president donald trump
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty
President Donald Trump’s “I don’t know” answers concerning upholding the U.S. Constitution alarmed many on social media.
In nearly four months of the second presidential administration of Donald Trump, many of his executive orders have run afoul of what is outlawed by the U.S. Constitution. And in a recent interview with NBC’s Kristin Welker, Trump pointedly avoided
answering questions about upholding the Constitution – which a president is sworn to do.
In the interview on Meet The Press which aired Sunday (May 4), Welker asked President Trump about the recent cases of deportation including that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was sent to a prison in El Salvador along with others without due process. That move is in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. “Do you agree that everyone who is here deserves due process? Citizens and noncitizens?”, Welker asked, to which Trump replied, “I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer.”
“The 5th amendment says as much.. Don’t you need to uphold the constitution?”, Welker responded. “I don’t know,” Trump said, adding: “It might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million, or two million, or three million trials. We have thousands of people that are some murderers, and some drug dealers, and some of the worst people on earth…I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it.”
He contiued: “I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said. What you said is not what I heard the Supreme Court said. They have a different interpretation.”
Welker asked if he listened to concerns that he’s steering the nation into an authoritarian regime, Trump brushed it aside. “Those people are going to be very happy,” he said. “They’re going to have to see some results.”
His responses regarding the Constitution were met on social media with anger and calls for him to be impeached or removed, citing the 25th Amendment. One user named Jay in a post on X, formerly Twitter, wrote: “I’m 1000% sure Trump has never read the constitution. And if he did he’s too stupid to understand it.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Anadolu / Getty
The Liberal Party won Canada’s general election in a stunning turnaround, seen also as a rebuke of the actions of President Donald Trump, celebrated on social media.
On Monday (April 28), Canada held its federal election, which resulted in the Liberal Party pulling off what is considered a surprising victory after trailing in polling by as much as 25 points for months. The victory is also considered a sharp rebuke by the nation towards American President Donald Trump, who has antagonized the nation through erratic tariffs and declaring that it should be America’s “51st state.”
The win gives the center-left party a strong edge to claiming the majority in Canada’s parliament with 168 seats – it needs 172 seats, otherwise it would mean working with rivals to form a coalition government. The Conservative Party, while holding 144 seats in Parliament, was rocked as leader Pierre Poilievre lost his riding seat in Ontario to a Liberal opponent. Poilievre had been seen as someone who would be more conciliatory towards Trump and his MAGA principles. He will still be considered the Conservative Party’s de facto leader.
In a victory speech, Prime Minister Mark Carney delineated the new climate of global affairs, aiming at the United States under Trump as no longer being a trusted ally of Canada. “The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity to our country for decades, is over,” he said, adding: “These are tragedies, but it’s also our new reality. We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves and, above all, we have to take care of each other.”
Trump has maintained his stance on Canada, adding more fuel to the fire in an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg and acknowledging his impact on the election: “I don’t even know if it’s a close call. But the conservative, they didn’t like Governor Trudeau too much, and I would call him Governor Trudeau, but he wasn’t fond of that,” he said. Social media also pointed out Trump’s impact as they congratulated Canada on the Liberal Party’s win. “The only thing Trump did in his first 100 days was unite Canada,” wrote Alex Cole in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Amazon was thought to be one of the major companies aligned with the policies and practices of President Donald Trump. However, the major online retailer is now in the crosshairs of the White House after Amazon decided to highlight new pricing plans based on Trump tariffs, which angered White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Punchbowl News first broke the news that Amazon is going ahead with a plan to show tariff pricing on a portion of items sold on its platform, as it was largely expected that prices would rise under Trump’s economic plan. Experts have long warned that tariffs, which are a normal part of global trade, eventually pass on costs to consumers.
Leavitt framed the pricing listing as “a hostile and political act” and then questioned why company leadership never listed the pricing jump in previous years.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt said during a press briefing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to the report, Amazon will share how much the tariffs will add to the cost of the items. However, it isn’t meant to be used across the entire site.
While remaining on the attack, Leavitt cited a Reuters article that said the company Jeff Bezos founded had “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm,” doing so while holding up a printed page of the article referenced that was first published in December 2021. The Reuters report pointed out that Amazon removed public reviews and ratings from President Xi Jinping’s book of speeches.
On X, many are reacting to Amazon’s tariff price listing announcement, noting that the company is already releasing statements countering the original slate of reports that pricing would be shown on all goods affected by tariffs. Those responses can be viewed below.
—
Photo: MANDEL NGAN / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
President Donald Trump will mark 100 days in office this Wednesday (April 30), and it is typically a gauge of the performance and actions of the nation’s sitting leader and their administration. A new poll from CNN highlighted that President Donald Trump has the lowest approval numbers of any sitting president over the past 80 years.
