Saturday, June 27, 2026

Chump's 'deal' with Iran -- like his national fair -- falls apart

How's that Chump peace deal with Iran going?  Not very well.  THE NEW YORK TIMES reports, "U.S. forces carried out more airstrikes on Iran, calling them a retaliation for an attack on an oil tanker. Iran’s military later said it had attacked American targets in Bahrain and Kuwait."  That was today.  The 'memo,' 'deal,' 'treaty' or 'chain letter' fell apart on Friday.  Kevin Reed (WSWS) reports:


The US launched a new round of strikes on Iran on Friday in the most explicit indication yet that the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has collapsed into an escalating and open conflict. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.

A report by Al Jazeera said the US strikes were near the Iranian port of Sirik. Al Jazeera also reported that Iran said it had “succeeded in neutralizing” the attack and pledged to retaliate in a statement shared by the ISNA news agency. The statement said, “We emphasize that this aggression will not go unanswered, and our response will be swift and decisive at a time and place of our choosing.”

An Iranian parliamentary security official, Ebrahim Azizi, accused Washington of attacking “in the middle of negotiations once again” and said the US president had shown no commitment to negotiation or ceasefire principles.

According to other reports, the US strikes were carried out in response to Iran’s launching of at least four one-way attack drones at a commercial vessel on Thursday, with one drone striking the ship’s upper deck and damaging it before the vessel continued its course.


Tabby Wilson (BBC) notes each side is blaming the other:


Following the exchange of fire, the US and Iran accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Centcom said in a statement, "Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit MT Kiku," a Panama-flagged tanker.

In response, it said, Centcom hit military equipment, communication systems, air defense sites and drone storage facilities.

In the IRGC's statement, it said the US had attacked five coastal posts in Iran under what it called "the pretext of the IRGC Navy confronting the offending ship".

In retaliation, the IRGC said it had launched ballistic missiles and drones at "eight key pieces of infrastructure" at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and the Fifth Naval Fleet in Port Salman, Bahrain, "destroying them". 


ALJAZEERA notes, "Saturday’s renewed attacks are the latest indication that a Middle East ceasefire, established as part of a June 17 memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, might be at breaking point."  Optimism.  Aime Williams (FINANCIAL TIMES) notes the attacks " further imperilling the fragile ceasefire agreement struck between Washington and Tehran almost two weeks ago."  While Benoit Faucon, Lara Selignman and Saleh al-Batati (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) note today's attack was "the second wave of American attacks in as many days."  Uwa Ede-Osifo (GUARDIAN) adds, "In a statement the IRGC vowed that any further aggression would be met with a 'crushing response' and warned that violating the ceasefire would result 'in the complete ⁠halt of all ​diplomatic processes'."


That's overseas.  How's Chump fairing here at home?  Well, he's crashed and burned with his attempts to hijack the country's 250th anniversary.  Stephanie Kalo (THE WRAP) notes:


Donald Trump's Great American State Fair kicked off Friday on the National Mann in Washington, D.C. to bad weather, power outages, poor attendance, and, apparently, a Confederate flag problem. This prompted plenty of responses from both attendees and people watching from afar via social media. As one person put it, "This is pathetic."

The New York Times reported Saturday the fair is missing key traditional elements often present at similar events (like butter sculptures, naturally), but there are displays promoting Turning Point USA and a portrait of Donald Trump.

Footage from Saturday showed scarce attendance on the lawn.

Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who served in Illinois from 2011 to 2023, wrote on X, "Wow. Turns out people aren't very maga after all."


THE IRISH STAR notes:


Vanilla Ice's performance at Freedom 250's Great American State Fair was scrapped at the last minute on Friday, June 26, as storms swept through Washington, D. C. Heavy rain fell near the stage area before the 58-year-old was scheduled to perform, with very few people turning out for the show. It comes after critics came up with a wild reason for the show to be canceled.

Before the show was canceled, Vanilla Ice faced criticism from fans for participating in the Trump-backed event. A number of artists had pulled out of the event, including Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, and Young MC. It comes as Trump was accused of a "very unhealthy" relationship with his blonde 34-year-old aide.

A concession stand at the Great American State Fair listed beers for $12 and bottled water for $5, with additional taxes and processing fees, adding to complaints about high prices at the event. It comes after a chilling discovery was made at the bottom of the Washington DC Reflecting Pool that exposes Trump.


