Week 69 — The Return

I want to note the stories that were occupying the public’s attention before Trump launched a war of choice on Iran. There was a heavy focus on the Epstein files, after both Clintons testified, more coverage of missing files related to Trump, and more regime members becoming ensnared; reports on efforts to declare a “national emergency,” granting Trump power of midterms; stories of abject cruelty by federal immigration agents, judges’ outrage over their orders being ignored, and an abduction of a Columbia University student on false pretenses; the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs being implemented, despite Trump questioning whether he could appeal their ruling; utter ineptitude, cover ups, and corruption at federal agencies; the regime’s desire to bully Anthropic and use its artificial intelligence tools for mass surveillance on U.S. citizens; the regime also inserting itself into an acquisition battle in which Trump’s perceived foe CNN was part of the sale.

And more. You can see why Trump might well have welcomed an opportunity to change the subject and focus.

Trump ordered his seventh military bombing campaign — to say nothing of the countless alleged drug vessels he has unilaterally destroyed — mere days after convening his so-called Board of Peace, and after basing all three of his presidential campaigns on being a non-interventionist and criticizing endless wars. As we close out the week, there is still no clarity on what prompted the attack, but what is clear is that there was no imminent threat, and hence Congress should have been consulted. We also have yet to learn the objectives of what now has become a war that is spreading. The Trump regime has given different accounts daily on both basic questions.

I encourage you to read through the list in its entirety. While the ongoing war will occupy attention in the coming days, and possibly weeks, there are important broken norms that deserve and need the public’s attention.

1. Navigator Research found 20% of Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 regret their choice, including 23% of non-MAGA Republicans and 13% of MAGA Republicans. Seven in 10 said Trump’s tariffs were driving up costs, and 62% agreed with the Supreme Court ruling.
2. WAPO reported that pro-Trump activists are working with the White House on a draft 17 page executive order, that would cite alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election as grounds for “a national emergency” granting Trump executive power over elections.
3. Asked about the order by a reporter, Trump said, “Who told you that?” and claimed “no” and “I’ve never heard about it.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations.”
4. On Wednesday, on a call between the Trump regime and 100 state election officials, Heather Honey, a DHS spokesperson who is a conservative election activist, pushed officials to use a database run by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to check citizenship status.
5. Several high-ranking federal election officials, who were election deniers that worked to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, attended the meeting, including Honey, Michael Flynn, Kurt Olson, and Cleta Mitchell.
6. On Wednesday, WSJ reported the Trump regime informed Congress that it would block them from seeing the classified intelligence in the whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, citing executive privilege, a rarely used rationale.
7. WSJ reported that Americans are leaving the U.S. in record numbers, with more departing than entering the U.S. for the first time since the Great Depression. In what some had dubbed the “Donald Dash,” 180,000 moved to 15 countries, and more than 100,000 were studying abroad.
8. People moving into the U.S. was between around 2.6 and 2.7 million in 2025, down from nearly 6 million in 2023. In addition to U.S. citizens choosing to leave, Department of Homeland Security data showed 675,000 deportations and 2.2 million “self-deportations” for 2025.
9. On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was dragged from her vehicle after an ICE agent shattered her window in Minneapolis, and her guest at Trump’s State of the Union, was dragged out by Capitol Police after she stood up in the gallery during his address.
10. Rahman told Democracy Now she needed medical care at a hospital after, adding she told the officers she had a torn rotator cuff tendon and multiple cartilage tears. She added, “I was standing up. Silently. No buttons, no facial expressions, no gestures, no signs. Not one sound.”
11. The president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said the name of its marquee event would be changed this year to the “Trump Kennedy Center Honors.” The event will be moved from the center due to Trump closing it for two years.
12. NYT reported Platte B. Moring III, the new Pentagon inspector general, paused the proposed review of the Trump regime’s military strikes on alleged drug vessels, telling staffers at a Feb. 11 meeting he wanted to consult department leadership before the review could go forward.
