Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Chump's caught lying about drug prices, his drug 'plan' may actually increase prices, he and his finger puppet Mike Johnson try to shut down questions about his dead pal Jeffrey Epstein, Chump's mental condition is as questionable as his physical condition, and gutter trash Chump needs to stop using the presidency to attack other people.
Waking up with Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK) breaking down the news almost makes it palatable.
Love Ben's mocking of Donald Chump and his "Russia Russia Russia" nonsense. I do have a question though. First though, let's note this from last night's THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE.
At some point with Donald these days, the question is always one of how much is this him lying as usual and how much of this is his dementia?
Ben unpacked several issues with Donald mad ravings yesterday. Pay attention to the stuff on former President Barack Obama.
I am tired of people in the media treating this raving lunatic as normal.
Reagan didn't slam Ford or Carter. Bill Clinton didn't give speeches attacking Poppy Bush.
This behavior is gutter. This is why Chump had to move to Florida. He was always gutter and Manhattan was not willing to embrace him. The fact that gutter is in the Oval Office is not a good thing. The raving lunatic and his conspiracy talk causes violence.
He has no proof about Barack Obama. He's making reckless charges and doing so as the head of the executive branch. He needs to be brought to heel and I'm not the only one outraged by his antics. The office of the president is not a bully pulpit to attack people with.
I think people need to start suing him. I mean Rosie O'Donnell, I mean Barack Obama, I mean everyone he goes off on. This is not presidential behavior and it is not acceptable.
Barack's response is this statement from his spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush:
Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.
Chump is slandering people. He's slandered Rosie, he's slandered Barack. This is nothing about official duties because the president is not judge and jury and is actually supposed to say things like, "I cannot comment on that issue due to litigation."
He needs a gag order again. Rosie should sue him for one. Everyone he is slandering should be suing him.
As Ben notes in the video we posted immediately above (not the one at the top), Chump is also lying like crazy.
It's 100%.
That's all you've got with costs.
If you come in my store and want to buy whatever, a necklace, and it's $500 dollars, I might be giddy and happy about something else and give it to you for free. That would mean you got a 100% discount.
Chump's lies about medicines? Chump's lying that he's reduced it by 1,000%?
That would mean that Eli Lily was not only giving you the product for free, it would also mean that they were paying you to take it.
He is a damn liar.
Again, I get it. Is it the lying or the dementia?
There's no 1000% discount. He's a liar and he's a loon.
Ben and Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) are not the only media voices who should be pointing out that Chump's math is wrong and that Chump's lying. Here's Ewan this morning:
President Donald Trump has promised to reduce American drug prices by mathematically impossible figures of up to “1400 percent.”
Speaking during a White House event attended by Republican members of Congress and his Cabinet, Trump said he would tackle the long-running issue of high medication costs in the U.S.
But Trump did not set any achievable targets for that aim, instead outlining a range of percentages which would yield negative prices, meaning drug companies would have to pay people to take their medications.
“We will have reduced drug prices by 1,000 percent by 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 700, 600,” Trump said. “Not 30 or 40 or 50 percent, but numbers the likes of which you’ve never even dreamed of before.”
Trump added that his numbers were previously “not even thought to be achievable,”—mainly because they aren’t—but he believes he can somehow pull it off because “I’ve used a certain talent that I have and convinced the drug companies that you have no choice.”
Trump’s threat involves warning European countries that they will no longer be able to sell cars in the U.S. unless their pharmaceutical companies lower their drug prices.
“You’re no longer allowed to have Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen or any of the other many cars and they will say, ‘Oh, I love the idea of lower drug prices for America.’”
Grasp that Chump's not just lying and not just wrong. He's on camera telling Republicans going home to their districts to repeat this nonsense. If they do? I hope their constituents boo them.
On top of that, his 'plan' may result in higher drug prices. Lyndon Haviland (THE HILL) argues:
President Trump recently announced his intent to impose a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals to lure drug manufacturing back to the U.S. This action, if implemented, will come at great cost to millions of Americans already struggling to cover their medical bills and force them deeper into health care debt.
A vast number of Americans today rely on prescription medications. Over 60 percent of adults have at least one prescription filled every year.
These statistics rise dramatically as we grow older. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found an estimated nine out of 10 people over the age of 65 rely on these drugs to maintain their long-term health.
Many adults admit to not taking their medications due to fears over cost. Almost half of adults age 50 and older “have either skipped filling a prescription due to costs or know someone who has,” according to research by the American Association of Retired Persons.
U.S. prescription drug prices are almost three times higher than those of other countries. The U.S. “pays higher prices for prescription drugs than any other country in the world,” notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
These statistics rise dramatically as we grow older. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found an estimated nine out of 10 people over the age of 65 rely on these drugs to maintain their long-term health.