Tom Boggion (RAW STORY) observes, "The cancellation represents yet another failure for what has become a disaster for the administration. Three days into the 16-day celebration, Trump's fair has been wracked by artist boycotts, electrical failures, broken equipment, sparse attendance, and now a weather-canceled performance by a 1990s rap act that was supposed to salvage the event."  Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes the high prices:

President Donald Trump has made it clear he doesn’t care about high prices—even at his own Great American State Fair.

Attendees at the first day of the president’s festival were disappointed to discover that what few food options were actually open were far from cheap.

USA Today reported that the only food stall open on Thursday sold turkey legs for $23—almost twice the price of the same offering from a Disney theme park. The stall also offered smashburgers and giant western sausage sandwiches for $20, and lemonade for a whopping $9.


Kate Corliss (WASHINGTONIAN) notes:


The crowd beyond the gates is meager. Upon entry, the Ferris wheel smacks you in the face—it’s not very big, but the slow-moving line boasts the highest concentration of people anywhere on the Mall. One couple toward the back tells me they’ve been waiting for 20 minutes already and they haven’t even seen the ride run yet. (City Cast reported around 6 PM Thursday night that the wheel had broken down due to generator issues and was expected to be out of commission for an hour or two. We reached out to Freedom 250 for specifics and are waiting to hear back.) A few days ago, I might have been reluctant to hop on, given how the administration’s last construction project resulted in a potentially toxic algae bloom in the Reflecting Pool. But recent reporting confirmed the wheel was inspected both by DC safety officials and a third-party company, so I am tempted to join the queue. No single passengers are allowed, so I consider asking to join another group. A beaming woman swimming in American flag apparel saunters past, and she seems like she’d be a good time. I ask if she’s ridden yet. “No,” she says firmly, gesturing at the enclosed gondolas. “It looks like a hot box.” If she’s out, so am I. 
[. . .]
An hour into my excursion, I have already been the subject of two exorcism attempts and my constitution is starting to falter. There can’t possibly be a better time for my lemonade. I step into the food hall, where I see a single vendor: Express Hibachi, which is an unusual name for a purveyor of personal pizzas and chicken Caesar salads. I skip the dining and head straight for the beverage stand. At this moment, I realize it’s all over: The only available lemonade is Minute Maid, sold by the plastic bottle. Feeling bamboozled and stupid for believing that I might find something beautiful at this garish perversion of an American tradition, I consider purchasing three $14 Cutwaters and passing out in the middle of the grass. But I already appear to be emanating a demonic energy to my fellow fairgoers, so I settle on a $5 water. In the meantime, another performer has taken the stage, a 14-year-old singer named Reagan Oliver who has traveled here from Arkansas and croons a sweetly timid rendition of “Delta Dawn.” Most of the attendees ignore her, and only a few clap when she’s done.

And Jennifer Bowers Bahney (MEDIAITE) notes:

A display at Washington, D.C.’s Great American State Fair has been taken down after an “unapproved image” drew criticism from some fairgoers.

CNN’s Gabe Cohen said the dustup occurred over an image of the Confederate flag at the booth representing North Carolina.

“People who were here attending the state fair were surprised yesterday when they walked into that booth, into the North Carolina pavilion, and found that there were images of a Confederate flag projected on multiple screens,” Cohen said, continuing:

I will tell you, North Carolina is one of the states that did not send official representatives. Their booth is actually being run by several companies from North Carolina. And I spoke to a spokesperson for the pavilion who told me that they became aware of an unapproved image in a video that was displayed inside the pavilion on Friday. And they said, quote, “As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the video and began reviewing how it occurred.” So we still don’t know how that image ended up there, but it certainly speaks to some of the concerns that people have over this event.

And again, we we still don’t know how that picture ended up in the North Carolina pavilion, but we were in there a little earlier…and it clearly has been taken down at this point, but even the governor’s office in North Carolina immediately put out a statement and said, “This is not the North Carolina that we love and we represent.” They had called Freedom 250, the organization that put this together, demanded that be taken off the screens. It seems, though, that the companies inside were already notified and they were working to get it taken down.

The Confederate flag was first reported by Spectrum News’s Reuben Jones, who wrote Friday, “I stopped by the North Carolina booth at the ‘Great American State Fair’ on the National Mall today. The state decided not to participate because of the high costs so the booth is sponsored by private orgs.”


