Nate

Absolute political junkie. Mostly retweets of interesting stuff.

[Nate @bcruikshank217]

💯 this

[The Shallow State @OurShallowState]

I'm going to predict that when the damage assessment is complete, well into the future, Trump's greatest crime will prove to be espionage - AND - it will be the most catastrophic breach of national security in American history.
We will discover he passed secrets to Russia from day 1 because he was compromised; and did favors for the Saudis shortly after, purely for personal profit; and who knows what the hell else.
His many Useful Idiocies will boggle the mind. And his America First gaslight will be remembered as Trump BEFORE America. His treachery - some done for power and profit, and some purely for pathological reasons like paranoia, revenge, and contrarianism, will have massively impacted the globe, permanently shifted wealth, and cost many millions of lives.
And a good deal of it might not have happened but for our legacy media's widespread normalization of his disorders.

[Farrukh @implausibleblog]

French economist Thomas Piketty to Zack Polanski,

"This neoliberal turn of the 80s has not been a huge success for the middle class and for average living standards"

"The big promise that was made in the 80s by Reagan and Thatcher was, look, we are going to kill off progressive taxation, maybe inequality will rise, but the size of the pie is going to grow so fast like you've never seen."

"Average wages, average income are going to grow like you've never seen. And so everybody will be happy."

"30 years later, 40 years later. When I look at Brexit or when I look at the Trumpist United States, I don't see, very happy people."

"And I think partly because of the failure of this promise and this is why right wing parties in these two countries, the Republican in the US and the Conservative and now Reform Party in Britain, have turned anti migrant toward identity politics because they have not delivered on the economic front and on living standards"

[Zach W. Lambert @ZachWLambert]

There are more active Ku Klux Klan chapters than trans athletes in America.

There are more states where child marriage is legal than trans athletes in America.

There have already been more school shootings in 2026 than trans athletes in America.

There are more antigovernment extremist groups in almost every single state than trans athletes in America.

[Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom]

HE GAVE AMERICA 20 YEARS OF SERVICE. AMERICA TOOK HIS WIFE.

Retired Staff Sgt. Wilmer Trujillo served in the Army and Texas National Guard, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump’s government repaid that sacrifice by detaining his wife, Arelys Barahona-Martinez, during a routine ICE check-in.

She has no criminal record and was pursuing a legal path to residency. Now she must fight for due process from behind bars while her veteran husband begs his own country to stop destroying his family.

https://t.co/du9bv2U4pY helps families understand their rights, document ICE and preserve evidence.

Keep PAXIS free: https://t.co/Hi5Yo2N2N2

[Joaquin Castro @JoaquinCastrotx]

Texas DPS pulled over Jesús Bracho as he was arriving to work. When they stopped him, he told his 9-year-old daughter Katherine to go inside his boss’ house.

DPS called ICE and took Jesús. ICE agents came back and then forced him to lure his daughter out so they could take her too. She was scared and didn’t know where she was going.

Katherine is a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary. Jesús is a hardworking mechanic and doesn’t have a criminal record. They’ve been locked up at the Dilley Trailer Prison for over a month.

Governor Abbott has ordered DPS troopers to help ICE arrest hardworking folks and children in our community.

I am calling on ICE to immediately release Jesús and Katherine and stop fueling Trump and Abbott’s mass deportation machine.
#FreeOurChildren #ShutDownDilley

[Acyn @Acyn]

Wolf: What hasn’t been discussed publicly, to my knowledge, is the fact that, in my opinion, President Trump committed a crime in negotiating the settlement agreement in this case and it’s possible that Mr. Blanche would be found to be a co-conspirator in that crime. Let me try to explain…

Congress enacted a statute that makes it illegal for the president or the vice president to directly or indirectly request the initiation or termination of a tax investigation. There’s a potential five-year prison term for violating that statute.

Donald Trump would not have immunity from criminal prosecution for violating that statute in this case because he filed this lawsuit in his personal capacity. Therefore, negotiating the settlement was not an official act for which he has immunity as president.

So, in this case, he was negotiating essentially with himself. As Judge Williams said in Trump v. IRS—a case in which I’m one of the 35 plaintiffs who, through excellent lawyers, persuaded the court to reopen the case and find that this was not a genuine case—it wasn’t a real case or controversy that was legitimately in federal court. It was a collusive case brought for an improper purpose: to get a personal benefit for President Trump, his family, and his allies.

