Bill Press: Israel should finish what it started - without our help

It's the old Catholic in me, I guess. But I can't resist. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I had breakfast with Steve Bannon."

Well, kind of, sort of. I was one of some 30 journalists who showed up this week for a breakfast with Bannon sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. And, to my total surprise, I actually ended up agreeing with Bannon on one very important and timely issue.

Of course, I bristled when he talked about the "invasion" of "ten million illegal alien invaders." I bit my tongue when he complained about the "Deep State" actually running the government. And I gagged when he bragged about how well the economy's doing under Trump Two. But, when it came to Iran, I wanted to stand up and applaud.

"I'm a big supporter of Israel, and always have been," Bannon declared. But when it came to Israel's attacks on Iran, Bannon said he'd told President Trump what he believed was the best course: "Israel has to finish what they started." Israel having started this war, Bannon argued, it was not our job to ride in now, like a Wild West cavalry, to finish the job with a big, bunker-buster bomb. Israel started this war, let them finish it.

Bannon was especially critical of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, basically accusing him of trying to trap the United States into joining his war. Bibi knew Trump was in negotiations with Iran to get them to drop their nuclear enrichment program. He knew Trump had expressed his hope that Israel would hold off, in order to give diplomacy a chance. But, defying the United States, Bib decided to launch his war anyway - and killed most of the Iranian officials the Trump administration had been talking to, making further negotiations pointless.

As Bannon pointed out, Netanyahu also knew that Israel did not have the military capacity to destroy Iran's nuclear capability, which is concentrated 300 feet under a mountain in the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Only a bunker-buster bomb could destroy that facility. Israel doesn't have one. Only the United States does. So Netanyahu deliberately set up Trump and tried to force his hand. Because, Bibi declared, Iran was only months, or weeks, away from developing a nuclear bomb - which, as several news organizations have documented, is a claim Bibi's been making every year since 1996!

Netanyahu wasn't the only target of Bannon's scorn. He directed much of his criticism against Fox News, which he condemned as a "pure propaganda network." He accused the network, led by Sean Hannity's nightly tirades, of beating the war drums for an American invasion of Iran, just like they did in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Based on what proved to be phony intelligence, they propelled America into one "forever" war in the Middle East - and today, Bannon says, based on phony intelligence, Fox News is trying to propel us into yet another one.

Whatever the final decision, Bannon repeatedly emphasized, Trump should not allow Bibi to set the timetable. The president must take the time to get the advice of military leaders, talk to other players in the Middle East, and consider what the American people want, before deciding whether or not to join forces with Israel. There's no hurry.

But here's where I strongly disagree with Bannon. Even though, at this point, the MAGA movement overwhelmingly opposes America's involvement in Iran, Bannon says that if Trump does decide to start a third war, and explains his decision, most MAGA followers will support him. Of course they will. Because they've drunk the Kool-Aid. The MAGA movement is a religious cult, blindly worshipping one man. It's not a serious political movement.

For now, we can only pray that Trump - with one eye on the Nobel Peace Prize - will make the right decision and stay out of Iran. Otherwise, the consequences are unthinkable: inferno in the Middle East, rupture with long-term allies, losses of American lives and resources, all bringing us to the brink, if not the reality, of World War III. The risk is too great. Making Bibi happy is not worth it.

One final point. Let's remember. Iran had once agreed to cease production of nuclear bombs in a pact negotiated by President Obama. We wouldn't be in this crisis today if Trump hadn't canceled that agreement in 2018. He made a huge mistake then. Let's hope he doesn't make another one now. Netanyahu is wrong. Diplomacy, not war, is the only answer.

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 

It's a story we've heard many times, but it's always worth repeating. In 1787, when Benjamin Franklin was walking out of the Constitutional Convention, a lady famously asked "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" "A republic," Franklin replied tartly, "if you can keep it."

Even Franklin might be surprised we did keep it for 238 years. But it's gone now. If 1787 marked the birth of our American democracy, 2025 marked the end of it. We no longer live in a democracy. We don't even live in a monarchy. We live in a dictatorship.