In 1976, the US celebrated it's 250th anniversary and it id so with national events and national gatherings.  Not partisan ones.  Chump did not get 50% of the votes.  He got 49%.  And many Americans didn't vote.  His speeches at these supposed events to celebrate the 250th anniversary are nothing but boasts from him about himself and attacks on Americans who aren't MAGA.  It's disgusting and it's perverted.  That's why people aren't turning out.  Even some Republicans grasp that this not how a nation celebrates its birth.  

He's not speaking of our 250 years, he's not speaking of anything but himself.  He gets in front of people and lies that two years ago we were buried and that he's made us "hot" again and blah blah blah.  He is not an hour in our country's 250th anniversary.  His importance does not even register as one hour.  But he continues to inflate himself and to try to make everything about him.  To do that, he has to insult others because no one's praising him.  Outside of the Cabinet meetings, he's not getting praised.  Only around the suck ups does he get praised.

He's a  failure.  He's a Convicted Felon.  He's someone who tried to overthrow the republic on January 6, 2021. And he can't recognize those who came before except to insult them because he is such a narcissist.  No salutes to any who came before -- not Lincoln, not Benjamin Franklin, not Martin Luther King Jr., not Ida B. Wells -- no one.  

Now he's old, he's 80, but he's not 250 years old.  So, no, celebrating himself is not celebrating 250 years of our country's existence.  

In other news, Jeffrey Epstein may be dead but his former roll dog Donald Chump can't shake free of him.  Adam Lynch notes:


Salon reports the specter of Jeffrey Epstein appears to be looming over the Republican Party as the GOP struggles to maintain it’s delicate House and Senate majorities.

Republicans have seized on Epstein’s ties to Democratic figures like former President Bill Clinton, but it appears that Epstein lingers most heavily over the party with a president whose name peppers the Epstein files, and who worked so obviously to keep the files under wraps. Trump also labored to remove Republicans who favored exposing the Epstein files in Republican primaries.

This is giving Democrats an additional edge in a race that is already swinging heavily away from Republicans who have failed to reign in President Donald Trump’s various power grabs and his monetizing of the White House.

“The revelations from the files further fueled the widespread, bipartisan exasperation among voters with the wealthiest elites,” reports Salon. “The Epstein issue, two Democratic pollsters told The 19th, is rare for its high salience and far reach even among less politically engaged voters — and for the high levels of bipartisan agreement on the need for more action.”

Surveys from Navigator Research and progressive pollster Data for Progress buttress that argument, with both polls showing majorities of voters — including a majority of Republicans — believe “there hasn’t been enough accountability connected to Epstein’s crimes” and they want to see more arrests and prosecutions. The March Navigator poll, in particular, revealed the share of Americans who said they believed Trump administration officials should resign over the Epstein matter increased when they were informed about officials in other countries being arrested, fired or forced to resign over their Epstein connections.


Yesterday, Leon Black appeared before the House Oversight Committee.  AP notes, "Billionaire investor Leon Black said Friday that Jeffrey Epstein deceived him during a yearslong relationship in which he paid the disgraced financier $158 million, but insisted he committed no criminal wrongdoing as he appeared before the House Oversight Committee."  Sareen Habeshian (BBC NEWS) reports: 


Billionaire investor Leon Black walked out of a closed-door hearing with the congressional committee investigating late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after refusing to answer questions on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), say lawmakers.

Black, whose name comes up in the Epstein files released by the justice department, testified voluntarily. But he left after he was asked about NDAs he may have signed, the panel chairman said.

The House of Representatives Oversight Committee issued two subpoenas for Black to share NDAs and give an on-camera deposition under oath.

Black left Apollo Global Management, which he co-founded, in 2021 amid scrutiny over his Epstein ties. He denies wrongdoing. 



Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:


Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.), joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), and 17 other Senate Democrats, including every Ranking Member of committees overseeing agencies with election roles, in warning executive agency heads to comply with all preservation laws and agency policies after the Administration ramped up its threats against free and fair elections. 

In a letter to Trump’s agency heads, including Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators demanded that the department heads not destroy records to cover up possible election tampering efforts.