Many adults admit to not taking their medications due to fears over cost. Almost half of adults age 50 and older “have either skipped filling a prescription due to costs or know someone who has,” according to research by the American Association of Retired Persons.
U.S. prescription drug prices are almost three times higher than those of other countries. The U.S. “pays higher prices for prescription drugs than any other country in the world,” notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In part, that’s because some of the most widely used drugs in America are imported from other countries.
Pharmaceutical imports have more than doubled in recent decades, rising from $65 billion in 2006 to $151 billion in 2019. They include many popular drugs that treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, blood clots, schizophrenia and obesity, among others.
The long-term goal of boosting U.S. drug manufacturing to make America less reliant on pharmaceutical production from other countries, lower drug costs and increase medication access is an important endeavor.
But the policies we enact to try and achieve this desired outcome must be weighed carefully to avoid creating short-term price spikes and drug shortages that could hurt millions of people.
Trump initially said his tariff proposal wouldn’t go into effect for another year. He has since changed this view by indicating the U.S. may “start off” with a lower tariff as early as Aug. 1, and raise it to a “very high tariff” in a “year or so.”
But experts have issued warnings about the possible impact these tariffs will have on public health, saying even a year isn’t enough time for the U.S. drug industry to build the required infrastructure necessary to meet U.S. supply demands.
That does not paint a pretty picture for the future of America. And Chump's math, again, does not add up.
It is a lie, an outright lie. Now it may be the lie of a criminally insane man, but it's a still a lie.
Jordan King (NEWSWEEK) reports this morning:
More than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for President Donald Trump to release all his medical records.
On July 17, the White House confirmed Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency following growing concerns about visible swelling in the president's legs and bruises on his hands.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Historically, U.S. presidents and presidential candidates have released their medical information to build public trust and reassure voters. The issue has become more urgent as the median age of presidents in the U.S. has risen, with cognitive and physical decline becoming pointed campaign topics.
[. . .]
The author of the Care2 petition titled "Release Trump's FULL Medical Records NOW" wrote: "After everyone with eyes was able to plainly see Trump's swollen legs, discolorations, and other troubling symptoms, the White House FINALLY released a snippet of health information—Trump has 'chronic venous insufficiency.' In tones normally reserved for a hangnail, they said this was no big deal, very common, nothing to see here...
"Except that this can indicate a very serious heart condition, possibly life-threatening, along with a range of other very dangerous ailments. But we don't have the full records, so we have to take the word of chronic liars.
"Add your name, and demand that ALL Trump's medical records be released, as has been common practice for presidents for decades.
"This also must include cognitive, memory, and related tests, given the rapidly worsening symptoms Trump has been showing on that front as well (including an utterly bizarre public rant about the Unabomber and Trump's uncle).
"This man has his finger on the nuclear button, which is already frightening. But if he's falling apart physically and mentally, that takes it to a whole other level. And we need to know that, so we can act accordingly."
The White House announced Trump's diagnosis in a memo from Sean Barbabella, the president's physician.
He needs to release the medical records and do so immediately. And the press needs to call him out for lying. Is Rebecca the only one who caught the lie in the 'new' condition the White House now admits Chump has?
Here's Rebecca from Friday night:
now onto chump. and i'm talking about his health lies, to clarify. he lies about everything, yes, but i'm talking about his health lies. this is from 'morning edition' ('npr') this morning:
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The White House has acknowledged that President Trump has a chronic condition affecting the veins in his legs. The administration disclosed this after people online called attention to photos showing the president with swollen ankles, among other symptoms. NPR's Will Stone is here to tell us more. Will, good morning.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK, so what does the White House now say is the president's diagnosis?
STONE: Well, the president has what's called chronic venous insufficiency. And put simply, this is when the blood in your veins has trouble getting pumped back up to the heart. And as a result, the blood can start to accumulate. It can start to pool in your legs, causing swelling, as we've seen with President Trump. And specifically, this has to do with the valves in your veins not working all that well. Here's how Dr. Niten Singh described it to me. He's a vascular surgeon at the University of Washington.
NITEN SINGH: The veins, particularly in the lower extremity, are very thin-walled structures. And they have valves so that when you stand up, all the blood doesn't rush to your feet. These valves close. But over time, these valves can become dysfunctional.
STONE: And this dysfunction most often happens just as a result of getting older. The condition can also be due to a blood clot, what's known as deep vein thrombosis. And of course, a clot can be serious. Although, it's also possible the clot happened years earlier. And that ends up damaging the valves and causing problems later on. The president's doctor did check for a blood clot using an ultrasound and found no evidence of that. They also did not see any signs of arterial disease. And his doctor concluded President Trump remains, quote, "in excellent health."
he's at risk because he's obese and because he's old. 79 y.o. in fact and it's 1 more reason he can't get an erection anymore. but here's what i want to zoom in on - from 'all things considered' ('npr') today:
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
As many as 30% of all adults in the U.S. have some form of chronic venous insufficiency. So let's learn more about it. We've called Dr. Thomas Maldonado for this. He is a vascular surgeon at NYU Langone Health in New York. Good morning, Dr. Maldonado. Thanks for joining us.
