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Utter Desecration: Walking Wrecking Balls, All Of 'Em
In a perfect, ghastly metaphor for the state of our "democracy," J.D. and Drunken Pete just oversaw an "artillery fiasco" at a Marine Corps celebration when a live shell detonated over a highway and hit their motorcade - Lesson #1: "Morons Are Governing America" - and Trump abruptly began his demolition of the East Wing of The People's House "for a fucking ballroom," though he claimed construction "wouldn't interfere" with it. Lesson #2: They "lie like they breathe," bulldoze history and wreak havoc as they go.
On the same day as No Kings but definitely not in an effort to distract anyone even though the actual date they're marking isn't until November 10, repulsive bros J.D. Vance and manly "We Are The War Department" Pete Hegseth went to California for the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton to watch a training exercise that included firing live 155mm M777 shells out of howitzers from the ocean over Interstate I-5, an action Gavin Newsom decried as "an absurd show of force" that threatened public safety. Just in case, being a grown-up, Newsom shut down 17 miles of the highway. Vance, in turn, ridiculed his move as "consistent with a track record of failure," sneering the governor "wants people to think this exercise is dangerous" when of course it's "an established safe practice" and anyway he's a big boy.
So then what happened? Well, what happens "when the commander-in-chief is an idiot and the head of the Pentagon is a blackout drunk": After Marines fired several live rounds over the highway, one of the shells prematurely exploded - officers "saw the artillery round fail to clear the highway and explode near the southbound lanes" - raining burning shrapnel onto a California Highway Patrol car and motorcycle that were part of Vance's security detail in what Highway Patrol called "an unusual and concerning situation" that surely nobody could have predicted except maybe Gavin Newsom, who rightly raged, "Next time, the Vice President and the White House shouldn’t be so reckless (with) their vanity projects (and) put lives at risk to put on a show. If you want to honor our troops, open the government and pay them."
Vance, who's hated wherever he goes - his summer vacation in the English countryside was met by residents holding a "Dance Against Vance Not Welcome" party complete with Go Away banner, insults, memes, and a staff mutiny at a pub where he wanted to eat - told reporters he had "a great visit" with the Marines. His team declined to comment on his "artillery fiasco," but others had thoughts. They suggested he'd probably say "it was just kid pieces of shrapnel doing normal kid pieces of shrapnel stuff," or locker room shrapnel, or antifa, thus representing the most destruction seen on No Kings Day. Also, "Nothing says 'Warrior Ethos' like firing live ammunition across a busy Southern California freeway on a Saturday afternoon," "MAGA stands for Morons Are Governing America," and, "This is a whole new level of dipshitery."
Then, on Monday, came Trump's backhoes and destruction crews methodically ripping through the historic, stately, 1902 East Wing of the White House to build a garish $250 million, "beautiful, beautiful ballroom like I have at Mar-a-Lago" - "the remodel no one asked for" - despite his earlier adamant claim the project "wouldn’t interfere” with the former structure: "It’ll be near it but not touching it (and) pay total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of...It’s my favorite place. I love it." Announcing the boondoggle in July, he said it would be 90,000 square feet and seat up to 650 people - now grown to 999 people - making it by far the largest room in the White House. It will ostensibly be funded by "many generous patriots" who also happen to be billionaires seeking deregulation and access to his gilded power.
Trump claims America's masses have long been yearning for a glitzy ballroom - it took so long because "there’s never been a president that was good at ballrooms" - and he is "honored to finally get this much-needed project underway," especially now during a government shutdown, when wealth and income inequality is at a record highs, SNAP benefits are being slashed, millions of people are struggling to buy groceries, health care and Medicaid are threatened, special ed and veterans' services are in jeopardy, farmers and small businesses are suffering, federal workers are either losing their jobs or not getting paid, he is sending billions to Argentina for no discernible reason and he is giddily spending millions on golf and new jets and fake gold feckin' everywhere while demanding his let-them-eat-cake cult members keep tightening their frayed belts.
Architects have also noted the fortuitous timing: The White House is a public property run by the National Park Service, but the project is evidently exempt from review by multiple planning and preservation bodies Trump has dismissed, rendered toothless or effectively disappeared in the shutdown. "This is by design," said one. “The object of power is power." On Monday, many Americans watched in horror as an iconic White House built by slaves - where pearls were once clutched when Nancy Reagan ordered new china, Jimmy Carter put in solar panels, Obama romped with his dog - was blithely razed, stripped, called "an utter desecration of the Peoples’ House." He added he'd gladly invite Americans, some weekend, "to bring their own sledgehammers & crowbars to help tear that abomination down."
