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Oh man. Same old clown show, awash with boondoggles, each more cringey than the last. As the mad man-child deconstructs DC and slaps his hideous face and name everywhere - historic buildings, fascist arches, garish statues, possibly imaginary gold phones - others have taken his lead with their own patriotic spinoffs. Cue "Fuck You" upgrades, a Strait to Hell arcade for a video-game war, and a Trump/Epstein "Memorial Reading Room" packed with 3.5 million pages of files, where "the truth is hard to deny."
Trump's narcissistic vandalizing of D.C. - couldn't his KKK dad have just hugged him now and then? - is "something dictators have done throughout history," noted Bernie Sanders of his proposed SERVE Act, or Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego. Co-sponsored by six Senate Dems, the bill would bar any sitting president from naming federal properties after themselves, an act both "arrogant" and illegal. At this rate many weary Americans would likely argue, "Let the chiseling off begin," but for now the bill sits in legislative limbo and we're stuck with the resulting atrocities; they continue to multiply like locusts, even as he's proposed a $10-billion fund for more "beautification" projects around "the capital of the greatest Nation in the history of the world."
Though he increasingly nods off in public - or per the White House, blinks - he still clutches at a farcical show of dominance he's leaned on in the endless self-glorification campaign that is his execrable life. There are posts quoting fictional "fans": "Remarkable leadership,” "Master of the Deal,” "THE GREATEST PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN." From the guy who's "confused the country for his living room," there's D.C's re-branding: the plaques, name changes, razed East Wing for a billion-dollar "albatross" nobody wants. There are new massive Stalin-esque banners at construction sites proclaiming, “Thank you, PRESIDENT TRUMP”- "like Michael Scott buying himself a World’s Best Boss coffee mug" we paid for - to which unenthused residents added, "Fuck You Cunt."
Snug in a delusional bubble where his approval is def not in the toilet, he feels free to rant, lie, melt down online without consequence. In one manic night, he posts 55 times in three hours: “Arrest Obama the traitor” and “DEMONIC FORCE,” also Hillary, Brennan, Comey, Kelly. Asked how much he thinks about the cost to Americans of his calamitous war, he blurts, “Not even a little bit.” His lackeys follow suit: Ka$h Patel yells, lies, hustles bourbon, pads his stats and takes a "VIP snorkel" in Pearl Harbor around the tomb of 900 U.S. soldiers as Sean Duffy takes his nine offspring on a "patriotic," seven-month Great American Road Trip filmed for YouTube and complete with "head-spinning" corporate sponsorship, both on the taxpayers' now-rapidly-shrinking dime.
Meanwhile, another project nobody asked for - draining and repainting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, aka "reflective pond," from traditional grey to garish blue - has shockingly veered off course. After boasting his bestest golf course pool painters could easy-peasy do a no-bid, $1.8 million, "smart and beautiful construction" that Dems stupidly opposed - "Dumacrats love sewage" - the cost has soared to $13.1 million, it's now by a contractor he "did not know and have never used before,” staff are worried the job is behind schedule, with "uneven application" leaving bubbles, holes and "mottled shades of blue" in the pool, and a judge has set a May 21 hearing for a lawsuit charging the project wasn't properly vetted, ditto a color "more appropriate to a resort or theme park."
More winning in Miami, where another lawsuit charges three acres of multi-million-dollar waterfront land were illegally grifted by DeSantis to Trump for $10 for his presidential “library,” actually a gaudy hotel with no books but more vitally two gold statues of, you know. They will presumably join in grotesque kinship with the $300,000, crypto-bro-funded, bronze and gold leaf Don Colossus just unveiled at Doral Miami, "where the Republic is currently moldering." Before "a robotic chorus of evangelical functionaries who (have) transformed themselves into the most theologically humiliated cohort in modern memory," the statue was honored as, not an idolatrous golden calf, insisted Pastor Mark Burns, but "a celebration of life" and symbol of "the hand of God over (Trump’s) life." Definitely not a cult.

