the DON JONES
INDEX…
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GAINS
POSTED in GREEN LOSSES
POSTED in RED 11/6/25… 15,339.64 10/30/25…
15,260.71 6/27/13... 15,000.00 |
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(THE
DOW JONES INDEX: 11/6/25... 47,311.00;
10/30/25... 47,632.00; 6/27/13… 15,000.00) |
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LESSON for NOVEMBER 6th, 2025 – “HAPPY
VETERANS’ (No-Pay) DAY!”
The gumment shutdown, begun October
first, reached a record thirty six days yesterday.
And it’s still going on.
Through the Week of the Dead, dead paychecks were provided to active duty military as well as other Federal employees
including air traffic controllers, park rangers, and others working unpaid,
furloughed, or flat out fired –
including, amazingly, nuclear weapons security forces (thankfully rescinded)
and tax collectors (still moping about at home or, like the veterans and
others, looking for gig economy jobs to feed the family). Actual dead paychecks, pieces of paper
including names, pertinent numbers and the amount remitted: $0.00.
Other curious cabinet doo’ers... some
closed, others not... heaped their own piles of pain upon Don and some other American
Joneses. SecHel
Bobby Kennedy (Junior) stamped his MWAAAHAHAA! – “make (white and angry)
Americans healthy and hostile and aggressive again” – brand on SNAP and snip
and snook.
The vacationing House and stalled Senate stalwarts in our
combative Congress launched weapons of words against one another and tried and
failed an unlucky thirteen times to adopt either a Democratic continuing
resolution with healthcare provisions or the Republican version without as of
Halloween. Comedians chortled. Detractors of democracy at home and abroad
validated the virtues of dictatorships, as don’t put up with such pissant
nonsense. Foreign enemies drew allies away from America and towards their webs
of deceit. Artificial Intelligence
replaced intellect, robots replaced workers.
Investors reaped higher and higher yields from the Dow and other
markets, much of which they converted into gold and silver, perhaps
anticipating a White House ballroom buying spree.
Fat and sassy, the billionaire class pumped blood (money) into
candidates (many of which, as of today, were either losing or lost).
The long, spooky weekend of Halloween, two Days of the Dead and
the ongoing shutdown careened into America’s military preparedness.
The
Department of Veterans Affairs announced an increase in the number of its employees
who are furloughed during the government shutdown. That’s
nearly 37,000 VA employees or 8% of the VA’s total workforce who are now
“furloughed or continue working without pay”, the VA said. (CNN – ATTACHMENT ONE)
Replacing
them? Well, CNN also reported that
President Trump sent a message to our military (and political, and economic)
enemies by resuming nuclear testing “heralding a potentially major shift in
decades of US policy at a time of growing tensions between the world’s
nuclear-armed superpowers” and frightening.
United
Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq told CNN that a
nuclear explosive test should “never be allowed”, citing risks that he says are
“already alarmingly high.”
“All
actions that could lead to miscalculation or escalation with catastrophic
consequences must be avoided,” Haq said.
And
any explosive nuclear weapon test by any
state would be harmful and destabilizing for global non-proliferation efforts
and for international peace and security,” said Robert Floyd, executive
secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
Veterans,
their families and active duty military have been
watching with apprehension as the shutdown continues and now, on Saturday, SNAP
(food stamp) benefits will end. Or
not. Or maybe be cut by half... and
then, as the whim of the President dictates, killed again.
Or
brought back by the lower Federal courts, meaning that the ultimate decision
will be made by SCOTUS.
Neither
SNAP nor shutdown is likely to be resolved soon, according to Time’s
opinionator-in-chief Philip Elliott.
(ATTACHMENT TWO) who contends that, with players on both sides believing
they are “winning” this fight there is no need to reach across the aisle. “The
shutdown that began Oct. 1 is being discussed as a problem to be solved
mid-November or even into December, according to sources on the Hill and on K
Street who are universally dug in,” Elliot wrote, adding that this is “a
shutdown without consequence, at least on the surface.”
Running numbers... many numbers... Elliott concluded that “(h)arried parents are realizing their EBT cards
may not work when they do grocery shopping this weekend. And here in
Washington, there is the persistent disconnect between lawmakers who want to
win the fight and families who just want the government to have their backs.”
It’s
not just Federal workers being cancelled – the economy is going on a firing
binge... and even developing a new sort of language to describe their action as
U. S. News, (Halloween, ATTACHMENT THREE) demonstrated; a sample notice to
staff might describe “an evolving regulatory
environment” meaning that we’ll be “removing layers,”
“unlearning”
and taking time to “re-ground ourselves,” but we are “building a strong, future-focused company.”
“In
other words, you’re out of a job,” translated USA’s Olivier Knox, citing
Paramount/Skydance/Oracle, Amazon, UPS, Target and
many more, “Like tens of thousands of other corporate-speak victims.”
Contending,
perhaps partisanly, that corporate flexibility is not
a bad thing, “(a) major feature of capitalism is that firms hire when they need
workers and lay off when they aren’t doing well. Such is life.”
But
when the flexibility extends to a shutdown government and laid off (or maybe
just furloughed, if unpaid) military, such may be death... should the enemies
of America choose their moment to strike.
As
of yesterday, the current closure of the government and concomitant bedevilment
of our active duty military, their families, retired
veterans, support staff and the rest is now the longest ever. Air traffic controllers are calling in sick
to take side gigs driving for Uber, tax collectors are stacking shelves with
Christmas décor, USPS drivers moonlighting with UPS. (Politicians are still being paid, although
the House is not working due to refusal to swear in a member who would upset
committee dominance and the Senate just wanders in every few days to vote to
continue the stall.)
Could
our soldiers, sailors, fighter jet pilots (even astronauts!) be induced into
taking side gigs as... oh... mercenaries? (Hopefully for nations or factions that might
be considered on the right side of history and/or morality!)
Perhaps
less dangerous than American military hiring out as mercenaries, but perhaps
more offensive to Republicans, at least, holding up the gumment,
some mustered-out veterans are spreading the condiments thickly by making new
businesses from old crimes.
As
Veterans Day approaches on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 (STUPIDDOPE, Oct. 30,
ATTACHMENT FOUR) the cannabis industry “offers a unique opportunity to honor
those who served by supporting businesses built by U.S. Veterans. These
trailblazers have transitioned their military discipline and focus into an
emerging market that values precision, quality, and integrity. In New York’s
rapidly expanding legal cannabis market, a handful of Veteran-owned brands have
distinguished themselves by crafting high-quality products and building brands
rooted in authenticity and service.”
Hurrying
through the stoned soul picnics now online and in stores, STUPIDDOPE sampled
and reviewed, and then sampled again, just to be sure, five pot purveyors. Each of the brands mentioned—Silly Nice, Pot
& Head, Veterans Choice Creations, New York Honey, and Spacebuds
Moonrocks—“reflects the best of what the cannabis
industry can be when driven by integrity and purpose. They remind us that
cannabis can be more than a product; it can be a platform for connection,
community, and appreciation.”
Time
(October 28, ATTACHMENT FIVE) made the prediction that “(a)ctive
service members may start going without pay if a deal to end the shutdown isn’t
reached soon, leaders in Washington are warning.”
One,
SecTreas Scott Bessent...
citing “embarrassment” on “Face the Nation”... that “I
think we’ll be able to pay them beginning in November. But by Nov. 15, our
troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives aren’t going to
be able to get paid.”
Speaker Mike and Veep Vance, as usual, blamed Democrats who rejected a
Republican-backed bill that would have paid active service members and other
federal staffers who are being mandated to work during the shutdown, meaning
that troops may not receive pay this week. By law, federal employees are guaranteed back pay once
a government shutdown ends, but the bill was intended to provide pay for those
working in the interim.
While
some Democrats broke party ranks to vote for the bill, others argued that it
would give the Trump Administration too much power to pick and choose which
federal workers get paid and which don’t during the shutdown.
Instead,
Democrats supported a bill that would pay all federal employees and
contractors. But Republicans sank that legislation.
“Republicans
are hell-bent on letting Trump pick winners and losers here, but every federal
worker, servicemember, and federal contractor deserves to get paid,” Sen. Chris
Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat behind that
bill, said in a
statement.
An
anonymous donor... the New York Times reporting that
billionaire Timothy Mellon was the private donor in question... contributed
$130 million to help pay troops during the shutdown but that amounted to only
about $100 per service member, the Times also reported.
Earlier
this month, Trump suggested that
some federal workers “don’t deserve to be taken care of” during the shutdown—a
controversial remark that indicated that his Administration is considering
denying back pay to thousands of furloughed employees once the government
reopens. Time said they’d found the
question of whether the Administration would seek to withhold back pay from
active service members “unclear”.
With
President Trump off to Asia for meetings with heads of state in SoKo, Japan and... most importantly... China (while his
minions oversee the demolition of the White House preparatory to installing a
massive Louis XIV-ish ballroom), a coalition of 25
Democratic-led states have filed lawsuits to restore SNAP benefits (USA Today,
ATTACHMENT SIX).
Any
permanent dismissal of active duty military, given
Trump’s threat to send boots on the ground into the MidEast,
Venezuela and, now, Nigeria, Colombia... even Canada?... would obviously
trigger a ballroom blitzkrieg of courtroom crows, ravens and buzzards.
The
White House recently argued in a legal memo this month that the law does not
automatically cover all furloughed workers because of an amendment approved nine
days after its original passage in January 2019,
according to Axios, which first reported the White
House's new opinion about back pay.
The
amendment referenced in the memo says furloughed workers would be paid back
"subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse."
USA
Today added that the White House's new interpretation undermines the Trump
administration's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, “which (had)
released a memo in September saying that furloughed workers would get paid.”
Military
families, perhaps to even greater extent than deployed troops (who are, at
least, receiving rations and a cot from Washington... for the time being) are
feeling the pain of the shutdown, often complicated by SNAP in that many are
below the poverty line as allows for discounts on food for their children.
PBS
(Oct. 30, ATTACHMENT SEVEN) reported that the “shutdown is exacting a heavy
mental toll on the nation’s military families, leaving them not knowing from
week to week whether their paychecks will arrive.”
Citing
wives, children and significane others, the
soon-to-be decapitated public broadcasters have been bouncing in a bouncy house
of cards as the White House serves up another TACO on defunding the military,
just as DefSec (or WarSec) HegSec opens new theatres of combat in the Caribbean, the
Pacific and, as ever, the MidEast.
But
the scrounging in Washington for troop pay can only last for so long.
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on CBS’ “Face
the Nation” that the government will soon run out of ways to compensate the military and
that by Nov. 15, the troops “aren’t going to be able to get paid.”
There’s
a common refrain that the troops are being used as pawns, but Jennifer Bittner, whose husband is
an Army officer, said that gives Congress too much credit.
“You
have to be thought of to be used as a pawn,” said Bittner, 43, of Austin,
Texas. “And we’re not being thought of at all.”
“We’re constantly checking the news,” said
Alicia Blevins, whose husband is a Marine. “And my Facebook feed is nothing
but, ‘It’s the Democrats’ fault. It’s the Republicans’ fault.’ And I’m just
like, can’t we just get off the blame game and get this taken care of?”
A8X36 FROM FOX
5 NEWS (Baltimore) USE A KILL
LINKS
USE A KILL LINKS
A10X32 FROM FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
Attempting to win over veteran
voters less than two weeks before the important off-year elections in Virginia,
New Jersey and New York City, the White House and several
federal agencies quietly added identical banners across their websites blaming
Democrats for the lapse in funding and ceasing of operations in Washington
D.C. (Military.com: ATTACHMENT ELEVEN)
On
the White House website, on the “Democrats have shut down the government,”
section, there is a section titled “Americans Don’t Agree with Democrats’
Actions.” The White House listed nine veteran organizations, implying their
agreement with the administration’s stance.
“Active-duty
service members and Veterans have borne the brunt of Democrats’ shutdown, which
prioritizes health care for illegal immigrants at the expense of military
families across the country,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told
Military.com.
“These
veterans organizations are speaking the truth:
Democrats have complained about paying military service members and referred to
struggling Americans as ‘leverage,’ but President Trump and Republicans want to
reopen the government today to ensure that military men and women don’t have to
worry about receiving their next paycheck,” Kelly continued.
“When
government agencies initially posted partisan languages on their sites,
organizations like Public Citizen filed complaints,” Military.com reported. PC,
a nonprofit group which advocates for the public interest, deemed these actions
as violations of the Hatch Act by including partisan politics into federal
agencies' websites.
“The
Hatch Act bars political activities of federal employees and programs with the
goal to protect from political pressure and bias.” Military.com reported that there have been no
updates on the complaints filed by Public Citizen at time of publishing.
Defending
the White House, Veteran Action “committed to a partisan stance” as Founder and
President Mark Lucas said that “Democrats are holding military families and veterans hostage over partisan politics.”
Veterans
Guardian, “a pre-filing consulting firm to assist veterans with their
disability ratings,” signed on to the White House website, declaring: “This is
not a partisan issue. Anything preventing veterans from accessing critical care
and benefits is unacceptable,” a spokesperson said.
They
downplayed the politics at play and have urged for a swift resolution.
“The
government shutdown is putting veterans at risk. Delays in care, benefits and
critical programs are unacceptable. Veterans Guardian urges the Senate to
restore operations now and protect those who’ve already sacrificed for our
country,” they said.
Other
organizations listed on the White House website and without comment include the
Blinded Veterans Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jewish
War Veterans of the United States of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Concerned
Veterans for America (CVA), which “works to elevate veterans’ voices to “drive
liberty-based solutions and advance freedom,” according to their website, also
“stands by the statement listed under the “Americans don’t agree with
Democrats’ actions.”
Spokesperson
Sarah Smothers told Military.com that:
“We hope that the Senate will agree to pass a clean resolution on the next
vote, on behalf of all Americans.”
Didn’t
happen. Nor on the vote after that.
The
shutdown persisted and, as it did, some local governments... whether Democrats,
Republicans or just repulsed... faced a choice of whether or not to hold
Veterans Day parades this week, given the possibility of controversy, even
public protests.
Hampton,
Virginia, home to Fort Monroe is one of the
flash cities that have already cancelled their Veterans Day parade, scheduled
for November 8th, more than a week before (News Three, Oct. 28th
– ATTACHMENT TWELVE) and, in doing so, let its lack of confidence in Congress
be known to the troops and the world.
After
evaluating the impacts of the federal government shutdown, including
limitations placed on federal agencies and the Armed Forces and their resulting
inability to voluntarily participate in community events, the city made the
difficult decision to cancel this year's parade.
"Our
veterans deserve to be recognized with great pomp and circumstance. Without the
presence of our active-duty military, we are concerned that the parade would
appear sparse and that the recognition might fall short of the honor our
veterans so richly deserve," a spokesman said.
And,
from Media Death Row, the PBS network upped its chances for termination by
interviewing military families “not knowing from week to week whether their
paychecks will arrive” scrambling to feed the kids.
Even
though the Trump administration has found ways to pay the troops twice since
the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the process has been fraught with anxiety for
many Americans in uniform and their loved ones. Both times, they were left
hanging until the last minute.
PBS
reported that the Trump administration “plans to move around $5.3 billion from
various accounts, with about $2.5 billion coming from Trump’s big tax and
spending cuts bill that was signed into law this summer... (b)ut the scrounging in Washington for troop pay can only last
for so long.”
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent told “Face
the Nation” that the government will soon run out of ways to compensate the military and
that by Nov. 15, the troops “aren’t going to be able to get paid.”
The
uncertainty has been fueling resentment among families of the roughly 2 million
active duty service members, National Guard members
and reservists, PBS reported. “There’s a common refrain that the troops are
being used as pawns.”
But
Jennifer Bittner, whose husband is an Army officer, said that gives Congress
too much credit.
“You
have to be thought of to be used as a pawn,” said the bitter Bittner, 43, of
Austin, Texas. “And we’re not being thought of at all.”
Monthly
weekend drills for many reservists also have been canceled, eliminating a chunk
of pay that can be several hundred dollars each month, military advocates said.
Besides helping with mortgages and other bills, the drill money is used by some
reservists to cover premiums for military health insurance, said John Hashem,
executive director of the Reserve Organization of America, an advocacy group.
“People
rely on that money,” Hashem said of the drill pay. “The way that this is
stretching out right now, it’s almost like the service is taken for granted.”
“We’re
constantly checking the news,” said Missy Blevins, who is doling out charity
boxes of noodles and spaghetti sauce, pancake mix and syrup to feed the unpaid
military. “And my Facebook feed is nothing but, ‘It’s the Democrats’ fault. It’s the
Republicans’ fault.’ And I’m just like, can’t we just get off the blame game
and get this taken care of?”
Perhaps
there is a nugget of foreknowledge deep within the mind of President Trump
that... no, we will not need boots on
the ground, at home or abroad, so long as we have the scare in the air.
CNN
reported that the President vowed
today to begin testing US nuclear weapons “on an equal basis”
with Russia and China, heralding a potentially major shift in decades of US
policy at a time of growing tensions between the world’s nuclear-armed
superpowers (October 29, ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN) despite warnings from scientists,
historians and global politicos.
United
Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq told CNN a
nuclear explosive test should never be allowed, citing risks that he says are
“already alarmingly high.”
“All
actions that could lead to miscalculation or escalation with catastrophic
consequences must be avoided,” Haq said.
And
Robert Floyd, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Organization, also warned against the tests.
“Any
explosive nuclear weapon test by any state would be harmful and destabilizing
for global non-proliferation efforts and for international peace and security,”
Floyd said.
The one sector where military preparedness
remains viable (if sometimes unpaid, or under threat of so) is the ocean where
American sailors, having swallowed their spinach, blew up more Venezuelan boats
presumed to be hauling drugs while leaders of the Senate Armed
Services Committee released a pair of letters that they sent earlier this month
and in September to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting
the legal rationale for the administration's counter-narcotics operations.
Chairman
Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and minority leader Jack Reed, D-R.I., told NBC
(ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN) that they need this information to conduct their
congressional oversight into the legality of these strikes “and a list of
designated terrorist and drug trafficking groups Trump has said to target.”
Complicating
the shutdown, the SNAP cutbacks have raised concern among 91% of veterans and
families losing benefits – according to a poll from Mission
Roll Call.
"It's
unfortunate that every time Washington does this, veterans and service members
are made collateral damage in these political fights," Mission Roll
Call CEO Jim Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran, told The Center Square (October 31st,
ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN). "Political brinksmanship here that is affecting
a lot of our patriots, those who are serving currently, and those who have
served in the past, and it's unacceptable."
Center
Square added that the U.S. Department of Agriculture won't issue SNAP benefits
until the government reopens. The agency said in a partisan message on its
website that "the well has run dry." However, two federal judges on
Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue funding SNAP.
“About
42 million people receive SNAP benefits, including veterans and active-duty
service members. Some 1.2 million veterans live in households that
participate in SNAP, according to a 2025 report from the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities,” but other polls have exhibited wide variations on the number of
troops getting SNAP benefits ranged between less than one half of one percent
(according to a then DoD report in 2020) to a quarter of the military population,
reported
by the USDA's Economic Research Service.
"Let's
just step back for a second and understand the backdrop of all of this is that
we still have 30,000-plus veterans homeless on any given night. You're still
losing 17 to 20 veterans every day to suicide, and now you have this
situation," Whaley told The Center Square. "I hope that those
people who are in the position to make decisions at the highest level
understand the impact it has at the lowest level."
Nearly
37,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees have been furloughed or
are working without pay as the prolonged government shutdown continues and some
VA services go dark. VA Secretary Doug Collins called for Democrats to end the shutdown but Military.com
(ATTACHMENT SEVENTEEN) fired back, stating that “national organizations” are
pointing fingers back regarding fraud and benefits claims.
“The
Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for veterans and making
life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going to get worse as time
goes on,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “It’s time for
Democrats to stop using the suffering of Americans as political leverage to
give free health care to illegal immigrants.”
Military.com
added that the VA also blames Democrats for the following:
The
shutdown of the GI Bill Hotline which provides assistance to more than 900,000
veterans.
Over
100,000 enrolled veterans being unable to enroll into the Veteran Readiness and
Employment program due to employees being furloughed.
The
closure of 56 regional VA offices.
The
permanent closure of the Manila regional VA office.
Transition
briefings for over 16,000 outgoing military members unable to be accommodated
due to a lapse in appropriations (with information available online).
The
lack of grounds maintenance and the placing of headstones at 157 VA national
cemeteries.
The Washington
Post reported earlier this month that U.S. taxpayers are paying
for veterans’ benefits for some service members who have cited hair loss, jock
itch and toenail fungus as causes of personal impairment.
About
556,000 veterans receive disability benefits for eczema, 332,000 for
hemorrhoids, 110,000 for benign skin growths, 81,000 for acne and 74,000 for
varicose veins, the Post reported, citing the most recently available figures
from the VA.
“The
liberal Washington Post is trying to mislead the public by citing a few
documented instances of fraud, in which the perpetrators were convicted of
crimes, as proof that many veterans are cheating the system, VA
spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz told Military.com.
“This is egregious even for the Washington Post, which was a leading purveyor
of the totally debunked Russia hoax and introduced its cringe motto—’Democracy
Dies in Darkness’—to advertise its opposition to the Trump Administration.
As
of June 30, 2025, more than 6.9 million veterans and beneficiaries were
receiving these benefits, as provided under the law pertaining to disability
compensation, according to VA Inspector General (IG) Cheryl Mason.
She
also called suggestions that VA fraud is widespread “reprehensible,” alluding
to recent reporting that veterans are “scamming” or gaming the system to get
benefits... specifically claiming that only 3.7% of active VA Office of
Inspector General (OIG) fraud investigations involve veterans, she added.
Democrats
in Congress say President Trump's methods for paying military service members
and funding food stamps for vulnerable communities are clearly illegal, Axios reported back on October 15th (ATTACHMENT EIGHTEEN)
but added that “they're not keen to fight him on it.”
“It's
a rare instance where Trump is going mostly unchallenged as he ignores Congress'
constitutional role in controlling federal spending.”
Two
weeks later, Trump was still slithering this way and that way to pay the
troops... “raid(ing) three different financial
accounts to make sure U.S. troops are paid Friday” White House officials told Axios.
“As
long as military personnel are paid, Trump isn't planning to budge on the
nearly month-old shutdown, even with as many as 42 million people set to lose
food stamp benefits Saturday,” the October 29th Axios
reported (ATTACHMENT NINETEEN). The OMB
noted that billions have been diverted from military housing, research and
shipbuilding but, as above, “Trump and his congressional allies believe their
opponents won't sue over work-arounds to pay the military because it would be
too unpopular.”
"It is politically tricky," Rep. Jim
Himes (D-Conn.) acknowledged to Axios weeks
ago after accusing Trump of illegally moving money around.
Doubling
down on donkey dishonesty on the night before Halloween, the White House
accused the Democrats of “ghosting the American people as the government
shutdown continues.” (WTOV Fox in
Steubenville, Ohio... reported Halloween afternoon: ATTACHMENT TWENTY)
“GHOSTED:
Democrats disappear on the American people when they need them the most,” the
White House wrote on the social media platform, X. “DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN.”
Beneath
the post, was a video of the U.S. Capitol surrounded by ghosts with spooky
music playing.
Packing
up his posting posture, President Trump and Melania then went out onto the
White House lawn to hand out candy to “thousands of children and their parents”
in what the Fox National Desk called a small
Halloween celebration, while the First Lady posted a picture of the White House
covered
in pumpkins earlier this
week.
As
this week began, the WashPost reported that, while
there are “too many
scandals to count in the Trump administration... one of the most significant
isn’t getting the attention it deserves,” referring to “efforts by Pete Hegseth to politicize the armed forces and to turn them
into instruments of their MAGA agenda” by giving “blatantly political speeches
in front of military audiences, even though military regulations (upheld by the Supreme Court) forbid uniformed personnel from
taking part in partisan activities.
Tolling off the partisan trolling tongueplay, the WashPost
(November 3, ATTACHMENT TWENTY ONE), listed one discourse aboard the aircraft
carrier USS George Washington in Japan where Trump falsely said that Biden had claimed to be
a pilot and added, “He wasn’t a pilot. Wasn’t much of a president either,” and
another, where he he threatened to “send more than the National Guard” to
U.S. cities. Trump boasted: “I could
send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, I can send anybody I wanted.”
A month earlier, speaking at
Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Trump told the
nation’s most senior generals (who sat stony-faced) that he intends to mobilize
the military against “the enemy from within” and to use U.S. cities “as
training grounds for our military.”
The... HIS, now... Pentagon ordered the National
Guard in every state to form “quick reaction forces” for “quelling civil
disturbances” at home while, over the sea and off the coast of Venezuela, Trump
brushed off Congressional concerns about executing suspected drug smugglers
without benefit of trial, saying: “I think we’re just gonna
kill people that are bringing
drugs into our country.”
In a separate review of the
President’s appearance on “60 minutes”, the Post identified “five key moments”
(ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO) and you can visit a transcript
of the entire show as ATTACHMENT ‘A’.
While POTUS was pope-tificating on CBS, NBC convened a conclave of
correspondents who also discussed, among other issues of the day – also on
Halloween, (ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE), including the
plight of our military and VA (Attachment Fifteen, above).
Back in middle October, PBS
solicited predictions on the duration of the shutdown and cumulative effect on
our military from Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir
and Republican strategist Doug Heye. (ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR)
“It'll go past Halloween,” said Haye. “I think one of the pressure points may be
when we get to Veterans Day, especially if veterans' pay or pay for our
military becomes an issue."
Otherwise says GOP strategist Doug Heye.
"Neither side sees a reason to back down right now. They both feel not
only right in their cause, but righteous in their cause."
Standing their ground through October and into November,
Republicans in Congress continued to assert that healthcare and SNAP would be
addressed as soon as Democrats surrendered on the “clean” CR. Haye surmised that Democrats were in it just
for the revenge and retaliation... “because they don't like that we defunded
NPR - an extremely biased news outlet that taxpayers have been paying for
decades,” because they don’t like They don't like that we defunded USAID - the
NGO that funneled tens of billions of dollars into things like $47,000 for a
“transgender opera” in Colombia, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in
Peru, $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, $6 million
to fund tourism in Egypt. They want that funding back.
They also don't like that the Obamacare subsidies will
sunset this year. What are those subsidies, you ask? Obamacare set up exchanges
where people can buy health insurance, if they don't have it through their
employer. Before COVID, there were taxpayer subsidies to help people pay for
the healthcare purchases, but they were only provided for people who made less
than 400% of poverty level. For a family of 4, you would get subsidies to pay
for health insurance, if you made $106,600 a year.
Some of the peanuts in the PBS gallery supported the
President... more voiced their choice for his opposition.
One BR (we’ve altered names to protect the guilty from the
political violence become endemic) ventured that: “Perhaps if they (Congressthings), like public servants, weren't paid during
shutdowns, they'd be more willing to work together to find a compromise. And
no, my way or the highway as Johnson and Thune want isn't a compromise.”
Whaley of Mission Roll Call (above) was interviewed upon the status of
veterans as “collateral damage” in the shutdown by Eric White in the Federal
News Network (Nov. 4th, ATTACHENT TWENTY FIVE)
According to Whaley, there is a deficiency both in resources for
veterans, and in co-ordination. This
problem existed before the shutdown, but has since been aggravated.
He suggested veterans call MRC for help in “different areas: homelessness, suicide, all those sorts of things,” stated that one in
four veterans and active duty military have food
insecurity issues and listed all those services delayed or cancelled and, in
consequence, “we’re already barely hitting marks when it comes to recruitment,
shutdown pay, low pay as it is. We all should not be surprised as a nation if
we have trouble hitting our numbers.”
Adding that “it’s also important to realize that right now, 80%
of the recruits that join the military “come from households that had veterans
in their lives”, Whaley warned that, at some point, “those family members
aren’t gonna recommend that to their family members.
And we’re an all volunteer
force. So we can’t take that for granted.”
And, he concluded, “we have to make sure that those that raised their
right hand, signed a blank check for this country saying I’ll defend it and I’m
willing to give my life in that process, that they do not fall as a victim in
this process of, as I said earlier, political brinkmanship.”
