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The 13th anniversary of the DACA program is celebrated as it faces uncertainty under the Trump Administration.
On Sunday (June 15), the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program celebrated 13 years of existence after its creation during the administration of former President Barack Obama. It comes as the administration of President Donald Trump has endorsed numerous raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents nationwide, and has worked to end the program outright, doing so for six months in his first term. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Obama honored the day and the program, which was created to provide a pathway to aid the young children of immigrants to becoming citizens and to protect them from deportation.
“Thirteen years ago, my administration acted to protect young people who were American in every single way but one: on paper,” the former president began in the post. “DACA was an example of how we can be a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. And it’s an example worth remembering today, when families with similar backgrounds who just want to live, work, and support their communities, are being demonized and treated as enemies.” Obama concluded, “We can fix our broken immigration system while still recognizing our common humanity and treating each other with dignity and respect. In fact, it’s the only way we ever will.”
Obama was joined by a slew of other Democratic lawmakers voicing their own support for DACA on social media, and who called for the passage of the bipartisan H.R. 1589 bill, commonly referred to as the “American Dream and Promise Act”. The bill, if passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, would codify parts of DACA into federal law. The 5th Circuit Court ruled against DACA being continued in full in January, but allowed applications for renewal to continue.
The Trump Administration recently received a verdict in its favor from the Supreme Court, 7-2, to remove Temporary Protected Status from over 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela last month drawing ire from advocates. DACA and the issue of protecting young immigrants have taken center stage again within the past week, as protesters decrying the deportations and policies of ICE outside of a federal building in downtown Los Angeles were confronted by local police. President Donald Trump moved to send in 2,000 members of the National Guard, and subsequently 200 Marines without approval from California Governor Gavin Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
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Kim Gordon unveiled a new version of her 2024 single”Bye Bye” on Friday (June 13) aimed squarely at the right-wing culture wars created by President Donald Trump.
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Rechristened “Bye Bye 25!,” the protest song now features the Sonic Youth alum listing off a litany of cultural terms the Trump administration has not only gotten worked up over, but attempted to erase from official government records altogether since returning to office in January.
“Mental health, electric vehicle, Gulf of Mexico/ Energy conversion, gay, bird flu, advocate, pregnant person,” Gordon intones over skittering, apocalyptic production, before later adding words like “immigrants,” “diversity,” “victims,” “transgender,” “Hispanic,” “fluoride” and “female” to the stanzas.
“When I was thinking of lyric ideas, it occurred to me to use words taken from a site that had all the words that Trump has essentially banned, meaning any grant or piece of a project or proposal for research that includes any of those words would be immediately disregarded or ‘cancelled,’” the singer explained of the song’s reinvention in a statement. “I guess Trump does believe in cancel culture, because he is literally trying to cancel culture.”
To coincide with the release, Gordon has also designed a limited-edition T-shirt, with proceeds from both the tee and the song going to benefit Noise for Now, a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization dedicated to abortion access and reproductive rights justice.
The alt-rocker released the original iteration of “Bye Bye” as the lead single from her sophomore solo album, The Collective, which bowed at No. No 40 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart and peaked in the top 20 of the Indie Store Album Sales tally back when it was released in March 2024.
Watch the stark music video for Gordon’s “Bye Bye 25!” below.
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President Donald Trump attended a showing of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center in Washington this week, but he didn’t get the reception he might’ve expected. On social media, news spread swiftly that President Donald Trump was promptly booed as he and the First Lady took to their seats despite a smattering of folks shouting “U-S-A” chants.
As reported by the Associated Press, President Donald Trump attended the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday (June 12), his first showing at the institution after gutting its previous leadership and inserting himself as its chairman. While the common thread of reaction to Trump’s attendance was noting the audible boos coming from the crowd, he did have some supporters who showed favor.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, were in attendance, as was Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, who has clashed with Trump in the past, was also in attendance.
The outlet reports that someone in the crowd cursed at Trump, although the expletive wasn’t explained. Near the end of the showing, several drag queens who were in the crowd strolled through the auditorium in protest of Trump’s reshaping of the Kennedy Center’s creative output in his pushback against what he viewed as left-leaning content.
Les Misérables, as slyly noted by Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, is a story that takes place against the backdrop of the French Revolution and focuses on social upheaval.
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President Donald Trump ordered 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to appear in Los Angeles to quell exaggerated reports of violence from those protesting the efforts of ICE agents i the city. During a meeting this week in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump floated the idea of sending the military to other major cities where ICE protests, many of which have been nonviolent, are occurring.