Despite being heralded as God's second favorite son - one who "understands the Scriptures better than the Pope" - Trump is also widely deemed "an economic serial killer" presiding over an "America First Corporate Graveyard," skyrocketing inflation, national debt, farm bankruptcies, and energy costs, and possibly "the largest single act of grand larceny in American history" with a $10 billion payout by his own DOJ against his own IRS to settle his bullshit lawsuit for their leak of his tax returns, which every other president has released. Still, because grifting chutzpah thy name is, and because there's never enough money to fill the ugly gaping hole where a soul should be, he's still running penny-ante scams. Up next: Trump Mobile, "for the forgotten MAGA man."
Last June, his huckster spawn announced the launch of "a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance.” The T1 Phone, "proudly designed and built in the United States,” would be available in August at $499. For almost a year, they urged followers to make $100 "deposits" to "pre-order" the beauties; over half a million did, ponying up about $59 million. Then, the bait and switch. The terms of service quietly changed: The "deposit" provided "a conditional opportunity" to buy if Trump Mobile chose to sell. Pricing, production schedules, shipping costs were "non-binding." "Made in the USA" became "Proudly American Designed." "Delivery" dates got pushed back. Unexplained charges appeared. A reporter who called "Customer Service" got “Omega Auto Care." To date, no fantasy Trump phones have shipped. Cheap Crooks 'R Us.

Also, liars. With even neo-cons now deeming the Iran War potentially more of a debacle than Vietnam, the good folks at Secret Handshake, creators of the Trump/Epstein bestie statues, decided that with the regime hyping war like a video game, they might as well turn it into one. Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell , which is also online, features three working, arcade video games set up inside DC's War Memorial; they promise "high-octane, flag-waving, boots-on-the-ground...pure pixelated patriotism," or, per Hegseth, "laser-focused maximum reps annihilation mission crushing (with) sustained unrelenting pressure." Battles - by tweet, not gun - pit US forces against ”Iranian schoolgirl,“ "DEIyatollah,“ low-flow shower heads, the Pope and other "threats to American freedom."
Games open with Trump declaring, “Another big, beautiful day as the best President ever.” Options for the prompt, “Ready to ROCK Iran back to the Stone Ages?” are “Not Yet...” “Yes” and “Hell Yes.” Yells Pete, “Let’s liberate some oil!” Trump can order a Diet Coke or bomb Iran; search for barrels of oil, ideas for Truth Social posts, or endless threats that lead nowhere; he vows to “fight this war and win it by hamburger o’clock.” Melania: “I WAS NEVER ON THE EPSTEIN JET...Did you burn the files yet?” JD, fat-faced: “I love couch.” The only way you can lose is by trying to hold Melania’s hand, which abruptly ends the game; otherwise, it’s impossible to end or win it. Irony never dies: Images have surfaced of bored National Guardsmen - a $1 million a day deployment - playing.
Another piece of protest art brings the truth of "one of the most horrific crimes in American history” to Trump's hometown. "The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” in New York's Tribeca, is a first-of-its-kind, 5,000-square-foot installation containing all the unsealed Epstein files - 3.5 million pages printed and bound into 3,437 volumes weighing 17,000 pounds, "a physical, undeniable record of corruption, cover-ups, and crime." The pop-up project in the Mriya Gallery was created by the non-profit Primary Facts; it took them about a month to print the files. The exhibit is on view through May 21; admission to groups for a one-hour session is free; organizers are raising funds to cover the New York premiere and bring it to other cities.
