered the country. inflation is looking like a problem for trump americans are thinking inflation is going to get much worse now. it’s a problem for a republican who won election on the specific promise of lowering prices. the university of michigan’s survey of consumers showed friday that people expect inflation to be 4.3% for the year ahead, up a full percentage point from the prior month. the preliminary finding for february is the highest reading since november 2023, when public exhaustion with inflation was crushing president joe biden’s approval ratings. another possible warning sign for trump: broader consumer sentiment among republicans slipped to 83.2 from 86 in january. trump has almost sparked a broad trade war with canada and mexico, threatened tariffs that economists say would increase inflation and placed a 10% tariff on imports from china. white house press secretary blames unsettled economy on biden karoline leavitt said the jobs report shows “the necessity of president trump’s pro growth policies.” her statement friday cited trump’s declaration of an energy emergency, his pledges to cut regulations and his plan to “deliver the largest tax cut in history for hardworking americans.” “president trump is delivering on his promise to restore our broken economy, revive small business optimism, create jobs, and ignite a new golden age for america,” she said. ___ an item has been corrected to show trump said “a real estate transaction,” not a simple transaction, or a transition. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the fcc public file should contact gini darden at gini.darden@whec.com or 585 546 1705 this website is not intended for users located within the european economic area. © whec tv, llc a hubbard broadcasting company

the pentagon will deploy roughly 1,500 more active duty soldiers to the southern border to support president trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, a u.s. official said friday. that would eventually bring the total to about 3,600 active duty troops at the border. meanwhile, japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba came to the white house on friday to meet with trump and the two held a joint news conference. here’s the latest: trump fires us archivist trump has dismissed colleen shogan as the archivist of the united states, white house aide sergio gor posted on x. photo: associated press/alex brandon photo: associated press/alex brandon trump said before returning to the presidency in early january that he would replace the head of the national archives and records administration. the government agency drew his anger after it informed the justice department about issues with trump’s handling of classified documents in early 2022. that led to an fbi raid at trump’s home at mar a lago and the charging of federal crimes against him. the government has since dropped the charges against trump due to his return to the presidency. shogan, the first woman in the post, wasn’t the archivist of the united states at the time the classified documents issue emerged. david ferriero, who had been appointed by president barack obama in 2009, announced in january 2022 that he’d be retiring effective that april. 19 states sue to stop doge accessing americans’ personal data nineteen democratic attorneys general are suing trump to stop musk’s department of government efficiency from accessing treasury department records that contain sensitive personal data such as social security and bank account numbers for millions of americans. the case, filed in federal court in new york city, alleges the trump administration allowed musk’s team access to the treasury department’s central payment system in violation of federal law. the payment system handles tax refunds, social security benefits, veterans’ benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of americans’ personal and financial data. ▶ read more about the lawsuit over doge’s access to treasury record trump says he will name himself kennedy center board chair and impose programming changes trump announced friday night that he plans to name himself chairman of the kennedy center board and use the post to dictate programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions. “we will soon announce a new board, with an amazing chairman, donald j. trump!” he posted on his social media site. trump also noted that the center had hosted past events featuring drag queens and wrote that those “will stop.” he said the center “must reflect the brightest stars on its stage.” trump is ending biden’s security clearance trump says he’s revoking former president joe biden’s security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he’s receiving in payback for biden doing the same to him in 2021. trump made the announcement friday on social media shortly after arriving at mar a lago for the weekend. he said “there is no need” for biden to continue to receive access to classified information and said it would be revoked “immediately.” he ended his post by saying, “i will always protect our national security   joe, you’re fired. make america great again!” biden didn’t immediately comment on the move. trump signs order to establish a white house faith office trump has signed an executive order to establish the white house faith office as part of the domestic policy council. the order renames the existing white house office of faith based and community initiatives. the order says the new office will consult with faith leaders on topics including “defending religious liberty” and the promotion of adoption and foster care programs. it will advise on policy implementations throughout the federal government and help faith based organizations procure government grants, among other responsibilities. veterans affairs deems more than 130 occupations ineligible for trump’s deferred resignation plan most nurses, doctors and other staff caring for military veterans through the department of veterans affairs are not eligible for the trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, according to an email sent friday by va leadership to staff. nurses had been among those who received the original offer, but their unions had discouraged them from accepting, saying an exodus would directly and immediately affect the care of its 9.1 million enrolled veterans. the new email, which was reviewed by the associated press, included an attached letter from va’s human resources department and a spreadsheet with a list of more than 130 occupations labeled “va exemption requests.” “it seems like it’s almost everyone,” said mary jean burke, a physical therapist and american federation of government employees leader. ▶ read more about the va jobs deemed ineligible for the deferred resignation plan doge says it found a dozen people receiving social security   at 150 years old during trump’s lengthy budget meeting with house republicans this week at the white house, they talked about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the government   and the more than $1 billion a day in questionable payments musk’s doge team says it is already uncovering. among the findings: 12 people who allegedly received social security at the age of 150. “we talked about the spending cuts,” said rep. lisa mcclain, a michigan republican. “we talked about waste, fraud and abuse.” trump orders review of gun regulations trump has signed an executive order calling for a broad review of all of president joe biden’s executive actions on guns, along with other federal government rules, plans, reports and lawsuits, to “assess any ongoing infringements of the second amendment rights” of americans. the order calls for attorney general pam bondi to conduct the review within 30 days and come up with an action plan for protecting the right to bear arms under the second amendment. protests against trump’s immigration crackdown continue in los angeles for 6th straight day protests and walkouts in southern california against president trump’s immigration crackdown, led mainly by high school students, continued for the sixth day since they began on sunday. students from high schools in east la marched downtown on friday morning, waving mexican, guatemalan, and el salvadorean flags while passing cars that honked in support. roughly 1,000 students were peacefully gathered in front of city hall. the student walkouts began monday and have involved high schools all over the greater los angeles area. they carried signs that read, “we fight for our parents who fought for our futures.” thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by trump marched in southern california on sunday, including in downtown los angeles, where demonstrators blocked a major freeway for several hours. judge temporarily blocks trump administration from placing 2,200 usaid workers on paid leave a federal judge on friday temporarily blocked the trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the u.s. agency for international development on paid leave. u.s. district judge carl nichols, a trump appointee, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to a pause in plans to put the employees on paid leave as of midnight friday. the workers associations argue that trump lacks the authority to shut down an agency enshrined in congressional legislation. ▶ read more about the ruling state department lays out plans for $7 billion plus arms sale to israel the state department has formally told congress that it plans to sell more than $7 billion in weapons to israel, including thousands of bombs and missiles, just two days after trump met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at the white house. the massive arms sale comes as a fragile ceasefire agreement between israel and hamas holds, even as trump continues to tout his widely criticized proposal to move all palestinians from gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination. musk says he will bring back doge staffer who resigned after report of racist posts musk, in a post on his social media network x, said he would bring back a staff member at the department of government efficiency who resigned a day earlier after he was linked to social media posts that espoused racism. his post came after vice president jd vance earlier in the day called for marko elez to be rehired, a view that trump later endorsed. elez resigned thursday after the wall street journal linked the 25 year old doge staffer to a deleted social media account on x that posted last year, “i was racist before it was cool” and “you could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity,” among other posts. trump says proposed alaska pipeline will soon export natural gas to japan trump says japan will soon begin importing liquefied natural gas from alaska, but a proposed $44 billion gas pipeline in the state is not yet completed and no contracts have been signed. trump said at a news conference with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba that, “we’re talking about a joint venture of some type, between japan and us, having to do with alaska oil and gas. and that’s very exciting.″ the biden administration “wouldn’t sell them lng,” trump said, referring to a pause on new lng export terminals imposed by biden last year. trump lifted the pause on his first day in office. “japan wanted to buy lng and biden wouldn’t sell it,″ trump said. ishiba said importing more lng from the u.s. “is something that is really wonderful for us.″ japan also wants to import bioethanol and other products “at a stable price, a reasonable price, from the united states,″ he said. employees groups ask federal judge to pause the dismantling of usaid lawyers for two government employees groups are asking a federal judge in a hearing friday to force a temporary pause on the trump administration’s dismantling of the u.s. agency for international development. u.s. district judge carl nichols, a trump appointee, is holding the hearing on a lawsuit filed thursday. employees’ attorney karla gilbride says trump has no legal authority to keep dismantling the agency without congressional authority. “this is a full scale gutting of virtually all the personnel of an entire agency,” gilbride said. department of justice attorney brett shumate, arguing for the government, says the administration has all the legal authority it needs. “the government does this across the board every day,” shumate said. “that’s what’s happening here. it’s just a large number.” alaska legislature asks trump to retain denali’s name and not change it to mount mckinley the alaska legislature passed a resolution friday urging trump to reverse course and retain the name of north america’s tallest peak as denali rather than change it to mount mckinley. trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to mount mckinley, an identifier inspired by president william mckinley, who was from ohio and never set foot in alaska. he said he planned to “restore the name of a great president, william mckinley, to mount mckinley, where it should be and where it belongs. president mckinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.” ▶ read more about the alaska resolution trump’s south africa order follows complaints by musk the order also references south africa’s role in bringing accusations that israel sponsored genocide to the international court of justice. south african president cyril ramaphosa signed a law last month allowing expropriations of certain land that isn’t being used, or would be in the public interest if redistributed. the expropriation act aims to address some of the wrongs of south africa’s racist apartheid era, when black people had their land taken away and were forced to live in areas designated for non whites. elon musk, who grew up in south africa and now runs trump’s new department of government efficiency, has called this law a threat to south africa’s minority white community in recent social media posts. trump freezes aid to south africa, alleging discrimination against the white minority “the government of south africa blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority afrikaners,” the white houses said in a summary of the executive order trump signed friday. trump also will move to resettle white south african farmers and their families as refugees, the white house said. “as long as south africa continues to support bad actors on the world stage and allows violent attacks on innocent disfavored minority farmers, the united states will stop aid and assistance to the country,” the summary said. more us troops deploying to the southern border the pentagon will deploy roughly 1,500 more active duty soldiers to the southern border to support trump’s expanding crackdown on immigration, a u.s. official said friday. that would eventually bring the total to about 3,600 active duty troops at the border, where they’re expected to put up concertina wire barriers and provide transportation, intelligence and other support to the border patrol. the order has been approved, the official said, to send a logistics brigade from the 18th airborne corps at fort liberty in north carolina. the official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deployment hasn’t yet been publicly announced. the pentagon has been scrambling to put in motion trump’s executive orders. the first 1,600 active duty troops already deployed to the border, and nearly 500 more from the 10th mountain division will move in the days ahead. some of the 500 marines told to go to guantanamo bay, cuba, have already arrived there to prepare for an influx of migrants. ▶read more about military deployments supporting immigration enforcement   lolita c. baldor latino evangelicals who voted for trump now fear going to church the national association of evangelicals, representing 40 denominations that serve millions of parishioners, says attendance has dropped since trump’s executive order empowering officers to enter churches to enforce immigration laws. bishop ebli de la rosa, who oversees church of god of prophecy congregations in nine southeastern states, said the order has imperiled 32 of the latino evangelical denomination’s 70 pastors who are here without legal status and serve vulnerable communities. he’s told each congregation to prepare three laypeople to take over should their pastor be deported, to livestream every service, and to “keep recording even if something happens.” agustin quiles, a spokesperson for the florida fellowship of hispanic councils and evangelical institutions, said many community members who voted for trump now feel devastated and abandoned. “the messaging appears to be that anyone who is undocumented is a criminal,” he said. japan’s prime minister says trump isn’t as frightening in person as on tv shigeru ishiba said he was excited to meet a television celebrity like trump. “on television, he is frightening,” but he was actually “very sincere,” the prime minister said. ishiba also said he wasn’t using their white house meeting to “suck up” to the u.s. president. ishiba was asked during their joint news conference about japan potentially imposing tariffs on u.s. goods, since trump didn’t rule out doing similar to japan. the prime minister, grinning, said his official answer was no. trump laughed and said he liked that answer. ▶ read more on the trump ishiba meeting trump said the us will have ‘relations’ with north korean leader kim jong un “i got along with him very well,” trump said, calling the time he spent with kim during his first term an “asset” that stopped a war. japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba, for his part, said trump’s past meetings with kim in singapore and vietnam were a positive. trump says he’ll fire fbi agents ‘surgically’ trump said he wants to see some fbi agents fired as the justice department reviews how the agency handled investigations into the jan. 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. “i’ll fire some of them, because some of them were corrupt,” trump said. “it will be done quickly, and very surgically.” trump’s plans have raised fears about the politicization of federal law enforcement and retaliation against people who investigated his supporters. ▶ read more about the justice department’s review of fbi agents trump: ‘we have to take some of these things apart’ trump defended elon musk’s work at the so called department of government efficiency, which includes accessing sensitive treasury payment systems. “we have to take some of these things apart to find the corruption,” trump said. musk has stirred concerns by dispersing staff members throughout washington to review internal databases, some of which include private financial information on americans. trump praises japan as a friend of the us trump opened his news conference with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba on friday by presenting a picture of the two of them, calling japan a “great country” and stressing that the united states would continue to be an ally on security. the u.s. president took a decidedly gracious turn in his prepared remarks, after having antagonized other allies such as canada, mexico and the european union with threats of tariffs and claims that the rest of the world is ripping off america. trump says nippon steel dropping us steel bid to make investment instead president donald trump on friday suggested that nippon steel would no longer buy us steel as planned, and would instead invest in the company. the u.s. president mistakenly referred to nippon steel as “nissan,” the japanese automaker. but it’s nippon steel’s bid that both trump and president joe biden vowed to block. nippon steel “is going to be doing something very exciting about us steel,” trump said with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba by his side. “they’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.” the details remain unclear. trump said he would meet with the head of nippon steel next week “to mediate and arbitrate.” trump indicates he’ll unveil reciprocal tariffs on other countries next week “i’ll be announcing that next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” trump told reporters during an oval office meeting with japanese prime minister shigeru ishiba. the president pledged during his campaign to match tariffs with trading partners who impose tariffs on american exports. he didn’t indicate friday which countries might be next. trump also said he wants to work with japan on reducing the u.s. trade deficit, which stands at about $68 billion. a tennessee republican raised the idea at duffy’s confirmation duffy’s directive also would prohibit governments that get transportation funds from imposing vaccine and mask mandates, and require their cooperation with immigration enforcement efforts. with hundreds of billions of dollars in transportation money still unspent from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, such changes could be a boon for projects in republican majority states, where birthrates, correlating with lower education rates, tend to be higher. according to cdc numbers on fertility, the 14 states with the highest rates backed trump in the november election while the bottom 11 plus the district of columbia supported democrat kamala harris. sen. marsha blackburn had questioned duffy about tying transportation funding to population growth. “people are leaving some of these blue states and coming to places like tennessee,” she said. “and this means that we need to look at where those federal highway dollars are spent.” transportation secretary’s directive tying grants to birth rates favors red states sean duffy circulated a memo shortly after he was confirmed instructing his department to prioritize families by, among other things, giving preference to funding places with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average. washington democratic sen. patty murray called the directive “disturbingly dystopian.” “bizarre and a little creepy,” said kevin degood, senior director of infrastructure and housing policy at the left leaning center for american progress. “states and regions with aging populations tend, on average, to have lower birth rates … are they somehow not deserving of transportation investment?” the department of transportation has not responded to questions about the memo. ▶ read more about duffy’s directive the justice department agrees not to publicly identify fbi agents the agents said exposure could threaten their lives and families as the trump administration examines the investigations into the jan. 6, 2021, attack on the u.s. capitol by a mob of trump supporters. after agents sued to block the exposure, the department promised in a court filing friday not to release the list either “directly or indirectly” before the judge rules. many within the fbi fear the list will be used to justify mass firings. thousands of fbi employees who worked on jan. 6 cases were asked to complete in depth questionnaires so trump administration officials could determine if they should be disciplined. “the risk to these agents is horrendous,” their attorney norman eisen said, noting that other federal employees are being harassed as their identities spread on social media. government lawyers responded that the list’s purpose is to conduct an internal review, “not expose dedicated special agents to public insult or ridicule.” ▶ read more about the justice department probe of fbi agents democrats want treasury to investigate doge’s access to federal payment systems democratic lawmakers are seeking a treasury department investigation of the access that elon musk’s team was given to the government’s payment system. they’re citing “threats to the economy and national security, and the potential violation of laws protecting americans’ privacy and tax data.” the lawmakers, led by sens. elizabeth warren and ron wyden, sent letters friday to treasury’s deputy inspector general and the acting inspector general for tax administration, as well as to treasury secretary scott bessent. the letters laid out their concerns over a lack of transparency and public accountability about the access being granted to the federal government’s financial plumbing. ▶ read more about the democrats’ request for an investigation federal judge schedules hearing on usaid lawsuit a federal judge scheduled a hearing friday afternoon as employees sue to block the agency’s shutdown. outside its washington headquarters, meanwhile, crews used duct tape to cover the usaid name on signs. the american foreign service association and the american federation of government employees asked the court in washington to compel the reopening of usaid’s buildings, return its staffers to work and restore funding. trump administration officials “failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to american workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to us national interests,” the lawsuit says. ▶ read more about the fight over usaid federal agencies ordered to provide lists of ‘poor performing’ employees the trump administration has ordered all federal departments and agencies to provide lists of every employee who has received less than a “fully successful” performance rating in the past three years. the memo sent thursday from the office of personnel management comes as the trump administration awaits a court ruling on its deferred resignation offers. the memo, seen by the associated press, gives agencies a march 7 deadline. it also directs agencies to note whether any worker has been on a performance plan, and requires agencies to report any obstacles to their “ability to swiftly terminate poor performing employees who cannot or will not improve.” trump floats meetings with zelenskyy and putin president trump said friday he will “probably” meet with ukraine president volodymyr zelenskyy next week and may also speak with russian president vladimir putin. speaking to reporters in the oval office, trump was asked whether he’d have jd vance meet with zelenskyy next week while the vice president travels to france and germany. “i will probably be meeting with president zelenskyy next week and i’ll probably be talking with president putin,” trump replied. “i’d like to see that war end.” asked where he’d meet with zelenskyy, trump said it “could be washington   well i’m not going there.” he didn’t offer details on plans to speak with putin. hungary’s pm, praising ‘trump tornado,’ says democracy and rights groups will be swept away prime minister viktor orbán announced legal action friday to eliminate non governmental organizations and media outlets that received u.s. funds. any recipients of usaid funding should be identified and sanctioned, he said. the trump ally praised the agency’s shutdown, saying “now is the moment when these international networks have to be taken down, they have to be swept away.” orbán’s sovereignty protection office has cracked down on ngos and independent media. critics say it seeks to silence any critics, much like russia’s “foreign agent” law does. violators face prison terms of up to three years. the european union has withheld billions in funding to hungary over its violations of rule of law and democracy standards, abuse of minorities and systemic public corruption and political patronage. ▶ read more on orban’s praise for the usaid shutdown trump calls his gaza proposal a ‘real estate transaction’ trump says his suggestions that gaza’s residents could be resettled, and the area redeveloped for tourism potential, has “been very well received” around the globe. the idea has actually been roundly criticized. but trump insisted friday that it was a “real estate transaction,” and that the u.s. is in “no rush to do anything.” the president has suggested that resettlement of gaza’s residents could be permanent   something that even top members of his own administration have contradicted him on. but trump said at the white house friday that “we don’t want to see everybody move back and then move out in 10 years” because of continued unrest. vance tasked for tiktok deal trump has tasked vice president jd vance with overseeing the potential sale of tiktok, according to a person familiar the decision who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. tiktok’s china based parent company is seeking to find an approved buyer to avoid being banned in the u.s.   michelle price senate budget committee would cut billions, spend more on military and border “help is on the way” for voters favoring border security and a stronger defense, said sen. lindsey graham, the republican chairman. the committee’s blueprint envisions more than $340 billion in new spending over four years to wall off the mexican border, increase the number of border patrol agents and immigration and customs enforcement officers, grow the u.s. navy and build an integrated air and defense missile system. a committee press release said cuts elsewhere in federal spending would offset the $85.5 billion annual cost. house republicans also are working overtime on a big budget package. lebanon’s presidency ‘not concerned’ after us envoy sets ‘red lines’ on hezbollah trump’s new special envoy for middle east peace expressed hope friday that lebanese authorities are committed to ensuring the hezbollah militant group isn’t a part of the new government in any form. morgan ortagus replaced amos hochstein, who helped broker the ceasefire that ended israel’s 14 month war with hezbollah. “we have set clear red lines from the united states that (hezbollah) won’t be able to terrorize the lebanese people and that includes by being a part of the government,” she told a news conference after meeting with lebanese president joseph aoun. in response, lebanon’s presidency said on x that some of what ortagus said “expresses her point of view, and the presidency is not concerned with it.” ▶ read more about the us envoy in lebanon unions ask judge to protect labor department info from musk a federal judge will consider friday whether to block elon musk ’s team from accessing systems at the labor department, which has investigated spacex and tesla. three unions asked judge john bates, an appointee of republican president george w. bush, to keep doge workers out of systems that also contain sensitive information about workers who’ve filed complaints and about musk’s corporate rivals. “doge is violating multiple laws, from constitutional limits on executive power, to laws protecting civil servants from arbitrary threats and adverse action, to crucial protections for government data collected and stored on hundreds of millions of americans,” wrote labor union lawyers represented by the advocacy group democracy forward. the justice department said the unions are just speculating and haven’t shown that the three doge employees detailed to cut the department’s costs will have such access. ▶ read more on the labor department case hegseth’s pentagon feed cut off before troops could hear him questioned defense secretary hegseth said at the pentagon that “deterrence” begins with the southern border. most troops missed any questions and answers that followed. hegseth’s opening remarks were broadcast over the pentagon’s television and internet channels, but it then cut off. so the longer q&a portion he did was only seen by those in the room, and wasn’t available for the 2.1 million troops and hundreds of thousands of civilians who serve in other states and nations around the world. musk’s team at the education department gains access to student loan database musk’s department of government efficiency has gained access to an education department database of personal information on millions of students and parents with federal student loans, according to two people with knowledge of the issue. the people spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. democrats in congress are raising concerns about doge’s access to student records. in a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of democrats demanded details about doge’s work and vowed to fight any attempt to close the education department. a federal lawsuit filed friday seeks to block doge’s access, saying it violates privacy rights of federal student loan borrowers. ▶ read more about the lawsuit seeking to protect financial aid information   collin binkley and bianca vázquez toness trump’s most special employee will file a secret financial report as a special government employee, elon musk will have to file a report on his financial assets   but it won’t be made public. the plan was described by a white house official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose personnel matters. musk is the world’s richest person with vast business interests, including tesla, spacex and x. his financial report, if completed, would likely be among the most extensive ever filed. the white house official said musk also received a briefing on ethics rules earlier this week. trump, who put musk in charge of overhauling the federal government, has said the billionaire entrepreneur would steer clear of conflicts of interest.   chris megerian defense secretary tells pentagon workers he plans to disrupt the status quo pete hegseth is telling his troops and workforce that he plans to take unconventional approaches and “be disruptive on purpose.” speaking to a crowd of military and civilian workers in a pentagon conference center friday, hegseth said he’s committed to rebuilding the defense industrial base, increasing deterrence and restoring the military’s laser focus on lethality and readiness while ridding it of diversity initiatives. “president trump asked me to not maintain the status quo,” he said. “we’re going to move fast. i’ll think outside the box, be disruptive on purpose, to create a sense of urgency that i want to make sure exists inside this department.” us importers stockpile prosecco, fearing trump tariffs wine industry data shows american importers have been stockpiling the italian bubbly as a hedge against possible tariffs. u.s. imports of italian sparkling wine   90% of that prosecco   skyrocketed by 41% after trump’s election, far exceeding consumer demand as importers filled the pipeline for future sales. union of italian wines trade association president lamberto frescobaldi says this made sense given the likelihood that consumers will cut back on luxuries if tariffs make them too pricey. italian wines were not hit by tariffs during the first trump presidency, and no tariffs have been announced to date against european partners. but italy exports nearly one quarter of its wine, worth 1.9 billion euros ($1.97 billion), exposing the sector to potential price shocks. ▶ read more about the prosecco pipeline immigrant advocacy groups want access to gitmo their letter friday demands “immediate access” to the people being held there, saying the u.s. naval station in cuba should not be used as a “legal black hole.” two military flights have carried people who were in the u.s. illegally to the base so far. the trump administration has broadly described them as criminals and gang members but has not given specific information such as their names, whether they’ve been convicted or when they entered the country. inflation is looking like a problem for trump americans are thinking inflation is going to get much worse now. it’s a problem for a republican who won election on the specific promise of lowering prices. the university of michigan’s survey of consumers showed friday that people expect inflation to be 4.3% for the year ahead, up a full percentage point from the prior month. the preliminary finding for february is the highest reading since november 2023, when public exhaustion with inflation was crushing president joe biden’s approval ratings. another possible warning sign for trump: broader consumer sentiment among republicans slipped to 83.2 from 86 in january. trump has almost sparked a broad trade war with canada and mexico, threatened tariffs that economists say would increase inflation and placed a 10% tariff on imports from china. white house press secretary blames unsettled economy on biden karoline leavitt said the jobs report shows “the necessity of president trump’s pro growth policies.” her statement friday cited trump’s declaration of an energy emergency, his pledges to cut regulations and his plan to “deliver the largest tax cut in history for hardworking americans.” “president trump is delivering on his promise to restore our broken economy, revive small business optimism, create jobs, and ignite a new golden age for america,” she said. ___ an item has been corrected to show trump said “a real estate transaction,” not a simple transaction, or a transition. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the fcc public file should email news@kaaltv.com or call (507) 288 7555 this website is not intended for users located within the european economic area. © kaal tv, llc a hubbard broadcasting company

supported by mr. trump has said he plans to nominate billy long, a former republican congressman, to the role. by andrew duehren the report by the special counsel, david c. weiss, criticized president biden for making “baseless accusations” that threatened “the integrity of the justice system as a whole.” by devlin barrett and glenn thrush fleeing fraud charges, samuele landi evaded extradition treaties, dabbled in crypto, procured diplomatic credentials and took advantage of all the offshore world has to offer. by atossa araxia abrahamian billy long worked with lifetime advisors, a company that solicited clients to claim a pandemic era tax credit that the i.r.s. said became a magnet for fraud. by andrew duehren the online influencer has bragged about refusing to pay taxes. a london court found that he and his brother had not paid taxes on more than £21 million in business revenue. by lynsey chutel a businessman in the bronx falsified information on thousands of returns, committing one of the largest tax frauds in department of justice history, prosecutors said. by shayla colon since leaving congress in 2023, billy long has peddled a pandemic era tax credit that the i.r.s. has warned is a magnet for fraud. by andrew duehren the president’s son had pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges and was convicted of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application. by glenn thrush the pardon comes weeks before president biden leaves office and transfers power to president elect donald j. trump, who spent years attacking hunter biden over his legal and personal issues. by michael d. shear and zolan kanno youngs a former elected official for a small county used public money to renovate her ranch and buy at least 20 vehicles, including cadillacs and an airstream travel trailer, the justice department said. by adeel hassan el nuevo gobierno de trump promete mano dura contra la migración. pero durante años, la economía bajo demanda ha estado impulsada por agencias de empleo sin escrúpulos que explotan a los trabajadores migrantes. by steve eder, danielle ivory and marcela valdes the incoming trump administration promises an immigration crackdown. but for years, the on demand economy has been fueled by unscrupulous staffing agencies exploiting migrant workers. by steve eder, danielle ivory and marcela valdes new york’s attorney general said in a lawsuit that the auction house had helped collectors avoid tax payments on art purchases. by zachary small michael grimm, a republican who resigned in 2015 after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion, was paralyzed from the chest down during a polo competition in september. by sarah maslin nir fan was a megastar until 2018, when she was fined tens of millions of dollars over unpaid taxes and her career tanked. “green night” is her first film since the scandal. by jin yu young and claire fu the democratic chairman of hillside, n.j., is serving a six month prison term. he got an $80,000 teaching job in the township after pleading guilty to tax fraud. by tracey tully gregory gumucio, the founder and co owner of yoga to the people, which provided yogis with cheap classes in an atmosphere of bohemian glamour, faces up to five years in prison. by lola fadulu the president’s son now confronts a daunting and uncertain process that could result in serious time behind bars when he is sentenced in his tax and gun cases in mid december. by glenn thrush in “lucky loser,” two investigative reporters illuminate the financial chicanery and media excesses that gave us the 45th president of the united states. by alexander nazaryan el hijo menor del presidente joe biden dio el inusual paso de acogerse a un acuerdo tipo alford, reconociendo que había pruebas suficientes para condenarlo, aunque expresó su inocencia respecto a los mismos cargos. by glenn thrush and lauren herstik the guilty plea now exposes president biden’s son to a likely outcome that once seemed unthinkable: significant time behind bars. by glenn thrush and lauren herstik a preliminary hearing on wednesday will determine the contours of the tax trial hunter biden faces in september. it is often a forum for discussions that could lead to a plea deal. by glenn thrush they stopped short of accusing mr. biden of violating foreign lobbying laws but said they would show how foreign interests paid him to influence the government while his father was vice president. by glenn thrush and kenneth p. vogel glaad paid for its chief executive to fly first class, rent a cape cod house and remodel her home office. it may have violated i.r.s. rules. by emily steel janet yamanaka mello, 57, stole over $100 million from a youth development grant program for children of military families, spending the money on a lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said. by alexandra e. petri the beefed up enforcement is part of the agency’s modernization initiative aimed at improving customer service and catching wealthy tax evaders. by alan rappeport the case focused on the law firm at the heart of the 2016 scandal, in which leaked documents revealed a vast network of offshore tax havens. by leila miller an internal analysis conducted by the agency found that up to 90 percent of claims are potentially fraudulent. by alan rappeport congressional budget office projections released on tuesday show a grim fiscal backdrop ahead of tax and debt limit fights. by alan rappeport the president, who is in the middle of a re election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them. by katie rogers the president’s son was convicted of three felonies during a trial that made his struggles with drug addiction painfully public. by glenn thrush, eileen sullivan and zach montague the president’s son, who was convicted of three felonies, could face a stiffer sentence if he is convicted in a separate tax case scheduled for september. by eileen sullivan here’s looking at you, hunter. by gail collins and bret stephens michael saylor did not pay any income taxes to washington despite living there from 2005 through 2020, the attorney general for the district of columbia said. by lauren hirsch the technology company microstrategy and its founder, michael saylor, agreed to a $40 million deal to end a lawsuit accusing him of evading income tax. by andrew ross sorkin, ravi mattu, bernhard warner, sarah kessler, michael j. de la merced, lauren hirsch and ephrat livni el lunes comenzará en delaware uno de los dos juicios en los que el hijo del presidente de ee. uu. se defenderá. by glenn thrush on monday in delaware, one of two trials will begin in which president biden’s son will defend himself during a presidential election year. by glenn thrush president biden has weathered years of scandals surrounding his son. but people close to both men say the president has refused to treat him as a political liability. by katie rogers the cash crunch could limit his ability to hire expert witnesses or other specialists for his legal defense, people close to the situation said. by glenn thrush and mattathias schwartz una persona acusó a la agencia de no examinar una lucrativa exención fiscal diseñada para atraer a los estadounidenses ricos a la isla. by jesse drucker an insider accused the agency of failing to scrutinize a lucrative tax break in puerto rico designed to lure wealthy americans to the island. by jesse drucker the judge presiding over the case in los angeles agreed to delay the start of his trial to sept. 5. by glenn thrush michael d. cohen spent time in prison for felony charges tied to hush money deals, as well lying to congress and tax evasion. he has been free since 2020. by ben protess a compliance officer for the cryptocurrency exchange told senior executives and nigerian contacts that the company had been asked to pay $150 million in crypto. by david yaffe bellany and emily flitter billionaires are experts at avoiding taxes. by banding together, countries can make them pay up. by gabriel zucman it’s not the crime; it’s the cover up. but it’s still a highly flawed case. by jed handelsman shugerman tigran gambaryan, an american compliance official for the giant cryptocurrency exchange binance, flew to nigeria in february for a planned two day business trip. he hasn’t returned. by david yaffe bellany and emily flitter a senate committee sent a letter asking the bank whether it had adequately followed procedures before clearing $158 million in payments. by matthew goldstein the employee retention tax credit continues to be ripe for abuse as congress mulls shutting the program down. by alan rappeport the white house’s new focus on corporate aviation is drawing backlash from an industry that says it supports manufacturing. by alan rappeport

for premium support please call: for premium support please call: cnn mixed up the names of former president barack obama and osama bin laden in an embarrassing on air gaffe on friday night. during a segment on the guantanamo bay detention camp on "cnn news central," a graphic appeared behind anchor boris sanchez that read, "obama bin laden associate: abu zubaydah." abu zubaydah   the suspected palestinian terrorist whose real name is zayn al abidin muhammad husayn   is currently being held at guantanamo bay, cuba, while authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding his apprehension and detention. cnn political commentator causes on air uproar after claiming her race has negatively impacted her pay when president obama took office in january 2009, he pledged to close the detention facility within a year but failed to do so. this failure enabled future presidents, like president donald trump, to use the detention facility to house some of the world's most dangerous criminals. earlier this week, trump instructed the pentagon to prepare the facility to hold around 30,000 'criminal illegal aliens' at the us military base. read on the fox news app while sanchez did not read "obama bin laden" out loud, viewers quickly caught the glaring mashup of names, and took to social media to call it out. "so it's confirmed now. the babylon bee bought cnn and just didn't tell us," x user charles jorhan mocked. click here for more coverage of media and culture this gaffe comes as another embarrassing moment for the struggling liberal news network, with cnn laying off roughly 6% of their workforce at the end of january as ratings continued to decline. cnn painted the layoffs as a critical step toward securing the network’s future, telling staffers that "irreversible shifts in the way audiences in america and around the world consume news" have impacted its business model. about 200 jobs were eliminated as a result. the news network also lost a major lawsuit last month, being found liable for defaming u.s. navy veteran zachary young. a jury awarded the navy veteran $4 million in lost earnings, $1 million in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said that punitive damages are warranted against cnn. cnn declined to comment to fox news digital on the name mix up. fox news digital's brian flood and greg norman contributed to this report. original article source: cnn confused obama with osama bin laden in embarrassing on air mix up

albert arnold gore jr. (born march 31, 1948) is an american politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the united states from 1993 to 2001 under president bill clinton. he previously served as a united states senator from 1985 to 1993 and as a member of the u.s. house of representatives from 1977 to 1985, in which he represented tennessee. gore was the democratic nominee for president of the united states in the 2000 presidential election, which he lost to george w. bush despite winning the popular vote.[a] the son of politician albert gore sr., gore was an elected official for 24 years. he was a u.s. representative from tennessee (1977 1985) and, from 1985 to 1993, served as a u.s. senator for the state. he served as vice president during the clinton administration from 1993 to 2001, defeating then incumbents george h. w. bush and dan quayle in 1992, and bob dole and jack kemp in 1996, and was the first democrat to serve two full terms as vice president since john nance garner. as of 2025, gore's 1990 re election remains the last time democrats won a senate election in tennessee. gore was the democratic nominee for president of the united states in the 2000 presidential election   in which he lost the electoral college vote by five electoral votes to republican nominee george w. bush, despite winning the popular vote by 543,895 votes. the election concluded after the supreme court of the united states ruled 5 4 in bush v. gore against a previous ruling by the supreme court of florida on a re count that would have likely given gore a razor thin lead in the state of florida, had the re count continued as planned. he is one of five presidential candidates in american history to lose a presidential election despite winning the popular vote. after his vice presidency ended in 2001, gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist, whose work in climate change activism earned him (jointly with the ipcc) the nobel peace prize in 2007. gore is the founder and current chair of the climate reality project, the co founder and chair of generation investment management, the now defunct current tv network, a former member of the board of directors of apple inc. and a senior adviser to google.[2] gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm kleiner perkins, heading its climate change solutions group.[3][4] he has served as a visiting professor at middle tennessee state university, columbia university graduate school of journalism, fisk university and the university of california, los angeles.[2][5][6][7] he served on the board of directors of world resources institute.[8] gore has received a number of awards that include the nobel peace prize (joint award with the intergovernmental panel on climate change, 2007), a primetime emmy award for current tv (2007), and a webby award (2005). gore was also the subject of the academy award winning (2007) documentary an inconvenient truth in 2006, as well as its 2017 sequel an inconvenient sequel: truth to power. in 2007, he was named a runner up for time's 2007 person of the year.[9] in 2008, gore won the dan david prize for social responsibility,[10][11] and in 2024, he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by president joe biden.[12] albert arnold gore jr. was born on march 31, 1948, in washington, d.c.,[13] as the second of two children born to albert gore sr., a u.s. representative who later served for 18 years as a u.s. senator from tennessee, and pauline lafon gore, one of the first women to graduate from the vanderbilt university law school.[14] gore is a descendant of scots irish immigrants who first settled in virginia during the mid 17th century and moved to tennessee after the revolutionary war.[15] his older sister nancy lafon gore died of lung cancer in 1984.[16] during the school year he lived with his family in the fairfax hotel in the embassy row section in washington d.c.[17] during the summer months, he worked on the family farm in carthage, tennessee, where the gores grew tobacco and hay[18][19] and raised cattle.[20] gore attended st. albans school, an independent college preparatory day and boarding school for boys in washington, d.c. from 1956 to 1965, a prestigious feeder school for the ivy league.[21][22] he was the captain of the football team, threw discus for the track and field team and participated in basketball, art, and government.[14][17][23] he graduated 25th in a class of 51, applied to one college, harvard university, and was accepted.[21][22] gore enrolled in harvard college in 1965; he initially planned to major in english and write novels but later decided to major in government.[21][22] on his second day on campus, he began campaigning for the freshman student government council and was elected its president. he was roommates with actor tommy lee jones in dunster house.[22][24] gore was an avid reader who fell in love with scientific and mathematical theories,[22] but he did not do well in science classes and avoided taking math.[21] during his first two years, his grades placed him in the lower one fifth of his class. during his second year, he reportedly spent much of his time watching television, shooting pool and occasionally smoking marijuana.[21][22] in his junior and senior years, he became more involved with his studies, earning as and bs.[21] in his senior year, he took a class with oceanographer and global warming theorist roger revelle, who sparked gore's interest in global warming and other environmental issues.[22][25] gore earned an a on his thesis, "the impact of television on the conduct of the presidency, 1947 1969", and graduated with an a.b. cum laude in june 1969.[21][26] gore was in college during the era of anti vietnam war protests. he was opposed to the war, but he disagreed with the tactics of the student protest movement and believed it to be juvenile and misguided to use a private university as a venue to vent anger at the war.[22] he and his friends did not participate in harvard demonstrations. john tyson, a former roommate, recalled that "we distrusted these movements a lot ... we were a pretty traditional bunch of guys, positive for civil rights and women's rights but formal, transformed by the social revolution to some extent but not buying into something we considered detrimental to our country."[22][27] gore helped his father write an anti war address to the democratic national convention of 1968 but stayed with his parents in their hotel room during the violent protests.[22] when gore graduated in 1969, he immediately became eligible for the military draft. his father, a vocal anti vietnam war critic, was facing re election in 1970. gore eventually decided that enlisting in the army would be the best course between serving his country, his personal values and interests. although nearly all of his harvard classmates avoided the draft and service in vietnam,[28] gore believed if he found a way around military service, he would be handing an issue to his father's republican opponent.[29] according to gore's senate biography, "he appeared in uniform in his father's campaign commercials, one of which ended with his father advising: 'son, always love your country'."[30] despite this, gore sr. lost the election to an opponent who vastly out fundraised him. this opponent was later found by the watergate commission to have accepted illegal money from nixon's operatives.[29] gore has said that his other reason for enlisting was that he did not want someone with fewer options than he to go in his place.[31] actor tommy lee jones, a former college housemate, recalled gore saying that "if he found a fancy way of not going, someone else would have to go in his place".[22][32] his harvard advisor, richard neustadt, also stated that gore decided, "that he would have to go as an enlisted man because, he said, 'in tennessee, that's what most people have to do.'" in addition, michael roche, gore's editor for the castle courier, stated that "anybody who knew al gore in vietnam knows he could have sat on his butt and he didn't."[29] after enlisting in august 1969, gore returned to the anti war harvard campus in his military uniform to say goodbye to his adviser and was "jeered" at by students.[16][22] he later said he was astonished by the "emotional field of negativity and disapproval and piercing glances that ... certainly felt like real hatred".[22] gore had basic training at fort dix from august to october, and then was assigned to be a journalist at fort rucker, alabama.[29] in april 1970, he was named rucker's "soldier of the month".[16] his orders to be sent to vietnam were "held up" for some time and the gore family suspected that this was due to a fear by the nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes.[29] he was finally shipped to vietnam on january 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the senate during the 1970 senate election, becoming one "of only about a dozen of the 1,115 harvard graduates in the [all male] class of '69 who went to vietnam".[29][33][34] gore was stationed with the 20th engineer brigade in biên hòa and was a journalist with the castle courier.[35] he received an honorable discharge from the army in may 1971.[16] of his time in the army, gore later stated, "i didn't do the most, or run the gravest danger. but i was proud to wear my country's uniform."[32] he also later stated that his experience in vietnam didn't change my conclusions about the war being a terrible mistake, but it struck me that opponents to the war, including myself, really did not take into account the fact that there were an awful lot of south vietnamese who desperately wanted to hang on to what they called freedom. coming face to face with those sentiments expressed by people who did the laundry and ran the restaurants and worked in the fields was something i was naively unprepared for.[36] gore was "dispirited" after his return from vietnam.[30] nashvillepost.com noted that, "his father's defeat made service in a conflict he deeply opposed even more abhorrent to gore. his experiences in the war zone don't seem to have been deeply traumatic in themselves; although the engineers were sometimes fired upon, gore has said he didn't see full scale combat. still, he felt that his participation in the war was wrong."[33] although his parents wanted him to go to law school, gore first attended vanderbilt university divinity school (1971 72) on a rockefeller foundation scholarship for people planning secular careers. he later said he went there in order to explore "spiritual issues",[37] and that "he had hoped to make sense of the social injustices that seemed to challenge his religious beliefs".[38] in 1971, gore also began to work the night shift for the tennessean as an investigative reporter.[39] his investigations of corruption among members of nashville's metro council resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two councilmen for separate offenses.[33] in 1974, he took a leave of absence from the tennessean to attend vanderbilt university law school. his decision to become an attorney was a partial result of his time as a journalist, as he realized that, while he could expose corruption, he could not change it.[37] gore did not complete law school, deciding abruptly, in 1976, to run for a seat in the u.s. house of representatives when he found out that his father's former seat in the house was about to be vacated.[37][40] gore began serving in the u.s. congress at the age of 28 and stayed there for the next 16 years, serving in both the house (1977 1985) and the senate (1985 1993).[39] gore spent many weekends in tennessee, working with his constituents.[14][30] at the end of february 1976, u.s. representative joe l. evins unexpectedly announced his retirement from congress, making tennessee's 4th congressional district seat, to which he had succeeded albert gore sr. in 1953 open. within hours after the tennessean publisher john seigenthaler sr. called him to tell him the announcement was forthcoming,[40] gore decided to quit law school and run for the house of representatives: gore's abrupt decision to run for the open seat surprised even himself; he later said that "i didn't realize myself i had been pulled back so much to it." the news came as a "bombshell" to his wife. tipper gore held a job in the tennessean's photo lab and was working on a master's degree in psychology, but she joined in her husband's campaign (with assurance that she could get her job at the tennessean back if he lost). by contrast, gore asked his father to stay out of his campaign: "i must become my own man," he explained. "i must not be your candidate."[30] gore won the 1976 democratic primary for the district with "32 percent of the vote, three percentage points more than his nearest rival", and was opposed only by an independent candidate in the election, recording 94 percent of the overall vote.[41] he went on to win the next three elections, in 1978, 1980 and 1982, where "he was unopposed twice and won 79 percent of the vote the other time".[41] in 1984, gore successfully ran for a seat in the u.s. senate, which had been vacated by republican senate majority leader howard baker. he was "unopposed in the democratic senatorial primary and won the general election going away", despite the fact that republican president ronald reagan swept tennessee in his reelection campaign the same year.[41] gore defeated republican senatorial nominee victor ashe, subsequently the mayor of knoxville, and the republican turned independent, ed mcateer, founder of the christian right religious roundtable organization that had worked to elect reagan as president in 1980.[42] during his time in congress, gore was considered a "moderate" once referring to himself as a "raging moderate"[43] opposing federal funding of abortion, voting in favor of a bill which supported a moment of silence in schools, and voting against a ban on interstate sales of guns.[44] in 1981, gore was quoted as saying with regard to homosexuality, "i think it is wrong", and "i don't pretend to understand it, but it is not just another normal optional life style." in his 1984 senate race, gore said when discussing homosexuality, "i do not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm." he also said that he would not take campaign funds from gay rights groups.[45] although he maintained a position against homosexuality and gay marriage in the 1980s, gore said in 2008 that he thinks "gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women...to join together in marriage."[46] his position as a moderate (and on policies related to that label) shifted later in life after he became vice president and ran for president in 2000.[47] during his tenure in the house, gore voted in favor of the bill establishing martin luther king jr. day as a federal holiday.[48] while gore initially did not vote on the civil rights restoration act of 1987 in january 1988,[49] he voted to override president reagan's veto the following march.[50] gore voted against the nomination of william rehnquist as chief justice of the united states,[51] as well as the nominations of robert bork and clarence thomas to the u.s. supreme court.[52] during his time in the house, gore sat on the energy and commerce and the science and technology committees, chairing the science committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations for four years.[41] he also sat on the house intelligence committee and, in 1982, introduced the gore plan for arms control, to "reduce chances of a nuclear first strike by cutting multiple warheads and deploying single warhead mobile launchers".[30] while in the senate, he sat on the homeland security and governmental affairs, the rules and administration, and the armed services committees.[30] in 1991, gore was one of ten democrats who supported the gulf war.[30] gore was considered one of the atari democrats, given this name due to their "passion for technological issues, from biomedical research and genetic engineering to the environmental impact of the "greenhouse effect".[30] on march 19, 1979, he had become the first member of congress to appear on c span.[53] during this time, gore co chaired the congressional clearinghouse on the future with newt gingrich.[54] in addition, he has been described as having been a "genuine nerd, with a geek reputation running back to his days as a futurist atari democrat in the house. before computers were comprehensible, let alone sexy, the poker faced gore struggled to explain artificial intelligence and fiber optic networks to sleepy colleagues."[30][55] internet pioneers vint cerf and bob kahn noted that, as far back as the 1970s, congressman gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. he was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship ... the internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. when the internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, congressman gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication.[56] gore introduced the supercomputer network study act of 1986.[57] he also sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.[56] as a senator, gore began to craft the high performance computing act of 1991 (commonly referred to as "the gore bill") after hearing the 1988 report toward a national research network submitted to congress by a group chaired by ucla professor of computer science, leonard kleinrock, one of the central creators of the arpanet (the arpanet, first deployed by kleinrock and others in 1969, is the predecessor of the internet).[58][59][60] the bill was passed on december 9, 1991, and led to the national information infrastructure (nii) which gore referred to as the "information superhighway".[61] after joining the house of representatives, gore held the "first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co sponsor[ed] hearings on toxic waste and global warming".[62][63] he continued to speak on the topic throughout the 1980s.[30][64][65] in 1990, senator gore presided over a three day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a global marshall plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment".[66] on april 3, 1989, al, tipper and their six year old son albert were leaving a baseball game. albert ran across the street to see his friend and was hit by a car. he was thrown 30 feet (9 m) and then traveled along the pavement for another 20 feet (6 m).[14] gore later recalled: "i ran to his side and held him and called his name, but he was motionless, limp and still, without breath or pulse.... his eyes were open with the nothingness stare of death, and we prayed, the two of us, there in the gutter, with only my voice."[14] albert was tended to by two nurses who happened to be present during the accident. the gores spent the next month in the hospital with albert. gore also commented: "our lives were consumed with the struggle to restore his body and spirit."[14] this event was "a trauma so shattering that [gore] views it as a moment of personal rebirth", a "key moment in his life" which "changed everything".[14] in august 1991, gore announced that his son's accident was a factor in his decision not to run for president in 1992.[67] gore stated: "i would like to be president.... but i am also a father, and i feel deeply about my responsibility to my children.... i didn't feel right about tearing myself away from my family to the extent that is necessary in a presidential campaign."[67] during this time, gore wrote earth in the balance, a text that became the first book written by a sitting u.s. senator to make the new york times best seller list since john f. kennedy's profiles in courage.[30] in 1988, gore sought the democratic party's nomination for president of the united states. gore carried seven states in the primaries, finishing third overall in a field that included massachusetts governor michael dukakis, then senator, future vice president and former president joe biden, gary hart, congressman dick gephardt, paul simon and jesse jackson. dukakis eventually won the democratic nomination and went on to lose in a landslide to george h. w. bush in the general election. although gore initially denied that he intended to run, his candidacy was the subject of speculation: "national analysts make sen. gore a long shot for the presidential nomination, but many believe he could provide a natural complement for any of the other candidates: a young, attractive, moderate vice presidential nominee from the south. he currently denies any interest, but he carefully does not reject the idea out of hand."[17] at the time, he was 39 years old, making him the "youngest serious presidential candidate since john f. kennedy".[17] cnn noted that, "in 1988, for the first time, 12 southern states would hold their primaries on the same day, dubbed 'super tuesday'. gore thought he would be the only serious southern contender; he had not counted on jesse jackson."[68] jackson defeated gore in the south carolina primary, winning, "more than half the total vote, three times that of his closest rival here, senator albert gore jr. of tennessee".[69] gore next placed great hope on super tuesday where they split the southern vote: jackson winning alabama, georgia, louisiana, mississippi and virginia; gore winning arkansas, north carolina, kentucky, nevada, tennessee, and oklahoma.[30][68][70] gore was later endorsed by new york city mayor ed koch who made statements in favor of israel and against jackson. these statements cast gore in a negative light,[68] leading voters away from gore who received only 10% of the vote in the new york primary. gore then dropped out of the race.[30] the new york times said that gore also lost support due to his attacks against jackson, dukakis, and others.[71] gore was eventually able to mend fences with jackson, who supported the clinton gore ticket in 1992 and 1996, and campaigned for the gore lieberman ticket during the 2000 presidential election.[72][73] gore's policies changed substantially in 2000, reflecting his eight years as vice president.[74] gore was initially hesitant to be bill clinton's running mate for the 1992 united states presidential election, but after clashing with the george h. w. bush administration over global warming issues, he decided to accept the offer.[30] clinton stated that he chose gore due to his foreign policy experience, work with the environment, and commitment to his family.[75][76] clinton's choice was criticized as unconventional because rather than picking a running mate who would diversify the ticket, clinton chose a fellow southerner who shared his political ideologies and who was nearly the same age as clinton.[30][75][77] the washington bureau chief for the baltimore sun, paul west, later suggested that, "al gore revolutionized the way vice presidents are made. when he joined bill clinton's ticket, it violated the old rules. regional diversity? not with two southerners from neighboring states. ideological balance? a couple of left of center moderates. ... and yet, gore has come to be regarded by strategists in both parties as the best vice presidential pick in at least 20 years."[78] clinton and gore accepted the nomination at the democratic national convention on july 17, 1992.[79][80] known as the baby boomer ticket and the fortysomething team, the new york times noted that if elected, clinton and gore, at ages 46 and 44 respectively, would be the "youngest team to make it to the white house in the country's history".[75][81] gore called the ticket "a new generation of leadership". [75][82] the ticket increased in popularity after the candidates traveled with their wives, hillary and tipper, on a "six day, 1,000 mile bus ride, from new york to st. louis".[83] al gore would participate in one vice presidential debate against vice president dan quayle, and admiral james stockdale. that debate, as of 2023, was the only televised vice presidential debate with more than two participating candidates. the clinton gore ticket beat the bush quayle and perot stockdale tickets with 43% of the popular vote, versus their 38% and 19%, respectively. clinton and gore received 370 electoral votes, versus the incumbent ticket's 168, and perot's 0.[30] al gore served as vice president during the clinton administration. clinton and gore were inaugurated on january 20, 1993. at the beginning of the first term, they developed a "two page agreement outlining their relationship". clinton committed himself to regular lunch meetings; he recognized gore as a principal adviser on nominations and appointed some of gore's chief advisers to key white house staff positions. clinton involved gore in decision making to an unprecedented degree for a vice president. through their weekly lunches and daily conversations, gore became the president's "indisputable chief adviser".[30] however, gore had to compete with first lady hillary for president clinton's influence, starting when she was appointed to the health care task force without gore's consultation. vanity fair wrote that president clinton's "failure to confide in his vice president was a telling sign of the real pecking order", and reported "it was an open secret that some of hillary's advisers...nurtured dreams that hillary, not gore, would follow bill in the presidency".[84][85] gore had a particular interest in reducing "waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government and advocated trimming the size of the bureaucracy and the number of regulations".[30] during the clinton administration, the u.s. economy expanded, according to david greenberg (professor of history and media studies at rutgers university) who said that "by the end of the clinton presidency, the numbers were uniformly impressive. besides the record high surpluses and the record low poverty rates, the economy could boast the longest economic expansion in history; the lowest unemployment since the early 1970s; and the lowest poverty rates for single mothers, black americans, and the aged."[86] according to leslie budd, author of e economy: rhetoric or business reality, this economic success was due, in part, to gore's continued role as an atari democrat, promoting the development of information technology, which led to the dot com boom. (c. 1995 2001).[87] clinton and gore entered office planning to finance research that would "flood the economy with innovative goods and services, lifting the general level of prosperity and strengthening american industry".[88] their overall aim was to fund the development of, "robotics, smart roads, biotechnology, machine tools, magnetic levitation trains, fiber optic communications and national computer networks. also earmarked [were] a raft of basic technologies like digital imaging and data storage."[88] critics claimed that the initiatives would "backfire, bloating congressional pork and creating whole new categories of federal waste".[88] during the election and his term as vice president, gore popularized the term information superhighway, which became synonymous with the internet, and he was involved in the creation of the national information infrastructure.[88] gore first discussed his plans to emphasize information technology at ucla on january 11, 1994, in a speech at the superhighway summit. on march 29, 1994, gore made the inaugural keynote to a georgetown university symposium on governmental reform[b] with a lecture entitled, "the new job of the federal executive". gore spoke on how technology was changing the nature of government, public administration, and management in general, noting that while in the past deep hierarchical structures were necessary to manage large organizations, technology was offering more accurate and streamlined access to information, thus facilitating flatter management structures.[89][90] he was involved in a number of projects including netday '96 and 24 hours in cyberspace. the clinton gore administration also launched the first official white house website in 1994 and subsequent versions through 2000.[91] during 1993 and early 1994, gore was tapped by the administration to advocate for the adoption of the clipper chip, a technology developed by the national security agency designed to provide for law enforcement access to encrypted communications. after political and technical objections, the initiative was essentially dropped.[92][93][94] gore was also involved in environmental initiatives. he launched the globe program on earth day '94, an education and science activity that, according to forbes, "made extensive use of the internet to increase student awareness of their environment".[95] in 1998, gore began promoting a nasa satellite (deep space climate observatory) that would provide a constant view of the earth, marking the first time such an image would have been made since the blue marble photo from the 1972 apollo 17 mission.[96] during this time, he also became associated with digital earth.[97] gore negotiated and strongly supported the kyoto protocol to reduce greenhouse gasses, but said upon his return that the administration would not submit the treaty to the senate for ratification until it was amended to include "meaningful participation by key developing nations",[98][99][100] the senate had previously passed unanimously (95 0) the byrd hagel resolution (s. res. 98), which declared opposition to any greenhouse gas treaty which would limit us emissions without similar limits on third world countries such as china.[101][102] the clinton administration left office three years later without having submitted the treaty for ratification. in 1996, gore became involved in a "chinagate" campaign finance controversy over his attendance at an event at the buddhist hsi lai temple in hacienda heights, california.[30] in an interview on nbc's today the following year, gore said, "i did not know that it was a fund raiser. i knew it was a political event, and i knew there were finance people that were going to be present, and so that alone should have told me, 'this is inappropriate and this is a mistake; don't do this.' and i take responsibility for that. it was a mistake."[103] a u.s. department of justice investigation into the fund raising activities had uncovered evidence that chinese agents sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the democratic national committee (dnc) before the 1996 presidential campaign. the chinese embassy in washington, d.c. was used for coordinating contributions to the dnc.[104][105] fbi agents were denied the opportunity to ask president bill clinton and vice president al gore questions during justice department interviews in 1997 and 1998 and were only allowed to take notes.[106] in march 1997, gore had to explain phone calls which he made to solicit funds for democratic party for the 1996 election.[107] in a news conference, gore stated that, "all calls that i made were charged to the democratic national committee. i was advised there was nothing wrong with that. my counsel tells me there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of any law."[108] the phrase "no controlling legal authority" was criticized by columnist charles krauthammer, who stated: "whatever other legacies al gore leaves behind between now and retirement, he forever bequeaths this newest weasel word to the lexicon of american political corruption."[109] robert conrad jr. was the head of a justice department task force appointed by attorney general janet reno to investigate gore's fund raising controversies. in spring 2000, conrad asked reno to appoint an independent counsel to continue the investigation. after looking into the matter, reno judged that the appointment of an independent counsel was unwarranted.[110] during the 1990s, gore spoke out on a number of issues. in a 1992 speech on the gulf war, gore stated that he twice attempted to get the u.s. government to pull the plug on support to saddam hussein, citing hussein's use of poison gas, support of terrorism, and his burgeoning nuclear program, but was opposed both times by the reagan and bush administrations.[111] in 1998, at a conference of apec hosted by malaysia, gore objected to the indictment, arrest and jailing of prime minister mahathir mohamad's longtime second in command anwar ibrahim, a move which received a negative response from leaders there.[112] ten years later, gore again protested when ibrahim was arrested a second time,[113] a decision condemned by malaysian foreign minister datuk seri dr rais yatim.