Weekly Round-up: Trump threatens Iran. Khalil ordered released. Brutal Fox poll.
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Trump Threatens Iran
In the aftermath of Israel’s attack on Iran last week, the Trump regime at first sought to distance itself from the strike, fearing Iran might retaliate against U.S. interests in the Middle East. But now, Donald Trump is openly musing about possibly joining in the attacks, reportedly considering bombing Iran’s underground nuclear site at Fordo. He told reporters this week, "I may do it, I may not do it,” and claimed he’ll make a final decision “within the next two weeks.”
Trump’s openness to a direct U.S. strike against Iran comes amid reporting that Trump has sidelined his top national security officials from the discussions, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who recently told Congress that it was the consensus of the intelligence community that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. Trump responded, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”
Mahmoud Khalil Ordered Released From ICE Detention + More Legal News
On Friday afternoon, a federal district court judge ordered pro-Palestinian demonstrator and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil released from ICE detention on bail. Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., has been detained in a Louisiana facility since he was disappeared by ICE agents from his New York City apartment in March. He was never charged with a crime. As The New York Times puts this latest development: “The administration can continue in its efforts to deport Mr. Khalil, whose wife and infant son are U.S. citizens. But, if the government heeds Judge Farbiarz’s order, it will do so with Mr. Khalil free from detention, and back in New York with his family.”
Additionally this week: As our Thursday piece covered, The Supreme Court upheld a discriminatory Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The Court’s conservative majority rejected the assertion that the law discriminated against transgender people based on sex, even though the law allows the same medications to be available for cisgender minors for their care.
Late Thursday night a 3-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed the White House a win, reversing Judge Breyer’s recent ruling returning control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom. Importantly, the Ninth Circuit disagreed that the White House’s invocation of Title 10 was “non-justiciable” by the courts. Despite the fact that the ruling was specific to Trump’s federalization of the California National Guard, in his victory lap over the ruling Trump threatened an expansion of National Guard deployments to other cities around the country.
Also on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s attempt to link states’ federal transportation funding to their support of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations. In his order, McConnell wrote: “Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes.”
Trump Lashes Out At Fox News Poll
A new Fox poll has Donald Trump’s approval rating at 46% with 54% disapproving. Despite the fact that—at just 8 points underwater—the poll marks one of Trump’s best results in recent surveys, Trump lashed out at the outlet, ranting on Truth Social “They are always wrong and negative. It’s why MAGA HATES FoxNews!” Adding, “I hate FAKE pollsters, one of the Worst, but Fox will never change their discredited pollster!”
Trump was particularly incensed that the poll found him with just 53% approval on border security, but the real headline—and what should be keeping Trump up at night—is that voters disapprove of his handling of every other issue by large margins, including immigration, foreign policy, the economy and especially inflation.
Waiting for his all-caps screed after the decision from the appeals court not allowing the DOJ to represent t in the E. Jean Carroll case. Taking into account the current loss rate for Pam Bondi she might want to keep an eye out for a speeding bus with her name on it.
The Ninth Circuit decision was quite narrow. Specifically, the judges rejected the Injustice Department's plea to rule that the courts had no say in the deployment of the National Guard.
And that Fox "News" poll is suspect--46/54 with no undecided? Not possible.