The Trumpsonian installation is built around a candlelit tribute to Epstein's more than 1,200 victims and survivors, whose names are all redacted here in closed binders - unlike at the DOJ, where they were badly, only partly redacted, a failure adding insult to injury along with an ongoing, multi-pronged cover-up. The Trump and Epstein Reading Room also includes a timeline documenting the decades-long crimes, legal proceedings and intersections between the two men's lives, all underlining the criminal absurdity of federal claims "there's nothing left to investigate." The vast trove of information, organizers say, is "what 3.5 million pages of evidence looks like." Trump, as deeply complicit as he is narcissistic, "wanted his name on stuff." Now, here it is.

A study published Monday warns that New Orleans must immediately begin planning and gradually implementing its permanent evacuation to avert a dangerously rushed exodus later, because it has passed a "point of no return" as climate-driven sea-level rise slowly swallows the storied city.
"With global temperatures poised to exceed the 1.5°C Paris Agreement threshold—a level that triggered substantial ice sheet collapse during the Last Interglacial—low-elevation coastal zones face sea-level commitments far beyond current planning horizons," says the study, which was published by the journal Nature Sustainability.
"With this geological frame of reference, we examine the impact of sea-level rise on what may be the most physically vulnerable coastal zone in the world using prehistoric and contemporary patterns of human mobility," the publication continues. "We highlight the positive aspects of the recently commenced out-migration in this region and argue that the fate of communities landwards of this coastal zone will be decided in the next few decades."
"While climate mitigation should remain the first step to prevent the worst outcomes, coastal Louisiana has evidently already crossed the point of no return,” the paper adds.
That's because rising waters are slowly eroding Louisiana's coast, including New Orleans, which “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century," according to the study's authors.
“Louisiana is a canary in the coal mine. It is one of the rare places where we’re already clearly seeing climate-motivated depopulation combined with other social and economic factors,” said Yale School of the Environment professor and study co-author Brianna Castro.
The authors argued that by acknowledging the inevitability of New Orleans' underwater future, government and residents can avert a fraught rushed retreat by planning and executing a managed multigenerational relocation and set an example for other threatened coastal communities.
According to one widely cited study published a decade ago, around 13 million Americans living in coastal areas could be forced to relocate to higher ground by the end of the century due climate-driven sea-level rise, with the Gulf Coast and Florida expected lose the most livable land. Globally, hundreds of millions of people are expected to be displaced by 2100 due to rising seas.
After Hurricane Katrina—which inundated the city and killed nearly 1,000 people in the New Orleans metro area—billions of dollars were spent fortifying the city's levee system, which failed catastrophically during the 2005 storm. However, experts warn that in the long term, levees won't be able to stop the rising waters any longer.
That's why the study's authors said officials must begin the city's orderly depopulation as soon as possible.
"What kind of retreat do you want?" asked Castro. "Do you want to incentivize it and then people go naturally for jobs, housing, and lifestyle amenities—or do you want people to wait and then have to leave abruptly in crisis?”
With no end in sight to the Strait of Hormuz crisis caused by President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, the head of the International Energy Agency warned Monday that global energy supplies are running dangerously low.
IEA executive director Faith Birol told reporters in Paris that the world only has weeks' worth of oil reserves left, raising the likelihood that energy prices will soar even higher in the near future.
Birol said that oil inventories are "declining rapidly" and added that there was "a perception gap in the markets between the physical markets and the financial markets," as the price of oil in futures markets has not yet risen to a level that accurately reflects the coming supply crunch.
In his remarks to the press, given on the sidelines of a G7 gathering taking place this week in France, Birol warned that it's only a matter of time before the supply shortage of fertilizer, which was also caused by the Iran War, leads to a surge in food prices that "might give a big push to inflation numbers."
The Financial Times reported on Sunday that energy markets are approaching a "tipping point" where prices could see another upward surge that would throw the global economy into a recession.
Paul Diggle, chief economist at fund manager Aberdeen, told The Financial Times that he has been modeling the economic impact of oil hitting $180 per barrel, which he said would set off a global inflation crisis.
“We are taking that outcome very seriously,” Diggle said. “We are living on borrowed time."
