As we noted Friday, Chump crashed and burned in China. He walked away with nothing. Nada. Zilch. He folded and cowered and was meek and pretty much played. On the world stage. Among others, he let down US farmers. Myriam Toua (THE MIRROR) reports:
Donald Trump has, all of a sudden, announced a total U-turn on his campaign promise to American farmers he would intervene on Chinese nationals buying up land in the US, which has been met with fury by his once-loyal MAGA voter base.
[. . .]
But in Beijing, Trump was arguing that going ahead with his campaign pledge would suddenly hurt farmers instead of help them, and asserted pulling out the external investment [by Chinese buyers] would dramatically drive down the price of land.
He sang a very different tune, however, on his campaign trail in 2024 as he pledged to protect farmland “by saying you can’t come” in response to a reporter’s queries about Chinese-owned land at a Pennsylvania event.
Another broken promise from Chump. Another time when he could have stood strong for America but revealed himself to be a weak, inept and cowardly character. After his state visit to China where he met with President Xi Jinping, Trump also promised to bring 500,000 Chinese students to study in the US, another promise that MAGA figures didn't take well to. Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump was quizzed as to why he had abandoned his promise to intervene during his recent state visit to China.
With the trip to China ended -- and so clearly having been a failure -- many are weighing in. Anton Troianovski (NEW YORK TIMES) offers:
There was a vague agreement that China would purchase Boeing jets and more American soybeans. There was discussion about Iran and opening the Strait of Hormuz, and a nod to other issues, like cracking down on chemicals used to make fentanyl.
But President Trump departed Beijing on Friday with almost nothing concrete to show for his two-day summit with President Xi Jinping of China. After months of buildup and a delay necessitated by Mr. Trump’s difficulty in extricating the United States from the war with Iran, the summit ended with no major public progress on the Middle East, trade, Taiwan, nuclear proliferation, artificial intelligence or any of the other myriad issues that are sources of friction between the world’s two superpowers.
Michael Tomasky (THE NEW REPUBLIC) registers with:
Donald Trump says China agreed to buy 200 jets from Boeing. He crowed about it on Fox News Thursday night. But funny thing: A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked specifically about the jet deal after Trump spoke, and he said nothing about any such agreement. Wanna take bets on whether it actually happened?
Three points here. First of all, we should stop quickly to note that it’s sad that it’s come to pass that we just automatically believe a foreign government—and China’s no less—over the president of the United States (sad about him, that is, not us). Second, let’s remember that Boeing is an American company in a deep and sustained crisis that was brought on by basic greed: As David Goldstein explained in Democracy journal in 2024, after its acquisition of McDonnell-Douglas in 1997, the historically proud engineering culture at Boeing was destroyed as the company became more anti-union and outsourced more of its production.
And third, assuming that Trump is lying or at least exaggerating, well, we’ve just learned again for the jillionth time that Mr. Art of the Deal is a total fraud. Let’s review.
- Remember how, in his first term, Trump was going to bring North Korea to its knees? Remember how he consistently heaped praise on Kim Jong Un and his “beautiful vision for his country”? Well, it’s not a “beautiful country” to the people who live there, and meanwhile, its nuclear progress has been steady over the last decade—during most of which, of course, Mr. Art of the Deal has been the president of the United States. Experts think the nation has assembled about 50 warheads.
- Remember also that he was going to solve the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day back in office? In late March, a UN expert testified that the violence was “worse than ever.” We—that is, most decent people—are heartened by Ukraine’s resilience and wowed by its innovative drone technology. But that “we” doesn’t include the president of the United States, who obviously is cheering for his pal Putin—over whom he has zero leverage.
- The 2025 tariff war on China totally backfired. China responded to Trump’s tariffs by limiting exports of rare-earth metals, and Trump backed down. Today, U.S. soybean exports to China are down (they peaked during Sleepy Joe’s “disastrous” presidency), as are auto exports. The first Chinese EVs are landing in Canada even as we speak. These are ultra-luxury cars that sell for $10,000 or even $20,000 less than their American equivalents.
- Speaking of Canada, why isn’t it the 51st state yet? And speaking of Northern annexation, why isn’t Greenland part of the United States yet?
- How’s that world-class Gaza resort coming along?
- U.S. relations with Europe are at an all-time low. And it isn’t because of anything Europe did. Last December, the Trump administration released a security strategy paper calling Europe a bigger threat to the United States than Russia or China because of its progressive social and immigration policies, which threatened the continent with “civilizational erasure.”