13. More than two dozen scientists contributing to the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence criticized the deletion of an entire chapter on climate science. The manual has been used by the Federal Judicial Center, an agency that provides resources to judges, since 1994.
14. The deletion came after 27 Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to the center, pointing to taxpayer support for the center. The scientists wrote that the removal of “peer-reviewed content is a direct challenge to the independence of the federal judiciary.”
15. Medical journal Lancet’s Editorial Board said in an op-ed, “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: 1 year of failure,” that “the destruction that Kennedy has wrought in 1 year might take generations to repair, and there is little hope for U.S. health and science while he remains at the helm.”
16. The U.S. surpassed 1,138 cases of measles in the first eight weeks of 2026, on pace to be the highest outbreak in decades, with multiple outbreaks across the country, according to the CDC. Of the cases, 96% were among those not vaccinated.
17. WAPO reported on chaos at the Centers for Disease Control, which has not had a permanent leader since August. Nearly half the databases that track vaccination and spread of disease, and that local health departments count on, have been paused since mid 2025.
18. NYT reported that the Veterans Affairs Department has eliminated thousands of positions for doctors and nurses, left vacant by a wave of resignations and retirement last year. More than 90% of facilities report “severe shortages” of doctors, and 80% report same for nurses.
19. Brady Tkachuk, a USA men’s hockey player and captain of NHL’s Ottawa Senators, decried the Trump regime using his likeness in an AI video, which showed him calling Canadians “maple syrup eating f***s.” Tkachuk said “those words would never come out of my mouth.”
20. On Wednesday, after Trump announced at his SOTU that Vice President JD Vance would lead the regime’s “war on fraud,” Vance announced the regime would pause $260 million in Minnesota Medicaid Funding. Gov. Tim Walz said it was not about fraud, but “a campaign of retribution.”
21. On Wednesday, Buffalo police said the body of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, a nearly blind refugee who had been missing since February 19, had been found. Customs and Border Patrol had dropped him off at a coffee shop five miles from his home, after determining that he could not be deported.
22. After public outcry, CBP claimed in a statement, “Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address.” Videos later showed the coffee shop was closed.
23. Propublica reported after children in detention at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas shared their stories, parents say guards took away crayons, colored pencils, and paper from the children; immigrants lost access to Gmail; and guards eavesdropped on video calls.
24. On Wednesday, Patrick Schiltz, a federal judge in Minnesota who was nominated by George W. Bush, said he had identified 210 orders issued in 143 cases before him that had been disregarded by ICE, adding, “one way or another, ICE will comply with this court’s orders.”
25. Schiltz added, “The court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt — again and again and again — to force the United States government to comply with court orders.”
26. On Wednesday, another federal judge in Minnesota threatened U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen with contempt over “numerous unlawful violations of court orders,” citing 28 cases where immigrants were illegally detained then later released without all their belongings.
27. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled that the regime deporting migrants to third-countries was unlawful, saying the regime must first try their home country, and must give detainees “meaningful notice” to present their case before being deported to another country.
28. On Thursday, testimony of a top federal prosecutor in Nashville, in an effort to convince the judge that charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia were not brought out of vindictiveness, admitted that senior DOJ officials peered over his shoulder and hurried him along.
29. On Thursday, five plainclothes immigration agents entered Columbia University in the early morning, lying to school security and a superintendent that they were police looking for a missing child. Instead they arrested student Elmina Aghayeva, 29, without a warrant.
30. DHS lied that the agents “verbally identified themselves” and had badges around their necks. Security cameras showed agents in the hallway with pictures of an alleged missing child. Aghayeva was released after NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani by chance had a meeting with Trump.
31. On Friday, five federal judges in West Virginia, where the Trump regime had arrested more than 650 migrants in what it called “Operation Country Roads,” strongly condemned ICE tactics, calling it rampant lawlessness by masked federal agents.
32. One judge noted agents were “masked, anonymous, armed with military weapons, operating from unmarked vehicles, acting without warrants of any kind,” calling it “an assault on the constitutional order.” The judges said they would start issuing civil fines and contempt findings.