Oil prices briefly fell last month after the US and Iran announced a ceasefire agreement. However, the Strait of Hormuz has remained closed throughout that period, and Trump is reportedly preparing to restart attacks on Iran in the near future if no deal to reopen the strait is reached.
In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump again threatened Iran with destruction unless it agrees to his demands.
"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” the president wrote. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
Less than a day after a $1.77 billion settlement announced in President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service was denounced as "highway robbery" by one Democratic lawmaker, other members of Congress expressed disgust after it was reported that the taxpayer-funded deal had been updated by a top administration official to ensure the president and his family could potentially get away with defrauding the IRS in perpetuity.
A one-page document was posted on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) website early Tuesday morning, saying that under the settlement, the IRS is "forever barred and precluded" from prosecuting and pursuing any and all claims and other actions against Trump and his family members, regarding unpaid taxes.
The landmark judgement in a civil fraud case against Trump found that his two eldest son's were implicated in an extensive financial and tax fraud scheme along with the president.
The release specifically notes that it also applies to “tax returns filed before the effective date” of the settlement, which was Monday.
"The president is now exempt from our tax laws while everyone else has to obey them," said US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). "Got it. It's just mind-blowing that is what's happening in America."
Politico reported on the document a day after 93 US House Democrats joined an amicus brief filed in Trump v. IRS, aiming to block the creation of a so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund" as part of the deal for the president to drop his lawsuit against the tax agency, which he filed over a leak of his tax returns.
The "slush fund," as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called it, could be used to give monetary rewards to people convicted of felonies in connection with the January 6, 2021 attempted insurrection.
The one-page document that was attached to the settlement Tuesday was signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
US Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called the preemptive and permanent blocking of any IRS enforcement against the Trump family "the height of corruption."
President Donald Trump is yet again facing accusations of breaking his campaign promise to "Make America Healthy Again" after the US Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed repealing and delaying some landmark limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are commonly called forever chemicals because they persist in the environment, humans, and wildlife for long periods. Despite their links to various health issues, including cancer, they have been used in products such as firefighting foam, food packaging, nonstick pans, and water-resistant fabrics for clothing and furniture.
The Biden administration was praised for its historic steps to reduce PFAS contamination of tap water and urged to go even further. However, the Trump EPA is now pushing to delay those limits for two common contaminants, PFOA and PFOS, and abandon the restrictions for four others: PFBS, PFHxS, and PFNA, and HFPO-DA—also known as GenX.
Announcing the proposed rules on Monday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed not only that the Biden administration failed to follow federal law in implementing its restrictions, but also that the new proposals are part of the president's Make America Healthy Again pledge. They highlighted "innovative" technologies plus funding for states to address PFAS in tap water.
However, campaigners who have long called for stricter PFAS policies excoriated the Trump administration over its two proposed rules—which are set to be published in the Federal Register with a 60-day public comment period, and the subject of an EPA hearing scheduled for July 7.
"Zeldin and Kennedy are trying to sell potions out of the back of a covered wagon. The millions of Americans demanding safe drinking water are not going to fall for their hocus pocus," said Anna Reade, director of PFAS advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. "By repealing and delaying PFAS standards, EPA is abandoning communities in desperate need of drinking water protections, especially those who live near polluting industries."
Food and Water Watch's water program director, Mary Grant, declared that "with today's proposals, the Trump administration is telling the public to drink poison. It has once again shown that it represents the interests of billionaire corporate polluters—not the health of people in this country."
"One thing is absolutely clear, we cannot roll back or delay protections against PFAS," she said. "For decades, communities have been sounding the alarm and demanding action on these toxic forever chemicals. Instead of implementing commonsense regulations, Trump's EPA has doubled down on weakening our drinking water protections. Every person deserves and needs clean, safe water, and today's proposed rules are threats to millions of people."