- And finally, of course, there is Iran. The economic impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will be felt for months ahead. The latest wrinkle? In India, where they apparently lap up Diet Coke, there’s a shortage of the beloved elixir because there’s an aluminum shortage (Diet Coke is sold only in cans there). The Middle East accounts for 98 percent of the global aluminum supply. Stock up on that Reynolds Wrap. Joking aside: There are and will be dozens of such shortages, some far more serious than Diet Coke. A UN official told AFP in Paris this week that up to 45 million people in the developing world could face hunger or even starvation because of the global fertilizer shortage.
And at WSWS, Andre Damon weighs in:
US President Donald Trump returned to Washington Friday from a two-day state visit to China—the first by an American president in nearly a decade—that offered no let-up in the global eruption of American imperialism. The trip produced no easing of the US blockade of Iran, no halt to the US arming of Taiwan, no reduction of Trump’s anti-China tariffs and no communiqué.
The meeting took place in the shadow of the US attack on Iran that was launched less than three months earlier. Despite the brutality of the US onslaught, the Trump administration has failed to achieve its aims of overthrowing the Iranian government, destroying its military and gaining control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump hoped to arrive in Beijing as the conqueror of Iran, ready to dictate terms to China with a stranglehold on its energy supplies. Instead, he was facing a geopolitical disaster, and he sought Xi’s aid in resolving the crisis created by the war.
Chump flamed out. As usual, his self-promoting created hype and expectations that his mediocre abilities were never going to delier on. Putin will be in China on Tuesday -- presumably showing Chump how a nation negotiates with China. In anticipation/fear of being shown up next week, Chump spent Saturday in fantasy posts. Olivia Ralph(THE DAILY BEAST) reports:
President Donald Trump appeared to spend his Saturday self-soothing on Truth Social, launching a manic posting blitz after returning from his awkward China trip.
With only “Executive Time” listed on his official schedule for the day, the 79-year-old president fired off 28 posts in roughly two hours, veering between AI-generated military fantasy art, strange infrastructure boasts, and a series of memes seemingly dedicated to one very important message: Donald Trump is still in his prime.
One post declared: “President Trump gets YOUNGER,” alongside an image showing Trump standing beside Chinese leader Xi Jinping with a suspiciously smooth complexion and noticeably less mileage on his face.
[. . .]
The sudden flood of “Trump gets younger” memes came as a fresh wave of attention over footage from his China trip put his swollen ankles back into the spotlight.
The president has faced recurring scrutiny over his health, including a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency and repeated questions surrounding his mental acuity.
Whether intentional or not, the posting spree seemed unusually focused on projecting an image of a president who is youthful, vigorous, and nowhere near 80.
But he'll be 80 next month and it shows, it really, really shows. Angelina Velasquez (ATLANTA BLACK STAR NEWS) notes:
President Donald Trump’s appearances have reached the point where every new close-up sparks another round of panic, speculation, and brutal commentary online.
The president and his team seem convinced the oversized blue suits, signature comb-over, and rambling remarks pull attention away from his physical decline.
Instead, critics argue those distractions only force people to zoom in harder on the details he appears desperate to conceal.
Trump’s orange-toned complexion and heavy makeup have become so routine that many Americans barely react anymore.
The 79-year-old brags that he aces cognitive tests and is convinced makeup is concealing unsightly discolorations.
But none of it trumps the true story being told in unedited pictures.
Recently, Trump shrugged and waved off the press during a walk to Marine One on the White House’s South Lawn on May 11.
A singular snapshot of his right hand went viral amid headlines about his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Viewers noticed what appeared to be a deep bruise, swelling, and a strange hole-like mark near the center of his hand that concealer failed to fully hide.
He's decaying before our eyes. And so is his regime. Ka$h Patel? In yet another scandal. Stephanie Kaplan (OK!) reports:
Amid reports the FBI Director has been abusing the organization's resources for personal use, a new investigation alleged he flew on the FBI's jet to attend a concert in May 2025.
According to The New York Times' report, Patel, 46, and his much-younger girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, 27, flew on the taxpayer-funded Gulfstream V jet from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, Penn., for a country music show featuring Chris Stapleton and George Strait.
The
pair, who was accompanied by a security team, watched the show in a
private suite at Lincoln Financial Field, which costs between $35,000
and $50,000. It's unclear who footed the bill for the luxe
accommodations, though an FBI rep stated Wilkins — a country singer herself — was "invited" to the show by one of the musicians.