The Hill (ATTACHMENT TWENTY SIX) reported that, in addition to... not necessarily as a substitute for... Veterans Day,
President Trump announced the creation of two more holidays on Truth Social...
one to commemorate the end of World War I, the other: World War II.
“We
won two World Wars, but we never took credit for it — Everyone else does!”
Trump said at the time. “All over the World, the Allies are celebrating the
Victory we had in World War II. The only Country that doesn’t celebrate is the
United States of America, and the Victory was only accomplished because of us.”
The
first holiday was observed shortly after Trump’s announcement on May 8.
It marked the end of World War II.
The
second aligns with Veterans Day.
Initially,
Trump wanted to rename Veterans Day to “Victory Day for World War I Day.” A day
later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that
Veterans Day would not be renamed but that the new holiday would “just be an
additional proclamation.”
Trump
previously said the country would not be closing for the two “very important
Holidays” because “we already have too many Holidays in America — There are not
enough days left in the year.”
Responding or not, more Veterans Day events have been annulled due to the
shutdown. More and more towns and cities
have given up the ghost... google “veterans day”, “parade” and “cancel” to
unreel the sorry roster – none, perhaps, more offensive than the decision made by
organizers at the Texas National Cemetery
Foundation to just say no. (Dallas News,
November 3rd, ATTACHMENT TWENTY SEVEN)
A
letter from the Texas National Cemetery Foundation Inc. said it was “necessary”
to cancel the annual Veterans Day program at the Dallas-Fort Worth National
Cemetery due to the government shutdown.
The
letter, which was posted to the foundation’s website, said the Oct. 28 date was
selected to cancel the event as the foundation had “reached the point in time
of no return.”
“We
have guests with airline tickets who must address that financial issue,” the
letter said. “We have sponsors who must stop volunteer food orders since we
will not be putting the flags up and of course taking them down, as well as
holding the hot dog event after the folding of the flags.”
SH*T
TRUMPS SUBSTANCE
Gary
Poplin, chairman and director of operations of the Texas National Cemetery
Foundation, told WFAA-TV he was unable to confirm access to a military color
guard, a military band and the use of flags and flagpoles, among other items.
“There
were not going to be any porta-potties,” Poplin said to WFAA-TV, “and once I
got there I said this decision is really, really,
really easy.”
The
Texas PEANUT GALLERY was divided between DOGEcrats,
who blamed “non-Americans” and scoffed that “...no, I don't think I owe ANY able bodied person anything that remotely resembles
insurance or food. And I don't "owe" the disabled...” while a
veterans’ supporter, party unknown, called the shutdown of the memorial parade
“Shameful.”
A
legalist... perhaps even an attorney or even judge in the real world.. posted that his point is that the House is
dysfunctional. “The Speaker, in shutting down the House is depriving me, and
you, representation or a voice in the business of the government.”
But on Tuesday night, voters in deep blue California and New York City,
blue blue New Jersey and purple Virginia smacked the
President down... whether this will affect the now-record-long shutdown or not
will be anybody’s guess.
“Voters handed veterans a powerful
spotlight on Election Day on Tuesday,” reported Military.com yesterday,
“turning New Jersey, New York and Virginia into a showcase for former service
members now leading the charge in public office.” (ATTACHMENT TWENTY EIGHT)
New Jersey delivered the night’s
biggest veteran-related political headline when Democrat Mikie
Sherrill, a congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot, defeated Republican
opponent Ciattarelli in the state's gubernatorial
race by about 13 percentage points.
In
addition to Abagail Spanberger’s capture of the
Governor’s chair, Democrat
Stacey Carroll, a 20-year Army National Guard veteran, captured the seat and
will join the House of Delegates in Richmond.
Another delegate, Lt. Col. Dan Helmer told Military.com that: “You never
ask somebody in a Humvee what political party they are. You ask how you can
accomplish the mission."
Veterans ran on lowering costs,
protecting schools, strengthening benefits, and helping small businesses. Their
wins crossed party lines.
“Veterans know how to bring people
together, even when they disagree,” Helmer said. “You can get in a room, figure
out the problem and complete the mission. That is what public service should
look like.”
Carroll agreed: “I am not a traditional
candidate, I am a public servant.”
Celebrations stretched late into
the night. The message remained: service does not end when the uniform comes
off.
“Veterans served their country,”
Helmer said. “Now we have their backs.”
Or perhaps, as Patti Smith sang on
the walking dead Colbert show fifty years after her first album, “Horses”...
“Maybe someday we’ll be
strong enough, to bring it back again.
Bring the peaceable kingdom... back again.”
|
IN the NEWS: OCTOBER 29TH to NOVEMBER 5TH,
2025 |
|
|
|
Thursday, October 30, 2025 Dow: 47,522.12 |
President
Trump heads back home after signing a tentative truce with Chinese dictator
Xi after cutting deals on soybeans, rare earths and tariffs. Just in case, however, he tears up old
treaties and orders a resumption of nuclear testing. At home, the shutdown is almost a month
old and food banks compare loss of SNAP food stamps to the Jamaican hurricane
(where only thirty deaths have been reported). Excited media report the damage to have
been “beyond catastrophic” even as the airport reopens, allowing tourists to
escape while Jamaicans start relief and recover efforts. Trump and Speaker Mike are reportedly
enraged as some Republicans join Dems in killing the revenge tariffs against
Canada for showing an old video of Ronald Reagan touting the free market. King Charles kicks wicked brother Andrew
out of the royal mansions due to his entanglements with Jeffrey Epstein and
the royals move to take away his crown – even as the crown jewels stolen in
Paris are still not yet recovered despite five more alleged thieves being
arrested. |
|
|
Friday, October 31, 2025 Dow: 47,520.69 |
Demonic
politicians go home to celebrate Halloween, leaving the government shut down
and key affairs up in the air. 1.4M
Fed workers now haunted by hunger and poverty... some fired, others
furloughed and the lucky ones having to work double shifts as more and more
(especially air traffic controllers) just call in sick and take side
gigs. SNAP snaps in 49 states or maybe
25) and, as the lawyers ather, Trump posts that
Democrats are stone col crazy and calls tor
eliminating the filibuster – despite Senat majority
leader Thune warning this would come back to bite them. U.S District Judge John McConnell of Rhode
Island overturns SNAP shutdown and, as more lawyers crawl from the walls,
POTUS says that all Dems need to do is surrender, reopen the gumment and trust that healthcare and SNAP will be
settled later. Worsening air traffic conditions now
include a bouncy plane injuring dozens, near crashes
in Boston and Orlando while, at sea, a cruise ship abandons an 80 year old
woman to die on an Australian island. For the rich, billionaires and celebrities
party with the dark lords – Heidi Klum wears a Medusa costume and, on the
auction block, a gold toilet fit for an incontinent king has a $10M opening
bid price. |
|
|
Saturday, November 1, 2025 Dow: Closed |
It’s Day
of the Dead, part one, where dead little children come back and cry. More children are being killed in Gaza as
the peace treaty fails (tho’ nobody will say so)
and even more in Ukraine and in the revolution in Sudan. Not satisfied with threatening Venezuela,
Colombia, Brazil and Canada, President Trump... while carefully avoiding
Sudan... threatens invasion of Nigeria for killing Christians in its civil
war with Boko Harum terrorists and says he’s
lifting visa freeze on South Africa, but only for whites. ISIS inspired teenaged “pumpkin plotters”
are foiled before they cnn blow up Michigan. An active stabber injures ten in London and
an explosion in a Mexican store kills 23. Domestically, a 13 year old kills grandmother
and is killed by the police in North Carolina, two killed in Montgomery, AL
Halloween party, and
somebody bongs the Harvard Medical School Dodgers beat the evil Canadian Blue Jays
in World Series game seven on a game ending double play after an 11th
inning home run by Will Smith (not the actor). MVP goes to winning pitcher Yoshinobu
Yamamoto, who records three of the four L.A. victories. |
|
|
Sunday, November 2, 2025 Dow: Closed |
TranSec Sean Duffy does double duty on Talkshow
Sunday... tells Face the Nation that “we don;’t want crashes,” so if the shutdon
persists, he’ll close airports and delays flights, adding that he “loves” his
ATCs and won’t fire even those who call in sick. He saunters over to ABC and, there, blames
Democratic shutdowneers for the danger in the
skies, noting there ATC trainees are being rushed out of school to fill gaps
and, on Day of the Dead 2 (for adults) darkly warn that if shutdown persists:
“we’ll look at today as the good ol’ days.” Then, on ABC’s “The Week”, Sen. Tim Kaine
(D-Va) calls Duffy a liar and blames Repubs for old sins like the sombrero video and the
golden ballroom (sans golden toilet, so far), proposes a “moratorium on
mischief”, and adds “stop the wrecking ball.”
Roundtablers
discuss Tuesday’s elections: former DNC Chair Donna Brazile
touts Jersey candidate Mikey Sherrill, “a former airline pilot and
prostitute” while former Jersey guv Chris Christie
calls Himself a model for Republicans because the partisan divide is
generational. Guest tabler and WSJ reporter Molly Ball says Sherill and
Virginia’s Spanberger are centrist, but GOP really
hopes Zorro will win in New York so he can be held up as an example of woke
spending for 2028 as both too young and too Socialist. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Ma) calls Trump’s nuke
embrace dangerous, advises him to see “House of Dynamite”, which claims only
half of incoming Russian nukes would be shot down by a Golden Dome. On “Face the Nation” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va) calls Trump “cruel”, calls Hegseth
“a liar”. Princeton Prez Christopher Eisgarde calls
Trump’s attack on blue universities and defunding their tech and AI research
stupid in light of Chinese competition.
Michelle Obama goes on 20-20 to discuss that Golden Dome, Trump’s
Golden Ballroom and her own gold boots.
|
|
|
Monday, November 3, 2025 Dow:
46,706.58 |
GMA on ABC
turns 50; celebrates itself with old clips and old newscasters out of
retirement reminiscing. In the real
world, President Trump relents (sort of) and says he will let SNAPsters keep half of their free food from the gumment, so will have to make up the rest by thrist, private charity or crime. He tells AgSec
Brooke Rollins to “move money around” to satisfy the Judge and Brooke says many
recipients are cheaters. Helpers and haters react to Trump
interview (see Attachment “A”) with Norah O’Donnell. Our Department of War (we’ll use Defense a
while longer rather than mistake DoW for the Dow)
keeps sinking Venezuelan vessels, some probably cartel, others not. Still TACO on land invasions, Daylight Savings arrives, causing mass
confusion and killjoys say maybe you get an hour of sleep but you’ll lose it
in 2026. |
|
|
Tuesday, November 4, 2025 Dow: 47,085.24 |
It’s Shutdown
Day 35, tied for the longest ever, and also Election Day... attention focused
on New York City, where Zohran Mamdani (a/k/a “I.
Madman” to detractors, a/k/a “Zorro” to defenders) faces Andrew Cuomo (who
gets the endorsement of Donald Trump, who vows to cut off all gumment support if Madman wins, saying “a bad Democrat”
is still better than a Communist” – backstabbing Republican Guardian Angel
Curtis Sliwa.
There are also governer’s showdowns in
Virginia and New Jersey and a referendum on California’s retaliatory
gerrymandering. Appropritely, on
Election Day, former Wyoming factotum and Vice Dick Cheney died at 84. Serving under the Bushes as their “Darth
Vader” he pivoted late in life, declaring Trump unfit to be President after
daughter Liz broke with MAGA over numerous partisan issues. And amidst sickening sickout of Air
Traffic Controllers, more flights delayed and cancelled and a UPS carrier
crashes in Louisville... nine killed, twelve injured. ComSec Sean Duffy
warns that passengers will “see chaos”.
SNAP food stamp cancellations also begin threatening hunger to poorest
Americans. The good news is in L.A. where raucous
celebrations hail the repeat World Series victory of the Dodgers to give some
satisfaction to the wildfire scorched Angelenos. |
|
|
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Dow: 47,311.00 |
Shutdown
Day 36 breaks old Trump 1.0 record.
It’s also fifty days to Christmas, less than a week to Veterans’ Day. Supermoon shines over a Democratic sweep;
women triumphant (Abigail Spanberger becoming Virginia’s first female governor, Mikie Sherrill “cruising” to victory in New Jersey).
Californians vote that if Texas can gerrymander, they can too, and Zorro
makes the sign of the “Z” in New York City.
Trump says Republicans lost because HE wasn’t on the ballot but ‘Pubs
cheered by donkey division between moderate Guvs
and “I, Madman!”. (In a
forecast of Things To Come, some polling places were
closed after bomb threats and an angry mob at Cuomo’s concession “party”
called for Sergeant Garcia... er. Andy... to draw swords and start civil
war.) While
Trump claimed responsibility for the results (probably correctly, given exit
polls, although not in a way he desired), more voters concurred with James “Snake” Carville’s maxim: “It’s the economy,
stupid!” Long lines are forming
outside food banks for the fired, furloughed and SNAPped...
TVee-con-mystics said Christmas shopping is down
with more business going to dollar stores as are sales at McDonald’s and
Pizza Hut and Papa John’s face bankruptcy while Djonald
UnSatiated invited Congressional Republican to a
lavish breakfast in the Gaza-ish ruins of the White
House. (Dems celebrated home alone or
with friends and families, waking up to cold cereal and a banana.) Former
quarterback Tom Brady announced he had cloned his dead dog, using
revolutionary new genetic procedures from Viagen
and Colossal - leading to the question: are dinosaurs next? Humans?
(Ask Elon Musk!) |
|
|
One of
those occasional on-again, off-again, reconstructions of an Index occurred
this week as the average yearly wage of Joneses soard
upwards by nearly ten percent, keeping the DJI well into the black again
(compared to 2013). It should be noted, however, that this tabulates all
Americans, rich and poor, and even a slight percentage increase to a
billionaire (or, as Elon Musk is projected to be, a trillionaire) negates the
achievements of thousands of working stiffs.
Still, it’s a positive! |
|
|
|
THE DON JONES INDEX CHART
of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000 (REFLECTING…
approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013) Gains in indices as improved are noted in GREEN. Negative/harmful
indices in RED as are their designation. (Note – some of the indices where the total
went up created a realm where their value went down... and vice versa.) See a
further explanation of categories HERE |
|
ECONOMIC INDICES
|
(60%) |
|
|||||||||||||
|
CATEGORY |
VALUE |
BASE |
RESULTS by PERCENTAGE |
SCORE |
OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS |
|
|||||||||
|
INCOME |
(24%) |
6/17/13 revised 1/1/22 |
LAST |
CHANGE |
NEXT |
LAST WEEK |
THIS WEEK |
THE WEEK’S CLOSING STATS... |
|
||||||
|
Wages (hrly. Per cap) |
9% |
1350 points |
10/30/25 |
+16.12% |
11/25 |
1,846.20 |
1,846.20 |
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/average-hourly-earnings 31.46 36.53 |
|
||||||
|
Median Inc. (yearly) |
4% |
600 |
10/30/25 |
+9.00% |
11/13/25 |
904.81 |
986.27 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 44,763 48,793 |
|
||||||
|
Unempl. (BLS – in mi) |
4% |
600 |
10/30/25 |
+2.33% |
10/25* |
530.25 |
530.25 |
|
|||||||
|
Official (DC – in mi) |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.04% |
11/13/25 |
215.29 |
215.20 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 7,282 285 |
|
||||||
|
Unofficl. (DC – in mi) |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.32% |
11/13/25 |
230.63 |
229.89 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 14,868 916 |
|
||||||
|
Workforce Participation Number Percent |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.026%
-0.016% |
11/13/25 |
296.87 |
296.82 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ In 163,580 622 Out 104,226
294 Total: 267,806 016 61.082 072 |
|
||||||
|
WP % (ycharts)* |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
-0.16% |
10/25* |
150.71 |
150.71 |
https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate 62.30 * |
|
||||||
|
OUTGO |
(15%) |
* An official website of the United States
government census.gov Notification |
|
||||||||||||
|
Total Inflation |
7% |
1050 |
10/30/25 |
+0.4% |
10/25 |
927.45 |
927.45 |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.4 |
|
||||||
|
Food |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.5% |
10/25 |
262.59 |
262.59 |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.5 |
|
||||||
|
Gasoline |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+1.9% |
10/25 |
255.11 |
255.11 |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +1.9 |
|
||||||
|
Medical Costs |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
10/25 |
274.20 |
274.20 |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm -0.1 |
|
||||||
|
Shelter |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.4% |
10/25 |
250.63 |
250.63 |
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
+0.4 |
|
||||||
|
WEALTH |
An official website of the United States
government census.gov Notification |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Dow Jones Index |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
-0.67% |
11/13/25 |
363.45 |
361.00 |
https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/ 47,632.00
311.00 |
|
||||||
|
Home (Sales) (Valuation) |
1% 1% |
150 150 |
10/30/25 |
+1.015% -1.75% |
11/25 |
125.77 272.70 |
125.77 272.70 |
Sales (M): 4.06 Valuations (K): 415.2 |
|
||||||
|
Millionaires (New Category) |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
+0.06% |
11/13/25 |
134.15 |
134.23 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 23,816 831 |
|
||||||
|
Paupers (New Category) |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
+0.024% |
11/13/25 |
133.36 |
133.39 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 37,268 259 |
|
||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
GOVERNMENT |
(10%) |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Revenue (trilns.) |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
-0.23% |
11/13/25 |
459.50 |
458.45 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 5,266 254 |
|
||||||
|
Expenditures (tr.) |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.04% |
11/13/25 |
294.33 |
294.20 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
7,021 024 |
|
||||||
|
National Debt tr.) |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
+0.30% |
11/13/25 |
355.56 |
354.51 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 38,048 161 |
|
||||||
|
Aggregate Debt (tr.) |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
+0.10% |
11/13/25 |
378.49 |
378.09 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 105,067 177 |
|
||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
TRADE |
(5%) |
|
|||||||||||||
|
Foreign Debt (tr.) |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
+0.17% |
11/13/25 |
259.37 |
258.93 |
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
9,342 358 |
|
||||||
|
Exports (in billions) |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
+1.15% |
10/25 |
174.76 |
174.76 |
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 280.5 |
|
||||||
|
Imports (in billions)) |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
-5.94% |
10/25 |
151.56 |
151.56 |
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 358.8 |
|
||||||
|
Trade Surplus/Deficit (blns.) |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
-23.12% |
10/25 |
253.88 |
253.88 |
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 78.3 |
|
||||||
|
|
An official website of the United States
government census.gov
Notification |
|
|||||||||||||
|
SOCIAL INDICES
|
(40%) |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
ACTS of MAN |
(12%) |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
World Affairs |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
nc |
11/13/25 |
470.55 |
470.55 |
David
Beckham is knighted, but King Charles evicts Andrew from the royal
palaces. All of them. (Some report his being hauled off by lorry
to a flat in Brixton.) Grand Egyptian
Museum opens in Cairo, starring, of course, King Tut while 13th
century medieval tower collapses in Rome. |
|
||||||
|
War and terrorism |
2% |
300 |
10/30/25 |
-0.2% |
11/13/25 |
289.21 |
288.63 |
Braziian police kill 162 in drug raid on cartels, Genocide and ethnic cleansing in
Sudan civil war. At home, Pumpkin Day terrorists
arrested in Michigan include “Muhammed Ali” (who wanted to attack gay
bars). Hamas returns hostage corpses
to Israel... but the first batch are false, subsequent handover of American Itah Chen seems legit, Christian bigot accused of
threatening imams and rabbits... er, rabbis...
in Georgia. |
|
||||||
|
Politics |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
nc |
11/13/25 |
460.22 |
460.22 |
Elections
prove a Democratic sweep (and gender and faith-based breakthroughs... see
below). Michelle Obama writes new book
on DEI in fashion, Mexican President Scheinbaum
groped by macho man – will now face more macho men in prison. |
|
||||||
|
Economics |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
11/13/25 |
430.50 |
430.07 |
NVIDIA is
#1 with $5T worth. Apple and Amazon
celebrate strong earnings with layoffs.
Starbucks sales up, Chipotle down, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s face
bankruptcy. Denny’s sold to “private
investors” for $620M, Kimberly Clarke buys Tylenol. Old, losing AOL acquired by Italians. IOL?
Banks and retailers complain of penny shortage. |
|
||||||
|
Crime |
1% |
150 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
11/13/25 |
209.77 |
209.56 |
More Louvre
thieves arrested, no bling. Imitators
steal 1,000 artifacts from Oakland museum. Halloween horrors: 13 year old kills
grandma, killed by police, two killed at Montgomery Halloween party, nine
shot at children’s birthday party in Akron, prison riot in California injurs two jailers . Man breaks school window to snatch little
girl, but gets caught. |
|
||||||
|
ACTS of GOD |
(6%) |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
Environment/Weather |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
+0.2% |
11/13/25 |
284.08 |
284.65 |
Atmospheric
river floods Oregon and Washington. Meiissa departs Caribbean and heads to Iceland leaving
Jamaica for a rescue, relief and recovery struggle. American tourists finally get to go home. |
|
||||||
|
Disasters |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
+0.3% |
11/13/25 |
459.31 |
460.69 |
Airplane
adventures in Boston, Orlando, Louisville.
Winds topple trees, kill and cut power in New England, Nepalese
avalanche kills seven (including three Americans), floods kill family in NYC
basement but... on the plus side... a child saved from drowning in NJ, hero
couple save another child on KC roller coaster. Lost hunter rescued after 20 days in
Sierras. Clerical error gives woman
multi-million $ jackpot. |
|
||||||
|
LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX |
(15%) |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
Science, Tech, Education |
4% |
600 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
11/13/25 |
616.67
|
616.05
|
Colorado
sues Alabama for taking their Space Force.
Head Start joins gumment in shutting down;
also shut down... Elon Musk’s pedo chatbox Grok draws questions: “why are we allowing AI
that hits on children?” |
|
||||||
|
Equality (econ/social) |
4% |
600 |
10/30/25 |
+0.7% |
11/13/25 |
665.73 |
670.39 |
Female
governors elected in New Jersey and Virginia, Islamic infidel in New
York. Hero mom kills escaped
Mississippi monkey to save kids. New Mexido is first state to offer free childcare... even to
billionaires. |
|
||||||
|
Health |
4% |
600 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
11/13/25 |
420.50 |
420.08 |
President
Trump says he’ll help “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams from cancer. Researchers working on cure for blindness
(if RFK will let them). FDA bans
fluoride supplements for kids to gladden Mr. Tooth Decay. TVdocs say
melatonin causes heart attacks.
Recalls include taco dinner kits, killer listerial
pasta, 320K Jeeps for battery fires, Pedroza blood pressure meds for causing
cancer. FDA warns stupid kids not to
eat poisonous glow sticks. |
|
||||||
|
Freedom and Justice |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
nc |
11/13/25 |
482.57 |
482.09 |
Federal
judge gives back half of SNAP benefits so the poor can buy half a loaf of
bread. DoJ
suspends two prosecutors for calling MAGA a “mob”. Killer cop guilty of second
degree murder of Sonya Massey.
Oklahoma outrage over teen rapist given community service, trials on
for the usual suspects and man who threw a sandwich at FBI agents. |
|
||||||
|
CULTURAL and MISCELLANEOUS
INCIDENTS |
(6%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
Cultural incidents |
3% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
+0.1% |
11/13/25 |
570.56 |
571.13 |
Dodgers
win World Series in seven. NY marathon
with no incidents, winners (both Kenyans) are Hellen Obiri
and Benson Kipruto in photo finish. Billy Eilish
trolls Spielberg and Zuckerberg at WSJ awards show, Jonathan Bailey of “Bridgerton” named “sexiest man alive”. Jennifer Anniston dating a hypnotist, Cher,
dating a man half her age, merching gelato. Celebrities
and mortals dress
up for Halloween – Heidi Klum as Medusa, Janelle Monet as a vampire and
Lady Gaga as the Gardener of Eden.
Happy holiday remake: “Nuremberg”,
RIP: Former veep
Dick Cheney, Diane Ladd, actress (“Wild at Heart” and mother of Laura Dern),
Grateful dead wife and influencer Donna Godchaux,
country star John Wesley Ryles |
|
||||||
|
Miscellaneous incidents |
4% |
450 |
10/30/25 |
-0.1% |
11/13/25 |
543.40 |
542.86 |
Meme kids
use “6-7” based on Skrylla rap song and tall NBA
star LaMelo Ball. UFC and White House insider
Dana White investigated for fixed fights – does he think he’s Vince
McMahon? Pumpkin spice season over,
Oreos are merching “turkey and stuffing” cream
cookies. Yum!... or yuk... |
|
||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
The Don Jones Index for the week of
October 30th through November 5th, 2025 was UP 78.93 points
The Don Jones Index is sponsored by
the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent
Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator.
The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well
as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell,
environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna
Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The
Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial
“Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties
promulgating this and/or other such slanders.
Comments, complaints, donations
(especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.
ATTACHMENT ONE – FROM CNN (TAKEAWAYS)
GOVERNMENT
SHUTDOWN HITS 30-DAY MARK AS PAUSE IN FOOD AID LOOMS
'My
emergency fund is gone': Federal workers struggling as shutdown drags on
By Maureen
Chowdhury, Elise Hammond, Tori B. Powell and Aditi Sangal, CNN
Updated
5:47 PM EDT, Thu October 30, 2025
What
we're covering
•
Day 30 of the shutdown: Food stamp benefits could
halt for millions of Americans this weekend due to the government shutdown.
Meanwhile, federal workers across the country are going unpaid and
finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet.
•
Still talking: Although senators are leaving DC, Senate Majority Leader
John Thune said he expects members to continue talking over the weekend.
Thune previously noted that there was an uptick in bipartisan talks this week.
•
Meeting with Xi: Donald Trump is back in the US after meeting with Chinese leader Xi
Jinping in South Korea, with the US president saying they came
to an agreement on “almost everything,” including tariffs and rare earth minerals.
Senators
are leaving DC as the government shutdown looks like it will stretch into
November
From
CNN's Aditi Sangal
Senators
are departing Washington, DC, for the weekend while millions of Americans are
at risk of losing critical food aid and little progress is being made to end a
government shutdown that has now lasted 30 days – and looks like stretching
into next week.
Republican
Sen. Cynthia Lummis blamed Democrats for the impasse and told reporters that it
would be a “waste of time” if lawmakers
stayed in Washington to try to work out a deal. Meanwhile, Democratic senators are sticking
to their demands as a
major federal worker union urges lawmakers to immediately reopen government.
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman lambasted fellow Democrats for not getting their “sh*t together” with SNAP food benefits on the
line.
GOP
leadership: House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the idea of
passing a bill that would reopen a significant part of the government through
next year, saying that Congress needs to pass full funding. Senate Majority
Leader John Thune also said he’s not open to
it, but said he expects senators to continue
talking over the weekend, after previously noting that there was
an uptick in bipartisan talks this week.
Democratic
leadership: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the administration and
Republicans in Congress of committing “policy violence” against the American
people. He blamed Republicans for cuts to Medicaid, food insecurity programs
and the refusal to extend the Obamacare tax credits, which Democrats have demanded be
addressed in any bill to reopen the government.
More
furloughs: The Department of Veterans Affairs announced an increase in the
number of its employees who are furloughed during
the government shutdown. That’s nearly 37,000 VA employees or 8% of the VA’s
total workforce who are now “furloughed or continue working without pay”, the
VA said.
White
House roundtable: Vice President JD Vance led a roundtable focused
on the shutdown’s impact on aviation.
As Thanksgiving approaches, airlines are pleading with
Congress to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the
government, so air traffic controllers and TSA agents get paid.
Reporting
contributions to this post come from CNN’s Alayna Treene,
Adrienne Vogt, Ted Barrett, Elise Hammond, Brian Todd, Camila DeChalus, Britney Lavecchia,
Alison Main, Manu Raju, Casey Riddle, Logan Schiciano
and Morgan Rimmer.
