Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Crazy Eyes Susie Wiles is all over the media as Chump continues to destroy the economy and continues his war on immigrants.
We noted the Susie Wiles VANITY FAIR interview in yesterday's snapshot -- we also posted multiple videos on the topic throughout the day and this morning.
There are a lot of e-mails about that and I'm going to make a few points and that may be it for that interview. This is nothing new for me and when I make these comments people often get mad. You have been warned.
Wiles remarks are news.
They deserve to be covered.
The White House response is also news and deserves to be covered.
There are no 'good guys' versus 'bad guys' here.
Chump is not a bad person!!!! Of course he is, but that's all we've got here: Bad guys.
The writer's not a good guy.
He did his job and it was news that he provided. But he wasn't a good guy.
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and the more recent follow up with Meryl Streep (remember when she was telling us today's WASHINGTON POST was so wonderful?) are not films on journalism. Their glorification myths. The most honest film or TV movie on journalism starred Valerie Bertinelli, 1986's ROCKABYE. Valerie's child goes missing. A journalist makes a thousand promises. In the end, the journalist is just focused on the job.
Susie Wiles is an idiot and that's what's revealed by this matter.
I do not get 'seduced' in interviews. I know the profession and I know that they will suck up to you and lie. That's fine. I know that their story is the most important to them and that it's why they get paid. I know that entertainment coverage has impacted non-entertainment coverage in a very bad manner but that even without its influence, journalism would still be what it is today.
There are reporters who do outstanding work. They are few and far between. There are journalist who don't do outstanding work but do needed work. They will leave out things intentionally because they know what the heads of their outlet want and don't want. Then their are the bad reports who just don't know what to do and will never know. Then you've got the reporter who is going to flash it up and get attention -- whether the produced work is worthy or not -- because it's al about the reporter's vanity.
Wiles is an idiot. She got seduced -- kind words and sucking up convinced her this was like a conversation with a friend. It's not. She let her guard down and talked and talked. 11 interviews. And she said what was reported. She's whining context. 11 interviews? Did you think this was going to be a transcript piece? Everything you said was never going to be printed. The most attention getting remarks would make it into the article. You provided good copy. That's all you did and you're an idiot for not realizing that before you agreed to it.
Yeah, the reporter tricked her!!!
I can applaud that because she's a bad person working for a bad person.
I'm not going to turn that into, "He's not an asshole."
Because he is. Chris Whipple is an asshole Here is on THE DAILY BEAST podcast.
Approximately 11 minutes in, this exchange takes place.
Joanna Coles : And yet she found the time to sit with you or talk to you for 11 interviews. What's that about?
Chris Whipple: I don't know. I-I can't read her mind. I cannot [. . .]
About 23 minutes and fifty seconds in, this exchange took place.
Joanna Coles: But I didn't really understand what she meant by that. What do you think she meant by that?
Chris Whipple: Well, listen, I can't read her mind, but look --
Joanna Coles: You keep saying that but you interviewed her 11 times. You must have an idea.
Chris Whipple: Uhm, no, I said I couldn't read Trump's mind. I don't think I said that [about Wiles] before that.
Um, yes. You did say it.
And that was so stupid.
First off, the piece is under attack and you give an interview where you say something on camera and then about ten minutes later you say you didn't say that.
Do you have dementia?
Can we trust anything you say or that you've written?
His ego betrayed him. And the arrogance with which he tells Joanna that she's wrong. And she wasn't wrong. He looks like an idiot.
And note what I did above. I quoted what I wanted, what I thought was pertinent. That's what Chris did. Wiles said what she said. Context? There's no missing context. This is what she said in the interviews to a professional journalist and the journalist determined what to quote by what was newsworthy.
We'll note the VF interview from time to time (in fact, later in the snapshot today) but we're not obsessing over it. Next topic.
Sam Sutton and Victoria Guida (POLITICO) add, "For
now, Trump administration officials say they’re optimistic that the
labor market will turn around next year once the effects of the
president’s business-friendly tax and regulatory policies kick in. The
capital investments that have helped push the U.S.’s gross domestic
product above 3 percent — a level that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
previously identified as vital to the country’s fiscal outlook — are
also expected to push up payroll growth over the next year."
Combined
with other factors, President Donald Trump’s big tariffs on Chinese
goods are costing Ohio farmers and their counterparts in other states
heavily, according to a new report.
The report shows Ohio farmers lost nearly $76 million of their exports to China this year compared to one year earlier.
Tariffs
are taxes on imports, and since the start of his second term, Trump has
imposed a shifting array of them on every country in the world — except
Russia for some reason, according to the Atlantic Council’s Tariff
Tracker.
