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Here's your Monday recap as we head into elections in Wisconsin and Florida It’s already Election Day (again)! This time, though, it’s only in two states. An election in Wisconsin will determine the ideological control of the state Supreme Court, while two special elections in Florida to replace former GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz.
Before we get into that, here’s what happened yesterday: Mistaken deportation: The Trump administration has conceded that it mistakenly deported a Maryland father to an El Salvador prison and argued it could not return him because he’s now in Salvadoran custody. Abrego Garcia, who attorneys say fled gang violence in El Salvador more than a decade ago, was identified by his wife in a photo of detainees entering intake at a notorious mega-prison. Venezuelan nationals challenge Trump: Attorneys representing the Venezuelan nationals challenging President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport them are pushing back strongly on his administration’s attempt to invoke the state secrets privilege.
They argue this move aims to withhold information from US District Judge James Boasberg, who is seeking to decide whether the government flouted his judicial orders. Marathon protest speech: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s speech on the Senate floor stretched through the night as he protested actions taken by Trump’s administration , saying that he will keep going “as long as I am physically able.
” Musk makes election eve pitch for Republican in Wisconsin Supreme Court race One day after telling Wisconsinites that the “future of civilization” hinges on the outcome of their state Supreme Court race today, Elon Musk held a tele-townhall on his platform, X. He said a loss by conservative judge Brad Schimel could result in “catastrophic” impacts on congressional maps in the state. “If Brad Schimel does not win, if the Democrats win, they’re going to re-draw the districts and Wisconsin voters will be disenfranchised of two Republican House votes.
This would be catastrophic, and it would destroy the agenda for reform and really — it would make it almost impossible for the reforms that are underway to take place.” Musk again said he felt civilization was on the line. “If the House turned Democrat [sic] that would defeat the reform agenda, and I think, puts the future of America in jeopardy.
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I think that’s like the future of civilization.” Schimel did not join the call. Some context: The race between the conservative judge and the liberal candidate Susan Crawford is by far the most expensive judicial race in history, with Musk and Musk-aligned groups alone spending over $19 million.
Analysis: The world on edge as Trump mulls fateful tariffs decades in the making He’s got the world hanging on his every word — and that’s how he loves it. President Donald Trump held court in the Oval Office on Monday evening, ratcheting up suspense over his promised tariff war “ Liberation Day ” on April 2 and riffing on his 19th-century worldview that threatens to rock the 21st-century economy. It was an extraordinary spectacle — an all-powerful president, surrounded by his gaudy golden trinkets, flags and ornaments, seemingly improvising in real time about a still-mysterious plan that could deliver untold economic consequences to billions of people worldwide.
One minute, Trump was flinging threats at trading partners he accuses of ripping off America. The next, he doused his fire with promises to be “kind,” in the latest in a string of contradictory signals that have sent global markets on a wild ride . “This is going to be an amazing — I call it a lot of different names — but it really in a sense is a rebirth of a country,” Trump declared of a policy that economists fear will hike already high-prices and could push the US toward a recession .
If the moment wasn’t surreal enough, Trump was flanked by Kid Rock, who was resplendent in a spangled Stars and Stripes-themed suit and who the president helpfully pointed out is “sometimes referred to as Bob.” The rapper was there to highlight a new executive order cracking down on scalpers who exploit fans by inflating concert ticket prices. But his host had an older obsession on his mind.
A belief in the almost mythical power of tariff warfare has been a rare constant in Trump’s business and political career since the 1980s — when the big threat he perceived to US prosperity was Japan, rather than top current rivals China and the European Union. Now, if he chooses, he can finally implement his vision for tariff policies designed to build American manufacturing and to weaken other nations, including many that have been allies for decades but are now reconsidering the entire span of their relations with a suddenly hostile United States. “We help everybody, and they don’t help us,” Trump complained to reporters, voicing his spartan win-or-lose philosophy that explains his entire life and that he has now made the signature attitude of the United States.
Read Collinson’s full analysis here..