1
hr 7 min ago
Vance
and Duffy warn Thanksgiving travel "could be a disaster" if shutdown
barrels on
From
CNN's Alayna Treene and Kit Maher
Vice
President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Thursday
that Americans could face a travel “disaster” as Thanksgiving approaches next
month without an end in sight to the government shutdown.
Their
comments came after Vance hosted a roundtable of aviation, travel and union
leaders at the White House, during which they aired their concerns with the
current state of the industry and worked out potential, temporary solutions to
ease the strain on Federal Aviation Administration
employees who are being forced to work without pay to ensure
Americans can fly safely, two White House officials told CNN.
“Look
it could be a disaster. It really could be, because at that point you’re
talking about people have missed three paychecks. They’ve missed four
paychecks. How many of them are not going to show up for work?” Vance said.
“That’s
going to lead to massive delays. We want people to be able to get home for
Thanksgiving. We want people to be able to travel for business,” he continued.
Duffy
chimed in adding, “Our traffic will be snarled, but it will be a disaster in
aviation.”
Read more about the roundtable.
1
hr 31 min ago
Barrasso
rails on Senate Democrats amid flight delays as shutdown drags on
From
CNN's Ted Barrett and Morgan Rimmer
Senate
Majority Whip John Barrasso railed on Senate
Democrats refusal to vote for the GOP stopgap bill to reopen the government, as
flight delays hit Reagan National Airport as senators left for the weekend.
“Flights
are being delayed because the Democrats continue to play a very dangerous
political game. It’s costly. Americans are suffering as a result of it. I don’t
worry about my flight, I worry about the flights of thousands and thousands of
people,” he said.
“That
is a sign of a party that is way off the rails. We need to make sure that the
flying public is protected, and we need to make sure that the best way to do
that is to pay these folks and open the government.”
Asked
if he’s seeing any reason for optimism as the shutdown drags on, Barrasso argued that Democratic senators are focused on the
politics of the shutdown, rather than its consequences.
“I’m
not sure what’s going to move these Democrats. They don’t seem to be concerned
with any of this other than paying homage to the far-left part of their party,”
said Barrasso.
1
hr 19 min ago
Here's
the latest on where air traffic control staffing shortages are being reported
today
From
CNN's Shawn Nottingham
The
Federal Aviation Administration has again reported air traffic control staffing
problems today.
We
are updating this report as we get more details throughout the day.
Here’s
a look at where things are at around 4:35 p.m. ET:
Controllers
who handle flights approaching and departing New Jersey’s Newark Liberty
International Airport will be short-staffed from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
The
New York Route Traffic Control Center located on Long Island will have a
shortage until midnight ET.
The
terminal radar approach control (TRACON) responsible for Orlando, Florida,
approach traffic will be short-staffed from 6 p.m. ET to midnight. Delays at
Orlando International Airport will average more than four hours because of the
shortage, according to the FAA.
The
Denver tower in Colorado will experience shortages from 8 p.m. ET to midnight.
The
air traffic control facility responsible for California’s Inland Empire will be
down people until 8 p.m. ET.
Airport
delays of an average of 90 minutes are being reported at Reagan National
Airport outside Washington, DC, according to an FAA advisory. Passengers are
also seeing delays averaging a little more than 20 minutes at Dallas Fort Worth
International Airport. Both situations are due to staffing shortages.
According
to the FAA, 294 staffing problems have been reported since the start of the
shutdown 30 days ago.
Controllers
are considered essential staff and must work during the shutdown, despite not being
paid. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says some have called in sick in
protest while others are taking time to work other jobs.
1
hr 34 min ago
Thune
expects discussions over potential off-ramps to end shutdown to continue over
the weekend
From
CNN's Morgan Rimmer
Senate
Majority Leader John Thune said that he expects senators to continue talking
over the weekend, after previously noting that there was an uptick in
bipartisan talks this week.
“I
think there will be, yeah, I’m sure they’re going to be discussions. We got
members on both sides who are continuing to dialogue,” he said.
Asked
if he had started speaking with rank-and-file Democrats after saying yesterday
that he’d speak with them soon, Thune said, “I don’t have anything to report on
that. But again, like I’ve said before, when they’re willing to produce the
votes to open up the government, we’re going to talk.”
Thune
also expanded on the president’s message that he is willing to meet with
Democrats after the shutdown ends to discuss health care subsidies, emphasizig that he cannot promise them a specific outcome
from those conversations.
“Once
the government’s open, I think, as you know, the president does like to
negotiate, and I don’t know what, where that would lead, I can’t predict that —
and that’s what I told the Democrats here, that I can’t guarantee an outcome or
result,” he said. “What I can promise them is a process, and they would get
their vote, and they can have their vote by a date certain, which I think is,
you know, initially, this is what a lot of them were asking for.”
Democrats
have insisted on an agreement to save the expiring enhanced health care
subsidies, not the opportunity to vote on the issue.
Pressed
on whether he thinks the shutdown could end in the next week or two, Thune told
reporters, “I’m always optimistic. Aren’t you?”
1
hr 39 min ago
Senate
leaves town with critical food aid on track to dry up for millions this weekend
From
CNN's Sarah Ferris
The
Senate has left town for the weekend with no measurable progress toward a deal
to reopen the government, with impatience inside the Capitol skyrocketing with
millions at risk of losing critical food aid the shutdown.
Senators
will not return until Monday, which will mark day 34 of the shutdown — one day
shy of the longest-ever shutdown.
Key
senators of both parties took part in some private meetings on Thursday to
discuss potential off-ramps to the 30-day shutdown, including how to get both
parties to support a deal on long-term appropriations bills. But lawmakers
involved in those talks offered no more clarity about whether it could indeed
end the standoff.
Sen.
Mark Kelly of Arizona described the state of discussions as constantly
changing, saying the talks will take a turn, and then it “changes back…
sometimes in a good way” — but offered no substantial details.
Frustration
is mounting on both sides about the lack of solution, particularly as millions
of Americans who rely on federal food aid are on the verge of seeing their
benefits dry up, as well as other major effects on programs like Head Start
educational centers.
Republican
Sen. Cynthia Lummis told reporters it would be a “waste of time” if lawmakers
stayed in Washington over the weekend to try to work out a deal to reopen the
government, blaming Democrats for the impasse.
“We’ve
been here every week, even we’ve worked weeks when we were supposed to not be here. We have bent over backwards, voted 13 times
to try to open the government with current funding,” Lummis told reporters on
Capitol Hill.
CNN’s
Camila DeChalus and Morgan Rimmer
contributed.
1
hr 42 min ago
Trump’s
nuclear testing announcement is causing alarm. Here’s what some officials are
saying
From
CNN's Jonny Hallam (See
Attachment Fourteen, below)
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ATTACHMENT
THREE – FROM U.S. NEWS
IT’S
NOT YOU, IT’S ‘REMOVING LAYERS’: WAVE of CORPORATE LAYOFFS (and LINGO) HITS
WORKERS
By Olivier Knox October 30, 2025.
Greetings, oh, valued worker! We’re jazzed to let
you know that “an evolving regulatory environment” means we’ll be “removing
layers,” “unlearning” and taking time to “re-ground ourselves,” but we are
“building a strong, future-focused company.”
In other words, you’re out of a job. Like tens
of thousands of other corporate-speak victims.
The causes vary widely: turbulent markets,
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on pretty much every U.S. trading partner, the
rise of artificial intelligence, etc. But the result is the same: Significant
job reductions at many large corporate employers.
We knew the U.S. labor market was weak, but
this gives us a more concrete picture. It’s more bad news in a year where layoffs
through September were already the worst since the pandemic.
Here are some of the cuts announced in the
last few weeks:
Paramount, fresh off its merger with Skydance, is cutting about 2,000 people – or 10% of its
workforce. Forgive the provincial concern from someone in the news media, but
CBS News looks like it’s taking major cuts as part of the layoffs.
Amazon said this week it was cutting
approximately 14,000 jobs. That’s roughly 4% of its total workforce. The retail
giant blamed AI, in part, describing that tech as “the most transformative
technology we’ve seen since the Internet.”
“We’re convinced that we need to be organized
more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as
possible for our customers and business,” the company said.
UPS says it has cut about 34,000 operational
positions and eliminated another 14,000 jobs “mostly within management.” And
it’s not done. Much of that is due to the company’s decision to reduce its
volume of Amazon shipments by half.
Target announced last week it’s cutting 1,800
corporate jobs. That may not seem like much, but it’s the most significant
reduction the retailer has announced in a decade.
Nestlé, the maker of Nescafé, KitKats, pet
foods and many other well-known consumer brands, plans 16,000 job cuts over the
next two years.
Procter & Gamble, which makes Swiffer,
Dawn, Tide, Charmin and Febreze, plans to slash 7,000 jobs this year.
GM says slowing demand for electric vehicles
is partly to blame for the automaking giant laying off about 1,700 workers in
Michigan and Ohio manufacturing sites.
Corp-speak vs. Real Life
None of this is to say that corporate
flexibility is a bad thing. A major feature of capitalism is that firms hire
when they need workers and lay off when they aren’t doing well. Such is life.
But as someone pushed out of two jobs in the
last five years, I can tell you that corp’ talk about
flexibility or de-layering or being “nimble” just adds insult to injury. You’re
cutting costs? I get that. Please don’t dress it up like a family pet for
Halloween.
Thanks.
ATTACHMENT
FOUR – FROM
STUPIDDOPE
5 Veteran-Owned Weed Brands to Celebrate Veterans Day
2025
BY Mason
Cash October 30, 2025
As
Veterans Day approaches on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, the cannabis industry
offers a unique opportunity to honor those who served by supporting businesses
built by U.S. Veterans. These trailblazers have transitioned their military
discipline and focus into an emerging market that values precision, quality,
and integrity. In New York’s rapidly expanding legal cannabis market, a handful
of Veteran-owned brands have distinguished themselves by crafting high-quality
products and building brands rooted in authenticity and service.
This
year, consumers have more reason than ever to explore these Veteran-made
cannabis products. Whether you’re a seasoned smoker, a wellness-focused user,
or a first-time customer, these five Veteran-owned cannabis companies represent
the strength, resilience, and innovation that Veterans bring to the industry.
Based
in Harlem, Silly Nice has become one of
New York’s most respected small-batch cannabis brands. Owned and operated by a
Veteran and his family, Silly Nice combines craftsmanship with care, producing
an impressive line of high-potency products made for experienced consumers and
newcomers alike.
Their
offerings include fan favorites such as Frosted Hash Balls, Bubble Hash,
Diamond Powder, Frosted and Diamond Infused Flower, and their latest 2G
All-In-One Vape. Each product is crafted with precision and a focus on purity,
often topping sales charts across licensed dispensaries statewide. The brand’s
eco-conscious packaging—featuring recycled glass jars, hemp boxes, and ocean
plastic lids—reflects their commitment to sustainability and community
responsibility.
Silly
Nice has grown rapidly since launching in 2024, with products now available in
more than 90 licensed dispensaries across New York. The brand’s authenticity
and commitment to quality have helped redefine what it means to be both a small
business and a Veteran-led operation in today’s cannabis economy.
For
more about Silly Nice or to locate a dispensary carrying their products,
visit SillyNice.com.
POT
& HEAD
Pot
& Head is another standout in New York’s growing lineup of Veteran-owned
cannabis brands. Founded by military veterans who view cannabis as a wellness
tool and creative outlet, Pot & Head celebrates the cultural and lifestyle
side of the plant.
The
brand takes pride in producing flower and infused products that deliver
consistency and potency. With each release, Pot & Head encourages consumers
to appreciate the art, humor, and social connection that cannabis fosters.
Their product packaging and strain selections often feature playful nods to
military culture, turning every purchase into a moment of appreciation for the
service and sacrifice behind the brand.
For
consumers seeking premium cannabis made by those who served, Pot & Head
embodies both pride and purpose.
VETERANS
CHOICE CREATIONS
Founded
by Veterans with deep industry experience, Veterans Choice Creations is
dedicated to producing cannabis products that honor the values of service,
excellence, and reliability. Based in New York, the company manufactures
high-quality products while supporting fellow Veterans entering the cannabis space.
Veterans
Choice Creations is known for its premium concentrates, vape cartridges, and
handcrafted flower that highlight the brand’s mission: to make every product
reflect the precision and consistency of its makers. Each batch is curated for
purity, potency, and flavor, ensuring an elevated experience for every type of
consumer.
Beyond
product excellence, the brand prioritizes mentorship and empowerment, helping
other Veterans transition into the legal cannabis
market. Their commitment to giving back and maintaining integrity has earned
them a strong following across New York dispensaries.
To
learn more about their mission and product line, visit VeteransChoiceCreations.com.
NEW
YORK HONEY
When
it comes to consistency, New York Honey has built its reputation as one of the
most trusted names in cannabis concentrates and vape products. Founded and
operated by Veterans, the brand takes an artisanal approach to extraction,
focusing on purity, safety, and a full-spectrum experience that honors the
plant.
New
York Honey products can be found in numerous dispensaries across the state and
are widely praised for their smooth, potent vapor and natural terpene profiles.
Every product—from their signature cartridges to their premium extracts—is
designed to deliver a balanced and flavorful experience.
New
York Honey represents more than a brand name; it’s a statement about New York’s
evolving cannabis culture, where Veterans play a central role in shaping consumer
trust and product standards.
SPACEBUDS
MOONROCKS
Spacebuds
Moonrocks brings a bold approach to cannabis. Created by a team of Veterans
passionate about craft production, this brand is all about potency and
precision. Their signature moonrocks combine top-tier flower, high-quality
concentrate, and a dusting of kief to produce an experience that’s powerful and
unforgettable.
Each
batch is meticulously produced to ensure consistent quality and maximum flavor.
Spacebuds Moonrocks is made for those who seek an
elevated, full-spectrum experience. From their innovative production methods to
their commitment to craftsmanship, Spacebuds has
built a reputation as one of the strongest, most reliable moonrock brands
available in New York’s legal market.
Their
products are known for delivering deep relaxation, making them ideal for
winding down or celebrating life’s milestones. Supporting Spacebuds
means celebrating the hard work and expertise of Veterans who continue to
innovate in one of the country’s most dynamic industries.
HONORING
VETERANS THROUGH CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
Veterans
Day is a time to recognize courage and commitment. Choosing Veteran-owned
cannabis brands is a meaningful way to show gratitude, not just once a year,
but every time you make a purchase. By supporting these companies, consumers
contribute to the growth of a market led by individuals who embody discipline,
resilience, and creativity.
Most
licensed dispensaries across New York and other legal states offer Veteran
discounts year-round. On Veterans Day, these savings often increase, with many
stores offering additional deals when you show your VA ID. It’s the perfect
opportunity to try something new, explore high-quality products, and honor
those who have served through mindful consumption.
Each
of the brands mentioned—Silly Nice, Pot & Head, Veterans Choice Creations,
New York Honey, and Spacebuds Moonrocks—reflects the
best of what the cannabis industry can be when driven by integrity and purpose.
They remind us that cannabis can be more than a product; it can be a platform
for connection, community, and appreciation.
As
the legal market continues to grow, supporting Veteran entrepreneurs ensures
their contributions are recognized and sustained. This Veterans Day, celebrate
by exploring these exceptional brands and sharing their stories with others.
The best way to honor service is to support those who continue to serve through
their work, passion, and dedication to quality.
ATTACHMENT
FIVE – FROM TIME
How Long Will the Trump Administration Be Able to Pay
the Troops Amid the Shutdown?
By Chantelle Lee Updated: Oct
28, 2025 4:24 PM ET
Active
service members may start going without pay if a deal to end the government shutdown isn’t reached soon,
leaders in Washington are warning.
“We
were able to pay the military employees from excess funds at the Pentagon,
middle of this month,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that
aired on Sunday. “I think we’ll be able to pay them beginning in November. But
by Nov. 15, our troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives
aren’t going to be able to get paid. What an embarrassment.”
If
the shutdown hasn’t concluded by that date, it would be the longest the U.S. has ever seen—by a good
margin. That dubious distinction is currently held by the most recent shutdown,
which occurred during President Donald Trump’s first term and lasted 34 days.
The ongoing shutdown, now in its fourth week after beginning on Oct. 1, is already the second
longest, and still has no clear endpoint in sight.
Others
have suggested the federal government’s ability to pay the troops could be in
question even sooner than Nov. 15.
The
last payday for service members was Oct. 15. Trump signed a memorandum that day directing the
federal government to pay active service members with any funds “that remain
available for expenditure.”
But
it’s unclear if this memorandum applies to the next scheduled payday, which is
approaching on Oct. 31. And House Speaker Mike Johnson, when asked if service
members would receive paychecks later this week, said on Monday that “we're not 100%
sure.”
"I
do know the Administration and everybody is bending over backwards to try to
figure that out, but I don't know the final analysis yet,” Johnson said.
On
Tuesday, Vice President J.D. Vance said he thinks that troops will be paid on
Oct. 31 as scheduled, though he didn’t clarify how the federal government would
do so or where the funds would come from.“We believe
that we can continue to pay the troops on Friday,” he said, according to POLITICO. “Unfortunately, we’re not going to be
able to pay everybody, because we’ve been handed a very bad hand by the
Democrats.”
On
Thursday, Senate Democrats rejected a Republican-backed bill that
would have paid active service members and other federal staffers who are being
mandated to work during the shutdown, meaning that troops may not receive pay
this week. By law, federal employees are guaranteed back pay once a government
shutdown ends, but the bill was intended to provide pay for those working in
the interim.
While
some Democrats broke party ranks to vote for the bill, others argued that it
would give the Trump Administration too much power to pick and choose which
federal workers get paid and which don’t during the shutdown.
Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republican-backed bill a “ruse”
that could end up extending the shutdown.
“We
will not give Donald Trump a license to play politics with people’s
livelihoods,” he said.
Instead,
Democrats supported a bill that would pay all federal employees and
contractors. But Republicans sank the legislation.
“Republicans
are hell-bent on letting Trump pick winners and losers here, but every federal
worker, servicemember, and federal contractor deserves to get paid,” Sen. Chris
Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat behind that
bill, said in a statement.
Last
week, the President announced that his Administration received an anonymous
private donation of $130 million to help pay troops during the shutdown. Trump
didn’t reveal the name of the person behind the donation, but the New
York Times reported that billionaire Timothy Mellon
was the private donor in question. According to the outlet, the federal
government’s budget for the year requested about $600 billion in total military
compensation. With more than 1.3 million active troops, the $130 million
donation would come out to about $100 a service member, the Times reported.
Earlier
this month, Trump suggested that some federal workers “don’t
deserve to be taken care of” during the shutdown—a controversial remark that
indicated that his Administration is considering denying back pay to thousands
of furloughed employees once the government reopens. An Administration official
told TIME at the time that a new legal analysis from the White House claimed
furloughed workers are not entitled to back pay when they return, apparently
contradicting a law Trump signed in 2019. If it does go down that path, it’s
unclear if the Administration would seek to withhold back pay from active
service members, given its efforts so far to continue paying them during the
shutdown. On Tuesday, the President spoke to troops in Japan, thanking them for
their service and telling them that he supports a pay raise for all service
members, news outlets
ATTACHMENT
SIX – FROM USA TODAY
Will federal workers get back pay? What to know as
shutdown continues
As
the government shutdown hits its 28th day, hundreds of thousands of federal workers
remain furloughed, with Trump threatening to block back pay.
By
Fernando Cervantes Jr.
As
the U.S. government shutdown reaches its 28th day,
hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain furloughed, with President
Donald Trump threatening to block back pay once the shutdown ends.
In
previous shutdowns, furloughed employees typically received back pay, but the
White House has signaled it might not uphold that practice.
Instead,
Trump has said he would go as far as firing federal employees en masse if the government were shut down, and in recent
weeks, the president has said he would block back pay.
More: States sue over SNAP
cutoff as shutdown enters Day 28: Live updates
The ongoing shutdown comes as Trump visits Asia for trade negotiations. While the president remains overseas, his administration is being sued by a coalition of 25 Democratic-led states after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her department lacks the $9.2 billion to pay for SNAP benefits amid the shutdown.
Here
is what to know about federal workers possibly not receiving back pay.
Will
furloughed federal workers get back pay?
Due
to the ongoing shutdown, some federal workers, including those furloughed, have
already seen missed paychecks.
Back
on Oct. 7, Trump threatened to
block furloughed federal workers from receiving back pay once
the government shutdown ended, claiming some of the employees "don't
deserve" the compensation.
More: States SNAP back, sue
Trump administration over food aid cutoff
“It
depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump said Oct. 7 in the Oval Office. “For
the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people
that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a
different way."
Trump’s
threat came as the White House floated a new legal analysis earlier this month
claiming the 750,000 employees furloughed during the shutdown are not entitled
to back pay when they return. A Trump administration official confirmed the
analysis to USA TODAY at the time.
White
House argues against back pay for all federal workers
According
to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act,
which was passed during the last shutdown in 2019, federal workers who are
furloughed during a lapse in government funding “shall be paid for the period
of the lapse.” The law states that it applies to any government funding lapse
after Dec. 22, 2018.
More: No rangers, no
restrooms, no weddings? Couples caught in shutdown chaos
The
White House recently argued in a legal memo this month that the law does not
automatically cover all furloughed workers because of an amendment approved nine
days after its original passage in January 2019, according to Axios, which first reported the White House's new opinion
about back pay.
The
amendment referenced in the memo says furloughed workers would be paid back
"subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse."
The
White House's new interpretation undermines the Trump administration's Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, which released a memo in September
saying that furloughed workers would get paid.
“After
the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were required to perform
excepted work during the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those work periods,”
the OPM memo says.
Active-duty
military, ICE agents, more paid amid shutdown
On
the other hand, Trump’s administration has managed to get paychecks to other
parts of the federal government. Active-duty military members were paid on Oct. 15 after
a push from Trump.
Meanwhile,
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said
sworn law enforcement officers who work for DHS, including Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, would receive a "super
check" on Oct. 22 to cover hours worked during the
shutdown.
ATTACHMENT
SEVEN FROM PBS
Last-minute scramble over pay takes a toll on military
families during the shutdown
Oct
30, 2025 12:38 PM EDT
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The government shutdown is exacting a heavy mental toll on the nation’s
military families, leaving them not knowing from week to week whether their
paychecks will arrive.
Alicia
Blevins, whose husband is a Marine, said she’s going to see a therapist in
large part because of the grinding uncertainty.
“I
don’t feel like I have the tools to deal with this,” said Blevins, 33, who lives
at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base near North Carolina’s coast. “I don’t want to
dump all this on my husband. He’s got men that he’s in charge of. He’s got
enough to deal with.”
Even
though the Trump administration has found ways to pay the troops twice since
the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the process has been fraught with anxiety for
many Americans in uniform and their loved ones. Both times, they were left
hanging until the last minute.
Four
days before paychecks were supposed to go out on Oct. 15, President Donald
Trump directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops
were paid. With the next payday approaching Friday, the White House confirmed
Wednesday that it had found the money.
The
Trump administration plans to move around $5.3 billion from various accounts,
with about $2.5 billion coming from Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill that
was signed into law this summer.
But
the scrounging in Washington for troop pay can only last for so long.
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on CBS’ “Face
the Nation” that the government will soon run out of ways to compensate the military and
that by Nov. 15, the troops “aren’t going to be able to get paid.”
‘WE’RE
NOT BEING THOUGHT OF AT ALL’
The
uncertainty has been fueling resentment among families of the roughly 2 million
active duty service members, National Guard members
and reservists. There’s a common refrain that the troops are being used as
pawns.
But
Jennifer Bittner, whose husband is an Army officer, said that gives Congress
too much credit.
“You
have to be thought of to be used as a pawn,” said Bittner, 43, of Austin,
Texas. “And we’re not being thought of at all.”
Bittner’s
6-year-old daughter is using three inhalers right now because she has high-risk
asthma, a chronic lung condition and a cold. Each device requires a $38 copay
at the pharmacy. Bittner’s severely autistic son requires diapers that cost
$200 a month, while she sometimes has to haggle with military insurance to
cover the expense.
She
worries about those costs as well as the mortgage and groceries for their
family of five.
“It
is mentally and sometimes physically exhausting stressing about it,” Bittner
said of her husband possibly missing a paycheck, while noting that members of
Congress are still getting paid.
Many
active duty troops live paycheck to paycheck and
survive on only one income. Even when they get paid, the shutdown is deepening
the financial strain that many families face, said Delia Johnson, chief
operating officer for the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network.
The
Oct. 15 paychecks arrived days after they usually do for many people with early
direct deposit to their bank accounts, disrupting their ability to pay bills on
time and forcing some to pay late fees or rack up debt, Johnson said. Active duty troops also may be dealing with the added
expense of moving from one base to another, which she said occurs for roughly
400,000 military households each year.
And
many military spouses lose their jobs because of the move or are underemployed
from frequent relocations, Johnson said. Reimbursements for moving costs are
paused for many during the shutdown, while not all expenses are being repaid.
RESERVISTS
ARE LOSING WEEKEND DRILL PAY
Monthly
weekend drills for many reservists also have been canceled, eliminating a chunk
of pay that can be several hundred dollars each month, military advocates said.
Besides helping with mortgages and other bills, the drill money is used by some
reservists to cover premiums for military health insurance, said John Hashem,
executive director of the Reserve Organization of America, an advocacy group.
“People
rely on that money,” Hashem said of the drill pay. “The way that this is
stretching out right now, it’s almost like the service is taken for granted.”
The
reserve organization, along with other groups, urged leaders in Congress in a
letter Tuesday to pass a measure to pay National Guard members and reservists.
The
financial strain exacerbated by the shutdown prompted the Military Family
Advisory Network to set up an emergency grocery support program this month. The
nonprofit said 50,000 military families signed up within 72 hours.
The
food boxes were assembled in a Houston warehouse by the grocery and logistics company
Umoja Health, said chief marketing officer Missy Hunter, and contained
everything from noodles and spaghetti sauce to pancake mix and syrup.
Blevins
said she and her husband received a box, which provided some peace of mind. In
the meantime, she said, her husband is still working, coming home exhausted and
with a “long gaze” in his eyes.
The
couple moved to North Carolina from Camp Pendleton in California in September,
drawing down their savings. They’re still waiting for roughly $9,000 in
reimbursement.
“We’re
constantly checking the news,” Blevins said. “And my Facebook feed is nothing
but, ‘It’s the Democrats’ fault. It’s the Republicans’ fault.’ And I’m just
like, can’t we just get off the blame game and get this taken care of?”
ATTACHMENT EIGHT - FROM FOX
5 NEWS (Baltimore)
Veterans worried, confused over gov't shutdown that's
stretching into second month
By CORY SMITH | The National News Desk Fri, October 31, 2025 at 4:02 PM
(TNND) — Veterans are feeling angst over the government
shutdown, according Jim Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran and the CEO of advocacy
group Mission Roll Call (see below and Attachment Twenty Five).
“We've done some polling, and we've done some talking to a
number of veterans, and far and wide, of course, just like every other
American, they're very upset,” he said. “They're very concerned about it.”
Nearly 60% of people responding to a Mission Roll Call
survey said they were a veteran or military family being impacted by the
shutdown.
Over 90% said they were concerned about veterans losing
access to food assistance because of the shutdown.
And 90% want the government to continue food stamp benefits
for veterans.
“We've never seen a poll that high,” Whaley said.
Over 1 million veterans get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, or SNAP, benefits.
And funding for those benefits was set to lapse this weekend
because of the shutdown, but judges ruled Friday that the government must tap
into contingency funds to keep the food aid program operating.
But that’s far from the only way veterans are feeling the
impact of the shutdown.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has furloughed employees,
even though essential functions have continued.
VA health care is still available.
Veterans can still get care at VA’s 170 medical centers and
roughly 1,200 outpatient sites.
And benefits considered to be mandatory spending are still
going out to veterans, on autopilot, much like Social Security.
Jim Lorraine, an Air Force veteran and the president and CEO
of America’s Warrior Partnership, said there’s widespread confusion among
veterans over how their services will be impacted by the shutdown.