THOMAS MALDONADO: Good morning. Good to be here.
MARTIN: So what are some of the early indicators for this? What should people be looking for?
MALDONADO: Well, you know, this is a progressive disease, so there's a spectrum of symptoms and signs. And, you know, early on, this is something that can present with some mild swelling. Oftentimes, people feel some heaviness, some itching in the legs, believe it or not. And then varicose veins is sort of what is the common presentation. People come in with sort of unsightly veins.
They want to look better in the summer. They want those treated. But those are actually a tip-off that there's a problem with the veins and the venous circulation.
MARTIN: You know, the White House released the results of the president's latest physical in April, which is just about three months ago. It showed there was, quote, "normal blood flow and no swelling," unquote, in his extremities. So is it possible that this condition came on that quickly in just a few months?
MALDONADO: Well, probably unlikely. I mean, there are - this is a chronic disease and it's - thus the name chronic venous insufficiency. So it happens really over a lifetime, although it's more common, as we know, in older adults, especially women. But the best way to understand this is that circulation is really simple plumbing. You know, we have a pump, the heart. It kind of propels blood through the arteries which deliver it to the organs, the extremities, and the veins return it.
do you get it? this is not an overnight condition. the white house has been lying about his health and falsifying medical records.
chump lies about everything.
We can't afford a president lying about their health. One more time, key passage:
MARTIN: You know, the White House released the results of the president's latest physical in April, which is just about three months ago. It showed there was, quote, "normal blood flow and no swelling," unquote, in his extremities. So is it possible that this condition came on that quickly in just a few months?
MALDONADO: Well, probably unlikely. I mean, there are - this is a chronic disease and it's - thus the name chronic venous insufficiency. So it happens really over a lifetime, although it's more common, as we know, in older adults, especially women. But the best way to understand this is that circulation is really simple plumbing. You know, we have a pump, the heart. It kind of propels blood through the arteries which deliver it to the organs, the extremities, and the veins return it.
The health condition did not just pop up. That's highly unlikely. Far more likely is that Chump and his doctor knew of it months ago, maybe even more than a year ago, and they have conspired to lie about it to the American people.
Meanwhile, he's not just attacking Barack with lies or Rosie with lies. He's also attacking Senator Adam Schiff. He's accusing him of criminal actions. That's not acceptable behavior for a sitting president -- or a former president.
There is no distracting from Chump's ties to Epstein. Greg Sargent (THE NEW REPUBLIC) writes this morning:
A few days ago, as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal gripped Washington, Senator Ron Wyden offered a striking revelation in an interview with The New York Times. The Oregon Democrat said that his investigators had discovered that four big banks had flagged to the Treasury Department $1.5 billion in potentially suspicious money transfers involving Epstein, much of which appeared to be related to his massive sex trafficking network.
The revelation—which emerged via Wyden’s work as ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee—ratified widespread suspicions that there is still much we don’t know about Epstein’s relations with some of the most powerful and wealthy elites in the world in the lead-up to his 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.
Now Wyden is ratcheting things up once again. Wyden’s office just sent a new letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi—which The New Republic obtained—suggesting seven potent lines of inquiry that the Justice Department could follow, right now, to dig more deeply into Epstein’s web of financial relations with global elites.
“I am convinced that the DOJ ignored evidence found in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Epstein file, a binder that contains extensive details on the mountains of cash Epstein received from prominent businessmen that Epstein used to finance his criminal network,” Wyden writes in the letter.
The Treasury Department has this information because that’s where banks file Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARS. Wyden’s letter says his staff has documented that Epstein-related filings by banks contain “information on more than 4,725 wire transfers involving Epstein’s accounts, all of which merit further investigation.”
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is an embarrassment and an enabler. Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro (AP) note, "House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote." Alex Henderson observes, "Johnson's announcement is drawing a lot of discussion on X, formerly Twitter -- some of it downright scathing." Chris Hatler (ESQUIRE) opines:
At TALKING POINTS MEMO, Nicole Lafond explores Mike Johnson's turn around:
His rationale for all of this is two-fold. He says that after conversations with the White House and President Trump, he believes that lawmakers need to give the executive branch “space” to do the work they are already doing to release the files. This supposed work to make the documents public is only a few days old. Trump only directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into unsealing grand jury material in the case (a maneuver that will likely yield little) after a week of bad-for-Trump headlines — spurred by his own Justice Department’s decision to not release any more info to the public. A growing rift began to emerge last week not just among Trump’s MAGA base of conspiracy theorist influencers, but within the Republican Party as well.