33. A six-months pregnant woman was rushed to a Boston hospital with severe abdominal pain, after ICE handcuffed and shackled her, then detained her for three days in a cell, left to sleep on a concrete floor, without adequate food or medical care.
34. On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the IRS violated federal law “approximately 42,695 times” when it shared confidential taxpayer information, as part of a Trump regime deal sharing agreement between the IRS and DHS for immigration purposes.
35. On Friday, British rock band Radiohead demanded that the Trump regime take down an ICE propaganda video that used one of their songs, saying, “We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down,” adding, “Also, go f — — yourselves.”
36. On Monday, a federal judge nominated by Trump denounced the “unimaginable cruelty” of ICE for their treatment of Hesler Asaf Garcia Lanza, 24, who had been in the U.S. since age 9, who was “handcuffed, shackled” because he looked like somebody ICE was looking for.
37. On Monday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office is already investigating 17 incidents of “potential unlawful behavior” during Operation Metro Surge, including U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino’s use of a chemical irritant.
38. WSJ reported DHS Sec. Kristi Noem failed for months to appropriately respond to findings in an internal watchdog report about security vulnerabilities created by allowing travelers to keep shoes on at checkpoints. Noem’s office also blocked the report’s public release.
39. In a letter to lawmakers on Monday, the day before Noem was set to testify to Congress, the DHS IG said Noem had “systematically obstructed” its work, including in a federal criminal investigation, detailing 11 times she had blocked his office from accessing records and information.
40. On Tuesday, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid the DHS shutdown, Noem continued to refer to Renee Good and Alex Pretti as domestic terrorists, adding, “These violent terrorists have put them in a situation” and “it’s unprecedented what these agents have faced.”
41. Noem faced pushback from GOP Sen. John Kennedy on that term. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis called on her to resign, echoed by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker who said, “Either you are utterly incompetent or you are violating laws with impunity. You should step down,” or be impeached.
42. On Thursday, for the second time in recent weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration closed air travel in Texas, after the Pentagon used a laser to shoot down what turned out to be a Customs and Border Patrol drone. CBP did not notify the Pentagon of the launch.
43. On Thursday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company “cannot in good conscience” agree to allow the Department of Defense to use its models in all lawful use cases without limitation, adding that Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth’s threats “do not change our position.”
44. Later Thursday, Emil Michael, a top Pentagon official, posted on X that Amodei was a “liar” and had a “God-complex,” adding, “He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the U.S. Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk.”
45. In the hour before the deadline, Trump posted on Truth Social, “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution.”
46. On Friday, the 5 pm ET deadline, Hegseth ordered the government to cut ties with Anthropic, posting on X that he was moving to designate the company a supply chain risk, adding, “America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech.”
47. Shortly after, Trump posted on Truth Social, “I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology,” adding, “We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”
48. Soon after, Hegseth posted on X, “Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.” If enacted, the designation would severely hurt Anthropic’s business.
49. Dean Ball, a former Trump AI adviser, posted on X that companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and Google “will have to divest from Anthropic” if Hegseth “gets his way,” calling it “attempted corporate murder,” and saying he “could not possibly recommend investing in American AI.”
50. Tech journalist Kevin Roose of the podcast Hardfork noted, “this fight with Anthropic and the Pentagon is, by a fairly wide margin, the most punitive action that the U.S. government has taken against a major American company in at least this century.”
51. Hours later, Anthropic competitor OpenAI said it had struck a deal with the Pentagon to take the $200 million contract. While CEO Sam Altman claimed the deal had included safeguards like the ones Anthropic had asked for, when details became public, that was not the case.
52. Anthropic told ABC News that the contract language from the Pentagon “made virtually no progress on preventing Claude’s use for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons,” saying it would allow the company’s safeguards to be “disregarded at will.”
53. Later Friday, Anthropic said it would go to court in a statement: “No amount of intimidation or punishment…will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons,” adding, “We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.”