The Bulwark's Mona Charen has called Trump "a walking wrecking ball of law, tradition, civility, manners, and morals." His tacky paved Rose Garden, fake-gold-drenched Oval Office and now ballroom reflect "a low and shameful time" at the end of which his total transforming of the graceful into the tasteless "will be both awful and fitting." Now, the metaphorical has become literal. "This is Trump's America," said one dismayed patriot, watching the dusty devastation. "And that was our history." Many sounded physically sickened by the grisly manifestation "of the entire Trump administration": "It is not his fucking house," "Holy mother of God, this is horrifying," "Jesus fucking Christ, somebody stop him," "That was our democracy." "Breaking News: Antifa destroys the White House," said one. "Correction: It was Trump."
Oct 21, 2025
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'The Well-Oiled Plan': Short Film Targets Fossil Fuel Industry's PR Tricks
With less than a month until the next United Nations climate summit, filmmakers and campaigners on Tuesday released an animation that calls out the fossil fuel industry's use of Big Tobacco's public relations tactics in under three minutes.
The Well-Oiled Plan was created by Daniel Bird and Adam Levy at Wit & Wisdom, in association with the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), a consortium of over 200 health professional and civil society groups. It "comprises scenes spun off from My Pet Footprint," a comedy feature film about climate grief that Wit & Wisdom is developing with Greenpeace.
"My Pet Footprint plays with the idea that consciences are removable," Bird, the director, said in a statement. "Decades ago, the fossil fuel industry decided business as usual was worth any price, and it takes an incredible deficit of conscience to be able to do that when that price is the demise of civilization and possibly even life in general."
With the new short, he said, "we took a direct route from smoking as an evil perpetuated on individuals, and the nascent public relations industry around that, to smoking as an industrial process imposed upon the global population. The only difference now is that the PR machine has become all the more sophisticated, and, dare we say it, successful."
The short film—starring comedians Cody Dahler and Michael Spicer, and actors Jaylah Moore-Ross and Sinead Phelps—comes as Big Oil has faced mounting scrutiny for its decades of burying, denying, and downplaying the impacts of its products. Since the #ExxonKnew exposés a decade ago, more journalism, scholarly research, lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry, and congressional reports and hearings have further revealed major polluters' climate disinformation efforts.
In 2020, Fossil Free Media launched Clean Creatives, a project targeting public relations and advertising agencies that serve Big Oil. Since then, 2,700 creatives and 1,500 agencies have signed the campaign's pledge to decline future contracts with the industry. Despite that progress, polluters continue to dump money into PR and ads from firms that will work for them.
" Fossil fuels are making people sick—and the companies behind them are spending millions on advertising and PR to cover it up," said Shweta Narayan, campaign lead at GCHA—which last month released a report detailing "the health toll of fossil fuels" for at every stage of the production cycle and across the human lifespan.
"The PR and communications industry must commit to fossil-free contracts," she argued. "Firms cannot claim to advance sustainability while helping fossil fuel companies greenwash their image or delay climate policy. We call on agencies to adopt fossil-free policies, disclose all fossil fuel clients, and ensure their work does not obstruct the transition to clean, healthy energy systems."
"We call on agencies to adopt fossil-free policies, disclose all fossil fuel clients, and ensure their work does not obstruct the transition to clean, healthy energy systems."
Narayan noted that "the same PR firms spreading fossil fuel disinformation are also working with health organizations—a clear conflict of interest for health. Through the Break the Fossil Influence—Fossil-Free Health Communications commitment, health organizations are leading by example, by cutting ties with those agencies."
Clean Creatives executive director Duncan Meisel stressed that "health organizations should not be hiring agencies with fossil fuel clients."
"The fossil fuel industry is one of the leading causes of long-term illness and premature death worldwide, and agencies that help sell coal, oil, or gas products have a conflict of interest when it comes to organizations and companies that promote public health," he continued. "At the same time, the public health sector has enormous leverage to use their procurement policies to accelerate the marketing industry's exit from fossil fuels."
Hundreds of organizations including GCHA are also calling on Brazil, host of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), to "make clear that unchecked corporate influence is not compatible with climate leadership."
