by Jarvis DeBerry | Jul 6, 2026 | Opinion, Politics
Was there a more poignant photo of America at 250 years old than the one Reuters captured of a young Black woman on a Washington commuter train surrounded by white nationalists with covered faces?
There were photos of fireworks on July 4. Photos of the president preening at Mount Rushmore. Photos of the predictably over-the-top red, white and blue patriotic display in Philadelphia before the holiday’s World Cup match between France and Paraguay. But those spectacles provided a facade that only sees the country as “America the Beautiful,” when reality is far more complex. The journalist on the Washington Metro who photographed the young Black woman beset by members of the racist Patriot Front provided an uglier and more honest image of this American moment.
The journalist who photographed the young Black woman beset by members of the racist Patriot Front provided an uglier and more honest image of this American moment.
America’s 250th birthday should have been a celebration of democracy, but that’s not Patriot Front’s thing. According to its website, “Democracy has failed this once great nation.” It favors a “hard reset” and a “return to the traditions and virtues of our forefathers.” My forefathers (and foremothers, too, for that matter) had traditions and virtues worthy of praise and emulation, but nobody in Patriot Front should be expected to see the beauty in Black people’s essential contributions to this country.
Reuters reported that hundreds of members of Patriot Front took public transportation before and after marching in the nation’s capital carrying their own flag, several variations of the U.S. flag and, of course, the old racist standard, the Confederate battle flag.
The George
by Steve Benen | Jul 6, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
The Republicans’ domestic policy megabill, which President Donald Trump signed into law a year ago this week, was remarkable in a great many ways, but one of the arguably underappreciated elements of the far-right package was how much money it threw at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The overall bill set aside $150 billion for immigration enforcement, with about $30 billion of that total going directly to ICE. To put that in context, Republicans nearly quadrupled the agency’s budget and ensured that ICE is far better funded than other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
Nearly a year later, the GOP majority in Congress narrowly approved a spending package that will fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection for the remainder of Trump’s second term, agreeing to spend an additional $70 billion on immigration enforcement.
As ICE’s budget, powers and workforce grow in unprecedented ways, it is going to be a challenge to lead this rapidly expanding agency. That task will not fall on Todd Lyons, who recently stepped down after serving as ICE’s acting director for more than a year.
If the president has his way, the job will instead fall to someone with a surprisingly low public profile. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Before backing Lance Schroyer to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin got to know him in an unusual way: Schroyer led an Oklahoma Highway Patrol security detail at the home of the then-U.S. senator.
Mullin invited Schroyer in for dinner, and the two struck up a friendship, according to people familiar with their relationship.
The Journal’s report added that Schroyer’s personal connection to Mullin has catapulted him to one of the biggest
by Steve Benen | Jul 6, 2026 | Maddowblog, News, Politics
As Donald Trump’s second term got underway, Gen. CQ Brown Jr. knew that his job was on the line, but he hoped to continue serving as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. To that end, he attended Trump’s inauguration ceremony as an apparent sign of support, and after the event, the general told reporters that he planned to remain at his post.
The president had a different plan. At the start of a broader military purge that’s still ongoing, Trump fired the country’s highest-ranking military officer about a month after the Republican returned to the White House.
More than a year later, Brown has had an opportunity to make new assessments from the outside looking in, and he apparently has some serious concerns. The Wall Street Journal reported:
CQ Brown, the retired general forced out of his post as the nation’s top military officer last year, has provided his most direct critique of the Trump administration’s handling of the U.S. military, questioning the deployment of troops in U.S. cities and warning against tainting the armed forces’ service with politics.
In an essay published Friday with two co-authors, Brown cautioned that sending the military into American cities for “politically contentious missions” like fighting crime risked compromising its traditionally apolitical role and diverting it from its combat mission.
The essay in Foreign Affairs magazine that Brown co-authored was striking on its own terms. “[W]hen presidents use the armed forces for more politically contentious missions, such as addressing domestic crime in cities, the work of the military becomes more fraught,” it read. “Resorting to a military solution rather than fixing the underlying incapacity or dysfunction in
by Erum Salam | Jul 5, 2026 | 2026 election, News, Politics
Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic Michigan state senator, suspended her U.S. Senate primary campaign on Sunday, declining to endorse either remaining rival in the must-win seat for Democrats in November.