It's no democracy when a president can send his goons onto college campuses to round up people who've committed no crimes, deport them and confine them to prison in another country with no due process and no opportunity to defend themselves.

It's no democracy when a president can ban private universities from accepting foreign students, simply because he believes, with no evidence, they're a national security threat.

It's no democracy when a president can invent a national crisis, send Marines into the streets of Los Angeles, and threaten to deploy troops to any other city where Americans protest the gestapo-style tactics of ICE - who are only following Trump's orders to deport at least 3,000 a day.

First, let's be clear about one thing. Los Angeles is not burning. The City of Angels is not at risk. Take it from me. I lived in LA during the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson riots. I stood on the roof of KCOP-TV and watched a mob of looters storm up La Brea Boulevard, torching shops and restaurants. While hosting my radio talk show, I was warned by security guards to hide under my desk because snipers were firing shots at our building. I was covering the riots from First AME Church in South Central when the entire neighborhood went up in flames. A Black church member had me lie on the floor in the backseat of his car, threw a blanket over me and drove me through the violence-filled streets to my home in West Hollywood. By comparison, what's happening today in Los Angeles is a picnic in the park.

And, by the way, the National Guard were also on the scene in both riots. But they were there the way it's supposed to work: summoned by the governor of California, at the request of the mayor of Los Angeles, and used to guard the perimeter and enforce the curfew. Local law enforcement did a good job of dealing with the protesters, just like they're doing again today.

The truth is, there is no national crisis. There is no Los Angeles crisis. There is no California crisis. There is only a crisis in democracy, stirred up deliberately by Donald Trump to expand his presidential power and paint Democrats as soft on crime and immigration.

Yes, there were peaceful protests against ICE, with some scattered violence, which the LAPD was more than capable of taking care of - until Trump, without consulting local or state officials, sent in the National Guard and the Marines. Donald Trump didn't fix this "crisis." He created it.

He's only doing this "to defend law and order," Trump insists, adding: we won't allow protesters "to spit on our police." Unbelievable! This shameless boast from the protester-in-chief who gave a presidential pardon to men convicted of killing police officers on January 6.

What's happening in LA is the same mad power play Trump tried to unleash during the George Floyd protests, when he summoned the military to Lafayette Square and threatened to send troops into every big city. The difference is, then there were Justice Department and Pentagon officials who stopped Trump in his tracks and refused to consider martial law. This time around, Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth will let Trump do whatever he wants.

We're seen this playbook before: sow disinformation, silence your critics, muzzle the media, condemn the courts, stoke violence and unleash the military to seize more power. It was the playbook of Stalin, Hitler and Putin yesterday. It's Donald Trump's playbook today.

So what can we do? Our only hope is to roadblock Trump by taking back the House and Senate in 2026. Then we can look Ben Franklin in the eye and say: "Sorry, we really messed up. We let our republic fall for two years - but we worked hard - and finally got it back." It's up to us.

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
 

Good-bye, good-riddance to Elon Musk

History will not be kind to Elon Musk, nor should it be. True, he is one of the most brilliant and successful business leaders ever. But he's also one of the most demented, destructive, ineffective and heartless men who ever walked the planet. Nero only played the fiddle while Rome burned. Musk set the fires.

First, to his credit, when everybody considered EV's a joke, he created TESLA, the most beautiful and most dependable electric car on the road. In 2002, when NASA was floundering and the United States was losing our edge in space, Musk created SpaceX - which is now the world's dominant space launch provider, eclipsing all other private and national programs. In 2019, SpaceX launched Starlink, expanding internet access to the most remote areas of the globe and providing Ukraine the network its military still depends on.

He did all that good stuff. He became the wealthiest person on earth. Then, maybe, the drugs kicked in. Whatever happened, then Elon Musk went nuts.