The couple used the jet to fly back to the national's capital that same night.
It's an abuse. It's corruption. And it runs throughout his regime. One after another official in his regime believes that they can use tax dollars to cover their own personal expenses. That's not how it works. But then Chump doesn't work for anyone. He certainly doesn't work for the American people or, in fact, give a damn about them.
He made that clear this week when he informed the world that he wasn't concerned about the harm the Iran War was creating for the American economy and the American people. Laura Boast (MONEYWISE) reports:
What a difference a war makes. In January 2026, President Donald Trump boasted to G7 leaders and others at the World Economic Forum in Davos that his team had “defeated” inflation in the U.S. (1).
“Grocery prices, energy prices, airfares, mortgage rates, rent and car payments are all coming down, and they’re coming down fast,” he said.
[. . .]
Now the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran is expected to make inflation worse, according to a report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in March 2026 (6).
The OECD predicts that America could have the highest inflation in the G7 by the end of this year, in large part due to the war and the ongoing impact of Trump’s tariff policy.
Here are the report’s projected 2026 inflation rates for G7 countries:
- U.S. 4.2% (up from 2.6% in 2025, according to its calculation)
- U.K. 4% (up from 3.4%)
- Germany 2.9% (up from 2.3%)
- Canada 2.4% (up from 2.1%)
- Italy 2.4% (up from 1.6%)
- Japan 2.4% (the outlier, down from 3.2%)
- France 1.8% (up from 0.9%)
If these projections are to be believed, some of the very staples Trump said were getting cheaper are getting more expensive.
And now Chump -- maybe it's depression that's accompanying his dementia -- doesn't care about the midterms. Josh Marcus (INDEPENDENT) notes:
Donald Trump is reportedly resigned to projected Democratic victories in midterm elections and has allegedly told aides he doesn’t care about the outcome.
The president has also vented in private that the Republican party hasn’t passed major parts of his agenda, including a set of strict new voting restrictions, insiders told The Wall Street Journal.
The statements recall his earlier ones this week as Marcus notes:
Asked earlier this week whether he was considering Americans’ finances amid ongoing inflation because of the Iran war, the president said he isn’t even thinking about it.
“I don't think about Americans’ financial situation — I don’t think about anybody,” Trump told reporters. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
On Friday, the president doubled down on the stance.
“I’d make it again,” Trump told Fox News of his “perfect statement” about the war.
Meanwhile, the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following:
Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and every Oversight Democrat demanded Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick resign following a transcribed interview with the Committee in which he could not explain why he lied about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and refused to take responsibility for his actions. The letter outlines clear contradictions between Lutnick’s statements and the truth. The full transcript of the transcribed interview can be viewed here.
“Secretary Lutnick claimed publicly that he was never ‘with’ Jeffrey Epstein after 2005. That was a lie. Secretary Lutnick spent his interview trying to cover up his lie and hide from the truth. He couldn’t explain bringing his family to Epstein’s island years after he claimed to have cut ties, even after he found Epstein to be deeply unsettling. It’s clear that Secretary Lutnick does not have the judgement, trust, or credibility to serve the American public and he should resign immediately. If he refuses to resign, then Donald Trump must fire him,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
In the letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Members wrote, “We demand your resignation as secretary of the Department of Commerce. During your May 6, 2026, transcribed interview regarding your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, you were unable to explain why you lied about the length and depth of your relationship with Epstein. You attempted to evade responsibility for your actions and avoided being clear with the American people. The facts are clear: you lied to the American people and attempted to conceal your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in your public statements. Your lack of candor demonstrates that you are unfit to perform the duties required of you as secretary of Commerce, and you must step down immediately.”
In October 2025, Ranking Member Garcia called on Secretary Lutnick to sit before the Oversight Committee to testify about his knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes after he explicitly said that Epstein was the “greatest blackmailer ever,” contradicted statements from other senior Trump Administration officials, including sworn testimony by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel.
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Susie Wiles Frets Over Mike Banks" went up Friday. The following sites -- plus Elaine's "A Chump recession?" -- updated:
-
Bill Cassidy Gets Primaried3 hours ago
-
-
THE BOYS (Spoilers)9 hours ago
-
-
-
G. Elliott Morris on Vibes and the Midterms20 hours ago
-
-
-
Idiots of the Week1 day ago
-
Things worsen for Chump1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