Without a shred of evidence, President Trump and his Administration have alleged election fraud and on multiple occasions have attempted to undermine past election results. Citing debunked conspiracy theories, the FBI raided an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, where then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard seized voting machines. As Trump continues to spread unsupported claims about election fraud and has repeatedly threatened an illegal federal takeover of our elections, nonpartisan experts have warned about this Administration’s growing efforts to subvert the 2026 midterms, and Senate Democrats are taking formal action to preserve a paper trail from every department concerning all election-related matters. 

“We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts,” wrote the Senators. “The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference.”

In addition to Schiff, Padilla, Schumer, and Warner, the letter was signed by Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).

This demand builds on other efforts that Senate Democrats have undertaken to ensure that Trump and Republicans don’t interfere in free and fair elections. Earlier this year, Padilla, Schumer, and Senate Democrats unveiled the most expansive election protection effort the caucus has ever undertaken: the Election Protection Task Force. The Task Force recently launched the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide, and Senate Democrats are working regularly with top election experts to identify and mitigate threats to upcoming U.S. elections. The Task Force will continue meeting over the coming months to ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November.

The full text of the letter can be viewed here and below.

Dear all:

We write regarding alarming reports that your agencies have taken, or are at risk of taking actions under the guise of election security that are improper or illegal; to warn against such violations; and to ensure you adhere to your obligations, and those of all departments, agencies, and sub-agencies under your control, to comply with all applicable federal records preservation laws and agency policies.

President Trump and his Administration have engaged in multiple efforts to undermine past election results, despite all evidence the elections were free and fair. In just the last several months, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a search of a Fulton County, Georgia, election center, where agents seized ballots from the 2020 presidential election, even though numerous bipartisan and nonpartisan prior investigations at the state and federal level have revealed no suggestion of criminal conduct. The then-Director of National Intelligence participated in this raid despite no evidence or suggestion of foreign interference in that election, raising serious questions about potential improper coordination between the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and federal law enforcement agencies outside of ODNI’s statutory authorities. Similarly, ODNI seized voting machines and other election data from Puerto Rico, reportedly in support of the Administration’s amplification of baseless election conspiracy theories. Then-Director Gabbard also made unsubstantiated claims that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was aware of, but did not disclose, election vulnerabilities.

There are also serious concerns about ongoing efforts by this Administration to undermine the integrity of and actively interfere with the 2026 elections. President Trump has threatened “[t]he federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the vote.” Several of you have refused to rule out the possibility that you would direct your departments and agencies to send federal law enforcement agents or military service members under your jurisdiction to election sites during the election period – steps that are clearly illegal. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has repeatedly pursued unsupported claims of elections fraud.

Several of you are also involved in implementing President Trump’s unlawful Executive Orders interfering with state and local control over the administration of elections. For example, Secretary Lutnick is threatening to withhold the delivery of lawful ballots unless states comply with President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to “take over the voting.” Further, individuals at the Social Security Administration (SSA) inappropriately entered into a secret agreement to share sensitive data with a partisan advocacy group for partisan political purposes – and SSA has to date refused to provide Congress with unredacted documentation of these activities. Chairman Carr has repeatedly used his position to chill disfavored speech, and continues to make threats to interfere with candidates’ ability to reach their audiences.

We are also deeply troubled by the fact that many of your agencies have failed to address election security altogether. You have shuttered offices tasked with tracking foreign malign influence on elections as well as cyber and physical threats to elections infrastructure, and you have cut funding and personnel for CISA and FBI election security efforts.

The American public deserve to have confidence that their leaders are acting in good faith and in accordance with the law. We therefore direct you to preserve all existing and future records and materials on election-related activities and efforts, including any records regarding potential election-related misconduct, impropriety, irregularity, or interference. Such records include, but are not limited to, all meeting agendas and rosters, associated notes, briefing memos, legal opinions, guidance, advice, communications, and correspondence. Additionally, any communications on personal messaging accounts, including Signal, social media accounts, and personal email accounts, that concern government business are subject to the Federal Records Act and must be preserved.

Safeguarding information critical to congressional oversight and preserving federal records is a legal obligation that you and all of your agency employees are required to meet. Please take all necessary steps to ensure that employees do not delete or destroy any official government records, including “information created, manipulated, or stored” electronically.

As you know, any employee who conceals, destroys, or attempts to conceal or destroy a federal record may be subject to fine and imprisonment.

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