It started with Twitter. Remember when Twitter was everybody's home online? With its friendly little blue bird logo, more than 100 million users, and 240 million "tweets" a day, it was the safest, quickest way to engage on issues of the day. Then, in 2022, Musk bought it, renamed it and destroyed it, turning Twitter into a total right-wing, conspiratorial cesspool - on which the wackiest, most conspiratorial voice, popping up dozens of times a day, is Musk himself.

Then, with 2024 looming, Elon discovered politics. He could have supported the president who made the manufacture of EV's a national priority and showered billions of dollars on the electric car industry. Instead, he cynically decided to support the number one enemy of electric cars, the man who calls EV's a "Marxist hoax." Why? Because he figured Donald Trump was for sale and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were not.

Musk got that right. After shoveling $250 million into Trump's 2024 presidential campaign (by far the biggest campaign contribution ever, but still chump change for Musk), Elon quickly became Trump's BFF: dinners at Mar-a-Lago, rides on Air Force One, meetings with foreign leaders. And then the big pay-off: a new government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency, or "DOGE" - with Musk the head of it for what will be remembered as "130 days from Hell."

By any measure, Musk's 130-day DOGE tenure was both a total failure and a total disaster.

A total failure. Musk initially vowed to cut $2 trillion in "wasteful" spending. He later cut that goal to $1 trillion. However, after 130 days, DOGE itself could only claim $160 billion in cuts, and independent observers question even that amount. Of its $160 billion, DOGE only itemized $61.5 billion and could provide documentation for only $32.5 billion. In other words, the whole thing was a scam. Using his own numbers, Musk was only able to achieve 12.5 percent of what he promised.

But those cuts add up to a total disaster. For no given reason, 120,000 federal employees were summarily fired and 120,000 families were forced to relocate or rebuild their lives. Services we depend on from FEMA, FAA, the National Weather Service, the National Park Service and the US Forest Service have been slashed. Critical research at NIH, FDA and most universities has been canceled, creating a brain drain of American scientists looking for job opportunities abroad.

Worse yet, no matter how much Musk and Trump deny it, many lives have been lost. According to Boston University, shutting down USAID and ending President Bush's PEPFAR program alone has already resulted in 40,000 adult HIV deaths and more than 4,000 infant HIV deaths. Those numbers are expected to reach 159,300 adults and 16,954 infants by the end of the year. As philanthropist Bill Gates noted, "The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one."

Now, suddenly, Elon Musk has had an epiphany. He wants us to hail him as a voice of reason. No longer at Trump's side, he's turned on him, denounced his "one, big, beautiful, bill" as a "disgusting abomination" and urged Congress to kill it.

Forget about it. Yes, Musk's right about the bill, but remember: There would be no Donald Trump back in the White House, there would be no "one, big, beautiful, bill" without Elon's $250 million. He's as responsible for this abomination of a bill as Trump is.

It's a relief to have Elon Musk out of the White House. Now if he would only shut up and disappear forever.

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
 

It goes with the territory. As a political commentator, I read a pile of political books every year, some of them worthwhile, most not. But one of the best political books I read this year is "Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy" by CNN's Jeff Toobin.

Citing the broad pardon power given the president in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution - "He shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment" - Toobin notes this is the one and only place where, in effect, the president is a king. He has absolute power to pardon anybody he wants, anytime he wants, for any reason he chooses. Nobody, not even Congress, can stop him.

King Donald has made the presidential pardon his personal playground. While most presidents wait till the end of their term to grant a few pardons, usually to persons recommended by the Justice Department who've not received a fair trial, Trump's been issuing pardons from day one of his second term.

The pardon process used to be complicated. Hire a lawyer. Apply to the Justice Department. Lots of time and paperwork. But no longer. Trump's made the pardon process totally transactional and political. For him, it's the ultimate quid pro quo. Just say you're a victim like him and claim you were charged with a crime only because you were a Trump supporter - and you're free! It doesn't matter what you were charged with or how guilty you are, Trump's got a presidential "get out of jail free" card for you! He handed out many of them in the last few weeks. Of which, a few of the more outrageous.

