As Trump approaches the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, his behaviour is not getting any more statesmanlike. Here’s a roundup of the wild events of the last 24 hours
Trump’s programme of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States have been going on for weeks already. And most of them have been either celebrations of himself, or rubbish. Or both.
Between the UFC match at the White House, the renovation of the Lincoln Reflecting Fun Pool and Spa and the Great American State Fair, which was like 50 Glasgow Willy Wonka Experiences rolled into one, the Semiquincentennial Man has not shown the greatest respect for the heritage and dignity of Washington DC. So people are awaiting his appearance at Mount Rushmore on Friday night with some trepidation for two reasons. One, because there is apparently going to be a fireworks display for the first time in six years – South Dakota is currently in drought conditions and there are serious concerns that fireworks could cause a forest fire. And Two, because Trump has always had his eye on Mount Rushmore. By which I mean he wants his whole face on Mount Rushmore. A bill is currently going through congress calling for Trump to be added to the world famous monument. And in case you think there’s no way he’d really want that, here’s a list of all the things Trump has added his name or face to since returning to office
- The Kennedy Centre – literally a memorial to a dead president
- The US Institute of Peace
- TrumpRX – a government discount drugs website
- Trump accounts – the US version of the Child Trust Fund
- The “gold card” visa
- The F-47 fighter jet
- The National Parks Annual Pass
- A $250 coin
- The US passport
- The forthcoming Trump Promenade
- The Department of Justice, the Department of Labour and the Department of Agriculture.
He’s reportedly told Kristi Noem that being up on the mountain was his dream. He’s posted AI images of himself carved into the mountain, Doug Bergum, the interior secretary has said there’s room for another face on the mountain – even though there probably isn’t. It may never happen. But that doesn’t mean Trump isn’t going to try – and you can bet your life it’s going to come up in his speech.
Meanwhile in Trumpworld
- Team Trump drowned out by protesters
- Trump paid tribute to Teddy Roosevelt in a very weird way
- His gift for the grift was showing
- He played AI doctor
- Ex FBI director warns them to put the shredder back in the cupboard
Here’s what you need to know
They finally finished building Trump’s Temu arch. Somehow it looks worse
You’ll recall Trump’s laughably rubbish Great American State Fair included a miniature version of his plan for a 250 foot tall triumphal arch to be situated on a roundabout in Washington DC. You may also recall that as well as its diminutive size, it looked really, really bad – had little detail and just kind of stood there with a big gold cherub on top. Still, it was one of the only places in the entire fair where one could find shelter from the oppressive DC sun. Well, I’m happy to report that not only have they finally got around to finishing the arch, but they’ve somehow made it worse. The columns tacked on to the archway do nothing to distract from the fact that it’s basically a tarp stretched over a frame. And a not even close inspection of the upper portion of the columns reveals a nasty amount of caulk spilling out of the gaps between the columns and the arch itself.
The fair is theoretically on until next Friday. Attendance has been spectacularly poor.
Trump was so proud of this AI slop video that he did something very unusual
Trump posted an AI slop video of himself as a doctor vowing to cure Trump Derangement syndrome on Truth Social earlier today. It also included AI generated cameos from a string of anti-Trump celebrities – Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Ed Norton and others. It’s kinda rubbish. The joke wears thin almost immediately.
But how you know that Trump is really proud of this one because he did something he almost never does these days. He cross-posted it on X.
Trump team drowned out by protesters
A string of top Trump staffers and cabinet secretaries were drowned out by noisy and persistent protesters as they tried to give nakedly partisan speeches to serving National Guardsmen in Washington DC this afternoon. “War” secretary Pete Hegseth said the noise was “perfect”, and blasted those making it as “ingrates…blinded by ideology.” Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general and Deputy White House Prince of Darkness Stephen Miller were similarly upstaged by the noisy racket.
Trump paid tribute to Teddy Roosevelt as only he knows how
As part of his mini tour leading up to the 250th anniversary celebrations on July 4th, Trump visited North Dakota last night to open the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. It was quite the event. During a tour of the 96,000-square-foot library and in a speech afterward, Trump spoke admiringly of Roosevelt and compared himself favorably to the former president, who he described as the embodiment of the American spirit, praising his toughness as a leader and outdoorsman. “He had a freakin’ wild life,” Trump told an audience at a Western-themed amphitheater. “He didn’t want to be quiet. He wanted to be great.” There was an AI Roosevelt, which Trump took great pleasure in chatting with. He gave a speech in front of a line-up of cowboys, and did his weird dance to YMCA at the end. You know the one. And just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any more inappropriately raunchy, Trump suggested a weekend of video games and group sex …with his own sons. Wait, no, that can’t be right. Let’s check the transcript.
He noted the Medal of Honour was the USA’s highest award for going above and beyond the call of duty. Then he said: “As I see my beautiful sons siting there, I think I’m going to give one to myself, one to them and we’ll have a threesome.”
Trump’s gift for the grift was showing
Donald Trump took his first flight in the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar which is definitely, definitely not riddled with listening devices.
The vulgar, airborne display of Trump’s gift for the grift happened, coincidentally at the same time as it was confirmed the President’s personal earnings since returning to office have topped two billion dollars.
As well as his well publicised crypto ventures, cash from real estate, golf resorts, branded merchandise and licensing deals all added up to the eye watering sum.
Former CIA director orders Trump administration to put the shredder back in the cupboard
Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration today, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations that he says are targeting him for “what amounts to phantom criminal conduct.” The lawsuit says the records would shed light on the motivations of government officials who are investigating Brennan and would form the basis of defence efforts to dismiss any eventual indictment on grounds that the case constitutes a vindictive prosecution. Such an argument, his lawyers said, would be supported by the more than 100 verbal or written statements that President Donald Trump has made since 2017 lambasting Brennan and by the Republican president’s directives to his Justice Department to initiate investigations of Brennan “without regard to factual or legal justification.” Without an order, the lawsuit contends, the records are at risk of being lost or intentionally deleted.