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Trump Back’s ‘Softer Touch’ on Mass Deportations?….Open Thread for 2/4/2026

By 100 Comments

You HEAR THAT Miller and Noem?

This IS also about Trump internal politics….

 

Trump Suggests ‘Softer Touch’ on Mass Deportations

President Trump said that he thinks his administration needs to employ a “softer touch” in carrying out its mass deportation campaign in Minnesota, just hours after he ordered the withdrawal of hundreds of immigration officials from the state, NOTUS reports.

Said Trump: “I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough.”

….

Democrats want More…..

Amid plummeting poll numbers and widespread bipartisan backlash, the Trump administration is attempting to reframe its aggressive deportation campaign, claiming to prioritize public safety threats and focus on targeted enforcement operations. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are demanding wholesale changes to how ICE operates before they will vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

But early reactions from Democrats underscore just how challenging any reset in Minneapolis — a city that has found itself at the center of President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown — will be for Homan and the White House. And it foreshadows the major obstacles the administration could face as it continues its mass deportation campaign in blue cities across the country, where Democratic officials say community trust has been crippled after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, were fatally shot by federal agents last month.

“You tell us at some point there will only be 2,300, 3.5 times as many police as we have in our city, is that supposed to reassure us?” said Minnesota state Rep. Aisha Gomez, a DFL member who represents parts of South Minneapolis. “They’re in Minneapolis now, but they can be coming for your city next.”

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), in an interview, said the reduction in agents is “good news,” but that she has heard “nothing has really substantially changed” on the ground as more than 2,000 agents remain.

“You got to see action, and not just words,” Smith said.

White House officials reiterated on Wednesday that Homan’s decision to pull 700 agents was a result of new cooperation with local officials to take custody of immigrants who have committed crimes directly from jails. That meant the government no longer needs as many officers in the state…..

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  2. Trump’s rich donors and people he talks to at night on the phone might want a “softer touch” (and to stop making their employees disappear) and obviously the majority of the country dislikes the enforcement policy, but the MAGA Republican base? They want a much harder touch even. Those in the White House who are “terminally online” such as Stephen Miller and JD Vance realize that and thus Trump is likely to keep saying vastly different things.

    • Oh I Agree …..

      But?

      Even Trump HAS comeed to realize his minions ARE Screwing GOPer’s OUTSIDE the White House that ain’t MAGA’s that provide their power and provide support to criminal Donald….

      Again?

      In LESS than NINE months there ARE elections coming and Republicans ARE in DEEP SHIT.….

    • It was appalling to hear the President’s talk to NBC news last night (or at least the excerpts that were shown in NBC Nightly News).

      Trump is hardly stingy when it comes to wild, disproportionate exaggeration.

      In his world (going back to the Golden Elevator speech) every non-white or non-Anglo born outside the U.S.A. (and, of course, many of those who are native) is a horrible, mass-murdering, drug-dealing terrorist. Especially, I suppose, one who is mowing your lawn, cooking your food, cleaning your house or tending your family.
      [That is, of course, unless he or she can pay up — as can so many gardeners, cooks, housekeepers and nursing aides — a million dollars.]

      And it’s only under him that crime from soaring to ghastly heights has started to fall: you might otherwise foolishly suppose that crime has been in a downward trend for a couple of decades with intelligent policing by governors, mayors and police chiefs who were Democrats, Republicans and independents alike in blue, red and purple cities, counties and states.

        • Morning people….

          New Jersey US House 11 Democratic Special Election Primary
          County Results

          Last Updated: Feb 6, 2026 at 10:56 AM
          > 95% est. reporting
          Candidates Party Votes Pct.
          Analilia Mejia
          DEM 17,670 28.8%
          Tom Malinowski
          DEM 17,182 28%
          Tahesha Way
          DEM 10,716

          The Hill….

          • Republicans’ alarming nosedive with white working class voters

            Which is why, if you are a Republican, you might want to let your eyes drift through the crosstabs of the most recent survey from Marist College’s excellent polling unit. Trump’s approval rating among whites without college degrees — the same voters that went for Trump by a 2-to-1 ratio in 2024 — is 46 percent. Trump is at 43 percent with these voters on his handling of the economy, including an abysmal 38 percent among the women of that group. These voters don’t even like the tariffs that are supposed to be a boon to them: 35 percent approve of Trump on the import taxes.