Example one. Scott Jenkins, former sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia. Jenkins was convicted by a jury of accepting $75,000 in bribes from local businessmen in return for making them auxiliary deputy sheriffs and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In his defense, Jenkins argued the district attorney only went after him because he was a big Trump supporter. That was enough for Trump. On Memorial Day, the day before reporting to prison, Jenkins received a presidential pardon.

Example two. Paul Walczak, a Florida nursing home executive, convicted of $10 million in tax fraud and sentenced to 18 months in prison. But even after pleading guilty, Walczak claimed he'd only been targeted because his mother, Elizabeth Fago, had held three fundraisers for Trump. Last month, Ms. Fago paid $1 million for a Trump fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Less than three weeks later, Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon for her son.

Example three. Brian Kelsey, former Tennessee state senator, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegally funneling money to his failed campaign for Congress. Once Trump was re-elected, Kelsey accused the Justice Department of coming after him only because he was a MAGA supporter. In February, he reported to prison for a 21-month sentence. Two weeks later, he received a Trump pardon.

Example four. Michael Grimm, former member of Congress from Staten Island, indicted in 2014 for failing to report nearly $1 million in receipts and hundreds of thousands in employee wages from a restaurant he owned. After serving seven months in prison, he became a TV host on Newsmax, where he strongly defended Donald Trump. Bingo!

Example five. Reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, convicted three years ago of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their luxurious lifestyle. Their daughter Savannah, a big Trump supporter, spoke at last year's Republican National Convention and said the magic words: claiming her parents, like Trump, had been "persecuted by rogue prosecutors" because of their conservative political beliefs. They walked out of prison this week.

And then, of course, there's the worst pardon abuse of all: Trump's wholesale pardon of nearly 1,600 people who stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Several were serving long sentences for assaulting police officers, including Daniel Rodriguez, whom a judge labeled "a one-man army of hate." But Trump called them all "patriots," insisted the Justice Department went after them only because they were Trump supporters, waved his magic wand, and their crimes disappeared.

For would-be criminals, the message could not be more clear. If you're even thinking about committing a crime, don't worry about the police. Just make sure you send a big check to Donald Trump first. If Charles Manson had thought of that, he might have been out of prison a long time ago.

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 

My new plane is bigger than yours!

It's official. In what is probably the most significant achievement of his first four months in office, Donald Trump has acquired a fancy new plane. For him, it's a personal triumph. For the rest of us, it's a national embarrassment.

His new plane is a luxury 747 worth $400 million called the "Flying Palace," which the government of Qatar has been trying to dump for years. But, since nobody makes 747's anymore and spare parts are practically non-existent, they had a hard time finding a willing buyer - until a sucker named Donald Trump came along.

It's no secret how badly Trump wants a new Air Force One and how frustrated he is that Boeing can't deliver one for another two years. So, as reported by CNN and the New York Times, once Trump was back in office the White House asked Qatar if its Flying Palace might still be for sale. You bet, said Qatar. We'll even fly it to West Palm Beach (at an estimated round- trip cost of $1 million) so Trump can inspect it himself.

Which he did, off the record, on Feb. 15. And for Trump, penis envy kicked in. Their plane was clearly bigger, flashier, fancier and gaudier than his. He had to have it. But why should he buy it, Trump asked. Why don't they just give it to me? Which Qatar - eager to get rid of the jet, and even more eager to be in Trump's debt - readily agreed to.

There's only one problem. The Constitution! Recognizing the peril of a president being influenced by expensive gifts from foreign countries, the Founding Fathers made sure that wouldn't happen. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8: "No person, holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, or foreign State."

No translation needed. Without congressional approval, Donald Trump is forbidden by the Constitution from accepting a $400 million gift from Qatar. But the Constitution's never stopped Trump, who says he's not even sure he's bound by it. So the White House invented an end run around the Constitution. It's not a gift to Donald Trump, they argue, it's a gift to the United States government. And Trump will never use it after he leaves office, he'll turn it over to his presidential library.

All of which is total nonsense. If you believe that story, I've got a used 747 to sell you.

