Author: Stop the Donald Trump

Trump Claims Iran War Nearing Success Despite Disinformation

Trump stated he is considering “winding down” military operations in the Middle East while the war with Iran continues, claiming the United States is approaching its objectives in the conflict. However, the broader context of Trump’s Iran policy demonstrates a pattern of disinformation about the war’s purpose and progress. Trump previously attacked Israel over strikes on Iran’s energy facilities, revealing internal discord over military strategy even among allies.

Trump has repeatedly lied about the war’s justifications and achievements. He claimed an imminent nuclear threat from Iran, which intelligence officials and counterterrorism experts contradicted. The former director of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned over Trump’s abuse of power in ordering the February 28 airstrikes, after Trump deliberately prevented senior officials from presenting their objections. The Iranian government remains in power unchanged, no nuclear agreement has been negotiated to replace the accord Trump withdrew from under the Obama administration, and no credible imminent threat existed or exists.

Trump’s military decisions abroad have strained relationships with international partners. Trump denounced NATO allies as “cowards” for refusing to deploy troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while his unilateral Iran war has backfired diplomatically. He initiated military strikes without coordinating with partners, then demanded their support for an undeclared conflict.

The war has inflicted human costs that Trump exploited politically. Six U.S. Air Force airmen were killed in a refueling aircraft crash during military operations in Iran. Trump attended their dignified transfer despite families explicitly requesting privacy and barring cameras, converting a solemn military ceremony into a public relations event.

Trump’s claim of meeting objectives lacks credible foundation. The regime he sought to destabilize remains intact, no nuclear threat has been eliminated, and the conflict has cost American lives while destabilizing the Middle East further. His description of progress is a lie designed to justify an endless military commitment that benefits no legitimate national interest.

(Source: https://abcnews.com/video/131285673/)

Trump DOJ Shredded Huge Epstein Document Cache After Death

Shortly after Jeffrey Epstein’s death in a New York jail in 2019, the Justice Department under Trump’s first administration ordered the destruction of extensive documentation. A Bureau of Prisons “After-Actions team” systematically shredded files at the facility, according to an FBI report with a redacted official’s name. The unnamed official stated they had never witnessed such volume of shredded documents being disposed of at the jail’s rear gate.

The shredding operation occurred within days of Epstein’s death and involved what the report characterized as “huge amounts of paperwork.” This action took place while the Trump administration maintained control of the DOJ, which oversees federal detention facilities and investigative protocols. The destruction of these materials raises questions about what records were eliminated and whether they contained evidence relevant to ongoing investigations.

Details of the document destruction emerged when the DOJ released Epstein-related files earlier this year. The FBI report’s documentation of the shredding contradicts any claim that records were preserved for investigative or accountability purposes. The timing and scale of the operation suggest a coordinated effort rather than routine waste management.

Trump has repeatedly denied any connection to Epstein and has attacked those who suggest otherwise, including threatening legal action against comedian Trevor Noah over an Epstein joke at the Grammys. The destruction of federal records under Trump’s DOJ administration contradicts his claims of transparency and his self-portrayal as uninvolved in Epstein matters. Trump has also threatened to sue author Michael Wolff over Epstein-related allegations.

This destruction of evidence represents abuse of power by Trump’s DOJ to conceal potentially damaging information. The shredding of federal records violates standard document preservation protocols and obstructs the public’s right to understand the full scope of Epstein’s criminal network and any connections to powerful figures, including those within the Trump administration.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/know-epstein-groomed-america-corrupt-041542936.html)

Trump Threatens ICE Deployment at Airports if Funding Fails

President Trump threatened Saturday to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports Monday if Democrats do not agree to fund the Department of Homeland Security during an ongoing partial government shutdown. Trump posted on Truth Social that ICE would “do the job far better than ever done before” and stated he had already instructed agents to “GET READY,” framing the deployment as a response to alleged security failures.

ICE agents lack training in airport security screening, a role that typically requires several months of preparation for TSA personnel. Trump’s proposal to use untrained immigration agents in security checkpoint roles contradicts established protocols and raises operational questions about how ICE would function in an airport environment designed for trained screeners.

The threat emerges as a weeks-long funding stalemate has disrupted airports nationwide, leaving TSA workers unpaid and creating staffing shortages that have caused flight delays. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have attempted to negotiate a resolution, though an agreement remains elusive.