Grant argued that "EPA must not delay or roll back these hard-won limits on toxic PFAS contaminants in drinking water. It must immediately cease these deregulatory actions, stop approving new PFAS chemicals, ban all nonessential uses, hold polluters accountable for clean up, expand protections to regulate the entire class, and ramp up support to ensure that every community has access to safe, affordable water."
Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which has tracked PFAS contamination across the United States and publicly released its findings, was similarly outraged by the EPA proposals.
"You cannot make America healthy again while allowing toxic PFAS to flow freely from our taps," Cook said. "The Trump EPA is caving to chemical industry lobbyists and water utility pressure—and in doing so, it is condemning millions of Americans to drink contaminated water for years to come."
"The price of this decision will be paid by ordinary people, in the form of more PFAS-related diseases," he warned.
While Trump's agency leaders claimed Monday that the Biden administration ran afoul of the Safe Drinking Water Act, EWG accused them of violating that same law, given its requirement that any revision to a tap water standard "maintain, or provide for greater, protection of the health of persons."
Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at EWG, said that "this is a deliberate decision to expose American families to chemicals linked to cancer and other serious health harms. Rolling back limits on four PFAS and then allowing water systems to push compliance deadlines to 2031, when contamination is ongoing, is unconscionable."
"The communities least able to protect themselves will pay the highest price," she added. "That is not regulatory reform. It is an environmental injustice."
Cuba's president said Monday night that the Trump administration should be "criminally prosecuted" for its continued economic war on the island nation, saying the oil blockade that began more than three months ago as well as new sanctions are part of a "collective punishment" policy that amounts to an "act of genocide."
President Miguel Díaz-Canel suggested that the White House was aware that its latest round of sanctions against Cuban officials was unnecessary, noting that "there isn’t even any evidence to present"—but said the new measures announced by the State Department on Monday were a way of furthering "anti-Cuban rhetoric of hate... to justify the escalation of its total economic war."
"Under the leadership of our party, state, government, and its military institutions, no one has any assets or property to protect under US jurisdiction. The US government knows this full well," said Díaz-Canel. "That’s why we will continue to denounce, in the firmest and most energetic way possible, the genocidal siege that seeks to strangle our people."
Díaz-Canel spoke out after the administration said it was imposing sanctions on the Cuban intelligence agency and nine Cuban officials, including the country's ministers for communications, energy, and justice, and three military generals. Several officials in the Communist Party of Cuba were also sanctioned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants and has long pushed for regime change in the communist country, released a statement saying those targeted by the sanctions "are responsible for or have been involved in repressing the Cuban people."
"These sanctions advance the Trump administration’s comprehensive campaign to address the pressing national security threats posed by Cuba’s communist regime," said Rubio.
The sanctions were announced a day after a White House official claimed to Axios that Cuban officials are "discussing plans" for drone attacks on the US; the outlet acknowledged several paragraphs into its article on the alleged threat that Cuba is believed to be strategizing for a defensive attack as the US ramps up hostilities, rather than an unprovoked strike.
Díaz-Canel emphasized that the White House's sanctions are only the latest action taken against Cuba following the "immoral, illegal, and criminal" executive order President Donald Trump signed in January, which threatened countries with tariffs if they provided fuel to Cuba—resulting in a severe energy shortage on the island, frequent rolling blackouts, and a crisis in the country's healthcare system, with hospitals struggling to offer basic services. Farmers have said the shortage has left them unable to efficiently provide food to communities.
“We have absolutely no fuel and absolutely no diesel,” Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said last week.
Díaz-Canel said the US has pushed the blockade that has been in place for decades "to levels never seen before, penalizing companies that want to invest in Cuba or simply provide us with basic goods like food, medicines, hygiene products, or others."
"The collective punishment to which the Cuban people are being subjected is an act of genocide that must be condemned by international organizations and criminally prosecuted against its promoters," said the president.
He also expressed gratitude to the governments of Mexico and Uruguay, which sent a shipment of aid to Cuba on Monday.