Of course, this "deal" may never happen. Before it can serve as a new, temporary Air Force One, the plane must be swept for hidden listening devices, equipped with the highest standards of security, and reconfigured to meet the needs of a presidential delegation, not a royal family. Experts say that could cost up to $1 billion, and might not even be finished before Trump leaves office.

But, repurposed as Air Force One or not, the Flying Palace will always stand as the symbol of what Donald Trump's presidency is all about: self-enrichment. For him and his greedy family, the biggest bunch of grifters who ever walked the face of the earth.

It wasn't the president alone who used last week's romp through the Middle East to line his pockets. Before he got there, sons Eric and Donald Jr. had been on a whirlwind tour, signing deals for a $1 billion, 80-story luxury hotel in Dubai; a second high-end residential tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; a new high-rise Trump hotel in Serbia; a new golf course and villa complex in Qatar; and a new, exclusive private club in Washington.

These ventures come on top of the meme coins Trump is hawking (top buyers get a private dinner with the president); the sneakers, Bibles, and trading cards he's still selling; and World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm Trump just launched with a $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi. All of which benefit not just his sons, but Trump himself.

For Donald Trump, the presidency is nothing but a giant money-making scheme. Period. As world leaders now realize. When Trump, in their Oval Office meeting this week, accused South Africa of "genocide," President Cyril Ramaphosa fired back: "I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you."

In all seriousness, Trump replied: "I wish you did. I would take it." In which case, of course, Ramaphosa would have been treated a lot better. Sad!

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 

Pope Francis: The down-to-earth pope

It's a lesson we all learned a long time ago: no matter what plans we make, unexpected events can pop up and change everything. It's a lesson I learned again this week. 

Here I am in Bologna, Italy, having decided to escape to Italy for a few weeks to study Italian and get as far away from politics as I could. Good plan. But, due to one big, unexpected event, I'm suddenly in the middle of another political campaign - a campaign for the next pope. Which is especially relevant for residents of Bologna, since Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the very popular archbishop of Bologna and close friend of Pope Francis, is considered one of the leading candidates, or "papabile," to succeed him.

Of course, this election has global, not just national, consequences. It's about a lot more than who will be the next pope. It's about what direction the Catholic Church - the world's largest Christian church, with 1.4 billion baptized Catholics as of 2024 - will take in the future. Will it continue the open-arms, progressive outreach of the church, preached and practiced by Pope Francis till his dying day? Or will it go backward toward the closed door, ultra-conservative policies of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI?

In one respect, this campaign is different from any other political campaign. Since Catholics believe it's the Holy Spirit, not the cardinals themselves, who decides the next pope, it's considered inappropriate to openly seek the office or campaign for it. But, as last year's great film "Conclave" showed, that doesn't prevent a lot of wheeling and dealing in countless conversations, dinners or phone calls ahead of the conclave. And some cardinals make sure the media sees them as serious contenders.

The night Francis died, I watched an hour-long special about his papacy on Italian television, largely narrated by a cardinal I'd never heard of. Turns out he's another leading papabile, Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, dubbed the "Asian Francis." The next morning, the aforementioned Cardinal Zuppi of Bologna had an op-ed in "La Repubblica," Italy's largest newspaper, praising the progressive policies of St. Francis and making the case for more of the same. They're off and running!

Given the worldwide importance of the election, it's surprising that it will be decided by only 135 voters - fewer than some Manhattan co-op boards. Once they're locked inside the Sistine Chapel, anything could happen. But chances are, despite the efforts of some extremely conservative American bishops to turn back the clock, the Vatican's not going to swing to the far right.

Consider the math. Out of a total 252 cardinals, only 135 are under 80 years of age and thereby eligible to vote - of whom Pope Francis elevated 108. In other words, four out of every five cardinals casting a ballot will be Francis-born. They're unlikely to repudiate the man they admire and owe their job to by choosing an ultra-conservative pope. Instead, they're more likely to choose a pope committed to carrying on Francis' legacy. But his shoes will, indeed, be hard to fill.