[Rebekah Jones @GeoRebekah]

In defending Donald Trump in a shocking interview with Jon Stewart, John Fetterman, the embattled Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, falsely claimed that Trump has “not defied a single court order” and diminished concerns over the administration’s defiance as “just talk.”

Since Fetterman lives in an alternative reality in which this Thanos-level villain has anointed himself savior, we thought we’d remind him of just a few of the orders Trump’s administration has openly defied.

1. Order halting Alien Enemies Act deportation flights

On March 15, 2025, Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration to stop deporting Venezuelan detainees under the Alien Enemies Act and directed that departing aircraft be turned around. The administration completed the deportations to El Salvador.

Judge Boasberg later found probable cause that officials acted in “willful disregard” of the order, potentially supporting criminal-contempt proceedings.

2. Protective order barring Kilmar Abrego García’s removal to El Salvador

Kilmar Abrego García was deported to El Salvador despite an existing immigration-court order prohibiting his removal there because he faced a risk of persecution. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the ruling in an emergency hearing. Trump refused to comply.

3. Orders releasing immigration detainees

In Minnesota alone, Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz initially identified 210 orders in 143 cases the Trump administration violated in January 2026 alone. In New Jersey, another 50 cases.

4. Nationwide and district-level immigration habeas orders

A Lawfare review and online database has identified at least 465 instances of contempt and non-compliance with federal court orders in habeas court cases. Minnesota represents the overwhelming majority of violations, though court orders on immigration have been violated all over the country.

5. Order requiring bond hearings for detained immigrants

Judge Sunshine Sykes ruled that certain immigrants could not automatically be detained without an opportunity for bond. The administration continued denying bond hearings. Sykes found that officials were attempting to disregard the practical reach of her ruling and accused them of trying to erode the separation of powers.

6. Order unfreezing congressionally appropriated federal funds

Judge John McConnell ordered the administration to end a broad freeze on federal grants and loans. He subsequently found that the government had continued withholding funds despite the order’s clear language.

The dispute included funding for health, infrastructure, education and other state-administered programs. A later legal analysis summarized the court’s finding that the government had continued improperly freezing and refusing to disburse appropriated money.

7. Orders requiring payment of foreign-aid obligations

Federal courts ordered the administration to resume or pay foreign-aid obligations that Congress had appropriated and agencies had already committed. Judges found that officials continued withholding billions of dollars after the orders were issued.

8. Order restoring Voice of America operations

After the administration dismantled much of Voice of America and placed employees on leave, a federal judge ordered the government to restore programming and comply with statutory broadcasting obligations. The judge later found that officials had not restored operations as ordered.

9. Order protecting refugee-admissions processing

Judge Jamal Whitehead ordered the administration to continue processing and assisting certain refugees whose travel and admission had already been approved. Whitehead accused the government of effectively inventing language in the appellate decision to justify noncompliance.

10. Orders restricting immigration conditions on disaster grants

Judge William Smith permanently blocked the Department of Homeland Security from conditioning disaster-relief money on states’ cooperation with Trump’s immigration policies. DHS retained versions of the conditions, making their operation contingent on a future appellate ruling. Smith found that this maneuver flouted his injunction and characterized it as an effort to bully states.

11. Orders blocking unlawful federal-worker layoffs

Courts issued orders requiring agencies to reverse or halt mass dismissals of probationary and other federal employees. Judges subsequently found that some agencies had:

failed to reinstate workers;
placed reinstated workers on administrative leave rather than returning them to their positions;
withheld back pay or benefits;
continued implementing layoffs under slightly revised procedures.

Mass-layoff cases were among the categories in which the AP found express judicial determinations that the administration violated orders.

12. Orders involving spending cuts and agency programs

Judges have also found noncompliance in cases involving:

termination or suspension of federal grants (specifically climate funds, programs that didn’t align with his politics, and universities who didn’t expel students speaking against genocide)
dismantling congressionally created programs (including libraries);
refusal to process previously approved funding;
education and mental-health grants;
changes to agency operations during pending litigation;
failure to preserve employee positions or institutional capacity required by injunctions.

The Associated Press found judicial determinations of violations in at least 31 major lawsuits during the first 15 months of Trump’s second term. Those 31 policy cases were separate from hundreds of individual immigration-order violations.

And there are so many more out there.

How’s that for “just talk?”

[Bruce Crossing @SenatorCrossing]

This is easily a top 10 political ad. Maybe top 5.