CNN released its poll findings on Sunday and revealed that President Trump has a 41% approval rating, which is lower than the first 100 days of his first time in office. Since last month, Trump has lost 4 points and is down 7 points dating back to February.
The poll numbers also show a tumble in approval ratings from both women and Hispanic voters, and show that Trump is down 7 points with both, with women clocking in at 36% and 28% with Hispanics. Across party lines, Trump still sits strong with Republican respondents of the poll at 86%, with 93% of Democrats showing disapproval. Independent voters revealed 31% approval numbers, which matches his lowest numbers with that group dating back to January 2021.
Respondents also gave the president lower marks on how his reduction in force for the federal government has been handled, with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leading efforts that was purported to cut costs and help lower the nation’s debt. Trump has a 42% approval rating on this front.
Regarding foreign affairs, namely Trump’s cozying up to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his posture on the world stage regarding the annexing of Canada and Greenland, showed a 60% disapproval rate.
Trump has called for investigations into The New York Times, ABC News/The Washington Post, and Fox News regarding his polling numbers, connecting the reports to “election fraud.”
The full poll results can be seen here.
—
Photo: ANNABELLE GORDON / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Columbus Day, the federal holiday put in place to recognize Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, has its share of critics and a countering holiday celebration, but it has never been removed from the calendar. On social media, President Donald Trump is angling for a revival of Columbus Day, citing that Democratic Party members have tarnished the holiday.
On Sunday (April 27), President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account to say he’s bringing the longstanding federal holiday “back from the ashes,” presumably pushing back against President Joe Biden’s 2021 proclamation that Indigenous Peoples Day would celebrated on the second Monday of October alongside the the holiday recognizing Columbus discovering the Americas in the late 1400s.
From Truth Social:
I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes. The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much. They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but “WOKE,” or even worse, nothing at all! Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback. I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!
At several points during his campaign last year, President Trump made it clear that he wanted to undo the removal of Confederate memorials and other instances that his side felt were all left-leaning jabs at American history. This ongoing culture war continues to persist despite the dominance and power wielded by the Republican Party and little in the way of meeting across the aisle with the Democratic Party.
On X, the reactions to President Donald Trump aiming for a Columbus Day revival of sorts are in. We’ve got them listed below.
—
Photo: ANDREW THOMAS / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Eugene “Big U” Henley Jr., a notable music executive with ties to the late Nipsey Hussle, is in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors for his alleged role as a gang leader. According to prosecutors, Big U is seeking the assistance of President Donald Trump, whom he reportedly referred to as the “Orange Man.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that Big U, 58, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge A. Joel Richlin in Los Angeles in a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday (April 22) where it was ruled that the alleged Rollin 60s Crips leader will remain behind bars as he awaits trial. Richlin read off the list of charges Henley faces and considered him a flight risk and a danger to the community, thus why he will remain jailed.
Henley currently faces a 43-count indictment with charges ranging from violating RICO laws, embezzlement of charity donations, tax evasion, and the alleged murder of a rapper that was under his tutelage.
“Even in his short time in custody, he is up to his old tricks, once again trying to use some of those same celebrities for his personal gain,” the government stated in a briefing ahead of the Tuesday hearing. “He has even suggested that he can manipulate the President of the United States into intervening in the case and dropping the charges, even as he simultaneously derisively refers to the President as ‘the orange man’ while in custody. This Court should not be fooled by the good deeds defendant promises to accomplish if only he could close the detention doors behind him.”
A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 9. Big U has pleaded not guilty.
—
Photo: Leon Bennett / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Getty
Harvard University publicly rebuked the Trump administration’s demands for the school to eliminate diversity efforts and screen international students.
On Monday (April 14), Harvard University responded to a letter it received from the Trump administration on Friday (April 11) which demanded that the university eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs as well as to screen international students for potential support of antisemitism, terrorism, and “the American values and institutions inscribed in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.” Harvard emphatically rebuked the demands, writing in a post on X, formerly Twitter: The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a statement detailing his reasoning as to why he wouldn’t comply. “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” he continued. In response, the Department of Education and the U.S. General Services Administration issued a statement saying that they would freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to the school.
President Donald Trump wrote a scornful reply on his Truth Social media platform on Tuesday morning (April 15): “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’ Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
Harvard’s stance has compelled other schools to fight back. “This is of momentous, momentous significance,” said J. Michael Luttig, a former federal court judge and prominent conservative. “This should be the turning point in the president’s rampage against American institutions.” The Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued a statement detailing its intent to sue the government in the wake of nine international students having their visas revoked. Many applauded the school’s response. His view was echoed on social media by many, with a user named Lincs on X, formerly Twitter writing, “It’s great to see some institutions with backbone.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: SOPA Images / Getty
A member of the Black Americans for Trump Coalition and a Republican strategist pondered President Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs, describing the messaging around them as “chaotic.” Melik Abdul, the Black Americans for Trump Coalition member in question, spoke with CNN about the implementation of global tariffs and the effect it’s having on the nation and the economy.