            On how Immigration and Customs Enforcement is conducting its operations? The white working class clocks in at 40 percent approval. On foreign policy generally, it’s 43 percent. On Greenland, it’s 13 percent.

            Woof….

  3. While there are still votes to count, Democrats in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional district might narrowly nominate the one candidate that could possibly risk losing the seat for them.

    That result in a general election would still be an upset right now, but this suburban district in New Jersey is not exactly the same as AOC’s district, and a candidate to the left of AOC who might win a crowded primary with less than 30 percent of the vote, could have problems in a district that the party did not think they would even need to worry about.

    Related to this primary, and based on what I am seeing in Illinois Congressional primaries, which are a month away, AIPAC is a very big point of division for Democrats in primaries, and this could have real consequences in a lot of ways.

    People on both sides need to understand that AIPAC, whether one agrees with them or not, is a completely American organization composed of Americans.It is not in any way “foreign.” It is also a fact that a vast majority of the Americans who belong to or donate to AIPAC have always been Democrats.

  4. Morning……

    With his Obama jab ?

    The chief knucklehead HAS covered over Minn and other bad news for him and GOPer’s….

    The guy work’s Overtime to make sure ‘his’ party is gonna fall flat on their face come November….

  5. “Whether you liked Ms. Harris or not,this last election was a choice ,a simple one,you had a choice between the Constitution and the criminal and the country chose the criminal.You put a criminal at the top of America,a convicted felon.”

    Former Gov. Jesse Ventura

    You know things are bad in this country when it takes someone like Jesse Ventura to succinctly tell us who we are and it ain’t pretty.

      • Well guys?

        RCP HAS Harris ahead of the pack right now +5.8….

        When informed of the above…

        My wife asks …‘Do Democrats want ANOTHER Republican President after Trump???’

        • Way too early for any of those primary polling to matter. Get through the midterms first and see who is actually running.

          However. I maintain that Kamala Harris would be a stronger general election candidate than Gavin Newsom.

          • NOT ME CG…..

            She LOST last go around….

            She’ll STILL carry ole Joe on here back….

            She’s abrasive….

            And?????

            Sadly?

            While other countries HAVE and have HAD Women heads of State….

            My feeling is America…. Sadly ?

            Is NOT Ready for one…

            Espoecially one of color….

            • I did not say she was the strongest overall candidate.

              However, there will be a time where you may need to take off the blinders and think a bit about Gavin Newsom and the weaknesses he would have nationally, both in terms of a primary, and then theoretically in a general election.

              As I have said before, I find this “woman” or “person of color” stuff to be completely off base. Mitt Romney had a “Mormon issue” when he ran,and indeed some in the Dem field may have a Jewish issue, but that is different. The gay issue will matter for Buttigieg too. A Muslim Presidential candidate would definitely face similar doubts, but I think we have passed the point where we think a black candidate cannot be elected or a woman. It just so happens that the two women nominated for President were specifically flawed and up against particular headwinds.

              In Hillary’s case, she blew the race by taking states for granted, thinking she had them in the bag.

              • I respect your views…..

                Newsom HAS led for the past year….

                With her book and the tour?

                Harris IS back in the mix….

                Ur Right Gavin has NOT been a choir boy….

                But HAS the media moxie so far to match Donald and JD…..

                I must admit Obama getting elected DID Surprise ME….I did NOT think he could pull it off…

                And of course Donald 1.0 and 2.0 surprised the shit out of EVERYONE including HIM….

                Hillary’s Loss was due to her Lousy finish and arrogance ….

                I see some of that same arrogance in Harris….

                But I ALSO stick with America Is NOT ready to join the rest of the world and elect a Woman Leader….

                I could be wrong….

                But just do NOT see so….

  6. A Detroit billionaire who owns a major U.S.-Canada border crossing met privately with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just hours before Donald Trump publicly threatened to block the opening of a competing international bridge, according to a report from The New York Times.

    Matthew Moroun, whose family has long controlled the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, met with Lutnick in Washington on Monday, two officials briefed on the meeting told the Times. The officials said Lutnick later spoke by phone with Trump about the matter.