Economists have said the
unpredictability of the measures has slowed some business investment
because decision-makers can’t plan. And surveys conducted by the Federal
Bank of Cleveland show that regional businesses are seeing higher input
costs from them and many are raising prices for their customers.
That’s not helpful as Republicans struggle to deal with a national affordability crisis.
Farmers have faced a double whammy. They’ve seen many of their costs go up because of the import taxes.
Meanwhile,
China — the country’s third-largest trading partner — stopped purchases
of American soybeans in May before resuming them last month. The
stoppage was in retaliation for the tariffs Trump imposed that now are
at 20%, according to the tariff tracker.
Higher prices are forcing Americans to cut back on holiday presents this year, a new poll has found.
A total of 41 percent of Americans plan to spend less on presents this year, CNBC reported.
That’s
a six-point jump compared to 2024 and the most significant increase
since the 2022 inflation surge, according to the new CNBC All-America
Economic Survey,
Of those who reported they would
be spending less, 46 percent said the reason was the “high cost of
goods,” a 10-percent increase from last year’s survey.
The
survey results come as almost half of Americans say the cost-of-living
crisis is the worst they’ve ever seen, with voters increasingly blaming
President Donald Trump’s policies.
Manufacturers may also have to cut production if sales don’t pick up soon, S&P said.
Tariffs
were blamed once again. S&P said businesses raised prices at one of
the fastest rates in the past three years to cover their own higher
costs. And no part of the economy was spared.
“Higher
prices are again being widely blamed on tariffs, with an initial impact
on manufacturing now increasingly spilling over to services to broaden
the affordability problem,” Williamson said.
Big
picture: It doesn’t seem like the economy will enter 2026 with a strong
dose of momentum. Companies hope the trade disputes will settle down,
but tariffs hang over the economy like the Sword of Damocles.
This morning on MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Ben notes the awful economy and he also notes 'peace' poser Chump is at war right now. Illegal war. War Crimes And that it's about oil (whcih
Sara
had been preparing for a radio interview earlier this month to promote
her plans to open an at-home child care center in Central Texas when she
learned that a new federal immigration order rendered her ineligible
for legal status.
Sara, an undocumented
Venezuelan who applied for asylum earlier this year, canceled the
interview and indefinitely put her plans on hold.
Now,
Sara, her husband and two sons follow strict rules: curtains must stay
shut and doors locked at all times. If someone knocks on the door, they
won’t answer. They don’t get together with friends unless it’s an
emergency. For trips to the grocery store, they go individually, in
shifts.
In an instant, the work — and hope —
that the family had invested toward economic stability and living
lawfully in the U.S. for nearly a decade disappeared.
“We
don’t understand this administration’s reasons for leaving us in limbo
like this,” said Sara, who asked to be identified by her first name
because she fears being targeted by immigration authorities. “I came to
contribute to this country. Why take those possibilities away and force
us to leave and put us through this trauma? It deprives you of sleep,
takes away your peace, it takes away everything, your dignity as a
person.”
Tension and energy fill the squad car as OFFICER NOLAN looks at DETECTIVE LOPEZ.
NOLAN: Ready?
Lopez nods. The two pull dark masks over their faces and throw open the doors of their squad car
EXT. TREE LINED STREET -- DAY
Nolan and Lopez run towards a 2024 blue Ford Crown Victoria.
INT. CROWN VICTORIA - DAY
MASON, 25, sits in parked car listening to music and finishing some french fries when a big thud is hear.
EXT. TREE LINED STREET - DAY
NOLAN: Roll down the window!!!
Nolan and Lopez stand beside the parked car yelling.
NOLAN: Roll down the window!
Lopez
looks at Nolan. He nods. He breaks the window with his gun, reaches
inside and grabs Mason by the t-shirt collar. Lopez reaches in and
grabs Mason by the neck, joining Nolan in pulling a scared Mason out of
the car.
MASON: What's going on! What did I do?
DETECTIVE HARPER runs over towards them as Nolan and Lopez hurl Mason to the ground.
LOPEZ: Down! Stay down!
MASON: Who are you?
NOLAN: Shut up!
Lopez begins tazing Mason while Nolan and Harper kick him.
Would you accept that scene on THE ROOKIE?
[. . .]
THE ROOKIE scenario above?
George
Retes. That's the name of the man this actually happened to. In
California. And he's not an immigrant. He's a US citizen and, in fact,
an Iraq War veteran. And when ICE began attacking him, they didn't
listen and they didn't care. Olga R. Rodriguez (AP) notes
"It
took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me
even though my hands were already behind my back," Retes said.
[. . .]
Retes
was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles,
where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked
on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and
missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday.