GCHA executive director Jeni Miller on Tuesday urged the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) "to draw a red line" and declare that "no PR or advertising firms that continue to work for fossil fuel companies should be allowed to shape the story of the COP or the climate crisis."
"For all future COPs, governments and the UNFCCC must adopt clear conflict-of-interest rules and ethical procurement standards for all communications, PR, and event contractors—just as the World Health Organization does under its tobacco control framework," she said. "Just as the health community once stood up to Big Tobacco and its advertising, now it's time to stand up to Big Oil."
Oct 14, 2025
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US Consumers Paying the Most for Tariffs: Wall Street Giant’s Report Exposes Trump Lies
New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump's trade wars.
As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump's tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.
Goldman's research also found that US businesses will pay 22% of the cost of the tariffs, while foreign exporters will pay just 18% of the cost. Additionally, Goldman economists estimate that Trump's tariffs "have raised core personal consumption expenditure prices by 0.44% so far this year, and will push up the closely watched inflation reading to 3% by December," according to Bloomberg.
Despite all evidence that US consumers are shouldering the costs of the tariffs, the Trump administration has continued to insist that they are exclusively being paid by foreign countries.
During a segment on NBC's "Meet the Press" last month, host Kristen Welker cited an earlier Goldman estimate that 86% of the president's tariffs were being paid by US businesses and consumers, and then asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he accepted that the tariffs were taxes on Americans.
"No, I don't," Bessent replied.
“Goldman Sachs says 86% of the tariffs have been paid by American businesses & consumers. Do you acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax on Americans?” - NBC
“No I don't.” - Scott Bessent
pic.twitter.com/6wtAznhpCc
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 7, 2025
As Common Dreams reported in August, executives such as Walmart CEO Doug McMillon have explicitly told shareholders that while they are able to absorb the cost of tariffs, Trump's policy would still "result in higher prices" for customers.
Goldman's report comes as Trump is piling up even more tariffs on imported goods that will ultimately be paid by US consumers as companies raise prices.
According to The New York Times, tariffs on a wide range of products including lumber, furniture, and kitchen cabinets went into effect on Tuesday, and the Trump administration has also "started imposing fees on Chinese-owned ships docking in American ports."
The administration has claimed that the tariffs on lumber are necessary for national security purposes, although some experts are scoffing at this rationale.
Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, told the Times that the administration's justification for the lumber tariffs are "absurd."
"If war broke out tomorrow, there would be zero concern about American ‘dependence’ on foreign lumber or furniture, and domestic sources would be quickly and easily acquired," he said.
Oct 14, 2025
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Critics Slam ‘Coward’ Mike Johnson for Applauding Video of Trump Shit-Bombing No Kings Protest
US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday drew swift criticism after he excused President Donald Trump's decision to post an artificial intelligence-generated video featuring him dropping sewage on "No Kings" protesters.
During a Monday press conference, Johnson was asked by a reporter what he made of Trump posting a video that depicted him "pooping on the American people."
Johnson responded by praising Trump for his purported social media savvy.
"The president uses social media to make a point," he said. "You can argue he's probably the most effective person who's ever used social media for that. He is using satire to make a point."
Reporter: Speaker Johnson, you say that Democrats had a hate America rally, but what does it say that the president of released video of him pooping on the American people?
Johnson: The president uses social media to make a point. You can argue he's probably the most effective… pic.twitter.com/3BuyfEGIiZ
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 20, 2025
Many critics, however, didn't see anything satirical about the Trump video and questioned what point it was trying to make other than a desire to defecate on his political opponents.
"His point was that he’s an unaccountable, imperious would-be monarch who would like to dump poop on American cities," wrote Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the main organizers of the "No Kings" demonstrations.
Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze disputed that there was anything satirical about Trump's post.
"This is not a 'satire,' it's debasement," he argued. "When the speaker of the House defends a video of the president literally defecating on Americans as 'making a point,' it tells you everything about the moral rot in this cult movement. Leaders with integrity elevate discourse, they don’t normalize humiliation as humor."
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis also questioned whether Johnson had a firm grasp of the meaning of satire.
"So Mike Johnson defended Trump’s weird AI videos this morning as 'satire' meant to 'make a point,'" he wrote on Bluesky. "Can someone ask Johnson what point Trump was making when he posted a video of himself dumping shit all over America? Or when he dropped napalm on Chicago? I’d like an answer."