Melik Abdul was a guest on CNN’s Table For Five program discussing President Donald Trump and some of the conversations he’s been having surrounding his policies, citing that people threw their support behind the longtime mogul based on the perception of his business acumen. However, Abdul appeared to be disillusioned with President Trump’s handling of the tariffs situation and didn’t meet the expectations he and others had when they voted for him.
“It is what I can only describe as a very chaotic week. Because you’re right, a lot of the things that you pointed out, Donald Trump, they were full-throated in this, and this is the thing: it was the certainty that this is going to work,” Abdul began.
He added, “And as the market got that little bump and they say, ‘See, this is what deal-making is, this is art of the deal.’ and then we see a different story. And it is the messaging where you have Donald Trump saying one thing. You may have Ka
roline Leavitt saying another thing, you may have Lutnick saying another thing, you may have [Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent saying another thing.”
The CNN segment and Melik Abdul’s commentary can be viewed here.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
President Donald Trump announced a sweeping tariffs policy this week as part of the administration’s “Liberation Day” initiative, which kept with one of his top campaign aims. The tariffs will be set at 10% across the board as several nations, including allies, will face varying percentages of tariffs on imports.
As seen in outlets such as CNBC and CNN, President Donald Trump’s new reciprocal tariff would levy a 10% tariff on all global imports, with China, the EU, Vietnam, and Taiwan paying far larger tariffs. Sparking concerns among economic experts is how the White House has come up with its percentages, as some are saying the math doesn’t add up. Further, according to swirling reports and social media accounts, Trump has called for tariffs against remote unoccupied lands, one of which houses penguins, according to reports.
As seen on CNN, Trump intends to impose a 54% tariff on China, the second largest importer to the United States after Mexico, with the Asian superpower promising to respond with tariffs of their own. The network has also tallied several comments from other nation leaders who are all pushing back against the aggressive measures that have caused global markets to stumble in rapid succession.
As Trump spoke from the Rose Garden on Wednesday, the reciprocal tariffs will be calculated by putting together tariff rates and other economic factors that have impacted trade numbers, then dividing that number in half. Canada and Mexico will face 25 percent tariffs, which Trump says are centered around pushing back against the supposed flood of fentanyl across the northern and southern borders, with some exemptions on products under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
“The tariffs will be not a full reciprocal. I could have done that, I guess. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries,” Trump said.
The AP reports that the United States and global markets are in a tumble and not expected to recover by close today. S&P 500 Futures dipped 3.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.8%; Nasdaq fell 3.8%.
President Trump’s larger aim is to return manufacturing to America and end the nation’s reliance on global goods. The trade-off is that average American consumers and businesses will feel the pinch of costs being passed to them to make up for losses in what is already an economic storm underfoot.
—
Photo: Source: The Washington Post / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
On Monday (March 31), President Donald Trump signed an executive order that was created to prohibit “exploitative ticket scalping” and introduce reforms to the way tickets are sold for events. President Donald Trump was joined by musician Kid Rock in the Oval Office, who wore a white straw fedora and a red tracksuit with bedazzled elements such as an eagle’s wings, stars, and the number “250” to mark the country’s 250th anniversary next year. “I didn’t know too much about it, but I checked it out, and this is a big problem,” Trump said to reporters gathered for the signing.
The executive order aims to cut “price-gouging by middlemen,” directing Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ensure that those selling tickets at resale prices higher than face value comply by fulfilling rules set by the Internal Revenue Service. The order also dictates that the Federal Trade Commission work with the Attorney General’s office to make sure competition laws are enforced and that there is “price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process.”
Live Nation stated support for the order and other reforms, including a strengthening of the Bots Act from 2016, which cracked down on scalpers using bots to buy tickets and resell them at a higher price. “Scalpers and bots prevent fans from getting tickets at the prices artists set, and we thank President Trump for taking them head-on,” the statement read. Under the Biden administration, the parent company of Ticketmaster was sued by the Department of Justice in 2024 for running an illegal monopoly over live events.
“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it’s a conundrum,” the “Cowboy” singer, also known as Robert James Ritchie, said, adding: “It’s kind of ridiculous. I would rather be, you know, a hero to working-class people and have them be able to come attend my shows and give them a fair ticket price. I can’t control that right now so hopefully this is a step to make that happen.” Trump hurriedly signed the order after taking questions and handed it off to Kid Rock to display, adding, “You better do well with this.”
—Photo: Getty