memeorandum: 'Isn't this embarrassing?' Team Trump gets a brutal reminder about the weak economy (Steve Benen/MSNBC)

12:15 PM ET, June 12, 2025

Top Items:

Most say the upcoming military parade is not a good use of government funds — Forty percent approve of the military parade honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and 60% say it is not a good use of government funds. Similar shares, about 3 in 10, feel the U.S. government spends …

Discussion: New Jersey Online and Associated Press

Paul Krugman:

This Is Not a Drill — American democracy is on the line right now — There are two disastrously wrong ways to read the news from Los Angeles right now, and the rest of America over the next few days. The first is to believe that there is actually anything resembling an insurrection underway.

Discussion: Townhall, New York Times, NewsNation, NewsMax.com and HotAir

Quinnipiac University Poll:

Majority Of Voters Oppose GOP Budget Bill, With Just 67% Of Republicans In Support, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Trump Job Approval: 38%, His Handling Of Russia - Ukraine War Lowest Among List Of Issues — mail_outline — As the Senate debates the GOP tax …

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
While President Donald Trump is trying to project strength by ordering a federalized National Guard …

Discussion: Newsweek and The Hill

Andrew Gumbel / The Guardian:

Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’ — Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was unnecessary — California national guards troops and marines deployed to Los Angeles to help restore order …

Discussion: Tell Me a Story, Poynter, CBS News, The Hill and San Francisco Chronicle

Washington Post:
We asked 1,000 Americans about the L.A. protests. This is how they responded.

Discussion: New Jersey Online, masslive.com and New York Times

Farrah Tomazin / The Daily Beast:
Leavitt Storms Out of Press Briefing Over Free Speech Grilling

Discussion: NewsMax.com, The Post Millennial, Raw Story, Townhall, Washington Examiner, CBS News and Mediaite

Ben Johansen / Politico:

Trump is ‘not all there,’ Newsom says amid Los Angeles fight — The California Democrat is dinging the president on his mental acuity. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is hitting Donald Trump with an attack the president and his base know all too well: the president's mental acuity.

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, The Hill, Mediaite, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, New Republic, The Independent, Associated Press, MSNBC, Twitchy and The Wrap

Ewan Palmer / The Daily Beast:

LAPD Chief Calls BS on Trump's Claim That Cops Asked Him for Troops — DIDN'T HAPPEN — Jim McDonnell says police were “nowhere near” the stage where they needed federal assistance to control immigration protests. — The chief of the Los Angeles Police Department has shot …

Discussion: MSNBC, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Alternet.org, Breitbart and LAist

Rolling Stone:

Trump's Big Bill Would Let Him Expand His L.A. Immigration Crackdown ‘Everywhere’ — “If it works out well in L.A., expect it everywhere,” a Trump official says of the admin's plans for militarized ICE raids around the country … The Trump tax bill would steer tens of billions of dollars …

Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story, Breitbart, FOX 11 Los Angeles, The Federalist, El País, The Hill, USA Today, PJ Media, Grabien, Louder With Crowder, Issues & Insights and Los Angeles Times

Alex Thompson / Axios:

“He's lost it”: Inside Newsom's attack on Trump's mental fitness — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has embraced a new attack line in his ongoing showdown with Donald Trump: The president — who turns 79 on Saturday — is slipping. — “He is not the same person that I dealt with just four years ago …

Discussion: The Independent, Raw Story, HuffPost and Media Matters for America

Wall Street Journal:
Trump-Newsom Legal Fight Over Troops Has Little Modern Precedent

Discussion: Axios, New York Times, The Guardian, WNYW-TV, Fox News, NPR, The Hill, New Republic, Townhall, Letters from an American and Newsbusters

Tom Latchem / The Daily Beast:

Trump Voter Gets Choked Up After ICE Detains a Third of His Staff — BUYER'S REMORSE — A Florida roofing boss backed the president's tough immigration policies. Then six of his workers were taken away... Vincent Scardina supported Donald Trump's tough stance on immigration at the ballot box.