Just before he deployed hundreds of armed and masked federal immigration agents in Chicago last month, the president posted another AI-generated image that showed the city under attack with a reference to the famous line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from the film Apocalypse Now.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) marveled that Johnson appears willing to defend anything the president does, no matter how juvenile.
"Mike Johnson is too much of a coward to condemn pooping on people," he wrote.
Oct 20, 2025
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Pro-Democracy Americans Gear Up for 'No Kings' Day Nationwide
Organizers are expecting Saturday's nationwide "No Kings" rallies to be among the largest single-day demonstrations in US history, and many activists and politicians on Friday sent messages of encouragement to demonstrators.
Leah Greenberg, the co-founder and co-president of Indivisible, which is one of the main organizers of the demonstrations, told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! on Friday that she and her group are "engaging in the most American activity in the world, which is coming together in peaceful protest of our government."
Greenberg then addressed attacks from President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers over the last week that the "No Kings" events were a "hate America" rally.
"This is a classic exercise of the authoritarian playbook, to try to create fear, to try to threaten, to try to make people back off preemptively," she said. "We're not going to do that... we won't be cowed."
Former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich also hit back at GOP claims that the "No Kings" rallies were anti-American, and he argued that the people attending them will be doing so out of a deep sense of patriotism.
"We’re rallying tomorrow because we LOVE America," he wrote in a post on X. "It's an opportunity for all of us who love this country to express our determination that our nation’s ideals not be crushed by the Trump regime."
Progressive filmmaker Michael Moore encouraged his supporters to take part in Saturday's demonstrations, and he wrote on his personal Substack it was of the utmost importance for Americans to make their voices heard in the face of authoritarian threats from the Trump administration.
"Don’t miss this chance to be part of the largest expression of free speech we’ve ever had," he said. "Time has run out. One year from now, don’t find yourself wishing you had done something. Said something. This is our last chance, the final moment to stop the madness. I implore you to join us."
Several Democratic politicians also expressed support for the demonstrations.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) blasted Trump and the GOP for attacking the patriotism of the "No Kings" protesters.
"I'll be damned if I'm gonna let the Draftdodger-in-Chief tell me what a patriot is," he wrote in a social media post. "We're STANDING UP, SPEAKING OUT, and FIGHTING BACK. No Kings in America. See you Saturday."
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent out a video message expressing solidarity with Chicago and Portland, Oregon, two cities in which Trump has tried to deploy National Guard soldiers, and let them know that they fighting against authoritarianism by themselves.
"The people everywhere are standing up, in all 50 states and thousands of towns and cities across America," he said. "We have no kings here, no crowns, no thrones."
A Message for No Kings Weekend: The millions rallying across the country love America and are defending it with joy, wit, defiance and courage. Everyone who stands with us now will win the affection and gratitude of people for all time. pic.twitter.com/xmHD5MjTpm
— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) October 17, 2025
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) accused Trump and Republicans of waging a campaign of intimidation aimed at frightening Americans out of exercising their rights to peacefully demonstrate.
"The Republicans' attacks on the No Kings protests are sickening," he wrote in a post on Bluesky. "To them, only pro-Trump speech is protected. If you oppose Trump, you 'hate America' or you're a 'terrorist.' What they're trying to do is simple: suppress turnout this weekend. Don't let them win."
Oct 17, 2025
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US Military Holding Survivors of Latest Trump Extrajudicial Boat Bombing: Reports
This is a developing story… Please check back for updates…
Multiple media outlets reported Friday that the US military is holding two survivors of President Donald Trump's sixth known strike on a boat in the Caribbean—bombings he claims are targeting drug smugglers and which critics argue are blatantly illegal.
Reuters was the first to report the news of survivors detained after a Thursday strike, citing several unnamed sources. According to the outlet, "Five sources familiar with the matter said the US military staged a helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors of the attack and bring them back to the US warship."
The Associated Press confirmed the development, citing two unnamed sources who said there were survivors brought to a Navy ship. The outlet added that "the survivors of this strike now face an unclear future and legal landscape, including questions about whether they are now considered to be prisoners of war or defendants in a criminal case."
The Intercept also spoke with two government sources who said that survivors are being held on a warship. Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who is a specialist in counterterrorism issues and the laws of war, told the outlet, "Given that there is no armed conflict, there is no basis to hold these survivors as law of war detainees."
"The Trump administration is already using a make-believe armed conflict to kill people," Finucane added. "Will it also use this make-believe armed conflict to detain people as well?"
Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that the US attacked "a drug-carrying submarine," and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was beside him, said that more details would be forthcoming.
The reporting comes amid broader alarm about the Trump administration's push for regime change in Venezuela. However, human rights advocates, Democrats in Congress, legal scholars, and other critics have condemned all of Trump's boat bombings—which have killed at least 27 people—as murders.
This is the first reported case of survivors. Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said Friday, "For the first time, some people survive a Trump-ordered strike on a boat in the Caribbean, meaning there are witnesses to what he tries to pass off as acts of war but are really murders which the International Criminal Court may be able to prosecute."
Oct 17, 2025
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‘Why Do You Continue Unlawfully Detaining US Citizens?’ Democratic Lawmakers Ask ICE
"This administration’s failure to investigate or even acknowledge that these indiscriminate immigration raids are canceling the rights of US citizens is dangerous."
Oct 21, 2025
Days after new reporting revealed that at least 170 US citizens are among those who have been detained by federal immigration agents under the Trump administration, which Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal called "absolutely shocking," the Washington Democrat joined Rep. Jamie Raskin in demanding answers from top homeland security officials on the report.
Jayapal and Raskin (D-Md.) noted that they previously wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons in February, just weeks into President Donald Trump's second term, when the detention of US citizens ensnared in Trump's mass deportation operation was already raising alarm.
At that point, NBC News had reported on the detentions of US citizens including Native tribe members, which raised concerns about racial profiling—but in their Monday letter to Noem and Lyons, Jayapal and Raskin said the response they got in February was "flippant and unserious," with the officials simply reiterating existing policies that prohibit ICE from detaining US citizens—"without providing any assurance" that agents were "actually following that policy."
"This administration cannot hide behind a broad policy statement, as it continues to unlawfully detain US citizens as part of indiscriminate immigration raids," wrote Jayapal and Raskin.
The lawmakers emphasized that numerous arrests of US citizens by ICE and other immigration agents have been violent.
Raskin and Jayapal drew attention to four specific cases, including those of:
- Rodrick Johnson, a 67-year-old man who was dragged out of his apartment in Chicago by immigration agents who zip-tied him after breaking down his door as part of a raid on his building, and then left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours;
- George Retes, who was pepper-sprayed and detained for three days in a raid on a farm where he worked, with agents refusing to look at his ID and then denying him his right to see an attorney or make a phone call;
- Julio Noriega, a 54-year-old man who was handcuffed by ICE officers and loaded into a van while he was handing out copies of his resume to businesses in Berwyn, Illinois; and
- Leonardo Garcia Venegas, who was arrested twice during worksite raids in Alabama, even after showing agents his REAL ID that proved his US citizenship.
Other cases not mentioned in the letter include those of Job Garcia, a photographer who was tackled and held on the ground by ICE agents during a raid at a Home Depot in Los Angeles and then detained for more than 24 hours, and Debbie Brockman, a news producer in Chicago who was handcuffed by agents who accused her of throwing an object at them, and then hauled into an unmarked vehicle that crashed into another car as it sped away—only to be released later that day with no charges.
Raskin and Jayapal accused Noem and Lyons of overseeing a "lawless 'detain first, ask questions later' approach to immigration
enforcement" that is "terrorizing communities across the country."
"Masked, armed agents are snatching people on the street and refusing to identify themselves," said the lawmakers. "US citizens are now afraid to speak Spanish in public and are carrying their passports everywhere they go. This administration’s failure to investigate or even acknowledge that these indiscriminate immigration raids are canceling the rights of US citizens is dangerous."
Jayapal and Raskin demanded that Noem and Lyons provide an accounting of all the US citizens who have been detained with their identities, the length of time they were held, and their criminal records if they had any—which, according to an analysis by the CATO Institute in June, a majority of people arrested by ICE this year have not.
"We once again demand that you immediately provide a full accounting of all cases in which US citizens have been detained since January 20, 2025," said the Democrats, "and explain any concrete steps your agencies are implementing to prevent such abuses from continuing."
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'A Betrayal': Ranchers Slam Trump Plan to Buy Beef From Argentina With US Tax Dollars
"After crashing the soybean market and gifting Argentina our largest export buyer, he's now poised to do the same to the cattle market," said an Illinois cattle producer.
