president donald trump
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President Donald Trump has sat just over a month in his second term. but already has transformed the fabric of the White House rapidly via several controversial moves and alignments with unelected officials. Taking to his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump celebrated his move to end congestion pricing in New York and ended his salvo by framing himself a king which sparked some responses on X.
On Wednesday (Feb. 20), President Donald Trump wrote, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” via Truth Social, sparking immediate backlash on the X platform and other social media spaces. Adding to this, the official Instagram account for the White House shared an AI-generated image of President Trump with a crown affixed to his head.
Trump continued to praise his plans to end the pricing hike for commuters while aboard Air Force 1.
“Congestion pricing is not a good situation. They’re treating the people of New York very badly,” Trump said. “Supposing you worked at a shoe shop or you worked in a restaurant as a waiter, and you have to come into Manhattan and they’re taking, you know, many, many dollars out of your pocket. You can’t afford to do it.”
Congestion pricing, also known as the Central Business District Tolling Program or CBDTP, was approved early last month ahead of Trump’s inauguration and was approved to slow the crush of traffic that slammed the Manhattan business district while promising an impressive influx of cash for the city and state. Further, it incentivized drivers to find alternate and often environmentally safer routes into the city.
New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Authority (MTA) dug their heels in with a pair of responses decrying Trump’s plans to end congestion pricing.
From Gov. Hochul:
“Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
On X, many are reacting to President Donald Trump declaring himself a king for the move. We’ve got reactions to the moment below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
President Donald Trump has sat just over a month in his second term. but already has transformed the fabric of the White House rapidly via several controversial moves and alignments with unelected officials. Taking to his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump celebrated his move to end congestion pricing in New York and ended his salvo by framing himself a king which sparked some responses on X.
On Wednesday (Feb. 20), President Donald Trump wrote, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” via Truth Social, sparking immediate backlash on the X platform and other social media spaces. Adding to this, the official Instagram account for the White House shared an AI-generated image of President Trump with a crown affixed to his head.
Trump continued to praise his plans to end the pricing hike for commuters while aboard Air Force 1.
“Congestion pricing is not a good situation. They’re treating the people of New York very badly,” Trump said. “Supposing you worked at a shoe shop or you worked in a restaurant as a waiter, and you have to come into Manhattan and they’re taking, you know, many, many dollars out of your pocket. You can’t afford to do it.”
Congestion pricing, also known as the Central Business District Tolling Program or CBDTP, was approved early last month ahead of Trump’s inauguration and was approved to slow the crush of traffic that slammed the Manhattan business district while promising an impressive influx of cash for the city and state. Further, it incentivized drivers to find alternate and often environmentally safer routes into the city.
New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Authority (MTA) dug their heels in with a pair of responses decrying Trump’s plans to end congestion pricing.
From Gov. Hochul:
“Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
On X, many are reacting to President Donald Trump declaring himself a king for the move. We’ve got reactions to the moment below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed by the Senate to be the Health and Human Services Secretary for President Donald Trump’s administration, worrying many observers.
On Thursday (February 13), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was officially confirmed by the Senate to be the new Health and Human Services Secretary, ending a tumultuous period of debate. The vote was a narrow one, 52-48, with Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell the lone Republican to join all the Democrat senators who voted against him. Kennedy, the son of America’s prestigious political family, will now oversee $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations, and food safety as well as half of the nation’s health insurance policies. He will also oversee 80,000 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Kennedy, 71, has been a controversial figure who has spread misinformation about vaccines in the past, particularly that they cause autism. He has also made claims about raw milk and fluoride in water, as well as asserting that Lyme disease and COVID-19 were bioengineered weapons. During his testimony before the Senate, he had issues confusing Medicare and Medicaid and was attacked for his flip-flopping on abortion. Although he gained some support for his “Make America Healthy Again” platform aiming at food additives, there is doubt that he will earnestly follow through on his proposals.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren decried the confirmation. “Putting Kennedy in charge of the nation’s public health is a huge mistake. When dangerous diseases resurface and people can’t access lifesaving vaccines, all Americans will suffer,” Warren said in her statement. “And thanks to his serious, unresolved conflicts of interest, RFK Jr.’s family could continue getting richer from his anti-vaccine crusade while he’s in office.” Senator McConnell, who survived polio as a child, criticized Kennedy thoroughly. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,” he said in a statement.
