Tim Moore

[Noodles @criptopaul]

Let's decode what actually happened here.

Axios reported that Trump exploded at Netanyahu. Called him "fucking crazy." Said "you'd be in prison if it weren't for me." Said "everybody hates you now."

The journalist is Barak Ravid again, we talked about it. Israeli. Based in Washington. Covers the Netanyahu-US relationship for Axios, and every latest deals to calm the markets.

This is the same journalist who wrote the exact same type of story about Biden. There is literally a book chapter about this pattern. It is called "Fuming Biden." The same reporter. The same format. The same function. Different president.

Now watch the response.

Mark Levin, a close ally of both Trump and Netanyahu, did not deny the story. He demanded an FBI investigation into who leaked it. When your defense is "this should never have leaked" instead of "this never happened," you have confirmed the call happened.

But here is the part that matters.

Why would Levin, a friend to BOTH men, confirm the most explosive account of their relationship ever published?

Because it serves both.

Trump gets to look tough. Not Netanyahu's puppet. Willing to put Israel in its place. His base loves it.

Netanyahu gets cover. He "paused" the Beirut strike, but not because Iran threatened him. Because his "friend" asked him to. His base loves it too.

And look at what actually changed on the ground. Nothing.

Israel cancelled the Beirut strike. But the ground invasion of Lebanon continues. The IDF is still miles deep. A soldier died today from a Hezbollah drone. Netanyahu's office said: "position unchanged."

The performance was perfect. Trump gets the headline. Netanyahu gets the cover. The deal gets another 48 hours of "progress." Markets get a reason to breathe.

And the war continues exactly as planned.

This is the same playbook. Every time public opinion turns against the war, a story appears showing the US president is "furious" with Israel. It creates the illusion of restraint while changing nothing.

Biden was "furious" for 14 months. The war never stopped.

Trump is "furious" now. The ground invasion is expanding.

The visible game is: Trump controls Netanyahu.
The real game is: both men are performing for their audiences while the machine moves forward.

Nothing has been signed. Nothing has stopped. The war is not winding down. It is being managed.

Neither one controls the other. They walk arm in arm. Know that.

[The Green Dragon Tavern @greendragonhq]

Family wealth generated while holding office.

We are not angry enough about this.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

BOMBSHELL: ProPublica reports the White House allegedly called the Pentagon and pushed for a defense contract benefiting a company tied to Don Jr.’s investments.

Think about how insane that is.

The president’s son reportedly has a financial interest in the company…

then the White House allegedly steps in and tells the Department of Defense:

“Make this deal happen.”

That is exactly the kind of story that would have triggered nonstop hearings, subpoenas, and wall-to-wall outrage in any previous administration.

[GOP Ls @GOP__Ls]

🚨 Trump has pardoned Trevor Milton, a man convicted of stealing $695 million from investors.

This pardon came after Milton donated nearly $1 million to Trump's PAC.

[Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ @pelositracker]

The Trump FDA story is crazy

Big Tobacco donated $5,000,000 to Trump's super PAC

Two days later, Reynolds American's executives met with Trump at his Florida golf club to demand the FDA reverse its flavored vape ban

Trump then personally called RFK Jr. and his health secretary to complain about the ban

Then questioned the FDA commissioner directly for not moving fast enough

The FDA commissioner who said no resigned days later and so did RFK Jr.'s chief spokesperson, citing the vape policy as the reason

Then the ban was lifted within a week

The White House says it had nothing to do with the $5,000,000

[Tim Moore @timmooore]

@JColinBrown @gabriel_zucman @JeffBezos This line of logic always confused me, I can’t imagine a why single member of the ultra wealthy is NOT already maximizing their tax shelter strategy. The loopholes already exist, most all of these people aren’t paying extra taxes just to be “kind”

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

Here's how the corruption works:

Thursday: RJ Reynolds donates $5M to Trump

Saturday: Trump invites RJR execs to Mar a Lago; execs ask to loosen regs on flavored vapes; Trump calls up RFK Jr. and tells him to change it

Friday: FDA changes the policy
https://t.co/Udu1RhYtKI

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

This New York Times piece is worth your time. Here’s what is happening, as simply as I can put it.

Back in January, Trump sued the IRS, an agency he controls, demanding $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns a number of years ago.

IRS lawyers did their jobs. They wrote a memo laying out the defenses that could beat the suit, including the fact that Trump filed too late. His own lawyer was in court when the leaker pleaded guilty in October 2023, more than two years before Trump sued.

The Justice Department never showed up to court. Never argued back. Never used the defenses sitting on their desk.

The judge got suspicious and ordered both sides to explain whether they were actually opposing each other or just colluding. The day before that brief was due, Trump dropped the suit.