[113] in the 1996 presidential election, clinton and gore both ran for re election for president and vice president. they faced republican senate majority leader bob dole, with his running mate, jack kemp, a former member of house republican leadership and george h. w. bush's secretary of housing and urban development. gore and kemp debated once, in one of the lowest rated debates in history. gore held his own against kemp, and kept president clinton's large lead against dole stable. on november 5, 1996, clinton and gore were re elected as president and vice president with 379 electoral votes and an 8% margin of victory in the popular vote. soon afterward, gore also had to contend with the lewinsky scandal, which involved an affair between president clinton and a white house intern, monica lewinsky. gore initially defended clinton, whom he believed to be innocent, stating: "he is the president of the country! he is my friend ... i want to ask you now, every single one of you, to join me in supporting him."[30] after clinton was impeached, gore continued to defend him, stating: "i've defined my job in exactly the same way for six years now ... to do everything i can to help him be the best president possible."[30][84][85] during a speech that he gave on june 16, 1999, in carthage, tennessee, gore formally announced his candidacy for president. his major theme was the need to strengthen the american family.[114] he was introduced by his eldest daughter, karenna gore schiff.[114] in making the speech, gore also distanced himself from bill clinton, who he stated had lied to him.[114] gore was "briefly interrupted" by aids protesters claiming gore was working with the pharmaceutical industry to prevent access to generic medicines for poor nations and chanting "gore's greed kills".[114] additional speeches were also interrupted by the protesters. gore responded: "i love this country. i love the first amendment ... let me say in response to those who may have chosen an inappropriate way to make their point, that actually the crisis of aids in africa is one that should command the attention of people in the united states and around the world." gore also issued a statement saying that he supported efforts to lower the cost of the aids drugs, provided that they "are done in a way consistent with international agreements".[115][116] while bill clinton's job approval ratings were around 60%, an april 1999 study by the pew research center for the people found that respondents suffered from "clinton fatigue" where they were "tired of all the problems associated with the clinton administration" including the lewinsky scandal and impeachment. texas governor and likely republican presidential nominee george w. bush was leading gore 54% to 41% in polls during that time. gore's advisers believed that the "lewinsky scandal and bill's past womanizing...alienated independent voters especially the soccer moms, who stood for traditional values". consequently, gore's presidential campaign "veered too far in differentiating himself from bill and his record and had difficulty taking advantage of the clinton administration's legitimate successes". in addition, hillary's candidacy for the open senate seat in new york exacerbated the "three way tensions evident in the white house since 1993", as "not only was hillary unavailable as a campaigner, she was poaching top democratic fund raisers and donors who would normally concentrate on the vice president". in one instance "hillary insisted on being invited [to a los angeles fundraiser for the vice president] over the objections of the event's organizers", where the first lady "shocked the vice president's supporters by soliciting donations for herself in front of tipper".[84] gore faced an early challenge by former new jersey senator bill bradley.[114] bradley was the only candidate to oppose gore and was considered a "fresh face" for the white house.[117][118] gore challenged bradley to a series of debates which took the form of "town hall" meetings.[119] gore went on the offensive during these debates leading to a drop in the polls for bradley.[120][121] in the iowa caucus the unions pledged their support to gore, despite bradley spending heavily in that state, and bradley was much embarrassed by his two to one defeat there. gore went on to capture the new hampshire primary 53 47%, which had been a must win state for bradley. gore then swept all of the primaries on super tuesday while bradley finished a distant second in each state. on march 9, 2000, after failing to win any of the first 20 primaries and caucuses in the election process, bradley withdrew his campaign and endorsed gore. gore eventually went on to win every primary and caucus and, in march 2000 even won the first primary election ever held over the internet, the arizona presidential primary.[122] by then, he secured the democratic nomination.[123] as of 2023, al gore remains the only presidential candidate in american history who was not the incumbent president to win every single contest in his or her party primary. on august 13, 2000, gore announced that he had selected senator joe lieberman of connecticut as his vice presidential running mate. lieberman became "the first person of the jewish faith to run for the nation's second highest office". many pundits saw gore's choice of lieberman as further distancing him from the scandals of the clinton white house.[124] gore's daughter, karenna, together with her father's former harvard roommate tommy lee jones,[125] officially nominated gore as the democratic presidential candidate during the 2000 democratic national convention in los angeles, california.[126] gore accepted his party's nomination and spoke about the major themes of his campaign, stating in particular his plan to extend medicare to pay for prescription drugs and to work for a sensible universal health care system.[126] soon after the convention, gore hit the campaign trail with running mate joe lieberman. gore and bush were deadlocked in the polls.[127] they participated in three televised debates. while both sides claimed victory after each, gore was critiqued as either too stiff, too reticent, or too aggressive in contrast to bush.[128][129] there was talk of a potential run in the 2000 presidential race by gore as early as january 1998.[130] gore discussed the possibility of running during a march 9, 1999, interview with cnn's late edition with wolf blitzer. in response to wolf blitzer's question: "why should democrats, looking at the democratic nomination process, support you instead of bill bradley", gore responded: i'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. and it will be comprehensive and sweeping. and i hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. i feel that it will be. but it will emerge from my dialogue with the american people. i've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. during my service in the united states congress, i took the initiative in creating the internet. i took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.[131] former ucla professor of information studies philip e. agre and journalist eric boehlert argued that three articles in wired news led to the creation of the widely spread urban legend that gore claimed to have "invented the internet", which followed this interview.[132][133][134][135] in addition, computer professionals and congressional colleagues argued in his defense. internet pioneers vint cerf and bob kahn stated that "we don't think, as some people have argued, that gore intended to claim he 'invented' the internet. moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as senator, gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still evolving internet."[56][133] cerf would later state: "al gore had seen what happened with the national interstate and defense highways act of 1956, which his father introduced as a military bill. it was very powerful. housing went up, suburban boom happened, everybody became mobile. al was attuned to the power of networking much more than any of his elective colleagues. his initiatives led directly to the commercialization of the internet. so he really does deserve credit."[136] in a speech to the american political science association, former republican speaker of the united states house of representatives newt gingrich also stated: "in all fairness, it's something gore had worked on a long time. gore is not the father of the internet, but in all fairness, gore is the person who, in the congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an internet, and the truth is and i worked with him starting in 1978 when i got [to congress], we were both part of a "futures group" the fact is, in the clinton administration, the world we had talked about in the '80s began to actually happen."[137] finally, wolf blitzer (who conducted the original 1999 interview) stated in 2008 that: "i didn't ask him about the internet. i asked him about the differences he had with bill bradley ... honestly, at the time, when he said it, it didn't dawn on me that this was going to have the impact that it wound up having, because it was distorted to a certain degree and people said they took what he said, which was a carefully phrased comment about taking the initiative and creating the internet to i invented the internet. and that was the sort of shorthand, the way his enemies projected it and it wound up being a devastating setback to him and it hurt him, as i'm sure he acknowledges to this very day."[138] gore himself would later poke fun at the controversy. in 2000, while on the late show with david letterman he read letterman's top 10 list (which for this show was called, "top ten rejected gore   lieberman campaign slogans") to the audience. number nine on the list was: "remember, america, i gave you the internet, and i can take it away!"[139] in 2005, when gore was awarded the lifetime achievement award "for three decades of contributions to the internet" at the webby awards,[140][141] he joked in his acceptance speech (limited to five words according to webby awards rules): "please don't recount this vote." he was introduced by vint cerf who used the same format to joke: "we all invented the internet." gore, who was then asked to add a few more words to his speech, stated: "it is time to reinvent the internet for all of us to make it more robust and much more accessible and use it to reinvigorate our democracy."[141] on election night, news networks first called florida for gore, later retracted the projection, and then called florida for bush, before finally retracting that projection as well.[142] florida's republican secretary of state, katherine harris, eventually certified florida's vote count.[143] this led to the florida election recount, a move to further examine the florida results.[144] the florida recount was stopped a few weeks later on december 12 by the u.s. supreme court. in the ruling, bush v. gore, the justices held, by a 7 2 vote, that the standards the florida supreme court provided for a recount were unconstitutional due to violations of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment, and further ruled 5 4 that no constitutionally valid recount could be completed by the december 12 deadline. that ended recounts underway in selected florida counties, resulting in george w. bush with a 537[145] vote victory in florida and consequently florida's 25 electoral votes, thus the presidency.[146] the results of the decision led to gore winning the popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes nationwide, but receiving 266 electoral votes to bush's 271 (one district of columbia elector abstained).[147] on december 13, 2000, gore conceded the election.[148] gore strongly disagreed with the court's decision, but in his concession speech stated that, "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, i offer my concession."[149] bill clinton and gore had maintained an informal public distance for eight years, but they reunited for the media in august 2009. clinton had arranged for the release of two female journalists who were being held hostage in north korea. the women were employees of gore's current tv.[150] in may 2018, he was included as a member of the indian government committee to coordinate year long celebrations of mahatma gandhi's 150th birth anniversary from october 2, 2019.[151] beginning in 2002, gore began to publicly criticize the bush administration. in a september 23 speech that he gave before the commonwealth club of california, gore criticized bush and congress for the rush to war prior to the outbreak of hostilities in iraq. he compared this decision to the persian gulf war (which gore had voted for) stating, "back in 1991, i was one of a handful of democrats in the united states senate to vote in favor of the resolution endorsing the persian gulf war ... but look at the differences between the resolution that was voted on in 1991 and the one this administration is proposing that the congress vote on in 2002. the circumstances are really completely different [...] in 1991, iraq had crossed an international border, invaded a neighboring sovereign nation and annexed its territory. now by contrast in 2002, there has been no such invasion."[152][153] in a speech given in 2004, during the presidential election, gore accused george w. bush of betraying the country by using the 9/11 attacks as a justification for the invasion of iraq.[154] the next year, gore gave a speech which covered many topics, including what he called "religious zealots" who claim special knowledge of god's will in american politics. gore stated: "they even claim that those of us who disagree with their point of view are waging war against people of faith."[155] after hurricane katrina in 2005, gore chartered two planes to evacuate 270 people from new orleans and criticized the bush administration's response to the hurricane.[156] in 2006, gore criticized bush's use of domestic wiretaps without a warrant.[157] one month later, in a speech given at the jeddah economic forum, gore criticized the treatment of arabs in the u.s. after 9/11 stating, "unfortunately there have been terrible abuses and it's wrong ... i do want you to know that it does not represent the desires or wishes or feelings of the majority of the citizens of my country."[158] gore's 2007 book, the assault on reason, is an analysis of what gore refers to as the "emptying out of the marketplace of ideas" in civic discourse during the bush administration. he attributes this phenomenon to the influence of television and argues that it endangers american democracy. by contrast, gore argues, the internet can revitalize and ultimately "redeem the integrity of representative democracy".[159] in 2008, gore argued against the ban of same sex marriage on his current tv website, stating, "i think that gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women to make contracts, have hospital visiting rights, and join together in marriage."[160] in a 2009 interview with cnn, gore commented on former vice president dick cheney's criticism of the obama administration. referring to his own previous criticism of the bush administrations, gore stated: "i waited two years after i left office to make statements that were critical, and then of the policy ... you know, you talk about somebody that shouldn't be talking about making the country less safe, invading a country that did not attack us and posed no serious threat to us at all."[161] while gore has criticized bush for his katrina response, he has not spoken publicly about his part in the evacuation of 270 patients on september 3 & 4, 2005, from charity hospital in new orleans to tennessee. on september 1, gore was contacted by charity hospital's neurosurgeon dr. david kline, who had operated on his son albert, through greg simon of fastercures. kline informed gore and simon of the desperate conditions at the hospital and asked gore and simon to arrange relief. on gore's personal financial commitment, two airlines each provided a plane with one flight later underwritten by larry flax. the flights were flown by volunteer airline crews and medically staffed by gore's cousin, retired col. dar lafon, and family physician dr. anderson spickard and were accompanied by gore and albert iii. gore used his political influence to expedite landing rights in new orleans.[156][162][163] people were speculating that gore would be a candidate for the 2004 presidential election (a bumper sticker, "re elect gore in 2004!" was popular).[164] on december 16, 2002, however, gore announced that he would not run in 2004.[165] while gore seriously considered challenging bush in 2004, the september 11 attacks and the subsequent stratospheric rise in president bush's popularity as a result of his response to these attacks were strong factors in gore's december 2002 decision not to run again in 2004.[166] despite gore taking himself out of the race, a handful of his supporters formed a national campaign to draft him into running. the draft movement, however, failed to convince gore to run.[167] the prospect of a gore candidacy arose again between 2006 and early 2008 in light of the upcoming 2008 presidential election. although gore frequently stated that he had "no plans to run", he did not reject the possibility of future involvement in politics which led to speculation that he might run.[168][169][170] this was due in part to his increased popularity after the release of the 2006 documentary, an inconvenient truth.[171] the director of the film, davis guggenheim, stated that after the release of the film, "everywhere i go with him, they treat him like a rock star."[172] after an inconvenient truth was nominated for an academy award, donna brazile (gore's campaign chairwoman from his 2000 campaign) speculated that gore might announce a possible presidential candidacy during the oscars.[173] during the 79th academy awards ceremony, gore and actor leonardo dicaprio shared the stage to speak about the "greening" of the ceremony itself. gore began to give a speech that appeared to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. however, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying that it was a rehearsed gag, which he later acknowledged.[174][175] after an inconvenient truth won the academy award for best documentary, speculation increased about a possible presidential run.[176] gore's popularity was indicated in polls which showed that even without running, he was coming in second or third among possible democratic candidates hillary clinton, barack obama, and john edwards.[177] grassroots draft campaigns also developed with the hope that they could encourage gore to run.[178][179][180] gore, however, remained firm in his decision and declined to run for the presidency.[181] interest in having gore run for the 2016 presidential election arose in 2014 and again in 2015, although he did not declare any intention to do so.[182][183] after announcing he would not run in the 2004 u.s. presidential election, gore endorsed vermont governor howard dean in december 2003, weeks before the first primary of the election cycle.[184] he was criticized for this endorsement by eight democratic contenders particularly since he did not endorse his former running mate joe lieberman (gore preferred dean over lieberman because lieberman supported the iraq war and gore did not).[47][185][186] dean's campaign soon became a target of attacks and eventually failed, with gore's early endorsement being credited as a factor. in the new york times, dean stated: "i actually do think the endorsement of al gore began the decline." the times further noted that "dean instantly amplified his statement to indicate that the endorsement from mr. gore, a powerhouse of the establishment, so threatened the other democratic candidates that they began the attacks on his candidacy that helped derail it."[187] dean's former campaign manager, joe trippi, also stated that after gore's endorsement of dean, "alarm bells went off in every newsroom in the country, in every other campaign in the country", indicating that if something did not change, dean would be the nominee.[188] later, in march 2004, gore endorsed john kerry and gave kerry $6 million in funds left over from his own unsuccessful 2000 bid.[189] gore also opened the 2004 democratic national convention.[190] during the 2008 primaries, gore remained neutral toward all of the candidates[191] which led to speculation that he would come out of a brokered 2008 democratic national convention as a "compromise candidate" if the party decided it could not nominate one.[192][193] gore responded by stating that these events would not take place because a candidate would be nominated through the primary process.[194][195] senator ted kennedy had urged gore to endorse senator barack obama, though gore declined.[85] when obama became the presumptive democratic nominee for president on june 3, 2008, speculation began that gore might be tapped for the vice presidency.[196][197] on june 16, 2008, one week after hillary clinton had suspended her campaign, gore endorsed obama in a speech given in detroit, michigan[198][199][200] which renewed speculation of an obama gore ticket.[201] gore stated, however, that he was not interested in being vice president again.[202][203][204][205] on the timing and nature of gore's endorsement, some argued that gore waited because he did not want to repeat his calamitous early endorsement of howard dean during the 2004 presidential election.[206][207] on the final night of the 2008 democratic national convention, shortly before obama delivered his acceptance address, gore gave a speech offering his full support.[208][209] such support led to new speculation after obama was elected president during the 2008 presidential election that gore would be named a member of the obama administration. this speculation was enhanced by a meeting held between obama, gore, and joe biden in chicago on december 9, 2008. however, democratic officials and gore's spokeswoman stated that during the meeting the only subject under discussion was the climate crisis, and gore would not be joining the obama administration.[210][211] on december 19, 2008, gore described obama's environmental administrative choices of carol browner, steven chu, and lisa jackson as "an exceptional team to lead the fight against the climate crisis".[212] gore repeated his neutrality eight years later during the democratic presidential primaries of 2016 until endorsing hillary clinton on july 25, 2016, the first day of that year's democratic national convention.[213] gore appeared with her at a rally on miami dade college's kendall campus on october 11, 2016.[214][215] gore has been involved with environmental issues since 1976 when as a freshman congressman, he held the "first congressional hearings on the climate change, and co sponsor[ed] hearings on toxic waste and global warming".[62][63] he continued to speak on the topic throughout the 1980s,[64] and is still prevalent in the environmental community. he was known as one of the atari democrats,[216] later called the "democrats' greens, politicians who see issues like clean air, clean water and global warming as the key to future victories for their party".[65] in 1990, senator gore presided over a three day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a global marshall plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment".[217] in the late 1990s, gore strongly pushed for the passage of the kyoto protocol, which called for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.[218][219] he was opposed by the senate, which passed unanimously (95 0) the byrd hagel resolution (s. res. 98),[101] which stated the sense of the senate was that the united states should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the united states".[220] in 2004, gore co launched generation investment management, a company for which he serves as chair.[221] a few years later, gore would also found the alliance for climate protection, an organization which eventually founded the we campaign. gore would also become a partner in the venture capital firm, kleiner perkins caufield & byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.[3][4] he also helped to organize the live earth benefit concerts.[222] in 2010, he attended we day (vancouver, canada), a we charity event.[223] in 2013, gore became a vegan.[224] he had earlier admitted that "it's absolutely correct that the growing meat intensity of diets across the world is one of the issues connected to this global crisis   not only because of the [carbon dioxide] involved, but also because of the water consumed in the process"[225] and some speculate that his adoption of the new diet is related to his environmentalist stance.[225] in a 2014 interview, gore said: "over a year ago i changed my diet to a vegan diet, really just to experiment to see what it was like. ... i felt better, so i've continued with it and i'm likely to continue it for the rest of my life."[226] gore's an inconvenient sequel: truth to power, a sequel to his 2006 film, an inconvenient truth, premiered at the 2017 sundance film festival. the film documents his continuing efforts to battle climate change.[227] a "climate and health summit" which was originally going to be held by the centers for disease control and prevention, was cancelled without warning in late january 2017.[228] a few days later, gore revived the summit, which was held by the climate reality project without the support of the cdc.[229][230] in 2020, he helped to launch climate trace to independently monitor global greenhouse gas emissions.[231] in november 2021, gore spoke at the early stages of the 2021 united nations climate change conference (cop26) in glasgow, scotland.[232] he later criticised the morrison government for failing to increase australia's 2030 emissions reduction target.[233] in the late 1980s and 1990s, gore was criticized for his involvement in asking the epa for less strict pollution controls for the pigeon river, which had long been polluted by a paper mill in canton, north carolina.[234] a number of people and organizations, including marsha blackburn, a current u.s. senator and former congresswoman from tennessee, and a conservative washington, d.c. think tank, have claimed that gore has a conflict of interest for advocating for taxpayer subsidies of green energy technologies in which he has a personal investment.[235][236] additionally, he has been criticized for his above average energy consumption in using private jets, and in owning multiple, very large homes,[237] one of which was reported in 2007 as using high amounts of electricity.[238][239] gore's spokesperson responded by stating that the gores use renewable energy which is more expensive than regular energy and that the tennessee house in question has been retrofitted to make it more energy efficient.[240][241] data in an inconvenient truth has been questioned. in a 2007 court case, a british judge said that while he had "no doubt ...the film was broadly accurate" and its "four main scientific hypotheses ...are supported by a vast quantity of research",[242] he upheld nine of a "long schedule" of alleged errors presented to the court. he ruled that the film could be shown to schoolchildren in the uk if guidance notes given to teachers were amended to balance out the film's one sided political views. gore's spokesperson responded in 2007 that the court had upheld the film's fundamental thesis and its use as an educational tool.[243] in 2009, gore described the british court ruling as being "in my favor".[244] during the cop15 climate change conference in copenhagen in 2009, gore cited research from dr. wieslaw maslowski, a professor of oceanography at the naval postgraduate school in california to claim that "some of the models suggest to dr. maslowski that there is a 75% chance that the entire north polar ice cap during some of the summer months could be completely ice free within the next five to seven years." however, a fact check conducted by reuters found that gore was guilty of misrepresenting scientific data or "spreading misinformation". in a 2009 interview with the sunday times, maslowski responded to gore's claim by saying: "it's unclear to me how this figure was arrived at. i would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this."[245][246][247] gore was also criticized when in 2012 he sold his television channel current tv for around $100 million to al jazeera, a media company funded by the government of qatar, a nation largely dependent on income from the fossil fuel industry.[248] gore met mary elizabeth "tipper" aitcheson at his st. albans senior prom in 1965. she was from the nearby st. agnes school.[17] tipper followed gore to boston to attend college,[16] and they married at the washington national cathedral on may 19, 1970.[16][249][250][251] they have four children; karenna gore (b. 1973), kristin carlson gore (b. 1977), sarah lafon gore (b. 1979) and albert arnold gore iii (b. 1982).[37] in june 2010, the gores announced in an e mail to friends that after "long and careful consideration", they had made a mutual decision to separate.[252][253] in may 2012, it was reported that gore had started dating elizabeth keadle of rancho santa fe,[254] california.[255] before beginning his political career, he attended the new salem missionary baptist church in elmwood, tennessee.[256] in 1977, when he moved to arlington county, virginia, he attended the mount vernon baptist church. he and his wife were baptized in 1980 and became members of the church.[257] in 2004, he announced he had left the southern baptist convention, but remained a baptist. in 2007, he received ethics daily's "baptist of the year" award for his environmental activism.[258] he was a keynote speaker at the 2008 new baptist covenant convention.[259] gore is the recipient of a number of awards, including the nobel peace prize (together with the intergovernmental panel on climate change) in 2007,[260][261][262] a primetime emmy award for current tv in 2007, a webby award in 2005, the dan david prize in 2008[263] and the prince of asturias award in 2007 for international cooperation.[264] he was elected to the american philosophical society in 2008.[265] he also starred in the 2006 documentary an inconvenient truth, which won an academy award for best documentary in 2007 and wrote the book an inconvenient truth: the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it, which won a grammy award for best spoken word album in 2009.[266][267] in 2024, gore was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by u.s. president joe biden.[268] ibero american states for education, science and culture (oei)

• pause on some tariffs: president donald trump said he agreed to “immediately pause” tariffs on mexico and canada after speaking with those countries’ leaders monday. trump had announced the 25% tariffs on goods made in mexico and canada, as well as a 10% tariff on goods from china, over the weekend. • usaid’s future: secretary of state marco rubio notified key congressional committees that he delegated the authority of acting administrator of the us agency for international development to pete marocco. the news came hours after elon musk said trump had signed off on shutting the humanitarian agency down. • potential cabinet fights: tulsi gabbard, trump’s pick for spy chief, is expected to meet with gop senators this week as she continues to try to shore up support for her confirmation among gop skeptics. the senate intelligence committee is expected to vote on her nomination tomorrow. another controversial cabinet pick, robert f. kennedy jr., could also face pushback ahead of a senate vote. our live coverage of donald trump’s presidency has ended for the day. follow the latest updates or read through the posts below. the former assistant us attorney for the district of columbia called his removal from president donald trump’s justice department and the firing of other prosecutors who worked on january 6, 2021, cases a “threat to national security.” “i had been working on january 6 cases. i’ve prosecuted a number of defendants for their role at the riot at the united states capitol on that day. when the pardon came down on january 20, a number of us, including myself, were reassigned to a division within the office to prosecute local violent crimes,” jake struebing said in an interview monday on msnbc. cnn previously reported that more than a dozen prosecutors in the us attorney’s office in washington, dc, who worked on january 6 cases were fired by the justice department. trump previously vowed to seek retribution as a key pledge of his campaign against those who investigated the us capitol riot. struebing said that while “on some level” he’s concerned for his safety, he and his colleagues fulfilled their oath to the constitution. the firings, he said, hurt public safety. “we have a president who has pardoned hundreds of defendants on january 6 who violently assaulted officers. some of those officers were … assaulted within inches of their life. we now have an interim us attorney in the district of columbia who is firing prosecutors, including myself. and now we know that hundreds, if not thousands of fbi agents are on the chopping block,” struebing said.“i’ve worked with a number of those fbi agents, and they’re not just january 6 agents. they work on terrorism cases. they work on violent crimes. they work on cybercrimes. they work even on child exploitation matters. so, we’re talking about that, all of that. it’s quite frankly, a threat to national security what we’re seeing right now,” he said. on his first day in office, trump issued a blanket pardon for convicted january 6 rioters. federal agencies have sent out the formal documentation that government employees may use to take a so called buyout in the coming months. the exit plan for eligible civil servants had been expected as part of donald trump’s stated interest in reducing the federal workforce. most employees at the department of commerce received information about the “deferred resignation program”   essentially an exit package   on monday afternoon, according to a person familiar with employees receiving it. the draft contract provided to them is in essence a contract that, if signed by the employees, would waive some of their rights, making it appear to be a legal way for federal government officials to leave their jobs voluntarily, the person said. department of health and human services employees also began receiving the deferred resignation agreement, according to a second source familiar with the matter and a copy of the memo reviewed by cnn. another third source said department of energy employees began receiving the documentation monday and that there have been 60 department of energy employees placed on administrative leave related to diversity, equity and inclusion (dei). there have been questions, however, over whether the administration is able to offer such a downsizing plan to employees. “by making it a contract, it does give more of a veneer of legality to it, than some scammy looking email from doge,” the first source said. the deadline to sign the contract is february 6, and the employees would stop working by march. the federal government says those employees would receive pay and benefits   without having to work through september 30. this post has been updated with information on the department of energy and department of health and human services. cnn’s makayla humphrey contributed to this post. taiwan’s economic affairs ministry said it will assist taiwanese companies that could be affected by potential us tariffs. taiwan is a key producer of cutting edge semiconductor chips and electronics. many of its companies have factories in countries   including mexico, canada and china   that could be hit by fresh tariffs. us president donald trump has indicated he would “pause” tariffs on mexico and canada after speaking with those countries’ leaders monday. in a statement issued on monday before trump’s latest trade update, the taiwanese ministry said it had activated “corresponding measures” to help local companies that are looking to adjust their investment strategies, including setting up new factories in the united states. among the new measures is a hotline for affected companies, along with information for firms planning to relocate to the united states. this includes guidance on local laws in different states and assistance in finding business partners. additionally, a new investment and trade center will be set up in the us to help taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in each us state and adapt to supply chain changes. “the ministry of economic affairs will continue to closely monitor changes in international trade … to help companies identify the best strategies for adapting to these changes,” the statement added. last week, taiwan’s premier cho jung tai said authorities would look at helping its domestic industry following president trump’s threats to put new tariffs on imported semiconductor chips, of which taiwan is a major global supplier federal unions and others sued the treasury department on monday evening over the access associates of elon musk have been granted, as reported by cnn and others, to the sensitive processing system the federal government uses to make government payments. “the privacy act of 1974 generally, and the internal revenue code with respect to taxpayer information, make it unlawful for [treasury] secretary [scott] bessent to hand over access to the bureau’s records on individuals to elon musk or other members of doge,” the lawsuit says. those laws require certain procedures and limits for who has access to the data held by the treasury department, under its bureau of the fiscal service, according to the complaint.“the scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the lawsuit says. last week, a confrontation between a top career employee at treasury and associates of musk over the musk allies’ access to the bureau’s payment system led to the career employee’s departure, cnn reported. the treasury’s system for effectuating the payments, a historically apolitical task, has been a flashpoint in the efforts by musk and his department of government efficiency to make sweeping changes to the shape of the federal government. musk’s comments about the system have raised concerns he’ll seek to use his access to unilaterally shut off government payments that he believes to be unlawful. the new legal challenge, filed in dc federal court, comes on top of the lawsuits the administration is facing for attempting to implement a blanket, government wide freeze on federal financial assistance. the treasury department press office did not immediately respond to cnn’s inquiry about the new lawsuit. the us and el salvador are finalizing a deal on migration, salvadoran president nayib bukele said monday during us secretary of state marco rubio’s visit to the central american country. “it is a much larger agreement that has no precedent in the history of relations, not only between the united states and el salvador, but i believe with latin america,” bukele said. his remarks came after a reporter asked if both sides would reach a so called “third safe country” deal, which would require migrants who pass through a certain country to apply for asylum there, rather than continuing on to the us. “we are finalizing it,” bukele said adding that rubio would announce the deal later, which the salvadoran leader said would be bigger than another migration deal signed in 2019. that deal allowed the us to send some asylum seekers back to el salvador if they didn’t first claim asylum when passing through the country. the senate intelligence committee is expected to vote tuesday in a closed session on tulsi gabbard’s nomination to be the director of national intelligence. people close to donald trump and those helping to confirm his nominees are most concerned about gabbard’s confirmation chances, specifically after the former democratic representative from hawaii refused to say whether she believed the actions of edward snowden were traitorous to the us. here’s the latest on where senators stand on gabbard’s nomination: and here’s a look at other updates on trump’s cabinet and beyond: cnn’s elise hammond, lauren fox, manu raju, haley talbot, morgan rimmer, andrew kaczynski, em steck, jennifer hansler, alejandra jaramillo and zachary cohen contributed reporting. president donald trump signed an executive order monday pausing the imposition of tariffs on mexican goods while recognizing mexico’s efforts to address illegal migration and drugs. trump paused a planned 25% tariff, delaying its implementation until march 4, 2025, to allow further assessment of mexico’s actions. “in recognition of the steps taken by the government of mexico, and in order to assess whether the threat described in section 1 of this order has abated, the additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty shall be paused and will not take effect until march 4, 2025, at 12:01 am eastern time,” the order states. the pause provides time for us officials to evaluate whether mexico’s steps are sufficient to resolve the crises at the us mexico border. if the situation worsens, the president could proceed with the tariffs. vice president jd vance is expected to make his first international trip as vice president next week, heading to the ai action summit in paris and the munich security conference in germany, according to a source familiar. the ai action summit will take place at the grand palais on february 10 and 11. united states vice presidents have often appeared at the munich security conference, this year held february 14 16. former vice president kamala harris spoke at the munich security conference, including in february 2022, just on the cusp of russia’s war on ukraine. vance, who opposes continued federal aid to ukraine, previously argued in a new york times op ed that the us lacks “the capacity to manufacture the amount of weapons ukraine needs us to supply to win the war.” vice president mike pence also appeared at the munich conference in 2017 and 2019. the washington post first reported vance’s plans to travel to munich and paris. the senate voted to confirm chris wright to serve as secretary of energy. the vote was 59 38. president donald trump made energy independence a key aspect of his agenda, and the gop led congress is looking to pass major energy policy changes this year, aimed at increasing oil and natural gas production. president donald trump and israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu will participate in a joint news conference tuesday during netanyahu’s visit to the white house, a white house official tells cnn. the official did not provide specific details on the format or timing of the news conference but said it would be in the afternoon. some background: though trump has fielded numerous questions from the news since taking office, this will mark the first formal press conference of his second term. trump held 88 news conferences during his first term, according to data from the university of california at santa barbara’s american presidency project. former president joe biden held 37 news conferences during his term. the news conference was first reported by cbs news. the canadian province of ontario will pause its own retaliatory measures against the us after president donald trump agreed to halt tariffs on canada for a month. ontario premier doug ford warned that if the us decides to carry out its tariffs later, ontario “won’t hesitate” to remove american products from shelves or ban americans companies from provincial procurement. both british columbia and ontario had previously directed their liquor boards to remove american alcohol from shelves. “make no mistake, canada and ontario continue to stare down the threat of tariffs. whether it’s tomorrow, in a month or a year from now when we’re renegotiating the united states mexico canada agreement, president trump will continue to use the threat of tariffs to get what he wants,” ford said. he urged both sides to remain united and focus on countering china instead. “if we want to win, we need to fight together   not each other,” he said. democrats on the senate judiciary committee are calling on the trump administration to turn over records related to the firing of senior fbi officials and justice department officials who worked on the criminal investigations into president donald trump as well as the potential termination of thousands of fbi agents who investigated the january 6, 2021, us capitol riot. “president trump won the 2024 presidential election, but he does not have the authority to dismantle the federal civil service or replace dedicated, nonpartisan career officials at doj with those whose only qualifications are loyalty to president trump rather than the constitution and laws of the united states of america,” the democrats wrote in letters to trump’s nominees to lead the fbi and doj as well as the acting heads of those agencies. advocacy groups representing federal law enforcement officers are pleading with congressional leaders to prevent the trump administration from firing career fbi employees. in a joint letter monday to leaders of the house and senate and of committees overseeing the fbi, law enforcement organizations expressed their “urgent concerns” over recent dismissals of senior fbi leaders and the potential for thousands of agents to be fired. the letter was from the fbi agents association, the federal law enforcement officers association, the society of former special agents of the fbi, and judge william webster, who previously served as director of both the fbi and cia. the groups cited “recent actions taken by acting officials at the department of justice that threaten the careers of thousands of fbi special agents and risk disrupting the bureau’s essential work,” according to the letter. as cnn reported, the justice department provided thousands of fbi employees with questionnaires on sunday, demanding they provide information about their specific role in january 6, 2021, us capitol riot investigations, a move employees believe is meant to be a precursor to mass firings. “put simply, special agents who risk their lives protecting this country from criminals and terrorists are now being placed on lists and having their careers jeopardized for carrying out the orders they were given by their superiors in the fbi,” the groups wrote. “these actions, which lack transparency and due process, are creating dangerous distractions, imperiling ongoing investigations, and undermining the bureau’s ability to work with state, local, and international partners to make america safe again.” in their letter, the organizations said recent personnel actions, including the dismissal of the fbi’s senior leadership, were “wholly inconsistent” with comments from president donald trump, justice department leaders and trump’s nominee for fbi director, kash patel, pledging to keep the bureau out of politics. in a recent congressional hearing, patel testified that no bureau employee would be fired based on their case assignments. a federal judge has extended the temporary block on the trump administration’s ability to freeze federal grants and loans. it’s another legal setback to the white house’s office of management and budget a week after it created mass chaos and confusion over plans to lock up trillions of dollars. the temporary restraining order from us district judge loren alikhan was issued just before a previous block she ordered against the aid freeze was set to expire at 5 p.m. et. “each day that the pause continues to ripple across the country is an additional day that americans are being denied access to programs that heal them, house them, and feed them,” alikhan wrote. for example, a charity organization in west virginia that drives the ill and elderly to dialysis appointments, grocery stores and pharmacies, told the court it was in a funding crisis, unable to access its accounts over the weekend. alikhan’s order prohibits the trump administration from blocking the release of funding for “open awards” that were previously granted by the federal government. the new block will remain in effect for at least 14 days. the washington, dc, judge and appointee of former president joe biden said in her order that a group of nonprofits that sued the administration over the funding issue “are likely to succeed” in their case against the government donald trump is pausing the implementation of planned tariffs on imports from canada for at least 30 days, the president said in a truth social post. trump said the pause is to see “whether or not a final economic deal with canada can be structured,” according to the post. the announcement follows a call with canadian prime minister justin trudeau on monday. trudeau posted on x that in exchange for the tariff pause, canada will invest heavily in border security, create a “canada  u.s. joint strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering,” appoint a “fentanyl czar,” and join the us in listing cartels as terrorist groups, trudeau said. “i have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl, and we will be backing it with $200 million,” the canadian leader added. trump said that he is “very pleased with this initial outcome” and also outlined the border commitments made by canada. “canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure northern border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like fentanyl that have been pouring into our country, killing hundreds of thousands of americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our country.” trump wrote in his post. asked for additional commnet on trump’s call with trudeau, white house press secretary karoline leavitt said: “canada is bending the knee, just like mexico.” this post has been updated with trump’s post on social media and the white house press secretary’s comments. president donald trump said his call with canadian prime minister justin trudeau went “very good” when asked by cnn’s kaitlan collins in the east room of the white house. trump was quick to answer “watch” when asked if he was still going to enact tariffs on canada tonight. earlier on monday, trump said he had an initial phone call with trudeau regarding the looming 25% tariffs on imports from canada, which are still set to take effect at midnight. “what i’d like to see canada become our 51st state,” trump also said earlier from the resolute desk from the oval office. correction: an earlier version of his post misquoted president trump’s description of his call with trudeau. he said it went “very good.” senate majority leader john thune defended president donald trump over his handling of usaid but he wouldn’t say if trump has the authority to shutter it without congressional approval. “i think he has the authority to make sure that it’s running correctly. and as you’ve seen from secretary (marco) rubio’s statements, they’ve been trying for months and years to get information about about how the money’s being spent. so i think they have the right to find out how the money is being spent,” thune said when asked by cnn if trump has the authority to shutter the aid agency without congressional approval. elsewhere, thune told reporters there are ongoing conversations occurring with members of the senate health, education, labor and pensions (help) and finance committees ahead of tomorrow’s vote on whether to advance robert f. kennedy jr.’s nomination to lead the department of health and human services. “it’s occurring with members on both the finance committee and the help committee, but mainly the finance committee because that’s where he’s going to be voted out,” thune said. asked about if he was confident tulsi gabbard, trump’s pick for national intelligence director, would advance out of the senate intelligence committee, thune did not answer and entered into his office. immigrant rights group filed a lawsuit monday against president donald trump’s executive action sealing off the us mexico border to asylum seekers, arguing the move is an unprecedented overreach of authority. moments after taking office last month, trump effectively suspended us asylum law until what he’s called an “invasion at the southern border has ceased.” he also directed federal agencies to “repel, repatriate, or remove” migrants coming across the border. the move cut off asylum to migrants arriving at the us southern border. monday’s lawsuit cites the invoking of 212f, which gives the president broad authority to implement immigration restrictions to restrict border crossings but argues the authority doesn’t empower the president to “summarily expel” noncitizens already in the united states. “the proclamation is as unlawful as it is unprecedented,” the filing states. plaintiffs include raices, las americas, and the florence project. the suit, filed in the us district court for the district of columbia, doesn’t seek a temporary restraining order. secretary of state marco rubio notified the leaders of key congressional committees on monday that he had delegated the authority of acting administrator of the us agency for international development (usaid) to pete marocco. rubio sent a letter to the heads of congressional committees on foreign affairs and appropriations. marocco is a trump appointee who served at usaid in the president’s first term. he has been accused of by aid groups and officials of intentionally dismantling the organization. marocco, who is also serving as the state department’s head of foreign assistance, drafted the directive to freeze almost all foreign aid. one aid official said that marocco “knows how the system works and is dismantling it at every turn.” rubio told the committee leaders that he has authorized marocco “to begin the process of engaging in a review and potential reorganization of usaid’s activities to maximize efficiency and align operations with the national interest.” “the department of state and other pertinent entities will be consulting with congress and the appropriate committees to reorganize and absorb certain bureaus, offices, and missions of usaid,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by cnn. president donald trump has made little secret of his obsession with the stock market. but with a trade war looming   and global financial markets rattled in the wake of tariff threats with mexico, canada and china   the president on monday shrugged off the market reaction and told us he wasn’t following the financial markets. “how is the market doing?” trump asked, suggesting he was unaware of the volatility and uncertainty. “i don’t know. i don’t think about it.” that stands in stark contrast to how trump has long viewed the stock market: as a metric for the country’s economic success. as he spoke to reporters while signing executive orders and actions, trump gestured to rupert murdoch, who was sitting a few feet away from the resolute desk. murdoch was visiting the white house and trump invited him to see   and be seen by reporters   the oval office. murdoch, who has been both critical and laudatory of trump over the last decade, is back in the president’s good graces. a crown of his newspaper empire, the wall street journal, delivered a blistering critique of the trump tariffs in a weekend editorial entitled: “the dumbest trade war in history.” when we asked trump about market reaction and the wall street journal’s editorial he turned toward murdoch with a smile and said, “i’m going to have to talk to him.” “i’ve been right over the wall street journal many times. i will tell you, i don’t agree with him on some things. not only is it not dumb, you’re going to see, you’re going to see every single one of those countries is dying to make a deal,” trump said. secretary of state marco rubio told congress that he is conducting a review of the us agency for international development’s (usaid) foreign assistance activities, the state department said in a statement on monday the review will have “an eye towards potential reorganization” in order to “ensure it is in alignment with an america first agenda,” the statement said. earlier on monday, rubio said he was the acting administrator of the humanitarian agency. he told reporters that the functions of usaid must align with us foreign policy and that it is “a completely unresponsive agency.” “as we evaluate usaid and ensure it is in alignment with an america first agenda and the efforts of the state department, we will continue to protect the american people’s interests and ensure their tax dollars are not wasted,” the state department statement said. president donald trump said monday that he has been involved in making calls to senators who have concerns about his pick for director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard, and his pick for health and human services secretary, robert f. kennedy jr., as they face key confirmation votes this week. “yes, yeah,” trump said in the oval office. “i’ve gotten a great response, and they want to do what’s right. and we’ve had a good response, i think we’ll do well. we have great people.” later asked about gabbard, trump expressed optimism, but acknowledged he can’t guarantee her confirmation. “i think tulsi is going to be doing okay. i’m not sure  i can’t guarantee anything, but she’s liked by so many people, especially people in the military and law enforcement,” trump said. on edward snowden, which was point of contention for gabbard during her hearing, trump indicated that he would not be considering a pardon for him. “no, i don’t talk to about it right now,” trump said. “people feel very differently. some people think he should be pardoned, and some people think it would be a terrible thing to do, but i don’t get involved in that.” as cnn previously reported, trump’s allies, including vice president jd vance, are making calls to shore up support for both kennedy jr. and gabbard following their confirmation hearings this week, two sources familiar with the situation told cnn. gabbard vote: as the senate intelligence committee is expected to vote tomorrow on whether or not to advance gabbard’s nomination, gop sen. james lankford plans to talk to the nominee today to work through some of his follow up questions after the hearing. cnn’s lauren fox contributed reporting to this post. secretary of state marco rubio had a “frank and respectful conversation” with panama’s president josé raúl mulino on sunday, the top us diplomat said. the talks come after president donald trump renewed his threat to seize control of the panama canal. “as the president has articulated when we turned over the canal, we turned it over to panama. we didn’t turn it over to china,” rubio said in el salvador on monday “we have a treaty obligation to protect the canal if it comes under attack, but our navy is paying fees to go through there,” he said. “so i expressed frustration about those things.” “i think it was a good visit,” he said, but acknowledged that “it’s a delicate issue in panama.” “we don’t want to have a hostile or negative relationship with panama,” rubio said. on sunday, trump reiterated his vow to “take back” the panama canal, warning of “powerful” us action in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the central american country over china’s presence around the vital waterway. belt and road initiative: panama announced that it would not renew its participation in china’s development initiative known as the belt and road. the china led infrastructure project originally intended to link east asia and europe, according to the council on foreign relations. it has since expanded to other places, including africa and latin america, it said. rubio said panama’s decision to no longer participate was “good.” he also called the mulino “a friend of america.” however, china’s un ambassador fu cong expressed disappointment, telling reporters at the un that it is “a regrettable decision because the belt and road initiative is an economic initiative. that purpose is to build up a platform for countries, especially the global south, to have economic cooperation with each other.” fu also denied us claims that beijing manages or operates the panama canal. president donald trump says he wants to secure access to ukraine’s supply of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued us assistance to the country. “we’re looking to do a deal with ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things,” trump told reporters in the oval office, complaining that europe had not provided ukraine the same level of aid as the united states. “we have an ocean in between. they don’t. it’s more important for them than it is for us,” he said. trump told reporters that ukraine’s government had signaled openness to the idea of exchanging its supplies of lithium, titanium and other rare earth minerals for continued american aid. “i want to have security of rare earth. we’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. they have great rare earths. and i want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do,” trump said. the transactional proposal offers some insight into trump’s intentions when it comes to the ukraine war. he has long complained about the us burden in arming kyiv, but hasn’t detailed his plans for halting or continuing support since taking office. trump, who once vowed to end the russia ukraine conflict within 24 hours of taking office, said monday that talks were progressing on ending the war. president donald trump on monday signed an executive order saying he would direct american officials to set up a sovereign wealth fund in the us. sovereign wealth funds, which are popular in asian and middle eastern countries, are state owned investment funds that direct their country’s budgets into financial assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. “other countries have sovereign wealth funds, and they’re much smaller countries. they’re not the united states,” trump said before signing the order. “we have tremendous potential.” more about sovereign wealth funds: according to the sovereign wealth fund institute (swfi), an investor research platform, several individual us states   including colorado, alabama and texas   have set up their own wealth funds, often to help fund public education. this is the first time the us federal government has pursued one. norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund, with $1.7 trillion in assets, according to swfi. china, abu dhabi, kuwait and saudi arabia are also part of the top five largest funds. it is still unclear how a us wealth sovereign fund will be funded, since the text of trump’s executive order was not immediately available. however, commerce secretary nominee howard lutnick said that the fund would “monetize the asset side of the us balance sheet for the american people” at the order’s signing. some countries use their funds to exert influence around the world. saudi arabia’s fund has invested in a number of us companies, including uber, lucid motors and blackstone. “i think it’s going to create value and be of great strategic importance,” treasury secretary scott bessent said monday of the planned us fund. former president joe biden has signed with hollywood talent agency creative artists agency, cnn has confirmed. “president biden is one of america’s most respected and influential voices in national and global affairs,” said richard lovett, co chairman of caa, in a statement. “his lifelong commitment to public service is one of unity, optimism, dignity, and possibility. we are profoundly honored to partner with him again.” this marks a return to caa for biden, who was a client at the agency from 2017 to 2020, in between his eight year term as vice president and taking office as president. while at caa, biden published his memoir “promise me, dad” and launched the nationwide “american promise” tour. biden’s former boss, barack obama, is also represented at caa where he and the former first lady michelle obama have their higher ground production company. president donald trump on monday said he had “no assurances” that the ceasefire in gaza will hold as he prepares to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu later this week. asked during a signing ceremony in the oval office whether he had any doubts a ceasefire could hold, trump responded: “i have no assurances that it’ll hold.” “and i’ve seen people brutalized. i’ve never   nobody’s ever seen anything like it,” trump added. “no, i have no guarantees that the peace is going to hold.” democratic lawmakers are condemning president donald trump’s apparent move to shut down the us agency for international development (usaid). elon musk, who is charged overhauling the federal government, said on monday trump had signed off on shuttering the agency. at a press conference in front of the usaid headquarters in washington, dc, monday, the lawmakers argued that the agency is critical to the foreign policy and national security. crowds were gathered outside of the headquarters, which was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home here’s what they said: president donald trump said he will speak with china “probably over the next 24 hours” regarding tariffs, during a signing from the oval office on monday. trump again highlighted the ongoing issue with fentanyl entering the us as a reason for his tariffs plan, saying, “we don’t want fentanyl coming into our country,” signaling the importance of the conversation in addressing both trade and border security concerns. earlier in the day, trump spoke with mexican president claudia sheinbaum, where they reached a mutual agreement to “immediately pause” expected tariffs on imports from mexico for one month. trump described the conversation as “very friendly” and praised sheinbaum’s commitment to provide 10,000 mexican soldiers to patrol the border between the us and mexico. when asked who blinked, he or mexico’s president, trump responded: “there was no blinking.” earlier on monday, trump said he had an initial phone call with canadian prime minister justin trudeau regarding the looming 25% tariffs on imports from canada, which are still set to take effect at midnight. trump again said he will be speaking with trudeau “right after my next meeting, and we’ll see what happens.” “what i’d like to see canada become our 51st state,” he added. president donald trump said monday that he doesn’t need congress to scrap the us agency for international development (usaid), suggesting he intends to move forward with plans to significantly reduce the agency’s role. “not when it comes to fraud. if there’s fraud, these people are lunatics,” trump said when questioned by cnn’s jeff zeleny about his capacity to exact major changes to usaid. “we just want to do the right thing. it’s something that should have been done a long time ago. went crazy during the biden administration. they went totally crazy, what they were doing and the money they were giving to people that shouldn’t be getting it,” trump said in the oval office. “we’ll be doing a report,” he went on. “we’ll be giving you that report at the appropriate time.” pressed about his support for usaid during his first term in office, trump said he loved the “concept” but not the execution of the agency’s mission. “they turned out to be radical left lunatics. and the concept of it is good, but it’s all about the people,” he said. president donald trump said monday that elon musk can’t and won’t do anything without his administration’s approval. “elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval. and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate. where not appropriate, we won’t,” trump said in the oval office moments ago. musk is officially serving under trump as a special government employee, according to a white house official. that designation means musk is not a volunteer, but also not a full time federal employee. according to a doj summary, a special government employee is “anyone who works, or is expected to work, for the government for 130 days or less in a 365 day period.” musk is not being paid, a person familiar with his employment told cnn. as cnn reported over the weekend, musk’s department of government efficiency (doge) associates at the treasury department now have full access to the government’s payments system. asked by a reporter why it’s important for musk to have access to government payment systems, trump said musk only has access to firing people that he   and the administration   deem “no good.” “he’s got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him, and it’s only if we agree with him. he’s a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs, and we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups, and certain numbers,” trump said. trump said the goal is to “shrink government” but said if there is a conflict of interest on musk’s part, “we won’t let him go near it.” “they’re finding tremendous waste, really waste, more than anything else. i think you could say probably fraud and abuse could be added to it more standard waste, fraud and abuse, but they’re finding tremendous amounts of really bad things,” trump said. “he does have a good, natural instinct. he’s got a team of very talented people. we’re trying to shrink government, and he can probably shrink it as well as anybody else.” trump also repeated a false claim that the us agency for international development (usaid) has funded $100 million in “condoms to hamas.” a cnn fact check found that during the last three years of the biden administration, usaid spent no money on condoms in the middle east. this post has been updated with details about musk’s employment status. president donald trump on monday said he would continue negotiating tariffs with mexican president claudia sheinbaum after he temporarily paused his 25% duty on all imports from the country. asked if canada or china could similarly strike a deal to avoid tariffs, trump replied: “nobody’s out.” “we had a great talk with mexico, and we had   president sheinbaum is a woman. i like her very much. we’ve had good relationships, but we have to stop fentanyl from coming in, whether i like somebody or not, and we have to stop the illegal aliens from coming in.” trump praised sheinbaum’s decision to order 10,000 mexican national guard troops to the border to help with drug trafficking and security efforts. “so the call with mexico went very well in the sense that they’re very strong now on the border, they’re going to put soldiers there, actually their best military soldiers,” trump said. on canada: trump said he and canadian prime minister justin trudeau “also had a good talk” earlier monday but added that canada is “very tough to do business with.” “i did ask him a couple of questions like, you know, banks aren’t allowed to do business in canada. canada is very tough. canada is very you know, we’re not treated well by canada and we have to be treated well,” trump said. he later again floated the idea of canada being a us state. “we give them protection, military protection,” the president said. “we don’t need them to build our cars. i’d rather see detroit or south carolina or any one of our tennessee, any one of our states, build the cars. they could do it very easily. we don’t need them for the cars. we don’t need them for lumber. we don’t need them for anything.” trump said he was due to speak with trudeau again later monday afternoon. this post has been updated with more of trump’s remarks. a federal judge said monday that she is inclined to extend a block on the trump administration’s freeze on federal grant and loans. us district judge loren alikhan said she planned to issue a temporary restraining order against any freeze on federal funds by 5 p.m. et monday   the time at which a previous block she issued was set to expire. the new order would likely last for 14 days. the forthcoming order would be the latest such block issued in recent days by a federal court after a separate judge in rhode island also blocked the administration on friday from freezing aid in a case brought by a group of democratic state attorneys general. on wednesday, the white house office of management and budget said in a short memo that it had rescinded the memo it issued a day earlier that froze the federal funds. but during a hearing on monday, alikhan, an appointee of former president joe biden, appeared persuaded by sworn testimony submitted to her over the weekend that funds were still being held back by various federal agencies, necessitating another court order against the administration. americans who heat their homes with oil could have to shell out more this winter to keep warm if president donald trump levies tariffs on canada. the president has promised to slap a 10% on canadian energy imports starting tuesday, though he is expected to speak with canada’s prime minister justin trudeau on monday afternoon. the 10% tariff would raise the cost of oil based home heating by about $117, to $1,576, on average, this winter, according to an estimate released monday by the national energy assistance directors association. this would have the greatest impact on the new england region, where about 80% of heating oil is imported from canada. lower income households would bear the brunt of the cost increase because states will not have additional federal low income home energy assistance program money to offset the tariff fueled increase unless congress provides more funding for the current fiscal year, the association said. overall, heating one’s home will cost $976, on average, this winter, a 12.7% increase from last year, according to the association. the group raised its projection from the 8.7% hike it forecast in december, largely because of the colder than expected temperatures this season. the justice department rescinded a previous directive requiring legal service providers to stop work intended to help support immigrants, according to a memo obtained by cnn. last month, legal service providers who receive federal funding and work in immigration detention were told by the justice department to cease work as it relates to legal orientation, help at immigration courts, and counsel for children, citing one of president donald trump’s immigration executive orders. the move stripped away critical access for people in detention trying to navigate the tangled us immigration system. in a new memo, dated february 2, providers were told to “immediately resume funding of all programs that received a stop work order.” no reason was provided. the top federal prosecutor in washington, dc, told elon musk on monday to report any threats against staff from the department of government efficiency so that federal prosecutors can investigate, according to a letter posted on x. the letter addressed to musk, posted online by interim us attorney for dc ed martin, said that the us attorney’s office was aware that “some of the staff at doge has been targeted publicly” for their work. martin did not elaborate in the letter about what the “targeting” included. “at this time, i ask that you utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting the doge work and the doge workers,” the letter reads. “any threats, confrontations, or other actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws.” the letter continues: “let me assure you of this: we will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people. we will not act like the previous administration who looked the other way as the antifa and blm rioters as well as thugs with guns trashed our capital city. we will protect doge and other workers no matter what.” while martin tagged the wrong elon on the social media platform, musk responded to martin’s post with the letter, writing: “thank you, receipt via 𝕏 acknowledged.” senior staff at the office of personnel management have been directed by a top lieutenant of elon musk to prepare plans eventually to cut 70% of the agency’s workforce, two sources with knowledge of the situation told cnn. offices have also been told by monday to identify 30% of their team that could potentially be let go in the near term. the order came from brian bjelde at a senior staff meeting on friday, one source said, but no further details were given on timing and whether this would be fully implemented. bjelde, identified by sources as a senior advisor at opm, is also listed on his linkedin as vice president, people operations at musk’s spacex company. more context: musk and his allies have asserted significant influence at opm, which serves as the overarching human resources headquarters for the federal government. the agency has nearly 3,000 employees and has historically been driven by career officials who have worked across administrations of both parties. but during the first two weeks of the trump administration, political appointees tied to musk now appear to be calling the shots. opm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. cnn’s alayna treene contributed reporting to this post. secretary of state marco rubio announced monday that he is acting director of the us agency for international development (usaid). rubio told reporters that he has “delegated that authority to someone, but i stay in touch with him,” without providing specifics. the acting usaid administrator had previously been jason gray. cnn has asked the state department if this is the person rubio referenced. while in el salvador on his trip to central america, rubio argued that usaid is “a completely unresponsive agency.” “our goal was to go in and align our foreign aid to the national interest. but if you go to mission after mission and embassy after embassy around the world, you will often find that in many cases usaid is involved in programs that run counter to what we’re trying to do in our national strategy with that country or with that region. that cannot continue,” rubio said. still, when asked about the arguments of usaid’s vital work in national security, rubio said, “there are things that usaid, that we do through usaid, that we should continue to do, and we will continue to do.” some context: it comes after elon musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said president donald trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. lawmakers and aid workers have been bracing for trump to shut down the agency entirely and place it under the umbrella of the state department. in washington, usaid’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home. over the weekend, two top security officials at usaid were put on administrative leave for refusing members of the department of government efficiency access to systems at the agency, even when doge personnel threatened to call law enforcement, multiple sources familiar with the situation told cnn. the doge personnel wanted to gain access to usaid security systems and personnel files, three sources said. two of those sources also said the doge personnel wanted access to classified information, which only those with security clearances and a specific need to know are able to access. this post has been updated with comments from rubio and additional background. republican sen. chuck grassley of iowa, who is advocating for exemptions to president donald trump’s new tariffs on canada, applauded trump’s pause in tariffs on mexico on monday and appeared to hope that negotiating with canada will “preempt more talk of tariffs.” “good news on mexico tariff pause for 1 month,” the iowa republican posted on x. “hopefully negotiating will preempt more talk of tariffs.” grassley is pleading with trump to exempt potash from the tariffs because of the potential impact to iowa family farmers, whom he said get majority of the fertilizer from canada. trump on saturday announced a 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most goods from canada set to go into effect just after midnight tuesday, with the two nations promising retaliatory tariffs. trump said monday he agreed to pause tariffs on mexico for a month following a conversation with the nation’s president. trump is set to talk with canadian prime minister justin trudeau later today. mexico will send 10,000 national guard troops to its northern border to help reduce the flow of fentanyl into the us, reinforce the border, and help improve security in its own territory, mexican president claudia sheinbaum said. “for humanitarian reasons, we must help the united states address its fentanyl consumption crisis, which is leading to overdose deaths,” she said at her morning news conference monday. this comes as president donald trump and sheinbaum earlier on monday announced a deal to delay tariffs by a month after mexico agreed to place the soldiers at the border. sheinbaum also noted that the us, for the first time, has agreed to work together to prevent high powered weapons from entering mexico. “i believe this is a very important aspect of the agreement we reached,” she said. sheinbaum also told trump that she disagreed with his claim that the mexican government has links with cartels, insisting that the claim no longer holds up. “there is no way we would come to an agreement under those circumstances,” she said. officials from the us and mexico will continue to hold high level talks on security, migration and trade after agreeing to pause tariffs for a month, sheinbaum said. “we did not discuss an in person meeting, but we did agree to continue having these calls, particularly during this month of work on both issues. migration remains a key topic in this high level dialogue,” she said. most americans are opposed to implementing new tariffs on mexico and canada, according to recent polling. the surveys were all taken prior to president donald trump’s announcement of the tariffs this weekend, or his statement today that he had agreed to “immediately pause” tariffs on mexico for a month. reuters/ipsos polling just after trump was inaugurated found that most us adults didn’t want to see new tariffs on imported goods from either canada (37% support, 60% oppose) or mexico (41% support, 55% oppose). cbs/yougov polling taken in november after the election found higher support for tariffs on goods from other countries in general with views on implementing new tariffs about evenly split (52% in favor to 48% opposed)   but even in that poll, 59% of us adults said they expected tariffs would make prices higher, with just 18% saying they thought tariffs would bring prices down. in the same poll, 79% of us adults said trump should make lowering the prices of goods and services a high priority in developing policies during the transition, outpacing any other policy issue and well ahead of the share who put the same priority on imposing tariffs (26%). and in a quinnipiac university poll taken just after trump took office, registered voters said, 48% to 42%, that “u.s. tariffs on goods made in other countries” were more likely to hurt than help the us economy. there’s room for those opinions to shift in either direction if the tariffs are implemented and american consumers begin to feel the effects on prices. in the reuters/ipsos poll, roughly half of the public didn’t have a strong opinion either for or against tariffs on either canada or mexico. in cnn’s early january polling, 80% of us adults said they thought it was at least somewhat likely that trump would implement tariffs on goods from mexico, canada, and china, higher than the shares expecting him to follow through on nine other possible actions tested. a smaller share, 30%, said they thought he was “very likely” to implement such tariffs. treasury secretary scott bessent will serve as acting director of the consumer financial protection bureau, the cfpb announced on monday morning. the appointment was made on friday, according to the cfpb. rohit chopra, who had been director, was terminated at the beginning of the weekend. in a letter posted on x on saturday, chopra confirmed that his term had ended. more context: this is not the first time president donald trump has named an acting director for the agency who also held another very full time job in his administration. in november 2017, he installed mick mulvaney, who at the time was serving as the head of the office of management and budget. mulvaney served in the acting director role for a little over a year, until the senate confirmed kathy kraninger as the next director. critics say chopra took an overly expansive view of cfpb’s oversight authority, and a number of the rules finalized on his watch aimed to limit how much banks could charge customers for things like overdraft and late payments, which have been in litigation. bessent’s appointment, at least in the view of one analyst, could mean the end to such measures. “putting bessent in charge means he can freeze pending rulemakings and takes charge of existing litigation. it is why we see this pick as leading to the cfpb dropping its defense of the credit card late fee rule, the bank overdraft rule, the credit bureau rules and the open banking rule,” said jaret seiberg, financial services policy analyst at td cowen washington research group. indeed, soon after cfpb’s announcement monday, bessent ordered the agency to freeze its operations. the freeze, first reported by bloomberg law, covers a wide swath of activities, according to an email from seiberg. a request for comment from the cfpb’s press team was not immediately returned. after two weeks of publicizing the number of immigrants arrested under trump’s crackdown   now hovering just under 7,500 reported arrests   some of those arrested have been released, according to two sources familiar with the operations. those released are being monitored under an existing program known as alternatives for detention, the source said. u.s. immigration and customs enforcement can track them several ways, including by ankle monitors, wrist bands or through telephonic check ins. it is unclear how many of the approximate 7,500 have been released. one main reason for their release is a lack of detention space. trump’s border czar tom homan has repeatedly asked congress for additional funding to build more detention facilities which he says he needs to house the number of undocumented immigrants they plan to arrest and deport. trump announced plans late last weeks to ramp up detention space at guantanamo bay with up to 30,000 beds. us marines have arrived at the naval base to begin construction. homeland security secretary kristi noem said it was “not the plan” to hold migrants there indefinitely. cnn has reached out to ice for comment. just about everyone thought it was a bluff. top analysts from the biggest banks on wall street said it was highly unlikely. stocks were trading like it wouldn’t happen. some companies built contingency plans, but they weren’t exactly rushing to make changes. and maybe it was, after all. us president donald trump and mexico president claudia sheinbaum on monday announced a deal to delay tariffs by a month after mexico agreed to place 10,000 soldiers at the border. that sent stocks on the verge of a comeback after they initially tumbled monday. the dow was down by around 130 points, or 0.3%, after tumbling nearly 600 points at the opening bell. the s&p 500 sank 0.7% and the nasdaq composite was 1% lower   both well off their lows. bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also reversed course and were broadly higher mid morning. auto industry stocks, which had been particularly hard hit because virtually all american made cars are manufactured at least in some part in mexico or canada, rebounded. gm (gm) was down less than 2% after falling more than 7% earlier in the day, jeep and chrysler maker stellantis (stla) was down 3% and ford (f) fell more than 1%   well off their lows. but, globally, stocks crumbled. major european indexes were down across the board, and asian markets closed sharply lower. the us dollar rose sharply. read more about how the stock market has reacted here. house minority leader hakeem jeffries told his members on monday that he will make canceling the white house’s “illegal” effort to freeze cash for federal programs a key demand in the upcoming spending talks   likely sparking a massive fight with the administration. jeffries, a democrat from new york, told democrats that he has “made clear” to house gop leaders that the recent moves by trump’s budget office must be “choked off” in the upcoming spending bill, “if not sooner.” why this matters: it’s the first big sign from democrats about how seriously they will use their own powers in congress to fight trump’s efforts to dismantle or slash government programs and reshape the federal workforce. government funding currently runs out on march 14. in his letter to members, jeffries also outlined other steps democrats are taking. that includes a new bill to “prevent unlawful access” to the treasury department’s payment programs, which contain personal data for millions of americans. jeffries also told members that the party will fight in the courts, including 20 different lawsuits challenging more than a dozen executive actions. president donald trump said he agreed to “immediately pause” tariffs on mexico for a month after a “very friendly” conversation with the country’s president, claudia sheinbaum. “i just spoke with president claudia sheinbaum of mexico. it was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 mexican soldiers on the border separating mexico and the united states,” trump wrote on truth social. “these soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our country,” he wrote. “we further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by secretary of state marco rubio, secretary of treasury scott bessent, and secretary of commerce howard lutnick, and high level representatives of mexico. i look forward to participating in those negotiations, with president sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a “deal” between our two countries,” the president continued. trump on saturday announced new tariffs on imports from mexico, canada and china. the sweeping actions   scheduled to take effect tuesday   consisted of a 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most from canada (where there was a carve out for a 10% tariff on energy products), and a new 10% tariff on chinese goods. sheinbaum also posted on social media about the pause, saying she and trump had reached agreements on security and trade. mexico will immediately reinforce the border with 10,000 members of its national guard, while the us committed to working on preventing high powered weapons from being trafficked to mexico, sheinbaum said. talks with canada: earlier today, trump said he held an initial phone conversation with canada’s prime minister justin trudeau, with a follow up talk scheduled for later today, as the clock ticks toward midnight 25% tariffs on imports from the united states’ northern neighbor. this post has been updated with new reporting on the tariffs. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and us president donald trump are expected to meet on tuesday at 4 p.m. et, according to a statement by the prime minister’s spokesperson omer dostri. the israeli leader will extend his trip through the weekend and depart washington, dc, saturday evening, dostri also said. netanyahu arrived in washington, dc, on sunday in advance of his meeting with the us president. netanyahu is scheduled to be the first world leader to have a formal meeting with trump since his inauguration last month. the prime minister was welcomed at blair house, the official guest house of the white house. the meeting time between trump and netanyahu has been updated in this post. the fate of the us agency for international development (usaid) appeared bleak monday after elon musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said president donald trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. in washington, usaid’s headquarters was closed for the day, with employees told in an email to remain at home. here’s what to know about the agency: • usaid was established in 1961 under president john f. kennedy’s administration and is the us government’s humanitarian arm. • it dispenses billions of dollars annually across the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, treat diseases, and respond to famines and natural disasters. it also promotes democracy building and development by supporting non government organizations, independent media and social initiatives. • usaid is a key soft power tool of the us to foster relations with communities around the world, officials say, noting that us national security is approached with the “three d” pillars: defense, diplomacy and development, led, respectively, by the defense department, state department and usaid. • around 60 senior usaid staff were put on leave last week on accusations of attempting to circumvent trump’s executive order to freeze foreign aid for 90 days. many more junior staff and contractors within the agency have been placed on furlough as well, multiple sources told cnn. on saturday, usaid’s website went dark and a new page for the agency appeared on the state department website. usaid’s x account also went offline saturday, and a source told cnn that the entire usaid public affairs office was put on leave and locked out of their systems. read more about why trump and musk want it shut down here. robert f. kennedy, jr., president donald trump’s nominee for secretary of the us department of health and human services, told senators concerned that he could benefit from the outcome of litigation over the hpv vaccine gardasil that he’d divest his interest in the case to an adult son, an arrangement democratic senators called “plainly inadequate” in a letter monday. “what is clear is that your involvement and financial interests in vaccine litigation are broad and extensive,” wrote sens. ron wyden and elizabeth warren, democrats from oregon and massachusetts. “it seems possible that many different types of vaccine related decisions and communications   which you would be empowered to make and influence as secretary   could result in significant compensation for your family.” the senators are members of the senate finance committee, which is scheduled to vote on kennedy’s nomination on tuesday. the vote comes after two days of confirmation hearings last week in which kennedy’s history of sowing doubt about vaccines, and potential to benefit financially from doing so, were common themes. in additional written responses to questions from wyden after his confirmation hearing last week, kennedy said the family member to whom he’d transfer his right to payments in such litigation is licensed to practice law in california. kennedy’s son conor kennedy is listed as an attorney at the los angeles office of wisner baum, a law firm with which kennedy had a consulting arrangement and which is suing merck, the maker of gardasil. warren and wyden asked kennedy in their monday letter to commit to recusing himself from all vaccine related communications and decisions if confirmed as secretary, as well as from all matters related to entities under the umbrella of hhs involved in litigation that he or his family have an interest in. they also asked him to commit to not litigating cases involving vaccines, representing parties in vaccine injury cases or having a financial interest in such litigation for at least four years after leaving office. “you cannot credibly serve as secretary without clearly and fully addressing these conflicts,” the senators wrote. several republican senators have taken to social media platform x to push back on the president donald trump’s new tariffs, particularly those targeting canada. sen. susan collins of maine, a trump critic, warned that her state’s “economy is integrated with canada, our most important trading partner.” “certain tariffs will impose a significant burden on many families, manufacturers, the forest products industry, small businesses, lobstermen, and agricultural producers,” she argued. “i am working with the trump administration to help its officials better understand the potential ramifications of certain tariffs on maine and to find out more about their implementation, scope, duration, and other important information, including any exemptions they may make for northern border states, certain industries, agricultural producers, and others who rely on trade with canada.” sen. chuck grassley of iowa noted that farmers from his state get most of their potash, a key ingredient in fertilizers, from canadian manufacturers. “biden inflation increase the input cost to farming by 20% incl particularly high prices on fertilizer. so i plead w president trump to exempt potash from the tariff because family farmers get most of our potash from canada,” he wrote on x. sen. rand paul, a libertarian leaning conservative, also pushed back on the new tariffs, writing that “tariffs are simply taxes.” “conservatives once united against new taxes. taxing trade will mean less trade and higher prices,” he added. mexican president claudia sheinbaum said she had a “good conversation” with us president donald trump and reached an agreement to pause tariffs for a month starting monday. sheinbaum said monday both sides also reached agreements on security and trade. “i also made it clear that we wanted him to put tariffs on hold, and in that regard, we reached an agreement,” she said at a news conference on monday. “[trump] asked how long we could put the tariffs on hold, and i told him, ‘let’s put them on hold permanently.’ he then asked, ‘well, for how long?’ i responded, ‘let’s pause them for a month, and i’m confident that in a month, we will deliver results for both his people and mexico’,” she said. mexico will immediately reinforce the border with 10,000 members of its national guard, while the us committed to working on preventing high powered weapons from being trafficked to mexico, sheinbaum said. sheinbaum said she explained the issue of high powered firearms “illegally entering mexico from the us,” which she said criminal groups take advantage of. “i believe it was a good agreement, and we will provide updates on this month of work by both the security and trade teams,” she added. this post has been updated with more of sheinbaum’s comments. the senate intelligence committee is expected to vote tuesday afternoon in a closed session on tulsi gabbard’s nomination as director of national intelligence, according to two people familiar with the matter. remember: gabbard can’t afford to lose a single gop vote on the committee, otherwise her nomination will collapse. several committee republicans, including sens. susan collins, todd young and james lankford, have yet to say whether they’ll vote to send the nomination to the floor. the vote is expected at 2 p.m. et. sunday op ed: gabbard sought to minimize the risk her refusal to condemn nsa leaker edward snowden as a “traitor” has posed to her already uncertain nomination in a sunday op ed. writing in newsweek to make the case for her confirmation, gabbard said she told lawmakers privately that she does not “casually throw around that term” because it is a capital offense and argued that she and donald trump jr. have been “slandered” as traitors by former secretary of state hillary clinton and former gop sen. mitt romney. “it is essential to focus on the facts, not the label,” she wrote. cnn’s katie bo lillis contributed reporting to this post. this post has been updated with reporting on the sunday op ed. us president donald trump announced a 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most goods from canada, and an additional 10% tariff on chinese goods imported into the us at the weekend. the tariffs   which trump says are needed to combat the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the us   are expected to come into effect tuesday. canada and mexico have announced retaliatory tariffs, and china has said it will challenge the move at the world trade organization. the president also said that additional tariffs could come by mid february on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and gas imports   along with tariffs on the european union. here’s how other countries are responding: the first working session of a meeting of european leaders in brussels on monday was dedicated to transatlantic relations, where leaders highlighted the value of the european union’s partnership with the us, an eu official told cnn. the official said that there was a strong consensus that tariffs would be harmful for both sides. cnn’s samantha waldenberg, kevin liptak, alayna treene and david goldman contributed reporting to this post. this post has been updated with additional reporting. president donald trump said he held an initial phone conversation with canada’s prime minister justin trudeau, with a follow up talk scheduled for later today, as the clock ticks toward midnight 25% tariffs on imports from the united states’ northern neighbor. the president’s message didn’t offer any indication he was willing to grand a last minute reprieve to the tariffs. but the fact a second conversation is scheduled suggests talks are ongoing between the two leaders on fulfilling trump’s demands to stop illicit flows of migrants and drugs across the border. in his message, trump also went after canada for some of its practices. “canada doesn’t even allow u.s. banks to open or do business there. what’s that all about? many such things, but it’s also a drug war, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the u.s. from drugs pouring through the borders of mexico and canada,” he wrote in a truth social post. “just spoke to justin trudeau. will be speaking to him again at 3:00 p.m.,” the president added. late sunday, trump said he didn’t expect anything “dramatic” to emerge from his conversation with trudeau and mexico’s president claudia sheinbaum. tariffs, which were announced by president donald trump on canada, mexico and china this weekend, are “going to bring in revenue” house speaker mike johnson said monday. “we’re going to have massive savings by making government more efficient and effective. and that’s exactly what we and president trump promised the american people. so it’s a great development,” he said on fox and friends on monday. the tariffs will amount to a significant 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most goods from canada, and a 10% tariff on chinese goods imported into the united states. they are expected to come into effect on tuesday. johnson also expressed confidence that “we’re going to get everybody together” in the house gop conference around an agenda bill that can pass with a simple majority vote in both the house and senate. cnn has reported on how the speaker is carefully navigating negotiations over how to successfully advance trump’s agenda with his razor thin gop majority. “house republicans are working right now to negotiate what that looks like. we don’t want to blow a hole in the deficit by extending the trump era tax cuts, for example, but we’re definitely going to get that extended,” he said. on netanyahu’s visit: johnson said he’ll meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on thursday on capitol hill and that “we need to be supporting israel as always strongly as ever.” “i communicate with him often,” he said on fox and friends on monday, explaining “we’ve been very close over the last year and a half since i’ve become speaker of the house.” president donald trump’s economic adviser kevin hassett told cnbc monday morning that the trump administration has been in discussions with mexico, canada and china. that could ultimately lead the president to get rid of the tariffs set to go into effect tuesday at midnight et. “there are positive conversations that have happened over the weekend, and there are positive conversations that are going to happen between the leaders of these countries,” hassett said. “and president trump will then see what people have to offer and then make the call.” more on the tariffs: although the executive order that trump signed saturday said the tariffs would be put in place until the targeted countries control the flow of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants into the united states, the order contained no guidelines as to how canada, mexico and china could meet those demands. and though hassett repeatedly said this is a “drug war, not a trade war,” trump has said he is not interested in negotiations and didn’t expect to make much progress on tariff talks because of the significant trade imbalances with those countries. so it’s not clear what, if anything, those countries could do to get rid of the tariffs. it will ultimately be up to trump. “president trump is going to decide all of this, you know, at a time that he chooses,” hassett said. stock markets in asia and europe slumped monday after donald trump slapped tariffs on canada, mexico and china, sparking fears over another bruising ‘america first’ trade war that could hit global economic growth. us stocks were also set for a selloff, based on falls in stock futures. “trade war 2.0 begins,” ubs strategists wrote in a note monday. on sunday evening, trump also threatened to enact additional tariffs on the european union, accusing the eu of being “really out of line.” europe’s benchmark stoxx europe 600 index was 1.4% lower on monday morning. here’s a look at how countries have been impacted: “tariffs and counter tariffs will be inflationary and lead to weaker growth prospects, both of which are negative for equities,” said mohit kumar, economist at jefferies. the us dollar soared to a record high against the chinese yuan. “for the moment it looks like the dollar is the only winner,” said chris beauchamp, chief market analyst at ig, an online trading provider. remember: trump announced over the weekend a 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most goods from canada, and an additional 10% tariff on chinese goods imported into the us. the tariffs   which trump says are needed to combat the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the us   are expected to come into effect tuesday. canada and mexico have announced retaliatory tariffs, and china has said it will challenge the move at the world trade organization. house judiciary democrats called on acting attorney general james mchenry to provide assurances that the justice department will “publicly and promptly” release the final report on the classified documents investigation brought by former special counsel jack smith once the court grants the trump administration’s motion to dismiss the case. the democrats, in a letter obtained by cnn, further requested written assurance that neither president donald trump nor acting deputy attorney general emil bove, who are both listed as interested parties in the matter, will play any role in discussing the future of the report. the request comes days after trump’s administration ended the case against the president’s former co defendants. the appeals court has not yet signed off on the justice department’s request, which is in line with what the two co defendants wanted as well. “it is essential that the american people and congress be given the means to understand how and why president trump mishandled our nation’s most sensitive classified information” the democrats wrote. sen. elizabeth warren, the top ranking democrat on the senate banking, housing and urban affairs committee, is demanding that newly confirmed treasury secretary scott bessent explain why elon musk and his department of government efficiency have been given access to federal payment systems. “it is extraordinarily dangerous to meddle with the critical systems that process trillions of dollars of transactions each year, are essential to preventing a default on federal debt, and ensure that tens of millions of americans receive their social security checks, tax refunds, and medicare benefits,” she wrote in a letter. warren also pressed him for answers on reports that a top career official at the department, david lebyck, was placed on leave after he pushed back on doge’s demands. “i am alarmed that as one of your first acts as secretary, you appear to have handed over a highly sensitive system responsible for millions of americans’ private data   and a key function of government   to an unelected billionaire and an unknown number of his unqualified flunkies,” she wrote. “the american people deserve answers about your role in this mismanagement, which threatens the privacy and economic security of every american.” the massachusetts senator has asked that bessent respond by february 7. president donald trump told reporters that he plans to speak with canadian prime minister justin trudeau on monday morning, less than a day before the us’ tariffs on the country are scheduled to go into effect. “i’m speaking with prime minister trudeau tomorrow morning, and i’m also speaking with mexico tomorrow morning. and i don’t expect anything very dramatic. we put tariffs on. they owe us a lot of money, and i’m sure they’re going to pay,” trump told reporters as he stepped off air force one on sunday evening. trudeau said saturday he’d been trying to reach trump since the inauguration, but his calls have not been returned. trump announced over the weekend that tariffs will amount to a significant 25% duty on all imports from mexico and most goods from canada, and a 10% tariff on chinese goods imported into the united states. the three countries soon announced they would take retaliatory measures. on sunday evening, trump also threatened to enact additional tariffs on the european union   accusing the eu of being “really out of line.” “they don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products. they take almost nothing, and we take everything from them, millions of cars, tremendous amounts of food and farm products,” trump said. fact check: it’s not true that the eu doesn’t buy us farm products. the us government says the eu bought $12.3 billion worth of us agricultural exports in the 2023 fiscal year, making it the fourth largest export market for us agricultural and related products. and according to a december 2023 report from the european automobile manufacturers’ association, the eu is the second largest market for us vehicle exports   importing 271,476 us vehicles in 2022, valued at nearly 9 billion euro. the main office of the us agency for international development in washington was unexpectedly closed monday and workers were emailed shortly after midnight that they should not come in, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. “at the direction of agency leadership, the usaid headquarters at the ronald reagan building in washington, d.c. will be closed to agency personnel on monday, february 3, 2025. agency personnel normally assigned to work at usaid headquarters will work remotely tomorrow, with the exception of personnel with essential on site and building maintenance functions individually contacted by senior leadership,” said the email, which cnn has obtained a copy of. it comes as elon musk said president donald trump have said usaid needs to be “shut down,” following days of speculation over the future of the agency after its funding was frozen and dozens of its employees were put on leave. meanwhile, usaid logos and photos showing the humanitarian work the agency does around the globe were removed from its offices last week, multiple sources familiar with the situation told cnn. a source who works in a usaid annex building told cnn they have no word on whether they should go to work on monday. when asked if leaders in their department appeared to have any more information on the future of the agency’s work, the source said: “our senior leaders have all been fired.” around 60 senior usaid staff were put on leave last week on accusations of attempting to circumvent trump’s executive order to freeze foreign aid for 90 days. many more junior staff and contractors within the agency have been placed on furlough as well, multiple sources told cnn. just about everyone thought it was a bluff. top analysts from the biggest banks on wall street said it was highly unlikely. stocks were trading like it wouldn’t happen. some companies built contingency plans, but they weren’t exactly rushing to make changes. but the tariffs are coming   in full force. president donald trump announced saturday that a massive 25% tariff on all goods from mexico and most imports from canada will go into effect tuesday. an additional 10% tariff on chinese goods will be enacted the same day. trump in a message posted on truth social sunday said, “we don’t need anything they have. we have unlimited energy, should make our own cars, and have more lumber than we can ever use.” but america’s supply chains are reliant on its trading partners, and even for goods that could be grown or produced exclusively in the united states, the complex web of interconnected global trade cannot easily be unwound. so the additional costs on foreign made goods will be paid by american importers, who typically pass those costs onto retailers, who pass them onto inflation weary consumers. that means prices will rise   although, for most items, not immediately. businesses’ profits will be squeezed as they bear the cost burden of the tariffs or pay to adjust their carefully constructed and at times inflexible supply chains. that’s why stocks on monday were set to tumble. dow futures were more than 600 points, or 1.3% lower. s&p 500 futures sank 1.5%. and nasdaq futures were 1.7% lower. globally, stocks fell, too. major european indexes were down across the board, and asian markets closed sharply lower. bitcoin and other cryptos tumbled, brought down by growing fears of a recession. the us dollar rose sharply. read more about the impact of the tariffs here. © 2025 cable news network. a warner bros. discovery company. all rights reserved. cnn sans ™ & © 2016 cable news network.

the former defense department official wants to end the "deep state." last year, as donald trump's reelection bid was underway, he declared that a new book by his fiercely loyal adviser kash patel would serve as a "blueprint" for his next administration. "this is the roadmap to end the deep state's reign," trump said of the book on his truth social media platform. titled "government gangsters," it calls for a "comprehensive housecleaning" of the justice department and an eradication of "government tyranny" within the fbi by firing "the top ranks" and prosecuting "to the fullest extent of the law" anyone who "in any way abused their authority for political ends." "[t]he fbi has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken," patel claimed in his book. democrats "should be very afraid," patel wrote, as trump and his allies battle "the deep state"    what conspiracy theorists claim is a cadre of career employees inside government who are working together to secretly manipulate policy and undermine elected leaders. after trump's historic reelection last week, media speculation has suggested that patel, a former defense department official, could be under consideration to become trump's attorney general or cia director    or that he could even replace current fbi director christopher wray, who trump has reportedly vowed to fire. "president trump called [my book] the roadmap for 2024, and now let's put it into work," patel said thursday on a podcast, without indicating whether he himself might take on a senior level role in the incoming administration. a spokesperson for trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment from abc news. patel's proximity to trump and trump's public embrace of patel's book underscore how a major shake up could be coming to the justice department or fbi. here is what patel has said about what new leadership could do. patel, who once served as a prosecutor in the justice department's national security division, has long accused leaders in the fbi and justice department of exploiting their authority to boost democrats and undermine republicans    especially trump. there's been a "two tier system of justice," patel has routinely said. he often highlights his subsequent work as a congressional investigator, when he helped lead the house republicans' probe of "russiagate"    which, as he describes it, exposed fbi wrongdoing in its 2016 investigation of alleged ties between trump's presidential campaign and russia. that work led to patel joining the trump administration in 2019, and in the final year of trump's presidency, patel was appointed acting deputy director of national intelligence    the second in command of the entire u.s. intelligence community    and then chief of staff to the acting u.s. defense secretary, a position critics claimed he was unqualified to hold. a special counsel investigation launched by the justice department under trump's first term concluded that "senior fbi personnel" and federal prosecutors working the russia related probe had "displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor" toward politically tainted information, failing to "adequately examine or question" that information before launching a full scale investigation of trump and his associates, which included intercepting the communications of one former trump adviser. in its own report on the matter, the office of the justice department's inspector general said that while it found "fundamental errors" and significant "failures" in the fbi probe, it found no evidence that "political bias or improper motivation influenced" the investigation, including the decision to intercept those communications. still, in his book, patel said "all those who manipulated evidence [or] hid exculpatory information" should face charges. he also alleged "abuses of prosecutorial discretion" by the justice department in declining to charge hillary clinton for allegedly compromising classified information through her use of a private email server, and in declining to charge president joe biden's son, hunter biden, for what patel describes as influence peddling    while indicting trump ally steve bannon over his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the house panel investigating the jan. 6, 2021, attack on the u.s. capitol and also charging so many of the trump supporters who were at the capitol that day. "those specific prosecutors, and division[s] within the department, that selectively apply the law should be removed and brought to heel," patel wrote in his book. in a campaign video released last year, trump promised that if reelected, he will "immediately reissue" a 2020 executive order giving him the power "to remove rogue bureaucrats." "and i will wield that power very aggressively," he declared. trump also said he will "totally reform" the court system that in 2016 and 2017 approved the fbi's applications to intercept his former adviser's communications. on another podcast two months ago, patel said anyone involved in "russiagate" should be stripped of their security clearances. according to patel, there is a "massive" list of such government officials, from the fbi and justice department to the cia and u.s. military. "they all still have clearances," including those who left government for private sector jobs, so "everybody" should lose their clearances, patel said. patel said he has personally "recommended" to trump that the new administration also strip any security clearances still held by the 51 then former intelligence officials, including former director of national intelligence james clapper and former cia director john brennan, who in october 2020, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, signed onto a letter dismissing the public release of emails from hunter biden's laptop as part of a "russian information operation." "we want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails ... are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of russian involvement," they wrote. "[but if] we are right, this is russia trying to influence how americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that americans need to be aware of this." trump and his allies have accused the 51 former intelligence officials of trying to influence the 2020 election themselves. and that's why patel wants trump to strip them of their clearances. "because it's justified," patel said. "it's not an act of vengeance. they have had the opportunity to recant, and all 51 of them have doubled down, and tripled down. so pull them. i think he will." speaking on thursday's podcast about fbi headquarters in washington, d.c.    where more than 7,000 agents, analysts, administrative personnel and other employees work    patel said that the new trump administration should "close that building down." "open it up the next day as the museum to the deep state," he added. patel said the fbi should then leave about 50 people from its staff somewhere in washington to help keep the agency running, and send the thousands of other employees into the field to join the 16,000 employees already there. meanwhile, in his book, patel said the justice department should "drastically curb" the number of cases that it prosecutes in washington, because washington is "perhaps the most liberal jurisdiction in america." on thursday's podcast, patel described trump's election victory as a "mandate for the truth" about "the corruption" inside government. therefore, he said, the new trump administration should "get out all the remaining documents that were blocked" by the biden administration and by "deep state" efforts in other administrations. patel has long called for the public disclosure of documents still unreleased from the fbi's investigation of trump and alleged ties to russia. on jan. 19, 2021, trump's final full day in office, the outgoing president announced that he had declassified a binder with many of those documents. but for reasons that still remain unclear, none of the documents were ever officially released. now, as president again, trump "can expose the documents that these folks have written for decades, allowing [their] corrupt activities," patel said on thursday. "he's going to come in there and maybe give them the epstein list, and maybe the p. diddy list," patel added, referring to documents involving the late sex offender jeffrey epstein and hip hop mogul sean "diddy" combs, who denies wrongdoing in the sexual abuse cases recently filed against him and maintains his innocence on the criminal charges he faces. in the campaign video released last year, trump promised to establish a "truth and reconciliation commission" that will "declassify and publish all documents on deep state spying, censorship, and corruption." it's all part of "my plan to dismantle the deep state and reclaim our democracy from washington corruption once and for all," he said. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

the line that divides the union north and the confederate south passing through the bicentennial capitol state park in nashville, tenn. photo courtesy of istock a recent washington post headline says: “in america, talk turns to something not spoken of for 150 years: civil war.” the story references, among others, stanford university historian victor davis hanson, who asked in a national review essay last summer: “how, when, and why has the united states now arrived at the brink of a veritable civil war?” another washington post story reports how iowa republican congressman steve king recently posted a meme warning that red states have “8 trillion bullets” in the event of a civil war. and a poll conducted last june by rasmussen reports found that 31 percent of probable us voters surveyed believe “it’s likely that the united states will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years.” is that legitimately where we stand today in the era of donald trump, particularly in the wake of the ramped up rhetoric stemming from special counsel robert mueller’s report on russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether the trump campaign coordinated with moscow, or is civil war talk just crazy hyperbole? bu today put three questions to nina silber, a college of arts & sciences professor of history and american studies and the current president of the society of civil war historians. silber has done extensive research on the civil war over more than two decades and has written several books on the subject, including divided houses: gender and the civil war (1992), daughters of the union: northern women fight the civil war (2005), and most recently, this war ain’t over: fighting the civil war in new deal america (university of north carolina press, 2018). along with her teaching and research, she has worked on numerous public history projects, including museum exhibitions at the gettysburg national military park and film projects on the civil war and reconstruction eras. so if anyone would have a knowledgeable perspective on the question of whether we are headed for civil war, it’s silber. read her answers about the proliferation of headlines referencing the possibility of another civil war. silber: i wouldn’t identify this most recent development [the demanding of documents] as the “beginning of a civil war” since i’m not sure that reflects anything other than the political divide we’ve already witnessed for the last several years and the fact that democrats are taking steps they could not have taken before they regained control of the house. more ominous, i think, are indications of political violence and the willingness to enact political violence. this could be seen, for example, in the synagogue shooting in pittsburgh, when the shooter spoke explicitly about targeting jews who expressed sympathy for immigrants, or the recent case of the coast guard officer who was making plans to kill democrats and journalists. i can imagine a future in which we deal with even more incidents of, or plans for, political violence and that’s definitely a disturbing development. i’m troubled, too, by the role the president plays in contributing to this atmosphere. but it would have to be something else to call this a “civil war.” that would indicate a willingness on the part of masses of people to engage in violence against their political enemies. that happened in the 1860s, in part because people had come to see their political opponents in extreme, even demonic, ways and found it impossible to find any middle ground. maybe our politics and culture are moving in that direction, but i don’t see it yet. the electoral map, at least from the most recent presidential election, does show blue coasts and a red middle. but i think that’s also a deceptive picture since we know that in many states, such as florida, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, there are deep internal divisions. in other words, it’s not the case that florida, pennsylvania, and others are overwhelmingly republican. the same could be said for a number of “blue” states too. the geographic divide today is less clear cut, less along solidly sectional lines. in 1860, the presidential contest reflected the way the political parties had divided and had become completely sectionalized. many southerners could not even vote for the republican party (which proclaimed opposition to the expansion of slavery) and the democratic party ran one candidate in northern states (stephen douglas) and a different candidate in southern states (john breckinridge). fundamentally, the split in the democratic party was over slavery: southern democrats were calling for a federal slave code (to regulate and permit slavery everywhere in the country) and northern democrats opposed this. as a result, the political divide reflected the division in the country between states that permitted slavery and states where it had been outlawed. there may be a few historians who think the divide is similar, but i think most would say we’re looking at different patterns in our political divisions, although the tendency toward heated and extreme political rhetoric might be similar. the inability to find a political middle ground, certainly in the federal government, seems also to be similar. bu historian answers: are we headed for another civil war? bu today staff profile boston university moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. abusive, profane, self promotional, misleading, incoherent or off topic comments will be rejected. moderators are staffed during regular business hours (est) and can only accept comments written in english. statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation. another biased story. how come she only cites violence by one side while the great majority of violence is coming from the left? witness attacks on conservative speakers on college campuses or the bias of colleges having left wing graduation speakers? the great divide was caused by obama and he set back racial relations by 50 years. president trump is saying things that the establishment doesn’t want to hear but must be addressed. what evidence is there to support your claim that president obama caused racial relations to be set back by 50 years?  or that the great majority of violence is coming from the political left? my assumption is that your observations are every bit as biased as your claims against the writer of this piece. lord help us all. https://www.heritage.org/political process/commentary/obamas legacy weaker and more divided america 60% of the u.s. agree that obama made race relations worse instead of better. that’s like quoting alex jones. heritage is a right wing institution. no credibility. try again. thefederalist.com/2016/07/13/how obama left us more racially divided than ever/ in my opinion it is the left which is pushing us to civil war. and this began when they started to believe in “pc’ and “hate speech.” freedom of expression is our most precious freedom. and the democrats today do not want it, don’t you see what you just did? the op complained about two things. 1) citing only one side’s violent act while omitting the other side’s more numerous violent acts. 2) that obama’s presidency resulted in greater racial divisions. you ignored the substantive point the op made in 1 which was true and germane. then when you challenged him on (only) 2 and he offered his reasons, you just dismissed not just his rebuttal, but also implicitly the work of all the people that went into all those polls. you unilaterally declared that his sources were “right wing’ and therefore invalid. i am sure you recognize your argument as a logically fallacy called “attacking the messenger”. the question is never  “who said this?” ; the question is “is it true?”. there are numerous polls and of course recent event, that say it is true. the problem we’re facing is people, even bu professors, are having their objectivity and rationality overwhelmed (if they ever had any, this is my first encounter with this professor). no one is hanging onto the rational, skeptical, non partisan, objective parts of their minds; everyone but everyone is succumbing to partisan, uncompromising “thinking”. it has to stop. you have to stop it in yourself, the prof. who wrote this article has to see it in his/her self and i strive to see it in myself. the nation is in a fever and the weak as buckling and breaking into extremist positions and thoughts. we cannot allow that to happen to this nation and to prevent it we must first check it in ourselves. the people protesting have a point, but they’re not making it. instead they’ve been hijacked and perhaps created by a left marxist totalitarian insurgency that, yes, it determined to destroy western civilization. the people on the right need to consider the totality of the effects of the school to prison pipeline the policioes of the 90s era clinton bush put into place that made tens of millions of people unemployable owing to criminal records. it’s not *really* about how many unarmed black people were shot in any given year. the people on the left have to face the fact that the culture of indifference and even contempt towards learning and studying compounds with glorification of a criminal lifestyle, as embodied in rap lyrics and youth culture, damns those who buy into it into a lifetime of invovment with the criminal justice system. the people on the left have to face the fact that social welfare systems of the johnson administration have decimated the family structure of the black community and the greed oriented outsourcing of our factories to china led by white republican bankers and billionaires has given them all thrid homes and private islands at the expense of the lives of black and white people of limited skills. the people on the left have to face the fact that mass immigration has displaced black people from multiple avenues which would have led them to small business ownership and good, medium skill based jobs. the people on the right have to realize that by blindly supporting republicans year over year, they have enabled them to decimate and hollow out this nation’s and their own prosperity via h1b et. al. visa programs, factory outsourcing and “free trade”. the universities have to admit that the literal indentured servitude of unbankruptable student loans has created a generation of youong people who have no hope of buying a house, starting a family, or accumulating wealth through labor and that this is a large part of who is in the streets today. we need to break the banks / university / media / prison / welfare / big tech systems . these have captured our lawmaking apparatus and redirected all generated wealth into their own hands. over time systems learn and become more expert as extracting welath from the environment. what we have are an entire series of systems whose wealth extraction abilities have crushed literally everyone else. people’s lives and opportunities have been being destroyed for 50 years and more by a class of predators who will not quit, will notr leave the stage, and will not think of anything except their own power. these institutions and individuals need to be confronted and neutralized through democratric, lawful means. we’re all suffering from extremists. that fills us with the impulse to respond in kind. we cannot give into that impulse. the left and the right , blacks and white have everything in common. we could see that except that the elite’s media prefers that we be at each other’s throats. reject extremism and extremists, who are a persistent minority in any society, and reject the railroading narratives of the mainstream media who are turning uis against each other. we cna talk to and with each other like rational adults outside of their framework. regardless of the context of this response , my quibble comes from your saying the heritage is a right wing entity , therefore, unreliable. i take it that you are saying that comments can’t be reliable unless they are presented by the left wing media! this is such an honest assertion from a member of the left. thank you for demonstrating your extreme bias/bigotry! amazing…‍♀️‍♀️‍♀️ which is the same as quoting politifact, cnn, washington post, abc etc etc all left wing mouth pieces for democratic propaganda. unfortunately, i have researched alex jones. he is not right wing. you democrats loved him when he went after george bush? alex jones is very credible. i hate to tell you. the truth is not often popular, butat end of the day its the truth whether those numbers are exaggerated or not, there was a very real percentage of the population who would agree with that. personally, i feel in ways america demonstrated it is mostly a post racial society, and in ways the race card was played very adeptly by america’s first biracial president. and just how did obama do that. it’s the racist ass people in this country that’s making racism front and center. but it’s always easier to blame the black man. you people just don’t stop. oh and there are not racist black people. that’s all the republicans do is twist words,blame everything on past.i getting were i hate the republicans,and i am white.i know one tooth white people living in shacks,no heat nothing but support the rich people that laugh at them. the level of bull going on in washington,is crazy. i always thought politician were smarter than this,it has showed me anyone with a mouth and money can do anything. racism exists on every side. victim mentality is a major issue within the u.s. and it also exist on every side. as well we have the younger generations that battle with their sense of overwhelming entitlement. the poorest of poor people within our great country are rich in comparison to these socialist ran third world countries. americans should really step back for a moment and really think about the fact that we all are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world (even at our worst moments). if folks here cannot agree with that then, by god, give one of the other countries a try. they would be begging to come back. how did obama do that? he didn’t. and no one can point to anything he did that would substantiate that claim. his crime was being a black man stepping into the shoes of a historically white position. many whites feel that equal rights means that they end up losing something. and they do. privilege. they hold obama accountable for their loss of privilege. but wait … white privilege still abounds! yep. just the *perception* of this loss of privilege is enough to declare obama responsible for race division. and this perception was the only invitation a man like trump needed. trump will continue to be accepted and lauded, regardless of his boundless narcissism, stupidity, and ego, simply because he stands for that idealistic privilege people think they have lost. in his name they can bring out their guns, wave their flags, and hold up their misspelled signs. they can keep their lack of education and low paying jobs and still have the ability to feel “better than” someone else of a different race who is in the same position they are. but you know what they don’t count on? the fact that not all whites feel the same way they do. that we actually prefer an intelligent, well spoken, thoughtful black man to a white bigot. we see right through your racial slurs designed to be “jokes”. we see how afraid you are that an immigrant might take your job because you never took it upon yourself to have more than a 9th grade education, and they have. you need your guns because you can’t defend yourselves in any other way. you are lazy, entitled, and it shows. it’s time to stand up, brush yourself off, and think about change. the world is moving on. ok bud. so george floyd dies and no every problem the black community has is blamed on whites. so accusing a race of people for problems they had no hand in doing. thata racist and sounds alot like a hilter tactic. hhhhmmm please look up the word. demagogue and see if that is who donald trump is and wants too continue envoling into. his power over this country is fed by this divide. look at usa history on who these people were. look up the word on. wikipedia and learn from history. dear “trish” from april 25, 2020 at 11:18 am, it’s people like you who truly scare me. for someone as woke as you believe yourself to be it’s mind blowing that you cannot detect the abundant hypocrisy exhibited throughout your rant. i hope someday you are able to let go of your victimized mindset. the left is like that spoiled kid who doesn’t get his way and throws a tantrum. it shows how delusional the left has become when a white liberal calls a black conservative racist or uncle tom because he has different views. white liberals are a joke. even black liberals are in shock at the way their white counterparts behave. you know you have a problem when a group of people are so brainwashed that they can’t for a moment even consider others views. conservatives don’t hate liberals because of there ideals,. yet liberals hate anyone, even those they claim to defend if that group of people think differently. the liberal motto is: do as i say, not as i do. president obama never used the race card because of his ethnicity, people looking to ostracize their opponents use it when they have no valid point of view, in other words when they are losing the argument. i did notice a left leaning biased approach to this piece, but just because she only mentioned one side of the coin doesn’t mean her overall point is not spot on, if there is a civil war on our horizon and i hope to god there isn’t because violence and hatred only ends one way. when one side or the other is completely removed from existence.. racism is a real thing systemic racism is a real thing.. but most people don’t see the facts, they only see their side of the discussion. so who are the real victims? the people who are forced to live in a system that locks them into a life with no escape. but wait.. those are just the ones we can plainly see.. what about the police and first responders that are tasked with protecting and serving? exactly how are you supposed to protect and serve a community that has been created to deny the american dream to its citizens? the real question is who created this environment and on a deeper level why would they create it? i honestly believe it was created by people with good intentions of helping those less fortunate, but it has been transformed into a power bloc to keep and maintain power by those looking to keep power for themselves look at the person not the people stop, stop and read what you just said. there has been nothing but open conversation on this platform up until you came in like an irrational child and started knocking over desks. this is why we are headed towards conflict. because people anymore have stopped listening to what some one has to say they already think they know what is going to come spewing out of the other persons mouth before the person says it. also no one had used any profanity until you came in, why is that? why can’t you make a statement without articulating it in a manner thats doesn’t need to use profanity? granted there was very biased sides to the conversation before this but a conversation was still being had. says the racists who still can’t believe that we had an african american president. he’s not “african american”. he’s american. civil war? naah. most americans are just too apathetic, lazy and out of shape for that. we had two very different candidates during the last election, and such a huge chunk of the population didn’t bother voting. i guess they didn’t want to miss tv. we’d have to get off our fat, lazy, apathetic butts and actually do something to have another civil war. ain’t gonna happen! where i agree with your statement mostly, i disagree that the fact americans are lazy, both physically and intellectually, i dont think that prevents us from a civil war. it would only take a moderate percentage of people to take action. if the many right winged terrorists groups actually grouped together they could begin a significant armed stand off . this actions could embolden others or bring in some moderates. even if the percentage of the lazy and apathetic dont make a move they would be an opposition from somewhere on the left winged radical movement no matter, if it is ultimately ineffective. well they aint lazy now.everyone is moving fast.i dont know about civil war but it is going change the country. lol so you think all white americans are going to fight for hate. just because you think i’m white so i must be on that side. i’ll be fighting on the side that has been treated like they are animals. they are not. they are smart loving human beings. the haters should be sent back to the swamp for good. best comment yet this is exactly right. the conservatives just want to play with their harleys, the lefties just want to eat their impossible whoppers. absolutely no one is stepping up to lead, fund, or organize military. it’s similar to the civil rights movement. and the funniest thing is, the leftists of then are the boomers sitting there calling everyone else out. valid point you got, sir. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/heritage_foundation you are correct, jeffrey. but not in the way you intended. obama did indeed cause tensions in racial relations but not by his actions or behavior but rather by the very fact of his existence as the potus. this very fact was a red rag for rightwing that, in turn, transformed into increased extremist tendencies on the right. @woland you are absolutely correct! a bi racial man in the “white house” was enough for many. i remember the comments from some republicans that he was filling the house with his “thugs” jeez how many of them have gotten prison time? this president has done nothing but fuel the division in this country and is using it to stay in office. he does not care a lick about anyone but himself and his ego, money and power. he has and is a disgrace to this country and the world. some of you out there be careful what you wish for, history tends to repeat itself and most of the time not in a good way! bull shit. obama just another politician out of one of the most corrupt political machines in the country. why is it that these racist police departments are in cities dominated by the democratic machine for generations? they don’t care. just want your vote. and more importantly your money.that holds true for both parties.civil war not much of a party. all suffer. read your history. yes obama pointed out the problem then flamed the fire. the problem has been there. why don’t you post a more credible source like a non partisan survey instead of the one you did? it doesn’t help your case at all. mr rollin please clarify. after viewing the link that you provided, and then researching its author, i must ask you if any other articles exist in regards to how americans view our country’s civil relationships? this is more a response to mr.locke (interesting name). 1) far right terrorism has outpaced terrorism from any other source at least in the united states. https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating terrorism problem united states 1.5) the heritage foundation is a well known conservative think tank, their purpose is to push conservative policies, and the source cited was not a study, instead, it was political commentary. 2) as for the obama presidency, there was most certainly an increase in racial tensions, however much of the tension was already exhistant being revealed by the election of obama. 3) as for your rationality, i might point out the myriad of dog whistles located within your own reply. for reference see the use of culture as a replacement label for skin tone. however even soo, many of the points you’ve made about corporate elites are correct. your stance on immigration is not. the cause of racial disparity in this nation is several generations of suppression, as well as economic targeting. as for why black culture tends to hold up crimes, it very well might be that that was the only avenue many young black people had seeing as how badly the police and government treated them. if your own country hated you, would you be patriotic? as for your view of totalitarian marxist insurgency, there isn’t much evidence i’ve seen of such a thing existing. however, i have seen a significant amount of evidence supporting policy being full of white supremacists. if you are curious as to why there seems to be so much marxist sentiment around you may wanna look into the abuses of capitalism, or maybe the propensity of markets to monopolize. 4)back to the immigrants, at least currently the rate of immigration is probably lower than you think. not to mention that immigrants tend to improve the economy and also commit fewer crimes than the general populace. 5)breaking systems  i agree with you on what systems need to be broken except for welfare. welfare is a problem in the nation, however, it is a problem of corporate welfare, as for human welfare, the us has some of the smallest and weakest systems of any advanced nation. in contrast there oddly enough seams to be a correlation between human welfare and happiness. as a whole, your comment seems well thought out, however the sources it draws from seem to be odd. to someone who holds fascism as a political ideology, you would be a left leaning individual, despite drawing from a very fascist leaning information base. i am not using fascism as a political slur, instead, i am stating it from the position that the outgroup your information base points to is the poor and immigrant populations, despite preaching anti elitist(anti wealthy) sentiment. that’s a big fat lie about obama making race relations worse instead of better! where’s the proof. being black himself, is totally impossible. don’t believe everything you read negatively about president obama. historians will judge him among the best presidents. totally agree i put obama right up there with roosevelt even lincoln i think he’ll be judged as one of the best presidents this country has ever had you’re freaking quoting the heritage foundation which is extremely bias they’re extreme right wing holy christ we’re in trouble we have a psychopath for a president who only knows how to lie who seems to think 200,000 dead is perfectly okay considering there was a few reports that said were looking at two million dead what hey the virus isn’t over it’s still killing people so we may reach that 2 million not to mention that he thinks people that join the military and serve are idiots and if they should get injured they become losers and for some reason trump supporters refuse to see this it’s like they put blinders on there’s something wrong with them i don’t understand why they’re not paying attention to what he’s doing your head has to be in the sand if you dont think obama caused racial tensions.. do your research roger: that’s sadly true. you still have not introduced one thing president obama did that caused racial tension other than just being a black man. if that is what he did, then it shows who the racists really are. as if we don´t all already know. how about when he proclaimed that travon “could be my son” or getting involved in racial tensions occurring in the us where no other president before him got involved in local politics. he sent in the ag’s office to investigate community affairs. and, his wife was even worse at racial divide. she still is. obama’s first term caution on race matters was punctured by his controversial remarks that police “acted stupidly” in the mistaken identity arrest of henry louis gates jr., harvard university’s prominent african american studies professor, in 2009. four years later he entered the breach once more by proclaiming that if he had a son, “he’d look like trayvon.” in the aftermath of racial unrest in ferguson, mo., and baltimore, and a racially motivated massacre in charleston, s.c., obama went further. in 2015, obama found his voice in a series of stirring speeches in selma, ala., and charleston, where he acknowledged america’s long and continuous history of racial injustice. policy wise obama has launched a private philanthropic effort, my brother’s keeper, designed to assist low income black boys, and became the first president to visit a federal prison in a call for prison reform that foreshadowed the administration’s efforts to release federal inmates facing long sentences on relatively minor drug charges. despite these efforts, many of obama’s african american supporters have expressed profound disappointment over the president’s refusal to forcefully pursue racial and economic justice policies for his most loyal political constituency. from this perspective, the obama presidency has played out as a cruel joke on members of the african american community who, despite providing indispensable votes, critical support and unstinting loyalty, find themselves largely shut out from the nation’s post great recession economic recovery. blacks have, critics suggested, traded away substantive policy demands for the largely symbolic psychological and emotional victory of having a black president and first family in the white house for eight years. ferguson, mo   this was the beginning of racial tensions we haven’t seen since the 1960s. omg are you serious. it comes down to this being a police officer is a very dangerous job. sometimes they have to make split second decisions. self preservation will always kick in. you do what an officer tells you. you don’t argue, you don’t debate..the police are in charge. don’t wan’t to die, simply comply! the push to do away with the police and our guns is a terrible idea. they do away with police who are you going to call when you need help..what do they replace the police with? when guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns! smartest person here ferguson the last year of obama blantantly siding with michael brown when the evidence clearly showed and the grand jury of brown’s peers acquitting the white officer will someday be seen as the racial divide that lead to donal trump’s preidency.trying to force public schools to take on the lbqt issues as ground work for leftist political calling anyone who disagreedvwith them as homophobes,zenophobes created division that was blessed by obama.he was elected by the vast majority of white people and he alone created racial division that was always teetering at the brink.making dispariging remarks about his white grandparents who moved him to hawaii to escape kansas deep seated raciam forgetting that thses people and his mother raised him while his black father abandoned him.you must truly believe that the majority of white america is stupid and uneducated. it seems like 2016 made everybody instant political pundits. what all of a sudden people have internet access and they think they are now the smartest people in the world? ready to take on anyone politically regarding the past all safe in their knowledge that if someone throws them a fastball they can simply flip over and pull up a wikipedia article to verse themselves, so they can turn around and throw their newly learned information back at them with the delivery that they believe sounds like it comes from their very wise and astutely formed intellect? it’s hilarious because it is happening on both sides in nearly every one of these’conversations’ and the only thing being achieved is the self satisfied illusion that all of this somehow makes your argument sound more interesting or more intelligent… to someone. what is astonishing however is how disillusioned these arguments are, how completely devoid of reality and how fatalistic in tone it is, and how abstract the subject matter sounds when it is anything but. the accusations on each side, the hatred, and the desire to prove the other to be inhuman enough for the other to not feel bad for violating their own values regarding respecting others. the blame being hurled reveals another sad truth to all of this and that is that these people whom you are trying to attach all possible evil you can imagine are in fact your fellow countrymen and the past that you both seem eager to ascribe to the other is a shared past, as it is the history of our country! from the tone set here it sounds like the majority of you have already given up on your fellow countrymen because they don’t see things the same as you do and it seems you have abandoned any future that could be possibly imagined without the eradication of those dissenting voices! that is anti american! because that’s is the point, have you all forgotten? the greatest thing about this country is that we all don’t have to agree with one another, we aren’t supposed to see things the same, but we can still be grateful for each other’s input! because an american would never dream of trying to shut down or silence anyone because in america we are all free to disagree! brandon, well said, and completely accurate you nailed it brandon. the sad part is that a majority of these people partaking in all this sensationalism and partisan hatred would agree on 70% of the issues. both sides just keep sucking the teet of their preferred media outlet and get stuck in the blackhole of misinformation polarization. it’s kind of absurd for someone to use hate speech to condemn someone they think is racist, right?? where is the logic in these stupid debaucles? maybe people should try thinking constructively with unity and focus to try and work out some of these issues. the left would be no good without the right and vice versa, it’s the very reason the founders set it up that way. both sides should welcome new ideas, solutions, and methodologies. but the stupid back and forth rhetoric and thoughtless ‘got ya’ schemes need to stop from both sides if we are going to continue to be the best country in the world. we really got to stop acting like two school aged siblings in the back of a car on a 13 hr drive to disneyworld. we have many pressing issues to tackle and the only way to tackle them are ‘together’. this country didn’t become great because we were a narrow minded people who always agreed. no, we are a diverse, forward thinking people who have hurdled every obstacle thrown at us with flying colors. so please can we remember who we are and try to rid our culture from all the divisive, irrational, and unproductive behavior and make some progress. geeez!!! oh and for the record journalists who write stupid articles like this one that do not provide anything positive whatsoever should think about changing professions bc it’s rhetoric like this article that fuels the divide we have now… your comment sounds the same as every other racist comment against obama,verbatim! you bring nothing intelligent to the table about how his presidency, his policies, his work brought on racism. the color of his skin perhaps has brought out the ugly truth that lives in us all for we all fall short of the glory…the truth that we will always have something in us that will always bring us pleasure when we show discrimination against some one or some thing. we need to feel superior, we need to hurt others to make ourselves feel better about it own being. we hate seeing others doing better than ourselves because we are so self centered. so when we see an intelligent, well spoken human being that happens to be a darker shade than white and who happens to be the president of the united states and we compare him to our lowly shells of buna beings, that’s it, gloves off…time to bring him down. they did the same thing to jesus christ didn’t they? the pharasies didn’t like that the idea that he was gaining followers, that people were being drawn to his word, they were following him like sheep. and the thing of it was that there was nothing about his outward appearance that attracted people to him according to the word, it was just the way he was towards people that they wanted to learn more about him. but just like today, people who claim to follow christ are actually the first ones to cast the first stones with trump leaving the way just because obams skin is dark. trump just makes it ok to openly start showing our true colors. i personally think we are there at the time of the birthpains where it is written about the time just before the end, when things start really hurting,when things get really bad all around us. it won’t get better. read about it if you don’t believe me…the book of daniel…the part about when the rock crushes the feet of the statue. the feet are made out of iron and clay…the elements don’t mix their separate…it represents our time today, nations will try to come together but they never will just like the iron and clay…that rock that crushes the feet represents his kingdom that will do away with all of this as we know it only to be replaced with something far greater than what we’ve built… one you study daniel then you can understand revelation (unveiling). it’s not too late which ever side of the fence your on ,each has a believe or opinion just because it’s not your opinion doesn’t mean attach your a rasist very few people are rasist many are biases or prejudice for his or her personal reasons most the time our prejudice come from experiencing hateful people on both sides of fence if we can’t address these issues without burning our cities down we’re all doomed the far majority of americans white,black,brown,red love our country we have a small group of fools hell bent on destroying what we have and if we choose far right or far left it’s over wake up and do the right thing americans. seriously comparing president obama to our lord and saviour jesus christ? that’s a little bit ridiculous, there is no human being, i don’t care who they are, that can ever be compared to jesus. you can say whatever you want about me. i didn’t vote for president obama and wasn’t because he was black it’s because of his politics. if senator tim scott of south carolina ran for president i’d vote for him. i’ve heard him speak and i agree with his politics and btw he’s a black senator. people use tell me i was racist because i didn’t vote for president obama, and i was sexist because i didn’t vote for hillary clinton and now you got joe biden saying to a black talk show host if you don’t vote for me you’re not black. the media is now calling people who don’t vote for kamala harris racists and sexists. people are being attacked for wearing anything pro trump one guy was even shot in the head and killed for it and he was a black older gentleman who was a business owner. things are getting out of and and will only get worse as it gets closer to the election. mark my words if president trump gets reelected there will be a civil war. the nyt had an oped saying that if trump gets reelected that the states that biden won will secede from the union. look it up, the left is war gaming a way to get trump out of office. biden said the military will do it pelosi said she’s met with cog, continuity of government, and said she’s 2nd in line to be president. those were her own words played on national tv on cnn,abc,cbs,msnbc. if you don’t believe any of this stuff look it up. oh and one last thing why isn’t president obama, joe biden or any of the democrats coming out and condoning the violence and looting? so you understand revelations then? just as easy as opening a book for you is it? do us a favor and enlighten us, o thou savior of modern man. catherine you are spot on here do you walk with your eyes open? how can you deny all the political violence from the left? ever since they lost the election they’ve been defacing and damaging property of others. i have not seen any violence from the left … where is this violence that you see. i see much much more hatred and intolerance coming from the right let me refresh your memory: “on june 14, 2017, during a practice session for the annual congressional baseball game for charity in alexandria, virginia, james hodgkinson shot u.s. house majority whip steve scalise, u.s. capitol police officer crystal griner, congressional aide zack barth, and lobbyist matt mika. a ten minute shootout took place between hodgkinson and officers from the capitol and alexandria police before officers fatally shot hodgkinson, who died from his wounds later that day at the george washington university hospital.