Week 4 — The Return

This week we saw a continuation of last week’s theme of pushback against Trump. The amount of resistance to Trump’s whims, and its depth and breadth, I suspect surprised us all, including Trump. There was continued opposition to Trump’s nominees, and his process for advancing them. We also saw bold moves from a government worker’s union, Democratic-appointed judges reversing plans on retiring, and President Joseph Biden granting a historic pardon to his son.

Along with the broad pushback, even from, surprisingly, his own party, Trump has lost several symbolic battles. This week, Trump lost two more nominees, is on the brink of losing a third, and has several other nominees in peril. He also capitulated to Senate demands to accept FBI background checks for his remaining nominees.

On other themes, what’s old is new: kleptocracy is back in the Trump regime. This week’s picks include two of Trump’s family members, Donald Trump Jr. is making a killing by serving on the boards of obscure small companies, and corporate America is lining up to get an “in” with the regime for favored treatment.

Perhaps the most interesting shift is the lack of attention being paid to Trump. If Trump causes chaos and no one is paying attention, does it have the same impact? We are about to find out! More on this after the list of not normal.

1. A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found that 87% of Trump supporters were very or somewhat worried about voter fraud before the election. After he won, that number dropped to just 36%.
2. NBC News reported that gay couples are rushing get married, start fertility treatments and take other measures ahead of Trump’s inauguration, fearing a rollback in LGBTQ rights.
3. NYT reported that because Trump refused to sign a transition agreement with the General Services Administration, he will not be legally bound to follow through on his team’s promises. Trump’s team promised to disclose the names of its donors, but has not done so yet, and to not accept donations from foreigners.
4. The ethics pledge released by Trump’s transition team may not be compliant with the Presidential Transition Act, which mandates that a president-elect provide details on how they will address his own conflicts of interest.
5. On Wednesday, the stock price of Unusual Machines, a small company that manufactures drones, soared by more than 100% after announcing that Donald Trump Jr. had joined the company’s advisory board.
6. On Tuesday, the stock price of PSQ Holdings, owner of online marketplace PublicSquare, soared by 270% after Bloomberg News reported that Trump Jr. would be joining the company’s board.
7. WAPO reported several Trump nominees, including RFK Jr. Mehmet Oz, and Matt Gaetz, are using their social media platforms to promote products to which they have financial ties.
8. WSJ reported Elon Musk’s business rivals, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, and Amazon founder and WAPO owner Jeff Bezos, are concerned Musk will target them with his new power.
9. In addition to joining Trump on calls with foreign leaders, Musk joined a phone call with Alphabet’s CEO, and had conversations with TikTok’s CEO about the incoming regime’s policies. He has pushed for cabinet picks who would help his companies.
10. On Wednesday, Musk posted on X that Trump whistleblower, retired Army Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, “committed treason” and “will pay,” after Vindman said Musk was unwittingly being used by Russia.
11. On Thursday, Musk posted that he wants to “delete” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent watchdog agency that protects consumers. Such an action would require an act of Congress.
12. WSJ reported corporate America is using unconventional means to gain access to Trump and his team in order to influence his policies on tariffs and other issues, including appearing on popular male-centric podcasts and reaching out to other members of his regime.
13. Corporations hope to ask for exemptions from tariffs, and to have input in Trump’s staffing. Corporations are also scrubbing left-leaning policies from their website, and looking to re-align with the Republican Party, after drifting away in recent years.
14. NYT reported several Democratic billionaires who were big donors to Kamala Harris’s campaign and funded private litigation against Trump are considering leaving the country, fearing Trump’s retribution.
15. On Thursday, Thanksgiving day, Trump posted a parody video on social media of him crashing Democrats’ Thanksgiving meals. Trump supporters heralded the video as the return of Trump’s mean tweets.
16. NBC News reported the Democratic-controlled cities Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia are finalizing plans to shield undocumented immigrants from Trump’s mass planned mass deportations.
17. NYT reported Mitch McConnell, outgoing Senate Majority Leader, has told colleagues he feels “liberated,” saying he will oppose some of Trump’s cabinet picks, oppose Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, and work to protect the Senate’s institutional independence.
18. On Thursday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters she spoke to Trump after his tariff threat, and “there will not be a potential tariff war,” adding she had not committed to any major changes.
19. Sheinbaum indicated that Trump appeared to lack basic knowledge about current conditions in Mexico, including fentanyl use, which is far lower than in the US. Also no ‘caravan’ has reached the US since 2018.
20. On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida to have dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and discuss his tariffs threat. Several members of the regime joined the dinner, and posted photos on their social media accounts.
21. On Saturday, AP reported Trump threatened the BRIC alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates) with a 100% tariff if they undermine the US dollar.
22. WSJ reported that former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro believes he can make a comeback bid, despite being banned from running until 2030, if Trump helps him by imposing economic sanctions on Brazil.
23. NYT reported of Trump’s first 60 picks for his regime: 17 are associated with Project 2025, 13 made appearances at Trump’s Manhattan trial, 12 co-hosted events at Mar-a-Lago, 11 are Fox News hosts or contributors, and eight are major donors.
24. On Friday, Trump’s former FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, raised concerns about Trump’s RFK Jr. pick for Health Secretary given his anti-vax background, saying, “it will cost lives in this country.”
25. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, asked Trump to “rethink” his RFK Jr. pick, saying it would be “beyond dangerous” and akin to “medical malpractice on a mass scale.”
26. The New Yorker reported on a 2015 whistle-blower report on Pete Hegseth, which resulted in his stepping down from his roles in two nonprofits, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
27. Allegations include financial mismanagement, sexual assault of employees and other sexual impropriety, alcohol abuse, disorderly conduct. Hegseth also chanted, “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!”
28. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Hegseth’s drinking worried colleagues at Fox News. Some said they could smell alcohol on his breath on several occasions during his show, as recently as last month.
29. The Hill reported Tulsi Gabbard is facing pushback from Republican Senators who question her trustworthiness, and are skeptical of her foreign policy dealings, especially her support of Russia over Ukraine.
30. On Saturday, Trump picked Kash Patel, a bombastic loyalist who has little management or law enforcement experience, to lead the FBI. He was the author of the “Nunes Memo,” runs a nonprofit that helps January 6 defendants, and is viewed a political “enforcer.”
31. Trump said he would nominate Patel, but did not say if he would fire Christopher Wray, whom he appointed in 2017. The role of FBI directer is meant to be independent, and to serve a term of 10 years.
32. On Saturday, Trump named Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, as US Ambassador to France. Trump pardoned Kushner, who pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, at the end of his first regime.
33. On Sunday, Trump named billionaire businessman Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, as a senior Middle East adviser.
34. On Sunday, President Joseph Biden granted his son Hunter a “full and unconditional” pardon, citing selective prosecution which was influenced by Republican politicians’ public campaign against Hunter. Previously, Biden had promised not to pardon his son.
35. The move will make it harder for Democrats to criticize Trump’s prolific use of the pardon. Shortly after, Trump made reference to January 6 defendants in a post on Truth Social, asking if his pardon includes “J-6 Hostages who have now been imprisoned for years.”
36. NYT reported while support for pardoning Hunter had been building within the Biden family, more recently Biden became increasingly concerned as Trump picked loyalists who promised to bring political and legal retribution to Trump’s enemies.
37. On Tuesday, Trump’s attorney asked the judge in the Manhattan hush money case to dismiss his criminal conviction, citing Biden’s statement that his son was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” also applies to Trump.
38. WAPO reported AG Merrick Garland and other high ranking Justice Department officials are asking DOJ lawyers to remain on their jobs, stressing the importance of institutional knowledge, as an unusually high number are considering departing before Trump takes power.
39. NBC New reported the DOJ is continuing to prosecute and arrest January 6 protestors. There are still 90 people on the FBI’s Capital Violence page. Trump has said he will pardon the more than 1,500 charged already.
40. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pressed incoming Senate leader Republican John Thune to avoid recess appointments and to require traditional FBI background checks, citing “our system of checks and balances.”
41. On Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, members of the Armed Services Committee, urged Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to issue a directive to limit the ability to deploy the U.S. military against US citizens.
42. Bloomberg News reported the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 42,000 workers, reached an agreement, signed by Biden before Trump takes office, that will protect telework until 2029.
43. On Tuesday, two Democratic-appointed federal judges reversed their decisions to retire during Trump’s term. McConnell, who had blocked former President Barack Obama’s appointee for Supreme Court, called the move a “partisan” gambit and “brazen.”
44. On Tuesday, after facing widespread pushback, Trump’s transition team said that it has signed an agreement with the DOJ that allows the FBI to conduct background checks and other Justice officials to do security clearance vetting on cabinet picks.
45. On Tuesday, Sheriff Chad Chronister, Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, withdrew from consideration. Chronister had been criticized by the far-right for enforcing Covid restrictions.
46. As we close out this week, Hegseth seems likely to withdraw. WSJ reports among consideration is Ron DeSantis, a former Trump foe, who as governor of Florida will fill Marco Rubio’s open Senate seat, which Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law is seeking.
47. The Hill reported Trump’s team will shake up the traditional briefing room, with podcasters, internet personalities, and media outlets deemed more friendly to him replacing traditional media outlets like the NYT and WAPO in the first rows.