“Veterans are worried what the future looks like, because
they don't understand what's funded in the VA and for how long it's funded,”
Lorraine said.
And he said veterans are angry that the Department of War is
forced to reallocate funds or accept donations to pay troops currently serving.
Lorraine said veteran services come from different pockets of
money, some of which remain funded.
The Veterans Health Administration, a part of the larger VA,
is funded with advance appropriations.
VA health care services are already funded through the
current fiscal year, which just began Oct. 1.
VA health care workers are on the job and getting paid.
The Veterans Benefits Administration, meanwhile, serves
veterans who receive pensions, survivors' benefits, education assistance, home
loan guaranties, and more.
Many of those workers are still showing up to the office
each day, even if they aren’t getting paid. They are required to work through
the shutdown because they fulfill mandatory, essential functions.
VA said about 37,000 of its employees have been furloughed
or are continuing to work without pay.
The department said compensation, pension, education and
housing benefits are being delivered.
But dozens of regional benefits offices are closed.
Thousands of service members who are preparing to leave the
military can’t get VA transition briefings.
Burials are continuing at VA national cemeteries, but
grounds aren’t being maintained, and permanent headstones aren’t being placed.
Some key programs have been paused
by the VA.
For example, community-based suicide prevention efforts have
been suspended, although the 988 Veterans Crisis Line remains operational
around the clock.
And the new VA funding bill, which includes fiscal year 2027
health care funding, is stalled.
Aside from VA services, the many veterans employed by the
government are feeling a direct impact.
Veterans make up about a quarter of the federal government’s
civilian workforce.
Whaley said the stress of the shutdown is hitting at a time
when there are still big problems affecting the veteran community.
Over 30,000 veterans are homeless.
And about 17 veterans are lost each day to suicide.
“This has significant
impacts on the veteran community,” Whaley said of the shutdown. “And I think
the other thing it does is, it just erodes the confidence that they really give
a damn, ... that the government really does care about veterans.”
ATTACHMENT NINE – FROM VA NEWS.GOV
Veterans go without critical VA services, 37,000 VA
employees missing pay due to Democrats’ government shutdown
October 30, 2025 10:23 am
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ decision to shut down the
federal government has forced nearly 37,000 Department of Veterans Affairs
employees to be furloughed or continue working without pay.
Because VA receives some advance appropriations from
Congress, the department’s medical centers, outpatient clinics and Vet Centers
remain open and are operating normally during the shutdown. Additionally, VA
benefits will continue to be processed and delivered, including compensation,
pension, education, and housing benefits. Burials will also continue at VA
national cemeteries.
Some important VA services, however, have been stopped
because of the Democrats’ government shutdown. For example:
More than 900,000 Veterans are unable to get assistance from
the GI Bill Hotline, which has been shut down.
More than 100,000 enrolled Veterans cannot get Veteran
Readiness and Employment program counseling or case management services, as
those employees have been furloughed.
The backlog of new applicants for the VR&E program is
61,988 and growing by the day.
56 VA regional benefits offices are closed to the public.
VA’s Manila regional office is in the process of permanently
closing, as its legal authority to operate expired Sept. 30.
More than 16,000 service members who are preparing to leave
the military cannot receive VA transition briefings, as the contract that
provides for this service is not operational during the lapse in
appropriations. During this time, transitioning service members will continue
to have online access to the full content of the TAP briefing.
157 VA national cemeteries across the country are no longer
performing grounds maintenance or placing permanent headstones.
“The Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for
Veterans and making life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going
to get worse as time goes on,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “It’s time for
Democrats to stop using the suffering of Americans as political leverage to
give free health care to illegal immigrants. I call on them to open the
government and enable VA to provide the complete and comprehensive services
America’s Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have earned.”
ATTACHMENT TEN – FROM FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
Veterans service organizations told the Senate VA Committee
that their ability to help veterans and their families is also impacted by the
shutdown.
By Jory Heckman October 30, 2025 3:03 pm
DoD strips civilian job protections
Troops report major pay discrepancies
Why can't State pay passport services?
NEARLY HALF OF VA BENEFITS EMPLOYEES WORKING WITHOUT PAY
DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The vast majority of employees at the Department of Veterans
Affairs are still working during the government shutdown, and most are being
paid on time through advanced appropriations.
Even so, tens of thousands of VA employees are not getting
paid right now because they are either furloughed or working without pay.
The VA said in a press release Thursday that nearly 37,000
of its employees are missing pay because of the shutdown, and that veterans are
forced to go without “critical VA services.”
The VA said in a press release Thursday that nearly 37,000
of its employees are missing pay because of the shutdown, and that veterans are
forced to go without “critical VA services.”
According to VA’s contingency plans, nearly 30,000 employees
are “excepted,” meaning they are working without pay during the shutdown.
Nearly 15,000 VA employees, according to the department’s contingency plans,
are expected to be furloughed, meaning they are not working.
EXCEPTED AND FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES TYPICALLY RECEIVE BACK PAY
ONCE A SHUTDOWN ENDS.
President Donald Trump signed the Government Employee Fair
Treatment Act in January 2019, which guarantees back pay to shutdown-impacted
federal employees. But the Office of Management has floated the possibility
that furloughed workers are not automatically entitled to back pay.
VA Secretary Doug Collins called on Democratic lawmakers to
end the government shutdown and “provide the complete and comprehensive
services America’s veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have earned.”
“The Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for
veterans and making life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going
to get worse as time goes on,” Collins said in a statement.
About 97% of VA employees keep working during a government
shutdown, and more than 90% of its total workforce continues to get paid on
time.
VA’s health care operations are not impacted by the
shutdown. Its medical centers, outpatient clinics and vet centers, which
provide community-based counseling, remain open and are operating normally,
because the department receives some funding from Congress in advance.
Fewer than 3,000 Veterans Health Administration employees,
including medical and prosthetic research positions, are working without pay
during the shutdown. No VHA employees are furloughed, according to the
department’s contingency plans.
Nearly half of Veterans Benefits Administration employees,
however, are excepted. That includes about 15,000 claims processors and finance
center employees who ensure disability and pension claims are paid on time to
veterans and their survivors.
VA benefits continue to be paid on time, but 56 VA regional
benefits offices are closed to the public. The department said it’s also in the
process of permanently closing its Manila regional office in the Philippines,
because its legal authority to operate expired on Sept. 30.
The VA outlined a wide range of its services that are
impacted by the shutdown. The department says more than 900,000 veterans are
unable to get help from the GI Bill Hotline, which is not staffed during the
shutdown.
More than 100,000 veterans also can’t get counseling or case
management services from the Veteran Readiness and Employment program, which
includes job training and independent living programs for veterans with
service-connected disabilities. The VA says it has a backlog of nearly 62,000
VR&E applicants that is “growing by the day.”
More than 16,000 service members who are preparing to leave
the military cannot receive VA transition briefings because the contract that
provides the service is not operational during the shutdown.
In addition, more than 150 VA national cemeteries across are
no longer performing maintenance or placing permanent headstones.
Veterans service organizations told the Senate VA Committee
on Wednesday that their ability to help veterans and their families is also
impacted by the shutdown.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars said its representatives housed
in VA facilities or contracted federal buildings are unable to access their
offices.
VFW Executive Director Ryan Gallucci said VFW
representatives can perform most tasks remotely, but they haven’t been able to
receive weeks of mail sent to their VA offices, potentially leaving thousands
of veterans without timely support.
“As we speak, the government shutdown disrupts our work as
critical deadlines approach. Veterans can’t afford to wait. We must reopen the
government to avoid unnecessary pain and hardship for our defenders,” Gallucci
said.
Gallucci told lawmakers that VFW representatives were
recently given a “very short window” to collect any mail at VA facilities, but
were told by the VA that veterans service groups “must not linger within the
space.”
“This is certain to cause completely avoidable delays in
claims processing and greatly increases the risk of a claim being unnecessarily
denied,” Gallucci said.
VA Press Secretary Kasperowicz
said in a statement that VSO representatives can still be in VA regional
buildings when they are representing a veteran at an in-person Board of
Veterans Appeals hearing.
VSO representatives, Kasperowicz
added, also have 30 minutes each day to access regional-office mail rooms so
they can pick up any mail they may have received.
Gallucci said the VFW has called on the VA to extend filing
dates covering the shutdown, to ensure that benefits claims are accurate, but
said the department has not done so yet.
Between 2000 and 2020, the number of veterans receiving
disability benefits nearly doubled, even as the overall veteran population fell
by about a third.
Jon Retzer, deputy national
legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, told lawmakers that VSOs
with offices within VA regional facilities “are not allowed to conduct normal
business to be able to assist veterans.”
Retzer said DAV was recently allowed 30 minutes to collect weeks
of accumulated mail at their VA offices. One regional office in North Carolina,
he said, had over 180 pieces of unopened mail.
“When you look at that, those are time-sensitive issues, with
effective dates to file initial claims, and evidence to support pending claims,
and so on,” he said.
Retzer said DAV employees working remotely are able to still
provide services to veterans, but said taking personally identifiable
information out of VA facilities raises additional concerns.
“The thing is, it really drives a wedge in our process,
because within the VA regional office, we have the capacity of technology and
the resources do secure work. And we’re very disappointed, and we hope that the
VA will open back up for all organizations that are accredited in there,
because this is the first time in any shutdown that we are actually not allowed
to stay in,” he said.
ATTACHMENT
ELEVEN – FROM MILITARY.COM
White House’s Partisan Government Shutdown Messaging
Features Veterans’ Organizations
By Bridget
Craig Published October
24, 2025 at 2:45pm ET
At
the start of the government shutdown, the White House and several federal
agencies quietly added identical banners across their websites blaming
Democrats for the lapse in funding and ceasing of operations in Washington D.C.
At
the end of the government fiscal year on Oct. 1, Republicans and Democrats
couldn’t agree to pass a funding bill which led to the shutdown currently on
day 23. This is the second-longest shutdown in
history, trailing the 35-day closure from December 2018 to January 2019 during
the first Trump administration. Lawmakers have continually failed to advance
bills to end the shutdown.
On
the White House website, on the “Democrats have shut down the government,”
section, there is a section titled “Americans Don’t Agree with Democrats’
Actions.” The White House listed nine veteran organizations, implying their
agreement with the administration’s stance.
“Active-duty
service members and Veterans have borne the brunt of Democrats’ shutdown, which
prioritizes health care for illegal immigrants at the expense of military
families across the country,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told
Military.com.
“These
veterans organizations are speaking the truth:
Democrats have complained about paying military service members and referred to
struggling Americans as ‘leverage,’ but President Trump and Republicans want to
reopen the government today to ensure that military men and women don’t have to
worry about receiving their next paycheck,” Kelly continued.
The
messaging from the Trump administration is different from what some
military-related organizations are posting online.
‘No
Political Games’
Beneath
the Vietnam Veterans of America tab, for example, President Tom Burke commented
a longer message under the premise to “put partisanship aside.”
In
the beginning, he added: “Tell your Senators to pass a
clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown. Add no unrelated riders.
Include no political games. Just keep the government operating at its current
levels so that veterans and their families do not become collateral damage.”
When
government agencies initially posted partisan languages on their sites,
organizations like Public Citizen filed complaints. The nonprofit group, which
advocates for the public interest, deemed these actions as violations of the
Hatch Act by including partisan politics into federal agencies' websites.
The
Hatch Act bars political activities of federal employees and programs with the
goal to protect from political pressure and bias. There have been no updates on
the complaints filed by Public Citizen at time of publishing.
Mixed
Views
In
an effort to understand how the listed groups perceived their inclusion,
several veterans’ organizations were contacted by Military.com for
comment to understand their position on the messaging and their viewpoint on
the effects as the shutdown entered its third week.
Concerned
Veterans for America (CVA) spokesperson Sarah Smothers told Military.com that
CVA stands by the statement listed under the “Americans don’t agree with
Democrats’ actions,” adding, “We hope that the Senate will agree to pass a
clean resolution on the next vote, on behalf of all Americans.”
CVA
works to elevate veterans’ voices to “drive liberty-based solutions and advance
freedom,” according to their website.
“Veterans,
especially those with service-connected disabilities, the elderly, or experiencing
homelessness, are now at risk,” CVA said in their official statement.
“CVA
urges Senate Democrats to end this shutdown and to work with The House of
Representatives to take shutdowns off the table. Government shutdowns don’t
solve problems ― they make them worse. We’re calling on all lawmakers to
do the right thing, for veterans and for America,” the statement
continued.
Veteran
Action “advocates for America First policies that strengthen national security
and provide unwavering support for our veterans,” according to its
website.
In
its statement on the White House website, Veteran Action committed to a
partisan stance. Founder and President Mark Lucas said that “Democrats are
holding military families and veterans hostage over
partisan politics.”
“Democrats
are prioritizing illegal immigrants over our military servicemembers and their
families. This is a Democrat shutdown,” Lucas told Military.com.
“President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth
were able to pay our troops in the face of a blatant, partisan shut down led by
[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer.”
Veterans
Guardian did not comment on their perceived inclusion to the language on the
White House website. Veterans Guardian is a pre-filing consulting firm to
assist veterans with their disability ratings.
“This
is not a partisan issue. Anything preventing veterans from accessing critical
care and benefits is unacceptable,” a spokesperson said.
They
downplayed the politics at play and have urged for a swift resolution.
“The
government shutdown is putting veterans at risk. Delays in care, benefits and
critical programs are unacceptable. Veterans Guardian urges the Senate to
restore operations now and protect those who’ve already sacrificed for our
country,” they said.
Other
organizations listed on the White House website and without comment include the
Blinded Veterans Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jewish
War Veterans of the United States of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
While
not all veterans organizations explicitly blamed
Democrats for the shutdown or if they deemed the White House’s posting a Hatch
Act violation, their responses underscored how veterans’ groups continue to
navigate the political crosscurrents of a prolonged shutdown.
ATTACHMENT
TWELVE – FROM NEWS 3, HAMPTON VIRGINIA
Hampton cancels Veterans Day parade due to federal
government shutdown
By: Web
Staff
Posted 8:56
AM, Oct 28, 2025
HAMPTON,
Va. — Hampton has canceled its Veterans Day parade scheduled for Nov. 8 due to
the federal government shutdown.
The
city introduced its first Veterans Day parade in 2024, committing to host the
event annually in appreciation of the service and sacrifice of the nation's
veterans.
After
evaluating the impacts of the federal government shutdown, including
limitations placed on federal agencies and the Armed Forces and their resulting
inability to voluntarily participate in community events, the city made the
difficult decision to cancel this year's parade.
"Our
veterans deserve to be recognized with great pomp and circumstance. Without the
presence of our active-duty military, we are concerned that the parade would
appear sparse and that the recognition might fall short of the honor our
veterans so richly deserve," Bunting said.
The
Veterans Day ceremony and celebration that were planned to follow the parade
will proceed as scheduled at 11 a.m. in Fort Monroe's Continental Park. For
details on performing artists and exhibitors, people can visit FortMonroe.org.
This
story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this
platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting
on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
ATTACHMENT
THIRTEEN – FROM PBS
Last-minute scramble over pay takes a toll on military
families during the shutdown
Oct
30, 2025 12:38 PM EDT
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The government shutdown is exacting a heavy mental toll on the nation’s military
families, leaving them not knowing from week to week whether their paychecks
will arrive.
Alicia
Blevins, whose husband is a Marine, said she’s going to see a therapist in
large part because of the grinding uncertainty.
“I
don’t feel like I have the tools to deal with this,” said Blevins, 33, who
lives at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base near North Carolina’s coast. “I don’t want
to dump all this on my husband. He’s got men that he’s in charge of. He’s got
enough to deal with.”
Even
though the Trump administration has found ways to pay the troops twice since
the shutdown began on Oct. 1, the process has been fraught with anxiety for
many Americans in uniform and their loved ones. Both times, they were left
hanging until the last minute.
Four
days before paychecks were supposed to go out on Oct. 15, President Donald
Trump directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops
were paid. With the next payday approaching Friday, the White House confirmed
Wednesday that it had found the money.
The
Trump administration plans to move around $5.3 billion from various accounts,
with about $2.5 billion coming from Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill that
was signed into law this summer.
But
the scrounging in Washington for troop pay can only last for so long.
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation”
that the government will soon run out of ways to compensate the military and
that by Nov. 15, the troops “aren’t going to be able to get paid.”
‘WE’RE
NOT BEING THOUGHT OF AT ALL’
The
uncertainty has been fueling resentment among families of the roughly 2 million
active duty service members, National Guard members
and reservists. There’s a common refrain that the troops are being used as
pawns.
But
Jennifer Bittner, whose husband is an Army officer, said that gives Congress
too much credit.
“You
have to be thought of to be used as a pawn,” said Bittner, 43, of Austin,
Texas. “And we’re not being thought of at all.”
Bittner’s
6-year-old daughter is using three inhalers right now because she has high-risk
asthma, a chronic lung condition and a cold. Each device requires a $38 copay
at the pharmacy. Bittner’s severely autistic son requires diapers that cost
$200 a month, while she sometimes has to haggle with military insurance to
cover the expense.
She
worries about those costs as well as the mortgage and groceries for their
family of five.
“It
is mentally and sometimes physically exhausting stressing about it,” Bittner
said of her husband possibly missing a paycheck, while noting that members of
Congress are still getting paid.
Many
active duty troops live paycheck to paycheck and
survive on only one income. Even when they get paid, the shutdown is deepening
the financial strain that many families face, said Delia Johnson, chief
operating officer for the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network.
The
Oct. 15 paychecks arrived days after they usually do for many people with early
direct deposit to their bank accounts, disrupting their ability to pay bills on
time and forcing some to pay late fees or rack up debt, Johnson said. Active duty troops also may be dealing with the added
expense of moving from one base to another, which she said occurs for roughly
400,000 military households each year.
And
many military spouses lose their jobs because of the move or are underemployed
from frequent relocations, Johnson said. Reimbursements for moving costs are
paused for many during the shutdown, while not all expenses are being repaid.
RESERVISTS
ARE LOSING WEEKEND DRILL PAY
Monthly
weekend drills for many reservists also have been canceled, eliminating a chunk
of pay that can be several hundred dollars each month, military advocates said.
Besides helping with mortgages and other bills, the drill money is used by some
reservists to cover premiums for military health insurance, said John Hashem,
executive director of the Reserve Organization of America, an advocacy group.
“People
rely on that money,” Hashem said of the drill pay. “The way that this is
stretching out right now, it’s almost like the service is taken for granted.”
The
reserve organization, along with other groups, urged leaders in Congress in a
letter Tuesday to pass a measure to pay National Guard members and reservists.
The
financial strain exacerbated by the shutdown prompted the Military Family
Advisory Network to set up an emergency grocery support program this month. The
nonprofit said 50,000 military families signed up within 72 hours.
The
food boxes were assembled in a Houston warehouse by the grocery and logistics
company Umoja Health, said chief marketing officer Missy Hunter, and contained
everything from noodles and spaghetti sauce to pancake mix and syrup.
Blevins
said she and her husband received a box, which provided some peace of mind. In
the meantime, she said, her husband is still working, coming home exhausted and
with a “long gaze” in his eyes.
The
couple moved to North Carolina from Camp Pendleton in California in September,
drawing down their savings. They’re still waiting for roughly $9,000 in
reimbursement.
“We’re
constantly checking the news,” Blevins said. “And my Facebook feed is nothing
but, ‘It’s the Democrats’ fault. It’s the Republicans’ fault.’ And I’m just
like, can’t we just get off the blame game and get this taken care of?”
ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN – FROM CNN's
Jonny Hallam... Excerpted from
Attachment One, Above
Trump’s
nuclear testing announcement is causing alarm. Here’s what some officials are
saying
President
Donald Trump vowed today to begin testing
US nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with Russia and China, heralding a
potentially major shift in decades of US policy at a time of growing tensions
between the world’s nuclear-armed superpowers.
Here’s
some of what we’ve heard from officials about the move:
United
Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq told CNN a
nuclear explosive test should never be allowed, citing risks that he says are
“already alarmingly high.”
“All
actions that could lead to miscalculation or escalation with catastrophic
consequences must be avoided,” Haq said.
“The
(UN) secretary-general says that we must never forget the disastrous legacy of
over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years and that
nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances,” he added.
Robert
Floyd, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Organization, also warned against the tests.
“Any
explosive nuclear weapon test by any state would be harmful and destabilizing
for global non-proliferation efforts and for international peace and security,”
Floyd said.
The
treaty prohibits all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, by anyone, and
for all time. Nearly every country supports the treaty, with 187 nations
including the US signing it, and 178 formally ratifying it, according
to the Vienna-based organization.
However,
the treaty is not binding without 44 key countries ratifying it — and the US is
the only country in North America and Western Europe not to have done so.
ATTACHMENT
FIFTEEN – FROM NBC
42m
ago / 4:59 PM EDT
Senate Armed Services leaders release letters
requesting legal justification for drug operations against cartels
The
leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee released a pair of letters that
they sent earlier this month and in September to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requesting the legal rationale for the
administration's counter-narcotics operations.
Chairman
Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., note that they need this
information to conduct their congressional oversight.
The letter in September requested military executive orders
approved by Hegseth or combatant commanders that are
focused on these drug operations.
The
more recent letter in October requested any written opinions from the
Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel regarding the legal
justification for these strikes and a list of designated terrorist and drug
trafficking groups Trump has said to target.
The
senators said Friday that the documents have not been submitted to Congress.
The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
ATTACHMENT
SIXTEEN – FROM THE CENTER SQUARE
91% of U.S. veterans concerned about food assistance
amid shutdown
By Brett Rowland Oct 31, 2025
(The
Center Square) – About 91% of veterans said they were concerned about losing
access to food assistance because of the federal government shutdown, with
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits set to run dry Nov. 1,
according to a poll from Mission Roll Call.
"It's
unfortunate that every time Washington does this, veterans and service members
are made collateral damage in these political fights," Mission Roll
Call CEO Jim Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran, told The Center
Square. "Political brinksmanship here that is affecting a lot of our
patriots, those who are serving currently, and those who have served in the
past, and it's unacceptable."
SNAP,
formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides food benefits
to low-income families to supplement grocery budgets. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture won't issue SNAP benefits until the government reopens. The agency
said in a partisan message on its website that "the well has run
dry." However, two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration
to continue funding SNAP.
About
42 million people receive SNAP benefits, including veterans and active-duty
service members. Some 1.2 million veterans live in households that
participate in SNAP, according to a 2025 report from the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities.
It's
not clear how service members use SNAP, but past estimates provide some
indications. A Department of Defense report from 2020, said the number was low.
That report estimated the number of troops getting SNAP benefits
ranged between 880 and 4,620, or less than 0.5% of the roughly 1.1 million
U.S.-based service members. However, the USDA's Economic Research Service found 25.3% of the military population reported
experiencing food insecurity from 2018 to 2020. That figure was 10.1% in the
demographically equivalent civilian adult population.
The
latest survey from Mission Roll Call, a
nonprofit veterans' advocacy group, found that veterans and their families are
worried.
Approximately
59% of those surveyed reported being affected by the shutdown. And 90% said
veterans should continue to get SNAP benefits during the shutdown. Slightly
more than half of those surveyed said they or a veteran they knew had relied on
SNAP in the past. Overall, 91% said they were "very concerned" or
"somewhat concerned" about veterans losing access to food assistance
because of the shutdown.
"Let's
just step back for a second and understand the backdrop of all of this is that
we still have 30,000-plus veterans homeless on any given night. You're still
losing 17 to 20 veterans every day to suicide, and now you have this situation," Whaley
told The Center Square. "I hope that those people who are in the position
to make decisions at the highest level understand the impact it has at the
lowest level."
President
Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have
managed so far to keep paychecks coming for the U.S. military members. However,
that funding could run out. During past shutdowns, U.S. troops have gone
without paychecks.
Nearly
37,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees have been furloughed or
are working without pay as the prolonged government shutdown continues and some
VA services go dark. VA Secretary Doug Collins on Thursday called for an end to the shutdown.
Republicans
and Democrats have blamed each other for the shutdown, which is set to enter a
second month with both parties locked in a stalemate over funding. Trump said
Thursday that Senate Republicans should end the filibuster to reopen the
government.
Each
day the federal government remains closed will cost U.S. taxpayers about $400 million just in salary for about 750,000 furloughed
federal workers.
ATTACHMENT
SEVENTEEN – FROM MILITARY.COM
Fingers Pointed At and By VA
for Ongoing Shutdown, Benefits Claims Processes
By Nick Mordowanec
Published October
30, 2025 at 2:20pm ET
As
the head of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) is pointing his finger at
Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, national organizations are
pointing fingers back regarding fraud and benefits claims.
The
government shutdown has eclipsed 29 days and is currently the
second longest in U.S. history. Democrats have held out for health care
subsidies associated with the Affordable Care Act while Republicans who control
the majority in both the U.S. House and Senate chambers have stated they would
entertain a health care debate if a continuing resolution was voted on and
passed to reopen the government.
As
the politics endure in Washington, people across the country are feeling the
brunt. Roughly 42 million Americans including seniors, families with children,
and those with disabilities who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) are set to see their benefits expire on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Questions about future military pay for the approximate 1.2 million active-duty
veterans are also confounded by a closed government.
On
Thursday, the VA issued a statement condemning Democrats for what they claim is
their “decision to shut down the federal government.”
“The
Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for veterans and making
life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going to get worse as time
goes on,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement. “It’s time for
Democrats to stop using the suffering of Americans as political leverage to
give free health care to illegal immigrants.
“I call on them to open the government and
enable VA to provide the complete and comprehensive services America’s
veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have earned.”
Currently,
about 37,000 VA employees are furloughed or working without pay. The
department’s medical centers, outpatient clinics and vet centers remain open
and are operating normally due to advance appropriations approved by Congress.
The
VA also blames Democrats for the following:
The
shutdown of the GI Bill Hotline which provides assistance to more than 900,000
veterans.
Over
100,000 enrolled veterans being unable to enroll into the Veteran Readiness and
Employment program due to employees being furloughed.
The
closure of 56 regional VA offices.
The
permanent closure of the Manila regional VA office.
Transition
briefings for over 16,000 outgoing military members unable to be accommodated
due to a lapse in appropriations (with information available online).
The
lack of grounds maintenance and the placing of headstones at 157 VA national
cemeteries.
Benefits
for veterans will continue to be processed and delivered, including compensation,
pension, education, and housing benefits, per the VA. Burials will also
continue at national cemeteries.
PREVALENCE
OF VA FRAUD
The
U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing on Wednesday, titled,
“Putting Veterans First: Is the Current VA Disability System Keeping Its
Promise?”
The
hearing explored veterans’ disability benefits system and included testimony
from VA Inspector General (IG) Cheryl Mason, Jeremy Villanueva, associate
legislative director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, retired Army Lt.
Col. Daniel M. Gade, and Elizabeth Curda, director of Education, Workforce and Income Security
Issues within the Government Accountability Office.
As
of June 30, 2025, more than 6.9 million veterans and beneficiaries were
receiving these benefits, as provided under the law pertaining to disability
compensation, according to Mason.
She
also called suggestions that VA fraud is widespread “reprehensible,” alluding
to recent reporting that veterans are “scamming” or gaming the system to get
benefits.
“Furthermore,
using OIG investigative evidence collected over several years to make it appear
like there is mass fraud by veterans misleads the public and maligns veterans.
While yes, there are some bad actor veterans who commit fraud against VA in
both benefits and health care, they are few in comparison to the 6.9 million
veterans and beneficiaries who receive VA benefits.”
Approximately
3.7% of active VA OIG fraud investigations involve veterans, she added.
The Washington
Post reported earlier this month that U.S. taxpayers are paying
for veterans’ benefits for some service members who have cited hair loss, jock
itch and toenail fungus as causes of personal impairment.
About
556,000 veterans receive disability benefits for eczema, 332,000 for
hemorrhoids, 110,000 for benign skin growths, 81,000 for acne and 74,000 for
varicose veins, the Post reported, citing the most recently available figures
from the VA.