[7][8] scalise and mika were taken to nearby hospitals where they underwent surgery.[9] hodgkinson was a left wing activist[10][11] from belleville, illinois, while scalise was a republican member of congress. the virginia attorney general concluded hodgkinson’s attack was “an act of terrorism…fueled by rage against republican legislators”. right wing extremism is a much larger problem than left wing extremism: “a 2019 report found that 50 people in the united states were killed in murders by domestic extremists (including both ideologically and non ideologically motivated homicides) during the previous year. of these killings, 78% were perpetrated by white supremacists, 16% by anti government extremists, 4% by “incel” extremists, and 2% by domestic islamist extremists.[84] over the broader 2009 to 2018 time period, there were a total of 313 people in the united states killed by right wing extremists (including both ideologically and non ideologically motivated homicides), of which 76% were committed by white supremacists, 19% by anti government extremists (including those affiliated with the militia, “sovereign citizen,” tax protester, and “patriot” movements), 3% by “incel” extremists, 1% by anti abortion extremists, and 1% by other right wing extremists.[84] new america’s tally shows that 112 people have been killed in right wing extremist attacks since 11 september 2001. a report in the washington post, published on november 25, 2018, showed violent right wing related incidents up, and left wing related incidents down. total domestic terrorism incidents was down to 41 in 2001, from a high of 468 in 1970, but then went up to 65 in 2017. of those 65 events in 2017, 36 were right wing related (with 11 fatalities), 10 were left wing related (with 6 fatalities), 7 were related to islamist extremism (with 16 fatalities), and 12, including the 2017 las vegas shooting, were categorized as “other/unknown” (with 62 fatalities, including 58 from the las vegas incident). the report found that 2018 was a particularly deadly year, with 11 people dying in the pittsburgh synagogue shooting, 2 others in an incident in kentucky, and two more in a shooting in tallasshee. all three incidents were right wing related.[87]” mike, your quite right, but the complexity involved in “information dominance” is what is covering their ploy. of course when you understand right and wrong in an unbiased mindset, you learn very quickly there is no left or right. there is only a two party system, 420 plus socialist organizations in the us and a massive military industrial complex that co jointly drives all political and social movement in the us. i am a political resolution specialist and investigator by trade, formerly working in human intel ops in the usmc. i was given a crash course in real politics and i didn’t like it, but i did learn reality. to avoid what ever may come the traditional american must awaken to the reality of our time and stop getting their information from the mass media. your complaint is very warranted. however, we must see the bigger picture. that would explain all the swastikas in jewish cemeteries and houses of worship, all the killings by white supremacist, and black churches being set ablaze by white supremacist or people on the right trying to start a race war. left vs right is their game. i refuse to play. you are unique and special and entitled to your opinion. i just want to be american best comment of seen so far. i am neither republican or democrat. i vote for the one with the best morals, and who has the people of our beautiful country in there best interest. not for the ones who kill babies or hate god. nor do i wish to hate or disrespect who ever gets voted into a position of leadership such as the president. i was raised to respect our authority figures and elders. i did not agree with obama but i didn’t bash him. i may not agree with some of you but will not bash you for your feelings. but i do believe like aaron tippin sang “ we’ve got to stand for something or you will fall for anything”. good advice. is hate good? no. is murder good? no. is racism good? i could go on and on but to much to list. so i will do my best to be a good and productive citizen in my homeland. i will stand with the one our country was founded on and what the constitution was modeled after and that is the word of god. and no i dont believe in being religious and pushing my own beliefs on others. i dont always agree with my wife but in oder for a marriage to work there has to be a common ground. god bless art: praise god, best comment i’ve seen today. thank you for speaking out for me. zach and art, best comments yet (though the bar is quite low here). i agree completely. i might not agree with your religion or political views but i will respect you enough to have a respectful and thoughtful conversation about those topics. i think what is supposed to make this country so great is the idea that we should all be able to stand together regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion, political party, etc. without that, can we really call this the greatest country in the world? think peace, vote peace, time will tell. all you had to do is live through the obama years. if you are unable to see the racial and anti religious discord from start to finish, you are ignoring the obvious. please open my eyes. i want to learn what racial and religious discord happened during “the obama years”. the democratic party has used race, and income to drive our nation apart . the party that was the heart of the kkk has used this race and income difference as a weapon for generations. hillary clinton and obama perfected the tactic. i ask you to watch any speech from the last ten years from any democratic national leader. why can’t we embrace our differences instead of highlighting them for political gains. ask yourself why is any of this only discussed during election time. political gains is the only reason it comes up during the election process. it seems not to be a problem when it’s not spread across every tv set in the county during the elections. the democratic party labels everyone a racist, throwing out accusations with out any proof, another political tactic, how does that help race relations, how is that benefiting our nation. most of modern day america’s political problems come from the democratic parties growing far left socialist base. that came to life in the obama administration with all the radical liberal economic and social change that has only lead to the further decline of the american society. also for the idea of a second american civil war there is a lot of anger on both sides right now, really all it would take is some major political upset like an election or new policy changes within the country to start the war. all of this could and should be avoided if it wasn’t for the far left socialist democrats and there anti american regimes. that unfairly target and destroy any thing socially conservative they don’t agree with even when they are a small minority in some cases and represent no real threat. in the process liberals have and are further eliminating american tradition, morality, common sense, christianity, white people especially normal healthy young white men, western culture, and any real hope for the future of all of mankind. let’s hope your part about “eliminating american tradition, morality, common sense, christianity, white people especially normal healthy young white men, western culture,” is at least partially true as christianity has far too long held a privileged position in our supposed secular democracy, american tradition and morality is clearly subjective and since your touting christianity, i fear where those morals and traditions lie. i dont even know how to take on the normal, healthy,young, white men part, but suffice to say, it is once again obviously based on your limited view of the world through the tyrannical view of christianity. the left have many flaws, and i feel sorry you feel so desolate. but you are actually mixing things up. obama was not the one, responsible for deregulation & super liberal markets. that were the people before him, starting decades ago. he came into office, when the whole thing blew up, and had to deal with the consequences of other people’s faults! also, he gained america a lot of sympathy, as he was viewed very favourably in many countries. but he had also to deal with racism, a strong republican opposition, that blocked his policies, so he could not put things into action, like the affordable care act, and society could not benefit! you’re not a patriot. you’re a nationalist and theocrat. everything that came out of your fingers was either extremely hyperbolic or disgustingly false. your extremist views on what “far left” is continues to divide our country. you don’t have any monopoly over morality, especially since you sit blindly by while over 5 million people were thrown off healthcare. if you can’t understand why that’s immoral, you have the moral maturity of a 15 year old. you sound like you just regurgitated a bunch of far right extremist talk radio points. as your cronies in power deregulate everything causing multiple economic crashes, you get hopped up on false equivalencies that distort reality and blindside you to the evil you cozy up to. what’s really sad here is you really think there’s a cohort of us citizens, who justly want their rights recognized, who want healthcare, criminal justice and energy reform, as some extremist left wing marxist commie socialist revolution when it’s just common decency and having a conscience for your fellow man and the planet regardless of religious background. it’s hard not to give into despair when so many people like you have been brainwashed to hate anything that doesn’t agree with you, especially if it has the word “democrat” in it. or to hate the democratic party when ironically it’s full of moderate republicans going independent (which is a problem) because of how extreme and distorted the right wing has become in the republican party. it hurts our country! don’t you care about your fellow man not to relegate them to corporate tyranny and serfdom? don’t you care enough about your fellow man that you don’t want to see your best friend’s mother or your neighbors go bankrupt in financial ruin because of unforeseen hospital expenses (think cancer!)? don’t you care about your fellow us citizen enough? i don’t think you do. if it’s not white or christian, you’d rather see your fellow countrymen burn. garland you are absolutely correct. as a 59 yo i have seen it my entire life. i am always amazed that democrats never have any facts on their side! do they live in an alternative reality? most of the violence has come from the leftist democrats. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/yes antifa is the moral equivalent of neo nazis/2017/08/30/9a the left needs helped out of this county and that doesn’t take the lord to help that. you all need to leave. your bias and unreasonable, ungodly, stances have made it impossible constitutionally for you to remain within this countries borders. the left is a murder cult who would kill everyone along with themselves because of their rabid hatred of life. this is a matter of liberty’s survival. you need to leave. now! or, be removed. crazy man. 9th grade? not quite. well if your happy ass would look around now you have evidence of creating racial division. hope you enjoy the show because this is definitely leading to a civil war. my god be with you because the republicans are ready at any moment. i dont know about obama setting race relations 50 years but what i do know is the political left is more likely to use violence instead of dialogue in order to influence decisions. example : look at the brutality inflicted on those that dont share in the left’s view. look at how easily they will “dox” a person and tell people on one of the many social media platforms how someone should beat,or kill that person. ( nick sandman, comes to mind) another point to be made here is if someone on the political left wants your voice to be shut out they usually use a label such a racist,homophobic ect. to shut you down. also there are a huge number of videos on line where the political left is using violence against those who refuse to get in line and instead voice their own opinions. where as both the political right and the political left have their problems it is hard to say that the political left isn’t more prone to act out violently on their emotions. they burn and break up college campuses if a speaker they dont agree with is coming to speak. the proof is in surveys showing black and white voters viewed race relations as being worse under obama and better under trump. niobe;: the surveys are pre 2020 and may be different today. i’m not suggesting either potus did anything to create these results or detract from them. still the facts are clear on this, i’d say they have been set back more like a hundred years! sorry jeffie, richard is correct. the evidence is in the numbers before and after obama! the majority of violence is coming from the left! good lord, are you that stupid? wake up and see around you. it’s antifa and blm. this is causing other hate groups to rise and pull together against them, but these groups have thousands of weapons and over 64% prior military. their going to smoke the left. the left is going to cause innocent blood shed. : ( oh, please. you cite left wing propaganda while, at the same time, criticizing others for citing right wing propaganda? good luck with that. you’ve dropped your brain somewhere, sweetheart. how about violence against right wing people in college campuses? wish away that? you people are a disgrace. categorically false to claim the majority of violence is left wing. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new zealand shooting highlights rise violence linked to white supremacy 2019 03 15/ just to let you know   the article you are linking states that there is a rise in violence by white supremacists but does not claim that the majority of violent acts is caused by them. it also states that the fbi has 900 active domestic terrorism cases which includes (and therefore are not all) white supremacist links. i am not defending white supremacy, but if you want to post an article to claim that left wing violence is less common, try to use one that actually states that. i think white supremacy groups are just using this as an opportunity to gain attention. 99 percent of people are not racist. i don’t think white supremists even have an ideological position that they would say justifies their cause. of course the media loves a good ol’ fashion boston bar room brawl it raises their viewership and regardless, the all mighty dollar is the bottom line as far as the board room is concerned. what we are facing in this country is a conflict between the conservative and liberal. that conflict is well displayed in the halls of congress. there is no conflict between conservatives and liberals… because there doesn’t seem to be any liberals any more! i remember a time not long ago, when liberals championed freedom of speech and an exchange of ideas. everyone was entitled to their opinion and could voice it without fear financial and social ruination. what i witnessed going on in seattle and boston and nyc during the protests, in no way looked like ‘liberal’ protest. it looked like kristallnacht. its a conflict not between conservative and liberal but between far right fascists and liberals   that said more and more conservatives join the liberals’ fight against trumpism by the day  the lincoln project and republican voters against trump are perfect examples of this actually, if you could compare the number of cases on each side you would realize that the most abrasive, violent, intolerant acts have been perpetrated by left wing activists. just start with antifa and work your way down. antifa is a terrorist group. fact! https://www.newsweek.com/are antifa terrorists 658396 lol every research paper in the field shows a spike in right wing terrorism by significant percentage since 9/11 give me one incidence of conservative violence toward the left. you can’t cause there hasn’t been any. charlottesville. okc bombing. there is a strong case to be made the white supremacists are left wing. as they promote a form of socialism as their preferred form of governance. just as the national socialist german workers’ party or nazi’s were. so you missed the demonstrator run down and killed intentionally during a rally of white supremacists. just because these are comments on a boston university doesn’t make them intellectual, factual or informed. shocking to see people on this board intentionally attempt to tear down a president who brought us respect globally (president obama) and defend the current man living in our whitehouse who indulges putin at every turn, demeans and abuses women and children, seeks the corrupt way until he’s stopped and borders on dementia or mental illness as attempts and fails to string together a single coherent sentence. i read these threads and these utterly deluded commenters and i am more convinced than ever we must invest more in education and teaching americans political courage that ignores fearmongering and propaganda. unfortunately, it wouldn’t matter my friend. religiosity has been allowed to run rampant in our country for far to long. once you have poisoned your mind to basic facts and hundreds of years of demonstrable science so you can believe in santa, skydaddy you effectively are allowed to believe whatever dribble you want. der…. god, guns, and donald trump. welcome to america. typical liberal rhetoric. to dave  the national socialist party was fascist. people often think that since “socialist” is in the name, the nazis were socialist.. not the case. they were hard line fascists and murderers. this is a simple example of the “gotcha” argument.. simply attacking the other side based on irrelevant claims, unfortunately, does not gain your cause any ground. peace and may the spirit bless you all. the woman run over by a white supremacist at a white supremacist rally. the man who just killed two jewish people in new york accusing jews of defending immigrants. do you watch the news??? not fox..real news?? do you watch the news? not cnn real news? majority of terrorist attacks in the us came from the right. check out the fbi statistics. this must be from a cnn article because its fake news go to the fbi web site and read the white supremacist associated mass killings. while you are there, check to see how many deaths anti fa has caused. white supremacists are socialist left wing. spout all you want and claim it’s on the right but the left has always been the side of true racism. dinesh d’souza’s documentary. it explains all of it. why do you think obama set back racial relations? because the racist republicans weren’t ready to accept a black president, therefore leading to a “divided” america? the fact that you think that makes you ignorant seeing as the republicans had the black brain surgeon running for em i always froget his name but he is a great man along with president trump his name is ben carson and your right..he is great man..i actually voted for him in the republican primary..and had he won the left would have eviscerated him calling him uncle tom and every other name in the book…but i do thank god everyday that donald trump won..donald trump may not always be the most tactful person in the world but the constant barrage that he has to endure from the left and the bias media is unprecedented. the man truly love our country and is not a racist . and the things that the democrats running for president are calling for well they scare the hell out of me. agreed 100% that would explain all the swastikas in jewish cemeteries and houses of worship, all the killings by white supremacist, and black churches being set ablaze by white supremacist or people on the right trying to start a race war. amen yeah.. ben carson, the dude who denied the existence of evolution. what a smart individual! because he pushed it over and over. starting with florida when that kid was shot. he made announcements tried to politically sway a jury. (if he was my son he would look like me) not to mention labeling zimmerman a (white) hispanic. all the violence we have in our country why isn’t only when a white guy might be at fault is it story worthy? when did he ever come down on black on black crime? protest those focusing their violence on whites? he absolutely pushed us back idk if it’s by 50 years. but it was totally his intention. racist republicans? i’m pretty sure the only party with an entire history of racism comes from the democrats. disagree with any of them and your labeled as a racist. look at all the pictures of democratic politicians and actor/actresses who used to dress in “black face” for fun. explain to me why black people suffer the worst in democrat strongholds? it’s indisputable. history is repeating itself. like in the 1850’s leading up to the civil war, democrats continue to pass laws, ignoring constitutional boundaries and infringing on peoples rights. present day, you see the similarities, like unconstitutional gun laws, confiscation, lack of due process, ect. virginia just voted in a democratic leader convicted and served time for sexual relations with a minor. this is the trash you support? if anyone has lost their insanity, it would be the democrats, once again. remember, they were the ones who thought slaves were nothing more than property. republican’s fought for their freedom. 1920’s through the 60’s, southern democrats overwhelmingly passed laws that suppressed basic human rights, such as women’s rights to vote, jim crow laws, defacto segregation and fought it all the way to the civil rights act of 1964. if you think their way of thinking has changed, you’re wrong. they have just become better in how they sell it. modern day slavery in the form of welfare, abortion(planned parenthood, founded by renowned racist margret sanger). the democratic party is still the racist thinkers, but add a touch of narcissism, and you have a modern day manipulation machine. narcissist, like to use deflection, such as blaming others for their problems, project an image onto someone else, when they are actually the ones who are doing it themselves. this is why they constantly scream racism at every turn. they mislead you with free this and free that, share the wealth, all while they kick back in their million dollar homes and watch us fight. its quite a clever smoke screen. the left has become so unhinged, that every move they make is a contradiction to their cause. the rationale is so delusional. this is why they are making every attempt to dismantle the constitution, suppress our rights and sell everyone a giant lie. why is it you people cant see the real corruption at hand? you all attack trump for what? you continue to get hyped up with every fake story published, and its always proven false, yet completely ignore the hard proven facts. democrats(hillary clinton) made an attempt to rig an election, via ukraine, with the help of a foreign spy and the fbi. democrats, continue to waste millions of dollars pursuing phony accusations that have zero proof. he said/she said bias, third party witnesses is not used to impeach. adam schiff intentionally added text that was supposed to be a quote from the president, but was caught off guard when the transcripts were released. the list goes on and on with corruption from the left, yet people like you continue to support that. it’s this type of thinking that is what has us at the brink of another civil war. personally i think it should happen. we need to rid the united states of sick minded people who’s goal is to destroy the very foundation of the united states. if you people love socialism so much, move to a country where it exist. have you ever thought to ask yourself, why people risk their lives to flee from those countries? they had politicians that sold them the same bull crap, and they came to see just how awful it was. those places live in poverty and are over run with crime and corruption. never in the history of mankind has socialism work. it has always led to the death of millions and the destruction of countries from within. stop taking things for face value. dont be lazy and educate yourself. the entire history of the democrat party is beyond shameful, but they execute their lies so perfectly, to convince the masses of things they cant ever possibly fulfill. socialism is unrealistic. in theory, is sounds amazing, but the reality it will never work. anyone who works for the gov’t, such as myself, knows just how dysfunctional, slow and unreliable it is. you dont want to give these people complete control of your life. if they cant take care of our veterans, what makes you think that they and add hundreds of millions of people to that task. you would die waiting to be taken care of. so please people, wake up and see whats really going on. dont let the clown show, take control. their track record more than proves they kind of animals they really are. i work for the government. there is no incentive for me to work harder. add somebody on to my schedule? for what? i’m not getting any extra money. everything is so slow. it is very disorganized. i always say to myself i hope the missile defense system works a lot better than our computer system. ya brother. i think you need to read. donald trump is the one accused in federal court of raping two 13 year old girls. a witness who worked for epstein confirmed the report and gave sworn testimony against both epstein and trump. read the case and reconsider who you label as “trash.” wow you really are uneducated playin the dems “fought for slavery” the roles switched throughout the 60s and 70s if you weren’t paying attention and the dems became the ones that cared for the people while the republicans took up the dems spot as the racist white rich people i mean you remember who fought for the south right? racist white rich people who wanted to keep slaves for their cotton businesses. lets not forget how they treated any type of black person no matter if they were free or not, cuz that’s how the republicans treatin mexicans like some criminals. y’all the criminals first you take the native americans land then you take texas from mexico because we wouldn’t allow yo racist a..es to bring in slaves n then you discreetly form a coup in california claiming it was a “revolution” from mexico and not even a few weeks later add it to the us and then go to war with mexico because you aren’t happy with the large chunk you already took from us so you take half of what modern mexico looks like today for yo fat white greasy hands. oh and i know you will try to argue or say “state the source” this is common sense in california i mean we learned our states flag was used in a revolution secretely supported by a us general who came after mexico left and put the us flag down. look up any of this and why you at it look up how to accept other people for their culture you white weirdo too much racism in your post. to everyone who always clams the roles of the parties swapped, this is actually inaccurate. the republicans have stayed pretty straight, while the democrats when hard the other way. think of it as a 5 lane highway, the republicans have always been near the middle lane, the democrats went from the far right lane al the way over to the far left, so far they aren’t even in the left lane but driving on the shoulder making it look like they swapped places. andrew, i rarely see a somewhat lengthy post (absolutely justified here) worth reading from start to finish on the internet, until i read yours sir. because believe me, i’m not being hyperbolic when i say, “i’m never impressed by random reply posts online to a blog,”nor is it when i say,”i never feel the need to reply.” obviously for me that’s no longer a constant, because here i am, for whatever that’s worth. the critical thinking skills you utilized here are readily apparent, as is your refreshingly pragmatic approach. i just thought you should know, from one random viewer, just how much it was appreciated. well done sir, and thank you. andrew, you are spot on here. all of the above has happened to me. you are no longer even free to disagree with a democrat. dehumanizing people never helps. as for socialism. we already have it here. the debate is if we need more or can the free market help make america more affordable again. our allies helped us win the cold war against the communist. are they communist because they engage in socialism? this is silly. personally i would rather see a better form of free market capitalism. more competition to bring down costs, particularly for college. it is indentured servitude. don’t want more socialism? stop feeding the beast. optimism in young people challenges socialist solutions. also look into somalia. the most unregulated free market country on the planet and just as failed a state as venezuela. he wasn’t black first of all . he just as white as black. he ran on a dividing nation .he was a gaint step to trying to turn usa in a socialiest nation . the current trouble got zero to due with racism .it has everything to due with socialism and trying to keep america way it is. left keep screaming for free this and free that .the constution doesnt promise the goverment will take care of you it says it will give you chance to take care of your own family without there inference. we are headed to being divid up in to 5 nation .the divid between what michigan needs verse say what california needs are just to far apart . the federal goverment is trying to control the hole nation and take state right to self governing that what will lead to civil war. the 2020 election will be final fuse if it doesn’t blow up shortly there after ill be surpised 2024 the latest bomb will go off. don’t want more socialism, like our european allies already have and have had for a long time? lets bring more competition to the free market. this will lower costs in key areas. temptation toward socialist solutions will decline. until we can be honest about crony capitalism, runaway college costs, special interest, tax loopholes and my personal favorite, tax havens that owe the united states 600 biliion dollars we will continue to tempt young people who lack hope toward marxism. we can’t boot strap our way out of everything. the left and the right both sell fantasies. wake up and stop feeding the beast. i think you make her point. precisely. is that really all you got and focused on from this article? i didn’t even think about that. your mind seems to be conditioned to twist everything you see to fit your political viewpoint. russian troll. the second civil war is coming and the liberals will lose! they are trying to ruin this country and veterans, majority of the military and 51% of the country won’t let that insane group do that!!! the leftists like pelosi, shummer and the remainder of the insane morons like aoc will find out nobody will be giving up our civil rights including weapons for protection from any future totalitarian government they dream will come about. don’t be so sure, i’m a veteran and well armed, i see the right and anyone trying to take my freedom away as the enemy. i have thrown my hat in regards to the usa. i have been living overseas for 5 years in china, brazil and cambodia and do not ever want to return to the usa. no matter who wins the election the usa is going to get worse and worse. i would be happy if the usa got rid of the citizenship renunciation fee so i could go to the us embassy and tell them where they can shove my us passport. and yet here you all are bickering… claiming obama’s made race relations worse when they were already sour as hell during the bush administration and even to when i was a kid in the 90s.. why can’t you just admit that the country is horribly divided for once and we are all to blame!? literally i see the state of alabama becoming cult like to even the word “liberal “ is viewed as an insult…then california save for some pockets, your just as unsafe being right winged on anything. i am sick of it. it’s always a blame game and people are literally killing each other over it. never mind the lone wolf terrorist that target republicans during a charity baseball game, never mind the shootings that took place against black democrats in the churches in south carolina… we are screwed and my country dies because old men rather listen to conspiracy theories and their party instead of the truth. we are sinking as a country because we rather play the blame game instead of shutting up and getting things done. we are sinking not because of those darn demorats or the retardticans but because we paint ourselves in such petty insult as i just mentioned! we are indeed on our way to a bloody civil way but it will be one not divided by statehood, but by families and communities across the country each willing to commit acts of violence in the name of things like “patriotism “ and “social justice” and that to me is far far more disgusting. we still have the two most important things. the holy bible and the us constitution. the highest of ideals are contained in these two writs. but as almighty god said in his word…”my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. the children out on the streets are lacking in understanding of these blessed gifts. but still, they stand ;and are free to all because of blood shed by others on our behalf! lots of white people were pissed that a black person became president, and that gays are now allowed to be married….that sums it all up, you got a bunch of people who don’t like blacks, don’t like gays….they don’t have anyone left to feel superior to…except maybe people who choose to remain unmarried or those who don’t worship at a mega corporate church. many of these people have nothing else to live for except their badge that says i’m white and straight and a christian…so they feel threatened and afraid that black and gays will now treat them the way they’ve been treated all these years. also, these same people are upset that the rules are changing toward women, you have to treat them with respect these days in and out of their company. the shoe is on the other foot now and it scares the crap out of them. what an ignorant fool you are. the conservatives of all colors will hunt you identity politics sjw down and toss you in the same hole the treasonous democrat politicians are put after we stop their coup against a duly elected president. you can all rot in that hole together unless venezuela wants you, and we’ll happily deport you curs if so. um . . . it’s not a coup if they are working within the government framework spelled out in the constitution. the us constitution provides impeachment for a president who has committed bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors. it’s a part of the checks and balances system which was created so none of the three branches of government would get out of control and usurp the powers of the other branches. i remember learning that in elementary school. it’s only a coup if someone suspends or overthrows the government by blatantly suspending or destroying the protections of the us constitution. the oath of the president requires that the president uphold and defend the constitution of the united states that specifically includes the part of the constitution which provides for impeachment. by the way, if the us constitution is suspended or abolished you have no second amendment rights, so i think they will first take away all of our guns. your worse then ignorant, you actually believe what the little dictator says. “also, these same people are upset that the rules are changing toward women, you have to treat them with respect these days in and out of their company” what you delusional nitwit mean is they treat men with open derogatory contempt while demanding they please be respected. what comes around, goes around, dude. never forget that, some of us ain’t castrated beta males like you. he couldnt’ have been elected with out white people.16 % of our population is black.are you truly that uneducated. about the dumbest thing i’ve ever read! white people put obama in the white house. i voted for him. i also voted for donald trump. and after what i have witnessed since the last election….i will never vote for a democrat again. ever. i have always been a democrat and thought of my self as a leftist but i am going to vote for trump because what i value the most is my constitutional rights and i think he is the president that will ensure that more than any democratic party. right now i am watching very closely what is happening with this covid situation. there is some pretty interesting tactics going on here for extreme governmental control. nothing is as it appears to be. i advise everyone to look very closing to all the events that occur everyday. mandating a covid vaccine that has not been research enough, creating a deep economic depression and creating hysteria over a virus that is serious but in reality not nearly as deadly as we are led to believe. now gates is talking about about getting rid of money and using digital currency only. gates has a very bad reputation if you look closely you will find this is true. all of these factors can lead to a civil war add on them opening the economy and then closing it down again in september. right now the right wing which is standing for the constitution and the left who are standing for civil liberties and freedom of speech are not looking that much different me too! this article is part of the problem. “in the trump era”. i knew then. these media people don’t understand that people in the centre and a little right are not evil. and the centre/right can’t understand why logic doesn’t work on the left. the right are seen as racists/evil by the left and the right in turn think that the left hate america. i’m from europe and i can see that clearly. they are like different species. its even evident in this comment section. insults come before discussion every time. its scary and definitely inflamed by the media for clicks. i agree. she is actually part of the problem with her willingness to place the blame squarely on the right. it only furthers our divide. here is my 2 cents. do i think we are headed for another civil war? yes. just look at the comments on sites like these or facebook. noone can agree. one has to out do the other or spout insults, over what?! difference of opinions? beliefs? or just flat out not liking someone cause they don’t speak “professionally” or “politically correct”. get off your pedestals and get over yourselves. we are a country! we should be working together to solve issues instead of fighting each other. “we the people.” that’s what it says!!!! have ya’ll forgotten that? we, ya’ll are the people. ya’ll should just be ashamed of yourselves, fighting like this over a man or woman who may have an indifference of opinion…boo hoo!! wake up america. you’re letting the political parties win by fighting each other, when you should really be fighting them ((not violently just to clarify))…… come together and fight the real enemy and not each other. how can we ever take back what’s ours ((country and freedom)) from the political figures when you can’t even stop arguing amongst yourselves. who cares who has the most knowledge of facts? who cares who’s right or wrong? bottom line? family,finances, and jobs that’s what you really need to worry about, instead of fighting about past and present presidents. history is what it is, history. leave it there and grow up people. it’s sad that i see young kids with more class and get along with each other than most adults these days. true hate crime violence hits 16 year high, f.b.i. reports white “christian” nationalists freaked over a black man in the white’s house and have retreated 50 years back into a mythical past, maybe even into a fantasy world of gunsmoke, the tv show. what do you think president obama did that set racial relations back 50 years? i agree with you on what you said. about 90% of the violence is coming from the left. donald trump may be a hothead and a loose cannon, but he is saying things that people need to hear. there is a clear difference between freedom of speech and freedom from speech. freedom of speech is allowing people to speak their mind. however, freedom from speech is censoring the media, which is a communist tactic. remember when donald trump was elected in 2016? people stormed down main street in washington dc, they killed people, blew up cars, vandalized businesses, set things on fire, the republicans didn’t do any of that when obama was elected in 2008. although we hate him, we sat there and dealt with it. if a civil war’s going to start, it is going to be one hundred percent the fault of the democrats without a doubt. if you don’t own a gun, go buy one. go to walmart i don’t care. you want to have something to defend yourself when the inevitable civil war breaks out. sorry. this will be our fault, our fault, our fault. and yes some people did freak out when obama was voted in. hell people freaked out when kennedy was voted in because he was a catholic. we are violent freaks sometimes. it is a huge part of our history. i place my hope on the newly born. we need to grow old and die. that will help america. civil war is national suicide. you give me hope brother. they are trying to incite this thing but we are hip to it by now. i am no democrat or republican……… american the violence is mostly from the right wing.. and domestic terroism is up all based upon far right wing views. amen, i know this was almost 10 months ago but you hit the nail on the head. the amazing part is that it was the media bias that started the nation on course of polarization. the media, like the schools were infiltrated with frankfurt school communists. they built their agenda of social / political change brick by brick. they hated our nation before ever stepping foot on american soil and now the nation is upside down. now war is the only way to rectify the nation. to reset it back to the founding principles that saw it provide the most freedom of any people on earth and thus prosper like no other. tensions will continue to mount and once the shot is fired there will be no turning back, you will have your war… all the violence is coming from the right …the left doesn’t run over college students at a protest or beat gay men or women or make threats against them …or shoot up abortion clinics or threaten an uprising over cattle and the right has done all these things in the past year ….donald trump is a crook who is panders to the fear and anger of a right wing that is diminishing in importance and relevance why is everyone trying to blame obama? i don’t care about politics but i’m smart enough to understand that obama is not the problem. trump has done nothing but teach and preach division as have all of the racists pricks have done to their family for centuries. this is nothing new, people are getting bolder, killing unarmed people because of the color of their skin and giess what…. trump approves it. everyone screams this great country or their country but this country belonged to my ancestors “the indians” before who came in and killed them to steal their land? history teaches that the vikings tried to invade this country first and failed but columbus and his band of outcasts and misfits happened to make it. everyone wants to point fingers instead of understanding that everyone in this country are aliens outside of the indians. this country was build on the blood, sweat, and tears of the african slaves and religion was forced upon them to control them. now that slavery is over this country uses a badge to kill people and nothing is being done but when people riot like they did in l.a. in the 90’s they are savages. the bad part is there are just as many colored people fighting for this country as there are whites. there are just as many black police officers as there are whit fighting for what? i am ashamed to say this is what my ancestors land has turned into when there are blood from every color on the grounds for this country but because of the color of your skin you are deemed below people with white skin. it’s wrong, as wrong as this country using a virus to kill off a race. it’s pathetic how you have white supremacists “protesting” with guns using fear to get what they want when it’s mostly the colored people who are on the front line as “essential workers” working for pennies on the dollar and putting the lives of not only themselves but their kids on the line for what. this country needs a reset, any other country would do a better job of running this than the people who we have in charge now. then people blame obama for what’s going on now but when obama was in office he was disrespected to the point if that had happwned in another country people would have been walking around with their hands chopped off. i give up on people because it will never change, a lot of white people will feel they are better than colored and a lot of colored people are going to be too blinded killing each other to realize thet if they stick together they can turn this country around. it is what it is, i am not a american, i live on the land that my ancestors owned before they were killed off and disrespected by having weapons named after their tribes. i am a human, no lower or higher than the next human and demand to be respected as such. if this country keep on going the way it’s going there will be wars among wars, there will not be a country to fight for or it will be ran by a outsider. someone who cares less about the pigment of your skin and will treat everyone the same as dogs. we are already divided next will be the conquering by a immigrant and i hope to live long enough to see the day just to see some of these racists knocked off their high horses. i was lectured by german academics years ago that the usa presidency was too powerful and if the wrong person was president, americans will loose their republic. i argued that could never happen, because the country was subject to a system of checks and balances. well, it just happened, the constitution needs to be amended because of trump. the power of the presidency is now unchecked. we are in a slow motion fall   just short of civil war. most americans don’t see the stage has been set for civil unrest at the very least   unabated federal debt, foreign interference in our political system, inability to prepare for a pandemic with several months notice, cronyism, nepotism and corruption are bringing us to our knees. we are being overthrown from with in, by our own president and his grand old party or what’s left of it. how far our mighty republic has fallen under this party and this administration. here we are talking about the great divide and all fools are lining up, has anyone ever thought trump, clinton, obama, bush and all the elites are all on the sane team and your just the pawns, wake up people are you really that blind i agree the leftist are victims and violent…they use extortion and defaming…they will fire you from your job…ruin your business…and destroy your livelihood if you refuse to agree with their ideology. that is not freedom but destruction conservatives have to fear for their life and safety around liberals and their disgusting aggression. i totally agree. it definitely shows she is biased and truly doesn’t comprehend the situation at all and she try’s to point the finger at the right for violence when it purely exist of the left and the riots show that bias. what’s he saying please? you do realize that the trump administration is the establishment correct? obama atleast took a stab at socialized medicine, ttump has divided us as a people more than any president i’ve seen in my 24 years on this planet. it’s easy to have an opinion on twitter from behind the safety of a screen like a troll. it’s hard to adress your citizens (no matter veiwpoint) face to face under pressure. we dont need trump’s social media propaganda trolling, we need an unbiased leader who only cares about our country’s people, their life/liberties, and our global standing. any and everything else come second. (in my humble opinion). point proven by your comment. what does obama have to do with anything? it’s always him. the fact is, when it comes to race, skin color is darkening worldwide, america is just a reflection of evolution. if people can’t accept that, they should start considering trumps idea of buying greenland and moving there. or mars. sorry, but immigration, divisive politics, and tearing our country’s government apart will not stop what is inevitable. if you’re not in agreement with equality for all mankind, you’re already beat. find another country somewhere, this one is ours. you are so correct! it is this bias b.s. from the left that is the largest contributor to our countries divide. look at what the left is doing across the country with all the rioting! violence! the country became more divided than ever in the obama years where more people voted for him because of the color of his skin than didn’t. liberals see color far more than conservatives. they are constantly needing to apologize in the name of color of skin. they recognize the color separation that they reinforce. most conservatives , with some foundation in religion understand we are all created equal. because obama revealed racism   perpetrated by white supremacists   does not mean he caused racial strife. it means he exposed the pervasive subjugation and demonization of blacks. you are sorely mis   and under   informed. and i might add, likely a racist. social media is the root cause to all of our problems. these little fights that break out on fb and others are breaking down our society. there is so much misinformation on social media & so many that believe anything that supports their views they read on social media is reputable news. adults are so gullible, it’s scary. thank you you hit the nail on the head. the democrats are causing all the civil unrest. it’s a necessary part of their plan to usher in socialism, hid you happen to catch pelosi calling for riots ant any rnc, and harris saying the riots will not stop until the election and will continue if trump wins, take heed that no man deceives you! this is based on alinsky’s eight steps from democracy to socialist society. obama quotes him often in his book and hillary did her thesis on alinsky. almost done. just one election decides our fate… almost there there are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a socialist/communist state. the first is the most important 5 of the 8 are done   the last 3 are almost there 1. healthcare: “control healthcare and you control the people” done !! 2 poverty: increase the poverty level as high as possible.” poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if the government is providing everything for them to live. done!!! 3. debt: increase the national debt to an unsustainable level.” that way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty. done!!! 4. gun control: remove the ability to defend themselves from the government. that way you are able to create a police state   total local control. almost there!!! 5. welfare: take control of every aspect of their lives (food, livestock, housing, and income). done!!! 6. education: take control of what people read & listen to; take control of what children learn in school. almost there!!! 7. religion: remove faith in god from the government and schools. almost there!!! 8. class warfare: divide the people into the wealthy against the poor. racially divide. this will cause more discontent and it will be easier to tax the wealthy with full support of the voting poor. done!!! the bases are all covered! we are ripe! esther goodday believe the democrats president will nail the coffin shut on the united states of america. #7 involves separation of church and state, a principle the founders of this country, not the modern day democratic party, thought to be an important ingredient to the success of our government and country. if you’re going to argue that, at least acknowledge that fact and say you disagree with the founders of our country, constitution and bill of rights the truth is it’s the far radical right that are creating the most unrest & violence. it’s unbelievable to most that so many actually believe anything that comes out of trump’s mouth. anyone that cannot see trump’s agenda is to destroy our democracy & replace it with authoritarianism has been brainwashed & have not the intelligence to research the truth themselves by researching both sides. ironic how trump claims to be against any socialism at all yet received socialist treatment for his covid. how many of you are receiving social security, unemployment, or disability. all of those benefits are socialism. in a way i hope trump is successful at stealing this election because then you’ll have to live under an authoritarian rule. 100 percent! a civil war? without all of the facts recorded in history surrounding our first civil war and their related possibilities to today, it’s difficult to see what may actually be taking place today. great deal of commonality, however. first things first. a civil war needs division of what was once united. race was used then and again now. yes… used.. in the 1850’s we had the democratic republicans as the major party. interesting and often overlooked issue surrounding the name of that party. democratic was an adjective. could have been a lower case “d”. our nation then and is still now … almost, a republic. “almost” because of the 1913 17th amendment. an amendment that took the states right and responsibility to have their representatives in congress without the weight of varied populations. in other words, an equal voice; 2 appointees as senators regardless if it were ca or nh. a brilliant move by the founders to prevent the routine historical failure of pure democracy and the tyranny of mob rule that descends into dictatorship and then……! elimination of the 17th amendment was just the first step of a larger plan by an unseen force for our nation, pure democracy. accomplished by a hidden force behind the creation of the privately owned federal reserve (see title 12 section 531). yes! privately owned! see title 12 section 531 and ask, “if our nation owns the fed why does a regulation need to give it tax exempt status?” more importantly why is this title 26 tax regulation hidden in title 12? largest issue is where, just where in our empowering constitution is our congress constitutionally authorized to charter a privately owned bank much less a privately owned central bank? hint …it’s not! curiously, the 17th amendment was signed into law the same year the us federal reserve was signed into law on december 23rd, 1913 by that wonderful socialist team of roosevelts. and also the 16th, the so called income tax amendment. the fed was the 3rd attempt to institute an unconstitutional privately owned central bank into the us by the rothschild family. (read “the creature from jekyll island”.) the titular head of the rothschild tribe then and now of the uk. even though the rothschild’s are credited with the creation of the state of israel with the 1917 balfour declaration they still reside in various other nations of the world and do most of their financial work notably in that tiny nation known as the city of london. back to todays civil war. there are many reasons a hidden force would like to see …or create a civil war once again in the united states. simple reason just to eliminate the electoral college which is the last thread keeping our nation from being a pure democracy being run into oblivion by mob rule. this is a much larger story with more direct reasons why a civil war in our country, a race war if you will, (same as before) suits the needs of this grand family and their 90 year old out in the open operative, mr. george soros who oddly enough even though is a jew has his pr claiming him to be anti semitic and anti israel. google “chaff b 52” to better understand mr. soros role in what we are witnessing. right now, it’s 7:50am and i have too many meetings today to continue. already written this too fast. perhaps another time and i’ll get you closer to what’s really taking place not in front of our eyes.! you’ll never see it coming unless you begin to look for the other associations. i.e. did someone say, “building 7?” salomon brothers charter tenant? rigging the bids to us t bills since the great depression? finally caught in 1991? just a plain ole civil war, this story can’t be this big, can it? yeah …right. anyone interested look up august schoenberg (changed his name to belmont,) and who sent him and how soon before a series of unrecorded events between ny, dc and boston triggered our real civil war. penultimately, no theories. just facts ma ’m, just the facts. (for all you young folk out there it’s a quote from the show dragnet in the ‘50’s. the 1950’s not the 1850’s. ) lastly, if this all turns out as it should, my book will go a long way in the first step to eradicate anti semitism. really! the poor jews have long been used as camouflage for this brilliant family. have a great day. trump and supporters are not conservative. they are fascist without a moral compass. conservatives have a moral conscience. i agree 100% richard is right to call out the author’s obvious bias the violence is coming from neither the left or right, it’s coming from both. antifa is not the threat as trump states. unless you’ve been living under a rock, trump lies about nearly everything. the majority of violence is coming from white supremacists & diehard trump cultists such as the proud biys & boogaloo. thank you for the balanced view on political violence by also mentioning a bernie sanders supporter who shot at the republican baseball team and the repeatedly shown violence by groups like antifa. oh wait   that wasn’t mentioned in the article. i wonder why. this country is for sure headed for another civil war..the fault lines are already there.. for sure. just look at the comments on this thread. i’m more than ready. i’m tired of sharing this country with the far right wing. that’s an easy fix.. leave!! this is scary. what a piece of work is man. paragon of the animals. “jesus” would not approve of rabid christians frothing at the mouth. donald trump has animal cunning. nothing more, nothing less. he’s not bright. he’s highly verbigenerative. (look it up   the term). he’s “diminishing returns,” made flesh. i’m 17 years old… yet even a callow youth such as myself can see it. he reeks of gristle and fat, intellectually. discourse is beyond him. don’t disgrace yourselves by way of declension   moral, intellectual or ethical. don’t drown your “better angels” in self made stews. no mattter what we are are who we are we need to make thangs even between south and north because back in the day the south aka white people had slaves and the north aka were people are free some people are still a slave and we are not talking about that now are we?no we are not so lets change the subject because this should be about the people who did became free.i do think blaming somebody is wrong if you dont no the other part of the story jibber jabber jibber jabber. the civil rights era and satanic panic were crazier times than this. not to mention the anarchist and red scares of the early 20th century were mad times. also way to gloss over the the left wing violence. dhs didn’t declare antifa a dto for no reason. yeah, because us law enforcement never does things like that for less than above board reasoning… https://www.theguardian.com/us news/2019/feb/01/sacramento rally fbi kkk domestic terrorism california i thought all you trump lovers hated the fbi and dhs anyway, because in the shared delusions you like to call “reality” they all are full of deep state operatives and hidden democrats, or something equally as asinine. so which is it? you don’t get to have it both ways lol i think you might be surprised at what’s brewing. it won’t be racial it will be a fight for liberty vs socialism. it will be a fight against a party & media that from the moment a duly elected president was sworn in they began a well orchestrated campaign (insurance policy) to remove a potus from office. this cannot ever happen again, if we don’t stand up our country will change forever. people will not stand for it. i hear the anger like i’ve never heard, it’s tearing the country apart. i mean…if he stopped breaking the laws, maybe he’d avoid getting impeached. seems simple to me. why didn’t you address any of pam o’s points? because you don’t have the ability to counter them. none. back to the kiddy table bob come on now you have a short memory, in 2008 the night of duly elected barack obama’s inaugural ball, top republicans had a secret meeting to decide what to do about him..they decided they would be the party of no, no matter if it hurt the american people or not. and they tried to find anything to get him out of office and when they couldn’t they made shit up and don’t forget rep. held the house and senate. but they failed because he nor his cabinet broke any laws. trump on the other hand is a different story, how many have been tried and convicted. it doesnt matter if he was elected he is not above the law, if obama did 1% of what he has he’d have been gone. i’m from a family of republican voters, my father served in ww2 and family has served in every war since except vietnam. it’s not the same party of my father anymore. you say people would be surprised what’s brewing, no it’s been in the planning since the civil rights act, it lost some steam through the years but skyrocketed when obama took office, so they turned on their fellow americans, the democrats for daring to put a black man in office. of course fueled by some rep congressmen, the limbaughs, hannity, alex jones and becks of the world, who tell you are heart of american exceptionalism, everything wrong in this country is someone else’s fault ..minorities, immigrant(nonwhite anyway) feminists democrats and people with different religious views. you say it’s because of socialism b.s. it’s because some of you think this is your country hence the “we want our country back” think that equal rights of minorities are less rights for you, feel threatened that you will be the majority minority in 10 15 yrs. children 18 yr and under already are. there are many who openly admit this. you don’t care about the constitution, hell you elected a man who doesnt even know it. in the mean time you are making the u.s. weak and i can bet there are countries praying for civil war, the ones that have wanted to destroy us, who have been distributing propaganda here like china and russia to name a few. it will be because of ignorance and uninformed voters and the insatiable greed of rich white america. oh, you mean like hillary. i don’t believe bho divided this country, i voted for him. now hrc, oh he’ll yea. djt seen an outrage from a political base and capitalised on it, created by hrc. what people in this country don’t realize that they, the politicians, are all of the same elitist class. they control us by keeping us divided. i am a member of a trade union and they do the same thing. plumbers against steam fitters, against marine fitters (ship yards), against building trades pipe fitters,(organized, not threw the apprenticeship). this is how so few control so many. we as americans should be focusing on what makes us all the same. it’s not a crime to think out of the box. listen to understand, not to rebulttle or retaliate. and remember, those who forget history, are condemned to repeat it. well said sir! thank you jo. i bet we’re close in age. i’m an older, female veteran. you took the words right out of my mouth. obama did nothing for the people while in office except make promises to other countries and apologize. i am ashamed that he was our president. very well said. the country is changing demographically. the wealthy are making billions sending jobs overseas and avoiding corporate taxes. division is a distraction intended to keep people unaware so they can create an oligarchy. yes! i am so tired of white superiority. what it really reveals is white insecurity. you can’t stand the idea of a minority being more successful and wealthier than you. we need a revolutionary war against the government, not against each other. the whole government. bring back for the people by the people. yes! someone not falling for the horse crap our government is feeding us! our problem is not our fellow american citizens, it is the government! thank you! then why not tear the government down? yes..been trying to tell people of this for so long. you give me hope brother. they are trying to incite this thing but we are hip to it by now. i am no democrat or republican……… american. we need to stop playing this game people have been saying this for years. the only difference is you hear more about it online and on social media. heck, texas has been trying to secede since the 90’s. i know i want to secede from the union and i’m in texas how did antifa get completely ignored in the examples of political violence. it was a hard read after discovering the bias in the writing and the contributors. 50 of 51 were right wing last year from 2009 through 2018, right wing extremists accounted for 73 percent of such killings, according to the adl, compared with 23 percent for islamists and 3 percent for left wing extremists. in other words, most terrorist attacks in the united states, and most deaths from terrorist attacks, are caused by white extremists. ttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/homegrown terrorists 2018 were almost all right wing/581284/ sir, i would like to point out that all the right wing shit posters seemed to completely drive around your comment, its almost like they couldn’t refute such a thing. congratulations on playing the game. the comments i read after such an excellent article proves my constant argument that the winners of the contest failed go to the roman way in the way scipio africanus adviced. after the defeat of carthage rome never had any subsequent problems in that part of the world. likewise the north in my opinion should have killed all the males sold the women in the barbary coast (after all they were into slavery… right?) and salted the soil. the “right wing” terrorism you cite is violence against blacks and jews. if trumps anti illegal immigration from mexico rhetoric is the cause wouldn’t it be violence against mexican immigrants?? there has actually been no attacks on mexican immigrants i know of. you are conflating neo nazi violence attacks on jews and blacks with a man who is only critical of immigration from mexico and has had nothing but good things to say about black americans and who is pro israel with jewish family. this is how a propaganda machine works. we think alike. for an article from bu i expected far better than this. this article failed on every level to enlighten anyone. the united states can heal itself with reason. however, the right will never cooperate with the left. news is now instant as well as information. donald trump supporters are more supportive now then ever. they are not going away. they have decided that life with the left is impossible. they don’t want to live with the left. civil war? call it what ever you want. the right sees the left as traitors and complicit to criminal behavior the undermining of their religion and united states as a independent nation. what was the civil war fought over? think about it. it was fought for a lot less. a modern civil war will not have a line. the left should be concerned about this. the right albeit not perfect have always had the real physical power and have just have restrained it for now. the left has pushed their issues to far. i fear for this country and our divide. god bless america. winner! no thumbs up vote possible for your post. i would simply add that the idea that the right can not live with the left is supported in the same fashion on the left. the left believes every person on the right is a racist, any support of president trump or having a border is a sign of being a white nationalist! lets not forget the idea that the right is destroying the planet. so yes if the right is this to the left there can be no middle ground. each side has painted the other into a corner and if we are truthful both sides see the other as trying to destroy a way of life. one defends 200 years of proud tradition, the other sees 200 plus years of oppression in the united states! they can not both be right! they for sure could both be wrong, but getting 320 million people to admit they are wrong? ya were going to fight! i concur. i will add that i believe that there are 2 countries here trying to coexist inside the borders of the us for at least the last 40 or 50 years. one is conservative , holding on to the ideas set forth by the founders   liberty , equality under the law & national identity. the other , liberal in nature   no borders, citizens of the world , the government is your (and the rest of the world’s) baby daddy & will tell you & everyone else exactly what you can & can’t do under the guise of social justice. it’s just a matter of time before the country must get a divorce . how violent & how to divide up the real estate remains to be seen. i would have agreed except for that fact that both sides try to subvert the constitution or in many cases reinterpret it for their illiterate or intellectually lazy partisan fan base. saying the right follow the constitution is far to bias of a statement god in america or at least the right winged evangelicals idea of it is the problem! mathew 24/9 i’d challenge the assumption that an american historian is the most qualified resource to predict the next civil war. certainly dr. silbur offers a valuable perspective, but wouldn’t we want to first identify the key elements of today’s divisiveness and then look for similar situations throughout world history? france or georgia may well have more poignant examples than our own history. consider that in the case of the civil war, the pathologically narcissistic president came after lincoln. consider that nixon resigned when there was evidence of obstruction of justice specifically because his own party wouldn’t support him in the event of impeachment when evidence of that obstruction became public. consider that the legitimacy of all three branches of our government is actively being questioned (be that questioning reasonable or not). consider the active demonization of not just politicians, but the voters supporting them. the prevalance of politics dividing families is certainly higher now than in the last 40 years. i hear of the next great awakening, but i fear that ‘the sleeping lion’ no longer exists. the internet, social media etc. make that concept a relic of the past. people exist in their own information bubbles with little ability nor incentive to escape. their information has been so reinforced that level 1 thinking now dominates. historical models will only get us so far. both sides feel disenfranchised. both sides feel unheard. both sides consider their opponents not just enemies but villains. the masses can delude themselves   be it magical thinking that somehow healing is possible or that there will be no consequences for such disenfranchisement. healing would only be possible if both sides can agree on a reality. that can only happen if there is a paradigm shift in public media. that can only happen if there is a cost incentive to make such a shift. that can only happen if laws change. that can only happen if money gets out of politics. that can only happen if people can agree on a reality… (i’ve glossed over some elements, but you get the idea: it’s impissible). and to think that the disenfranchised won’t ultimately revolt ignores history and, frankly, denies reality. what do you think is actively happening? i’ll tell you one thing, russia’s laughing their asses off at our hubris. i’ll summarize your post as this: “how do you speak to a people that hears with their eyes and thinks with their feelings?” divide and conquer. both sides are instigating it, anyone wonder why? or are you all just content to bicker at each other and play into their hands. theres quite a few conservatives claiming the left is the problem, but actually rhetoric from the right has become increasingly authoritarian and one sided. just remember fascism is a right wing political problem. fox news has become the official conservative propaganda machine and you have tucker carlson saying liberals and democrats are a religious cult. rhetoric from the right basically says all major news outlets are liberal, and they are communists or socialists and dismiss everything amd then create their own reality bubble with fox news as an “alternative”. just a quick look at the daily show with john stewart showed the hypocrisy of fox news on a daily basis. fox news viewers in several studies are typically the most uninformed viewers of media. the republicans don’t want a two party system, they want a one party system. they are increasingly intolerant, and just look at sean hannity and others and how they just shout at opponents and drown them out, they aren’t interested in intellectual debate, they want to force their idess on others. fox news has essentially high jacked old people (just look at their ads and who they are marketing to) and with the baby boomer generation retiring, they now have the majority. young people are typically more liberal and democratic. lets be honest, republicans and conservatives are very religious and christian, and often come from rural midwestern states with lower education and a distrust of science. they don’t believe in evolution, and would rather creationism be taught in schools, and now they don’t believe in global warming either. i’m sorry but science is the answer to all our problems and ignoring scientific findings will only doom us all. anti science and anti progress is only a detriment to our nation and environment. and it isn’t just ignoring co2 levels and global warming, they believe in cutting down national forests, fracking every possible parcel of land, cutting off every mountain, increase mining and have more deregulation across the board, allowing corporations to just dump their toxic waste into rivers and streams. all for a quick buck. flints water is still horrible!! the way i see it, corporations and lobbyists have hijacked the republican party to suit their own greedy self motivated interests at the cost of everyone else. we don’t need more logging of trees we need to grow hemp and use hempcrete! we need new ideas, we don’t need to increase our use of old outdated techniques simply to help job creation. its oxymoronic. every other advanced firstworld industrial nation has fast bullet trains and is way ahead of us, we are falling behind as the global leader. theres also a great article on vox about how republicans are underminining democracy itself, whenever they win, they act like everything was fair but when they lose they cry foul, and make up stories about illegal voters with no evidence, and they also use gerrymandering and other shady tactics more so than democrats, not to mention republicans typically disenfranchise black voters many times throughout history, because now its not about legitimately winning, its about winning at all costs because in their mind, the ends justify the means: http://www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy and politics/2018/12/17/18092210/republican gop trump 2020 democracy threat i am very concerned that many comments on this thread have tied the republicans exclusively to big business and therefore responsible for all of the environmental, political, monetary, and religious damage don’t to this country. big money, such as actors, media, movies, internet, lawyers, and investors are heavily invested in the democratic party. they invest because the democrats want open borders and a continuous source of cheap labor. this is about money and power, not ideology. very disappointed in the biased remarks. they are indicative of the great divide between us. i’ve got a news flash for you cupcake… i’m a conservative republican who is also an atheist with three degrees. your argument is asinine. hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! biased much?! i am from arizona with a master’s in biochem and 2 bachelor’s, not religious at all so please…explain your extensive research you have done that leads you to say the ignorant and comical things you are saying. flint’s water, my special friend, is due to the city refusing to install new water pipes when they changed where they were/are getting their potable water from. the old pipes have lead in them (that is how all ductile iron pipes were made until not too long ago) and the mayor and city council (black btw) did not replace the old pipes with new modern plastic pipes when they switched from lake hudson water supply to the flint river. the problem is that river water didn’t have the phosphates that the lake water did and all the city really needed to do was add those phosphates back in at the plant and it would have stopped the pipes from oxidizing which released the lead in the metal pipe into the water. the city was told about this problem but they chose to do nothing. so, a democratic mayor and a almost all black city council did that…not republicans. try reading before you spout of your racheal maddow impersonation next time…you won’t sound as dumb. you idiot, they governor took that whole thing over and passed a law saying that the city could not veto the governors choices. a republican governor. bad faith argument! you are very brainwashed michael. actually that is called stereotyping i am a trump supporter i am a registered independent who votes republican and i live in new york city and have a home on long island as well . i am a middle aged woman with two master degrees who has raised a family my husband is a republican he also has two master degrees i worked in several large corporations and now have my own business. my brother and his wife also new yorkers also republicans are both doctors (md’s) we have lawyers , bankers, teachers, small business owners ect in our family and yes we all go to church( we are roman catholic) and proud of it. we own homes and we have payed for our children to go to the best schools ( we did not ask for help from the government) we work hard we pay our taxes. how dare you think that because someone is a trump supporter or a republican that they are somehow beneath you. so much for the lefts so called compassion and if we want to get nasty maybe i could suggest that many democrats are uneducated people from underserved communities who do not know any better than to keep voting for the same group of people who promise them things will get better for them every 2 to 4 years and nothing changes for them but they still continue to vote for the same people ( i think they say doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity) democrats cannot win elections unless people are miserable. they try to appeal to people who feel angry that others have more or better than they do. they incite people to violence because they love revolution and unrest. they promise everything…but