Oct 20, 2025
US ranchers and industry groups are responding critically to President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States "would buy some beef from Argentina," in a bid to "bring our beef prices down," while pursuing an up to $40 billion bailout for the South American country.
Trump made the suggestion to reporters on Air Force One Sunday, according to the Associated Press. A few days earlier, he'd said that a deal to cut the price of beef was "gonna be coming down pretty soon." The AP noted various reasons for "stubbornly high" US prices, including drought and reduced imports from Mexico.
"President Trump's plan to buy beef from Argentina is a betrayal of the American rancher," Christian Lovell, an Illinois cattle producer and senior director of programs at the organization Farm Action, said in a Monday statement. "Those of us who raise cattle have finally started to see what profit looks like after facing years of high input costs and market manipulation by the meatpacking monopoly."
"After crashing the soybean market and gifting Argentina our largest export buyer, he's now poised to do the same to the cattle market," he continued, referring to one of the impacts of Trump's tariff war. "Importing Argentinian beef would send US cattle prices plummeting—and with the meatpacking industry as consolidated as it is, consumers may not see lower beef prices either. Washington should be focused on fixing our broken cattle market, not rewarding foreign competitors."
"Trump has done more in the past month to help Argentina than he has to help the American people."
"With these actions, President Trump risks acting more like the president of Argentina than president of the United States," Lovell declared. The US leader is a key ally of the nation's actual president, Javier Milei, whose austerity agenda has created the need for a massive bailout from Washington, DC.
Farm Action's proposed fix for the US is to tackle the "structurally flawed system" with three steps: "Reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef and pork, restore competitive markets by enforcing antitrust laws, and rebuild the US cow herd to achieve national self-reliance in beef production."
The group was far from alone in criticizing Trump's weekend remarks and offering alternative solutions to reduce US prices.
"We appreciate President Trump's interest in addressing the US beef market, which has been producing all-time record-high consumer beef prices," said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, the nation's largest cattle association, in a statement. "We urge the president to address the fundamental problems in the beef market, not just its symptom."
"The symptom is that the US has shrunk its beef cow herd to such a low level that it can no longer produce enough beef to satisfy domestic demand," he continued. "But the fundamental problem is that decades of failed trade policies have allowed cheap, undifferentiated imports to displace the domestic cow herd, driving hundreds of thousands of cattle farmers and ranchers and millions of domestic beef cows out of the domestic beef supply chain."
"In addition, the nation's beef packers and beef retailers have been allowed to concentrate to monopolistic levels, enabling them to interfere with competitive market forces," he asserted. "Attempting to lower domestic beef prices simply by inviting even more imports will both exacerbate and accelerate the ongoing dismantling of the domestic beef supply chain."
Instead of promoting US beef production, Trump now wants to establish a preferred position for Argentine beef in the US. Why, exactly? Is this what America First means?
[image or embed]
— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) October 20, 2025 at 2:23 PM
National Cattlemen's Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall said that "NCBA's family farmers and ranchers have numerous concerns with importing more Argentinian beef to lower prices for consumers. This plan only creates chaos at a critical time of the year for American cattle producers, while doing nothing to lower grocery store prices."
"Additionally, Argentina has a deeply unbalanced trade relationship with the US," Woodall noted. "In the past five years Argentina has sold more than $801 million of beef into the US market. By comparison, the US has sold just over $7 million worth of American beef to Argentina. Argentina also has a history of foot-and-mouth disease, which, if brought to the United States, could decimate our domestic livestock production."
Justin Tupper, president of the US Cattlemen's Association, highlighted the rising costs that ranchers are enduring.
"The cost of producing beef today is accurately represented in the consumer markets where it is sold," he said. "Ranchers are facing historic highs for feed, fuel, labor, and land—and those costs have risen far faster than beef prices on grocery shelves."
"When policymakers hint at intervention or suggest quick fixes, they can shake the market's foundation and directly impact the livelihoods of ranchers who depend on stable, transparent pricing," Tupper warned in the wake of the president's recent remarks. "Sudden price moves make it harder for independent producers to plan, invest, and keep their operations running."
"Efforts to support consumers must consider the economic realities on the ground and ensure the voices of independent ranchers lead the discussion," he added. "Market-driven prices—not mandates or panic interventions—have delivered value for generations. Let's focus on transparency, market integrity, and maintaining the conditions for sustainable rural economies."