Her announcement, coming just one month before a nominee is chosen to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, leaves a two-way contest between one candidate backed by the party’s establishment, the other by its left flank.
“Today, I’m announcing that I am suspending my campaign for United States Senate. And I’m doing it with a deep, deep sense of gratitude,” McMorrow, who had positioned herself as a pragmatist, said in a video posted to X. She did not give a reason for her surprise decision.
The remaining candidates are Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate supported by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who has been endorsed by progressive rock stars Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
When asked if McMorrow would endorse before the Aug. 4th primary, her campaign said, “No. She trusts the voters of Michigan to pick their nominees. And she’s going to campaign for all of them this fall.”
Holding the seat is crucial to the Democratic Party’s chances of retaking control of the Senate in the November midterms.
Both McMorrow’s Democratic opponents spoke highly of her.
“Mallory McMorrow has been an important voice, both in this race and in the State Senate, for policies that benefit Michigan’s children and families, and I look forward to working with her in the future to build a stronger Michigan for everyone,” Stevens said.
El-Sayed, who has been the Democratic primary frontrunner in polling
by Robyn Autry | Jul 5, 2026 | culture, Opinion, Politics
Victor Willis, a lead singer for the Village People who died Tuesday, insisted that the 1978 hit “YMCA,” the group’s most famous song, was not a gay anthem. Never mind its innuendo — its description of the YMCA as a place that has “everything for young men to enjoy/You can hang out with all the boys” and “do whatever you feel.”
Jacques Morali, the openly gay French music producer who helped create the group, said he did so after thinking to himself that “gay people have no group,” but Willis, who was the straight frontman dressed as a police officer surrounded by gay costumed bandmates, said “YMCA” was merely about young men having a place to clear their minds at the gym in the comfpany of other men. He said the songs “Macho Man” and “In the Navy” weren’t about gay life, either.
Willis said “YMCA” was merely about young men having a place to clear their minds at the gym.
Maybe that’s what Willis needed to tell himself to justify becoming a closing act at MAGA rallies. Willis performed “YMCA” the night before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration alongside a new group of band members, as Trump twisted at the waist and pumped his fists instead of doing the simple hand motions fans created to spell out the letters. To many people, Willis aligning himself with MAGA, including his performance at the inauguration, felt like a betrayal, but Willis maintained the month before that performance that “YMCA” was for everyone and that after he decided to entertain MAGA “the financial benefits have been great.”
Willis was right about one thing. Like the cultural institution
by Clarissa-Jan Lim | Jul 4, 2026 | 2026 election, Donald Trump, News, Politics
President Donald Trump is set to cap a weeks-long celebration of the country’s 250th anniversary with a hyped political rally speech on the National Mall Saturday, coming off his wind-up at Mount Rushmore, where he railed against communism.
Trump has boasted that his July 4 nighttime address in front of the Washington Monument would be “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all.” It is certainly guaranteed to be hot. Temperatures are forecast to hit above 100 degrees and festivities included seven scheduled hours of flyovers by military planes — including the new Qatari-gifted jet serving as Air Force One.
His speech at the national memorial in Keystone, South Dakota, on Friday night hewed more closely to a Cold War-era campaign address than one meant to unify the country around its 250th birthday.
He framed the midterm elections as a battle against the “resurgence of the communist menace in our land.” He portrayed an America under siege by communism, which he described as a “mortal threat to American liberty” and one being revived by “newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success.”
“The Communist Party is made up of illegal immigrants, criminals, and everybody that doesn’t want to work,” Trump said, seemingly aiming his remarks at the MAGA base that elected him president for a second time in 2024.
His dark warnings come on the heels of stunning election victories by democratic socialist candidates in New York and Colorado. He said it was imperative that Republicans win the midterms in November and retain control of the legislative branch — and he demanded Congress pass
