Key Takeaways:
Trump’s tariffs and budget bills are squeezing Americans (unless you’re Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos).
Trump is breaking essential functions of government, like FEMA, NOAA, and scientific research — and we’re all paying the price.
The Epstein scandal isn’t a distraction and Dems in Congress have been fighting back.
As always on Tuesday morning, Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan J. Demas is joined by Edwin Eisendrath, who writes the It’s the democracy, stupid Substack, to talk about the latest news.
Let’s start with the economy. Corporate media might be hailing Trump’s tariff deals as “victories,” but you and I are stuck holding the bag. That’s right. Trump’s new 15% tariffs on imports from the EU will be paid for us. That’s basically just another tax.
While Trump still gets glowing coverage, former President Joe Biden got hammered on the economy in the press, despite adding new jobs every month. Edwin notes that most headlines during his presidency were, “But Will It Last?”
And Elon might have left DOGE, but Trump is still trying dismantle the government from the inside out. The huge cuts to NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), and funding for scientific research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will mean more suffering and more death.
But don’t look for Congress to help. The Republican-controlled U.S. House is off on a monthlong vacation because of the Epstein scandal that is dogging Trump’s presidency and has caused a revolt in his MAGA base. Speaker Mike Johnson sent everyone home for a vacation rather than face more votes Democrats have been pushing on the Epstein files.
Susan argues that the Epstein scandal isn’t a distraction and it’s necessary to keep focusing on it because it goes to the essential depravity of Trump and his friend, Epstein.
“[Epstein] regarded young girls as just another commodity, and so did [Ghislaine] Maxwell,” she said. “And the idea that she could be let out of prison, to try and save Trump's ass here when she is a predator who destroyed the lives of so many young girls — that's just unconscionable.”
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