“The
liberal Washington Post is trying to mislead the public by citing a few
documented instances of fraud, in which the perpetrators were convicted of
crimes, as proof that many veterans are cheating the system, VA spokesperson Pete
Kasperowicz told Military.com. “This is egregious even for
the Washington Post, which was a leading purveyor of the totally debunked
Russia hoax and introduced its cringe motto—’Democracy Dies in Darkness’—to
advertise its opposition to the Trump Administration.
“America’s
veterans earned their VA benefits, and it should be easier—not harder—to get
them. Under President [Donald] Trump, we are improving VA so it’s faster and
more convenient for veterans to get what our nation owes them.”
FIXING
THE SYSTEM
Questions
remain, however, about the current state of the claims process and its ability
to meet veterans’ needs.
The
American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO (AFGE) and its National
Veterans Affairs Council (NVAC) submitted a statement on
record for Wednesday’s hearing, on behalf of the roughly 320,000 VA employees
AFGE represents—approximately a third of whom are veterans themselves,
including approximately 50 percent of frontline workers at the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA).
AFGE,
in its statement, critiqued multiple aspects of the current benefits system
including logistics of claims processes; the specialization of claims; keeping
claims within the same regional office for the duration of the claims process;
and providing employees the option to work overtime rather than mandate it.
“AFGE
is proud to represent tens of thousands of VBA workers and claims processors,
and identify ways the claims process can improve,” Elliot Friedman, a
legislative representative for AFGE, told Military.com.
Military.com reached
out to the VA for comment
specifically regarding the AFGE’s statement.
QUESTIONS RE: DO VA EMPLOYEES GET
PAID DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Government shutdown Veterans Affairs employees
Is military Retirement affected
by government shutdown
VA disability government
shutdown 2025
Will government
shutdown affect VA disability payments
Are VA employees getting paid
during the shutdown
ATTACHMENT
EIGHTEEN – FROM AXIOS
Why
Dems aren't fighting
Trump's "illegal" shutdown workarounds
By
Andrew Solender
Oct 15, 2025
Democrats
in Congress say President Trump's methods for paying military service members
and funding food stamps for vulnerable communities are clearly illegal. But
they're not keen to fight him on it.
Why
it matters: It's a rare instance where Trump is going mostly unchallenged
as he ignores Congress' constitutional role in controlling federal spending.
- but then...
ATTACHMENT
NINETEEN – FROM AXIOS
Exclusive:
White House finds 11th-hour shutdown workaround to pay troops — for now
By
Marc Caputo Oct 29, 2025
President
Trump's budget team raided three different financial accounts to
make sure U.S. troops are paid Friday as the government shutdown continues,
White House officials tell Axios.
Why
it matters: As long as military personnel are paid, Trump isn't planning
to budge on the nearly month-old shutdown, even with as many as 42 million
people set to lose food stamp benefits Saturday.
Zoom
in: Earlier in the week it was unclear whether the White House Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) could find roughly $5.3 billion to make the
military's payroll by Friday, but two White House officials tell Axios the money was found at the last minute. The OMB
found:
$2.5
billion from a military housing fund specified in Trump's One Big Beautiful
Bill Act to continue paying housing allowances for military personnel.
$1.4
billion from the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation fund, which largely
will cover U.S. Army and Air Force payroll. The account normally funds military
research and was heavily relied upon two weeks ago to cover military paychecks.
$1.4
billion from a Defense Department procurement account for building U.S. Navy
ships, largely to fund the Navy and Marines.
Zoom
out: Democrats and liberal policy experts have accused the president of
illegally usurping Congress' powers to appropriate money, but Trump and his
congressional allies believe their opponents won't sue over work-arounds to pay
the military because it would be too unpopular.
"It
is politically tricky," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) acknowledged to Axios weeks ago after accusing
Trump of illegally moving money around.
OMB
denies the accusation and sent a memo, first reported by Axios,
drawing on presidents as far back as George Washington to justify using money
for the military without congressional authorization.
What
they're saying: "President Trump is continuing to pay the troops
despite Democratic resistance and he's not going to let them down," a
senior White House official told Axios.
"We
have identified more money if this goes longer."
Friction
point: Food stamp benefits won't be accessible to as many 42 million
people starting Saturday, and the administration told Axios its hands are
tied when it comes to funding that program.
Democrats
say that's a flimsy excuse by Trump aimed at making the
shutdown more painful to low-income people.
Two
dozen states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over
the food stamp cuts.
The
shutdown also is affecting air travel across the country as
airports have begun announcing ground delays.
Breaking
point: Pressure on Senate Democrats to vote to fund the government and end
the shutdown increased Monday when the American Federation of Government
Employees weighed in on behalf of its 800,000 members
who are going without pay.
"It's
time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,"
the union said.
Senate
Democrats want Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were set to expire, to be
extended for more middle-class people. Now some Democrats are pushing for a partial reopening of government.
But
Trump "won't negotiate with hostage-takers in Congress because it inspires
more hostage-taking," another senior administration told Axios in explaining why the White House believes it's
winning the shutdown standoff.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY – FROM WTOV
FOX (STEUBENVILLE, OH)
White
House says Democrats ghosted the American people as government shutdown
continues
by CHARLOTTE
HAZARD | The National News Desk Fri, October 31, 2025 at 1:24 PM
WASHINGTON
(TNND) — On the night before Halloween, the White House accused the
Democrats of ghosting the American people as the government shutdown continues.
“GHOSTED:
Democrats disappear on the American people when they need them the most,” the
White House wrote on the social media platform, X. “DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN.”
Beneath
the post, is a video of the U.S. Capitol surrounded by ghosts with spooky music
playing.
The
government has been shut down for 31 days as Congress has been unable to pass a
budget to keep the government funded. The Senate has already adjourned
for the weekend.
Trump
called on Senate Republicans to use the “nuclear option” to remove the
filibuster.
The
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits used by millions of
Americans are set to expire Nov. 1 due to lack of funding.
The
same night the White House posted about Democrats ghosting the American people,
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted a small annual
Halloween celebration.
Thousands
of children and their parents went trick-or-treating on the White House lawn
and the president and First Lady handed out candy.
White
House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was there with her little boy who was
dressed as a jack-o-lantern.
Melania
Trump posted a picture of the White House covered in pumpkins earlier this week.
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY ONE – FROM THE
WASHINGTON POST
Trump politicizing the
military? Ask the fired generals.
Why
are so many generals getting fired? Congress should summon them to find out.
November
3, 2025 at 7:00 a.m. ESTToday at 7:00 a.m. EST
There are too many scandals to
count in the Trump administration, but one of the most significant isn’t
getting the attention it deserves. I refer to efforts by President Donald Trump
and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to politicize the
armed forces and to turn them into instruments of their MAGA agenda.
Hegseth and Trump keep giving blatantly
political speeches in front of military audiences, even though military
regulations (upheld by the Supreme Court)
forbid uniformed personnel from taking part in partisan activities. Just last
week, speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Japan,
Trump repeatedly attacked his
Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. (Trump falsely said that Biden had claimed
to be a pilot and added, “He wasn’t a pilot. Wasn’t much of a president
either.”)
A month earlier, speaking at
Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Trump told the
nation’s most senior generals (who sat stony-faced) that he intends to mobilize
the military against “the enemy from within” and to use U.S. cities “as
training grounds for our military.” In Japan last week, he threatened to
“send more than the National Guard” to U.S. cities. Trump boasted: “I could
send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, I can send anybody I wanted.”
Trump has already deployed Marines
as well as the National Guard to Los Angeles, while ordering the National Guard to
Washington, Chicago, Portland and Memphis. In several of these cases, he is
federalizing the National Guard over the opposition of the state’s governor,
the first time this has happened since 1965.
Federal judges keep ruling that
Trump has exceeded his authority and provided false justifications for his
deployments. For example, a Trump-appointed judge in Oregon held that the
president’s claim that Portland was “war ravaged” was “simply untethered from the facts.”
Yet Trump gives no indication of backing down: The Pentagon has now ordered the
National Guard in every state to form “quick reaction forces” for “quelling
civil disturbances.”
Meanwhile, U.S. armed forces have
been carrying out a series of strikes (15 at last count) on
alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 64
people, and now the administration is considering striking land targets in
Venezuela too. In essence, the president is executing suspected drug smugglers
without benefit of trial. Asked if he would seek congressional authorization
for his actions, Trump said probably not:
“I think we’re just gonna kill people that are
bringing drugs into our country.”
See also...
Pennsylvania Democrats know the truth about demonizing Trump
A turning point in the government shutdown
The choreographed fakery of American politics: East Wing edition
As ICE roils Chicago, the city is getting the last laugh
London’s sad decline is a warning to New Yorkers
My family emigrated from Vietnam. Halloween in America astonished me.
Trump is circling Maduro. This points to a dark history.
In defense of the White House ballroom
The administration’s actions are “very likely illegal,” in
the words of conservative legal scholar Ed Whelan. Human Rights Watch has
labeled the boat strikes “extrajudicial killings.”
That the administration has no firm legal basis for its actions became evident
when two men survived one of the attacks. Rather than put these alleged
“narco-terrorists” on trial, the administration released them to
their home countries; one of them was immediately freed by Ecuador. So the administration has enough evidence to kill people but
not enough to put them in prison?
While using force in
disproportionate and alarming ways, the administration has been purging general
officers who might stand in their way. Trump and Hegseth
have fired more than a dozen senior
officers without explanation, many of them women or minorities, beginning with
the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. C.Q. Brown. Among
those cashiered early on were the judge advocates general of
the Army, Air Force and Navy, i.e., the officers whose job it is to ensure that
the military complies with the law.
Two of the most troubling departures
are the most recent: In mid-October, the Pentagon announced the sudden retirement of
Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command. The Atlantic reported that
Holsey had “raised concerns” about the boat strikes, leading to a “tense meeting”
with Hegseth. Also last month, CNN reported that Lt.
Gen. Joe McGee, the director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Joint
Staff, had left after pushing back “on issues ranging from Russia and Ukraine
to military operations in the Caribbean.”
The rate of strikes has roughly
doubled since Holsey’s departure was announced. Evidently Hegseth
has found more-compliant officers who will do Trump’s bidding even if, in the
process, they risk a future court-martial.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a
former army officer who is now the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed
Services Committee, raised the alarm last week about the administration’s
actions. Trump, he said in a floor speech, “is
attempting to politicize an institution that has remained steadfastly
apolitical for nearly 250 years. He is disrespecting the professionalism and
sacrifice of our servicemembers. And if we in Congress do not reject his
actions — and soon — the damage could take generations to repair.”
Reed suggested a variety of steps
Congress could take, including codifying “prohibitions on political activities
at military installations,” passing legislation to “require explanations and
notifications for senior general and flag officer dismissals” and “requiring congressional
approval for domestic military deployments except in genuine emergencies.”
Those are all good ideas, but the
most immediate and important thing Congress can do is simply to call Holsey,
McGee and other cashiered officers to testify under oath about their experience
in the military since Trump took office. The American people deserve to hear
about any concerns they might have. Unless, that is, the Republican majority on
Capitol Hill can’t handle the truth about what the Trump administration is doing
to the armed forces.
WHAT
READERS ARE SAYING
The
conversation explores concerns about the Trump administration's efforts to
politicize the U.S. military and use it as an instrument of their agenda. Many
participants express alarm over the potential dangers this poses to democratic
institutions, with some drawing parallels... Show more
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY TWO – FROM WASHPOST
Five key moments from Trump’s
‘60 Minutes’ interview
President
Donald Trump discussed immigration raids, Venezuela and the government shutdown
in a wide-ranging interview on the CBS show.
Updated today
at 2:04 p.m. EST
In this article
Trump’s boasts about CBS News’ parent company paying out a $16 million
settlement were cut
Trump won’t say if U.S. will strike Venezuela, but says Maduro’s reign
may soon end
Trump says ICE raids ‘haven’t gone far enough’
Trump blames Democrats for government shutdown
Trump says he doesn’t know the bitcoin billionaire he pardoned
Paywall
SEE SEPARATE FILES (above)
ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE – FROM NBC
- takeaways
Trump administration live updates: Military paychecks coming,
administration ordered to pay SNAP benefits amid shutdown
Meanwhile, Affordable Care Act insurance premiums are
expected to see big increases due in part to expiring subsidies at the center
of the shutdown fight.
By NBC News October
31, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT
What to know today ...
• PAYCHECKS
COMING: Members of the military will receive their second paychecks since the
government shutdown began a month ago, with the money coming from a mix of
legislative and Pentagon funds, the Trump administration said.
•
• TRUMP GOES
NUCLEAR: As the funding impasse in Congress drags on, President Donald Trump
called for Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster, whereby legislation
advances by the agreement of three-fifths of the members — a "nuclear
option" move that would radically transform how the chamber operates.
• FOOD AID
FUNDS: A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use
contingency funds to bankroll the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
also known as food stamps, "as soon as possible" before the benefits
were set to expire for millions of Americans tomorrow because of the shutdown.
• OBAMACARE
ENROLLMENT: As open enrollment kicks off, Affordable
Care Act insurance premiums are expected to see the largest increase since the
law went into effect more than a decade ago due in part to expiring tax credits
— subsidies that are the central sticking point for Democrats in the government
shutdown fight.
NEW UPDATES
41m ago / 5:00 PM EDT
Watch highlights of Trump and first lady Melania Trump
hosting the annual White House Halloween celebration for trick-or-treaters.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR – FROM pbs/facebook
Democratic and GOP strategists on the political fallout of
the government shutdown
It's Day 15 of the federal government shutdown, one of the
longest lapses in funding in U.S. history. To discuss the politics of the
shutdown, Geoff Bennett spoke with Democratic strategist Faiz
Shakir and Republican strategist Doug Heye.
“It'll go past Halloween. I think one of the pressure points
may be when we get to Veterans Day, especially if veterans' pay or pay for our
military becomes an issue," says GOP strategist Doug Heye.
"Neither side sees a reason to back down right now. They both feel not
only right in their cause, but righteous in their cause."
The federal gov't has been shut down for two weeks. The
House has already passed the bill that would be required to open it back up
again. It's called a "Clean CR".
What is a clean CR? It is the same document they have all voted
on several times before to keep the gov't open while they do the job of passing
a real budget. I'm not a super huge fan of running the funding of our country
this way, but it's better than a shut down.
A clean CR would continue funding our government exactly the
same way as it was funded under Biden. The current Congress is working on
getting a real budget passed, but it takes time, so this is a way to keep the
gears turning while they hash out agreements on the 12 budget bills they need
to pass. Three have already passed the House, so the Senate now has the
documents, and the rest are in the works.
Why won't the Democrats pass the clean CR, a document that
has no policy changes - just a continuation of the previous spending with no
changes? It's because they don't like that we defunded NPR - an extremely
biased news outlet that taxpayers have been paying for decades. They want us to
pay for it again.
They don't like that we defunded USAID - the NGO that
funneled tens of billions of dollars into things like $47,000 for a
“transgender opera” in Colombia, $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in
Peru, $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala, $6 million
to fund tourism in Egypt. They want that funding back.
They also don't like that the Obamacare subsidies will
sunset this year. What are those subsidies, you ask? Obamacare set up exchanges
where people can buy health insurance, if they don't have it through their
employer. Before COVID, there were taxpayer subsidies to help people pay for the
healthcare purchases, but they were only provided for people who made less than
400% of poverty level. For a family of 4, you would get subsidies to pay for
health insurance, if you made $106,600 a year.
Think about that. Your tax dollars paid for health insurance
for people who make 106,000 a year. But wait. It gets worse. During COVID,
Democrats completely removed the cap in income to get government subsidies. No
limit. You could make $200,000 a year and get subsidies on the backs of the
taxpayers. But they put an ending date on this expansion of subsidies (this is
called a sunset). That ending date is this year. Why did they do that? The cost
was so incredibly high, that if they had extended the subsidies, the CBO
scoring would have made it obvious that taxes would have to skyrocket to pay
for it.
So here is a question for you. Do you Senate Democrats to
pass the clean CR, so the government can open and let Congress get to work
passing a reasonable budget?
Or do you want to pay for NPR, USAID, and insurance costs
for people who make three times more than you do? This is what is going on in
Congress. It's appalling, but you won't hear all this detailed out by the
media, because it would make it obvious that the people of this country don't
want what the Democrats demand.
PEANUT CALLERY
Andrew Bencomo
So Republicans feel “righteous” in taking healthcare away from
millions of people by making it unaffordable? Wow, how sad is that?
Judy Cook, Michelle Kennedy and Dwayne Ford
I wish we could dissolve Congress
like parliamentary governments do and force new elections
Marsha LaFarge
What!! No trick or treat
JoelandBeckie Moorhouse
People NEED HEALTHCARE
Radford Bean
Perhaps if they, like public servants, weren't paid during
shutdowns, they'd be more willing to work together to find a compromise. And
no, my way or the highway as Johnson and Thune want isn't a compromise.
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY FIVE – FROM FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
Military pay
is once again a pressure point in the shutdown fight
"Every time Washington shuts
down, veterans and service members and their families become collateral damage
in these political fights," said Jim Whaley:.
By Terry Gerton November 4, 2025 11:34 am
|
Guest: |
Jim Whaley |
|
Title: |
CEO, Mission Roll Call |
|
Summary: |
Military pay is always
front and center of any government shutdown. It can also serve as a motivator
to get members of Congress moving before they go too long. On the other side
are the service members themselves, many of whom rely solely on that paycheck
to get through their daily lives. |
The
Federal Drive with Terry Gerton provides expert
insights on current events in the federal community. Read more interviews to keep up with daily news and
analysis that affect the federal workforce. Reach out to Terry and the Federal
Drive producers with feedback and story ideas at FederalDrive@federalnewsnetwork.com.
Interview
transcript:
Eric
White: Just start off the bat with getting some of your thoughts on what
you’re hearing from folks that are currently serving, and even the veterans
themselves. This is affecting military benefits as well, I’m sure. What’s going
on on your side of things?
Jim
Whaley: Sure. Well, first of all, there are plenty of debates worth having
in Washington, but service members’ pay is not one of them. Every time
Washington shuts down, veterans and service members and their families become
collateral damage in these political fights, and it disrupts pay. It affects
morale. And we have service members now worried about how they’re going to make
ends meet. How are they going to pay for groceries? How are going to pay for
child care? How are they going to get gas in their car to get to the jobs? It’s
also, as I mentioned, it affects morale because when you’re worried about those
things, you may not be focused on what you need to do. And as we all know, the military has a lot of dangerous missions out
there. So it’s unfortunate that this continues and
we’re hopeful that two sides can get together and fix this problem quickly.
Eric
White: What sort of resources are out there for — we’ll start right there,
just because that’s the most important thing — what resources are there
available for service members that are going without pay? I imagine nonprofits
like yourself try to fill some of the gaps that they’re seeing in services, but
what else can be done to help these folks that are going through this?
Jim
Whaley: Well, unfortunately, there’s not one organization across the
country that fills that void, so in many cases it’s done by local communities,
food banks, church pantries, things like that, that veterans and their families
and service members can go to. We have on our website a number of organizations
under a resource directory that veterans and active duty
military can go to and find help in different areas: homelessness, suicide, all
those sorts of things. I think it’s important, Eric, for listeners to
understand that we have 18 million veterans across our country. And when you
think about their spouses, dependents and things like that, you’re talking
30-plus million. That’s a sizable voter block. That’s a sizable amount of
people that have served their country or know someone who has served their
county. And right now, even before this shutdown occurred, one in four veterans
and active duty military have food insecurity issues.
I’ll let that sink in for a minute, because what that means is one in four are
not sure how or when their next meal is gonna be
provided. And when we think about active duty falling into that category,
that’s just an embarrassment for our country. So when
you add in inflation, when you add in the cost of living that everybody agrees
has gone up, and now a shutdown, you can see why all these things exacerbate an
already difficult situation. So I think it’s important
to also understand that during this shutdown, a couple of key programs have
been completely shut down. One is the Staff Sergeant Gordon Fox Suicide
Prevention Grant, which helps community-based suicide programs and rapid
response; that stopped. Support services for veteran families stopped.
Healthcare for homeless veterans, not going on. And rural access network for
veterans, the most dire situation is when we have
veterans that are so far away from a VA hospital in the rural America and they
don’t have anybody to connect to and they’re in financial straits, that
stopped. So this shutdown has profound effects and I
think veteran issues are corollary to recruitment issues. So
we’re already barely hitting marks when it comes to recruitment, shutdown pay,
low pay as it is. We all should not be surprised as a nation if we have trouble
hitting our numbers.
Eric
White: We’re speaking with Jim Whaley, he’s the CEO of Mission Roll Call.
Congress typically tries its best to almost shield military members and veterans
from the effects of a government shutdown just because nobody likes to be the
ones seen as taking away military pay and benefits. But even during a partial
government shutdown, you just laid out a couple of programs. When they are able
to eke out the last paycheck like they did this month, I imagine that it’s
still not cutting it, so to speak, just because, as you mentioned, some of
those programs that many aren’t aware of, that many rely on, do fall through
the cracks even during a partial government shutdown. Is that the case, or am I
blowing that out of proportion?
Jim
Whaley: No, I think it’s the uncertainty. I think you’re right on target,
the uncertainty of not knowing if your pay is gonna
kick in next month or… Because we all know, and I applaud the administration
for figuring a way around to make sure that the military, active duty continue to get paid. And then for those that don’t know,
the Coast Guard falls under the [Department of] Homeland Security. So Homeland Security figured a way to pay them. That is not
a long-term solution. That was a stopgap measure, thanks to them, to do that.
That has not happened before. So they found a way
around it and the military community applauds that effort. I think the
frustration that the military has is that these are important programs. We
still have 20 veterans every day committing suicide. We still have 35,000-plus
veterans homeless every night. We still have one in four active duty and
veterans, as I said earlier, with food insecurity issues. So
when you add this to the top of it, it only pours accelerant on an already
nasty fire that all of us want to put out. And I think as a country, we have to
do better to make sure that we have a government that takes responsibility,
that sets standards so critical programs don’t get cut and takes the
partisanship out of it. The military shouldn’t have to suffer doing this
political brinkmanship that’s going on right now.
Eric
White: Yeah, long-term, that’s what I wanted to finish up with here. We
could be having this conversation in 2018, 2015, 1997, and it still seems as if
every time it happens, as I mentioned in the intro, it’s military pay that is
always the thing that pulls us out of the fire because everyone wants to make
sure they are paid. Are you aware of any ideas or legislation that has been
proposed to just kind of blanket the military from when things don’t come
together on Capitol Hill, to make sure that at least they are getting paid even
when shutdowns like this occur? I’m just curious if there’s anything that
you’ve heard of or legislation that you all have lobbied for to improve things
going forward.
Jim
Whaley: No, I don’t. And I think it’s a two-edged sword in some ways. We certainly
want, and one way I’m saying, we need to make sure that these programs are
funded, that veterans are taken care of. But I also think, and you brought it
up earlier, that the riding crop that forces them to the bargaining table, in
some ways we have to keep that in this program because otherwise this would
drag out and drag out. And no one wants to see any American suffering during
the shutdown. Of course, we’re focused on veterans and their families, but I
think we need to think long and hard about how we come up with a better way
that this doesn’t continue to shut down because it affects markets, it affects
investment, it affects daily life for people. I think it’s also important to
realize that right now, 80% of the recruits that join the military come from
households that had veterans in their lives, either mother or father or an
uncle or brother. And when you see this year after year, Eric, like you
mentioned, it’s gonna affect that. At some point,
those family members aren’t gonna recommend that to
their family members. And we’re an all
volunteer force. So we can’t take that
for granted. And we have to make sure that those that raised their right hand,
signed a blank check for this country saying I’ll defend it and I’m willing to
give my life in that process, that they do not fall as a victim in this process
of, as I said earlier, political brinkmanship. And we’re hopeful that
resolution is not far off in the horizon.
Eric
White: Almost on the front lines on two fronts, keeping our government open
for us and riding things out just to make sure that Congress keeps working,
right?
Jim
Whaley: That’s right, that’s right.
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY SIX – FROM THE HILL
(NEXSTAR) — Tuesday, November 11, may already be marked on your calendar. It
may also be a day off for you if you work at a post office, bank, or other
company that treats Veterans Day as a holiday.
The
day will have a second significance, following a presidential
decision earlier this year.
In
May, President Trump established two
new national holidays. Trump explained on Truth Social in May that
both holidays are meant to commemorate the ends of World Wars I and II.
November SNAP will be partially funded, but benefits could take weeks or
months. Why?
“We
won two World Wars, but we never took credit for it — Everyone else does!”
Trump said at the time. “All over the World, the Allies are celebrating the
Victory we had in World War II. The only Country that doesn’t celebrate is the
United States of America, and the Victory was only accomplished because of us.”
The
first holiday was observed shortly after Trump’s announcement on May 8.
It marked the end of World War II.
The
second aligns with Veterans Day.
The
U.S. has observed Veterans Day in some form since it became a legal holiday in
1938. Originally known as
Armistice Day, it was meant to honor veterans of World War I. On
November 11, 1918, Germany and the Allies signed an armistice agreement to end
what was then known as the Great War.
Slideshow: Photos from Nov. 11, 1918 (See website)
·
Soldiers cheer as the news of the signing of the
Armistice is broken to the 313th Sanitary Group of the 88th Division in
Meurthe, France on Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
·
This
was the scene in France when news of the signing of the Armistice Treaty was
heard, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
·
FILE
– This March 24, 1941 file photo shows the saloon car of Compiegne, in where
the armistice ending World War I was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. The French and
German leaders this weekend will jointly visit the remains of the train
carriage where the armistice ending World War I was signed on Nov. 11, 1918.
For the French, the dining car became a shrine to peace. For Adolf Hitler, it
was a symbol of the humiliation of surrender. The Nazi leader had it dragged to
Germany after conquering France in World War II. (AP Photo)
·
This
picture, made at the close of World War I, shows allied officials dismounting
from the railway car where they dictated the terms of the Armistice, Nov. 11,
1918. Gen. Maxime Weygand is second from left, Marshal Foch fourth from left.
In this same car in Compiegne forest, Adolf Hitler
handed France his armistice terms on June 21, 1940. (AP Photo)
·
The
German delegation, Erzberger, Obendorff
and Winterfeld, at left, talk to French General
Weygand, facing camera at right, as they wait for the start of the train to the
Armistice conference in Forest of Compiegne, France, Nov. 11, 1918, which ended
World War I. (AP Photo)
·
Women
dance in the street below the window of the mayor’s office at City Hall in New
York on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
·
Parisians
celebrate Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
·
People
celebrate Armistice Day on the Grand Boulevard in Paris on Nov. 11, 1918.
Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, celebrates the
armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne,
France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. (AP Photo)
·
New
York troops in Corbie, France, celebrate the signing
of the Armistice Treaty, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
·
Soldiers
cheer as the news of the signing of the Armistice is broken to the 313th
Sanitary Group of the 88th Division in Meurthe, France on Nov. 11, 1918. (AP
Photo)
·
This
was the scene in France when news of the signing of the Armistice Treaty was
heard, Nov. 11, 1918. (AP Photo)
After
World War II, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day, and its purpose grew to
honor all U.S. veterans from every war. Great Britain, France, Australia, and
Canada also honor their
veterans of World War I and World War II on or near November
11.
Initially,
Trump wanted to rename Veterans Day to “Victory Day for World War I Day.” A day
later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that
Veterans Day would not be renamed but that the new holiday would “just be an
additional proclamation.”
Daylight saving time ends: What if our clocks didn’t fall back?
Veterans
Day will remain intact and largely unaffected by the expected proclamation from
Trump. You’ll also still have off work if your company observes the federal
holiday. And if your company does not treat it as a day off, it will likely
stay that way.
Trump
previously said the country would not be closing for the two “very important
Holidays” because “we already have too many Holidays in America — There are not
enough days left in the year.”
You’ll
have a day off soon, however. Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away.
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY SEVEN – FROM THE DALLAS NEWS
Veterans
Day event canceled in D-FW due to government shutdown
Uncertainty
around how long the shutdown would last and the ability to access certain
assets led the organizers at the Texas National Cemetery Foundation to the
decision.