President Donald Trump took offense to the criticisms, particularly coming from McConnell as characterized the vote as a vote against him. “I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is that he shouldn’t have been leader,” Trimp said to a reporter after the vote.
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Six officials with the Department of Justice resigned, declining to drop federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
On Thursday (February 13), six senior officials in the Department of Justice resigned rather–including acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon—tendered their resignation in protest over an order to drop the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The resignations have rocked the DOJ and sent a clear message to the administration of President Donald Trump.
Sassoon wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, detailing that the directive by acting deputy Attorney General Emil Bove amounted to a “quid pro quo”, citing that the dropping of the charges against Adams was sought for his help in aiding Trump’s immigration agenda. “Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,” she wrote. Sassoon also blasted Bove for demanding all notes from a meeting she had with Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro. She also stated that the office was preparing a superseding indictment against Adams for obstruction and destroying evidence. Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” she wrote.
After Bove tried to re-assign the case to the public integrity section in Washington D.C., acting head John Keller resigned. Kevin Driscoll, head of the criminal division also resigned along with three other officials in the units. Bove said that all who resigned would be put on leave & investigated. Bove blasted Sassoon over her letter, claiming she “lost sight” of the oath of office that she took.
The resignations would make it clear for Adams to still have the charges dropped against him. The embattled mayor met with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan on Thursday (February 13), a precursor to his agreeing to allow ICE officers into the Riker’s Island prison facility in defiance of a 2014 law prohibiting such a move. In an interview on Fox & Friends on Friday morning (February 14) with the mayor at his side, Homan said, “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City,” said Homan. “And we won’t be sitting on the couch, I’ll be in his office, up his butt saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’”
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President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly set to strike a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to the tune of $400 million. President Trump is putting a fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks on order, prompting many online to call out the hypocrisy of DOGE and the White House.
As spotted on Drop Site, it appears that the State Department, now headed by Marco Rubio, was in line to receive the fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks with a value of $400 million and is slated to take place in the fourth quarter of the year for a period of five years. The outlet notes that the forecasted purchase was modified on Dec. 13 of last year, ahead of when Trump was officially sworn in last month.
Drop Site added that the plan was set in motion by President Joe Biden’s administration, with the aim of transforming the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s fleet of over 3,000 armored vehicles into all-electric, zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
After reports of the deal went wide, including outlets such as MSBNC and NPR, speculation pointed to the Cybertruck as the vehicle of choice after the word “Tesla” was seen in the State Department document. However, that word was removed Wednesday evening, prompting some to think that there is trickery afoot.
Elon Musk is currently spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, which has aimed efforts to cut government overspending. Critics of Musk and DOGE have aimed their concerns about the raging conflict of interest should Musk’s company retain the contract despite his pledge to cut the country’s deficit by trillions.
Cybertruck owners have recently been the target of vandalism and ridicule after Musk’s public alignment with Trump. Some owners are saying they’re being targeted while viral clips online show the vehicle marked with insults and taking surface damage.
On X, the reaction to the reports that Tesla could potentially earn $400 in government contracts for a fleet of decked-out Cybertrucks has garnered some passionate responses. We’ve got those listed below.
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Reverend Al Sharpton is convening a gathering of top Black officials to address New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ relationship with President Donald Trump.
As news broke of the Justice Department recommending that federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams be dropped, one of Adams’ allies is acting on his concern about the situation. The Reverend Al Sharpton is gathering top elected Black officials to meet to determine whether they will pull support from Adams as Mayor and in the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary. “I have spoken to several elected officials and clergy, whom I convened early in the Mayor’s term, to meet between now and the weekend to decide where we will go,” Sharpton said. “Because we have clearly crossed the Rubicon.”