Same day, his Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund.” 

Trump gets a formal apology. The IRS agrees to drop any audits of him and his family, even though a 2024 Times report found a loss in an ongoing audit could cost him over $100 million.

The acting Attorney General, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, picks the five commissioners who decide who gets paid. Trump can fire any of them. Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are not ruled out.

This is the most corrupt thing I’ve ever seen from an American president.

Where in the hell are my Republican colleagues?

https://t.co/La0nlLuz1r

[Derek Thompson @DKThomp]

Within one 24 hour period, Trump:

- got out of a $100 million IRS fine
- secured "immunity" from all future tax investigations for his family and friends
- created a $1.8 billion slush fund for lawbreaking supporters
- was reported for likely insider trading worth nearly $1 billion

All of the obvious things to say about this are true. It's bad. Nobody even tries to defend it. The closest thing to a defense you get is something about how "but Democrats suck" and "woke was also bad," which is not a defense, but rather a kind of moral blank check made out to the administration to give them the right to do anything.

But what I'm most curious about is whether this sort of lurid corruption creates a countermovement that successfully returns government to rule of law or whether it's establishing a norm of executive imperialism that every future administration will use to achieve its ends, which can always be justified by the moral blank check of "the other side is worse, so let us do whatever we want."

[Richard Stengel @stengel]

George H.W. Bush kept his assets in a blind trust, as did Bill Clinton. Neither Obama nor Biden traded stocks or bonds while in office. 3,700 trades is probably more than all the trades of all the presidents until now. And he is trading stocks that are affected by his decisions. A walking conflict of interest, at the least, and perhaps insider trading. Just as members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks, so too the president. https://t.co/yDqVXWfDgc

[Melanie D'Arrigo @DarrigoMelanie]

Trump is suing the IRS, which he oversees, for $10 billion.

Both sides want to settle to avoid going to court.

Aside from money, one of the settlement terms is to drop all audits of himself and his family.

He’s stealing $10B from taxpayers and covering up his tax crimes.

You get that, right?
https://t.co/88CDTiFWDg

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

America's chief Middle East negotiator - Jared Kushner - is almost completely dependent on Middle East government investment in his chief business. It's probably the biggest conflict of interest in American diplomatic history and we should be talking about this way more.

[Jen Rice @jen_rice_]

To be clear: This is a TX Republican running for attorney general who is telling you that, if elected, he will weaponize the power of the state against people whose beliefs arent aligned with Christian nationalism. Don't be numb to it. This is extremism, completely off the rails.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

Hillsdale College — one of America’s loudest opponents of DEI — just gave a woman an honorary doctorate and commencement speech opportunity because of who her husband is.

That’s the definition of DEI.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for me.

Not for thee.

[Patrick Heizer @PatrickHeizer]

Every Democrat since Carter has decreased the federal deficit.

Every Republican since Eisenhower has increased the federal deficit.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

JUST IN: A Trump judicial nominee was asked point blank: is Trump eligible to run for a third term?

Their answer: “I would have to review the actual wording…”

Sen. Chris Coons then asked every nominee in the room to confirm the Constitution bars a third term.

Silence.

Every single one of them refused to say it.

Trump is appointing judges who won’t affirm the 22nd Amendment to his face.

Never stop connecting the dots.

[Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul]

According to GovTrack’s Legislator Misconduct Database, at the end of his first term, Trump had already pardoned a majority of all Republican Congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century. His second term has been even wilder — all manner of corrupt, self-dealing frauds are getting passes:

[Team Talarico @TeamTalaricoHQ]

.@JamesTalarico: I’m an elderly millennial. I can’t stay up past 10pm, my joints ache, and my younger cousins call me cringe. They also call me ‘unc,’ whatever that means. But Gen Z — freed from illusions — is uniquely suited to lead us at this moment.

Many of you grew up on the For You Page. The endless scroll is emblematic of what humans have been doing for hundreds of thousands of years: searching. If we scroll past one more tweet, one more TikTok, maybe we’ll find what we’re looking for — the one that will make us feel something.

But what you’re looking for can’t be found on artificial platforms run by billionaires. It’s within you.

[Melanie D'Arrigo @DarrigoMelanie]

I’m old enough to remember when Fox News threw tantrums and Republicans called for endless hearings when Joe Biden received a $40,000 loan repayment check from his brother.

Trump has made over $4 billion from various grifts and shady deals, from just his second term.

[Jeff Jackson @JeffJacksonNC]

Huh?

You bailed in the middle of trial after cutting a sweetheart deal with Live Nation, tried to pressure the rest of us to accept it, but we pressed on and won the trial without you.

Congrats to consumers, not to you.