True, Pope Francis didn't go as far as progressive Catholics wanted him to go. He stubbornly refused to consider ordaining women as priests; he welcomed LGBTQ Catholics, but still treated them as second-class citizens. But he probably pushed the church as far as he could, and set a powerful example for public service.

Pope Francis was the real deal. He was not a pope on a pedestal, he was a pope on the streets. He didn't hang out with the high and mighty, he spent his time with the poor, with criminals and immigrants, with the "ultimi," the last of the last, those who needed help the most. He slept in a guest house on Vatican grounds rather than in the opulent Papal Palace, he was driven around in a little car, no limousine, and wore black loafers instead of Gucci papal red shoes. Italians called him "a pope like us."

He was the first pope to recognize the danger of climate change and make it a top priority. He opposed the war in Ukraine and Netanyahu's relentless bombing of Gaza. He championed the cause of immigrants and blasted politicians who exploit their plight for political gain.

As Cardinal Zuppi wrote, Pope Francis saw his position of power, "not as an office, but as a service." In him, the world had a leader who used his power to unite, not to divide; and to serve others, not to enrich himself. We poor Americans got stuck with just the opposite.

Don't get me wrong. He's not only the wealthiest man on the planet, he's also the most obnoxious. If I had a Tesla, I would have dumped it long ago. Nonetheless, I think we owe a big thank you to South African-born, non-elected, non-confirmed, oft-married, father-many-times-over, genuine weirdo, and Shadow President Elon Musk. He made us smile again!

Democrats have been in a funk. And not only Democrats, but anybody with a soul, or any sense of what's really important in life. Because, in the first three months of the Trump Regime, we've seen everything we cared about targeted and destroyed by the Trump/Musk machine.

Chainsaw in hand, Trump and Musk have moved to gut or eliminate everything that once seemed worthwhile: the Department of Education; the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau; researchers and scientists at the National Institutes of Health; doctors and health care providers in the Veterans Administration; the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, the most important source of aid for the poorest people on the planet; and FEMA, the most important source of relief for Americans wiped out by tornadoes, hurricanes or wildfire.

Not only that, Trump and Musk have also moved to shut down our legendary cultural institutions. Musk has ordered an 80 percent reduction in staff of the National Endowment for the Humanities, created by Congress in 1965 and supported by every president since. Meanwhile, Trump's taken over the Kennedy Center. He's shut down the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides funding for libraries and museums in every state of the union. He put JD Vance in charge of totally revamping the Smithsonian Institution. He's demanded that slavery be portrayed more positively in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. And he's even announced plans to remake the National Zoo. Because, apparently, the pandas are too "woke."

Now add to those senseless, unnecessary and painful cuts Trump's bloated tariffs, which amount to the largest sales tax in history, and it's easy to see why kindred souls have been so downhearted. There's much to weep about and nothing to cheer about. Until this week! But now, thanks to Elon Musk, we all have something to cheer about: Wisconsin!

In a stunning setback for Trump and Musk, Wisconsin voters, by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin, chose progressive judge Susan Crawford as the next justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court over Trump and Musk's right-wing candidate Brad Schimel. This was much more than a statewide judicial contest. It was an election of huge national importance.

First, because it was the most expensive judicial campaign ever, with almost $100 million spent by both parties in what is, traditionally, a nonpartisan race. Second, because so many critical issues, including abortion and gerrymandering, are before the court. But, third, and most importantly, because Elon Musk made this a referendum on himself - and on the first three months of the Trump Regime. In a sign of what lies ahead for Republicans in 2026, Wisconsin voters soundly rejected both.

Despite a glaring conflict of interest - one issue before the Supreme Court is Musk's challenge to a Wisconsin law requiring car manufacturers to sell cars through local car dealers, and not directly to customers - Musk made this race his top priority. He gave Schimel a $21 million campaign donation. He offered $20 to anyone who volunteered to knock on doors, and $100 to anyone who signed a petition against "activist judges." He paid three individuals $1 million each, just for voting for Schimel.