    Also Read: ‘All I’ve been doing is crying’: ICE’s grip decimates Minneapolis’ small businesses

    Not long after, the MAGA leader took to his Truth Social platform to rail against the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, which he threatened to block unless Canada addressed “a long list of grievances,” the Times reported Tuesday.

    The family has spent decades trying to block the publicly backed international bridge through litigation and lobbying efforts, and “had previously called on Mr. Trump to halt the construction of bridge — which, once opened, would compete with the Ambassador Bridge for the more than $300 million in daily cross-border trade,” according to the report.

    One legal challenge reached Canada’s Supreme Court, and the family has repeatedly urged U.S. officials to intervene against the bridge, the outlet stated. The $4.7 billion Gordie Howe bridge is fully paid for by Canada and will be jointly operated by Canada and the state of Michigan.

    “Mr. Trump’s latest salvo comes at a particularly fraught moment in the relationship between the two allies and top trading partners,” the Times said. “Since Mr. Trump’s election, he has menaced Canada, questioning its sovereignty and leveling tariffs on some of its key industries including steel, lumber and automobiles.”

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt framed Trump’s involvement in the escalating bridge debate as “just another example of President Trump putting America’s interest first.”

    “The fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordie Howe bridge, and owns the land on both sides, is unacceptable to the president,” Leavitt said to reporters on Tuesday. “It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials.”

    • Indeed the last of this hit the nail right the head….

      Donald IS a Real Estate guy
      Gonna die being one……

      Canada
      Gaza
      Venezuela
      Greenland
      Mexico
      Cuba
      Ukraine
      East Wing WH
      Southern Border wall
      250 year ‘Arch’ in DC
      His Name on EVERYTHING.,,.
      His name The Kennedy Center

      Yes?
      He might get bent outta shape on Canada actually owning the WHOLE Brige

      It IS WHO HE IS….

  7. To avoid offending the president’s wonderful relationship with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, J.D. Vance has had to disown the Vances’ own recognition of the Armenian genocide (by the Ottoman Empire) in 1916.

    Those with long memories might recall that, after a call from Erdogan, Trump-mark-one pulled American troops in Iraq back 50 miles so that Turkey’s army across the border could have a freer hand suppressing the Kurdish militias who, at great cost, had allied with the West against ISIS.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/us/politics/vance-armenian-genocide.html

  8. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to speak out against a House GOP-drafted bill to require people to show documented proof of citizenship before registering to vote and to show ID to cast a ballot, a top priority of the Trump administration.

    Murkowski, a prominent centrist Republican, said the Constitution empowers states to manage federal elections for Senate and the House seats, and warned that imposing sweeping federal requirements on local election officials a few months before Election Day would threaten the integrity of the midterm elections.

    “When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that,” Murkowski wrote in a statement posted to social media.

    “Once again, I do not support these efforts,” she announced.

    She said the Constitution “clearly” provides states with the authority to regulate the time, place and manner of holding federal elections.

    She argued that “one-size-fits-all” mandates from Washington seldom work in her home state.

    “Election Day is fast approaching. Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources,” she said.

    “Ensuring public trust in our elections is at the core of our democracy, but federal overreach is not how we achieve this,” Murkowski added.

    The House is expected to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — or the SAVE America Act — on Wednesday. It has passed a similar version of the legislation, previously known as the SAVE Act, multiple times in the past few years ….

    [Alexander Bolton at The Hill]

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/murkowski-becomes-first-senate-republican-to-speak-out-against-trump-election-bill/ar-AA1W9oIh

      • More on the Kennedy life….

        …
        (Kennedy has been in recovery from drug addiction for more than 40 years). After the lockdown, they kept in touch via a “pirate” group that continued to meet in secret.

        Kennedy then explained that his commitment to the recovery process is crucial to his well-being.

        “I said this when we came in, and I said, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m going to a meeting every day,’” Kennedy said, before explaining that, for him, addiction is worse than an infection from a virus.

        “I’m not scared of a germ; I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats. I know this disease will kill me,” he said. “If I don’t treat it, which for me means going to meetings every day, it’s just bad for my life.”…

        …

        Kennedy’s remark fits right in with the many bizarre statements he’s made over the years ― and not just the dangerous, unsubstantiated claims about vaccine safety.