He
said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him
to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention.
Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered
in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned
throughout the first night he spent in custody.
On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges.
"They
gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining
that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being
"locked up for three days with no reason and no charges."
George was on CBS EVENING NEWS yesterday talking about what he endured.
Again,
this was done to an American citizen. No one should have that done to
them. This is not what we expect in the United States when it comes to
someone being taken into custody.
You
do not have the right to beat someone whose hands are behind their
back. You do not not need to be breaking windows. You do not need to
be terrorizing and you do not need to be hidden behind masks.
It is a very slippery slope. You accept it from ICE, you better believe it's going to transfer over to the police.
One
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s knee was on his neck,
another’s was grinding his back. Drenched with tear gas and pepper
spray, George Retes might have wished that his 137 pounds were back in
Kirkuk, Iraq, one of his Army deployments. Herewith a glimpse of your
tax dollars at work.
Born 26 years ago in Ventura, California,
where his mother was born, he enlisted after high school and calls the
Army “the best job ever,” adding, “I love the infantry.” He married a
woman he deployed with, thereby acquiring a stepson, soon a daughter,
and a reason to leave the Army: to avoid long absences from his
children.
[. . .]
The ICE men were presumably
looking for undocumented immigrants. Retes’s driver’s license, which he
says the ICE men never asked to see, identifies him as “Veteran Army.”
His license plate includes “DV”: disabled veteran. While ICE’s warriors
were trying and ultimately succeeding in smashing his driver’s-side
window (the better to pepper spray him), they apparently did not notice
his rear window’s “Iraq Combat Veteran” sticker.
Amid
a torrent of shouted and contradictory ICE men commands, and after he
asked for an agent’s badge number, he says, Retes was dragged from his
car, his wrists were zip-tied behind his back, and he was seated on the
roadside ground for four hours.
My
name is George Retes. I'm 26 years old, born and raised in Ventura,
California. I'm a U.S. citizen and an Iraq combat veteran. As of writing
this, it has been a little over 5 months since I was wrongfully
detained, stripped of my rights, and held down by officers kneeling on
my neck and back. I was thrown in jail for three days and three nights
and placed on suicide watch - without any explanation, charges, or
apology.
pick up below
Nearly two months later, I wrote an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle
detailing my ordeal and what had happened to me. My message was simple:
if this can happen to me - a U.S. citizen and Iraq combat veteran - it
can happen to anyone. I urged people to take responsibility, to stand
together, and to make sure our rights aren't stripped away right in
front of us.
In response to my op-ed, the Department of Homeland Security posted the following statement on X (formerly Twitter):
"As
CBP and ICE agents were executing criminal search warrants on July 10
at the marijuana sites in Camarillo, CA, George Retes - a U.S. citizen -
became violent and refused to comply with law enforcement. He
challenged agents and blocked their route by refusing to move his
vehicle out of the road. CBP arrested Retes for assault.
U.S.
citizens are NOT ‘wrongfully' being arrested by ICE. DHS enforcement
operations are highly targeted and are not resulting in the arrest of
U.S. citizens. We do our due diligence.
We know who we are targeting ahead of time.
These
types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE
law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 1,000%
increase in assaults on enforcement officers."
It's
statements like this - painting everyday people as if they're the
problem - that truly demonize and villainize ICE. When agents mask up
and run through towns violating people's rights, they create this image
themselves.
On Dec. 9th, 2025, I had the honor
of testifying at a shadow hearing led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a
Connecticut Democrat. I spoke not just for myself, but for every person
who believes that our constitutional rights should never be optional.
What happened to me should never happen to anyone, and the fact that it
did shows that our system is failing the very people it's meant to
protect.
We're back to Susie Wiles. Idiots
fall for flatter. We see that every day with Chump. But it's equally
true of Susie Wiles. Every word VANITY FAIR published as a quote came
out of her mouth yet she wants to pretend otherwise or insist that she
was taken out of context. She said what she said about Musk (drug
addict), Donald Chump, etc. Greta Bjornson (PEOPLE) notes:
Susie
Wiles spoke to Vanity Fair for a two-part series about Trump's first
year back in the White House, during which she addressed the
long-awaited Epstein files, which have plagued Trump, 79, during his
second term.
The Trump administration resisted
releasing all files related to the investigation of disgraced financier
Jeffrey Epstein for months before Congress passed an act in November
demanding that they publicly share as many files as possible.
Wiles, 68, reportedly said to Vanity Fair that Trump is in "the Epstein file."
"We
know he’s in the file. And he’s not in the file doing anything awful,”
she said, noting that the president “was on [Epstein’s] plane ... he’s
on the manifest."