At least 10 House Republicans had indicated they would join Democrats in supporting a bipartisan resolution sponsored by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), which calls for releasing a lot more from the Epstein investigative files than the Trump administration is currently looking into unsealing. Massie and Khanna planned to use a procedural move, a discharge petition, to compel a vote on the matter. Per CNN:
That procedural maneuver requires seven legislative days before House lawmakers can formally collect the necessary signatures. Once they prove they have support from 218 members, it would force party leaders to bring it to the floor.
Trump’s attorney general has asked for grand jury material to be made public – which also is likely to be a slow-moving effort, and one that requires court approval. But the Massie and Khanna measure goes significantly further, requiring the Trump administration to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to Epstein within 30 days.
It would also require the White House to release a “list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials” — a list that Trump’s base has been demanding.
Meanwhile House Republicans on the Rules Committee are blocking any legislation from reaching the House floor for a vote this week in order to block Democrats from introducing Epstein-related amendments. When Johnson decided to close down the House as early as Wednesday afternoon and shut down a vote on a non-binding resolution that would’ve allowed some House Republicans to vocalize their concerns over the Epstein matter before heading home for recess, he defiantly declared, “we’re done being lectured on transparency.”
He then went on to paint the issue as a moral dilemma that involved protecting the identity of Epstein’s victims — his second reason for packing things up early. Here’s Johnson’s quote in full, part of remarks he made during a press conference Tuesday when he also ridiculed Massie:
What I know about the president’s heart on this is that he agrees with everything I’ve said here today. He wants maximum transparency but he is also very insistent that we do not subject people, who have already been victims of unspeakable crimes, to further public scrutiny. It would be a very dangerous thing to put those people’s names out or to do a release of information in a way that is haphazard, where they could easily unmasked. And so you have to be very careful about how you do that. I think we have a moral responsibility to do that. We have a moral responsibility to expose the evil of Epstein and everybody that was involved in that, absolutely. And we’re resolved to do it, but we also have an equal moral responsibility to protect the innocent. And that is a fine needle to thread.
It’s a change in tone from what we heard from the House speaker last week, when he broke with the White House and aggressively advocated for more “transparency.”
“I’m for transparency,” Johnson told right-wing influencer Benny Johnson. “It’s a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.”
While Chump and Johnson and all the other losers and liars try to evade responsibility, grasp that the people being hurt the most are the survivors of Epstein and Chump and his motely crew don't give two s**ts about those women and never have.
We're in the third week of Chump trying to bury the Epstein story and it's not working. Sarah K. Burris notes:
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Democrats also launch new website to track Trump VA’s responsiveness to oversight letters from Congress
Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), called out Secretary Collins for his failure to be transparent and accountable to veterans, Congress, and American taxpayers around his cuts and recent policy changes at VA.
“Congress and this Administration should be working together to provide the best possible care, benefits and services for our nation’s veterans and their families, and your failure to be transparent about your actions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is wholly unacceptable,” the senators wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Collins. “As you are aware, Congress has a constitutionally-mandated obligation of oversight over executive agencies. However, VA under your leadership has been historically secretive and partisan, and overtly adversarial to any attempts at such oversight.”
The senators delivered a searing review of Collins’ leadership and lack of communication with Congress: “…[Y]our communications lack timeliness, facts, and adequacy…Since your confirmation, the Department has also reduced or cancelled regular briefings on numerous topics, including homelessness, caregiver support and community care. And you have refused to allow members of Congress and staff to conduct roundtables and town halls at VA facilities to hear directly from employees and veterans about their concerns – violating years of precedent.” In an unprecedented move in April, the Trump administration refused to allow VA Puget Sound to participate in a roundtable discussion Senator Murray held in Seattle on women veterans’ health care.
The senators also slammed Collins’ denial of basic Freedom of Information Act requests and insistence that media outlets change evidence-based reporting with no substantial proof to support those requests: “This vindictive secrecy is unprecedented, and demonstrates your consistent unwillingness to allow anyone to hold you accountable for your actions…This blatant obstruction of Congress, and lack of transparency and accountability to America’s veterans and taxpayers must not continue. ” The senators concluded their letter by demanding Collins commit to new timeliness and oversight parameters, including allowing members of Congress and staff to visit VA facilities and ensuring VA answer Congressional Requests for Information with 45 calendar days.
The text of the senators’ letter is available HERE.
In an effort to publicly track Trump VA’s responsiveness to Congress, Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee recently rolled out a new website page website to track responses to oversight letters Ranking Member Blumenthal has sent since the beginning of the Trump administration, January 18, 2025. This web page reveals the majority of oversight letters to VA either get no response or responses with minimal or inaccurate information.
This oversight website page can be found HERE and will be updated regularly.
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