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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Trump's plane bribe scandal not slowing down [1]
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Date: 2025-05-16
The Atlantic:
The MAGA-World Rift Over Trump’s Qatari Jet Some of the president’s biggest allies are panning his plan to accept the luxury aircraft. But in a rare moment of defiance, some of the loudest cries of protest about the possible gift are coming from some of Trump’s staunchest allies. “I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right,” Ben Shapiro, a Daily Wire co-founder, said on his podcast. “President Trump promised to drain the swamp. This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.” Even in Washington, a capital now numbed to scandals that were once unthinkable, the idea of accepting the jet is jaw-dropping. Trump’s second administration is yet again displaying a disregard for norms and for traditional legal and political guardrails around elected office—this time at a truly gargantuan scale. Trump’s team has said it believes that the gift would be legal because it would be donated to the Department of Defense (and then to the presidential library). But federal law prohibits government workers from accepting a gift larger than $20 at any one time from any person. Retired General Stanley McChrystal, who once commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told us that he couldn’t “accept a lunch at the Capital Grille.” Former federal employees shared similar reactions on social media.
x The point of the corruption is to do it in public
https://t.co/dwcRwRsI6c — Sam Stein (@samstein) May 15, 2025
Grok on X (AI summary):
Is trumps middle east trip more about enriching himself or making america safer Trump’s Middle East trip, focusing on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, appears driven by a mix of economic and security objectives, but the balance tilts heavily toward business deals and personal gain based on available evidence. The trip prioritizes massive investments—Saudi Arabia alone pledged $600 billion to the U.S.—aimed at deepening economic ties in energy, AI, and defense. Sources like Fox Business and The New York Times emphasize Trump’s focus on “business, business, business,” with deals potentially worth $1 trillion. Posts on X, such as from @MariosKaratzias and @H_R_Matter, echo this, highlighting a trillion-dollar agenda overshadowing diplomacy or human rights. Critics, including Senator Schumer and posts like @JuddLegum , point to personal enrichment, noting Eric Trump’s prior regional deals with sovereign wealth funds and Trump Organization projects in Jeddah, Dubai, and Doha. The Washington Post and Foreign Affairs suggest Trump may be leveraging his position for family business gains, with Gulf investments raising conflict-of-interest concerns. The Atlantic Council and NPR note that diplomatic goals, like Gaza peace or Iran stability, are secondary or “beyond reach,” with Trump’s team describing the stops as “safe” for deal-making.
When you’ve lost Grok...
x Sen. Gallego put out an astoundingly detailed and thoughtful immigration plan this week. If implemented, it would dramatically improve border security, make immigration legal and orderly, end Trump's chaos, and make the United States a more prosperous country.
https://t.co/BGw8TkfBqw — David J. Bier (@David_J_Bier) May 15, 2025
Mother Jones:
We Still Don’t Know What Kash Patel Did as a Consultant for Qatar Or how much money the FBI director was paid by Doha. In a curious twist during his confirmation process, Kash Patel failed to disclose significant personal financial information until after the Senate hearing in January on his nomination to become FBI director. Consequently, one peculiar item listed on his financial disclosure form received no attention during that hearing: Patel’s work as a consultant for the embassy of Qatar. On this document, Patel did not specify what he did for Qatar or how much he was paid. Even now—nearly three months after he took the helm of the nation’s top law enforcement agency—the details of Patel’s Qatari connection remain a mystery. This week Mother Jones contacted the FBI and texted Patel, asking if they would reveal what services he provided to Qatar and what payments he received. Neither responded. Patel is just one of several top Trump administration aides who have had financial ties to this Arab monarchy. Susan Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, worked for a lobbying firm that represented Qatar. Attorney General Pam Bondi lobbied for the Qataris. Mike Huckabee, now US Ambassador to Israel, was paid $50,000 to visit Qatar in 2018. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, also has pocketed money from Qatar. In 2023, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought the Park Lane Hotel from Witkoff’s company in a $623 million deal. The Trump Organization itself recently struck a deal to develop a luxury golf resort in Qatar. And now Qatar is considering handing as a gift to Trump a jumbo airliner worth about $400 million for Trump to use as Air Force One. The plan reportedly is for the 747 to be transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation after he leaves office, where it could come under his personal control.
The Bulwark:
Trump Gushes with Envy Toward the House of Saud American-style kleptocracy is fine and all. But what Trump really wants is the kind with aggressive repression, no dissent, and a bonesaw on hand just in case. Once upon a time, when American presidents still believed in the principles of the American republic, they accepted that they still had to work with despotisms like Saudi Arabia. Still, they mostly tried to move them along, even if slowly, toward the goal of a freer society. “Liberalization” was the hope, from Riyadh to Beijing. The goal may not have always been pursued consistently or effectively. But it was held out as a not-ignoble hope, as a desirable outcome. No longer. The very word “liberalization” now seems antique. In the era of Trump and Putin and Xi and bin Salman and many others, autocracy, plutocracy, and kleptocracy are the way of the world. It is considered foolish to push back against these facts of life. Indeed it is thought to be desirable to embrace them.
x The right-wing @nypost rails at the president for wanting to take a $400 million 'gift' from Hamas-funding Qatar. So do its conservative readers.
https://t.co/2XCtH8kWyZ pic.twitter.com/LJ7Ai3jebo — David Beard (@dabeard) May 14, 2025
G Elliott Morris/Strength in Numbers:
New poll: Americans oppose cuts to Medicaid, want Democrats to control the U.S. House ...and Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch. Results from the inaugural Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll Americans broadly disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president and favor Democratic U.S. House candidates for the 2026 midterms by 6 points, a new Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll finds. In a survey experiment, support for the president's immigration agenda falls when respondents are informed of mistaken deportations, such as the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Adults say the economy and inflation are their top priorities, but do not think either party is prioritizing the issues enough. A majority opposes making budget cuts to social programs, such as Medicaid, in order to extend tax cuts and shrink the deficit. If the 2024 election were held today and non-voters were allowed to participate, the electorate would lean toward Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by 5 points, 47% to 42%.
POLITICO:
White House considers plan B as DOGE cuts hit a wall on the Hill The Republican Senate has been skeptical of codifying DOGE’s massive cuts. That effort is hitting a dead end on Capitol Hill, with Republicans warning the White House that it is already facing tough odds in advancing their so-called megabill, even though it requires just a simple majority of Republican votes in the Senate. While the rescissions package would move on a separate track, the White House is recognizing that Congress is preoccupied. Therefore, it’s giving itself a much longer timeline to codify DOGE cuts while leaving open the option of challenging the Impoundment Control Act, the 1974 law that limits a president’s ability to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. Trump’s allies have argued the president already has authority to withhold spending but it would likely be up to the courts to decide, given that the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. “The focus right now is the reconciliation bill,” said a White House official granted anonymity to speak freely. “I think there’s an appetite within Capitol Hill, within the two years that we have to codify the work of DOGE. The procedures of Capitol Hill may not allow for it to happen now but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen later.” Several GOP senators expressed deep reservations about codifying DOGE cuts as the White House wants.
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