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The German newspaper Der Spiegel said it best: “In his closing speech in the The Hague, Donald Trump thanked himself effusively.” [ [link removed] ] Of course, Trump being Trump, he also lied, abused the press, treated our allies like children. (Well, like he treats children, which may explain Eric.)
Meanwhile, back home, his big budget bill (actually, the enactment of project 2025 into law) remains deeply unpopular. Worse, from Trump’s perspective, key aspects of the bill failed to survive the Byrd bath — that’s the parliamentary process for deciding whether provisions meet the requirements of reconciliation. Republicans know their bill will make America less safe, less healthy, less prosperous, and less free. They know it is the biggest ever transfer of wealth from ordinary working Americans to a handful of billionaires. But, whatever, the boss wants it.
MAGA is desperate to hide the facts and change the subject. They do not want voters to find out that the bill raises the cost of insurance for everyone, even as it cancels insurance on tens of millions. They are terrified that people will figure out that plan to pay for billionaire tax cuts by selling off national lands, ending food assistance, and firing Veterans Administration doctors. So, they lie about what’s in it. Why not? If the President can lie about, well, everything why shouldn’t they be allowed to lie too? The GOP’s downward moral arc is on full display, and they plan to take us all with them.
This week Americans are seeing pictures of Jeff Bezos’ [ [link removed] ]and his new bride as they take over the picturesque canals of Venice for their wedding. What does that cost? And how many Michelin-starred chefs are they flying in to feed their fancy friends? It’s hard not to ask whether Republican tax give-aways will pay for that immodest extravaganza with money taken from the health plans of folks working back home.
Mr. Trump doesn’t want us asking those questions. Instead, he wants us to fall in line. So, he attacks. He says anyone who questions the intelligence about the attack on Iran just hates the pilots who flew the mission. And, at the NATO summit, he sicced his little dog Pete on them. Of course, absolutely no one, not one person has anything but respect for the talent and dedication of the men and women in our armed services who carried out this difficult mission. Of course, it’ a lie and a ruse to change the subject, to make us forget about his bill and how regular Americans are going to end up paying the rich and beautiful to party with Mr. Bezos in Venice.
If anyone is dissing our troops, it is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who seems to think that they will be easily unmanned by reading Toni Morison. It is Mr. Trump who wants to snatch away their health care. Trump’s charge and Hegseth’s snarl are all fake. The troops are amazing. Their leaders are not. They deserve better.
In fact, they deserve to have the V.A. funded. When their enlistment is up, they deserve to spend their working years in an economy that isn’t rigged against them. The deserve to have public schools that will educate their children. They deserve to be able to take those kids to national park on vacation. They deserve to have some support, if they need it, paying for health insurance. They sure as hell don’t deserve to be taxed in order to fund Jeff Bezos’ Venetian nuptials. And yet, Trump and Hegseth will do all those things and more. It’s all in the bill.
Who cares about our troops? Not these guys.
Edwin Eisendrath hosts "The Big Picture" on WCPT820 AM/ Heartland Signal. [ [link removed] ] He's the former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, a long-time management consultant, a former Chicago Alderman, HUD Regional Administrator and teacher in Chicago's public schools. You can follow him on BlueSky at eisendrath.net [ [link removed] ] and Substack at “It’s the Democracy, Stupid.” [ [link removed] ] Read the original column here [ [link removed] ].
Contact your U.S. Senator about Trump’s budget bill at the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or visit this website [ [link removed] ].

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