Discussion: Alternet.org

ProPublica:

“Delay, Interfere, Undermine” — Investigation Impeded: Despite Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's crime fighter reputation, his top aides blocked extraditions of MS-13 leaders to the U.S., officials say. — Money Laundering Inquiry: U.S. agents drew up a request to examine whether Bukele …

Discussion: Associated Press

Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:

Inside a Courthouse, Chaos and Tears as Trump Accelerates Deportations — Immigration courtrooms in New York City have emerged as a flashpoint, with masked agents making surprise arrests of immigrants who have appeared for routine hearings and check-ins. — Inside an immigration courthouse …

Discussion: Axios and The Independent

Nicole Narea / Vox:
The real reason Trump is suddenly ordering immigration raids

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Times, New York Post and San Diego Union-Tribune

Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:

Israel is poised to launch operation on Iran, sources say — U.S. officials have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, multiple sources told CBS News. — The U.S. anticipates Iran could retaliate on certain American sites in neighboring Iraq.

New York Times:
Israel Appears Ready to Attack Iran, Officials in U.S. and Europe Say

ProPublica:

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — The National Institutes of Health is responsible for more than 80% …

Discussion: The Nation and Scientific American

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

'Isn't this embarrassing?' Team Trump gets a brutal reminder about the weak economy — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to pick a fight over current U.S. economic conditions. It didn't go well. — Partway through Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's testimony before the House Ways …

Discussion: Raw Story

Aaron Blake / CNN:

Trump's top general just undercut his ‘invasion’ claims — One of the problems with making a series of brazen and hyperbolic claims is that it can be hard to keep everyone on your team on the same page. — And few Trump administration claims have been as brazen as the idea …

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:

Police officers file civil lawsuit seeking court order to hang Jan. 6 plaque at U.S. Capitol — Two police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack filed a federal civil lawsuit, asking a judge to order the hanging of a plaque to honor police heroes who protected the Capitol, lawmakers and staff from rioters.

Discussion: Raw Story

CBO Publications:

How H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Would Affect the Distribution of Resources Available to Households — This interactive tool illustrates the distributional effects of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It allows users to explore how H.R. 1, as passed by the House …

Marco Rubio / United States Department of State:

Russia National Day — On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day. — The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future.

Discussion: Euromaidan Press, Reuters, Kyiv Insider, The Kyiv Independent, Bloomberg and CBS News

Jeffrey Collins / Associated Press:

Republican South Carolina House member charged with distributing child sexual abuse material — A Republican South Carolina House member who prosecutors say used the screen name “joebidennnn69” has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing sexual abuse material involving children.

Discussion: FITSNews

Seth Masket / Tusk:

Arrested in L.A. — Earlier this week, a friend of mine - a fellow social scientist who is a local college professor - was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department at a demonstration near downtown LA. They were not jailed or harmed, and they were able to get home early the next morning.

Andrea Hsu / NPR:

She served the American people for 35 years. Now her retirement income is on the line — Michele Santa Maria was 18 and a year out of high school when she landed a job at the Social Security Administration's field office in Chula Vista, Calif., in May 1990. — She started out answering phones and sorting mail.

Discussion: Kiplinger and NewsNation

Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:

Kennedy's new CDC panel includes members who have criticized vaccines and spread misinformation — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week.

Henry Louis Gates Jr / New York Times:

pontiff reveals. — in collaboration with American Ancestors and the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami — On May 8, moments after the world learned that an American cardinal named Robert Francis Prevost was becoming Pope Leo XIV, my inbox was flooded with emails.

Discussion: Althouse

Clea Skopeliti / The Guardian:

First Thing: Families arrested in LA Ice raids held with little food or water, lawyers say — Facilities appear to be unprepared for rush of detained people, including young children. Plus, UK-bound Air India flights crashes with more than 200 onboard — Good morning.

James Pearce / Lawfare:

What to Watch for in Abrego Garcia's Hearing on Potential Pretrial Detention — The government will want to focus on Abrego Garcia's alleged links to MS-13, he will respond that no detention hearing is warranted, and the magistrate judge may end up relying on his immigration detention.