Then he went to Wisconsin, doffed a cheesehead, personally handed out his checks and told a crowd of adoring MAGA supporters that this judicial election would "affect the entire destiny of humanity." Not only that, in pure Trumpian fashion he claimed that Schimel's loss would - wait for it! - mark "the end of Western civilization" as we know it. All because Tesla would have to sell cars in local dealerships. Please!

Musk spent more than $21 million trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. But Wisconsin voters weren't buying it. They said loud and clear: "Wisconsin's not for sale."

Coming on top of winning two special legislative elections in Iowa and Pennsylvania, defeating four Republican-sponsored initiatives in Louisiana, a bold, history-making Senate speech by Cory Booker, and a triumphant victory in Wisconsin, Democrats suddenly have more bounce in their step.

And they may have found their silver bullet for 2026. As Pod Save America's Jon Favreau quipped, "Please send Elon Musk to all the close races!"

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Personal note: Determined to learn to speak Italian, I’m taking the next few weeks off for an intensive language program in Bologna, Italy. My column will resume in mid-May, when I hope we still have a democracy left to write about. A presto! BP 

For a good belly-laugh, there's nothing better than pulling up clips of that bumbling, incompetent band of policemen created for the silent screen by Mack Sennett who became known as the "Keystone Cops."

I promise you that you'll laugh yourself silly - until, about halfway through, you'll stop in your tracks like I did. OMG, you'll say, this isn't funny a ny more. Because the Keystone Cops are back - in real life this time, not on celluloid - and now they're running the country!

Indeed, so far the Trump administration resembles nothing so much as a rerun of the Keystone Cops, or that'50s classic television series, "The Original Amateur Hour." And that's nowhere more evident than in the scandal now called "Signalgate." Let's start with the facts.

Fact. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gathered top administration officials together to reveal plans for an American military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. In addition to Hegseth, on that call were the National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Also in the chat, mistakenly invited to join by Waltz, was journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

Fact. Hegseth called his meeting, not in a secure room, or "SCIF" - many of which are located in the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House and the Capitol - but on a commercial app called "Signal," which, while it does have some encryption, is not a secure government communications system. It's one step up from scheduling a Zoom meeting to unveil detailed plans for going to war.

Fact. No question. This is an unprecedented, shocking and inexcusable breach of national security which put the lives of American soldiers at risk. If any military officer revealed such plans on a public app, he'd be summarily court-martialed. And any civilian leader who took part in such an exercise should be fired. Didn't any one of those so-called "geniuses" in the chat think to ask: "Why are we discussing military secrets online?" Or "Why's this reporter in the room?"

As is always the case with Donald Trump, once the story broke, the denial and cover-up was as bad as the scandal. First, because that's what he always does, Trump attacked Greenberg personally, calling him a "sleazebag," and dismissing The Atlantic as a "failing magazine." Which is not true, and which has nothing to do with the substance of the Hegseth chat. And, remember, Goldberg did not sneak his way into the chatroom. He was invited to join by Trump's national security adviser.

Then, unbelievably, Trump, Hegseth and the other Cabinet members insisted there was "no classified information" discussed on the call. An assertion totally destroyed the next day when Goldberg published the timeline provided in Hegseth's chatroom, which - hours before the military operation began - included such crucial details as the targets of the attacks, the fighter planes and weapons to be used, the way they would be delivered and the precise timing of each missile launch. The only thing missing were the names of the pilots.

If that's not classified information, what is? As retired four-star general Barry McCaffrey told MSNBC: "This was an egregious breach of security that put Navy combat flyers at risk." The Wall Street Journal called it "security malpractice."

Equally disgusting is the reaction of cowardly Republican members of Congress. Just a few years ago, they demanded that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be "locked up" for using her personal computer to email friends. Yet Donald Trump's team uses an unsecured online chatroom to discuss details of a military strike and their response is: Crickets! No outrage. No demands that anybody be fired. No calls for congressional hearings. Crickets! Cowards!