Trump's signal that the US may buy more beef from Argentina comes as poll after poll shows that Americans—whose federal minimum wage hasn't increased in over 15 years—are stressed about the climbing costs of groceries. In addition to beef, shoppers are facing higher prices for staples such as coffee and eggs.
The Democratic National Committee also called out Trump's proposal on Monday, with Kendall Witmer, the DNC's rapid response director, charging that "Trump has done more in the past month to help Argentina than he has to help the American people, who are struggling to afford everything from rent to groceries."
"Because of Trump, farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy, and the government has been shut down for almost a month," Witmer added. "You would think that the so-called 'America First' president would be focused on reopening the government and saving millions of Americans from skyrocketing healthcare premiums—but Trump is showing his true colors. He only cares about helping himself and his friends, even at the expense of the American people. Let's be clear: MAGA now stands for Make Argentina Great Again."
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'Historic Mistake': Brazil Opens Up Amazon to New Oil Drilling Ahead of Global Climate Summit
"For us all to have a future, the oil industry can have no future," said one campaigner.
Oct 20, 2025
As climate leaders and policymakers arrive in Belém, Brazil next month, for the global climate summit that officials have pledged will stand apart from previous conferences due to its emphasis on "implementation," the country's government-run Petrobras firm will be drilling for oil just over 200 miles away in the Amazon, after the company was granted a license Monday.
Petrobras said it plans to begin drilling immediately in a project that will last about five months at the mouth of the Amazon River—the Foz de Amazonas region.
Despite President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reputation as an international climate leader, he has claimed that oil revenue will help fund Brazil's transition to renewable energy, but Ilan Zugman, Latin America and Caribbean director at the grassroots climate action group 350.org, said Monday that in granting the license, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) was "doubling down on a model that has already failed."
Petrobras is planning to drill an oil well at an offshore site, Block 59, that is 310 miles from the mouth of the Amazon.
IBAMA previously denied Petrobras the license, saying the company had not provided adequate plans for how it would protect wildlife in the case of an oil spill.
"The history of oil in Brazil shows this clearly: huge profits for a few, and inequality, destruction, and violence for local populations."
In September, the agency approved a pre-operational environmental assessment and said a new "fauna simulation" would take place after the license was issued, allowed Petrobras to prove after obtaining permission for drilling that it would protect wildlife.
The Amazon region is home to about 10% of the planet's wildlife, and climate advocates have raised alarm that the river's currents would swiftly bring the damage from an oil spill straight to the habitats of many animals and plants.
Brazilian NGO the Climate Observatory said the approval of the license "sabotages" the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Sauro said recently "aspires to be a turning point, a moment when the world shifts from ambition to implementation."
Last year was the first year to exceed 1.5°C above average preindustrial temperatures, and the previous 10 years have been the warmest on record. Scientists and the International Energy Agency have warned that no new oil or other fossil fuel projects have a place on a pathway to reaching net-zero global carbon emissions by 2050.
“The decision is disastrous from an environmental, climate, and sociobiodiversity perspective," said the Climate Observatory.
The group told The Guardian that civil society organizations would be taking the Brazilian government to court over the license, saying its approval was rife with "illegalities and technical flaws."
Despite IBAMA's approval, an opinion signed by 29 staff members at the agency in February said they recommended denying the license due to the risk of “massive biodiversity loss in a highly sensitive marine ecosystem."
Zugman called the decision a "historic mistake."
"The history of oil in Brazil shows this clearly: huge profits for a few, and inequality, destruction, and violence for local populations," said Zugman. "Brazil must take real climate leadership and break the cycle of extraction that has led us to the current climate crisis. We urgently need a just energy transition plan, based on renewables, that respects Indigenous, quilombola, and riverside peoples and guarantees them a leading role in decisions about climate and energy—including at COP30."
Earlier this year, Indigenous leaders representing dozens of Amazon ethnicities and tribes signed a declaration demanding that officials at COP30 "nullify oil blocks that have not had the consent of Indigenous people," "halt investment in new oil infrastructure," and create phase-out plans for oil and gas operations.
Nick Young, co-head of story and communications at Greenpeace International, called IBAMA's decision "disastrous."
"A spill here would be catastrophic and uniquely hard to contain in the Amazon plume," said Young. "And in addition to the risk of oil spills, the science clearly shows that we cannot afford to burn even existing oil reserves, let alone new ones."
"For us all to have a future, the oil industry can have no future," he added. "It makes zero sense to allow them to find new oil to throw on the fire."
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