dont know how to do anything! it is very sad, but obama’s only real experience was as a political agitator…and agitate he did. he certainly set “race relations” back 60 years. and it doesn’t make me happy to say so. look at dems now pulling down all their monuments to their slavery roots but still thinking that dark skinned people need special consideration and special laws. if i were black i would want them to leave me alone! as a matter of fact if i was white i would want that too! bravo/brava to you! on point… i’m wondering how a civil war starts? i have many friends and relatives who are trump voters. they often bring up their certainty that either a civil war or the end times are at hand. when they think about the people they hate so much…like me…and they don’t actually hate me, but they just hate my thoughts and ideas. do they want to kill the democrats? do they want a rwanda style battle? would rush limbaugh send them a signal and they would all rise up with their semi automatic assault weapons and start shooting their democrat neighbors, and relatives? they need to start it before donald gets out of office but still their going to find the job difficult to accomplish, because i think some government officials would send in the national guard. but suppose some in the national guard are listening to rush on their phones and some in the guard start fighting their buddies who are democrats. do all the republicans want to kill democrats? maybe some of them are not so sure. maybe some fathers and grandfathers feel a little leary about shooting their kids. once the rural folks have done away with their democrat neighbors. they could head up the road to the cities and start shooting on the streets. we know the cities are full of democrats. do the police fight or do they join the republicans? the big problem with a civil war in this day and age, is it isn’t land based. democrats don’t all just live on the and west coast, and republicans are in all the democratic states on the east and west coasts. maybe my republican friends imagine elizabeth warren wins and sends the us army to republican houses and tries to take their guns? oh well… i agree republicans may be ready for this while democrats think it’s just politics. one thing is certain my republican friends and family are angry as hell. maybe the best thing we all could do is unplug our cable and stop watch 24 hour propaganda that is dividing us. …and my democrat / minority friends and family are extremely angry   and they will be ready to finally have the chance to fight back! republicans think they are smarter and better able to mobilize because of their existing privileged lives and perceived superiority ; ) susan, i cannot speak for all of us on the right but i can speak for myself and possibly shed some light on your questions. please try and view the following from a neutral point and you might understand the frustration and anger. none of us want to kill democrats, (some might but again there are always exceptions). those of us with hostile attitudes is more of a reaction to hostility (will explain). to an extent some of us would view that violence as self defense, it just depends how far the left pushes before said reaction happens. to elaborate: involuntary redistribution of wealth (aka taxation in income) is in itself an act of violence. if we refuse to pay taxes people with guns show up and arrest us. today your party is pushing for higher and higher taxes on a growing number of people to give that money to others. while a noble idea it’s wrong. charity involves choice, what your party advocates doesn’t involve choice at all. simply put it’s a form of slavery. wouldn’t slavery call for violence to free oneself? in general most of us on the right want to go to work earn a living and come home to our families. i work a physical job that takes a toll on my body, yet i should hand over 25% to the state to hand out to the lazy? today we have government dictating more and more of our lives and alot of people are sick of it. add in we let people from other countries in and let them get on welfare assistance. in short we just want to be left alone in peace. we’d happily leave y’all alone in peace, we just want to live and die by our decisions and opt out of paying for other people’s poor decisions. the fact government won’t let us leads to inevitable hostility. also keep this in mind: the average conservative can survive without government and handouts. we are usually in rural areas, grow food, hunt, and try and be self sustaining. the average democrat i know does not fit that definition. we can survive without you, but your party cannot survive without us. i agree with everything you say mike! mike, i like your tone and your civility. i grew up in a family that associated most fiscal ‘responsibility’ with the republican platform’s ideology of low to no taxes. it is a nice sentiment, but lower taxes do not necessarily mean reduced government control, and higher taxes do not necessarily lead to irresponsible re allocation of money. economics, no matter what party view one might espouse, is still defined as the allocation of resources, scarce resources in fact. a discussion of how to best share what we have or keep what we earn or take care of one another or protect our assets is contingent on certain moments in time, on geography, on demographics of communities and regions, on weather, on access to the food and and self sustainance you describe. these variables should have, ideally, nothing to do with a political platform. no one wants to catalyze laziness and a lack of independence. but all civilized societies today, especially where voters seek to guide what is best for the greater good, not just for the individual, seek ways to leverage contributions (taxes, donations in churches or clubs, purchases in business) for education, transportation, healthcare, military, and anything that ‘leveraged’ offers something better than what one might be able to achieve alone. political parties and those wanting to be elected are influenced by their ways of being raised and by party platform rhetoric that help them to be elected. neither of those influences will help us to unite, discuss the reality of our survival and happiness, or to avoid yelling unnecessarily at each other. but both ‘sides’ in america (if we do not talk about another 30+ smaller political parties whose members’ voices are seldom if ever heard), are suffering from the weight of words/cliches that make assumptions about each other that have nothing to do with the very realities we all want to create. so, to say ‘we want to be left alone in peace’ and ‘live and die by our decisions’ is rhetorically interesting, but suggests that you are representing a unified voice that has already made decisions for a group of people. we cannot all be individual anarchists, either. even a basic intersection with 4 stop signs indicates a joint decision for the safety and behavior of all. it works. folks know the rules and lives are saved. only the person who decides for himself to drive through without stopping will disrupt and potentially kill someone. that is a simple example of many more complex issues that embody our constitution, our laws, our attempt at judical systems, and hopefully our ethics and morality and even empathy for each other. only these things will prevent civil war. yes, just put your head in the sand. republicans don’t want to kill anyone . just are tired of a government that works against the people instead of for the people . there will always be right and left the answer is somewhere in the middle ,congress cant seam to figure it out,so they keep stirring the pot . god bless mr trump are duly elected president !!! ed, if you sincerely believe that you need to speak up to get money out of politics. they infiltrate left and right so that they win either way. we need to cede both parties to younger generations who have both intelligence and humanity and refuse to play corporate america’s game. don’t divide you’re shooting the wrong enemy and praising the wrong guy. susan. brilliant. people read your history books ! we are pointing fingers at eachother once again just like we did back then. true ? so does history repeat itself ? it’s already doing so right as we text on here. right or left who cares we still bleed red and we are amaricans . this is all bull. i agree with you will. we are all americans and we need to stop pointing fingers and start being americans. it’s happened before. it’ll happen again. people who love personal freedom are incompatible with those wishing to be ruled over. buy beans, rice, and water (at a minimum). those marching in the streets with the “not my president” and vowing to have le knock down doors to disarm otherwise law abiding citizens will be to blame. take it up with them. live free or die. the right wing trump loving fascists that u call republicans are not americans   the real conservatives who are true to american ideals have to a large degree left the republican party and now part of the lincoln project or republican voters against trump etc   they are decent patriotic ppl that are on our side against a common enemy which is trump and trumpism   the ones that believe in trump are neo fascists and they betray everything this country stands for more yankee garbage from an ultra liberal institution that educated the likes of aoc. liberalism is nothing short of a mental incapacity and an adulterated moral compass. thank you.. as long as i am the opposite of you i am very very happy the only failing moral compass is right wing hate mongering intolerance. if our current president wins the next federal election, get ready usa hundreds and thousands will be heading for the border and you get first crack at buying 77 % in saskatchean and albertan will welcome you with open arm, please, please take us over well i think that america is actively engaged in a sort of proxy, or prototype civil war as we speak. forget political clashes, look at all the mass shootings and the prevalence of gun violence throughout the country. these conditions i believe foreshadow a conflict on a national scale. democrats and republicans is one part of the issue, but in general i see war of idealism rearing its godforsaken head. the proletariat vs the ruling elite, classic stuff written all through history. the question is, is this so called civil war a thing of nature, or a thing of intelligent design? also, will our great nation that once heralded herself as the “land of the free, home of the brave” survive this farce and sustain her identity on the world stage…? or will she crumple under the weight of oppressive regime’s seeking absolutism… moreover.. is a civil war really the bulk of our troubles, i mean aren’t we still fighting wars abroad in the middle east whilst simultaneously fending off dangerous predators like china and russia? honestly, i don’t want my children to fight an unwinnable war on 3 fronts. i think we as americans need to step up and re affirm those ideals set forth by our founding fathers and the great framers of the u.s constitution.. the american way. we may very well witness the economic, structural and cultural death of our nation if we as a people break those solemn oath’s we once swore. those oaths that american boys and girls throughout history gave their lives for in glorious battle. united we stand, divided, we fall. kudos  jay 90% of the left believe guns should be illegal so i would believe they do not own guns 100% of the republicans which are right own guns 90% of military are republican do the math no sir, we don’t want all guns illegal. we want military grade guns that are made to kill the most people in the less time to be outlawed for private ownership. keep you pistols, traditional rifles and shot guns. what has been going through my mind for months is a biblical text that has made its way into popular vernacular. “how can a house divided against itself stand?” right and left put each other in boxes and we do not realize that there are millions in the middle who do not fit in those boxes. people who check the boxes in both parties for what both parties say they stand for…and this guides them in their ethics, relationships, etc. i also think that we are being seduced into echo chambers where we believe that the majority of each side lives and breathes this stuff when really what most folks in the middle are trying to do is raise their families, put food on the table, send kids to college, etc. they are not consumed with political porno but are busy doing what i just said. they don’t have time for the media fear narrative whether it comes from left or right. i also find it amusing and alarming how the left thinks the right are uneducated, country inbreeds and the right thinks that the left are the incarnation of immoral elites who embrace atheism and hatred of the usa. again..its not that simple…far from it. there are brilliant, serving and compassionate people on the left and right but we’d rather enbrace the fear and caricatures. but that’s the kool aid we drink and continue to drift further apart. think about it folks because it’s a wise truth said by a very wise person in history (whom i happen to believe was god in the flesh). “a house divided against itself will not stand.” so basically many of you idiots want us to have another civil war? you want to slaughter your own countrymen and tear this country apart like we did over a century and a half ago all because of some stupid reality tv star in the white house? i’m really ashamed to call myself an american. i don’t consider somebody who wants a socialist government to be one of my countrymen. i would prefer we got rid of radical rights and left i can’t stand either. both will not budge in their thinking and both are irrational in their thought process. extreme right is anti homosexual everything, zero gun laws, extreme anti illegal alien agenda. the extreme left everything under the sun for people with no way to pay for it except take it from the rich, no borders everyone should be allowed in and abolish ice, abortion should be allowed even at late stages… the list goes on and they don’t compromise when many of us want more moderate handling of these items. “…take it from the rich…”. you realize amazon among other corporations paid almost zero in taxes while wal mart pays poverty wages and instructs it’s workers to file for government help  it takes in billions and pays its ceo tens of millions. it’s profoundly corrupt and it will end. this article shows the reason our education system is failing today and why we are discussing and writing articles about a new civil war. the caption of the picture of the monument in the article states that it is a monument in nashville tennessee on the mason dixon line. this is from a university. the mason dixon line is between maryland, pennsylvania, and delaware. it became the “traditional” dividing line between the north and south it was actually put in place in 1763 to settle a border dispute. tennessee was divided about becoming a confederate state but it did become a confederate state in 1861. get your facts correct! if we had correct and complete information we would not be in this mess! well, after reading these posts, i only wish to share that democracy is not easy. this was noted in the article. we must learn to share our environment with those that do not look or think like us. in a colloquial sense, democracy is like a marriage; the partners must be willing to listen to each other for it to succeed. the posts seem to only share many different opinions. hannah arendt once said that a totalitarian society is not successful because of its nazi members (believers) or is communist members (believers), but rather by the constituents that are unable to discern truth from a lie. the internet provides all of us with varying interpretations of what a set of circumstances might be…with the media seeking to comment in a manner that increases its ratings. dickens noted this in his writings on his second visit to america. that said, we as humans gravitate and hold on to those comments that tend to confirm what makes us feel good or provide us with a sense of confirmation of what we might suspect to be true. sifting through a lot of information patiently seeking the truth is no easy task. i am saddened and somewhat melancholy about what i am reading, but i was pleased to read the post of one individual that opined that our government is feeding us what it wants us to believe. i am not a pessimist, but it seems to me that uncovering the truth through the lens of public opinion may not be a goal the human can achieve. unfortunately i believe civil war is being considered. i mentioned it in a blog / admitted rant, i wrote a few weeks ago and have overheard it spoken of here in pennsylvania much more so recently. anyone old enough to recall how the news media used to report it vs what we get now is mad. i’m not to going voice a side here but anyone who believes how you registered to vote at 18 dictates how you vote is idiocy. not to mention political pay to play nonsense further confuses your true party. people are mad. anyone who just blames trump for it didnt get the memo. revolution is being spoken of and if the news media doesn’t stop fueling it, we just may get one. unfortunately i dont see that changing. good luck warren buffett made some great statements about these days being the best days humanity has ever experienced. why all the discord, then? it is because human beings are self destructive and this is the way it always starts. beyond that, we are not evolving fast enough to keep pace with our technology which now concentrates more and more power in fewer and fewer hands. read some joseph tainter on what happens to societies when they get too complex or take a look at peter turchin’s work   he gets the same answer. it’s going to get very, very ugly for a long time before it gets better again. the thing is that it really doesn’t have to be that way if people just settled down and thought about it…but they won’t. it is comical those attacking people who aren’t leftists of being uneducated don’t know the difference between a pronoun, their, and a conjunction with the verb “they’re or they are. university graduates whose writing skills couldn’t pass the 5th grade is a symptom of the problem. i speak three languages, grew up overseas and have engaged in international business my entire adult life around the world. the gender bending wacky left in this country is loathed by regular people around the world. we no longer have a culture people want to emulate but instead fear. the only ones who will benefit from a civil war or even this absurd impeachment parade is china. as they challenge free navigation of the seas and continue capturing islands that were not part of china our embattled president appears weak due to the impeachment mess. never have so many uneducated people who produce so little lived so well in history. our gdp is only large due to the value of the u.s. dollar against foreign currencies. once our military is divided and political stability at risk the only currency we have will collapse. think about it. will your children or grandchildren care whether you were left or right while they clean their chinese master’s toilet? well, it would be an exceptionally interesting civil war. the first problem is choosing sides, and the second problem is figuring out who to fight. in our previous civil war the armies were organized regionally, or by the individual states. but our present armed forces are staffed and run by very dedicated people whose major goals in life are (1)to have and maintain peace and (2) their pension. so if we’re going to have a second civil war, the 101st airborne won’t be fighting it. and exactly what would the valiant patriots be fighting for? prayer in the schools? deportation of all suspected non whites? and how would they’d know if they’d won, or lost? perhaps we’d have to have an internet scoreboard. i would vote for just muddling through the present crisis, if any, and recognizing that mr trump is the best civics teacher we all could have hoped for. oh, it will be simple. 1st all the career politicians, lobbyists, spooks, and bureaucrats. then the socialists may have a choice move, embrace u.s. culture again, or join the 1st group in the ditches. i remember a time when most people (i knew) didn’t actually identify as republican or democrat, but independent with certain leanings. for example, i lean conservative fiscally (in theory…they’ve been on a spending spree lately), and i’m more liberal socially, i.e.   you bring gay or transgender is absolutely your right and doesn’t touch my religious rights in anyway, yes you should have equal rights & access just like anyone else. but now?? now all i see are polarized people. it’s like that buffalo springfield song: “there’s battle lines being drawn. but nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong. young people speaking their minds, getting so much resistance from behind.” corny? maybe. accurate? absolutely. everyone is so busy demonizing the “other side” that they’re just talking past each other. no person, or party, has a monopoly on good or bad ideas. that’s why compromise is such a great notion. i personally think political parties should be banned. candidates need to be able to align themselves with their individual values, not partisan pressures. as for civil war…i don’t know what that would look like. i’d rather not battle anyone, except maybe all the scum in dc dividing us. that said, if it comes my guess is it will be tribal. all about community. whomever will help me defend my kids & family, is my ally. whomever would harm them, shall meet a great and terrible end. i like to shoot, but i’m not a gun but. that said, is these hyper partisan and blood thirsty comments that keep my armory looking like john wick’s wet dream. i will protect me and mine. i hope we can learn to talk to one another again, and give a little, get a little. all this back and forth arguing is why it is so close to actuality happening. idc abt republicans or democrats, and that [political party] is the problems, 2 groups who all think that there right and the other person is wrong. george washington warned the whole nation about what is wrong with this system and its still true today . “however [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”   george washington, farewell address, september 17, 1796 +1 listening to various media outlets, social media posts, conversations with friends about how divided we are. up to and including a future civil war! this includes liberals and conservatives. they also talk like it’s something glorious, almost that we should look forward to it. i hope these people are just working their mouths. if that is not the case lets bring you this friendly reminder of the consequences of a civil war. 1. do you like clean drinking water from the tap? that stops 2. do you have loved ones that need a medicine to survive? (insulin for example) kiss them good bye they won’t be getting deliveries in a war zone. 3. like that your kids have access to education. tough to run school in a war zone. 4. public health declines. because epidemics of cholera, dysentery, meningitis, tuberculosis and hiv/aids are fun. right. 5. electricity, it sucks when it doesn’t work for so many reasons. 6. killing you neighbors, close family members, friends are a great way to spend a weekend. this list can go on and on but i hope you get my point. so next some loud mouth (it’s probably a friend whose political positions you agree with.) talks about the upcoming civil war with glee in their voice. sit down with them and calmly walk them through the consequences. it is our responsibility to calm our more radical fellow citizens. correct, these are the realities of war. but……..i would sacrifice everything so this country doesn’t end up another venezuela or cuba. socialism is great there. give me liberty or give me death. right there with you. “here, in the united states, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. … tonight, we renew our resolve that america will never be a socialist country.” maga! i can’t believe there are people who are willing to risk everything you mentioned above just to maintain they are right. only extremists would be willing to kill friends, family and neighbors to prove they are right. so, so, so sad. unless people are killing the people i care about, i would never be giddy to kill others. very scary times we live in. what i find stupid is the left is the ones pushing for a civil war. what makes them think they’d win? they can’t shoot a gun. they can’t survive without the grocery store. shit, they can’t handle it when their “feelings” are hurt. what makes the left think they’ll handle the hardships of a civil war? what a surprise the left not living in reality. it is theoretically possible, i suppose, that like space travel through black holes i will some day read an unbiased article on a political topic. however, i don’t count on it. prior to reading this one, i knew nothing about the biases of either “bu staff” or nina silber. apparently, the latter is a professor at university of california, berkley (with bs and ms degrees from the same institution). if professor sibler’s publication list is any indication, her politics are somewhere to the left of bernie sanders. the first paragraph contains a quote of a ill advised statement by a not too bright republican congressmen. further down, in the block quote from professor silber, i was reading about conduct by isolated psychopaths geared toward murdering jews, journalists and democrats   which of course was broadly condemned by anyone sane. there is not a whisper of the widespread, systematic violence by antifa (which is not uniformly condemned by democrats). perhaps antifa’s activities are not “ominous” enough (to borrow prof. sibler’s descriptive) to warrant attention, although i am sure journalist andy ngo disagrees. this is propaganda. granted, it is well done propaganda, but propaganda nonetheless. here’s how it works: (1) pick your interviewee carefully. he or she should be sophisticated, credentialed, articulate and most importantly biased, but not obviously so; (2) don’t lie, but leave out important   indeed indispensable   truths (how can one not mention antifa in an article like this?); (3) do not present the opposing view, or if you do use a hostile interviewer and choose the stupidest or most tepid advocate of the opposing position you can find; and (4) overtly advance an accurate but uncontroversial idea (i.e. the current political climate is worrisome), while subtly slipping in the point you are really trying to advance (republicans are stupid, evil and murderous). the folks at npr would be proud. are we headed for another civil war? i don’t know. i hope not. i am getting old, and while the advocates on either side envision power, glory and vindication, civil wars are mostly about blood and death (as well as the other problems listed by mr. gill) . but if we are going to address the topic, lets do so without using the argument presented as a pretense to subtly imply that the other side is made up of aspiring murderers. such tactics only serve to inch us closer to what the vast majority of us would like to avoid. so naive, people really think it’s gonna be left vs right haha! as if the general public supports our puppet government! neither party has served the needs of the many for a long time! it’s all about the lobby money for those sick, greedy people, and they are sadly mistaken if they think they have any staying power in the event of a civil war! it’s gonna be class warfare! the lower classes are sick and tired of being walked all over by rich dirt bags and corporations with questionable ethics at best! learn your history, political parties have fought each other since the beginning of the usa. but the planting of seeds in the direction of destroying the us constitution, freedom and starting civil war is a specialty of the democratic party. it was democrats who created the confederate states of america and then attacked the united states of america starting a war that killed 750,000 americans for the sole purpose of protecting slavery under a totalitarian ruling government. it was democrats who created the confederate battle flag, the kkk and terrorized americans who spoke out against the democrats agenda, jim crow laws that lasted until the 1970s, segregation, and bs trials against blacks and those who supported black americans. today democrats run totalitarian states and cities, like ny, ma, ca, ct, nj, nyc, boston, chicago, baltimore where people are controlled and over taxed. very similar to slavery in which the master expects your labor and will control your freedom via your money. the democrat supporteres antifa is the new kkk, attacking anyone who speaks out against the democratic party and their policies. making it ok to attack those democrats are not in agreement with, just like hitlers brownshirts. lets not forget obomas buddy william ayers and the weather underground, a terror branch of the democratic party which was infiltrated by the fbi in the late 70s. an fbi informant revealed a plan of the weather underground to set up reeducation camps in the south west us, where they expected to have to exterminate 25 million americans in order to maintain control of the people who did not agree with the democrats agenda. there is no doubt whatsoever that every bit of the discord in the us since 1828 has been the creation of the democratic party and their terrorist actors. boston, where the heart of american freedom was born in 1775, is now a cesspool of left wing totalitarians trying to destroy and erase such history. but ya better remember, only 3% of americans stood up in the face of the greatest army in the world and the tories who supported the tyrants. and we the people won. if america goes down that road again. ya better bet there are those who have been preparing and ready to go to ensure freedom continues to ring. firstly the civil war cost 620,000 people their lives and that’s googleable so that tells me already you’re dumb and probably believe anything anyone on a screen tells you. secondly if you went to school you’ll learn between the 20s (the great depression which you probably don’t know much about since you are uneducated) and 60s who made up the republicans and democrats parties slowly flipped you see, back in the 1860s rich white “businessmen” (slave owners”) from the south were democrats but wait, now we got rich white “businessmen” from the south/the countryside running the republican party. of course you are probably ignorant and won’t accept anything i say as fact an will say “state sources” buddy go look up the switch between the two parties moral compasses and you’ll learn the republicans of the 1800s would most likely be more on the democrats side. comment from australia   i am neither republican or democrat, but i believe within 50 years   maybe sooner than later within that timeframe   the united states will experience a left wing v right wing civil war and it will bankrupt your nation. i was a democrat, being told that i was so since i was old enough to speak the word and i self identified as such until the campaigning of 2016 when somehow, i “switched”. one thing that fostered that was actually reading what the characteristics of the conservative and liberal parties were. i guess that due to being older now, i had become more conservative and it was a natural conversion. i am not a “racist” in any form. i can see that there are races and such but i am accepting of just about anyone, especially if they are thoughtful and respectful. i don’t like anyone, no matter their ethnicity, that is disrespectful and rude. but i am beginning to wonder if there are those causing and engineering the divide we are experiencing in our country. and why would anyone want that? that is very simple. we can tear our country apart from within and make our downfall reachable more than any of our worldy foes could, and without the destruction that could ensue if global war was created. social media seems to be complicit. when i look at my “feed” on facebook, it consists almost entirely of one sided political propaganda that keeps trying to feed me more and more hate and anger and i am sure the same thing is happening for those of the opposing opinion by feeding them hate and anger in the opposite direction. my point is: we should all at least consider that we might be getting thrown at each other like dogs in a ring to try to make us want to fight. and if we actually do get into it earnestly, we all should consider what will happen. there will be arson and killing and mayhem and no one will be able to trust anyone and all of the comforts that we now enjoy will be disrupted and likely ended. getting ready to retire anyone? forget that! and postponing a surgery until more ready? forget that too, along with everything else you might have planned. so, the next step you or i take and every thought and action we take on a daily basis can have an effect on the overall mood of our country. do something nice for someone that you think might be an opposite. maybe doing things like that could make us remember that we are all americans and what we have is what everyone else on this planet only wishes for. you are so right!!! some seem to hope for a civil war, at least that’s what there post sounds like to me! in 1984 i moved from a tiny, 100% always white mining/logging town in the far north, nowhere near slavery, undeveloped until 1870s, to milwaukee, and it was there when i first lived near other races, that i learned how racist most people are. we just heard a us congressperson, not white, say that white men are the worst terrorists on the planet, another non white who said we just need to get rid of old white men to fix everything. of course neither of those non whites will leave the ‘horrible’ white built us for any african nation. racism has existed long before trump, and colin kaepernick and the rodney king riots did more harm than trump ever could. wake up. those of us who have lived in communities surrounding large cities with large non white communities see the nightly news, and we wish it were entirely different, but it is what it is. stop the bs, and listen to larry elder. interesting that she says nothing about the attack on our 2nd amendment rights or the biases on our first amendment rights that are being met with violence from the left. remember maxine waters telling people to attack people on the right. why is it that when right wing speeches are attacked and booed by the left! interesting how this is all tipped to trump when none of these issues have nothing to do with him. many of us have seen history where guns have been taken like hitler for one! british now hates the day they gave them up for they have no defense against the gangs and mobs that break out. i am also tired of hearing the lie that modern weapons are not coved by the constitution. in studying the 2nd amendment it is clear the public is to have firearms adiquate to take a tyrantical government trying to take our first and second amendment right away from the public. this also guards the right to remain a capitalist country. brian, i’d love to see a citation on your stated “fact” that says “british now hates the day they gave them up for they have no defense against the gangs and mobs that break out.” just one reputable source. i read these comments and realize that violent confrontation is inevitable. it is natures way of fixing all things. no one can change nature. this is proven by history. darwin has been proven right time and again. the weak will be eaten by the strong. the strong will not tolerate the ideals of the weak. both sides perceive themselves as right/strong. but only one side will prove it. on the left side you have a group founded on emotions and ideals not grounded in reality. on the right, we have a people blindly supporting a broken system, lost in denial. reconciliation at this point is not possible, and both sides are quickly running toward “enough is enough”. i suppose the real question is going to be: how far are people willing to take it?  “war does not decide who is right, only who is left.” i have read many of the comments above…it is interesting to see other people’s view points and ideas…i have a conspiracy theory i’ve been working on…it goes like this…the world elites don’t really want us peasants around anymore…or at least not so many…we are causing them headaches…jacques costeau: “in order to stabilize world population, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. it is a horrible thing to say, but it is just as bad not to say it.”…ted turner would like the world population to be somewhere around 350 million people, down from approx. 10 billion people…now consider this…what if the next american civil war is just one vehicle to kick off a world on fire revolt…killing off billions…while they (globalist elites) kick back and wait for the dust to settle…in the mean time ai is being developed that would increase the abilities of current robotics to the point where most humans will no longer be needed (for general labor)…my conspiracy theory is that this whole thing is a part of the plan…and we the people…left , right, and center…are not a part of any future long term plans…we are simply in the way. useful idiots. nobody would live long enough to enjoy the fruits of this conspiracy theory. why would the ‘elites’ go through all the effort of managing a world genocide? they’re still going to die some day. even of they did it for their children   everyone knows that a parent can’t control the actions, thoughts and morality of their children (for the most part). this theory takes too much mental energy and conviction. humans aren’t built that way. are you pitching a plot for the next dystopian future best seller? this might be a little too depressing to gain a wide audience. there’s no hero in the story. if trump is so great, why are so of his associates going to jail, and why is he being fined millions of dollars for charity fraud? intellectuals and academics fail to note that when the rule of law applies only to a single political sect, that the infringement of the opposing party is likely to devolve to an untenable position. the various “crimes” of the trump administration including:   colluding with a foreign government   quid pro quo with ukraine… these are all instances equally and unquestionably violated by democrats who also ‘conspired with russia’ (and british intelligence) in the formation of the infamous steele dossier. indeed the vice president arranged a quid pro quo in having the prosecutor fired who was looking into his son’s business dealings. roger stone is potentially going to jail for lying to congress. under this standard, james comey and andrew mccabe should already have been charged, tried and convicted, but we see that the rule of law only applies…if you are a conservative! the civil war has already started and it started within the government. the deep state has been at war against ‘we the people’ and particularly with those people with conservative leanings. that war seeks to repudiate the first amendment by denying conservative voices on campus and in the workplace. the end result is to silence any dissent and have a singular voice, destroying all opposition. this is totalitarianism…..and its already here. i disagree that it is totalitarianism, but i agree that we have lurched mightily in that direction. furthermore, certain segments of our society see what most of us think of as a dystopia (e.g. north korea; orwell’s 1984) as a positive, or at least better than the current state of affairs. one tactic to move us in that ugly direction is (as sicen tired points out) uneven application of the laws. another is shifting the value of the stuff life is made of   time   from one person to another. in its purest form, that is the definition of slavery   you no longer own the days of your life, because i do. how is it done if one does not have the desire (or at least the ability) to engage in overt slavery? in our society (as in most), we work for money, which buys objects, travel, security, food, college educations for loved ones, shelter etc. by taking a person’s money, you take little pieces of their life   their time. sometimes that’s ok   if i want a bottle of booze, or a book, or whatever, its my time/money to spend/waste/re allocate. its when this is involuntarily that it can become a problem, especially when there is no discernible benefit to the person whose money/time is being extracted, and the party extracting it benefits tremendously. from the extractor’s standpoint, the best tool to steal other people’s money (a.k.a. time) is a big crises that must be addressed, but can never be fully wrangled. give it up, or emmanuel goldstein will get you. or perhaps something more abstract   an environmental catastrophe that cannot be seen but will inevitably kill us all, cannot be solved but nonetheless must be addressed, and will take everything you can throw at it and more but will not go away. ever wonder why we her so little about demonstrable, physical environmental meltdowns (deforestation in south america and africa and the plastic continent in the pacific ocean) and so much about the global warming shibboleth (or, if its cold outside, “climate change”)? because there is no better tool for shifting money/time from person a to person b. not fair? true. easy to articulate? less so. nonetheless, while people sometimes have a difficult time explaining these concepts, they (correctly) sense something is unjust, and that someone is stealing their lives, little bit by bit. perhaps this has something to do with dr. silber’s concerns. there are two issues that stand out that could trigger a violent civil war. redress of grievances and poverty. the government shows through the deep state it is not accountable to the people. the government has been nullified by the banking class. they don’t care what the people want because they create the money. america is becoming a poorer and poorer nation. the bankers rule using debt, taxes, access to capital, and scarcity. social issues and the nation’s wellbeing are irrelevant to the banker. the government does not hold banks accountable. undoubtedly the impoverished americans will. first: you are obviously a smart person. second: banks can’t exist without nations. furthermore, banks are not free from the laws and regulations of the nations in which they operate. your comment is one step away from a conspiracy theory. well said but doesn’t most everyone do this? this country has gotten to the point to where if you don’t think like i think you’re wrong. we have become so conditioned to having our own way the way we want it and we forget that everyone has an equal say and that everyone has the right to an opinion what we must learn to do is respect those rights without anger or violence. this is becoming harder and harder to do. we need to stop letting the news media and hollywood do our thinking for us we must think as individuals and see it through clearly with good reason. don’t get me wrong i’m not blaming the news media and hollywood as the only villains; there are many. one of the other reasons here’s that we’re letting people that have no children and no experience raising children telling parents with children how to raise their children. again it all boils down to one thing respect for one another and each other’s opinions without anger and belief that we each have this right. i was once told by my grandfather that our own freedom is going to come back and kick us in the ass. well over my many years of living on this earth i now understand exactly what he meant by that. one universal truth that always seems to bring calm to tense situations is the fact that neither side is going anywhere any time soon. it doesn’t matter how cataclysmic the war becomes. yankees will still be here, as will confederates. blacks will still be here, as will whites. the rich will still be here, as will the poor. if after 50 centuries of incessant bloodshed these groups of people have not perished, no amount of brutality that is to come will destroy them entirely either. and that which is not destroyed, will live to carry on the struggle. knowing this, the individual has but one choice: to learn to live peaceably with their neighbors. because the only alternative is a life which is as brutal as it is short. have at it! i would love to see the us at war with itself. after all, the us has been at war with almost every other country in the world. the us loves war. so, stop talking about kit. just do it. if you are a true historian you can see that what is happening is a direct result from the civil war and the things that took place from the propaganda used to fuel the first to the propaganda being used today to fuel another. first off all one needs to do is read lincoln’s 1861 inaugural speech to see that slavery had nothing to do with the start of the civil war. what lincoln did was usurped the constitution and took it upon himself to bypass congress and send troops to the south to declare war because he wanted his “more perfect union” and could not stand the souths lawful secession under our 10th amendment but how does lincoln have anything to do with whats happening today? well he was assassinated before rescinding martial law. meaning the constitution was still suspended in 1868 when andrew johnson his vice president declared insolvency because the north couldn’t afford to pay for the war and sold us all to the bankers and andrew jackson confirmed it in the banking act of 1871 that we are all collateral “chattel for the debt of the country’s bills (debt slaves) we essentially lost our country and all of our liberties to the bankers which led to enslaving an entire nation with future acts of congress such as the “trading with the enemies act” the incorporation of the united states title 28 usc 3002 and the “federal reserve act of 1913” which ended our lawful money of gold and silver coin. and with the help of fdr declaring insolvency again in 1933 and “the gold confiscation act” gave the bankers the helm to do what ever they want with us. the biggest fraud of history has been kept quiet because of the propaganda used to keep americans occupied with hate and division for one another so they dont ever catch on to what’s been done to them. it’s not a democrat or republican thing, it’s an uneducated american thing and it’s a all about controlling a people thing for corporate profit thing! far worse than the king of england in the revolutionary period that caused our founding fathers to declare independence from the king and his way of doing things. yet because americans have kept their eyes on the intentional distractions and not on the law, the corporate puppets in washington dc have created a system of deceit through the public schools (indoctrination centers) and kangaroo courts courts designed to generate revenue from anyone not subordinate to the unlawful statutes passed by congress and enforced by a paramilitary police force designed to keep the people in fear so that the banking cabal that truly runs america and the rest of the world for that matter can continue it’s divide and conquer tactics to eventually install a 1 world government and currency and complete their goals of world domination and depopulation! i seldom ever comment on things but i feel the need to wake people up if thats even possible with everyone focused on the left and right divide who cannaot understand that both wings are connected to the same bird and that they are being played as human pawns against one another and are going to eventually be in the streets killing themselves for the very institution that’s fueling the division. unless people see what is intentionally being done to them asap 2020 is going to be an absolute bloody mess and the complete end of what the founders labled the “great american experiment” and life as you know it reading the comments and seeing the politics of today. i say there will be a civil war. no choice . we aren’t going to vote our way out of this . socialism has come knocking on our door.the answer is a 12 gauge blast to the face. america will never be socialist. this we will fight over. i welcome the day. a second us civil war may actually free the world from the evil us imperial grip. have you been to gettysburg or any of the civil war battlefields? are not cuba, no. korea, vietnam, iran and venzavala in the us imperial grip and free of the us. have you considered moving to the best one of those countries? have you ever been the personal victom of someone who was truly evil? are you admitting, by using the word, “evil,” that satan exists? do you know that the world has been waking up every morning for over a century eager to know what new invention they can buy cheeply from the us? e.g. refridgerators, radio, tv, cell phones, ice cream, airplanes,internet, rock music and on and on and on. think of some more. think for yourself and stop allowing hateful people rule your life, travel, laugh, love. remember, “…love your neighbor… as jesus told us. it is sad that we can’t have this conversation. when people are scared to talk about this seriously, people with backgrounds in this subject   it becomes clear   we aren’t going to seriously talk about this issue until it is too late and it blows up in our collective political body face. we need professors to be willing to stand up and say this is a topic to talk calmly about   so that we can talk about ways to prevent it. when professors won’t stand up and talk about this issue freely   since universities are the place society goes to to have informed answers   then america is domed to just sit still until the civil war is upon us. if you are someone who is serious about talking about the future of a civil war, so that we can develop ways to prevent that. please email me marcus. ruiz. evans@gmail. com personally if our founding fathers were to see how this country is going down the drain, due to how greedy and power hungry our country’s leaders have became. if they could see how much we the people of this once great country are haveing to suffer, by the hands of our country’s leaders. those same leaders that are supposed to be there for us, working for us to help us ensure that each and every american past present and or future can and will always be free, safe, happy lives in this country. our founding fathers have probably rolled over in their grave, it is truly sad that after all these years man kind has been on this planet we still can’t seem to get along. maybe we should of never of split off from england, if we’re gonna be haveing to go through the same basic drama we were going through back then with our america leaders. our leaders we voted to lead us because we believe we could trust them could count on them. depending on how you look at things we would of been better off just sticking with the king/queen. unfortunately its beginning to look like we may be headed into a far worst type of government then that was. america could really use our founding fathers back here today they way things could be put back straight the correct way. god save our youth call it not civil war… call it rather, the beginning of the end… i think we need war. im so tired of nit pickin stuff. i dont belive its possible to get along. greed, wanting to be rite , evryone, somebody’s got to be wrong .i think you might agre. nobodys gonna concede. its time for war. i say ” it is a good day to die”make america great again, or die trying. there is no doubt a sizable conflict is likely to occur. i point the finger at our education system which teaches our children extremism. family life is in moral decay for mostly left wing communities. entitlement mindset is a curse to the nation. political correctness is a toxic poison to our culture. forcing multiculturalism doesn’t work in any country. it’s normal for people of like backgrounds to coexist at their own will or choice. common decency is in decline. illegal immigration is a national security risk for the problems we face in modern times. states select what laws they serve in turn creating lawlessness. we have lost our moral compass. each side imposes it’s will on the other. compromise is no longer achievable. as a retired veteran, i see a civil war being more of urban guerrilla fighting. many veterans like myself are traditional conservative patriots that are trained and specialized weapons handlers. people like me would know how to deal with that kind of situation. it’s conceivable to cut off food, fuel and services to large urban areas. it would then cause city dwellers to turn against themselves to survive. police would be hopeless to contain the civil unrest. middle america would fair quite well since they have their firearms and farms. any outsiders would likely be dealt with quickly. money would be almost worthless. trade and bartering will be the way to survive. thieves would be dealt with severely. urban dwellers in cold climates will freeze to death or be killed fleeing. the left doesn’t have the will to deal with such hard times. the military cannot and won’t turn against the citizens. the national guard would likely refuse their orders to attack citizens. they’re not stupid either because they know they will likely be killed carrying out such orders. the storm clouds of war seem to be gathering. let’s hope something gives but i have my doubts. president trump loves all americans and the left is so consumed with hate that they simply can’t accept the will of the american voter. imo, the left will likely push us farther into conflict rather than let our democracy carry out the will of the people and not the lefts agenda. funny how the left wing mob brands me a racist because i support trump. i’m in a bi racial marriage for 30 years, i grew up in the northeast and live in the south. southern pride isn’t racist. it’s a way of life. there is good and bad in all groups so the left needs to learn to stop the assault on our freedoms and traditions and accept that we americans are not cut from the same cloth. maga 2020 i honestly hope we get another civil war, because independence and personal responsibility is what we need, not enslavement by a state regime that continues to be unfought by the people. the right to free speech and the right to bear arms is essential for personal survival at the face of one’s enemies. as an lgbtq+ satanist and anarchist, i honestly despise homophobes and racists; however, i believe that shooting them if they trespass onto my private property is my right and my right alone, not the government’s or any third party’s business to be determining my fate over whether having shot someone on my own property puts me in the “right” or “wrong.” what was someone doing trespassing on private property if they were not up to no good? why should other people decide whether i have the right to live or die on my own property? why should other people have the right to vote away my lgbtq+ rights and my right to believe or not believe in whatever i choose? if i was a womyn who was raped or however i got pregnant, why should men get to vote whether i should be forced to bear a child with all the medical and physical consequences that could come along with it? the second amendment says it’s my right to bear arms, and by no god and no government will i remain loyal to that right. you have the right to believe in a god just like i have the right to disbelieve in a god or to worship satan. when the american government openly violates american laws, left and right, that is further grounds to support the theory of an impending civil war that will be fought by a diversity of factions, some more or less conservative, liberal, moderate, eccentric and all in between, because out of all people and agencies, government is meant to abide by its own laws, and when government consistently violates its own laws and/or writes new laws that are unconstitutional by its own operation, it furthermore weakens its credibility, the sympathy it receives from its citizens, and the result is the opening of the window for an all out civil war, not so much fought by “patriots vs progressives” but more specifically, “the people vs the government.” i witness a lot of corruption, left and right, and a lot of blaming, and frankly i hope it escalates. if democrats and republicans need to keep blaming each other until it escalates to violence, then so be it. just the fact this post will probably get deleted tells me that fascism is a major problem in this country, and if we want liberation, we need to arm ourselves, and prepare to fight. all it takes is the right spark to stimulate an all out civil war where suddenly everyone is involved, and for the sake of all the enslaved african americans by corrupt police officers and the prison system, for the sake of all the persecuted lgbtq+ people, i chant to satan every day for a civil war in america. i even have sympathy for the christians who claim the democrats are persecuting them. it’s very simple when many of us various and diverse factions have a common oppressor, and that oppressor is the government. the solution for peace is simple: mind your own business, take responsibility for your own needs, don’t trespass, and don’t provoke others   and then you have all the rights in the universe. but because these simple rules for peace are not being followed by our government, we the people are in every right to resort to violence where violence is due. may this country destroy itself. it deserves it!!! irony is delicious. well done boys and girls. the “scholars” of our times… as americans we must never divide. history reminds us of our loss. racism has always been a problem in all civilized countries, it has existed as far back as you can read. i am not saying that’s good or natural…. it bad it’s bad. in american a lot has been gain in equal rights. but we are losing respect, empathy and have become to self centered. we are being driven apart by a media that thrives on sensationalism news that puts them in the forefront of the evening news. and a president who lacks values who has difficulty showing respect, empathy and the lack to lead his people like a president should ,not like a back street gangster with the obsession of distortion manipulation and alienating our country more and more everyday. no one has to tell us america is great! it has always been a great country. american will always be a great county as long as we don’t forget what made us strong. yes in politics we will always be in different arenas …challenging each other who can offer our people a better way, a better tomorrow. not the way we are being play at the moment . i agree with your comments. reading some of the posts is a sad commentary of for speak first, maybe think later. think about this …. when the revolutionary war of 2021 was taking place and if you were one of the unfortunate knowingly seconds away from being executed/murdered or unknowingly about to be casualty …. did all the blind idiotic one sided biased beliefs you felt so strongly about when you belittled and spoke i’ll things towards all the hardworking innocent people who had families just like you still matter to you that much ? will you feel as “right” and as “proud” as you did right now seconds away from meeting your maker ??? you should be after putting in such hard work into all those evil things you’ve said and done to people just like yourself! at least then you’ll die with your oh so important dignity and pride ! this comment section proves the above articles question damn near perfectly. so i say screw it. let’s load up our rifles, sharpen our knives, and see who wins. shall we, gents? let the victors once again decide the fate of our nation. after all, what’s poking at each other on the internet gonna solve? democrats, and republicans lawmakers can continue creating laws; and , i will keep telling you all “i will do whatever the (f) i want” it’s the american way. my neighbors can kiss my rear end. have a nice day. i can’t help read in great dismay the comments and the closed mindedness of some. some of the posts grow more heated, words typed feverishly to blast opposing comments. when lives are lost, livelihoods compromised or jeopardized, soldiers putting their lives on the line to protect what? lack of humanity? why is so important to debate what side is responsible for so much pain, suffering, the agony of families never being the same. does a life matter more or less if your left or right, black, brown, white? instead, finding reasons to stand together, find truths and what so many fought and die for, to be blue, red, left, right, or perhaps, to be free, to protect what so many take for granted. every breath, seeing a childs first recital, hearing a favorite song, dancing, yes, in the rain. if you had to bury your son, brother, sister, daughter, parent…would it really matter, left, right? would you hope that whomever is responsible punished according to the law, or should it be different depending upon whether they believe what you do, would it be ok then, or more wrong? at the end of the day when all the arguing is done and liberals have had enough of freedom in this country, they will turn to violence as they always do on the streets of america to push their socialist ideology. fact is.. and it is a fact, the main liberal strongholds are bordered by oceans, hence new york, california, oregon and washington st. the liberal does not own the fertile food growing heartland of america and the liberal is clearly outgunned and holds far, far less ammunition than conservatives. the pentagon has already done a study on this. in every scenario of this study the liberal loses. so you liberals that love to be mouthpieces for your anti american agena, should consider moving or consider shutting their mouths, because in any case, the liberal will lose. the liberal says that guns kill people. i guess pencils cause bad grades as well. ban pencils! liberal logic 101 it looks like liberal democratic congressmen and women & senators have checked out and are refusing to attend the state of the union 2020. to the liberal, if i had voted for these people to represent me and they choose to not show up and represent me, i would ask them to step down, because again they are not doing their job of representing their districts, states and people. to me this is not suprising considering they havn’t done anything for their people or the american people as a whole for 4 years. they refuse to work for their country and refuse to work for you. you can choose to abstain from eating. you can choose to abstain from sex. you can chose to abstain from doing alot of things as long as you the abstainee is the only one affected. when you choose to abstain from governing for the people in an elected position by the people, you have chosen to drive a wedge into partisanism within america. you the liberal have chosen these people. you the liberal have a duty to recall your selfish, do nothing politicians that you have placed. the politicians you have voted for have lied to you and have no desire to mend any partisanism that they create by not governing for the american people. i don’t see eye to eye with you politically so i can say the same thing to you about conservatives and the myriad ways they don’t act in the interest of the american people, and really the world, but do you care? you seem to be preaching a “work across the aisle” agenda, but clearly you have zero interest in that. your views are right and those of others aren’t valid at all. wanna respond to that? want to tell me i’m wrong about you only supporting a world in which your conservative views are the only valid views and all other views don’t matter? this is for djt. give me one reason why we should not ban late term abortion. yes thats preaching a “work across the aisle” that i support. so your wrong about that. where is your reasoning. why should we have late term abortions. is that for non christians that are told by their dr. that their unborn child will have a deformaty so that they can have an out in order to tiptoe around taking care of their responsibility and their child. seems to me the liberal politician supports late term abortions. do you? i dont know for sure but it sounds as though you may have voted for them. why late term abortions? lets start there. abortion is murder here is another question for you to answer. why do you think that we have donald john trump as our president. while your scratching your head, its because of the multiple failed policies of the liberal. while your still thinking and wondering what country has enough free handouts for you to float away to join, donald john trump will be reelected in 2020. how do you think that will will happen? no no, not from cheating, thats just an excuse. its because the majority of americans support freedom and will reelect donald john trump. if your head has been in a hole, the only reason why pelosi is pushing impeachment is because the liberal has noone that can beat donald john trump, noone. good luck liberals, i mean losers. the liberal is being used by the democrats to enforce global control which has its sights on slavery of human kind as its end game. islam will be the preferred religion of the nwo as it enslaves 50% of society without government effort, leaving the iron hand of socialism to deal with and control the males in society. by no means am i saying all islamic people are bad, that is not my point. we are seeing a liberal coup in america to cut out conservatism and establish an ideologically pure liberal nation for the purpose of switching america to socialism and we are seeing a global coup to create a nwo with the globalist elites themselves establishing a new aristocracy forevermore. the only reason liberal politicians offer free this, and free that in terms of education, healthcare and welfare is to get votes to stay in power. once they have eliminated conservatism from america, canada, and australia by taking away their guns (they already have taken the eu) there is nothing that will stand in their way of switching to a full blown socialist society of enslavement. the globalist elite is already financing mass immigration of muslims to european countrys in order to change the major religion of europe to islam. they are attempting it here in america as well. the liberal is buying into a bait and switch tactic that will offer free everything. once the guns are gone and the traditional religous values of western civilization are diminished thru mass islamic immgration, we will all lose eveything at that point and the globalists will have their hands on the most beautiful, powerful and once free country in the world. there will be no turning back. i and we conservatives do not want and do not advocate a war with the liberal, but we will not stand by and let the liberal usher in globalist socialism and enslavement. maybe the liberal should apply for a 6 month visa to north korea and try it out. the uk is figuring out what is really at stake and have recently left the eu. educate yourselves please before its too late. all problems in our societies can be removed if you can (1) introduce truth and (2) remove money. money is corrupting everything, because money is false. money is false because money is not an object of nature. by using something false, you cannot create anything true. thus everything in our society is false, including history and education, and even math and science. engineering is correct, because engineering uses objects of nature. but engineering is unreliable, unsafe, and pollutes the environment, because engineering also uses false money, false math, and false science. in a moneyless economy (mle) truth will automatically come back, heaven will come to earth. however, without introducing truth you cannot implement mle. hello american people, i am french (you know the country eating snails and frog legs, and producing “freedom fries” as you called our fried potatoes when you invaded irak and we did not agree) and i have spent some months (a long time ago) at bu using your beautiful library. i have just discovered this paper and the hundreds of exchange below and i am amazed and appalled. it sounds that many of you are ready for a new civil war. i am sorry for you if your division is so intense that you are ready to plunge your country in chaos. as one of you tried to remind you, civil war is rarely something nice. it is rather something ugly. look for example how it is to live in estern ukraine or in syria or in yemen. would you like to live in such conditions? violence in movies might be fun, but real violence, when it will kill your children or dear ones, is not so great. the previous time there was a civil war in the us: “it remains the deadliest war in american history. from 1861 to 1865, it is estimated that 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers died, along with an undetermined number of civilians. by one estimate, the war claimed the lives of 10 percent of all northern men 20 45 years old, and 30 percent of all southern white men aged 18 40”. is that really what you want? as a friend of your country i find this idea, that the us population could engage in a new civil war, quite depressing and sad. and the result will be chaos in your country, inviting other countries to support this or that party. but there will be at least one guy who will rejoyce of this disaster. guess who? you know, this russian leader who interfere in your election and pushed for a cleaving president. us in civil war would be a great success for putin. please help him, he has not achieved his aim yet. no one want it (civil war), or any war at all. but as you see, war happens. the reason americans are heading there, is because the future is worse option. civil war means, live in hell for some years, and later come out of it as a winner, or lose it and die. some will say both option are better then living under oppression and lack of freedom, and i would agree to that. sometime you have to fight for your right, no matter the cost. these comments alone prove how divided your once great, once united states are. i’m from a third world country and i sure wouldn’t want to move to your country (even though i think there’s so many wonderful places and people in it). i’m afraid i think that civil war expert is dead wrong, because she’s an expert on the last one. this one will be different: state against state, military base against military base, neighbourhood against neighbourhood. brother against brother. god help america. i think many of the problems in the us stem from the pernicious influence of business/military industrial complex on politics. globalization, temp. work, the “gig economy” have benefited the large corporations and hurt the working class. quality of life seems to be shrinking for most. socialized healthcare and education are seen as evil while wars abroad are supported. the us is at war every few years. the us has more of its citizens imprsioned than any other country and those prisons do not rehabilitate; (maybe because many prisons are now “for profit” so there is an economic incentive to keep risons full). perhaps if the us were more compassionate and focused on taking care of the citizens the society would become healthy and many problems would vanish. the strange thing is that many americans see compassion as “socialism/communism”. i feel another civil war in inevitable. there is too much animosity on both sides of the line. honestly i kind of feel like our nation’s biggest problem is that we have a left and a right to begin with. most of the nation is clumped together as either dems or rep. personally i agree and disagree with views from both sides of that line. i don’t have to like everything that trump does, but he is my president and i respect that. i sure wasn’t happy with obama but i still respected him and he was my president. heck i voted for him in ’08. we, as a nation, voted. only five times in our nations history has a president been elected without the popular vote. but never in all that time has a president been so harshly judged. i don’t believe anything i read from either side anymore without doing my own research. i don’t listen to quotes from the media because it never fails that they are taken out of context. both sides are guilty of of only giving us a part of the picture. why don’t more people wonder why? a few examples of how i feel things could be better. i personally would never get an abortion, but it not my place to judge if another woman feels like its her only option. no the government should not fund abortion. i think the it should fund birth control though. abortion would not be a problem if the unwanted pregnancy didn’t happen in the first place. we study history because we are supposed to learn from our mistakes. looking at history the first thing every tyrannical government has done is take away the peoples means of defending themselves. taken their guns. statistically countries that have more lax gun control have less crime. that goes for states too. the reason it works that was is because that guy thinking about robbing you doesn’t know if he’s gonna get shot. i was 8 months pregnant with my oldest daughter. home alone i was painting her room when someone literally broke down my front door. my dogs tried but failed to chase him off. what did work was the 20 gauge i cocked at his head. he ran like the devil himself was at his heels. that guy could have killed me and my unborn daughter if i hadn’t been prepared. i’m not the only one with a situation like this. some one who never had to fire a shot but was saved by a gun. violent gun crimes are high because people don’t have the means or training to protect themselves. history again. we are a country of immigrants. we were the most wonderful most dreamt of place on earth. people fled their own countries for the protection of ours. at one time we were proud of that. we welcomed them. i welcome all immigrants who want to make a better life for themselves. other than the outrageous cost of doing so we don’t ask anymore of new citizens than what we expect of natural born citizens. the difference is we get our ss card at birth and have time over the course of our childhoods to learn what we expect adults to learn quickly( ie constitution, how the government works etc). my last mini rant promise. i hate this but its true. racism is still alive in our nation. it does absolutely no good to anyone to point fingers. this racism is born of nothing short of fear. covid 19 on the rise and asian americans have been attacked now just because it originated in china. i feel over time racism could be replaced over time if we stopped being proud of what we are and started being proud of who we are. human. all of this hate is just over superficial things. none of us have any control of how we are born. and everyone of us has a purpose. i would rather not be judged by the color of my skin but by what my head and heart have to share with this world. i don’t honestly know anyone who wants differently. if the whole world were blind we would be better off. (that does not mean that i think we should blind everyone by the way.) in conclusion left and right…. both wrong. don’t mess with country folk, they will survive. and love thy neighbor as thy self. thank you for all the “conservatives are evil, fascist ” style quotes….instead of trying logic or anything like professionalism we go straight to the “each side is racist “.. whatever happened to the times when we could disagree about a point of view without disliking the person…i’m sad that this is what my countrymen and women have devolved into. i don’t care what your skin color is or beliefs are; i don’t care if you’re pro this or that. we’re supposed to be americans together. anyone willing to do that and follow our constitution and declaration of independence and bill of rights…i have your back. to the rest of you…my oath to defend those items didn’t end at the end of my active duty enlistment. ..which includes all enemies foreign and domestic. tread carefully and be kind is my recommendation since i know many feel the same way. i’m not even gonna lie from a college educated viewpoint trump is a idiot. from a deployed infantrymens viewpoint his back in forth tactics in the middle east have helped to end the life’s of several of my friends, and from a christian mans viewpoint he has no right to claim a god who’s rules he doesn’t even follow so all of you conservatives get it together we deserve better because we are better this comment section is getting ridiculous. both sides are demonizing each other without real evidence or facts. any actual evidence is either skewed, biased, covered up in hate speech, or completely contradicted by equally good evidence. from what i’ve seen, every side is wrong. every party is bigoted and racist and sexist. the kkk? racist. the modern feminist movement? sexist. everyone is accusing each other of being a terrorist, while simultaneously being a terrorist. in the end, it feels less like two parties warring over whose opinion is best (not right, there are no correct opinions) and more like humans becoming dehumanized and fighting like animals in a zoo. it’s outstanding how crazily hostile most of you are. we need to stop reaching for our weapons and come to a compromise. there are good and bad things about both parties. we need to take the good in both sides, combine it, and throw away everything else and treat it like the trash it is. the trash that is making any political conversation so sickeningly toxic. we need a second civil war so that the people can fix the government. the voting system is rigged and the only ones who can fix it are the corrupt. peaceful protests are ignored as they pose no threat toward the corrupt, but sometimes those peaceful protests will annoy the corrupt but that’s not good enough. the legal way of dealing with the corrupt only works in the favor of the corrupt. we are well past the last resort. it is time for war against a corrupt us government that uses imperial tactics that even our founding fathers fought against. we need to rebel. well said hello everyone! born in the uk, been living here a long time but no expert on american politics. here’s what i don’t understand. it looks to me like ‘conservatives’ currently control the white house, the senate, the supreme court, as well as many levels of the lower court systems being filled with young conservative candidates as fast as mitch can get them filled, which is pretty quick these days, thus assuring conservative dominance in the court system generally for the next 40 years or so. on the state level there are many more republican governors and so on. i mean really what more do the conservatives in this country want? they have most of the political power. is that not enough? it seems that the only remaining obstacle to total conservative control is the ‘mainstream media’. is it really worth turning the country into a smoldering ruin because the nyt says mean things about djt? just asking! dear america i cant even imagine why anyone is talking in such language and in she such vitriol. i`m more scared of america will become rather than what other countries have become . seriously ,the world is laughing at you ! richard scotland, united kingdom we can’t blame the current racial situation on obama, obama was the most disrespected president that i’ve ever seen because of the color of his skin. racism is learned, once people stop showing these tendencies around their children then it will stop. another thing, i’m part indian and i’m tired of hearing people tell african americans that they can leave and how hard their ancestors worked for this land because it’s a bold faced lie. my ancestors we’re killed off, pushed into the middle of the country then killed of or forced to move again by evil people who ran this country. with that being said all americans are immigrants outside of the indians. this comment section just proves the point of the entire article. great job. i do not believe there will be a civil war directly among americans. i do believe there are several systems involved with the active destruction of the union that is the united states. socialism, since its creation has been at war with democracy in the us. monetary control from within the us and outside has been the cause of many wars. greed, racism and classism destroy hope for almost all people. now the american people, each experiencing chronic difficulties from a multitude of sources feel they are divided into two, ten or twenty different groups. we are not divided and we should never feel so. the outer systems implanting us with problems do so because they believe we are unaware or afraid of them. they want us to blame each other while they profit. we can make the changes we need but we need to be thoughtful about it. thoughtful in terms of our future. because discussion and debate is the battleground where these self serving elements are waiting. waiting in order to keep us divided in perpetual civil war. capitalism has done far, far more to destroy and weaken america, lol “socialism” what? are you 108 and still living in the mccarthy era? enough of this back and fourth b.s.. it doesnt matter who started or which president or politician made it worse. the fact of the matter is that we’re here, it’s here. there are many people that agree with you liberals, just like there are millions of people that disagree with you. let’s get this done and over with already. is the us ready for secession or another cival war. yes, yes we are. people forget that before this pandemic and financial crisis we had a political crisis. we’ve gone passed cival talk, conversation or dialogue. the sand has been drawn, choose a side. for those moderates and independents out there, you gave up your right to say anything until you pick a side as far as the rest of us, we’ll fight for your freedoms since apparently you cant do that for your yourself or your family. cuddled, safe space, socialist capitalism is what we’ve turned into. i think of myself as a positive person, kind hearted, emotionally mature, optimistic, have a positive outlook on life but these damn millennials and liberals are killing my spirit. destroying every positivity in me, it’s like i’m going backwards from all the growth, self development, self improvement that i’ve accomplished and achieved. it’s getting to the point where if you’re a liberal i don’t want to associate with you in any kind of level or capacity. your ideology is sickening, lacking in morals, two faced. i know, i know, apparently there was a lot i needed to get out. it’s just so astonishing how much life, positivity and energy they drain from someone. and i know liberals, the feeling is mutual. i didn’t think personally i could ever get to this point but purge here we come, let’s get this party started! there’s no way out of it other than succession, it has been gaining speed these past couple years and this pandemic has expedited the process. as the yew york post stated, we’re two different nations at this point. only succession or civil war can change, fix, correct the issue so that we can move forward. because one thing is certainly guaranteed that this hatred, anger and bitterness will lead to violence, period. “americans have never been more divided, and we’re ripe for secession. the bitterness, the gridlock, the growing tolerance of violence invite us to think that we’d be happier were we two different countries. in all the ways that matter, save for the naked force of law, we are already two nations.” that way we can part ways, be like good luck with your socialist experiment or as you guys call it “socialist capitalism”. hope you can do better job than venezuela, zimbabwe, germany etc…if you guys are able to get the correct formula, that’s great! that’s just not the country that me and millions of other americans want to live in and die in. it just came to me, this could be the first time republicans and democrats can come together. #secession2020or2021 that’s freaken brilliant, first time in a while something political has brought warmth and a smile to my face. we can actually march capital hill together with our signs! as mcdonald’s says, i’m loving it! i am sad we have come to this divide. but it has taken decades so it is not unexpected. i am ready for civil war or for leaving the united states entirely. if i don’t believe we can save the u.s. because of socialism (call it what ever you want), i will fight with every last breath to return the us to its original intent. but if we won’t go to civil war to overthrow the current socialism; but rather drive ourselves to complete ruin like venezuela, i will leave the u.s. just like every person with any means left venezuela before its total collapse. it is not about race, not for one minute; it is a bit about religion (those christian zealots have lost kindness and justice and the original founder’s thinking), but it is mostly about socialism vs. capitalism. spread the wealth (or lack thereof), make all people equally poor and miserable…. or let people’s hard work and hope get them where ever it may, which may not be really far, but at least it is done with freedom and your own hard work and thought. it is about congressman serving their personal interests exclusively vs. making the usa a great place. we have changed our government way beyond what the original founders thought. how very sad, but as history has shown, those who migrate to better places, make for better lives for thier descendants. we may have passed the tipping point to believe we can succeed through a civil war. socialism and government dependence (including employment) has passed the 50% mark. it just may be too late to save what we thought the usa was about. i think too many people will be like frogs in heating water, and have waited too late to act. i hope it is not a fait accompli, but it is not looking good. i’ve seen all these interesting post and i think everyone is off the mark. it’s not republican vs. democrat. white vs. black. it’s us vs. them. its “we the people” vs. “them the government”. they seek to manipulate us all. its really in their best interest to keep us at each others throat while they gain more control over all of us. don’t be a fool and let them get the best of you. we are lied to constantly. probably the best thing everyone could do is get unplugged from the machine that is manipulating us. turn off media and try talking to your neighbors and form real relationships with people and not fake relationships through social media. where do i sign up for the common sense sane in the middle political party that hopefully will one day become the future of this country. let’s let people love who they want and not freak out about what gender they are. let’s deregulate small businesses so that they can survive and provide jobs. while keeping an eye on megacorp’s. let’s reform and better train educate and pay police instead of abolishing them and inviting pandemonium. i am a big fan of apocalypse shows but i have no desire to live in one. let’s secure our borders like every other country in the world does while making a path for those who are already here to become citizens easier. let’s stop all stereotyping. anyone that starts out a conversation with all black people, all cops, all christian’s, all white people, all rich people, all democrats all republicans, get tuned out immediately. lets start judging individuals by their behaviors against a societal norm and not buy some fringe group on the left or right latest made up terminology. let’s understand the difficult path is the one where we attempt to understand different viewpoints come together and compromise on things, as opposed to the current situation where everyone makes demands and behaves poorly until the other side capitulates. a world where all of us could together calmly discuss our viewpoints compromise make deals and walk away with everyone somewhat satisfied but no one completely happy would probably be better than our current situation. oh one last thing, can the news report what happened and leave it at that. i’m fairly certain people can draw their own conclusions without all of these sensationalized headlines. currently we don’t have news we have two separate echo chambers where you can go and feel better about your viewpoints and learn to hate the other side even more. it does seem like the media desperately wants a civil war in this country. maybe that would be best for their ratings, but i would rather come back together as the greatest country on earth. damn i feel bad for my american cousins , im actually feeling a little more positive about the future of my uk , labour went extreme left and were punished accordingly , worst defeat since 1930 , lost some of their heartlands , could take a decade for them to build enough support to be in a position of maybe making a government again. we also left eu which on the orders of the masochistic germans is destroying itself because they cant get over ww2 guilt , thank god we left that dumpster fire. only problem left is scotland wanting independence so they can rejoin eu, yikes. anyway my fingers crossed for you guys , hopefully trump wins and things get better , but i must admit im worried for you all , i mean if civil war did break out china would have a great chance to swoop in and finish you off. all the best. thanks rob. never been to the uk if trump loses maybe i will. i have been saying for years america is no better than any other country; we have done some despicable things and are often driven by money, power and greed. now the house of cards is falling and there is no going back. our many enemies are sitting back with their popcorn and enjoying the show. the experiment failed. good luck everyone! a local gun store recently advised that they sold out and the majority of buyers are over 55 and men and women were about even. the militia in many states are said to be purchasing larger amounts of ammunition. we are absolutely heading to a civil war. right now it is a war of words. the words will soon ramp up to violence. so to change the scale leftist liberals are planning to remove law and order by ending police departments. the extreme right will soon take over where the police are removed but their tactics will be a lot different. so keep your doors locked and your guns loaded!! as a neighbor to the north of the united states i watch your once great democracy as it seems to be unraveling. i have during my lifetime watched great presidents from the left and right with admiration and sometimes political envy. however, the last four presidents elected have all contributed to polarization and intolerance. each in their own measure and method. the two great political forces of bushes and clintons and the two social and ideological lightning rods of obama and trump have done great disservice to the land of kennedy and regan. i hope you get this sorted out. civil war pitting brother against brother is already sweeping your land using words not bullets. good luck. had some quiet time this morning, and trying to integrate everything that has been going on in 2020, and i found myself thinking, “is there going to be another civil war?” i googled the question and found this article and comments. the article is sort of straight forward but the comments are compelling and nearly all of them make really good points, even if the point is just the emotional bluntness of the comment. there is information in that. my fear? most of these were written before covid, before the financial crash, before george floyd was killed, before the demonstrations, protests, riots, civil unrest, statue toppling. how long until the event occurs where a group with guns from one of the factions, confronts a group with guns from another of the factions. someone shoots they all shoot, some casualties, then it spreads and widens. the civil authorities already have shown they are completely unprepared for just about anything. a shooting war starts and spirals out of control. it’s nearly impossible to figure out the issues, the factions, the boundaries, so atrocities follow, friendly fire, craziness, panic. who knows how the geographical boundaries will line up. the first civil war was really really bad. i can’t see how another one will have good outcomes, and yet it seems like we are right on the verge..just need the spark and the event. an economist colleague once told me that, removing engagement into war for the sake of self defense, peoples go to war because they feel they have the advantage and the outcome for them will be “ok?”