Weekly Recap: Chaos, Cruelty and DEI

It hasn't gotten much better.

Here is a quick recap of what went down with the Trump Administration this week.

Federal Freeze

The week started with the Trump administration issuing a memo calling for a freeze on all federal grants and loans, launching the government into chaos. Suicide hotlines temporarily shut down and Medicaid payment portals experienced outages nationwide.

A federal judge eventually blocked the order (because it was unconstitutional), leading to the administration rescinding the memo the next day.

Trump Blames Airplane Tragedy on DEI Program He Created.

In a shameful press conference yesterday, Donald Trump suggested that the tragic collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines flight was due to DEI. He attacked former president Barack Obama and Joe Biden for imposing a “big push to put diversity” that weakened the FAA.

He cited an FAA program that provides careers to people with disabilities as the potential cause of the crash. This program was launched in 2019 when Trump was president.

So, for those keeping score. His claim that DEI caused this crash is offensive and baseless. And the program he is blaming was started by him, not Biden or Obama.

Project 2025 Takeover of Federal Government.

This week the Trump administration continued it’s Project 2025 takeover of the federal government.

• At least five senior FBI officials were demoted or reassigned as the administration seeks to install leadership aligned with its priorities.

• The administration dismissed over a dozen Department of Justice attorneys who had prosecuted cases against President Trump, citing concerns about their ability to implement its agenda. This move reflects the administration's willingness to take action against prosecutors involved in previous legal actions against the president.

• The Trump administration offered buyouts to all federal workers, promising to pay them through September 30th. The email's subject line echoed an email President Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022, offering the same ultimatum.

Confirmation Hearings

Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel had their confirmation hearings this week. I wrote about RFK Jr. ’s disaster of a hearing early this week, and Tulsi and Kash’s didn’t go much better. Demcast has some great social media content that you can share with your friends and family. Honestly, the clips from the hearing do all the work necessary.

Here are some that I think will connect with people who aren’t following these hearings closely.

Senator Hassan’s emotional response to RFK Jr blaming autism on vaccines.

Kash Patel unable to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Kash Patel lies about his past statements calling for the FBI headquarters to be shut down.

To Summarize:

The Trump administration continued to flood the zone with an endless display of corruption and incompetence. With our aim of reaching the less engaged among us I think here are a few key themes to highlight:

• Extremists entering power: Both Kash Patel and RFK Jr hold extreme views that don’t align with most Americans. Patel’s inability to claim Joe Biden won in 2020, and his attacks on the media and FBI are deeply unpopular stances. We should make sure people know how extreme his views are.

• Trump’s Cruelty: Trump’s constant need to be in attack mode became a liability during his last presidency. After tragedies like what we saw with the airplane crash, Americans want our politicians to show leadership and empathy. Trump is incapable of this. His immediate politicization will turn off less engaged and swing voters. Let’s ensure people know what he said and why it’s wrong.