Trump's Corruption Crisis

On tonight’s show I’ll talk about how Trump is heading into major China talks apparently without a single serious China expert at his side. Which is insane. And while Trump’s team is screaming insults at actual experts, Eric Trump is joining the Beijing trip while a family-linked group is chasing a China chip deal. So yes, somehow we’re back to “foreign policy as family business opportunity.” Again. (Still?)

I’ll also get into Iran, where Trump officials are now claiming that Iran is “frighteningly close” to weapons-grade enriched uranium. Which is exactly the problem some of us warned about when Trump blew up the Iran nuclear deal with no replacement. He tore up the guardrails, Iran got back to work, and now his own administration is basically admitting the danger is worse. Then again, they're lying. Iran is not close to building a nuke -- not to mention, they're STILL close after two months of bombing? Then what have we accomplished?

Then there’s the economy. Trump’s people are still pretending they “inherited” historic inflation, when inflation was 2.9% when he took office and is now 3.8%. That’s not an inheritance. That’s a policy failure with a price tag. And Americans are feeling it every time they buy groceries, fill the tank, or pay the bills.

I’ll also talk about the stunning corruption story out of the New York Times: Trump is reportedly considering settling a $10 billion lawsuit with himself, while one option being reviewed would have the IRS drop audits of Trump, his family, or his businesses.

And then there’s the FBI. NOTUS reports there’s now an internal “payback squad” handling politically sensitive cases, while other reporting says Kash Patel’s FBI may be gaming the Most Wanted list to make its arrest stats look better. So the bureau is apparently being turned into a political weapon and a PR machine at the same time. Very banana republic.

I’ll also hit the health corruption angle: Another top Kennedy official is out, reportedly over the administration’s push to let major tobacco companies sell flavored vapes that appeal to children. Because apparently even in this administration, some people still have a line. (Though why did he work for Trump & Kennedy at all?)

Finally, I’ll turn to Ukraine, where the war is changing fast. Russia’s advance has slowed to a crawl, drones are now causing a massive share of Russian casualties, and the Pentagon is openly studying Ukraine’s drone battlefield because this is what modern war now looks like. That matters for any Trump “peace deal,” because the facts on the ground don’t match the Putin-is-winning narrative Trump keeps trying to sell.