In an earlier post, Trump suggested ICE would “do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country, with heavy emphasis on those from Somalia.” This statement conflates airport security operations with immigration enforcement and targets a specific nationality, demonstrating an abuse of power by weaponizing federal agencies for political purposes.

Trump’s threat to unilaterally deploy law enforcement to airports without proper authorization or training exemplifies his pattern of using emergency rhetoric to justify authoritarian actions. The scheme exploits a funding crisis he could resolve through negotiation, instead using it as pretext to expand executive power and deploy immigration agents in violation of their operational mandate.

(Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/21/politics/ice-agents-airports-tsa-trump-threat)

Trump Admits ICE Raids Toxic, Plans Quieter Deportations

President Trump has privately acknowledged to his wife Melania and top aides, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, that brutal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have become politically toxic ahead of midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal. The admission follows high-profile ICE operations that resulted in federal agents fatally shooting American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January, incidents that Wiles believes have poisoned voter attitudes toward immigration enforcement and the term “mass deportation.”

Trump is planning to shift tactics by reducing visible ICE operations in Democratic-leaning cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and focusing instead on arresting individuals he characterizes as “bad guys.” Arrests have declined from over 1,500 daily to approximately 1,200, according to sources cited by the Journal. Despite these reported plans, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson denied any policy changes, claiming Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda remains unchanged and that approximately 3 million immigrants have left the United States through forced or self-deportation.

Senator Markwayne Mullin, Trump’s nominee to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that his primary goal is to remove the department from daily news coverage within six months. Mullin, a former MMA fighter and plumber with no immigration enforcement background, acknowledged his lack of expertise in the field. Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed Mullin’s inexperience, stating the nominee would rely on career experts to guide policy decisions despite having minimal knowledge of immigration operations.

The shift reflects Trump’s concern that mass deportation rhetoric and violent ICE operations damage Republican electoral prospects rather than any genuine commitment to protecting immigrants or respecting due process. Trump’s private concessions to Melania and advisers demonstrate that political calculation, not principle, drives his approach to immigration policy. The administration continues to describe its deportation operations as targeting criminals while obscuring the human cost of its enforcement agenda.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-makes-shock-private-admission-042229444.html)

Trump Attacks Israel Over Secret Iran Energy Facility Strike

President Donald Trump publicly attacked Israel, a key U.S. war ally, for conducting a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas facility without informing him in advance. Israeli media reported the attack was carried out by Israel with U.S. consent, while The Wall Street Journal stated the operation was designed to disrupt economic resources for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump’s public condemnation of Israel’s actions contradicts reported coordination between the two nations on the strike.

The South Pars facility represents the world’s largest natural gas field and serves as Iran’s primary domestic energy source, shared with Qatar. By attacking this critical infrastructure, the operation targeted a major economic artery for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. The strike demonstrates the scale of the coordinated military action between the U.S. and Israeli governments.

Trump’s angry response to being excluded from advance notification reveals fractures in the operational coordination between the two allied nations. His public complaint that Israel “went behind his back” undermines the narrative of unified strategic planning and exposes tensions over decision-making authority in military operations affecting Iran. The dispute between Trump and Israeli leadership over transparency in military action signals potential future friction in their alliance.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/trump-loses-key-war-ally-045620431.html)

Trump Shifts $1.7T Student Loan Portfolio to Treasury

The Trump administration is transferring the $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio from the Department of Education to the Treasury Department as part of its dismantling of the Education agency. The move initially affects approximately 10 million borrowers in default or late-stage delinquency, according to senior department officials. Education Secretary Linda McMahon characterized the shift as a “historic step” toward abolishing the Education Department, claiming Treasury’s financial expertise will end decades of alleged mismanagement.

Treasury will assume operational control of collecting defaulted federal student loan debt previously managed by the Office of Federal Student Aid. The multiphase process represents one of at least ten interagency agreements McMahon has implemented to shutter the Education Department by transferring its functions to other federal agencies including Health and Human Services, Interior, Labor, and State. McMahon has advocated for relocating the student debt portfolio to Treasury, calling it a “natural area” for the loans to reside.

Education advocates and Democratic lawmakers object to the transfer, warning it creates additional confusion and chaos for borrowers already struggling financially. Roxanne Garza, director of higher education policy at EdTrust, told ABC News that shifting the loan portfolio raises concerns about what support defaulted borrowers will receive and which agency they should contact for assistance. Ranking Member Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., questioned whether the administration intentionally seeks to create chaos for borrowers juggling student loan payments alongside rising costs for groceries, gas, child care, healthcare, and housing.