54. WSJ reported the Pentagon also used Elon Musk’s xAI despite multiple agencies, including at the GSA and NSA, raising safety and reliability concerns about Grok’s security, manipulation susceptibility, and data poisoning, after Musk had agreed to the Pentagon’s usage guidelines.
55. On Friday, Hegseth announced the Defense Department had canceled fellowships with top universities, including Harvard, MIT, and Johns Hopkins among others, calling them “woke breeding grounds,” and would include Christian schools like Liberty University and Hillsdale.
56. Scouting America said it had not caved to Hegseth’s anti-DEI demands, saying the group would not exclude transgender children or the 200,000 girls who are scouts, and would not change its name back to Boy Scouts of America, despite Hegseth publicly claiming otherwise.
57. Department of Interior documents revealed that a bronze statue of Caesar Rodney, a founding father and slave owner, which was removed in Delaware in 2020 amid the country’s racial reckoning, will be given a place of honor in Washington D.C. at Trump’s 250th celebration.
58. Roughly 900 companies filed for tariff refunds after the Supreme Court ruling. Treasury Department Sec. Scott Bessent indicated the regime might fight companies in court, publicly castigating Federal Express for participating in an organization that helps U.S. firms operate in China.
59. Several Democratic run states also demanded tariff refunds of $1,700 per household for their residents, including California, New York, and Illinois.
60. On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he opposed refunds of the more than $100 billion in tariffs, adding that the Supreme Court should reconsider their ruling, posting, “Is a Rehearing or Readjudication of this case possible???”
61. Hours later, the DOJ filed a request in the lower courts, asking them to slow down the legal battles over refunds, citing a pause would “allow the political branches an opportunity to consider options.” It would be unheard of for the Supreme Court to reconsider a case.
62. On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel fired ten FBI employees who worked on the Trump classified documents case, his latest act of retribution. The FBI Agents Associations called the firing unlawful terminations, and violated the agents’ due process rights.
63. MSNOW reported that Patel’s firings included agents in the global espionage team, an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran.
64. NYT reported according to former FBI officials, Patel’s girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, is escorted by Special Weapons and Tactics team members when she travels, and rotating SWAT teams for her singing appearances, personal engagements, and errands, both unprecedented by the FBI.
65. On Thursday, the DOJ said in a statement that it would review whether it had improperly withheld Epstein files, after several media outlets corroborated reporting in Week 68 that three FBI interviews alleging sexual misconduct of a teenager by Trump in the 1980s were missing.
66. NYT reported the DOJ exposed the names of seven defendants that were mentioned as “proffer at 500,” in two 2019 documents, meaning they were either cooperating with federal prosecutors or were planning to. Exposing their names could put their lives in danger.
67. On Thursday, Hillary Clinton testified behind closed doors for nearly seven hours in front of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, saying she had never met with or knew Epstein, and the deposition was an effort “to distract attention from President Trump’s actions.”
68. The deposition was halted after GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert leaked a photo to a right-wing podcaster, against committee rules, who posted it on X. The deposition again devolved when Republicans asked Clinton about former conspiracy theories like Pizzagate and about UFOs.
69. On Friday, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace called on Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick to testify, posting on X, “Lutnick should take questions from the Oversight committee,” citing a tweet that appeared to show the DOJ had removed an image of Lutnick with Epstein and others.
70. On Friday, Bill Clinton testified for nearly six hours, saying he knew Epstein, but cut off their relationship long before Epstein’s first guilty plea in 2008, adding, “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong…We are only here because he hid it from everyone so well for so long.”
71. Clinton added, “You made Hillary come in,” adding, “She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing.” Democrats said Republicans on the committee were much more aggressive with Hillary than Bill, despite her lack of interaction with Epstein, suggesting sexism.
72. Rep. Ro Khanna said, “A new precedent has been set in America today,” adding, “Now we have the ‘Clinton Rule,’ which is that presidents and their families have to testify when Congress issues a subpoena.” The two were the highest ranked officials to be deposed by Congress.