By
Anna Butler Nov. 3, 2025 Updated 10:30 a.m. CST
An
American flag sits next to a headstone during the 2024 Veterans Day ceremony at
Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. The 2025 event has been canceled,
organizers said.
A
letter from the Texas National Cemetery Foundation Inc. said it was “necessary”
to cancel the annual Veterans Day program at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery
due to the government shutdown. The event was set to take place on the Veterans
Day holiday on Nov. 11.
In
a letter dated Oct. 28, the foundation, which has coordinated the Veterans Day
event at the region’s national cemetery annually for more than 20 years, said
“many of the assets, resources, support, staff, equipment and the availability
of the cemetery” were “in doubt.”
Gary
Poplin, chairman and director of operations of the Texas National Cemetery
Foundation, told WFAA-TV he “couldn’t make this event happen even if you gave
me a bla the lack of time to plan.
The
letter, which was posted to the foundation’s website, said the Oct. 28 date was
selected to cancel the event as the foundation had “reached the point in time
of no return.”
“We
have guests with airline tickets who must address that financial issue,” the
letter said. “We have sponsors who must stop volunteer food orders since we
will not be putting the flags up and of course taking them down, as well as
holding the hot dog event after the folding of the flags.”
Poplin
told WFAA-TV he was unable to confirm access to a military color guard, a
military band and the use of flags and flagpoles, among other items.
“There
were not going to be any porta-potties,” Poplin said to WFAA-TV, “and once I
got there I said this decision is really, really,
really easy.”
Dallas-Fort
Worth National Cemetery was dedicated in 2000 and is located at 2000 Mountain
Creek Parkway in Dallas.
More
information on what has and has not been impacted by the government shutdown at
the Department of Veterans Affairs is available on the department’s website.
Note:
While this event has been canceled, there are other Veterans Day events taking
place across Dallas-Fort Worth.
By
Anna Butler
PEANUT
GALLERY
Sa
Sandra
19
hrs ago
Why!
This is ridiculous. Libs need to come to the table recognize.
Reply
by fred.
fred
17
hrs ago
Reply
to BEN
You
have no clue what you're talking about.
USA
TODAY reported that a main sticking point in the 2025 shutdown negotiations
revolves around Medicaid funding, as many Democrats have pushed to reverse
recent cuts to the program enacted as part of Trump's major tax and spending
law.
Obamacare
subsidies set to expire at the end of the year are also a main talking point.
If Congress doesn't intervene, millions could see their health care premiums
rise.
A
very large portion of that "healthcare coverage" was funding
non-Americans. No, I have less than no desire for my tax dollars to go for
that.
And,
before you ask- no, I don't think I owe ANY able bodied
person anything that remotely resembles insurance or food. And I don't
"owe" the disabled- but I'm willing to contribute my tax dollars for
them.
Period.
I'll
save you the trouble of asking the question.
Reply
by BEN.
2
hrs ago
Reply
to fred
Fred,
I’m not debating the issue. My point is the House is dysfunctional. The
Speaker, in shutting down the House is depriving me, and you, representation or
a voice in the business of the government. I am concerned that my
representative is not troubled by the Speaker’s shutting down debate and
conversations about any and all issues important to the people. The House
represents the people. The Senate represents the States, and the judiciary
speaks for the Constitution. President is the executive managing the business
of government (elected by the electoral college, and was not elected to
represent the people).
fred
22
hrs ago
It
should be a full month, anyway.
We
have too many lesser things that get a month.
I
won't list them here- you know what some of the are,
and it's ridiculous that they get more recognition that people who put their
lives on the line.
amber
1
day ago
Shameful
I go every year to pay my respects and thank our living Veterans a thank you
and hug. I come from a military family at Armistice Day matters a lot to me.
LYNNE
21
hrs ago
Reply
to amber
Go
and visit anyway.
fred
17
hrs ago
Reply
to LYNNE
Agreed.
Thank
you, ma'am
ATTACHMENT
TWENTY EIGHT – FROM MILITARY.COM
Veterans Score Big And Send Huge Message In Tuesday's Elections
Military.com | By Darius
Radzius
Published November 05, 2025
at 9:20am ET
Voters handed veterans a powerful
spotlight on Election Day on Tuesday, turning New Jersey, New York and Virginia
into a showcase for former service members now leading the charge in public
office.
Election results showed voters
rewarding candidates with military backgrounds at every level of
government. New Jersey delivered the night’s biggest veteran-related political
headline when Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a
congresswoman and former Navy helicopter pilot, defeated Republican opponent Ciattarelli in the state's gubernatorial race by about 13
percentage points.
The races and their results were
widely viewed as a precursor to the 2026 midterm elections, which typically
benefit the party not in power and lacking a majority in either the U.S. Senate
or House of Representatives.
Other veteran candidates saw
victories across the country:
·
Orange
County, New York: Republican Steve Neuhaus, a Navy Reserve commander with
multiple deployments, returned as county executive.
·
Virginia House District 10: Democrat Dan Helmer, a U.S. Army Reserve
lieutenant colonel and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, secured another term.
·
Virginia House District 64: Democrat Stacey Carroll, a 20-year Army
National Guard veteran, captured the seat and will join the House of Delegates
in Richmond.
·
Bremerton, Washington: Greg Wheeler (nonpartisan), a former Navy
sailor, earned another term as mayor.
·
Texas Senate District 9: Democrat Taylor Rehmet,
an Army veteran and union president, advanced to a likely runoff in the special
election.
SHERRILL
RIDES A WAVE IN NEW JERSEY
Sherrill, the former Navy
helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, garnered nearly 1.8 million votes in
her landslide victory. She stepped up to the microphone in East Brunswick at
her victory party and reminded supporters where her journey began.
“I was 18 when I raised my hand
and swore to defend the Constitution,” Sherrill said during her victory speech.
“It taught me that leadership means carrying the weight of other people’s
hopes.”
Her campaign leaned heavily on
veterans and military families, especially near Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where thousands of service members live and work.
VIRGINIA
BECOMES A PROVING GROUND
The message from Richmond came
through loud and clear. Voters want leaders who can solve real problems.
“Veterans know how to fight like
hell and never quit,” delegate and Army Reserve Lt. Col. Dan Helmer told
Military.com as supporters cheered behind him. “That is how you campaign. That
is how you govern. ... You never ask somebody in a Humvee what political party
they are. You ask how you can accomplish the mission."
“Veterans show up to protect democracy even
when the uniform comes off," he added.
Another veteran joined him in the
House of Delegates. The 20-year Army National Guard veteran spoke to
Military.com soon after thanking supporters in a late-night speech.
Stacey Carroll celebrated her win
in District 64 and said the campaign succeeded because it focused on everyday
issues.
“People are frustrated. They want
leaders focused on real issues, not political theater,” Carroll said. “When we
talked about bringing new development to the county, lowering property taxes
and giving kids opportunities besides a skating rink, voters listened.”
Protecting health care, especially
for veterans, remains a major priority.
“We have a new veteran's clinic in
the region, and we need to make sure it stays funded. Veterans should not have
to drive two hours for care. Property tax exemptions and federal benefits must
stay intact.”
VETERANS
BRING CREDIBILITY AND RESULTS
The momentum behind veteran
candidates is no accident.
Rye Barcott,
co-founder of cross-partisan organization With Honor, told Military.com that
Americans respond to “real-world experience, not just political
experience" that ultimately showed at the ballot box.
Polling backs up the trend. A
national Gallup survey published Oct. 1, 2025, found that 55 percent of
Americans are much more or somewhat more likely to vote for a candidate with
military experience. The same study, conducted with the With Honor Institute,
found that:
·
83 percent
believe veterans possess strong leadership skills
·
78 percent believe veterans put the country’s interests ahead of politics
·
77 percent believe they work well with people from different backgrounds
Military.com has also reported that Americans view veterans as more trustworthy
problem-solvers in government, according to analysts and academic researchers.
“Military service teaches you how
to overcome obstacles,” Helmer said. “Veterans know how to earn trust, build
coalitions and talk to people who disagree.”
A NEW
POLITICAL FORCE
Veterans ran on lowering costs,
protecting schools, strengthening benefits, and helping small businesses. Their
wins crossed party lines.
“Veterans know how to bring people
together, even when they disagree,” Helmer said. “You can get in a room, figure
out the problem and complete the mission. That is what public service should
look like.”
Carroll agreed: “I am not a
traditional candidate, I am a public servant.”
Celebrations stretched late into
the night. The message remained: service does not end when the uniform comes
off.
“Veterans served their country,”
Helmer said. “Now we have their backs.”
Military.com contacted all
candidates mentioned in this article for comment. Only Dan Helmer and Stacey
Carroll responded, both speaking shortly after Election Night results were
announced.
ATTACHMENT “A” – FROM SIXTY MINUTES
Read the full
transcript of Norah O'Donnell's interview with President Trump here.
November 2, 2025 / 7:32 PM EST / CBS
News
Editor's
note: On October 31, 2025, correspondent Norah O'Donnell spoke with President
Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, FL, and this is a transcript of
that conversation. They started by discussing the president's recent meeting
with China's President Xi Jinping.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, first of all, we get along great, and we always really
have. We had the COVID moment, which was not-- attractive as far as I was
concerned. I wasn't so happy. But outside of that, we have always had a great
relationship. He's a powerful man. He's a strong man, a very powerful leader.
And-- we've
always-- had the best of relationships, probably the best of-- I could-- I think
I could speak for him, just about as good as it gets from his standpoint and
from my standpoint. And having that is important because of the power of the
two countries.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What did you get out of this deal that you wanted?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Well, I got sort of everything that we wanted. We got-- no rare earth
threat. That's gone, completely gone. We have tremendous amounts of-- dollars
pouring in-- 'cause we have-- very big tariffs,
almost 50%. We never had anything in terms of tariffs, although I put tariffs
on China, but Biden let it lapsed by the-- by the fact that he gave exemptions
on almost everything, which was just ridiculous.
But-- we
have-- billions and billions of dollars coming in, and we have a very good
relationship. I mean, we have-- a great relationship with a powerful country.
And I've always felt if we can make deals that are good, it's better to get
along with China than not, if you can't make the right kind of a deal than not,
because, you know, China, along with many other countries (they're not alone in
this), they've ripped us off from day one.
They've
ripped us so much. They've taken trillions of dollars out of our country. And
now they're-- it's the opposite. I mean, we're doing very well with China, and
hopefully they're gonna do very well with us. But I
do think it's important that China and the U.S. get along, and we get along
very well at the top.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: This trade war, though, was hurting Americans. I mean, our soybean
farmers. China had stopped buying the soybeans.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: As you mentioned, they were-- China was withholding these rare earth
materials that you need for everything from smartphones to-- to build submarines.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
What-- what was the crucial thing? I mean, how tough
of a negotiatior--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, when you say hurting--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --is President Xi--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --it was a temporary hurt. It was a hurt because-- I was takin'
in a lot of money from China. We're doing very well against China. And all of a
sudden they said, "You know, we have to fight
back." And so they used their powers. The power
they have is rare earth because of the fact that they've been accumulating it and--
and really taking care of it for a period of 25, 30
years.
Other
countries haven't. Now we are. I mean, we have tremendous rare earth, and it's
going to be-- you know, it's going to be-- it'll be a strength, but it won't
really be a strength if everybody has it. Everyone's gonna
have it pretty soon.
And they were
doing it-- on a singular basis. Now-- they use that against us, and we used
other things against them. For instance, airplane parts. That's a big deal.
They have-- hundreds of Boeing airplanes. We wouldn't give them parts. We were
both acting-- maybe a little bit irrationally, but the big thing we had was
tariffs ultimately.
I said,
"Look, if you don't open up, then what we're gonna
do is we're gonna impose a hundred percent tariff
over and above what you're already paying." And as soon as I said that,
they came to the table. We met in South Korea, as you saw, right? A lot of
people watched.
And-- we made
a really good deal. And it was good for them also, I hope. I mean, I want 'em to be good for both sides, but-- we'll be takin' in
hundreds of billions of dollars-- in the form of tariffs. You know, tariffs are
incredible, because they really give us great national security.
As an
example-- when they pulled the rare earth on us and the rest of the world, if
we didn't have tariffs to fight back, I-- I
immediately instituted a 100% tariff over and above what they were already
paying. And when I did that, they immediately came to the table. Without
tariffs, we would not have had that privilege. We would have-- not have had
that right. Tariffs give us national security and great wealth.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You talked about those rare earth minerals. Of course--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --I-- my understanding is about 90% of them come from China. That's
their--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Right now.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Yeah--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: But within a short period of time-- we'll have everything we need
for ourselves. You know, we've instituted an emergency program, and we will have--
within a year from now to a year and a half, we'll have everything we need, no
matter what kind of a threat is being--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: How? How do we do that?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Because we've taken over. First of all, you saw the partnerships
w-- we've established with Japan, with Australia, with U.K., w-- with just
about everybody, frankly. And we're all doing it together. You know, this
wasn't a threat against the United States. This was really a threat against the
world. So the w-- whole world has come together, I
think, at our behest. And rare earths, in-- within two years, rare earths will cea-- really cease to be a problem.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: The one thing that China wants but it doesn't have is the world's
most advanced semiconductors.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: That's what the United States has. Will you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Chips in particular.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Chips. That's right--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
Will you allow the chip maker, Nvidia, to sell their most advanced chips to
China--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No. No, we won't do that. But--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: It's not on the table at all?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --we will let them-- deal with Nvidia. Nvidia's the prime--
company in the world for that. And we will let them deal with Nvidia but not in
terms of the most advanced. The most advanced, we will not let anybody have
them other than the United States.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Because then they would win the AI race.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, they wouldn't win it necessarily, but they would certainly
have-- an equal advantage. Right now we're winning it
because we're producing electricity like never before by allowing the companies
to make their own electricity, which was my idea, which nobody, frankly, had
thought of.
These massive
plants that are being built are building their own electric generating plants
along with the plant itself. And that gives them all the electric they need
without going to an old grid that's, you know, 150 years old. And-- they're makin' it-- themselves, and then they're selling back any
excess electricity into the grid, so we benefit in all ways.
But most
importantly, it allows the c-- the companies to go immediately forward. We're
getting-- approvals done in two and three weeks. It used to take 20 years. And
we are leading the AI race right now by a lot. We are leading it by numbers
that people have no idea. It's been-- it's been really great. We've been very,
very far-reaching for it-- th-- look, that's the new
internet. That's the new everything all put together. The AI race is a big
deal.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, you just negotiated this one-year trade deal with
China--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yep.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
But as you know, the Chinese, they think in a hundred years.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: They play the long game, including on our own soil.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We play the long game too.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Our own intelligence agencies say the Chinese have infiltrated parts
of the American power grid and our water systems. They steal American
intellectual property and Americans' personal information. They bought American
farmland. How big of a threat is China?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's like everybody else. We're a threat to them too. Many of the
things that you say, we do to them. Look, this is a very competitive world,
especially when it comes to China and the U.S. And-- we're always watching
them, and they're always watching us. In the meantime, I think we get along
very well, and I think it's-- I think we can be bigger, better, and stronger by
working with them as opposed to just-- knocking them out--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Hmm.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --of the economy. They can produce things that we don't want to
produce because it's not really worth our while-- making-- undergarments, makin' this-- you know, certain things. We don't want to do
that, and we can buy them inexpensively from other places in the world while we
can lead the world in AI, and chips, and lots of other things.
Within-- two
years from now, we'll have 40% or 50% of the chip market. What's happening
here, the biggest companies are leaving Taiwan. They're coming into the United
States because of tariffs. If we didn't have tariffs, they wouldn't be doing it
because--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: In how many years? You think we'll be producing--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I think in two years, we'll start opening up plants and we'll
have a very substantial portion of the chip market. Right now
we have almost none. We should have had a hundred percent. If we had par-- if
we had presidents that knew anything about business or knew what they were
doing, because, frankly, they didn't.
We lost 50%
of our automobile business. It's all coming back. We lost a hundred percent of
the chip-- you know, it used to be all Intel and other companies. And what
happened is other countries came in, and they stole our chip business, and we
didn't charge tariffs.
If we would
have charged let's say a 100% tariff, none of those companies would have left.
But they all left. Now they're all coming back, Norah, because the only way
they avoid the tariffs is to build in our country. If they build in our
country, make their plant and make their product in our country, then it's a
very simple thing. They-- they don't have any tariff
to pay.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh.
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: And that's what they want to do. And so instead of charging somebody a
100% tariff and you can make your product outside, they come in, and they
make-- and this is why we have $17 trillion being invested in the United States
right now. By the time it-- it-- just to show you how
big that is, it's the biggest in history by many times. No other country's been
any-- seen anything like it.
The Biden
administration in four years did less than a trillion. We have 17 trillion--
more than $17 trillion right now, and I'm in my ninth month. By the time we
finish up, I think we're gonna have over $20 trillion
invested in the United States or to be invested in the United States--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: How will that trickle down to the average worker?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Because of jobs, because they're building plants. W-- we're bringing
back the auto industry into our country. We lost 58% of the automobile
manufacturing business to other countries. You know, we used to be the king of
automobile and automobile manufacturing, and now we're not really the king
anymore, you know?
Within a year
and a half, two years, we're gonna be the king again.
We're gonna-- the-- the--
as an example, I was also in Japan, as you know, and South Korea. We had-- the
biggest Japanese companies are investing billions of dollars in building auto
plants in the United States.
If I weren't
elected-- if I weren't elected, we would be losing all of these jobs. We would
be losing far more of the auto industry. We would be nowhere in chips. Our
country would have been bankrupt, and we would have had a bigger welfare roll.
They would have expanded welfare and forgotten about everything else.
Now we're
building a country that's gonna be so strong, I don't
know if you saw the last numbers in terms of employment. They're all
non-government jobs. Not just government. Government jobs are easy. I could-- I
could immediately inc-- do anything I want with
government jobs.
I'd just say,
"We're gonna add up-- we're gonna
add on a million government jobs," and you're gonna
say, "Oh, what wonderful numbers." They don't mean anything. We are
building jobs at a level that nobody's ever seen before. But when all of these
plants that are currently under construction and to be under construction, when
they open, we're gonna have an economy like our
country has never seen before, the strongest economy in the world.
We're doing
very well. By the way, the stock market just hit-- perfect timing for your
show, just hit an all-time high. It's hit an all-time high 48 times during the
course of my-- nine-month period. But just yesterday, the stock market hit an
all-time high. We're doing really well, and everybody knows it--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I ask--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Let's put it this way--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I-- can I ask you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: The smart people know it.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh. Can I ask you, Mr. President--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: The smart people definitely--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --on that point, though?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: When the stock market is doing well, that doesn't affect everybody.
Not everybody's invested in the stock market--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It does. Oh, it does, it does.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But there have been-- grocery prices are up--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Look, 401(k)s. People have 401(k)s. Their 401(k)s are double what
they were a year ago.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh. But for people that don't have 401(k)s, who are not invested
in the stock market--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure. But-- but--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --they've seen their grocery prices go up, inflation--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, you're wrong. They went up under Biden. Right now they're going down. Other than beef, which we're working
on, which we can solve very quickly. So the beef-- the
ranchers have really taken a drubbing over a 30-year period. Because of what
I've done, the ranchers have done well.
But with
that, the beef price went up a little bit. We're gonna
get the beef price down very quickly. It'll be very nice, just like eggs. When
I first took over, eggs were double, triple, quadruple what they were. This was
because of Biden.
All of these
problems were caused by Biden, whether it's-- the people that came into our
country through jails. I mean, they were released from jails. They were lease--
released from mental institutions into our country. These problems are caused
by Biden. We had an open border. Now we have a border that's, as you know,
absolutely shut other than--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: How--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: --people are allowed to come into our country, but they have to come in
legally.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I do want to talk about immigration and some other-
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --domestic issues. But just-- if we could stay on China for just a
moment--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: One potential flash point with China, probably the potential flash
point with China in the coming years, is over the issue of Taiwan. The Chinese
military is encroaching on Taiwan's sea lanes, its airspace, its cyberspace. I
know you have said that Xi Jinping wouldn't dare move militarily on Taiwan
while you're in office. But what if he does? Would you order U.S. forces to
defend Taiwan?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You'll find out if it happens. And he understands the answer to
that.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Why not say it--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: This never even came up yesterday, as a subject. He never brought
it up. People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up, because
he understands it, and he understands it very well. Taiwan is a very
interesting case. It's 69 miles away from China. We're 9,500 miles away. But
that doesn't matter. He understands-- what will happen. He and I have spoken
about it. But it was never even brought up during a two and a ha-- or
two-and-a-half-hour meeting we had yesterday.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Do you mind if I ask, when you say, "He understands," why
not communicate that publicly to the rest of us? What does he understand that--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --I don't want to give away-- I can't give away my secrets. I
don't want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what's gonna happen if something happens. The other side knows,
but-- I'm not somebody that tells you everything because you're askin' me a question. But they understand what's gonna happen. And-- he has openly said, and his people have
openly said at meetings, "We would never do anything while President Trump
is president," because they know the consequences.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Less than an hour before your meeting with President Xi, you posted
on social media that you instructed the, quote, Department of War to start
testing our nuclear weapons--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --immediately.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What did you mean?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country.
Russia's second. China's a very distant third, but they'll be even in five
years. You know, they're makin' 'em
rapidly, and I think we should do something about denuclearization, which is gonna be some-- and I did actually discuss that with both
President Putin and President Xi. Denuclearization's a very big thing. We have
enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of
nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some. They have quite a
bit, but--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So why do we need to test--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --our nuclear weapons?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, because you have to see how they work. You know, you do
have to-- and the reason I'm saying-- testing is because Russia announced that
they were gonna be doing a test. If you notice, North
Korea's testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country
that doesn't test, and I wanna be-- I don't wanna be the only country that doesn't test.
We have
tremendous nuclear power that was given to us largely because when I was
president (and I hated to do it, but you have to do it)--
I rebuilt the military during my first term. My first term was a tremendous
success. We had the greatest economy in the history of our country.
But my second
term is blowing it away. It's blowing it away when you look at the numbers, the
stock market, the jobs. Look at the job numbers, how good they've been. And,
again, I have costs down. Remember, Biden gave me the worst inflation rate in
the history of our country--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I-- I w-- definitely want to talk about
the economy, but I just want to make s-- sure we-- we
button up this issue--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --on nuclear weapons. And I want to clarify this--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Are you saying that after more than 30 years, the United States is
going to start detonating nuclear weapons for testing?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I'm saying that we're going to test nuclear weapons like other
countries do, yes.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
But the only country that's testing nuclear weapons is North Korea. China and
Russia are not--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, Russia's-- no, no. Russia's testing nuclear weapons--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So my understanding--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And China's testing 'em too. You just
don't know about it.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: That would be certainly very newsworthy. My understanding is what
Russia did recently was test essentially the-- delivery systems for nuclear
weapons, essentially missiles, which we can do that but w-- not with nuclear
warheads-
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about
it. You know, we're a open
society. We're different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because
otherwise you people are gonna report-- they don't
have reporters that gonna be writing about it. We do.
No, we're gonna test, because they test and others
test. And certainly North Korea's been testing.
Pakistan's been testing.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Not nuclear weapons, is my understanding--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Of course they have--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: North Korea has, but not nuclear weapons--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: But they don't go and tell you about it. And, you know, as
powerful as they are, this is a big world. You don't necessarily know where
they're testing. They-- they test way under--
underground where people don't know exactly what's happening with the test.
You feel a
little bit of a vibration. They test and we don't test. We have to test. And
Russia did make-- a little bit of a threat the other day when they said they
were gonna do certain forms of a different level of
testing. But Russia tests, China-- and China does test, and we're gonna test also.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So we are going to--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Doesn't it sorta make sense? You know,
you make-- you make nuclear weapons, and then you don't test. How are you gonna do that? How are you gonna
know if they work? We have to do that--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Apparently, we don't need to test our nuclear weapons, 'cause they're the best in the world, according to experts
I've spoken with--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: According to me. We have the best, and I was the one that
renovated them and built them during a four-year period. And I hated to do it,
because the destructive capability is something you don't even wanna talk about. But if other people are gonna have 'em, we're gonna have to have 'em.
And if we
have 'em, we have to test 'em,
otherwise you don't really know how they're gonna
work. And we don't wanna ever use them. And in the
meantime, I've solved eight wars. I knocked out eight wars. I had eight wars--
I brought a little list for you if you'd like to see it-- but I took eight wars
and stopped during an eight-month period, during eight months.
Before the
ninth month I stopped eight wars. The only one I haven't been successful yet
in, and-- and that'll happen, is Russia Ukraine,
which I thought actually would be the easiest one because I have a very good
relationship with President Putin. But-- we are respected again as a country,
and that's the way I've been able to stop the wars. I also stopped them because
of trade.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Who's tougher to deal with, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Both tough. Both smart. Both-- look, they're both very strong
leaders. These are people not to be toyed with. These are people you have to
take very serious. They're not-- they're not walking
in saying, "Oh, isn't it a beautiful day? Look how beautiful. The sun is
shining, it's so nice." These are serious people. These are people that
are tough, smart leaders.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And on that note, you talk about Ukraine, that being the one war
that you are not able to solve. In August, I mean, you rolled out the red
carpet for Vladimir Putin in-- Alaska. But there's been--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I roll out the red carpet for everybody.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay. But is-- but there's been no ceasefire--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I think I made-- yes, there isn't--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What's—is he ignoring you?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --because he thinks-- because I inherited a country where he
thinks he's winning. That was a war that would've never happened if I was
president. He even said that. That was a war that would've never happened. Joe
Biden was the president.
Joe Biden
gave $350 billion to Ukraine, including a lot of weapons, a tremendous amount of weapons, which allowed them to fight, 'cause we make the best weapons in the world. You know, I
rebuilt our military during my first term. They used a lotta those weapons in
that war. We make the best weapons in the world. Now we make even better
weapons. But that was--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So why won't Putin end this war?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --that was-- but-- but Norah, that was Joe
Biden's war, not my war. I inherited that stupid war. That should not have been
a war. That would've never happened if I were president. And by the way, for
four years it didn't happen. There was never even a doubt.
Then the
election was rigged and stolen, and all of a sudden you see them forming up at
the line. And now I come back and I'm gonna get that
one solved too. But I brought, I mean, just a little list of-- of-- look at this, wars. How many did I solve?
Cambodia--
this is Cambodia Thailand. Kosovo Serbia. Congo-- the Congo and Rwanda.
Pakistan and India, that was gonna be a beauty. They
shot down seven planes. Israel and Iran, you've heard about that one? Egypt and
Ethiopia, that's another beauty. Ethiopia built a big-- dam where there's no
water going to the Nile. Armenia and Azerbaijan. And if you take a look, Israel
and Hamas, which is a, you know, rough little situation, but it's gonna be--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I do wanna talk about-- I mean, you have
branded yourself the peace president.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think I did--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --pretty good. I-- I solved-- those are
eight of the nine wars I solved. I--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: When--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --you know how I solved 'em? I said, in
many cases, in 60% I said, "If you don't stop fighting, I'm putting
tariffs on both of your countries and you're not gonna
be able to do business with the United--"
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So why isn't that-- why isn't that working with Putin?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It is working with Putin, I think. I did different with him
because we don't do very much business with Russia, for one thing, you know?
He's not, like, somebody that buys a lot from us because of-- foolishness. And
I think he'd like to be. I think he wants to come in and he wants to trade with
us, and he wants to make a lotta money for Russia, and I think that's great.
That's what I like--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can you get it done in a couple months, do
you think?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I think we're gonna get it done, yeah.
I think he really wants to do business with the U.S. But it did work with
India, and it did work with-- Pakistan, and it did work with-- 60% of those
countries. I can tell you, if it wasn't for tariffs and trade
I wouldn't have been able to make the deals.