        Earlier this week, he said working for Trump is “a joy because he lets me do stuff that I don’t think anybody else would ever let me do.

        Huff Link…

  10. Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren
    ¶ Proponents of vaccines warn that the efforts will further dismantle the immunization infrastructure and lead to more outbreaks of disease.

    By Christina Jewett, he New York Times
    Published Feb. 13, 2026; Updated Feb. 14, 2026, 10:53 a.m. ET

    Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, have launched a new effort to repeal laws that for decades have required children to be vaccinated against measles, polio and other diseases before they enter day care or kindergarten.

    A newly formed coalition of vaccine activists is targeting laws that are considered the linchpin of protection from deadly diseases. States have long mandated childhood immunizations before children can start day care or school, though some exemptions are available.

    “What we need to do is freaking burst the dam open,” Leslie Manookian, the backer of a law that banned medical mandates in Idaho, told supporters on a recent call. “And that is what this year is all about, bursting the dam open in the states where we think it can happen first.”

    Ms. Manookian is a leader of the Medical Freedom Act Coalition, a new umbrella group of at least 15 nonprofit organizations advocating an end to state laws that codify what they call medical mandates, which largely pertain to vaccines.

    So far, bills have been introduced in at least nine states that would eliminate all or nearly all school requirements, including Democratic states like New York where there is no chance of passage, to states such as New Hampshire, Georgia, Iowa and Idaho where the proposals have gained some traction.

    Many vaccine proponents view the state-level push as a second stage in the dismantling of the nation’s vaccine infrastructure, building on Mr. Kennedy’s significant reduction of federally recommended vaccines.

    While not entirely new, the strategy demonstrates a sophisticated grasp of how to try to unravel more than 100 years of progress in protecting children from deadly pathogens, said Sara Rosenbaum, a health law professor emerita at George Washington University and former Clinton administration health official.

    “They’re drunk on their apparent power, because they have one of their own sitting in the secretarial office of H.H.S.,” Ms. Rosenbaum said, referring to Mr. Kennedy’s position at the Department of Health and Human Services. “They think this is the time for them to go for broke and just simply make the default no requirements at all.”…

    Mr. Kennedy’s retreat from longstanding federal vaccine advice has prompted a flurry of activity at the state level. As his policies take hold, some Democratic leaning states have created their own alliances to reject the new federal vaccine guidance, while some Republican-led states have moved to enshrine it….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/health/rfk-school-vaccine-mandates.html

  11. Trump seemingly can’t let go of the backlash to his posting of the racist picture of the Obamas as apes.( seemingly the liars have dropped the claim that it was all the work of n unidentified aide) .

    Now he is apparently upset with S.C. Sen. Tim Scott over his denunciation of the racist picture.Trump thinks Scott should have contacted him personally before going public with his condemnation .Scott apparently did try to contact Trump,unsuccessfully but then went ahead with his statement.

    So what is Trump going to do?

    Probably nothing ,despite his private fulminating.Republicans need Scott ,He makes Republicans feel good about themselves ,as a Republican acquaintance of mine informed me awhile back.

    Scott has in the past supported almost everything Trump has done.I doubt if Trump wants to rupture that relationship over this.However, Trump has shown an inability to handle criticism from just about anyone so who knows?

  12. Netanyahu Plays Trump and American Jews for Fools — Again

    By Thomas L. Friedman,
    Opinion Columnist, The New York Times,
    Feb. 17, 2026

    Let’s stop beating around the bush: Israel’s far-right government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is spitting in America’s face and telling us it’s raining. It’s not raining. Bibi is playing both President Trump and American Jews for fools. And if the U.S. lets him get away with it, we are fools.

    While keeping Trump focused on the Iranian missile and nuclear threat — which, though reduced, is still very real and will have to be dealt with diplomatically or militarily — Bibi is fundamentally threatening broader U.S. interests in the Middle East, not to mention the security of Jews all over the world. In what way? I cannot put it any more succinctly than Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, did.

