In “After fatal shooting, Joe Scarborough rips into Susan Collins over funding ICE,” Allison Detzel reports at MS NOW that News commentator and Former Republican congressman “Joe Scarborough criticized Republican Sen. Susan Collins for her role in supplying tens of billions of dollars in new funding for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement in light of the fatal shooting by federal authorities of a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant in Collins’ home state of Maine — the second fatal shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in a week…Johan Sebastián Guerrero was killed by immigration agents in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday morning while he was on his way to work. Authorities later revealed he was not the target of the warrant agents were trying to execute…On Tuesday’s “Morning Joe,” Scarborough blasted Collins and her fellow conservatives for effectively co-signing what he said was the federal government “killing people in the streets of America.” In doing so, the former Republican congressman accused the party of abandoning values it once held most dear, including its staunch opposition to government overreach…“When people like me started running,” Scarborough, who represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District from 1995 to 2001, recalled, “everywhere I went, I wanted to talk about ‘Well, the flat tax is more —’ they wanted to talk about Ruby Ridge. They wanted to talk about the ATF killing families that had guns.”” More here.
From “Trump Pulls Abrupt 180 on Strait of Hormuz After Iran Humiliates Him. Donald Trump had proposed tolling the Strait of Hormuz, but 24 hours later, he was singing a different tune” by Robert McCoy at The New Republic: “Rather than provide steady, articulate leadership and communication during his Iran war, the commander in chief has embraced bluster and erratic flip-flopping. The latest example of this came Tuesday, when President Donald Trump adopted a stance on the Strait of Hormuz diametrically opposed to the one he had announced the day before…On Monday, Trump decided that the United States would seize control of the strait. “We’ll become the guardian of the strait,” he told Fox News. “Now we’re gonna guard it, and we’re gonna get paid for guarding it. A lot of money. But we just want to be reimbursed.” In a Truth Social post, he said a 20 percent toll would be imposed on “all cargo shipped” through the strait…It was a stark reversal of the administration’s previous stance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance had stated unequivocally that no country would impose such a toll…Then the sun set and rose again, and Trump had yet another 180-degree change of heart…Tuesday, Trump declared that there would be no toll after all. Instead, he said vaguely in a Truth Social post that the U.S. would pursue “Trade and Investment Deals” with Gulf states. Shortly thereafter, he confirmed this new approach during a press conference. “I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait,” the president said, “or for any other strait relationship in terms of other sections of the world. I don’t think anybody should be really in that position.” More here.
The Broadcast Blog at Daily Kos shares “Trump Losing Everything Everywhere All At Once, which includes these observations: “After public outrage and outcry following two murders of immigrants by ICE officials over the past week — one in Maine who had an authorized work permit, the other in Texas who has been here for 30 years — the Dept. of Homeland Security is reportedly suspending most vehicle stops around the country. We’ll see if they do. Both men were shot and killed by immigration enforcement agents while in their car. Neither were endangering Trump’s jackbooted federal goons, nor were they their supposed targets for enforcement actions. At least 22 people have been fired on by agents involved in Trump’s deportation efforts during his second term. Six people, including three U.S. citizens, have been killed as a result of those shootings…In response to Iran‘s Sunday announcement that they are shutting down the Strait of Hormuz again, amid the collapse of peace talks, Trump declared on Monday that the U.S. was placing its own blockade on the Strait and would (unlawfully) charge ships 20% of the value of their cargo in exchange for safe passage. That ill-considered policy pronouncement didn’t last 24 hours before Trump called off the plan on TACO Tuesday. Instead, he spun an elaborate lie about “kings and emirs” calling him to suggest they be charged with investment in U.S. manufacturing to cross through the Strait…or some other fantastical, unintelligible, made-up-on-the-fly bullshit for reporters at the White House today.” More here.
Sen. Jon Ossoff (GA) has a few choice words for the Prez and his fellow election-denyers, as reported by Irene Wright at USA Today: “Georgia is in the middle of a tight and highly contested midterm election season, with two major races at the top of the ticket. And President Trumpis watching closely…Incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is running against MAGA-backed, election denier Rep. Mike Collins for Georgia’s second senate seat. The other seat is held by Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is not up for reelection this cycle….Throughout his election campaign, Ossoff has accused Trump of peddling an election lie, one that has been echoed by his opponent, Collins, during his campaign. As recently as June, Collins stated he believed Trump won the 2020 election in an interview with CNN…In response to reporting from MS Now and the Washington Reporter that Trump’s speech could be about election fraud and target Georgia’s two Senate seats, Ossoff said this renewed “obsession” with Georgia elections stems from Trump’s anger toward Black voters who turned against him…”Donald Trump‘s spiral continues. The failed president, pocketing billions as he drives up prices, is afraid to lose the midterms. So he will reheat debunked election conspiracy theories and tell bizarre new lies to deny his 2020 defeat and attack voting rights,” Ossoff said in a statement late Monday….”From the start, Trump’s obsession with Georgia elections revealed his fury that Black voters were instrumental to his defeat,” Ossoff said. “I’m asking concerned citizens nationwide to join me and support our voter protection efforts in Georgia.” More here.