As a closing note, I wanted to share an additional observation on the fascinating phenomenon of Democrats tuning out from cable TV and other traditional media, and choosing to get their news from other sources instead. Other than the obvious impact on media ratings and subscriptions, there are so many other ways it will change how things play out in this coming of Trump era.

As you all know, as part of The Weekly List project, I am watching this man 24/7, 365 days a year. For Trump and people like Elon Musk, being the center of attention is super important to them. For Trump, that meant being on television and a constant presence in the New York City media. For Musk, it meant buying a social media platform just so people would pay attention to him.

In the first Trump era, every tweet Trump sent drove people crazy. He lived for that! He loves to be all you are talking about, and having chaos and nonstop drama. He is going to hate it if people stop paying attention to his every move. He doesn’t really care about the job of President, he cares about being a celebrity.

For example, this week he picked this fight with Mexico and Canada on tariffs, even though he is the one that negotiated the trade deal he is breaking. Mexico’s president put him right in his place. And he made Trudeau fly down to Mar-a-Lago in an effort to appear grandiose. But this time no one is really paying attention to his machinations. So yesterday he threatened another trade war with the BRIC alliance. Still muted reaction. Trump is just spinning around, wanting to be the center of attention, but not getting his way!

I don’t know how this will play out, and I am not in any way suggesting that a rebellion is not needed and necessary. But I also know if Trump just has to do the job, he is going to get bored, very quickly. I’m unsure what that will mean for us next, but as I keep reminding you, this time will be different. There will be things that are better, and things that will be worse, but things will be different. A reminder not to dream up nightmares, just live in the moment, practice self-care, and get ready for the fight.