This may be the worst screw-up by the Trump gang, but it's hardly the first. The last two months have seen a string of embarrassing moves: ordering a freeze on all federal grants, only to rescind it the next day; firing scores of Department of Energy employees, but forced to rehire them when learning they were responsible for overseeing nuclear weapons; also forced to rehire fired Agriculture employees leading the fight against bird flu; and taking many actions blocked by courts as clearly illegal.

No surprise, I guess. When you elect an incompetent president who surrounds himself with incompetent people, this is what you get. But, after two months of the Keystone Cops, the big question for 77 million Americans remains: Are you still glad you voted for this clown?

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Bill Press: Democrats: This is not the time to surrender or play nice

It's what everyone is asking today: Having had their clocks cleaned in November 2024 - and with the country facing an existential threat to our democracy - can Democrats ever get back on top? And if so, how?

First, two important points. One: No doubt, the Democratic Party will bounce back, as it always has before. As bad as November 2024 was, we've seen worse. In 1984, Ronald Reagan won 49 out of 50 states. Two years later, Democrats regained control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1980.

Two: It's going to take time. Given all the damage he's doing every day, we're all frustrated and angry that Democrats haven't yet stopped Donald Trump in his tracks. But, though it seems like an eternity, it's only been five weeks. Republicans were also in total disarray after Obama's election in 2008. It took them six months to come up with a strategy, which was to deny Obama a second term. Democrats already have a strategy, taking back the Senate and House in 2026.

The big question is: How? This week, we saw three examples of how not to do it. From Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and Gavin Newsom. Democrats are never going to win by surrender (Schumer), waiting for the sky to fall (Jeffries) or playing nice (Newsom).

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer infuriated fellow Democrats by attacking the Republicans' budget bill one day, and then announcing he'd vote for allowing it to proceed the next. He defended his decision by insisting Democrats only had two choices: shutting down the government or going along with a bad bill. The bill sucks, he argued, but a government shutdown sucks worse. So, without putting up a fight, he simply surrendered.

Schumer was dead wrong. A shutdown would have been a disaster Trump could easily blame on Democrats, but Democrats had at least two other alternatives. One, proposed by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), was pushing for a four-week extension to negotiate a bipartisan solution. The other was simply to fight like hell.

Even if they lost that battle, Democrats could have used that time to let the American people know how dangerous the Republican budget plan is. It guts funding for health care, increases military spending while slashing $13 billion in domestic spending, funds mass deportations and cuts many vital services, including FEMA's disaster relief program, which is out of money after last year's disastrous tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires. But Democrats never got that message out because Schumer walked off the field.

Newsom, meanwhile, adopted the losing strategy of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." He launched a new podcast and bizarrely invited as his first guests three extreme MAGA Republicans: Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon and Michael Savage. In this case, Newsom's extreme ambition got in the way of his good judgment. You don't give the opposition a platform to spew their lies. And if you do invite them on, you don't play nice. You challenge them and prove them wrong.

As Democratic leader of the House, Jeffries takes the "wait and see" approach. Yes, Trump's doing a lot of bad stuff, he admits. But, he shrugs, "We can't swing at every pitch." Which raises the obvious question: How long do you wait before you swing - and do you have any juice left when you finally do?

"Right now, you have to swing at every pitch," counters Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). "If you let some of these egregious acts of his early days pass without real protest, it normalizes the behavior. It ends up less likely that you convince anyone to get off the mat later on."

Murphy's right. And, fortunately, he's not the only one speaking out. So is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), holding packed rallies in the Midwest to protest Trump's dismantling of the federal government. So is Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker, comparing Trump's authoritarianism to the rise of Nazism in Germany.

And so is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the first to challenge Schumer's surrender, recently named in an SRSS poll as the politician who best represents the Democratic Party's "core values." In that same poll, 57 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters said that opposing the GOP should be the party's number one priority, rather than trying to find common ground with MAGA.

Surrender, playing nice or sitting on the sidelines is not the answer. Democrats must be raising hell every day, on every platform, against every Trump outrage. There's no time to waste. The 2026 midterms are only 19 months away.

(C)2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.