But I
stopped, as an example-- India does a lotta business with us. They were going
to war. They were gonna have a nuclear war with
Pakistan. The-- Prime Minister of Pakistan stood up the other day and he said,
"If Donald Trump didn't get involved, many millions of people would be
dead right now." That was a bad war he was ready to start.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Let's talk about--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Shot down airplanes all over the place. That really-- that was gonna be a bad war. And I told both of them, I said,
"If you guys don't work out a deal fast, you're not gonna
do any business with the United States." And they do a lotta business with
the United States. And they were both great leaders, and they worked out a
deal, and they stopped the war. That would've been a bad war. It would've been
a nuclear war.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanna stay on the issue of foreign
policy, and let's turn to our hemisphere. There have been at least eight boats
in the Caribbean destroyed by the U.S. military--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Fortunately.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And now the U.S.S. Gerald Ford, that is the world's largest aircraft
carrier, on the way to the Caribbean. Are we going to war against Venezuela?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I doubt it. I don't think so. But they've been treating us very
badly, not only on drugs-- they've dumped hundreds of thousands of people into
our country that we didn't want, people from prisons-- they emptied their
prisons into our compan-- country. They also-- if you
take a look, they emptied their mental institutions and their insane asylums--
into the United States of America, 'cause Joe Biden
was the worst president in the history of our country--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But why is our aircraft carrier--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Let me just finish.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --going down there?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Joe Biden was the worst president in the history of our country.
We had the worst inflation, we had the worst of
everything. But the worst thing he did was allow millions of people to come into
our country that were many-- in many cases, criminals, murderers, 11,888
murderers were let into our country. Venezuela let a lot of those people in.
But they were from all over the world. This isn't just Venezuela. They were
from all over the world.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: We are gonna talk about--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And what he did to our country should never be forgotten. He had
an open-border process, and people would come in, and I'm not discriminating
against tattoos, but people would come in with tattoos all over their faces,
and say, "Come on in, come on in, come on in."
They let
people in that should've never been. Venezuela emptied their prisons into the
United States of America. And every one of those boats that you see shot down--
and I agree, it's a terrible thing-- but every one of those boats kills 25,000
Americans. Every single boat that you see that's shot down kills 25,000 on
drugs and destroys families all over our country.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: We will talk about immigration in a moment, but I just wanna talk about the scale of the military operation around
Venezuela, because it has been described to 60 Minutes as
using a blowtorch to cook an egg. Is this about stopping--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Well, I don't think so. Look--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is it about-- let me ask you, though. Is it about stopping
narcotics? Or is this about getting rid of President Maduro?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, this is about many things. This is a country that allowed
their prisons to be emptied into our country. To me, that would be almost
number one, because we have other countries--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well we don't need to blow up boats in
order to deal--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Look, Mexico has been very bad to us in terms of drugs, okay?
Very bad. We have a closed border right now. You probably noticed that for five
months in a row, they have zero-- think of this, zero people coming into our
country through our southern border.
And it was
millions of people a year just a little more than a year ago. Millions of
people a year walked into our country totally unchecked, unvetted. We had no
idea who they were. And we're never gonna let that
happen again. That's what made Biden the worst president, because you know
what, inflation I've already taken care of. We had the worst inflation in the
history of our country, and now we don't have inflation. It's at 2%. It's-- it's the perfect inflation.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Aren't--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: But what made him so bad-- well, the weaponization of law
enforcement, all of that. Look, he was bad in every way. But the worst thing
that he did is allow millions, and millions, and millions of people to pour
into our country unvetted, unchecked. And they were criminals, they were
murderers, they were drug dealers, they were people from jails, and people from
mental institutions.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You-- you have had success on immigration,
I wanna talk about that in a minute. But on
Venezuela--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Big success.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: On Venezuela in particular, are Maduro's days as president numbered?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And this issue of potential land strikes in Venezuela, is that true?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I don't tell you that. I mean-- I'm not saying it's true or
untrue, but I-- you know, I wouldn't--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Why would we do it?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --I wouldn't be inclined to say that I would do that. But--
because I don't talk to a reporter about whether or not I'm gonna
strike. I'm not gonna-- you know, you're a wonderful
reporter, you're very talented, but I'm not gonna
tell you what I'm gonna do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it or if I wasn't going to do it.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Why do we need an aircraft carrier and all of group--strike group--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's gotta be somewhere. It's a big
one.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I just think it-- it leads to the
suggestion that the United States military is planning a larger operation involving
Venezuela.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, we're not gonna allow countries
from-- what-- you know, it's countries from all over the world coming in. You
know, they come in from the Congo where we just settled that war. But it come--
they come in from the Congo, they come in from all over the world, they're
coming, not just from South America. But Venezuela in particular-- has been
bad. They have gangs-- Tren de Aragua, do you ever
hear of it?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Of course--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: The most vicious gang anywhere in the world. They cut people's
hands off if they call up the cops. You know, they call up the police and they
said, "Did you call the police?" "Yes, I did. You took my
apartment, you live in my building, you took my apartment." They cut his
hand off.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: "Don't ever call the police again."
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I fully underst--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: These are animals. Wait a minute. And they came in from
Venezuela. Worst gang-- probably the worst gang, most vicious gang in the
world. And you know what I did? In Washington, D.C., we had a lot of 'em. We took care of business. They're gone.
Washington,
D.C., right now is a very safe place, as it should be. Washington, D.C., be--
before I got here was almost like a crime capital of the world. It's the
capital of this country. To me, it's the capital of the world. You see the way
they treat me.
I go to
Japan, I go to South Korea, I go to Chi-- any place I go, and you know what I
call that? Respect for our country. They didn't treat Biden that way. When
Biden went there-- first of all, he hardly went anywhere. Guy couldn't leave
his bedroom. But they didn't treat Biden that way. They had no respect for
Biden falling up the stairs going to an airplane three times. I mean, this is a
man who should've never been president. This was a rigged election. And we--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I ask--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: --have to get back-- we have to get to the bottom of that also, because
we don't want that to ever happen again. You see what's going on. We don't ever
want that to happen again. Look what happened to our country by having Biden as
the president.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Our country went to hell. And if we--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanted to ask you about Israel--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --had another couple of years, if Kamala had won the election,
our country right now would be finished. It was a dead country, and now we have
the hottest country anywhere in the world. We have the strongest stock market, we have everybody wants to come in. A year ago we were a dead country. Right now
we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. Think of that. And I did
that in nine months. And it's only gonna get better.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Let's talk about Israel, as we're on foreign policy and talking
about some of your successes. You got-- on Israel, you got the remaining
Israeli hostages out of Gaza.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I did.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You arranged a ceasefire, however fragile that may be. Those are
major--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's not fragile. It's a very solid-- you know, I mean, you hear
about Hamas, but Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don't behave.
They know that. If they don't behave they're gonna be taken out immediately. They know that--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: How do you get Hamas to disarm?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: If I want 'em to disarm, I'll get 'em to disarm very quickly. They'll be-- they'll be
eliminated. They know that. Don't forget, you said I got the remaining
hostages. I got all the hostages out. But I always said the last 10 or 20 are gonna be tough. But we were tough also, and they let 'em all out.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You were tough--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And now, by the way, they're getting-- a lot of the bodies are
coming out too. Did you know a lot of the parents-- this is very interesting--
were-- the people that lost their child, you know, mostly sons, but sons and
daughters, they knew they were dead, in some cases.
Do you know
that they were as anxious or even more anxious of getting their child out, even
though they knew it was a body that we were dealing with, than the people that
had a living child-- a living, breathing child that they knew they were alive,
if-- if barely, because the way they lived was so horrible.
And-- you saw
yesterday four more just came out. We're gonna get
them out too. They're buried in many cases. They're buried under rubble. But we
pretty much know where they were. But I didn't get just the 20 out. I got all
of the hostages out.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You pushed the Israeli Prime Minister to make this deal, to get a
ceasefire, to apologize-- to Qatar. Can you push Bibi Netanyahu to recognize a
Palestinian state?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, he's-- he's fine. He's fine.
Look, he's a wartime prime minister. I worked very well with him. Yeah, I mean,
I had to push him a little bit one way or the other. I think I-- I did a great job in pushing-- he's a very talented guy.
He's a guy that-- has never been pushed before, actually.
And that's
the kind-- that's the kind of person you needed in Israel at the time. It was
very important. I don't think they treat him very well. He's under trial for
some things, and I don't think they treat him very well. I think it should--
you know, we'll-- we'll be involved in that to help
him out a little bit, because I think it's very unfair.
But he's a
wartime prime minister. I did, I pushed him. I didn't like certain things that
he did, and you saw what I did about that. I also stopped-- you know, I-- we
knocked the hell out of Iran, and then it was time to stop, and we stopped.
Iran wants to
make a deal. They don't say that, and they probably shouldn't say-- no good
deal maker would. But Iran very much wants to make a deal. The key to Middle
East peace-- I made Middle East peace. For 3,000 years they couldn't do it.
I did it. And
I did it with some very good partners in Israel. But the key to the Middle East
peace was knocking the hell out of their potential-- nuclear. When we, with
those beautiful B-2 bombers-- we just ordered 20 brand new ones, the newest and
the greatest-- but with those beautiful B-2 bombers, when they went in there
and they blew the hell out of that, you know, potential nuclear weapons site--
there were two of 'em, actually.
And every
single missile hit every single air shaft. You know, they had to go down an air
shaft. Every single one of 'em hit their target. And
I remember fake news CNN said, "Well, maybe it wasn't as powerful or as
good as we thought."
No, it was
much-- turned out it was actually better. You know the Atomic Energy Agency
said the hit was even stronger than anyone ever thought possible. And those
pilots did a great job. What they were able to do-- and those machines. But it
wasn't only them.
They were
surrounded by F-22s and F-16s. They were surrounded by F-35s. They were-- do
you know we had 52 tanker planes, loading 'em up with
jet fuel, because it was a long flight. They flied-- they flew for 37 hours. Of
course, I flew for thirty-- 42 hours over the last three days, so I know how
they feel. But they flew--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Except there's a bathroom on Air Force One--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --but they were sitting in one seat. I was-- I was able to walk
around a little bit. But yeah, they said 42 hours. I've been in the air for 42
hours over a few days-- and that was fine, because we took in trillions of
dollars into our country.
And we also--
you know what's interesting, Japan took tremendous advantage of us over the
years. You know, they sold cars to us, we couldn't sell cars to them. They made
a fortune, we didn't make anything, we lost money. But it's the exact opposite
now.
But you know what?
They like us more now than they used to because they respect us now. They
didn't used to respect us, and they have great respect for us, all of 'em. Every country has-- including China. China now has
great respect for us.
They didn't
have respect for us when they had Biden and when they had Obama. Obama was a
terrible president. Nobody wants to talk about it because they wanna be politically correct. I don't care. He was a
terrible president. Our country was-- it really started a very bad downward spiral.
Then I stopped it, then we had a rigged election, and then-- what-- what Biden did to our country should never, ever be
forgotten.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: We're still on-- on foreign policy, so I
just have another question--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, I'm with-- I'm on all policy.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know you are--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I'm not talking about foreign-- no, no. I'm talking about
everything.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well, I just wanna--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I'm talking about economy, I'm talking
about everything--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanted to ask you about the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is coming
to the White House--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --this month. He has said they won't join the Abraham Accords
without a two-state solution. Do you believe that?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No. I think he's gonna join. I-- I think-- we will have a solution. I don't know if it's gonna be two-state. That's gonna
be up to Israel and other people, and me. But-- look, the main thing is you
could've never had any kind of a deal if you had a nuclear Iran. And you
essentially had a nuclear Iran. And I blasted the hell out of 'em, and no president is--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Are you convinced they have no nuclear capability right now in Iran?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Do you wanna know-- do you wanna know-- they have no nuclear capability, no. Do you wanna know that-- the pilots, I invited them to the White
House--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I saw that.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --'cause they were very brave. I mean,
I wouldn't have wanted to do it, you know, getting in a plane, and they know
you're coming, and you're going right into Iran airspace. And, you know,
they're very experts, and you're flying in with machines, these big, fantastic,
unbelievable, beautiful wings that carry massive 100,000-pound bombs, and you
don't-- I personally-- I can think of other things I'd rather do.
These guys
are very brave people. They're-- they were beautiful-looking people. They
were-- they're real-- I mean, they're real American heroes, and I thought they
deserved to be invited. And I invited 'em to the
White House, the Oval Office, including the mechanics and the people behind the
scenes, I invited--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I saw that.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --a lot of 'em. And they told me
something I didn't know. They said, "Sir, for 22 years we've been
practicing this route. Our predecessors," obviously, before them-- but
"our predecessors and ourselves, for 22 years we've been practicing this
hit, three times a year, every year, for 22 years. And you were the only
president that let us do our job."
I said,
"Let me ask you. Is this a job you wanted to do?" "Yes, sir, 'cause it was the right thing." These are really brave
people. These are really amazing people, and talented people. When you can hit
at midnight with no moon, with no vision, every single air shaft, where that
bomb went deep into that mountain and exploded and beat the hell out of it,
I'll tell you what, they deserve to come to the White House. I gave 'em all a medal. They deserve to come to the White House.
And it was a pleasure to meet 'em. These are great
people. We have great people in this country.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, we've talked about foreign policy, now let's focus on
issues here at home--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Okay, sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --some of that you have already mentioned. We are now approaching
the longest shutdown in American history.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Democrats' fault.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Under your presidency, we're talking about more than a million
federal workers who are not getting a paycheck, including our air traffic
controllers. You see there's traffic snarls out at the airports now. This
weekend food aid for more than 42 million Americans is set to expire. What are
you doing as president to end the shutdown?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, what we're doing is we keep voting. I mean, the Republicans
are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against
ending it. You know, they've never had this. This has happened like 18 times
before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, "Give
us an extension, we'll work it out."
They don't wanna give us an extension because they used to think it
was good for him, but the polls are turning around because-- not turning
around. I just saw a poll where they're down 20-25%. What's happening is the
people understand they're losing so much, they call it
Trump derangement syndrome. They are losing so much that they don't know what
to do. They've lost their way. They've become crazed lunatics. And all they
have to do, Norah, is say, "Let's vote." And you can open the-- the economy could open up during our interview--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is there something you can do, though--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Maybe it did.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is there something you can do--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: All I can do--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --to bring this to an end?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --is give the facts. Here's what I can't do. I can't give them
$1.5 trillion so that they can give welfare to people that came into our
country illegally. So that prisoners, and that people from mental institutions,
and people that are drug dealers get vast amounts of money for healthcare. That
I can't do--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So my under--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: What I can do is I can continue to run a great country. We have
the best economy we've ever had. I can continue to do that. What they should
do-- look, this started a long time ago. I always said-- and you know I've been
very consistent-- Obamacare is terrible.
It's bad
healthcare at far too high a price. We should fix that. We should fix it. And
we can fix it with the Democrats. All they have to do is let the country open
and we'll fix it. But, you know, people are gonna get
an 18-19% increase in Obamacare. It was a faulty program,
it should've never been approved. But it was approved.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So now that we're in--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: If we fix it it'll be-- one of the
greatest achievements. But--
NORAH O'DONNELL:
But if ending the government shutdown--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --they have to let the country open, and I'll sit down with the
Democrats, and we'll fix it. But they have to let the country-- and you know
what they have to do--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So your plan--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: All they have to do is raise five hands. We don't need all of ''em.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But so you're saying your plan is to tell
the Democrats to vote the-- to end the shutdown.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Correct, very simple.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And that you will put forward a healthcare plan?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No. We will work on fixing the bad healthcare that we have. Right
now, we have terrible healthcare and too expensive for the people, not for the
government, for the people.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But Mr. President, with all due respect--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: The people are paying--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --you've been talking about fixing the healthcare insurance plan
since 2015--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure. And you can't do it because of the Democrats. That's right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Since 2015, you said you'd fix it.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I've been talking about it for a long time. We almost did it. We
were one vote short. We woulda had great healthcare.
We were one vote short. And coupla Senators that we
currently have made the mistake, and they-- they made
a big mistake. John McCain made a mistake, frankly.
We were one
vote short. We woulda had great healthcare. And I've
been saying ever since, "We can fix it. It's too expen--"
it's got two things. It's too expensive, and it's lousy healthcare. It's too
expensive for the people. They're gonna get a very
big increase this year. And it's because--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well, they're gonna get an increase if
they don't-- if you don't extend the subsidies.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, no. But the subsidies is part of it.
We're supposed to spend trillions of dollars to take care of something that--
that is defective. What I'm saying is, we can make it much less expensive for
people and give them much better healthcare. And I'd be--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But where is that plan?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --willing to work with the Democrats--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But where is that plan?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: --on it. The problem is, they want to give money to prisoners, to drug
dealers, to all these millions of people that were allowed to come in with an
open border from Biden. And nobody can do that. Not--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I just--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --one Republican would ever do that.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I just button that up? Because the extension of these Obamacare
subsidies, if they are not extended is that's what the Democrats are pushing
for. I know you understand that. Tens of millions of Americans will see their
monthly payments double.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, no. It's going to double--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: That's a lot.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --anyway. It's gonna double anyway--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: My understanding is, it's just the...but can I-- may I just-- my
understanding is, if those healthcare subsidies are not expan--
extended, premiums will double for many of the people that are on it. And I was
looking into it. Three quarters of these people that will see their healthcare
premiums double live in states where you won in the
last election. I mean, even here in Florida has the highest number of residents
on Obamacare in the country. If those--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And I'm saying we can fix it, Norah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But if the subsidies are not extended, they're not gonna be able to afford health insurance--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Look. It was a defective plan put into line by Barack Hussein
Obama, who was a lousy president, not nearly as bad as Biden, by the way, who
by the way is building a museum that's, like, four times over budget. It'll
never open, built in a neighborhood that-- you know, it's just not gonna work. The neighborhood doesn't even want 'em.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And it's a disaster. The same guy that did his museum, which is a
total catastrophe, came up with a bad healthcare plan. And for the sake of one
vote, we would have had, you know, it's so sad thinking back--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But how-- I guess the question is-- I hear you.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: If we had the vote, that one vote, we would have great healthcare
at a much lower cost, and that's what I want. But I don't want to give $1.5
trillion to prisoners and drug dealers and-- and the
people that-- that came into our country from mental institutions. What they
allowed to come into our country, and we're getting 'em
out, but what they allowed to come into our country, Norah, is horrible. So--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I just--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --ready?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We can make it good.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I don't want to get into a back-- too much of a back and forth on
this--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, but here's all I have to do. Open up the country. Open up the
country.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You mean, end the shutdown--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We only need five of the-- of their votes. We only need five
votes, and already a couple of Democrats, a few Democrats are already voting.
They want to open up. And we'll fix all of those problems.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
You're st--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Those problems are much easier than what I just did with solving
all these wars.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Last question--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: We had-- wait a minute, we had nine wars on our planet. I solved eight
of 'em. I have one to go, Russia-Ukraine. I thought
that was gonna be one of the easier ones but it's not
because Putin is tougher than people thought--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You have-- you-- you have helped these
government shutdowns in the past when it came about--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I did.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And you did it by bringing back--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I'm very good at it, but I'm not gonna
do it by--
NORAH O'DONNELL:
You brought members of Congress to--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --I'm not gonna do it by extortion--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --to the White House.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I'm not gonna do it by being extorted
by the Democrats who have lost their way. The-- there's something wrong with
these people.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So then what happens on November 15th--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Schumer-- Schumer is a basket case.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --when the troops don't get a paycheck?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Schumer is a basket case. He's gonna be
defeated in the next election by a vast number of people. And he has nothing to
lose. He's become-- I just left Japan. He's become a kaz--
kamikaze pilot. This guy--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: It sounds like-- it sounds like this is not gonna
get solved--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --is, this guy is a kamikaze. He would rather see the country
fail than have Trump and the Republicans do well. But the people don't want
that--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: It's, I know, I hear you. It sounds like--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: So we have a record-setting country right now,
and we're not gonna be extorted by a man who's
grossly incompetent, who-- who is gonna
be defeated by any one of five different candidates. We're not gonna let that happen--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: It sounds like this is not gonna get
solved.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Say it?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: It sounds like it's not gonna get solved,
the shutdown.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's gonna get solved, yeah. Oh, it's gonna get solved.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: How?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: We'll get it solved. Eventually, they're gonna
have to vote.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You're saying the Democrats will capitulate?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I think they have to. I mean, look, I-- I
use the word kamikaze, not freely. I don't like to have to use that word. They
are kamikazes, but there are gonna be four or five
Democrats that come. We need five. They're gonna come
and vote.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: That's--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And if they don't vote, that's their problem. Now, I happen to agree
to something else. I think we should do the nuclear option. This is a totally
different nuclear, by the way. It's called ending the filibuster.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Did you see John Thune said today they're not gonna
do that--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: I know John doesn't-- well, John and a few others. But,
you know what? The Republicans have to get tougher. If we end the filibuster,
we can do exactly what we want. We're not gonna lose
power. The theory is, oh, then we'll do it, but then when they get into power someday they'll do it. That's true. But you know what?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So you think John--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We're here right now. No, I like John Thune. I think he's
terrific, but I disagree with him on this point.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
Okay.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I don't-- I don't even know-- actually, I don't even know his
attitude on the filibuster, but I think we should do it--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: He j-- he said today he wasn't gonna do
it.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, that's too bad. You know, I mean, I think we're much better
off. 'Cause here's the problem. The Democrats will do
it in the first week in office. The Democrats, and I told that to John. The
de-- and I get along with him great. We've had a great relationship--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Yes.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And I also know there are other Republicans that feel the other
way. And I understand that too, but they're wrong. The Democrats will do it. If
they get into power and someday I guess they will. Who
knows? It's hard to believe when they have men in women's sports, open borders,
open everything, a transgender for everyone. The Democrats will do it in their
first day in office, and the only reason they didn't do it is because of Sinema
and because of a man named Joe Manchin from West Virginia--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Senator Kyrsten Sinema--.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --good man. And they disagreed with it. Now wait. Had they
approved it, I think just one of 'em, had they been
able to get those votes, you would have had the nuclear option used. You would
have had the filibuster ended, and the Democrats would have used it.
So I say to the Republicans that want to be, you know,
all like, "Oh, well, we-- you know, we're above all that," the
Democrats will do it. See, the Republicans have much better policy. We have
smart policy. We have great policy. That's how we win. The Democrats are
vicious. They're vicious. They have horrible policy, but they are the most
vicious human beings on Earth. They are people that weaponize government. They
do a lotta bad things. But--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I ask you about--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --the good thing is, from our standpoint, from the standpoint of
winning is, they have the worst policy of-- it's hard to believe. Think of it.
Open borders, men playing in women's sports, transgender for everybody. I mean,
I could go point-- these are not 80:20--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can I ask you about the economy--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --these are 99:1 issues. And they don't
change. I just watched this morning a show where--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, can I ask you about the-- the
economy--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, just-- just one thing. I watched
a show this morning where a very well-known Democrat Congressman was fighting
like hell for men playing in women's sports. They don't change it--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Who was that?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I don't want to tell. You'll be able to check it. Just check your
local TV.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay. On the economy, the signature part of your economic plan is
tariffs. The Supreme Court is gonna hear arguments
this week on whether you have the authority to impose these sweeping tariffs
without Congressional approval. The lower courts have ruled against you. That's
why it's at--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, no.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --the Supreme Court right now.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Very close rulings, yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What happens to your economic plan if the Supreme Court invalidates
your tariffs?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I think our country will be immeasurably hurt. I think our
economy will go to hell. Look, because of tariffs, we have the highest stock
market we've ever had. Because of tariffs, 401(k)s at the highest level that--
and this is millions and millions of people that we've ever had 401(k)s.
Because of
tariffs, I've ended six of the eight wars that I've ended, and it'll end up
being used also for the last war in a different way. Because of tariffs and the
economy, but because of tariffs, we have a great economy. Because of tariffs,
our country is wealthy again. Because of tariffs, tremendously good things
happened. Because of tariffs, our country is respected again. Because of
tariffs, a president--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So what if the Supreme--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: --wait a minute. Because of tariffs, President Xi allowed us to win
every single point. He bought billions and billions of dollars of-- of our soybeans, of our everyth--
it was the money they're spending. When I came out, did you see what happened
with the farmers? They're having rallies for Trump right now because of
tariffs.
Because it
gives us national security. If we didn't have tariffs, and remember this.
Tariffs are used against us. Let me talk about that lawsuit. That lawsuit
against us was instituted and backed by foreign countries that have been
ripping us off for years.
They don't
want it because they were rippin' us off for years.
And if we lose that lawsuit, they'll continue to rip us off and you're not gonna end up with a country. I think it's the most
important subject discussed by the Supreme Court in 100 years.
If they
don't-- if they take away the power of tariffs from us, and it has to be quick
and nimble, you can't have Congress, well, hundreds of people have to look.
They can't even agree to continue a country. You can't have Congress here. This
has to be quick and nimble. As an example--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well, you just-- finish that sentence. You said, "If they take
away my power to do tariffs," what?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It would be a very sad day for the United States of America.
We're making a lot of money. We're respected again all over the world. We have
great national security. Let me give you an example. With China, they were, you
know, very strongly threatening us frankly with the rare earths.
And then I
said, "Well, if you're gonna play that card, I'm
gonna put a 100% tariff on over and above what you're
already paying," which was 55%, which was very high. A lotta money coming
in, tremendous money like we've never seen. "I'm gonna
put a 100% tariff on everything over and above."
And you know
what happened? We got a phone call 20 minutes later. "We'd like to
talk." If they take away the right to tariff, if they-- if-- if we're forced to use Congress to approve, they can't
approve anything. They would be sitting around for years debating whether or
not we should use tariffs. If they take--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You want that power. You want that executive power.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You need it to ru-- to protect our country.
This is a national secure-- tariffs are national security. If you take away the
right to tariff, and remember this.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Tariffs have been used against us.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Can you just answer that question that tariffs have led to
inflation? They have led to an increase in cost of living for most Americans--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: They haven't led to inflation. We have no inflation. We have no
inflation. Biden had inflation, and he didn't have tariffs. He didn't use
tariffs.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: For the average American--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You know why he didn't use 'em? 'Cause he's not smart enough to use 'em.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But the companies say they passed on more than 30% of these costs to
the American consumer off the tariffs--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Okay, ready, are you ready?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Somebody has to pay for it.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah. You have to pay, but we don't have any inflation. Inflation
is the que-- is the real test of paying. Everybody said, "Oh, if you do
tariffs, you're gonna have inflation." So Biden had the highest inflation in the history of our
country by far, okay. No tariffs.
I have very
modest tariffs compared. Let me tell you. These tariffs ultimately are so good
that at some point when they're used properly, and I use them more properly
than anybody's ever even dreamt possible, think of it. We become rich. We're
taking in trillions of dollars.
And I have no
inflation. And I have total national security. When I put the 100% tariff on
China over and above what they were already paying, which was about 55%, so
155%, they came to the table immediately and they made a deal with us that was
a very fair deal. That's called national security. And then I didn't make 'em pay the 100%. That would have been instituted. That
would have come to fore on November 1st. Norah, Norah, listen to me--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know our time with you is limited. I hear you.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: If I didn't have the power of tariff, we would be-- we would be
like a subject nation. We'd be subject to everyone else. Everybody uses tariffs
on us. If I wasn't allowed to use tariffs on them, we would be a third rate--
we would be a third world nation.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know your time is limited, so I do want to make sure I get through
another-- more of these topics.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Immigration. I mean, you campaigned on immigration. You largely won
the election on a promise to close the border--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Did great job, don't you think?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --and you succeeded on that. Illegal crossings at the Southern
border are at a 55-year low. Want to ask you about this. More recently, Americans
have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used
in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows. Have
some of these raids gone too far?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No. I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held
back by the-- by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden
and by Obama. We've been held--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: You're okay with those tactics?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, because you have to get the people out. You know, you have
to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that
were thrown outta their countries because they were,
you know, criminals. Many of them are people from jails and prisons. Many of
them are people from frankly mental institutions. I feel badly about that, but
they're released from insane asylums. You know why? Because they're killers.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well, you promised in your campaign that you were going to deport
the worst of the worst, violent criminals--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's what I'm-- oh we're doin' that--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --rapists.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, that's what we're doing--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But a lot of the people that your administration has arrested and
deported aren't violent criminals. Landscapers, nannies, construction workers--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Oh, no, no, landscapers who are criminals--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --farmworkers.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Now, look, look.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: The family of US service members--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I need landscapers and I need farmers more than anybody, okay.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But was it your in--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We-- and we want to-- we focus on the bad ones, and we've gotten
tremendous numbers of bad people. Don't forget.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: The-- there--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: When you have over 11,000 murderers released into our country,
over 11,000, 50% of which have murdered more than one person, we gotta get 'em outta
here.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is it your intent to deport people who do not have a criminal
record?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: We have to start off with a policy, and the policy has to be you
came into the country illegally, you're gonna go out.
