Trump Corruption

Steve Benen writes for MSNBC: In Donald Trump’s first term, the president cultivated an unexpectedly amusing list of incidents related to airplanes. I actually maintained a list, documenting a curious array of stories in which the Republican suggested that F-35s are literally invisible, whined about the complexity of piloting, referenced F-52s that didn’t exist outside of video games, complained to …

Reuters reports: Qatar has offered to donate a plane to the United States and details are still being worked out, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday. “The Qatari Government has graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense. The legal details of that are still being worked out,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox …

“So funny to watch old timer Martha Raditz on ABC Fake News (the Slopadopolus show!) this morning, blurt out that, effectively, Pope Leo’s selection had nothing to do with Donald Trump. It came out of nowhere, but it was on her Trump Deranged Mind. Remember, I did WIN the Catholic Vote, by a lot! Bob Iger should do something about …

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! …

Politico Europe reports: The United States is becoming less popular globally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to new data. The 2025 Democracy Perception Index summarizes attitudes toward democracy, geopolitics and global power players, and canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries. A majority of people surveyed had an overall negative perception of the …

The Daily Beast reports: Democrats, who have long accused Trump of blurring the lines between public service and personal profit, are decrying the gift as outright corruption. Trump reportedly plans to transfer the roughly $400 million plane to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation shortly before leaving office. “This isn’t a good idea even if the plane was being donated to …

Newsweek reports: Attorney General Pam Bondi’s links to Qatar are under scrutiny again following reports that President Donald Trump will be gifted a luxury plane from the Qatari government. Bondi worked as a foreign lobbyist for the nation of Qatar, earning $115,000 a month in the role which she held in 2020 and in the run up to the World …

The Associated Press reports: A group of 49 white South Africans departed their homeland Sunday for the United States on a private charter plane having been offered refugee status by the Trump administration under a new program announced in February. The group, which included families and small children, was due to arrive at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Monday …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to resurrect a controversial policy from his first term that aims to reduce drug costs by basing payments for certain medicines on their prices in other countries. His prior rule, called “Most Favored Nation,” was finalized in late 2020 but blocked by federal courts and rescinded by then-President Joe Biden …

Mediaite reports: Trump went on a social media tear today, posting a blizzard of ancient brags, including his 99% approval rating from CPAC 2025. Trump threw up a slew of posts to his Truth Social app, several of which were screenshots of news from his first 100 days in office, including his approval rating at CPAC 2025 back in February. …

Axios reports: Democratic members of Congress who were part of a scuffle with law enforcement officers at an ICE facility in New Jersey may face arrests, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Axios. It would be a major escalation in the Trump administration’s arrests of politicians and other public servants, including the mayor of Newark and a judge in …

The Daily Princetonian reports: “After Card’s whisper, Bush looked distracted and somber but continued to listen to the second-graders, joking that they ‘read like sixth-graders,’” reads the senior thesis authored by Pete Hegseth ’03, now the U.S. Secretary of Defense. This sentence is notable for recapping the precise moment President George W. Bush was informed of the 9/11 attacks. But …

ABC News reports: In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar — a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump continued a firing spree at the Library of Congress on Saturday when he dismissed the top copyright official in the nation — a position traditionally overseen by the legislative branch. The White House contacted Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter Saturday afternoon informing her that her job leading the U.S. Copyright Office had been “terminated,” according …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump is striking a blow against a law passed when George Herbert Walker Bush was President. “Water conservation requirements for faucets, showers, bathtubs, and toilets — promulgated by the Department of Energy pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-486) — make bathroom appliances more expensive and less functional. “Efficiency” standards …

“Any illegal alien can simply show up at an airport and receive a free flight out of our country. We have also launched a phone app called CBP Home. That’s C-B-P-H-O-M-E, where illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country. As long as it’s not here, you can go anywhere you want. “This deportation bonus will save American …

“It is ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit. He left a life of luxury and a life of running a very successful real estate empire for public service. Not just once, but twice. The American public reelected him back to the White House because they trust he …

Politico reports: Since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in January, he has sat for just 12 presentations from intelligence officials of the President’s Daily Brief. That’s a significant drop compared with Trump’s first term in office, according to a POLITICO analysis of his public schedule. In much of his first term, Trump met with intel officials twice a …

Reuters reports: U.S. officials are discussing a plan to pull Greenland into America’s sphere of influence using a type of agreement that the United States has used to keep close ties with several Pacific Island nations, according to two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the discussions. Under the plan being considered, the Trump administration would propose to Greenland’s …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has threatened to place a 100 percent tariff on Barbie maker Mattel, after the company’s CEO said it would continue to manufacture outside the U.S. but would be reducing its reliance on Chinese imports. “I’ve heard [Mattel] said: ‘Well we’re going to go counter, we’re going to try going someplace else,'” Trump said in the …