73. On Tuesday, the chair of the Oversight Committee said Sec. Lutnick “has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily.” Lutnick would be the first member of the Trump regime to testify.
74. WSJ reported that there were 47,635 Epstein files offline for review, including FBI interviews of a woman who made sexual assault allegations against Trump. The documents were similar to interviews released in January, raising questions of why they were offline.
75. NYT reported according to New Mexico officials, in 2019 the FBI took over a state-led investigation of activities at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, then it fizzled. Ownership of the home has changed since then, complicating a possible investigation.
76. On Thursday, a federal judge rejected a preservationist group’s request to temporarily block Trump’s White House ballroom project, saying the “Plaintiff didn’t bring the necessary cause of action.” Trump celebrated, posting on Truth Social that it was “Great news for America.”
77. WSJ reported the Federal Reserve, in a sealed proceeding, was quietly looking to quash subpoenas issued as part of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed’s renovations.
78. On Thursday, Netflix pulled out of contention for Warner Bros., days after Trump called on the company to fire board member Susan Rice, and Trump ally Lindsey Graham brought Paramount CEO David Ellison to the SOTU and appeared with him giving thumbs up.
79. Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos visited the White House earlier on Thursday, meeting with regime officials. It was highly unusual for acquisitions to run through the White House. Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer had called on Trump to “kill the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger now.”
80. Paramount winning control of Warner, which owned CNN, raised uncertainty for the network. Ellison’s intentions for the network remained unclear. The deal put another major media source in the hands of a billionaire seeking favor with the Trump regime.
81. On Friday, Mary Walsh, a veteran CBS News (also owned by Paramount) producer resigned after 46 years, telling staffers in a memo, “We’ve been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum. Honestly, I don’t know how to do that.”
82. On Friday, UBS downgraded the U.S. stock market, saying factors that powered U.S. outperformance for years were fading, including a weakening dollar and its role in other equity markets outperforming the U.S., stretched valuations, and policy turbulence by the Trump regime.
83. On Friday, the Dow Jones plunged by more than 500 points, amid concern over Iran, and concern that inflation was not solved given the Producer Price Index reading, and a weak job market. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 had their worst monthly performance since March 2025.
84. On Friday, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin opened an investigation of Lutnick, saying, “[W]hile you were championing” tariffs, “your son Brandon,” who is chair of Cantor Fitzgerald bet “millions of dollars” that tariffs would be struck down.
85. On Friday, Trump told reporters, “I’d love not to use” the U.S. military to attack Iran, “but sometimes you have to,” adding, “We haven’t made a final decision.” It was unclear what precipitated the escalation, and Trump had yet to make a case to Congress or the American people.
86. Trump also raised the prospect of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, citing, “The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble…They have no money” amid U.S. sanctions, adding Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue at a “very high level.”
87. Asked about the Epstein files, Trump said, “I don’t know anything about the Epstein files,” baselessly claiming, “I’ve been fully exonerated.” Trump repeatedly used that baseless phrase in recent weeks. Asked about Lutnick, Trump said he is “a very innocent guy.”
88. Later Friday, Trump held a rally in Texas, floating a third term, saying, “Maybe we do one more term. Should we do one more? One more term,” baselessly claiming “We would actually be entitled to it.”
89. Although the rally was meant to focus on the economy, Trump instead railed against the Supreme Court ruling on his tariffs, and attacked Rep. Omar, saying, “How about Omar? Screaming, screaming, screaming, like a lunatic. You looked at her bulging eyes, she’s crazy.”
90. Trump was set to fly to Mar-a-Lago on Friday, where he hosted a $1 million per plate dinner on both Friday and Saturday nights to raise money for his Super PAC MAGA Inc. Trump was seen dancing at his club Friday, before telling partygoers, “I gotta go to work,” and leaving.
91. On Saturday, at 2:30 am ET, Trump posted an eight minute long video on Truth Social, saying that the U.S. had launched a “massive and ongoing” military campaign against Iran to crush its military, eliminate its nuclear program, and overthrow its government.