. but it may not turn out that way. can we de escalate? i like the tone and civility of many of these posts. but it takes two sides to create an argument, at a minimum, never just one. i grew up in a family that associated most fiscal ‘responsibility’ with the republican platform’s ideology of low to no taxes. it is a nice sentiment, but lower taxes do not necessarily mean reduced government control, and higher taxes do not necessarily lead to irresponsible re allocation of money. economics, no matter what party view one might espouse, is still defined as the allocation of resources, scarce resources in fact. a discussion of how to best share what we have or keep what we earn or take care of one another or protect our assets is contingent on certain moments in time, on geography, on demographics of communities and regions, on weather, on access to the food and and self sustainance you describe. these variables should have, ideally, nothing to do with a political platform. no one wants to catalyze laziness and a lack of independence. but all civilized societies today, especially where voters seek to guide what is best for the greater good, not just for the individual, seek ways to leverage contributions (taxes, donations in churches or clubs, purchases in business) for education, transportation, healthcare, military, and anything that ‘leveraged’ offers something better than what one might be able to achieve alone. political parties and those wanting to be elected are influenced by their ways of being raised and by party platform rhetoric that help them to be elected. neither of those influences will help us to unite, discuss the reality of our survival and happiness, or to avoid yelling unnecessarily at each other. but both ‘sides’ in america (if we do not talk about another 30+ smaller political parties whose members’ voices are seldom if ever heard), are suffering from the weight of words/cliches that make assumptions about each other that have nothing to do with the very realities we all want to create. so, to say ‘we want to be left alone in peace’ and ‘live and die by our decisions’ is rhetorically interesting, but suggests that you are representing a unified voice that has already made decisions for a group of people. we cannot all be individual anarchists, either. even a basic intersection with 4 stop signs indicates a joint decision for the safety and behavior of all. it works. folks know the rules and lives are saved. only the person who decides for himself to drive through without stopping will disrupt and potentially kill someone. that is a simple example of many more complex issues that embody our constitution, our laws, our attempt at judical systems, and hopefully our ethics and morality and even empathy for each other. only these things will prevent civil war. well this article is ridiculous. it mentions a coast guard member that wants to kill democrats, yet fails to mention the bernie supporter who actually shot a republican congressman. now that we’re in the summer, and we see marxists boldly burning and destroying property on national television, it’s patently obvious which of the two sides is more violent. it’s this kind of absurd bias that is basically breaking the country up into two groups, the people who have been conditioned by the propagandists in pop culture, media and education, and those who have not. this isn’t the “left vs right” paradigm americans are used to. the left has gone full mao. this is now “individualism vs authoritarianism”. most people consider war unacceptable, and you hear phrases like “war is never the answer”, but that’s not actually true. sure, it’s horrific, and should be avoided if at all possible. but if a group of people is attempting to impose their will upon you by threat of force, and you’d rather die than conform to their will, war becomes the only answer. and make no mistake, the u.s. is basically at that point. there are millions of marxists here now, and that reality cannot simultaneously coexist with a classically liberal society. so americans have a choice. do they go to war with their fellow citizens or permanently descend into authoritarian darkness? both options suck, but the answer is obvious. unfortunately, i’m not at all sure americans possess the backbone to stand up and fight for their freedom. in fact, our culture has been dumbed down to such an enormous degree, i’m not sure they even understand what freedom is anymore. remember, you can vote your way into socialism, but you must shoot your way out. your claims are completely disingenuous and broadly ignore widely reported facts for the sole purpose of making your black and white case when the reality is anything but black and white. it is not at all “patently obvious which side is more violent” when you have federal forces in portland ignoring the state’s rights to police its own protests and civilians, using military force on peaceful protesters, and have unidentified federal troops snatching up peaceful protesters into unmarked cars, interrogating them and terrorizing them, and unidentifiable federal troops knowingly beating press as they peacefully, rightfully by the constitution, report from the ground. does that fit into your political worldview hunter? federal govt using authoritarian force on peaceful people and the press who disagree with the government’s politics? say yes, and you’re a hypocrite. if so, then you are for an authoritarian state. trump = authoritarianism. this professor is not the person with the ultimate authority on this topic. the “civil war” spoke of today, and the civil war of the mid 1860s are entirely different. the professor’s comments provide us with a real hint of what this war will be about. she says: “for example, in the synagogue shooting in pittsburgh, when the shooter spoke explicitly about targeting jews who expressed sympathy for immigrants, or the recent case of the coast guard officer who was making plans to kill democrats and journalists.” although there have been thousands of assaults by anarchists in just the past two months, this professor reaches out for two rare examples of people who might be on the right. the second example was about threats. we have seen thousands of real assaults by those on the left. we have seen hundreds of shootings in chicago in recent months by people who side with democrats. we watch real violence, which comes almost entirely from one ideological portion of the population. so, the next civil war will happen for this reason: i am a conservative and christian. i have never attacked or disparaged a black person. i have never disparaged a gay person. i have lived in four states and been around hundreds of conservatives. i have never heard the n word used or never heard any of these people disparage african americans. in the churches, in the four states, that i have belonged to, i have only heard pastor preach to show “christian love” to gay people. now, there is the constant national narrative that i have to hear daily. all conservatives are racists, homophobes, nazi’s, fascists, white supremacists and nationalists. the president many of us support has never said a racist thing, has donated money in the past to organizations run by rev. al sharpton and jesse jackson, given the largest amount to historically black colleges, signed historic prison reform that released thousand of black people and created enterprise zones in inner cities to help minorities. he had also reduced black and hispanic unemployment to historically low levels. yet, we have to hear that he is a “racist” with no proof. i am getting tired of being labeled a “racist” or a “white supremacist.” i have never met a white supremacist or a nazi or a kkk member. i have been a victim of black on white crime three times. i used to share living space with several black guys when i was younger. i was shocked at how racist they were. it may have changed me, since i was very liberal up to that point. this is why there could be a war. we have watched anarchists burn our cities, beat people on the streets, burn down and vandalize small businesses, rob stores without arrest or prosecution. we are sick of it. we have been pushed and pushed and pushed. we have seen the country devolve into lawlessness. we have seen our peers beaten and had our free speech rights taken away. we have never pushed back, but have remained silent and victims. that is going to change. the professor completely misses the reason for an impending “war.” many of us know that regardless of what way the next election goes, those who practice violence in the streets will ramp up their game even more and start attacking more people in their neighborhoods. they will experience resistance. the bloodshed will not be the fault of the “right.” it rarely is. i was reading this, but have to reply. rare examples of right wing violence… where do you want to start. ku klux klan perpetrated a campaign of terrorism against blacks, civil rights activists, jews, and others in response to brown v. board of education decision (1954). youll have to look up the individual attacks themselves they are so numerous. in the 1980s, 60+ right wing extremists were prosecuted in the united states for acts of terrorism, carrying out six attacks. in 1983, gordon kahl, a posse comitatus activist, killed two federal marshals and he was later killed by police. the silent brotherhood robbed banks and armored cars, as well as a sex shop bombed a theater and a synagogue and murdered radio talk show host alan berg. 19 april 1995 attack on the murrah federal building in oklahoma by timothy mcveigh and terry nichols killed 168 people. eric rudolph carried out the 1996 centennial olympic park bombing which claimed two lives and injured 111. 31 may 2009 george tiller, a physician f murdered by scott roeder. there are lot more if you want them all they are all online if you have the intellectual and moral honesty to look. of course now you have the unmarked federal forces under donald trump, hardly a beacon for moderate politics, conducting snatch squads in portland. but since no has been killed by them (yet) we will ignore them. there are more than enough listed and a heel of a lot more not. far right by its very nature is violent, its based in racial supremacy and religious extremism. scott roeder was a antiabortion terrorist. the difference in all those attacks are that the government did not condone them. both sides condemned those attacks. the left wing politicians now condone the rioting and looting in cities all across america. did biden condemn the rioting? no. this is a much different situation today. how is this making things better? it is not. it is just inciting more hatred between the two sides which will lead to more violence… and god forbid eventually all out war. a key point in trying to determine whether the united states is about to have a civil war is how close is the united states to what occurred at ft. sumter. at ft. sumter the south carolina secessionists wanted the federal government to leave south carolina and used increasing force to decide the issue. in portland, oregon, the left wants the federal government out of portland and all federal authority to defer to state laws and edicts. as that situation continues to worsen, the likelihood of a civil war continues to increase. you can see a strong resemblance in the passions from the leftists in portland to the secessionists in charleston harbor. both believed intensely that the federal government should be banned from their land. almost everybody who has responded to this thread is wrong. why? they are almost all one sided. people who are trump supporters seem to believe he can do no wrong, and list his accomplishments. people who are trump detractors seem to believe he can do no right, and list his failures. the truth is in the middle. the one commonality seems to be seeing things in black and white instead of shades of gray. did obama make race relations worse? well, maybe we can find some objective measure of the “health” of race relations in this country, and show that it has become worse during his administration. maybe. i haven’t seen one, or the results of its application. even if that were true, does that mean obama caused it? maybe it was a white backlash against the feeling of disenfranchisement. so it could be true but unrelated to anything obama did except his being black in and of itself. it’s like looking at the economy now and blaming its implosion on trump. trump did not make the corona virus and you cannot blame him for the mess the economy is in, just like you cannot blame obama for the mess he inherited his first couple of years in office. what we need in this country is some balance. we need to understand that good people sometimes do really bad things, and sometimes bad people do some astoundingly good things. trump renegotiated the canada mexico trade agreement and it had wide bipartisan support. trump signed the prison reform act also with wide bipartisan support. but read the history of that and you understand how the republicans stalled and changed that bill over time from its start in the obama administration. on the other hand, trump has made the department of justice bend to his will instead of being an independent watch dog of malfeasance by persons in the administration. he really does seem to hold different standards of justice for his friends than his enemies. the point is: his administration has had some accomplishments and some failures, and everyone needs to understand that. the decision about his overall balance of performance is left to the individual voter. the point is, politics is all about the art of compromise, about coming together and seeking agreement among people with differing views of political philosophy. there is a lot of stuff coming from the left that i cannot agree with, and a lot that i do agree with. there is a lot of stuff coming from the right that i cannot agree with, and a lot that i do agree with. we should seek common ground or we will surely find ourselves on opposite sides. what we need to do is to look ourselves squarely in the face and ask ourselves, exactly what kind of country do we want? what is the role of the federal government in that imagined country? and together we should strive to make that vision a reality. reagan was touted as the “great communicator”. what he did was communicate how good the usa was. he was a big fan, and made sure everyone knew it. we aren’t feeling too good about the usa right now, with some good reasons, but there remains a lot of good in it and we need to be reminded of it. race relations might not be where we want them, but we are making progress. we continue to make progress. first amendment rights of free speech and assembly might not be where we want them. we need to impress upon the left that they should not be afraid of open debate. neither side seems tolerant of the other sides’ free speech exercise. rioting and destruction of property seem to me to be counterproductive, unless you are trying to foment civil war. we need to figure out how to remove the anarchists from center stage without shooting them in public. that just seems to fuel the anarchist movement. at the bottom of it all is the uniquely american love of freedom that gets in the way of civil society. nobody in the usa seems to want to be told what to do or how to do it or when to do it. the obvious example is the covid 19 mess and our comparison to europe. people in europe are free, but they also have a greater sense of communal responsibility. they complied with national policies whereas the usa is full of people who just don’t want to follow anybody’s rules but their own. we get the disease we deserve. we get the government we deserve. what we need to do is to strive to deserve better. we are being divided by both parties. we have no real choice in the matter. both dems and reps block in unison the idea of other parties especially those that they cannot control. interestingly, history has told us about other countries meddling in our affairs. so the way i see it we have both domestic and foreign enemies to our constitution working, probably, in concert with one another, but more importantly most do not realize it and many won’t until its too late! many of the comments are older like from last year. many things have happened since then. i hope i am wrong but i really believe that we will have a civil war soon especially if trump gets another term. i read a lot of comments about the left committing crimes but since all that we’ve had a lot of violence and it’s been coming from white supremacists and racists. those views have often been embraced or in the least have been condoned by the right. all it’s going to take is for trump to win and him to declare open season on his enemies. some will take this as the green light they’ve been waiting for. the best we can do on both sides is define what separates the two parties,compromise on those fundamental differences but flat out criminalize condoning racism, misogyny and foreign interference. what a roiling shitpit you all live in. you are living in a civil war and have been ever since the industrialist took your jobs and moved them off shore to avail themselves of cheap labour. now you have the mega rich versus the rest. this is not about race or religion or the right or the left or the white vs the non white. it’s about the rich vs the poor. trump is a mega rich person and that is all he cares about. not all of the mega rich are white there are plenty of dictators of all skin colours. so see it for what it is and before you load up your gun and go out to shoot your neighbors understand that you’ve been played. from the article a key point is when the sides demonized each other. we have evidence of this with the qanon movement which thinks democrats are demonic satanists. as the q movement becomes more mainstream we will hit the point of no return. (how does a person that truly believe this ever see compromise or peaceful coexistence as anything other than surrender?) as the most heavily armed nation on earth, the result of conflict would be catastrophic. similar to the beginnings of the civil war, we have those who predict and easy victory. politicians that they they have the guns, others don’t know which bathroom to use. the reality of civil war is that nearly all have been very bloody. when protest from non trump people is seen as anarchy or evil, yet groups are praised for bringing weapons to capital building, we see a grave difference in rules of engagement. when shooters are treated humanely yet protesters brutalized, people notice. is see no resolution. peaceful protest is ignored, or demonized regardless. violent protest brings only more support for trumps law and order, and provides fuel for paramilitary groups.. maybe the ballot box will bring change, but there are strong indications that vote is and will be suppressed. historically i would argue we are on the path of nazi germany. democrats are substituted for the jews. we know from history what happened. first was demonization, then descrimination, aren’t, then execution. don’t think it is possible? school yourself on q and it’s establishment as a wing if the trump party. it is said only 1/3 of germans were nazis yet they took power under a constitional system. this is analogous to the trump “base”. a political party that does not disavow and reject q is in its support. most people don’t care what the government does as long as they make money or court goes in their favor. brown vs education and other monumental cases may be overturned over time. germany exchanged freedom and justice for prosperity and “order”. hopefully things turn out differently. on the other hand we can be at the precipice of the self destruction of the us and very dark times ahead. i want a war. i am not sorry. it is time for those of us who are tired of cowering to stand up and let blows fall where they will. cries for liberty, justice, equality become fodder for mockery, derision, and death in the street. it is time for those who think i should “keep in my place” to either put me there themselves or die trying. “if we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.”   george washington, 1793 state of the union address i would hope that russia, or china, would militarily intervene in the event of a red/blue state civil war. maybe tactical nukes on the east and west coast of the us. i call these coasts sodom and gomorrah. as a canadian, it is horrifyingly fascinating to read the comments emanating from this article. while some acknowledge that the extreme political polarization that now exists is a root cause of many of the problems being faced, the majority seem to be happy to fire hateful missives at each other, with no hope for compromise or rational discussion of real issues. which i guess gives some credence to the article itself. for me, and many non americans, all the rhetoric can be dismissed. it all comes down to one thing: donald trump. if trump is re elected, then the rest of the world will know that the american system may be beyond repair. there is no need to go into all the details of whether or not trump is good for the us economy, or race relations, or immigration or anything else. if the majority in the us don’t recognize that he is unfit for public office (and i mean any public office) then all other discussions are irrelevant. preston, what in your opinion makes him fit or unfit to lead our country? for that matter, what does the next president of our country in your canadian mind need to possess to be a fit leader? lastly, in your mind you believe we are off track because of trump, so, which one of the former potus’s would you say our next president should mirror so that we can in your mind get back on track? one thing i see missing from the dozens of comments i had time to read (there are a lot), is, if either side wishes to change the mind of the other, we have to see what is driving the anger: it’s pain. and much of this has come from the 2008 economic collapse and hasn’t really been fully fixed. then, to make things 1,000% (or more) worse, this covid 19 situation. it’s very simple. you all aren’t arguing in most cases to prove your points, but because you are hurting. economically, not the least of the ways. it would be all too easy to have a civil war. the gentleman by the name of brandon sturdevant (sp?) above is right on. ever since the beginning of comments sections (believe me) on the internet, keyboard warriors have been posting website articles and going back and forth divisively on controversial topics. i stopped doing that a couple of decades ago. i need for the right _and_ the left, to grow the heck up. you stop complaining, dig your freaking hands into the rubble and start clearing the way to build something new. yes, we were meant not to agree. but, grow up, all of you and do the hard work. address your pain and others. i guarantee you that that is harder than pulling a trigger or bitching on the internet, but, it is the only path available. sorry, revolution will not end well for either party. the last time i checked trump…. or his democrat successor, if there is one, possesses nukes, drones, etcetera, etcetera….. my god. it’s a done deal. there will be no contest. our police and sheriffs possess a potent arsenal as well. they can’t kill us all, they can’t control us all always, because this is a big enough country, but we really need to consider that this may not be about right or left, but power. in a coup, what i’m saying is, the dictator may never look back. fascists and communists love totalitarianism. and, the reward is not always good even for their followers. stop whining and get to something constructive, for god’s sake. remember: we’re hurting financially, to different degrees. something unfortunate happened…. whether that’s financially or not. the bottom line is that many are in pain. just by the comments i’ve read from the article i can see only bitterness and divide. the way i see it things are only getting worse every time we assert ourselves into making your opinion more valuable then your neighbors, which is not the world i’ve known in my life and is scary for me and many others i believe. i seen the 2nd video of floyd through the police badge cam, he claimed he couldn’t breath whilst having no physical contact with any officers. he heavily resisted officers simply placing him in the squad, claiming he was closterphobic even though the initial stop was involving him in the confinement of his own vehicle. my point, police misconduct or hell, let’s say police murder absolutely wasn’t race driven evidenced by the release of the 2nd video. floyd was found to have multiple drugs in his system, including fetynal, which is probably what actually killed him considering his autopsy lacked indication of asphyxia. michael brown was said to have charged the officer by account of multiple black witnesses, this is post him strong arm robbing a store! the guy in kenosha wisconsin had an active warrent for sexual assault and resisted officers detainment whilst reaching for a deadly weapon via knife found on floor of his vehicle. racism exists in the hearts of some people of all colors and it’s occurrence cannot be completely eliminated, only legislated against via justice through the court systems. we already have just laws on the books, the issue is holding police accountable. in order for law enforcement agencies to perform their job, as an entity, they need certain levels of protection against liability litigation. thus, we have our bias, our so called systemic racism. but is it really about race? i don’t see it… the truth from my perspective is that blacks are prone to higher levels of criminality due to antisocial behaviors resulting from fear and anger, a byproduct of historical injustices. but instead of working towards acknowledging this, certain political bodies find cause in stoking blacks fear and anger for purpose of expanding their voter base against those whom are insisting a different version of reality exists outside of this narrative. this particular political body has an ultimate goal of “progressing” away from a christian nation to a faithless one, to exacerbating all social issues in attempts of rallying a majority that can induct marxist/socialism as the governing power of this country. their intentions are good, but their dismissing historical examples of marxism failing and their ignorance to how greed and individuality promotes an industrious and flowering society is where we separate sides. also, it should be noted that the human characteristics of personality seem to be a major player in our divisions, in terms of emotional vs logical based people. i believe we owe respect to both types, like we do pessimistic vs optimistic and extroverts vs introverts. we can agree to disagree, that’s the beauty of it. as long as we can agree that voting results shall be just, honest and free from corruption, the winning position aught and shall rule the land. my fix to some hot button issues: abortion: get government funding out entirely, instill an abortion tax for pro choicers gay rights: give them all the rights we afford non gay people, but get government out of the marriage business and respect religious freedom to operate within the religious institutions as they see faithfully fit. guns: a well armed militia was intended to act as an equalibrium to power between a potentially tyrannical government and private citizens. we need to either revoke police militarization or we sell fully automatic weapons and equipment on the open american market. immigration: our economy depends upon immigration to not be stagnant or even decline. some of the most motivated and entrepreneurial people are immigrants, if only their given a chance. let them come in, but, let them come as patriots who value our values and desire our rights. the 1st generation is always prone to barriers with english and assimilation, that’s not a problem. value our values! also, if they are filling an education gap, make sure americans that are here have access to education about getting educated, so they may up their own skills. if an immigrant is coming to do unskilled labor then make sure they are filling a labor vacuum. no open borders, borders = country. to those who say europeans were immigrants so how dare they reject immigrants in any fashion, i would argue europeans who established colonization did not come here with their hats in their hands. they were conquerors, simply put. a very normal title to win amongst a long human history of war (i don’t like it either.) (letting out a deep breath). i spent 20 minutes reading the responses after reading the initial posts. after 20 minutes i found myself crying. there is so much pain, so much hurt coming from these people and i’m not sure any of them can be healed. but maybe for the few that will get it, i wanted to share something i learned a long time ago while living on this planet. you have to nourish a part of you that is not in anyway touched by all this human frailty. there is something so much more important than these trivial fights, these surface divides that keep us stuck in the mud of misunderstanding and hate. in the christian bible, the beginning of humanity had its first murder in the first generation from its creation. this tells you something about human fraility   how easily we can let an emotion as simply as jealousy lead to murder. hold tight to the thing that makes you better than this. we are in the world but we do not have to of this world of ignorance, of hate, of jealousy, of fear, of unease. this is the reality we have been put into but inside   in our mind   there is something pure and strong that we must hold true to and nourish so that when all who fall around us do not contaminate the best of the human spirit. our ability to care, to love, to forgive, to rise above our pain and embrace the gift of life. for it is a gift   to feel the warmth of stranger’s smile; to rise on a new day of possibilities; to survive horrors untold and still be able to love. so when you read these poems of hurt and pain   know that this is only one layer of human frailty. we are much more than this. good luck humans and i hope that in all the lives you live you will grow stronger. the universe wants to see what you have to offer. you have said it better and more beautifully than i could. i always find that every force, every argument, every idea, every label and every word that attempts to divide human beings from another serves to hurt the species and everything that attempts to harmonize, consolidate and bring together keeps us alive in this fragile orb spinning in the void of space. perhaps rather than thinking of ourselves as good or evil, right or wrong, it helps more to consider: am i trying to divide? or am i trying to unite? a civil war? without all of the facts in recorded history surrounding our first and their related possibilities, it’s difficult to see what may actually be taking place today. great deal of commonality, however. first things first. a civil war needs division of what was once united. during those days in the 1850’s we had the democratic republicans as the major party. interesting and often overlooked issue surrounding the name of that party. democratic was an adjective. could have been a lower case “d”. our nation then was and is now still… almost, a republic. “almost” because of the 1913 17th amendment that took the states right and responsibility to have their representatives in congress without the weight of varied populations. in other words, an equal voice; 2 appointees as senators. essentially a brilliant move by the founders to prevent the routine historical failure of pure democracy and the tyranny of mob rule that descends into dictatorship and then……! the 17th amendment was just the first step of a larger plan for our nation, pure democracy. accomplished by a hidden force behind the creation of the privately owned federal reserve (see title 12 section 531). (yes! privately owned! see title 12 section 531 and ask “if our nation owns the fed why does it need to give it tax exempt status?” more importantly why is this title 26 tax regulation hidden in title 12? largest issue is where, just where in our empowering constitution is our congress constitutionally authorized to charter a privately owned bank much less a privately owned central bank? hint …it’s not!) curiously, the 17th amendment was signed into law the same year the us federal reserve was signed into law on december 23rd, 1913 by that wonderful socialist team of roosevelts. the fed was the 3rd attempt to institute an unconstitutional privately owned central bank into the us by the rothschild family. (read “the creature from jekyll island”.) the titular head of the rothschild tribe then and now of the uk. even though the rothschild’s are credited with the creation of the state of israel with the 1917 balfour declaration they still reside in various other nations of the world and most notably in that tiny nation known as the city of london. back to todays civil war. there are many reasons a hidden force would like to see …or create a civil war once again in the united states. simple reason just to eliminate the electoral college which is the last thread keeping our nation from being a pure democracy being run into oblivion by mob rule. this is a much larger story with more direct reasons why a civil war in our country, a race war if you will, suits the needs of this grand family and their 90 year old out in the open operative george soros who oddly enough even though is a jew has his pr claiming him to be anti semitic and anti israel. google “chaff b 52” to better understand mr. soros role in what we are witnessing. right now, it’s 7:50am and i have too many meetings today to continue. perhaps another time and i’ll get you closer to what’s really taking place not in front of our eyes.! you’ll never see it coming unless you begin to look for the other associations. did someone say, “building 7?” salomon brothers charter tenant? rigging the bids to us t bills since the great depression? caught in 1991 after doing it since the depression? just a plain ole civil war, this story can’t be this big, can it? anyone interested look up august schoenberg (changed his name to belmont,) and who sent him and how soon before a series of unrecorded events between ny, dc and boston triggered our real civil war. penultimately, no theories. just facts ma ’m, just the facts. (for all you young folk out there it’s a quote from the show dragnet in the ‘50’s. the 1950’s not the 1850’s. ) lastly, if this all turns out as it should my book will go a long way in the first step to eradicate anti semitism. really! have a great day. pr the problem is a simple one. many since 1985 were told in school that rich white robber barons are the problem. many, if their parents have means, will then find it trendy to do what they did in portland, seattle and other cities when something happens which they could care less about since people of means regardless of race live in secure communities and are not affected by urban thuggery. but oftentimes the phrase “excuse to loot” will play out over an incident. why are the rioters and arsonists doing this? why didn’t this happen during the 8 years of obama’s presidency? image and embarrassment. if they went after obama as a focal point of anger over police excess they fear either counter claims of racism or the embarrassment inherent in castigating a black president as if he can do anything beyond verbiage and bromides when incidents like this happen in high crime urban areas. also, when trump came in he was able to pull off what fdr was able to pull off early in the depression. imagine the inherent anger over the reality of a great economic surge under a “robber barron” when things stayed lack luster under eight years of obama. imagine what that does to those who “want to believe” 19th century marxist bromides as a candidate with a business degree, not a law degree, comes in and does something that will be met by many as uber “mortifying”. your comments here is the problem in a nut shell smart phones and the internet, we now all have a voice and we find out after a very long marriage we don’t like each other. we find out that the person we have lived with all of this time hates us and they can not support what we believe in. the relationship has gotten to a point they want a divorce and would prefer not be be around you but, you are in a life boat and there is no where to go. i hope we can agree to get alone before we go toe to toe and one of us is no longer in the boat….. everyone needs to simmer downnn the reason we may possibly have a civil war is because of the people who fight and argue. lets just all try to get along, eh? so many pretending to love the teachings of jesus, so they can actually love their money god. so many absurd conspiracy theories. the answer to the question posed is partially visible in the massive increase in purchases of weapons and ammunition. how does half of the country that gets it’s news on am controled radio ever expect to know the actual truth when you only get one side, over and over. that’s called planned intended ignorance. when they tell you the world is flat again, you’ll just believe it. ever see two people arguing politics? if you can get them to stop long enough for a question and suggest perhaps the actual truth exists somewhere in the middle, they stop and think for a minute and almost always agree “yeah, thats the most likely truth. i believe a civil war is inevitable. certainly inevitable if the russians put trump in again, or a supreme court justice is placed before the election. i also believe civil war wont change anything. what is coming from the earth itself will show everyone that trumps love of the money god will kill us all. sooner than later, anyone trying to support a fossil fuel industry will become the exposed devel himself, after your home burns, blows or floats away, and your family dies off from exposure or hunger. you will be eating your money. i doubt you’ll enjoy it. the question asked, doesn’t matter. it’s like asking would we rather die from hurricanes or fires or starvation. ask how and who will fix the future staring us in the face, instead of denying it. how biased can a story be, this is a perfect example of why we are headed for a civil war. there is no mention of real facts ie how the democrats are the ones paying for and promoting the violence. next time you have an article at least supply the facts and not the propaganda. this article was a waste of my time. dan  you are right. we need to elect an american, not a russian tool. but, either way i only care if my kids are safe. i once learned in school (where i learned math, language, and analysis) that the more data points you have in any decision the better. if everyone with a state id or driver’s license could vote easily; we’d have our representatives or better yet  we could just vote on issues. we couldn’t do worse.   my son asked me to get a gun today because he’s scared. we’re all scared and in pain. god/dess help us. it is mostly the opinion based media that divides us…but i’m buying some extra ammo just in case. ok, maybe we can argue without 5.56 involved? i definitely understand the way that both parties feel, but how do you think the rest of the world is looking at us right now? a joke, we actually need to be unified as a country, you might not like what is coming out of the president’s mouth, or the ex president. the only people who like this, are the chinese and the russians. most of my friends carry 300 blackouts, but then we are all just stupid redneck racists from the south despite having the same degrees and education as everyone else in this country. it is just amazing how insulting people are to anyone who lives in the south, until it comes time for people to move. if the south is so despicable why are so many people from the rest of the country moving here? this is absolutely ridiculous, i love democracy. i don’t think it’s if you’re right wing or left wing, we are all americans, doesn’t that mean something to you? i agreed with some of obama’s plans, and i agreed with some of trump’s plans. really, were going to get into a civil war? why can’t we split into 2 countries? it seems like the us keeps splitting into 2 camps, historically speaking. so honestly, why not have a velvet divorce? as an outsider (england ) what concerns me is that its ” your with us, or agost us” civil discussion has gone ( i included the uk in this) to many people are swept up in condemning the other side with out checking the facts themselves i do believe however that in many ways its to late pandora’s box has been opened if trump is reelected the left will not accept it and if biden gets in he will have to address the concerns of groups like blm open borders etc otherwise these same groups will say the current two party system is not for them with the civil unrest associated with that. it concerns me that the people of the states are walking to civil war and yet both sides will turn around and say ” it wasn’t our fault” when in fact it is comments are closed. boston university’s alumni magazine news, opinion, community pioneering research from boston university

at fort jackson, in south carolina, the u.s. army comes face to face with america’s youth. one recent morning, at the future soldiers training course, hundreds of overweight young men and women hoping to join the service lined up to run and perform calisthenics before a cordon of drill sergeants. some were participating in organized workouts for the first time. many heaved for breath when asked to run a half mile; others gave up and walked. a number hobbled around on crutches. at a weekly weigh in, dozens of young men stood shirtless, revealing just how far they had to go. when prospective recruits were asked to drop and do five pushups, many groaned and struggled, unable to complete the task. some, their faces crimson, could barely hold themselves up. “you thought you’d join the army without being able to do a single pushup?” staff sergeant kennedy robinson barked at a recruit whose arms were twitching in agony. “yes, ma’am!” he said. to an extent that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago, he may have been right. the future soldiers program was created, in 2022, to help marginal but willing recruits find their way into the military. its efforts include not just prodding kids to slim down but also helping them pass the armed forces’ aptitude test even if that means lowering long established standards. the course is part of a series of extraordinary adaptations that america’s military is making amid one of its greatest recruiting shortfalls since the draft was abolished, more than fifty years ago. in 2022 and 2023, the army missed its recruitment goal by nearly twenty five per cent about fifteen thousand troops a year. it hit the mark last year, but only by reducing the target by more than ten thousand. the navy has also fared badly: it failed to reach its goals in 2023, then met them in 2024 by filling out the ranks with recruits of a lower standard; nearly half measured below average on an aptitude exam. the army reserve hasn’t met its benchmark since 2016, and the ranks are so depleted that active duty officers have been put in charge of reserve units. some experts worry that, if the country went to war, many reserve units might be unable to deploy. a u.s. official who works on these issues put it simply: “we can’t get enough people.” at the end of the second world war, the american military had twelve million active duty members. it now has 1.3 million even though the population has more than doubled, and women are now eligible for armed service. “the u.s. military has been shrinking for thirty years,” lawrence wilkerson, a former senior state department official who leads a task force on the challenges facing the armed services, said. “but its global commitments haven’t changed.” the military operates out of bases in more than fifty countries, and routinely deploys special operations forces to about eighty. now, wilkerson said, “it’s not clear that the military is large enough anymore for america to uphold its promises.” for decades, the armed forces based their requirements on a defensive doctrine called “win and hold”: the capacity to win one war while fighting a second to a standstill. today, with the u.s. confronting perhaps its starkest global security challenges since the cold war, many analysts fear that even one war would be too taxing. a conflict with china over the disputed island of taiwan could leave thousands of americans dead in a matter of weeks amounting to nearly half the losses the country sustained in twenty years of fighting in iraq and afghanistan. but legislators tend to dismiss the possibility of reinstating conscription. “we are not going to need a draft anytime soon,” senator roger wicker, of mississippi, told cnn last year. president trump insists that the decline in recruitment has a single cause: the biden administration’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion programs chased away potential recruits. during last year’s campaign, he accused “woke generals” of being more concerned with advancing d.e.i. than with fighting wars. his secretary of defense, pete hegseth, a former member of the national guard, has made similar accusations in dozens of appearances on fox news. hegseth’s book “the war on warriors” is a protracted rant against what he describes as a progressive campaign to neuter the armed forces. “we are led by small generals and feeble officers without the courage to realize that, in the name of woke buzzwords, they are destroying our military,” he writes. on the first day of his second term, trump signed an executive order banning d.e.i. initiatives in the federal government. he also fired the head of the coast guard, admiral linda lee fagan, in part because she supported such programs. but many of the people charged with filling out the ranks of the u.s. military suggest that these moves will not reverse a trend decades in the making. recruiters are contending with a population that’s not just unenthusiastic but incapable. according to a pentagon study, more than three quarters of americans between the ages of seventeen and twenty four are ineligible, because they are overweight, unable to pass the aptitude test, afflicted by physical or mental health issues, or disqualified by such factors as a criminal record. while the political argument festers, military leaders are left to contemplate a broader problem: can a country defend itself if not enough people are willing or able to fight? at the peak of the vietnam war, when the draft was still in effect, there were some three and a half million men and women in uniform. despite the size of the force, it did not represent a true cross section of the country. for much of the war, students in college or graduate school were exempt from service, a policy that generally favored whiter and wealthier draftees. as a result, those killed and wounded tended to come from less educated and less affluent communities. on the ground, soldiers bridled at having to fight an impossible, unpopular war, and turmoil spread through the ranks. in the last years of the conflict, soldiers deserted, units refused to fight, and officers were “fragged” attacked by their own troops. racial tensions were acute, and heroin addiction was rampant. in 1971, colonel robert heinl, jr., wrote in the armed forces journal, “by every conceivable indicator, our army that now remains in vietnam is in a state approaching collapse.” as the draft became more politically difficult to sustain, president nixon impanelled a commission, led by the former defense secretary thomas gates, to consider whether the country could defend itself without imposing a draft. the commission concluded that it could, writing, “a volunteer force will not jeopardize national security, and we believe it will have a beneficial effect on the military as well as the rest of our society.” link copied in certain respects, the experiment has largely worked. during the wars in iraq and afghanistan, desertions and courts martial were rare, even after years of stalemate. as william a. taylor, a professor at angelo state university, in texas, put it, “soldiers were in the military because they wanted to be.” troops were ordered to fight in areas where the enemy often disappeared into local populations, and war crimes scandals, including the torture of prisoners at abu ghraib and the massacres in haditha and kandahar, weighed heavily on the public perception of the military. and yet, in the many times i accompanied army and marine units in both wars, i found morale consistently high. but there have been costs, too. some of those who testified in front of the gates commission were worried that an all volunteer force would weaken the traditional belief that each citizen has a moral responsibility to serve the country. “there was a concern at the time that the military would become cut off from american life,” taylor said. although the military remains one of the few institutions that still command widespread public respect in a pew research center poll last year, sixty per cent of respondents said that the military had a positive effect on society people are less and less likely to join. in 2021, the pentagon found that only about nine per cent of young americans expressed a propensity to serve, the lowest in more than a decade. “you wouldn’t believe the questions i get,” a marine officer who served three years as a recruiter told me. “a lot of young people don’t even know what the marines are. they think we’re some kind of police force.” after the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001, a groundswell of patriotic feeling encouraged young people to volunteer for the military. the sentiment held as the u.s. attacked the taliban and al qaeda in afghanistan, and then as it launched an invasion of iraq, which quickly toppled saddam hussein’s regime. but, as those wars dragged on, the public mood soured. the troops deployed there were unprepared and ill equipped, sent to pursue objectives that could be bafflingly opaque. the burdens of fighting those wars were shared in a profoundly unequal way. fewer than three million americans less than one per cent of the population served in afghanistan and iraq. soldiers and marines were deployed again and again, while the rest of the country could safely tune the wars out. the poorest areas in america had markedly higher numbers of fighters killed in action than the wealthiest ones did, according to research by douglas kriner, a professor of government at cornell university. “people were much more likely to die in communities where there weren’t as many opportunities,” kriner told me. in the second world war, this disparity did not exist. some observers argue that maintaining a military served by a tiny percentage of the population, combined with the practice of financing wars by borrowing, enabled political leaders to carry on with foreign interventions far longer than the public would otherwise have tolerated. when i visited american towns near military bases during the wars in iraq and afghanistan, i was struck by a prevailing sense of community involvement, with placards welcoming soldiers home and others mourning the dead. outside those areas, though, the conflicts barely registered. in 2018, seventeen years after the invasion of afghanistan, a nationwide rasmussen poll showed that forty two per cent of likely u.s. voters were unaware that the country was still at war there. last summer, the members of bravo company of the 1st battalion, eighth marines, gathered at a resort outside houston for their first reunion since leaving iraq. in 2004, bravo company led the assault on fallujah, in what became the war’s bloodiest battle, and the unit suffered horrific casualties. one of the members, christian dominguez, told me that the survivors at the reunion felt a pervasive anguish. “everyone i went to fallujah with has a deep sense of guilt,” he said. “no one is close anymore. it’s the guilt. so many good guys died.” many of his fellow marines experienced significant trauma, dominguez said. since coming home, the most troubled of them had turned to painkillers, alcohol, and even meth. the feeling among many veterans is that both wars were futile, and that the country essentially forgot them once they were over. thousands of servicemen and women suffered grave wounds or traumatic brain injuries. matthew alan livelsberger, the special forces soldier who blew up a tesla cybertruck in las vegas on new year’s day, was apparently among them. “fellow servicemembers, veterans and all americans. time to wake up!” he wrote in a note on a phone recovered at the scene. “we are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves.” vice president j. d. vance was deployed to iraq to work in public affairs, and says that it profoundly shaped his views about foreign policy. “i served my country honorably, and i saw when i went to iraq that i had been lied to,” he said on the senate floor last year. legislators had convened for a debate over sending military aid to ukraine an idea that vance rejects. “i don’t really care what happens to ukraine one way or another,” he has said. he and trump campaigned on a promise to scale back america’s foreign entanglements. the message suited the public mood: after the bitter experiences of iraq and afghanistan, few americans seem to have the appetite to send tens of thousands of troops overseas. yet trump’s actual conduct in office is anyone’s guess. in his recent inaugural address, he said, “we will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end and perhaps most importantly the wars we never get into.” at the same time, he suggested that the united states might forcibly annex greenland and the panama canal, and he has promised to make the u.s. military bigger and more lethal. hegseth, who was confirmed by the narrowest margin of any secretary of defense in the country’s history, has promised to “address the recruiting, retention, and readiness crisis in our ranks.” neither he nor trump has offered a plan for how to do it. the u.s. army’s recruiting station in duluth, georgia, north of atlanta, has nine recruiters, and each aims to sign up one new recruit a month. it’s a modest goal, but they’ve met it each month for the past four years. “we try to seek out every eligible man and woman in the area every single one,” the station’s leader, sergeant first class stephen supersad, told me. the station has the advantage of a good location. georgia lies within what the military sometimes calls the southern smile, a region, stretching from arizona to virginia, that supplies a disproportionate share of recruits. duluth is also in an area with a large population of korean americans, many of them new arrivals or first generation immigrants. the u.s. can expedite citizenship for green card holders. the station sits next to a korean restaurant, and has two korean speaking recruiters on staff. during the day, potential recruits stream in, most of them from working  and middle class families. when misty sanchez arrived, she didn’t immediately strike recruiters as a prime candidate; at eighteen years old, she wore braces and stood less than five feet tall. “looking at me, you wouldn’t think i wanted to be a soldier,” she told me. but she had aced the entrance exam and, like many other recruits, she had an older sibling in the service. her sister hilda had wanted to become a nurse, but their parents, who emigrated from mexico, couldn’t afford to pay for college. she joined the army, trained as a combat medic, and ultimately enrolled in nursing school at the military’s expense. misty said that the experience had changed hilda: “she used to be reserved and insecure. now she’s confident. she takes pride in herself her appearance even changed.” misty hoped to make the same transformation. “i want the discipline,” she said. “i want to be tested physically and intellectually.” the next day, at the nearby norcross high school, sergeant first class mackenson joseph stood before a group of students who had joined the junior reserve officers’ training corps, an army program for high schoolers. joseph reminded the kids, all in uniform, that they would be graduating in a few months and entering the world as adults. “you’re not going to have your parents to take care of you anymore,” he said. “so you’re going to have to get serious.” last year, joseph was named one of the army’s top recruiters. part of what makes him effective is his own story: his mother, born in haiti, took a raft to florida in 1994, worked to become a citizen, and then brought her son to miami. joseph told the students that he’d joined the army because he didn’t have the money to pay for college. “my mother pushed me very hard ‘this is why we came to america. you can’t bring shame to the family name.’ ” fifteen years later, joseph has two master’s degrees and owns two homes. one of the students in joseph’s class, whom i’ll call rosa, arrived in the u.s. from guatemala in 2022, after leaving her grandparents to join her long estranged mother in atlanta. rosa travelled north some twelve hundred miles, on foot and by bus, paying smugglers and eluding predators. at the texas border, she waded across the rio grande. when she arrived at norcross high school, she spoke no english. frank cook, a retired lieutenant colonel who oversees j.r.o.t.c. programs in the area, told me that rosa is his most impressive cadet. “she’s a star her character, her intelligence, her leadership,” he said. as an undocumented immigrant, rosa is ineligible to join the armed forces, but she was clear about her aspirations. “i’m hoping to change my circumstances,” she told me. the military has long prided itself on being a meritocratic institution, whose members are judged solely by their performance. in many ways, it has served as a proving ground for racial integration in america, and, though the upper ranks remain disproportionately white, the armed forces have grappled for decades with questions of diversity. there have been initiatives to fight discrimination in the military at least since the vietnam war. president obama instituted diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government. in 2020, following the murder of george floyd, defense secretary mark esper ordered a stepped up effort to combat racism but was quickly overruled by president trump. in 2021, after president biden was inaugurated, military leaders took up d.e.i. efforts with renewed vigor. “i want to understand white rage,” general mark milley, then the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told congress. secretary of defense lloyd austin announced, “diversity, equity, and inclusion is important to this military now, and it will be important in the future.” he ordered mandatory education programs in the armed services and at academies like west point, and arranged a multimillion dollar bureaucracy to implement them. austin also ordered a department wide effort to address extremism in the military, prompted by the presence of active duty and former service members at the january 6th riots. (in the end, austin’s search identified about a hundred service members, out of some three and a half million uniformed and civilian personnel, who had engaged in extremist activity that year.) the new d.e.i. trainings varied widely, but most required little commitment. the military spent an average of less than an hour per person on such programs in 2021. a typical airman in the air force was obliged to attend between one and four hours of classes during a four year period. the demands were even less stringent elsewhere. a navy official told me that the closest thing to a d.e.i. course he knew of was a brief discussion of equal opportunity issues in boot camp. “we’re too busy,” he said. link copied still, some of the new initiatives strayed into controversial areas. in 2022, the air force established demographic targets for candidates for its officer corps, with specific percentages for each ethnic and racial group. west point began teaching courses that included discussions of critical race theory, and created a minor in diversity and inclusion studies. for a time, the pentagon encouraged gender neutral pronouns in some award citations, then stopped after a wave of public ridicule. a navy recruiting ad featured yeoman second class joshua kelly, who identified as a queer, nonbinary drag queen. “girls, come on!” kelly, who appears both in uniform and in drag, says. “leave the saving the world to men?” the pentagon’s covid vaccine mandate, which austin ordered shortly after taking office, was particularly controversial. over ninety per cent of active duty service members were vaccinated, but more than eight thousand who refused were ultimately discharged. i spoke to one of them, a cadet in the coast guard academy, in new london, connecticut, who went by jane. jane, whose father was an immigrant from central america, told me that, as a girl, she had suffered from complex regional pain syndrome, which her family believed was aggravated by a typhoid vaccine. when the covid mandate was announced, she was terrified of similar complications. “i didn’t want to take that risk again,” she said. she declined to follow the order, so, for a full academic year, the school’s administrators ordered her to stand behind a plexiglass shield during class. finally, they ejected her and six others. a year later, congress eliminated the mandate, and she was readmitted. but jane told me that she and many of her colleagues saw both the mandate and the d.e.i. training they received as evidence of overbearing political leadership. of the seven cadets who were expelled, jane said, five were minorities. “we were all abiding by their crazy d.e.i. narrative,” she said. “and we were basically the people they were preaching about.” still, she remained in the force. “i fell in love with the coast guard,” she said. the backlash against these policies has been especially pronounced among veterans, whose families have historically provided the largest share of recruits and who tend to be more politically conservative. a yougov survey conducted for owen west, a former assistant secretary of defense, and ken wallsten, a professor at california state university, found that the proportion of veterans who would recommend enlisting dropped from eighty per cent to sixty two per cent in five years. many cited a “mistrust of political leadership” and “the military’s d.e.i. and other social policies” as major concerns; nearly all opposed racial quotas in the officer corps. retired officers accused the biden administration of injecting politics into an institution that is designed to be apolitical. “there is no officer or leader or commander in the military that isn’t for diversity and inclusion,” said rod bishop, a retired air force general who co founded a group called starrs, dedicated to countering the military’s d.e.i. programs. “they’re just another reason not to join.” other military officials disputed the idea that these initiatives hurt recruiting. joanne bass, then the chief master sergeant of the air force, told a congressional panel, “i think the narrative that we are focussed on that, more than war fighting, is what is perhaps hurting us.” when the pentagon surveys young people about why they don’t want to enlist, only about five per cent list “wokeness”; far more are concerned about discrimination. the biggest reason that they give for not joining up is fear of death or injury, followed by worries about post traumatic stress. many recruiters mention the obstacle of the covid pandemic, which shut down access to high schools. others note that a growing economy has made it easier to get private sector jobs. but it is clear that recent criticism of the military, by trump and others, has coincided with a marked decrease in its prestige. as recently as 2018, the armed services enjoyed a seventy four per cent approval rating, according to a gallup poll. that dropped sharply during the upheavals of trump’s disputed election and the protests following george floyd’s death, when trump pushed to deploy troops to quell rioting. at the height of those disturbances, trump invited mark milley to walk with him from the white house to st. john’s church and pose with a bible. milley later apologized for participating in such an explicitly political stunt. some veterans i spoke to chafed at d.e.i. trainings, but regarded them as just more orders to follow. gabrielle bryen joined the army thirty years ago, after graduating from the university of pennsylvania. she signed up mostly to get help with her student debt, but she found that she liked it. she served two tours in iraq, counselling traumatized soldiers, and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2014. bryen told me that, during her years of service, higher ups often delivered lectures about racism and homophobia, which most of her comrades regarded as unnecessary. “if you look at the military over time, it’s always been inclusive,” bryen said. “no one cares about what you look like, or whether you’re gay. when the bullets are flying, you don’t have time to worry about pronouns.” still, she is pushing her sons and daughters to join when they are old enough. “the army is a good opportunity for a young person,” she said. when she talks with them about d.e.i. requirements, she sounds like a parent preparing her kids for any exigency of the working world: “be ready for it and just ignore it.” the u.s. military’s recruiting troubles came just as it was attempting a fundamental shift in its mission. for decades, the focus was on fighting off terrorists and insurgents. but since 2018, as one pentagon document put it, the imperative has been “confronting revisionist powers primarily russia and china.” the russian army has suffered grievous losses in its invasion of ukraine, but it is still roughly the same size as the u.s. military. russian soldiers stand face to face with american troops in places like lithuania a nato ally that the united states is legally obliged to protect, despite trump’s threats to let the russians “do whatever the hell they want” to member states that don’t pay enough for defense. but the greater concern is china, whose economic and military growth threaten to make it a “peer competitor” of a kind that the united states hasn’t had since the cold war. china’s military is far larger than america’s, with more than two million members. and, as the u.s. hollowed out its industrial capacity, china expanded; its steel industry is the largest in the world. in war games simulating a conflict between the two nations, the united states usually loses. according to the mitchell institute for aerospace studies, an american research firm, the air force would run out of advanced long range munitions in less than two weeks. the most probable trigger for a war is taiwan, a thriving democracy that china’s leaders consider a de facto part of their country. since 1950, the united states has supplied taiwan with military aid but has kept security guarantees studiously ambiguous. in recent years, the calculus changed: in 2022, biden pledged explicitly to defend taiwan from attack. last year, china launched a new type of amphibious troop carrier, which appears designed for a military assault of the island. it’s hard to know what trump would do if the chinese made a move on taiwan. one of his top officials, under secretary of defense elbridge colby, is known for hawkish views on china. but the island sits some seven thousand miles from the u.s. mainland, which sharply limits america’s options. as a senior official in the biden white house told me, “it’s the tyranny of distance.” most observers believe that an invasion is not imminent; the risk of an all out war with the u.s., potentially killing hundreds of thousands of people, is too great. the more likely scenario is that china strangles taiwan with a blockade, a possibility that it has recently underscored with large scale naval and air exercises. in such an event, the u.s. navy could aid taiwan by escorting commercial vessels in and out but only for about a year, michael o’hanlon, a senior fellow at the brookings institution, told me: “after that, the navy would run out of ships.” the navy is perhaps the most undermanned branch of the american military. since the cold war, its force has shrunk from about five hundred and fifty surface ships to roughly half that. in 2020, trump declared that he wanted to boost the number to three hundred and fifty. “we couldn’t do it,” bryan clark, a navy veteran who leads the hudson institute’s center for defense concepts and technology, said. “we don’t have enough sailors.” in march, the navy announced that seventeen vessels from the merchant marine, which provides fuel and cargo to warships, were being taken out of service for prolonged maintenance. almost forty per cent of america’s attack submarines, among the country’s most formidable weapons, are unable to sail, because the navy cannot service them quickly enough. the problem, at least in part, is a lack of sailors; ships routinely go to sea without a full crew, and the tasks of maintenance and repairs often go undone. pilots are also scarce; the shortfall is estimated at seven hundred in the navy and as many as two thousand in the air force. those they do have work furiously. “we are either deployed or preparing to deploy all the time,” lieutenant commander briana plohocky, a navy f 18 pilot, told me. link copied china has a modestly larger navy than the u.s. does, with about three hundred and seventy vessels. but its shipbuilding capacity is more than two hundred times greater making it far more able to replace vessels lost in combat. in the u.s., just seven private shipbuilders make the navy’s submarines, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. as recently as 1990, there were seventeen. one of those that remain is huntington ingalls industries, which maintains enormous shipyards in virginia and mississippi. the yards require some thirty six thousand people to keep up production, but, at wages negotiated with the navy during the pandemic, it is difficult to find skilled employees who will stay for the long term, despite offers of free training. “we’re competing with chick fil a for workers,” jennifer boykin, the president of one of h.i.i.’s shipyards, told me. even in the absence of conflict, navy officers say that they are unable to adequately protect sea lanes, the essential arteries of international trade. the navy aims to keep seventy five surface ships “mission ready” at all times, but it has consistently fallen short. in the red sea, the yemeni rebels known as the houthis have disrupted trade for months with attacks on commercial vessels. in the south china sea, chinese ships have repeatedly harassed foreign vessels; in a bid to control international waters, the government has built a series of militarized artificial islands. china has problems of its own in a potential war. its forces have not been tested in battle for decades, and, though it has a vast arsenal of planes, ships, missiles, and submarines, they are believed to be less sophisticated than the united states’. the u.s. navy’s forty seven nuclear powered attack submarines, which carry cruise missiles and other long range precision weapons, are virtually undetectable underwater. china has six such submarines; last year, a seventh sank in the harbor while under construction. but china might not be america’s only adversary. experts increasingly worry that a bloc of authoritarian states china, russia, iran, and north korea are coöperating on military and strategic matters. in recent months, iran has begun exporting drones to russia for use in ukraine, and north korea has sent in thousands of troops; china has been buying large quantities of iranian oil, in violation of american sanctions; and russia has been providing military assistance to the houthis for their attacks against western shipping. o’hanlon offered a potential scenario: a chinese assault on taiwan coördinated with iranian missile strikes against israel. at the height of u.s. military strength, this would have been a clear application for the “win and hold” doctrine. “we don’t even claim that as a goal anymore,” o’hanlon said. “we couldn’t build a two war capacity even if we wanted to, unless we had a draft.” to attract recruits, the pentagon has loosened dozens of strictures. the maximum age has been raised to as high as forty one, in the navy and pilot programs have been instituted to make it easier for people with a history of asthma or a.d.h.d. to join up. the army has eased its policies on soldiers’ appearances and struck down rules that forbade tattoos on the neck and hands; tattoos associated with gangs or extremist groups are still prohibited. (hegseth has tattoos of a jerusalem cross and the motto “deus vult,” both of which are associated with white supremacist organizations. though he claims that they are merely christian symbols, he was barred from joining the security detail at biden’s inauguration after another soldier reported them to superior officers.) pentagon officials are also considering allowing in recruits who have tested positive for marijuana. still, these are marginal changes; the real problems are physical and intellectual fitness. that’s why the future soldiers training course was created. “we were turning away a large number of kids who had what we most needed a desire to join,” christine wormuth, the secretary of the army at the time of the program’s founding, told me. prospective recruits have three months to achieve the necessary score on the aptitude test or to lose enough weight to meet requirements. graduates go directly to boot camp; those who fail are sent home. when i arrived at fort jackson, about nine hundred trainees were enrolled in the course. some of its elements were rudimentary, in a way that revealed the divides in american society: instructors spoke about healthy eating, and a motivational speaker gave a talk on how to project confidence. some former officers expressed skepticism about the lasting value of future soldiers. “if you give a colonel an order to graduate a bunch of students, he’s going to find a way to do it,” dennis laich, a retired major general, told me. “and everyone knows that if you go on a crash diet and lose a bunch of weight you’re going to gain it all back very quickly.” on the ground at fort jackson, though, the situation seemed more encouraging. one would be recruit was savannah thorn, from ringgold, georgia. two years ago, thorn, then seventeen, visited an army recruiting station weighing three hundred and five pounds. thorn told me she was raised by her grandmother. her father, a meth addict, was in prison for armed robbery, and her mother, who gave birth to her at the age of twenty, was unable to care for her. thorn told me that she had struggled with weight her whole life. “i ate chips and played call of duty all day long,” she said. then her best friend joined the navy, and thorn saw a way to escape. “i didn’t want the life that was in store for me, living paycheck to paycheck, stuck in the small town life,” she said. when she arrived at the recruiting station, she said, she could barely climb a flight of stairs, and she was prediabetic. the recruiter told her to come back after she’d lost a hundred pounds. “he thought he’d never see me again,” she said. a year later, thorn returned, having lost the weight still too heavy by the army’s standards but close enough to get into the class at fort jackson. the weight regulations vary with age, gender, height, and waistline, but they are not especially onerous. thorn told me she needed to get down to about thirty two per cent body fat, which would put her at about a hundred and seventy pounds. (for men, who generally carry less fat, the allowable percentages are lower.) prospective recruits in the future soldiers course may be no more than ten per cent above the limit; at the end of three months, they are required to be within two per cent, which they have to lose within a year of starting boot camp and keep off through their careers. the fitness course seemed mostly a matter of common sense. the recruits ate healthy meals, with no snacks in between, and exercised three times a day. for most, the weight came off quickly. “a lot of the people who arrive have never eaten healthy foods, or exercised regularly, in their lives that’s just the reality of the america that we’re dealing with,” lieutenant colonel andrew pfeiffer, who helps oversee the program, told me. (about forty per cent of u.s. adults are obese.) at the camp, recruits can use a cell phone once or twice a week but have no access to the internet or television or their own food. “it’s a controlled environment,” pfeiffer said. “they can’t call out for pizza, and they can’t go to the gas station to get random snacks.” when i met thorn, she still had a pound to lose and only a few more days to lose it. she was nervous but confident. “i’m so excited to be in the army i want the discipline,” she said. “i’ve only been here for three months, and i’m a changed person.” for the army, the appeal of a recruit like thorn seemed obvious: she was smart, curious, and motivated. the only evidence of her previous weight was excess folds of skin. “i plan to spend my career in the army, defending this country,” she said. three days later, she passed the test and headed off to boot camp. at fort jackson, army teachers stood in classrooms trying to impart basic skills: reading comprehension, word problems, and algebra. the course for the military’s aptitude test consisted of math and verbal questions at a junior high level. many of the recruits were immigrants or the children of immigrants, suggesting that the obstacle was not intellectual capacity but language. “if the military also administered its test in spanish and french, we’d have a lot more people passing,” the government official who works on military issues told me. in any case, it seemed clear that the army was working to minimize the chances of failure: the questions and problems used in the course appeared to be almost identical to those on previous tests. the aspiring recruits i observed were focussed and alert, traits that some told me they had lacked in high school. bryant wehmeyer, from the farming town of jamaica, iowa, described his childhood as austere and unforgiving. his mother juggled low paying jobs waitress, bookkeeper and his father, a heavy drinker, was mostly absent. it fell to wehmeyer to look after his brother, who has autism. “he needs constant care,” wehmeyer told me. still, he was a slacker, often smoking marijuana and downing jello shots before school. “i was never much of a student,” he said. then, when wehmeyer was fifteen, his mother suffered a heart attack, and his father walked out. wehmeyer saw the army as a way to secure a more stable future for himself and his mother. “i’ve already given her access to my bank account,” he told me. but, when wehmeyer took the entrance exam, he scored far below what he needed. then he entered the future soldiers course. on his third and final try, he passed. he said that he was looking forward to graduating from boot camp. “i can’t wait for my mom to see me,” he said. to the extent that the army has staved off its recruitment crisis, it is because of the future soldiers initiative. last year, the program provided about one in four of the army’s recruits. the navy has started a similar course and has also allowed in more recruits who scored in the lowest admissible category of the aptitude test. previously, these candidates could make up no more than four per cent of the navy’s recruitment pool; since 2022, they have accounted for as much as twenty per cent. the military tried once before to accept recruits of below average intelligence. in 1966, at the height of the vietnam war, secretary of defense robert mcnamara instituted project 100,000, in which recruits whose aptitude had been determined to be too low to serve in the military would be admitted and sent to fight. mcnamara declared that he could use video training to make the soldiers more competent; critics contended that he created the program to avoid doing away with draft deferments for college students, which were popular among affluent families. some three hundred and fifty thousand men were recruited under mcnamara’s initiative, and they were killed at disproportionate rates. “they were cannon fodder,” myra macpherson, a journalist who studied the program, told me. of course, most people who join the armed forces, through the future soldiers program or otherwise, will never see combat. for every “trigger puller,” the military needs several supporting players the vast array of truck drivers, cooks, supply officers, and, increasingly, tech workers who keep the machinery of operations working. the ratio of combatants to support staff is captured with a metric called “tooth to tail.” these days, the army’s ratio is about three to one; in a service of about four hundred and fifty thousand, there are roughly a hundred thousand close combat forces. both teeth and tail are deployed to contested places around the world: securing the border with north korea, patrolling the seas around japan, monitoring flare ups in the middle east, providing a firewall in eastern europe. even in those places, most will never experience combat, let alone need to pass another aptitude test. deterrence rests on the idea that, if you have enough bodies in uniform, your adversaries won’t try anything rash. michael o’hanlon, the brookings fellow, argues that the army could get by with its current numbers if it managed deployments differently. the military prefers to cycle forces in and out of the places where deterrence is most crucial, which requires maintaining several soldiers at home for each one overseas. in theory, o’hanlon said, “you could just home base them in a place where you know they’re going to be needed.” but the military regards these deployments as essential to keeping forces trained and ready. and, as o’hanlon acknowledges, the prospect of a foreign posting helps entice recruits to sign up in the first place. “most people who join the military don’t just want to stay at some base in remote texas,” he said. “they want to see the world.” the marines, with just over two hundred thousand members, are the smallest of the armed services (aside from the tiny space force). and, like the army and the navy, they have fewer troops than they used to. but the marines routinely meet their recruiting goals, even with an ethos of exclusivity (“the few, the proud”) predicated on pushing potential entrants away. the marines’ boot camp is considerably longer than those of the other services and notoriously brutal. recruiters boast about it. sam williams, a former sergeant who worked as a recruiter during the iraq war, told me, “my approach was ‘i don’t know if you’re tough enough to be a marine.’ ” williams would show up at a high school in his dress uniform and pick out the most charismatic student. “i’d find the top dog and walk right up to him and look him in the eye and tell him i didn’t think he was good enough,” he said. “once i got him, his friends usually joined as well.” major general william bowers, the head of marine corps recruiting, told me that this approach is designed to attract dedicated people. “it’s human nature value is determined by its difficulty to attain,” he said. for the rest of the services, the process of recruiting new members has become increasingly transactional. “i try to lay out a plan for them that’s tailored to what they want to do,” mackenson joseph, the army recruiter, told me. “you want to open your own business six years from now? i can help you do that. you want to be a nurse? we can train you to be a nurse. and i can put money in your pocket right now.” in the days of the draft, a typical recruit’s salary amounted to a tiny fraction of what an equivalent private sector worker would earn. but years of congressionally mandated pay increases have nearly closed the gap. and the military offers benefits that are rarely seen in the private sector: sailors and soldiers can often have their housing and health care paid for, and can retire at half pay after twenty years, with continued medical care for them and their families. the military typically helps cover college tuition for soldiers, a benefit that, if unused, can be passed to a spouse. those who live on base have access to affordable child care. those who live off base can qualify for subsidized mortgages. in the weeks that i spent talking to prospective recruits, most mentioned the economic benefits, especially college tuition, as their principal motivation. “people don’t want to serve the country anymore,” joseph told me. “it’s ‘what’s the military offering me?’ ” many first time army recruits, some of them as young as seventeen, can receive a signing bonus of fifty thousand dollars. in other branches, rarer skills command larger bonuses. naval recruits with certain kinds of technical expertise can get a hundred thousand dollars in bonuses and loan forgiveness. navy captain ken roman the commander of a squadron of nuclear powered ohio class submarines, which patrol the world’s oceans for months at a stretch re upped in 2024, and expects to make two hundred thousand dollars in bonuses in the next four years. but he says that the money isn’t what kept him in. at forty six, roman could have long since retired and followed many of his former colleagues into the private sector. at sea, though, “i get to work with some of the smartest people in the country, and the work is dynamic and important. plus, i’m not a cubicle guy.” to keep the numbers steady, the military needs a minimum of about a hundred and fifty thousand recruits a year. as the pentagon scrambles to attract and retain people, its costs have soared; personnel now accounts for as much as a third of the defense budget. barring a major war, that budget is unlikely to grow markedly. in the last years of the cold war, military spending represented about six per cent of the nation’s g.d.p.; last year, it amounted to about half that. “there really isn’t any chance that the services are going to get larger,” bryan clark said. “they need to figure out ways to make do with fewer people.” the military is rapidly adopting drones, robotics, and other technologies to replace humans. for decades, nimitz class aircraft carriers maintained crews of more than five thousand; newer carriers just setting sail require about seven hundred fewer people. the pentagon’s replicator initiative seeks to deploy thousands of unmanned air  and seaborne vehicles. “a swarm of drones will not need a swarm of drone operators,” mark montgomery, a retired rear admiral and a senior fellow at the foundation for the defense of democracies, told me. the rapid automation of warfare airborne and undersea drones, unmanned ships and planes, and weapons operated by artificial intelligence suggests that the battlefield of the future may contain far fewer soldiers. but the systems that run this equipment will require highly trained specialists. so will the demands of what montgomery calls “offensive cyber war” that is, hacking enemies. “we need python coders,” montgomery told me. “fat kids welcome!” officials in the navy recruit heavily at a handful of tech schools, including m.i.t., georgia tech, and carnegie mellon, to find students with the knowledge and the aptitude to carry out such demanding tasks as operating nuclear reactors on aircraft carriers. “no dumb kids in those jobs,” montgomery said. “they need to be really smart, which means they will have a lot of other opportunities.” one provocative plan to fix military recruitment comes from senator tammy duckworth, of illinois. duckworth served in the army national guard and retired as a lieutenant colonel (outranking hegseth, a major). like many people who join the armed forces, she came from a military family; her ancestors, she told me recently, have served during every major conflict since the french and indian war. in 2004, a blackhawk helicopter that she was piloting over iraq was knocked out of the air by a rocket propelled grenade. duckworth lost both of her legs, but she served ten more years. like others, duckworth worries that the military is being asked to do too much with too few recruits, a situation that risks making it even less attractive to enlist. “my fear is a death spiral,” she said. “if you can’t man every position, then you have to extend deployments and the time people stay at sea. the jobs become overwhelming.” to expand the pool of potential recruits, duckworth has proposed legislation that would allow certain classes of immigrants including daca recipients and ukrainians and afghans who have been granted temporary residence in the u.s. the right to legal residence if they join the military. “if you are qualified and willing to wear the uniform to serve the nation honorably, you ought to be able to earn citizenship,” duckworth told me. it is difficult to imagine the bill passing in the current climate. in the early days of trump’s second term, he has seemed more intent on changing the complexion of the military than on boosting its numbers. he issued an order declaring that trans identity is “incompatible with active duty.” hegseth has called for women to be kept out of combat roles. to replace them, trump has ordered thousands of soldiers who were expelled for refusing a covid vaccine to be restored to service, with back pay. his first task for the military was to help deport undocumented immigrants across the southern border. trump’s trans ban contains a phrase that seems unusual in his rhetoric. it refers to “the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” these qualities seem scarce in trump’s washington, but they’re easier to find among the young recruits i talked to. at west point, i met jillian pennell, a twenty one year old cadet from huntsville, alabama. west point, like all the country’s élite service academies, is difficult to get into; six out of seven applicants are rejected. tuition is free, but cadets submit to a rigorous program that strictly limits their personal freedom and takes up almost every minute of their days. summers are spent in training and internships, and everyone is expected to play a sport. west point’s mission is to train leaders who inspire by moral, intellectual, and physical example. i talked to pennell in a vaulted room at taylor hall, where she was taking a break between classes. she told me she was raised in a christian household, one that put less stress on church and doctrine than on ethics. “i felt called to service in whatever capacity it was i felt that from a young age,” pennell said. she aspires to be an army helicopter pilot; last summer, she completed air assault school, in which she rappelled down from hovering choppers. as a pilot, pennell will be required to give the army twelve years of service, without the option of leaving. “it’s very hard here sometimes, but it’s rewarding,” she said. she told me that she looked forward to serving the country. “most of the cadets here feel that way,” she said. ♦ an earlier version of this article misstated the use to which demographic targets have been applied to the air force. searching for the cause of a catastrophic plane crash. the man who spent forty two years at the beverly hills hotel pool. gloria steinem’s life on the feminist frontier. where the amish go on vacation. how colonel sanders built his kentucky fried fortune. what does procrastination tell us about ourselves? fiction by patricia highsmith: “the trouble with mrs. blynn, the trouble with the world” sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from the new yorker. sections more © 2025 condé nast. all rights reserved. the new yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our affiliate partnerships with retailers. the material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of condé nast. ad choices

este artículo también está disponible en español. it’s important we squarely face trump’s victory and what there is to do about it. trump has already signaled the kind of president he will be: revengeful, uncontrolled and unburdened by past norms and current laws. i won’t go through the litany of awful things he’s pledged to do, since that’s been well established with his words, project 2025 plans and excellent analyses from authoritarian experts. looking into an even more destabilized future is not easy. if you’re like me, you’re already tired. the prospect of more drama is daunting. but authoritarianism isn’t going away no matter the election results. so here’s some thinking about ways to orient so we can ground ourselves better for these times ahead. i am blessed to have spent time writing scenarios about what might happen, developing trainings for a trump win and working alongside colleagues living under autocratic regimes. one of the things they keep reminding me is that good psychology is good social change. authoritarian power is derived from fear of repression, isolation from each other and exhaustion at the utter chaos. we’re already feeling it. thus, for us to be of any use in a trump world, we have to pay grave attention to our inner states, so we don’t perpetuate the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion or constant disorientation. i started writing this list with strategic principles (e.g. analyze your opponents weakness and learn to handle political violence), but actually the place to start is with your own self. trump is arriving at a time of great social distrust. across the board, society has reduced trust in traditional institutions. yes, there’s more distrust of the media, medical professionals, experts and politicians. but it extends beyond that. there’s reduced trust in most community institutions and membership groups. whether from covid or political polarization, a lot of us have experienced reduced trust in friends and family. even our trust in predictable weather is diminished. distrust fuels the flame of autocracy because it makes it much easier to divide. we can see that in the casual nature of trump’s rhetoric   telling people to distrust immigrants, democrats, socialists, people from chicago, women marchers, mexicans, the press and so on. this is a social disease: you know who to trust by who they tell you to distrust. trust building starts with your own self. it includes trusting your own eyes and gut, as well as building protection from the ways the crazy making can become internalized. this also means being trustworthy   not just with information, but with emotions. that way you can acknowledge what you know and admit the parts that are uncertain fears nagging at you. then take steps to follow through on what you need. if you’re tired, take some rest. if you’re scared, make some peace with your fears. i can point you to resources that support that   like findingsteadyground.com   but the value here is to start with trusting your own inner voice. if you need to stop checking your phone compulsively, do it. if you don’t want to read this article now and instead take a good walk, do it. trust all these things inside of you because trust in self is part of the foundation of a healthy movement life. we’ll send you a weekly email with the latest articles. i promise i’ll head towards practical resistance strategies. but the emotional landscape matters a great deal. hannah arendt’s “the origins of totalitarianism” explored how destructive ideologies like fascism and autocracy grow. she used the word verlassenheit   often translated as loneliness   as a central ingredient. as she meant it, loneliness isn’t a feeling but a kind of social isolation of the mind. your thinking becomes closed off to the world and a sense of being abandoned to each other. she’s identifying a societal breakdown that we’re all experiencing. under a trump presidency, this trend will continue to accelerate. the constant attacks on social systems   teachers, health care and infrastructure   make us turn away from leaning on each other and towards ideologically simple answers that increase isolation (e.g. “distrust government,” “maga is nuts,” “anyone who votes that way doesn’t care about you”). in extreme cases, like chile in the 1970s and ‘80s, the dictatorship aimed to keep people in such tiny nodes of trust that everyone was an island unto themselves. at social gatherings and parties, people would commonly not introduce each other by name out of fear of being too involved. fear breeds distance. we have to consciously break that distance. in chile they organized under the guise of affinity groups. this was, as its name suggests, people who shared some connections and trust. finding just a few people who you trust to regularly act with and touch base with is central. following trump’s win: get some people to regularly touch base with. use that trust to explore your own thinking and support each other to stay sharp and grounded. for the last several months i’ve been hosting a regular group at my house to “explore what is up with these times.” our crew thinks differently but invests in trust. we emote, cry, sing, laugh, sit in stillness and think together. i’ve written an agenda for such gatherings right after a trump win that you can use. all of us will benefit from actively organized nodes to help stabilize us. in a destabilized society, you need people who help ground you. no matter what we try to do, there’s going to be a lot of loss. the human thing to do is grieve. (well, apparently humans are also very good at compartmentalizing, rationalizing, intellectualizing and ignoring   but the damage it does to our body and psyche is pretty well documented.) if you aren’t a feelings person, let me say it this way: the inability to grieve is a strategic error. after donald trump won in 2016, we all saw colleagues who never grieved. they didn’t look into their feelings and the future   and as a result they remained in shock. for years they kept saying, “i can’t believe he’s doing that…” an alternative: start by naming and allowing feelings that come to arise. the night that donald trump won in 2016, i stayed up until 4 a.m. with a colleague. it was a tear filled night of naming things that we had just lost. the list ranged from the political to the deeply personal: “trump will leave the paris climate agreement and that means much of the world will soft pedal its climate plans.” “ugh, i’m gonna have this man in my dreams. we’re all going to sleep less and wake up to bat shit crazy headlines each morning.” “trump’s gonna constantly attack immigrants   the wall may or may not happen, but he’s gonna raise the threshold for racism. i don’t think i can take it.” “friends i know who signed up for daca are never going to trust government again.” and on and on. it wasn’t only a list, but it was finding the impact inside of us of sadness, anger, numbness, shock, confusion and fear. we alternated between rageful spouts and tears. we grieved. we cried. we held each other. we breathed. we dove back into naming all the bad things we knew we’d lost and things we thought we’d be likely to lose. it wasn’t anywhere near strategizing or list making or planning. it was part of our acceptance that losing a presidency to an awful man means you and your people lose a lot. ultimately, this helped us believe it   so we didn’t spend years in a daze: “i can’t believe this is happening in this country.” believe it. believe it now. grief is a pathway to that acceptance. growing up my mom had a copy of the serenity prayer: “god, grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things i can and the wisdom to know the difference.” notably, that prayer comes from theologian reinhold niebuhr as he was watching the rise of nazis in germany. trump’s first day likely includes pardoning jan. 6 insurrectionists, reallocating money to build the wall, pulling out of the paris climate agreement, and firing 50,000 plus government workers to begin replacing them with loyalists. there’s little reason to believe that day two will get much quieter. under a trump presidency, there are going to be so many issues that it will be hard to accept that we cannot do it all. i’m reminded of a colleague in turkey who told me, “there’s always something bad happening every day. if we had to react to every bad thing, we’d never have time to eat.” an elder once saw me trying to do everything and pulled me aside. “that’s not a healthy lifelong strategy,” she said. she’d been raised in germany by the generation of holocaust survivors who told her, “never again.” she took it personally, as if she had to stop every wrong. it wracked her and contributed to several serious ongoing medical conditions. we can accept our humanity or suffer that lack of acceptance. chaos is a friend of the autocrat. one way we can unwittingly assist is by joining in the story that we have to do it all. over the last few months i’ve been testing out a terribly challenging tool. it’s a journaling exercise that invites you to reflect on which issues you’ll spend energy on. it asks: what are issues you’ll throw down on, do a lot for, a little for, or   despite caring about it   do nothing at all for? that last question can feel like a kind of torture for many activists, even while we’re intellectually aware that we cannot stop it all. unaddressed, this desire to act on everything leads to bad strategy. nine months ago when we gathered activists to scenario plan together, we took note of two knee jerk tendencies from the left that ended up largely being dead ends in the face of trump: the first is where we look around at bad things happening and make sure other people know about them, too. we satisfy the social pressure of our friends who want us to show outrage   but the driving moves are only reactive. the end result wasn’t the intended action or an informed population. it’s demoralizing us. it’s hurting our capacity for action. public angsting as a strategy is akin to pleading with the hole in the boat to stop us from sinking. symbolic actions may fare little better under a trump presidency. in whatever version of democracy we had, the logic of rallies and statements of outrage was to build a unified front that showed the opposition many voices were opposed to them. but under an unleashed fascist   if it’s all you do   it’s like begging the suicidal captain to plug the hole. let me be clear. these strategies will be part of the mix. we’ll need public angsting and symbolic actions. but if you see an organization or group who only relies on these tactics, look elsewhere. there are other, more effective ways to engage. i’ve been writing scenarios of how a trump presidency might play out. (you can read the scenarios written as a choose your own adventure style book at whatiftrumpwins.org or order the book.) the initial weeks look chaotic no matter what. but over time some differentiated resistance pathways begin to emerge. one pathway is called “protecting people.” these are folks surviving and protecting our own   especially those of us directly targeted, such as trans people, folks choosing abortions and immigrants. this might mean organizing outside current systems for health care and mutual aid, or moving resources to communities that are getting targeted. further examples include starting immigrant welcoming committees, abortion support funds or training volunteers on safety skills to respond to white nationalist violence. another pathway is “defending civic institutions.” this group may or may not be conscious that current institutions don’t serve us all, but they are united in understanding that trump wants them to crumble so he can exert greater control over our lives. each bureaucracy will put up its own fight to defend itself. insider groups will play a central battle against trump fascism. you may recall government scientists dumping copious climate data onto external servers, bracing for trump’s orders. this time, many more insiders understand it’s code red. hopefully, many will bravely refuse to quit   and instead choose to stay inside as long as possible. institutional pillars understand a trump presidency is a dire threat. the military, for one, is well aware that trump’s potential orders to use them to crack down on civilian protesters would politicize them permanently. these insiders will need external support. sometimes it’s just folks showing compassion that some of our best allies will be inside, silently resisting. a culture of celebrating people getting fired for the right reasons would help (then offering them practical help with life’s next steps). other moments will need open support and public activation. then there’s a critical third pathway: “disrupt and disobey.” this goes beyond protesting for better policies and into the territory of people intervening to stop bad policies or showing resistance. initially a lot of that prefigurative work may be purely symbolic. in norway, to create a culture of resistance during world war ii people wore innocuous paperclips as a sign they wouldn’t obey. the symbolism is to build preparation for mass strikes and open resistance. in serbia, protests against their dictator started with student strikes before escalating to strikes by pensioners (which were both largely symbolic) before finally escalating to the game changing strike of coal miners. in effective “disrupt and disobey” type actions the ultimate goal is paving a path for mass noncooperation: tax resistance, national strikes, work shut downs and other nonviolent mass disobedience tactics   the most effective strategies to displace authoritarians. (training on how to do that in a new trump era can be found here.) lastly, there’s a key fourth role: “building alternatives.” we can’t just be stuck reacting and stopping the bad. we have to have a vision. this is the slow growth work of building alternative ways that are more democratic. it includes grounding and healing work, rich cultural work, alternative ways of growing food and caring for kids, participatory budgeting or seeding constitutional conventions to build a majoritarian alternative to the electoral college mess we’re in. each of us may be attracted to some pathways more than others. myself, i’m attracted to “disrupt and disobey”   though i know when certain moments hit i’ll be pulled into some immediate “protecting people.” i’m perhaps too impatient for most “building alternatives” and too unhappy with the status quo to do “defend civic institutions.” however, i’m delighted others will do that work! i’m reminded of another way of finding your role that comes from my friend ingrid’s grandfather, who lived in norway under the nazi regime. he learned that the resistance was hiding people in the basement of a church near a cemetery. as a florist he already traveled to and from the cemetery   so he found a role smuggling messages in funeral wreaths, delivering them all over the city. he didn’t go out designing his perfect role. in fact, i’m not sure he would have looked at the list of possible “roles” and found his political path. instead, he found his space by circumstance. in other words: your path may not be clear right now. that’s okay. there will be plenty of opportunities to join the resistance. the washington post and los angeles times’ cowardly refusal to endorse a political candidate is, it appears, a classic example of self censorship. trump did not have to make a direct threat to these media outlets. their own leadership told them to “sit this one out.” why? because they wanted to stay safe. if autocrats teach us any valuable lesson it’s this: political space that you don’t use, you lose. this is a message to all levels of society: lawyers advising nonprofits, leaders worried about their funding base, folks worried about losing their jobs. i’m not coaching to never self protect. you can decide when to speak your mind. but it is a phenomenally slippery slope here we have to observe and combat. timothy snyder has written a helpful book called “on tyranny”   and turned it into a video series. he cites ceding power as the first problem to tackle, writing: “most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. in times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. a citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” put simply: use the political space and voice you have. a few months ago i sat in a room with retired generals, republicans like michael steele, ex governors and congress people. we were scenario planning ways to prevent using the insurrection act to target civilian protesters, playing step by step who would give the orders to whom and how the worst could be avoided. for a committed antiwar activist, the phrase “strange bedfellows” doesn’t begin to describe the bizarre experience i felt. i came out of it realizing that a trump presidency reshapes alignments and possibilities. the bellicose, blasphemous language of trump will meet the practical reality of governing. when you’re out of power, it’s easy to unify   but their coalition’s cracks will quickly emerge. we have to stay sharp for opportunities to cleave off support. how we position ourselves matters: are we interested in engaging with people unhappy with the regime   whether because they love the current institutions or are unhappy with trump’s policies on them? are we able to tell a story that explains how we got here   and do political education? or are we only interested in maintaining ideological purity and preaching to our own choir? even if you don’t want to engage with them (which is fine), we’ll all have to give space to those who do experiment with new language to appeal to others who don’t share our worldview of a multiracial true democracy. empathy will be helpful here. i write all this with a particular moment in mind: at the end of the scenario day, we whipped around the room with conclusions. the generals said “the military cannot stop trump from giving these orders.” politicians said “congress cannot stop it.” the lawyers said “we cannot stop it.” i could see a lot of pain in high ranking people of great power admitting a kind of defeat. i felt a level of compassion that surprised me. only the left activists said: we have an approach of mass noncooperation that can stop this. but we’d need your help. i’m not sure that projected confidence was well received. but if we’re going to live into that (and i’m far from certain we can), we have to get real about power. waging nonviolence depends on reader support to produce articles like this. please become a monthly donor today! in trump’s first term, the left’s organizing had mixed results. with john mccain’s assistance, we were able to block trump’s health proposal. rallies proved less and less effective as time went on. the airport shutdowns showed that disruptive action can activate the public and helped pave the way for the court’s dismissal over the muslim ban. but trump was still able to win huge tax cuts and appoint right wing supreme court judges. the narrative lurched, and sizeble chunks of the population have now been captivated by the “big lie.” it was elections that ultimately stopped trump. this time will be much harder. the psychological exhaustion and despair is much higher. deploying people into the streets for mass actions with no clear outcome will grow that frustration, leading to dropout and radicalized action divorced from strategy. trump has been very clear about using his political power to its fullest   stretching and breaking the norms and laws that get in his way. the movement will constantly be asking itself: “are you able to stop this new bad thing?” we’re not going to convince him not to do these things. no pressure on republicans will result in more than the tiniest of crumbs (at least initially). we’re not going to stop him from doing these things just by persuasive tactics or showing that there are a lot of us who oppose them. it will be helpful to have a power analysis in our minds, specifically that’s known as the upside down triangle. this tool was built to explain how power moves even under dictatorships. the central tenet is that like an upside down triangle, power can be unstable. it naturally topples over without anything supporting it. to prevent that, power relies on pillars of support to keep it upright.casually, the left often focuses on pillars of support that include governments, media, corporations, shareholders and policy makers. describing the pillars of support, gene sharp wrote: by themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive laws and regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budgets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money, repair roads, keep markets supplied with food, make steel, build rockets, train the police and army, issue postage stamps or even milk a cow. people provide these services to the ruler though a variety of organizations and institutions. if people would stop providing these skills, the ruler could not rule. removing one pillar of support can often gain major, life saving concessions. in response to trump’s 2019 government shutdown, flight attendants prepared a national strike. such a strike would ground planes across the country and a key transportation network. within hours of announcing they were “mobilizing immediately” for a strike, trump capitulated. another example comes from the recently deceased long time activist dick taylor. in his book “blockade,” he writes about how he and a tiny group changed u.s. foreign policy by repeatedly blocking armaments sent to support pakistani dictator yahya khan. the ragtag crew sent canoes to block mighty military shipments leaving from east coast ports until eventually the international longshoremen’s association was persuaded to refuse to load them. this broke the back of national policy. for larger system change we have to look outside of recent u.s. organizing. a good place to start is with waging nonviolence’s recent interview series with folks sharing key lessons on fighting autocracies and aiming for system change. in our country, pressuring elite power is reaching its end point. power will need to emerge from folks no longer obeying the current unjust system. this tipping point of mass noncooperation will be messy. it means convincing a lot of people to take huge personal risks for a better option. as a “disrupt and disobey” person, we have to move deliberately to gain the trust of others, like the “protecting people” folks. mass noncooperation does the opposite of their goal of protection   it exposes people to more risk, more repression. but with that comes the possibility that we could get the kind of liberatory government that we all truly deserve. otpor in serbia has provided an abundance of examples on how to face repression. they were young people who took a sarcastic response to regular police beatings. they would joke amongst each other, “it only hurts if you’re scared.” their attitude wasn’t cavalier   it was tactical. they were not going to grow fear. so when hundreds were beaten on a single day, their response was: this repression will only stiffen the resistance. this is attitude. they were also practical. they would follow their arrested protesters to jail cells and insist on making sure they were being treated well. they would target police who beat them up   showing up outside their houses with pictures of the people they beat up. their call was rooted in the future they wanted: “you’ll have a chance to join us.” handling fear isn’t about suppressing it   but it is about constantly redirecting. one activist described to me two motions in the universe: shrinking or expansion. when donald trump directs the justice department to use sedition charges against protesters or arrest his political enemies like jamie raskin or liz cheney, what’s our response? activist/intellectual hardy merriman released a studied response about political violence that had some news that surprised me. the first was that physical political violence hasn’t grown dramatically in this country   it still remains relatively rare. the threats of violence, however, trend upwards, such as this cnn report: “politically motivated threats to public officials increased 178 percent during trump’s presidency,” primarily from the right. his conclusion wasn’t that political violence isn’t going to grow. quite the opposite. but he noted that a key component to political violence is to intimidate and tell a story that they are the true victims. making political violence rebound requires refusing to be intimidated and resisting those threats so they can backfire. (training on this backfire technique is available from the hope pv guide.) we can shrink into a cacophony of “that’s not fair,” which fuels the fear of repression. or we take a page from the great strategist bayard rustin. black civil rights leaders were targeted by the government of montgomery, alabama during the bus boycott in the 1950s. leaders like the newly appointed martin luther king jr. went into hiding after police threats of arrest based on antiquated anti boycott laws. movement organizer rustin organized them to go down to the station and demand to be arrested since they were leaders   making a positive spectacle of the repression. some leaders not on police lists publicly demanded they, too, get arrested. folks charged were met with cheers from crowds, holding their arrest papers high in the air. fear was turned into valor. i don’t feel certain, and i’m not predicting we win. but we’ve all now imagined storylines about how bad it might get. we would do ourselves a service to spend an equal measure of time envisioning how we might advance our cause in these conditions. as writer walidah imarisha says, “the goal of visionary fiction is to change the world.” in my mind, we’ll have to eventually get trump out of office. there are two paths available. the first: vote him out. given the bias of the electoral college, this requires successfully defending nearly all local, state and national takeovers of elections such that they remain relatively fair and free. winning via the path of electoral majority has a wide swath of experience and support from mainstream progressive organizations and democratic institutions. it’s going to be a major thrust. in my scenario writing i’ve explored what that strategy could look like, including preparing electoral workers to stand against last minute attempts by trump to change election rules and even stymie the election with dubious emergency orders. they don’t obey   and go ahead with elections anyway. the second strategy is if he illegally refuses to leave or allow fair elections: kick him out. that means we are able to develop a national nonviolent resistance campaign capable of forcing him out of office. i’ve written several versions of this: one where large scale strikes disable portions of the u.s. economy. if you recall from covid, our systems are extremely vulnerable. businesses running “just in time” inventory means small hiccups in the system can cause cascading effects. sustained strikes would face deep resistance, but they could swing communities currently on the fence, like the business community, which already is concerned about trump’s temperamental nature. trump’s own policies might make these conditions much easier. if he really does mass deportations, the economic injury might be fatal. in another scenario i explore another strategy of taking advantage of a trump overreach. autocrats overplay their hands. and in this imagined scenario, trump overreaches when he attempts to force autoworkers to stop building electric vehicles. uaw workers refuse and keep the factories running. eventually he’s unable to stop them   but in the process he’s publicly humiliated. we’ll send you a weekly email with the latest articles. a very public loss like this can cause what timur kuran calls an “unanticipated revolution.” he noted many incidents where political leaders seem to have full support, then suddenly it evaporates. he gives as an example the iranian revolution of 1978 79. “none of the major intelligence organizations   not even the cia or the kgb   expected shah mohammad reza pahlavi’s regime to collapse. right up to the revolution, they expected him to weather the gathering storm.” kuran’s analysis reminds us to look at trump’s political weakness. political hacks like lindsay graham appear to be sycophants   but if given the chance to turn their knife in his back, they might. this means exposed political weaknesses could quickly turn the many inside trump’s campaign against him. that feels far away from now. but all these remain possibilities. practicing this future thinking and seeing into these directions gives me some hope and some strategic sensibilities. on the days when i can’t sense any of these political possibilities (more than not), i zoom out further to the lifespans of trees and rocks, heading into spiritual reminders that nothing lasts forever. all of the future is uncertain. but using these things, we’re more likely to have a more hopeful future and experience during these turbulent times. update 11/6/24: this story was published prior to the election and updated on nov. 6 to reflect the results. corrections 11/6/24: hardy merriman’s name was incorrectly spelled. and the quote from otpor was mistated as “it doesn’t hurt if you’re afraid.” daniel hunter coaches and trains movements across the globe. as founder of choose democracy he’s helped stop trump’s coup attempts. he has trained extensively with ethnic minorities in burma, pastors in sierra leone, and independence activists in northeast india. he has written multiple books, including "what will you do if trump wins,” "climate resistance handbook" and "building a movement to end the new jim crow." thank you so much. since it is 1:30am est the day after the election and the prospect of having a sociopathic president looms large, i immediately began looking for resources that would provide “what’s next?” will share this article with my network. thank you. i needed to read this so i could get some sleep tonight and prepare for how to fight tomorrow. i really needed this today, and it was so insightful and empowering. i’m currently an expat in germany with the intention to come home, so i have a cool advantage out here. i’ll be searching for local groups and putting together action plans instead of sinking into doom and despair. sharing with all my readers and friends! thank you for this much needed article. i plan on sharing it with like minded individuals in the morning. thank you for this   people need proactive suggestions for how to get involved and effect change thank you daniel, this comprehensive hopeful view of how we need to think about making the world we want in the face of chaos and authoritarianism gives direction to all of us. writing to thank you for this as, even here in canada, i wept in the night when i saw what was unfolding. i felt so desperate as this awfulness is affecting the canadian political landscape and i was scared and really needed to read something such as you have written here .i found it posted by an american friend…it’s so important. i feel less lost and afraid. thank you for this grounding and insightful call to action. i will try to take it to heart (and head). thank you. this is a lifesaver and i will be sharing with my friends and family. thank you, nearing my century birth: have always been aware of “take over” power structures snd resisting them! thank you for updating the tools snd possibilities for me…again…even in my “old age”. this is so helpful today! the scared parts of me needed to hear that somebody had suggestions for positive action. this is incredibly helpful. am reading this on the day after the elections and you have turned my dispair into determination. thank you so much! very interesting. feels good just to find something that has thought through these scenarios. i’m wondering about the scenario where trump’s health pretty quickly takes a nosedive, they remove him for it and we’re looking at a vance administration. same strategies? there’s a lot to digest here. thank you for all these strategies and possibilities. i spent 16 hours working the poll yesterday. when i got home, i poured myself a glass of wine, and sat in our hot tub. i gazed up to the night sky. the stars were countless. i thought to myself  the stars are not going to stop sparkling. they don’t care about this temporary reality. this too will pass. the world will continue to spin. i am exhausted and distraught today, but tomorrow, i will try to imagine where i fit in to this work. thank you. thank you for this! i need it! and countless others do as well. i’m going to share this with many others. thank you for posting this. i was looking for ways to calm myself down in the morning after the election. i was feeling powerless, and this article gave me some hope and perspective. at 67 to wake today knowing that in the 70s when i fought to just wear pants and not skirts to public school and ended up suspended, i would 55 years later be waking up to men tracking my reproductive organs to put me in jail right now i’m sad, depressed and tired, but i appreciate your thoughtful analysis and suggestions. i’m 75 years old and angry at my generation. and i wonder if we are watching the demise of the american democratic dream. but i hope there is a path to a better future. i think you know my son, stephen smith, who shares much of your worldview and is the smartest person i know. i admire his heart   and yours. mark smith mps70@mail.com thank you. any suggestions on a common communication network to join? thank you as said by so many others, thank you for these suggestions and links. i’m feeling quite hopeless, and scared for the earth, animals, plants, people who are not conservative white males. i’m so sad for ukraine, what the people must feel. these are logical, well thought out and practical steps to take. i’m hoping i will be able to stop crying and stressing to find people to join. and i would also ask, as someone else did, how can i find others that feel the same? thank you so much, this information, thoughtfulness and global examples helps me feel grounded going forward. i have already shared with all my circles and hope everyone who reads it does the same. thank you. this is the most helpful thing i have read so far this morning. i am in shock and in distress being 63 year old gay woman. i don’t know how i can do it anymore. i consider myself a patriot, but i feel defeated my family has been in florida since the 1700s i’ve been in florida all my life never had a passport, but now i will be getting a passport and eventually moving out of the united states if i survive that’s how i feel if i survive i have a 22 year old gay grandson that i hope survives . slfarris13@yahoo.com this was forwarded to me by a friend and i found it most helpful with realistic expectations and plans. i expect to implement with mu unitarian universalist congregation. i’m not sure what you mean by saying we’ll have to either vote trump out or kick him out. the constitution bars trump from running for another term after this one. we may have to kick him out if he goes full dictator, but i can’t see how we’ll ever get a chance to vote him out again. do you mean that when his term expires, he’ll try to install a puppet president to act on his behalf? we should also be prepared for a third possibility: he dies in office, and then it’s vance we have to deal with. is the playbook for dealing with him the same as for trump? a church where my singing group meets had the “what if trump wins” book out on a table, and i have had to turn in over every time we sing in that room because his face has become so triggering to me. but i think i may end up getting the book. and maybe start attending that church. i am in such a distrusting mode i am afraid to give my name and email address. i have lived more than 80 years in a country i have always been proud of. my grief at where we are now is tremendous. i guess i am still in denial that this could happen in america. i hope what you are doing can make a difference. thank you. i needed this today. my first reaction to the election was to withdraw. now i can see a way forward. i really needed this article today, thank you so much. pray for strength and peace that surpasses all human understanding thank you. very helpful. great reading…gives me hope…lots of actionable ideas….thank you thankyou!!!!! “the military cannot stop trump from giving these orders.” no, but they also cannot obey these orders. members of the military take an oath to the constitution, and the nuremberg trials made clear that following orders is not a defense. i wonder how many will refuse to follow unconstitutional orders. not many, i’ll bet. this is truly worth passing on. thank you. really appreciate this post. one correction though: the la times didn’t refuse to endorse a candidate because of cowardice, but because of their stance on palestine. the owners have come out in opposition to the democratic party’s support of apartheid in palestine. notably, the la times’ owners are south african, and have experienced apartheid first hand, which they have stated they refuse to endorse in any country, under any circumstance. (sources: the la times owners’ daughter’s twitter account (personal tweets); https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/05/los angeles times endorsement patrick soon shiong gaza; https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/26/us/los angeles times endorsement soon shiong.html; https://nypost.com/2024/10/26/us news/la times owner blocked kamala endorsement to protest gaza war/). regardless, thank you for your guidance and advice. will hold this dear. this entire article is helpful. just what i needed on this first post election day. thanks for your encouragement and practical examples. we move forward together! thank you for your support and advise regarding how i may possibly feel human again. today was so depressing. how could do many voters want this man, trump, as a leader ? i was asking myself at 79 can i be of any help? your words are making me feel that yes i can!! i will find a way! this is a lot to take in. i will definitely go over it with true friends. it’s the beginnng of my question, “what can i do?” going forward with hope after today’s election is a major undertaking. trump in office is beyond heartbreaking. i feel like we are looking down a long dark tunnel. but forward we must go, with confidence in the actions of peace and nonviolence. gandhi faced the british empire. certainly we can face this terror. really great information and well written. i needed to read this today and i plan on challenging myself to take action in the coming weeks and months. your guidance and writing inspires me act. after staying up the entirety of last night, watching the numbers/crunching my own numbers, and arriving at the conclusion that we are indeed back here again, i barely made it through the work day. defeated, deflated, despondent  just a few words to capture my mindset. i vacillated between bawling uncontrollably and numbly staring out my window. and then one of the founders of a wonderful company for which i work sent me a link to this piece. and after a quick read, i sent the link on to trusted friends, family members, and colleagues. i have since read your piece carefully and thoughtfully. and i felt my blood pressure dropped significantly. i could breathe. thank you for your candor and wisdom, your suggestions and warnings (for lack of a better word, my brain is running on the fumes of caffeine). i do not have to be an island; i am not alone in this. i can feel my feelings without apology. and i can do something about my anxiety, my fear, my desire to crawl under the covers and hide. for example, i can further educate myself. i can grow in the thick of thorny thistles and murky waters. i can develop a better understanding of how to bring together the things i see and hear and the feelings and thoughts i experience internally. develop a discourse, a language by which to connect and stay connected to others. really accept that it is healthy to grieve, and to not grieve alone. acknowledge the resources at the ready and the skills to speak truth to power. thank you for this gift, one of profound wisdom and a deep understanding of what is happening. and sending all of the peace and light i possess over the wire with gratitude. sharing! very articulate capsule summary of the antidotes to despair: action. i’m very eager also to disrupt the pillars of support. i am a recovering “violent person,” an addict 40 years in recovery, who has seen and writes about the generalized, unexamined addiction to control, domination and violence coming from naive delusions about our mastery. if it were not trump, it would be some other petty tyrant. we are our own worst enemies because we don’t ask good questions about ourselves. this crisis will fortunately encourage or force us to begin that soul searching work. i am currently working with two other davids to make us all honorary davids or davidas in planning to slay the goliath of war. lovealwayswins.us patricia, can you please provide reliable and credible sources to support your statement that “99.9% of this article is pure lies and scare tactics”? absent facts and logical reasoning, it is difficult to follow or appreciate your comment. from one reader to another. thank you! andrea thank you. reading this article helped me to remember that there is so much to be done, and to begin the work within myself. good work, thank you. i’ve been pondering these same steps for two weeks and mentioned the second to my wife today, step by step, getting people to play together non violently is something i have done for 19 years, inside and outside of prisons. the methods are proven and reliable, if you stay creative, focused and committed. what other options do people of conscience have, at this point? i’ll sign up for the newsletter. the first rule in life is, do not stop. thank godde for this article and this website. i came here from the fb group for equal and equal and this site are a breath of fresh air. there’s just so much despair in progressive fb groups and not a lot of “we got this!”. sure, the “we got this!” comes and goes but a lot of people are just bitter. i’m glad to find people who are hopeful. @carrie mook bridgman you have a point. we need allies in high places. i hope europe picks up the slack with regards to ukraine. thank you! the most grounded practical strategies i’ve come across. sharing widely. thank you, thus helped me tremendously. 💪🇺🇸🙏🙏 thank you for this article. in the spirit of norwegians’ wearing paper clips to signify resistance, and as an expression of my mourning, i will be wearing a black armband. perhaps others here would like to join me? hello! i am sharing this article but the headline has not yet been updated. i want readers to know the pice itself has been updated. just letting you know. thank you for this. it’s my only hope right now. jessie every blockade is a potential ramp. every kindness dispells cruelty. every loving word brings light in darkness. stand always strong in peacemaking. a friend gave me a link to this article, and i have been passing it around to friends and co workers. everyone i’ve shown this too has found it extremely helpful. i suppose this is one way to “build the circle of trust” described herein. i was interested by your discussion of building coalitions with retired military and republicans. i find it very hope inspiring to think of the resistance coalitions that will come together to resist trump’s agenda. i’m very willing to set aside differences in policy for the time being as we work together for the good of the country. two points that stood out to me: “your path may not be clear right now. that’s okay.” and “the initial weeks look chaotic no matter what. but over time some differentiated resistance pathways [will] begin to emerge.” i’m focusing on that right now, because i know we’re gonna take some nasty hits. there’s no way around that. but the way forward will eventually reveal itself; it always does. in short: cultivate resilience and look for an opening. that’ll be my mantra in the coming months. thank you so much, its nov 7 and though i was able to stay strong most of yesterday, i find myself nearing a cliff today (so far). i would love to be a part of a small group, as you speak of, of people that get together and support & brainstorm with eachother. so many wonderful ideas and information i will surely read and re read. thank you so very much. this is the time to organize the resistance. but just doing demonstrations or “one and done,” as george lakey says, is not enough and will not be sufficient to out organize and take back our power from the trumpian fascists controlling all three branches of our government. these 10 steps that daniel hunter suggests are spot on. we need the parallel tracks of organizing a mass movement and electoral political action of registering voters, running for offices up and down the ballot as well as establishing parallel institutions and alternatives to build community, sustain joy, celebration and healing. we need to take the “long view” reverend jesse jackson & rainbow push has long said. there are so many more things we can do. “beautiful trouble”y andrew boyd and “how we can win” by george lakey are starting points along with this article. as nancy pelosi has said, “don’t agonize, organize!” thank you for this. i will do my homework from what you have provided and begin getting educated. i’ve just enrolled in a fierce compassion leadership program with the intention of using my studio to begin support work for folks struggling with the aftermath of this election. my question is this: do you have/ recommend actual training programs and what kinds  if any  of a national team structure do you have in place? are there local teams? if i want to start one, how does an uneducated newbie do so? thank you. we needed that. yeah baby! i’m so thrilled with this. up for most if not all of what you suggest but i ask you: could you write a version of disrupt and disobey for oldies?! paperclips we can definitely handle. (i’m still only an aspiring oldie but have lots of friends who are wondering what “take to the streets” looks like for our generation.) i lived in a post totalitarian society for two decades and saw both the erosion of agency that lingered in the new era, making it possible for the next misuses of political power, and worked with individuals on what needed psychic repair. the old collective traumas need tending to. you get at the fundamentals i recognize like fear, isolation, and obeying in advance… huge thanks. thank you. i’m all in. it will take me sometime to absorb and understand all that you offer here. i will persist. i will act. wow! that is so helpful! it reverberates into other relationships and issues in my life. i choose to not react to every clorox swallowing comment. thank you. a great help in focusing my mind and soothing my heart. this is a very helpful and inspirational article in these trying times. things are very unsure and scary right now but as long as we’re still here there is still hope. so very very grateful for all the work you and your team are doing!!! the tips and references are so very helpful it is not just trump, but what led to trump   an ignorant and tired blighted populace, lame democrats who ignored our econ crisis. wondering now if it is in prep for a world war, a strong leader getting people to heel. also, mimics right wing rise in europe. this is so valuable! exactly what i need as i move into vigilant acceptance. thank you! thank you for this. it has helped calm my heart and mind from near constant panic. now i want to build my collective of resistance and have shared this with like minded friends. while the retrumplicans now hold all branches of government, they will institute project 2025. after all of the voter suppression laws are then passed, they will use the 25th amendment to remove trump, installing vance as king for life. how do we “organize” against that? while disinformation is still the norm? while even “liberal” leaning media still “sane washes” trump? hoping for an answer; i have a daughter planning a wedding/family…and feel absolutely hopeless. somewhere in the article or on findingsteadyground.com, you asked to let you know how your article is being used. here is the email i sent out to our indivisibleworcester.org members. hello, my daughter sent me a link to an article on wagingnonviolence.org titled 10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that trump has won (link to it here). being open to any inspiration, i read it. it is long, but it quickly filled me with hope. it has also inspired me to begin our recovery process. we are not the first nation to face fascism and repression. some of the lessons in the article build on successes others have won around the world when oppressed. i founded indivisible worcester in 2019 as an outlet for political action. the concrete actions this article open us to has dissipated my feelings of powerlessness and despair. it may give you hope too. to begin the strength building process, i decided to see if anyone is interested in meeting in person this sunday at 9 am at nucafe, 335 chandler street, worcester. the 10 ways article linked to findingsteadyground.com, which lists “7 behaviors we can use right away to strengthen ourselves, so we can keep taking more and more powerful and strategic actions.” this list of actions will be the basis of our discussion on sunday, once everyone has had 2 3 minutes to express their fears raised by the election results. you can download a pdf of the 7 behaviors here. please email me if you plan on coming sunday. i will be there, sitting in the back right corner, by the rear exit. hope to see you! in support and solidarity, mary thank you “when your reference points are shaken, remain curious and open, trust your inner vision and maintain a healthy sense of humor.” where do i find the agenda you mentioned below? thanks. “for the last several months i’ve been hosting a regular group at my house to “explore what is up with these times.” our crew thinks differently but invests in trust. we emote, cry, sing, laugh, sit in stillness and think together. i’ve written an agenda for such gatherings right after a trump win that you can use.” i believe in not telling my opponent what mistakes he’s making. an excellent article, however, i take issue with the assertion that the serenity prayer was written by theologian reinhold niebuhr as he was watching the rise of nazi germany. there is a lot of debate as to the origin of the serenity prayer and who actually wrote it. to say that the motivation for the creation of the prayer was based on the rise of fascism in germany is a fabrication. i can find no historical evidence to support this claim. please, we need truth in the times in which we live. hi jacqueline, you should be able to access the link here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10y8gv9yqdypozwpvzxutp2vvvglbcrrusaosviw8dqe/edit?tab=t.0 this is great information that restores my hope and gives me a path to think about how i can contribute to the resistance. thank you. thank you. please continue to send more information and tips. i’ll share with friends and democratic contacts. thank you💙👍 very heartening and interesting! i will pass these thoughts on to others. why not try to be peaceful citizens and get a candidate who will win next time. thank you for this. it’s a great starting point. the question on my mind, though, is: how much of this still works when vance forces trump out and takes the presidency? he and johnson seem like the long term threat, rather than trump. will the military go door to door to the people who are democrats and shoot or jail them if given the order from trump? just wonderful, daniel. so helpful and hopeful. i’ll look forward to more thoughts as well as the development of small groups to support each other from one of the four orientations you mention. as i discern what i am now called to do as an elder it will be vital so i feel i am part of a community and not just doing things on my own. with much gratitude, phyllis taylor just what i needed !! this is exactly what i needed to read today (and tomorrow, and maybe every day for a good long while). i feel like i can finally exhale and start looking for ways forward. thank you! in your section on institutional change i would like to point out there is already a grass roots movement to change the way we vote. it’s call rcv ranked choice voting. it works in alaska and main. it is gaining traction in colorado. keep that in your back pocket for when we need to restructure. it is so wonderful to see so many here wanting to do something positive and help to make changes that we need, yet what about us seniors, i am old, lol…yet i feel half my age which is 80, my mind is sharp as is my tongue. i lived a long time and have been a volunteer in politics all my life yet this has torn me apart, never in a zillion years would i think to see the end of my america and that is what i fear. i was married to an idiot just like t and who even almost looked like him, evil beyond belief and i fear we are all in for a horrible ride to hell and back….t hates women, they belong in the bedroom only for him, 2 speaks out of both sides of his mouth and nothing coming out is honest or true, boy do i know that. i want to do something yet what at my age i wonder….democrats are now targets for the gop who want them dead than alive……liz cheney is on t’s hit list for sure, if i was her, i would need bodyguards and a bullet proof vest when out in public. take care out there and keep calm and keep in contact very quietly. this article is the grandest, most long winded, and epic way of demonstrating mass delusion i have ever seen in my life. wow! autocrat? put the crack pipe down please. trump has the same amount of power that every previous president has had. he is no more an autocrat than joe biden is. where is your hysteria and panic regarding sleepy joe’s power? where is your outrage over sleepy joe having his political opposition arrested? oh, it’s ok if it’s trump who is arrested and charged with 100+ felonies in one of the most blatant and outrageous show trials ever in the history of the usa. where was your outrage over the democrats weaponizing the justice system against their political opposition? the double standard is jaw dropping. how can anyone engage in such hypocrisy? what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. and, it was leftists who pulled out all the stops in their decent into madness and a cult of anti personality. the rhetoric from this article is so over the top it is scary that people actually believe in this hysteria over this alleged “autocrat”. i mean, check your own backyard before you go leveling accusations about what trump is “going to do”. your dems already did it!! this whole sordid affair is just a demonstration of how susceptible  no… enthusiastic a whole segment of the population is to being brainwashed into this cult of anti personality! i mean, you people have ignored your own lying eyes in order to believe in this whole sordid witch hunt and demonization of one man! it is scary how disconnected from reality people have become. you carry on like trump had secret police and torture chambers in his first term and are returning for his second term! get real! and stop believing all the hysterical a accusations of the corrupt main stream media. the msm is the weapon of choice for the bankers that own the world. they have been cramming globalist policies down our throats with decades of corrupt career politicians on their payroll. and, when truml won his first term we finally had a populist president loyal to the american people instead of the bankers. and the bankers were pissed! they used their bought and paid for msm to launch one of the most obvious smear campaigns ever seen. trump almost secured peace with north korea and the media refused to give trump any fair coverage. just smear after smear and spinning everything to demonize trump. they even had a running list of “trump’s lies”! name me any previous president, senator, or congressman that the media ever even accused of telling a single lie! please! every previous president gave us “campaign promises” that they promptly ignored once elected. and the media never bothered to report on these i disputable lies! trump did what he promised he would do in his campaign. the first president in my lifetime who kept his word to the american people…. and the media accuses him of lying by spinning facts and nitpicking on his him getting details wrong. has the blatant double standard of the msm gone completely unnoticed by democrats? do you value the notion of fair play? or is it all good as long as it’s the opposition that is getting smeared endlessly? are your values and standards negotiable and ever changing according to who the subject is? what happened to the lofty claims of idealism that liberals claim for themselves? one standard please and a sincere effort at objectivity will bring us all together. i know you can do it. we are all better together. in that respect, i can fully admit trump can be abrasive and unlikeable at times. buy, at the end of the day it is about his policy. not his personality. we are not marrying the guy. we don’t need to love him or even like him. we just want a president who acts in the interests of the ameican people instead of the “elites” & globalists. at least that’s what the working class wants. i suspect many of you trump haters aren’t being worked to death like the working class is and you have the luxury of hating on a president due to his personality. in that case, you probably also consider yourselves “elite” and your trump derangement syndrome is a manifestation of your pride, elitism, and beliefs in your own superiority. you have no idea how revolting that is to the rest of us grinding out a living every day. pride is a mofo. goodnight and i love you my fellow americans. this article is like oxygen for the resistance. thank you for your courage! daniel, i’m grateful for your work and writing here and have a suggestion that might make the first section more useful for readers. where you listed the things that had you in grief   for example, trump pulling us out of climate change agreements   if you can add to the item not only the concern but also the longing underneath it   we ache to be part of a society that contributes to reducing climate catastrophe; we long to see our country and the whole world work toward a safe environment for all. from here we can more easily feel our grief and bring compassion to it   “of course i long for an end to climate catastrophe! of course i want society to take responsibility to stop this disaster!” moving to what we long for can help us feel and bring compassion to the deep grief for what we don’t have. i wish to thank you for sharing this first thing that i’ve read that has eased some of my helplessness and despair. i’ve already begun sharing. i’m not sure i understand number ten though, given that the election is over? but yes, connecting with anything spiritual that helps one feel part of something larger than this, with nature, sounds vital. thank you for your words of wisdom. after lack of sleep and discouragement that i live in a country that refuses to support 2 brilliant qualified women to be president of our country & choose instead this unqualified man is horrible. i am a 76 years & dreamed that i would be able to see a woman elected president in my lifetime so now i advise my grandchildren that there is still a lot of work to do. your article gives me hope you left out getting involved in your community and running for local office. school board, village board, parks board…we need to build trust from the ground up. run in your local munis and advocate for welcoming communities. safely steward our local budgets. most of this work is non partisan. voting is not enough! thank you so much for this map forward. there’s a place for all of us in the resistance. as i was reading, i began to imagine ways to gather with those around me in a different meaningful way, discussing possibilities, not just the doom we feel now. i will share this piece far and wide and begin to take action. i’m a “disrupt an disobey” person myself. i’ll meet you in the struggle. the foundation of our losses in this election is our unabashed failure to communicate to and with maga folks. fox and cnn served as useless echo chambers; educating no one and not reaching the other side of the aisle because they don’t watch them. national division was expanded and reinforced by this failure. ultimately the democrats failed miserably to listen, consider and debate maga’s chief concern (the cost of living.) endless, self righteous esoteric discussions, by our left leaning and highly educated pundits, about democracy, tyranny, orange makeup and rude rallies entirely missed the point. maga didn’t pay any attention to our brilliant discourses on economics, geopolitics or fraud. they were and are laser focused on their (our) shattered purchasing power. we missed that, and missed innumerable opportunities to engage them on their level and their issue. we need to look in the mirror and realize that we are not right because we have a prideful grand image of ourselves. loved the article. my one small contribution: document hosted at google in now on ipfs (much harder to censor). we should all be mindful of digital footprints we leave (google now will *forever* know i was interested in this doc)… remember too the services we rely and to whom they will remain loyal if / when things get crazy. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/qmbxjk88fqrzzb1sfcjkwbec4dld8pg8vmj4dngsguqj9b thanks very much @pwnallthethings.bsky.social‬ quote: the main thing you need to know is that the system of fascism is designed to make you give up and to disorient you. resistance first and foremost is in helping yourself overcome those two. ‪ it will be wildly unsettling. it will be somehow both incredibly fast, and also incredibly slow. it will be both wildly disruptive, and many things will look the same. things you expect to break will be subverted instead, and things you think are unbreakable will not hold. it will be disorienting. things will be destroyed in ways that make them look whole, but they will be hollowed out, and people around you will tell you nothing changed. it will be disorienting. things that are supposed to be fair, will not be. it will make you want to give up. that is what it is *for*. life will go on. rent will be due. people will go to work. classes will still be held. the world will not stop. it will be disorienting. it will make you want to give up. it is designed to disorient and demoralize you into being cynical and giving up, and to stop believing a better world is possible thank you. thanks for initiating an inspirational and meaningful platform to launch individual plans to move forward and hopefully beyond a second trump regime. there is considerable conversation to be had about why democrats failed to communicate a definitely clear message to those who voted for “maga” and trump, however, that commentary only serves as distraction and diversion of reality. it’s not that democrats failed to have a clear message; quite the contrary; trump and republicans messaging soundly tapped into the pervasive emotions that are still prevalent and exist throughout much of the population of the united states. the emotional impacts of division, bigotry, racism, misogyny, colorism as well as welfare, dei, critical race theory and problems caused by *others* serve as “red herrings,” that are useful tools republicans realize can be easily exploited by simply connecting these emotions directly to the “kitchen table issues and lives” of a large massive majority of americans. trump followed the play books written by jim crow and adolph hitler. maintain your composure, stay positive, surround yourself with positive individuals and remained engaged. god is still in control. loved this piece! will it be made available in spanish or other languages? omg! this “article” is so spot on! i want to be involved in “educating” the public and being prepared to counter any slips trump makes. democrats, i believe, need to get off the party bandwagon and start listening to “the people”. someone needs to energize and organize the unaffiliated voters and those who don’t vote, but who and how? there are way too many small organizations that have a good message and mean well, but couldn’t there be a larger umbrella social media site that all of them could be listed/categorized according to their particular main agenda? this is what i want to be a part of but have no idea where to begin. one more (important) thought! i would love to push this article all over social media. unfortunately, the average person will see how long it is and give up. i would love to create a briefer outline type version that will get more readers. does something like this already exist and if so, can you share with me? thank you! the most debilitating feeling is that you no longer know who is an ignorant, short sighed, sexist, fascist… because it feels they are quietly everywhere. i’d love to see a place we could go to find out about resistance needs around the country. maybe i travel to a different state to volunteer at an immigrant shelter or with a group helping women travel out of state for abortions. maybe i send money to people who are fighting government supported attacks on trans people or libraries. it would be great to have a curated source of places that need our help. thank you so much. very good detailed advice. i’m 78 and retired. i mailed out 50 postcards reminding people to vote. and feel like it was wasted energy now. 😢 i feel like we have been sent back to the 1940s. things are really rotten (not in denmark) but here in the usa. i will share this with friends. brilliant analysis which should be widely disseminated. it’s practical, hopeful and visionary. dictators come and go, which we can’t afford to forget. thank you so much for this meaty resource daniel! i appreciate you mentioning power and the need to understand it! i’d love to invite you to take a look at the right use of power institute and their brilliant approach and language to understanding power and power dynamics. you may be interested in a free offering on the 14th of november, “rupi collective trasmutation circle” which you would find on their website. rightuseofpower.org thanks again and blessings and gratitude for your work daniel! fenna gene sharp quote: “….people provide these services to the ruler though a variety of organizations and institutions.” “though” looks like a typo, should be “through.” inspirational info, thanks for this resource. these are all good ideas. right now i feel angry. in 2020 biden said he would be a bridge candidate. what happened to that? instead we got a disastrous debate and an approval rating of 39.6 percent followed by an emergency candidate left with only 100 days to campaign. donald trump announced his candidacy in 2022 and had the time to lead a marketing and media savvy campaign. kamala did her best but basically she and we were thrown under the bus by the democratic party’s lack of planning and initiative. i like “taking advantage of t rump overreach”. i feel that his shenanigans will lead to his downfall i’ll take care of myself and family and watch him fail. wonderful article, spot on. i live in a small town in northern california. i want to start by gathering together with like minded people. and then develop a plan to go further. i’ve never done anything like this before but i’m a teacher (and a former lawyer) so i’m not afraid to talk to a group or take reasonable risks (or deal with openly hostile people). your training modules are great. but i feel totally unprepared to use them. where can i find live training to get started ? many thanks. paul loomis nevada city, ca pauloomis@gmail.com he has won the election now, and elon musk will soon have a hand in running the government  i am not too sure what this will do in regard to his electric car business but i am sure this is the last of his worries. my big fear is trumpie using the military to keep us in control….. thank you for such a profound study and details to help us strategize, resist, and hopefully, circumvent dictatorship!! hugs ~ jane thank you for this practical and reasoned essay, and for the four “pathways” you suggest. i may be an outlier in this conversation, but i think the anti trump people have a huge blind spot when they label everyone who voted for him with the same adjectives that they use for him as a person and a politician. while i despise djt as a person and oppose a lot of his stated policies (and who knows what he’ll actually do, or which stated policies he’ll stick with), and i did not vote for him. i also did not vote for ms. harris. a significant portion of trump voters come from the natural health space, seeing the medical mandates enforced by the democratic administration and democrats more broadly as a direct attack on our ability to use natural means to support our health and that of our loved ones. while some in this space seem to forget that trump was in office at the start of those measures, and did nothing to oppose them or prevent them, and that he loudly took credit for the vaccines, others acknowledge that but say that he has better people around him this time. i don’t share that confidence. especially the idea that democrats and the biden harris administration are champions of free speech ignores the outright censorship they practiced, and asked online platforms to practice, against any skepticism about covid, the vaccines, the hospital protocols (e.g. ventilators, which were incentivised by the covid response bonus system, but were contraindicated for most covid patients. they had an 80% death rate) or about the validity of the “tests” and masking requirements. as much as many well meaning people accepted the restrictions and mandates as “better safe than sorry” precautions, it should be easy to see how any would be dictator could look at the response of the majority of people, how they enthusiastically embraced those measures and were willing to shame and ostracize others who didn’t, and see an easy way to introduce such restrictions and worse: wrap them in a blanket of “public health measures,” endorsed and promoted by regime vetted scientists. because most people never read the actual science, to see how flimsy at best, fraudulent at worst the “science” behind these things is. many people in the natural health movement were already protecting people, practicing “disrupt and disobey,” defending community institutions against shut down orders, and building alternatives. those defending the biden harris administration would do well to listen to those who have been opposing it. we are not coming from a starting place of “trumpism,” but from that classic attitude of “question authority.” that attitude has been severely repressed by the current administration which has led many to consider trump as an alternative, without endorsing his attitudes. the other glaring blind spot for harris supporters (and trump supporters) is her (and his) steadfast support for the apartheid like, and now genocidal state of israel. many of us feel like, if genocide isn’t a deal breaker, then what is? how can the us still be sending weapons, and now troops to teach the idf how to use them, when their genocidal purpose is so exposed? how can anyone accept voting for any politician who supports that? so, to all those who have taken “djt2.0” as a major catastrophe, think back to what actually happened in “djt1.0.” resistance to objectionable policies is absolutely required. he has shown us that he’s quite willing to give the biggest polluters the green light to poison our atmosphere, water and soil; we need to oppose that. he has shown that he’s ready to spout off in incredibly divisive language; we need to make sure we’re not adding to that divisiveness by demonizing those who thought he was a better choice than harris, aka more of what we already have. sending the people who are reading this article love. you do not need to fear, and this type of article is fear mongering. you will be completely fine. don’t psych yourself out. over half the country felt fine voting for this man, and they will have your back. we are all on the same team. relax and get back to your normal lives! excellent article. keep us grounded, aware, together, mobilized in what works!! thank you! i enjoyed this very much, but i am confused about the part in the last section where you say one path to removing trump from office is to “vote him out.” this will be his second term, so there is no legal way for him to run again. agree? this relates to your thoughts about grieving. it’s now time to begin the process of conciously accepting that much of the good in america is now in effect gone. it’s a different and much darker world than it was even a week ago and will get darker yet, as least for a good long time. darkness now has the upper hand. we can still trust that the darkness cannot finally overwhelm the light, even when it doesn’t feel that way along the way to more light. from my childhood, i understood that this would occur someday. i hoped i wouldn’t live to see it. i believe it stemed from the plot by the international financiers to maintain their control over the world’s monetary systems. by putting donald trump in the whitehouse, they’ll go a long way toward placing the world under a new world order which will guarantee their control over world affairs and monetary systems and consequently enslave the world by eliminating the rights of mankind. trump must be stopped before he can destroy our democracy and freedom of the usa and the world. your views are very helpful. i’ve been a voice in my small group encouraging involvement of any sort. i’ve always been an active democrat. movement offers a sense of personal agency. inactivity breeds despair. i’m 83 and need to continue to set an example , as i always have, for my family. your experience is giving me new tools. thanks. all that is expressed here is worth believing in this ever changing world we now live in !!! never stop believing in yourself!!! 👍❤️‍🔥👍🇺🇸 political education is crucial, starting in middle school. it should be neutral but talk about the history of unions, vietnam war protests, social security, immigration. i substitute in an urban highschool. rumors were that trump was going to give out more stimulus checks and harris would allow arrests of urban males. how do we end or stabilize the anger of those who would usually be democrats but are now far right? group think is hard to destabilize. they see power they never had in being non educated. let’s get social security recipients marching! lefty friends, get out of the recliner and volunteer! thank you so much for your brilliant insight. this was amazingly helpful for people that want to do something but don’t have a clue where to start. im a believer in the “disrupt and disobey” strategy so i thank you for your insight on that. this the hope i need. thank you! 💖 in these uncertain times with a psychopath at the helm of the beautiful usa, it is important to stand up for what your beliefs are. there are so many things that donald trump has said and done   where many experts, psychiatrists, generals, etc. have warned how incredibly dangerous he is. my belief is that the people who voted for him could never find personal power within themselves to direct their own lives (plus their own demons) so they voted for trump to represent that helplessness they feel (trump appearing to have a strong and powerful personality   which in actuality is his weakness and fears.) also, in turn, he acts out their repressed demons for them. trump is terrified of black people because if the black people come into power   he and others might be treated like whites have treated black people. that is and was a subtle and bombastic message to his followers. quite frankly, i am angry with these people who voted for him as they have taken this country down their own narcisstic ignorant path. their votes for this whiney manipulative child called trump, will destroy many lives   black, white, immigrants, etc. at this time, i have zero empathy for these people, as they have taken america down a slippery slope. oh, and they do not realize they will be sliding down the slope with criminally insane trump as well. linda a. the serenity prayer comes from st. francis, not someone in germany. you accidently misrepresented this fact. thanks very much for your article! my friends and i gather for simple social events where we find our optimism and comfort in one another to help us out of despair at least for an hour or so. i can see us developing some kind of resistance, too, over time. much thanks to daniel hunter. it is good to go in with a reasonal plan of action. i am guaranteed three things from my government: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. y’all be safe and love one aother. jane i’ve just realized why we need the electoral college, but first i would like to say that the electoral college was set up as a check on the possible overtaking of the electorate by a demigod, on a more grounded level, we need the electoral college to insure that the several states’ electorate choosing a president can be campaigned upon and got even though not in contiguous sections or states of our country. i understand more now. i wish you continue to give tiny steps we can do if we are new to resistance. i’m almost 60. as are all my friends. we show up for marches which feels good. i don’t associate with or talk to many maga in my daily life. i live in austin tx, the blue dot in a red state. help me and my people with real action. but i know some of my friends will be scared. and i will be. help us contribute. thank you let’s take a good hard look at the “democratic party” too. https://open.substack.com/pub/mariannewilliamson/p/my thoughts exactly?r=27lbzy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email the date the article was written is probably wrong considering no one knew he would win until late into nov. 5 or when they woke up nov. 6. thank you, just thank you. the great thing about president donald trump is that he will even make america great for all of you idiots!!! in topic number 2 in the “10 ways” piece, it should be “whom,” not “who,” you trust. how about prepare to respond to everything he does by publicizing the almost certain problems that will result from the action, i.e. tariffs in the end will cost the taxpayer/citizens more as the cost of the goods affected increases. with informed backup   there’s a great deal of this information in the papers right now. and work to inform those who voted for him, believing he knows what he is talking about. he usually does not. wow, that was an insightful and hopeful read. i’m feeling that i have some action steps instead of being in inertia. thank you! this information is a lifesaver for me. thank you so much! i was in such despair yesterday.. thank you 🙏 thank you. as an activist for democracy i see a lot of potentially valuable insights and tools in this piece by daniel hunter. by i also see a lot of unrealistic optimism. one lesson from this election is that americans can be very lazy  did they even look into project 2025? and they can be easily swayed by overly confident conmen. and just plain stupid and ignorant. what do we do about these handicaps? how do we generate sufficient action with this kind of populace? lots of great helpful suggestions. however you never addressed the racism and sexism that fuel the maga movement. women need to come together and support each other and vote for our issues. we need to support nonprofits that protect minority rights. we need to support organizations that protect the environment. we need to support organization that build affordable housing and press congress to provide funding too. thank you daniel. this is a survival manifesto after the last election. i am a 67yo white, middle class, female and devastated by the results. i refuse to let trump take away my joy. i will focus my joy like a laser and act in the community through education and demonstration. i’m glad i found this article. the article is not very hopeful but it helps me that there are people thinking ahead and strategizing. i think we (anti trumpers) can sway outcomes is by affecting food prices. i believe this was a primary reason for trumps win. voters don’t care about fascism (what is that anyway??) etc but they do care about high food / consumer food prices that stay high   it’s something that they see when they shop or eat out. thank you for the article. i really like the examples of how people under other autocratic regimes have made it through   it gives me hope. thank you for your advice. i am a seventy nine year old woman. i have vestibular vertigo, so for now, i am stuck. what can i do? jacnccready653@gmail.com this information/guidebook is a 2025 manifesto of our own, of “the movement.” it’s a lot to chew on, yet offers points of focus, places to start, and hope. thank you. i voted for jill stein for president because in my opinion neither major party candidate was fit to be president. democrats need to understand that if trump was a moral person his victory would have been far, far greater! he won largely because people were suffering from very high inflation and fed up with biden’s border policy. another reason was biden’s selfish attempt to hold on for another 4 years at his age until finally forced too close to the election to pass on the torch to a demonstrably unfit harris. harris never went through a democratic process to become vp. she only got her position because dei was top on biden’s list of “qualifications”. many voters noted how unprepared and devious harris was when questioned on a large number of issues. it was disgraceful. so much for explanations… what do we now do about it? i believe a system more like that which exists in the uk might be an improvement. there, political parties clearly define their plans and the public chooses which party to support. the party then chooses from a pool of candidates. all this takes about 3 months… not 2 years as here in the us. in the us media untruths are also part of the election problem. and, in political debates it is extremely annoying when candidates do not answer questions and go on some tangent. debate moderators should be empowered and expected to say things like “you did not answer the question!” one thing that must be change is for all political donations, private and business to be recorded and limited to a small amount. otherwise money buys power and kills the very concept of a democracy. i would like to read this article so i can prepare myself and my three daughters. pj thank you for this post election balm for the tired and fearful and strategically oriented. i and trusted others have endured several campaigns of resistance and trust is central to it all. all successful resistances have centered on a small group of people beginning a march of successfully saying no. thanks for emphasizing patience in finding the cracks that can be successfully explored or resistance. we will certainly need both. this is great writing! thank you so much, elizabeth. this is the first time i’ve felt grounded, hopeful and sane since the election. i appreciate everything. i was stuck in that “stunned” stage and now, i feel happy and hopeful. (rejuvenated and grateful to you got making me feel this way.) i knew i’d be fighting for the rights of everyone in need, but this article really helps. you are good, and very talented! i’m grateful for you. oops, i gave credit to an “elizabeth,” (i saw her name under a picture.) i meant to thank, you, daniel hunter. this is a fantastic article and plan. thank you and many blessings! you’re excellent at what you do. i feel like i’ve done a 180° mental shift, and made a grounding which i desperately needed. again, thank you from the bottom of my heart! great resource! wow! wonderful! thank you daniel (in the lion’s den!) this is an excellent article on the many pathways to undermine or block the coming lawlessness and inhumanity of the trump administration. but a helpful follow up would be specific a simple set of concreteinstructions (an operating manual) by topic / approach on how to help communitues and even one activist to start pulling together to organize, create and carry out an action plan. everyone i know is paralyzed on how to do anthing in the face of the enormity of tsunami heading our way. finding safety and then banding together to save more people, help us through their trauma and then begin to rebuild back stronger to better handle the next tsunami. but we desperately need a clear manual with specific actions to take as we emerge from shock and grief. right now people are simply spinning   overwhelmed with indecision on what to do next. this article is a great ! start on beginning this process! with many resources. thank you so much! the progressive movement needs a new way to organize that matches what you have shared in regard to your journaling exercise and the comment made by a jewish friend   we have to be able to strategically focus our individual attention as part of a larger system that organizes across progressive goals   the national organizations need to come together and lead   a cabinet of the leaders. and this organizing system needs to organize from the bottom up for example, local environmental nonprofits, to the national players like edf, national parks foundation, and redwood society. i definitely feel like i spin my wheels  i could go to a different nonprofit’s meeting every night of the week and on saturday’s there are often events happening at the same time  i am only one person! my inbox is flooded with nonprofit newsletters. i give a little bit to several orgs across different causes. how much more powerful could i be if i could be supported to focus on one (maybe two) causes? i could breathe a sigh of relief and carve back some personal time if i know that others are equally as focused on other causes i care about. we can call on each other when we need to make a big showing   a rally or a petition   work in a local election for a candidate that aligns with our various causes but otherwise we are uber focused. in this new way of organizing, the national organizations have to listen to those of us on the ground   it has to be top down and bottom up informed. thank you for your work   i am sharing it far and wide. rose bohman arguing for the right to spread a virulent respiratory disease that’s killed millions of our fellow americans   claiming that suppressing anti vax lies is “tyranny”, and then rubbing “health freedom” in our faces is….not helpful to the cause of preserving the nation. you are the insane one who is promoting violence. celebrate the new sharing of the film “the boys who said ‘no’” which exemplifies effective non violence ! this article is useful on many different levels and comprehensive as well .in it.common sense and intellectual strategies are not mutually exclusive especially when the focus is on both meeting personal needs and getting things done.i happened to start my morning with it and feel renewed resolve to carry on with hope. i would like to suggest a “silent protest” for january 20, 2025. similar to the blue bead bracelet that women are now wearing. on january 20, 2025, i plan to wear all black clothing on that day to protest donald trump and all he stands for including his political objectives, his self serving appointees and his disgusting moral core. i wish this idea could be circulated nationally. a silent protest via our clothing (especially women) and possibly some silent meetings/gatherings on that day around the country. thank you! ideas for now??? i’m standing on intersections here in taos with a sign that reads. “trump and company are criminals and traitors”. i would encourage people to get out and stand with similar signs. it would encourage others to stand up and would let fascists know that fascism will be resisted and eventually destroyed. i’m a navy veteran. i took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, domestic and foreign. that oath is a lifelong commitment and i intend to stand by that oath. this is a very well written and thought out article. thank you this is a beautiful article. i propose stop shopping and stop paying fees on credit cards. profit from individual credit card debt monthly penalties is huge. i acknowledge people and families who do not have excess income but people paying the minimum balance on their credit card is easy profit money for banks and is money they can recover for themselves. any forms of decreased consumption will hurt capitalism. thank you. it’s so depressing right now but i think issues, ideas and community involvement will help all of us. thank you! i will share this with my trusted support people. we appreciate your wisdom and sharing how to fight effectively in an authoritarian system. does the author expect trump to run again? it seems so towards the end of the piece. this is obviously unconstitutional and trump himself has indicated no intention to run a third time. perhaps more explanation or clarification here would help this otherwise useful piece. thanks for this. we need community now to build strength. so well articulated. thank you so much i’ve read this work and it will give me some kind of sanity going forward, though i’m not ready yet. my friends say “now now now” but my body says “broken shoulder: (i slipped on election eve). my depression is real (i have bouts of vomiting, bloating, muscle strains/sprains). this is all in one week!!!! dorothy drahzal, cambridge md ddrahzal2@comcast.net thank you for your article! i am 40 this year and am at a crucial bridge in life of youth to self confident freedom. trump’s presidency stands in the way of my life as a whole and he is none the wiser. this fact alone (among others as a whole) has pushed me past my limit. i am going to help however i can to not lose my country from usa to disassociated states of america under this false prophet of a president. let s deprive trump of some of the attention he is getting. let’s stop using trump’s photograph or drawn image on our newsletters, alerts and news. we have seen enough of his face to last several lifetimes. it is   literally  psychologically traumatizing to continue to be forced to look at our abuser. this soon to be president of the us glories in attention. this is one way we can limit that. “distrust fuels the flame of autocracy because it makes it much easier to divide.” how much of this story is so one sided. those on the harris and other “democratic” sides used their own versions of rhetoric   telling people to distrust others who follow christianity, republicans, who do not bend to their non relevant “woke” policies, independents, people from rural areas, veteran’s, the press (legitimate or otherwise), history, truth, and the list goes on. the divisiveness between both parties will not go away until voters/people learn to either vote none of the above, actually research what the real platforms are, educate themselves to what our u.s constitution is about, and/or vote for a candidate that will uphold this constitution, and/or vote as a non partisan, vote for a different party all together. this is everything fyi.. there’s a secular version of the serenity prayer, ” don’t let what you can’t do stop what you can do.” and never forget, what you cannot do alone might be done with the strength of others. thank you for this. i don’t yet have clarity about how i can and will tap into this, i have discovered very clearly which role(s) i want to play. i do want to bring to your attention that there may be something else coming instead of deportation and that is criminalized undocumented people, putting them in prisons and then using the 13th amendment to use them as basically free labor. i don’t say this to disheartened, being prepared is all important and will allow us the advantage of not being shocked. thank you, teresa avalon (i was a person who was going to shift to stealth mode but now i understand that is doing what the fascists want) during the vietnam war we could expand our resistance by doing the following: 1. research and publish the companies that delivered directly or indirectly to that war or domestic repressive measures; 2. boycott household products from these companies. this, amazingly, has a long term effect. many years after we stopped that war and/or repression, i still don’t buy these products; 3. prepare for small and large scale demonstrations, particularly blocking gates that expel ‘illegal’ immigrants, while providing legal protection; 4. providing basic medical care and food to people in need in our own region; 5. welcoming dissidents in your home; 6. unite churchgoing people to assemble from all religions and protest together, like what happened many times along the mexican border, performing rituals; 7. teach usa history like it should be truthfully taught to all children and students. thank you for your insights. we miss going to bpfna peace camp. hopefully our representatives will take their head out of the clouds and really see how someone like trump is from the mold of another evil dictator by the name of adolph hitler. i have gotten on this side of two divorces, now married to a wonderful person, and two cancers and see this as another cancer to be taken on and defeated. all life “bumps” have been training grounds for living, flourishing, life and this thread is another shot of good medicine for us to proceed in our lives. this is a time to be our own strong true selves and for me i’m trying to be a role model for “be all you meant to be”. great content and logic. love the self care to community care aspects. without that, nothing else is possible. this gave me hope and direction. i will be joining a group of like minded folks that meet weekly to support each other in the grief of trumpism and more importantly how each of us can mobilize to dispel the myth that there is nothing we can do. thank you. i needed this. wow, that was long ! in the future, please keep things concise. i seem to recall it was air traffic controllers, not flight attendants   but maybe there were more people involved as our heroes in 2019! great article. i passed it to our indivisible group and got a lot of great feedback. we had a question   are there any groups gearing up to actually implement the pathways mentioned in the article? if so, who are they? thank you. what about not paying income tax? i made this suggestion on facebook and got booted off. with enough participants the irs would be overwhelmed. without money you cannot implement policy. just a thought. this is a really excellent article. it gives natural “resistors” like me a roadmap to success. if everyone i know followed this blueprint, the trump years could be a model of successful resistance against an autocrat. thank you for your ideas. also, keep writing….. with a grateful heart, i consider this the first message i’ve read that has inspired hope, which in my humble opinion, is the first truly necessary ingredient for a change’s gonna come. oh yes it is. it’s just the beginning! facing what’s the real. it’s gonna be messy, chaotic at times, frustrating at other times, overwhelming at times, but we need to remember to keep moving forward…..and we’ve got each other. we’ve got people who’ve come before us, they’re the how to maps to organizing, collaborating, inventing, reinventing. we’ve got to buildup that armor of trust in one another. it’s our strength, our survival, our no matter what shit hits the fan, it’s our belief that a change’s gonna come. oh yes it is! 2 steps forward, 2 steps back, maybe 3, another step forward, another step back, 2 steps forward 1 step back…..stop counting, keep moving….nurture that hope, trust in one another, don’t be afraid to ask, beseech, pray, beg, holler from whoever/whatever your spirit depends on. there’s no room for pride. it just gets in the way. so get out the way! this is a we r/evolution. a change’s gonna come. oh yes it is! i was scared, doubtful, angry, raging, blaming, hating, hurting, had a murder moment, hopeless, just done…..and then i read this manifesto…. i woke the f*ck up. thank you for sharing your hope, your direction, your wisdom, your telling’ it like it is, your encouragement, keepin’ it real. together is the only way we can do this. and we can do this! in solidarity for the long haul nancy kanary aka mamabear this is the second time i’ve read this and it’s still a great comfort. nothing lasts forever. we will get through this. i found this article through a community based organization ,and could not stop reading .very well written and effectively stated ,i will pass this information on to other and i plan to get the book ,today !mr robert i am surprised at one strategy i hardly saw mentioned: boycott. a boycott was so influential in turning the tide after decades of other work toward civil rights. it is non violent; it is diffused among a large population, making it difficult to target any one person for intimidation (harder to lynch someone for not doing something); if properly selected and promoted, it strikes directly at the inequities being protested; in the current context, it is about money, which is trump’s validation language (he doesn’t have a love language). i was remembering being about 12 years old, and riding a bus watching someone running a 3 card monte scam. he was good at it. but it showed me that often the only way to beat a con, is to walk away. don’t get sucked in. don’t play. trump is running a giant con. a boycott is one way to walk away. it’s saying, i’m not going to participate in this injustice. obviously, it must be organized. it must be widespread. it must be clearly connected to a specific injustice. it’s a way for a disempowered population to feel more empowered. it must be large enough, and well enough connected to the injustice being addressed so that those who are perpetrating the injustice feel it the consequence of the loss of movement of money. i’m not sure what would be the first target of a boycott at this moment, but creative thinkers could easily find something. maybe boycott companies who advertise on fox news, or on certain shows on fox. or x. or other sources of disinformation, most of which are funded by advertising. since we live in a marketing economy, targeting advertisers has been effective. they are the movers of money in this economy. and the creators of scarcity. other ideas are surely out there. we should start gathering them, and see which ones gain traction. thank you for your very thoughtful work. non violence must be the soul of resistance. absolutely fantastic ! article so ! beautifully written so many ideas thank you !! to a brilliant writer thank you thank you. i’ve never been involved in active resistance. this helps to orient my thinking and i’ll share it with others. you can delete this i think the link here is not correct i’d like to know the correct link: …in my scenario writing i’ve explored what that strategy could look like, including preparing electoral workers to stand against last minute attempts by trump to change election rules and even stymie the… federal workers, faith leaders, unions and ordinary americans are already showing the power of collective defiance and how to make cruelty backfire. women from peace movements in israel and palestine have spent nearly a decade building trust across borders, as well as a united front against the war and inequality. climate defiance believes its confrontational tactics can win over alienated maga voters and mobilize a larger and more powerful climate movement. peace and justice organizations, as well as universities, publish their own independent content on waging nonviolence. this community section offers just a sample of their latest stories. visit their individual pages to see more. sign up for our weekly newsletter to get the latest in people powered news and analysis. <span style="display: inline block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line height: 0;" data mce type="bookmark" class="mce_selres_start">﻿</span> waging nonviolence is a nonprofit 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manage your account us funded aid work around the world has been largely brought to a standstill, multiple sources tell cnn, despite secretary of state marco rubio’s claims that the united states continues to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid. as the trump’s administration’s 90 day freeze on nearly all us foreign aid continues into a third week, thousands of usaid personnel were expected to be placed on administrative leave or fired, with plans to only retain several hundred personnel deemed “essential,” effectively gutting the agency. however, a federal judge friday temporarily blocked the trump administration’s plans to put 2,200 direct hire usaid employees on leave and halted the accelerated removal of staffers from countries around the world. “the goal of our endeavor has always been to identify programs that work and continue them and to identify programs that are not aligned with our national interest and identify those and address them,” rubio said thursday during a visit to the dominican republic. rubio, now the acting administrator of usaid, reiterated earlier this week that he had issued a blanket waiver for lifesaving programs. “if it’s providing food or medicine or anything that is saving lives and is immediate and urgent, you’re not included in the freeze. i don’t know how much more clear we can be than that,” rubio said, questioning the competency of organizations that haven’t applied for a waiver. however, multiple usaid staff and contractors who have spoken to cnn say that’s not reflective of the situation on the ground. almost all usaid humanitarian assistance programs remain stopped in their tracks, they said. “that work is grounded to a halt because there’s no staff to manage it, and there’s no staff in dc to answer questions from partners,” one usaid employee told cnn. “the entire humanitarian architecture across the world has literally just collapsed because they have decided to stop allowing folks to work.” “our payment systems have been taken over. we no longer can pay. we don’t have staff,” the usaid employee said, adding that has caused even supposedly exempt work to stop, in dire places like syria, yemen, lebanon and ethiopia. the power to process payments has “been taken away from usaid,” the agency employee said. some nongovernmental organizations operating in other countries have received waivers to continue parts of their work, they told cnn on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing future us government funding. but even those limited activities have been disrupted because ngos don’t have money to pay the salaries of aid workers and, in some cases, usaid stop work orders are still in place. cnn has reached out to usaid for comment. when asked about several issues preventing lifesaving work from continuing following trump’s executive order, the state department directed cnn to rubio’s comments in the dominican republic, where he said the department made it “clear in the guidance that there would be specially designated programs that would not be a part of that order, and we are working through the process of identifying them now, what those specially designated programs are. and we will continue to work through the process of finding them.” meanwhile, food procurement in the tigray region of ethiopia has been halted, according to a coalition of humanitarian ngos in the country. and nutrition services for malnourished children and adults have also been suspended, despite rubio’s waiver for lifesaving food assistance. in syrian refugee camps, the us funded coordination costs and services to protect aid workers. that money is now frozen, meaning even organizations with other funding have suspended operations, according to a source familiar with the situation. one former contractor working on a project with usaid in syria, which funded the volunteer nongovernmental organization the white helmets, told cnn that their grant was frozen. food kitchens funded by the us in sudan are already shutting down, according to jeremy konyndyk, the president of refugees international and a former usaid official. “a lot of displaced people and a lot of people who are caught in famine and other crises could be harmed, if not gravely harmed, if not killed by this pullback of aid,” konyndyk said, warning of the wide reaching impact on refugees in sudan, syria and gaza. konyndyk also noted that usaid employees can’t act on the waivers if they are locked out of their government systems or placed on administrative leave. multiple aid workers told cnn that it’s the mechanics of the system and layoffs   not anyone’s incompetence   that has halted the humanitarian work. many usaid projects are carried out by federal contractors, which typically cover costs up front and then submit invoices for reimbursement   but usaid isn’t currently processing those payments, a usaid official said friday. “the waiver is 100% meaningless to us,” the usaid official told cnn earlier this week. federal contractors at two us companies said their invoices have not been paid since inauguration day. “everything has been shut down,” one source with knowledge of the operations at chemonics, one of the largest usaid contractors, told cnn. “the work we do on behalf of the us government provides critical health commodities to address hiv/aids and malaria around the world, supports efforts to curb migration from central america, engages the us agriculture partners and know how to support ukrainian food production, and supports democracies throughout the world,” a spokesperson for chemonics said in a statement. “as a result of the stop work order, we have been unable to withdraw funds from the letter of credit to pay vendors and for expenses incurred prior to the stop work order.” according to the professional services council, the trade association for many federal contractors, the us government owes its member companies about $500 million in unpaid invoices since the foreign aid freeze went into effect. “these payments would be for completed work required by existing contracts and for which contractors had already spent the money,” the council said in a statement, calling on the government to “pay its bills.” some aid efforts are also being stopped because groups implementing the projects have not been given clarity on what activities are allowed to continue. “if a partner proceeds without clarity on what they are allowed to do under their award and under this executive order, then they are taking an enormous risk,” one usaid employee said. if they do something   even if it’s lifesaving   that is later deemed to go against the order, “they will get slammed down and maybe shut down.” cnn’s jennifer hansler, devan cole, alexander marquardt, sean lyngaas and casey riddle contributed reporting. for more cnn news and newsletters create an account at cnn.com

https://arab.news/g6bw8 kampala, uganda: leaders from eastern and southern africa on saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern congo, where rebels are threatening to overthrow the congolese government, but also urged congo’s president to directly negotiate with them. congolese president felix tshisekedi, who attended the summit in the tanzanian city of dar es salaam by videoconference, has previously said he would never talk to the rwanda backed m23 rebels he sees as driven to exploit his country’s vast mineral wealth. a communique at the end of talks urged the resumption of “direct negotiations and dialogue with all state and non state parties,” including m23. the rebels seized goma, the biggest city in eastern congo, following fighting that left nearly 3,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of displaced, according to the un the unprecedented joint summit included leaders from the east african community bloc, of which both rwanda and congo are members, and those from the southern african development community, or sadc, which includes countries ranging from congo to south africa. rwandan president paul kagame attended the summit along with his south african counterpart, cyril ramaphosa, who has angered the rwandans by deploying south african troops in eastern congo under the banner of sadc to fight m23. rwanda has blamed the deployment of sadc peacekeepers for worsening the conflict in north kivu, a mineral rich province in eastern congo that’s now controlled by m23. kagame insists sadc troops were not peacekeepers because they were fighting alongside congolese forces to defeat the rebels. the rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring rwanda, according to un experts, while congolese government forces are backed by regional peacekeepers, un forces, allied militias and troops from neighboring burundi. they’re now focused on preventing the rebels from taking bukavu, the capital of south kivu province. dialogue ‘is not a sign of weakness’ the m23 rebellion stems partly from rwanda’s decades long concern that rebels opposed to kagame’s government have been allowed by congo’s military to be active in largely lawless parts of eastern congo. kagame also charges that tshisekedi has overlooked the legitimate concerns of congolese tutsis who face discrimination. kenyan president william ruto told the summit that “the lives of millions depend on our ability to navigate this complex and challenging situation with wisdom, clarity of mind, empathy.” dialogue “is not a sign of weakness,” said ruto, the current chair of the east african community. “it is in this spirit that we must encourage all parties to put aside their differences and mobilize for engagements in constructive dialogue.” the m23 advance echoed the rebels’ previous capture of goma over a decade ago and shattered a 2024 ceasefire, brokered by angola, between rwanda and congo. some regional analysts fear that the rebels’ latest offensive is more potent because they are linking their fight to wider agitation for better governance and have vowed to go all the way to the capital, kinshasa, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of goma. rebels face pressure to pull out of goma the congo river alliance, a coalition of rebel groups including m23, said in an open letter to the summit that they are fighting a congolese regime that “flouted republican norms” and is “becoming an appalling danger for the congolese people.” “those who are fighting against mr. tshisekedi are indeed sons of the country, nationals of all the provinces,” it said. “since our revolution is national, it encompasses people of all ethnic and community backgrounds, including congolese citizens who speak the kinyarwanda language.” the letter, signed by corneille nangaa, a leader of the rebel alliance, said the group was “open for a direct dialogue” with the congolese government. but the rebels and their allies also face pressure to pull out of goma. in addition to calling for the immediate reopening of the airport in goma, the summit in dar es salaam also called for the drawing of “modalities for withdrawal of uninvited foreign armed groups” from congolese territory. a meeting in equatorial guinea friday of another regional bloc, the economic community of central african states, also called for the immediate withdrawal of rwandan troops from congo as well as the airport’s reopening to facilitate access to humanitarian aid. nearly three years after president vladimir putin invaded ukraine, his troops are making steady progress on the battlefield. kyiv is grappling with shortages of men and weapons. and the new us president could soon halt ukraine’s massive supply of military aid. putin is closer than ever to achieving his objectives in the battle weary country, with little incentive to come to the negotiating table, no matter how much us president donald trump might cajole or threaten him, according to russian and western experts interviewed by the associated press. both are signaling discussions on ukraine    by phone or in person    using flattery and threats. putin said trump was “clever and pragmatic,” and even parroted his false claims of having won the 2020 election. trump’s opening gambit was to call putin “smart” and to threaten russia with tariffs and oil price cuts, which the kremlin brushed off. trump boasted during the campaign he could end the war in 24 hours, which later became six months. he’s indicated the us is talking to russia about ukraine without kyiv’s input, saying his administration already had “very serious” discussions. he suggested he and putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the war, in which russia is suffering heavy casualties daily while its economy endures stiff western sanctions, inflation and a serious labor shortage. but the economy has not collapsed, and because putin has unleashed the harshest crackdown on dissent since soviet times, he faces no domestic pressure to end the war. “in the west, the idea came from somewhere that it’s important to putin to reach an agreement and end things. this is not the case,” said fyodor lukyanov, who hosted a forum with putin in november and heads moscow’s council for foreign and defense policies. talks on ukraine without ukraine ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says putin wants to deal directly with trump, cutting out kyiv. that runs counter to the biden administration’s position that echoed zelensky’s call of “nothing about ukraine without ukraine.” “we cannot let someone decide something for us,” zelensky told ap, saying russia wants the “destruction of ukrainian freedom and independence.” he suggested any such peace deal would send the dangerous signal that adventurism pays to authoritarian leaders in china, north korea and iran. putin appears to expect trump to undermine european resolve on ukraine. likening europe’s leaders to trump’s lapdogs, he said sunday they will soon be “sitting obediently at their master’s feet and sweetly wagging their tails” as the us president quickly brings order with his ”character and persistence.” trump boasts of his deal making prowess but putin will not easily surrender what he considers russia’s ancestral lands in ukraine or squander a chance to punish the west and undermine its alliances and security by forcing kyiv into a policy of neutrality. trump may want a legacy as a peacemaker, but “history won’t look kindly on him if he’s the man who gives this all away,” said sir kim darroch, british ambassador to the us from 2016 19. former nato spokesperson oana lungescu said a deal favoring moscow would send a message of “american weakness.” echoes of helsinki trump and putin last met in helsinki in 2018 when there was “mutual respect” between them, said former finnish president sauli niinistö, the summit host. but they are “not very similar,” he added, with putin a “systematic” thinker while trump acts like a businessman making “prompt” decisions. that could cause a clash because trump wants a quick resolution to the war while putin seeks a slower one that strengthens his military position and weakens both kyiv and the west’s political will. zelensky told ap that putin “does not want to negotiate. he will sabotage it.” indeed, putin has already raised obstacles, including legal hurdles and claimed zelensky has lost his legitimacy as president. putin hopes trump will “get bored” or distracted with another issue, said boris bondarev, a former russian diplomat in geneva who quit his post after the invasion. russian experts point to trump’s first term when they said putin realized such meetings achieved little. one was a public relations victory for moscow in helsinki where trump sided with putin instead of his own intelligence agencies on whether russia meddled in the 2016 election. another was in singapore in 2019 with north korean leader kim jong un when he failed to reach a deal to halt pyongyang’s nuclear program. previous peace talks the kremlin last year said a draft peace agreement that russia and ukraine negotiated in istanbul early in the conflict   but which kyiv rejected   could be the basis for talks. it demanded ukraine’s neutrality, stipulated nato deny it membership, put limits on kyiv’s armed forces and delayed talks on the status of four russian occupied regions that moscow later annexed illegally. moscow also dismissed demands to withdraw its troops, pay compensation to ukraine and face an international tribunal for its action. putin hasn’t indicated he will budge but said “if there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise solution, let anyone conduct these negotiations.” “engagement is not the same as negotiation,” said sir laurie bristow, british ambassador to russia from 2016 20, describing russia’s strategy as “what’s mine is mine. and what’s yours is up for negotiation.” bondarev also said putin sees negotiations only as a vehicle “to deliver him whatever he wants,” adding it’s “astonishing” that western leaders still don’t understand kremlin tactics. that means putin is likely to welcome any meeting with trump, since it promotes russia as a global force and plays well domestically, but he will offer little in return. what trump can and can’t do trump said zelensky should have made a deal with putin to avoid war, adding he wouldn’t have allowed the conflict to start if he had been in office. trump has threatened russia with more tariffs, sanctions and oil price cuts, but there is no economic “wonder weapon” that can end the war, said richard connolly, a russian military and economic expert at london’s royal united services institute. and the kremlin is brushing off the threats, likely because the west already has heavily sanctioned russia. trump also can’t guarantee ukraine would never join nato, nor can he lift all western sanctions, easily force europe to resume importing russian energy or get the international criminal court to rescind its war crimes arrest warrant for putin. speaking to the davos world economic forum, trump said he wants the opec+ alliance and saudi arabia to cut oil prices to push putin to end the war. the kremlin said that won’t work because the war is about russian security, not the price of oil. it also would harm us oil producers. “in the tradeoff between putin and domestic oil producers, i’m pretty sure which choice trump will make,” said alexandra prokopenko, a fellow at the carnegie russia eurasia center in berlin. trump could pressure russia by propping up the us oil industry with subsidies and lift the 10 percent trade tariffs imposed on china in exchange for beijing limiting economic ties with moscow, which could leave it “truly isolated,” connolly said. europe also could underscore its commitment to kyiv   and curry favor with trump   by buying us military equipment to give to ukraine, said lord peter ricketts, a former uk national security adviser. lukyanov suggested that trump’s allies often seem afraid of him and crumble under his threats. the “big question,” he said, is what will happen when putin won’t. berlin: german chancellor olaf scholz slammed as “selfish and self serving” donald trump’s demands for ukrainian rare earths in exchange for us military aid, in an interview published on saturday. rare earths group metals used to transform power into motion in a vast array of things ranging from electric vehicles to missiles and there is no substitute for them. “ukraine is under attack and we are helping it, without asking to be paid in return. this should be everyone’s position,” scholz told the rnd media group, when asked about trump’s demands for a possible quid pro quo for us aid. the german chancellor had already described trump’s demands as “very selfish” on monday after a european union summit in brussels. he had said ukraine’s resources should be used to finance everything needed after the war, such as reconstruction and maintaining a strong army. “it would be very selfish, very self serving” to demand something from ukraine in exchange for aid, he said. trump had said he wanted “equalization” from ukraine for washington financial support, adding: “we’re telling ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. we’re looking to do a deal with ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things.” he added: “i want to have security of rare earth. we’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. they have great rare earth. and i want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it.” on friday, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky said washington and kyiv were planning “meetings and talks,” after trump raised a possible meeting with him next week. zelensky said on tuesday that ukraine was ready to receive investment from us firms in its rare earths   or metals widely used in electronics. in a peace plan unveiled in october, zelensky had, without specifically mentioning rare earths, proposed a “special agreement” with his country’s partners, allowing for “common protection” and “joint exploitation” of strategic resources. he had cited as examples “uranium, titanium, lithium, graphite and other strategic resources of great value.” pristina: kosovo votes on sunday after a combative election campaign in which opposition candidates clashed with prime minister albin kurti over the economy, corruption and relations with the country’s old foe and neighbor serbia. kurti, a leftist and albanian nationalist, came to power in the small balkan country in 2021 when a coalition run by his vetevendosje party received more than 50 percent of votes and secured a seven seat majority in the 120 seat parliament. political analysts say his popularity has been bolstered by moves to extend government control in kosovo’s ethnic serb majority north. but critics say he has failed to deliver on education and health, and his policies in the north have distanced the country from its traditional allies, the european union and the united states. the eu placed economic curbs on the country in 2023 for its role in stoking tensions with ethnic serbs, cutting at least 150 million euros ($155 million) in funding, reuters has found. a drop below 50 percent of the votes for kurti’s party could potentially prompt coalition talks after the election. leading opposition parties include the center right democratic league of kosovo which has campaigned on restoring relations with the united states and the eu, and joining nato; and the democratic party of kosovo, also center right, which was founded by former guerilla fighters of kosovo liberation army. nearly two million voters are registered in kosovo. voting starts at 7 a.m. (0600 gmt) and ends at 7 p.m. exit polls are expected soon after, and results later into the night. kurti’s divisive rhetoric in focus kurti’s government has overseen some gains. unemployment has shrunk from 30 percent to around 10 percent, the minimum wage is up and last year the economy grew faster than the western balkans average. he says his policies in the north, which include reducing the long held autonomy of serbs living in kosovo, are helping to bring ethnic serbs and albanians together under one system of government. but his rhetoric worries centrist politicians. “when you have a bad neighbor, then you have to keep your morale high and your rifle full,” he said in a campaign speech near the serbian border this week. differences of opinion have contributed to a bitter war of words with the opposition. the elections complaints and appeals panel, which monitors party and candidates’ complaints, has issued more than 650,000 euros in fines to parties this election season, three times the 2021 tally, data from ngo democracy in action show. kosovo, europe’s newest country, gained independence from serbia in 2008 with backing from the united states, which included a 1999 bombing campaign against serbian forces. london: hundreds of demonstrators on saturday protested at a site earmarked for beijing’s controversial new embassy in london over human rights and security concerns. the new embassy   if approved by the uk government   would be the “biggest chinese embassy in europe,” one lawmaker said earlier. protester iona boswell, a 40 year old social worker, told afp said there was “no need for a mega embassy here” and that she believed it would be used to facilitate the “harassment of dissidents.” china has for several years been trying to relocate its embassy, currently in the british capital’s upmarket marylebone district, to the sprawling historic site in the shadow of the tower of london. the move has sparked fierce opposition from nearby residents, rights groups, critics of china’s ruling communist party and others. “this is about the future of our freedom, not just the site of a chinese embassy in london,” conservative party lawmaker tom tugendhat told afp at the protest, adding that people living in the uk “sadly have been too often been threatened by chinese state agents.” “i think it would be a threat to all of us because we would see an increase in economic espionage... and an increase in the silencing of opponents of the chinese communist party (in the uk),” the former security minister added. housing the royal mint   the official maker of british coins   for nearly two centuries, the site was earlier home to a 1348 built cistercian abbey but is currently derelict. beijing bought it for a reported $327 million in 2018. “it will be like a headquarter (for china) to catch the (hong kong) people in the uk to (send them) back to china,” said another protester dressed all in black and wearing a full face mask, giving his name only as “zero,” a member of “hongkongers in leeds,” the northern english city. “after the super embassy (is built) maybe they will have more people to do the dirty jobs,” he added. the protest comes as british prime minister keir starmer, elected last july, wants more engagement with beijing, following years of deteriorating relations over various issues, in particular china’s rights crackdown in hong kong. in november starmer became the first uk prime minister since 2018 to meet chinese president xi jinping, when the pair held talks at the g20 in brazil. a national planning inspector will now hold a public inquiry into the scheme, but communities secretary angela rayner will make the final decision. that has alarmed opponents who fear the labour government’s emphasis on economic growth, and improved china ties, could trump other considerations. multiple western nations accuse beijing of using espionage to gather technological information. they have also accused hacking groups backed by china of a global campaign of online surveillance targeting critics. the united states, britain and new zealand in march 2024 accused beijing backed hackers of being behind a series of attacks against lawmakers and key democratic institutions   allegations that prompted angry chinese denials. west palm beach, florida: a handful of demonstrators gathered outside trump international golf club on saturday to protest president donald trump’s immigration policies while the commander in chief spent leisure time at the club. carrying signs and mexican, guatemalan and us flags and chanting “immigrants make america great,” the small group of people shouted loudly and was visible as trump, who spent several hours at the club, exited in his motorcade and drove by on saturday afternoon. their chant was a reference to the president’s “make america great again” campaign slogan. one sign in spanish said “the american dream is also ours.” trump, a republican who has been in office just shy of three weeks, won the presidency in large part on the back of a promise to crack down on illegal immigration. he has implemented that promise with speed, starting on the day he was inaugurated, by tasking the us military to help with border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum and seeking to restrict citizenship for children born on us soil. protesters and supporters frequently gather outside venues where trump is staying to show their disdain or their enthusiasm for his policies.

manage your account president donald trump’s announcement that he plans to overhaul the kennedy center for the performing arts by firing people from its board and installing himself as the new chairman has raised questions about the future of the famed arts institution. but what is the kennedy center, why is it considered such an important cultural icon, and can trump actually make the changes he’s proposing? here’s what you need to know: the john f. kennedy center for the performing arts is the country’s national cultural center, located in washington, d.c. president dwight d. eisenhower signed legislation to create the center in 1958, but its doors did not open until 1971. in 1962, president john f. kennedy and first lady jacqueline kennedy spearheaded the $30 million fundraising campaign for the center’s construction. two months after kennedy’s assassination in november 1963, president lyndon b. johnson signed into law legislation designating the center as a living memorial for his predecessor. in the years since, the kennedy center has hosted a wide range of performance art, from theater to dance to contemporary music, and served as the residence for the national symphony orchestra and the washington national opera. every december, the kennedy center honors are awarded for lifetime contributions to american culture. past recipients include ella fitzgerald, tennessee williams, leonard bernstein, frank sinatra, carole king, billy joel, the grateful dead, lin manuel miranda, and queen latifah. the center receives up to 2 million visitors a year, according to its website. trump posted on truth social on friday that he had decided to “immediately terminate multiple individuals from the board of trustees,” including chairman david m. rubenstein, “who do not share our vision for a golden age in arts and culture.” he did not specify which board members he planned to terminate. he added that he plans to install himself as the new chairman, and later posted an image of himself, with the words: “welcome to the new kennedy center!” in his post, trump criticized drag shows “targeting our youth,” for why he wanted to take over the center, comments that recalled similar lines of attack against drag performances in events led by government affiliated institutions. “the kennedy center is an american jewel, and must reflect the brightest stars on its stage from all across our nation,” trump wrote. the kennedy center, which hosts more than 2,200 performances and exhibitions each year, held a small number of shows involving drag last year, including a “dragtastic dressup” for lgbtq+ youth and their parents, a dancing queens drag brunch, and a drag salute to divas preshow event, according to its website. trump’s conflicts with kennedy center programs began when some honorees in 2017 threatened to pull out of events including him, following his handling of the white nationalist rally in charlottesville. the white house said the president and first lady would not attend the kennedy center honors that year “to allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction.” he broke tradition from previous presidents by not attending the ceremony throughout his first term. the kennedy center said in a friday statement it was aware of trump’s social media post, although it had “received no official communications from the white house regarding changes to our board of trustees.” though board members are presidential appointees, the chair of the board is elected by the center’s board members, the statement said. there “is nothing in the center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members”   but it would be the first time in the center’s almost 70 year history that “such action has been taken,” the statement added. some board members have already received termination notices from the administration, kennedy center president deborah f. rutter said in an all staff email friday night. the center’s statute says board members appointed by the president serve six year terms and doesn’t include language about removal. a spokesperson for the kennedy center pointed to a 2022 federal decision, spicer v. biden, as a potential precedent. in that case, trump appointees sean spicer and russell vought sued to stop president joe biden’s attempt to remove them from the naval academy’s board of visitors before their three year terms were completed. a judge dismissed their lawsuit, ruling that the law’s language on the board’s terms “did not insulate the plaintiffs from the president’s removal.” the center receives annual federal funding each year for capital repairs and facilities maintenance, in part to maintain the site as a living memorial for kennedy. federal funding makes up just 16 percent of its operating budget, the center said in its statement, and its programming is not federally funded. “support for the center’s artistic programming comes from ticket sales, donations, rental income, and other revenue sources,” the statement reads. the center’s fiscal year 2025 budget justification to congress requested $45.73 million toward operations, maintenance and renovations. the kennedy center is run by a 36 member board of trustees made up of presidential appointees, as decreed in the legislation that established it. each trustee serves a six year term, meaning that the current board includes some trustees appointed by trump as well as president joe biden. despite its connection to the executive branch, the kennedy center prides itself on being nonpartisan, celebrating on its website the cooperation between eisenhower and kennedy in its formation. “throughout our history, the kennedy center has enjoyed strong support from members of congress and their staffs   republicans, democrats, and independents,” the center said friday, adding that it had had “a collaborative relationship with every presidential administration” and “a bi partisan board of trustees that has supported the arts in a non partisan fashion.” the current board includes songwriter jon batiste, who headlined biden’s first state dinner, and television producer shonda rhimes, who has campaigned for biden. elaine chao, the transportation secretary during the first trump administration, is a board member, as is pam bondi, trump’s recently confirmed attorney general, and lee greenwood, whose song “god bless the usa” was a favorite of trump’s during his last presidential campaign. ahead of his departure from office, biden appointed several new members, including former white house press secretary karine jean pierre and evan ryan, the former white house cabinet secretary. longtime biden adviser michael donilon is also a board member. all current and former first ladies, from melania trump to hillary clinton, are honorary chairs. rubenstein, an influential philanthropist and principal owner of the baltimore orioles, was elected kennedy center chairman in 2010. he was appointed to the board by president george w. bush, then reappointed by president barack obama and later, by biden. he and rutter, the center’s president, both announced last month that they would be stepping down from their positions. “this is not related to the politics of who’s in the white house. the kennedy center is truly nonpartisan,” rutter told the washington post. “frankly, for the last six years, i’ve had almost all trump appointees as my board members. and we’ve had a fantastic era with them.”
trump administration supported by news analysis the president, who is in the middle of a re election fight, has grown more resigned and afraid about what the future might hold for his son, according to people close to them. by katie rogers katie rogers covers the biden white house and family. she reported from washington. hunter biden was waiting for his father on the tarmac. he had just been convicted on three felony gun charges by a jury in wilmington, del., his hometown. his father had hastily rearranged his schedule and rushed up from washington. within hours of the verdict, president biden traveled home, disembarked from marine one and embraced his son. the president hugged hunter biden’s son and wife, as well, and bent over to kiss the head of his grandson, beau biden. to call the relationship between father and son battle tested is an understatement. together they have survived the deaths of mr. biden’s first wife, eldest daughter and eldest son. they have weathered the fallout of crack addiction and alcohol abuse that has plagued hunter biden as well as several other members of the family. over the past three years, they have been targeted by republicans who have accused them of corruption and financial crimes. but for all of the challenges that have tested them and ultimately brought them closer together, a guilty verdict in a federal courtroom   rendered in the middle of mr. biden’s final presidential campaign   is a first. people close to mr. biden say he still believes in his son and his ability to stay clean. hunter biden has maintained that he has been sober since 2019. but the president has come to terms with the fact that there will be no easy end to his son’s legal problems. he has also grown more resigned and worried than ever about what the future might hold for his son, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to relay private conversations.

 in the end, president joe biden exited the political stage in isolation. after weeks of fighting for his political life   insisting he wasn’t going anywhere following a disastrous debate performance   the president’s about face did not come in an oval office address or a speech on the campaign trail. instead, it came in letter posted to social media as he recovered from covid 19 at his beach house in delaware.