As reported by ABC News, President Donald Trump addressed the situation in Los Angeles amid conflicting reports of widespread violence from members of his administration, with their account drastically contrasting with those on the ground and seen on social media. President Trump, leaning heavily into his campaign promises of widespread deportation, appears to want to present a tougher image by employing armed forces to quell the protests.
“This is the first, perhaps, of many,” Trump said regarding future military deployments. “You know, if we didn’t attack this one very strongly, you’d have them all over the country, but I can inform the rest of the country, that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California addressed Trump’s use of the military in an address to his constituents, stating that “democracy is under assault” as he dodged verbal attacks from House Speaker Mike Johnson and Border Czar Tom Homan, among others. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has echoed similar sentiments, alongside over a dozen other Democratic Party governors.
Trump also suggested enacting the Insurrection Act, which would give him the authority to deploy military forces to suppress violence and assumed rebellion. It should be noted that President Trump did not enact the Insurrection Act during the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
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President Donald Trump was caught on video tripping on the stairs of Air Force One, prompting several social media jokes.
President Donald Trump nearly took a tumble on airplane steps, and social media called him out along with noting that it wasn’t getting as much coverage as opposed to what happened to former President Joe Biden. On Sunday (June 8), Trump was set to board Air Force One to head to Camp David in Maryland, purportedly to meet “a lot of people, including generals… and admirals.” He also fielded questions about the protests in Los Angeles against the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and his move to deploy National Guard troops.
He took more questions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at his side before exiting to take the stairs to enter Air Force One. As he climbed the stairs, he tripped and grabbed onto the railing with his right hand before collecting himself and resuming the climb into the airplane. The entire moment was caught on C-SPAN.
The moment immediately went viral online, including a close-up shot of Trump’s profile at the moment he tripped and caught himself. It also led many on social media to take their shots at Trump and Republicans who had consistently mocked former President Joe Biden for his moments of difficulty entering and exiting Air Force One. “Slipping on all them lies he’s saying about Los Angeles.” a TikTok user named MammaMia wrote.
Others also called out the hypocrisy they viewed within media outlets who might brush off Trump’s near-tumble but still obsess over how old former President Biden was. “Life has a funny way of showing you different prospectives after one has harshly judged another,” wrote TikTok user Emi333. Others also noted Rubio seeming to trip as he boarded the stairs for Air Force One, and commented that he might’ve been trying to dilute some of the potential barbs thrown at Trump. And a few social media users called out MAGA supporter Joey Mannarino’s odd defense of the stumble.
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President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial travel ban against a small number of countries with majority Muslim populations, and revived the policy this week. On Wednesday (June 4), President Trump signed a proclamation that slapped a new travel ban against a dozen countries and partial restrictions on seven others.
The White House shared the proclamation on its website, which detailed the Trump administration’s plans to bar entry to the United States to individuals hailing from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
In addition to the aforementioned countries, the proclamation placed partial travel restrictions on individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
From the proclamation:
As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks. Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety.
The travel ban that was enacted in 2018 was wildly unpopular as it seemingly targeted countries that President Trump perceived to be enemies of the state. With the Republican Party holding majorities in both chambers, Trump and his administration have been emboldened to expand the travel ban to include mostly African and Muslim countries, and have the support of Republican members of Congress.
Sen. Chuck Grassley defended President Trump’s renewed travel ban, stating that it was in the best interest of national security, as reported by KCRG.
“I don’t know what the basis was for him making that decision, but I assume it’s come because of some terrorist attacks we’ve had in the United States,” Grassley said.
Amnesty International posted a response to the travel ban, which can be read here.
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Elon Musk‘s alignment with President Donald Trump‘s administration is coming under scrutiny after the world’s richest man criticized a massive bill that could add trillions to the United States’ debt. Via his X social media platform, Elon Musk blasted Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by labeling it a “disgusting abomination.”
On Tuesday (June 3), Elon Musk took to X and aimed his critique at the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” becoming the first Trump ally to decry the bill and its well-documented flaws publicly.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk began. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
What was curious about the South African businessman’s missive was that it was completely backed by the Republican Party members of the House, which is public knowledge. Some have pondered why Musk didn’t aim his vitriol towards those elected officials instead of painting his disdain for the budget bill with a wide brush.
Via Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the White House’s response to Musk’s jabs was succinct, and that Trump is all in on getting the bill through the Senate.
“This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” Leavitt said, responding to a reporter in the press room who asked if the president would be upset by Musk’s comments.
Musk has the support of some Republican Party officials such as Sen. Rand Paul, who wrote on X, “I want to see the tax cuts made permanent, but I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill. At least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way,” which was retweeted by the Tesla founder. He also shared other supporting statements from others who feel similarly to him about the bill.