However, you've also seen, you're gonna go out. We're
gonna work with you, and you're gonna
come back into our country legally. Because we have a lotta good people. We
have some great people. But, you know, the problem we have, and people don't
like talking about-- these are very--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But there isn't--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --wait. These are very smart countries. Their leaders are very
smart. They're very street-wise. They might not have gone to the finest
schools, but they're very street-wise. They want-- they don't want, they have
good people. They want people that are bad out.
So they, what do they do? They open their jails. They
let 'em out. They get rid of their drug dealers. They
let 'em out. But you know who else they get out? The
people that are on welfare that aren't working. In other words, they have people
that just don't work. They don't want people that just don't work, so they put
them into our country.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But if someone has been in this--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And we've accepted all of these people because of Biden's open
border policy where people would walk in totally unchecked and unvetted,
murderers and everybody else.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: When will you declare mission accomplished on immigration?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, it takes a long time, because, you know, probably I say 25
million people were let into our country. A lotta people say it was 10 million
people. But whether it was ten or-- I believe I'm much closer to the right
number. Of the 25, many of them should not be here. Many of them.
But we're-- we're cleaning up our cities. You know, I campaigned on
crime, but I've done a much better job on crime than I thought. You know, the
crime numbers are way down, even though we have a lot more people in our
country that really shouldn't be here. And many of them are stone-cold hard
criminals. When I look at D.C. now, you can walk down the middle of the street.
You can have your daughter who's ten years old meet you at the park. She's gonna be okay.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: In certain parts of D.C.--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: She woulda been murdered. Well, I-- in
almost--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I live in D.C.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, you tell me--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Certain parts of D.C.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: How big a difference is D.C. now compared to what it was a year
ago?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Right? I mean, you have to be honest with me. People walk--
people in the White House, they walk up to me, young ladies I've never seen.
"Sir, thank you very much." I know-- I-- they don't even have to tell
me what they're thanking me for.
But when I
ask why? He said-- she-- one girl said, "I'd get into Uber and I felt
dangerous even in an Uber." They'd attack the car, okay. It wasn't even
safe then. "Sir, I now walk to work every day and I walk, I-- I-- I-- I'm so safe. I f-- there's nothing going to happen.
100% safe." And you know that too, Norah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanna ask you about the s--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You live here. You know that too.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanna ask you about amer--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Do you see a difference?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --American cities--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You see a difference?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --in Washington, D.C.?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yes.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I think I've been working too hard. I haven't been out and about
that much--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Oh, that's not a fair answer. You see the difference.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I get in my car and go to work and I go home--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's good. You don't have to use that one. Don't worry. Don't
worry. I don't want to embarrass her.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I've been working too hard--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's-- it's like you know what the
difference is? Like, day and night.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I want to ask you more about some American cities.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Sure.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: We are about-- we're on the eve a number of big state and local
elections. One of the most watched is the one for Mayor of New York City.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH O'DONNELL:. . . he is, Zohran
Mamdani, 34-year-old Democratic Socialist. He's the front runner--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Communist, not Socialist. Communist. He's far--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Some--
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: --he's far worse than a Socialist.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Some people have compared him to a left-wing version of you,
charismatic, breaking the old rules. What do you think about that?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think I'm a much better looking
person than him, right?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay. Well, former governor Andrew Cuomo, who you know is
campaigning for mayor, he recently said that "If Mamdani becomes Mayor of
New York City that you will take over New York." Cuomo said this. He said,
"He will be President Trump and Mayor Trump. He's gonna
take over New York and send tanks down Fifth Avenue."
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Oh, that's so crazy. Look. When I left New York, we were at the--
the epitome of it was a great city. It was doing
great. It was a great city, but there were some bad sides, because we had a guy
named de Blasio, who was the worst mayor. Like I say Biden was the worst
president, de Blasio was the worst mayor in history--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What if Mamdani becomes mayor?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: I think he's probably gonna make de Blasio
look great. I think he will make de Blasio look like one of our great mayors.
De Blasio was the worst mayor we've ever had. Now I saw that, you know, but I
was sort of leaving during that period of time.
I got to see de
Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio
by far. And it's gonna be hard for me as the
president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a Communist
running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there. So I don't know that he's won, and I'm not a fan of Cuomo
one way or the other, but if it's gonna be between a
bad Democrat and a Communist, I'm gonna pick the bad
Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh. This past Tuesday, while speaking to American troops in
Japan, you talked about U.S. cities that are having trouble with crime. And you
said, "If we need more than the National Guard, we'll send more than the
National Guard." What does that mean, send more than the National Guard?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, if you had to send in the Army or if you had to send in the
Marines, I'd do that in a heartbeat. You know, you have a thing called the
Insurrection Act. You know that, right?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Uh-huh.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Do you know that I could use that immediately and no judge can
even challenge you on that. But I haven't chosen to do it because I haven't
felt we need it. Do you know that we have a place called Chicago that, with a
very bad governor. They threw him outta
the family business. He became governor. Do you know that 4,000 people were
murdered during his governorship. 4,000 people were
murdered during his governorship, and yet he won't let us bring in the National
Guard. He won't let us bring in-- in Chicago--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But when you say, "Send in more than the National Guard,"
what does that mean?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, more would be Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So you're gonna
send the military into American cities?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, if I wanted to I could, if I want to use the Insurrection
Act. Do you know how many presidents--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Will you-- what would be the--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, no.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: What would-- what would cause you to do that?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Do you know how many presidents have used the Insurrection Act?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Tell me.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Almost 50% of 'em. Do you know that
some of the presidents, recent ones, have used it 28 times? Twenty-eight times.
The Insurrection Act has been used routinely by presidents. I haven't chosen to
use it, but if I-- because I've done well without it. But if I needed it, I
could do it. And if I needed it, that would mean I could bring in the Army, the
Marines, I could bring in whoever I want. But I haven't chosen to use it. I
hope you give me credit for that.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wanna ask you about-- another matter.
James Comey, John Bolton, Letitia James were all
recently indicted. There is a pattern to these names. They're all public
figures who have publicly denounced you. Is this political retribution?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You mean, do you think it's bad that I went after a public
figure?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is it political retribution?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: You know what? You know who got indicted, the man you're lookin' at. I got indicted, and I was innocent. And here I am,
because I was able to beat all of the nonsense that was thrown at me. I got
indicted. They indicted the President of the United States.
You know,
they impeached me twice and I got out of it quickly and easily? They impeached
me twice. These people are scum. And yet, when you go after a dirty cop like
Comey or a guy like Bolton, who I hear has, I don't know anything about it, I
hear he took records all over the place, who knows.
Letitia James
is a terrible, dishonest person, in my opinion. Terrible. I just won the case
against her. She wanted me to pay $500 million for something I didn't do
anything wrong on. And the judge just overturned the-- the
decision. So and then you--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Have you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Wait, wait, wait. And then you tell me about me. Just so you
understand, you say I went after these people. These people are bad people.
They're dishonest people.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: No, I was just asking, is it political retribution--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: And Comey's a dirty cop. Look, Comey's known as a dirty cop. I'm
not known as a dirty person. They indicted me many times, indicted me. They
were after me. I'm lookin' at you now. I'm President
of the United States. I went through numerous indictments and two impeachments.
And you tell me that I went after people? These people are dishonest.
Look. Biden
didn't have a clue. He illegally used, as you know, a machine, the autopen in
order to give pardons to people. The only pardon he signed it looks like was
his son, Hunter. He signed Hunter's, so, "Hunter, you're free, con--
congratulations, Hunter." But everyone else, I think those pardons are all
just, were just a waste of time. Those pardons--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Did you instruct--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --wait a minute, those pardons--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --the Department of Justice to go after them?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Did I what?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Did you instruct the Department of Justice to go after them?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, and not in any way, shape or form. No. You don't have to
instruct 'em because they were so dirty, they were so
crooked, they were so corrupt that the honest people we have, Pam Bondi's doin' a very good job. Kash
Patel's doing a very good job.
The honest
people that we have go after 'em automatically. But
they instructed them to go after me, because the records now have been found. So when you tell me about I went after Comey, Comey's low on
the totem pole. They went after the President of the United States. Do you know
that they raided my house in Palm Beach, Florida called Mar-a-Lago? They raided
my house. I had 78 or 98 FBI agents with arms--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know how you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --come into my house. And you're telling me, Norah, that I went
after some low-life named Comey, who's judged to be a crooked guy. He lied all
over the place. He lied to Congress and did many other bad things.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But I was just asking, has this--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: For that, you should be ashamed.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: No, no. I was just asking, is this-- is this retribution on your
part?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No, it's the opposite. I think I've been very mild-mannered.
You're looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap.
Otherwise I couldn't have run for president. They
tried to get me not to run for president by going after me and by indicting me.
But even
during my term, on a perfect phone call, I got impeached. This call was
perfect. Tim Scott, from South Carolina, highly respected, a legitimate person
totally legit, he read the tran-- thank goodness we
had a transcript of the call.
The call I
got indicted on, a call on Ukraine of all places, with the President of
Ukraine. It was a perfect phone call. Tim Scott said, "I just read the
transcript. The President didn't do anything wrong, was perfect." And that
was the end of the indictment pretty much.
But I had to
go through a whole process. You know, the Democrats knew that I wasn't guilty,
because they didn't know the-- the call was-- I
didn't know either, the call was essentially taped. So
we knew exactly what the call. When they found out that the call was taped,
Nancy Pelosi went crazy.
She said,
"You made me go into this mess." She screamed at all these people
that made her do it, bad people like Schiff, et cetera, et cetera. So what happened is, she went nuts and just to conclude, and
they said, "Let's do it anyway." They did it anyway, and I won very
easily as you know. But you can't then accuse me of weaponizing government.
They were horrible human beings. They went after the President of the United
States. They went after my children. They went into my wife's-- drawers.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: They went into my wife's closets. They held the dresses up. She
came back. She said, "Oh, what happened? What happened?" 'Cause she's a very meticulous person. Everything's nice
and neat.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I've heard you talk about it.
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: All of a sudden, everything's, like, they went into my office. They took
things that I was allowed to have file-- under the Presidential Records Act
that I was allowed to have. I had records. I was allowed to have 'em. Only the president's allowed, but I was-- and it was
nothing very significant anyway.
There was,
like, nothing. Wait, just one second. They opened these-- I'm a very meticulous
person too. I have files, beautiful. They took the files, threw 'em all over the phone-- all over the floor. They were all
over the floor-- and they took pictures of 'em.
This is my
office. I said, "What the hell? That's not my office." They took
files, they threw 'em all over, and they took
pictures and they released 'em to the public that
this is "President Trump's office. We caught him with all of this
stuff," like it was all over the floor in my office. These are crooked
people. These are the same. So don't ask me about, "Did you go
after?" Letitia's--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Letitia James, in my opinion, and I only say in my opinion 'cause I guess the lawyers would prefer that I say that 'cause I have a much stronger opinion, she's a total crook.
She's a low-life. Comey's a dirty cop. Bolton actually helped me a lot because
he was crazy.
He's the one
who want, him and-- and Cheney, a couple people got
Bush to go out and blow the hell outta the Middle
East and then take-- you know, then leave. And actually, Bolton helped me 'cause every time somebody saw Bolton standing behind me,
foreign countries, they conceded. You know why they conceded? 'Cause they said, "Bolton's a nut job. Trump is gonna take us to war." But I don't listen to people
that are stupid. Go ahead.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And I know my time is-- is limited with
you so I want to be respectful of-- of you, Mr.
President. The issue of political violence I want to get to, because you were
nearly assassinated in Butler, Pennsylvania. Charlie Kirk.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yup.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Was assassinated. Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro's house was
firebombed.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Uh-huh.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Minnesota lawmaker murdered. What's your message to those on the
left and the right who would seek to commit acts of violence?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think primarily on the left. A little bit of both, but I
think primarily on the left. I think they have to tone it down. I think they
have to approve the shutdown so it's not shut down. I think it's very bad what
they're doing. They're hurting people.
You know, if
you think about it, if people aren't gonna get paid,
there're gonna be, you know, a lot of angry people
out there. They want to get their food. They want to get the money so they can
live. In some cases-- whatever they want to get, they want to get.
I think by
the Democrats not giving us the votes, I think it's-- I think it endangers both
parties. I think it's very bad. There's never been a case like this. This is,
you know, this is fairly standard stuff. You do auto-- extensions are almost
automatic.
In fact, they
were virtually automatic. This is the only time they don't want to do the
extension, because they're losing so badly that they said, "Maybe we have
some leverage." One of the Senators said that. "Maybe this is the
first time we have some leverage."
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wonder if we're--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: But they really don't have leverage, because--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I wonder if we're at a breaking point?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --the Republicans can't be extorted in order to ruin our country.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Do you feel like we're at a breaking point? Given everything that
you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --just said?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: No. It's been much worse.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Because you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I mean, over-- over history?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Well.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: It's been much worse.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Sure, but the political violence that, you know, we just outlined.
The number of-- of members of people in public that
have been targeted--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, that's-- that's a different
question. Yeah, I think--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --that have been targeted. And then I just read that there's now a
number of your cabinet secretaries and aides who are now living on military
bases.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah. Usually when people talk they're
not the problem. It's the ones that don't talk, in terms of that. But-- yeah,
I-- I think it's-- it's a
lot of the rhetoric. Look, they call me a Nazi all the time. I'm not a Nazi.
I'm the opposite. I'm somebody that's saving our country.
But they call
me Nazi. They have talking points, you know? They have just talking
points. And the press is-- is largely responsible for
it. The fake news, what they've done-- I think one of the greatest terms I've ever
come up with is fake news.
What they've
done to our country is very bad. They have to change around. Now, nobody
believes the fake news. Nobody believes 'em. I mean,
they've gone, you talk about popularity, you talk about approval, their
approval numbers have gone f-- from, like, in the 90s to in the teens now.
We need
borders. We need fair votes. And you really need a fair press. If you-- and you
do, you have some great journalists and great reporters. But you have some
terrible, terrible, dishonest journalists. And I see it all the time, because
I'll give 'em a story and they'll have it.
Even my trip
with China, it was so successful. But of all, the Wall Street Journal,
they said, Trump Lowers Tariffs. That was the headline. Trump
Lowers Tariffs. That wasn't what happened. I lowered tariff-- tariffs in
order to get everything that anybody could possibly dream of.
The point
wasn't lowering tariffs. I put up a high number, I cut it, and I got
everything. And yet the headline in the Wall Street Journal, beautiful
picture of myself and President Xi, everything nice. But the headline was Trump
Lowers Tariffs.
That wasn't
the story. The story was Trump got everything, got everything. Including world
peace. We're respected as a country. We're not threatened right now. And we're
not gonna be threatened. As long as we have a strong,
smart president, we're never gonna be threatened by
anybody.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: There's been a lotta talk about 2028 and who will be at the top of
the--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: --Republican ticket. Can you set the record straight? You're not gonna try and run for a third term?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I don't even think about it. I will tell you, a lotta
people want me to run. But the difference between us and the Democrats is we
really do have a strong bench. I don't wanna use
names, because it's, you know, inappropriate. But it's too early. We're talking
3 and ¼ years--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But people do like when you start talking about whether you like
J.D. Vance or Secretary Rubio--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I do like J.D. Vance. I like--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Or secretary--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --Marco Rubio. I like-- I like so many people. We have an
unbelievable bench. We could run two people together. We have a great bench. So I don't wanna start talking
about elections. It's too early. One thing I can tell you, the 2020 election
was rigged.
And a lotta
people say when it's rigged you're allowed to do it
again. It was rigged. And it's been caught. And they-- and you see the same
information that everybody else does. And it's coming out now in spades. But
with all of that, we have a great bench.
We have
unbelievable people. You could go up and down my cabinet, we have great people.
They don't. They have a guy that's ruined the state of California, ruined it,
destroyed it. And I have a lotta property out there, I can tell you they've
ruined the state of California.
He has been
terrible. Other than he's got a good line of--bullshit, that's all it is. He's
ruined the state. And he's one of the people running. Jasmine Crockett, she's a
low-IQ person. They say she might run for president, Jasmine Crockett. This is
a very low-IQ person.
AOC, I
watched her speak the other day, almost the first time she was screaming. She
was like a crazy person. Her-- she's got-- not a good speaker. Doesn't have, I
don't think, but you never know what it is. You never know what it is c-- that
can spark an election.
When Joe ran
first time I thought he was terrible. He was horrible.
I-- I won by a lot. The second time he was running he
was doing very poorly, he had a bad debate, and they replaced him in the middle
the election. That never-- this could only happen to me.
They replaced
him with somebody, the press got behind her. Oh, they were so behind her. But
eventually she failed because she couldn't speak. She wasn't a very intelligent
person, in my opinion. But she couldn't speak properly. She could not speak.
And
actually 60 Minutes paid me a lotta money. And you don't have
to put this on, because I don't wanna embarrass you,
and I'm sure you're not-- you have a great-- I think you have a great, new
leader, frankly, who's the young woman that's leading your whole enterprise is
a great-- from what I know.
I don't know
her, but I hear she's a great person. But 60 Minutes was
forced to pay me-- a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so
bad, it was election-changing, two nights before the election. And they put a
new answer in. And they paid me a lot of money for that. You can't have fake
news. You've gotta have legit news. And I think that
it's happening. I see--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --I see good things happening in the news. I really do. And I
think one of the best things to happen is this show and new ownership, CBS and
new ownership. I think it's the greatest thing that's happened in a long time
to a free and open and good press.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, can I also ask you, we're now at the end of your
first year.
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: Yeah.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Of this second term. What do you hope to accomplish in the next
three years?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I hope I can have the same year that we had. Look, we have been
acknowledged to have the greatest nine months. You know, it's nine months. The
greatest nine months in the history of the presidency. So
if I can keep that going I'll be very happy.
Because, you
know, what we've done, what we-- I inherited a mess. And I've fixed it, other
than it will take a while to get all the criminals, the real criminals, the
ones-- the real bad ones, out. But we've gotten a lot of them out. We've gotten
a lot of the murderers out.
We've gotten
a lot of the people from jails out and we've taken 'em
back to their countries. In some cases they're so
dangerous that we've actually had to put them in our jails because we didn't
want 'em coming back. I wanna
just keep it going pretty much the same way. I want safety in our cities. Our
cities are a mess. And I hate to say it, they're Democrat-run cities. If you
take the top 25 cities, they're almost all-- almost every one of 'em is run by Democrats.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And to people that say they're-- struggling with the cost of living,
expenses--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, cashless bail--
NORAH O'DONNELL:
What could you do about that--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, let me just say, cashless bail is a disaster. It's gotta be changed. Sanctuary cities really have to be
changed. They're sanctuary, you know what they're sanctuary for? Criminals.
Things-- some basic things have to be changed. But one of the things I really
have focused on is making Chicago great again.
Making-- and
we're just getting started in Chicago. But what we did in D.C., where we took
D.C. from being so bad to so beautiful, such good-- the restaurants are
booming. You can't get into a restaurant. They were closing and now they're all
opening every-- you can't get a restaurant now.
You can't get
into a restaurant. But you c-- if you wanna buy a
restaurant or-- or own a restaurant you almost can't
find it. I wanna make this happen all over the
country. I want it to be like that in New York, in L.A., in Chicago. I wanna do it as much as you can.
You know, by
the way, Memphis, we're there now. Memphis was a dangerous hellhole. 65% down in
crime. And this is after two weeks. We can do it all over the place. It's
turned out to be a new passion for me, making our city-- I had no idea we could
be that successful. I thought it would take a much longer period of time. Do
you know in Washington, in 12 days it was really good.
In one month it was close to perfect.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And for those that are suffering with cost of living increases and
saying they're living paycheck to paycheck--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, I'd be very upset with--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Prices are up
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --Biden. Because we don't have any of those problems. We-- we don't have inflation. You know, essentially
we don't have inflation. We-- I inherited the worst inflation in the history of
our country. We don't have infl-- we're down to 2%,
even less than 2%. A couple of items like beef I'm getting down. But our
groceries are down--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Healthcare-- healthcare premiums?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I can fix healthcare, give them better healthcare for less money.
Obamacare is-- is hurting people. Obamacare was a
disaster from day one. I can fix it and make it good. I'd really rather start
with a fresh plate, but if it's-- if it's required to keep it, we can make it
much better.
But it's bad
healthcare, and they're gonna get big increases, and
that has nothing to do with me. That has to do with the fact that it was
originally put into play. It's a shame. But we can make it better. Energy is
way down. You know, you're gonna have $2 gasoline
very soon.
Nobody could
believe it. You were at $4, $5, $6, and even $7. Look at the cost of gasoline
in California. What it was, I brought it down. The problem is when I bring it
down here in California they put more tax. They-- they tax the gasoline to such an extent. No, we're in great
shape. This country is in great shape. We're ready to really rock. As I say
often--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Are you-- are you--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: --we were a dead country. We were a dead country one year ago.
Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. Leaders have said that
to me. Just recently they said that to me. Even President Xi, he said,
"I'd like you-- you to be congratulated."
He said it so beautifully. "I'd like you to be congratulated on the
incredible job you did in bringing back the United States of America."
President Xi said that to me.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: I know we're out of time, but just on that matter, we talked about
that-- because I know how closely you follow the stock market. Do you worry
about an AI bubble?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I guess. I worry about everything, you know? I mean, you know,
I'm a worrier. I worry. But you know what I do? I worry and then I fix it. I
fix it. That way I don't have to worry.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: There's a lotta money behind AI--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, there's a lotta money. And right now
I'm taking advantage of it, because we're leading AI. You know, we're leading
it by a lot. China's in second place, but we're
leading it by a lot. We have the greatest minds of any country anywhere in the
world, and we're using that.
I'm using
those great minds to help us. Now, will something happen later? I guess, you
know, something. But it could also be something very good happens. And I hope
it's gonna be very good. But if it's not so good,
we're protected. Our country is doing great. We're strong. We're solid. We've
never been-- I think we haven't been like this in-- maybe ever. Maybe ever. We
have a great country, and you should be very proud of it.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, thank you very much for your time--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Thank you very much, Norah.
NORAH O'DONNELL:Thank you.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Do I have the opportunity to ask you two more questions?
PRESIDENT DONALD
TRUMP: If you want, if it helps--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Okay. Okay. Two more questions--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That means they'll treat me more fairly if I do-- I want to get--
It's very nice, yeah. Now is good. Okay. Uh, oh. These might be the ones I didn't
want. I don't know. Okay, go ahead.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Is everybody ready?
NORAH
O'DONNELL: This is a question about pardons. The Trump family is now perhaps
more associated with cryptocurrency than real estate. You and your son-- your
sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have formed World Liberty Financial with the Witkoff family.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Helping to make your family millions of dollars. It's in that
context that I do wanna ask you about crypto's
richest man, a billionaire known as C.Z. He pled guilty in 2023 to violating
anti-money laundering laws.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Right.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Looked at this, the government at the time said that C.Z. had caused
"significant harm to U.S. national security", essentially by allowing
terrorist groups like Hamas to move millions of dollars around. Why did you
pardon him?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Okay, are you ready? I don't know who he is. I know he got a
four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch
hunt. And what I wanna do is see crypto, 'cause if we don't do it it's gonna
go to China, it's gonna go to-- this is no different
to me than AI.
My sons are
involved in crypto much more than I-- me. I-- I know
very little about it, other than one thing. It's a huge industry. And if we're
not gonna be the head of it, China, Japan, or
someplace else is. So I am behind it 100%. This man
was, in my opinion, from what I was told, this is, you know, a four-month
sentence.
But this man
was treated really badly by the Biden administration. And he was given a jail
term. He's highly respected. He's a very successful guy. They sent him to jail
and they really set him up. That's my opinion. I was told about it.
I said,
"Eh, it may look bad if I do it. I have to do the right thing." I
don't know the man at all. I don't think I ever met him. Maybe I did. Or, you
know, somebody shook my hand or something. But I don't think I ever met him. I
have no idea who he is. I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and
just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the
Biden administration.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: The government had accused him of "significant harm to U.S.
national security"--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: That's the Biden government.
NORAH O'DONNELL:
Okay. Allowing U.S. terrorist groups to, you know, essentially move millions of
dollars around. He pled guilty to anti-money laundering laws. That was in 2023.
Then in 2025 his crypto exchange, Binance, helped
facilitate a $2 billion purchase of World Liberty Financial's
stablecoin. And then you pardoned C.Z. How do you
address the appearance of pay for play?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Well, here's the thing, I know nothing about it because I'm too
busy doing the other--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But he got a pardon--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I can only tell you that--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: He got a pardon--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Norah, I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. I'm glad
they are, because it's probably a great industry, crypto. I think it's good. You
know, they're running a business, they're not in government. And they're good--
my one son is a number one bestseller now.
My wife just
had a number one bestseller. I'm proud of them for doing that. I'm focused on
this. I know nothing about the guy, other than I hear he was a victim of
weaponization by government. When you say the government, you're talking about
the Biden government.
It's a
corrupt government. Biden was the most corrupt president and he was the worst
president we've ever had. I only care about one thing. Will crypto be-- will we
be number one in crypto? Crypto has turned out, and in that sense I've been
right.
Crypto's
turned out to be a massive industry, if you wanna
call it that. And I'm very proud to say that we are far and away ahead of China
and everybody else. Now, China is getting into it very big, right now. If you wanna go after people, you're gonna
kill that industry.
And it'll be
very bad. Tremendous number of jobs. I campaigned positively on crypto, very
openly. I campaigned. Biden campaigned against it. When Biden found out that I
was getting, like, 100% of the crypto vote, which was a lot, he switched
totally and he went in favor of crypto.
They were totally
in favor. They had many people under indictment. They let 'em
all go. They let 'em all go. You know that. Many
people were under indictment. Biden was a corrupt president. Biden went all in
on crypto at the very end because he thought he could get some votes.
It didn't
work. They voted for me. I wanna make crypto great
for America. That's the only thing. I don't wanna
have somebody else have crypto and have China be number one in the world in
crypto. Because in crypto it's a kind of an industry where basically you're
going to have number one and you're not gonna have a
number two. And right now we're number one by a long
shot. I wanna keep it that way. The same way we're
number one with AI, we're number one with crypto. And I wanna
keep it that way.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: So not concerned about the appearance of corruption with this?
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I can't say, because-- I can't say-- I'm not concerned. I don't--
I'd rather not have you ask the question. But I let you ask it. You just came
to me and you said, "Can I ask another question?" And I said, yeah.
This is the question--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: And you answered--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: I don't mind. Did I let you do it? I coulda
walked away. I didn't have to answer this question. I'm proud to answer the
question. You know why? We've taken crypto--
NORAH
O'DONNELL: But just generally speak--
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Excuse me. We're number one in crypto in the whole world. Other
people wanna be. They're fighting like hell to be.
But we're number one in crypto because I'm the president. Biden wanted to also,
at the very end, you know, he totally switched his thing.
You know,
Biden was totally in favor of crypto at the end. Do you know that many people
that were indicted under Biden for crypto, at the very end before the election,
were let go? You know why? He wanted the vote. We are number one in crypto and
that's the only thing I care about. I don't want China or anybody else to take
it away. It's a massive industry.
NORAH
O'DONNELL: Mr. President, thank you.
PRESIDENT
DONALD TRUMP: Thank you very much.