    “A violent and criminal effort is underway to ethnically cleanse territories in the West Bank,” he wrote in an essay in Haaretz this month. “Gangs of armed settlers persecute, harm, wound and even kill Palestinians living there. The rampages include burning olive groves, houses and cars; breaking into homes; and physically assaulting people.” He continued: “The rioters, the Jewish terrorists, storm Palestinians with hate and violence with one objective: to force them to flee from their homes. All this is done in the hopes that the land will then be prepared for Jewish settlement, en route to realizing the dream of annexing all the territories.”

    Israel’s accelerating attempts toward annexation of the West Bank and to permanently remain in Gaza — and deny Palestinians political rights in both areas — are as morally reckless and demographically insane as would be the U.S. annexing Mexico.

    If it were just Israelis who were going to be hurt by the crazy fantasy that some seven million Israeli Jews can control about seven million Palestinian Arabs in perpetuity, I might be tempted to say that if Israel’s leaders want to commit national suicide, I can’t stop them.

    But the effects will not be confined to Israel. I believe that this messianically driven endeavor will make today’s Israel permanently indistinguishable from apartheid South Africa and will have seriously detrimental implications for both American interests and the interests and security of Jews all over the world….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/opinion/israel-iran-netanyahu.html

  13. E.P.A. Plans to Loosen Mercury Rules for Coal Plants, Documents Show

    ¶ Senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to announce the move on Friday, according to people briefed on the matter.

    By Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow,
    The New York Times
    Feb. 18, 2026
    Updated 5:25 p.m. ET

    The Environmental Protection Agency plans this week to loosen restrictions on coal-burning power plants, allowing them to emit more hazardous pollutants including mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that can impair babies’ brain development, internal agency documents show.

    Senior E.P.A. officials are expected to announce the move during a trip to Louisville, Ky., on Friday, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

    The move is one of many efforts by the Trump administration to make it easier and cheaper to produce and use fossil fuels, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that pollution from burning oil, gas and coal is harming public health and dangerously warming the planet.

    In particular, the administration is taking steps to improve the economics of coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, by rolling back several regulations that would have made it much more expensive, if not impossible, for many coal plants to keep operating.

    Over the past nine months, the Energy Department has taken the extraordinary step of ordering eight coal-burning units that had been headed for retirement to stay open and keep running. Administration officials say they plan to stop the closure of as many additional coal plants as possible over the next three years.

    In loosening the mercury limits, the E.P.A. is arguing that it would reduce “unwarranted costs” for utilities that own and operate coal plants across the country, according to the documents reviewed by The Times. The E.P.A. estimates that the change would save companies as much as $670 million between 2028 and 2037, the documents show. It was not immediately clear how the agency arrived at that number.

    In response to questions, Brigit Hirsch, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in an email that the Biden-era standards would “result in coal-fired power plants having to shut down.” She said the agency was not eliminating mercury limits but rather was returning to the Obama-era mercury restrictions that took effect in 2012.

    “The Trump E.P.A. is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to unleash American energy, lowering costs for families, ensuring clean air for ALL Americans and fulfilling the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment,” Ms. Hirsch said.

    The E.P.A. has already exempted 47 companies from regulations to curb mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal plants for two years.

    When coal is burned, it releases mercury into Earth’s atmosphere. Rain, snow and fog can carry the mercury to the ground, where it can settle in soil as well as in lakes and streams and can accumulate in fish.

    Most people are exposed to mercury pollution by eating contaminated fish and shellfish. High levels of exposure can cause severe damage to the nervous system, brain and kidneys and can threaten the development of fetuses, babies and young children.

    Coal plants are responsible for nearly half of all mercury emissions in the United States, according to the E.P.A.

    Besides mercury, the move this week would relax limits on other pollutants released by burning coal, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel. Lead in particular is another potent neurotoxin linked to developmental delays in children.

    In addition, the move this week would repeal a requirement that all coal plants continuously monitor the emissions from their smokestacks, according to the internal agency documents. That requirement was intended to reduce releases of fine particulate matter, which is tied to asthma, heart and lung disease and premature death….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/climate/epa-mercury-coal-plants.html

      • No, his efforts to disregard a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling ultimately did not hold. It was all declared unconstitutional and politically speaking, he of course led his party to defeat for the White House, House, and Senate, and now we are where we are.

        Those who think Trump is wrong to try to disregard the Court like this, who would be correct to do so, need to be consistent and realize that Biden was very wrong too.