This isn’t the first time Musk, who reportedly exited DOGE and the White House last week, has railed against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, doing so in a CBS News interview last month.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in May.
On X, the reactions to Elon Musk seemingly breaking with the Trump administration and Republican Party members of Congress were plentiful. We’ve got some listed below.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty
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President Donald Trump has demonstrated in times past that he is chronically online, as some have witnessed via his frequent posts on his social media network, Truth Social. Taking to his platform once more, President Donald Trump shared a post promoting a peculiar conspiracy theory alleging that former President Joe Biden was replaced by a clone.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social and reshared a post from a user that suggests that President Joe Biden was replaced by robotic clones in 2020. The post itself was replete with hashtags such as “#BlackMen,” “#Blackwomem, “#Blacks,” and “#Jews” along with mentions towards political groups and media outlets.
“There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats dont know the difference,” read the leading portion of the brief post. The user, who has around 5,000 followers, had the good fortune of getting President Trump’s attention, who reshared the post to his millions of followers.
While there is no proof of this claim, it does appear to be a recent one. Biden has been a favorite target of Trump supporters and the MAGA faithful, who believe the former president’s performance in his first and final term as the nation’s leader left America in worse shape than Trump.
The Truth Social user also shared an article from The Babylon Bee, a fictional news outlet similar to The Onion, which leans into political satire and has fooled former politicians in the past into thinking it is a fact-based news organization.
President Trump and former President Biden have not made any comments about the theory, from what we’ve been able to assess.
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Photo: Anadolu / Getty
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On Wednesday (May 28), President Donald Trump issued an order commuting the federal prison sentence of the former leader of the Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover. The federal sentence of three life terms was given to Hoover for running the Gangster Disciples from his prison cell. However, Hoover remains in jail for state murder charges in Illinois. Advocates are calling on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to give Hoover clemency.Hoover’s commutation was part of a group of 26 acts of clemency and pardons issued by Trump. That group includes rapper NBA Youngboy and reality television stars Todd and Julie Christley. It was announced by the White House’s “pardon czar”, Alice Marie Johnson.
In a separate interview with TMZ Hip Hop, she said that she hoped that Governor Pritzker would consider giving Hoover clemency. Ye, aka Kanye West, has also made pleas to Trump to release Hoover, bringing one of his lawyers to the White House during his first term in 2018, saying it was “very important for me to get Hoover out.”The 74-year-old is currently serving a 200-year sentence for his conviction for murdering rival William Young in 1973. In order for him to be freed, a petition has to be approved by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Hoover was denied parole in 2022, after letters from Young’s family protested his release.
“I think there’s a mass pressure here for JB to show that he believes in redemption,” said community activist and Hoover friend Ja’mal Green. “If we’re going by what he claims he believes and the policies that he has signed on with his pen then Larry Hoover represents that. This is merely politics if JB Pritzker does not use a stroke of his pen.”“I understand folks on both sides some who quite frankly felt a lot of pain, but also those who can believe in the power of redemption,” said Illinois State Senator Willie Preston, representing the 16th District, to local NBC network News 5 Chicago.
According to a representative for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Hoover remains in custody at the United States Penitentiary Florence ADMAX in Florence, Colorado. There has been no word from Pritzker’s office that signals that they’re open to giving Hoover clemency.
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Photo: U.S. District Court Records
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President Donald Trump has a penchant for using nicknames and hurling insults at folks, especially those who aren’t politically aligned with him or his administration. TACO, an acronym that stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” is gaining traction online, and as a result, TACO is getting the meme treatment across social media.
TACO, coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armsrong, made its way to the ears of President Trump during a press event on Wednesday (May 28). A reporter asked Trump about the acronym, sparking a furious reply from the president, who demanded that he never get asked about the acronym again.
Because of Trump’s visible distaste for the acronym, savvy social media users and those who oppose President Trump seized upon the opportunity to dig in their heels with jokes, commentary, and memes as mentioned above.
In an interview with CBC Radio’s As It Happens, Armstrong was asked if it were a dream that the acronym got floated during the midweek press event at the White House.
From CBC:
It’s not the dream, it’s the nightmare. The thing about Trump chickening out is that it’s good.
Trump’s tariff policies are very bad and destructive, right? When I talk about TACO and Trump chickening out, I’m like, “There’s this good thing happening where he doesn’t follow through on these bad ideas.”
I don’t think this is gonna happen, but I have this slight worry that now he knows the phrase, and it’s banging around in his head, he’ll stop chickening out, which is exactly the outcome I don’t want.
As it stands, TACO is growing legs, especially on social media apps like X and Blue Sky. We’ve got some of those memes listed below.
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Photo: The Washington Post / Getty
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