92. Trump also called on the Iranian people to topple their government, saying, “For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it,” adding, “No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight… so let’s see how you respond.”
93. Trump also said there could be U.S. military lives lost in this war: “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.” Trump did not seek approval from Congress to start the war, and what was his seventh strike.
94. Trump made several false or exaggerated claims in the video, including that Iran was involved with the 2020 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, that Operation Midnight Hammer last June obliterated Iran’s nuclear program, and that Iran attempted to rebuild its nuclear program.
95. WSJ noted that Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, the largest U.S. military operation in the region in two decades, after having spent years denouncing U.S. intervention, and hitching his political rise, including in 2024, to Americans’ fatigue with endless wars and regime change.
96. NYT said that the Iran attack was a war of choice by Trump, and not the result of any immediate threat. Despite his statements, including at the SOTU that Iran was trying to reach the U.S. with its bombs, Defense Intelligence Agency said it would be a decade before that could happen.
97. Other false or unproven claims that Trump and his regime cited for the attack included that Iran had restarted its nuclear program, and that Iran was days away from having enough available nuclear material to build a bomb.
98. WAPO reported that the impetus came from repeated pushes from Saudis, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman making multiple calls to Trump over the past month, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continual campaign for an attack.
99. Unlike past actions, while the U.S. struck along with Israel, European allies did not participate. The top European Union diplomat said the EU was “coordinating closely with Arab partners to explore diplomatic paths.” Leaders called for restraint and against further escalation.
100. ABC News reported Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine were monitoring the strikes with Trump from Mar-a-Lago, as opposed to a secure location at the White House.
101. The White House later posted a photo of a makeshift Situation Room at Mar-a-Lago, featuring Trump with Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, as well as Caine and his map of the Middle East showing the locations of American assets.
102. WSJ reported that the Trump regime used Anthropic intelligence tools in the strike, hours after Trump and Hegseth had berated the company and said their tools were banned from U.S. government use.
103. On Saturday, Anthropic’s Claude hit №1 on Apple’s top free apps list, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT app which had been at the top for all of February, amid a backlash at OpenAI, which saw uninstalls surge by 295% on Saturday, after agreeing to the deal with the DoD.
104. On Saturday, Trump held another glitzy $1 million per plate fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, which many senior regime officials attended, including Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
105. On Saturday, polling by University of Maryland found that just 21% of Americans supported the U.S. initiating an attack on Iran. An AP-NORC poll found 27%, including 14% of Independents, trusted Trump to make the right choices when it comes to using the U.S. military abroad.
106. On Sunday, U.S. Central Command said three U.S. troops were killed in Kuwait, and five were severely injured. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Sunday found 27% approved of the strikes, 43% disapproved, and 56% said Trump was too willing to use military force.
107. On Sunday, AP reported at least 22 people were killed and 120 injured in Pakistan, when protestors supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. Consulate in Karachi, reviving memories of Benghazi. Protestors also attacked U.N. and government offices.
108. On Sunday, a man wearing a shirt with an Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah,” shot and killed two people and wounded 14 at a bar in Austin. The FBI was investigating the shooting as a potential act of terrorism.
109. On Sunday, ABC News reported the Trump regime told Congressional staff in private briefings that Iran was not preparing a preemptive strike against the U.S., and that there were not indications that Iran could launch a preemptive attack against U.S. forces and allies in the region.
110. On Sunday, in another video released on social media, Trump said the U.S. would “avenge” the deaths of three service members and that “there will likely be more” killed before the conflict ends. Trump had yet to speak to reporters, or give the objectives of the war he started.
111. Trump remaining out of the public eye was highly unusual. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss said, “What Americans of our time are accustomed to is a president giving a White House speech, usually from the Oval Office, that befits the supreme importance of making war.”
112. Notably, no senior Trump regime officials appeared on Sunday morning talk shows, highly unusual given that the regime had yet to explain the reasoning behind or objectives of the attack. Major television networks requested regime members to appear, but all declined.