The longtime civil rights activist expressed his concern over Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove’s memo, which states that the charges be dropped against Adams so that he can further President Donald Trump’s agenda of detaining and deporting more immigrants in New York City. “It is unheard of in a criminal justice proceeding to suggest you not deal with the criminal allegations for political or policy reasons,” Sharpton said, adding: “So if the mayor were to disagree with the president, does that mean they have the right to call a trial on him at any time? It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the mayor hostage.” The memo did state that the DOJ can revisit the case at a later time.
The summit is expected to include House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, NY State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Attorney General Letitia James along with several clergy leaders. “A potential loss of Al Sharpton is huge because you don’t want him against you,” Fordham University political science professor Dr. Christine Greer said. ” He’s an organizer, a brilliant one at that, and has been for a very long time, and knows all five boroughs of New York City. But he also has a very strong, active, loyal collection of people who really do listen and respect his political analysis.”
As for Adams, he took the memo as vindication in a video address to the city on Tuesday, saying: “I thank the Justice Department for its honesty,” Adams said. “Now, we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city. It’s time to move forward.”
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The Department of Justice has officially called for the federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped, sparking outrage.
On Monday evening (February 10), federal prosecutors in Manhattan received a letter from Emil Bove, the acting number 2 official at the Department of Justice directing them to drop the federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Bove’s reasoning for calling for the dismissal of the charges was that they hindered Adams from being able to assist with the crackdown on immigrants in New York City, in addition to questioning the timing of Adams’ trial date in April being so close to the Democratic primary in June. “The Justice Department has reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based,” the memo read in part. There has been no word yet on the cases against other members of his cabinet arrested on similar charges.
The letter from Bove also appeared to suggest that the Justice Department made the decision believing Adams’ unsubstantiated allegations that the charges of wire fraud, soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions from foreign nationals, conspiracy, and bribery were brought by the Biden administration because of his disagreement with them over how to handle the influx of migrants into New York City. One notable element of the letter shows that the request to drop charges was “without prejudice,” meaning that the DOJ has the option to revisit the case in the future. The decision to dismiss now falls upon Danielle Sassoon, the acting head of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, who could proceed with dropping the charges or decide not to. The latter choice could result in her being fired.
Adams’ critics and political opponents immediately decried the DOJ memo and called out Adams for heavily pandering to Trump to get the charges dropped. “Eric Adams sold out New Yorkers to buy his own freedom, but he’ll never escape the label of worst mayor in NYC history,” wrote Democratic State Senator Jessica Ramos, an opponent of Adams in the upcoming mayoral primary election. Public Advocate Juumane Williams released a scathing statement against Adams after the news broke, writing: Mayor Adams adopted a strategy of selling out marginalized New Yorkers and our city’s values to avoid personal and legal accountability. Well, it worked. I hope it was worth it.”
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President Donald Trump continues to push his agenda to make America great again, and the MAGA acronym is becoming far more than a catchy slogan under the current administration. In a recent post on his Truth Social network, President Donald Trump wants to reshape the programming of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., claiming that the venue is promoting entertainment that doesn’t fit his MAGA vision.
In one of his frequent Truth Social posts, President Trump railed against the Kennedy Center’s programming, highlighting in his rant that the institution has moved from its intended goal of showcasing American exceptionalism in so many words.
From Truth Social:
At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP! Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
Following that post, President Trump posted an AI-rendered image of himself as a composer leading an orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
The Kennedy Center responded to President Trump’s missive with a statement of their own:
Throughout our history, the Kennedy Center has enjoyed strong support from members of [C]ongress and their staffs—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Since our doors opened [in 1971], we have had a collaborative relationship with every presidential administration. Since that time, the Kennedy Center has had a bi-partisan board of trustees that has supported the arts in a non-partisan fashion.