"This donation, which arrives in very difficult days for Cuba due to the direct and multidimensional impact of the United States blockade on the daily life of our people, is a living testament to the historic solidarity between our peoples and to the principles of humanism, cooperation, and integration that must unite the region," said Díaz-Canel.
The Trump administration's invasion of Venezuela, abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, and takeover of its oil reserves in January cut Cuba off from its top energy supplier.
The US is reportedly now considering an indictment former Cuban President Raúl Castro for shooting down planes that belonged to a US group and violated Cuban airspace in 1996. Trump—who has attacked not only Venezuela but also Iran—has repeatedly mused about the possibility of invading Cuba.
Italy, France, and Canada were among the nations that summoned Israeli ambassadors over the "unacceptable" treatment of the Global Sumud Flotilla participants, 87 of whom have reportedly gone on a hunger strike.
A growing number of countries—and even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—on Wednesday condemned far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's humiliation of people violently abducted in international waters from the latest Global Sumud Flotilla as it attempted to break the illegal blockade of Gaza.
Ben-Gvir posted a video on social media showing him joyfully waving an Israeli flag as he walked among detained activists, journalists, and others who were mostly kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and their foreheads forced to the ground.
"They came with a lot of pride, as great heroes; look at what they look like now," Ben-Gvir says with glee. "No heroes, nothing. Terrorism supporters. I tell Netanyahu, give them to me for a long, long time."
The video shows one female detainee shouting, "Free, free Palestine!" as Ben-Gvir walks by. She is grabbed roughly by the head and forced into a squatting position.
Senior officials in countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey decried the treatment of their citizens and others seized from the flotilla off the coast of Cyprus.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni—whose strong support for Israel has tempered amid the Gaza genocide and slaughter in Lebanon—called the video "unacceptable."
"It is inadmissible that these demonstrators, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that violates human dignity," she said. "The Italian government is immediately taking, at the highest institutional levels, all necessary steps to secure the immediate release of the Italian citizens involved."
"Italy further demands an apology for the treatment reserved for these demonstrators and for the total contempt shown toward the explicit requests of the Italian government," the right-wing leader added. "For these reasons, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will immediately summon the Israeli ambassador to request formal clarifications on what has occurred."
Portugal's Foreign Ministry called Ben-Gvir's behavior "intolerable" and "a humiliating violation of human dignity."
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung accused Israeli forces of illegally abducting his country's citizens from the flotilla, a move he called "way out of line."
Speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his Cabinet in Seoul, Lee noted the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. The ICC is also believed to be seeking the arrest of Ben-Gvir and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in connection with the ethnic cleansing and settler colonization of the illegally occupied West Bank.
"Almost all European countries have issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and announced plans to arrest him if he enters their territories. We should also consider this,” Lee said. "There are minimum international norms, and Israel is violating them all. They must adhere to principles; we have tolerated this for too long."
“What is the legal basis for Israel seizing or sinking ships, including those carrying our citizens, who are volunteering for Gaza? Isn’t Israel’s invasion and occupation of Gaza illegal under international law?” Lee asked.
When National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac countered that "the conflict began with Hamas attacking Israel" on October 7, 2023, Lee retorted by asking whether Gaza is Israeli territory. When Wi conceded that it is not, Lee added: “Shouldn’t we protest? Even during combat, can third-country ships be seized? This is a matter of basic common sense, not just law, right?”
"There are minimum international norms, and Israel is violating them all."
Israel maintains that the San Remo Manual allows for the interception and seizure of flotilla vessels attempting to reach Gaza on the high seas. However, numerous international and maritime law experts note that San Remo isn't a legally binding treaty. Critically, the document also prohibits blockades that cause "excessive" civilian harm and that result in the inadequate provision of "food and other objects essential" for survival. Israel's "complete siege" of Gaza has fueled famine and disease and is the basis for the ICC arrest warrant for Gallant.