113. Trump gave reporters contradicting information on how long the military campaign would last, telling Axios, “I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days,” the Daily Mail, “it’s always been a four-week process,” and NYT, “four to five weeks.”
114. NYT also reported Trump gave contradictory visions of how power would be transferred, suggesting a similar outcome as in Venezuela, then suggesting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would turn over their weapons, or the Iranian people would overthrow the government.
115. Trump also told ABC News on the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, “I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.” Sen. Mike Turner told CBS News that Rubio said the U.S. “did not target Khamenei” or other leadership in Iran.
116. Trump also told ABC News on possible successors to Khamenei , “It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead.” He told NYT on Sunday he had “three very good choices” for who could lead Iran. On Monday, he said, “We don’t know who the leader is.”
117. WSJ reported U.S. lawmakers scrutinized online betting sites, after large bets were placed on Kalshi and Polymarket shortly before U.S. and Israeli missiles struck Tehran. Although the sites do not allow bets on wars or assassinations, users bet on Khamenei being “out as Supreme Leader.”
118. Later Sunday, when Trump arrived back at the White House, he refused to answer questions from reporters on Iran, instead commenting on new statues of the founding fathers placed in the Rose Garden, saying, “Unbelievable statues. You’ll see…they just arrived,” then Trump left.
119. On Monday, Centcom announced a fourth fatality in the U.S. military, and 18 wounded. Centcom also announced that Kuwait air defenses shot down three U.S. fighter jets, mistaking them for an Iranian attack, in an act of friendly fire. All six crew members safely ejected.
120. On Monday, Hegseth and Caine held a news conference. A belligerent Hegseth said, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” adding, “we’re not dumb about it. You don’t have to roll 200,000 people in there and stay for 20 years.” He did not rule out boots on the ground.
121. Contradicting Trump, Hegseth said, “This is not a so-called regime change war… but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.” He said Trump “has all the latitude in the world to talk about how long it may or may not take” without needing Congressional approval.
122. Hegseth also attacked reporters asking questions, snapping at one who asked about objectives, saying, “Did you not hear my remarks?” adding “we are very cleareyed, as the president has been, unlike other presidents.” Hegseth did not outline the objectives of the operation.
123. On Monday, Trump told the New York Post that he would not rule out sending U.S. ground troops “if they were necessary,” adding, “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it.”
124. Shortly after, Trump held a Medal of Honor ceremony, and spoke to the press about Iran. Trump said he ordered the strike to stop Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, baselessly claiming Iran “would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.”
125. Trump abruptly pivoted to his White House ballroom, boasting that it would be the “most beautiful ballroom in the world.” Journalists noted the topic change amid the gravity of his first remarks on the military operation, and that he had yet explained why he took the country to war.
126. Trump attacked former president Barack Obama, saying, “I was very proud to have knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Barack Hussein Obama,” calling it a “dangerous document,” and the campaign would last four to five weeks but could “go far longer than that.”
127. Trump also contradicted what his staffers had told Congress, saying, “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat,” and lying, “Our country itself would be under threat, and it was very nearly under threat.”
128. Later Monday, Rubio offered another version of why the U.S. attacked Iran, telling reporters the Trump regime was concerned that a planned military action by Israel would result in an attack on U.S. forces, saying the decision to strike was being proactive “in a defensive way.”
129. Rubio also contradicted Trump on the objective of the military operation, after Trump had repeatedly encouraged Iranian citizens to seize power, instead saying the objective of the operation was not regime change, but that he would “love to see a new regime.”
130. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Rubio after a Gang of Eight briefing, telling reporters the attack on Iran was a “defensive operation,” citing Israel was ready to act against Iran, “with or without American support,” and hence Trump did not need authority from Congress.
131. On Monday, an incident sparked a large fire at the U.S. embassy compound in Kuwait. The cause of the fire was thought to be an Iranian drone, but the incident was under investigation. There were no injuries at the second attack of a U.S. embassy in two days.
132. On Tuesday, two Iranian drones struck a U.S. embassy in Riyadh. Also on Tuesday, an Iranian drone struck a U.S. consulate in Dubai. Rubio said there were no personnel injuries.