Discussion: Washington Times

Josephine Harvey / The Daily Beast:

FBI Boss Kash Patel Is Suing to Prove He's Not Nightclub Hopping — NO RAVE ZONE — The FBI director is suing Frank Figliuzzi over a claim he made on MSNBC last month. — Kash Patel has sued MSNBC columnist Frank Figliuzzi over his unverified claim last month that the FBI director had been at …

Discussion: The Hill and NewsMax.com

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Florida's literary inquisition — In a chilling meeting of the Florida State Board of Education last week, a school district superintendent was publicly browbeaten and repeatedly threatened with criminal prosecution. The members of the State Board were incensed that Van Ayres …

Paul Waldman / Public Notice:

Republicans are trying to sell a bizarre fantasy on the economy — 💰 Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers. If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please support us. 👇 — Even Donald Trump's most ardent supporters …

Discussion: Washington Post

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

Crypto Now Accounts For Most Of Donald Trump's Net Worth — By, Dan Alexander, Forbes Staff. Dan Alexander is a senior editor at Forbes covering Trump's business. — SaveComment — Over nearly 50 years, Donald Trump expanded his father's real-estate empire into a $2.5 billion fortune.

Discussion: HuffPost

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

BREAKING: FBI Arrests Riot Supplier, Charges Conspiracy — The first rule in unraveling conspiracies: Follow the money. Earlier this week, FBI Director Kash Patel declared that the riots in Los Angele are not organic spillovers from extemporaneous protests against ICE …

Discussion: New York Post

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer's poet laureate, dies at 82 — Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired “Good Vibrations,” “California Girls” and other summertime anthems …

Politico:

Mamdani surges in new poll, leading Cuomo for first time in New York mayor's race — The former governor has topped every voter survey since entering the race, but the democratic socialist is gaining on him. — NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist who has been rising …

Discussion: New York Magazine, WNYW-TV, American Prospect, New York Times, The City, City & State New York, NewsMax.com, New York Post, New York Daily News and The Free Press

Sarah Nassauer / Wall Street Journal:

A Walmart Heiress Breaks Ranks and Joins the Anti-Trump Movement — Billionaire Christy Walton buys ad supporting this weekend's ‘No Kings’ demonstrations—to the surprise of Walmart — A billionaire Walmart heiress is publicly speaking out against President Trump, breaking with the rest …

Discussion: Washington Post, Staten Island Advance, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Raw Story and Scripps News

Aziz Huq / Lawfare:

Presidential Criminal Immunity: A Rule-of-Law Threat Beyond the Oval Office — The Roberts Court's immunity doctrine encourages corruption and malfeasance throughout the executive branch. — Meet The Authors … In Trump v. United States, a six-justice majority of the Supreme Court created …

James Matheson / Baltimore Sun:

Naval Academy history chair resigns over ordered removal of symposium paper — The chair of the Naval Academy History Department resigned after reportedly being ordered by the academy's superintendent to remove a previously approved paper from the list of those to be presented at an upcoming symposium.

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

David Hogg to Exit D.N.C. After Backlash to His Primary Plan — Mr. Hogg said he would not run again for vice chair after the party voted for a new election. Democrats have been furious at his plan to challenge the party's sitting lawmakers in primary races.

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Let's Be Clear: The Rioting In LA Is By The Cops, Not The Protestors — I already wrote about the GOP's bloodthirsty desire to use the military on Americans. They manufactured a nonsense “crisis” by over-aggressively sending in ICE agents to grab people off the streets, leading to protests …

Discussion: New York Post

CIA:

CIA Director John Ratcliffe Delivers on President Trump's Executive Order — Releases more than 1,000 pages on Senator Robert F. Kennedy's Assassination — Today, CIA released 54 declassified documents related to Senator Robert F. Kennedy's assassination consistent with President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14176.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Post, CBS News, Associated Press, NewsMax.com and The Daily Caller