        But for too many these days, they are only outraged when one party does something horrible, but are willing to cheer when the party they prefer does the exact same thing.

                  • JerryRigEverything
                    @ZacksJerryRig
                    Nobody on the Epstein List is arrested. But
                    @FBIDirectorKash
                    finds time to drink beer with olympic athletes. (The jet flight cost us $75,000 taxpayer dollars for this btw.) This administration is a literal joke.
                    Quote

                    Republicans against Trump
                    @RpsAgainstTrump
                    ·
                    3h
                    Ladies and gentlemen… the FBI Director.
                    x.com/rpsagainsttrum…

                    • Kash Patel Faces Backlash For Flying To Winter Olympics, Partying It Up With Team USA

                      FBI Director Kash Patel is facing backlash for reportedly using an FBI jet to head to Italy where he spent the final days of the Winter Olympics watching hockey and, later, celebrating Team USA’s gold medal win over Canada on Sunday.

                      Patel, a hockey fan since his childhood, was spotted at the U.S. men’s semifinal game against Slovakia, and later at the final, where he was seen celebrating with Team USA center Dylan Larkin in the locker room after America’s overtime win…..

                    • Jasmine Crockett Tests Texas Politics

                      Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is skipping formalities in her Senate run campaign strategy, CNN reports.

                      Said Crockett: “For the last 30 years, we’ve tried it the traditional way, and it’s not worked. And the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over.”

                      She added: “In this moment, there is nothing traditional about how our government is operating, and so I think that people are looking for something different.”

                  • Morning People…..

                    I’m looking out front window at at nothing but SNOW blowing around…..

                    Gonna be another day of posting while I wait for things to slow down outside…

                    • Morning All….

                      Trump does his SOTU speech tonight

                      I won’t be listening to grown man crying on national TV ……

                      Again asking why people do NOT appreciate his fuck ups

                      Telling that the economy and other things are GOOD…..

                      It gets TIRED Already….

  17. Pay to play (but they’d say that’s a fairy story…

    Bridge Owner Donated $1 Million to MAGA Group Before Trump Blasted Competitor
    ¶The PAC and the White House say the donation had nothing to do with President Trump’s tirade against a new bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

    Kenneth P. Vogel reported from Washington, and Matina Stevis-Gridneff from Toronto
    The New York Times
    Published Feb. 20, 2026
    Updated Feb. 21, 2026, 9:50 a.m. ET

    Less than one month before meeting with a top administration official to lobby against a new bridge connecting Michigan with Canada, the billionaire owner of an existing bridge donated $1 million to a super PAC devoted to President Trump.

    Matthew Moroun, a Detroit-based trucking magnate whose family has operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for decades, made the donation to MAGA Inc. on Jan. 16, according to a campaign finance report filed on Friday evening.

    On Feb. 9, Mr. Moroun met in Washington with Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, who called Mr. Trump after the meeting, The New York Times reported. Hours after the meeting, Mr. Trump lambasted the competing span.

    Spokesmen for the White House and MAGA Inc. dismissed suggestions of any connection between the donation and Mr. Trump’s stance.

    Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for MAGA Inc., said in a statement: “Donations to MAGA Inc. have no bearing on government policy and any suggestion otherwise is falsely making a connection where it does not exist.”

    Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said that “the only special interest guiding President Trump’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.”

    He suggested without evidence that the new bridge would benefit Canada more than the United States.

    “Infrastructure being built over America’s border that connects Canada’s $2.3 trillion economy to America’s $30 trillion economy should first and foremost benefit America and Americans,” Mr. Desai said.

    Representatives for the Commerce Department and Mr. Moroun’s company did not immediately respond to questions….

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/us/politics/trump-canada-bridge-maga-inc-donation.html

  18. I was only awake to see the Third Period and Overtime, but this was a pretty remarkable day in American sports history. The USA won the Olympic Gold Medal for the first time since 1980.

    Both the American women and men defeated Canada in Overtime to win Gold Medals in this Olympics.

    Proud of the USA but I cannot help but feel bad for Canada I guess.

  20. Trump Staff…..

    Ignore our bosses rambling

    White House Urges GOP to Ignore Trump’s Diversions

    Michael Scherer: “They will let Trump be Trump, but everyone else needs to stay focused on the economy.”

    Pwire

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