[Nate @bcruikshank217]

@arianajasmine__ @IAmPoliticsGirl Tommy Tuberville IS stupid. Just existing makes him look stupid.

But, yeah, this is pretty stupid even for Tuberville

[Dan Pfeiffer @danpfeiffer]

This is the right way to deliver a brutal negative attack ad

[David Sirota @davidsirota]

Watch this clip from Talarico - and then let me tell you a story.

In 2024, @levernews took a big risk: We launched a reporting project aiming to unearth the never-before-reported details of the secret 50-year plot to legalize corruption in America. It was the kind of huge investment in deep reporting that most news outlets don’t make. But we made it, because I've spent almost my entire adult life focused on money-in-politics reporting - and this was the biggest money-in-politics story in American history.

Two years later, our podcast and book MASTER PLAN did not merely win the National Press Club Award — what we unearthed and exposed is now a central theme in the 2026 election.

As you can see, Talarico is recounting — and promising to fight — the master plan that we exposed. And he’s making that promise in one of America’s most high-profile Senate races.

Find the podcast and book at MasterPlanPodcast [dot] com - and pass it on.

[The Shallow State @OurShallowState]

Good morning. The sky is clear. My dog is a good boy.
More and more, we're seeing this same progression:
1. Trump has a craving and does something stupid.
2. Trump lies about what he did or why he did it.
3. Trump and lackeys try to cover up his stupidity.
4. Trump gets humiliated and America is worse off.
5. Trump doubles down defiantly, force-feeding a false reality.
6. Trump's polling tanks further.

You can see this exact progression in the fiasco of the Reflecting Pool. Trump made a stupid decision to hire an incompetent crony - a donor - on a no-bid contract - and he f*cked up the job - there's the STUPIDITY.
When the stupidity led to problems, Trump lied about why, and blamed vandals - there's the LIE.
Trump and Pirro, among others, then try to obscure Trump's stupidity by arresting someone, filled with bluster and bravado - there's the COVER-UP.
The case against the person Trump has arrested fell apart, exposing the stupidity - there's the HUMILIATION.
Trump is not the least bit contrite, because there's a divot in his brain where empathy, shame, and contrition reside with normal people, and he simply cannot admit imperfection - on anything. So, he blabbers more nonsense about vandalism.
Enough people see through him now, so his polling sinks further.

You can ALSO see this progression in the more major fiasco of the War in Iran. Trump attacked Iran with lots of ferocity but zero forethought or anticipation of consequence - there is the STUPIDITY.
When the stupidity led to problems - the Strait of Hormuz closure and the price of oil rising - Trump poo-poos it, saying he had to attack because Iran was close to a nuclear weapon - there's the LIE.
Trump then spends months making blustery threats, alternated with contrived diplomacy - the COVER-UP.
Iran sees through it, ignores Trump's pseudo-bluster, selectively seizes the narrative, and flexes occasionally - enough so that America and its friends are worse off, and Trump - who needs an exit, keeps doubling down defiantly because - doubling down is all he knows how to do - and there is the HUMILIATION. (A bigger humiliation will come soon, when Trump is forced to cave entirely on Iran, and push some false reality as to how it ended.)

We can apply this formula to almost anything he touches - tariffs, Epstein, the Blanche confirmation - anything. It all starts with a stupidity, moves to a lie, then a cover-up, then a humiliation and then - a doubling down.

Why does he double down? Because he's a psychopath! Because he's a malignant narcissist, owned by his disorders, in an advanced stage of his decline, and he has zero connection to logic, truth, or humanity. All he cares about are his cravings, his power, and his grift.

Why doesn't his stupidity and resulting lies get called out at the onset? It does by indie media, but not enough by legacy media, where he is normalized.

Why am I posting this, much of which you already know? Because repeating it adds focus and awareness.
And our awareness is important.

We are The People. We have the Power. May his polling tank further.
Have a nice day!

[Owen @Owennfa]

My son works full time here in Florida. Let me run his numbers.

State minimum wage is $14/hour. He's at $15.

40 hours a week = $600/week
That's about $2,600/month before taxes.

Florida has no state income tax the thing they sell you on. So after federal and FICA he takes home roughly $2,200.

Average one-bedroom in our area runs about $1,600.

That's 73% of his entire paycheck gone to rent before he eats a single meal.