When federal loans enter default status, borrowers become eligible for mandatory debt collection, which damages credit scores, reduces future student aid eligibility, and can result in driver’s license revocation. The administration has phased out Biden-era student loan repayment plans and will introduce a new income-driven repayment option under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act beginning July 1. Department of Education officials stress borrowers should contact the Federal Student Aid office to arrange repayment, though the institutional transition creates uncertainty about which agency will handle inquiries and disputes.

Republican House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Walberg endorsed the transfer, claiming it will simplify aid delivery and reduce taxpayer costs. The Education Department announcement Thursday follows months of planning to dismantle the agency as fulfillment of Trump’s campaign pledge to abolish it, consolidating student aid administration under Treasury while the broader institutional dissolution continues across multiple federal departments.

(Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/treasury-taking-federal-student-loans-amid-dismantling-department/story?id=131230589)

Trump DOJ Subpoenas Comey In Retribution Grand Conspiracy

The Department of Justice, led by Trump’s former personal attorneys, subpoenaed former FBI Director James Comey as part of a “grand conspiracy” probe targeting Trump’s political enemies, according to multiple media reports. The investigation, being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, targets former intelligence and law enforcement officials who allegedly conspired to prevent Trump from exercising constitutional rights between his 2016 election and 2023 federal indictments. The probe has issued over 130 subpoenas in total.

Comey’s subpoena relates to his role drafting a January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment concluding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to sabotage Hillary Clinton and benefit Trump. Former CIA Director John Brennan received a similar subpoena last year for his involvement in the same assessment. Trump’s current CIA director, John Ratcliffe, referred both Comey and Brennan to the DOJ for prosecution, claiming they committed misconduct by including a summary of the Steele dossier in the assessment.

The dossier summary was placed in an annex and did not support the assessment’s core analytical judgments, a distinction that a Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed in 2020 when it reached identical conclusions about Russian interference and determined the dossier played no role in supporting the assessment’s core findings. A Trump-appointed federal judge, Aileen Cannon, oversees the grand jury in the Trump-friendly Southern District of Florida and previously showed Trump unusual deference while handling special counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents investigation.

The DOJ’s retribution campaign against Trump’s perceived enemies has already produced a failed prosecution of Comey in the Eastern District of Virginia after judges ruled the prosecutor, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. Attorney General Pam Bondi, another Trump personal attorney, all but confirmed the conspiracy investigation’s existence in statements to a far-right media outlet in December, while prominent Trump supporters previewed it in comments last year.

Brennan previously requested that the chief judge in the Southern District of Florida block Cannon from overseeing the DOJ’s conspiracy investigation due to her demonstrated bias during the classified documents case, citing her unusual favoritism toward Trump throughout that proceeding.

(Source: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/justice-departmeny-comey-subpoena-trump-grand-conspiracy-probe/)

Trump’s Venezuela Coup Shaped by Chevron Executive

Trump’s military operation in Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, was shaped by former Chevron executive Ali Moshiri, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal. Moshiri advised the CIA months before the Trump administration’s attack and takeover, recommending that Venezuela’s then-Vice President Delcy Rodríguez replace Maduro rather than opposition leader Maria Machado, despite Republican supporters backing Machado as the clear successor.

Hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump dismissed the idea of Machado leading Venezuela, claiming she lacked “support or respect within the country”—a position consistent with Moshiri’s earlier counsel to the administration. Moshiri left Chevron in 2017 and ended his consulting relationship with the company in 2024, yet his influence over Trump’s decision directly affected Venezuela’s political future and economic direction.

Investigative journalists identified a clear conflict of interest in this arrangement. Antonia Juhasz wrote that Moshiri, functioning as a CIA informant, “told Trump to ditch democracy and go for Rodriguez ’cause she’d secure the oil.” Kenneth Vogel of The New York Times noted that the secret CIA assessment backing Rodríguez was based on Moshiri’s advice and that “the oil company stands to profit from Trump’s decision to heed that advice.”

The revelation prompted stunned reactions from major media figures. New York Times columnist Lydia Polgreen described the story as one that “pulls back the curtain on how the world really works,” while journalists compared the arrangement to the 2005 film Syriana, which dramatized corporate manipulation of foreign policy. The disclosure demonstrates how Trump’s abuse of power extends to allowing corporate interests to determine military operations and regime change.