133. On Monday, the State Department urged U.S. citizens in 14 Middle East countries to “DEPART NOW.” Notably, airports and other transit in many of the named countries were closed, leaving Americans stranded.
134. On Tuesday, Rubio said 1,500 Americans had requested State Department assistance in leaving the Middle East. While other countries such as the U.K. sent military planes to transport their citizens, the U.S. had no plans in place.
135. On Monday, a federal appeals court rejected the Trump regime’s request to delay the next steps for tariff refunds. The court took immediate steps to reopen the legal proceedings, sending cases back to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
136. On Monday, WSJ reported that the Trump regime quietly dropped appeals defending Trump’s executive orders against four law firms — Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey — who had refused to comply, and fought his orders in court.
137. On Tuesday, in an extraordinary reversal, the DOJ told the judge it planned to move forward with the appeal. In a filing, the four law firms called the move an “unexplained request to withdraw yesterday’s voluntary dismissal, to which all parties had agreed.”
138. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump regime’s move to end New York’s congestion pricing toll was illegal, a major victory for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. The Trump regime had tried to kill the program for over a year.
139. On Monday, First Lady Melania Trump presided over a U.N. Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict, held in New York, marking the first time the spouse of any world leader has presided over the meeting.
140. On Monday, New York Post reported Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff resigned, amid an inspector general investigation into their alleged mistreatment of staff and misappropriation of funds.
141. The IG is also investigating Chavez-DeRemer for drinking on the job, having an affair with a subordinate, and using department resources for personal trips, the latter of which the two assisted with. The two were given the option to resign or be fired.
142. Late Monday, Trump struck out at Democrats critical of his attack on Iran, posting on Truth Social that “the Radical Left Democrats” are “SICK, CRAZY, and DEMENTED,” adding, “but America, despite them all, is now BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE.”
143. Trump also attacked those on the right who were critical in an interview, saying of Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, “I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” adding of Kelly, “she was critical of me for years and I didn’t lose. I won all three times by a lot.”
144. On Tuesday, Trump disputed Rubio’s characterization that Israel had forced the regime’s hands, adding yet another narrative, saying instead he might have “forced their [Israel’s] hand,” adding Iran was “going to attack if we didn’t do it,” and that he “felt strongly about that.”
145. Trump also admitted, days after claiming he was talking to the new leader, that the next leader of Iran could be just as bad, saying, “I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?” adding, “That could happen.”
146. Trump also threatened to cut off all trade with Spain, after it refused to let the U.S. military launch strikes on Iran from bases there. While meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said, “Spain ‌has been terrible,” and “We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
147. Leavitt said on X that Rubio “Didn’t Claim That Israel Dragged Trump into War with Iran.” Rubio also tried to backtrack, lying to reporters, “I told you, this had to happen anyway, the president made a decision,” adding, “we were not going to get hit first.”
148. CNN reported that the CIA is in active discussion with Iranian opposition groups and Iranian Kurdish leaders in Iraq along the border, about providing them with military support in hopes of sparking an uprising in Iran.
149. On Wednesday, the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, was struck by a ballistic missile from Iran.
150. On Wednesday, in another belligerent press conference, Hegseth said the U.S. was “winning decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.” He added, “Iran tried to kill President Trump and President Trump got the last laugh.” He said the war could last three, four, six or eight weeks.
151. Hegseth gave yet another version of objectives, claimed destroying nuclear weapons was a rationale for the attacks, as well as depriving Iran of “offensive capabilities.” He declared that “this is not a so-called regime-change war,” and gave no clarity of what would be success.
152. Hegseth also criticized the media for making the death of six U.S. troops front page news, and took questions, many of which were softball questions, from primarily non-traditional, MAGA media outlets, like Daily Wire, Daily Caller and LindellTv.
153. Asked about the missile attack that hit a girls’ school in Iran, killing at least 180 children and staffers, Hegseth was evasive, saying, “All I can say is that we’re investigating.”