Leaves him around $600 a month for:

- groceries
- gas
- car insurance
- health insurance
- phone
- emergencies
- savings

Car insurance alone eats a third of that in this state.

He works 40 hours a week and cannot save a dollar. Not because he's careless because there's nothing left to be careless with.

I spent thirty years paying off a house here. He's doing the same job I did at his age and he can't afford a one-bedroom.

That's not a discipline problem. That's not avocado toast.

The floor moved and nobody lowered the ceiling.

Working full time should cover a roof. In Florida it barely covers the rent on one.

[Mario @PawlowskiMario]

One of the biggest political misunderstandings in America is that people keep confusing communism, socialism, democratic socialism, and social democracy as if they’re the same thing. They’re not.

MAGA calls everything to the left of them “communism.” That’s intellectually lazy and historically wrong.

But here’s the Hyparadox: parts of the left don’t help either. Many people around Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Mamdani advocate policies that are much closer to Nordic-style social democracy, yet they still call themselves for some reason a democratic socialists. That creates even more confusion and gives MAGA an easy target. It reminds me of calling a real Football ⚽️ a soccer.

I was born under real socialism and communism in Poland. I watched that system collapse, I hated it. That’s exactly why I support social democracy, not communism and not authoritarian socialism, or democratic socialism. Democratic Socialism is a one step before socialism which usually leads to communism.

Social democracy means a democratic capitalist economy with a strong safety net, universal healthcare, workers’ rights, and equal opportunity. That’s Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland. Those countries are not communist. They’re among the freest, wealthiest, and most innovative societies on Earth. Democratic socialism is criticizing capitalism, which social democracy is actually based on.

The same thing happens with Israel.

I support Israel’s right to exist. I support Jewish people. I always have.

At the same time, I have no problem saying: Fuck Netanyahu, his government, and anyone who supports policies I believe are immoral.

Criticizing a government is not the same as hating an entire people.

America desperately needs to stop arguing with labels and start arguing with reality.

[Nate @bcruikshank217]

You really cannot emphasize enough how stupid Trump is. Especially on this one. I suspect the BBC to very soon have proof that Trump is exactly as bad at business as he is at governing.

[The Shallow State @OurShallowState]

Trump - who is stupid - is frantically trying to stave off a court order that requires him to begin giving the BBC financial details on his business empire by Thursday. It's all because of his stupidity - his stupid defamation lawsuit stupidly filed against them. Trump’s attorneys - who are stupid by extension -filed an emergency stay motion, urging a magistrate to lift the order she issued last month that the British TV broadcaster is entitled to information on the financial performance of hundreds of Trump’s companies because he stupidly claimed his “brand, properties and businesses” were damaged by a documentary the BBC aired in the U.K. in 2024, stupidly.

[BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ @mmpadellan]

This brother @isaiahrmartin putting on a CLINIC on how to force MAGA to defend their dumb talking points. STOP letting them get away with it.

"What do you mean 'Open Border' policy?"
He stood on business, did not let go.

THIS. IS. HOW. IT'S. DONE.🔥🔥

[Dittie @DittiePE]

Remember when we warned that SAVE Act would create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters?

The response was always the same:

“Just get the paperwork.”

Well, Florida is showing us what “just get the paperwork” actually looks like.

A Florida woman and Army veteran found that out when she ran into problems getting a REAL ID because she couldn’t produce a marriage record from 50 years ago to connect her name history.

Think about that. A citizen and Army veteran stuck because one old document was missing. Now expand that across the country. Millions upon millions of Americans have identity histories that don’t fit into one perfect government record. Marriage, adoption, divorce, immigration, court-ordered name changes, and simple clerical errors all create gaps.

The SAVE Act would add more opportunities for those gaps to become barriers. As is being proven in Florida.

Republicans have been lying to you.

[Nate @bcruikshank217]

Jesus the man is so dumb. It’s honestly impressive how dumb he is

[The Shallow State @OurShallowState]

It's important for us to remember that besides being a narcissist, sociopath, grifter, rapist, traitor, and serial criminal, he's also an idiot.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

As a Jewish American, Abdul El-Sayed just said everything I have been thinking.

Great speech. Disagreeing with a government isn’t antisemitism.

[George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway3d]

Correct.

There was once a time when he just told lies and didn’t care whether what came out of his mouth was true or not. Now he’s convinced himself that whatever he says is true, because to confront reality in any way would crush his fragile ego. He has decompensated to the point of being psychotic.

And he’s only going to get worse.