While we are a living memorial to President Kennedy, we are also a unique public-private partnership. The Center is supported by federal annual appropriations for the upkeep and maintenance of the building as a federal memorial, or approximately 16% of the total operating budget. Support for the Center’s artistic programming comes from ticket sales, donations, rental income, and other revenue sources.
The Kennedy Center is aware of the post made recently by POTUS on social media. We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees. We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.
Per the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members. There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.
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An Arab American group that supported President Donald Trump has changed its name in response to his threat to take over the Gaza Strip.
With President Donald Trump making the shocking proposal of moving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip to make it the “Riviera of the Middle East” after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one prominent group of Arab American backers has opted to change their name from “Arab Americans For Trump” to “Arab Americans For Peace.” Bishara Bahbah, the group’s chairman, confirmed the decision on Wednesday (February 5) in talks with the Associated Press.
“The talk about what the president wants to do with Gaza, obviously we’re completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in Historic Palestine,” Bahbah said. “And so we did not want to be behind the curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has been our objective from the very beginning.” He stated that the name change had been discussed and was agreed upon on Tuesday (February 4), but they still had the old moniker before Trump’s press conference with Netanyahu.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based group was a significant factor in Trump winning the area in the 2024 presidential election. Home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States, they were critical of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s decision not to call for an arms embargo on Israel during that country’s war with the Hamas militia and critical of former President Biden’s support of Israel. Many either withheld their votes in alliance with the “Uncommitted” movement, decrying the genocide of Palestinians, or voted for third-party candidate Jill Stein.
Trump would double down on his statements in a Truth Social post on Thursday, proclaiming that “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel.” In a press release, Arab Americans For Peace wrote that they “appreciate the president’s offer to clean and rebuild Gaza” but “take issue with the president’s suggestion of taking over Gaza and removing its Palestinian inhabitants.” While progressive activists aren’t offering regrets over their choices, one leader spoke anonymously to Politico about the growing concern in the Arab American community about their choices, stating that they “think we screwed up but we’re not going to admit it.”
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Elon Musk and his alignment with President Donald Trump was under scrutiny long before the inauguration, and now, the DOGE chieftain is wielding seemingly unchecked power within the federal government despite not being elected. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency, has been ordered to shut down and possibly be moved under the direction of the U.S. Department of State under President Trump’s orders, and workers for the agency are speaking out.
To explain the function of USAID, the agency was established in 1961 under the guidance of President John F. Kennedy and provides funding for humanitarian efforts around the globe. Over 100 countries benefit from the agency’s billions and does not absorb a large portion of the federal budget. The agency employs over 10,000 people.
However, Trump has vehemently expressed that the agency is a tool of his political opponents and wants to stamp out what he feels is criminal activity and has employed Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to head the cleanup effort.
Trump ordered an end to foreign financial assistance with Musk taking a larger role in the handling of shutting down USAID despite not being an elected official and a foreign national. It has been an unprecedented takeover of the federal government that has largely been endorsed by the Republican Party, which has marched lockstep along party lines.
Surprisingly, some Democrats have warmly embraced the actions of Trump and Musk, and some Democratic Party senators have voted in favor of the president’s controversial cabinet. A coalition of Democratic Party has staged protests to halt the rapid nature of the Trump administration’s moves, which has run into a few legal snags yet not nearly enough to halt the carnage.
Of the damage left in the wake of Trump and Musk are USAID workers who have been cut off from their workstations and ripped away from assisting those in need. One worker shared details that Musk’s DOGE squad, a grouping of engineers largely new to the workforce and assumably not at the federal government level. One of the named DOGE engineers was a former software engineer for Twitter, now known as X.
In a small glimmer of hope for the agency, the AFL-CIO and other government unions have sued DOGE to protect the data of workers from Musk’s engineering team.
From the information and reactions we’ve gleaned on X and from government websites, we’re sharing thoughts from the public at the recent happenings between DOGE and USAID. Those responses can be viewed below.
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