Meanwhile, United Nations treaties and resolutions, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the ICC Rome Statute, and the Genocide Convention—on which the genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa and backed by nearly 20 countries is based—prohibit or limit Israel's blockage of humanitarian aid.
Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar—who is also a member of the prime minister's Likud party—surprised many international observers by condemning Ben-Gvir's behavior.
“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza," Netanyahu said. "However, the way that Minister Ben-Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms."
Israeli forces have been accused of physically and psychologically torturing past flotilla abductees, without protest from Netanyahu. In 2010, Israeli troops killed nine activists aboard one of the first-ever Gaza flotillas, including Turkish-American teenager Furkan Doğan.
In a statement that followed Netanyahu's remarks, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, "The actions of Mr. Ben-Gvir toward the passengers of the Global Sumud Flotilla, denounced by his own colleagues in the Israeli government, are unacceptable."
"I have requested that the Israeli ambassador to France be summoned to express our indignation and obtain explanations," he added. "The safety of our compatriots is a constant priority. Whatever one thinks of this flotilla—and we have indicated on several occasions our disapproval of this initiative—our compatriots who are participating in it must be treated with respect and released as quickly as possible."
Some critics also noted that Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism and supporting the Jewish terror group Kach after he advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Others warned against pointing the finger at individual Israeli leaders.
"There is an attempt to portray Ben-Gvir and his treatment of the activists as the entire issue, as if it were an individual act," Palestinian journalist Reda Yasen said on X in a post with video showing Israeli forces opening fire on one of the flotilla vessels.
"It must be emphasized that this matter is connected to full-scale state terrorism practiced by an occupying power and its army," he added. "It begins with genocide, the blockade, maritime piracy, the hijacking of ships, firing at participants, the use of skunk water cannons, deliberate ramming, beatings, and other violations."
Some observers highlighted incendiary remarks about flotilla members made by other Israeli officials, including Likud Transport Minister Miri Regev, who posted a video of her reveling in the detainees' treatment.
Knesset Member Keti Shitrit, also Likud, said during an interview on far-right Channel 14 that the activists "must be dealt with" like terrorists—who are typically killed by Israeli forces, often along with their families.
Israeli Knesset Member Kati Shitrit incited against the Global Sumud Flotilla on Israel’s Channel 14, claiming that its activists, who were kidnapped from international waters, were terrorists.! pic.twitter.com/8quHqgwEIA
— Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) May 20, 2026
Responding to Ben-Gvir's video, the Israel-based Palestinian legal aid group Adalah said that "Israel is employing a criminal policy of abuse and humiliation against activists seeking to confront Israel's ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people."
"The international community must take urgent measures to protect the flotilla members against this brutal and illegal conduct by Israeli officials," the group added.
Palestinians marched in Gaza on Wednesday in support of the detained activists, at least 87 of whom have reportedly begun a hunger strike “in protest of their illegal abduction and in solidarity with the over 9,500 Palestinian hostages held in Israeli dungeons," according to flotilla organizers.
Called out by name, Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her Republican colleague had introduced "racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants."
US Rep. Pramila Jayapal called on her colleagues from both sides of the aisle to condemn legislation proposed by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday, which would bar naturalized citizens from serving in Congress, on the federal judiciary, and as Senate-confirmed Cabinet members.
“Instead of working to help the American people, as so many cannot keep the lights on, keep food on the table, or pay their rent, Nancy Mace is instead introducing racist legislation that denies the very history of a country that has been proudly shaped by immigrants," the Washington Democrat said in a statement. "This is also insulting to the hundreds of thousands of constituents who elected naturalized citizens into office."
Jayapal was one of three Democratic members of Congress who were specifically called out by Mace (R-SC) when she posted about her proposal on social media Wednesday. She also named Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a frequent target of openly racist Republican attacks, and Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.).
Mace claimed that the foreign-born elected officials make clear "every single day their loyalty is not to America," without naming any examples to back up the spurious and hateful allegation.