(Source: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2676159147/)

Trump Assails NATO as Cowards While Deepening Iran War

President Trump denounced NATO allies as “cowards” on Friday for refusing to deploy troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor through which one-fifth of global oil trades. Trump’s hostility toward allies coincides with his unilateral Iran war that has backfired diplomatically, as he initiated military strikes alongside Israel without coordinating with partners, then demanded their support managing the consequences. The Pentagon is deploying approximately 2,200 additional Marines and three warships to the Middle East, marking the second Marine expeditionary unit sent since the conflict began on February 28.

The war has devastated global energy markets and inflicted heavy casualties on U.S. forces. Brent crude oil surged to $112 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the conflict, with gasoline prices approaching $4 per gallon. The Pentagon reported 232 American service members injured since the war started, with 10 in serious condition. The Treasury Department temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil at sea in an attempt to ease prices, marking a break from Trump’s stated “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran. Pentagon officials have prepared detailed plans for potential ground troop deployment into Iran, though Trump claims the U.S. is considering “winding down” operations while simultaneously retaining options to strike Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal.

Trump contradicted his own position by claiming the U.S. does not need the Strait of Hormuz while simultaneously pressuring allies to defend it. He stated Iran’s leadership has been decimated, with “nobody to talk to” remaining, yet Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and military officials continue asserting they are producing ballistic missiles and threatening to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide. The International Atomic Energy Agency told CBS News that securing Iran’s enriched uranium will be “very challenging” even after fighting ends, undercutting Trump and Netanyahu’s stated nuclear prevention objectives.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized U.S. use of U.K. bases to strike Iranian missile sites, prompting Iran’s foreign minister to accuse Starmer of “putting British lives in danger.” NATO relocated its advisory mission from Iraq to Italy after Iranian attacks on allied bases. The humanitarian toll extends beyond military casualties; soaring oil prices are driving up costs across U.S. supply chains, affecting retail prices for consumers nationwide. Former Iran detainee Siamak Namazi warned that Americans held in Iranian prisons face heightened danger amid the escalating conflict.

Trump made a debunked claim about predicting the September 11 attacks while discussing the Strait of Hormuz, part of a pattern of disinformation throughout the conflict. The White House stated Trump “retains all options” militarily but claimed he has “no plans to send troops anywhere,” a contradiction given Pentagon preparations for ground deployment. As the war enters its fourth week with no diplomatic resolution, Trump’s contradictory statements and hostile treatment of allies underscore the absence of a coherent strategic plan.

(Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/live-updates/iran-war-us-israel-gas-and-oil-prices-trump-netanyahu-strait-hormuz/)

No H.I.V. Aid Without More Access to Minerals: U.S. Ponders ‘Sticks’ Against Zambia – The New York Times

The Trump administration is considering withholding lifesaving H.I.V. treatment and tuberculosis and malaria medications from 1.3 million Zambians as leverage to force the southern African nation to grant the United States greater access to its mineral resources, particularly copper, lithium, and cobalt. A State Department memo obtained by The New York Times states the administration will “only secure our priorities by demonstrating willingness to publicly take support away from Zambia on a massive scale,” with potential cuts to aid through PEPFAR beginning as soon as May.

Zambia’s critical minerals are central to the green energy transition globally, and the Trump administration views China’s access to these resources as a strategic threat. Unlike agreements with other nations that focus primarily on health spending commitments, the administration is attempting to weaponize health aid to coerce Zambia into signing a deal that prioritizes U.S. mineral access over public health needs.

This tactic follows the Trump administration’s broad cuts to foreign aid announced last year. The State Department has been pressuring countries to sign new agreements, with 24 nations having signed deals worth $20 billion in health aid over five years, though most agreements simply require recipient governments to increase their own health spending rather than serve geopolitical extraction goals.

Other African nations are resisting similar demands tied to aid. Zimbabwe’s government recently rejected negotiations, citing demands about data and biological sample sharing as intolerable sovereignty violations. Activists in Kenya have taken their country’s agreement to court over comparable concerns, signaling widespread resistance to conditioning essential health assistance on unfavorable terms.

The abuse of power represented by weaponizing H.I.V. treatment demonstrates how the Trump administration subordinates human life to resource extraction and geopolitical positioning, directly sacrificing the health and survival of vulnerable populations in service of mineral interests and competition with China.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/health/zambia-hiv-aid-minerals-trump.html)

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