"The people writing America's laws, confirming America's judges, and representing America on the world stage should have one loyalty: America," said Mace. "Not any other country. For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government while making clear they are America last, not America first. We see it every day."
The proposed legislation would amend the US Constitution to say only people who were citizens at birth can serve in Congress.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus was quick to point out that several Republican members of Congress, including President Donald Trump ally Reps. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who was born in Colombia, and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), would be forced out of Congress if the legislation passed.
Mace announced her proposal a day after Vice President JD Vance said the US Department of Justice is investigating Omar, who came to the US as a refugee from Somalia as a child, for alleged immigration fraud. There is no evidence the congresswoman committed fraud to come to the US.
Jayapal issued a reminder that "with the exception of Native Americans, every person in this country—including Nancy Mace—is descended from immigrants. And America is made stronger by the people from across the world with diverse talents who come here to live and work."
“This narrow-minded, xenophobic legislation has no place in Congress, and I call on all my colleagues—including my Republican colleagues who are naturalized citizens—to condemn this.”
"The fund is stunningly, blindingly illegal, and the defendants must be prohibited from transferring money to this corrupt and illegal monstrosity," said a lawyer representing the officers.
A pair of police officers who defended the US Capitol from President Donald Trump's supporters on January 6, 2021 filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the Republican's "$1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund to finance the insurrectionists and
paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name."
The so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is part of an agreement finalized this week to settle Trump's "frivolous" $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax records. As part of the deal, the IRS is also "forever barred" from pursuing any other actions against the president and his family—which experts have warned violates federal law and puts agency officers at risk.
The complaint filed in a Washington, DC court on behalf of retired US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges argues that the fund is also "illegal," as well as "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century."
"No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law," the filing states. It also makes the case that the fund "endangers the lives and safety" of the plaintiffs by encouraging "those who enacted violence in the president's name to continue to do so" and directly financing "the violent operations of rioters, paramilitaries, and their supporters who threatened plaintiffs' lives that day, and continue to do so."
"Although Trump and his cronies have been secretive about the fund's ends, reporting leaves no doubt that it will be used, among other purposes, to pay the nearly 1,600 people charged with attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021," the complaint warns.
Trump—who was convicted of 34 felonies in New York after his first term—notably pardoned the Capitol insurrectionists when he returned to office last year. Some then went on to commit various other crimes, including sexual violence, illegal possession of weapons, and driving while impaired or under the influence.
"This fund creates enormous physical dangers for Officers Dunn and Hodges, who risked their lives on January 6, 2021, and who continue to do so by refusing to let that day be forgotten," said Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, which is representing the plaintiffs. "The fund is stunningly, blindingly illegal, and the defendants must be prohibited from transferring money to this corrupt and illegal monstrosity."
Ballou was previously a prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, where he worked on cases related to the Capitol attack.
Dunn—who became known nationally for his testimony to the US House of Representatives select committee that investigated the Capitol attack—urged "everybody else to sue" over Trump's slush fund during an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday.
"Everybody should, this can't happen," he said. "So, we believe that we, the officers in this suit, will be harmed by this. We have been subjected to countless death threats in addition to all the violence that we faced on January 6. But for just speaking out the truth, I mean, I guarantee you somebody's watching this right now and typing death threats to us right now. And deaths only continue to embolden and potentially continue to arm a militia that Donald Trump will have on retainer."
Also in DC on Wednesday, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) demanded that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano supply documents and explanations for how they settled the Trump suit.
Raskin also introduced the No Taxpayer-Funded Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026 to block Trump's fund, and moved to subpoena Blanche, Bessent, and Bisignano, plus Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who signed the settlement, and Treasury Department General Counsel Brian Morrissey, who resigned as the deal was being announced. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee rejected the proposed subpoenas in a party-line vote.
This article has been updated to include Rep. Jamie Raskin's bill and the results of the subpoena vote.